Centrepoint

June/July/August 2010 

ACTS Gets a New Look! 

Take ACTion and Get Involved at CUMC!

Beginning on Sunday, June 6 and all during the month of June, you will have the opportunity to complete an ACTS form on-line. ACTS stands for “A Community That Serves,” and it is a tool to help you, the congregation, tell the church how you would like to serve in the coming year.  CUMC wants you to take ACTion and get involved! 

 Copies of the revised booklet, including return forms will be available at the Welcome Table in the narthex, but the requested format is to go to the church’s website (www.centreville-umc.org) and click on the links for the adult, youth, or children’s ACTS forms. You can complete the answers on-line in a short period of time. The adult forms are for all adults, including college students and 2010 high school seniors. The youth forms are for current 6^th -11^th graders, and the children’s forms are for children entering kindergarten in the fall of ‘10 through current 5^th graders. You do NOT have to be a member of CUMC to be a part of the life of the church or participate in the ACTS forms. Even the newest of members or those who just attend CUMC are invited to participate.   There is no waiting period for hearing God’s call to service! 

 Watch for the possible opportunity to sign up online in the CUMC Narthex on June 6,  13 and 20th! The Technology Committee and Life Stewardship committee are working toward having a few laptops available , especially for those with no access to computers in their home!  Help will be available. 

 Remember, even if you completed the form last year, this is a new version and must be completed again; the lists from the past year are deleted. The form is set up in sections according to the various areas of ministry, such as Missions, Music, Spiritual Formation, Children, Youth, etc. If you know the specific area in which you want to serve, you can jump to that section and respond. The name of the ministry also includes a brief description of what is required; you do not need to go to a separate link to find the descriptions.

Using this tool is very helpful to the various ministry areas, and it also allows you to consider how you will use your gifts and talents to serve God through the church in the coming year.  

Celebrate Pastor Tuttle's Ministry 

 As you may be aware, Pastor Tuttle will be leaving CUMC in July to become the Lead Pastor of Dranesville United Methodist Church. During her seven years as an associate pastor at CUMC she has crossed many milestones in her life; she was ordained Elder, she married Mike Tuttle, and she had their son, Noah. We want to thank her for her ministry among us.  

 On Sunday, June 20, at 12:15 PM you are invited to attend a reception held in her honor in the Fellowship Hall. During this time you will have the opportunity to thank her personally for the impact she has had on your life, and the life of the church. 

 Please see inside this issue of Centrepoint for Pastor Tuttle's letter to the congregation. Also, check out the article about the changes taking place on the CUMC staff as we prepare for Pastor Tuttle's departure. 

All God’s Children Camp

Children spend a week at camp, participating in activities such as boating, swimming, hiking, archery, horseback riding, music, crafts, Bible study, and conflict resolution.  Partnering with Virginia United Methodist camps, the All God’s Children camp provides sanctuary for children who face so many challenges in their lives: economic poverty, temporary living conditions while their mothers, usually their only parent, is incarcerated.  

 You can help by volunteering to spend the week at camp! Mentors do not lead activities but provide supervision, companionship and compassion to the children during their daily activities.  They serve as a reminder that the children are indeed all God’s children and that God loves and cares for them.  Mentors are adults ages 17 and up. They attend training the Sunday morning prior to the week of camp. It is an intense, yet extremely rewarding experience. 

 Camp Highroad hosts All God’s Children camp August 1-6.  For more information about the camp check out www.vaumc.org/agcc or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.  Luke 18:16

 Missions  

GRACE Ministries

 GRACE Ministries offers low-income immigrant families a welcoming place to come for fellowship, worship, a play time for children, clothing, food and diapers.  The guests also receive information on available services such as a free clinic, various county programs for low income families and job training opportunities that include ESL classes.

  The summer dates for GRACE Ministries:

-Friday Set Up                  - Saturday Distribution              -Receiving Donations

 4 – 8:30 PM                  6:45 AM – 12:30 PM                                    

         June 11                            June 12                                     June 6 – 11

July 9                               July 10                                 July 4 – 9

August 13                        August 14                                 August 8 – 13

There are many ways to support GRACE Ministries:

· Ask your neighbors to donate their gently used, in season clothing, small toys, books for young children and bed and bath linens to GRACE.

· Children can help by collecting used children’s books and small toys.

· Having a summer party?  Ask people to bring a package of diapers in lieu of a hostess gift.

Come be a part of GRACE by helping on Friday afternoon to set up or on Saturday morning during the distribution.

 Food For All

Helping To Feed Children

 The Centreville UMC Food For All program helps to supply the Western Fairfax Christian Ministries (WFCM) pantry with food throughout the year.  During the summer months families rely on the food pantry more than ever.  Children from low-income homes receive breakfast and lunch meals during the school year, however during the summer months these meals are not available.   At the same time, during the summer months many families are busy with summer activities and vacations and don’t think as much about food donations.  When the need is the greatest, the donations are the smallest.  CUMC can help.  If EACH person brings at least ONE non-perishable food item EACH week, CUMC can make a real difference in keeping the food pantry shelves full.

CUMC in Mission: Local, National and International

95 Year Old Homeowner Finds New Hope Through Rebuilding Together

 Mr. Boland has lived in his Arlington home since 1946.  At 95, he has not been able to maintain his home, as both the interior and exterior of the house were in desparate need of renovation and repair.  His niece learned of Rebuilding Together and made the arrangements for Mr. Boland to receive the help he needed.  The job was so large that another church, St Peter’s Episcopal, joined with CUMC to get the work done over two weeks.

 Years of overgrown vines, weeds and lawn debris were cleared; the kitchen and bath were gutted and renovated; rooms were painted; screens replaced; steps and fencing were built; walkways were repaired; and windows were painted and cleaned. Mr. Boland just could not believe that so many people would come to do so much work for someone they did not even know.  As the work came to an end and he looked around, Mr. Boland said “I am rich!  I can’t believe how wonderful my house looks.  I may just live another 100 years!” 

CUMC in Mission in Sneedville, TN

Sneedville, the county seat of Hancock County, TN, is a small town nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of northeast Tennessee.  In 2008, the median household income in Hancock County was $19,760.  In Fairfax County, the median household income was $107,448.  Many families live in homes/trailers/shacks with no running water. Over the last 18 years, Centreville UMC and the people of Sneedville have developed a close bond of friendship.

 The 2010 Sneedville Mission Team will depart for Sneedville on June 26 and return on July 3.  The team will serve in ministries all over the county making home improvements; delivering food to families living in poverty; working with children through several Vacation Bible School programs; and working with teens, women and the elderly in a variety of programs.

 The Sneedville mission has been possible due to the generous support of the CUMC church family.  Financial donations, donations of items for the ministries, Christmas gifts and the support of team fundraisers make the ministry possible year round.

 During the months of May and June a donation board will be located in the Narthex with tags showing items needed for the ministries that are reaching out to children, teens, women and nursing home residents.  Items are needed for personal care packages and craft and art supplies.  Donations need to be received by June 13.

 The annual Sneedville yard sale will be held on Saturday, June 5 from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM.  Donations of furniture, books, sports equipment, lawn equipment, electronics, toys, baby items, household and kitchen items are all needed.  Donations can be dropped off beginning on Monday, May 31 through Friday, June 4.  Donation receipts will be available.

 As the team prepares to go to Sneedville to serve, they ask for your prayers in their preparation, in their travels and in their service.

CUMC in Mission  in Lithuania 

 “In Mission Together” is a church partnership program of the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church.  The program assists churches like CUMC to engage in shared mission and ministry with a developing or struggling congregation.  CUMC and Siauliai (Show-lay) UMC in Lithuania joined into a partnership in 2009.  Partner churches commit to supporting each other through regular prayer, communications and visitations. 

 CUMC has sent mission teams to Siauliai UMC since 2006 through the UM Volunteers in Mission program to assist the church in building their new sanctuary.  It seemed natural to formalize the commitment between the churches under the “In Mission Together” program.  CUMC and Siauliai UMC have committed to a three year partnership.  The relationship has now expanded beyond the construction of the sanctuary into a ministry for women of the church and to local school children in Lithuania. 

 While the mission teams travel to Lithuania to serve the people and congregation of Siauliai UMC, they return home transformed – and with many stories of the people they have met.  Some tell stories of recent Soviet times and hardships they have endured and others tell stories that reach back to Nazi times.  Siauliai UMC is reaching out into their community to share the hope and love of Christ.  One young woman, Evelina, was drawn to Christ and the church in Siauliai.  She eventually brought her sister, then her parents and now the family is a strong pillar of the church.  Evelina is now contemplating ministry in the United Methodist Church.

 This year the Lithuania mission team will support women in Lithuania in a broader context as they help to sponsor a nationwide “Women’s Health Retreat”.  The retreat will draw from all the United Methodist Churches in Lithuania to address chronic problems in the aftermath of Soviet and Nazi occupation such as depression, abuse and suicide.  For additional information on the Lithuania mission contact Dan and Kitty Stapleton at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .