News and Announcements

Dear Metropolitan Member:

Phase 1 of the Metropolitan A.M.E. Church Restoration is being completed and we are in the midst of planning a time of celebration and thanksgiving for this significant achievement.  As part of this celebration, we will bury a time capsule which will contain items reflecting Metropolitan Church’s current history and the legacy of our membership.  These items will give future generations descriptions of our current congregation and church ministries.

Metropolitan’s time capsule will include a list of the church’s current members, their favorite scriptures, and place of birth.  To be included in this effort, please submit the information requested below.  If you have any questions please contact Gwendolyn Kimbrough (301.654.2616) or Carolyn McClain (202.667.8375). 

We hope you will participate. 

Please complete the following and submit:

Rev. Jonathan Newton, Asst. Pastor
Metropolitan AME Church, Washington, DC
Sunday, June 26, 2011
www.metropolitaname.org

Genesis 18: 1-15 NIV Bible Translation

Every Sunday morning, before the worship service starts, Brother Terry Johnson and his team perform a “microphone or mic-check”. It happens well before the service starts. Most of you don’t see it because you arrive well AFTER the service starts. The microphone check is a ministry in and of itself, because the microphones are the method through which the anointed word of God’s is delivered, through the choir, the testimonies, the preacher.

As Christians, we are all microphone devices that God uses to transmit the “Good News” about Jesus Christ around the world. We are anointed with gifts, and he uses these gifts to glorify Him and to bless others. Every now and then, God performs a spiritual microphone check to determine whether we are really using our gifts for His glory and to bless others. Like the audio team, once in a while God smacks the microphone – our work – to make sure it is working properly.

The scripture text is an example of a “mic check.” When God delivered the news that Sarah and Abraham would bear a child, at first, Sarah laughed. But the Lord was not amused and questioned why she laughed. Prior to that visit, the Lord told Abraham he would be father of nations. Because of his age Abraham laughed – in fact he fell on his face laughing (Genesis 17:17). But God assured him, and Abraham believed. However, Abraham did not share that news with Sarah.

1. Share the blessing because it is not just for you. The message was not just for Abraham; Abraham was responsible for delivering God’s word to everyone in the household. When we don’t share our blessings, when we don’t speak up, our loved ones suffer. Sarah was barren, it was the source of shame and guilt and depression back in those times for a woman not to be able to bear a son for her husband. Abraham was so self-absorbed that he didn’t properly convey to her that she could trust in God’s promises. God didn’t bless you so you could get another house or car or watch. God didn’t give to us so we could say: “I’ve got mine.”

2. Make sure you don’t distort the message. God gave Abraham a microphone check because Abraham only told Sarah half of the message. He put his wife out there. You have to make sure that you don’t distort message that God is delivering through you; sometimes we pretend that we – not God – are the source of the blessing. In his book “Race Rules,” Michael Eric Dyson has a chapter titled “We never were what we used to be” in which he discusses “the politics of nostalgia.” We make the past seem better than it was. Even in the “good old days” we had problems. In the 80’s we had crack cocaine; in the 70’s we had long gas lines and an economy in shambles; in the 60’s – the so-called “black power” era, churches were bombed, and little girls were killed; in the 50’s, we had segregated schools; in the 20’s and 30’s the Great Depression. Every era had its issues; only God was consistent. If we deny God as the source of the blessing, we will experience what the audio people call “feedback.” Feedback is the loud noise that we hear when the microphone is too close to the speaker. We create that kind of feedback when God has done something but we claim credit for it. We need to kill the feedback.

3. Trust God while you still have options. When we experience challenges, we call on anyone else but God. We don’t call on God until we are in the depths of foreclosure, or incarceration, or worse; then we call on God. Sarah doubted because she wasn’t told about God’s goodness. She laughed because she doubted. It is time for the people of God to go back to SPEAKING about God. Because when God wins, the entire community is strengthened!

In 1983, the Metropolitan AME Church Scholarship Endowment was established to award scholarships to students attending higher education institutions. A competitive progress is used to select students based on financial need and scholarship.

On Saturday, June 11, 2011, at its annual luncheon, the Scholarship Endowment gave recognition to 10 students awarded scholarships. The keynote speaker was Kamilla Collier-Mullin, Miss Black America DC Metro 2010. The mistress of ceremonies was Dr. Gabrina Dixon, a former scholarship recipient and pediatric hospitalist at Children’s National Medical Center.

Sunday at the youth day service, Metropolitan AME Church Scholarship Endowment awarded a $2,000 scholarship to the following:

Bianca Bannerman will return to Howard University in fall 2011 as a senior. Her career goal is to become a pediatric psychologist.

Brittany Christian Bell will return to Towson University in fall 2011 as a junior.  Her goal is to become an entertainment lawyer.

Shane Hill will enroll at West Virginia University in fall 2011 as a freshman. His career goal is become a professional violinist.

Tkeyah Lake will return to the University of Baltimore as a sophomore in fall 2011. Her career goal is to work in corporate public relations.

Vashti Little will return to St John’s University in fall 2011 as a junior.  Her goal is to become an entertainment lawyer.

Montez Speaks McKnight will enroll at Prince George’s Community College in fall 2011 as a freshman. His career goal is to become a fashion designer.

Imani Stutely will enroll at Carnegie Mellon University as a graduate student in fall 2011. Her career goal is to become a public policy analyst.

Veronica Taylor will enroll at Montgomery College (Rockville Campus) in fall 2011.  Her goal is to become an animator. 

Rahnisha Thompson will return to the University of Maryland Eastern Shore as a senior in fall 2011. Her career goal is become a special agent for the FBI.

Shannon Washington will return to Morgan State University in fall 2011 as a junior. Her career goal is to become a financial analyst.

Metropolitan AME Church 2nd Annual Historic Preservation and Restoration

CRAB FEAST

Friday, September 16, 2011
7:30 PM

Martin’s Cross Winds
7400 Greenway Center Drive
Greenbelt, Maryland

MENU: Endless steamed, hard shelled crabs, plus a sumptuous buffet of succulent beef, pork, chicken and seafood entrees; tasty vegetables and salads; luscious desserts; and beverages.

Tickets: $60.00 per person

For more information contact Isiah Dupree at 301-452-8078 or idupree@hotmail.com

Sponsored by the Mighty Men of Metropolitan and the Love and Peace Unit of the Sarah Allen Missionary Society

View Photos from last year!

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This year’s Father’s Day Breakfast was held at Metropolitan AME’s Douglas Hall. The event was sponsored by the Mighty Men of Metropolitan. We thank Eugenia Jacobs for the photos.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to view the Father’s Day Breakfast videos and get updates when more videos are posted.

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Rev. Ronald E. Braxton
Father’s Day – June 19, 2011

The Love and Peace Unit of the Sarah Allen Missionary Society presents a

YOUTH AND YOUNG ADULT TALENT SHOWCASEFeaturing talents of youth (ages 4-20) and young adults (ages 21-39)

A Restoration Fundraiser for Metropolitan A.M.E. Church, The National Cathedral of African Methodism and a National Landmark

Saturday, July 16, 2011, 2:00 p.m.
Metropolitan A.M.E. Church
1518 M Street, NW Washington, DC 20005
Free parking available at the PMI Garage, 1615 M Street, NW

DONATIONS: Children (12 and under) $3 Patrons $6 Sponsors $10 Donors $15+
Please make checks payable to Metropolitan A.M.E. Church/Restoration on memo line

For additional information or to sign up to participate, contact
Peggy Gatewood at 301.203.4642 or Janet Oakley Huggins at 202.726.4133

Download the Talent Showcase Flyer!

Celeste Garcia, Chair, Love and Peace
Donice Jeter, President, Sarah Allen Missionary Society

“Jesus is all the world to me…I go to Him for blessings, and He gives them o’er and o’er.
He sends the sunshine and the rain; He sends the harvest’s golden grain.-Sunshine and rain, harvest of grain—
He’s my Friend”.

The official beginning of summer is June 21 and recent temperatures have been a testament to this fact. We thank God for the blessing of seeing and living through another season. In spite of the summer temperatures and high humidity, we will *continue to praise God in spirit and in truth because he is worthy.*

In recognition thereof, we will transition into our casual summer dress attire for the summer months for our worship service beginning this Sunday. We would ask that you please remain mindful, as you always are, of the fact that you are coming to God’s house of worship and to balance summer comfort with dress discretion.

 
Rev. Marques A. Wheeler
June 12, 2011

Metropolitan AME Church celebrated Youth Sunday on June 12, 2011.

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