Announcements

It’s time to volunteer for Community Assistance. Our next event will be on October 11. Please volunteer to help our neighbors in need receive some much-needed help with food and gift cards. Slots to volunteer are available from 8 AM through 12:45 PM. Sign up on the SignupGenius.

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In September, thanks to our volunteers and the generosity of financial contributions, we were able to help:

422 guests

81 first time guests

1,302 total number of individuals in households

120 children age 0-5  

150 children age 6-11  

110 children age 12-17  

337 people age 60+  

25 veterans

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You can make a financial contribution to Community Assistance, at mountolivetumc.com/giving and indicate Community Assistance. Thanks for your continued support of our Community Assistance Ministry.

Join our friends at Walker Chapel for the Music for Good concert series—where great music meets a greater purpose. These free community events bring together musicians and neighbors in support of local causes that matter.

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Saturday, October 11 | Open Mic Night

Calling all performers! Whether you're a seasoned musician or stepping on stage for the first time, this is your moment.

Performer Sign-ups Begin: 7:00 PM (First-come, first-served)
Performances Start: 7:30 PM
Need a pianist? A house collaborative pianist will be available to accompany any musicians—just bring your sheet music!
Reception: 9:00 PM, Enjoy refreshments and connect with fellow music lovers.

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This is more than just an open mic. It's an opportunity to share your talent, support your community, and be part of something meaningful.

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Donations from this concert will benefit the Arlington Food Assistance Center..

Sign Up today for the Mount Olivet / Walker Chapel CROP Walk team. Or make a donation to support the team or one of our walkers. This is the first year we will have a joint team, so a new era begins!

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The 6K fundraiser starts and ends at nearby First Presbyterian Church, 601 N. Vermont St., Arlington, VA. Sign-in starts 8-8:30 AM, and the Walk begins at 9 AM, rain or shine. Walkers follow a 6K route around Arlington’s Ballston and Virginia Square areas. Route maps are available, and there are refreshments and rest rooms at the half-way point (Saint George’s Episcopal).

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Organized by Church World Service (CWS), this is a fundraising event to help fight hunger globally and here in Arlington. Like similar events, walkers are asked to seek friends, family, employers, and associates to sponsor their walks with donations. 75% of funds raised support food relief and sustainable agriculture programs worldwide; 25% goes to Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC), which now provides groceries each month to an average of 3,850 families facing food insecurity. One-third of those served are children, and 12% are seniors.

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To register, go to our team page https://events.crophungerwalk.org/crophungerwalks/team/mount-olivet-and-walker-chapel-umcs and scroll down to the Join The Team button and follow the instructions. You will receive a personal webpage where your sponsors can make donations. Online donations are highly encouraged, but you can have a CWS envelope for donations of checks or cash (which are turned in to the team captain or when you check in).

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Have questions? Contact Kenn Speicher.

The refugee ministries of Mount Olivet and Saint George’s Episcopal invite you to a fun Fall gathering. Join us in sharing joy, magic, and community with our friends in Greater Arlington and the local refugee community. Being held at Saint George’s (915 N. Oakland St.), there’s something for everyone. For kids: Magician shows * Moon bounce * Face & pumpkin painting * and a Halloween costume giveaway. For adults: a marketplace with food, crafts and art by refugee chefs and artisans, plus a Take Acton Fair with service organizations.

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There is also an opportunity to volunteer https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1EOvJFPxP9cN5dZ2BS8L5O0R5vJCqccA1OEJmGMw6nyQ/viewform?ts=68e19631&edit_requested=true to help with the celebration as you learn more about our refugee ministry.

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 For details, contact Kenn Speicher.

Mark your calendar for Mount Olivet’s Fall Clean-up Day on Saturday morning, October 25. We’ll have lots of outside projects around our property – raking leaves, weeding, pruning bushes and trees, and generally sprucing up our grounds—and maybe some projects in the newly renovated wing of the church. We’ll work from 8 AM – noon. No experience necessary and kids are welcome. For more information, contact Ann Speicher.

Save the Date - Mount Olivet Foundation is hosting a celebration event on Saturday, November 1 from 2:30 to 4 PM in the Fellowship Hall. The event will recognize several outstanding members of the Foundation's board as emeritus members. In addition, several of the recipients of the Foundation's grants have been invited to join us. Plan to come and learn more about the work of the Foundation, which was established in 1967 to support education with scholarships and loans as well as worthy non-profit organizations. Refreshments served. RSVP by October 25 to Tina Marcus.

Try to imagine a time where there were so few legal family planning choices that one-third of Puerto Rican women availed themselves of the option to be sterilized. This week learn about Helen Rodriguez-Trias, a Puerto Rican physician instrumental in the fight for women's and children's health and for reproductive justice.

Mount Olivet’s refugee ministry is collecting gently used or new Halloween costumes of all sizes (for kids 12 and under) to give away to refugees and in-need children. We will give away the costumes at the "Fall Is for Friends" community gathering on Sunday, October 19, and are expecting 50-75 children to take part! Please drop off at Mount Olivet or the Speicher house (1524 N. Ivanhoe St). Happy Halloween and thanks for helping refugee children celebrate this fun holiday! For details contact Kenn Speicher.

October 15 is National Fossil Day! At a loss about how to celebrate? Check out https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/20-national-fossil-day-ideas.htm and then contemplate Virginia’s state fossil https://geology.blogs.wm.edu/2016/07/13/virginia-state-fossil/

Plot Against Hunger, a local non-profit program that collects fresh produce at local farms to donate to our neighbors in need, will have a special opportunity for Mount Olivet to glean apples from an orchard in Kearneysville, WV and bring them back to Arlington for our Community Assistance food distribution on November 8. The gleaning day would be Friday, November 7. If you are interested, please contact Tina for more information.

The nominations process for District At-Large Lay Members to the June 2026 Virginia Annual Conference is open. We need at least 120 people to serve as At-Large Lay Members, and we are only half- way to that number. Nominations are due by Monday, October 13. Annual Conference will be in Harrisonburg this year, June 17 - June 20, 2026.

As a reminder, Mount Olivet pastors, staff or congregation members will never ask individuals for financial assistance, gift cards or any kind of personal information through email. Always look at the actual email address of any email you receive regarding these issues. Pastor and staff emails will always come from the mtolivet-umc.org exchange. If you have any question about an email you receive that you think is questionable, always reach out to us. Contact Tina Marcus.