Announcements

Our tradition at Mount Olivet is to give each child a cupcake to take home after the Christmas Eve family services, so they can sing happy birthday to Jesus! Please provide individually wrapped cupcakes with a small candle included.

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December 22 at 5 and 5:30 PM! Invite family, friends, and neighbors for the Live Nativity on the Green with live animals – including a camel – and a real baby! Start your Christmas week with the Christmas story and hear about the true meaning of Christmas as this beloved tradition joyously returns. Join the angels singing on high during interactive carol singing. Hot chocolate makes this event great for children and families of all ages. Rain or shine. ALL are welcome!

Join us for Christmas Eve at Mount Olivet! ‍

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Family Worship at 3:30 and 5 PM in the Sanctuary
No need to worry about wiggle worms here! These are interactive family-friendly services that are sure to engage all ages. ‍

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Traditional Worship at 6:30 and 11 PM in the Sanctuary
A classic Christmas Eve service complete with the Mount Olivet Choir, Silent Night by candlelight, and communion. ‍

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The Way Modern Worship at 8 PM in the Fellowship Hall
A modern, laid-back Christmas Eve service with incredible music and a cozy atmosphere. This is a family-friendly service that will engage all ages!

More than 735 million people globally faced hunger in 2023, with nearly 2.3 billion experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity. Even in affluent Arlington County, food insecurity is revealed by the nearly 4,000 families served each week at the Arlington Food Assistance Center and the hundreds of families who visit Mount Olivet’s community assistance each month. In the Bible, food serves as both physical nourishment and a profound symbol of spiritual teachings, divine care, and communal fellowship. Jesus’ call to feed the hungry reflects His overarching message of love, mercy, and justice. Embracing this call, Mount Olivet Outreach Committee has adopted Food Security as its year-long theme, focusing on gifts and actions to address hunger locally, regionally, and globally.  

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Mount Olivet’s 2024 Advent Offering organizations are:  ‍

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Arlington Food Assistance Center (AFAC): AFAC’s mission is to provide our neighbors in need with dignified access to free, supplemental groceries. With your help, we are able to aid residents of Arlington County and the surrounding areas in receiving nutritious food items that not only keep their families fed, but frees up their limited financial resources for other necessary purchases. Currently, AFAC serves about 4,000 families every week. AFAC receives no federal or state funding. Arlington County provides only 7% of what it takes to operate AFAC. The remaining 93% comes from private donations: cash and food donated from individuals, foundations, faith groups, local businesses, and peer organizations. ‍

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UMCOR – Hurricane Relief: When Hurricanes Helene and Milton devastated communities from Florida to North Carolina and Virginia, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) swung into action. Coordinating with annual conferences and local churches and partners, UMCOR provided urgently needed food, water, cleaning supplies, and shelter. Your support of the Advent Offering will assist its mission of alleviating human suffering from famine, war, conflict and natural disasters. UMCOR helps people in more than 80 countries, including the United States, supplying emergency humanitarian relief and long-term recovery assistance when catastrophes overwhelm a community’s ability to recover on its own. ‍

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Rise Against Hunger: its mission is to end hunger worldwide by 1) providing nutrient-rich meals to those in need, particularly children in educational settings, to improve health and learning outcomes, and 2) supporting sustainable farming and agricultural programs that build long-term food security, and 3) delivering food and assistance during disasters and emergencies to support immediate survival and recovery. Mount Olivet will hold an exciting congregation-wide event to assemble 10,000 meals in early Spring 2025.

Your Gifts for Their Gifts! One of the easiest and most meaningful items on your Christmas Shopping list is the “Love Gift” for our Mount Olivet pastors and staff. Each year we express appreciation for their gifts, talents and tireless service by making financial contributions during Advent for this special fund. It is given to show that we recognize all that they do throughout the year for our community. So, give generously and note on your check that this is for the 2024 Love Gift.

As the end of the year approaches, please remember that your gifts make a difference for the ministries of our church. If your giving is not current, please help us by sending in your gift. All gifts must be postmarked or delivered to the church by December 31 to be included in your 2024 Statement of Giving. Thank-you!! Give Now

The Mount Olivet Spirit in Nature Group is planning to visit Huntley Meadows Park on December 21. Please meet the group in the Huntley Meadows Parking lot at 10 AM. Bring your water and binoculars. This park has an abundance of migrating birds.  Please let Jaydee Hanson know if you will join the walk by emailing or calling 703-231-5956.

Looking for an easy service project? Join us for Supper and Service on Wednesday, January 8. A light supper is served followed by a service activity. In the past we have made buckets for flood victims or packed supplies for Community Assistance. Dinner and the activity last one hour, from 6-7 pm.  Contact Linnea with any questions.

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Join United Methodists from across the Conference for United Methodist Day at the General Assembly. We’ll be gathering in Richmond on Thursday, January 30.  Early Bird Registration is $25 until December 20. Be sure to snag your spot. This event is a wonderful way to take your civic duty beyond the ballot box. Join with your fellow United Methodists to engage in our call to justice.  Can’t wait to see you in Richmond! 

Like many musicians of color, Mary Cardwell Dawson was denied the opportunity to use her gifts and training. Her response: to create a music empire, culminating in the founding of the National Negro Opera Company.  Learn more about her and efforts to preserve her legacy.

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P.S.: A new Netflix movie based on actual events during World War II begins streaming this weekend, The Six Triple Eight. If it piques your interest, check our resources from March 3, 2024, which may add additional insight into the accomplishments of the remarkable unit. Learn More About Batallion 6888

Maybe the late Thanksgiving and short shopping season have thrown off your usual holiday planning and you haven’t even bought Christmas cards yet, let alone mailed them. This would be a great time to switch to electronic cards, which has the benefit of being fast and environmentally friendly. And if you want the recipients to see how fast the little ones have grown or share the magnificent sights you saw on your travels, some brands permit you to upload photos to personalize your cards.

Thank you for your support as we enter this season of celebration and reflection. It has been a busy year for disasters with record flooding across the country, tornadoes and a devastating hurricane season with historic impacts in the southeast. UMCOR has supported the local response to these disasters through the UMC connection here in the US and globally. We do this through supporting the Early Response Team program with training, background checks and certifications, coordinating ERT deployments across conferences, and funding response activities with grants. We are seeing more frequent and severe disasters overall, and anticipate recovery from the 2024 hurricane season may take years. As always, we endeavor to walk with our partners on this long road to recovery. Glad my colleague Hannah Hanson can be with you this week in person to share more and thank you for your generosity. — Katie Hills, UMCOR Director of Disaster Response Hurricane Helene UMC Response on Vimeo | UMCOR Video