Search Results

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. PAY ONLINE Online Payment Options Families can submit their monthly tuition payments using our PayPal option (fee added)! Fee-free options: check to Aldersgate Day School or cash Note: If you don’t see your specific tuition amount, please contact the office for further instructions. Quick View Registration Fee (Returning Families & Aldersgate Members) Price $102.50 Add to Cart

Children in 1st - 12th grade are invited to sign up to serve as acolyte during worship. < Back Acolyte Children in 1st - 12th grade are invited to sign up to serve as acolyte during worship. The acolyte experience at Aldersgate is a meaningful way for children and students in 1st through 12th grade to assist the pastors in worship by bringing the light of Christ into the sanctuary. Acolytes are needed each Sunday at the 9:30am and 11:00am worship services. Click Here to Sign-Up to be an Acolyte Please contact Lisa Lee ( children@aldersgate.net ) for more information. The acolyte experience at Aldersgate is a meaningful way for children and students in 1st through 12th grade to assist the pastors in worship by bringing the light of Christ into the sanctuary. Acolytes are needed each Sunday at the 9:30am and 11:00am worship services. Click Here to Sign-Up to be an Acolyte Please contact Lisa Lee ( children@aldersgate.net ) for more information. Previous Next

Sign up to read scripture during worship on Sundays. < Back Lay Readers Sign up to read scripture during worship on Sundays. Lay Readers are assigned scripture once every 2-3 months. They receive a speech-type copy of the week’s scripture the preceding week. They can pre-record their reading. Click Here to Sign-Up Please contact Steve Larkin at jstephenlarkin@gmail.com for more information. Lay Readers are assigned scripture once every 2-3 months. They receive a speech-type copy of the week’s scripture the preceding week. They can pre-record their reading. Click Here to Sign-Up Please contact Steve Larkin at jstephenlarkin@gmail.com for more information. Previous Next

EVENTS FOR CHILDREN & FAMILIES < Previous Event Back to Children's Ministries Page Next Event > VBS Volunteers Wanted Let's hit the road together! July 17th-30th | 9:30am - 12:30pm 1301 Collingwood Rd. Alexandria, VA 22306 On the Go with God – July 27th-30th Can you survive on snacks, silliness, and VBS songs stuck in your head for days? Then you may be perfect for our Road Trip VBS July 27th–30th! We’re looking for volunteers to help lead games, crafts, music, snacks, and all the fun along the way. No GPS required — just a willing heart and a sense of adventure! BONUS: Registration fees are waived for children of our tour guides & travel agents (aka volunteers)! Contact children@aldersgate.net with questions, and click here to register for the journey! < Previous Event Next Event >

Sign up to serve as an usher at worship on Sundays. < Back Ushers Sign up to serve as an usher at worship on Sundays. Ushers arrive 30 minutes before worship, light candles, greet worshipers, hand out bulletins, count & record attendance, present the offering at the altar, and deposit the offering in the Finance Office. Commitment is once every other month. Click Here to Sign-Up Please contact Steve Larkin at jstephenlarkin@gmail.com for more information. Ushers arrive 30 minutes before worship, light candles, greet worshipers, hand out bulletins, count & record attendance, present the offering at the altar, and deposit the offering in the Finance Office. Commitment is once every other month. Click Here to Sign-Up Please contact Steve Larkin at jstephenlarkin@gmail.com for more information. Previous Next

Donate food and drinks for Sunday Lunch at Rising Hope. EVENT INFORMATION < Previous Event Back to Upcoming Events Back Next Event > Sunday Breakfast at Rising Hope UMC LOCAL MISSIONS & OUTREACH Donation Drop-Off by Friday, June 12th. Lunch Served on Sunday, June 14th. Drop-Off Donations at Door #3 Aldersgate provides breakfast to the 50 or so worshippers at Rising Hope Mission Church on the 2nd Sunday of each month. We need your help! Volunteers are needed to donate breakfast foods and drinks and drop them off at the church at Door 3 by the Friday before our Sunday Lunch date. CLICK HERE to learn more about this ministry. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Julie Pfister . Aldersgate provides breakfast to the 50 or so worshippers at Rising Hope Mission Church on the 2nd Sunday of each month. We need your help! Volunteers are needed to donate breakfast foods and drinks and drop them off at the church at Door 3 by the Friday before our Sunday Lunch date. CLICK HERE to learn more about this ministry. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Julie Pfister . < Previous Event Next Event >

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. GIVE TO ALDERSGATE UMC Shepherd Hall 2023-2026 Campaign Repayment of Debt for Construction of Shepherd Hall "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." Psalm 23:1 The Shepherd Hall project included building Shepherd Hall; renovating existing classrooms; installation of new and higher capacity boilers and air conditioning for the entire church complex; and environmental site requirements, including the parking lot expansion and the installation of drainage sand filler. Total costs were approximately $4.6 million. The need for Shepherd Hall came because of an increase in the number of families in the community. Space was needed for the growing Sunday School attendance and the expansion of the Aldersgate Day School. The primary purpose was to support Christian education. Another use for the new building was much-needed storage. At that time, the church was overflowing with materials and equipment to support church activities. The third floor of Shepherd Hall was designed to provide sufficient storage. Shepherd Hall Testimonial Videos Campaign Commitments Campaign Information Packet FAQs Campaign Presentation Thank you for your contribution and commitment to Aldersgate UMC! The map of the church (above) shows the first two floors of Shepherd Hall at the bottom, inside the red box. The third floor, which is not shown, is used for storage. Shepherd Hall is a three-story addition to the church building that includes approximately 15,000 square feet of meeting and storage space. The addition is about 30% of the overall church building's space. Shepherd Hall includes the church library, where books on a variety of topics are available and where meetings of many church and community groups are held, Sunday School classes for children, youth, and adults, along with storage for the church, Aldersgate Day School, and the Aldersgate Church Community Theater. Our church community has been very generous and has given through several campaigns to support Shepherd Hall. As of October 21, 2025, the remaining debt is $783,476.31. *Updated October 2025* History of Giving Progress Report Current Status History of Giving Towards Shepherd Hall From 2010-2016, a total of $1,395,885.86 was given toward the Shepherd Hall project. The most recent campaigns (Building Lives Campaign in 2016-2019 - $857,829.94 and Growing Lives for the Future Campaign in 2023-2026 - $525,079.48) have brought in $1,156,561. In addition to this, $61,909 was contributed in "Mortgage May" in May 2022 against a goal of $10,000. The total paid from these campaigns of $2,775,795 reflects a significant amount of interest that has been paid over the lifetime of the loan. During that time, the principal has been reduced by a far smaller amount. We still have a long way to go.

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. GENERAL CONFERENCE 2024 After a four-year delay, the 2020 General Conference of the United Methodist Church will take place April 23rd - May 3rd, 2024, in Charlotte, NC. As stated in a UM News explanation of General Conference , “The United Methodist Church has no pope. But it does have a General Conference — the only body that can set official policy and speak for the international denomination. General Conference brings together lay and clergy delegates from four continents whose decisions will affect how millions of United Methodists do church for years to come." General Conference typically gathers every four years. General Conference was scheduled to meet in 2020. However, the global COVID pandemic resulted in multiple postponements of the 2020 General Conference. When the General Conference meets this April, it will have been eight years since our primary denominational governing body came together. Since the last meeting in 2016, the denomination has seen a quarter of its U.S. churches depart under a disaffiliation policy that began in 2019 and expired at the end of 2023. General Conference 2024 will determine what happens next in the United Methodist Church. In order to prepare our Aldersgate UMC family for the Town Hall meeting that will occur on May 19th following the 2024 General Conference, we are providing information and links to resources that have been compiled and vetted by the pastors, staff, and Equip ministries team. The following are resources that we believe provide accurate information about the upcoming General Conference. The Northern Virginia District invites you to pray for the upcoming General Conference. Each day from April 1- May 5 we offer the name of a person or persons (beginning with each VAUMC delegate) as well as a theme or idea to help focus your prayers. General Conference Prayer Calendar Post General Conference Panel Discussion The Virginia Conference held a post-General Conference Zoom webinar on Thursday, May 9th, at 7pm. The panel included Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson; Rev. Lindsey Baynham Freeman, head of the Virginia delegation; and delegates Rev. Mark Ogren, Marshall Bailey, and Rev. Dr. Jonathan Page. You can watch the webinar on the Virginia Conference YouTube Channel. Watch the Recorded Post-General Conference Webinar Due to the large volume of questions received during the webinar, a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) was created by the Virginia Conference Connectional Ministries Office. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) It is important to note that the deadline for disaffiliation has passed. Aldersgate UMC will not be considering disaffiliation in our Town Hall meeting. At this time, there is nothing to vote or decide upon regarding Aldersgate UMC's status until more information is received after General Conference. ALDERSGATE UMC'S PLAN April 14th, 21st, & 28th: We will offer a three-part sermon series on John Wesley's "Three Simple Rules". We invite you to read the book (available on Amazon and Cokesbury ) and follow along in prayer. April 17th: Clergy pre-brief for General Conference offered by our district leadership. Pastor Randy and Pastor Jon will participate in this. April 23 – May 3, 2024: The 2024 General Conference (also still being called the “2020 General Conference”) will take place in Charlotte, NC, to further discuss and vote on plans to address the issues under debate for the past eight years. May 8th: Following General Conference, there will be a debrief for all laity and clergy. This will be held via Zoom. Information on how to participate in this will be provided to the congregation when we receive it. May 19th: We will hold a Town Hall at to discuss what is next for Aldersgate UMC following the 2024 General Conference. More information on this Town Hall meeting will be provided as it comes together. This will be open to the entire congregation. HOW DID WE GET HERE? A TIMELINE May 2016: Divisions among delegates at the 2016 General Conference were apparent in regard to church teachings on marriage and human sexuality. A plan was approved to table all legislative action on human sexuality. The Council of Bishops was empowered to form a commission to study the divisions in the denomination and to come up with a plan. 2017 – 2018: Three plans emerged from the Commission on the Way Forward . The Connectional Conference Plan recommended re-organizing the church into two separate but connected entities. The One Church Plan (endorsed by the Council of Bishops) would allow conferences, clergy, and local churches to make their own decisions on same-sex marriage. The Traditional Plan recommended keeping all of the current language in the Book of Discipline and enforcing disciplinary actions such as removing openly gay clergy from their churches. February 2019: A Special Session of the General Conference was held to vote on the plans from the Commission on the Way Forward. The Traditional Plan was passed with amendments made and voted upon at the Special Session of the General Conference. Summer 2019: Following the decision of the 2019 Special Session of the General Conference, a number of Conferences in the United States passed resolutions against the Traditional Plan . A 12-person group of centrist, traditionalist, and progressive church leaders drafted a plan for the amicable split of the United Methodist Church denomination that would provide a future for the denomination, its local churches, and its clergy. This plan addressed issues such as ownership of church property, pastoral pension plans, etc. It was to be discussed at the 2020 General Conference. January 2020: A group of 16 United Methodist bishops and church leaders offered a proposal that would allow traditionalist-minded congregations to form a new denomination ; this plan included provisions for funding and allowed local congregations who disaffiliated to keep their local church property. March 2020: The pandemic caused the 2020 General Conference to be delayed – first until 2021, then until August/September 2022, then until April 2024. March 2022: The formation of the Global Methodist Church was announced, allowing adherents of the Traditional Plan to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church to join the Global Methodist Church. December 31, 2023: This was the last day that churches were allowed to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church. April 23 – May 3, 2024: The 2024 General Conference (also still being called the “2020 General Conference”) will take place in Charlotte, NC, to further discuss and vote on plans to address the issues under debate for the past eight years. WHAT IS GENERAL CONFERENCE? What is General Conference and what does it do? Watch this quick overview of the General Conference from the United Methodist Communications team and find out how it serves the United Methodist Church. You can find additional resources to learn more about General Conference in this "beginner's guide" to General Conference put out by UM News . ADDITIONAL INFORMATION RESOURCES Here are some additional helpful resources to learn more about General Conference: VA UMC Guide to General Conference General Conference FAQ Document published by the Virginia Annual Conference that describes the Christmas Covenant and the Regionalization Plan that may be voted on at the 2024 General Conference: Christmas Covenant Regionalization Plan WHAT IS "DISAFFILIATION"? This article will provide additional information on what "disaffiliation" is. It is important to note that the deadline for disaffiliation has passed. Aldersgate UMC will not be considering disaffiliation in our Town Hall meeting. Disaffiliation in the UMC: What You Need to Know WATCH PANEL DISCUSSIONS TO LEARN MORE Watch a panel discussion that took place at Floris UMC in Herndon, VA, on February 6th, 2024, about preparations and legislation related to the 2024 General Conference. Disclaimer: The panelists have similar viewpoints to one another in regard to the issues they are discussing, so it is somewhat less objective than other resources. However, there is an excellent description of the history of the contentious issues that may be addressed at the 2024 General Conference. Also, there is a lovely statement by our Bishop regarding the working of the Holy Spirit in us as we work together. Pastor Adam Hamilton moderates a panel of pastors who have started new churches in areas with disaffiliating churches. There is also a discussion with a pastor from a church in Africa about the issues faced by UMC churches in African countries.

Pre-order your plants with Rising Hope Plant Sale MISSION INFORMATION < Previous Back to Local Missions Next > Rising Hope Plant Sale "Hope Grows" Plant Pre-order Rising Hope will be partnering with their friends at Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture once again for their annual greenhouse operation. This year we will be taking pre-orders for a variety of plants that will be grown at Rising Hope to be planted and harvested by you in due season. They anticipate the plants will be ready to pick-up and plant in early May (aiming for May 10th). We hope you will get a head start as you plan your future gardens for the summer! To pre-order your plant, please click here . < Previous Next >

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. ALDERSGATE EVENTS CALENDAR Facility Use Request Full Calendar Upcoming Events Announcement Request

Courageously living and sharing God's unconditional love every day, with everyone, everywhere. CREATION CARE "The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it." Psalm 24:1 As Christians we are called to care for all of God's creation. As United Methodists, we believe that we are not called to merely be observers. Rather, we are called to actively love and tend to all of God's creation. The Social Principles of the United Methodist Church speak to the issues in the contemporary world from a sound biblical and theological foundation. One of the United Methodist Church's Social Principles is to care for the Community of All Creation . God has charged us to be stewards of God's creation. "Rather than treating creation as if it were placed here solely for humanity’s use and consumption, we are called to practice responsible stewardship and to live in right relationship with the Creator and with the whole of God’s creation (Gen. 1:26–31; Matt. 6:26–30; Rom. 8:22–24)." The Aldersgate Creation Care Team works towards living into the United Methodist Social Principle: Community of All Cration and our Aldersgate UMC Strategic Priorities of Missional Outreach and Social Justice. To help educate, disciple, and model ways to transform for the better those people and causes we seek to serve locally, nationally, and internationally. The Creation Care Team comes together every 2 months to find ways that Aldersgate can improve the way we care for God's creation. We talk about engaging this ministry in the following ways: Worship; Learning and Teaching; Lifestyle; and Community, National, and Global Involvement. Our key focus areas for 2025 are energy efficiency; native trees, shrubs, and flowers; and plastic reduction policy for Aldersgate UMC. We are open to all subjects and ideas for creation care education, events, and policies. Upcoming Meeting Dates Tuesday, November 11th • 1-2pm • Room 203 For more information, please contact Lorrie Rezendes (lorretired@aol.com or 571-309-6001). United Methodist Creation Justice Monthly Tips The United Methodist Creation Justice Movement provides tips each month to help us respond to God's call to care for creation and do justice with our neighbors. Share these tips with your family, friends, and neighbors. CLICK HERE to see more tips and to subscribe to receive the monthly tips in your email directly from the United Methodist Creation Justice Movement. For more about the UMC Creation Justice Movement, visit to umcreationjustice.org . July 2025 Tips July's Hot Topic is Heat! The effects of heat go deeper than just feeling too hot. Here are some cool tips for cooling off and consequently being kind to God’s creation, including people. From New Holland, Ohio, to New York City, communities are creating small parks and playgrounds. Research shows proximity to trees and green space does a lot of good, including keeping the air and tempers cooler. Look at your neighborhood for potential pocket parks. Then speak up to neighbors and local decision makers. As air temperatures rise, so do tempers. On hotter-than-normal days, nationwide, gun violence rises, robbing too many families of the lives of their children, teens, and parents. Work with others to identify “heat islands” and mitigate this justice issue. Plant a green oasis. Urban agriculture—cultivating crops within city areas—provides access to fresh and healthy food, reduces food’s carbon footprint, and creates a healthier social environment. People come together to transform rooftops, patios, backyards and front yards into gardens or simply to “stop by.” Either way contributes to the sense of a cool community. Air conditioners use a high amount of energy to cool a space, resulting in more greenhouse gas emissions. Ceiling fans, on the other hand, use minimal energy to circulate air and can make a room feel cooler without drastically reducing the temperature. Flip the switch to your fan. Work with nature this summer to stay cooler. Shut blinds and drapes where the sun beats down; open windows at night; amplify that breeze with a window fan. Take a cue from siesta cultures, where many people work morning and later afternoon, chilling out during the hottest hours of the day. Make your church’s property cooler. Consider removing the paving from a portion of the parking lot and planting trees in the newly reclaimed land. In the midst of urban heat-reflecting concrete and asphalt, a church with lots of trees stands out as an inviting sanctuary. Cool off the market for plastic. Refuse, reduce, and reuse strategies work; recycle is less available. Remember your reusable shopping bags; choose a non-plastic reusable drink container; buy bulk, refillable, or solid items such as shampoo bars that have no plastic packaging; switch to glass storage bowls; move away from “disposable” anything. Make it cool to be green. What you do and what you say have an impact on what others think and do. You have multiple circles of influence: family, friends, colleagues—even casual acquaintances and observers. Don’t hesitate to infuse your conversation with what is important to you. Cool your own temperature by reconnecting with nature. With life’s hot pressures assaulting you, take time to be in God’s creation to gain perspective and renewal. Shade offers a 10–15-degree respite from direct sunlight. Only seven states have laws to protect workers with outdoor jobs from extreme heat. Despite the dangers, others leave it up to employers to decide. Find out what safeguards are in place or not and advocate for lifesaving policies. Seek justice for those who cannot speak up for themselves.

Equipping people to be disciples of Christ. Ministries/strategies that each and develop growth and responsibility for each person's discipleship. EQUIP MINISTRIES EQUIP EQUIP EQUIP EQUIP Equipping People to be Disciples of Christ Equipping People to be Disciples of Christ Equipping People to be Disciples of Christ Equipping People to be Disciples of Christ Ministries/Strategies that teach and develop growth and responsibility for each person’s discipleship. Ministry Areas Children's Ministries Providing Christian education, service opportunities, and fun events for children through 5th Grade Student Ministries We welcome and embrace all youth in 6th through 12th Grades Confirmation Program Confirmation Program (6th Grade and up) Adult Opportunities Small groups and classes for all adults Prayer Team Intercessory Prayer Group serving you and your loved ones quietly behind the scenes Social Justice Team Helping educate, disciple, and model ways to transform for the better those people and causes we seek to serve locally, nationally, and internationally Creation Care Team Finding ways to be good stewards of all of God's creation To learn more about the Equip Ministries at Aldersgate UMC, please contact our Equip Team at equip@aldersgate.net .