Trip to DC - Day Three

Our last day in DC dawned with weather that was slightly warmer than the previous days. We got up and finished packing, then took our luggage on the Metro to the United Methodist building where we again met up with everyone for breakfast. After breakfast we started in on the last of our seminars. First we met with Bill Mefford, the member of the General Board staff who deals with Civil and Human Rights, and talked about immigration reform. Then we had an opportunity to talk with Pat Callbeck Harper, who worked with all the Bishops on putting together their most recent Episcopal letter and campaign concerning creation care. Our last session was one of sharing with Rev. Childers and Rev. Christie, reflecting on our time together and issues facing young clergy in other conferences. We then went to the Wednesday chapel service and concluded our time by having lunch in the cafeteria of the Dirksen Senate building.

When we left lunch, we headed out to catch the Metro at the South Capitol entrance and took it over to the Smithsonian exit. We wanted to visit the World War 2 Memorial, since it was built after our last visit to DC back in 2000. We walked along the mall and came up on the memorial, built at the end of the reflecting pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington memorial.

The view of the Washington Monument from the World War 2 Memorial.

This is as close to Jefferson as we got on this trip.

And as close as we got to the Smithsonian also!

After our little bit of touring we headed back to the UM building to pick up our luggage and then went back to Union Station to do a little shopping for the boys before catching the Metro back to Reagan. We got there in plenty of time to get through security and had time to relax and grab 5 Guys for dinner in the terminal before our plane boarded. A straight flight home to Orlando put us in at about 9:30pm and we finally pulled back home about 11:30pm. A long but excellent trip, and so glad we got to share this experience together.

Trip to DC - Day Two

Tuesday morning dawned bright and early. This time though breakfast was at the Methodist building and we were on our own to make it back on time. After breakfast was chapel. Our service was led by the Rev. Dean Snyder, pastor of Foundry United Methodist Church in DC. Afterwards we had a chance to visit and talk with him about his ministry. Our next seminar of the day was with Nawar Shora, a lawyer with the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee who talked to us about separating myth from truth around issues of Arab culture and the Islamic religion. Later we met with Jim Winkler, the General Secretary for the General Board of Church and Society, who talked with us about the mission and vision of the whole board.

Lunch this day was inside the Capitol Visitors Center. The security here was like the airport - take off your watch, shoes, jackets. Once we got inside though, this was our view of Emancipation Hall.....

Each state got to provide two statues and Alabama chose to honor Helen Keller with one.

After lunch we got special passes and a special escort to take us deep inside the Senate building to meet with the Rev. Barry Black, Senate chaplain. Rev. Black spoke/preached to us and took questions for a while. He was very interesting - he is the first career military man to serve as chaplain (retired 2 star Navy Admiral), the first person of color to serve as chaplain, and the first 7th Day Adventist to serve as chaplain.

The next part of the afternoon was optional and 2/3 of us decided to take the tour of the US Capitol Building.

The original Supreme Court chamber inside the Senate Building.

Inside the Capitol Dome.

Inside Statuary Hall.

A statue of an "Allen" from Ohio.
Frances Willard, a leader in the temperance movement and a Methodist from Illinois.

Dr. John Gorrie from Florida - who invented air conditioning!

Following the tour we all met back up at a place for dinner called Busboys and Poets. Named in honor of poet Langston Hughes (who had once been a busboy in DC), we ate dinner in a small theater. Up on the stage during our meal was an Palestinian activist being interviewed about his views on the conflict between Palestine and Israel.

After dinner we went back to the hotel to rest up for about an hour before meeting in the hotel lobby for a tour of the downtown and some of the monuments at night. Rev. Childers offered to take us and eight of us took him up on it - in a slight rain. We walked from our hotel and first up was the Treasury Building, followed by the White House.

Next up were Blair House and the Executive Office Building (EOB) which is under renovation.

We kept walking and walking and eventually ended up on the Mall and went through the Vietnam memorial before heading up to the Lincoln Memorial.

The Washington monument from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

By this time it was 11:00pm and freezing. So Rev. Childers got two cabs to take us all back to the hotel where we need to pack a bit and call it a night!

Trip to DC - Day One

Mommy and Daddy spent last Sunday evening through Wednesday in Washington DC, representing the Florida Conference at the General Board of Church and Society's Young Clergy Capitol Hill Leadership Forum. We flew out of Orlando on Sunday afternoon (last day of February) and landed at Reagan National Airport about 8:30. After finding our luggage, we took the yellow line of the Metro from the airport to our hotel in Chinatown, the Red Roof Inn.

Monday morning we were up bright and early. We met for breakfast in the hotel restaurant at 7:30am. There were 55 young clergy from all across the nation gathered together, most under the age of 35. And we met our leader, the Rev. Clayton Childers who works at the General Board as the Director of Conference Relations. Following breakfast, we all took the Metro together from Chinatown to Union Station. Then it was only a few blocks to walk south and east to the United Methodist Building.

The United Methodist building is on Capitol Hill in Washington DC. It has been there since 1923 and is the only non-governmental building on the hill. The land was a gift from some Methodists - the Welch family who makes Welch's grape juice.

The view of the Capitol from the steps of the United Methodist Building.

The view of the Supreme Court and the Library of the Congress from the United Methodist Building.

Inside the lobby.

There are some 14 apartments that are part of the United Methodist building, designed for use by folks on the Hill. Some of the past residents have included Al Gore's mother and Newt Gingrich. We did some orientation stuff when we first got to the building and then we had chapel inside the historic Simpson Memorial Chapel. It is dedicated to Bishop Matthew Simpson of Illinois, who preached President Lincoln's funeral. This chapel hosts open worship every Wednesday afternoon at 12:10pm for anyone on the Hill who would like to attend.

The rest of the day was a blur of seminars. Before lunch as a big group we did a seminar with the Rev. Neal Christie, who is the Assistant General Secretary for Education and Leadership Formation. He talked to us about "Assessing Ministries, Values, Beliefs and Needs in the Conference." Then we met with Susan Burton who is on staff as a seminar designer for groups who come to visit and study at the General Board to discuss our "Constellation of Relationships."
Then we were split into six different groups to help mix us up and encourage us to mingle during lunch - they brought in Armand's Pizza for lunch which was wonderful!!!!

After lunch we met with John Hill, a former corporate lobbyist who now works at the General Board as the Director for Economic and Environmental Justice. He talked to us about the federal budget as a moral document and walked us through an exercise trying to decide how to apportion the budget! Then for the rest of the afternoon our six groups were combined into three and we rotated our way through three one-hour seminars with different board staff members: Biblical and Theological Perspectives on Healthcare Reform, Clergy as Agents of Change, and teaching the Social Principles. By the time 5:00pm rolled around, everyone was exhausted!!!! But our day was not yet over. We traveled by Metro out to the Adams Morgan neighborhood and walked about a mile to get to an Ethiopian restaurant for dinner. Dinner was communal - a big bowl shaped table in the middle of four people. The seating was low footstools, but the tables still didn't come up to our knees! Much of what we ate was unidentifiable but good. Each table received a vegetarian combo and a meat combo. And there was no silverware - you unrolled this huge piece of spongy bread, pulled off chunks and scooped up the food out of the bowl.

After dinner was over we were on our own. We walked back to the Metro with a small group of folks by a different way, taking us through Dupont Circle. When we got back to Chinatown we decided to walk around a bit. Just around the corner from our Metro stop was the Verizon Center where the Washington Wizards play as well as a three story mall with a movie theater. We ended up getting some Haagen Dazs ice cream and heading back to our room to call it a night.

Weekend Wrap-Up

Sunday was a super busy day for Daddy. Worship in the morning, a visioning session after lunch and then leading worship at the Ocala Health and Rehab Center at 2pm! Unfortunately Daddy hadn't been feeling his best since Friday night; we think he has a sinus infection. Mommy took the boys for a Wendy's lunch after worship on Sunday morning and then the boys went with Mommy to the mall so she could get her nails done. They definitely kept all the folks at the salon entertained! We didn't do much of anything the rest of the day, just relaxed at home. Wesley and Mommy actually took a two hour nap together on the futon!

Since today was a holiday, neither of the boys had school. But instead of sleeping in, Mr. Wesley woke up at 6:00am! He and Mommy snuggled and managed to go back to sleep on the couch for a bit until Mr. Parker woke us up at 8:00am! We hung out in the house and ventured out for a late lunch at Steak N Shake! No movie theater for us today, but hoping to watch a movie tonight after the boys go to bed.

We've also been making some travel plans over the weekend. Friday afternoon Mommy and Daddy found out that we have been selected to represent the Florida Conference at the Young Clergy Capitol Hill Leadership Forum to be held in Washington DC from February 28-March 3.
The forum will take place at the General Board of Church and Society offices in Washington DC
that are located across from the Capitol building and next door to the Supreme Court. All of our expenses in Washington will be covered by the General Board; all we have to come up with is half of our registration fees and half of our airfare, as the conference will be helping with the other half. We are very excited to be going and representing the conference and looking forward to what we will be learning and experiencing while we are there.