Interested in joining?
We're so glad you are interested in learning more about being a part of our community.
We can pair you with someone to serve as a "shepherd" to introduce you and help you discover which ministries and volunteer opportunities are a good match for you. We can arrange a tour of the church so you can learn about our history and figure out how to navigate our campuses. Whatever we can do to answer questions or acquaint you with our community, we are ready and eager to help.
I'm interested in membership!
Use this form to reach our clergy. You can learn more about the church, find the date of the next New Member Event, or learn more about the process for joining our church as a member.
MEANING OF MEMBERSHIP
Membership at National United Methodist Church is open to all interested and engaged individuals who have been baptized and have professed their faith in Jesus Christ. We believe that faithful membership in the local church is important to personal and communal spiritual growth.
When a person becomes a professing member, he or she professes a faith in God, in Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. They publicly claim their faith and their desire to live as a follower of Jesus. Membership is a covenant between the church and the individual joining, and all members of Christ’s universal church are invited to share in the ministry of the church of Jesus Christ.
There is a hope and expectation that all who join will offer mutual love and care as we seek to extend radical hospitality, transform lives, and pursue justice. In the United Methodist Church, we live out that vision in the local church by participating through our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness.
As a part of the church universal, we believe baptism is a sacrament of initiation and incorporation into the body of Christ. Therefore, we recognize all Christian baptisms.
Welcome New Member - Sunday, January 15, 2023
Lauren Beshore:
A search for a spiritual home in Washington brought me to National UMC for the first time and the warm, welcoming and inclusive culture brought me back. I really enjoy the National UMC services and look forward to joining a community where God's peace and love are so present.
I was raised Catholic and have been baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church. My husband attended a Methodist church growing up and how he described his experience has always intrigued me. After exploring the Methodist faith more intentionally recently, I am excited to be joining a community that will allow me to deepen my faith and my commitment to service and fellowship.
I cherish my time with my husband and two young children, William (2 years) and Isabelle (2 months) and am blessed to be able to spend my free time with them. We enjoy time outdoors, getting together with friends and love a good laugh.
Welcome New Member - Sunday, January 8, 2023
Meet Lynne Welters and her daughter Raigan
Lynne and Raigan were introduced to National UMC by a family friend, Dr. Mary Ellen Lane, her husband Colin Davies, and a father of one of our ballet students, Thomas Laryea, Esq. When we attended one of the Wesley Campus services, they also learned that the Grandmother of another of our ballet student, Carolyn Maatta, attended as well.
When Dr. Mary Ellen Lane passed away, her family asked Ballet Elite dancers to pay tribute to her at the Service. While attending this event, Raigan and Lynne say they appreciated the special care that clergy displayed while performing the memorial.
“So many of the offerings and prayers reminded me of the Catholic Faith that I grew up in ... I felt completely comfortable and safe during this Service, and this feeling has remained with me, as I have joined other Sunday Services,” Lynne shared in a letter to the church. “Along the way, I have had the blessings to also know and work with members Paula Pree, and Rita Guenther at Wesley.”
Lynne and her daughters teach a small group of children classical ballet classes, and when they lost space at a nearby community building NUMC granted low-cost access to Wesley’s Fellowship Hall. Raigan explains that the safety and care she and her students have found at NUMC convinced her to consider joining the church.
“When we began also teaching children’s ballet at National UMC, we had to take the church’s safe sanctuary training. Growing up in the Catholic Church, and as a young adult, I lost my trust in the church’s failure to protect so many generations of innocent children from violation and harm. When we learned about the extraordinary effort NUMC has taken to secure that children are protected from harm , I felt safe and I believed that children will be safe and protected.”
Raigan also appreciates National UMC’s commitment as a Reconciling Congregation.
“I grew up in an artistic family. I also studied ballet with talented young men and women who are gifted in the arts and who where also gay. Many of those childhood friends came from strict Christian households and many of their family’s and church’s shunned them for being gay. It broke by heart. I learned that NUMC embraces all of God’s children and does not shun members of the community who identify as LGBTq.
In addition to running Ballet Elite, Lynne is the President of our Affordable Housing Coop Brightwood Gardens, Inc. She enjoys Classical Music, Opera, classic literature, and watching PBS on television. Her daughter Raigan also enjoys opera and other live theater especially Shapkespeare, and full length classical ballet. She also loves the outdoors and hiking with her family.
When asked whom she considers her “beloveds,” Lynne responded,
“I have taught and nurtured many generations of students, as a result of these many years of giving, my Beloveds are first My Heavenly Father, who continues to give me strength to continue, my family and daughters who continue to stand beside me to continue the journey with the arts, and my many former students who are Professional Artist and still come back to give their talents to the next generation of Young Dancers. Oh and for the latest Blessing in our lives, one year old baby, Buddy Ricardo.
Watch the video below to learn more about Esther and Tex and their child Rodney
Welcome New Member - Sunday April 3, 2022
Welcome New Members - Sunday March 13, 2022
Welcome New Members - Sunday February 6, 2022