Metropolitan Weekly Newsletter - Week of May 24, 2026
- Evan Taylor
- 2 days ago
- 9 min read
Metropolitan,
We encourage your presence this week in Morning Meditations with Metropolitan starting at 6:50 am for music and meditation Monday through Friday; and the Men's Prayer Call at 7:30 am on Monday; Comfort, Care, Lament and Share is Thursday at 7pm on Zoom; Noon Day and Pastor's Study is on break.
Engage in ministry with us - Take Action and Organize with Metropolitan; Order Your Copy of the Women of African Methodism Anthology; Morning Meditations with Metropolitan (May 25 - May 29); Register for MET Kids Activity for Families with Children 4 and Under (May 23); Register for the Child Safety Training at Metropolitan (May 30); Save the Date for Sankofa Supper (May 31); Humor and Humanity with the Immigration Ministry (June 7); 1st Quarterly Conference with Presiding Elder Vanetta Brice in Douglass Hall (June 10); Buy Your Tickets for the Metropolitan Scholarship Endowment Luncheon (June 13); Seniors Just Want to Have Fun (June 17); Join us and MarchOn for Toni x2: How Bambara and Morrison Reshaped the Literary Landscape.(June 20).
Need to join via phone? You can dial in for an audio-only livestream at 1-929-205-6099, 975804722.
Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel and you'll be notified every time we are live. You can subscribe here: https://www.youtube.com/metropolitaname.
Transportation will be available on the first and third Sundays of each month. Services may be expanded to other Sundays based on the demand. If you are interested in transportation to and from the church, please contact Ellen and Tyrone Fizer at 301-579-2482. We look forward to serving you and helping you get to church with ease!
The Freedom Table will be made available most Sundays in Lee-Glover conference room (except Sundays when there are post-worship events/activities) for families that need to step out of the Sanctuary for a freedom space for active students while still being able to watch service. Middle and high school students are needed to help set up and clean up in exchange for student service hours.
Please e-mail Youthministry@metropolitanamec.org for the Schedule and Volunteer information.
Join us for the Sacred Memory Fellowship MET Kids Playdate on Saturday, May 23, 2026, from 11:00 AM–1:00 PM at Junior Playland (PG Mall), 3500 East-West Hwy, Suite 1433, Hyattsville, MD. This FREE event is designed for families with children ages 4 & under to build community, connect with other MET families, and enjoy a fun-filled afternoon together while our little ones play.
Register to join us here: https://bit.ly/MAMEC4andUnderActivity
The Metropolitan A.M.E. Church Scholarship Endowment Payne-Tanner Memorial will host its 33rd Annual Scholarship Awards Luncheon at Metropolitan on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. The program will feature Keynote Speaker, Dr. Satira Streeter Corbitt, founder and Executive Director of Ascensions Psychological Services, Inc. and author of Black Genius: A Guided Journal Through History and Affirmation, music by the N Tyme Ensemble, and a contemporary dance performance by The Met Fresh Fire, under the leadership of Ms. Britney Jones.
The Scholarship Endowment appreciates your support of our deserving youth who demonstrate scholastic achievement and financial need. Ticket donations of $50, and other contributions are greatly appreciated and can be made online at Eventbrite.com:
Comfort, Care, Lament and Share is Thursdays at 7pm., If you are in need of prayer, emotional support, or just looking for someone to hold space with, Sis. Satira, Sis. Flavia, or Rev. Brandon Cox will make ourselves available via email/Zoom as needed.
Housing Notice: Please note that there are individuals in our community currently seeking rooms to rent or housing. If you have leads or are able to assist, please contact the church office.
Update: There is some housing available in DC's SE quadrant. Contact the Church office for more information.
Please join us this week, Monday-Friday for “Meditations with Metropolitan.” Join us at 6:50am for music with the meditation starting at 7 am.
This week's meditation leaders are as follows:
Monday, May 25 - Rev. Cozette Thomas
Tuesday, May 26 - Sister Janet Oakley Huggins
Wednesday, May 27 - Rev. A. Kazmir Brown
Thursday, May 28 - Sister Linda Jefferson
Friday, May 29 - Sister Jacqueline Coleman
As always, To sign up to offer a meditation or share your prayer requests, email the Morning Meditations team at prayer.metro1518@gmail.com.
The Men's Prayer Call is a sacred space where brothers can share and explore their relationship with God in Christ Jesus. All brothers are encouraged to join.
The call will be every Monday Morning from 7:30 am – 7:45 am on Zoom.
Meeting ID: 767 5679 7276
Passcode: y28Ma2
Train up your child in the way they should go and when they are old they will not depart from it. Church School meets each Sunday morning at 8:30 am, and concludes at 10am in Douglass Hall. There are classes available for EVERYONE! We will be excited to see you in attendance!
The Metropolitan AME Veterans Council is a ministry that supports military service members, veterans, and their families by providing information and prayerful support. All service members, veterans, and family members are invited to attend. Join us on the second Wednesday of each month at 6pm. For more information, please contact Dr. Bryon L. Garner at bryongarner@gmail.com.
The Youth and Family Ministry is in need of amazing people like you to serve for upcoming events and other additional projects. Please scan the QR Code and to share your interest and availability.
The Lamp Oil of Black Women and African Methodism anthology is now on sale!
The collection features section introductions from Bishop Francine A. Brookins, Bishop Erika D. Crawford and Rev. Debyii L. Sababu-Thomas, Ph.D., contributions from women and girls of Metropolitan ranging in age from 7 to 97 and three women clergy on Metropolitan's ministerial staff, a litany written by Rev. Evan Taylor, a foreword by Rev. William H. Lamar IV, and a special first note extracted from an interview with Rev. Dr. Marie Phillips Braxton conducted by Dr. Dora Muhammad, the editor of the publication.
Are you currently working with ministries for youth at Metropolitan or desire to get involved with church school and/or ministries serving our youth?
This is training is for you.
This training is mandatory for all current church school and youth ministry volunteers. This training will cover Metropolitan’s Child Abuse Prevention Policy, required background clearance procedures, and Safe Shores “Stewards of Children” certification to ensure all volunteers help create a safe and protected environment for our children and youth.
Have questions? Contact Rev. Thomas A. Brackeen, Jr., for more information at Thomas.Brackeen@metropolitanamec.org
A Heartfelt THANK YOU from Metropolitan Faith Action Committee!
We are overflowing with gratitude for every member and friend of Metropolitan AME Church who joined us at the Candidate Forum for Congregations in Washington, DC held in partnership with the Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) last Sunday, May 17. What a powerful demonstration of faith in action!
This incredible effort was co-led by Sis. Tiffany Ferrette and Sis. Celeste Bryant, alongside a dedicated committee of volunteers whose commitment to justice and community never wavered. Together, we stood in solidarity as a delegation of 75 members and friends of Metropolitan. We showed up, spoke out, and collectively acted on behalf of our community.
We also want to extend a very special thank you to Pastor Lamar for his unwavering commitment to FAC’s 100% Voting Congregation Campaign. Your leadership inspires us all. Thank you, Rev. Cozette, your presence at Union Temple Baptist Church was important to us.
To everyone who made this possible, THANK YOU! This is not the end. This is just the beginning.
Are you passionate or curious about social justice? We can’t wait to meet you! Consider joining Metropolitan's Faith Action Committee and be part of the change. For more information, see Sis. Joy Masha.
Join Metropolitan's new Faith Action Committee and our 2026 DC Primary Election Voting Activations. Use the linktree to access sign-up forms and learn more.
Our first initiative in partnership with WIN -Washington Interfaith Network is a 100% Voting Congregation Campaign. Through this effort, we are committing to:
Help register people to vote and ensure that every member of our congregation is registered;
Adopt a DC polling site (we need 14 volunteers to sign up, get trained, and work the polls the day of the election);
Host (4) listening sessions so that the voices and concerns of our community are heard; and
Commit our congregation's participation in the mayoral candidate forum on May 17 that WIN will host for the faith community. Organized people make organized demands.
The DC primary is less than 90 days away on June 16, with Virginia and Maryland not far behind on June 23 and August 4 respectively.
Sign up for the Immigration Ministry’s monthly newsletter! As we celebrate one year of service and prepare for a second year of ministry growth, we are replacing monthly emails with a digital link to make it easier for readers to share the information as we build a fresh listserv of supporters and partners. On Sunday, June 7, look for our anniversary leaflet—we are pivoting from a one-day fellowship to the launch of our youth resilience programming for the summer and fall under our theme, Humor & Humanity. We invite all ages to engage in our collaborations with various ministries, beginning with Vacation Bible School in July. The leaflet provides details highlighted with photography centering youth by Metropolitan’s Video Director Demetrice Jones and Immigration Ministry Co-Lead Dora Muhammad.
You’re Invited to join the Pearl C. Cook Senior Citizens Club for “Seniors Just Want to Have Fun” on June 17, 2026 at 11 am in Douglass Hall. Tickets are $25. For more information contact Sis. Barbara Robinson at bar1912@verizon.net.
TONI x 2: How Bambara and Morrison Reshaped the Literary Landscape
Film Screening + Panel Discussion + Mini Publishing Workshop
In partnership with Metropolitan AME Church, March On! presents Toni x 2 — an afternoon exploring the powerful creative connection between two of the most influential figures in American literary history: Toni Cade Bambara and Toni Morrison.
At the heart of this program is the dynamic relationship between Toni Cade Bambara and Toni Morrison — two women whose collaboration transformed both literature and cultural life. Their partnership stands as a powerful example of how writing and editorship together can influence culture and advance social change.
Following the screening, filmmaker Louis J. Massiah will be joined by Dana A. Williams, author of Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer's Legendary Editorship, for a panel conversation and mini publishing workshop moderated by acclaimed author, literary coach, and founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, Marita Golden. Together, they will explore the legacies of both Tonis and reflect on the critical role of editors, writers, and cultural leaders in shaping the stories that define our world.
📅 Saturday, June 20, 2026 🕒 3PM (doors open at 2:30PM)
📍 Metropolitan AME Church, Douglass Hall · 1518 M Street NW, Washington DC 20005
🎟 $ Pay what you can! Buy your tickets here: http://tonix2.marchonfest.org/
Choose the price that works best for you — all tickets include full access to the event.
Your contribution keeps this work alive and accessible for our entire community
Have something to share with the congregation? Please send ALL announcement information to announcements@metropolitanamec.org. Blurbs should be no longer than 75 words. Announcements can be submitted by Tuesday for the following week OR by the 4th Sunday for the next month.
Stay connected to what’s unfolding in Metropolitan’s young adult community.
If you’re interested in leadership opportunities, faith formation, service projects, fellowship gatherings, and upcoming events, sign up to receive the RAYACNewsletter for monthly updates.
Be the first to know what’s happening—and how you can be part of it. Sign up here.
Do you have Instagram or Tik Tok? Be sure to follow our Youth and Family Ministry at @yafmamec to stay in the know!
We are at a pivotal place globally, politically, and spiritually. Our world is beautiful yet broken; holy, yet not fully healed. We have weathered similar storms with grace and strength, and we shall do so again. This is our moment to proclaim the unlimited power and majesty of our God.
All encumbrances must be eliminated so we can be an even stronger voice and catalyst for justice, livable wages, affordable housing, and food security.
We must liquidate the mortgage we assumed several years ago to restore the beauty and physical health of our beloved Metropolitan. Once free, we will have additional energy and resources to further our work to make manifest God’s reign here on earth.
In this moment, Metropolitan has a mind to work.
Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1838. From its founding, Metropolitan AME Church, has and continues to do what other churches will not. We are known locally, nationally, and internationally, to be deeply spiritual and deeply engaged in the world. From anti-slavery leadership in the mid-19th century, in the harboring of runaway slaves, to organizing power, people and money toward the flourishing of all people in the District of Columbia today. Metropolitan has been not just a significant center of worship, but also an institution in the forefront of the civic, cultural, and intellectual life among African Americans and others. Today, Metropolitan is focused on theologically sound teaching and preaching in worship; combatting food insecurity through our Food Bank; addressing ecological devastation by addressing heat islands in metropolitan cities with Smart Surfaces Coalition; equipping parents and families with culturally responsive and biblically grounded teaching through the Sankofa project; and building Black Equity and Wealth through Homeownership, prioritizing community safety and holding political leaders accountable with Washington Interfaith Network.
-Pastor William H. Lamar IV
We're grateful for your generosity.
There are several ways to give:
via check mailed to Metropolitan AME Church, 1518 M Street NW, Washington, DC. 20005;
via Credit card: on our website and via Realm;
via Text: To text to give, text “metro1518” to 73256;
“Truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Let us continue to lift each other in prayer - please pray for those experiencing grief or in need of health, strength, and healing. Lord, hear the prayers of your people.
Have a prayer you would like to share in community, you can leave your prayers on our prayer wall here.
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