Building Campaign
Building on the Cross: Phase I Construction Complete, September 2011
See photos from the Building on the Cross Celebration!
A Space for the Sacred: Celebrating Completion of Phase I 
Much joy is in the air as we approach Sunday, September 25 and the week following, in which we celebrate the completion of Phase I of our Building on the Cross project. For more than three years we have been laboring to plan and complete this important step for the future. We remain grateful to the Building Committee with its present chairs, Bob Wilson and David Lingrell. We likewise give thanks to Mickey Cochran and Rick Kenny who played central roles in the formation and shaping of the present project. Particularly we lift up our local "project watcher" Clyde Curtis, who with his huge construction background has kept vigil for this important transition project into the future. Kudos to all these and to the many financial contributors to this expansion of our facilities. Now the time is come to see "what great things have been done" with the celebration and dedication events scheduled from Sunday, September 25 through Friday, September 29. Scott Fulton‟s music, the service of dedication, a down-home "pig and chicken" roast and an hour of music by the talented young in our midst, kick off the activities. Other "goodies" from members of the congregation and open-houses for the many ministries are offered to showcase DUMC in action. Please join us with whatever time or interest you have. We have much to be thankful for in our spiritual "body of Christ" known as Damascus United Methodist Church.
Overwhelmed and grateful for being your pastor,
Walter G. Edmonds
Interim Success at Last! 
The concept of building a new education wing at DUMC had its beginnings back in 2003 at the Futuring Conference with Rev. Dr. Stanley Menking. Enthusiasm began to build when we saw that the congregation was growing and space was at a premium. There was an emphasis on increasing the number of adult small groups and enlarging the preschool. We also noticed that parking and traffic flow were increasingly problematic, and might even hamper future growth.
By early 2005 the Building Committee was formed, and eventually the site plan was presented, including an elegant brick labyrinth that became the focal point for Phase I.
Some of you may recall the groundbreaking ceremony in 2008 to celebrate the progress – the whole church was needed to help pull Dorothy Warfield‟s potato plow and get the job started in the courtyard.
The final drawings were sent to the county for approval in late 2009 as Dakota and I were making the difficult choice to move away from Damascus for a new job. Dave Lin-grell graciously took over my role and saw the construction por-tion of the project through its comple-tion over the past year and a half. It has been a long process, but one that is filled with memories of friends and neighbors that have helped us finish Phase I. While we have only been able to visit a few times, the occasional pictures of the construction pro-gress have been wonderful news in my "inbox."
Phase II of the project is ready to go as soon as the members of the church think it is time – including plans for more than a dozen classrooms, a new kitchen, stage, and a large meeting room that can double as a gymnasium, along with plenty of space for preschool expansion and more parking. I am very optimistic that Phase 2 can be started relatively soon – the church we found in California is about the same size as DUMC and just finished a surprisingly similar $6 million building project a few years ago. They took on significant debt, but have made it through the most difficult part of the economic downturn and are starting to thrive again. I am convinced DUMC will continue to grow and will soon be bursting at the seams again, looking for places to host all of the exciting ministries that this church supports. Dakota and I can‟t wait to come back for a visit to Damascus in a few years to see the new education wing! Until then, Godspeed and know that we think of all of you often.
Yours in Christ from afar,
Rick Kenney
Construction and Completion
After five long years of planning, design, and repeated County, WSSC, and Maryland National Capital Park and Planning Commission reviews and delays, our project was approved.
Finally, in September, 2010, we received our site work construction permit. A construction contract was awarded to the low bidder, Construction Trade Services (CTS), John Tomasini, President, and the site grading began in October. Inexplicable delays by Montgomery County resulted in delayed issuance of the general construction permit until January, 2011, causing delays to the concrete footings, courtyard development and relocation of the pavilion until after winter weather had broken. Spring brought good weather permitting those activities to progress, followed by final grading, storm water management facilities and site paving.
As we moved forward on this project, we successfully accomplished our Phase I program within the budget goal of only using cash on hand raised from the initial Building on the Cross fund drive.
When we reflect on all these setbacks and lengthy delays to Phase I, even though they were exasperating and costly, we now see light at the end of the tunnel, and can enjoy our new facilities as we look to the future of Damascus United Methodist Church.
As possible next steps, we estimate an additional need of approximately $400,000 to complete the passageway and stairway to enclose the end of the courtyard as originally envisioned as part of Phase I. This would certainly improve our traffic patterns within the church and enhance the courtyard. We also anticipate expenditures for additional landscaping for replacing disturbed memorial gardens, etc., as well as large moveable planters to soften and naturalize the appearance of the courtyard.
David Lingrell
Walk the Labyrinth 
Walking our beautiful new stone pathway located in the courtyard symbolizes a sacred pilgrimage to God. The labyrinth may be used to pray, to help relieve stress or to work through grief or other life issues. Unlike a maze, the labyrinth has only one path which leads to the center and out again. Walking the path can represent a spiritual practice of letting go of daily concerns and opening one's self to God's healing presence as one approaches the center. As one retraces the path from the center, the insights received are now seen in the light of one's relationship with God and are then incorporated into one's life and living. At the most basic level, walking the labyrinth focuses the attention, stills the mind, and quiets the breathing.
May God abundantly bless your journey!
Linda Motter
Please, no food or drink on the labyrinth.
Reflections on the Process
In February 2005, the Administrative Board appointed Mickey Cochran and Bob Wilson co-chairs of a building committee. The task of the committee was to develop a comprehensive growth plan for the campus and facilities of Damascus United Methodist Church.
The capital stew-ardship firm, Cargill and Associates, was selected to help us with a capital campaign. We selected the name Building on the Cross as our theme. The first big event was our Infocus Workshop which was held in March 2006. Over 100 members of our congre-gation participated in discerning God‟s vision for our church and de-fining our priorities. Us-ing this information, the Building Committee de-veloped a Master Plan for the campus. November 2006 saw the beginning of the Building on the Cross Capital Campaign. Pledges were collected in excess of 2 million dollars.
Our architects, WWMRC, began to convert our vision into blueprints and the scope of Phase I came into fo-cus. We selected Dewberry and Davis to accomplish our site engineering and the process got underway.
Much has happened in our world since then. Enron, Mortgage derivatives, TARP, and the collapse of the housing bubble are a few examples. The boom times were quickly forgotten. Many faced difficult times of unemployment and uncertain futures. For the first time in the memory of many of us, our church faced difficult financial decisions. The vision began to get clouded by all the distractions.
In January 2008, the Building Committee made a decision to modify Phase I. By this time, we had received nearly 1 million dollars of donations. We determined that we would accomplish only that which could be paid for with the cash on hand. We were careful to make only additions that would not add any significant burden to our ongoing operating expenses. The vision came back into focus, and some of the uncertainty of our project was diminished.
The project was back on track, but the struggles and delays were not over. We discovered that the reforestation easement which had been granted to DUMC years ago was never recorded by the MNCPP. It took nearly two years to unravel, and we owe significant gratitude to Roy and Kathy Stanley for providing property to be designated as our reforestation site. To describe all the hurdles we had to clear would fill many more pages.
When one considers the events that Damascus United Methodist Church has endured over nearly 200 years, the travails of this project pale in comparison. For example, we survived a catastrophic fire, collapse of building in a violent storm, and remained united through a civil war. Yet what we have overcome shall soon be forgotten – as it should. What is important is that we have continued to lay a strong foundation for the future. After all, we do these things not for ourselves but for those who will come after us, following the example of the men, women and children who gathered in the name of Christ for many years before us. They also made commitments and sacrifices to provide us with the house of worship we enjoy today. The property and the facilities do not belong to us, but to God. These grounds and buildings are a gift to us. Isn‟t it true that proper stewardship of these gifts is a way that we can fully participate in the body of Christ?
It is a testament to our faith to see Phase I come to completion. We express appreciation to all those who worked many hours and sacrificed much to make this happen. It would be impossible to properly commend all who contributed. With apologies to many others who are deserving, I will mention the following names; Co-Chairs Mickey Cochran, Rick Kenney and Dave Lingrell, Secretary and Editor Cathy Heinbaugh, Building on the Cross Capital Campaign Chair Don Hecht, resident supervisor Clyde Curtis, and pastors Walt Edmonds, Stephen Ricketts and Linda Motter.
Bob Wilson