our church
our worship experience
We have a blended contemporary and traditional Service that begins at 10:30 am. It is followed by Fellowship Hour every Sunday. We serve Communion on the first Sunday of the month. The dress is casual. Many lay servants work together with our pastor to ensure the flow of the service give glory to God. Our typical worship flow is:
Call to Worship
Two Praise Songs
Prayer of Confession, Words of Assurance & Opening Prayer
Hymn
Prayer of Illumination
Reading(s)
Message
Special Music
Prayer
Offering
Communion (on the 1st Sunday of the month, or special occasions)
Closing Song
Benediction
OUR pastor
Rev. Ariel Ferrari, PhD
Welcome my friends! I have felt so blessed to serve at Buckeystown UMC since July 2022, that I have decided to continue serving as pastor. After retiring from full time ministry more than a decade ago, I never felt that I would be in a position to again serve as a pastor. I felt so welcomed and energized by the congregation, well, I just want to stay!
I was born and raised in Argentina. I graduated from Union Theological Seminary, Buenos Aires and was soon ordained an elder by the Methodist church. While serving my second congregation in Buenos Aires, I was granted a doctoral scholarship by Southern Methodist University in Texas to work on my Religion and Culture education. I moved to New York to pastor Spanish-speaking churches in Queens and Brooklyn after earning a Master’s degree in Religion. Four years later I was appointed to English-speaking congregations, retiring from active travelling ministry while serving as senior pastor of First UMC, Greenwich, CT.
I returned to school halfway through my pastoral ministry to earn a PhD degree in Spanish Language and Literature from the Graduate Center, C.U.N.Y. I taught at Queens College and Kings College and translated many educational and inspirational resources for several United Methodist agencies and partners, including the General Board of Global Ministries, the Women’s Division, the General Conference, The Upper Room, and the National Plan for Hispanic Ministries.
I continue to translate and additionally provide ACT and SAT tutoring. Quite often I preach on Sundays and enjoy traveling, photography, good movies, and soccer. I love ministry and, above all, fellowship and service in, and through ministry.
I moved to Gaithersburg, MD after retiring from active ministry to be near my family in Northern Virginia. I have two sweet daughters – Alejandra Ruth and Natalia Rocio, and two even sweeter grandchildren – Tyler Esteban and Francesca. They live in Arlington and McLean, VA.
I am blessed to serve the people and minister to those members not able to attend regular worship services. I look forward to a fruitful time together.
Our history
Our church has a long and rich history in Buckeystown. We celebrated our 125th year homecoming anniversary in 2021. In preparation for the celebration, we created a historical booklet. To view it in full display or download, click the pop-out icon in the upper right to open in a new tab.
Our Staff & functions
Church Council
Chair - Terry Orrence
The council consists of chairs from the various committees, groups, and key church functions. It generally meets once a month to hear each representative’s reports and discuss the previous month’s business and church life. In addition, it discusses current and future church life and votes on direction, financial decisions, and events. The meetings are announced and are open to anyone in the congregation. Special topics are brought from outside the committees for council awareness and action. They weigh proposed initiatives and present them to the congregation to gauge support.
Worship Committee
Chair - Sarah Alderman
The committee is concerned with the spiritual well-being and growth of the congregation through messages, service flow, music, special events, witnessing, and scheduling. The committee discusses and plans the liturgic calendar to provide ample time for planning. The committee discusses laity involvement and leadership, ensuring opportunities to stretch and serve the church.
Trustee
Chair - Doug Hering
The trustees are responsible for addressing the property, including the church, parsonage, clothes closet/food pantry facility, and grounds to keep them in good repair and maintain safety. Up to a certain expense, they execute a budget to meet the needs of the church. They seek proposals and rapidly approve work related to safety or to prevent further damage. They schedule or arrange workdays for property management.
Missions
Chair - Pat Strawder
Focuses our church energies to extend our impact into His church beyond the walls of our church. Coordinates activities such as an ongoing donations program, monthly Rescue Mission evening meals, monthly opening of the clothes closet/pantry, attends Frederick County charity awareness and coordination meetings. Coordinates activities such as ongoing donations for our “Giving Tree” and local organizations. Read more on our Ministry page.
Finance
Chair - Greg Chatfield
Maintains accountability of the church’s financial holdings and investments. Develops and maintains policies for receiving various types of gifts. Maintains and advises on our Endowment Fund.
Staff-Parish Relations
Chair - Ron Stouffer
The single point of contact in dealing with the church employees: Pastor, Music Director, Janitor, and Childcare. Performs annual reviews by taking various inputs and observations to manage expectations. Proposes changes in salaries. Completes and submits required Baltimore-Washington Conference reporting. Takes a median role to address disputes involving the employees.
Communications
Chair - Carl Kaempfer
Extends our church events into the community via advertisements in free-press, paid press, and social media per the direction of the Church Council. Proposes announcements and their timing.
Treasurer
Chair - Sherry Stouffer
Maintains awareness of the day-to-day income and expenditures. Manages accounting of the church’s budget, proposed purchased, donations, and bills. Reports monthly activity and alerts the Church Council of issues that impact the financial well-being. Works closely with the Finance Committee in managing our funds.
United Methodist Men
Chair - Ron Stouffer
An association of men that worship or have attended BUMC. They meet primarily for Christian Fellowship and act as a body to perform needed functions of the church. Typically, they hold a breakfast on the first Saturday of the month at 8am. During these sessions, they engage in conversation and offer support for each other and their families. They will either discuss a current topic as it relates to a walk with Christ or work on a topical guided study. They also work together with assistance from others to hold an annual Pancake Supper on Shrove Tuesday and hold a sandwich sale in the Fall. Proceeds collected are used for the needs of the church or its members. Their funds are tracked by the Treasurer.
Buckeystown Women
Chair - Judi Perry
An informal group of women who worship or have attended BUMC. They meet primarily for Christian Fellowship and act as a body to support children and families in need. They work together to occasionally perform fundraising in the form of craft sales and support other church functions associated with BUMC Concerts, Pancake Suppers, Strawberry Fests, Vacation Bible School (VBS), and Souper-Bowl Sunday. We have a Sunshine Group that provides cards, notes and other items for encouragement. See our Ministries and Missions page for more.
Nominations
Chair - Pastor Ferrari
Works with the Church Council to identify servant gaps and discuss relief of those with long-standing tenure on the various committees. Provides the nominations for those seeking certification as Lay Servants and Lay Speakers to serve BUMC.
Education
Chair - Dakota Muir
A group of Sunday School Teachers, special topic study facilitators and VBS crews. They occasionally meet to discuss lesson plans, themes, and calendar events such as children’s presentations, recognition, Ladies’ Tea, and Father’s Day Dads, Dudes, and Donuts. They submit proposals to the Church Council for approval. They work on projects that benefit people inside and outside of the church.