Three Sunday Services on Boonsboro Road
Peakland United Methodist Church is on Boonsboro Road in Lynchburg, Virginia, where Sunday brings three distinct services under one roof. The earliest gathering is an 8:30 AM traditional service in the sanctuary, accompanied by piano and organ. A 9:45 AM Horizons Praise service meets in the fellowship hall, where the Horizons Praise Team leads a more relaxed setting with coffee and doughnuts and welcomes people to drop in before or after their own service for fellowship. A second traditional service follows at 11 AM in the sanctuary, where the Chancel Choir joins the organist and pianist, and the two instrumentalists play duets several times a month. A nursery for infants and toddlers is provided during all three services, and the 9:45 hour also includes Bible Alive, a Sunday-morning adult study that uses material from Cokesbury's Adult Bible Study Lesson Series and meets in Room 202.
The phrase that captures the congregation's calling is "Reaching Out, Serving All, and Extending God's Table," and communion is celebrated regularly in the Horizons service by Pat Thompson as communion steward. Lloyd Bryant coordinates communion at the 8:30 and 11:00 services. Visitors who want to see a service before they arrive can watch through the church's YouTube channel, which carries Sunday services and devotionals.
A Staff and Leadership Rooted in the Region
Peakland is led by a clergy and program staff with deep ties to Lynchburg and the surrounding counties. The pastor is Rev. David Drinkard, a native of Appomattox who attended Ferrum College and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University and has been a United Methodist pastor since 1978. He served as Lynchburg District Superintendent from 2001 to 2008, is a member of the Ferrum College Board of Trustees, and lives in Forest with his wife Linda. He continues to serve as pastor although retired from full-time appointment.
Rev. Andrew LaBar-Dietz serves as Deacon of Discipleship and Associate Minister. He is a fourth-generation clergyperson and a second-generation deacon in the Virginia Conference, a composer and church history enthusiast who describes himself as an agent of "holy chaos." Noémi Szigeti Lee, born and raised in Romania, is the Director of Sanctuary Music. She holds a Bachelor of Music from the Gh. Dima Music Academy of Cluj and a Master of Music in piano performance from the University of Alabama, and previously served as music director at Saint Thomas More Catholic Church. Rev. Jane Whitehead directs Senior Adult Ministries. A lifelong Lynchburg resident, she was raised at Rivermont Avenue Baptist Church and now oversees the Prime Timers program and the visitation team. Annie Williams, who grew up at Peakland and returned to Lynchburg to raise her family, directs Peakland Preschool.
Cindy Harding serves as Business Manager with more than twenty-six years of experience from other United Methodist churches in the area. Kim Ness has served as Church Administrator since September 2014 and also functions as Membership Secretary, facility manager, and the designer of the weekly bulletin and newsletter. Robert Armstead has been the church's custodian since 1987. The congregation's day-to-day ministry is shaped through a Common Table and lay-led committees that follow the structure laid out in The Book of Discipline.
Bible Study, Book Clubs, and Saturday Breakfasts
Adult formation at Peakland stretches well beyond Sunday morning. Bible Alive meets at 9:45 AM in Room 202 each Sunday. Two monthly book clubs draw readers across generations, one called Page Turners that meets on the second Thursday at various spots around the community, and one called BookWorms that meets on the third Thursday in members' homes from September through May. A Men's Breakfast gathers on Saturday mornings at 8 AM for food, devotion, and prayer. Ruth Circle, a women's fellowship that runs from September through May, meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 9:30 AM for study, fellowship, and service projects. The Book of Discipline calls the church to a "variety of small-group ministries" for the formation of Christian disciples, and these gatherings are where that vision takes shape at Peakland.
Peakland Preschool and the Next Generation
Peakland Preschool is a long-standing weekday ministry of the church, offered as a non-profit, educational program open to all children regardless of race, nationality, creed, or gender. Director Annie Williams grew up at Peakland and returned to Lynchburg with her husband Eddie to raise their two sons, both of whom are graduates of the preschool. The preschool maintains a dedicated online presence for enrollment information and can also be reached at peaklandpreschool@gmail.com.
Vacation Bible School is a major annual event that draws children from the congregation and the wider community. Volunteers and participants register through the church. Children's ministry and youth ministry round out the next-generation work, with Randall Carter serving as the Youth and Young Adult representative on the Mission Table.
Prime Timers and a Visitation Team for Older Members
Senior Adult Ministries at Peakland is a busy program in its own right. The Prime Timers gather monthly for a luncheon at Westminster Canterbury with members who live in residence there, and the Pastor's Tea, held annually in April, draws Prime Timers together for an evening of fellowship. Many Prime Timers take part in Page Turners, and the Cordelle Crist Circle of United Methodist Women keeps many of the women active in hands-on service. United Methodist Men meets weekly at 7 AM on Saturday mornings and welcomes many of the men of the church.
A ten-member visitation team visits roughly forty-five to fifty senior members who no longer attend in person, taking them to doctor's appointments, joining them for lunch on special occasions, going shopping with them, and bringing communion to those who cannot readily come to church. Rev. Jane Whitehead directs this work.
Reaching Out: A Network of Local Mission Partners
Peakland's mission work is organized through a Missions Committee that uses a clear set of criteria - accessibility, accountability, commitment, competency, equipping, evangelism, fiscal prudence, reliability, reporting, and respect for cultural differences - to evaluate every partner. Locally the church supports the American Red Cross, Lynchburg Daily Bread, the Rivermont Area Emergency Food Pantry (a Blue Ridge Area Food Bank partner), Park View Community Mission, the Interfaith Outreach Association, the Free Clinic of Central Virginia, Habitat for Humanity of Lynchburg, Beacon of Hope, Meals on Wheels, Rush Homes, Miriam's House, and the Salvation Army. A red wagon in the Jason C. Stanley Mission Corner of the church collects food donations on a rotating schedule: January, May, and September for Rivermont; February, June, and October for Lynchburg Daily Bread; and March, July, and November for Park View.
Nationally the church supports the Society of St. Andrew, internationally the Central Virginia Medical Mission Team and Village Mountain Mission, and in times of disaster the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Kits for Conference is a hands-on project in which members assemble menstrual hygiene kits and standard hygiene kits using conference packing lists, then contribute the relief supplies through the Virginia Conference.
Miriam's House: Dropping Off Dinner for Magnolia Street
Miriam's House, a Magnolia Street Supportive Housing program serving residents at 409 Magnolia Street in Lynchburg, is one of Peakland's most concrete ministries. A team of two to four volunteers prepares a meal for twelve to fifteen adults on the third Monday of January, March, May, July, September, and November, dropping the meal off by 4 PM at the Miriam's House office during its 9 AM to 4 PM hours. Containers must be disposable, no known food allergies are reported, and the residents enjoy leftovers. The program is coordinated by BJ McGraw, who can be reached at 434-258-2581. If volunteer support allows, the program grows to monthly deliveries.
Sixty-Seven Years of Scouting on Boonsboro Road
Peakland has hosted Scouting on its grounds for more than four decades and shows no signs of slowing down. Boy Scout Troop 29 and Cub Scout Pack 29 have met at the church continuously since 1959. Troop 29, made up of sixth graders who are at least ten and a half years old through eighteen-year-olds, numbers approximately fifty scouts and meets every Monday at 7 PM. Cub Scout Pack 29 includes boys in first through fifth grade organized into Tiger, Wolf, Bear, Webelos I, and Webelos II dens. Peakland also actively supports Daisy, Brownie, Junior, Cadette, and Senior Girl Scout troops, with individual groups meeting at various times during the school year.
The Columbarium and Memorial Garden
Peakland maintains a Columbarium with a Scatter Garden and Memorial Wall, all available to members of the church and their families. Placement of ashes is done as part of a religious service within the context of the United Methodist Church, as specified by the pastor. A faceplate on each niche records the name and dates of the deceased, and the Memorial Wall carries plaques with the same information. The cost of a niche is $2,000 and accommodates two persons; the Scatter Garden fee is $350, and the Memorial Wall plaque fee is $350. The Columbarium Committee, chaired by Elizabeth Austin, maintains the records, and reservations may be made in advance of need.
Music, Stewardship, and Joining the Congregation
Music is woven into every corner of the church's life. The Chancel Choir leads the 11 AM service with the support of the organist and pianist, the Horizons Praise Team leads the 9:45 AM service, and an organist-pianist duet is a recurring feature at 11. Altar Guild under Peggy Nolley and Flower Guild under Jan Hickey support the sanctuary, and a full Worship Table handles everything from acolytes to Lent and Advent coordinators. Stewardship at Peakland rests on the words of 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each one should use whatever gifts they have received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in various forms" - and on the United Methodist pledge of prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Giving is available through a secure online portal.
Those considering membership at Peakland can join through a profession of faith (often with baptism), a certificate of transfer from another United Methodist church, a transfer from another denomination, reaffirmation or restoration of faith, or baptism on its own. Baptisms from other churches are recognized. The church office is open Monday through Thursday from 8 AM to 4 PM and on Sundays from 9 AM to 9 PM.