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CCC NewsNotes May 28, 2002 On Stewardship: Let's Complete The Miracle, Thanks to CCC Volunteers, A New Mission Statement For A New Church Era, Summer Camp At Shaw, Piano Concert On May 31 To Benefit Building Fund, "Treasure or Trash" Event Helps Support Families, Muslim Community Invites Area Churches, Choirs In Concert June 2, Summer Camp Deadline, Coming Events At CCC, News Notes Deadlines, CCC Staff On Stewardship: Let's Complete The Miracle From Rev. Jim Todhunter Two years ago, Mable Elliott said from the lectern at stewardship time that it would take a miracle for us to successfully fund this tremendous building program, so we better start praying! She was right. We prayed and worked, and the miracle has happened. It has been a year and a half of miracles. Look at them. We have exceeded our Keystones goal of $2 million. We have just completed a stewardship campaign that will surely be, when all the pledges are in, the most successful in CCC's history. And this has happened in a year when we are still paying down our Keystones pledges! And (I think God is telling us something), last February we met a special pledge goal of $74,000 for the organ upgrade in one week! Our challenge now, which I likened unto the battle of Jericho on Sunday, is to complete the miracle. Our challenge is to bridge the gap between what we have pledged already and the most demanding unified operating in CCC's history. Our challenge is to fully fund a 2002-2003 budget that maintains our level of program, mission and pastoral care while starting to service the debt. And the fact is, we can do it. We really can! Wouldn't it feel great to enter this new fiscal year knowing that we had met this challenge? Wouldn't it be terrible to feel like we were groaning under the weight of oppressive debt? Well, I believe we can do it. Again, look at what we have accomplished, especially in this stewardship campaign, arguably the most truly spiritual we have ever had. Of the current 185 pledges, 99 have increased and 47 have stayed the same (with only 14 decreases). This is amazing. In fact, it is phenomenal (Dave Main's word)! And this happened while we were in the wilderness. We are currently looking at a challenge of less than $60,000, less than we raised in one week's pledging for the organ. In this phenomenal year, let's complete the miracle. How great it will feel to celebrate our special Recovenanting Ceremony on June 9, knowing that now we can really be the church we are called to be. With a strong unified budget, we can make good on the real heart and soul and, frankly, fun of being CCC. In that spirit, and speaking for ourselves, Lois and I have decided to increase the pledge we have already made for the 2002-2003 budget by 15 percent. I announced that in worship this last Sunday, wrote a note and put it in the offering plate. We are among those who had increased their pledge, and Keystones is stretching us, but the fact is, it feels terrific to do this! Think about joining in this spirit with us. You could just jot it down on a piece of paper, or use a pledge card from the church pews and put your pledge in the offering plate. Ruth Avery has pledge cards in her office, or you could even send Dave Main an e-mail (Maind@ix.netcom.com). If you haven't pledged yet, please take this opportunity to do so now. If you want to increase your pledge by a percentage, we will gladly do the math! We are almost there. Like the battle of Jericho, what broke down the walls, what annihilated the obstacles for the people of God were praise, joy and faith. True generosity and great vision spring from these. Love, Jim We wish to express our appreciation to the many volunteers who pitched in and helped get our beautiful new church back together so that we could hold our first service there on Sun., May 19. These dedicated people worked weekends in advance, and a huge group worked Sat., May 18 to produce an amazing one-day change in the church. Thanks to everyone! Randy Caswell, Building & Grounds Committee A New Mission Statement For A New Church Era Earlier this year, Jim Todhunter preached a powerful sermon entitled "Making History," using Micah 6:8 as the Scripture base. He talked about the difference between a history stopper and a history maker, and set forth what might be considered their contrasting mission statements. A history stopper's mission statement, he said, might be "to take control, use force and do it alone." In contrast, the mission statement of a history maker is set forth in the words of Micah to "do justice, to love kindness and to walk humbly with God." He preached that as God's people, we are asked to be history makers. Shortly thereafter, the Executive Council took up the challenge of drafting a simple CCC Mission Statement that would describe who we are as a faith community and that could be used on our letterhead and other communications materials. The council looked at CCC's Covenant, the self-study's aspirations, and previous mission statements. It has brainstormed, deliberated and lived with various drafts for over three months. The result of this effort is a trial mission statement which the council will put before the congregation at the annual meeting on June 16. The recommendation is to use it for the next year and see how it feels as a description of ourselves and our mission. The proposed statement is as follows: "Christ Congregational Church, UCC, is an inclusive, questing community of faith seeking to embody Jesus Christ by doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God." We hope that you will live with this statement for a while and attend the Annual Meeting to hear more about how the council has arrived at this particular description and its choice of words. CCC Executive Council It's that time of year! Shaw Community Ministry (SCM) again is seeking donations for "camperships" from members of Potomac Association churches for the children of Lincoln-Westmoreland Housing, the high-rise and garden apartment complex at 7th and R Sts., NW in the District of Columbia that was developed by Westmoreland UCC and Lincoln Congregational Temple UCC. Approximately 35 children will participate in the six-week day camp, to be held at the LWH complex this coming summer. They will take part in a wide variety of experiences, including arts and crafts projects, cooking classes, games, on-site educational activities and numerous field trips. The funds raised by Shaw Community Ministry each year are used in large part to meet the costs of transporting the children on field trips to museums, zoos, swimming pools and athletic events both in DC and elsewhere. The cost for six weeks of such activities is about $60 per child. If you are interested in funding all or part of a campership, please make your check payable to Shaw Community Ministry, indicate that it be used for camp expenses, and send it to Anne Weissenborn, 10021 Raynor Rd., Silver Spring, MD 20901. Anne represents CCC on the SCM Board of Directors and serves as treasurer of the organization. All donations will be greatly appreciated. Anne Weissenborn Piano Concert On May 31 To Benefit Building Fund On Fri., May 31, CCC Music Director John Touchton and William Wellborn will perform a two-piano, four-hand concert at 7:30 p.m. at CCC's renovated facilities, 9525 Colesville Rd. Featured on the program will be works by Chopin, Saint-Saens, Schubert and Liszt. There is no charge for this concert, but donations will be accepted at the door. All donations will go toward the Building Fund. "Treasure or Trash" Event Helps Support Families The Interfaith Housing Coalition is sponsoring its second annual "Treasure or Trash" fundraiser on Tues., June 4 from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Bethesda. This is a take-off on the popular TV show, "Antiques Roadshow." Dealers from the Kensington Antique District will volunteer their time and expertise to offer attendees a verbal appraisal of items brought in. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door. Your entry ticket covers the cost of one verbal appraisal. Additional appraisals are available for $5 each. All appraisal fees are tax-deductible. There also will be a silent auction with such desirable items as restaurant meals, plays, etc. All proceeds will be used to help provide housing for homeless families so that they can move to transitional housing. The event will take place at St. Jane Frances de Chantal Catholic Church at 9601 Old Georgetown Rd. in Bethesda (south of the Beltway at Ryland). To purchase tickets in advance, mail checks payable to Interfaith Housing Coalition Inc. to IHC, 7611 Clarendon Rd., Bethesda, MD 20814. Prepurchased tickets will be held at the door. Kelly Pelz, Board for Social Witness Muslim Community Invites Area Churches The Ahmadiya Movement in Islam, Inc. invites the congregations who are members of Community Ministry of Montgomery County to the 54th National Annual Convention of the Ahmadiya Muslim Community in the U.S. on June 28-30. There will be special arrangements at the afternoon session on Sat., June 29 from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. for visitors to attend. After the session, dinner will be served to the guests. This invitation comes from Iman Shamshad A. Nasir, who asks that those planning to attend call at (301) 879-0110 to let him know you will be coming. The mosque is located at 15000 Good Hope Rd. in Silver Spring. Kelly Pelz, Board for Social Witness The combined chancel choirs of CCC and Westmoreland Congregational UCC will present a concert of works by Aaron Copland, Gabriel Faure and Johannes Brahms on Sun., June 2 at 4 p.m. at Westmoreland Congregational UCC. The concert will be followed by a reception and the opening of an art show featuring textile artists from the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA. Admission to the concert is free, but a collection will be taken to benefit the Dinner Program for Homeless Women, which is the program designated to receive the proceeds from this year's Westmoreland Concert Series. Westmoreland Congregational is located at 1 Westmoreland Circle, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue and Western Avenue in Bethesda. June 2 is the deadline for submitting summer camp registrations. Forms are available in the church office. When they are completed, they may be mailed or brought into the church office. Sisters for Sisters, a support group for widows and single women, will hold its final meeting before the summer at the home of June Leonard, 1009 Laredo Rd., Silver Spring on Sat., June 1 at 12:30 p.m. It will be a potluck picnic. Sun., June 9 will feature a Service of Recovenanting and Celebration, which will mark the return to our church building. Immediately following worship, there will be a time of recognition and appreciation in the sanctuary for the many people who have made our building renovation possible. A luncheon in the renovated fellowship hall will follow. Summer church school teachers and caregivers are needed. Please call Kristen Brown at (301) 460-1806 if you can help teach our children one Sunday this summer. PLEASE NOTE: DEADLINE for the next issue will be THURS., JUNE 6 at 5 p.m. News Notes editor -- Susan DeFord (301) 649-3093, or sjdkjk@erols.com The Rev. Jim Todhunter, senior minister; the Rev. Linda Carder, assoc. minister; John Touchton, director of music; the Rev. Dale Ostrander, director of programming for older adults; Richard Meyer, property administrator; Ruth Avery, office administrator. |