|
CCC NewsNotes September 23, 2003 From Jim, 50% or more by October 1? Welcome Jackie! Halloween Party Saturday October 25, CCC Workday — October 11, Youth Groups Resume Activities, Attention all Instrumentalists! Pot Luck Lunch Bunch, CCC Blood Drive Saturday, October 11th, Upcoming Events, Open & Affirming Meeting, Transgender Author to Speak, Neighbors In Need Offering, Social Witness Happenings, New Members for "The Willing Walkers" Sought, 40s + Singles Group, The Scoop, Lost and Found , Teacher and Caregiver Help Needed! NewsNotes Deadlines, CCC Staff Dear Friends, I am extending a personal invitation for you to consider becoming a CCC Caregiver. If you accept you are invited to take part in a one-day training session being offered on Saturday, October 25, 2003. Caregivers are active in a number of ways in the life of our congregation. Assignments are made by the ministers and can include bedside visits in the hospital, support during times of crisis or grief, or ongoing friendly visits. Some agree to be "Caregiver of the Week" and are on-call for hospital visitation as needed one week per month. Others regularly write cards of support and encouragement. The staff endeavors to make good "matches" and offers ongoing support throughout period of service. Caregivers must complete the full-day training period to be held at CCC, Saturday, October 25, 2003. The basic training components include: entering the space of others, communication and nurturing, care giving situations, resources of faith, and expectations of caregivers. The training combines theory, practical situations, theology and bible study, and clarification of expectations and responsibilities. You will be given a resource notebook containing all the essential materials you will need. Caregivers generally agree to serve for one year, and the group will meet regularly during the year for further training and support. The training and supervision model comes from the United Church of Christ Called to Care Program, and is a successor to the very successful Stephen Ministry program. If you have already served as a caregiver or Stephen minister, we would welcome your return to this new round of the program. On a personal note, with the departure of Linda and Dale early in 2004, I will need your support for our pastoral ministry to continue with a high quality of care. Agreeing to be a CCC Caregiver would be a wonderful gift to the ministry of our congregation at a time of particular need. Please be in touch with Linda, Dale, or me if you are interested in taking part in the training or have any questions. Blessings, Jim We recently passed the 45% mark in our pledges to the Recommitment Campaign. Many thanks to those of you who have participated to date. If you are one of those people who have promised to make a pledge "soon" wouldn’t you like to be the one who pushes us over the 50% mark? For further information contact David Bobbitt at 301-887-0054 or drbobbitt2000@yahoo.com or Elaine Wunderlich at 301-604-1758 or elaine@marlaine.com. On September 8th, Jackie Walters began work as our new Facilities Administrator. As you know this is a twenty-hour per week position and she succeeds Dick Meyer who retired as of September 1st. Jackie’s varied experiences in leadership at CCC over the years – Trustee Chair, Co-Chair of the Building Design Committee for our renovation, and Moderator – have made her an excellent choice for the job and I believe we are lucky to have her joining the CCC Staff. She has hit the ground running and if off to a great start. It’s a big and daunting job, so let’s all give Jackie lots of support and encouragement! Blessings – Jim
Halloween Party Saturday October 25 Scarecrow Making 5:30-6:30 p.m. on the playground — Make your very own scarecrow a week ahead of time this year. All you need are some old clothes, with long sleeves and long pants. Straw and directions will be provided. Please sign up on the Board for Church Life bulletin board so we will know how much straw to provide. Your scarecrow can wear any old hat or if you would like Glenda to order one for you, please indicate on the sign up sheet. Then after you’ve made your scarecrow, join us in the Social Hall for a fun-filled evening of crafts, games and contests. If you are able to help out with decorating, clean-up, or supervising a craft activity or game, please contact Leslie Wilson at 301-625-5407 or L903wilson@aol.com Sponsored by the Board for Church Life On October 11, 2003, Christ Congregational Church members will have a opportunity to assist with various projects around our building both inside and out. On this day we will have volunteers do many things to help make CCC a better place. Because of the type of work we plan to do, only Middle School and older children will be allowed to work. Many volunteers are needed to assist in the many projects. The hours of your labor of love and fellowship are : 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Lunch will be served to all volunteers from noon to 1:00 P.M. Sign up sheets are on the bulletin board. Please contact Bud Dennie or Jackie Walters for any additional information. Building and Grounds Committee Youth Groups Resume Activities Junior High, Covenant Class and Senior High groups resume their activities with dinner at 6:00 p.m. in the Social Hall on Sunday September 28. Attention all Instrumentalists! Beginning on Sunday morning, September 28, I’d like to invite any instrumentalists to join me at 8:30 a.m. in the sanctuary to rehearse pieces for that morning’s 9:00 a.m. service. The congregation will be singing several chants during worship and I’d like to include instrumentalists on these easy and accessible pieces. Auditions are not necessary. Music will be provided for you at the rehearsal. John Touchton Bring a dish to share or just bring your own lunch and join us for the Pot Luck Lunch Bunch on October 5th (not Sept. 28th as previously announced). There is a sign up sheet on the Board for Church Life bulletin board. Drinks will be provided. If you have questions, contact Glenda Neal 301.622-3948 orgbneal1958@earthlink.net. CCC Blood Drive Fact: Every 7 seconds, someone in our region receives blood. Fact: Approximately 95% of the population will need blood during their lifetime, but less than 5% of the population donates. Fact: A single shock trauma victim can use 100 units of blood in a few hours. Our region's blood supply is at a critically low level. The American Red Cross needs people in good health, 17 years or older (16-year-olds can donate with parental consent), and weighing at least 110 pounds. If you take medication, please keep in mind that many medications are acceptable. [Call 1-800-GIVE-LIFE to determine your eligibility.] The actual blood donation takes 7-10 minutes; however, the entire process, from registration to refreshment, will take approximately one hour. Sign up in the Entrance Hall at CCC, or call Sandy Brush at 301-565-5929 to schedule a donation time. Blood will be collected on Saturday, October 11th from 8:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m. at 15-minute intervals in the church Social Hall. Please consider giving the gift of life.
The last of three meetings sponsored by the Open & Affirming Task Force will take place on September 28, immediately following the 10:30 a.m. service in the Conference Room. A light lunch will be served. This meeting will focus on a discussion of the amendment to be proposed to the CCC O&A Statement, the process of bringing it to the congregation and what it means to have transgender as part of the O&A Statement. There is a tentative Congregational Meeting scheduled for a Sunday in October. There are packets of additional information on transgender in the church office for anyone who is interested. Please return the packet to the office when you are finished with it. The sign-up sheet for the luncheon on September 28 is on the bulletin board outside the church office. Child care will be provided for the luncheon meeting. On Sunday, October 5, at 8:00 pm, transgender activist and author, Calpernia Addams, will speak at CCC on "Welcoming Transgender Christians." She was the subject of the critically acclaimed 2003 Showtime film, "Soldier’s Girl." The film tells the story of Addam’s relationship with PVT Barry Winchell, who was murdered in 1999 at Fort Campbell, KY, by fellow soldiers who believed him to be gay. Born in rural Tennessee to a strict Fundamentalist family, Addams served in the Navy in Desert Storm, became an entertainer in Nashville, and now lives in California. She is the author of Mark 947: A Life Shaped by God, Gender, and Force of Will, an autobiographical work of how she came to terms with her gender identity and Christian faith. The title is taken from Mark 9:47 – "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out." The event at CCC is being sponsored by the Open and Affirming Task Force and the Board for Social Witness. On Sunday, October 5, CCC will collect the UCC’s annual Neighbors in Need Offering at both worship services. This year’s campaign theme is "It’s About Justice." One-third of the offering will assist twenty American Indian congregations through the Council for American Indian Ministry ("CAIM"), which is the voice for American Indians in the UCC. Today there are 19 UCC congregations on reservations, especially in the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Nebraska, and one urban inter-tribal congregation in Minneapolis, plus many individuals from other tribes and nations scattered across almost every UCC conference. Two years ago, as a result of the General Synod reduction of all-church offerings, the Just Peace Appeal and the Hunger Action Fund were folded into Neighbors in Need. This year two-thirds of the NIN offering will support program initiatives and direct grants made through the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries. The grants are awarded to congregations and organizations that are engaged in community organizing, public policy advocacy, and direct service, and are intended to advance UCC ministries of peace-making, violence reduction, conflict resolution, federal budget prioritization, and global solidarity. A significant portion of grant monies address issues of poverty and hunger. An offering envelope is enclosed with this issue of News Notes, and additional information will be forthcoming in Sunday bulletins. Please give generously to this very important undertaking. Board for Social Witness Bernice Powell Jackson is the Executive Minister of the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries. As such she is responsible for the denomination’s work on human rights and social, racial and economic justice. Before assuming this position, Ms. Jackson headed the UCC Commission for Racial Justice, and earlier had directed a scholarship fund for Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Each Monday, Ms. Jackson writes a column for the Witness for Justice section of the national UCC website. On September 15, for example, her topic was the "Virtue of Charity." In her article she focused upon the meaning of "charity," pointing out that at one time it "meant mercy and compassion," concepts that she believes have "withered." Ms. Jackson noted that the Children’s Defense Fund, in a study published this past spring found "that, although black child poverty figures had reached their lowest point in 2001 (before the spikes in unemployment of the past 18 months), the number of black children living in ‘extreme poverty,’ that is, in families with incomes below half the poverty line – was near a record high. . . . Similarly, there is anecdotal information from cities nationwide that there is an across the board increase of families in homeless shelters . . . . Some of these homeless families are poor, working families. . . . [T]here are 9 million American children with no health care coverage at all." She concluded: "A nation without charity is a nation which is losing in the struggle for its soul." To read Ms. Jackson’s weekly articles, go to http://www.ucc.org/justice/witness . Board for Social Witness New Members for "The Willing Walkers" Sought The following incident reminded me again of what a precious resource our new parking lot represents. I was walking across the parking lot, coming into church (admittedly late) when a car pulled up next to me. The driver (someone new to me) asked if I was leaving? She needed a spot, but all of the places were taken. I indicated the "on street" parking, but she looked discouraged, and said she guessed she would just head on home. She was an elderly woman, and as she drove away, I saw the handicapped plate on the back of her car. Parking close to the church building is particularly important for visitors, our seniors, the handicapped, and parents with young children. If you are in good health and relatively unburdened, please consider joining an exclusive group -- the Willing Walkers -- by parking on Brewster Avenue or Indian Spring Drive, and preserving the parking lot spaces for those who have a particular need for them! Mary Pence This group will be getting together on Sunday, October 12 at 6:00 p.m. in the meeting room (#108) at CCC. All 40s+ CCC singles are welcome to join. Please call Joan Boyer at 301-236-0025 if you have any questions. "Come Get the Scoop on CCC" held on September 6 was simply wonderful! Balmy weather, great jazz, and fun activities all contributed to a convivial atmosphere with lots of smiles, new connections, and lingering conversations. Many thanks to the CCC members (too numerous to list) who participated and made visitors feel at ease, and shared helpful information. You may catch some of the good cheer by viewing colorful photos by Carol Brandt on our website and on display at the church along with the front page photo from the Silver Spring Gazette. The Board of Outreach and Engagement appreciates all those who continue to reach out to our many new visitors and members. Cheers! Nancy Mills for the Lost and Found Take a look at the bench and windowsill in the Entrance Hall. Some of your favorite "stuff" may be there! If not claimed by the end of September, items will be donated to the clothes closet at the Shepherd’s Table. Teacher and
Caregiver The Christian Education Church School program is in need of more volunteers to help at each of the Sunday morning services. At the 9:00 a.m. service, help is especially needed in the nursery and the 3-5 year old class. During the 10:30 a.m. service, teachers are needed for the 6th grade and Senior High classes. Church School Superintendents are also needed. If you are interested in volunteering for these positions or joining a team of teachers at any other level, please speak with Jim Steadman (301-589-2250) or Kristen Brown (301-460-1806). PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for the next issue is WEDNESDAY October 1, 5:00 P.M. Please submit articles via: email - mojobo@aol.com, phone - 301-236-0025, or paper copy - drop off in the News Notes box in the church office. Thank you, Joan Boyer, Editor 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; Jackie Walters, property administrator; Ruth Avery, office administrator; Archie Freedman, Custodian |
