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CCC NewsNotes January 21, 2003 If You Build It, They Will Come, Interfaith Convocation, Sunday Meditation, Update on the Budget, Vehicle Donation Program, Older Adults, Silver Spring Child Care Center, Kick Off for Souper Bowl Sunday, Five Wishes, Your Opportunity has Arrived! Women, Take Time Out for Yourself, Valentine’s Day Luncheon, News Notes Deadlines, CCC Staff If You Build It, They Will Come About the time we did the ground breaking for our building, I was visiting some friends in Arlington Virginia. Both of the couples are members of other UCC churches and one of the churches had been through a major building program several years ago. The couple who was a member of that church asked me if I thought we knew what we were doing. I thought he was going to talk about the hardships ahead, like moving out of our building and paying off the debt. Before I could answer, they said: "You know they say ‘If you build it, they will come.’ And we just want you to know that is true. That whole new building full of church school rooms is full! And we used to know everybody and there are so many new people, we are meeting new people every Sunday. It has been amazing for us. Are you going to be ready for all this?" O my goodness, I thought, that is not at all what I expected. I came back and told my story to Jim who unflinchingly said, "Well, that is what we are hoping for." Now I am sitting here with seven pages full of names of visitors who have been attending for the last 6 months or so. There must be 70 or 75 names on those pages. Pastors and members of the Outreach and Engagement committee are contacting all these folks and inviting them to participate in various ways. Many will be joining the church at some point. We need to update our church school class lists more often to include new children. Last Sunday Night our youth program filled the social hall with 51 youth plus about 10 or so adult advisors. (Don’t ask where we got enough hamburger buns for everyone!) Now I am ready to respond to my friend in Arlington. No, at some level, we never know what we are doing. But we step out in faith anyway, and trust that God will respond. And when God does respond, we shake off our faithless surprise and move into rejoicing and praise, hospitality and welcoming. Does anyone know where there are more hamburger buns? Linda 30th Anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. The Justice and Witness Ministries of the UCC invite UCC members to attend an Interfaith Convocation on Wednesday, January 22, to observe the 30th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade. The theme will be "From Generation to Generation: Celebrating 30 Years of Faithful Choices." The convocation is being planned by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and will be held at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, 1313 New York Ave., NW, Washington, at 7:30 P.M., preceded by a reception at 6:30 P.M. UCC General Synod statements have, for more than thirty years, affirmed choice. Earlier on January 22, Capital City NOW is sponsoring a Roe vs. Wade Candlelight Vigil & Rally at 5:30 P.M. in front of the Supreme Court, 1st and Maryland Ave., NE. Silence is a way we can be open to God. It is a form of prayer in which we are attentive and listening to God's intention and presence in our lives. As the wonderful preacher and theologian Howard Thurman has written, silence "...moves directly to the core of our being. Our questions are answered, our spirits are refreshed, and we move back into the traffic of our daily round with the peace of the Eternal in our step. How good it is to center own!" Beginning Sunday, February 2, some of us will come together to meditate from 8:45 am until 9:15 am. We will start with a brief reading or soft music and then enter into silence for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes, we will conclude with prayer and adjourn. If you are interested in joining us this Sunday or any Sunday, we welcome you! If you arrive a few minutes late, please do come on in and quietly join our circle. For the time being, we will meet in room 206. There will be kneeling benches, pillows or if you prefer, a couch and chairs in which to meditate. Our "permanent" meditation room is not quite ready and if you'd like to help us fix it up, please let Sarah Anders (301.424.3339) or Susan Gray ( 301.593.5454) know. You can also call either of us regarding meditation. Sarah Anders At our last Annual Meeting, a motion was passed requesting that the Board of Trustees review the budget for the current year after the first six months had been completed and report back to the Congregation. The budget motion passed at that time was: Moved, that the budget be adopted, subject to the understandings that:
The actual pledge total for the year is $465,015. Since this amount did not top the $480,000 necessary to trigger desired changes to the budget per the motion, the budget remains as originally approved by the Congregation. However, due to the Lilly Foundation grant awarded for Rev. Todhunter’s sabbatical, we have received outside funding to pay for the additional ministerial services needed during Jim’s sabbatical. On a related financial topic, I wanted to make the Congregation aware that pledge payments are currently running at a 90% payment rate. Typically, at this point in the year, payments are running at or above 100%; i.e. members are at or ahead of the rate of payment necessary to fulfill their pledge by the end of the fiscal year in June. If your pledge payments are up-to-date, we thank you. If you are behind schedule and can bring the payments up-to-date, that would be appreciated. Thank you. Pete Hotchkiss Ken Stith has agreed to take over as CCC’s Point of Contact for the Vehicle Donation Program. Under the able leadership of Greg Linden, the program has raised over $10,000 for the Building Fund from the sale of vehicles donated by members and friends of CCC. All one needs to do to donate a used vehicle is call Ken Stith at 301-593-0907. Ken will contact Jim Lerch, who collects and sells the vehicles, and Jim will contact the owner to arrange a pickup. The value of the vehicle is a tax-deductible donation for the donor. Encourage your family, friends and co-workers to donate unwanted vehicles to CCC and help the Building Fund. Many thanks to Greg Linden for his commitment to this program and to Ken Stith for agreeing to take it over. Jackie Walters QI GONG classes with Chan Zhang have resumed on Thursday mornings at 10AM in the Meeting Room. Cost is $6/class. Silver Spring Child Care Center A very Special Santa Claus (Dale Ostrander in another guise) visited the children in the child Care Center on the Thursday before Christmas and it was fun for everyone. Other members of CCC are becoming actively involved with the children of the Silver Spring Child Care Center (SSCCC), which is located on the first level of the church. Beverly Scribner, mother of Paul Scribner, shares music with the children when she is in town and Linda Carder goes downstairs daily for her hugs. Jan Forbes provides music and rhythm activities every Tuesday morning and Toko Ackerman will be reading to the children once a month. If you enjoy being with children and would like to receive your share of hugs, smiles and cheers, there is a place for you -- call Jan Forbes, 301-881-2856, or Connie Iacomini, Director of SSCCC, 301-589-1593. Kick Off for Souper Bowl Sunday The CCC Youth are getting psyched for a winning year this Souper Bowl Sunday. The game plan on Sunday, January 26, 2003, is for youth throughout the country to greet the members of their churches after service and collect $1 per person. The funds will be donated to that church's soup kitchen, food bank, or other charity. The total collected country-wide will be reported to a central location and announced on national TV. Last year, $3.1 million was raised. The CCC Youth "Team" is favored to collect more dollars this year to improve their stats over last year ($ 250). Support your CCC Youth in their ministry to feed the hungry. All donations will be given to Shepherd's Table. Mike Breads Five Wishes living will booklets are available. This document deals with end of life care decisions, helping you to make your wishes clear to family, doctors, friends and other health care providers. Other materials also available: 1) Another sample Advance Directive (Health care Power of Attorney and Living Will); 2) A "Getting Your Affairs in Order" information page from the National Institute on Aging; 3) a "Health and Financial Decisions" booklet published by the American Bar Association’s Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly. Contact Dale Ostrander for copies of these materials. That’s right. This is your opportunity to support our Church’s Youth Program. We are looking for volunteers to prepare and serve dinner each Sunday evening between January 26 and the end of May 2003 (with some breaks for Holy Week). The youth look forward to "good grub" -- simple food that is wholesome and filling. With about 40-50 people each Sunday evening (we have been truly blessed to have such a large group), we are looking for 2 or 3 people/families each week to help share the load in preparing and serving the food. The new elevator and kitchen really helps (Yeah, Keystones)! If you are interested in this opportunity of a lifetime, please sign up on the bulletin board outside the church office. Any questions, please call Jane Weber at 301-774-5429 or weberclan@rcn.com. Jane Weber, Youth Committee, and Women, Take Time Out for Yourself at a one-day retreat for women, "Taking Care of Ourselves," on Saturday, Feb. 8 at CCC. Sponsored by the Women's Committee, the day will begin with fellowship and refreshments at 9:30 a.m., followed by morning workshops from 10 a.m.-noon, a healthy lunch, and afternoon workshops from 1-3 p.m. Topics/activities will include spirituality, nutrition, fitness, Reiki, meditation, and more. Come for the full day or stop by for a morning or afternoon session - & bring a friend! Contact Linda Phelps (301-622-3174,lphelps@gazette.net ) or Gretchen Wiederrecht (301-439-2674, robwied@erols.com) to register and to let us know if you need childcare. Save the date of Friday, February 14th for the Valentine’s Day Luncheon at CCC. More information to come. Dale Ostrander PLEASE NOTE: Deadline for the next issue is THURSDAY, January 30, 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; Richard Meyer, property administrator; Ruth Avery, office administrator; Archie Freedman, Custodian |