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CCC NewsNotes April 12, 2005 Council
Acts on Transition Planning for Music Program, Council Acts on Transition Planning for Music Program The Executive Council devoted its April meeting to transition planning for the music program. At the Council’s invitation, Director of Music John Touchton offered his perspectives and suggestions for dealing with this transition. After sharing personal reflections on his tenure at CCC and his reasons for pursuing a new direction in his profession, John noted that in 47 years, CCC has had 3 directors of music: Al Neumann, Paul Zdunek, and himself. John suggested that his departure creates an opportunity for CCC to study the place of music and the role of a music director with the same thoughtful and focused intentionality that it devoted to children and youth [when the Children & Youth Task Force was formed as a result of the aspirations adopted in the 1995-96 Self-Study], to the administrative support staff structure, and to the Associate Minister position. He urged the appointment of a committee reflecting the diversity within the congregation and a period of several months to reflect on a series of questions about the program and the person who will direct it. If CCC is clear about what it wants for the long-term, John asserted, it will market the program more effectively and will attract a qualified candidate pool. He outlined several things candidates would be looking at:
John also shared his conviction that CCC needs an interim director in place in June to be the "go-to" person for the program, and he laid out several factors to consider. Following John’s departure from the meeting, the Council deliberated on the options available and the sequence and timing for various scenarios. For immediate action, the Council reached consensus on two conclusions: (1) the need to appoint an interim from outside the congregation and (2) the need to implement a study/visioning process that engages the entire congregation. Discussion about the interim centered around the need for one, especially over the summer months when members might be available to provide music in worship. Jim Todhunter and Chancel Choir members talked about the need for someone to coordinate participants in worship (scheduling, selecting music, accompanying, rehearsing), to work with the ministers on worship and long-term planning, and to be available for memorial services and other events. The Council also discussed the merits of looking for someone outside the congregation who could fulfill a purpose similar to that of a pastoral interim: absorb and deflect the emotion surrounding the departure of a beloved leader, introduce and experiment with new ideas, and ask probing questions. Linda Carder’s tenure as an interim Associate Minister was held up as a successful model for a music interim. The Executive Council unanimously approved a motion to authorize the Moderator to appoint a search committee immediately to seek an interim Director of Music for a period of 6-12 months and in a full-time capacity. The full-time capacity is a place-holder for the committee to work with to insure that CCC has a program director and a keyboardist if circumstances lead in the direction of hiring more than one person. The Council also reached consensus on the desirability of designing a process to conduct an in-depth study of music at CCC and to search for John’s successor. It deferred more substantive discussion until its May meeting. At press time on April 7, the membership of the search committee for an interim music director is complete except for the final slot. When the full committee is in place, the members and chair will be announced to the congregation. Leslie Weyn, Moderator Calling Past CCC Choir Members As many of you know, Sunday, June 5th is John Touchton’s last day at CCC as Director of Music. During the course of planning for this special service, he has asked me to extend an invitation to all present and past choir members who have sung under his direction to participate with the choir that Sunday. This invitation is for all ages, Kindergarten through adult. We will sing two pieces in the worship service that involve this group of singers. If you are willing and available to join us, please come to the choir rehearsal on Thursday evening, June 2, at 7:45 PM and meet in the sanctuary. I hope you can join us to make John’s send-off even more special to him." Sam Brush, Choir President Consecration Sunday, April 17, offers us the opportunity to consecrate our pledge commitment for the coming fiscal year (starting on July 1). Pledges provide the overwhelming majority of our church’s income. The Trustees’ initial budget calculation for our coming fiscal year (which they are still working on) indicates that CCC’s pledge income will need to grow by about $100,000 over the $510,000 pledged for the current year. Another "food for thought" item is that our Visioning day called forth exciting ideas from us. Not all of them will mean expenditures, but some will. Another thought: the "half-tithe" – 5 per cent of income – is called by some the "modern tithe." Can our church move toward that goal by increasing our pledge commitments significantly? As you consider your pledge for the coming fiscal year, remember our stewardship theme: "…what does God require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God" (Micah 6:8). Ours is a congregation deeply concerned about being witnesses for justice in the world and in our community. We strive to love mercy and compassion; we are a caring community. And we ‘walk humbly with our God,’ finding our spiritual nourishment in church, in prayer, in study, in one another’s caring. God’s abundant love is all around us. Consecration Sunday, April 17, will have two identical services: a fellowship breakfast and a meaningful Taize-style service in the Sanctuary as we consecrate our pledges for the coming year. Pledge cards will be available in the services. 1st Service: Breakfast at 8 a.m. in the Social Hall; Worship at 9 a.m. in the Sanctuary. 2nd Service: Breakfast at 10 a.m. in the Social Hall; Worship at 11 a.m. in the Sanctuary. Sign-up sheet is on the bulletin board outside the church office. But if you forget to sign up, please come anyway! Board of Stewardship "The Gift of Life Eternal"; A Prayer by the Rev. John H. Thomas. On April 16, the Rev. John H. Thomas, UCC General Minister and President, will visit CCC. On March 31, 2005, and thus prior to the death of Pope John Paul II, Dr. Thomas posted the following prayer on the UCC website. His April 2 statement on the Pope’s death can be found at www.ucc.org/news/st040205pope.htm and on the Board for Social Witness bulletin board. Eternal God - As individuals and as a nation, even as we have wrestled privately and publicly with the deepest complexities of life and death, bring us again to that quiet place that rests beyond political argument or religious platitude. Allow the stark reality of this moment to instruct us. Whether we live or whether we die, we belong to you. We recognize and lament the death of Terri Shiavo and the legal battles and public controversy that have enveloped her and her loved ones during her final years and days. At the same time, we remember and grieve the loss of our own loved ones, as we are once again reminded that, despite your assurances, death remains a most suspicious stranger. We confess the pain, confusion and tension that death’s reality stirs in us. As Easter people, however, we would dare to live otherwise. Therefore, confirm in us the teachings of our resurrection faith. Remind us that death’s sting is no match for your loving care. Comfort us in the knowledge that we belong - soul, mind and body - to Christ Jesus, our eternal abiding place. Restore our trust, O God, in you, Amen. Anne Weissenborn, Board for Social Witness The Power Equity Group Workshop During a recent Sunday service, our minister, Sandy, reminded the congregation of the words "Do this in memory of me" that Jesus had spoken while sharing the bread and wine during the last supper. She then asked those in attendance to ponder the question "What is it that Jesus wanted us to remember?" My engagement with CCC has helped me to understand that a key element of what Jesus wanted remembered is his commandment to "Love God with all your heart and mind and love your neighbor as yourself." CCC challenges us to live this commandment and provides support and opportunities for our efforts to do so. One of these opportunities was the three-day "Power Equity Group" workshop that CCC recently co-hosted with Impact Silver Spring. A diverse group of twenty-four local residents attended, about half of them CCC members. The overall objective of the workshop was to provide instruction and experience in diversity and power equity. The workshop was structured as large group lectures on the theory of group dynamics and power, and small group interactive sessions. Combined, the sessions provided Information, tools, expert facilitation and a forum for individual and group interaction that aided attendees in better perceiving and experiencing the domination/subordination power structures that pervade our society, particularly those of race, gender and sexual orientation. Throughout the 3 days, the small group sessions were devoted to work on a three-part task, assigned repeatedly by the facilitating team: "To learn about the diversity that is present, to learn how the diversity represented by the members affects each member’s access to the group and the ability of the group to do its work." Through these unstructured, non-hierarchical conversations, we struggled with our subtle and not-so-subtle thoughts, habits and roles of dominance and subordination, which are patterns of behavior that desensitize, dehumanize and divide us. We peeled away some of our resistance to true engagement and equality, and to a small degree, shared the pain. What was made clear (again) was that though we are all "neighbors," some of us, through racism, sexism, homophobia, classicism and other modes of discrimination, are loved less as neighbors than are others. Through the structure of group work on diversity, the workshop exposed the impacts of prejudice and discrimination on individuals and groups, and demonstrated the power of the flattened "power equity" dynamic in small relationships and large groups: the power of neighbors working together as equals in the cause of love and justice. Special thanks are deserved by the team newdynamics who developed the Power Equity Group theory and facilitated this workshop, and to Delilah Marrow and Jim Henkelman-Bahn who brought it to CCC. From the Church Administrator: Spring Color -- As you admire the royal purple crocus and the sunny yellow daffodils gracing the church, remember the scouts of Cub Scout Pack 275 who planted the bulbs in the fall as a service project. Christopher Lewis is CCC’s Charter Representative to the Pack, and Alex Dencker provided the design and arranged for the bulbs. Holy Week Activities -- Many thanks to the custodial staff -- Dave Frey, Cory Gray, and Scott Klein and Lisette Martinez (of Bailey’s Janitorial Service) -- who supported the ministers, the Sanctuary Committee and the Board of Deacons during the Holy Week activities. They moved furniture, swept, mopped, set up and managed sound systems, and insured the Church was ready for every service from the Seder Meal on Thursday evening through Easter Sunday morning. Workday Thanks -- In spite of the rain, CCC held a successful workday on April 2. Many thanks to Bud Dennie for organizing volunteers and arranging child care, to Chelsea and Nicole Wilson for providing child care, and to Audrey and Neville Platt for providing lunch, and to the following volunteers: Mike Breads, Jean and Randy Caswell, John Enagonio, Susan Gray, Helen Hanes, Eric Klein, Mary Pence, Nathan Rolls, and Paul Scribner. And thanks to those with willing hearts who came for the afternoon but got rained out: Gregg Brown, Sandy Dodson, and Kathleen Murley. Please note the newly planted flower bed near the Brewster door – designed by Susan Finelli of Binghamton Land Design and planted in memory of Normand Minnick. Weeding Days – CCC will resume its monthly weeding on May 7 and will continue through the first Saturday in October. Volunteers gather from 9 a.m. – noon on the first Saturday and weed. Bud Dennie maintains a list of folks willing to be reminded of upcoming weeding days. Please send your contact information to Bud at CDennie213@aol.com and feel free to show up the first Saturday of every month to help! Recycling – CCC recycles printer cartridges (see drop box just inside main front doors), paper and cardboard, and plastic, glass and aluminum. David Gayer has identified recycling receptacles throughout the church – please help us by putting items in the correct receptacles and making sure glass & plastic containers are empty and clean. We could use brown paper grocery bags with handles to help with paper recycling. Lost & Found – will be in the lobby on Sunday, April 24. Other Spring Projects – Thanks to Ed Young for weeding and trimming the lariape in the parking lot beds, to Dave Frey for planting ornamental grasses on the courtyard slope (that workday project got rained out!), to Dick Meyer for various handyman projects around the church, and to Ben Gallup for making and installing a ramp into the chancel and for working on restoring the outdoor display panel at the end of the education wing. Last year, the Board of Outreach and Engagement surveyed members who joined Christ Congregational Church between May 2002 and May 2004. Twenty-seven new members completed the survey out of 51 possible respondents. This is the first in three News Notes articles looking at how new members came to find and join CCC. O&E is integrating survey results in our approach to welcoming visitors and engaging new members in our faith community. Nearly all new members came to CCC actively looking for a church home. They were seeking spirituality in their lives, recently relocated to the area and/or wanted their children to experience church. Nineteen joined within a year of their first visit. New members indicated they appreciated the personal greetings and follow-up by CCC members, the opportunity to meet our ministers and the Conversation Meetings hosted by O&E. When asked why they returned to CCC after their first visit, many indicated that the music, worship service and sermon were primary motivators. Others appreciated our church school for children and the general ambience, saying that they liked CCC members and felt part of the community right away. They found News Notes, the Conversation Meeting and the CCC Web site to be the most helpful means of learning about CCC. Three new members found the church through our Web site. Rebuilding Together / Christmas In April On the 23rd and 30th of April many Christ Congregational Church members, friends, and other volunteers from First Baptist church will have a chance to celebrate an early Christmas. On this day, we will have volunteers to do repairs and yard work on a home at 811Westmore Ave., Rockville for a needy person. Many people are needed to make this a success. We need painters, yard workers, and others to accomplish these tasks. The hours of your labor of love and fellowship are from 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M., or 8:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M., or 12:00 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. Lunch will be served to all volunteers from Noon to 1:00 P.M. You have to be at least fourteen years old to participate. Any youth ages 14 to 18 will need their parents/guardian to sign a waver in order for them to participate. Sign up sheets are on the Main bulletin board. Please contact, Bud Dennie, or John Enagonio for any additional information. Rebuilding Together/Christmas in April Committee The Book Group will next read "The Good Earth" by Pearl Buck. Discussion will be on May 1, 7:30 p.m., at the home of Judy Cox. (The notice in the church bulletin on April 3rd was incorrect. THE GOOD EARTH is our next book. Apologies for the confusion.) Planning ahead, after that the group will read Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mocking Bird." This discussion will probably be in June, place and time to be announced. The group thinks it would be interesting also to read "A Gathering of Old Men" by Ernest J. Gaines, to discuss in conjunction with the Harper Lee book, since both are set in the South and deal with racism. The summaries for March 5 are on the CCC web home page for your reading. Please join us for discussion on the budget visioning plan on April 3 and 24. We will meet at 11:45 in the conference room on both dates. Your Budget Vision Committee Fifty-Year Members Recognition Sunday, April 24 On April 24 (note date correction) at the 10:30 worship service, CCC members with 50 years of service will be recognized. After the service there will be a reception in the social hall to honor these and other CCC "Elders" with 50 years or more of service. Come meet or renew acquaintances with these people who have served so long, some since the 1944 founding of CCC. With love and gratitude, Julia CCC May Day / Earth Day Celebration. On Sunday, May 1, CCC will celebrate Earth Day with a special guest sermon at the 10:30 service by Rabbi Daniel Swartz. Rabbi Swartz is the Coordinator for the Greater Interfaith Power and Light (GWIPL) nonprofit group. GWIPL is co-sponsored by the Churches' Center for Theology and Public Policy and by the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. GWIPL'S stated purpose is to encourage and enable congregations, religious institutions, and others in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area to take concrete steps to reduce their contributions to global warming, and thus protect the future of God's earthly creation. This special sermon will be followed by a "May Day/Earth Day Celebration" in the Social Hall. The Board of Social Witness and the Stewards of the Earth, co-sponsors of the May Day/Earth Day activities invite any CCC members and friends who are interested in presenting environmental or economic justice displays, activities, or ideas at the celebration to contact Winifred Roberts at #301-587-4827. In particular, we are looking for alternative energy products, hybrid cars, and fair trade products, etc. to display. Let's make this Earth Day an all-congregation, intergenerational celebration!! Welcome Weekend
Retreat at the CCC Retreat House: Ever wondered what the CCC Retreat House is and where it is located? Come and discover CCC’s best kept secret just for a day, overnight, or for the weekend beginning Saturday, May 28th through noon on Monday, May 30th. The Retreat House is located in Yellow Spring, West Virginia; an approximately 2 ½ hour drive from the Silver Spring area. The Welcome Weekend will provide opportunities for CCC members and guest of all ages to participate in hiking, crafts, field games, playing in the creek, tubing in the river or just relaxing on the front porch. The Outreach and Engagement Board extends a special invitation to CCC’s newer members and regular visitors, to attend all or part of the weekend. The CCC Retreat House is a pre-Civil War farmhouse on 54 acres along the Cacapon River. The house and grounds are the site for CCC’s week-long children and youth camps, and the site for fall and spring retreats for groups within the church. The cost for the Welcome Retreat is $5 per night per adult and $2 per night per child, and day visitors are free. Sleeping accommodations are three large bedrooms with bunk beds, a cabin, or bring your own tent. Meals are assigned and prepared by those attending, except for Saturday and Sunday lunches which are provided by the Outreach and Engagement Board. For more information and to sign up, see the bulletin board outside the church office, or contact Outreach and Engagement Board member Trish Esposito at 301-593-1858, trishespo@yahoo.com. Musical Benefit for Autism Research On Saturday, April 30, from 6-9 pm, the Afro-Funk band, Chopteeth (featuring CCC member spouse, Mark Corrales, on percussion), will be performing an autism benefit concert at Cada Vez Restaurant in DC. We'd love to have you join us for a light buffet and great dance party ($25/ticket) that evening. However, if you have other plans, we still encourage you to make a donation to help the National Alliance for Autism Research (NAAR) find a cure for the 1 in 166 kids in the U.S. who are now being diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders! For more information, to buy tickets or to make a secure donation, please go to www.chopteeth.com/bigbenefit or call Ellen Jennings and Mark Corrales at 301-589-1892. Thanks! This year's Beach Weekend is set for Friday, August 19 through Sunday, August 21 at the Christian Church Conference Center in Bethany Beach, Delaware. Come join us for fun in the surf and sand before the summer comes to an end. The Center is about a block from the beach in the main part of town and has a community playground within steps of the facility. It's a great time for fun, community, and fellowship! Registration forms with complete details will be available soon. Watch for announcements. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact Kathie McConnelll at 301-589-0151 or by email at KLMcconnell@mindspring.com The pot luck for may is being cancelled to allow Earth Day to have their celebration in the Social Hall. Everyone mark your calendar and let's have a big pot luck on June 5th. It will be our last until the fall. If you have questions, contact Glenda Neal at gbneal1958@earthlink.net or 301-622-3948. Thanks to all our CCC family for your concerns and prayers, cards and inquiries about my broken foot. I shall think twice before ironing in the future. Love, Sylvia Gayer Adelle Lampos is moving the end of April. Her new address is: Peace Village, 10300 Village Circle Drive, Apt. #3300, Palos Park, IL 60464 She is selling the following items at a very reasonable price. If interested, please call her at 301-598-8929.
Explore the world of inner energy through movement, breathing and focused mind every Friday morning, 9:00 – 10:15. Learn techniques for relaxation, pain management, strengthening and stress reduction. Tuition is normally $25 per class, but the instructor, Mike Busdavanos (301-565-3320) is offering a 20% discount for CCC members. The Board of Outreach and Engagement wants to help ensure that we put notices of upcoming CCC events in local community newsletters and listserves. If you know of a newsletter or listserve where we could post CCC events without charge, would you please contact me with the information on how to place a notice? Thanks! Sara Watson, saradwatson@aol.com . Events Sponsored By The Board For Church Life
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Thank you. The Rev. Jim Todhunter, Senior Minister; The Rev. Sandra Kay Dodson, Associate Minister; The Rev. Julia Jarvis, Director of Programming for Older Adults; John Touchton, Director of Music; Jackie Walters, Property Administrator |
