A Reminder Rhyme
Spring has sprung,
Days are growing long
Flowers are in bloom,
Lovers sing a song.

PIANO DONATION The church has a 1943 Kimball Spinet piano available to an
interested family or individual.  The piano needs a thorough cleaning and
professional tuning work to get it in top playable condition. It does not
have a bench.  This would make an ideal first piano for a child.  If you are
interested, please contact the church office for further details.

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BEACH WEEKEND Save the date! This year’s annual CCC beach weekend at Bethany Beach, DE is August 18-20. Registration begins May 15^th. For more information, please contact Dave Main or Ann Marshall at 301-565-3175 or by email at maind@ix.netcom.com.

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THANKS
Dear Friends, I continue to appreciate your prayers. Thank you to all my drivers who have seen me through the radiation treatments; Pat, Will, June, David, Paul, Joanne, Toko, Jenny, Shirley, Peggy Z., Nancy K., Ione O., and Ann W. Love, Sylvia Gayer

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VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL Save the date! VBS will take place this summer for 3-11 year olds the second week in August, August 7-11. We had a taste of MJ and Jerry’s Peace Camp earlier this year. VBS will be an entire week of Peace Camp activities. Come join the fun! To make it happen we need ADULT VOLUNTEERS!! If you can help during the week, call Sandy Dodson or Anne Weissenborn.

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CCC Town Meeting / Sunday, May 21
Our second Town Meeting is slated for Sunday, May 21. Topics include updates on the stewardship campaign, a preview of next year's budget, and a focus on the Anti-Racism initiative. The floor will be open for questions and answers, comments, concerns, and additional news.

Childcare will be available during the meeting, and fellowship time will follow.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND AT THE RETREAT HOUSE Come and discover CCC's best kept secret for a day, for overnight, or for the weekend beginning Saturday, May 27th through 4:00 PM on Monday, May 29th, 2006.  The Retreat House is located in Yellow Spring, WV; about a 2-½ hour drive from the Silver Spring area.  The Welcome Weekend provides opportunities for CCC members and friends 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. For more information, and to sign up and register, see the bulletin board outside the church office.

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Community in Silence Retreat
Sharing silence in community is rich with nuanced joy!  Come experience a silent retreat at CCC’s retreat house June 9 -11.  Bring your reading, knitting and hiking shoes!  Sign up is on the bulletin board in the foyer.  If you have questions, please feel free to talk with: Gordon Forbes, Ginny McDonagh, Bob Brown, David Novello or Sarah Anders.  We need a commitment of 10 people before May 15 in order for the retreat to take place.

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SOCIAL WITNESS HAPPENINGS

Sign Petition to CBS, NBC and VIACOM Once again CBS and NBC, plus VIACOM cable network, have refused to air a UCC inclusion-themed TV commercial. The UCC is asking members and friends to sign petitions to be sent to these networks. Paper copies of the petition are available in the CCC lobby kiosk. Please consider signing one and leaving it in the marked box in the office so that it may be sent with others to Justice and Witness Ministries for hand delivery to the networks on Mothers Day, May 14. Or, you can sign the petition online at www.UCCTakeAction.org.

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CrossWalk America On Easter Sunday, a group of moderate and progressive Christians started a 2,500 walk from Phoenix to Washington, DC "to promote Christianity’s ‘core values’ . . ." Six ministers and lay persons from the UCC, the United Methodist Church and Metropolitan Community Church will walk for more than four months through twelve states, including Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, and will arrive in DC on Labor Day weekend. Others will be invited to join in for portions of the trip. Approximately 55 congregations along the way, representing the five mainline Protestant denominations, plus the American Baptists, the Universalist Unitarians, and the Disciples of Christ, will provide hospitality and speaking venues. The walk will evoke the three-year ministry of Jesus as he traveled throughout Galilee.

According to the group’s co-president, the Rev. Eric Elnes of Scottsdale, the "Crosswalkers" are seeking to reclaim "a different voice for Christianity in America." They will attempt "to refocus the nation’s attention on the core values of the Christian faith by spreading the message that Christianity is first and foremost about the just and unconditional love of God for all people and Christ’s commandments to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves." The Rev. Rebecca Glenn, co-president, has stated: "There is a silent majority of people who believe Christianity is a path of compassion, acceptance, and reaching out to those in need. At a time when there is so much pain caused by religious polarization, many would like to see a renewed focus on love, and that is what this walk and the CrossWalk America organization are all about."

The UCC’s Stillspeaking Campaign and the UCC-affiliated Pacific School of Religion are important partners in this endeavor. Others include the Human Rights Campaign, Living the Questions, Protestants for the Common Good, No Longer Silent, Clergy for Justice, Faith in America, and the Beatitudes Society.

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Seniors

The Senior Adult Committee is interested in addressing the topic of "Spirituality and Aging."  Because we’re not sure what form this topic might take, we would like to talk about how best to address it.  Should we begin by simply discussing "spirituality?"  What is it?  I don’t feel very spiritual!  Am I a spiritual being?  Or perhaps we will write a spiritual autobiography.  As children, did we have a sense of our spiritual selves?  Did we as young adults?  How has our spirituality changed?  Perhaps you know of a book we could read on this topic. 

Seniors – Mark your calendars!!  On Wednesday, June 14^th we are taking a day trip to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, Virginia.  We will leave the church by bus at 9:15 a.m.  Our two-hour tour of the museum begins at 10:15.  At 12:15 we will head to the cafeteria for lunch.  Departure time is 1:30.  We should return to the church by 2:30.  This is a terrific time for socializing on the bus and touring the magnificent aircraft and displays at the museum with a docent.  Cost for the trip is $15 per person, plus the cost of your lunch.  Wheelchairs are available at the museum.  Sign up now on the bulletin board in the foyer!  Questions?  Contact Sarah Anders at 301-424-3339 or sarahanders@atlantech.net

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RUTH RICHARDSON SCHOLARSHIP The annual award of the Ruth Richardson Scholarship is now open for applications for the year 2006 student scholarship. This scholarship was established in honor of Mrs. Ruth Richardson, a founding member of CCC and a former teacher. Ruth maintained a lifelong interest in making higher education available to all students, especially those who wish to pursue their studies in a human service profession. The scholarship will be awarded at the end of the spring semester to an applicant who has:

1. completed two years or more of college or university study
2. is pursuing a career in a human service profession, with priority given to education
3. is a member or whose parent(s) is a member of CCC.

The Ruth Richardson Committee is accepting applications until May 15, 2006. Applications are available upon request from the CCC church office. Consideration will be given to sincerity of interest, grade point average, volunteer experiences, and in-service training or work-related experiences in the human service field. Questions can be addressed to the committee chair, Aldene Ault, by calling at 301-593-2438.