Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ (UCC)

Covering June 28, 2009 to July 11, 2009

Have a minute

As I type these words, I am packing the last of my gear for this year’s Senior YoRS Summer Mission Experience.  This will be my third here at Rock Spring; my nineteenth overall.  Packing down my socks and t-shirts, bug spray and sunscreen made me ask one of those powerfully basic questions, “Why do we do it?”

Why do we set aside time and resources, pack our boots, gloves, and hammers, and head off?  Why do we climb onto roofs in the middle of the summer, and believe that shingling is a ‘good time?’  Surely, there has to be some good answer (it can’t be eating cold cut or peanut butter sandwiches for a week!).

The answer for me is just as basic as the question: It’s what we’re called to do.  It is part of living a ‘Matthew 25 life,’ caring for all who are in need.  I have come to understand the importance of this passage in our life together at Rock Spring this year.  First, because we changed our traditional Call to Offering for the Advent season.  This brought the comment, “The new one’s nice, but we’re going back to the ‘Jesus said…’ one, right?”  Second, and maybe more to our core identity, because these words are often lifted up when we plan our activities, our fellowships, and our outreach and advocacy.

In a way, the ‘Matthew 25 life’ challenges us to live a life worthy of our calling.  We are challenged with these words by the letter to the church at Ephesus:

“…get out there and walk-better yet, run!-on the road God called you to travel.  I don’t want you sitting around on your hands. I don’t want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline-not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences. (Ephesians 4:1-4, The Message).

Down that road we go each day, on our way to work and play.  We respond daily-whether we see it or not- to the call for the hungry and the thirsty, to the needs of the stranger and the one in need, to the care of those imprisoned by illness or society.  This is our “job,” our true calling-our vocation-as members of this church, and as members of the body of Christ.

Now all that is kind of heavy lifting, as we pack up the saws and hammers for Franklin, WV.  But it is with this spirit that we go.  No matter what our day-to-day labors may be, we are called to a mission of sorts.  I do hope that each of us feels that their vocation is truly their life’s calling.  I also hope that our avocations, our hobbies, and our church life augments that calling-our mission as members of the church of Jesus Christ.  Next year, come with the Senior High YoRS.  You might just hear a new calling down God’s road.

News & Notes

Joys and Concerns:

We offer a prayer of thanks for successful heart surgery for Blair Reischer and invite prayers for healing as he recovers at home.  Prayers of healing and support are also sought for Dane Griffin, who has learned that he has cancer again, and also for Dane’s family.  Dane is Doug Griffin’s brother.  Please pray also for Mary Schwarzwalder, who is struggling with some serious health concerns.  Prayers are also requested for John Heins, whose tongue cancer has unfortunately returned.  Keep John and Edith in prayer as he awaits surgery.  Our thoughts and prayers are also with Bill Clarke, his father, and their entire family.  Bill will be donating a kidney to his father on June 23.

Save The Date…September 6th…4PM to 7PM

JFFAL All Church Picnic

This year it will be in Falls Church, so please save the date!

Thanks, Susan Alverson and Donna Cartwright

Rock Springers Receive Awards

On Sunday, June 14 the Arlington Food Assistance Center presented awards to the following Rock Springers at their annual Picnic and Volunteer Recognition event:

Don and Sharon Hall for 20 years of dedicated service

Robin, John, and Warren Overholt were recognized as the Volunteer Family of the Year.

All received a plaque.

Free Yoga Classes at Rock Spring

Rock Spring is pleased to host free yoga classes!  Hatha yoga is an invitation to move the body, deepen the breath and quiet the mind. Yoga is not a religious practice but can provide a venue for individual spiritual connection and an opportunity to retreat from the business of everyday life.

Classes are open to all, regardless of age, physical ability or experience with yoga. Classes will be focused at the beginner level and options and variations will be provided. Participants are asked to bring a towel or mat and wear comfortable clothing.  Classes will be held each Sunday throughout the Summer from 12:30-1:30 pm in the Saegmuller Room.  Sessions will begin on June 28th.

Registration is not required and participants may begin at any time. Questions?  Contact Leigh Ann Slonka at LSlonka@hotmail.com.

Caring Ministry News:

Caring Ministry visitation volunteers are invited to attend the final “resource and sharing” session for this year’s program cycle on Wednesday, July 15, from 7:00-8:30.  The focus of the session will be evaluating the new peer learning model we used this year, informal sharing, and a look forward to next year’s caring ministry program.  The session will be held in the Saegmuller Room.

Green Tip

Save energy by using your clothes dryer less often — add a clothesline in your yard, balcony or basement and let clothes dry the natural way.  Try it!  Brought to you by Rock Spring’s Eco-Justice Committee.

Sunday School News and Notes

“The Big Move”

Because of the HVAC renovation project, the Hunter Education Building will be “offline” from June 22-August 31.  This means that our Child Care and Sunday School programs will be moving for the summer to Agnes Carpenter Hall.  Parents of infants and toddlers, please drop your child off with Fern and Janine at the “Green Room.”  All Adult Ed and Sunday School programs will meet in Carpenter Hall.

Welcome to Summer Sunday School

Summer Sunday School runs from June 1 to August 30.  Classes take place during the 10 AM service, after the children’s moment. Two multi-age classes will be offered, Pre K-1^st Grade and 2^nd-5^th grade

Our Sunday School uses the Seasons of the Spirit curriculum.  For more information on the scope and sequence, the foundations, and the specifics of the curriculum, please visit www.spiritseasons.com.

Our Whole Lives

New Class Forming For This Fall

A new Our Whole Lives / Sexuality and Our Faith (OWL) class is forming for fall 2009.  The class is open to all students who will be entering 6th or 7th grade in the fall.  Participants do NOT need to be members of Rock Spring, so feel free to pass this information on to friends, relatives or classmates who might be interested in participating.  There is a $60 fee for the class, which includes the course curriculum (yours to keep!), as well as materials for the class.  Scholarships are available by contacting the OWL Leaders; all scholarship requests will be kept confidential.  If you are planning to enroll siblings, please talk to the OWL Leaders about a reduced fee.

Course leaders will be Ashley Martinage and Allen Moore.  Ashley and Allen are both certified OWL Leaders and were part of the team that taught Rock Spring’s first OWL class in 2008.  The class will be ten sessions long and attendance is expected at all sessions.  Based on responses to the OWL survey, classes will be held on Sunday mornings.  The schedule is as follows:

• 9/20/09 11:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Parents’ Meeting
• 9/27/09 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM: Parent/Child Orientation
• 10/4/09, 10/11/09, 10/18/09, 10/25/09, 11/1/09, 11/8/09, 11/15/09 and 11/22/09 11:00 AM-12:30 PM: class sessions

If you have any questions about the OWL Grades 5-7 program in general or about the Fall 2009 Grades 6-7 class, please contact owl567@rockspringucc.org.

Our Whole Lives Leader Training Event Hosted at Rock Spring

The OWL Team at Rock Spring is hosting an OWL Leader Training Event for Grades 7-9/10-12.  The event is will take place September 25-27 in Neighborhood House/Carpenter Hall.  If you are interested in becoming a Grades 7-9/10-12 OWL Leader at Rock Spring, please contactowl@rockspringucc.org.  We are still looking for at least one more leader for our OWL Grades 10-12 class (coming in Spring 2010!).

If you are interested in helping with the training event, let us know!  We’re looking for people who can be available to help transport participants to and from the airport, be available to open their homes to participants requesting home hospitality, and/or who help provide meals during the event.  Can you help?  Email owl@rockspringucc.org and tells us what you’d like to do.  We look forward to talking to you!

Youth of Rock Spring (YoRS)

Summer Mission Experience is on its way!

On Sunday, June 28, our intrepid Missioners headed out to Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity.  With them went our gift raised with our TP Tube banks.  At the time of printing, the funds weren’t counted (but the bag was HEAVY!).

Thank you, members and friends of Rock Spring for your generous support in all of the fund raising for the Mission Experience.  Beyond the TP Tube banks, the youth raised and were gifted a total of $2,700.  We’d like to acknowledge here our generous anonymous benefactor, who matched that amount dollar-for-dollar.  We could not have dreamed of such a blessing.  Your gifts will allow us to offset many expenses for this year’s trip, and to plan “something interesting” for the 2010 Mission Experience.

Look for our report when we get back!

2009 CAC Youth Event Canceled

Sadly, the CAC Youth Event has been canceled for this Summer.  More information on future Youth Events for the Potomac Association and Central Atlantic Conference will be coming in the fall.

YoRS Dates

6/28-7/4         SH YoRS Summer Mission Experience @ Almost Heaven HFH-Franklin, WV
7/17-19            Rock-in the Woods Church Camping Trip

In Support of Marriage Equality – Report on 2009 Capital Pride Events

Rock Springers participated in three events associated with Capital Pride as a public expression of our commitment to being an Open and Affirming congregation.

Interfaith Service: “Claiming the Promise: A Celebration of Marriage Equality”

Several Rock Springers attended the third annual Northern Virginia Pride Interfaith Service on June 5 at Clarendon Presbyterian Church. Clergy from several denominations and many same-sex couples and their families, friends, and allies filled the sanctuary. The service focused on the dual themes of celebrating the promises couples make to one another, and our conviction that all loving relationships are equal in the sight of God and that legal marriage should be available to all. The Rev. Dr. Janet Parker of Rock Spring was among the ministers who led the service, and several lay persons-including a Rock Spring parent-spoke movingly about their personal experiences with same-sex holy unions and marriage. Finally, every person or couple present had the opportunity to receive a blessing on their partnerships and their families from one of the clergy present.

Capital Pride Parade

A group of nineteen Rock Springers and their friends marched for the ninth year in a row in the Capital Pride Parade on June 13. This year for the first time, we had a shiny red Mustang convertible with red and black balloons to enable those who cannot walk the entire distance to join the parade. The crowd clapped-and some danced-with appreciation upon seeing our banner, “We Support Marriage Equality,” and signs proclaiming “God is Still Speaking,” “A Just Peace and Open and Affirming Church,” and “Rock Spring Welcomes You.” Many walked up to the banner to take a photo, a portion from our ONA statement was read aloud through a speaker twice along the parade route, and there were shouts of “Thank you, grandma!” (to Caroline Hufford-Anderson, who was riding the Mustang) and “Marriage equality, yes, that’s right! Love you all!”

Capital Pride Festival

Rock Spring shared a booth at the festival on June 14 with Hope, Bethel, and Little River UCC. We distributed postcards with the names of all ONA churches in the area, our ONA statement, God-is-still-speaking magnets from UCC, Janet’s award-winning sermon “The Ties that Bind,” and her congressional briefing (available at the ONA Web Page on our website). Together with the march, the booth at the festival was an important outreach for Rock Spring.

45th CAC Annual Meeting Focuses on Caring for the Earth

Nearly 300 persons attended the Central Atlantic Conference’s 45th annual meeting June 12-14, organized around the theme “Save the Rock: Lord Lead Us to Greener Pastures.” Rock Spring was represented by Revs. Doug Griffin, Janet Parker and Hank Fairman, as well as Sara Fitzgerald, Carol George and Laura Graves.

Keynote speaker for the meeting was Janet’s doctoral dissertation adviser, Dr. Larry Rasmussen, a retired professor of ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Wesley Seminary and the author of Earth Community, Earth Ethics and Earth Habitat: Eco-Injustice and the Church’s Response. In his address, he demonstrated how dramatically the ecology of Planet Earth has worsened since the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Copies of Dr. Rasmussen’s speech are available for individual use by contacting the CAC office by email (amegna@cacucc.org). Janet introduced her mentor to the annual meeting, and also participated with Conference Minister John Deckenback in an opening question-and-answer session with Dr. Rasmussen.

Conference delegates approved a budget for calendar year 2010 that will result in the elimination of two part-time positions on the Conference Ministry team. Delegates also affirmed Clergy Compensation Guidelines for 2009-10, and elected new officers and members of the board of directors. The meeting marked the end of Sara Fitzgerald’s term as president of the CAC Board of Directors, and Sara was warmly thanked for her service.  Rev. Dr. Jim Bundy, of Sojourners UCC in Charlottesville, VA, in the Shenandoah Association, will serve as the new president of the CAC Board. Some Rock Springers may remember Jim from when he delivered a stewardship sermon to us in the fall of 2007.

Two resolutions related to a proposed restructuring of the national setting of the United Church of Christ, one approved by the Catoctin Association and the other by the Potomac Association at their respective spring meetings, were subject to several hours of respectful debate and discussion. In the end, delegates voted to table both resolutions, rather than choosing to endorse one over the other. Both will be the subject of discussion at General Synod, along with a number of similar resolutions submitted by other conferences. Materials related to General Synod can be reviewed at www.ucc.org. (As Moderator of the Potomac Association, Hank had helped the resolution’s proponents guide it to the point of consideration by the conference.)

The CAC meeting also celebrated the 40 years of ordained ministry of Rev. Dr. Jerry Foltz. Jerry served in all five associations of the CAC over the course of his career, including service as the founding pastor of Wellspring UCC in Centreville, VA, and later as the associate conference minister with prime responsibility for the Catoctin Association, where he was born.