Monday – Thursday:  9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Closed on Fridays.

Rev. Hank Fairman will be on vacation from July 26 – August 15.

Rev. Janet Parker will be on vacation from August 17 – September 1

Need:

• 35-50 soft drinks
• Tortillas
• 40 bananas
• Meat-ham for 40
• 35-50 soft drinks
• Sandwiches

Everything will be done at my house on Friday, 16 July-any time from 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.  Need 3 people to help.  If you can help, please contact Ann Rudd.  Have to make sandwiches and put chips and cookies into baggies.

Great News from Church Council!

“As I write, preparations are well underway for welcoming Rev. Dr. Kathy Dwyer and her husband, Dale, and her children, Courtney and Drew, to Rock Spring in July for Candidating Week”…

Who are you Christians, anyway? The Central Atlantic Conference Annual Meeting: June 11-13
“Every member and friend of Rock Spring should have the chance to attend one of the meetings of our denomination.  Events such as the Annual Meetings of the UCC’s Central Atlantic Conference offer a great perspective on Our Church’s Wider Mission and a hint of the diversity of the UCC”…

The Global Fight for LGBT rights: A Conversation between Bishop Gene Robinson and Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda

“On June 8, the Center for American Progress sponsored the above program and I attended to learn more about the current state of affairs for LGBT people in Africa, who are experiencing systematic, state-sponsored persecution and criminalization of their relationships”…

Is there an Amos In the House?

“The month of July will hear readings from three prophets, Elisha (successor of Elijah), Amos, and Hosea.  In a sense, these three prophets represent the birth of what we now call “Biblical Israel” — a nation committed exclusively to one God, Yahweh”…

Markers & Milestones

Rock Spring celebrates the wedding of Courtney Johnson, daughter of Don and Diana Johnson, to Drew Wallace on June 12th.  The wedding was held at Rock Spring with the Rev. Linda Carder officiating.    Godspeed to Courtney and Drew as they begin married life together!

Rock Spring celebrated the life of Eugenia Barnett Schultheis with a beautiful and song-filled memorial service on June 10th.  The service featured a very large choir who assembled to pay tribute to Gene’s life and all of her contributions over the years to Rock Spring’s music program.  “Children of Gene,” who ranged from 5 to 50 (roughly speaking) sang one of Gene’s favorite songs which she taught generations of Rock Spring children, “This Little Light of Mine.”  Many thanks to all who made the service possible, including the choir members, staff, and the Rock Spring Women’s Fellowship, who provided a lovely reception.
The church also remembered the life of former member Peggy (Harlow) Knight in a memorial service conducted on Friday, June 25 at 4 p.m.  Doug Griffin and Chaplain Charles Spigner of Capital Hospice co-officiated.  Peggy died on Saturday evening, June 19, at home with most of her six children at her side.

News and Notes

Lectionary Study change from Tuesday, July 6 to Thursday, July 8.

Rev. Kathy Dwyer will conduct the Lectionary Study during the week leading up to “Candidate Sunday.”  In order to do that the Study will change from Tuesday, July 6 to Thursday, July 8 at 10 a.m. in the Saegmuller Room.  All are welcome.  Lectionary Study returns to its normal schedule on Tuesday, July 13 at 10 a.m. in the Saegmuller Room.

Learning and Fellowship

OWL News

Congratulations!

The OWL Grades 10-12 Leaders would like to congratulate our first Grades 10-12 class.  Participants finished the program on June 13.  Participants, we were a small class, but we thank you for actively contributing to each session, sharing and having fun–and for teaching us a thing or two!  Thanks to the parents and participants for supporting the program.

Are you curious about what participants learned this spring?  Do you want to know more about the program?  Are you (or your child/youth) interested in participating in an upcoming class?  Email owl@rockspringucc.org or check us out on Rock Spring’s website.

Come experience OWL Leadership for yourself!  Are you interested in working with children or youth in the Our Whole Lives / Sexuality and Our Faith program?  Rock Spring has offered classes for Grades 5-7 and 10-12.  Email the OWL Team at owl@rockspringucc.org to chat with an experienced leader about the training process and about what it’s like to lead a class.  We’d love to hear from you!

Christian Education News

Sunday School is Summer School!

Please note that we will move to a single service at 10:00 am from June 12 to Labor Day, with Sunday school concurrent at that hour for grades Preschool-Fifth.

We are recruiting for summer Sunday School teachers this Sunday. The classes will be split PreK-1, 2nd-5th, Middle School. High School students will not have Sunday School over the summer. If you would like to teach a few Sundays this summer, please contact Taryn Roman or email christianed@rockspringucc.org. Even one or two Sundays over the summer would be a big help!

Summer Mission Experience is on its way!

On Sunday, June 27, our intrepid Missioners headed out for the annual Senior High Summer Mission Experience.  This year, we’re returning to Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity, and we’re bringing friend from three other churches.  Folks from Little River UCC-Annandale, VA; Christ Congregational UCC-Silver Spring, MD; and United Christian Parish, Reston, VA will join us for the week’s work.  All told, we’ll be 30-35 strong.  How awesome?!?  They were inspired by our trip last year.  And if all goes well, we will be working towards a house sponsorship in the next few years!

Pray for us, and for Almost Heaven!  Look for our report when we get back!

Eco Justice News

The next meeting of the Eco-Justice committee will be on Wednesday, July 14th at 7:00 p.m.  The committee will turn its attention to plans for another Blessing of the Animals event in the fall along with a special worship service on World Communion Sunday, October 3.  All are invited to attend!

Green Tip

Before you leave your desk at the end of the day, take a moment to check that everything is switched off.  Leaving your computer on overnight can waste enough energy to laser-print 800 pages.  That adds up to 2,600 kWh of energy each year, producing up to 1.9 tons of carbon dioxide, without getting any extra work done.  Try it!   Brought to you by Rock Spring’s Eco-Justice Committee.

Social Action & Mission News

Who are you Christians, anyway? The Central Atlantic Conference Annual Meeting:  June 11-13

Every member and friend of Rock Spring should have the chance to attend one of the meetings of our denomination—Association, Conference, or even Synod. Sure, there is some fairly heavy duty business to attend to (see below). But events such as the Annual Meetings of the UCC’s Central Atlantic Conference offer a great perspective on Our Church’s Wider Mission and a hint of the diversity of the UCC.

Each annual conference is hosted by one of the Associations. This year was our, Potomac Association’s, turn.  And our very own, Pastor Hank Fairman, as Moderator, played a leading role in organizing the conference, including an inspiring series of worship opportunities. A highlight was the worship led by Covenant Baptist Church (affiliated with the) UCC, attending their first ever CAC Annual Meeting. Covenant Baptist was warmly welcomed for the African-themed worship they brought featuring music, drumming and dance.

At a deeper level they were also welcomed in light of their principled stance on marriage equality within their former denomination and in the District of Columbia, which led to their decision to align with the UCC.

Nearly 200 delegates reflected on the central theme: “Who are you Christians, anyway”. We were privileged to have commentator and scholar Diana Butler Bass, author of Christianity for the Rest of Us, offering valuable food for thought. An analyst of religious trends in America, she pointed to pervasive ambivalence to the word “Christian” especially among the younger generation. Overwhelming majorities think of Christians as being: judgmental, hypocritical, anti-homosexual, out of touch, and boring. Diana Bass’s responded by stressing a faith based in action rather than the dogmatic adherence to a specific set of beliefs that remains so common. Follow Diana Bass’ blog for more on this theme.

Turning to business, (see background documents) it was the financial condition of the Conference that drew most attention. Sharp declines in income—congregations, including Rock Spring, are giving less and investment balances have taken a heavy hit from the financial crisis—had already led the Conference to eliminate two part-time Associate Conference Ministers, freeze salaries, and other staffing and administrative cut backs. But more was needed.  Decisions were taken to:

· Reduce the proportion of receipts sent by CAC to the national church from 35% to 30% (to be reviewed annually);

· Reorganize the various reserve funds and allow a larger annual draw.

Although the various measures allowed for a modest cost-of-living adjustment for the first time in 2-3 years, demands on staff are very high. The Annual Meeting also approved a “Campaign for the Conference”  intended to restore at  least one of the two Associate Minister positions eliminated in the 2010 cuts. CAC will approach the membership directly  in consultation  with individual congregations.

Conference passed  other resolutions:

· Ratifying some changes in the UCC Constitution and by-laws focused on preparation for authorized ministry in the UCC.

· On VA and MD health issues: “Faith United Against Tobacco in Virginia” and “We Support the Maryland Health Care for All”

·Urging all levels of the UCC from congregations to synod to examine their banking relationships and, where possible, practical and prudent, to move toward banks that have records of fair lending and investing in the communities where they do business.

Rock Spring is a member of the Potomac Association, one of five Associations in the Central Atlantic Conference, covering 185 churches. There are 38 conferences in the UCC nationwide.  Rock Spring’s lay delegates for 2010 were Sara Fitzgerald and Michael Bell. All three pastors also attended for at least part of proceedings, as duties permitted.

Michael Bell
Chair, Board for Social Action and Mission

Community & Society

On finding (and sharing) new inspiration. love, learning, friends – muscles

The powdery smell (and taste) of drywall mud being sanded “baby skin” smooth; the whirring sound of the saw as finish boards are cut; the clipping sound of aluminum siding being snipped; the pounding of nails into siding or porch walls; shouts of measurements or questions or answers; and lots of unusually sore muscles—these are among the signs of progress as Church World Service completes its sixth week of work toward restoring 14 flood-damaged homes in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  Rock Spring Members Lisa Wenger, Shirley Meehan, and Jim Meehan were among the 8 Central Atlantic Conference volunteers participating in the work May 17-22, 2010.

Highlights of the week included a ribbon–cutting ceremony at the home of Dan McSpadden and his wife, complete with a live polka band.  The McSpaddens have lived in their home for over 40 years and had feared they would never return after the terrible floods of two years ago.  But thanks to the more-than-400 volunteers who have worked on their home and others, they soon will return.  Neighbors’ houses across the street and for a few blocks approaching the river have been condemned, the owners compensated in some way as their homes have been declared in a 100-year (as opposed to 500-year for the McSpadden site) flood plain, and will become part of a new green space beyond a higher levee that is being built.   Rock Springers, along with the other CAC participants, the Leamon family from Maple Shade, New Jersey UCC and the Alden-Sawtelle family from Reading, PA, were assigned under the supervision of a knowledgeable site manager to the home of Faye and Maribelle Benesh.  The Benesh home (which they had occupied for over 50 years) had to be rebuilt after their sump pump failed during the flood, becoming infested with black mold.

Skilled volunteers enhanced or learned new skills while those of us who thought we could only sweep, vacuum, or paint, certainly developed additional skills.  Some of us sanded dry wall; others did finish work on the porch; others cut or put the final touches on aluminum siding; some did finish trim work, put up cabinets, and almost everyone painted.  Our group was pleased with its team work, managing to put a coat of primer on one full floor in a Friday morning, and then finish the walls in the afternoon so we could hang cabinets on Saturday morning as promised.  We were pleased when a leader told us he had never seen such a good paint job in such a short time.  It gave us all a great feeling to be proud of both the effort we had expended and the quality of the work completed.

We ate very well during the week.  Mr. and Mrs. Benesh stopped by every day to express their love and gratitude to the workers, and treated the group to a wonderful bratwurst lunch, complete with Maribelle’s famous pork and bean cake on Thursday of the work week.  A nice lunch also was available most days courtesy of the First Presbyterian Church, which we learned had flooded only due to a sewer back-up; this was fortunate for them, because although they did not have flood insurance some member o f the property board had put a rider on their insurance policy to cover sewer back-up, so they had some nice remodeling.  We also enjoyed a special dinner at St. Wenceslaus Catholic church, which brought many groups together to socialize and celebrate the ecumenical activity.  This church basement also had flooded, but most of the lovely ornate Czech sanctuary was spared and the church basement we understand was improved with the rebuilding effort.

We appreciated the efforts that many provided to minister to those of us who were providing work ministry.   In addition to the food we were provided, for example, the Hope UCC in Hiawatha, Iowa, allowed campers to plug in at their church free of charge (and provided nice fellowship at Sunday morning worship) and the Living Water United Methodist Church offered a small campground, complete with a trailer labeled “Louisiana United Methodist Disaster Response,” which contained showers and laundry facilities.  The campground had campsites with water and electric (with dump site nearby) for just $20 per week, which made the experience logistically great and financially very nice for campers.  They indicated this is part of their ministry to those ministering through working on homes.   Rock Springers noted that our fellow UCCers had more experience doing this sort of thing than we.  Barry Sawtelle, a lawyer, has worked with Habitat for Humanity since the 1990s and Rev. Jim Leamon, helpful wife Carol and talented son Jim have worked in the field many years as well, with Rev. Leamon having coordinated activities for the CAC for about eleven years.  Their experience showed!

Everyone seemed to agree that seeing the happy faces of the homeowners—and even their neighbors– makes work like this especially rewarding.  We also enjoyed meeting new people, making new friends, learning new skills, enhancing our muscle tone, and sharing new experiences.  Among key lessons were:
1) how important it is to help those who have been providing guidance for many weeks know how much we appreciate them and help them focus on what we need most from them
2) the tremendous amount of organizational effort that goes into this type of ministry; and
3) the great need for this type of work.

For example, Rev. Leamon shared with us his understanding that fourteen churches are being destroyed by arson alone each month across the US (an improvement over the last decade when the number was 25 per month).  And of course we at Rock Spring are familiar with the great work of this type to which members Robin and John Overholt have contributed in Biloxi after Katrina.  We hope that the inspiring experience we have shared will encourage us and others to follow the Overholt’s excellent example to learn about, share, and do much more of this type of work.  We know that the experiences we have shared, the people we have met, and the joy we have seen on the faces of the people who appreciate our help this week will stay with us long after our tired muscles and related minor aches and pains subside. An article about this week’s effort is available at  http://www.churchworldservice.org/site/News2?_iv_ctrl=-1&page=NewsArticle&id=9433.  Feel free to contact one of us or check the UCC web site for other opportunities like this at: http://www.ucc.org/oghs/national.

Celebrating 10 Years of Open and Affirming at Rock Spring

The weekend of June 13 marked the 10th year since our church voted to become Open and Affirming (ONA), and began participating in the Capital Pride events as a demonstration of our support for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) community.

Northern Virginia Interfaith Pride Service, June 10

This year’s service was held at the Metropolitan Community Church in Fairfax.  A good turnout of people from many denominations and faith traditions throughout Northern Virginia attended, including 6 Rock Springers.  The theme was “Believe Out Loud.”  Music was provided by a band from Our Lady Queen of Peace.  Two personal reflections, including one by Janet Parker, centered on the theme of how our faith can help us break the silence and speak up on issues of justice and inclusiveness.

Capital Pride Parade

Eight UCC churches, numbering about sixty marchers, about a third of whom were from Rock Spring, participated in the Capital Pride parade on June 12. Rev. Janet Parker rode in a red Mustang convertible wearing a rainbow stole and held a sign that identified Rock Spring as a “Just Peace, Open & Affirming Church.” The onlookers responded enthusiastically to the banner we carried that read “We Support Marriage Equality.”  “You are awesome!” “You guys are the best!” “God bless Rock Spring!” were some of the comments, but the most numerous comment of all was a simple thank-you—“Thank you for what you do,”  “Thank you for standing with us.” One of the most moving sights was that of a man standing next to his partner, with tears streaming down his cheeks. The level of appreciation expressed, as in all the preceding years, exceeded anything we could have asked for.

Pride Sunday

The church service on June 13 was dedicated to the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of our church’s becoming ONA. Wei Huey and Debbie Taub Sullivan spoke about how Rock Spring’s ONA status was instrumental in their becoming church members—with Wei discovering Rock Spring at the Capital Pride Festival exactly a year earlier—and the congregation recited a litany for commitment, written by Charles Spencer.  Doreen Mannion, one of Rock Spring’s seminary interns, offered a moving sermon on the important witness of ONA churches within the UCC.  A reception followed the service.

Capital Pride Festival

Rock Springers took turns at a booth at the Capital Pride Festival on June 13. People stopped by throughout the day, some seriously seeking information and a few actively looking for a place of worship where they would be welcomed. Some left their names and addresses.  The Festival provides a more personal way for people to encounter Rock Spring and serves as a good counterpoint to the witness provided by our church in the Parade.

From the Pastor’s Desk

“The Global Fight for LGBT rights:  A Conversation between Bishop Gene Robinson and Bishop Christopher Senyonjo of Uganda”

On June 8, the Center for American Progress sponsored the above program and I attended to learn more about the current state of affairs for LGBT people in Africa, who are experiencing systematic, state-sponsored persecution and criminalization of their relationships.  Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay Episcopal Bishop in the U.S. was joined by Bishop Christopher Senyonjo, a courageous Ugandan bishop who has suffered greatly because of his advocacy for gay and lesbian people in Uganda.

The program opened with remarks from Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State in the area of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.  Assistant Secretary Posner stated unequivocally that “LGBT rights are human rights.”  He announced that the State Department now includes the rights of LGBT people in its human rights reports on areas around the world.  He also reported that the State Department is working diplomatically to counter national policies that marginalize and mistreat LGBT people.  He noted that Secretary Clinton had issued an LGBT Pride Proclamation on June 7.  You can find the Proclamation online at http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/pix/lgbt/2010/142820.htm

For the remainder of the program, Bishop Robinson interviewed Bishop Senyonjo. Bishop Senyonjo has openly opposed the pending legislation in Uganda that would make homosexuality a capital offense in some cases and includes a three-year prison sentence for people who know a gay person but do not report them to the authorities.  For his courageous stance, Bishop Senyonjo has been stripped of all his authority and duties as a bishop, and he and his wife have been forced to move around the country constantly because of death threats.

Bishop Senyonjo said that he feels “called” to advocate for the rights of LGBT people and compared his sense of call to Paul’s call to minister to the Gentiles.  He expressed concern about the activities of some US-based religious organizations that have a promoted religiously-based anti-gay agenda, including the linkage of homosexuality with pedophilia.  He reported on the anguish of LGBT Ugandans who have come to him on the verge of suicide after losing everything—jobs, family, and homes.  He also discussed the way in which forcing LGBT people deeper into the closet only exacerbates the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa because they cannot seek treatment.  He concluded that the only way forward in Uganda is for straight allies to speak out against the criminalization of homosexuality, and he said that his trip to the U.S. has inspired him to return to Uganda to have one-on-one conversations with other Bishops to share his understanding with them.

-Submitted by Janet Parker

Church Council News

From the Council President

As I write, preparations are well underway for welcoming Rev. Dr. Kathy Dwyer and her husband, Dale, and her children, Courtney and Drew, to Rock Spring in July for “Candidating Week.”  A mailing to the congregation is in its final stages of preparation, outlining the full schedule of events to be held from their arrival on July 7 through worship on July 11 led by Rev. Dwyer, and the Congregation’s deliberation of her Call immediately following the service.

Check your mailbox (and your email-box) for the details, but events open to the entire congregation include:  Bible Study; a tea; a potluck supper; “dessert, coffee & conversation” focused on mission; a lunch; a “meet & greet” reception; a pancake breakfast; a presentation by YORS about their mission trip; and an “Ask the Candidate” Q&A session.

So much activity!  I am grateful to the many people in the congregation who are working to ensure that each event is successful – and includes food!  Rev. Dwyer has jokingly told the Search Committee that she will pack a bib and elastic-waist pants for this marathon of get-to-know-you events.  She is as excited to meet all of you as I suspect you are to meet her.

As we prepare to offer this “extravagant welcome” to Kathy and Dale Dwyer, I hope we each will pause to reflect on the journey that has brought us to this place.  I truly believe that God IS still speaking through the work of our Search Committee, members of the Congregation, and our lay and ordained leaders, past and present.  Amidst all the hubbub of meeting and greeting, let us stop for a moment to listen for that voice and to discern where it is leading us.  I am excited about what I hear, and I hope that you will be, too.

Ashley Martinage

Prayerful Illumination

Is there an Amos In the House?

The month of July will hear readings from three prophets, Elisha (successor of Elijah), Amos, and Hosea.  In a sense, these three prophets represent the birth of what we now call “Biblical Israel” — a nation committed exclusively to one God, Yahweh.   Elisha’s predecessor, Elijah and he are instrumental in agitating for the political end of Israel’s Omride dynasty (of which Ahab is the most famous king).  It is a dynasty that is devoted to Yahweh but that fostered close political and religious alliances with neighboring monarchies, especially Tyre of Phoenicia.  Israel tolerated worship of its allies’ gods (especially Baal) within Israel’s borders and along with Yahweh worship.  But, beginning with Elijah this new “Yahweh-only” movement condemned Israel’s political and theological accommodation.  Under the Omrides Israel had achieved unparalleled prosperity and boasted an internationally recognized military machine.  But the prophets level a scathing challenge:  Is it worth it?  Whom do we serve?  Where is our allegiance?

Amos comes onto the stage some half-century after Elisha exited.  Amos is the first of the literary prophets (those whose works comprise books of the Bible).  King Jeroboam II rules Israel preserving the relative power and prosperity of the former Omride dynasty (even though Jeroboam’s grandfather, Jehu, had wiped-out the Omride house and instituted a “Yahweh-only”  dynasty).  Ironically, Amos isn’t a professional prophet like Elijah or Elisha.  He’s a sheep merchant and Sycamore tree farmer from Judah.  In Amos’s time Judah is politically weaker than, though an accommodating ally of, Israel.  And, though likely a modestly prosperous business man Amos can’t ignore the poverty amidst the prosperity surrounding him  He can’t ignore the economic oppression of the powerless by the elite of his society who claim to serve Yahweh.  This business man goes to the political and religious centers of power, Samaria and Bethel.  “How can we live in luxury while ignoring the suffering of the poor in our midst?” “How can we present offerings to God in the temple that have been won at the expense of the powerless and that ignore the cries of the needy?” Not surprisingly Amos is accused of conspiracy against the religious and political peace of Israel.

And so it has been in every generation.  May we continue to find the courage to question our alliances.  And may we listen to the voices among us that hear in new refrains the message that both comforts and confronts us:  “Inasmuch as you did it to the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.”

For a PDF version of the newsletter, click here.

CALL TO SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CONGREGATION

All members of Rock Spring Congregational UCC are hereby called to a Meeting of the Congregation on Sunday, July 11, 2010 at 11:15 AM in the Sanctuary.  Child care will be available during the meeting.

Agenda:

1. Receive and act upon the recommendation of the Senior Pastor Search Committee to Call Rev. Dr. Kathryn N. Dwyer as Senior Pastor.

-Marie Morris, Clerk of the Church