Rock Spring News
vol. 4 no. 16
covering 7/27/08 to 8/9/08
In This Issue:
Have a Minute?
First, Hello! The first weeks as your Interim Senior Pastor have been a whirlwind of activity. You’re blessed with a gifted and knowledgeable staff. They welcomed me warmly and have gone out of their way to help me keep my head above water and to get me oriented to the ways of Rock Spring Church. Members of your Council and other organizations have accommodated my needs and addressed my questions with enthusiasm and grace. Finally, Su and I have been overwhelmed by your warm greetings and personal welcome.
Now, what is an interim pastor and what do we do? Since April, the Council and Interim Pastor Search Committee have done an excellent job of orienting you to what interim ministry is about. Intentional Interim Ministry is a covenant that is intentionally for a relatively brief period of time between a congregation and pastor to navigate together the transition to new pastoral leadership. For this transition to go well, we face two key priorities in the interim period. The first priority is to nurture what is going well in the church, while encouraging the church to experiment with new ideas. The second priority is to encourage and facilitate church-wide efforts toward prayerful discernment of who the congregation is at this moment in time, what God is to this church now, and who emerges from a careful investigation of potential pastoral leaders as the most likely to lead this church from its awareness today into the mornings of ministry that await.
The interim period is an exciting, uncertain, at times bewildering, and often downright fun time through which to go. Yet, it’s no small nor easy process and won’t be hurried if it’s done with integrity. As an intentional interim pastor my charge and challenge is always to maintain a balance between patience and expedition so that I don’t seek to stay one week longer than I have to nor one week sooner than I should in helping the church navigate the transition to new pastoral leadership. Our covenant together is for two years but can be shortened or lengthened depending on how Rock Spring Church’s discernment and search process unfolds.
We’ll say more about tasks and events that we will engage in coming weeks. For now, a task for all of us is to begin careful and prayerful discernment of why we are here in this church at this time, what God is to us, and how Rock Spring Congregational United Church of Christ embodies and reflects what God is to us?
Peace,
Doug
Bi-Weekly Church Calendar
Please click here to view the current Rock Spring bi-weekly calendar.
News & Notes
Joys & Concerns
Congratulations to Eric and Laura Yeo, and big brother Dylan, on the birth of Lillian Gween Yeo! Lily was born on June 21st and made her debut in church on July 13th. Godspeed to Lois Miller, who has moved to Columbia, MD to be near her son and daughter-in-law. If you would like to be in touch in Lois, the office will have her address. Continued prayers are requested for the health and well-being of Alex Kincaid and Emily Haseltine, who continue to face health challenges.
The pastors encourage you to send in any announcements you would like to appear in this section, including prayer concerns, or joys such as special birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, births or other events. Send them to Janet Parker for publication in this section of the Rock Spring News.
Staff Notes
Hank Fairman will be on vacation from July 28-August 10, and on study leave from August 11-17
Save the date: “Torture: A Moral, Legal, and Political Disaster for America”
Now scheduled for Sunday, September 21, 7:00-9:00 PM, Carpenter Hall
The Board of Social Action will host an open forum to discuss the moral, legal, political, and military implications of our current practices and policies relating to torture. Rev. Dr. Janet Parker, Professor of Government Tony Arend of Georgetown University, and U.S. Representative Jim Moran are scheduled to address moral, legal, and political aspects of torture, respectively. Rock Springer Steve Xenakis, Army Brigadier General and psychiatrist who has done much work in this area, will provide the context and moderate the meeting. The event will be advertised area-wide to other churches and faith communities, seminaries, human rights groups, and organizations working on this topic. We hope to raise awareness and maintain enough continued interest to bring about a legislative change.
WF Fall Bazaar Reminder
The Women's Fellowship reminds all Rock Springers who knit, sew, paint, or make crafts to begin creating items for the craft table at the Annual Fall Bazaar. The bazaar will be Saturday, November 1, so put your imaginations and fingers to work in your "spare" time this summer.
It's Almost Arlington Fair Time--Sign Up Now!
Again this year we will have a booth at the Arlington County Fair. The Fair is earlier than usual this year. Our booth will need to be staffed from Thursday evening, August 7th through Sunday, August 10th. We need volunteers to work in the booth for two or three hour shifts during the time the Fair is open. We will also need help setting up and dismantling the booth.
The County Fair is a great place to see your friends and neighbors and meet new ones. Sixty thousand people are expected to attend. Our booth will be indoors -- in air conditioned comfort. While we are working with our friends at Bethel UCC, it will mostly be up to us to show up and put a human face on our United Church of Christ here in this community.
If you can help, please sign up on the sign-up sheet in the Saegmuller Room or call Charlie or Jacki Brown at 703-534-0747.
Mission Fair Fall 2008
The Board of Stewardship is sponsoring a Mission Fair, on September 28 in Carpenter Hall from 10:00 to 1:00 pm. Representatives from local non-profits that Rock Spring supports through its Benevolences will be available to tell you the services their agencies provide and opportunities to volunteer with their groups. Coffee and pastries will be served.
Help is needed for signs, letters to organizations, and setting up on Saturday before the event. If you can help us email Bill Wooten.
Opportunity to contribute to Christmas in July Special Offering
Every year, we collect the Christmas Fund offering which helps supplement the incomes of active and retired clergy and lay employees of the United Church of Christ, many of whom do not have adequate income to live on. This summer, the Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ is suggesting that individuals donate to a special “Christmas in July” collection to help offset the dramatic impact which record-breaking fuel prices are having on low-income people. As the letter we received from the Pension Boards states, “The ripple effect of soaring energy costs affects what consumers pay for food, utilities, and other necessities as well. The Pension Boards of the United Church of Christ has seen a 300% increase in requests for Emergency Assistance. The budget for emergency grants is providing inadequate to meet these needs, hence the request from the Pension Boards.
If you would like to contribute to the Christmas in July offering, you are invited to write a check payable to Rock Spring Church, and write “Christmas in July offering” on the memo line.
Eco-Justice Summer Film Series
If you missed our first film, don’t miss the second one! We will be showing the film Renewal in two parts, on July 29 and August 3 in Carpenter Hall, details below:
Renewal: Stories from America’s Religious-Environmental Movement, Part I
Tuesday, July 29: 7:15-9:00 PM. This unique film covers eight stories of different religious communities across the country who are getting involved in faith-based environmental education and activism. Stories range from evangelical Christian opposition to mountaintop removal mining, to Protestant churches (like Rock Spring) learning to “go green,” to a black church fighting environmental contamination in small town Mississippi, to a program linking an urban Muslim community with rural Christian farmers who provide them with halal meat, and a Jewish children’s camp that teaches environmental stewardship, among other inspiring vignettes. This film will be shown in two parts to allow time for discussion afterwards, but as the stories are self-contained you don’t need to attend both showings to enjoy the film. Light refreshments provided.
Renewal: Stories from America’s Religious-Environmental Movement, Part II
Sunday, August 3: 11:30-1:00. Light lunch provided AND a special film for the younger set, so bring the kids!
Eco-justice Green Tip of The Week
Home Depot has announced that it will recycle used compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in all 1,973 of its stores in the United States. This will initiate the nation's largest recycling program of CFLs. Home Depot's program will accept any maker's CFLs. Also, the EPA has been studying the possibility of the federal government placing CFL collection boxes at U.S. Post ffices, according to the June 24, 2008 New York Times.