Have a Minute?

By Douglas Griffin

It’s become almost impossible to go out without seeing the all too familiar reminder: “Back to School.” Clothing stores, office supply stores, drug stores, and more announce their sales on wares. They are prepared to help students get the latest gadgets, stock up on standard supplies, and look their best for the new year of education. In fact, we don’t have to leave our homes to get the message. Turn on the TV and see the ads. Turn on your computer and there they are. Get ready for another year of learning without even having to leave home.
It’s not just hype, of course. Some of my fond memories are of those exciting shopping trips with my brothers and mom to stock-up on supplies, get cool new stuff, and then wait with anticipation for the first day of school--ready to look good and have the right tools. I didn’t realize then how excited my mom probably was to get us ready and out of the house to school!
Getting ready for school was a family affair, took forethought, planning, & action. It is, I think, a pretty apt model for us in the church community as the summer winds down and a new program year gears up. Christian Education is more than a line item in our church’s budget, or an organization of the church charged with taking care of kids on Sunday morning. Christian Education is deeper. It is a fundamental core of our spiritual discipline. Christian Education implies that to be Christian is always to be learning. I mean, when is Christian education finished? When does a Christian “graduate”? And if you said Confirmation, shame on you! Maybe Christian “graduation” is the celebration of life at our funeral! In the meantime, every year is our opportunity to pursue our Christian education, to pursue the mystery and drama of what it means for us to follow in the way of the Christ.
If that’s so, then when all around us social voices are speaking about “Back to School,” it might be time to ask ourselves the question. Are we intentional about our Christian learning? Are we still getting ready and getting equipped with the latest and best? Or are we still relying on the tools we received long ago and in a far away place? We are blessed at Rock Spring Church with so many opportunities to learn, to be stretched, to be made creatively uncomfortable, and to pursue our Christian vision. How will you take advantage of all of the specials being offered here to get ready to go “Back to School”?

Bi-Weekly Church Calendar

Please click here to view the current Rock Spring bi-weekly calendar.

News & Notes

Joys & Concerns

Congratulations to Kathy Wildman and Brett Zinger, on their marriage Aug. 2 on Cape Cod at the home of Chuck and Anne Wildman! Kathy and Brett will make their home in Centreville, VA.   Congratulations also to David Kinney and Emily Lengerich on their marriage August 2 at Oatlands Plantation in Leesburg, VA.

Prayers are requested for Donna and Geoffrey Hawley as they go through a difficult separation, and for Geoffrey, who is now living in Denver and struggling with health concerns. Please pray for Hunter Moore as he recovers at home from surgery for a ruptured appendix.

Our continued prayers and condolences are extended to Pat and Anita Marx, as they honor the life of their beloved mother, Olivia Marx, in a private interment service at Arlington National Cemetery on August 27.

Staff Notes

Janet Parker is on vacation and study leave until August 31.

SAVE THE DATE FOR "A MOVEABLE FEAST"!

Many Rock Spring members have expressed interest in gathering in smaller groups to get to know each other better in informal settings—such as potlucks or dinners out. "A Moveable Feast" involves ROTATING SMALL GROUPS who meet monthly over the course of a program year (October-May). All those interested are asked to join us in Carpenter Hall Saturday September 27 from 5-7 pm to learn more about plans for randomly assigned small groups, share some fellowship and enjoy appetizers provided by the Board of Deacons. Child care will be provided. Please mark the date and more information will be coming.

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.

Bead Workshop

Don't forget our BEAD WORKSHOP continuing through October on: Wednesdays-September 10 and October 8 at 10:00 am--2:00 pm and Mondays-August 18, September 15 and October 20 at 7:30 pm-9:00 pm.  Everyone is welcome.  Come and learn and create!  Questions? Please contact Florence Otstot.

ROCK SPRING MEN: PLEASE HELP THE OWL PROGRAM

By Christina Fairman

The Our Whole Lives / Sexuality and Our Faith program at Rock Spring still needs a male leader for our Grades 7-9 OWL classes. Please read the following information about the program. If it sounds like something you are interested in, please contact owl@rockspringucc.org. We would be happy to talk to you about the OWL program and answer any questions you may have. It is the hope of the OWL Launch Team that leaders will teach more than one course. Please keep this in mind as you consider a leader position.

The Grades 7-9 level of OWL has one parent orientation session and twenty-seven class sessions. Please note that whether these sessions are conducted weekly/bi-weekly throughout the year or are conducted as several retreats throughout the year will be up to the leaders, participants and participants’ families. In addition, leaders must set aside time for planning before each session and for de-briefing after each session. Prior to leading an OWL course, leaders must complete leader training, where they will learn how to teach the course. Training provides an opportunity to see the activities modeled by trainers, practice leading activities in a safe environment, and network with other leaders to share best practices. Training also helps teachers explore their own feelings and values regarding sexuality.

Training and curriculum is provided at no cost to the potential leader. OWL Grades 7-9 and 10-12 training will be hosted by Rock Spring Congregational UCC and Westmoreland Congregational UCC. Training will take place September 12-14, 2008 at Rock Spring. We hope to see you there!

Social Action Board News:

“Torture: A Moral, Legal, and Political Disaster for America”
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. The 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 Steven 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.

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 about 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 or Ann Rudd.

Make A Difference!  Join the Caring Ministry  Program

Beginning in September, the Caring Ministry program will be recruiting new volunteers. Launched in January of 2006 by the Board of Deacons, the Caring Ministry is a network of care that supports members and friends of Rock Spring. Lay caregivers provide regular visits to those who are ill, homebound, or living in long-term-care facilities, in addition to visits to those in the hospital. Transportation volunteers provide rides to those who need help getting to church or to important appointments. And an extensive network of volunteers sends regular greetings to members no longer able to attend church, as well as cards expressing get-well wishes, sympathy, and congratulations on the birth of a baby. For those who desire to join our visitation ministry, a training program will be provided beginning in October. Continuing training and support will be provided to returning lay caregivers. In this issue of the Rock Spring News and in the following two issues, we are including short testimonies from people who are involved in the program. This issue features the visitation component. Stay tuned in the next two issues for testimonies about our card ministry and transportation components. We hope they will give you some insight into this ministry and perhaps inspire you to join us!

The Visitation Program:

One Rock Springer who lives in a continuing care community and is a regular recipient of visitors from the Caring Ministry had this to say about the program: “It gives me a chance to meet new people and have some visitors. I’ve been with Rock Spring Church since I was 8 years old, and the church has changed a lot over the years. I like to hear about the changes, and I get a sense of that by talking to the women who come to visit me. I love them all. I feel that I have four new friends. It’s just great.”

One Caring Ministry volunteer explained why she participates in the visitation program: “My life is enriched by the time I spend with longtime members who can no longer physically be part of our church community. They are clearly grateful for a listening ear and the opportunity to name their life experiences in a meaningful way. I am forced to slow down in order to be present and listen deeply. In this sacred time, we hope to serve as a reminder of how much each person we visit is cared about and valued.”

Submitted by the Caring Ministry Team:
Bettie Clark, Susan Daniels, Eileen Jinks, Marcia Johnson, Ann Rosser, Stuart Scott, Ellen Swain, and Janet Parker

Update:  Rock Spring Web Site Enhancements

By Dawn Sword

Improved Rock Spring Calendar Now Ready

We've implemented a robust new calendar for the current Rock Spring website that enables visitors to view events in daily, weekly, monthly or yearly view and sort events by category. Each committee has its own login information and can enter events into the calendar.  Submitted events are then reviewed, approved and posted to the live calendar by Rock Spring office staff each day. We're hoping this new calendar will be a better resource for our community while making it easier for church groups to announce their events in a more timely manner.

Next Generation of the Rock Spring Website Under Development

We're currently in the process of rebuilding the Rock Spring website to include a powerful open source content management system and database-driven features. Our goal is to create a more interactive and up-to-date resource that serves the Rock Spring community as well as prospective members and friends. This overhaul will also enable church committees to update the content on their specific pages as regularly as they choose while greatly reducing the burden on the church office to complete these updates.

The new site will include all content we currently have plus additional features such as current announcements and upcoming events listings, "Recently Updated" content alerts, RSS news feeds, searchable archives for sermons and Rock Spring News articles, sermon podcasting, a robust calendar with color-coded categories, rotating "Eco-tips" that refresh on page load, and other enhancements.

We hope to have this new site ready for launch in the next few months. Additional possibilities for future development include an online member directory, online giving and individual wikis/group collaboration tools for church committees. We'll keep you posted!

Sunday School Teachers Needed for Fall 2008

Come join the Rock Spring Teaching Team! The children and youth of our church need you and your talents. The Board of Christian Education is seeking teachers for the 2008-2009 School Year.  We have several openings at our 11 AM service, covering PreK-High School. Teachers work in teams, and we have a handful of experienced teachers willing to partner with you.  First-time volunteers are welcomed and encouraged.  Additionally, teacher training will be offered on September 3rd. 

Please let us know if you are interested in teaching or substituting by emailing christianed@rockspringucc.org no later than Sunday, August 24. Please also indicate the age-group you would prefer to teach.

Iraqi Family Update

In the past two months, with asylum secure and work permits ready, we have entered a process more typical of refugee sponsorship.  With the support of churches the Iraqi families and our family in particular, can put down roots in earnest.  The decrease in anxiety is palpable.  Salam has a job, Nahidah is actively interviewing, and Haider is eagerly looking forward to identifying a job that he might have on weekends.  All were able to navigate the demands of transportation to camp, summer school, the public library, and the new job teaching Arabic.  They shop, get to formal English courses, and travel to many appointments without our help, though we currently help Nahidah with transportation to drop-in classes between terms because travel requires three buses.  A Unitarian volunteer has introduced the two older boys to high school cross country and both have participated in pre-season since early August.  Our support currently focuses on helping the five children begin the new school year – the first time they have returned to the same school in the past three years (with three schools last year).  Beginning this month they will pay all of their own bills and Salam will study for the driver’s license test.   Thanks to everyone who has contributed so generously to the success of this project.  We no longer need much in the way of material goods. We will keep you up to date.  Marti Weston

Church Staff