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"Rock in the Woods!" Join Rock Springers for a camping weekend! At Cunningham Falls State Park, Thurmont, MD. (About a 1 1/2 - 2 hour drive from Arlington, 18 miles north of Frederick MD.) Fri (6:00 pm), Sat, Sun (noon) July 25, 26, and 27th. Click here for mroe information
At 9:00:
Infant and Toddler Nursery Care, Pre-K & Kindergarten, Grades 1-5
At 11:00:
Infant and Toddler Nursery Care, Pre-K & Kindergarten, Grades K-1,
Grades 2-3, Grades 4-5, Middle High (Grades 6-8), Senior High (7-12)
During the Summer season, our Sunday School is held during the 10:00 for Pre-K through 5th Grade.
We return to two classes the Sunday following the Labor Day, with our Rally Day Kickoff.
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
Beginning this Fall our congregation will be implementing Our Whole Lives: Sexuality and Our Faith. To provide complete information on this program, please visit the OWL mini-site by clicking here.
A person is incorporated into the body of the church through Baptism. When an infant or a very young child is baptized, the promises are made by one or more parents or sponsors. As a child approaches adolescence, the local church offers an opportunity to give public assent to the baptismal promises. Conformation celebrates this occasion of affirmation of baptism in the life of the individual and the life of the local church.
For 9th and 10th grade students, Confirmation classes are offered as a course of study and exploration. The curriculum based on the foundations, history, and order of the United Church of Christ, and includes interfaith studies and service components. The class meets in regular sessions from September to May, culminating in a service of worship and celebration on the Sunday proceeding Memorial Day weekend.. For more information about Confirmation at Rock Spring UCC, please contact Rev. Hank Fairman hank@rockspringucc.org.
The 2007 – 08 high school year begins with discussions based on Paul Alan Laughlin’s book Remedial Christianity, which is appropriately subtitled What Every Believer Should Know about the Faith, but Probably Doesn’t. During the first weeks, some of the traditional views and practices of Buddhism will be introduced as counterpoint, to illustrate that the assumptions of the major monotheisms are not shared in all traditions. The class will address prayer and meditation in different religious traditions, and the meaning of religious humanism.
Important People Needed for an Important Job! The Board of Christian Education needs your help as educators and mentors for our children and youth. Come be a Sunday School teacher! This is your opportunity to get to know the awesome young people of Rock Spring and help them get started on their faith journeys. Share your creativity and knowledge with our youngsters! Contact Kathy Michael to get involved.
Held each Tuesday in the Saegmuller Room from 10-11:30 am
This group reads and explores the lectionary texts for the coming Sunday. The Sunday preacher leads lively conversation and open-minded exploration of the texts. Coffee, tea and sustenance are readily available. Drop in every week or once in a while to deepen your understanding and appreciation of the Bible.
Meets upstairs in the 6th Grade classroom Sundays, 10:00 -11:00 a.m.
This long-running class usually draws 10 to 20 participants, serves coffee, and looks forward to welcoming new participants.
From October through December the class will watch and discuss David Eckel of Boston University’s explanation of the basics of Buddhism: its origins, schools, and practices. During the first half of 2008, the class expects to address the new Religions in the Axial Age (800 to 200 bce), and the History of the Bible.
Questions? Contact Dwight Rodgers, 703-534-8879.
Three 90 minute sessions, held once or twice during the program year at times to be determined.
In three 90 minute sessions it covers the Bible overall, the New Testament and the Old Testament. Bible Basics is ideal for new members, and for anyone wanting a refresher on the content and structure of the Bible or wondering as a newcomer how to approach this outsized collection of the sacred, profane and dubious. Coffee and tea are provided. We recommend your personal copy of the Harpers Collins or Oxford Study Bible. Questions ? Contact Dwight Rodgers, 703-534-8879.
Using the Living the Questions curriculum and supplementary materials. At least 12 two hour sessions though the year. Look for notice of organizational meetings during September, 2007.
Rock Spring has purchased the curriculum Living the Questions, which the Board of Christian Education plans to introduce during the 2007-08 program year. In a Forward to the program, the Living the Questions staff writes:
“Many people of deep spiritual integrity simply cannot suffer the shallow message of the churches of their birth any longer. They have an intuitive sense that there is more to Christianity than the rigid rules and theological constructs of the past. Sam Keen has written ‘History is littered with the remains of civilizations that chose to die rather than change their organizing myth.’ Without a re-evaluation of the organizing myths of Christianity, the church, too, seems poised to pass into the irrelevance to which so many religions of the past have been relegated.
‘Living the Questions’ hopes to expose people to the ideas and concepts that have been taught and discussed for generations in our seminaries that don’t get taught or discussed in our churches. ‘Living the Questions’ is for those who are yearning for something more than the shallow platitudes that pass for theology in many churches… It’s for those who are looking for a resource within the institution that encourages questions and sparks open dialogue. It’s also for those who have stopped taking the church seriously at all.”
The 12-part program uses both DVD and printed material to launch discussion of areas important to Progressive Christianity.
Week 3, Creativity and the Stories of Creation, on January 13
Week 4, Restoring Relationships, on February 3
Week 5, Evil, Suffering and a God of Love, on February 17
Week 6, Intimacy with God, on March 2
Week 7, Social Justice, on March 16 (Palm Sunday)
Week 8, A Kingdom without Walls, on March 30
Week 9, Lives of Jesus, on April 6 (a change from the original April 13 date)
Week 10, Compassion: the Heart of Jesus' Ministry, on April 27
Week 11, A Passion for Christ: Paul the Apostle, on May 4
Week 12, Out into the World: Challenges Facing Progressive Christianity, on May 18.