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November 17 E-Post

November 17, 2009 - 4:17pm

E-Post – November 17, 2009

CONTENTS

Church Community News

1.  E-Post Award

Getting Involved:  Meeting Needs In Our Church, Community, and World

2.  Help Greet and Welcome People to Cedar Ridge

3.  Become a Part of Children’s Ministry

4.  Would You Like to Name a New Board Candidate?

5.  A Volunteer Opportunity that You Might Not Know About

6.  Decorate Our Church for Christmas

7.  Web Feedback Meeting

8.  Lost and Found

Getting Connected: Opportunities to Live, Learn, and Grow With Cedar Ridge

9.  Love One Another: Growing Authentic Relationships Even When It’s Hard

10. Divine Conspiracy Discussion Group

11. Prayer Practice

12. Advent Coffee House in the Barn

PostScript

  • Contact Information

CHURCH COMMUNITY NEWS

1.      E-Post Award

Megan Dyer and Lois Dyer are the recipients of this E-Post award. Megan has served at Cedar Ridge by volunteering in the nursery, stepping in as a last-minute substitute for children's groups and providing childcare so that parents can attend meetings. Lois has served as a preschool leader, a substitute leader, and has also provided childcare for several recent meetings. Lois and Megan serve in the greater community by spending time regularly with teens who have disabilities. Thanks to both Lois and Megan for their service to others, both at Cedar Ridge Community Church and the community beyond.

GETTING INVOLVED: MEETING NEEDS IN OUR CHURCH, COMMUNITY, AND WORLD

2.      Help Greet and Welcome People to Cedar Ridge

Looking for a way to meet people and serve at Cedar Ridge, but don't have lots of time?  The Welcome Team invites you to join us as we seek to cultivate a warm, welcoming environment for those who come to worship on Sundays.  We ask that you arrive 15 minutes prior to the beginning of your preferred service in order to open the outside door, hand out bulletins at the inside doors, or answer questions at the Welcome Desk.  Older children, teens, and adults are welcome to be a part of our monthly rotation.  If you're interested or have questions, please contact Bryan Peterson.  

3.      Become a Part of Children's Ministry

Presently, we are in need of leaders to join some of our 9 & 11 AM teams. These leaders guide groups of children through activities and curriculum on Sunday mornings, and commit to serving with children two or more Sundays a month. We are in need of leaders in the following areas:

  • 9 AM 2&3 Year Olds
  • 9 AM 4&5 Year Olds
  • 9 AM Kindergarten / First grade
  • 9 AM Second / Third grade
  • 11AM Second / Third grade

Please contact Leigh-Ellen Curl if you are interested in serving on one of these teams.

During November, we'll be doing special projects to serve others. If you'd like to help kids with a project on one of these Sundays, please contact Leigh-Ellen Curl.

  • 11/22 Handmade treats for others
  • 11/29 Making decorations and decorating the church for Christmas

4.      Would You Like to Name a New Board Candidate

As a non-profit organization Cedar Ridge has a Board of Trustees to ensure that we operate legally, ethically, with fiscal responsibility and that we remain true to our vision and values. Each year we elect new members to the Board and on January 13, 2010 we will add one new member.

Nominations are now open until Sunday December 6. Please check the Role of the Board of Trustees and also the Desired Qualities for Board Members here and prayerfully consider your potential nomination in light of this. Please send your nominations to the Chair of the Board, Shobha Duncan. Only Cedar Ridge members may be nominated and you have to be a member to nominate anyone.

After December 6 the Board will prayerfully review and discuss all nominations and then, by December 20, recommend to the church one candidate for election. All Cedar Ridge members will have opportunity to pray, talk to this candidate and reflect upon whether they would like to approve the Board’s recommendation for 4 weeks up to the Annual Meeting on Wednesday January 13 at 7PM, at which point all members will be able to vote. Please note this will be a simple yes/no/abstain vote for approval of the candidate, not a run off against other candidates. Appointments to the Board will happen immediately after the vote.

5.      A Volunteer Opportunity You Might Not Know About

Did you know for the past several years, Cedar Ridge friends have been responsible for feeding up to 150 homeless people in DC on the first Saturday of each month? This 'stealth-like' outreach started more than a decade ago with Mac McDaniel and now a group of Cedar Ridge people including Yohance Ford and Rachel Bibee lead this initiative every month. It normally takes a full afternoon of about 5-9 people to shop, make lunches and deliver the food. Some discipleship groups are familiar with the routine. Some break up the roles with grocery shoppers the day before, lunch makers the morning of and then a delivery team that travels into Washington, DC that Saturday evening. So lately, we've been thinking you may not be aware of such a fun and rewarding service and wanted to share this opportunity with you. The leaders of this ministry have shopping lists, even recipes for soup to make it a very simple process. The pots and containers are stored at the church with laminated instructions; and people who have helped in the past are always willing to help a new group get started. So if your discipleship group or group of friends ever want to make a meal for 150 homeless people, we invite you to let us know. The first Saturdays that are available are December 5, January 2, February 6. Please contact Yohance Ford or Rachel Bibee for more information.

For the future we'll be looking for people interested in using our Cedar Ridge farm food to make zucchini breads, soups or other treats to give our DC friends for more of a healthy and organic meal. If anyone is ever interested in making homemade items, we'd welcome the items as part of the meal. Please keep your creative minds open to participating in one perspective of this outreach. It is a great way to build community and do something that blesses others.  Please contact Beth Burgess for more information.

6.      Decorate Our Church for Christmas

On November 29 after second service everyone is invited to have a light lunch together (wholesome bread and hearty soup) and then help decorate our church building for Christmas. This will be a lot of fun and a great way to kick off the holiday season. All ages are welcome: there’ll be food options for children; and Middle School & High School students will be decorating the barn. Please bring some favorite holiday cookies to share with everyone. Many hands will make light work so please come for whatever time you can. Please meet in the auditorium a few minutes after the end of the service.

Please sign up so we can prepare enough food by going to our website or by contacting Matthew Dyer for more details.

7.      Web Feedback Meeting

Now that we have our new and improved website up and running, all are welcome to a feedback meeting on Sunday December 6th after second service in the auditorium from 12:30 -1:30. The pastoral staff and web tech team will be there to address technical concerns and to respond to philosophical questions about the site.  We invite you to come and offer helpful suggestions--tell us what is working well and what is not - we hope to make the site more accessible for all. We will be taking photos for those who want to get their headshot in the user directory and we will have laptops available so we can look at your personal account and troubleshoot issues to make the site more user-friendly for you. Contact Patsy Fratanduono for more information.

8.      Lost and Found

Please check the Lost and Found for any items left at Cedar Ridge.  Lost and Found is located at the coat rack across the hall from the restrooms.  Contact Pat Martin for more information.

GETTING CONNECTED: OPPORTUNITIES TO LIVE, LEARN, AND GROW WITH CEDAR RIDGE

9.      Love One Another: Growing Authentic Relationships Even When It's Hard - Revisited

Our main focus as a church community for the fall was our Discipleship Series entitled “Love One Another: Growing Authentic Relationships Even When It's Hard”. This series helped us grow in our ability to love others and cultivate healthy, authentic community. It was a very practical follow-up from the previous Discipleship Series (Practicing the Way of Love) and helped us develop skills and habits for resolving conflict in all kinds of situations. Sunday, November 29, will be a day of reflection seen through the stories and challenges that brought about transformation in our lives.

10.    Divine Conspiracy Discussion Group

"It is my hope with this book to provide an understanding of the gospel that will open the way for the people of Christ actually to do - do once again, for they have done it in the past - what their acknowledge Maestro said to do." (Dallas Willard, Introduction, Page xv)

 The purpose of the discussion group is to:

 -   Examine Jesus’ answers to foundational questions about life: What is reality? Who is well off? Who is    a truly good person? How does one become a truly good person? 

 -   Provide a setting for people to consider, wrestle with and discuss Dallas Willard’s Divine Conspiracy and learn about our hidden life in God.

 -   Gain a deeper understanding of the relevance of God to every aspect of our existence.

 -   Explore the idea that "Jesus' good news is that the Kingdom of God has come, and that he, Jesus, is its herald and expounder to men as well as, in some special, mysterious way, being Himself the kingdom of God." Malcolm Muggeridge, Jesus: The Man Who Lives.

-   Introduce thought and teaching that, as the reviewer in "Christianity Today” said, is invaluable for “Christians in need of renewal and seekers who want to know why we worship the one who was crucified."   

Dates:  Started Sunday, November 8 and continuing through June 2010.

Time: 9AM to 10:15AM.

Place: Cedar Ridge Barn

Discussion Leaders: Fred Morse/Jim Paraboschi

Format: Leader guided discussion based on reading.

Cost: None. Please plan to provide your own book. (Available at Amazon or other book store.)

Willard, Dallas. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God.  San

Francisco:  HarperSanFrancisco:  A Division of Harper Collins Publishers, Inc. NY, 1998.    

You can still join the group by contacting Fred Morse, C 301-262-0709; or Jim Paraboschi, C 301-275-0674.  The last day for joining the group is Sunday, November 29.

11.     Prayer Practice

Are you longing to grow spiritually and to experience God's presence and love more deeply in your life?  If so, please join our small gathering at this month's prayer practice (this Thursday) November 19 and discuss and experience contemplative ways of being with God that will calm your spirit and refresh your soul.  Everyone is welcome.  No prior experience or registration required.  Childcare and food not provided. Contact Patsy Fratanduono for more information.

12.     Advent Coffee House in the Barn

On Friday December 4 we will be holding our annual advent coffee house in the barn. This has become somewhat of a Cedar Ridge tradition where we gather for good coffee and dessert, music and great conversation. It’s a great way to get into the real spirit of Christmas open to everyone (young and old).

This year (in keeping with our series: The Gift of Enough) there will be a special focus on social justice. In fact the whole theme of the coffee house will be Guatemala. Our church believes God is leading us to work and serve in Guatemala through long term sustainable partnership. We are currently developing relationships with Guatemalan communities both locally and in Guatemala. At the coffee house we will be able to find out more Guatemala and there will also be opportunity to:

  • Drink exquisite Guatemalan coffee
  • Meet some Guatemalan friend
  • Buy fair trade Christmas gifts from Guatemala (Ten Thousand Villages will have a stall there)
  • Listen to some Guatemalan music

There will also be information about buying alternatives gifts (such as cows, goats, beehives etc) to support people in the developing world as well as ideas and advice about lowering our carbon footprint during the Holiday season and having a positive impact on the environment. We’ll have a small craft table where children and adults will be able to make simple Christmas gifts.

Please contact Matthew Dyer for more details or if you would like to help serve at this event. 

POSTSCRIPT 

Contact Information

Cedar Ridge Community Church

2410 Spencerville Road, Spencerville, MD 20868

Phone: 301-384-7444

Website: www.crcc.org 



Theme by Dr. Radut.