E-Post – January 15, 2010
CONTENTS
Church Community News
1. E-Post Award
2. Staff Position Opening
3. Winter Discipleship Series Beginning
4. Winter Weather Cancellation Information
Getting Involved: Meeting Needs In Our Church, Community, and World
5. 2010 Farm Meeting
6. Shooting Video – A Unique Opportunity on Sundays
7. Current Needs for Leaders in Children’s Ministry
8. Can You Lend a Hand for Snow Removal
Getting Connected: Opportunities to Live, Learn, and Grow With Cedar Ridge
9. Prayer Practice
10. Welcome Lunch
PostScript
Contact Information
CHURCH COMMUNITY NEWS
1. E-Post Award
This E-Post award goes to Joe Tonkin and Helen Suser, who are leaders of 4th and 5th grade students during the 9AM service. Helen and Joe have worked with elementary students for several years, and show dedication to and care for the children in their group. Thanks to Joe and Helen!
2. Staff Position Opening
Cedar Ridge will be hiring a full-time Director of Facilities and Hospitality whose primary role will be to mobilize and support our church community in managing and caring for our wonderful property and facilities and creating a dynamic welcoming atmosphere. If you are passionate about our vision, enjoy working with people and are able to manage practical projects well, please review the role description and information and send a copy of your resume and an application letter to Laura Moffitt. Closing date for applications is January 31. Please feel free to contact Matthew Dyer if you would like to discuss the role.
3. Winter Discipleship Series Beginning
On Sunday, January 17, we will begin a five week discipleship series called “Our Journey of Hope: Following the Dangerous Way of Jesus”, focusing on our vision, values and philosophy as a community. What makes us the community we are? What are our distinctives? What is important to us and why? What is not important to us? How do all these issues shape us as a community? We’ll follow our usual format of Sunday messages and midweek discussion material. Material may be purchased on Sunday, January 17, for individuals wishing to establish their own group or study alone, however, the group sign-ups are closed. Please contact Patsy Fratanduono or call 301-384-7444 ext. 24 for more information.
4. Winter Weather Cancellation Information
It has been a snowy season already. One important update is that our call line for weather cancellation has been changed to extension 28. So when there is ice or snow, you can call the church and listen to the closing update at 301-384-7444 extension 28. Or you can go to the front page of our website (www.crcc.org), and we will post any closings or church service cancellations. Below are a few points to keep in mind:
- For Sunday services, we will post closures by 7AM on Sunday morning.
- For midweek evening activities, we post closures by 5PM.
- Youth activities follow Montgomery County schools for closures so listen to the radio or go to the county website for county school closings.
- Please help us spread the word and be sure to inform your small groups or ministries when you know Cedar Ridge is closed.
- As leaders of ministry, you can cancel meetings even when the church is open but please contact your people and, if possible, let your staff ministry leader know too. (Having an email list or phone tree is helpful to contact Cedar Ridge people in advance of bad weather).
- Finally, if you are a key holder and are the leader of your ministry, please be on time for your winter gatherings by arriving at least 15 minutes prior to any meeting to prevent people from being locked out of the building. Our smaller sized staff may not be here when you arrive to let you in the door. Be safe and always use caution; we hope to see you at Cedar Ridge during this winter season.
GETTING INVOLVED: MEETING NEEDS IN OUR CHURCH, COMMUNITY, AND WORLD
5. 2010 Farm meeting
Can you believe in less than two weeks, we will be discussing what we want to do with our 2010 farm! How exciting! Join us for lunch with soup and salad as we share feedback from 2009, discuss some new ideas for plans, and share the areas in which we will need help for 2010. This farm launch meeting is Sunday, January 31, starting after second service in room 202. All are invited to actively participate or just listen first hand. It is a fun way to gather together to launch our 2010 farm!! Everyone is invited! The meeting will run 12:30-2:30PM, and lunch will be served. For any questions, please contact Beth Burgess.
6. Shooting Video: A Unique Opportunity on Sundays
For more than 10 years, Russ Delaney has been heading up our Message Video team at Cedar Ridge Community Church - shooting the message nearly every Sunday, editing the video and posting the video and audio files to the website. You may never have noticed the sermon videos on the website, but for people in our community who are ill, or who are working or traveling on Sundays, they're a vital link; really important, both for individual growth and for feeling like part of our church family.
With Russ leaving this position, it's time to expand the team. I'd love to have 4-6 more people who are all capable of shooting and posting sermon videos to the web, so that we can have a regular rotation with subs to cover vacations and illnesses. If you're a recreational home video shooter, this is a great chance to help people, refine your technique and learn some new technology.
This team is open to teenagers as well as adults. (Middle schooler...let's talk.)
Team members need the following qualities:
- Some experience shooting live video or still photos.
- Willingness to learn and be guided by staff and other team members.
- Internet access, so that you can post information to our website (it's easy, we'll teach you.)
- You must be dependable and able/willing to coordinate schedules with other team members.
- You should be a person who sees the importance of these teaching videos and the website in our mission of discipleship, community and inclusion.
If you're interested, would like to suggest someone, or have any questions, please contact Betsy Mitchell Henning.
7. Current Needs for Leaders in Children’s Ministry
This winter, our children's groups are enjoying hands-on, creative activities to help them connect to the ways God loves and cares for us. We're managing, on a week-by-week basis, to find enough adults to sub so that all of our children's groups can remain open. But we do need more regular leaders on our teams to keep things running smoothly and ensure that leaders can have some Sundays off. If you are interested in spending time regularly on Sunday mornings with children, there are several areas to consider. You can provide a safe, predictable and caring environment for our youngest children by joining our nursery team. If you enjoy helping children learn about God through creative and active fun, consider joining one of our preschool teams. Our elementary school leaders help children think through their questions and make connections between what we read about God in the Bible, and what is happening in the world today. If you have an interest in joining one of these teams, please contact Leigh-Ellen Curl, the coordinator of Children's Ministry. These are our current opportunities for those interested in becoming new leaders:
- 11AM Kindergarten / First grade leader
- 11AM 2nd / 3rd grade leader
8. Can You Lend a Hand for Snow Removal
If you live close to Cedar Ridge and enjoy spending time outside in the snow, we invite you to be part of our snow removal team. The role is flexible. We could use help during the week if you are off from work, we could use your help as soon as it snows, and we can use help on Sunday mornings before church starts to ensure safety for everyone! We can train you on the truck and plow, the tractor Kubota, the walk behind snow blower or the good old fashion hard working shovel. There is much to be done when it snows: we have to clear the main drive, parking spots, walkways and all fire exits for our church and barn. If you have any interest in helping out for a one time snow or throughout the winter weather, please let Mark Hartley know. Until then, Stay Warm!
GETTING CONNECTED: OPPORTUNITIES TO LIVE, LEARN, AND GROW WITH CEDAR RIDGE
9. Prayer Practice
Come find shelter in the warmth of God’s Love at this month’s Prayer Practice, Thursday, January 21, from 7 to 9PM. Together we explore practices that help the mind, heart and body rest in the Divine Presence, including Lectio Divina, Centering Prayer, guided meditation, breath prayer and other ways of learning to be still and at peace in the loving presence of God. We also spend time discussing how to grow toward living more mindfully and into carrying a deeper awareness of the sacred in our daily lives. Everyone is welcome. Gather at the Cedar Ridge Community Church historic Barn, first floor. No registration or prior experience required. No food or childcare. Contact Patsy Fratanduono for more information.
10. Welcome Lunch
On Sunday, February 14, we will host a welcome lunch in room 202 after second service (please note the date has changed from February 7 in view of the middle and high school parents’ potluck). Everyone is welcome to attend. The lunch will be especially geared towards people who are new to Cedar Ridge and would like to find out more and ask questions. Our pastors, Matthew Dyer and Patsy Fratanduono, will be present along with other leaders, and they’ll share a little about Cedar Ridge and respond to questions over a simple lunch. Children are welcome too. Come along to room 202 at 12:30PM. Please contact Matthew Dyer for more details.
POSTSCRIPT
Contact Information
Cedar Ridge Community Church
2410 Spencerville Road
Spencerville, MD 20868
Phone: 301-384-7444
Website: www.crcc.org