Our Faith Life
CCC Covenant | Just Peace | Open & Affirming | Anti-Racism
Christ Congregational Church, United Church of Christ, is an inclusive community of faith that follows the teachings of Jesus Christ. We are a Just Peace church, and work for peace and justice through community service, social witness and worldwide mission. We are Open and Affirming, heeding God's abiding love for all by nurturing spiritual growth and welcoming others into our fellowship. And we are working towards becoming an Anti-Racist church.
CCC Covenant – June 7, 2009
We covenant with one another as a community of faith grounded in God, the source of all life. We seek to walk in the ways of God’s abiding love, made known or to be made known to us through the Holy Scriptures, the life and teachings of Jesus, and the continuing guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives and worship.
Affirming that all persons are created in the image of God, we honor and celebrate people of all races, cultures, ages, abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities. In our life together we endeavor to support each other on our spiritual journeys with open minds and loving hearts.
We hold it to be the mission of the church to embody the good news of God’s love for all people by laboring for the progress of knowledge, the promotion of justice, and the reign of peace. We work and pray for the transformation of ourselves and all creation into realms of God’s compassion; and in faith we place ourselves in God’s hands, in death as in life.
Just Peace Covenant
At Christ Congregational Church, we respond actively to our perceptions of social injustice — at times we react to conditions we observe within our own community, and at times we respond to the lead taken by national bodies of the United Church of Christ. Twice within recent years, our responses to injustice in society resulted in lengthy periods of study, debate and, always, prayer. Following this, our congregation met in formal sessions to adopt position statements or policies that challenge us to remove such injustice whenever and wherever we find it — and which put us on public record as active advocates for social justice.
On June 24, 1990, following a call from the 15th General Synod of the UCC, several adult education programs and work by a Just Peace Study Group, the CCC congregation at special meeting voted for a resolution, "Continuing the Journey to Become a Just Peace Church." Thus empowered, the study group in conjunction with the various Boards and committees prepared a Just Peace Covenant which was adopted by the congregation at its annual meeting of January 27, 1991. We proudly display the banner, "A Just Peace Church," as a statement to others and as a reminder to ourselves of our chosen course of action.
Open and Affirming Covenant
In the spring of 1993 CCC began a defining journey. As the result of a winter Adult Education series on Power Equity the Rev. Joey Noble suggested the formation of an Open and Affirming Task Force to study the possibility of CCC becoming an Open and Affirming church. There were three main reasons behind the formation of the task force. People had contacted the church to find out if they, as gay or lesbians, could worship at CCC without fear of discrimination. Members of CCC who had family members who were gay, lesbian or bisexual wanted to have a place where the whole family could worship together. The General Synod had called for congregations to adopt a non-discrimination policy and to develop a covenant of Openness and Affirmation of persons of lesbian, gay and bisexual orientation. The ultimate goal of being an Open and Affirming church was to be inclusive and welcoming to all people.
During the next two years, the Task Force led the congregation through an intentional study and reflection of the issues around becoming an O & A church. Information was collected from the national church and local conference. A congregational survey was conducted. A four-part Sunday evening event was sponsored to develop an awareness and understanding of homosexuality, to study the Biblical context for homosexuality, to discuss how an Open and Affirming covenant would affect the life of our community. Small groups also spent time discussing why CCC needed to be an Open and Affirming community. Sermons lead the congregation through prayerful discernment about the importance of being an O & A community. At the end of the Sunday series, the Task Force developed an action plan that included three parts: identifying the essential elements for an open and affirming resolution; outlining the background needed to prepare the congregation for the resolution; preparing an action plan to begin the implementation of our resolution. At the conclusion of this reflective time, a draft of an Open and Affirming statement was prepared to present to the congregation.
On May 21, 1995, a special congregational meeting was held. Many different members contributed to the discussion. The following proclamation was read on behalf of the senior highs who were on retreat that weekend. “We, the undersigned Senior Highs, agree that Christ Congregational Church should become an open and affirming church. We discussed this issue at length in church school and in our homes, and we agree wholeheartedly in mind and spirit to accept and encourage anybody who wants to come to our church.” Other members spoke in favor of the resolution and some spoke against the statement. A secret ballot determined the outcome. The statement passed by a vote of 89 in favor, 24 against and 1 abstention.
Although the Task Force was disbanded after the passing of the resolution, many different steps were implemented in the following years. Teacher training was held for Our Whole Lives and an inclusive curriculum was taught in the 5th through 12th grades. The church library was expanded to include books for children and parents. Small groups were formed. The covenant was expanded to include transgender individuals. CCC and other conference churches sponsored weekend seminars and CCC members helped other local churches in their O & A journeys.
Throughout the years, the congregation has remained prayerfully aware of being a welcoming community to all of God’s children.
Anti-Racism Covenant
Christ Congregational Church UCC holds a vision of becoming a multi-cultural, multi-racial, anti-racist congregation that more faithfully reflects the entire community of Silver Spring, Maryland.
Jan 2004: Executive Council endorsed the concept of an Anti-Racism Journey for CCC.
May 2004: A 2-day Anti-Racism Workshop was held with twenty-five people present.
Sep 2004: Initiated an Anti-Racism Audit of all phases of CCC’s life and organization with six teams of members.
Feb 2005: A 3-day in-depth diversity experience, Power Equity Group, was held with twenty-four people present.
Dec 2006: A six week Study Circle addressing the effects of racism and ethnicity in Silver Spring was held with nineteen people participating.
Jun 2006: The congregation at its annual meeting unanimously accepted and affirmed the CCC Covenant “Becoming an Anti-Racist Church.”
Feb – Mar 2008: Susan Henderson led a Sunday evening Lenten series on anti-racism using the film “Crash.”
Jun 2008: Gordon Forbes and Andy Holmes offered a sermon on “race” as a first step toward a longer-term UCC Sacred Conversation on Race.
Nov 2008: A Sacred Conversation on Race was convened in response to a September racial incident at CCC.
Jan 2009: Delilah Marrow, Jim Henkelman-Bahn and Susan Henderson presented a case study on CCC’s Anti-Racism Journey at a UCC gathering in North Carolina that was engaged in developing UCC Anti-Racism Strategies.
Jan 2010: On the weekend of the Martin Luther King Holiday, CCC will be reaffirming our covenant: Becoming an Anti-Racist Church. This is a part of CCC’s continuing Anti-Racism Journey. Read the flyer.
A number of worship services as well as several books used in adult education focused on aspects of our CCC Anti-Racism Journey over the years.
Alliances and Community Relationships
CCC Calendar
