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Congregational Meeting
Sunday, April 23, 11:30am, Social Hall
Congregational consideration and vote on the plan to fund the Building 2020 project.
Look for a separate email with more details on Thursday, April 20.
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Peace Camp
June 19-23, 5:00-8:00pm
Peace Camp, our summer learning experience for elementary school-aged children, is scheduled for Monday through Friday, June 19-23, 2017, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. We begin each evening with a light supper, then move on to music, games, and arts and crafts, all aimed at helping children learn about cooperation and peacebuilding in a fun setting.
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 Be sure to visit our Sermon Archives to read or listen to past sermons. |
Sunday Flowers
 The flowers on the chancel add much beauty to our worship. Individuals or families may sign up for any given week to provide flowers with a dedication included in the Sunday bulletin.
Please contact Judy Fogt and let her know that you are interested. The cost is $55.
You can mail your check the church office or drop it in the collection plate with a notation that it is for chancel flowers.
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You are Needed in Church School
Our children need kind, caring grown ups to lead in our Preschool, K-2nd, or 3rd-5th grade class for a few Sundays over the course of the year. It's fun and important, To volunteer, contact Alexis at alexis@westmorelanducc.org or sign up at SignUpWestmoreland.org.
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Olive Oil Sale 
The Middle East Committee will sell olive oil on behalf of the Olive Oil Ministry at least twice each month after church in the Social Hall. However, olive oil and olive tapenade are available daily in the church office during business hours.
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| Westmoreland Sermons on iTunes! You can subscribe to the Westmoreland Sermons on iTunes Podcast! Search for "Westmoreland Sermons" or click the icon below.
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Sign Up for Coffee Hour!
 Coffee Hour is a time to welcome guests and to strengthen relationships within our church community. This ministry is vital to the life, spirit, and growth of our church. Beverages (coffee, tea, water, juice/lemonade) and tableware are provided by Westmoreland. Food is a welcome addition and is provided by Coffee Hour Host(s). Please sign up to host coffee hour (once per year is recommended) with your family or pair-up with another member of the church.
Click here to sign up!
Thanks,
Stacey Fannon
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Church Photo Directory
Photo sessions begin next week. We hope to have all Westmorelanders' pictures in the directory and we need you to make it a success. We encourage you to sign up as soon as possible, while there are still good appointment times available.
To make your appointment online click here. If you need assistance, contact Vickie Allin at
vickie.allin@verizon.net or 301-320-3902.
Photo sessions are available on the following dates:
Thursday, April 20, 2:00 - 8:30 PM
Friday, April 21, 2:00 - 8:30 PM
Saturday, April 22, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Thursday, April 27, 2:00 - 8:30 PM
Friday, April 28, 2:00 - 8:30 PM
Saturday, April 29, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM
There is no cost to participate and each household will receive a complimentary 8x10 portrait and free pictorial directory. You will also be able to purchase additional pictures for your personal use. The photo sessions are open to friends and neighbors (although of course, they won't appear in the directory). This is a chance for people you know to have lovely photos taken by professional photographers at our group discounted rates.
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Resist and Reclaim Summit
Saturday, April 22, 8:00am - 4:30pm
Covenant Baptist UCC
A Black Church Summit on the Intersectionaity of Oppression with a Special Focus on Race, Gender, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity is scheduled at Covenant Baptist UCC at 3845 South Captitol Street, Washington, DC.
Registration fee is $25.00. Click here to register.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Rev. Debra Camphor on (202) 562-4640.
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Film Screening - Out of Cordoba
Sunday, April 23, 2:30pm,
Washington National Cathedral Perry Auditorium
 You are invited to attend the screening of Out of Cordoba on Sunday, April 23, 2017 at the Washington National Cathedral and to participate in a discussion with Jacob Bender, producer and director, after the film. We are an official Sponsor of this timely screening.
Out of Cordoba
explores some of the most vexing questions of our time: Is there a "clash of civilizations" between the West and the Islamic world? Does religious faith lead inevitably to xenophobia and violence?
Out of Cordoba
confronts these issues through an exploration of the lives and writings of the two most important thinkers to emerge from medieval Muslim Spain: Averroes the Muslim, and his Jewish counterpart, Rabbi Moses Maimonides. The 82-minute film explores the legacy of these two philosophers, as well as their contemporary importance for interfaith relations, and especially for Muslims, Jews, and Christians struggling against religious extremism. Check out the film trailer
here
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Free Admission and parking.
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Exhibition of Quilt Artistry by Ann Harwell
Now through April 23
 The Westmoreland Arts Committee is announcing an exhibition featuring Fabric Artist, Ann Harwell. Her work is displayed in the Lee Hansley Gallery in Raleigh, NC, in Piedmont Craftsmen Gallery in Winston Salem, NC and in many homes. You might recall Westmoreland Arts Committee's winter 2015 exhibition of Ann Harwell's beautiful astronomy-themed quilts. This spring's exhibition will run until April 23, 2017, and features Ann's floral-themed quilts. Please enjoy the quilts with your eyes and not your fingers.
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WHGC Garden & Gourmet Sale
Saturday, April 29, 9:00am - 12:00pm
It's time to think Spring! The Westmoreland Hills Garden Club will hold its annual "Garden & Gourmet" sale on Saturday, April 29th, from 9am-12pm at the "Corner Garden" (intersection of Duvall Drive and Elliot Road). The proceeds of the sale support the maintenance of the Corner Garden, Jamestown Creek and other community beautification and conservation projects.
Offerings include herbs, geraniums, wave petunias, begonias, new guinea impatiens, caladium, coleus, flowering vinca and many more options for your garden. In addition to annuals and perennials there will be homemade baked goods and entrees available for purchase; the Corner Café offering fresh coffee and "grab and go" goodies; a "Boutique" offering garden-related items; and the very popular "Children's Table". There is something for everyone!
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 Autism Awareness Discussion
with Elizabeth Graham
Sunday, April 30, 11:30am, Parlor
April is Autism Awareness Month. With the autism prevalence rising there is a good chance that you might interact, meet, or know someone on the autism spectrum. Would you like to know more about autism? Would you like to learn how to interact with people with autism? Learn from Westmoreland's own Elizabeth Graham, an autism/Asperger's self-advocate and autism service coordinator. She will introduce what autism is, basic common signs of autism, and what you can do to support people with autism. She will also provide a brief overview of different autism support services in the state of Maryland.
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Syrian Refugee Support Group Dinner
Sunday, April 30, 5:00pm, Social Hall, Parlor
The Westmoreland Syrian Refugee Support Group, together with ACLU volunteers, has organized a dinner with several refugee families, to be catered by aspiring refugee caterers, on Sunday, April 30, at 5:00 pm in the parlor and social hall. Please contact Nancy Pielemeier (nancy.pielemeier@gmail.com) by April 17 if you are interested in joining. The cost of the meal is $20/person, plus a contribution of drinks for 6 people. Space is limited, so we may do a repeat if we can't accommodate everyone this time. Thank you for your support.
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Alternative Worship Experience
Meeting on Sunday, May 7, 9:00am, Parlor
A few Westmorelanders recently shared an idea with the Board of Spiritual Formation, and we'd like to share it with you! The nutshell: Explore an alternative worship experience (AWE) once a month in the evening. If you've been to our annual church retreat, you are familiar with the informal, intimate, lay-led service that concludes the weekend. It's AWE-some! We'd like to consider cultivating this kind of experience throughout the year as a way to deepen our sense of community, to complement our regular Sunday morning service and to possibly invite newcomers into our midst. Here are other ways to think about the idea: Sabbath-focused, silent meditation, personal sharing, acoustic music, Taize singing, candle-lit, you name it!
You will be receiving a survey intended to gauge congregational interest in a monthly evening service and to ask for your ideas on how to help shape it. We invite you to a conversation Sunday, May 7 at 9:00 a.m. in the parlor to review survey responses and explore whether or not to give this a try.
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StillReading Book Group
Sunday, May 7, 4:30pm, Parlor
 Westmoreland's StillReading book discussion group will meet on Sunday, May 7 to discuss "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamant. This telling of the biblical story of Dinah-sister of Joseph (of many-colored-coat fame), daughter of Jacob (of founder-of-Israelites fame), and otherwise all-but-invisible woman mentioned only briefly in our faith's historical record-celebrates womanhood, especially bonds of community constructed around, and from, the gift of bestowing and nurturing life. Please join us to explore this affirming reclamation of a woman's own story (and, of course, to enjoy snacks and each other's company).
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Men's Group Potluck
Monday, May 8, 6:30pm, Social Hall or Parlor
Join us as Adam Barth discusses his experience in Jamaica working with the deaf community. Adam will recount his experience and comment on his feelings/emotions.
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Are you Taking Part in Upcoming Marches?
There are four national marches planned in DC in the coming weeks that resonate with the values of Westmoreland and the UCC:
- March for Science on Saturday, April 22
- People's Climate March. Saturday, April 29
- Immigrants March on Saturday, May 6
- LGBT March on Sunday, June 11
First, are you planning to take part in any of these four marches? If so, please contact Tim Tutt at timtutt@westmorelanducc.org or 301-229-7766. We are looking for people to organize Westmorelanders' participation in these marches.
Second, our Social Justice Committee is offering our building to church and school groups from across the country who may be coming to DC and who need non-luxury sleeping arrangements. Providing hospitality to marches is a way that Westmoreland can exercise the Christian virtue of hospitality and can encourage others to take part in the democratic process. Would you like to help host groups that may stay in our church? If so, please contact Caryn McTigue Musil, our SJA Chair at Musil@aacu.org.
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Adult Study - The Pastor's Class
Sundays, 9:00am, Library
You are invited to join me in the Library at 9:00 on Sunday mornings. As you may know I am in a doctoral program at Wesley Seminary, focusing on how the church engages (or not) in public life. I will lead this class based on material I am reading in my program. Each week I will bring paragraph, an idea, or an article for discussion.
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April Children's Collection
So Others Might Eat
So Others Might Eat (S.O.M.E.) is an interfaith organization that helps the poor and homeless of Washington, DC by providing food, clothes, and health care. Additionally, they offer services such as affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment, and counseling. They are a Westmoreland Volunteer Corps host agency and a Westmoreland Social Justice grant recipient.
We will collect the following items for their food bank:
- Pancake Mix,
- Syrup
- Ground Coffee,
- Non-Refrigerated Creamer
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 Want to be kept in the loop about UCC's refugee ministries? Sign up for their monthly newsletter here.
Want to take action on the justice issues you care about, including immigration and refugees? Join UCC's Justice and Peace Action Network (JPAN) here.
Want to help plan how Westmoreland will carry out our motion in Support of Extravagant Welcome to Immigrants and Refugees of All Faiths? Email Lori Mosher to get involved.
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Giving to Westmoreland
Look for information in the mail and via email about ways that you can support Westmoreland and our work in the world.
2017 Annual Giving
Gifts to support the ongoing life of our church -- music and worship, spiritual formation programs, fellowship events, staff salaries, and building maintenance. Click here to pledge on-line to the Annual Fund.
Capital Campaign
Gifts to our four-year campaign to build a new entrance, add a new elevator, add a gender neutral restroom, and make our kitchen functionable. Click here to pledge on-line to the Capital Campaign.
Children's Collection
Items collect by our children in worship each Sunday to give to local helping groups.
Special Offerings
The five UCC offerings (plus our own outreach offering) that go across the country and around the world to meet needs.
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