Hey Friends,

I hope you’re all having a terrific week.

I was disappointed we ended up canceling our services this past Sunday. I missed seeing you all and being together as a church family.

We were slated to kick off a brand new series called “Why”. I’m sure you’ve all been asked that question, or asked that question about something at some point in your life. This week, we’re planning to dive into the question of “Why…Church?”

Don’t miss the start up of this series on Sunday, February 7th. I anticipate it being a very helpful and encouraging several weeks. Gear up for your Super Bowl extravaganza by celebrating together with the CCC family. (I have an inside scoop that some Super Bowl Prize Packs will be handed out.) And remember, the beginning of a series is a great time to invite a friend or family member to join you at 8094 Sandpiper Circle. (Identical services at 9:30 & 11am.)

By now, I’m sure you’re aware of the looming snowfall we’re slated to receive over the next couple of days. We’ll be updating the website and Facebook page no later than 7am on Sunday to keep everyone abreast of the plans as a result of whatever weather pattern makes its way through Maryland. So check that out over the weekend.

Here are a couple of things happening at CCC in the coming weeks.

STARTING POINT
Our Starting Point class that was slated for this past Sunday has been rescheduled for Sunday, February 21st. So if you were signed up before, we’ll keep a spot reserved for you. And if you weren’t going to be able to make it last week for some reason, then you can still be a part of this next one. Starting Point is a great place to find out about all things related to CCC. (Who we are, where we’ve come from, where we’re headed, how we’re going to get there, what it means to be a part of CCC, etc.) It’s a place to ask whatever questions you might have and connect with some other folks who are new to CCC. It takes place on Sundays, just after the first service, beginning at 10:45am and wrapping up by 12:30. Free childcare and refreshments are provided. There is no cost for Starting Point, but sign up is required. You can sign up by replying to this email, or through our website here, or in the lobby of CCC on Sundays. It’s our hope that everyone who is a part of CCC participates in Starting Point early on in their journey here. It’s worth it! (C’mon…it’s free!)

FIT-TO-BE-TIED
The next session of Fit-To-Be-Tied is ready to launch on Sunday, February 28th. Fit-To-Be-Tied is a small group for couples who are considering marriage or are leading up to their wedding. It meets on Sundays for a total of 8 weeks, 2 hours each week. Any couple considering taking the wonderful, yet challenging step of marriage should make this small group a priority. The cost is $80 per couple. To sign up or for more information, you can reply to this email, or sign up in the lobby on Sundays. Space is limited so don’t wait!

I’m glad you’re all a part of this fairly new church. (We’re celebrating our 4 year anniversary in 1 month…crazy!)

I hope to see you all in a few days, after we’ve all dug ourselves out of the snow.

See you Sunday.

David Robinson

ADULT DOMINICAN REPUBLIC SERVICE TRIP TEAM IS FORMING

If you’ve been considering going on a service trip this year, you can still jump on the Dominican team. It’s not too late. Even though the trip isn’t until June 12, the team is forming now. There has been a lot of interest, and we are in the process of meeting with each person to go over some of the details of the trip, answer any questions, and have a chance to get to know each other a little.

Making new friends is a fun part of any service trip. We really get to know people on a deeper level when we step out of our normal environment and regular routine and spend a week together. It is such a unique opportunity to put aside our schedules, blackberries, agendas and ipods and see what God will do in our lives when we spend a week serving in his name. For those that are ready to take this step and join the team, I’ll bet the week spent in the Dominican Republic will be the highlight of the year.

February 7 is the last day to sign up and get some information on the trip. You can sign up in the lobby at CCC or email leighann@communitycc.net

The Starting Point that was scheduled for January 31 will take place this Sunday, February 7.  You can sign up on the Starting Point page of our website.

Starting Point is your next step in getting plugged into the life of Community Christian Church. You’ll discover who we are and what makes us tick. Starting Point provides the opportunity to connect with other new attenders and get your questions answered in a fun and friendly environment. You are guaranteed to proceed at your own pace and to have fun! Starting Point takes place from 10:45-12:45PM right next door from CCC, in Suite F. Refreshments and childcare are provided.

Early in life we learn how to ask questions to gather information. Perhaps the most essential of these questions is this: why? Everyone knows what it’s like to have a conversation with a four-year old where the main line of discussion is the question why repeated over and over again.

Why is the sky blue? Why is the grass green? Why are giraffes so tall and mice so little? Why do I have to eat my vegetables when chocolate tastes so much better?

The question why, at its core, seeks to determine the reasons or purposes behind the things around us. Yet, when we get older, we stop asking why and instead simply embrace things around us without question.

We are starting a new series here at Community Christian Church called “Why” where we are taking a closer look at things we do and believe here at CCC. We don’t want to embrace something because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” We want to know very clearly why. We hope you’ll join us as we take a closer look at why we sing, gather, serve, baptize, and why CCC exists. We promise not to just repeat the question why; we’ll leave that up to your little nephew.

CCC services are cancelled for Sunday, January 31 due to the unexpected amount of snow. All other events will be rescheduled.

Dear Friends,

I hope you’re all doing well and enjoying a wonderful week.

This past weekend at CCC was quite incredible. We had John Thomas Oaks and Tommy Oaks with us here in Maryland. On Friday, they performed their two man musical comedy called Star Queen based on the story of the book of Esther from the Bible. It was side splitting! (The desserts were off the charts as well!) On Saturday, a small group of folks met with Tommy for a conversation about marriage. It was both insightful and helpful in many ways. And then Sunday, they lead us throughout both of our services as they performed another one of John Thomas’ musicals based on the story of the prodigal son that Jesus told in the Bible from Luke 15. So many of you were there, and you know it was incredibly moving. It was a fantastic modern retelling of perhaps the greatest story that’s ever been told.

I hope you were able to take part in some portion of the weekend with the Oaks.

This coming Sunday we’re kicking off a brand new series called “Why…” The beginning of a series is the perfect time to invite someone who’s not a part of any church. I don’t think you’ll want to miss out on the next several weeks.

Some of you have been asking how to get a book we recommended in our last series called “Big C – little c”. The book is called Growing Up Catholic by Tim Lott. Perhaps the best way to acquire the book is to email Tim directly and request a copy. You can get in touch with him at timlott@bellsouth.net.

I hope to see you all on Sunday at either of our services at 9:30 or 11am.

In the meantime, have a terrific day!

David Robinson

We only had one week to pull together some specific supplies requested by our friends and ministry partners at the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. The response of the folks at Community Christian Church was overwhelming. One of our three C’s is Contribute, where we look for something that’s not right in the world and do something about it. The earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12 obviously created a significant need for thousands of people in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding area.

As we loaded the many bags and boxes of supplies onto the U-Haul Sunday afternoon, we prayed that the people receiving them would be blessed and gain comfort from them. We will continue to pray for the church to shine brightly and for the name of Jesus to be held high through these difficult days in Haiti. It is also our prayer that everyone who contributed to the supply drive was blessed by the opportunity to care for those who are truly in need. The church is at its best when we serve and give.

You’ve been hearing all about the earthquake that devastated Haiti on January 12. If you are wondering what you can do to help, here are a couple of suggestions. Please continue to pray for the people who are suffering and hurting, and pray for those who are working to provide treatment and relief. It is our prayer that Jesus Christ and the church will shine brightly during these dark days in Haiti by loving people and serving them.

Community Christian Church has sent several teams over the past few years to serve with the Northwest Haiti Christian Mission. The Christian Mission sent a medical team into Port-au-Prince in the hours that followed the earthquake, and they have let us know of some of the immediate needs that we are able to supply. We are collecting some specific supplies at CCC and shipping them out on Sunday, January 24. If you would like to purchase some supplies and drop them off at CCC this Sunday, please check out the list of items by clicking HERE.

You could also help by donating to one of these organizations:

Compassion International has 65,000 sponsored children in Haiti.

World Vision has sponsored children in Haiti & is doing disaster relief work. 

Samaritan’s Purse is providing disaster relief supplies. They hope to have 6,000 temporary shelters up in a couple weeks & by the end of next week will be providing 500,000 gallons of clean water daily.

Convoy of Hope has a warehouse there & feeds 7,000 children daily. They are providing food & disaster relief supplies. Here are some photos of their work so far.

World Hope is mobilizing their staff in Haiti & will be coordinating volunteers and volunteer groups from the U.S. (once emergency needs have been met).

We are excited to welcome John Thomas and Tommy Oaks who will be performing their original work “Star Queen”, a comedic and creative retelling of the story of Ester, on Friday night. We are always thrilled when we have the opportunity to bring in artists, bands, and speakers who are able to use their giftedness to creatively draw our attention to God.

The arts and the Church have had a long relationship. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since we worship and follow a creative God. In the beginning, God created. And from the spring of God’s creativity came everything in our world, from sunflowers and mountains to oceans and galaxies. The creativity of God led him to form creatures of all shapes and sizes (just take a good long look at a platypus if you doubt God’s ingenuity). The crowning achievement of all God’s creation is humankind, created in the very image of God.

Is there any surprise that we find inspiration, encouragement, entertainment, and beauty in creativity?

It’s easy to regard spirituality as simply a mental exercise where the main focus is information gathering. But there is an aspect of life that cannot be quantified by facts and figures and cannot be explained in a spreadsheet. There are some things that can only be experienced and celebrated through creativity and art. Around here at CCC, it is our hope that everyone is using their gifts, talents, and creativity to worship God and to help others do the same. We might not be able to create the platypus, but we can honor the God who did.

Nic Cox

We are in the midst of a series of messages called “Big C, little c.” It’s a strange title that’s raised a lot of questions. After all, what do those “c’s” stand for and why is one big and the other little? This series is all about looking at the similarities and differences between the Catholic Church and CCC and what we can learn from each other.

The two different sizes of “C” deal with the word catholic. Most likely the only time you run across the word catholic is in relation to the name of a church, such as this or that “Catholic Church” (with a capital “C”). The world catholic (with a lower case “c”) is a word that means universal, or the church at large and in general. The early church did not envision itself as a collection of individual churches or as denominational clusters, but as a universal, “catholic” Church (lowercase “c”). The church being universal was a focus beyond local manifestations of the Church. In this series we are comparing and contrasting the big C (the Catholic Church) with the little c (the universal or general Church).

This is a vital series for anyone who lives in or is from the Northeast, where a significant number of Catholic Churches are located. It is our dream that “Big C, little c” is a very helpful series that clears up confusion and misconceptions about the differences and similarities between the Catholic Church and CCC. It is also a wonderful chance to invite a friend or family member who would find this discussion to be helpful.