News and Notes

9 am: Bible Study

10 am: Worship and Church School

Scripture: John 17:6-19

     Sermon: “United and Uniting” Mr. John Forrest Douglas

Children, Youth and Family Ministries

Confirmation 2012

Volunteer Corps Mission Moment: Christa Heilman

DC Rape Crisis Center

11:15 am: Fellowship & Coffee Hour

Join us for conversation and light refreshments.

11:30 am: Public Affairs Forum – “Iran: What’s Happening – What’s Next” (Social Hall)

Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett are leading authorities on the Middle East and the Persian Gulf area. Mr. Leverett is a senior fellow at the New America Foundation and a professor at the Pennsylvania State University School of International Affairs.  Ms. Leverett, CEO of Strategic Energy and Global Analysis, has more than 20 years of academic, legal, business, diplomatic, and policy experience working on Middle Eastern issues.   Both have served on the staffs of the National Security Council and the State Department. Moderator: Mr. Alton Frye. All are welcome!

The Chancel Choir of Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ will perform its Annual Choral Concert on May 19th, presented by Westmoreland Music and Arts. Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, music director, will conduct the choir, choir soloists, guest choristers and orchestra in an evening of “Sacred Music from Across the English Channel.” On the program will be “Requiem Opus 48″ by Gabriel Fauré, Fauré’s “Cantique de Jean Racine” and “Five Sacred Songs” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

The Westmoreland Chancel Choir soloists, all of whom have won national recognition, are Laura Choi Stuart, soprano; Lena Seikaly, alto, Doug Gaddis, tenor, and George Singleton, bass. The choral concert is the last of the 2011-2012 concert series presented by the Westmoreland Music and Arts Committee.

The music begins at 7 p.m. on the 19th in the church sanctuary at One Westmoreland Circle, Bethesda. A reception will follow in the church’s Social Hall. Admission for the evening is free, but donations will be gratefully accepted for Bethesda Cares, which provides homeless people with day shelter, food, clothing, showers, psychiatric care, job assessment and connection to social services.

Further information is available from the church, 301 229-7766

We hope to see you there.

Greetings Westmorelanders and Friends,

Sixth Sunday of Easter

9 am: Bible Study (Parlor)

10 am: Worship & Church School

Scripture: 1 Kings 16:29-34

Homily: Rev. LaVerne Gill

Children’s Musical: “Elijah! God’s Faithful Prophet” by Mark Patterson

The events portrayed in the musical can be found in 1 Kings 17-18

11:15 am: Coffee Hour (Social Hall)

Join us for a time of fellowship and light refreshments.

Fifth Sunday of Easter

8:30 am: Fellowship Breakfast

    Everyone is welcome at this “more-or-less-potluck” breakfast. Bring an

item to share, if you like, but it’s not necessary. Most important is to come

yourself and bring your family or a friend. Waffles are a featured item this

Sunday. (Mabry Room)

9 am: Bible Study (Parlor); Children and Youth Music Ministry (Room 40)

10 am: Worship and Church School

Scripture: Acts 8:26-40

Sermon: “Walking the Wilderness Road,” Dr. Mark Braverman,

Assisted by Mr. Daoud Nassar

Dr. Braverman is a Jewish American with deep family roots in the Holy

Land. In his writing and speaking he focuses on the role of

religious beliefs and theology in the current discourse and the function of

interfaith relations in the current search for a resolution of the conflict.

He is a cofounder of Friends of Tent of Nations North America and the

author of “Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews, and the Search for Peace in

the Holy Land.”

Mr. Nassar is a Palestinian Christian whose family works its 100-acre farm

and orchard just outside the town of Bethlehem. There they strive to

maintain a haven of peace and brother/sisterhood through activities at Tent

of Nations, a dynamic peace and local education center established by the

Nassar family in 2000.

11:15 am: Coffee and Fellowship

Join us for fellowship and light refreshments.

11:30 am: Governance Forum

The congregation is invited to review and discuss a draft of the

Governance Team’s proposal for recommended changes to

Westmoreland’s governance. (Social Hall)