Special Announcements

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Giving Live the Shape of Justice

On Sunday, March 4, the hubbub of twelve groups of about ten Cedar Laners each filled the sanctuary during each of our two services. The small groups joined in conversations about social concerns of importance to them personally. Their conversations, facilitated by Cedar Lane trustees and other members experienced with small-group processes, then moved on to concerns they felt the congregation and church as a whole could rally around in the coming church year. Each group was then asked to share with the full congregation one topic that Cedar Lane should consider for special attention. The topics, listed alphabetically below, were recorded on flip charts. At the end of the service everyone was given three adhesive dots apiece to place on the topic(s) that he or she felt should be Cedar Lane’s priority for its collective time and talents.

The collective effort would not replace Cedar Lane’s extraordinary range of work in support of social change. But it could provide a recurring, unifying theme for everything from Adult Programs, Religious Education, the Kiplinger lecture, and an occasional sermon – as well as the focus, perhaps, for an ambitious, one-day major activity to which many members and friends would want to contribute.

The Board and Social Justice Council welcome input from all our Cedar Lane members and friends. If you were not able to attend the service March 4, and if you would like to add your voice, please do! Here’s how: You have three votes. You may use each one on a different topic, two on one topic and one on a different topic, or all three votes on one topic. Please send an e-mail by Friday, March 23 to board@cedarlane.org to tell us how you would like your votes to be placed.

If there is a topic that is important to you that is not on the list, or if there is a particular aspect of a topic that is here that you feel we should focus on please include these suggestions in your e-mail.

• Affordable Housing

• AIDS

• Animal Rights

• Children’s Issues

• Darfur

• Economic Injustices

• Environment

• Environment: Global Warming [In general]

• Environment: Global Warming in the Context of Building More Roads versus Public Transportation

• Environment: Over Consumption of Energy

• Equity in Education

• Gender Equity

• Helping the Impoverished

• Immigration

• Intolerance

• Literacy

• Montgomery County Physical/Mental (Health Care) Services for Underserved and Uninsured

• Overpopulation

• Pedestrian Safety in Montgomery County

• Political Activism

• Poverty and Injustice: Women and Children

• Prejudice

• Prison Ministry

• Right to Marriage/LGBT Issues

• Separation of Church and State

• Social Safety Net

• War: Ending War in Iraq

• War: Iraq War

• War: Serving Returning Troops

• War: Torture of Prisoners/Prisoner Rights

• Welcoming Congregation beyond Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Issues

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