WHO WE ARE
What is a church "covenant"?
“Covenant” is a word we use to describe how we relate to one another within our church and to others in society. Because we are people of covenant we value diversity and the variety of gifts. Our covenant way of life extends to how we care for human relationships, as well as for the earth which cradles our very existence. A covenant is personal and public, pastoral and political, local and global. At times all this covenanting and uniting isn’t so easy to figure out. A commitment to one group conflicts with the covenant with another. With great humility, we struggle with God and neighbor about what it means to be faithful.
Our Church Covenant
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.
Open & Affirming
Christ Congregational Church (CCC) accepts people of all sexual identities and gender expressions.
We believe all people are recognized as being made in God’s image, united in Christ and filled with power by the Holy Spirit.
Anti-Racist
We hold a vision of becoming a multi-cultural, multi-racial, anti-racist congregation that more faithfully reflects the entire community of Silver Spring, Maryland.
We believe it is our role to take an active stance in systematically dismantling racism. A part of an anti-racism stance is acknowledging a system of white privilege in the United States which tends to perpetuate societal stereotypes in all its citizens.
View our Covenant for Becoming an Anti-Racist Congregation (pdf).
Just Peace
The Just Peace Church vision is a hallmark of the United Church of Christ (UCC) theological identity. The Just Peace pronouncement articulated the UCC position on war and peace distinct from other approaches such as crusade, pacifism, or “just war.”
The position of Just Peace focuses attention on alleviating systemic injustice of all types using non-violence and calls us to offer the message, grounded in hope of reconciliation in Jesus, that “Peace is Possible.”
OUR HISTORY
Foundation of the Church
As part of its “high potential” program to promote church extension and growth in “fast-growing, un-churched” areas of the country, the Congregational Christian Churches (now the United Church of Christ) called the Rev. John F. McClelland to establish a church in Silver Spring, MD. On September 24, 1944, 75 people met in the gymnasium of Montgomery Blair High School (then located on Wayne Avenue; pictured above) to begin a new church. Silver Spring Congregational Christian Church (now CCC) was the first church in America founded under this program.
Throughout its history, CCC has devoted its ministry and mission to promoting social justice and peace in the local, national and international community, creating opportunities for all generations in music and the arts, and fostering the spiritual development and education of children, youth, and adults.
In keeping with the pioneer spirit under which it was founded, CCC has been in the forefront of national and local movements to address issues of social justice. In 1957, CCC became the first church in Montgomery County to become integrated, and there is an apocryphal story of a cross burned on the church’s front lawn.
Senior Ministers
Below is a list of CCC’s Senior Ministers and the years they served.
- Rev. John F. McClelland (1944 – 1959)
- Rev. Robert E. Marston (1960 – 1983)
- Rev. Dr. James A. Todhunter (1984 – 2007)
- Rev. Dr. Matthew Braddock (2011 – Present)
