CHRIST REFORMED
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
PEOPLE SERVING PEOPLE
MINISTRIES
ADULT STUDIES
Faith is a series of habits of the mind, heart and hands that one spends a lifetime developing. At CRUCC we seek to engage all adults in faith formation. There are weekly classes that meet at 9:15 on Sunday mornings. These presently include:
- A traditional Bible study
- A group that meets to study and reflect on books relating faith and contemporary issues
- A group of young mothers who meet for mutual support and to discuss books related to the life issue of young families.
- In addition there is a Bible study that meets weekly on Wednesday mornings at 7:00 a.m. at the Mountain View Diner in Frederick. There are also small groups that meet during the year for fellowship and faith formation.
DISABILITY MINISTRIES
Our Spirit Stars ministry is designed to serve youth 5 years and up, regardless of cognitive, developmental, intellectual, emotional, physical, or communicative abilities and to provide families impacted by disabilities with additional support and fellowship.Based on a reverse inclusion model, Spirit Stars invites all children and youth to grow in their relationship with the Lord in a way that is meaningful and accessible for them. It is offered in the church’s social room, concurrent with our 10:30 Sunday morning worship service.
MUSIC
We have an active music program under the leadership of Terry Sparks, our Minister of Music. In addition to the adult vocal choirs we also have a teen/adult handbell choir under the direction of Anne Grieger. Our 8:15 contemporary worship service is led by a Praise Team of singers and instrumentalists, and we always welcome musicians of all abilities to come join us in song. For details about our musical programs please contact Terry at terryasparks2014@comcast.net.
YOUTH SUNDAY SCHOOL
Sunday School for all ages is offered from 9:15-10:15 each Sunday morning. Sunday School is modeled on a traditional classroom format (but not as rigidly), interactively teaching and reinforcing Christian truths by “walking” through scripture. At its core, Sunday School is Bible study with worshipful experiences, where children learn a lifelong skill that will feed them throughout their journey. For preschool through High School, classes are bundled in grade appropriate groupings: (Nursery-Grade 1, Grades 2-5, and Grades 6-12).
CHILDREN
Our children and youth are a diverse and dynamic part of our faith community, with varied gifts and varied needs. The welcome challenge for a healthy community of faith is to be consistent in the central message of the Gospel of Christ while being flexible and adaptive enough to greet each child of God where they are, because that is what the Almighty does: meets us all where we are to invite us ever deeper into the experience of grace.
YOUTH FELLOWSHIP
Our Youth Fellowship Ministries are designed to enhance the growth of discipleship and strengthen faith commitment by leveraging the advancing social and intellectual abilities and interests within these age groups. Our Youth Ministry Leaders facilitate regular gatherings, encourage sharing and bonding, and model Christian leadership and pastoral presence, always with an eye toward celebrating these same emerging gifts and abilities in the youth.
MISSIONS
“So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” - James 2:17
CRUCC seeks to embody it’s faith through our work in many service areas.
- Partner with Advocates for Homeless Families (www.afhf88.org) by providing a house where client families live as they work toward becoming stable and self-sufficient.
- Serve regularly at the Frederick Action Agency’s Soup Kitchen
- Send mission teams to help communities care for at-risk families and rebuild after disasters. We have sent groups to the Gulf Coast, Houston, Florida, New Jesery, West Virginia, Garret County (Maryland) and Honduras.
- Partner with Habitat for Humanity (www.frederickhabitat.org) in their work building safe and affordable housing in Frederick County.
- Participate in The Growing Project, a part of the Food Resource Bank (www.growinghopeglobally.org), which seeks to create a world without hunger.
- Support the Middletown Valley Weekend Backpack Ministry, which sends at-risk students home with food each weekend.
- Collect food and supplies for the Middletown Food Bank and Heartly House, a local organization working with victims of domestic violence.
- Support with funds and volunteers the work of the Religious Coalition for Emergency Human Needs, (https://www.thereligiouscoalition.org) which runs the largest homeless shelter in Frederick.