Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast Set for January 12
United Black Christians Region III of the United Church of Christ will hold their annual Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast this coming Saturday, January 12, at Peoples Congregational United Church of Christ in the District from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon, with seating starting at 9. Featured speaker will be Rev. Julius Jefferson of Heritage UCC in Baltimore. Tickets are $20 for adults, $12 for children. An order form and additional details are available at www.potomacucc.org.

NEWS FROM THE CENTRAL ATLANTIC CONFERENCE

Rev. John Thomas to Keynote CAC Annual Meeting
Mark your calendars now for the Central Atlantic Conference's 2008 annual meeting, which will be held June 13-15 at the University of Delaware in Newark. This year's featured speaker and preacher will be Rev. John Thomas, president and general minister of the United Church of Christ. Registration materials will be distributed in the coming weeks but let your church's delegates know the date now. Details will be available on the website of the Central Atlantic Conference at www.cacucc.org.

Regional Christian Educators Plan Retreat April 28-30
The Association of United Church Educators and Partners in Education for the Middle Atlantic Region, including the Central Atlantic Conference, have scheduled a retreat April 28-30 at the Mennonite Central Committee Welcoming Place in Akron, PA. The focus of the retreat will be to explore Christian practices of simplicity and peace and their relationship to justice in the world. Featured speaker will be Kathleen McGinniss, executive director of the Institute of Peace and Justice and International Co-Coordinator for the Parenting for Peace & Justice Program. More information is available under "Resources" on the CAC Website, www.cacucc.org.

NEWS FROM THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST

UCC's 100,000 for Peace Campaign Clears Goal
The United Church of Christ met its goal of raising $100,000 by Epiphany to help provide humanitarian aid to Iraqui refugees displaced in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Contributions are still being accepted and can be made online at www.ucc.org/100Kforpeace or by mail to UCC Wider Church Ministries, United Church of Christ, 700 Prospect Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115-1100 (designate your check to "Iraq Humanitarian Appeal"). Church leaders have also called for 100,000 prayers for U.S. service personnel. Prayers can be posted online at http://www.ucc.org/100kforpeace/100000-prayers.html.

UCC Seeks Submissions for Praise and Worship Music
The Worship and Education Team of the UCC's Local Church Ministries is seeking submissions of music for consideration in a new praise and worship songbook. The book will contain more than 200 songs and
choruses, designed to meet the convenantal values of the denomination. The deadline for submissions is April 18. For more information, see http://www.ucc.org/music-arts/music/praise-and-worship-music.html.

AROUND THE POTOMAC ASSOCIATION

Lincoln Temple Hosts Program on Shaw Community Ministry
Rev. Robbie Morganfield, the new director of Shaw Community Ministry, will speak about the history and mission of the Shaw Ministry and how to partner with the program in its vital work in the Shaw community.
The program will be held Sunday January 20 at 12:30 p.m. at Lincoln Congregational Temple UCC, 1701 11th Streets NW, Washington. Rock Spring UCC Invites Support for Iraqi Refugee Family Rock Spring Congregational UCC invites other Potomac Association churches and their members to join it in providing volunteer and financial support for a seven-member Iraqi family that recently arrived in Northern Virginia, seeking political asylum. The attorney father had been working on identifying corruption in the new government before his position became untenable. Some forms of assistance available to refugees are not available to the family until their petition for asylum has been formally approved. It is hoped that the family will be able to stand on its own feet within about six or seven months. To find out more or to learn how your church can help, contact Rev. Janet Parker, (janet@rockspringucc.org; 703-538-4886) or Marti Weston
(r2mweston@mindspring.com).

Update on Rev. John Mack
We are grateful that Revs. John Mack and Barbara Gerlach are back home again after John's long hospitalization in Nepal and India. The whole Potomac Association continues to keep them in our thoughts and prayers as John moves into hospice care at their home. On behalf of the Mack family, Byron Adams of First Congregational UCC is coordinating visitors as well as meals and other kinds of support. Please contact
Byron at byronadams@verizon.net for more information.

OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE

Senate Chaplain to Address Interfaith Celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.
Barry C. Black, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, will lead an interfaith service in celebration of the life of Martin Luther King Jr. at 3 p.m. Sunday January 13 at the Mt. Jezreel Baptist Church, 420 University Blvd. East, Silver Spring. The service is coordinated by the InterFaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington and the D.C. Martin Luther King Support Group. It is also co-sponsored by the Community Ministry of Montgomery County and the Downtown Cluster of Congregations. Participants in the service will come from the Baha'i,
Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Latter-Day Saints, Protestant, Roman Catholic and Sikh faith communities. The theme of this year's event is"Striving for a Beloved Community." For more information, contact Rev.
Louisa Davis at louisaldavis@igc.org.

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