Beginning February 26:
Connections deadline changes to Monday at noon with publication on Wednesday of each week. How to submit an announcement is at bottom of this email.
|
|
|
|
CONNECTIONS - UUCA News
Join Us for Worship this Sunday
|
|
|
|
|
Sunday, February 11, 9:15 & 11:15 a.m.
“Perseverance: In For the Long Haul”
Sermon by Rev. Beth Miller, Temporary Senior Minister
“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, quoting 19th century Unitarian Minister, the Reverend Theodore Parker. Perseverance is about hanging in for the long haul through uncertainty and roadblocks. It is a spiritual quality we want to strengthen and apply to challenges in our own lives and for the greater good in this broken world.
Our music honors Black History month with our POP UP Choir singing a Freedom Song from the Civil Rights Movement,
Ain't Nobody Gonna Turn Me Around. Everyone is welcome to sing in our POP UP on Sunday. Gather in the Sanctuary at 10:15 a.m. to rehearse. Our music also includes Polymnia Handbells performing an artful arrangement for handbells and handchimes called
Thaxted by Gustav Holst.
|
|
|
|
Avoid the Sunday morning parking crunch
|
Did you know UUCA has two auxiliary parking lots available on Sunday mornings? To help UUCA be a more welcoming community, even before newcomers and those with limited mobility walk through our doors, we ask that all able-bodied drivers park in one of our auxiliary lots. There is the Mason's lot directly across from the church on George Mason Drive--PLEASE cross at the light when parking there. And, we have access to the Arlington Hall Park lot off of S. Fourth Street, one block south of the church off of George Mason. Also, there is street parking along George Mason, First Place S., and the Arlington Blvd. frontage road.
See map here.
|
|
|
|
|
Our next Transmissions meditation service will be on Tuesday, February 27, 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Transmissions is a healing service and sound meditation for reflection and spiritual deepening. Come for an evening of contemplative meditation accompanied by music and soundscapes by Woven Green. Yoga mat or blanket is optional. Freewill donation.
Schedule here.
Date: Tuesday, February 27, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Sanctuary
|
|
|
|
|
A Good Beginning
Celebration Sunday was a good start to the annual giving campaign. The Chili Cook-Off was as competitive as ever with a huge participation this year(over 30 entrants!). Mimi Bornstein and the musicians of UUCA demonstrated what music ministry is all about during their inspiring recital. Our own UUCA Board of Trustees and cooking crew prepared a delicious and memorable family supper for us. The kids and adults rocked out to the DJ while those that watch that darned game watched it to the finish.
If fellowship, food, dancing, football, and door prizes were all it took to be a church, we were the best church on Celebration Sunday, but we all know it takes more.
We are the church through our commitment to the mission and covenant that we share with one another. That commitment was fully apparent to anyone who attended on Sunday and is continuously demonstrated in our works and in our gifts.
Pledges are ahead of where we were at this time in last year’s campaign, but there is a long way to go to reach our goal during our pledge month of February. By 10 p.m. on Celebration Sunday, the first day of our pledge campaign, we had received 158 pledges totaling $406,711, or about 27% of our goal. See the updated status on the banner in Fellowship Hall on Sunday. Annual Giving volunteers will be there to answer your questions or to take your pledge card. You may also drop your completed pledge card in the collection plate.
If you are ready to pledge, you may also do so
online here.
Have you pledged yet? Why not do it today?
|
|
|
|
 |
Celebrating in Beloved Community
As you can see above there were
many Sunday stars
that helped make our Celebration Sunday such an awesome event. And, the secret to all the awesomeness was the guiding-star of
Bruce Reider
, chair of the Annual Giving Team. His vision, leadership, wisdom, and good cheer through it all, was an inspiration to us all. Thank you, Bruce!
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Importance of Your Annual Pledge
Last Sunday, we kicked off the annual pledge campaign in style: a chili cook off, a dance class, a music recital, and a fabulous dinner followed by the big game in Fellowship Hall, just gaming in the Board room, and a dance party in the Center. Thanks to all the volunteers who brought it together for the first celebration of UUCA’s 70th anniversary and to the hundreds of folks who joined us. It kept my two-year old dancing well past her bedtime. Actual pictures, nothing staged . . .
|
|
|
|
We are fortunate that UUCA remains financially sound. Due to sound policy and planning, we have endowment funds to meet our immediate unanticipated needs. However, this is where you come in. You can help kick off another 70 years of UUCA connecting, growing, and serving by pledging.
Read more.
|
|
|
|
Did you know that our Religious Education program for children and youth requires a minimum of 120 volunteers each year in order to be fully staffed? This number includes teachers, office managers, facilitators, and youth advisors. That is a lot of people! Wonderful people sharing their energy, time, and talent with our UUCA families. However, this year we’ve been operating at a 70% staffing rate. It’s been a tough year keeping all of our classes supported. Our teachers have been so generous and flexible in ensuring that classes are covered—and all the cool RE activities are just humming along.
What cool stuff? Our preschool classes are still using the popular Spirit Play curriculum. If you love to tell stories, this class is for you!
Love science and learning more about UU faith? Try volunteering in one of our elementary classes. By the last day of RE you will be able to amaze your friends by reciting all 7 Principles in order.
Is your passion working with youth and supporting them their spiritual growth? We offer three different youth programs.
We really need our UUCA community to help us finish out the church year strong. Please contact me for more information at
LWilliams@uucava.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Nominating Committee Wants You!
|
The Nominating Committee is in search of members to serve in a variety of capacities.
- Trustees to the Board, Board Secretary, and members of the Nominating Committee. All are 2-year terms, starting in July 2018.
- Members for a ministerial search committee.
- Members to serve as delegates to the annual UU Association General Assembly to be held June 20-24, 2018, in Kansas City, Missouri. GA details here. Online delegate application here.
|
|
|
|
Lifespan Religious Education
|
|
|
|
Thanks for a great cook off!
Thanks to everyone for a great chili cook off. This year we raised over $1900 for the youth service trip.
(Right) Some of this year’s Chili Cook Off winners: Jane Zimmerman (1st Place Meat), Jere Cummins (3rd Place Meat), Kate Gallup (1st Place Veggie), Louise Van Horne (2nd Place Veggie) Elisabeth Geschiere (Best Name), and Linda Lutes Corsoro (People’s Choice).
|
|
|
|
|
|
Be the Change Collection this Sunday
"Be the Change!" this Sunday by bringing in your pennies, dimes and quarters to church for our Second Annual RE Fundraiser. We are asking everyone to search their couch pillows, clean out their glass jars, and empty their pockets and bring all of that spare change to church on Sunday, February 11. Our Religious Education children will be collect the money after each service in Fellowship Hall. Last year they raised almost $2,000, so we want to see if they can achieve that again. Help them out and "Be the Change!" for UUCA.
|
|
|
|
Write Your US Senators to Protect Medicaid
The Trump administration is promoting work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, but that would result in denying healthcare coverage to some of the most needy. UU's favor accessible, affordable, quality healthcare for all, and these punitive measures will put many at risk for illness, death and financial ruin. On February 11, come by
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice's (UUSJ) "Write Here! Write Now!" table in Fellowship Hall to write a personal letter to your Senator. Fact sheets and supplies will be available. Or write your letter in advance and drop it off. UUSJ's Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps will be hand-delivering letters on Feb. 13. Contact
Lavona Grow,
advocacy@uusj.org; to learn more about the Advocacy Corps, check
UUSJ's advocacy page.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
UUCA Guatemala Delegation Travel Blog
On February 10, UUCA's delegation to Guatemala departs on a 10-day visit in partnership with
ADIVIMA
and
NISGUA
. The delegation will see first hand the important work being done to defend human rights for indigenous Guatemalans. You can follow them on their journey via their
travel blog here.
|
|
|
|
African American Book Sharing Circle
The group will continue the discussion about
We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The discussion will concentrate on essays about the black family in the age of mass incarceration, the American girl (AKA Michelle Obama), Obama’s eighth year as President, and Coates’ epilogue.
Read more.
Date: Friday, February 16, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Welcome Room
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dismantling Injustice with V.O.I.C.E.
If you heard our guest minister, Paula Cole Jones, speak recently or have read the work of legal advocate Bryan Stevenson, you know that to remove the weight of injustice from people of color (or indeed anyone with less privilege) we all need to get proximate and get uncomfortable.
Our VOICE (Virginians Organized for Community Engagement) core team at UUCA wants you to know that both our agenda and our organizing methods present powerful opportunities to get closer to northern Virginia neighbors whose race, ethnicity, income, or creed may be different from our own. We work side by side for greater justice. Right now we are looking for energetic souls to work with us on—
Read more.
|
|
|
|
DIG (Do it Green) is Doing
UUCA's landscape/garden maintenance team, DIG, conducts workdays twice a month. In February, removal of invasive Japanese honeysuckle and English ivy will be the major focus. Also, we will mulch in places where the ground has hooved as a result of freezing and thawing. All are welcome to lend a hand. Bring gardening tools if you have them. Extras will be available.
Workday:
Saturday, February 24, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
DIG Meeting Date:
The next
DIG
meeting is Wednesday, February 21, 3 - 4:30 p.m. to plan for Earth Day and getting ready for spring!
|
|
|
|
|
|
Help Make the UU Voice Heard on Capitol Hill - Join the UUSJ Advocacy Corps!
Interested in amplifying our UU voices on Capitol Hill? Join the
UUSJ (UUs for Social Justice) Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps and make visits to Members of Congress and their staff on the second Tuesday of each month. Help advance UU issues on immigration, environment and climate justice, and escalating economic inequity.
Register here.
Information Session: Sunday, February 11, 7:30-8:30 p.m. (Online Video Session)
Tuesday, February 13, 9:30 a.m.-2:00 p.m. (First Anniversary special Briefing and Capitol Hill Visits on the Budget/Safety-net issues)
|
|
Peace Camp Registration OPEN
The 2018 theme is “Explore a Path to Peace,” and reflects the goal of creating a summer camp environment where campers and counselors alike can experience, learn, and practice peace. Rising K-6 graders are eligible to apply; rising 7-9 grades can be Counselors in Training (same fee, longer hours). Lunch is included! Before and after-care, as well as partial or full scholarships, are available (See
www.peacecamp@lffp.org). UUCA Peace Camp volunteers will be at tables in Fellowship Hall thru March 18 for more information or to register. To register on-line
click HERE!
This year's dates for Peace Camp are June 25-29 ($315) or July 2-6 ($265, no camp July 4).
|
|
|
|
|
Did you sign the Live the Pledge to End Racism?
Racial justice advocates and allies--don't miss out on singing in the POP UP Choir this Sunday. The Choir will sing,
Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me 'Round, an old spiritual that became a Freedom Song during the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s.
Anyone can drop-in and sing. No music experience required. AND, NEW THIS MONTH -- GATHER AT 10:15 to learn the song. And, POP UP sings only in the second service. For more information, contact
MimiB@uucava.org.
Date: Sunday, February 11, 10:15 a.m.
Location: Sanctuary
|
|
|
|
Mimi in the news
In the latest edition of the professional journal for Chorus America, our own
Mimi Bornstein
, Director of Music Ministry, was not only featured in an article but also made the cover! At the time of the interview, Mimi was still in Maine and not yet on staff here at UUCA. The article is about the challenges of finding community chorus repertoire and she shares some of her innovative ways she finds music for her choirs.
Read the complete article here.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Peter and the Starcatcher TICKETS on Sale now!
Tickets for Chalice Theatre’s production of
Peter and the Starcatcher are now
available here.
The show was nominated for nine Tony Awards in 2017, winning in the “best original score” category. It also won ”Favorite Play” in the Broadway.com “Audience Choice” awards. The family-friendly story provides a hilarious look at the century-old story of The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up (a.k.a. Peter Pan), complete with bumbling pirates, hula-dancing mermaids, and a Neverland filled with surprises.
Chalice presents
Peter and the Starcatcher over three weekends, including both matinees and evening performances: February 23/24/25, and March 2/3/4 and 9/10/11.
Chalice Theatre is a program within the Creative Arts Ministry of UUCA.
Peter and the Starcatcher is the 22nd major production; other shows include such musical favorites as
Oklahoma!,
Children of Eden, and
Seussical, the Musical, to name just a few.
|
|
|
|
Music Recital - Songs of Irish Monks and Scottish Bards
You are invited to "Songs of Irish Monks and Scottish Bards" on
Saturday, February 10, at 3 p.m. with
Ellen Beard, soprano, and Maribeth Gowen, on piano. Ellen, a lifelong UU, has been a UUCA member since 1996 and recently earned her Ph.D. in Celtic at the University of Edinburgh where she studied the songs of her ancestor, the bard Rob Donn MacKay.
|
|
|
|
With the help of our own
Betsy Rosenblatt Rosso and her gifted-writing talents, we are introducing a new occasional column,
Telling Our Stories. Telling and hearing our stories is another opportunity to make connections in this beloved community we call UUCA. Our first story is on one of our cherished centenarians,
Renee Gholz. Renee has seen a lot in her 101 years. From getting married in secret so she could stay in school to teaching first grade to taking midnight watch on her sailboat in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, she’s had plenty of adventures.
Read the first installment of her adventure here.
|
|
|
|
Let's Take a Hike
Please join UUCAer
Bill Fogarty for a family-friendly congregational hike on March 3 at Potomac Overlook Park in Arlington.
The park has bathroom facilities, and a number of trails for both novice and experienced hikers. Volunteers interested in helping as hike leaders, please contact Bill,
wafogarty@aol.com. RSVP not required but if you plan on hiking, please let Bill know for planning purposes.
Date: Saturday, March 3, 10 a.m.
|
|
|
|
|
HUUmanist Meeting
Why do liberals and conservatives see things so differently?
Lynn Durel will review Jonathan Haidt’s book
The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion (2013) where he offers an explanation of why liberals and conservatives view moral, religious, and political positions differently. Haidt explains how relevant values arose during ancient group living and the functions they serve. These have now become innate intuitions or feelings that continue to help humans live successfully within groups.
Read more.
Date: Tuesday, February 13, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Board Room
|
|
|
|
UUSJ Job Position:
Admin Assistant
Do you have a passion for social justice but administration and communications is really your forte? Are you looking to work with an advocacy organization doing mission and values driven work?
UUs for Social Justice, a faith-based non-profit seeks an Administrative Assistant for part-time position in the Washington DC area. Deadline 2/19. Target start date 3/12. See our position description posted on the
UUSJ website.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Beginning February 26:
Connections deadline changes to Monday at noon
See below on how to submit an announcement.
|
|
|
|
|
How to submit an announcement to UUCA's Connections newsletter:
- Deadline is noon each Wednesday - changes to Monday on 2/26.
- Please put "Connections" or "newsletter" in the subject box.
- Send announcement (150 words or fewer) in body of email or Word doc attachment.
- Images and attachments accepted, though no guarantee of publishing
- Send announcements to pubasst@uucava.org.
- Questions about Connections? Contact MaryAnn@uucava.org.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thank you for using
this link when shopping Amazon.
UUCA benefits each time you shop.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA
4444 Arlington Blvd
Arlington, Virginia
Call: (703) 892-2565
|
|
|
|
|
|
