Connections Newsletter All the news you need to know to connect, grow, and serve.

Sunday, April 1, 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. EASTER SUNDAY CELEBRATION The Rev. Beth Miller, Temporary Senior Minister It is Easter and it is Spring, a time to rejoice and be glad. We will have a Child Dedication Ceremony to pledge the congregation’s support for the families who are participating. There will be special music by Sanctuary Singers and the jazz trio Free Spirits. The sermon will be relatively brief and hopefully uplifting. Younger children will have an Easter Egg Hunt while older ones will remain in the sanctuary. The youth will offer baked goods for sale after both services to raise funds for their programs. It will be a joyful morning, so come!  Livestream

Kol Ami Community Seder UUCA members and friends are invited to join the Kol Ami community for their Community Seder on March 31. Kol Ami is the progressive Jewish community that meets here at UUCA. The Seder is participatory and mostly potluck. For more information, contact Herb Levy , herbcl1@gmail.com . To register, click here . After registering, sign up for food here . Date: Saturday, March 31, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Location: Fellowship Hall

Buddhist Meditation with Jonathan Foust Each Monday night (except Monday holidays) Jonathan Foust of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, conducts a guided meditation class that includes a Dharma talk. "The Conditioned Self vs the True Self" is the topic of the Dharma talk on March 26, beginning at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. In the Buddhist tradition, the teachings are considered priceless. Therefore they are offered freely and there is no set fee for the class. Dates: Each Monday, 7:30-8:45 p.m. Location: Sanctuary

Church Matters

Board Update There will be multiple opportunities for the Board, staff, lay leaders, congregants, and UUCA’s other moral owners to come together to share their feelings and hear from others regarding what has happened at UUCA--particularly related to the church’s ministerial team--such as the congregational listening circles happening March 31 and April 4, led by Rev. Beth Miller. The Board will also coordinate opportunities for individuals to express their thoughts on the direction of our church since we, the staff, and lay leaders will be working through decisions such as the church’s ministerial team. These opportunities include large and small group discussions, 1-on-1 meetings, and informal discussions when we see each other around church. When these discussions occur, the Board asks that everyone remember what Rev. Beth told us in one of her first sermons--Use your API pens. That is Assume Positive Intent. Complete update here.

Join us for a THANK YOU Happy Hour Hosted by the Annual Giving Team Join us on Tuesday, April 3, 6 to 7:30 p.m., for a Thank You Happy Hour hosted by the Annual Giving Team. We continue to gather pledges for the 2018-19 fiscal year so that the church can project income to use in the budget currently being developed.  You may register a pledge by completing a blue pledge card and returning it to UUCA by mail, dropping it by the office, or placing it in the Sunday collection. You may also register a pledge online here.

Congregational Listening Circles with The Rev. Beth Miller, Temporary Senior Minister Rev. Beth has designed and continue to facilitate the last two Congregational Listening Circles using deep listening and fishbowl techniques that provide a safe space for sharing. If you’re interested in sharing your feelings about Rev. Aaron’s departure and where things currently stand at UUCA, come. If you’re interested in how others are feeling, for we are diverse in our reactions, come. Just come with an open heart. This is not a time for questions and answers or debate, but of simple sharing and listening. Members and friends holding similar feelings will be invited to sit together and share as others listen. You may choose to speak or only to listen. By hearing each other in this way, greater clarity for the state of the congregation and deeper empathy for one another will move us forward in this time of transition. Congregational Listening Circle dates:  Saturday, March 31, 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, April 4, 6:00 p.m. Small Group Sharing Circles DATES TO BE ANNOUNCED Facilitated by volunteers using a simple process similar to our Covenant Groups, several groups will be scheduled at a variety of days and times so that as many who wish to have more intimate discussions about their experiences and feelings in the wake of the current turmoil will have the opportunity to do so. Groups will be no more than ten and each group will have the same agenda. An online signup process will be offered soon.

Town Hall Meeting on 8th Principle A call to adopt an 8th Principle within the UUA, which would focus on anti-racism work as part of journeying toward spiritual wholeness, was proposed at General Assembly last summer. To date, three UU churches in the United States have adopted the 8th Principle, and UUCA is on a mission to do the same.  Join us for a Town Hall Meeting in Fellowship Hall on Thursday, April 5, 7:30 p.m., to learn more about adopting the 8th Principle. Paula Cole Jones from All Souls Unitarian - D.C. will lead the discussion, facilitated by Tracey L. Rogers.  Please RSVP with this link if you will attend. Please also use the RSVP to indicate whether you need childcare. Learn more at here. Can’t make it on April 5 but want to stay in the loop? Email beckyross222@gmail.com. Date: Thursday, April 5, 7:30 p.m. Location: Fellowship Hall RSVP Town Hall

Ministry Matters

Signs of Emergence By The Reverend Beth Miller Temporary Senior Minister  Spring has arrived! Alleluia! And our Soul Matters theme for April is Emergence, a great theme for Spring and for UUCA right now. Life returns again to the earth and we’re beginning to return from the pain and confusion caused by the loss of Reverend Aaron. I said beginning. We’re not there yet. Some aren’t even close. But I see signs of emergence from this hard time. Like different flowers, we bloom at different points in time. What I’m seeing is like the redbud trees, the crocuses and a few daffodils. It’s not like summer; not a fully fertile scene with dogwood, rhododendrons and roses. But still, early signs that new life is emerging. One sign is our welcoming of fifty-eight new members on March 18, eleven of whom had just joined the previous Sunday. Another sign is that we’re dedicating eight to ten children this coming Sunday. New members and children are definite signs of emerging life. The Social Justice Service and Fair on March 18 were both high signs of life emerging. Read more >

Lifespan Religious Education

Things will be hopping this Sunday This year we celebrate Easter with a traditional Easter Egg Hunt. Baskets and bags will be available, though you may bring your own. Kids will join their families in the Sanctuary for the first part of the service. After the Time for All Ages, kids Preschool to 4th grade will come downstairs for the egg hunt. Kids and youth 5th grade and older will remain in the Sanctuary for the service. Also happening next Sunday is the Youth Bake Sale and Child Dedication--See below.

Youth Group Seeking Baked Goods for April 1 Fundraiser The Youth Group is still working hard to raise money for their service trip fund. You can help by signing up to bring baked goods to church on April 1st for us to sell after each service! Cakes, pies, cookies, donuts, brownies...you bake it and bring it, we'll sell it! Simply click here to sign up. Child Dedications this Spring If you would like your child/children dedicated this spring, please contact either Rev. Beth or LeeAnn Williams , Director of Lifespan and Religious Education. Sign up here. Read the rest of RE news below Religious Education News here

Wellspring Wednesday Classes Begin April 18 Come join your UUCA family and friends for fun and informative evenings that fosters lifelong learning and spiritual growth in beloved community. Childcare provided with RSVP. Dates are April 18-May 23. A few of the classes to be offered: UU Music Workshop w/ Mimi Bornstein and Christin Green Screenagers: Growing Up in the Digital Age / A Film Screening Prayerful Doodling and Art The U in UUism Complete Wellspring class list with descriptions here. Register here.

Faith in Action

Photos from the March for Our Lives

Lavona Grow with the banner made by the UUCA Youth Group in partnership with Sanctuaries DC. The March brought out the devilish side of Louise Van Horne.

Tweens and teens, moms and dads, too. UUCA Youth demonstrate arms are for hugging.

Create a Wildlife Sanctuary at Home DIG (Doing It Green) is doing more than digging. Please join us TODAY - Wednesday, March 28, 3:00 p.m. and help plan for exciting events in April and May. Mark your calendars for May 9 when DIG is sponsoring a presentation on Audubon at Home at 7:00 p.m. Learn how to make your yard a wildlife habitat. You can even have your property certified as a Wildlife Sanctuary. Date: Wednesday, March 28, 3:00 p.m. Location: Volunteer Room

Join DIG in the Garden Is DIG digging? DIG will be digging this Saturday to help dig weeds, plant spiderwort, and spread mulch.  Want to learn more about gardening with native plants, plant a pollinator garden, butterfly garden or a woodland garden? We’ve had wonderful experience with all of these and look forward to talking with you. As you know, spring is a little late this year. Visit the UUCA pollinator garden where flowers are expected soon. And don’t miss the creeping phlox around the Peace Pole. Tiny bees and butterflies will be there in April. Date: Saturday, March 31, 10 a.m. to noon Location: UUCA Grounds

Understanding Inequality Book Group The “Understanding Inequality” book group will meet Monday, April 2, to discuss $2.00 a Day, Living on Almost Nothing in America, by Kathryn J. Edin & H. Luke Shaefer. This is an account, with human stories and statistics, of income inequality so extreme and hidden, that most Americans have no idea that it exists.  Date: Monday, April 2, 7:00 p.m. Location: Room 14 Speak Up this Week for Affordable Housing It's budget season for Arlington County, and once again opponents of expenditures on affordable housing are raising their voices. We must raise ours to ensure the County Board hears from the majority of citizens who support efforts to keep Arlington affordable for residents across the income spectrum. VOICE (Virginians Organized for Community Engagement) encourages all of us at UUCA to take two simple actions that can make a difference:  Attend the Budget Hearing. Stand up in support when VOICE testifies at the microphone. Tue., April 3, 7:00 p.m., Arlington County Board, 2100 Clarendon Blvd. Take the Arlington County Budget Online Survey before April 9. Open to county residents and workers. If you are in a hurry, skip to Question 3, which addresses affordable housing, and then under Question 16 write in a few words about why you believe affordable housing is critical.

Mark your calendar: May 6 Screening of Film on Solitary Confinement UUCA will host a screening of the 2016 HBO Documentary, “Solitary: Inside Red Onion State Prison,” followed by a panel discussion with Johnny Perez, Director of US Prison Program at the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, who is a returning citizen from solitary confinement, and Kimberly Jenkins-Snodgrass, Vice-Chair of Interfaith Action for Human Rights and the mother of Kevin Snodgrass Jr., who was in solitary confinement at Red Onion State Prison. A light lunch will be served at 12:30 p.m. RSVP here. Informational flyer here. Date: Sunday, May 6, 12:30-3:30 p.m. Location: Center and Activity Room Families Building Peace Together Workshop Children of all ages are welcome to attend the Families Building Peace Together workshop at UUCA on Wednesday evening, April 18, 7-8:15 p.m. For more information on this donation-based workshop for parents and children, contact MJ Park at 240-838-4549, mjpeace@gmail.com . Date: Wednesday, April 18, 7-8:15 p.m. Location: TBA

Voices From The Holy Land Film Series The annual Voices from the Holy Land film series features the latest documentaries about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Now in its fourth year, the series offers a different perspective by including the voices of the people who live in the Holy Land, a region sacred to Christians, Jews, and Muslims. UUCA will be one of five venues throughout the DMV to host the series on three consecutive Sundays, beginning on Sunday, April 8, 2:30 p.m. Each film will be followed by a moderated discussion with the audience. Please email Tracey L. Rogers , tracey.lynnelle@gmail.com , for questions or inquiries. More details can be found below. Read More Spring Allyship Workshop Registration Now Open As part of our congregation's Live the Pledge campaign to end racism, UUCA has partnered with Service Never Sleeps to offer a racial justice Allyship training. Over 100 UUCAers have already taken this training. Now it’s your turn. This workshop will teach you about the causes of racial injustice, how to be an effective ally for marginalized communities of color, and how to actively influence and educate others. This is a natural follow-up to the two-day Live the Pledge to End Racism workshop but is also appropriate for first-timers. More information and sign up here . UUCA contact Alex Ziehm , Alexandraziehm92@gmail.com .

Music Ministry

Here's to Life! A Coffee House Concert Spend an evening with Ron Cima as he entertains us with some of his favorite songs to live, laugh, and love by. This coffee house concert will include wine and munchies. Freewill donation. All proceeds go to UUCA. Date: Friday, April 6, 7:30 p.m. Location: Center Gallery

Voices United Community Chorus Rehearsal Change In an attempt to be more inclusive of all faiths, we want to inform you that we have changed the time of the Voices United Community Chorus rehearsals to Saturdays from 3 to 5 p.m. Due to unavoidable scheduling conflicts, the first two Saturday rehearsals (April 7 & 14) will be held from 9 to 11 a.m., but all others will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. All rehearsals will be at UUCA. Registration will remain open through April 21. We hope you will be able to join us! Please signup using this form.

Exciting New Exhibition Opening in Center Gallery Baked Clay/Endless Sky: Celebrating 5 years of Studio Pause . Artists and writers from Arlington’s Studio Pause use their craft to express the power of PAUSING to share stories and how this practice can ground and expand their lives and communities. RECEPTION DATE: Please join the artists from Studio Pause on Sunday, April 15, 4 to 6 p.m., for a reception and reading. Guest Artist Concert Andes to Romances Duo acoustic performers Ernesto and Juan Cayrampoma present a program from Andean instrumental melodies to classic romances songs from around the world. Advance tickets by calling 703-593-7587 or at the door. Date: Friday, March 30, 7 - 9:00 p.m. Location: Center Gallery

Congregational Life

Gather at the Well Happy Hour The church-wide Happy Hour is sponsored this month by the Annual Giving team to thank the congregation for a successful Gather at the Well campaign.  No need to bring anything this month, the Annual Giving team is covering food and drink. Please come even if you haven’t made a pledge, all are welcome. Date: Tuesday, April 3, 6-7:30 p.m. Location: Center Gallery

Day Alliance presents Minding the Moon w/ David de Vorkin, Ph.D. All are welcome to join astronomy historian David de Vorkin for an amusing and down to earth talk about mankind’s long fascination with the moon. What is it made of? Where did it come from? Dr. David DeVorkin is senior curator of history of astronomy and the space sciences at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.  Coffee and conversation begins at 10:30 a.m., talk at 11 a.m., with optional lunch at noon. See Connections newsletter for more information. Date: Tuesday, April 10, 11 a.m. Guest Speaker Location: Center HUUmanists Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress Steven Pinker, noted humanist (and listed by Time, Foreign Policy, and other magazines as one of the world’s most influential thinkers) says in his new best-selling book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress, that Trump's bleak assessment of the state of things in our country “is wrong. And not just a little wrong—wrong wrong, flat-earth wrong, couldn’t-be-more-wrong.” Everyone is welcome to join in watching a video of Pinker discussing his book before the British Royal Society of Art. More details here. For further information contact Jere Cummins.  Date: Tuesday, April 10, 7:30 p.m.  Location: Board Room

NEW newsletter deadline: Connections deadline for submissions is EACH Monday at noon with publication on Wednesday. See below on how to submit an announcement.

How to submit an announcement to UUCA's Connections newsletter:   Deadline is noon each Wednesday. 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.

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Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, VA 4444 Arlington Blvd Arlington, Virginia Call: (703) 892-2565 Email: uuca@uucava.org ‌ ‌