Curious about River Road? Interested in learning more about the congregation, our faith, and our community? We invite you to check us out! Contact us here or email Sheri at sblanchette@rruuc.org.
Sunday's Worship Service
The Space Between the Logs , July 12, 10am
Rev. Nancy Ladd, Senior Minister
Available Sunday morning on our website at https://www.rruuc.org/worship/sermons/ or YouTube channel https://bit.ly/RRUUCYouTube
A fire doesn’t burn just because of the fuel – but because of the space we leave between the logs. What spaces are you creating between the demands of your life?

Find upcoming RRUUC sermons here . Check out past worship services at https://www.rruuc.org/worship/sermons/
Notices & Online Ministry Offerings
Religious Education for Children, Youth, and Adults
If you have questions related to the following areas, please contact the person noted:
Please remember that it is summer and everyone will be on and off email thru to the end of August. They will all be happy to connect when they return!
The Zoom Morning Book Group, 10am, Friday, July 17
Our book is I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith. Please contact Sheri, sblanchette@rruuc.org , for info and links.
Grounding
Check out Joe's blog this week in his new post! Read it at https://www.rruuc.org/connect/grounding/ .
Social Justice News
July's Designated Gift Organization and Sunday's Extend the Offering:
UULM envisions a Maryland free of oppression and injustice, where all are guaranteed basic human and civil rights. This vision is addressed by alerting, educating, activating and facilitating a statewide UU base to advocate for legislation before the Maryland General Assembly each year. Recent issues include health care reform, ending marriage discrimination against same-sex couples, global warming and abolition of the death penalty. Give online here or by check to RRUUC with UULM in the memo. Thank you for your generosity!
Stop Police Brutality
Help protect Black, Brown, and LGBTQ folks from police harassment and violence by telling your state  l awmakers ( https://bit.ly/3dnp9OM ) to support the following legislation (see  https://bit.ly/2NiRprt ): 1) Repeal extraordinary rights given police, 2) Return control of Baltimore police to Baltimore City, 3) Reveal investigations of police to the public, 4) Limit use of force by police, and 5) Remove police from our schools. From RRUUC's Prevent Gun Violence Ministry, Engaging Communities, and social justice groups, as well as MD ACLU and more than 60 other  organizations  ( https://bit.ly/2Ctwtvt ) statewide.
Educating4Change (E4C) Racial Justice Resource Corner: Take advantage of f ree on-line books and movies exploring race relations in the United States
Consider these books and more, offered through August 31 by the University of Minnesota Press: Kill the Overseer!, which examines digital games that “gamify” slave resistance, as well as Living for Change, an autobiography of the legendary Asian American human rights activist, Grace Lee Boggs at https://bit.ly/3e9IrHK. Shadow and Act, a news and media website devoted to Black and African diaspora entertainment, identifies and reviews six “essential” films about systemic racism, now free on various sites https://bit.ly/2VXNg0y.
Black Lives Matter Vigil , Fridays, 6:30-7:30pm, Corner of Whittier Blvd. & River Road
Join us! We'll be maintaining distance and wearing masks, with our signs and banner, every Friday while free movement is allowed.
As part of our ongoing commitment to the activists who are interrupting gun violence on the streets of our cities, we are saddened yet honored to memorialize the names of those in our area lost to gun violence over the past two weeks. These lives continue to matter:
  • In Baltimore: Shana Lloyd, Ronald Laws, Douglas Parson, Marqui Jackson, Asmar Holland, Eric Kirk, Paul Behler
  • In DC: Antonio Gardiner, 36; Davon McNeal, 11; Jordyn Simmons, 20; Zamonte Clark, 23; Demetrius Sullivan, 30; Kelvin Goggins, 18; Dennis Dykes, 34; Antwon Duncan, 20
Every life lost to gun violence shatters the world for each of us, and every life saved by those who interrupt the violence helps knit us back together.
In Our Larger Community
Sanctuary DMV Food Justice Initiative
Sanctuary DMV ( www.SanctuaryDMV.org ), the secular partner organization to the Congregation Action Network (many area UU congregations are active), has been filling a critical gap in the safety net by providing food for the disproportionately impacted black and brown immigrant families in our community. Please sign up to volunteer here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfclbsjZoFYbYVKTO-MZz6QGBx9BA2pTleZGm1tvFxO3TUI7w/viewform?usp=sf_link. Or donate to support the effort: https://www.gofundme.com/f/food-justice-for-immigrant-families?utm_source=customer&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet.
UUse Your VOICE , Online workshop to increase our effectiveness in values-centered voter engagement 
Learn more about mobilizing voters and engaging our UU values for electoral justice, and learn strategies to build rapport and trust with people with whom progressive voters disagree. Dr. David Campt , a nationally-recognized trainer created and facillitates this training specifically for Unitarian Universalists. Choose either of two tracks, or both for a $25 additional fee: 1) Persuading Conservative Voters . 8-9:30pm,Tuesdays, July 14 (joint class), July 28, Aug. 11 & 25; 2) Persuading Non-Voters. 8-9:30pm, Tues., July 14 (joint class), then Wednesdays July 29, Aug. 12 & 26. Sliding scale fee from $50-125; full scholarships available.  Click for information & to register .
Film Salon for UUs: Naila and the Uprising , Sunday July 19, 4pm, Zoom, Free
UUs nationwide are invited to view the documentary "Naila and the Uprising" and then join a moderated discussion. Register at b it.ly/FilmSalon for links. Co-sponsored by UUs for Justice in the Middle East and Voices From the Holy Land Film Series.  Executive Producer and Director of Just Vision Suhad Babaa, and human rights and political activist Zeina Ashrawi Hutchison, will participate in the discussion. Contact vfhlonlinesalon@gmail.com .
HALO’s Virtual Race & #RealTalk Series
Community Music Therapy for Racism in America
Join participants from across the country to grapple with the realities of racism in the midst of this pandemic. We will confront the gap between communities caused by racism and segregation which makes it challenging for people of color to enter into and fully participate in spaces dominated by white culture and authority. More info here.
Deadline is Tuesday, midnight, for that week.
News is edited for clarity, brevity, and style.
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River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation | 6301 River Road, Bethesda, MD 20817 | 301-229-0400 | office@rruuc.org | www.rruuc.org