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

Sunday, May 5, 2019 | 9:15 and 11:15 a.m. Question Box Sermon Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley Do you have a burning (or even just mildly curious) question you would like to ask Rev. Terasa? This is your opportunity to learn more about Unitarian Universalism, this church, or UU approaches to living. You can submit a question in advance (just send an email to tcooley@uucava.org) or you could write it up in the beginning of the service.  David McTaggart is the Worship Associate and Sophia Morreale the Song Leader. Music is provided by UUCA's jazz ensemble Free Spirits : Topher Dunne on bass; Fred Katz on drums; Sophia Morreale on piano. Their performance includes jazz classics Don't Mean a Thing by DC's jazz great Duke Ellington and a George Shearing favorite, Lullaby of Birdland . Livestream

Upcoming Services

May 12 - “Roots and Blossoms” - Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley. As we share in our annual flower communion, a ritual that was first developed by a Czechoslovakian Unitarian minister, Norbert Capek, Rev. Terasa will also explore the European roots of our faith, and how we are related to some Unitarian expressions around the world. This service will also feature child dedications. Please bring a flower to share! May 19 - Youth Sunday - "Community and Connection" - UUCA's incredibly talented Youth will, yet again, show us their awesomeness as they lead us in worship around the theme of Community and Connection through story, song, and their fresh and insightful reflections.  May 26 - “There’s Something About Mary” – Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley.

Sunday Parking When parking on Sundays, we ask that you please leave our main lot for visitors and those with mobility issues. On Sunday mornings the Mason's lot across the street on George Mason and the Arlington Hall Park lot are available for parking. Street parking is also available along George Mason Drive and in the neighborhood behind the church. See map here.

UUCA is LIVE on Facebook Not able to be with us in person on Sunday morning? It's now going to be easier than ever to join us online. Besides joining in via www.uucava.org/livestream , you can now experience each Sunday morning via Facebook LIVE .

Friday Morning Devotions We invite you to smooth the path into the weekend with a half-hour of meditation followed by shared reflections each Friday morning beginning at 7 a.m. Please contact in advance either David McTaggart ( dmctagg@gmail.com ) or Gregg Forte ( gforte@mac.com ). A ride is available afterward to Ballston Metro. Date: Each Friday, 7:00 a.m. Location: Room 20 (Youth Room)

Church Matters

Ministerial Search Committee Coming soon: UUCA survey! During the month of May, the Ministerial Search Committee will be conducting a survey to ask what is on the hearts and minds of our congregation as we prepare for calling a new Senior Minister. The survey will be anonymous and relatively brief, and everyone in our beloved community--members, friends, inquiring friends, newcomers, youth--is welcome to participate. Please fill out a survey and make your voice heard! Watch this space for a link to the online survey, or stop by the MSC table in Fellowship Hall after services during the month of May. We are eager to hear from you!

Appreciating the Results of Appreciative Inquiry Appreciative Inquiry sessions held during worship services on March 10 and in longer gatherings on March 24 and April 6 asked participants how they want to grow spiritually within our community, how we aspire to be together as a church, and how we want to interact with our larger community outside UUCA. Here’s what people said about how we aspire to build the beloved community here at UUCA. . . . Read more >>

Ministry Matters

Finding Your Path - What Spiritual Growth Means to Me By Janice Morris  Listen with the ear of your heart. This paraphrases something St. Benedict once said that I am trying to embrace in my day-to-day life. Another inspiration that has guided me is the understanding that God is love. I lead with these two statements because defining one’s spirituality is a personal and complex task that I have struggled with over the past few years. But I am gradually arriving at some conclusions and listening and loving are definitively at the core at what spirituality means to me. I love our church, especially our commitment to social justice, service, and fighting white supremacy. Personally, though, without a creed-based philosophy, I find I must work harder to make a heart connection that goes along with my belief in our principles. That is why I look to UUCA to offer me a spiritual home as well as a place where my values and beliefs are shared and supported.  In order to deepen my spirituality, I am centered on becoming my best self. I have no control over others, but I can be someone who models the behavior I want to see in the world. That begins with listening and loving--unconditionally. And that is really hard. Yet, learning how to recognize and resist my negative impulses and at the same time grow the skills of my heart happens more easily in a spiritual community.

I have experienced such growth at UUCA through Covenant Groups, Circles of Trust retreat activities, Rev. Teresa’s sermons and workshops, and other opportunities that have been provided to us. I am also looking forward to further exploring how UUCA can help me become my best self at the May 4 “Finding Your Path” spiritual conversation (9:00 a.m. to noon--or for as long as you can be there). I hope you, too, will come and share your thoughts on what spirituality means to you and how our church can help with your personal spiritual growth.  Finding Your Path - Register here Date: Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m.-Noon Location: Activity Room Contact David McTaggart for more information at dmctagg@gmail.com or 703-835-6944.

Lifespan Religious Education

Happening in RE This Sunday Quiz Bowl. Kids 2nd-3rd/4th grade will showcase their UU knowledge. Ice cream party to follow.

Multigenerational Game Night Get together with longtime friends and make new friends at RE's Multigenerational Game Night. The evening begins with board games for all-ages from 4-6 p.m. Childcare will be open from 6-8 p.m. Bring a snack to share.  Date: Saturday, May 11, 4-6 p.m. Games for all-ages. 6-8 p.m. Childcare Location: Rooms 7, 10, 11, 12

Cereal Drive for A-SPAN On June 2, (during the Annual Meeting) Religious Education kids will build a house out of cereal boxes before donating them to A-SPAN (Arlington Street People's Network). Please bring cereal boxes in to donate this Sunday through June 2. Drop them off at the Welcome Desk downstairs or the RE table in Fellowship Hall.

Adult Education Below is a list of our upcoming Adult Education classes. Click here for more information and registration. Finding Your Path, May 4, 9-Noon Adaptive Leadership Workshop, May 5, 2-5 p.m. Enneagram Workshop, May 8, 15, 7-9 p.m.

Adaptive Leadership Workshop With Rev. Terasa. Adaptive Leadership is a method of understanding leadership developed by Ron Heifetz and colleagues of his at the Harvard Kennedy School. It posits that leadership is not a noun, as in ‘this person is always the leader’, but that leadership is a verb, it is what we exercise together. In this understanding, anyone can be a leader. Register here. Date: Sunday, May 5, 2-5 p.m. Location: Activity Room

Enneagram Workshop Back by popular demand! Join Rev. Terasa for a two-part series exploring the Enneagram. Have you ever asked yourself the quintessential human question of identity, “Who am I?” Most of us spend a lifetime trying to figure out who we are and how we relate to others. The Enneagram offers a bright path to cutting through the internal clutter and finding our way back to who we are created to be. Based on the nine classic archetypes of human character structure, the Enneagram exposes the nine ways we lie to ourselves about who we think we are, illustrates the nine ways we get lost, and reveals nine ways we find our way home to our True Self. Recommended texts for the class are (choose one) The Wisdom of the Enneagram by Richard Riso or The Road Back to You by Ian Cron. Register here. Dates: Two Wednesday sessions, May 8 and May 15, 7-9 p.m.  Location: Activity Room

Finding Your Path “What do I want to let go of? What do I want to give myself to? What is holding me back? How might UUCA help me find my way?” Come explore spiritual growth programming at UUCA—programming we have and what you might wish for. Refreshments will be provided. Contact David McTaggart for more information at dmctagg@gmail.com or 703-835-6944. Register here. Date: Saturday, May 4, 9 a.m.-Noon Location: Activity Room

Music Metamorphosis Come join this original class with music written and led by Sophia Morreale, UUCA Music Ministry Associate. Through music, meditation and the art form of the mandala, we will explore the stages of change: Surrender, Mystery, Abyss, Hope, Discovery, Renewal, Manifestation. Come experience how life changes can be made with creativity in this inner exploration! Register here. Date: 3 Wednesdays, May 8, 15, 22, 7:30-9:00 p.m. Location: TBA

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Wheel of Life

A memorial service to celebrate the life of Parker Bracken will be held Saturday, May 4, 11:30 a.m., at Goodwin House-Bailey's, 3440 S. Jefferson St., Falls Church.

Music Ministry

Benefit Concert Fauré Requiem UUCA is honored to host this special benefit concert which features the combined choirs of UU Fairfax, All Souls DC, Rodef Shalom. All proceeds benefit families who have lost loved ones to gun violence. Tickets here. Date: Saturday, May 4, 7-8:30 p.m. Location: UUCA Sanctuary

Faith in Action

Share the Plate: Support UU’s for Social Justice - UU Advocacy in the Nation’s Capital Our UU principles and values call us to be informed, engaged and vocal advocates, and to speak truth to power--especially now as many of our values are threatened. UUSJ (UUs for Social Justice) works to transform our faith into action at the federal level. UUSJ’s priority issues are among the most challenging facing the nation today--immigration reform, environmental and climate justice, economic justice, and defending our democracy.  UUSJ raises UU voices through direct advocacy on Capitol Hill and anchors for UUs many witness activities. UUSJ’s Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps , formed in February 2017, is unique within the faith community as the only UU organization with a presence at the federal level. Every month about 25 Advocacy Corps members, including UUCAers, meet with Congressional staff and deliver personal letters from UUSJ’s Write Here! Write Now! partner congregations from across the country. The Advocacy Corps has delivered more than 5,500 letters to Capitol Hill offices in the past two years.  If you believe that that our liberal religious voice should be heard by Congress and the Administration, join a growing network of individuals and congregations making a difference by supporting this week’s Share-the-Plate recipient UUSJ . UUCA is a founding member of UUSJ in 2000. To learn about UUSJ click here. On Sunday, if you make a donation of $40 or more, please stop by the UUSJ table in Fellowship Hall after the service so we can sign you up as a voting member. To learn more about the Advocacy Corps, join Lavona Grow for a 15-minute Q&A session at 10:45 a.m. or 12:30 p.m.  Donations are accepted for each Sunday's STP recipient through midnight the following Saturday. You may make an online donation here.

May 5 - Write Here! Write Now! Tell Your US Senators to Take Urgent Action to Address the Climate Crisis Averting the climate crisis is critical to the vision and lived expression of Unitarian Universalism. UUs across the country are writing letters to their senators to urge action to address the climate crisis. On Sunday, May 5, come by the UUs for Social Justice's (UUSJ) "Write Here! Write Now!" table to urge your senators to pass legislation in support of carbon pricing to reduce carbon omissions, build sustainable infrastructure, and create green new jobs. Please join in to make sure UUCA voices are heard!   Fact sheets and supplies will be available. Or write your letter in advance and drop it off. UUSJ's Capitol Hill Advocacy Corps will hand-deliver letters to Congress on May 14. Questions? Contact Lavona Grow at advocacy@uusj.org. Import background information on action needed to address climate change is here. Date: Sunday, May 5, after each service Location: Fellowship Hall

Third Annual Wrap UUCA in a Rainbow This Sunday, sponsor a flag! As a fundraiser for UUCA and "LGBTQ pride-raiser" for the community, Equality UUCA invites you to sponsor a rainbow or trans pride flag for $5/flag. Flags have a tape/label attached to write in a dedication. Flags are available at the Equality UUCA table in the Fellowship Hall each Sunday in May. The "planting party" is on Saturday morning, June 1, at 9:30 a.m.--the beginning of Capital Pride week in DC.  Will we make it all the way around the church? This year's sponsored flags will be combined with those from the previous two years (which are a bit bedraggled due to last June's rain)--It will be exciting to see how far we make it around the perimeter of the parking lot and building this year! The flags stay up June 1 thru 12. They will be taken down after our commemoration of the third anniversary of the Orlando Pulse nightclub massacre on June 12.  Can you help with tabling after services or with flag installation on June 1? Let us know at uuca.equality@gmail.com .

Better Angels Workshop Beyond Polarization: How Liberals Can Communicate Better With Conservatives Last week, Walter Clark, UUCA Ministerial Assistant, invited all of us to "make a place at the table" for those with whom we differ: to get curious, go deep, and try to understand the experiences of people who are not like ourselves. It's a powerful invitation, one that has the potential to transform every person seated around that table. What would it look like to accept this invitation when it comes to political differences? On Sunday, May 19 from 2-5:30 p.m., UUCA will host a Better Angels workshop titled "Beyond Polarization: How Liberals Can Communicate Better With Conservatives." The workshop is designed to help political progressives understand the perspective of Republicans and supporters of President Trump, and to build genuine mutual understanding across what can feel like an impossible partisan divide. To sign up, contact Sarah Yue, alanandsarah@gmail.com or visit the registration page here. Date: Sunday, May 19, 2-5:30 p.m. Location: Activity Room

Does Race Make a Difference in America's Health Care System? On Friday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m., the UUCA African American Book Sharing Circle will explore this question in the context of Dr. Damon Tweedy’s experiences described in Black Man in a White Coat: A Doctor’s Reflections on Race and Medicine . Dr. Tweedy, MD, writes about his interactions with colleagues, teachers, and patients as an African American student at Duke University School of Medicine as well as a practicing physician. This is a firsthand account of the challenges for African American doctors as well as the burdens for African Americans as they struggle to use America’s health care system. Date: Friday, May 17, 7:30 p.m. Location: Welcome Room

Living the 8th Principle: Next Steps Last month, over 300 congregants voted to adopt the proposed 8th Principle of Unitarian Universalism, committing to a shared vision of a diverse, multicultural Beloved Community! The 8th Principle Task force is hosting a participatory forum to plan our next steps! We will do some visioning, then map what is already and needs to be happening to dismantle racism in our selves, the UUCA, and our broader community. We will identify immediate action, and agree how best to apply a racial justice lens to all aspects of life at UUCA. This event is particularly recommended for people who have participated in Live the Pledge or Allyship workshops, or who otherwise do racial justice work in our community. If you plan to attend, please sign up here so we have a head-count for planning purposes. Coffee, continental breakfast and conversation available starting at 9:00 a.m.! Date: Saturday, May 18, 9:30 – 12:00 p.m. Location: Center Gallery

Chalice Theatre Audition Pulitzer Winner SWEAT Chalice Theatre, in conjunction with Social Justice Theater and UUSJ (UUs for Social Justice), announces auditions for a staged-reading of Lynn Nottage's Pulitzer Prize-winning play SWEAT . Set in working class Reading Pa., the play examines issues of race, class, justice and the American dream in decline. Cast includes: six male, three female multi-racial roles aged from 20 to 50 years. Rehearsals are in September with performances at various UU churches in October. Audition info here. Auditions Dates: Tuesday, May 14, 7:30-9:30 p.m. and Saturday May 20, 2-4:30 p.m. Location: UUCA - TBA

Peace Camp – Start saving your art supplies now!  We are gearing up for this year's Peace Camp and thinking about art. So, start saving your art supplies now. We can put your old shoe boxes, towel tubes, and left-over craft supplies to good use.    Arts and crafts. Many of your recycle goods can be repurposed to arts and crafts. Start saving now and bring your donations to the Peace Camp table in Fellowship Hall between services next week on May 12.  We can use: Paper Towel and Toilet paper tubes Shoe boxes - all sizes  Puppets  Poster board  Drawing paper Stuffed animals Markers /crayons  Carpet squares Other craft materials Share your talent or gifts by demonstrating to campers how you have been a Peacemaker, perhaps through Music, Storytelling, Peace Corp volunteer, Dance, Art Project, Singing, Nature project, or Animal Care. Contact MJ Park , mjpeace@gmail.com , 240-838-4549 for more details and to share your talent.

VOICE Dismantling Racism: A Follow-Up Our April 28 VOICE (Virginians Organized for Community Engagement) workshop on anti-racism work and community organizing drew an engaged crowd and heard testimony from several people, including a UUCA member who experienced white privilege in her own son’s jail experience and a high school student from Honduras who is organizing other immigrants to know their rights. We reflected on what often keeps us from stepping up to the fight against racism and discovered the list is long, with many obstacles rooted in fear or discouragement. Yet we were reminded that progress happens with the right use of power. And we were updated about two of VOICE’s thrusts in the Arlington-Alexandria area: reducing the enormous race-ethnic disparity in arrests and sentencing, and finding a way to leverage the enormous wealth windfall that Amazon’s arrival will bring so that housing affordability can be protected.  On this last note, please mark your calendars to attend a VOICE candidate forum the afternoon of June 2 , featuring Alexandria Mayor Wilson and Arlington County board chair Christian Dorsey (place and time details forthcoming). As VOICE organizer Jeremy McClayton put it: “You are either at the table or you are on the table.”

Congregational Life

First Sunday Humanist Hour The First Sunday Humanist Hour is set for this Sunday, May 5 at 9:15 in the Chapel. Bill Fogarty will provide a sneak peek of his upcoming legal education course, tentatively entitled, The Color of Law: A Legal History of the White Man and Race in Virginia . Bill will provide an overview of the actions of the lawyers, judges, legislators and governors (including Governor Northam) who have created and perpetuated the white supremacy culture in Virginia. You can also vote on whether he should use an alternative title: From Jamestown (1619) to Jefferson Davis Highway (2019): 400 year of Legalized White Supremacy in Virginia . For more information, contact Bill Fogarty , wafogarty@aol.com . Date: Sunday, May 5, 9:15 a.m. Location: Chapel

HUUmanist Meet - May 14 Can Science Tell Us Anything About Morality?    The HUUmanist Group will view a lecture by Joshua Greene, Professor of Psychology at Harvard on his acclaimed book Moral Tribes: Emotion, Reason, and the Gap Between Them. Greene has attempted a grand synthesis of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy. He follows up on much of Jonathan Haight’s thesis in The Righteous Mind  which was reviewed earlier this year. But Greene criticizes some of Haight’s conclusions. Greene compares the human brain to a dual-mode camera, with point-and-shoot automatic settings (“portrait,” “landscape”) as well as a manual mode. Our point-and-shoot settings are our emotions—efficient, automated programs honed by evolution, culture, and emotion. The brain’s manual mode is its capacity for deliberate reasoning, which makes our thinking more flexible than Haight believed.  Point-and-shoot emotions make us social animals, turning Me into Us. But they also make us tribal animals, turning Us against Them. Our tribal emotions make us fight—sometimes with bombs, sometimes with words—often with life-and-death stakes. All are welcome. For more information, contact Jere Cummins, jeroldcummins@gmail.com .

Call for New Covenant Group Facilitators Have you ever thought about being a Covenant Group Facilitator?  Facilitators provide an important small group ministry here at UUCA. They ensure that others have an opportunity to deepen relationships, explore important religious questions, and grow personally and spiritually in an accepting and caring space. If you think you might be interested, come learn more about the joys and responsibilities of facilitating a Covenant Group with those who are experienced in this important ministry. You will learn about what, how and why we do what we do, and how the church supports us. So, plan on dropping in on our 30-minute Facilitator Information Session on May 19 after the services. Snacks and drinks will be provided. Date: Sunday, May 19, after each service Location: Boardroom

Day Alliance Speaker & Luncheon - May 14 Seeing the Rabbit: The Folklore of the Pooka With Folklorist Kim Stryker The Day Alliance speaker for May, Kim Stryker, will explore the relation of the rabbit to magical creatures in Celtic mythology. The “pooka” or “puca” is a creature from Irish folklore that they make reference to in the play/movie “Harvey” about the 6 ft. tall invisible rabbit. Kim’s talk gets into the folk symbolism of the rabbit and it’s recurring role in cultures around the world. Kim Stryker is an independent folklorist living in Falls Church, Va. She is founder of the Save the Smithsonian Folklife Festival grassroots campaign that successfully won an agreement between the National Park Service and the Smithsonian Institution. She has a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and in Folklore Studies from George Mason University. Kim organized the 50th Anniversary Reunion of the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Kim currently teaches a class on “Food and Folklore” at George Mason University. She is the recipient of the 2018 Archie Green Fellowship from the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress with which she is documenting the work lives of people in the Virginia wine industry. Following the speaker there will be a catered lunch. No reservation for the talk but lunch requires a reservation by May 7. RSVP by calling 301-575-6433 Date: Tuesday, May 14. Day Alliance will have its annual business meeting from 10:30-11:00 a.m. The program begins at 11:00 a.m. Location: Fellowship Hall

People with Disabilities Group Forming Join others with visible and invisible disabilities to connect, network and consider what the group would like to do. Note: this Group is for people with all types of disability and their loved ones. The first organizational meeting is on Tuesday, May 7. Questions? Contact Sarah Masters at sarah@uucava.org. Date: Tuesday, May 7, 6 p.m. Locaton: TBA UUCA Grief Support Group If you’ve suffered the loss of someone dear to you, please join us. We’ll create a casual, welcoming space where we can share our stories and struggles, where we can mourn, celebrate, and reflect on those we’ve loved and lost. We’ll seek comfort and new hope, together. A chalice lighting and brief reading launch each gathering. UUCA’s Ministerial Assistant Walter Clark and Pastoral Care Committee member Hank Dahlstrom facilitate.  Date: Wednesday, May 8, 7-9:00 p.m. (And the second Wednesday of each month thereafter) Location: Room 11

New UU Class Unitarian Universalism is a way of thinking and being in the world. It is a faith discipline, enriched by faith traditions, that forms the foundation for a way to live this life. It matters how we conduct our lives and work to make the world a better place. Unitarian Universalism wants each of us to know why. It challenges us to deepen our own faith principles and practices in response to our own experience and, whenever possible, to stand on the side of love. There will be plenty of chances to ask questions and to get to know others in the class. It's also part of the path to membership at UUCA.  Rev. Dr. Terasa Cooley and Sarah Masters will be leading the class. The class is free and includes a light breakfast. Free childcare is available upon request. Registration is required - HERE. Date: Saturday, May 11, 9:30 a.m.-Noon Location: Activity Room

Men's Book Group The May book selection for the Men's Book Group is by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Notes From the Underground, considered by many to be one of the first existentialist novels. A few copies are available in local libraries and is available free online. If there are any questions about the group and its meetings, or if you want to be on their monthly email list, please contact Ken Marshall, kenmar42@gmail.com.    Date: Sunday, May 12, 7:30 p.m. Location: Chapel

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 Monday. 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 ‌ ‌