River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation

To grow and deepen in Community, Spirit, and Service



eWeekly

March 23-30, 2023

Narrative Repair and the New Normal

Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, Senior Minister

One service, in-person and virtual:

Sun., March 26, 10am: Hybrid Service, also on YouTube

11am: Coffee Hour, both over Zoom and in-person

Watch for two links in the Saturday email: a YouTube link for the service and a Zoom link for the virtual Coffee Hour after the service. Recording will be posted on our YouTube channel. You can find our Order of Service online; if you are not watching in real time the Order of Service may not be available.

Sanctuary Hybrid, Online and In-Person: Service will be available via YouTube.

Join us online or in person for worship at 10am. By attending an in-person service, you are giving RRUUC permission to use your likeness in videos and photographs. Sunday service is broadcast live, and may include wide shots of the crowd in the sanctuary.

What if the stories we told about ourselves and our culture have gotten all jumbled up? What if we’ve, collectively, lost control of the narrative – the thread of meaning in this particular moment in history? Working from an absolutely vital database of narrative personal histories shared throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ll think about what it might take to repair our stories, and perhaps our sense of self. 

Next Sunday, we are launching our Deeper Questions initiative to re-imagine Pastoral Care! Join us as we learn to make stronger connections with each other. We will explore the art of asking questions and practice listening that is empathic and supportive. Experience how moving from exchanging information to being fully present and hearing each other’s meaning results in delightful and memorable interactions.

Bring in Your Plastic Easter Eggs!

Between now and April 2 please bring in any plastic eggs you can spare. We'll put treats inside and hide them for our annual egg hunt on Easter Sunday. Help us cut down on buying more plastic! A basket will be in the lobby to collect the eggs.

The time is now to participate in RRUUC’s 2023-2024 Stewardship Campaign, which officially ends on Sunday. We’ve raised well over half a million dollars but need EVERYONE to get us to our big goal of $1.1 million. Pledge now! It’s just a promise to make a financial contribution to River Road starting July 1; you don’t need to write a check or give a credit card number right now. Just let us know what we can count on you for! And, if you can, consider increasing your pledge by 10% to help us meet our critical goal. Have questions? Can’t remember what you pledged last year? Contact the committee at stewardship@rruuc.org. And many thanks to all those who have already pledged!

Many thanks to everyone who volunteered for Shelter Week!

Our congregation’s annual project ends on Friday. Kudos to the 65 volunteers who’ve been cooking, baking, buying food, drink, and supplies, and transporting it to the Shelter every evening… all to provide a week of meals for the Interfaith Works Women’s Shelter in Rockville. (The volunteers' names are listed at the end of the eWeekly.) Much gratitude from co-chairs Mary Beth Bowen and Judi Croft. By the way, Judi is looking for a new co-chair for next year... could that be you? If interested, please contact Judi at shelterweek@rruuc.org.

Let’s Recognize a Leader!

We are looking for individuals with the exceptional ability to find and implement creative solutions to the specific needs of the RRUUC community and who inspire others to work together as an effective team. Do you know someone at RRUUC who has contributed to the community in the last year or years?? Feel free to self-nominate. Send a note to L&N Committee with a short statement of how this person has exhibited exceptional leadership, addressed to: rrlncommittee@gmail.com.

Spring into Auction Action!

Interested in working with friends, meeting new people, creative event planning? Then join the Auction Team! We are looking for volunteers who are interested in helping shepherd this important legacy event, which will happen in late spring. Please contact Ana Lim for more info.

Do you have an Auction story? Share it!

This Sunday

Regular RE classes. Except for those in Spirit Play and OWL, children begin in the sanctuary.

Classroom assignments:

Childcare (under 3 y.o.): Room 14

Spirit Play (3–5 y.o.): room 20 (start time: 10:00)

Elementary (grades K–2): room 25

Elementary (grades 3–5): room 22

Middle School: Field trip to the Muslim Community Center! Meet at 9:50am on the Front Plaza

OWL: room 31 (start time: 9:45)

Youth Group: room 32

Parents/caregivers of PreK–5th grade students: please pick up your kids in their classrooms after service. 

Contemporary Issues Forum

Please note that the Forum speaker originally slated for this Sun., March 26 is postponed until Sun., May 21, 12-1pm.



“Having Trouble Using a Website? It’s Not You; It’s the Design!” from Elizabeth Buie, PhD

Women in Folk Concert

Join us for Cedar Lane's next Women in Folk concert featuring Crys Matthews and Caroline Cotter this Sat., March 25 at 7pm, in the River Road Sanctuary. Cedar Lane is grateful to River Road for hosting this event during our accessibility renovation. 

Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of this generation's social justice music makers. As a classically trained clarinetist turned folk singer and former drum major, Matthews is using her voice to answer Dr. Martin Luther King's call to be a "drum major for justice." She is a powerful lyricist whose songs of compassionate dissent reflect her lived experience as what she lightheartedly calls "the poster-child for intersectionality."

Caroline Cotter is a singer/songwriter, traveler, artist, teacher, and eternal student based in Portland, Maine. Having travelled all over the world, Cotter brings collected stories home with her in the form of songs. She performs original material in the folk tradition with influences of americana, blue-grass, jazz, and world music.

Music Transforming Community: Greg Greenway

Sat., April 8, 7:30pm

Bull Run UU, 9350 Main St, Manassas, VA

International artist Greg Greenway is out of the Boston Folk music scene, a singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist. Greg is capable of addressing sensitive topics like race in a way that connects audiences to their humanity while entertaining them at the same time. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased here.

Friday Morning Book Group

The book group meets on the third Friday of the month beginning at 10 am (via Zoom) to discuss a book selected by the group. Participants are invited to sign in as early as 9:45 am to chat before the discussion begins at 10 am. In the coming months we will be discussing the following books:

April 21: Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

May 19: Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power by Susan Page

Contact the River Road office to be put on the email list for the Zoom link.

West Virginia Service Trip

The WV Multigenerational Service Learning trip will be Aug 5-11. This will be our 9th trip working with the people of Big Creek People in Action to repair and improve homes in the southernmost part of WV. We also spend time learning about the rich culture of the area. Participants incoming high school and older (yes, even adults, even parents) are welcome. No experience necessary. Cost is $500 with scholarship available. If you're ready to sign up, here's the link.

Questions? Contact Beth Irikura.

UU Congregation of Fairfax Auction - MasqUUerade: Fun Required | Masks Optional

Sat., Mar. 25, 5:45pm: Join UUCF for its biggest fundraiser and social event of the year. It's a great place to gather, meet new friends, bid on fun items and enjoy delicious food. Lots of great events, services, vacation homes, and tangible items are on the auction block for online and in-person bidding. Online bidding starts in mid-March. Registration and a list of donated events are at uucf.org/auction. 

Land and Labor Acknowledgment

The Land and Labor Acknowledgment Task Force has been working on how our congregation can tangibly acknowledge and memorialize the land for Indigenous Peoples who traveled through and stayed here and for the enslaved African Americans who likely lived on and labored here.

The Task Force proposes both a bronze plaque, placed in the front lobby area, and an outdoor wayside that can serve both as a memorial and an educational medium. Examples of both the plaque and wayside are posted on the bulletin board above the water filling station just outside the sanctuary. The Task Force will provide recommendations on moving forward on these two projects to the Board of Trustees later in the spring.

The Task Force welcomes your input! You can leave a note on the board or send your thoughts to land@rruuc.org.

Extend the Offering: Montgomery County Partners for Animal Well-Being

The mission of the Montgomery County Partners for Animal Well-being (MCPAW) is to end pet homelessness and suffering in our community. To that end, MCPAW runs a weekly petfood bank for underserved residents so they can keep their pets at home; MCPAW runs a spay/neuter foster/adoption program for community and stray cats so they can find their forever homes; and MCPAW’s KALM medical fund provides the funds necessary for pets who need special veterinary care that are beyond the resources of their owners.

You may donate to MCPAW all month long by making online contributions (select "Extend the Offering") or by making check donations to RRUUC (designate MCPAW).

Lost to Gun Violence

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 recently. These lives continue to matter: Baltimore: Breon Traquan Ennis, Andre Simms, Juan Hill, one person with name withheld. District of Columbia: Delaneo Martin, Othaniel Gaither, one person name withheld. 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.

RRUUC Land Acknowledgement

Acknowledging and remembering that we are situated on the traditional land of the Nacotchtank and Piscataway people, and on the land on which enslaved African people and their descendants labored and lived, we gather together in worship. May the words of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts and the actions of our hands point the way toward a more just future. May the memory of those whose love and labor went before inspire us to create a path of greater joy and justice for all who will follow.  



If you would like to learn more about our land's history, please watch the service from June 13, 2021.

Thank you Shelter Week Volunteers!

Ailea Sneller

Ajai Chopra

Ana Lim

Alison Serino

Allie Giles

Andrea Abrams

Ann Bradley

Beth Uitz

Bob Kulawiec

Catherine Remijan

Charlotte Jones-Carroll

Charlotte Moser

Cheryl Dodwell

Chris Hager

Craig Ferris

Don Besom

Elisangela Vossen-Fidalgo

Evelyn Jacob

Glynnis Breen

Jai Chopra

Jana Kirkman

Janna Dresden

Jane Baluss

Jane Lyder

Janice Derr

Jeanie Croner 

Jenny Sour

Joan Zenzen

Joanne Balkovich

Kaki Power

Karen Chopra

Katherine Hubley

Kathy Jones

Kathryn Button

Kay Besom

Kevin Martini

Lara Akinbami

Linda Bleadingheiser

Lis Handley

Liz Purcell

Lynn Kaplan

Marcia Leonard

Maria Brindlmayer

Marilyn Fuchs

Marty Brown

Maurine Beasley

Megan Meline

Nancy Ferris

Niki Popow

Pat Earl

Pat Schwab

Peggy Blake

Penny Mills

Peter Fuchs

Rita Parks

Renee Worthington

Rob Goldman

Sam Worthington

Stacy Dranginis

Susan Burnett

Susan Greif

Susan Messina

Susan Okie

Tim Daniel

Ursula Scott

River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation

6301 River Road, Bethesda, MD 20817 | 301-229-0400 news@rruuc.org | www.rruuc.org