Welcome to the beginning of a new congregational year! Welcome home beloveds of UUCR! I am so excited to be back myself, after our sabbatical time last spring. I have reconnected with many of you and heard a lot about how UUCR fared this past spring and with all confidence and humility, I can say that UUCR continued to thrive and beautifully came together as a strong beloved community with your minister away for sabbatical. This is a tremendous gift to me for all the ways that I was able to replenish and refresh my own spiritual depths, for each other with deepened relationships and mutual trust, and for our UU kin congregations and ministers who have been awed by the model of a successful sabbatical time. I am, and we are, stronger for it. 

I do have so much to share with you about my sabbatical and I am looking forward to weaving my experiences and insights into the life of the congregation for years to come. First though, you may be wondering: Why on earth did I shave my head? Well, it all began with my Installation. In honor of this important milestone in my life and UUCR’s, I cut my waist long hair to a short bob as a ritual gesture to mark a new beginning, a deeper commitment to each other and in honor of our covenant of shared ministry. With that intention and spiritual orientation in mind, I decided long before my sabbatical began last January, that I would shave my head. Across many cultures and religious practices, shaving one’s head is an external ritual act that signals an internal spiritual shift and/or truth. For me, shaving my head in honor of my sabbatical was in gratitude for the tremendous privilege of this time, a welcomed sacrifice in honor of all that you give of yourselves to support this congregation and in celebration of a new chapter in my ministry.

As the universe would have it, I shared my intention with my colleague, the Rev. Abhi Janamanchi, prior to our departure on pilgrimage across India in January. Rev. Abhi listened to me share, and then asked me, “Why don’t you wait and have your head shaved in the temple in Chennai?” Immediately, I knew this was it. I would go to India with Rev. Abhi and other UU’s from Cedar Lane and River Road UU Congregations, and be blessed with the opportunity to participate in a deeply spiritual ritual in the temple in Chennai.

It was early in the morning on February 2nd that a friend of Rev. Abhi’s came and picked me up from the hotel to go to the Temple. I sat down on a white plastic chair in a large mostly empty room, with other barbers shaving the heads of other faithful pilgrims that day. Within seconds, my locks fell to the floor around my feet and I emerged with a renewed sense of awe and wonder at the blessing of this moment. My head was shaved bald, with not a single hair remaining. Something cracked open inside my heart, and gratitude flowed out. The rest of the day was spent inside the temple and then traveling to meet the rest of the group at another temple. It was a powerful experience, and one that changed my life forever.

I am returning back to UUCR with a deeper appreciation and commitment to being your called minister, to serving this congregation with renewed energy and a firm belief in the spaces we can co-create together. This is a pivotal year in the life of the congregation: we are still emerging and dealing with living in a global pandemic, families and people across our community have shifted how we gather and spend our time. 

Welcome to the new church year!

I am excited to be returning for a second year as Ministerial Intern at UUCR. It will be an especially meaningful year for me, as I will be graduating from Meadville Lombard Theological School in Spring 2024 with my Masters of Divinity!

This year brings some new opportunities for me to work in some different areas.  I will be working with our Small Group Ministry (SGM) committee as well as with Family Faith Formation. I look forward to interfacing with our SGM’s this year. It is such a meaningful part of this Beloved Community. For Family Faith Formation, I recently became certified to teach OWL (Our Whole Lives) and will be joining the UUCR OWL team this year as we offer a class to our youth.

And, as I did during my first year, I will continue to offer support in Adult Faith Formation as well as Pastoral Care. I look forward to continuing to meet and work with as many of you as possible.

I also wanted to lift up the Ministerial Internship Committee: Bill Hurlbut (chair), Kris Butler, John Miles, Thea Miles and Melissa Moore. They offer much needed support as I engage in my internship as UUCR. I am beyond grateful for their work with me as I navigate all the opportunities that show up during the internship experience.

The General Assembly delegates are holding a summary session on Sunday, September 24th in the Sanctuary after our service. The summary session will include items voted on, overall trends, and next steps for upcoming General Assemblies! 

A UU Advocacy Conference from September 26-28

Congress puts forward only every five years a “must-pass” farm bill that determines the kind of food and farm system we have. Congress is writing the 2023 Farm Bill NOW: So NOW is the time for our UU voices to be heard. We need your voice to join a growing coalition to support sustainable, regenerative, and equitable farm policies.

Join UUs for a Just Economic Community, UUs for Social Justice, and UU Ministry for Earth in Washington, D.C., September 26–28, 2023, to learn about our food and farming system, and on Day Three (Thurs.) to advocate with our Senators for an equitable and climate-smart 2023 Farm Bill.

Whether or not you are coming, you can participate in UUs for Social Justice’s Write Here, Write Now campaign. More information will be coming soon—look for that on or about September 1st. Your letters will be delivered to legislators.

For more information and to register, visit https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/6111610 

September 29th from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Everyone is welcome to celebrate and lift up the books and stories that reflect and change people’s lives! Join us as we build community and promote peaceful protest through literacy. There will be plenty of activities for all ages to participate, including games, discussion, and more!

The always fun and inspiring UUCR Activities Fair will be held on Sunday, October 1 in the courtyard after the worship service. The Fair will give everyone a chance to see all the committees, teams, and groups at UUCR that are available for you to join and enjoy. Groups range from Social Justice to Dinners for Eight, Faith Formation to Quilters, and so many more! Some groups meet virtually, some are entirely in person, and some combine the two, giving multiple options for all of us.

If your group would like a table and has not yet been contacted, please email Dick Gilbert. His contact information is in Realm. 

The always fun and inspiring UUCR Activities Fair will be held on Sunday, October 1 in the courtyard after the worship service. The Fair will give everyone a chance to see all the committees, teams, and groups at UUCR that are available for you to join and enjoy. Groups range from Social Justice to Dinners for Eight, Faith Formation to Quilters, and so many more! Some groups meet virtually, some are entirely in person, and some combine the two, giving multiple options for all of us.

If your group would like a table and has not yet been contacted, please email Dick Gilbert. His contact information is in Realm. 

Are you ready? We’re issuing a call for artists for another Members and Friends Art Show to be held November to January. Our last Members and Friends shows have been wildly successful, and we’ve uncovered several “secret” artists among you. We will be collecting your art after services during October at UUCR. That leaves you plenty of time to select, frame (if necessary) or create pieces for the show. 

Here are the ground rules:

• Works may be 2- or 3-dimensional. Three-dimensional pieces should be small. Check with us for more information. They will be safe inside a display case.

• Works may be offered for sale. The church collects a 20% commission on all sales.

• Two-dimensional pieces must be ready for hanging with attached wire.

• Minimum size for 2-dimensional pieces is 8” x 10”.

• Artists may submit up to four pieces. The final number chosen will depend on the total number of pieces submitted, but each artist will have at least one piece on display. 

• Artists are encouraged to submit an Artist Statement which may address UU Principles incorporated in the work or UU values, a favorite quote or poem, and/or background information.

• There will be a children’s section. All rules above apply.

• Art must be suitable for display to all ages.

We are also recruiting volunteers to help with receiving the art and hanging the show. This is a great chance to meet our artists and celebrate the many talents in UUCR! 

Past offerings have consisted of photography, paintings, fiber arts (including quilting), quilling, and ceramics. Have we left out your medium? Don’t worry, we want it! 

Questions? Contact Liliane Blom or Sherry Dittmann.

UUCR Community Wide In-Person Gathering

Sunday, October 22nd from 3 to 6 p.m.

Lone Oak Farm & Brewery

5000 Olney Laytonsville Rd. Olney, MD

Please join us to “make merry” while we kick off the new church year. We will enjoy being re-acquainted, to meet friends and loved ones to catch up after the summer!

Everyone will be responsible for the purchase of their own food and beverages, non-alcoholic beverages are available.

Questions? Contact Bonnie or Marsha at sgm@uucr.org. 

1.  Hot Meals Program (HMP)

The HMP will resume in the fall with a reopening date of Monday, October 2nd. In September we will begin purchasing and collecting food items for the HMP and cleaning & preparing the kitchen in preparation for resuming the HMP.   If you are available in mid-Sept to prep the kitchen please contact the SK Coordinator.

Sue Rambo, smmahn@aol.com.

2.  Brown Bag Program (BBP)

The BBP has been serving 20-30+ guests per day from Epworth in May and September and at Grace United Methodist during June- August. Many thanks to those of you and your crew members who have volunteered and/or kindly donated lunch meats and other items for this Program.

3.  Food Distribution Program

Over the summer, TLT’s has continued to participate in a Food Distribution Program with Epworth UMC which provides an average of 140 food packages every other weekend to local needy families. 

4.  Future Needs

TLT obtains food and items for these programs through assistance from County grant money and participation in a Capital Area Food Bank Program both of which help us purchase some of the necessary produce & dry goods, significant amounts of donated & collected foods and TLT funds.  Our programs also benefit from our cooperative relationships with Epworth, St. Martin’s Pantry, Rev. Monroe Weeks, Trader Joe’s, Costco, Safeway, Harris Teeter, Gaithersburg Help, our loyal donors & food providers, and over 20 churches and organizations that support our kitchen crews.

TLT and the other active local nonprofits continue to provide meals and food in historically high quantities.  We thus continue to need and request your loyal support, and that of your sponsoring churches and organizations in:

- staffing our programs,

- donating food and other items, 

- assisting with unloading truck deliveries of produce and dry goods to the kitchen,

- assistance with food collections, and last, but not least

- donating $ to Gaithersburg Community Soup Kitchen either via our new website or by check sent to P.O. Box 881, Washington Grove, Maryland 20880-0881

If you would like to volunteer, please contact Dolores Barnes, or Kelvin Dowd, with the UUCR Hunger Task Group.