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Sunday, July 26, 10:15am

UUA archive photo on Selma march

Black Live Matters UU banner

"The Witness of Selma: Our Faith in the Struggle"
Sermon by Rev Rebekah Montgomery, Summer Minister
This spring hundreds of Unitarian Universalist congregants, lay leaders and ministers gathered in Selma, Alabama, to mark the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. Our UU communities answered Rev Dr King's call to action fifty years ago. And, today we now carry the banner of justice and equality forward across our living tradition with "Black Lives Matter." Come and witness our continued legacy in the making.

Sunday's service includes a Child Dedication ceremony and music includes a solo by Kate Beysselance - Amazing Grace by the English poet and clergyman John Newton (1725-1807), set to the traditional tune New Britain.
Upcoming Service

Sunday, August 2, 10:15am

Rev Linda photo The Power of Vulnerability    

Sermon by The Rev. Dr. Linda Olson Peebles

Sometimes our strength comes from those moments when we share our most tender spots.  In our ministries of justice-making, pastoral caring, and spiritual deepening, there is more power in laying down our armaments, and letting ourselves be revealed.

The Latest in Heart Balm
Come Sunday morning, be sure to stop by the Welcome Desk to pick up the latest addition to UUCA's Heart Balm cards. Sharing them with others - especially those you don't even know - is a simple way to pay it forward - A simple way to share the love.  (And, yes - now in Spanish!)
el Amor


Tell us your story -- tell us how you have shared your Heart Balm cards with others.

Email your story to [email protected].


 
Give-the-PlateGivePlate
APAH logo APAH - Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing
This summer, APAH is getting an early start on their efforts to acquire school supplies for children who live in their housing communities. Some of the children will be starting school as early as August 3, so they are asking that contributions be made early. While they welcome donations of supplies, they find money especially helpful, so that they may purchase exactly what is needed.
New Way to Give
offering envelope photo
When you attend worship services in the Sanctuary, you'll notice something new in the pew racks: Gift envelopes. People told the Stewardship Team that they wanted more ways to give to UUCA, and these envelopes are for cash contributions to the church's day-to-day mission. Please bear in mind that the church will continue to rely on yearly pledges, not on the amounts collected in the plate on Sundays. You will also find orange "DreamForge" pledge cards in the pew racks, so if you haven't yet made your pledge as a way of predicting your intentions for the coming year, you can fill out a pledge card and put it into the plate on any Sunday. As always, every gift -- large or small, planned or spontaneous -- is gratefully received.

Everything else about the Sunday offering remains the same. That is, we will continue to give 100 percent of all loose cash to the partner organization designated for that week's Give-the-Plate. We will continue to accept checks, of course, and record their amounts according to the giver's wishes.

Volunteers are tracking the results as we experiment with this new way to give. We'll report on the experiment at the end of the trial period, and we'll continue to explore new avenues for supporting UUCA's mission.
Board Update
Linkage with General Assembly Attendees and Capital Campaign
From Janice Morris, Member, Board of Trustees

At our first official meeting in the new fiscal year, we welcomed new members Chad Ohlandt, Kristen Patterson, and Andrea Ryon to the Board of Trustees. We were also very appreciative to have Bill Fogarty attend the meeting to provide us with an update on the Capital Campaign and to have several General Assembly attendees join in a linkage conversation about their experiences.

As part of our linkage efforts to have deeper discussions with congregants about their personal stories, we asked GA attendees to come to the meeting and individual Board Members sat with individual attendees and said, "tell me a story about a transforming experience you had at GA." The Board practiced active listening by paying deep attention and then sharing what they had heard from the GA attendee with others. Through this process we went beyond just summarizing the overall GA activities to better understanding what the experience meant. By seeking out similar listening opportunities from other congregants in the future, the Board hopes that hearing your powerful stories will serve as policy guidance for us as we seek to connect, grow and serve as a faith community.  Read more.
Religious EducationReligiousEd
July 26th
Child Dedication Service
Bingo At Culpepper Gardens
Jamboree with D. Ohlandt
Nursery Available for kids under 5.

August 2nd
Songwriting with Maddie Ashton (Ages 5 and up)
Meditation with Stig Regli (Ages 5 and up)
Nursery open for children under 5

August 9th
Beekeeping with Azure B, LLC, learn about chemical free beekeeping from the experts!

UUCA's 2015 Intergenerational JAM-BOREE

Jam-boree image This year's Jam-boree will involve **blackberries, blueberries, and peaches (if available).**

ALL AGES WELCOME, but children under 12 must be signed up with an adult.

There will be four opportunities to participate and volunteer:

- pickin'

- preppin'

- jammin'  AND

- the sale

 

SIGN UP HERE!

 

Please sign up each adult and youth individually, so we can get an accurate count for this event!  Children under 12 can be included with an adult sign up.

 

PICKIN' - Saturday July 25: 8am meet at UUCA, or 9:30am meet at farm

Hollin Farms (plan A) - 1436 Snowden Road, Delaplane, VA 20144 (about 75 minute drive)

A few days before the Jamboree, we will check with Hollin Farms to make sure their crops are ready to pick and in good shape.  If needed, we will use Westmoreland Berry Farms as a plan B option.

All produce paid for by the event will be driven back to UUCA by 4pm for cleaning and prepping.

 

PREPPIN'/CLEANIN'/PIE CRUST ROLLIN' - Saturday July 25: 4pm at UUCA

We will collect all the produce paid for by the event and bring it to the UUCA kitchen for cleaning and prepping.  If not enough people are signed up for this part of the event, it will be combined with Sunday afternoon activities.

 

JAMMIN' (& BAKIN'?) - Sunday July 26: 1pm at UUCA

In the UUCA kitchen we will turn our produce into jam, and maybe pies.  Jam will be canned and pies will be frozen (unbaked), and available on Sunday at church August 2 for sale.  If you participate in the Sunday afternoon jammin' and bakin' session, you may purchase some of the items at this time.

 

SALE! - Sunday August 2: before and after church at UUCA

Remaining pies and jam will be available for sale before and after church at UUCA.  Volunteers for any of the four "stages" of the jam-boree will earn a discount on pies and jam.

 

Questions?  Contact the event organizer: D. Ohlandt [email protected].

Sign up TODAY to help in one of our many RE fall programs 
UUCA's Sunday morning Religious Education program covers pre-school through high school and we have a wide variety of opportunities for you to support this vital ministry. Volunteer for here. 

For more information on RE, contact Ashley at [email protected].
 spirity play logo
UU identity logo
Bible Studies image
Neighboring faiths logo
Coming of Age logo

OWL logo
youth group logo
Congregational Life
Sunday Morning Volunteers Needed
Sunday Volunteers image
Volunteers make Sunday morning worship happen. We need more than 150 volunteers on Sunday mornings. Please consider helping out! Generally, you'll cover one service per month and there's plenty of flexibility. We need greeters (upstairs, downstairs, parking lot), ushers, Welcome Desk staff, coffee servers, cup washers, audio technicians, video technicians, bookstall volunteers, and decorations team members. We also need substitutes for all of these positions. Training is provided. Having a "job" on Sunday morning is a great way to get connected, meet people, and serve our beloved community. Contact Sarah Masters to volunteer or to find out more about what's entailed in each task, [email protected].
"Leading From Within" Introductory Retreat Registration
Parker J Palmer discusses the concept of Circles of Trust
Parker J Palmer discusses the concept
of Circles of Trust -
practiced in the upcoming UUCA retreats
Don't let the summer slip by before registering for UUCA's exciting new leadership development retreat program --   This program is an initiative supported by UUCA Endowment funds, and will be facilitated by Nancy Edmundson and Caryl Casbon, both Courage and Renewal facilitators. Based on the pioneering work of Parker J. Palmer, UUCA will offer Leading From Within to a rich diversity of leaders in our congregation. Designed to build leadership capacity that matures both the individuals and the culture they work in, we are inviting members from all of UUCA program and ministry areas to consider participating in our fall Introductory Retreat. Whether you are an established or emerging volunteer leader in any of area of UUCA's ministries, we hope you will consider this program. 

Stop by the retreat table on Sunday to learn more and take care registration (You can also register here now)

Introductory Retreat: Oct 30 - Nov 1, 2015. "Living the Questions in Congregational Leadership" will be held at Bon Secours Retreat Center in Marriottsville, Maryland. Cost of $325 covers food and lodging. Deadline for registration is September 15, 2015 and we encourage your early registration! Visit http://www.uucava.org/page/circles-of-trust for more information and online registration.

Feel free to contact Nancy at [email protected] with your questions or to express your interest in the leadership program.

You can also contact members of the Leading From Within retreat team: Cecelia Javier, Julia Meade, or Robert Buckman
Live at the Center!
Gina Chavez Concert - July 26, 8pm

Gina Chavez is a bilingual Latin-folk singer/songwriter who blends the sounds of the Americas with tension and grace. Her latest independent release, Up.Rooted, is a passionate collection of bilingual songs traversing cumbia, boss nova, vintage pop, reggaeton, and folk combined with dynamic vocals and sharp social commentary.

 

Her album won the praise of National Public Radio, USA Today, and The Boston Globe, and topped the iTunes and Amazon Latin charts after a feature on NPR's All Things Considered. She is the 2014 John Lennon Songwriting Contest Grand Prize Winner for her song, "Siete-D," a rock-cumbia-rap mix that explores the delights and dangers of El Salvador from a window on the 7-D, the bus route she rode as a volunteer there in 2010.

 

You won't want to miss this concert!


Faith in Action: Connecting - Growing - ServingFaith
Looking Cool for School
schoolbus-line.jpg If you missed the Look Cool for School table in Fellowship Hall last Sunday, you can still participate in this opportunity to provide a new back-to-school outfit and backpack for a child at Sullivan House (aka, Bridges to Independence), the family transitional shelter in Arlington. Contact [email protected] to be matched with a child; deliver your backpack to Alex Roth (703-470-9429) at church on August 23 or take it directly to Sullivan House. 
Arturo Hernandez Garzia - seeking sanctuary in Denver UU

"I'm so happy for Arturo, so proud of our sister congregation First Unitarian Denver, and grateful that UUSJ and UUCA were able to support this delegation during their visit/hunger strike in DC. It was an honor to lead the hunger strikers in a time of reflection, sharing and worship with our friends from Sanctuaries, DC!"
-- Rev Aaron, recent Facebook post


Into the Weeds (& MULCH!) Update 
A clump of dirt with a single dandelion weed isolated against a white background. It looks like the weather will be too nice to stay home and sip coffee Saturday morning (July 25), so all are encouraged to come over to UUCA to help clean up the grounds. We'll be removing weeds and spreading mulch. All ages welcome; plenty for all to do; bring your trowel and gloves, starting at 8:30am.
Elements at Play: Paintings by Lisa Neher
Center Gallery - July 19 - September 12, 2015
Neher paintin
Neher painting

If you can't beat the heat, come visit the lush, green, breezy world of Lisa Neher in the Center Gallery. Ms Neher captures the glory of the outdoors in twenty paintings in a neo-impressionistic style that reveals the inspiration she draws from the natural world.
Wheel of LifeWheel
Get Well wishes to:
  • Linda Martin, home recovering from surgery for a broken leg.
  • Libby Wiebel, undergoing surgeries last week and next.
  • Mary Lathram, recovering at home from her recent hospitalization. 
Condolences to:
  • Mary Johnston's family. On July 22, Mary, a longtime UUCAer, died at the age of 95.
  • Mary Avery and her family, on the death of her step-father, whose memorial was in Ohio this week.
  • Linda Hardin's family. Linda, a UUCA member for many years, died last week.
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Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington   |   4444 Arlington Blvd, Arlington VA 22204   |   703-892-2565