When I came home from work this last Wednesday, I found a visitor at my door. Perfectly positioned at eye level on the white frame trim was a small, fresh green praying mantis. We both took a bit of time surveying each other, exchanging greetings, and then moving on to our individual travels. It was a moment of refresh- ment for me in yet another hectic week.

This Sunday, Evolve moves into the season of Awe and Wonder. Aptly, it's also solstice; the first day of summer. We will be exploring the path of wonder, joy, trust, awe, and creation commencing on this day. This Sunday, too, we'll be exploring what Evolve means to you and how you would describe our Community. So, I invite you to take a few minutes to give this some thought and to bask in the awe and wonder you've experienced recently.

Dragonfly photographed by Rick Dove

FROM REV. RYAN SIRMONS

Our response to Charleston: Prayers and walks this weekend

Dear Church,

Tomorrow, Saturday, there are two opportunities for you to reflect on how our church can be a part of working for justice and peace in our communities. We've postponed our work day to make room for these responses. One is a trust-building exercise that moves us, on our feet, to communities that have experienced violence and poverty in our city. The other is a time of personal prayer and reflection, with much less walking.

The first is the Annapolis Peace Walk. Organized by the NAACP and a local youth group, this long walk for justice will start at the Eastport Shopping Center, 1023 Bay Ridge Ave., Annapolis, and move through various communities. Join us at 10am; the walk continues until 2pm. If you feel that you cannot walk, you are welcome to join us at the start and say a prayer with us.

If you go: wear comfortable shoes and walking clothes, use sun- screen, think about bringing an umbrella, and backpack in some water and snacks. There will be restroom breaks throughout the walk. If you think you can only come for part of it, call me at (443) 569-8899 and find out where the group is so that you can meet us there. The weather looks to be partly cloudy with a high of 84F.

The second opportunity is the St. Luke's Labyrinth Walk, which starts at 12:00pm, and is followed by an optional workshop that begins at 12:30pm. This is more suitable for those who are searching for a time of contemplation and reflection, and for whom a long walk might be daunting.

   St. Luke's Episcopal Church
       1101 Bay Ridge Ave., Annapolis
   If you go: wear comfortable clothes and walking shoes.

If you cannot make either of these, please pray for us as we walk and pray.

I also invite you to reflect on some articles that have come out of the racially-motivated attack on Wednesday night:

Jon Stewart is unable to tell jokes

Annapolis prays for Charleston shooting victims

A pastoral letter from the UCC Southeast Conference Minister

May God bless you and keep you --
Shalom,
Ryan+

Send your articles, poems, news, photos, announcements, petitions, pictures, cartoons, and whatever else you might like to see in our newsletter to EvolveSylvia@gmail.com by Thursday night. Thank you!

THE CRY OF THE EARTH AND OF THE POOR

Laudato Si', or Praise Be to You, by Pope Francis

The crisis of climate change is the gravest threat facing our world today, and as people of faith and conscience we are called to respond to the moral imperative to advance climate justice. We therefore applaud Pope Francis for focusing the world's attention on the threat of climate change by issuing

Laudato Si', or Praise Be to You, a

papal letter addressed not just to Catholics but to "every person living on this planet." We are especially gratified by the Pope's emphasis on the effects this crisis is having on the world's lowest-income and most marginalized communities. "A true ecological approach," writes Pope Francis, "must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor." We hear those cries.

We wholeheartedly agree with the Pope's statement that "We need to strengthen the conviction that we are one single human family. There are no frontiers or barriers, political or social, behind which we can hide..." The encyclical repeatedly asserts the interconnectedness of all life and calls for "the honesty needed to question certain models of development, production, and consumption." We in the developed world will need to make difficult choices to effectively address this climate crisis.

-from www.Commit2Respond.org

Check out the encyclical for yourself.

NOTE: UCCA WORKDAY MOVED TO SATURDAY, JULY 11

9 a.m. till noon.

Lunch will be provided.

"The work done in our community and the world is the presence

of the Divine unfolding in peace, love, and justice."

- our late Pastor Wayne Schwandt

June 21:

UCCA Summer Potluck Picnic

Starting at 11:30 a.m.

Fried chicken, vegan options and beverages will be provided.

Please bring picnic fare to share.

Erine Sedicum's photo of
Coke bottles with names

From Erine

I normally look at Nature, but today I looked at Coke bottles. I realized how many people I come into contact with past, present, or yet to be. I wish I could find one that said "companion."

A FEW COMMENTS ON GAIN PROGRAM OF JUNE 11, 2015

This interfaith "cafe" conversation on Spirituality & Climate Change was an interesting exchange of perspectives coming from different spiritualities, which got down to the nitty-gritty of how to dialogue with people who do not see any connection between Creator and the planet on which we live. Ideas on how we, personally, can mitigate effects of climate change were helpful, especially that by speaking them out loud we feel more committed to carry them out. Like the Seneca Tribe who care about the 7 Generations before and after theirs, it is imperative for us to act right now with faith, hope and love for our future generations. We need to revise our values, change our way of living. Many people felt the urgency to provide opportunities for our children to put down their electronic toys and devices and get outside to know and love the natural world around us.
- Sylvia Oliva, your GAIN representative

Vocation is the place where

our deep gladness meets the world's deep need.

--Frederick Buechner

Dayspring Retreat

DAYSPRING RETREAT

WEEKEND OF JULY 31 - AUGUST 2

The Mystical Words of Jesus: Praying the Beatitudes in his Native Aramaic

Aramaic was the common language in Jesus' time. Using Prayers of the Cosmos by Neil Douglas-Klotz as a guide, we will explore the Beatitudes' layered meanings through chant, breath and gentle movement, and we will have the freedom to write our own renditions of the Beatitudes. Led by Connie Ridgway, a modern mystic and singer. She is a psychotherapist and cranio-sacral therapist in Washington, DC, and member of the 8th Day Faith Community.

Dayspring is a rare and beautiful place for solitude, silence and rest. The forest and meadows, the quiet of Merton's Pond and the warmth of the Lodge of the Carpenter and the Inn create space for prayer and contempla- tion. Come, deepen your relationship with the One in whom we live and move and have our being. You can ask Sylvia Oliva about Dayspring and contact them for more information and if you'd like to register:

Dayspring Silent Retreat Center

11301 Neelsville Church Rd.

Germantown, MD 20876-4147
301 916 1131 ~ dayspringretreat@verizon.net

www.dayspringretreat.org

Sacred Circle Dance & Body Prayer Workshop

Sunday, June 28, 2015

3:30 to 5:30 P.M. in Caton Hall

EVOLVE @ United Church of Christ of Annapolis

8 Carvel Circle, Edgewater, MD 21037

Michael Mansfield, a gifted professional in theater and dance, will lead a workshop to introduce us to body prayer, sacred circle dance, and chant. This workshop (or 'playshop') is an excellent opportunity for both beginners and the more experienced to better understand and "move" into this enriching and wholesome spiritual practice. A master teacher, Michael will guide us step by step as well as provide us with his beautiful accompaniment on guitar. Refreshments provided. Suggested donation $10; any love offering would be welcome.

Michael holds a BA in Philosophy, English

and Theater, Master of Divinity in Ritual

and the Arts, MFA in Acting, and Doctor

of Ministry in Social Justice and the Arts.

Address RSVP and any questions to Sylvia: saoliva44@comcast.net or 410-224-6708. Please indicate your

phone number on email response.

Action for Justice re: Cove Point Proposed LNG Facility

FROM REV. RYAN SIRMONS Our response to Charleston: Prayers and walks this weekend Dear Church,

FROM REV. RYAN SIRMONS

Our response to Charleston: Prayers and walks this weekend

Dear Church,