THIS WEEK At the Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spring November 30, 2017
Worship Services
THIS Sunday, December 3, 2017, Rev. Evan Keely, our Interim Minister, will lead TWO Services at 9:30am & 11:30am entitled: “Make Your House Fair As You Are Able”. Please Join Us! Please note: we regret that we cannot offer ASL Interpretation for the 9:30 service as usual.
About the service: Advent is a season of reflection and expectation in the Christian calendar. Its messages have meaning for all of us.
Regarding this Sunday’s, December 3rd Sermon Title: “Make Your House Fair as You Are Able” – there will be a Coffee Hour Dialog event in the Community Hall that day.
Event Message: UUCSS is your church home. Let’s talk one-on-one about how to make your church home the best and most useful resource for activities and worship. This Sunday, December 3, members of the DreamBuilders team are ready to talk with you about our planned upcoming renovations during Coffee Hour. Your input is vital – come join us. For more details or questions call Jim Paoletti at 301-792-6982.
Two Christmas Eve Services
Christmas Eve, December 24th, falls on Sunday this year, so we’ll have our first service at 10:30am, when we’ll have our Annual Childrens’ Pageant and hear our multi-generational choir perform. We will have a second evening candelight service at 8 pm, with the Sanctuary Singers. All are welcome!
CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS WITH THE UUCSS COMMUNITY!
We hope you will join us for an Intergenerational Potluck Brunch after the morning service on Christmas Eve (about 11:30am). Please bring a dish to share – bagels and cream cheese, pastries, an egg dish, fruit, yogurt, juice, and more (labeled if it is gluten free, dairy free, vegan, etc.) We will gather in the Community Hall for a fun celebration, including a sing-a-long. You can sign up to help with set up, clean up, decorating, helping keep the event green, or in another way by contacting Patti Poss at phendposs@gmail.com.
Join us for a Holiday Social Hour after the evening service on Christmas Eve. The traditional Candlelight Christmas Eve Service will be at 8pm. We hope you will join us for cookies and other savory finger foods after the service (about 9pm). Please bring cookies or other savories to share. We will provide labels to indicate if the item is gluten free, dairy free, vegan, etc. We will gather in the Community Hall for conversation and fellowship. Questions? Comments? Want to help? Email Robin Moore at robin.f.moore@gmail.com
Please join us and invite your family and friends for these much-anticipated times of family and community.
PLEASE NOTE: Regarding UPCOMING Worship Services, from December 24, 2017 through March 25, 2018 (inclusive), UUCSS will have ONE Sunday worship service at 10:30am. Coffee Hour will take place after the service.
Religious Education
Hello!
Welcome to the new Religious Education school year! We are traveling back in time this year to learn about Unitarian Universalist history. This coincides perfectly with the celebration of the 65th Anniversary of UUCSS!
Registration: Still need to register for RE or OWL? No problem! Register here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QGJ59NF
Christmas Pageant Rehearsal
Our next pageant rehearsal will be between services NEXT Sunday December 3rd in the Sanctuary.
Young Religious Unitarian Universalists
Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU) is a group for youth in grades 10-12. All youth in these grades are welcome. We meet during the second service in the Fellowship House on church grounds (If there is only one service, check the RE board in the Sanctuary building entrance to see if we are meeting; announcements will also be made in the church newsletter and Facebook group). Adult advisers and the RE assistant facilitate meetings. Email REAssistant@UUCSS.org for more details about this program or to add your youth’s email to the YRUU email list.
Questions? Comments? Concerns?
Please reach out to the DRE Catherine at dre@uucss.org
Announcements
UPDATE on Supplemental Annual Budget Drive
Dear UUCSS Members and Friends,
We are excited to report that the members and friends of UUCSS have been rising to the challenge, and we have made excellent progress on the supplemental pledge drive. In the last 10 days, we have raised over $7,000 of the $8,000 needed to close the shortfall in our budget! We sincerely appreciate the generosity of those who have already made a pledge.
For those who have not pledged yet, we are asking each pledging member or friend for a $50 donation to help us fully fund this year’s operating budget. We understand that not everyone is in a position to make an increase in their pledge, so would ask that if you are in a position to give more, you consider making a supplemental pledge of $100 or more.
The supplemental pledge period will end on Monday, December 4, 2017, when the Board will assess whether we will need to make any reductions to the budget.
Pledges can be made online here, directly into the collection plate via check (with “Supplemental Pledge” in the memo line), or during coffee hour this Sunday.
Thanks to each and every one of you for your commitment and love for our blessed community.
The UUCSS Board of Trustees
John Henderson, President
Tamara Bowman, At-Large Trustee
Gregg Harry, Second Vice-President/Programs
Christa Maher, Secretary
Rev. Evan Keely, Minister (ex officio)
Lisa Schumaker, Third Vice-President/Finance
Sharon Snyder, Fourth Vice-President/Personnel
Fred Teal, At-Large Trustee
Emily Tien, First Vice-President/Corporate
Steve Wilmarth, At-Large Trustee
The UUCSS Holiday Bazaar (Dec 10, 9 AM to 1 PM) needs YOU!
Volunteers needed to donate bake sale items, help vendors get connected to the wifi, help break down tables at 1 PM, and possibly staff booths for vendors (financial compensation provided for this one!). E-mail Susan-Marie Stedman at smsted5@gmail.com to help out. 10% of all sales go to the church.
Beacon House Christmas Gift Drive
It’s time again for the Beacon House Christmas gift drive. This is our chance to help make the holidays merry and bright for the children and youth who attend Beacon House programs.
Take a minute when you’re in the foyer to locate the night sky display, where you’ll find stars with gender, ages and gift suggestions. Please bring unwrapped gifts or gift cards in envelopes to the church by Sunday, December 10th. Place unwrapped gifts in the large box near the greeting table. Give gift cards to Teresa Meeks or Carey Schneider when you see them, or hand them to the Sunday Support person at the greeting table. And thanks for your ongoing support of Beacon House!
SOME Donations
As most of you know, UUCSS supports So Others Might Eat (SOME) monthly by donations of food and other items. SOME is an interfaith, community-based organization that exists to help the poor and homeless of our nation’s capital. SOME meets the immediate daily needs of the people they serve with food, clothing, and health care.
Donations of foods and other items for SOME are due at church THIS Sunday, December 3.
To make it easier to donate, try keeping a grocery bag or small box near your kitchen or front door, and add a few items each time you shop for groceries. Then bring it to church on the designated Sunday.
In addition, for the holiday season, SOME is collecting Shoebox Gifts.
Shoebox gifts are shoeboxes decorated for the holidays and brimming with gifts and essential items for homeless or poor children, women and men. They are particularly in need of shoebox gifts for men and women. Your gift boxes will be given out or delivered over the holidays to all who come to SOME for meals and services and to those who are residents in SOME’s housing. More information about shoebox gifts is found here. They may be included in your SOME donation at UUCSS December 3.
Please place your donations in the sanctuary kitchen in bags or boxes clearly marked for SOME. Please see their website for wish lists and suggested items.
> Food Wish List
>
> Ground coffee
> Peanut butter
> Fresh fruits and vegetables
> Canned fruit (in their own juice or water) Canned vegetables (no or
> low sodium) Whole grains (Quinoa, brown rice, farro) Pasta (Whole
> wheat pastas and couscous) Low sugar cereal and oatmeal Healthy Snacks
> Nuts Oils and Vinegars Canned or frozen turkey, chicken, salmon
SOME cannot accept any opened food products or products with expired dates. All kinds of non-perishable foods are needed for the food pantry. They also need certain types of clothing, household items, and toiletries.
Thanks for helping our neighbors in need. –Olivia Pickett 301-452-5230
Photo Directories
The Membership Committee has about 50 copies of the updated Photo Directory for members and friends who would like a hard copy. They’ll be available on Sunday mornings, as long as they last. We’re asking a $4 donation to cover the cost of printing. If there’s a big demand, we’ll print 50 more.
Daytime Inreach Group
Are you new to the Church and wanting to get acquainted with other UUCSSers in a small group setting? If so, the Daytime Inreach Group has a few openings. If you’re free on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, you might give us a try. Contact Bev McGaughy, coordinator, for details (phone: 301-565-0895 or email: bnbmcgaughy@verizon.net).
Daily Spiritual Practice Group
About 20 people responded, so we WILL be having an experiential class on establishing a daily spiritual practice! We need a 8 week stretch, so it looks like we will start mid-January. I will send out a Doodle poll in December to find a time that works best for the most people. If you expressed interest but don’t get the poll by Christmas, please let me know. I am excited that there is this level of interest. Stay tuned!
–Doneby at Donebys@gmail.com.
Paint Branch Montessori School Open Houses
Paint Branch Montessori School serves children from two to twelve years old. The school has a warm and welcoming atmosphere for the children and families. If you are interested in Montessori education please consider visiting the school.
The next open house is:
- Wednesday, December 13th from 9am to 11am
You can RSVP by calling or emailing the school.
Paint Branch Montessori School
10309 New Hampshire Avenue
Silver Spring, Maryland 20903
301-434-0373
info@pbmontessori.com
www.pbmontessori.com
Financial Contributions to UUCSS
We appreciate your financial contributions to UUCSS and want to provide accurate records for you. To help us do this, please put “Auction,” “Capital Campaign,” or “2017-18 Pledge” in the memo line of your check. If you want to donate stock, please email collector@uucss.org for easy instructions on how to move the stock into the church’s Etrade account. Thank you!
Attention Planners of Church Events
The Green Sanctuary Committee, in conjunction with the Property Committee, and the Program Council, has posted helpful resources on the Green Sanctuary page of the UUCSS web site to ensure our events follow our values by being green! Click on https://uucss.org/green/ for guidelines on greening events, recycling, and composting. You just may learn something new!
Parking During Church Services & Events
In an effort to be as welcoming to visitors as possible, we encourage UUCSS members who are able to not park in the UUCSS lot for Sunday services or large events so that we can keep spots open for visitors. Good alternative parking spots include the side streets near UUCSS and the CHI lot just north of the church on New Hampshire Avenue. Thank you in advance for your help.
Deadlines for Announcements
Weekly Announcement Deadlines: All OOS Information, Written & Oral Announcements and All-Church Email Announcements for Sunday Services are due in the Admin Office by 9am every Wednesday.
Events
Transition Team News
In the past two months, more than 70 people have attended cottage parties to share their perspectives about the past, present, and future of UUCSS with Rev. Keeley. Many thanks to the hosts and to all who attended. The cottage parties are winding down, but Rev. Keeley will meet with people individually through early December. Stop by the Transition Team table at Coffee Hour on Sunday or email transition@uucss.org to schedule a time to have a rich conversation with our interim minister.
Women’s Book Group
The Women’s Book Group has been in existence since 2000 and we welcome interested readers. No long-term obligation required. We meet on the fourth Monday of the month; contact dweiner04@gmail.com for more information. We will not meet in December but will be reading A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories by Lucia Berlin for our January 22, 2018 gathering.
Men’s Book Reading Group
We are reading The Dispossessed, a sci fi fantasy novel by Ursula Le Guin. The next meeting will be held at the home of Steve Schmidt (1024 Copley Lane, Silver Spring) on Sunday, December 3 at 7 pm. All are welcome. If you are interested in joining the group, contact Richard Lorr (rlorr4@gmail.com), get the book, and come to the next meeting. Hope to see you there!
Opportunities!
There is a place for you in the UUCSS Sanctuary Singers!!
If you love music, love singing, and love community, come join the choir! The UUCSS Sanctuary Singers perform a diverse array of styles of music, including contemporary UU, classical, gospel, chant, jazz, and early music, normally two Sundays per month during the regular church year, with the summers off. Past choir and/or other musical experience is helpful but not required. Sight singing and ear training classes can be arranged with the music director to provide individual attention and assistance with the music. The choir is open to all generations. Rehearsals are Thursday nights 7:30pm- 9:30pm in the UUCSS sanctuary. For more information contact musicdirector@uucss.org.
Information Technology (IT) CHAIR Needed!
Put your IT expertise to use for the church as our new IT Chair. Responsibilities include: approving all IT expenses, purchasing equipment, providing opinions regarding IT related matters at the monthly OPs council meetings, and submitting an IT budget for yearly expenses. IT services are used by the administrative offices, church web server, and audio visual team. Nancy Dougherty was the former chair and will be happy to answer your questions about the position.
Volunteer with the UUCSS RE Program!
Sages and seekers, wanderers and wonderers, RE is searching for volunteer teachers for the new school year! Please contact Catherine at dre@UUCSS.org.
The UUCSS RE program could not function without the help of many UUCSS community members who serve the program with their time and energy. There are a number of volunteer roles for people with varying amounts of RE experience and available time to give. Would you like to help with children’s worship once a month? Can you teach one of our 9:30 am RE classes two times per month? You can help provide spiritual nourishment for the youngest members of this faith community! Email dre@uucss.org for more information or to volunteer.
Volunteer of the Month – Tina Borror
Tina Borror has successfully chaired the Auction four times, headed the Music Committee for six years, and been a vibrant member of the UUCSS musical community ever since she started attending services at UUCSS. Tina and Marty Atias first visited UUCSS in 2010, looking for a spiritual home and community in their neighborhood that shared their liberal values. UUCSS was the first—and last—local UU church they visited on their quest for a spiritual home. Tina joined the choir almost immediately. She participates in musical groups as a flutist, ukulele player, singer, and soloist. She also joined the Music Committee and a year later became its chair. Tina is particularly proud of the work the Music Committee has done to host various musical residencies and more recently to participate in local concerts with Strathmore. Currently, the Music Committee and the choir are preparing for a concert at the People’s Community Baptist Church on February 25th called “Remembering Selma”. Tina finds great spiritual and emotional connection through music and believes that many other UUCSS members do also.
Tina and Marty attended their first Auction shortly after they started coming to UUCSS and thought that it was the “most fun fundraiser” they had ever attended. Tina volunteered for several Auctions and, when a call went out for someone to chair the Auction, Tina put up her hand. Besides donations, over fifty people volunteer annually to help run Auction. The Auction not only raises money, but also unites people through the shared work to put on the Auction and the Auction events people attend all year long. Tina believes that actively participating at the church is a great way to know people and to connect with our core values.
UUCSS Member Dropbox Link
In order to provide ready access to documents that help everyone stay engaged and informed about church matters, the UUCSS Board of Trustees created folders in Dropbox at the following link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6m0pncsiskos8f4/AACRaDMaJy8kua–iMJ0zHRNa?dl=0
Click on the link, or copy/paste it into your browser, and it will take you to “UUCSS Member Dropbox”. There you can view minutes from board meetings, congregational meetings, and annual meetings, as well as copies of UUCSS constitution and policies, and other resources. New folders and documents will be added over time. Questions about the Dropbox may be sent to: boardsecretary@uucss.org. Emails to the Board of Trustees may be sent to: board@uucss.org.