Maggie Hayes grew up in a Methodist family in Kansas, but early in her college years she came to the realization that she was no longer a believer.  For most of her adult life, the New York Times (especially the crossword puzzle) was her preferred way to spend Sunday morning.  Yes, there was a foray into Unitarian-Universalism at Cedar Lane more than 25 years ago, but she didn’t develop much of a connection with that church.  After retiring from the State Department, and at the end of a long marriage, space opened up for a small “s” spirituality, and Maggie began to see a place for a church community in her life.  So, encouraged by long-time friends Doneby Smith and David Miley, she arrived at our doorstep.

Michelle Levesque had tried but had accepted that religion wasn’t going to help her understand her mother’s death when she was 14.  Even so on Christmas Eve, 1990 she suggested to her sister, Nicole Levesque, “Why don’t we go to that thing you go to?”  The thing Nicole went to was a Unitarian Universalist Church and there was one in Chandler, AZ reasonably close by.

In his seventeen years Matthew Rice has never missed a Catoctin weekend. What inspired him then and inspires him now is that unbeatable combination of community in a beautiful natural setting. Protecting our natural world has become extremely important in Matthew’s life. He believes that our culture is unsustainable in its use of resources and from the age of twelve has been a vegetarian.

Daniel Clark remembers being in his crib and seeing the faces of his family, most often his mother and his African-American brother and sister. That foundation experience along with being a birthright UU led him to a life that lives and breathes for racial justice.

Dorothy Hale had become a self-described “troublemaker” in her New York Baptist church and UUism’s religious diversity was attractive. A Hindu-Catholic wedding and a visit to a Wiccan coven in a Brooklyn UU church enticed Dorothy into joining Community Church of New York where major religious festivals from around the world were celebrated weekly.

Never doubt the power of our pamphlets. Karen Eckert’s 1979 jogging route went by the Unitarian-Universalist Church of Arlington, Va. and out of curiosity, dropped in, read our material and realized she was a UU. She quickly became a member of UUCAV.

When a family with deaf members started attending UUCSS, Janne Harrelson and several other people asked the question, “How can we provide access for this family?” Janne, whose career was at Gallaudet University, together with other interested members, brought this issue to the Board and applied for a start-up grant through the UUA.