Church Work Day
January 7 & February 4
8 a.m. – Noon or as long as you choose to volunteer.
Volunteers needed for church chores not covered by our paid cleaner and lawn mower (like organizing cupboards, replacing filters, etc.)
If you have questions, or comments about our buildings or grounds please contact B&G chair, Michael Holland.
Ministering to Each Other
(Adult religious education)
Thursdays, Jan. 5, 12, 10. 26 & Feb. 2
7:15 p.m. in the Martin House
A small group of members and friends will join together to share life experiences. Each week Reverend Wills will offer a topic for discussion and group members will share from their personal religious experience in discussing the topics.
Sign up on the bulletin board in the sanctuary foyer or contact the office (phone 301-797-5533 or office@UUhagerstownMD.org) to register.
Annual Service Auction
Planning Meeting, Sunday, Feb. 5
12:15 p.m. in the Martin House
The annual auction, this year on Saturday, March 31 at 6 p.m., is always a lively social event as well as a significant fund-raiser for our church. Auction organizers Robin Chute and Camille Smith rely on a corps of volunteers to ensure that the auction is laugh-filled and lucrative.
How can you help? What talents or treasures can you donate to the auction? What are you good at? What do you like to do?
People are needed the weekend of the auction to set up, prepare food, and clean up. If you’d like to help with the event, come to the meeting on Feb. 5 or contact Robin (717-762-8169 rmchute@embarqmail.com) to volunteer or for more information.
The auction also needs donations of goods or services. Popular items at past auctions have been exotic dinners and festive parties, afghans, quilts, chocolates, cakes, plants, pottery, paintings, handyman and cleaning services, jewelry, musical performances, and classes.
Donation forms will be available in January in the back of the sanctuary, on our church website (www.UUHagerstownMD.org) and from Robin.
Our church is providing the evening meal at the Hagerstown Cold Weather Shelter twice in February. We’ll need people to prepare the food, serve the meal, and clean up afterwards. See Lou Murray after the service to sign up.
We also need monetary contributions for the food costs. Give your donations, clearly marked “for REACH dinners”, to the church treasurer Bill Pfoutz.
For more information about our church social action, go to the Fiath-in-Action page.
Ministry Matters
Retreat open to all on Sunday, February 19, from 1 p.m - 4 p.m.
Following the service and a potluck lunch.
Childcare will be provided if requested in advance.
Please RSVP Camille Smith if childcare needed.
Recognizing that the ministry of our church is more than the work of our professional and elected leadership, the board of trustees invites all members and friends to join them in an afternoon retreat that explores a broader aspect of ministry and governance: bringing our congregational life into alignment with our values.
During the retreat, a UUA DVD poses challenging questions for retreat participants to answer in small groups. What are the essential values of UUsm? Are these values reflected in our congregational life? What is the mission of our church? What is our church’s role in our lives and in the world? What do we expect of other each? How shall we live together in community?
Crafting & Chatting Circle
January 23 & February 27
Originally started as a knitting group, the circle is expanding to welcome needleworkers and crafters of any type. Open to men and women. Feel free to stay the entire two hours or come and go to fit your schedule.
For more information, contact Tamala Brocious .
Munch & Gab Potluck
On the third Sunday of the month, 12:15 p.m. in the sanctuary
January 15 & February 19 (February potluck followed by Ministry Matters retreat)
Bring food to share and stay after the service to discuss the sermon, explore the topic of the day, or just socialize. An opportunity to share thoughts, catch up with friends, and make new ones! Coffee and tea provided.
Public Labyrinth Walk
Free and open on the second Sunday, 1pm to 3pm, Sunday, Sunday, January 8 & February 12
Please encourage your friends to try walking meditation. Both the indoor Petite Chartres and the outdoor Cretan labyrinths are open for public walking on the second Sunday of each month. Of course, UUCH members and friends are invited to walk the outdoor labyrinth whenever they're at church.
The public is invited to try walking meditation in two different labyrinths, which are suitable for all ages.
The indoor labyrinth is a Petite Chartres pattern, a smaller version of the 12th century labyrinth on the floor of the Chartres Cathedral in France. The outdoor labyrinth is the older, Cretan pattern. Both labyrinths were created by church members.
Unlike a maze which is a puzzle with many possible choices, a labyrinth is a single path to walk on a winding way into the center and out again. Some people walk labyrinths regularly as a spiritual experience or moving prayer. Labyrinth walking can also help with relaxation, stress relief and even problem solving.
Today, labyrinths are often found in homes, hospitals, public gardens and most commonly, in churches. However, labyrinths are not unique to Christianity; they are part of many religious traditions. Some patterns even date back to prehistoric times.
For more information about labyrinths, talk with Diana Foley who's a Certified Labyrinth Facilitator through Veriditas, a California-based non-profit whose mission is spreading the practice of labyrinth-walking globally. The name Veriditas means green growing things and was taken from the works of medieval mystic and composer Hildegard von Bingen.
The organization's web site is www.veriditas.net.
If you enjoy walking our labyrinths, please become a Labyrinth Keeper.
Labyrinth Keepers will take turns setting up the monthly public labyrinth walks and sharing their enthusiasm with visitors; create new ways to enjoy and promote our labyrinths; and those who are able will also help maintain them. If you'd like to be a Labyrinth Keeper, contact Diana Foley.
Women's Spirituality Group
Meets on the first Wednesday, 7 p.m. in the Martin House
January 4: Meditation by Hand (page 237)
February 1: Everyday Relationships (page 153)
The Women’s Spirituality Group meetings are currently based on Everyday Spirituality Practices, edited by Scott Alexander (published by Skinner House in 1999), but you do not need the book to participate.
All women of UUCH are welcome and encouraged to attend the Women's Spirituality Group. For more information, contact Donna Catling.
Book Discussion Group
Meets on the second Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Donna Catling's home
Jan. 11: Geraldine Brooks’s Caleb’s Crossing.
Young Bethia Mayfield, the outspoken daughter of a 17th-century Calvinist preacher, meets Caleb, a Wampanoag native to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, and they become close, clandestine friends. After Caleb loses most of his family to smallpox, he begins to study under the tutelage of Bethia’s father eventually becoming the first native American to graduate from Harvard.
Feb. 8: Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon River Anthology.
Unconventional in both style and content, this collection of free verse poetry, published in 1915, shatters the myths of small town American life. A full understanding of Spoon River requires the reader to piece together narratives from fragments contained in individual poems, which are in the form of epitaphs.
The UUCH Book Group welcomes all enthusiastic readers to its monthly meetings on the second Wednesday at Donna Catling's home. Contact Donna for more information.
Meditations in the Light
Saturdays, February 11 - March 3
11 a.m. - 12:30 a.m. in the Martin House
Class size limited. Pre-registration required.
A series of guided meditations:
February 11: Introduction to the 23 Gateways of Light with study of auras.
February 18: Soul travel and the Akashic Records.
February 25: Healing on all levels.
March 3: Personal empowerment through higher level consciousness.
There is no fee or pre-requisite, but the class is limited to seven students. Please pre-register by talking to Lou Murray after the service.
Community Drum Circle
Fourth Friday - On hiatus until March
7pm outside at the bonfire near the labyrinth
Canceled for rain.
The circle is open to both experienced and beginning drummers of all ages. Bring a chair and your drums, rattles, shakers, bells, singing bowls, and other percussion instruments. Or just come and enjoy the music of the drums.
Admission is free but donations to the church will be appreciated.
The drum circle is led by Dave Schultz and Mike Mason. Dave has been drumming since 2002 and has taken African drumming workshops with Ken Crampton and Aasa Grayson from the Ivory Coast. Mike has been drumming since 2006.
The Community Drum Circle is a Queen of Heaven Circle event hosted by the Guardians of the Circle, but anyone interested in drumming is welcome.
Western Maryland Veg Life MeetUp Group
Regular potluck and social events
Whether you're just curious about vegetarianism or you're a veg veteran and wish you knew more vegetarians and vegans in the area, come share a great meal and expand your veg social circle! We are a supportive group where we can openly discuss dietary issues, environmental and health concerns, and social challenges. We welcome your input and ideas for future meetings.
For more information, contact Tara Petite (301-393-8874 or Tara@Petite.net) or sign-up on our website at http://www.westMDveg.org.
Gift Card Order Dates
When you order scrip (gift cards) through the church, you purchase the cards at face value; the church buys the cards at a discount and keeps the difference. Easy money for the church at no cost to you. Order forms are available in the pamphlet rack in the sanctuary foyer.
Grocery Store gift cards Martins/Giant, Weis, and Food Lion)
Order due January 1 with delivery at church on January 15
Order due February 5 with delivery at church on February 19
For more information, contact Robin Chute.
Great Lake Scrip (many national retailers & restaurants)
Order due February 19 with delivery at church on February 26
Next Great Lakes Scrip order will be May 20, 2012
Visit www.glscrip.com or see the order form in the pamphlet rack for a complete list of available cards. For more information, contact Courtenay Elder.
GLS gift cards are available from a huge assortment of retailers, restaurants hotels, gas stations, and on-line vendors Visit www.glscrip.com or see the order form in the pamphlet rack for a complete list of available cards. For more information, contact Courtenay Elder.
