Summer Update!

Hello UUCA,

Happy Summer!  It’s hot!   

I want to update you on a number of things.  First, this has been a difficult time of illness and death for so many and we are all still grieving many losses over the last 15 months.  There’s so much to ponder and so much work to do to “let justice roll down.”  Our planet is on fire, buildings are unexpectedly falling down killing many; while hatred and racism too often rear their ugly heads.  Our faith–Unitarian Universalism–with its radical inclusiveness– can be the religion for our time if we lean into its principles and call them to action.  How can you help?

1. Show up!  I serve as a member of the strategy team of Anne Arundel Connecting Together (ACT) which is a community-based organizing effort.  At the end of this month, we plan to assist a local black neighborhood to be more empowered by demanding better living accommodations.  Please put July 31 at 11 am on your calendar for the Woodside Gardens Independence Day of Action.  Please send me an email to jcrestwell@uuannapolis.org if you plan to attend.  I need your support.  My goal is to get 20 UUCA members to show up for the action.

2. Ask a question.  I am the Co-Chair of the County Executive’s Interfaith Advisory Council which consists of clergy from various faith traditions who are debriefed on county initiatives monthly.  IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE, Stuart Pittman, please email it to me and I will do my best to get it answered for you, expeditiously.

3. Come back to church!  As you saw in Rev. Anastassia’s video the church building additions look amazing as does the rest of the building.  Sunday church is open!  We are currently using a reservation system so it’s first come first serve.  Please join us this Sunday!  After service many of us are outdoors chatting and (after asking) hugging each other which is something we’ve all missed!  

4. Show up for class!  Adult Faith Formation (After Hour) will be offered in-person this summer.  Join us after church for a more organized time of learning and exploring faith and practice.  Both ministers will lead.

5..  Make some coffee.  This Sunday we plan to bring back Coffee Hour with coffee, tea, and refreshments after service.  We no longer have a paid coffee server so things will be different going forward.  We need YOU, small groups, covenant groups, committees to sign up to serve.  If you are interested in providing refreshments after service, please sign up. There is an article about how to sign up in our publication, In the Know.  You can be shown how to use the coffee maker.  What an awesome way to give back to the community you love!

6.  Zoom in or drive in.  Soon, hopefully by sometime in August, we will begin experimenting and launching live-streamed services over zoom on Sundays, meaning services will no longer be fully recorded for zoom only but recorded “live” from in the sanctuary like a regular in-person Sunday service.  This is exciting because it expands our reach online, provides the continued convenience of watching the service at home, and it is also is another way to slowly come back to the building on Sundays.  We hope to fully launch live-streaming by In-Gathering in September.

7.  Answer the call!  Your ministers and staff are reaching out to you.  We’ve begun making phone calls to members to check-in and say “hi” and to see how you’re doing.  This could turn into a lunch or coffee or just a phone call but either way, it is our way of wanting to connect.  This will continue over the next 12 months so if you haven’t been contacted, you will be.

8.  Give thanks!  I am due a sabbatical which is time away for reflection, prayer, contemplation, and rest.  Every four to six years UU ministers earn sabbatical time.  I have never taken one in 16 years of ministry.  From April 2022 to August 2022 I will be away.  I am hoping to travel to Europe to do a religious pilgrimage from Egypt to England but that depends on whether I receive the grant I applied for.  I am forming a team here at UUCA who will work with me and Rev. Zinke to make sure that most gaps from my time away will be filled including preaching, teaching, rites of passage, visitations, and the like.  The shared executive functions will be managed by Rev. Anastassia.  Look for more information on this in the months ahead. 

There’s lots more to share but I will save that for another update.

Love to you all,

Rev. John