Quest SUNDAY WORSHIP. I ve Been Thinking. Rob. January 23, 10:00 a.m. Learn and Let Learn. Spiritual Freedom Beloved Community Social Responsibility

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1 SUNDAY WORSHIP January 23, 10:00 a.m. Learn and Let Learn Whether at home, work, or play, life gives us endless opportunities to learn and to support learning. When are we the student, and when the teacher? This sermon, by sabbatical minister Rob Keithan, will look at how we learn, how we help others, and why it matters. The Adult Choir will sing. Preschool-senior high, teachers, and helpers will gather in the Sanctuary for the beginning of the worship service before classes. January 30, 10:00 a.m. Don t Take It From Me Rev. Donald Robinson, the founder of Beacon House, will present some of the 20-year history of the organization and reveal what children, teachers, and some volunteers think. Beacon House is a neighborhood-based organization that supports at-risk youth and families of the Edgewood Terrace community in Washington, DC, offering educational, cultural, recreational and athletic programs. Special music by Susan Brandt on flute and Dick Gilbert on piano. (continued on page 2) Quest The Newsletter of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville, Maryland: A Welcoming Congregation Spiritual Freedom Beloved Community Social Responsibility Volume LIV, Number 9 January 19, 2011 I ve Been Thinking Editor: Elizabeth Sullivan Desktop Publisher: Nancy Gregory I write this column, on January 14, from the Pine Ridge Oglala Lakota Indian Reservation in southwest South Dakota. I'm nearing the end of the two week "Intercultural Immersion" experience that all Wesley Theological Seminary students are required to do as part of our studies. My trip-mates and I have spent the last 12 days getting to know the people, history, and culture of this community. We have visited with local organizations and local artists, worshipped in several churches that blend Christianity and Lakota tradition, and done some service work. Each afternoon we play with the kids who come to the community center where we're staying for an hour of recreation. We have also stood in silence at the site of the Wounded Knee massacre, learned about the US government s efforts to systematically eradicate Indian people and culture, and seen firsthand the tragic effects of poverty, substance abuse, and racism. As much as anything, this trip has taught me the value of intercultural immersion. There s simply no amount of bookstudying; no amount of documentary watching; no number of trips to the National Museum of the American Indian that can match the experience of being on the reservation and talking to the people who live here. On one hand, I want to have more opportunities like this one: journeys to far-off lands where I am utterly removed from my day-to-day existence. On the other hand, this trip is also a healthy reminder of how much there is to learn about the different people and cultures back in my own community. It s seductive to go away, but there s also much work to be done at home. Rob Quest deadline: Thursday, January 27, 2011 at 8:00 p.m., for mailing on February 2, to Beth Irikura: beth.irikura@verizon.net. January 19, 2011

2 Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville 100 Welsh Park Drive Rockville, MD Quest Staff Minister: Rev. Lynn Thomas Strauss Sabbatical Minister: Rob Keithan Director of Religious Education: Deborah Kahn Director of Music: Jennifer Rodgers Beach Pianist: Justin Furnia Youth Coordinator: Jennifer Maschal-Lorms Church Administrator: Nancy Gregory Administrative Assistant: Ginny Scher Bookkeeper: Diana Chimes Buildings & Grounds Manager: Thia Beach Nursery Care Provider: Kevin Beins Board of Trustees Nancy Blum, President Marie Reed, Vice President Lisa Petrovich Smith, Secretary Marianne Miller, Treasurer Carole Danielson Terri Fritz Andy Moore Bennett Rushkoff, Immediate Past President Sunday Worship (continued from page 1) On January 30, preschool-fifth grade, teachers, and helpers will gather in Founders Hall for Children s Worship before classes. Sixth grade, junior and senior high will go directly to classes in the lower level of Building 5. February 6, 10:00 a.m. Who We Are and Why We re Here Immigration is one of the most important, complex, and emotional issues of our time. There are great challenges, of course, but there are also great opportunities. How will we respond? What kind of people are we? Sabbatical minister Rob Keithan will reflect on these questions and the Adult Choir will sing. Note: Following this service, there will be a discussion of the Beacon Press book, The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona-Mexico Borderlands, by Margaret Regan. All UU congregations have been asked to engage the issue of immigration for Preschool-senior high, teachers, and helpers will gather in the Sanctuary for the beginning of the worship service before classes. February 13, 10:00 a.m. A Joyful Heart Officers Secretary: Lisa Petrovich Smith Treasurer: Marianne Miller Assistant Treasurers: Eric Burch Dick Gilbert Quest Staff Editor-in-Chief/Coordinator: Alberta Maschal Editors: Beth Irikura, Phyllis Leonard, Alberta Maschal, Elizabeth Sullivan Desktop Publisher: Nancy Gregory Proofreader: Nancy Gregory Quest, the regular newsletter of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville, is published semimonthly at the church office at 100 Welsh Park Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, and distributed without charge to members, guests, and friends. Postage is paid at Rockville, MD. All rights reserved. Postmaster: Send address changes to Circulation Manager, Quest, 100 Welsh Park Drive, Rockville, MD In this service, Mitchell S. Ratner, Senior Teacher at the Still Water Mindfulness Practice Center in Silver Spring, will speak to us about this practice of calming our minds and bringing joy to our hearts. Todd Garlow will provide special music, playing the Hang/Halo, and the Children s Choir will sing. Preschool-fifth grade, teachers, and helpers will gather in Founders Hall for Children s Worship before classes. Sixth grade, junior and senior high will go directly to classes in the lower level of Building 5. For the most current information on upcoming events, visit the UUCR church calendar online at At the top of the home page, click on the tab labeled For Members. Click on the link labeled Room Schedule Calendar and you ll be taken to another website where you can view the entire UUCR calendar of events. Quest 2 January 19, 2011

3 LIFESPAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION REflections One of the ways I celebrate Martin Luther King Day is to read one of his writings an essay, article, sermon, speech. This year I am reading Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, both for Martin Luther King Day and to prepare for the book discussion Ken Sandin is leading in February. Martin Luther King, Jr. was 26 years old when he became the leader of the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. Stride Toward Freedom is the first book he wrote and is about the boycott. Howard Zinn is quoted on the jacket, Martin Luther King s early words return to us today with enormous power, as profoundly true, as wise and inspiring, now as when he wrote them I am barely through the introduction and preface, and think that readers will be able to agree with Howard Zinn. We have eight copies for purchase at the Adult Ed table on Sunday mornings and hope you will read the book and join us for discussion of the book and its relevance for us as Unitarian Universalists. Martin Luther King, Jr wrote in the Preface, While the nature of this account causes me to make frequent use of the pronoun I, in every important part of the story it should be we. it is the chronicle of 50,000 who took to heart the principles of non-violence, who learned to fight for their rights with the weapons of love, and who, in the process, acquired a new estimate of their own human worth. West Indian historian and social activist, C.L.R. James, described the Montgomery bus boycott as one of the most astonishing events of endurance by a whole population that I have heard of. the tremendous boldness, the strategic grasp and the tactical inventiveness. I wonder if we could learn lessons from the Montgomery bus boycott that we would have the courage to implement today. Blessings, Deborah UPCOMING EVENT Vernal Equinox Celebration on Sunday, March 20 at 7 p.m. Quest 3 January 19, 2011

4 LIFESPAN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION Wonderful Wednesday Adult Education Programs Sponsored by UUCR s Adult Education Committee Programs are from 7:30 9:00 p.m. in Founders Hall. All are welcome! Child care is available with one-week advance request. January 26: Saving the Chestnut Tree, led by Ron Kuipers. A discussion of the history and local efforts to restore the tree in its former range. The American Chestnut Foundation is making progress on developing a blight-resistant tree. February 2: What Moves Us Unitarian Margaret Fuller, led by Deborah Kahn and Celia Young. Margaret Fuller was an American journalist, critic and women s rights advocate associated with the American transcendentalism movement. What turned her into a liberal religious champion for human rights for all people? February 9: Stride Toward Freedom Martin Luther King, Jr., book discussion led by Ken Sandin. The book reveals Dr. King s leading role in the December 1955 bus boycott that protested the arrest of Rosa Parks for violating Montgomery, Alabama s 1900 ordinance segregating bus passengers by race. A central theme of the book is King s principle of non-violent resistance to racial injustice. Februay 16: What Moves Us George de Benneville, led by Deborah Kahn. George de Benneville, a physican, was a Universalist evangelist in Europe and an advocate of the doctrine of universal salvation in the American colonies. What experience led him to become a spiritual father of American Universalism? February 23: African Americans and the Criminal Justice System, led by Alonzo Smith. The discussion will be centered on three areas: the book, The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America; The Innocence Project, a national litigation and public policy organization; and some recent criminal cases involving African Americans and the media coverage of them. March 2: What Moves Us Charles Chauncy, led by Deborah Kahn and Ken Sandin. Charles Chauncy was an Anglo-American clergyman and educator and became president of Harvard College in His response to the emotionalism of the Great Awakening led him to affirm the place of human reason in religious renewal. How did his response lead to a new American liberal tradition? March 9: Population Connection, led by John Seager, who was formerly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and also served as chief of staff, communications director and district director for a member of the U.S. House of Representatives. March 16: What Moves Us Sophia Lyon Fahs, led by Deborah Kahn and Paulette Campbell. Sophia Lyon Fahs was a founding Unitarian Universalist religious educator and became the first woman professor to be ordained to the UU ministry at the age of 82. Does the personal experience of emotional impulses prompt people to be religious everywhere and apparently always? Quest 4 January 19, 2011

5 Honoring Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by Ken Sandin SOCIAL JUSTICE January 15 was the 82 nd anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King, Jr., and on January 17 we honored him with a federal holiday established in Dr. King, pursuing the ideal of the solidarity of the human family, wrote about his dream of a beloved community," which phrase UUCR uses on its publications, for example on the banner of the Quest newsletter and at the bottom of the front cover of the Sunday Order of Service. On a Martin Luther King Sunday a few years ago, near the final approval for the memorial to Dr. King in Washington, DC, UUCR s Children s Worship gave that day s offering to the MLK memorial project. This past week, Deborah Kahn, Director of Religious Education, received a letter from the president of the memorial project, saying In thanks of your past support, Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville will be listed on our Roll of Honor at the memorial site. Through February, the Adult Education information table will display information on how UUCR members and friends can make individual contributions to help complete the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial on the National Mall. We also have copies of Dr. King s book, Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, for a book discussion on February 9. Please join us in renewing our dedication to promoting Dr. King s concept of the solidarity of the human family, furthering his goal of a beloved community, and following his practice of non-violent resistance to injustice and oppression, all of which are expressed in our UU principles, and particularly in the sixth principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all. Quilters News by Louise Friedenberg SHARING THE MINISTRY We previously reported that Laura Rhodes was the raffle winner of our recent 2010 quilt, "Applique in Bloom." Since Laura also won the 2003 raffle quilt, "Wildflowers," she gave "Applique in Bloom" as a birthday gift to her mother, Alma Rhodes, who lives in Asbury and is a founding member of the River Road Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Her mother is using it on her bed, loves it, and is very appreciative, so we know it has a good home. It is interesting that there are now four of our raffle quilts residing with residents of Asbury. Elsa Tutwiler won the 1986 quilt, "Modified 9-Patch," Fred Beckner won the 2005 quilt, "Wild Birds," Dorothy Millon Ladd won the 2007 quilt, "For the Beauty of the Earth," and now Alma Rhodes has the 2010 quilt, "Applique in Bloom." The Quilters are now meeting on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. We welcome new members. No experience necessary. Quest 5 January 19, 2011

6 Quest Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville 100 Welsh Park Drive Rockville, MD NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. POSTAGE PAID ROCKVILLE, MD PERMIT NO. 121 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED January 19, 2011 DATED MATERIAL Our Vision The vision of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville is to bring progressive religion to our community and beyond through words, acts, and invitation; to grow as a healthy vibrant congregation that embraces a diversity of people and ideas; and to create a center for intellectual, spiritual, and creative exploration. Our Mission The Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockville provides a liberal religious home in Montgomery County, welcoming all who share our journey to seek truth, meaning, fellowship, and wholeness with open hearts and minds. Using Unitarian Universalist values as our guide, we strive to: Nurture intellectual, spiritual, and creative growth; Transform belief into action; Inspire insight and a sense of wonder through worship and religious education; Engage in social justice, community service, and global outreach.