The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia

Margaret Hegmann on UUCC's food insecurity ministry

Margaret Hegmann helps lead UUCC’s efforts to address food insecurity in our local community, where 1 in 4 children live in households with food insecurity. Most people first think of our brightly-colored Little Free Pantry when they think of UUCC’s food insecurity ministry. While the Little Free Pantry may be the most visible part of its work, the food insecurity team has been working for over 20 years on initiatives throughout Howard County to address this problem. Margaret and Sara discuss a few of those initiatives, what it takes to keep the Little Free Pantry stocked for our neighbors, how volunteering in this capacity has expanded Margaret’s understanding of the world as it is, and how YOU can help today!

Donate to the Little Free Pantry

Building Beloved Community | Rev. Paige Getty

In keeping with this month’s Soul Matters theme of beloved community, Rev. Paige Getty will explore what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said are the necessary elements of Beloved Community and how those elements might apply in the context of a congregation like UUCC.

 

Speakers:

• Amber Guthrie, Jim Johnston, Kelly Blake, Kerridwen Henry, Mo Grant-Olsson, Rev. Paige Getty, Robin Slaw

Nicole Guimarães & Chase Farmer share lessons from their cross-cultural relationship

In February 2020, right before COVID lockdowns began, Chase Farmer celebrated Carnival in Rio de Janeiro where he met Nicole Guimarães. Fast forward a year, and Nicole and Chase are finally in the same place and navigating the ins-and-outs of their cross-cultural relationship in person. In between tuning in to UUCC’s virtual services every Sunday morning, Nicole and Chase are trying out Baltimore restaurants and learning each other’s languages. They chat with Sara about differences and similarities they’ve observed between American and Brazilian culture and what they’ve learned from each other during their time together. 

Bonus: Tune in to hear Nicole’s recommendations for authentic Brazilian food in the area!

Siding with Love | Rev. Paige Getty

What if to “side with love” meant making bold, faith-full choices? What if it were even a little bit scary? This worship service brings together worship leaders and musicians from across the country to offer hopeful, moving, challenging reminders about what we, as Unitarian Universalists, are called to do, and BE, in the world.

 

Speakers: Amy Brooks, Everett R.H. Thompson, Joyce Poley, Rev. Paige Getty, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, Dr. Takiyah Nur Amin, Dr. Tuli Patel, Rev. Michael Crumpler, Julica Hermann de la Fuente, Laura Conkle, Rev. Erika Hewitt, Tashi-Kali, Michael Adcock

Michael Adcock reflects on UUCC's Beethoven service

Michael Adcock, UUCC’s Director of Music, is gearing up for a long-awaited sabbatical, and we made sure to catch him before he leaves in March. Last month, Michael designed and presented a service on the psychological and musical resonance of the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven; today, Valerie and Michael discuss the life and work of Michael Adcock! Michael chats with Valerie about how Beethoven speaks to him personally and considers how his own life, like Beethoven’s, might be broken into three periods with distinctive characteristics and themes. Michael also begrudgingly shares his Beethoven favorites — you’ll want to listen to these!

Compassion | Robin Slaw, DRE

Robin Slaw, Director of Religious Education, ponders the Compassion part of our 2nd UU Principle: Justice, equity and compassion in human relations.

 

Speakers: Tim Lattimer, Robin Slaw, The Bote Family, Kelli Danaker, Collette Gelwicks

Rev. Louise Green, Minister of Movement

Rev. Louise Green is a long-time friend of UUCC, and Sara catches up with her on where her ministry has taken her in recent months, from congregational ministry at All Souls in DC to movement chaplaincy with change makers around the country. Sara and Rev. Louise then discuss a different type of movement—dance. Rev. Louise shares about her past experiences as a professional dancer and reflects on how movement and art are fully integrated into her spiritual life, work, and world.

Referenced in this episode

• Faith Matters Network
• UUCC service in which Rev. Louise shared about her past life as a dancer
• Choreographer Agnes de Mille

The Musical & Psychological Resonance of Beethoven | Michael Adcock, Music Director

Join Music Director Michael Adcock in a service honoring the recent (2020) Sestercentennial of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth.  Looking closely through the lens of his three compositional periods, we will celebrate and recognize the achievements of this great musician’s contribution to art and humanity, as well as his own personal triumph over adversity.

 

Speakers: Sarah Baseheart, Julie Boughn, Inge Hyder, Michael Adcock, Valerie Hsu, Jennifer Parrot

Jenny Afkinich, Ph.D.

You may know Jenny Afkinich as an auction team member, Karuna team member, and mama to Margot and Violet. She juggled all these roles (and many more!) while pursuing her social work Ph.D., which she completed this summer. Celebrate Jenny’s accomplishment and listen as she tells Sara about her call to social work, what it was like defending her dissertation* mid-pandemic, and how the principles of Unitarian Universalism resonate with the values and vision of social work. 

* = Jenny's dissertation received the 2021 Society for Social Work and Research Outstanding Social Work Doctoral Dissertation Award this month. Go Jenny!

Referenced in this episode

• Institute for Innovation and Implementation
• Bidding is live for UUCC’s first-ever online auction until Saturday, February 6!

The USA Today | Rev. Paige Getty

On the first Sunday following Inauguration Day, Rev. Paige Getty reflects on the hope and disappointment of being human in the USA in 2021.

 

Speakers: Wendy Ramsey, Rev. Paige Getty, The Jorgensen Family, Robin Slaw