Sunday and Special Services for March 2018

theme: Service   

Services include sermons preached by Rev. Andrew Clive Millard unless otherwise noted.

March 4th: “Nevertheless, She Persisted: Another Tale of Two Ministers”

The western frontier of late nineteenth century Unitarianism was found in Iowa, where a group of ministers endured great hardship to serve new and growing churches.  Questioning tradition led to the creation of a teaching ministry, the scope of which extended far beyond the pulpit to suffrage, social settlements and the peace movement.  Unfortunately, and only because they were women, Eleanor Gordon, Mary Safford and their colleagues were ignored and then side-lined by the male-controlled association, and yet their legacy lives on even today!
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March 11th: “A Day Without Service”

A UU student discovers one morning that there are no services.  No buses, no teachers, no electricity, no Internet, no telephones: a complete service shutdown.  Stores are closed, hospitals are closed, and so are the banks.  Is this the end of the world?  Or is it a wake-up call to be more grateful for the services we receive and more willing in the services we provide?

Students from the middle and high school class will perform a skit they wrote themselves.  The middle and high school youth have been holding Fellowship Circles on Sunday mornings and they attend Youth Group once a month.

March 18th: “On Being Called Out, Called In and Showing Up”

Religious Educator Christina Rivera will preach about what servant leadership can look like in Unitarian Universalism and how showing up for leadership means responding in new ways to being called out and called in.

Christina Rivera serves as Director of Administration and Finance at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian Universalist in Charlottesville.  She previously served as Director of Religious Education at the UU Fellowship of Waynesboro.  In 2014 Chris was elected to serve on the UUA Board of Trustees, was re-elected to a second term in 2017, and now serves as Secretary.  She co-founded the #UUWhiteSupremacyTeachIn.  Chris has the faith and support of her husband, Chris, and twin sons, Andreas and Miguel, who, along with her ancestors, form the support base for her calling to UU ministry.

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March 25th: “What Would Jesus Do? (Whip Some Merchants and Flip Their Tables?)”

Palm Sunday is a popular anticipation of Easter in most Christian churches, but less well known is that, after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem for Passover, Jesus went to the Temple and cast out the merchants and the money-changers who had set up shop there.  In disagreement with the other gospels, John has this cleansing take place at a previous Passover, describing Jesus getting very physical in his zeal to expel those who had turned G-d’s house into a marketplace.

Special music will be provided by the ChorUUs!

Special Service!
5pm on Saturday March 31st: a Passover Seder

This multi-sensory liturgy dates back thousands of years and is celebrated annually by millions of Jews and people of other faiths.  The modern seder allows us to bring its meaning alive in terms of contemporary themes, while continuing to revisit the ancient story of liberation and hope.

Since the seder combines worship with a potluck meal, please sign up at: http://bit.ly/UUFPS18

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