Events & News

The Pastoral Care Team is committed to engaging proactively with our fellow congregants at AUUC  to provide care for one another. We do this with trust, empathy, confidentiality, and vulnerability. Please feel free to contact any member of the team if you need to talk to someone. We can help connect you to support resources in the congregation and wider community. The Pastoral Care Team members are: Connie D, Ken H, Mark R, Ann S, and Amy T. Our contact email is [email protected]g.  

Conversation about Critical Race Theory

Please join the Racial Justice Committee for a conversation about Critical Race Theory, this Sunday, September 26, during coffee hour (after worship.) Discuss:

– The origins of CRT

– The reasons some states are banning the teaching of CRT

– The systemic nature of racism 

Garden News

Big things are happening in our gardens this fall! 

Sunday, we replaced some old, high maintenance plants with native Virginia shrubs that will support our local ecosystem.  This could not have happened without a lot of planting help from several Accotinker volunteers.  

We’ve just dug up and replanted spring bulbs on one of our garden terraces.  That area will again be a spectacular swath of color in the spring.

We are starting a new renovation around a dogwood tree near the lower parking lot.  You may notice we’ve torn out an assortment of invasive vines and broadleaf weeds from there.  By next fall we should have new, native plantings to welcome visitors as they come from the parking lot to the lower entrance of the church.

We have been eradicating huge amounts of Japanese stilt grass from our sidewalk garden to give our native boneset, bee balm, Joe Pye weed, and New York Ironweed more room to house and feed native polinators.

If you’d like to join us in some of the garden fellowship / chores and get to know the native wildlife that we nurture at Accotink, please contact JoAnn F or [email protected].  You can work as little or as much as you like, it’s all helpful.

Meal Packs for Halley ES Children – Sign Up Now (More spots open!)

Thanks to our No Child Goes Hungry/Accotink Program, 112 meal packs assembled by AUUC families were delivered to Halley Elementary School before Labor Day to start off the new school year. School counselors distribute our meal packs to 35 children every Friday. To keep our meal pack program going through September and throughout the whole school year, we need your help.

We invite AUUC members, friends, and families to participate in this all-ages spiritual opportunity to support children in our partner school whose families experience food insecurities. Almost half Halley’s students (44.6%) receive free or reduced lunch, so there is a real need for our meal packs that provide nutritious snacks over the weekends.  

You and your family can help by signing up to assemble and donate one or more meal packs, each filled with all 10 of the specific food items needed and zipped inside a gallon-size ziplock bag with a slider. To sign up, please visit this SignUp Genius link:    SIGN UP HERE

Select which week and “no-later-than” date you’d like to drop off your meal packs, and then sign up for the number you’d like to provide. 

The last step is to drop off your completed meal packs at the home of one of our NCGH coordinators. After you sign-up, you will get a confirmation message with addresses of the designated drop-off locations. There will be a secure bin (black with a yellow cover) outside the homes for you to leave your meal packs. 

The SignUp Genius link includes complete descriptions of each of the 10 specific food items needed for each meal pack. Photos and descriptions are also posted on AUUC’s website Meal Pack Food Items List. Here is a handy Meal Pack Shopping List NCGH/Accotink you can carry to the grocery store. 

2021 Service Auction “A New Chapter”: Donation Site Open!

Make your donations now: www.auctria.com/auction/AUUC2021   

Need ideas for your auction donation? Well, here are a few…

• Luncheons/Dinners – in your home, delivered, or in restaurants

• Wine Tastings – in person or virtual

• Beer Tastings – in person or virtual

• Special Family-friendly on-line events – for ideas see “Airbnb online experiences”

• Games – Family-friendly or adult-only

• Services – Rides to the airport, baby sitting, pet sitting, dog walking, grocery shopping, lawn care, yard work.  The possibilities are endless!

• Hand-made goodies to eat, to wear, or for the house.  

We love it all and they all make our Auction great!  Donate now and donate often!

Starting Points

Are you looking to get acquainted or re-acquainted with Unitarian Universalism and/or AUUC? Both newcomers and established members of the church are invited to our “Starting Points” small group. We meet over Zoom for four sessions every other Thursday at 7:30 PM. Our next session will start on September 30. Register: https://tinyurl.com/AUUCStartingPoints. For more information, contact John L or [email protected]

Tuesday Theology Talks: Branching Out From Our Roots

Designed for parents & caregivers but open to ALL. Come learn how to regain your religious past, build your own theology, and explain your beliefs with others. Virtually on the 2nd Tuesday of each Month starting Oct. 12 at 8pm.

This October we will discuss the 1st of 4 sessions from “Owning Your Religious Past” by Bonnie (Stauffacher) Withers. We begin by examining the positive aspects of our past religious connections. Pre Registration is encouraged but walk-ins are welcome. It would be useful to bring a journal to write down your thoughts.

“We are the meaning makers. We are co-creators of meanings, values, convictions.” –Building Your Own Theology, by Richard S. Gilbert

Help Wanted: AUUC is Seeking Bookkeeper Staff

The church has recently established a new division of duties in line with financial best practices and is seeking a Bookkeeper to carry out designated financial tasks and to collaborate with two church volunteers responsible for other financial matters. Please see the position description here. We are open to sharing this position with other churches; please see our posting on the UUA Congregational Collaboration Board.

AUUC’s 1st Annual Halloween Trunk or Treat

Save the Date: October 31st at 11:30 am 

A Halloween celebration for the whole family!

You might be wondering, “What is trunk-or-treating? During trunk-or-treat events, adults, families and children decorate the back of their cars for Halloween. Put on your spooky or silly costume, load up on candy or small toys, and join us in the AUUC parking lot for an afternoon of safe family fun and fellowship. Kids dressed in costumes will “trick or treat” from car-to-car. Adults can come together in fellowship while the trick-or-treaters make their rounds. Dress your car up as simple or elaborate as you like. 

Please arrive early to decorate your car. Trick-or-treating will begin at 1pm so cars should be decorated BEFORE this time. Don’t forget to bring your change for trick-or-treat for UNICEF. Contact Ali Mills at [email protected] or Olivia Tuggle at [email protected] with any questions. 

When:   Sunday, October 31

Time:    Trunk Or Treating between 1:00-2:30pm  (set-up starts at 11:30am)

Where:  Accotink UU Parking Lot

*** We plan to follow the safety guidelines put forth by the AUUC re-entry task force. Details will be communicated as we get closer to the event.***

September Outreach: VOICE

Founded in 2008, VOICE (www.voice-iaf.org) is a non-partisan coalition of almost 50 faith communities and civic organizations in Northern Virginia working together to build power in middle and low-income communities. AUUC has been a member of VOICE since 2011.

VOICE unites people across lines of race, class, religion, political party and geography to take action on key issues in our community. VOICE has deepened our relationships with interfaith communities across the region. VOICE, with the support of many of our congregants,  asked Gov. Northam to allocate $47 million in his budget to build Crisis Receiving Centers (CRCs) across the state so that people with mental illness and addictions can receive humane treatment and support instead of jail.  There is $30 million in the Governor’s budget for CRCs and mental health mobile crisis teams over two years.

Efforts are ongoing and VOICE is planning a large outdoor action on Oct. 3 at 3:45 p.m. The event will be held at Dar Alnoor Islamic Community Center in Manassas.  Please support VOICE with your funds and action.  If you plan to attend please contact Dotty S or [email protected]

VOICE Senior Organizer, James Pearlstein, will speak on Sept. 12 at our 10:00 service.

Donations may be made online through the AUUC website anytime during the month; click Donate, then check “Monthly Outreach Offerings.” Or you may mail a check to AUUC; make checks payable to AUUC with a note ‘outreach’ in memo line. Outreach collections are sponsored by the Social Justice Committee.

Welcome to AUUC

The Greeters Team would like to reach out to welcome you and to provide more information on AUUC.  Please provide your contact information to [email protected]. We look forward to connecting with you!

Stay Connected

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