Press
Editor's note: UUCC member Carol Zika was featured in the May 2010 edition of WOMAN TO WOMAN magazine. The same article quoted UUCC friend Betty Myers.
Amazing Gracefulness
Story by Dan Collins
Photo by Doug Kapustin
Carol Zika clearly loves to produce art. "Give me a brush and then try to get it away from me," she says.
And if not a paintbrush, perhaps stained glass, sculpture, murals, computer graphics, even theater sets. Zika has tried it all, even silversmithing.
"I have experience with all of these, but teaching is my medium. I want to help people who are interested to 'get it.' I am rewarded by hearing, 'I see it now!' and other 'A-ha!' moments," she says.
Teaching a variety of classes including portraiture, ceramics and all manner of painting and drawing, Zika demonstrates "ways to decorate the page: splatter, splash, swipe, rub, sprinkle salt on paint, distress the paper, burn the edges, make our own stamps, stitch on it, crumple it, weave on it, make a collage," she says. But really, she's prospecting, panning for gold of a different type.
"I tap creativity," she says. "There's a standing joke that I give an assignment and nobody follows the directions, and the results are far more wonderful than I originally imagined."
Liz Henzey, director of the Columbia Art Center for nearly 16 years, agrees.
"Carol's very attuned to people, cultures and new trends, and it is a passion of hers to unleash creativity in people. She can tap into all ages and navigate you to find your creative side," Henzey says.
"A lot of people get scared away from doing art as young people, when you're told, 'Leaves on trees aren't purple!' " says Betty Myers, 61, of Oakland Mills, an artist and colleague of Zika's who teaches at Johns Hopkins University. "Carol has an amazing gracefulness that brings you in and allows you to expand your artistic talents, whether you're learning as a young or a more mature person."
Self-employed since 1991 after a 23-year career in public school and university-level teaching ("Now I don't work anywhere where I have to give grades anymore," she jokes), Zika encourages students to "find the balance" between writing and drawing in her extremely popular Artful Journaling class at the Columbia Art Center.
Sara Jones, 66, of Scaggsville, has been taking Zika's class since the fall of 2007.
"There's a group of 15 or 16 of us who have really bonded as a group with Carol. We all keep signing up, and the last two sessions there have been no openings because nobody drops out," Jones says.
"I think Carol has managed to create an accepting atmosphere, where whatever you do is right; there is no wrong way to do decorating," Jones continues. "I was in management for 30 years, so the only thing I created was budget reports. Now I'm working with crayons and paints."
Zika, 63, notes that many of her students come to her "directly from retirement. They feel burned out, but that it's 'my turn' now, and they want to explore something about themselves. I don't teach writing, but I give them topics to journal about.
"For example, we did a project on civility," Zika continues. "I remember one person wrote about e-mail and cell-phone etiquette in the language of George Washington having found online Washington's own rules of civility."
Other topics have included "living green," writing a graduation speech, a project based on Peter, Paul and Mary's "If I Had a Hammer," the works of Jackson Pollock, and even "The History of My Hair."
Believing she didn't have any art talent at all, Jones says she signed up for Zika's Artful Journaling class in hopes of improving her writing skills.
"I traveled for years and always kept a journal of my trips, but it was boring: 'I left today and the plane ride was fine, blah blah blah.' I thought if I learned to write better, it would be more interesting for my children to read.
"When we are in class, a subject will come up and we'll write about it, but rather than in a story form, perhaps as poetry or silly songs. She encourages your mind to open in different ways — all the barriers are gone," Jones says.
Breaking down barriers is the essence of Zika's Right Brain Drawing class, which is based on Dr. Betty Edwards' book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain."
"Most people are left-brain dominant: The left side controls logic, language and analytical thinking. The right brain is our intuitive side. We have to learn ways to open it and get it to work with our perceptual side. It's a chore, it's a mental discipline because you have to find ways to quiet your left brain," says Zika.
"The course teaches people to see deeply and clearly. One exercise I like is called 'blind contour drawing.' You can't look at your paper, only at your subject, drawing in one continuous line. Your eye traces along the edges and sends signals to your hand to draw. One of my quotes I always give is, 'What I have not drawn I have not truly seen,' " Zika says.
Sherry Pollack, 60, of Orchard Hill, who has taken Zika's courses for more than three years, enjoys the variety Zika's classes offer. "We might do watercolor, charcoal, pencil, cut and paste, collage. You get a wide range of artistic techniques that you can delve in as deeply or as shallow as you want," she says.
"In Artful Journaling, it's looser. There aren't supposed to be any real rules. Carol's pretty forthright. She is looking with a very practiced eye – almost like a computer running through her artistic brain – and then she gives the points she thinks are important to make," Pollack explains.
For colleague Carol Myers, it's Zika's ability "to help you correct things that could be better without making you feel small" that makes her stand out as an art instructor.
"She engages you, guides you," Myers says. "She teaches you from where you are, rather than from some perfect artist's notion of where you should be."
Editor's note: John Baniszewski, a licensed Gettysburg tour guide, UUCC member, and project engineer with NASA, was featured in an article that appeared in Defense AT&L Magazine, a publication of the Defense Acquisition University.
Learning Program Management on the Battlefield at Gettysburg
By Owen Gadeken
What's the best way to learn key program management concepts and skills? The Defense Acquisition University, like many institutions, employs both online and classroom instruction. There is also something to be said for experience as the best teacher, but that experience does not have to come from traditional acquisition programs.
In a recent Program Management Office Course (PMT-352B), the learning-from-experience concept was applied in a class field trip to the Gettysburg Civil War Battlefield. Using the Project Management Institute (PMI) definition of a project as "a temporary undertaking which produces a unique product or service," the Battle of Gettysburg can be considered a project—or to be more precise, two projects: the Union (Army of the Potomac) project and the Confederate (Army of Northern Virginia) project.
UUCC Member is Renowned Baseball Authority
By Frank Hazzard
Who knew UUCC's Skip McAfee was an international authority on myriad things Baseball? Last year, W.W. Norton published the 3rd edition of The Dickson Baseball Dictionary, which McAfee edited and augmented, and The Wall Street Journal selected as among the "five best baseball books" ever published.
Paul Dickson authored the first two editions, but Skip did the majority of the work for the 3rd edition. "It was a 10-year effort, resulting in a 974-page tome with 10,687 entries," said McAfee. "It weighs 4.2 pounds—makes a good doorstop!"
The book covers all aspects of baseball, from its origins in Europe to the slang used on the field; from business terminology to signs and signals; from statistical theories to Spanish equivalents; and from broadcasters' lingo to rule book definitions. The book is authoritative, giving sources and citations for terms, including their earliest usages and extended uses in non-baseball vernacular.
The dictionary was favorably reviewed by Andy Rooney of 60 Minutes, Bill Safire in The New York Times, Rachel Madow on MSNBC, David Broder and Mark Shields in their syndicated columns, and reporters for The Nation and The Christian Science Monitor. The book was chosen "best reference resource" for 2010 by the New York Public Library.
Editor's note: UUCC member John Baniszewski authored an article that was published in NASA's Ask Magazine, which serves to help program/project managers and engineers share expertise and lessons learned with fellow practitioners across the Agency.
The Project Manager Who Saved His Country
By John Baniszewski
George graduated with a degree from one of the finest engineering colleges in America and immediately went to work for the government. For several years, he worked staff jobs. His career took off when his organization put him to work on projects.
The projects George worked on were for state-of-the-art communication systems, which had to operate dependably in harsh environments. The primary payloads for these projects were expensive and complex optical systems that had to be integrated with support structures that provided for energy, command, and control. The success of these projects sometimes depended upon unproven manufacturing processes. When the manager of his first project unexpectedly died, George succeeded him and completed the project on time and within budget, meeting all technical requirements. George's bosses recognized his talents. During the next decade, he managed another nine similar projects, consistently meeting his technical, schedule, and budget goals.
Unitarian fellowship connects solar power to grid
Staff WriterAmes Tribune
Published: Tuesday, August 24, 2010 10:29 AM CDT
An Ames [Iowa] congregation is guiding the community in a green way.
Ten 210-watt solar panels installed last week at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames, 1015 N. Hyland Ave., are the first to be connected to the Ames Electrical Services power grid.
"We hope by leading the way and breaking the ground that now many other people will be able to do it much more easily now that all the restrictions and agreements have been developed by the city," said Janet McKee, 63, a member of the congregation's Green Sanctuary Committee.
The fellowship worked with Ames city officials for more than three years to develop the electrical interconnection and zoning regulations to permit solar panel installations within the city, McKee said.
UUCC Member-Author Wins 2nd National Book Award
By Frank Hazzard
The Chesapeake Watershed: A sense of place and a call to action, written by UUCC member, Ned Tillman, was recently selected as the 2010 winner of the Excellence in Journalism Award by the Renewable Natural Resource Foundation (RNRF) of Bethesda, Maryland.
"I am glad so many readers are enjoying the book. I wanted to inspire others to take the time to get outside and re-establish a love for the outdoors. We tend to take care of the places we love. It's up to each and every one of us to get involved today and take care of this area for our own health and the health of future generations," said Tillman.
A first printing sold out quickly and the book is now in its second printing.
According to RNRF's website, the "Excellence in Journalism Award, established in 2001, honors and encourages excellence in print journalism about natural resources."
RNRF seeks to advance public education and understanding of important natural resource issues through the dissemination of accurate and scientifically-based information about the environment.
Written for the layman, the Tillman's book promotes the importance of individual action in restoring our environment by using stories from the Chesapeake Bay as a metaphor for all watersheds. It weaves together vignettes of the natural wonders found in our own backyards with science-based discussions of natural processes and helps develop a greater sense of place as a basis for encouraging the reader to become a better steward of the land and all our natural resources.
Ned Tillman has devoted chapters to the Bay, rivers, wetlands, forests, fisheries, birds, and mammals, and describes the impacts of farms, backyards, and developed parts of the watershed. All are tied together by the rain that falls on parts of six states, draining the residue of society into what was once one of the most productive estuaries in the world.
The book analyzes successes and failures, and stresses how many species have been lost or are in collapse today.
Earlier in the year, Ned's book was selected as the 2010 winner of the Best Book on Environmental and Natural Resources selected by The American Society for Public Administration.
The RNRF award will be presented at an annual meeting of the organization's board of directors on November 3, 2010, in Potomac, Maryland.
Ned is the Chair of the Howard County Sustainability Board, past chair of the Howard County Conservancy, and a Sustainability Advisor to local businesses, colleges, and non-profit organizations. His firm, Growth Adventures, LLC helps these organizations assess opportunities, and develop plans for embedding good sustainability practices into everything they do. He is currently on a book tour presenting motivational talks and key-note addresses. For further information, visit www.TheChesapeakeWatershed.com or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
The Arizona Boycott's Effect on Meetings
By Cheryl-Anne Sturken
www.meetings-conventions.com
July 1, 2010
On April 23 this year, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed into law a controversial immigration measure, Senate Bill 1070, setting off a firestorm of national and international criticism, strident political sparring, and a call by civil rights leaders to boycott meetings and conventions in the state. Seemingly overnight, Arizona became, for many, a national symbol of racial intolerance. In the first two weeks following the bill's enactment, the fallout in cities such as Phoenix, Scottsdale and Tucson was immediate and harsh, as some 23 groups quickly relocated upcoming meetings to neighboring states or wiped scheduled future events from their calendars, costing those destinations millions of dollars in potential delegate spend. Read full story
Group Goes Door-to-Door to Discuss Health Care
Watch this great news clip about the PATH (People Acting Together in Howard) Doorknocking Campaign, in which UUCC is participating! Click here to watch
Grass-roots group mobilizes for Healthy Howard
Organization also wants lower bank interest on borrowing
By Larry Carson, The Baltimore Sun
April 30, 2010
A grass-roots, faith-based Howard County coalition is mobilizing supporters for a door-knocking campaign to find more people who are eligible for health care under the county's Healthy Howard plan.
The group, called People Acting Together in Howard, or PATH, has also won a promise from County Executive Ken Ulman to push for lower-interest borrowing rates for consumers by moving public monies out of banks that charge high rates.
Maryland's ceiling for credit card interest is 24 percent, Ulman said, but the group said banks often raise interest to 30 percent, even on people who have never been late with a payment. PATH is aiming for a 10 percent maximum rate in a campaign called "10 percent is enough." The non-partisan group, made up of 16 congregations, is an affiliate of the Industrial Areas Foundation, the nation's oldest community organizing group founded by the late Saul Alinsky, and has been operating in the county for several years.
About 150 members from a series of county churches, the Dar-al Taqua Mosque in Ellicott City, and several mobile home park residents met Wednesday night at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Highland to sing and push their agenda. Ulman attended, along with Del. Elizabeth Bobo, who is chairwoman of the Howard delegation to the House of Delegates, and county health officer Dr. Peter Beilenson. Del. Guy Guzzone also attended.
"It's not right that anyone does not have health care," said the Rev. Carletta Allen of Locust United Methodist Church in Simpsonville. "We can help with that. We can knock on doors."
Guy Moody of St. John United Methodist Presbyterian Church in Columbia said Beilenson helped arrange a $50,000 Annie E. Casey Foundation grant. The money is paying for the door-knocking campaign, including coordinator Jessica Jones, who is working toward a goal of knocking on 4,000 doors by Labor Day to find more people who may be eligible for Healthy Howard, but who don't know about the program.
Healthy Howard is not insurance, but offers comprehensive health care at low monthly rates, plus preventive care through the use of health coaches to county residents earning too much money for Medicaid but not enough to afford commercial insurance. Beilenson has said many people eligible for help work two or three jobs and don't read newspapers. They don't know about the program despite publicity, which is where PATH's volunteers come in.
"I want to thank you, thank you, thank you, for reaching out to our neighbors to tell them about Healthy Howard," Ulman said.
Moody said a group of 39 volunteers went door knocking in Wilde Lake on one Saturday in April, and found 47 eligible people. "There's no substitute for meeting people face to face," he said. Ken Crandell of the Universalist Unitarian Congregation in Columbia said the group knocked on 1,000 doors and spoke to 245 people that day. "Everyone was very friendly," he said.
Beilenson told the group that "your door-knockings are absolutely imperative and crucial to keep the program going." Enrollment in Healthy Howard has been much slower than was expected before the program began in October 2008, though an unusual electronic application system has turned up more than 3,000 people who qualified for existing insurance programs for those with limited income.
"We serve as a portal for the uninsured who don't know where to turn," he said.
Trish Vogel, a divorced day care worker, told the group she used that portal after struggling with health care costs for a decade. "The beauty of Health Howard is they are telling me it's OK to stop and take care of myself," she said.
Father Gerry Bowen of St. Augustine's Roman Catholic Church in Elkridge said helping to connect to people face to face to offer them the chance for health care is "authentic to who we are."
Each church group and residents of Deep Run Mobile Home Park then pledged to bring volunteers for more door-knocking throughout the county through the spring and summer.
Mobile home residents are involved because PATH helped organize support for a law that was approved by the General Assembly this year after three years of effort, which would offer some protection for residents living in parks that close for redevelopment.
The bill allows residents to keep 10 months of rent payments on the land their homes occupy to use for moving costs in any park with 39 homes or more. Many mobile homes are too old to move and residents often have little savings. Current law requires one year's notice of closing, but no payment of moving expenses. Path's support for the bill was important, Bobo told the group.
"They showed up, and showed up, and showed up," she said.
The consumer interest issue is the newest IAF cause. The group feels it is unfair and immoral for banks to offer savings depositors less than 1 percent interest, while constantly increasing interest charges on credit card borrowers to 30 percent or more.
PATH wants Ulman to remove county taxpayers' dollars from banks that won't at least stay under Maryland's legal limit for interest, Ulman said he will cooperate, and said the county coincidentally is in the process of rebidding for banking services and should be issuing a request for proposals very soon.
Copyright © 2010, The Baltimore Sun
UUCC Member to be Interviewed on NPR Affiliate
By Frank Hazzard
April 26, 2010
UUCC member Glennor Shirley will be interviewed by radio personality Dan Rodricks on Tuesday, April 27, from 1-2 PM. Rodricks hosts the Midday Show on Baltimore’s National Public Radio (NPR) affiliate, WYPR, 88.1 FM. He intends to ask Glennor about her career as a prison librarian and her efforts to bring books, reading, information and knowledge to those behind bars.
In her job as the Library Coordinator for the Maryland State Department of Education, Correctional Education Libraries, Glennor has created innovative programs, now used nationwide, to help inmates and at-risk youths use the internet.
According to WYPR’s website, Midday is WYPR's daily public affairs program airing from noon to 2 PM, Monday through Thursday. Hosted by longtime Baltimore Sun columnist Dan Rodricks, the program covers a wide range of topics selected to engage, inform, and entertain the listening audience.
Click here to listen to the program.
UUCC members Pam and Guy Guzzone recently received the Greenfield Compassionate Leadership Award from the Arc of Howard County. Click here to read more.
UUCC member Ned Tillman was the subject of a recent The Baltimore Sun article on going green.
The green life
Howard Neighbors
By Janene Holzberg
Special to The
April 11, 2010
The Chesapeake Watershed has a split personality.
The book draws readers close with charming snapshots of life on the bay, like a father and son going crabbing in its shallow waters with basket-stuffed inner tubes tied to their swimsuits to hold the day's catch.
But it also shakes off its nostalgic mood and grabs readers with astonishing facts that serve as a warning, such as this startling tidbit: Nearby Norfolk, Va., is second only to hurricane-battered
The 2009 paperback's subtitle, "A Sense of Place and a Call to Action," explains Ned Tillman's two-pronged writing approach, as well as his overlapping perspectives as a lifelong nature lover and an environmental scientist.
And nowadays, the interests of the
Tillman is first up on the schedule Saturday at Howard County GreenFest, where he will give an 11 a.m. talk about his book at the daylong event at
Technology and the Religious Congregation
By Kojo Nnamdi, WAMU, 88.5 FM
March 23, 2010
Radio personality Kojo Nnamdi, of District of Columbia National Public Radio affiliate, WAMU, aired a segment titled Technology and the Religious Congregation on March 23. Much of what he discussed focused on ways that faith communities are adapting to the digital age. Guests included Martin Davis, Director, The Alban Institute; Dudley Rose, Associate Dean for Ministry Studies, Harvard Divinity School; and Anthony Evans, President of the National Black Church Initiative. Listen to a podcast.
UUCC member Glennor Shirley was the subject of a recent The Baltimore Sun article.
For prisoners, the library as lifeline
By Dan Rodricks
The Baltimore Sun
February 7, 2010
A couple of weeks ago, Glennor Shirley, Maryland's prison librarian, visited the Jessup Correctional Institution. In the eyes of many, and certainly in the red eyes of the state budget masters, prison libraries are not perceived as essential to the commonweal. Funds are more limited than ever, and the most recent budget snips ended evening hours in all prison libraries.
"I am still trying to figure how to manage," Ms. Shirley wrote Jan. 27 in a blog, Prison Librarian, that she maintains. Read the full story . . .
Unitarian Universalist Association President Rev. Peter Morales to Visit UUCC
February 1, 2010
by Frank Hazzard
The recently-elected president of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA), Rev. Peter Morales, will be preaching at the 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday morning services on February 7th at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia (UUCC) in the Owen Brown Interfaith Center at 7246 Cradlerock Way. The theme of his sermon will be “Religion Beyond Belief.”
“We are honored and thrilled to have Rev. Morales as our guest,” said UUCC Minister Rev. Paige Getty. “I love his vision that Unitarian Universalism is the religion of our time.”
The Rev. Morales, 62, was elected in June 2009 to a four-year term as president of the UUA, the coordinating body for more than 1,000 member congregations throughout North America. He also acts as principal spokesperson and minister-at-large for the UUA.
Morales, the first Latino president of the UUA, was elected on a platform of growth and multiculturalism. Public witness is central to Morales’s presidency; he is especially passionate about immigration reform and environmental justice.
“I am encouraging visitors to arrive early for our worship services with Rev. Morales,” said Getty. “I’m sure we’ll be at capacity.”
Prior to his election, Morales served as the senior minister at Jefferson Unitarian Church in Golden, Colorado, one the UUA’s largest and fastest growing congregations. Before entering the ministry, Morales was a Fulbright lecturer in Spain, a newspaper editor and publisher in Oregon, a Knight International Press Fellow in Peru, and a regional manager in California state government.
For More Information Contact:
Maureen Harris, Executive Director
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia
(410) 381-0097
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Sabbatical Minister Change
January 3, 2010
by the Rev. Paige Getty and Maureen Harris, UUCC Executive Team
Unfortunately, the Rev. Louise Green cannot fulfill the duties of sabbatical minister due to a serious illness. She is heartbroken to have to resign from her commitment to UUCC, as she was very, very excited about working with us.
With the support of the Sabbatical Committee and the Board of Trustees, we have hired the Rev. Bill Murry as sabbatical minister. Bill is Minister Emeritus of River Road UU Congregation as well as past president of Meadville Lombard Theological School. He is now retired and lives in Annapolis. He serves on the Board of Directors of the UU Legislative Ministry of Maryland as Treasurer.
From February 1 through the end of June, Bill will fulfill most of the primary and routine duties that Louise had agreed to perform - two services per month, availability for serious pastoral needs and consultations with staff and committees, etc (including a few meetings in January).
Louise is still very interested in helping with the congregational development project, and we feel that UUCC could greatly benefit from her participation. She expects to be well enough by then to attend the February 20 workshop (to be conducted by Becky Reese and other volunteers) and to lead a workshop planned for March 13. She also would like to attend the Searching for the Future events and do a wrap-up she has planned for late May or early June. We should know better by the end of January whether she will be able to fulfill these commitments.
In the meantime, we are excited about the wisdom and experience that Bill will bring to UUCC. We are confident that we will all benefit from his leadership and support during the sabbatical.
"Taking Our Message Out to the Burbs" 
Baltimore OUTLoud
December 18, 2009
The Mall in Columbia has been displaying an ad promoting PFLAG, with the message
"Someone You Love Is Gay."
The Howard County PFLAG chapter is a longtime resident at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center. Click on the article's title above to read more.
DC’s Gay Marriage Bill Signed into Law at a Unitarian Universalist Church
December 18, 2009
Rev. Louise Green Named UUCC Sabbatical Minister
December 6, 2009
by the Rev. Paige Getty and Frank Hazzard
Following the recommendation of the UUCC’s Sabbatical Committee with concurrence by its Executive Team, the congregation’s Board of Trustees today announced it has hired the Rev. Louise Green to serve as its 1/4-time sabbatical minister from February through June 2010. Rev. Green currently serves as the Minister of Social Justice at All Souls Church in DC, and will continue serving in that position (3/4-time) during the sabbatical period. In addition to being an ordained minister and working in parish and community settings, Louise has worked as an IAF lead organizer.
“You'll begin seeing Louise occasionally in January, and she'll be your minister,” explained Rev. Getty. “We've decided that UUCC will be fully lay-led for the month of July, since that's the usual routine; I will return August 1,” she added.
During her time at UUCC, Rev. Green plans to participate in UUCC’s congregational development project. “She is enthusiastic about the possibilities for growth and transformation within UUCC and she brings creativity and skills to contribute to that effort,” said Getty.
In addition to participating actively in the congregational development project, Green plans to be present for worship services two Sundays each month, although she won't necessarily preach each time; be available to attend occasional meetings with staff, committees and councils; and be available remotely for significant pastoral needs and other consultation.
For more details about the sabbatical, click here.
Good without God
December 4, 2009
Rev. David Carl Olson
The Baltimore Coalition of Reason has received significant press recently because of its "Good without God" billboard campaign, which was launched on December 1 and based on a book by the same title written by Greg M. Epstein, a Humanist Chaplain of Harvard University.
Epstein will speak at The First Unitarian Church of Baltimore this Sunday, December 6, 2009, at 4 pm, about his book Good Without God. In the book, Epstein makes a bold claim for what nonbelievers do share and believe. He offers a world view for nonbelievers that dispenses with the hostility and intolerance of religion prevalent in national bestsellers like God is Not Great and The God Delusion. In stead, Good Without God provides a constructive, challenging response to these manifestos by getting to the heart of Humanism and its positive belief in tolerance, community, morality, and good without having to rely on the guidance of a higher being.
Location: 1 W. Franklin Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. At 3 pm, prior to the talk, there will be a reception and book signing in Enoch Pratt Parish Hall.
For more information, read this Baltimore Sun article
Best Clergyperson in Howard County goes to UUCC’s Paige Getty
November 19, 2009
by Frank Hazzard
Reverend Paige Getty of UUCC was named the best clergyperson of Howard County in the December 2009 edition of Howard Magazine, published today. Paige was picked by the magazine’s readers as part of an annual “Best of Howard” poll.
“I am flattered and touched to receive this recognition,” said Reverend Getty after hearing about the award. “It helps me remember some very important things about ministry... that no person is a good minister in isolation—rather, ministry happens in relationship; the relationships we share within UUCC are at the heart of our "best;” and I'm delighted to serve a congregation that cares enough to vote in this and other elections!” she added.
Voting began on August 10, 2009, when ballots containing more than 50 categories including “best caterer,” “best place to buy books,” “best police officer” and “best yoga center” were distributed to readers. “Honorable mention” in the “best clergyperson” category went to Rev. Richard H. Tillman, St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church; Cantor Jan Morrison, Columbia Jewish Congregation; Rev. Dr. Lisa Bandel-Sparks, Lisbon United Methodist Church; and Rev. Matthew Buening, St. Paul’s Catholic Church.
Howard Magazine is published bimonthly by The Baltimore Sun Media Group, parent company of the Columbia Flier, Howard County Times, Laurel Leader and other Howard County-base community newspapers.
YRUU Receives Award
October 25, 2009
John Harris and Frank Hazzard
UUCC’s Young Religious Unitarian Universalists (YRUU) class received the UUSJ Youth Award for Social Justice at the annual Unitarian Universalist Social Justice (UUSJ) Gala held today in Bethesda. Accepting the award on behalf of the class were Dana Sohr, Alex Sohr, Alexa Clay and Ryan Fitzpatrick. Also attending from UUCC to cheer them on were Therese Sohr, John Clay, Bob and Jennie Fitzpatrick and John Harris (UUJS Board member).
According to a statement posted on the UUSJ website, UUCC’s youth were “recognized for their service work both within and far beyond their community, their efforts to institutionalize youth social action trips in their congregation [and] the lasting impact on those they have aided in New Orleans, Appalachia, and New York City as well as the congregation itself and its local community.”
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice of the Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia region is a partnership of 22 member congregations and other organizations and individuals deeply committed to the religious principles of human dignity, justice and compassion for all people that helps UU activists carryout their social and economic justice agendas.
Health care, loan rates on activist group's agenda
Read about PATH (People Acting Together in Howard), an IAF (Industrial Areas Foundation)-affliate that UUCC supports.
Spring Poems: Selected Poems
by Lary Lewman
Lary Lewman wrote the poems in this collection over the last 50 years. He came to Maryland from his native Indiana in 1959 and is now a retired voiceover announcer. For five years in the early 80’s, he performed classic poetry on the streets of Baltimore as “Poetryman."
Raising Good Kids in Tough Times
by Roger McIntire
In his book Raising Good Kids in Tough Times, Roger McIntire, longtime UUCC member, father of three, professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Maryland and award-winning columnist, details the seven crucial habits that help parents raise good kids, maintain a loving relationship, and counter the dangerous examples, attitudes and temptations children face in today's world. Practical guidelines are illustrated with over 200 examples and more than 60 parent-child dialogues. This book covers the basics from toilet training, sleeping habits, and listening skills to sibling rivalry, sex, drugs, and social skills. It also addresses single-parent problems and strategies and parent activism in the school and community. Dr. McIntire also blogs on parenting topics on his website, www.parentsuccess.com.
The Chesapeake Watershed: A Sense of Place and a Call to Action
by longtime UUCC member Ned Tillman 
Extensive and fragile, the Chesapeake Bay watershed is one of the fastest growing and most endangered regions in the country. Here accomplished environmental scientist and lifelong outdoorsman Ned Tillman issues his own call for a general public awakening. Combining literary skills with informed science and a love for the environment, he explains how the Chesapeake watershed formed, what it has given us, and what it can continue to provide if we will only take action. He also provides an extensive list of practical things each of us can do which, taken in serious numbers, can preserve and restore this national treasure.
August 23, 2010
