Announcements

Saturday, May 19SCUU Youth Group Offers Babysitting During Coffeehouse

The SCUU Youth Group will provide babysitting during the Coffeehouse performance on May 19th.  They will be watching children in the lower level of the house from 7-10pm.   There will be adult supervision present as well.

If you have always wanted to attend a Coffeehouse performance, but haven't because you couldn't find a babysitter this is your chance!  Donations are greatly appreciated.

Saturday, May 19Greg Greenway at Sugarloaf Coffeehouse
Sugarloaf Coffeehouse

Please join Sugarloaf Coffeehouse as we present Boston singer/songwriter Greg Greenway. A favorite of UU coffeehouses and SUUSI, Greg sings about humanity and justice.

 

Suggested donation: $15.

 

For More info visit Sugarloaf Coffeehouse

Sunday, May 20Service: Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?
Rev. Megan Foley

Based on an article in The Atlantic magazine, this service takes a look at the explosive growth of Facebook and what it means for our interpersonal interactions.  How is Facebook affecting the quality of our relationships?  Is Facebook to blame for the recent American trend toward social isolation, or is it merely an indicator? Featuring Greg Greenway, featured musician from May's Coffeehouse.

Sunday, Jun 3Service: Generations Up!
Vic Caldarola

Every generation has its particular identities, idols, hopes and dreams. What identifies the generation coming of age today? What challenges do they face? What are their hopes and dreams for a fulfilling life? How will they cope with life so dramatically changed by technology, science and religious radicalism? What kind of world will the prior generation leave for them? Come and hear what our young people have to say about their future, and come prepared to offer your blessings.

Sunday, Jun 10Service: “I Probably Don’t Believe in That God, Either.”
Rev. Megan Foley

The Reverend Forrest Church used to comment that people were always coming up to him to explain that they didn’t believe in God.  And his response was, “Tell me about the God you don’t believe in.  I probably don’t believe in that God either.”  What are UUs saying when they say they are atheists?  Is ‘atheist’ the right word for that particular UU belief system?  Come and explore your atheism this Sunday.

Sunday, Jun 17Service: Fathering All of Our Maryland Kids
Rev. Megan Foley

 

In 2011, the Maryland General Assembly passed the Dream Act, which enables Maryland youth who may be undocumented to attend community and state colleges at in-state tuition prices.  The law is being brought to a referendum this November.  Will Unitarian Universalists stand together on behalf of our young neighbors, who are looking for a chance to better themselves?  Come and find out what you can do to help, and why you should.

Services every Sunday at 10:30am.
About Megan, our Minister.

A Recent Sermon

Sun, 05/06/2012
A Better Set of Authorities and Institutions
Rev. Megan Foley
This video we’ve just seen by Jeff Bethke[1] has a lot of interesting points to it, some I imagine that you might agree with, some that may...
Sun, 04/29/2012
Flower Communion Reflection
Rev. Megan Foley
In order to put together this service today, S.V. and I did a bit of thinking about what happens, what actually happens, when you take a...
Sun, 04/15/2012
Dreaming a Dream of Limits
Rev. Megan Foley
This story is the first of R.’s stories that I ever heard, and when I heard it the first time I was so delighted by the notion of Joy being...
Sun, 04/08/2012
Easter - Forgiveness & Resurrection
Gus Vandermeeren
Easter, A Time For Change   Easter Sunday is the most important Christian holiday. It's a celebration of the day Jesus rose from the...
Sun, 04/01/2012
Apples and Oranges in the Choice Wars
Rev. Megan Foley
In order to do this sermon topic justice it is important to acknowledge my own “social location” within the subject of abortion.  It...
Sun, 03/18/2012
The Theology of Architecture
Rev. Megan Foley
  How many of you have been to visit a cathedral, either in Europe or here in the US at say, the National Cathedral in Washington?...
Sun, 03/04/2012
Making Room
Rev. Megan Foley
Two Tuesdays ago it was Mardi Gras, and two Wednesdays ago it was Ash Wednesday, which means that now, here on March 4th, we are in the...
Sun, 02/26/2012
Feed the Dream and Let the Dream Feed You
Rev. Megan Foley
In our meditation this morning, we took a look at being an interdependent web, not metaphorically, for once, but for real.  A real web...
Sun, 02/19/2012
Beware of Eagles in Brazil
Gus Vandermeeren
Beware of Eagles in Brazil Written February, 2012 by Gus Vandermeeren. Delivered at Sunday Service, Sugarloaf Congregation of Unitarian...
Sun, 02/12/2012
You Know What Happens When You Assume…
Rev. Megan Foley
I don’t know if this happens to you, but I have found that some of the most thought-provoking ideas I get here at Sugarloaf come from...
Sun, 01/29/2012
There is a Black Hole the Size of Ten Billion Suns
Rev. Megan Foley
A few weeks ago, it was reported that scientists have discovered a black hole the size of 10 billion suns, out there in a galaxy far, far...
Sun, 01/15/2012
Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday
Rev. Megan Foley
Some words from Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, given August 28th, 1963:   “In a sense we've come to our nation's...
Sat, 12/24/2011
Imagine a Stable
Rev. Megan Foley
If you’ve been celebrating Christmas for a while, then you probably know a lot of stories about the baby Jesus and the strange...
Sun, 12/04/2011
The Saving Power of Ritual
Rev. Megan Foley
Maybe you’re like me and you’ve been a little surprised to find yourself in the part of the year already past Halloween, already past...
Sun, 11/20/2011
Starting Fresh
Rev. Megan Foley
Last week Thailand celebrated their annual Loy Krathong [lai gra-tong] ritual, which sounds to me like possibly the most beautiful...
Sun, 11/13/2011
So We’re a Church! Now What?
Rev. Megan Foley
A few months ago I went over to B. R.’s house with M. to check out a collection of religious books that SCUU has been storing in B.’s...
Sun, 11/06/2011
The Thingamajig and the Whatchamacallit
Gus Vandermeeren
I met Ben and Carl almost twenty-five years ago, shortly after I graduated from college, when the three of us had just been hired as...
Sun, 10/30/2011
Day of the Dead Service Homily
Rev. Megan Foley
One of the challenging things about being a minister who does weddings and funerals is that sometimes the couple or the family picks a...
Sun, 10/23/2011
When Bad Things Happen to Good People
Rev. Megan Foley
Story told by R.M.: The Suppressed First Chapter of Genesis   There is a suppressed first chapter of Genesis, long since expunged from...
Sun, 10/16/2011
The Joy of a Welfare Christmas
Jessica Bland
Today I am going to try to contrast the lives of the working class to those of the middle class and explain how those differences impact...
Sun, 10/09/2011
Collective Forgiveness
Rev. Megan Foley
One of the things I love about the Judaism I’ve been exposed to is how Jews introduce their children to religious practices.  The...
Sun, 10/02/2011
Part of the Big Picture
Catharine Clarenbach
Last October, I stood near the bank of Laurel Run, the Chesapeake Watershed stream that falls down Pine Grove Mountain to Slab Cabin Creek...
Sun, 09/25/2011
Democracy Now!
Rev. Megan Foley
I think there is something deep in the American soul that thrills when we see democracy in action.  I think it gets to us down in our...
Sun, 07/24/2011
Awesome Awe
Rev. Megan Foley
  Today is your lucky day!  By the end of this sermon, we’ll have defined spirituality once and for all!   Just kidding....
Sun, 07/10/2011
Be Full of Yourself
Rev. Megan Foley
Despite the fact that I enjoy sitting and eating more than almost anything, Despite the fact that I like to sleep a lot, Despite the fact...
Sun, 06/19/2011
Motivation
Carol Plummer
What do you think about motivation? Do you consider yourself motivated? Or do you find yourself doing the opposite of motivation -...
Sun, 06/12/2011
Seeking the Highest
Rev. Megan Foley
Story:  John Seeks the Greatest and Most Important   A child was born into the world, and his parents called him John.  ...
Sun, 05/29/2011
The Bright Side Of Life
Gus Vandermeeren
The Bright Side Of Life A sermon by Gus Vandermeeren May 29th, 2011 Sugarloaf Congregation of Unitarian Universalists Germantown, MD ...
Sun, 05/22/2011
Being the Village
Rev. Megan Foley
It Takes a Village…blah, blah, blah.   Doesn’t it seem like that’s how this sermon could go?  I mean, we’ve been hearing the old...
Sun, 05/15/2011
To Sustain and to Be Sustained
Rev. Megan Foley
    The scene opens with a cage in the foreground containing a colorful green parrot.  Behind the parrot, the room is a...
Sun, 04/24/2011
Finding Meaning in An Empty Tomb
Rev. Megan Foley
 Here is a story from long ago.   There once was a man who lived in a time of great injustice.  He was a member of a nation...
Sun, 03/20/2011
Relationships that Kill and Relationships that Save
Rev. Megan Foley
Today I’d like to take a look at personal relationships from the vantage point of two stories, told to you this morning by R. M. and S. V....
Sun, 03/06/2011
4000 UUs All In One Room
Rev. Megan Foley
  Coming here to Sugarloaf every week, or more than once a week, it is easy to get a certain view of what Unitarian Universalism is....
Sun, 02/20/2011
Nourishing Our Spiritual Home
Rev. Megan Foley
I have fallen in love with the word “nourish”.  But more on that in a minute.   You may already know that this Saturday we launch...
Sun, 01/23/2011
What Makes You NOT a Buddhist
Rev. Megan Foley
This sermon is entitled What Makes You NOT a Buddhist, after a book by the same name written by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse[1], who is a...
Sun, 01/16/2011
Martin Luther King Jr. The Power of Conviction
Gus Vandermeeren
  Every year, most UU congregations celebrate the life of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. We seem to have a particular fondness...
Fri, 12/24/2010
Christmas Eve 2010: The Miracle of the Midnight Fields
Rev. Megan Foley
  Prelude Pachebel’s Canon           Ensemble Ringing of Bell Welcome, all of you –...
Sun, 12/12/2010
And I’ll Have a Blue, Blue Christmas
Rev. Megan Foley
  Which of these quotes have you heard, or said yourself? “No, we just aren’t doing much to celebrate Christmas this year. We lost my...
Sun, 12/05/2010
The Kids the UUs Can Help
Rev. Megan Foley
The seeds for what has turned out to be this service were planted many months ago when I received a pamphlet from the Rainbow Youth...
Sun, 11/21/2010
The Logic of Human Destiny
Gus Vandermeeren
Opening Words   Early on I was tempted to use a Star Trek-inspired title for today's service. "To boldly go where no civilization has...
Sun, 11/14/2010
When Life Doesn't Look the Way You Want It To
Rev. Megan Foley
Story:  Niel and the Test of Worthiness for KingshipNiel is a legendary king of Irish folklore from the time of pre-Christian Celtic...
Sun, 11/07/2010
No Kind of Religion at All?
Rev. Megan Foley
It is usually the newcomer who asks the pointed question when we longtime UUs have just learned to accept without questioning anymore....
Sun, 10/31/2010
Day of the Dead
Rev. Megan Foley
Lyrics:  John's GardenFarmer John wandered back And when he reached the pumpkin patch, began to speak He said “the weather...
Sun, 10/24/2010
The Welcome Table
Rev. Megan Foley
Meditation  The Welcome TableI’d like to start the main part of our service today with a meditation, so I invite you to get...
Sun, 10/17/2010
Emergent Adulthood and the New ‘20s
Rev. Megan Foley
It begins like this:  You ask your friend what his son is planning to do after he graduates from college in a couple of months....
Sun, 09/19/2010
Forgiveness
Rev. Megan Foley
I first started thinking about the concept of forgiveness because the term “forgiveness” meant almost nothing to me.It began when my...
Sun, 09/12/2010
Ingathering
Rev. Megan Foley
“See, I’ve always been the kind of guy who likes things to be predictable and calm.  I’ve never liked conflicts, or problems, or...
Sun, 08/29/2010
The Share Table
Rev. Megan Foley
  It was one of those accidental conversations that happen after the kids get home from school as everyone is going in different...
Sun, 08/22/2010
Lessons Learned from Liberating the Azaleas
Rev. Megan Foley
Those of you accustomed to Unitarian Universalist ministers already know that every single one of us, without exception, has - at the...
Sun, 07/18/2010
Pie
Elissa Klein, age 11, winner of the SCUU auction’s “write your own sermon” item.
                In our world today there are many problems we face....
Sun, 07/11/2010
The One Thing Sugarloaf Can Learn from GA 2010
Rev. Megan Foley
  At the end of June I made my annual pilgrimage to the Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly or GA, our denomination...
Sun, 06/20/2010
Elevator Speeches
Rev. Megan Foley
  Why is it so difficult to define our religion? Unitarian Universalist churches are distinctive.  Our denominational ...
Sun, 06/13/2010
The Trouble with the Sixth Principle
Rev. Megan Foley
  It all started several months ago when a pillar of our congregation came up to me at coffee hour. “You know,” he said, “I have an...
Sun, 05/23/2010
Generations
Rev. Megan Foley
  I’d like to start by sharing the story of two women, a mother and a daughter, the first born in 1942 in Richmond, Indiana, and the...
Sun, 03/07/2010
Giving the Gift of Community: Stewardship Sunday
Rev. Megan Foley
  It is my belief that every community needs to hear their story.  They need to hear it again and again, at different times and...
Sun, 02/28/2010
Our Religious Journeys
Rev. Megan Foley
  I love taking quizzes that tell you some category you’re supposed to belong to.  I used to love them in women’s magazines,...
Sun, 02/14/2010
Plato's Three Loves
Rev. Megan Foley
  Happy Valentine’s Day!  Whether you love Valentine’s Day or hate it, today is certainly a good day to talk about love – what...
Sun, 01/31/2010
Liberal Religion meets Neo-Conservatism
Rev. Megan Foley
  Today’s sermon is a continuation of the sermon from last week, where we looked at the “new” theology of James Freeman Clarke’s 1886...
Sun, 01/24/2010
The Five Points to the New Theology
Rev. Megan Foley
  Once upon a time, towards the end of the 1800s, there was a magical period when liberal religious thought was the ...
Sun, 12/13/2009
Understatement is Now Chic Again
Rev. Megan Foley
  Confession of the week:  I LOVE Miss Manners.  Usually I just love her because of her graceful language, her artful way...
Sun, 12/06/2009
The Art of Waiting
Rev. Megan Foley
  One theme on which you’re likely to hear a lot from me over the course of our time together is the curious habit that Unitarian...
Sun, 11/15/2009
Making a Difference: The UULM in Action
Rev. Megan Foley & Bob Geiger
  A couple of weeks ago, we had a two-day event here at Sugarloaf called the Ministerial Start-up Workshop, which many of you...
Sun, 11/08/2009
What the Methodists Taught Me about Unitarian Universalism
Rev. Megan Foley
  In a sermon a couple of weeks ago I talked about Unitarian Universalists’ difficult relationship with the concept and word “God”,...
Sun, 11/01/2009
The Making of a Catholic President
Rev. Megan Foley
  Before I begin, can I do a quick survey of the congregation…raise your hand if you were around, of age, during the Kennedy/Nixon...
Sun, 10/18/2009
Three UU Ways to Talk about God
Rev. Megan Foley
  God, God, God.    Is there a more difficult subject for Unitarian Universalists?  I don’t think so, actually....
Sun, 10/11/2009
To Infinity and Beyond
Gus Vandermeeren
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Sun, 10/04/2009
The Bright Side to the Deep Breath
Rev. Megan Foley
  Imagine for a moment you’re meeting an old friend for lunch that you haven’t really been keeping track of for a number of years....
Sun, 09/20/2009
The Arrest of Professor Gates
Rev. Megan Foley
  This past July, Harvard professor and noted African-American scholar Henry Louis Gates, Jr. returned home from a trip to China....
Sun, 08/23/2009
The Promises We Make
Rev. Megan Foley
  As most of you know I have only recently finished all of the requirements necessary to become a UU minister, and was at long last...
Sun, 08/09/2009
"OBSERVATIONS FROM A RIVER"
Rev. Megan Foley
  I am fortunate enough to live very close to Sligo Creek Park in Silver Spring, which as some of you may know is a very narrow park...
Sun, 08/02/2009
Defining Success
Gus Vandermeeren
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Sun, 05/03/2009
Exporting Hope
Gus Vandermeeren
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Sun, 04/12/2009
Easter: Risen? Alive?
Consulting Interim Minister Myron Andes
  Today is the most important day of the year. Today is that Christian holy day called Easter. With all the pagan fertility...
Sun, 01/11/2009
The Best Year of your LIFE
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Sun, 12/28/2008
Finding Peace Service Script
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Sun, 03/11/2007
The Wisdom of Generosity
Rev. Amy Russell
  Every religious tradition has stories of people who had little but gave it away to someone else who needed it more.  The story...
Sun, 03/04/2007
God is in the Process
Rev. Amy Russell
  What if you were an alien just arriving on Earth and you had not received any special training in advance about the culture on...
Sun, 02/18/2007
Building Spiritual Relationships
Rev. Amy Russell
  When we find someone we love enough to imagine a life together, we dream that this idyllic love we’ve found will transform us and...
Sun, 02/04/2007
Arguments for Atheism
Rev. Amy Russell
  Do you ever wonder how you came to believe what you believe about God, the universe, and our place in it?  What kind of...
Sun, 01/07/2007
Meditation on Everyday Life
Rev. Amy Russell
  Knock upon yourself as upon a door, and walk upon yourself as on a straight road.  For if you walk on that path, you cannot go...
Sun, 12/03/2006
Universalism: A Hope for Love
Rev. Amy Russell
  John Murray, a Universalist preacher, left England in 1770, sailing for the New World and the promise of religious freedom. ...
Sun, 11/12/2006
The Postmodern Family
Rev. Amy Russell and Min Kyung Kim
  I. Modern Life- AmyWhen I was in elementary school, I walked home with my sister.  When we got home, we would run upstairs...
Sun, 10/22/2006
Freedom vs. Responsibility
Rev. Amy Russell
  When you talk to people with different political and economic theories about the definition of freedom, you get different answers....
Sun, 10/15/2006
Life Choices: Parenting
Rev. Amy Russell
  My husband loves Jimmy Buffet.  He loves to turn on the Buffet CD and crank it up high and sing about all the cheeseburgers...
Sun, 10/08/2006
Sacredness of Life
Rev. Amy Russell
  Our first Unitarian Universalist principle, the inherent worth and dignity of every human being, is founded on centuries old...
Sun, 10/01/2006
Tikkun Olam: Repairing the World
Rev. Amy Russell
  In the sixteenth century, Issac Luria, a mystical Jewish Kabbahlist, imagined the world as a pottery vessel that God had made to...
Sun, 09/17/2006
Life Choices: Partnering
Rev. Amy Russell
  Historically, marriage was an economic and tribal institution that supported societal structures.  Decision about marriage...
Sun, 09/03/2006
Unitarian Universalism: A Religion?
Rev. Amy Russell
  In our favorite UU hymn, Spirit of Life, we sing “Roots hold me close, wings set me free”.  I love this phrase because it...
Sun, 08/13/2006
In Her Image, In His Image
Rev. Amy Russell
  Emily was eight years old when she started Sunday school at the Presbyterian church at the corner of her street.  She liked to...
Sun, 06/04/2006
Our Shared Ministry
Rev. Amy Russell
  The religious community is essential, for alone our vision is too narrow to see all that must be seen, and our strength too limited...
Sun, 05/21/2006
Living a Life of Integrity
Rev. Amy Russell
  Chalice Lighting:Jack pines.. are not lumber trees [and they] won’t win many beauty contests either.  But to me this valiant...
Sun, 05/07/2006
Is There Freedom in Faith?
Rev. Amy Russell
  My favorite walk lately is walking around this small reservoir near my house.  The other day as I was walking my big furry dog...
Sun, 04/16/2006
Recapturing the Myth
Rev. Amy Russell
  We are told that the story of Jesus in the New Testament is the gospel- meaning it’s the good news.  And that it is.  A...
Sun, 04/09/2006
Crossing the Red Sea
Rev. Amy Russell
  There was an article in the Post the other day that showed that scientists are trying to prove that it may have been possible that...
Sun, 04/02/2006
“You Can’t Go Home Again”
Rev. Amy Russell
  On one of the flights we took during our vacation I sat next to a woman who had just attended her twenty fifth high school reunion...
Sun, 03/12/2006
Can You Hear Me?
Rev. Amy Russell
  A man is his late forties is sitting on a bus riding home from work late. It's spring and it's staying light outside later. Dusk is...
Sun, 03/05/2006
It Takes a Village
Rev. Amy Russell
  We live today in urban villages where so much of the time the only glimpse you have of your neighbors is when you might see them...
Sun, 02/05/2006
Digging Out
Rev. Amy Russell
  Readings:From You Are Not Alone, Julia ThorneThere are hundreds of faces to depression. There's chronic depression, acute...
Sun, 01/15/2006
The Legacy of Martin Luther King
Rev. Amy Russell
  Many of us have grown up with an almost saintly image of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Those of us who were just growing up when he...
Sun, 01/08/2006
Sexual Identity as Sacred
Rev. Amy Russell
Over the holidays, I enjoyed some time playing with my four year old niece, Sarah. Sarah's favorite activity is "playing Pollys". This...
Sun, 12/11/2005
Forgiveness: Is it Possible or Necessary?
Rev. Amy Russell
For many of us, forgiveness is a Christian concept. In the New Testament, there are several mentions of the need for forgiveness. Jesus...
Sun, 11/13/2005
What Do Human Rights Mean to Us?
Rev. Amy Russell
Reading- A. Powell Davies The American commitment is to universal justice, the rights of all people -- not the special...
Sun, 11/06/2005
Finding Meaning VS Getting Through
Rev. Amy Russell
In one of the recent TV adventures, that I loathe to admit I ended up watching the other night, a group of airline crash survivors who...

Latest Update from SCUU Religious Education.
Visit Religious Education directory to learn more.

Seekers class
  Welcome to the Seekers classroom!    The Seekers class will be studying the very popular "Traditions with a...
Mavericks classroom
Welcome to the Mavericks classroom!    The Mavericks class will be studying the very popular "Moral Tales" curriculum ...
RE Summer Sunday Program Begins
Starting June 19, the RE program will offer fun activities for children and youth during the services.  For more information...
Explorers classroom
    Welcome to the Explorers classroom, where not only do the children learn about the 7 UU principals, but they also...
Service: Wish You Were Here
  Remember receiving travel postcards from friends and family on vacation, and each would end with these four words? Imagine...
Registration for the 2011/12 session of RE
Please stop by the tables outside of the house to register your children and youth for the 2011/12 RE year. 
Our Whole Lives (OWL) Orientation
Parents of youth in Grades 7-9 next year are invited to an orientation for Our Whole Lives (OWL) Outreach, the life-affirming,...
Summer Sunday Program
The Summer Sunday Program builds community among children and youth through a series of fun and adventurous all-ages activities and service...
Religious Education - Introduction and Registration
Welcome to the 2010-11 Religious Education Program!   Our SCUU Religious Education staff is devoted to guiding our children in a free...
Religious Education - Curriculum
  Children's RE We are pleased to welcome you and your children to our Religious Education Program. The curriculum selections...