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 Fixing
Houses-Fixing Lives - Reston Connection
5/3/06
Several UCP members were pictured in this article about the "Rebuilding
Together" project on Sat., April 29, 2006 including Bob and
Pat Gehring, Roy Oishi, and Ken Plum. This year's project which
repaired a house in Herndon, was very successful with
about 20 UCP members in all volunteering and the UCP Youth providing
lunch.
UCP Member Charles
Wight Helps Inmates Pave the Way to a Better Life
from Reston Observer 4/28/06
Reston Connection 6/14/06
Wight, 74, is officially retired, but his days are busy, filled
with volunteer work, community service and trips to the county
jail.
While most people who participate in mentoring programs  meet their
eager students in a classroom or a library setting, Wight meets
with inmates on a weekly basis as part of the O.A.R.
(opportunities, alternatives and resources) program helping to
provide adults in jail with the tools they will need to function
in society when they are released.
Wight began mentoring at the local jail in the early 1990s and
said he was a little surprised on his first day.
"You walk into a room full of perfectly ordinary
people," he said. "You kind of expect them to look like
criminals." Read
more... |
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Best
of Reston Honorees for 2006 include:
 John and
Susan Adney who are at the heart of the musical arts community in
Reston. Both have been members of the Reston Chorale
for more than 20 years, giving their their time, financial donations and
talent. They have commissioned original musical pieces for their church
and the Chorale and an original work for Reston’s Martin Luther King Day
Celebration named “A Journey to Freedom, Honor and Glory."
BJ and
Marilyn Silvey who may be retired from their formal occupations, but
their volunteer and community efforts in Reston remain a full-time
passion. The pair has been active in activities such as the United
Christian Parish Church Works Sunday program, a mentoring program for
at-risk girls at Forest Edge School, as organizers of an annual girls
science and math event at Dogwood Elementary, with the Reston Bicycle
Club, the Reston Triathlon and the Friends of the Washington & Old
Dominion Trail, and through Reston Interfaith and the Wheelchair
Foundation. |
UCP Members Publish Book on World War II
Reston Connection 11/11/05
 Ralph
Lee Minker, Jr., of Reston, was just 18 years old when he
joined the U.S. Army Air Corps and began training to be a combat pilot. He
fought in World War II, flying 37 combat missions over Nazi Germany.
During his two and a half years in the service, Minker often wrote home to
his parents and sisters, and they wrote back to him several times a week.
The letters — 800 in all — were saved, and they give a firsthand
picture of the lives of a young serviceman and his family, as they
experienced rationing, bond drives and the daily tensions of war.
Minker, a retired Methodist minister, his wife, Sandra O'Connell,
and Harry Butowsky, a history professor at George Mason University, have
just published a book based on those letters, entitled, "An American
Family in World War II." Word Association Publishers published the
illustrated volume, which took five years to complete.
United Christian Parish of Reston receives the 2005 Global Perspectives
Award at MLK Celebration (Reston
Connection-1/27/05)
Also read article from
Reston Connection
newspaper
about UCP's mission in Rwanda 10/13/04
Members of United Christian Parish of Reston Receive God
and Service Awards (10/13/04) Four
members of the United Christian Parish of Reston have received God
and Service Awards, given for distinguished service by adults in ministry
to young people through the church and the Boy Scouts. They are Robert
Gehring of Reston, Christopher Gohrband of Herndon, B.J. Silvey of Reston
and James Vollmer of Herndon. Gehring has worked with Boy Scouts in La
Paz, Bolivia, and Montevideo, Uruguay, as well as the National Capital
Area. He is currently chair of the Troop Committee of Troop 1313,
sponsored by the Sunrise Valley Elementary School PTA. Gohrband, currently
chair of the Troop Committee of Troop 1802, sponsored by the Lions Club,
has been a Cub Scout and Boy Scout leader in Michigan and in Reston.
Silvey has been active as an adult leader in the Boy Scouts in Reston for
27 years and is now an Assistant District Commissioner covering eight
scout units in Reston. Vollmer is Scoutmaster of Troop 1580 of the Vecinos
Unidos (Neighbors United) organization in Herndon; Assistant Scoutmaster
of Troop 1530, sponsored by Pender United Methodist Church; and he has
served as a Unit Commissioner - the liaison between the Boy Scouts of
America and individual units - for three years.
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 United
Christian Parish Receives Honor from Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
Reston Connection - 12/16/03
The United
Christian Parish of Reston (UCP) has been honored by the Fairfax County
Board of Supervisors for 30 years of community and global
involvement.
The supervisors presented a plaque to UCP and passed a resolution
commending the church for its “service and commitment to the Reston
community as well as missions in foreign lands.” The resolution noted
that the church has “contributed to the quality of life in the Reston
community” and has become “a national ecumenical model,” as it
combines four distinct denominations: the United Methodist Church,
Presbyterian Church USA, United Church of Christ and Disciples of
Christ.
UCP was a founder of the Reston Interfaith
social services organization and the annual Works Sunday
program and is involved in a
mission project
in Rwanda.
Accepting the plaque on behalf of the parish were the Rev. Suzanne P.M.
Rudiselle, former Pastor, who recently retired and was separately
recognized for her 15 years of service as Pastor; Billie P. Sutter,
Director of Christian Education; Sue Stewart, Moderator of the Parish
Board; and Barbara Bonner, Lay Leader. Hunter Mill District
Supervisor Catherine Hudgins presented the motion to the board and
assisted in the Dec. 8 presentation.
Article
in Reston Times on 30th Anniversary of Founding of UCP.
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United
Christian Parish Member Ellen Graves Recognized for Community Service Reston
Observer - 2/20/04
Seven Reston volunteers [including
Ellen
Graves, a member of United
Christian Parish] were
recognized for their outstanding community service at the 13th annual Best
of Reston awards breakfast on Thursday, Feb. 12 hosted by the Greater
Reston Chamber of Commerce and Reston
Interfaith. Proceeds from the annual Best of Reston
Awards Dinner on April 22 go
toward Reston Interfaith programs such as the Embry Rucker Community
Shelter, transitional housing, housing/community development,
social services and the Laurel Learning Center.
Baha'is Honor Reston's African-American
Citizens William and Mary Jackson
The Reston Times - 2/25/04The
Reston Baha'i Faith community gave out its 12th annual Spirit of Service
Awards to African-American residents who have performed outstanding
service to the Reston community. The awards ceremony, held Feb. 20
at the Reston Community Center at Lake Anne and timed to coincide with
Black History Month, was filled with celebrations of faith and the
arts. ...William and Mary
Jackson, who were not able to attend the event, were honored for a
number of reasons, including their work as
founding members of United Christian Parish of Reston. Bill
Jackson is perhaps best known for his help in founding Reston
Interfaith. As a current Board member of Reston Interfaith
Housing Corp., he helped start the Laurel Learning
Center. |
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