Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Rappahannock - UUFR

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Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Rappahannock - UUFR

The UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF THE RAPPAHANNOCK - UUFR is a Lay-led fellowship. Services start at 10:30 AM.

UUFR serves Virginia's scenic Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula and is centrally located in White Stone. 60+ friendly members meet on Sundays and at a number of other spiritual and fellowship events throughout each month. Our very first Pastor has recently retired and we will begin searching for a new Pastor. Our own members alternate with visiting ministers and other speakers to provide inspiri

ng talks. UUFR is an intentionally WELCOMING to LGBTQIA congregation as well as supporting the BLM movement. We celebrate diversity and look forward to having you come visit us! Our Covenant:
We, as members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Rappahannock, come together to create a welcoming community of diverse people who search for spiritual meaning in our lives. We listen to each other; speak our truths, and respect ideas and beliefs that are different from our own. We take responsibility for our words and actions. We strive to be compassionate and loving with ourselves and with others. We promote social justice and serve all in our community

We affirm and promote the Seven Principles, which we hold as strong values and moral guides:

• The inherent worth and dignity of every person;
• Justice, equity and compassion in human relations;
• Acceptance of one another and encouragement to spiritual growth in our congregations;
• A free and responsible search for truth and meaning;
• The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large;
• The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all;
• Respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.

08/25/2026

A little wisdom and inspiration for you today. Peace, y'all. 🥰

08/23/2026

CALLING ALL BAKERS!

UUFR is once again hosting the Saturday morning breakfast for the Annual Yoga Retreat Yoga Retreat at Camp KEKOKA on September 19. The week-end retreat is a fundraiser for the YMCA. We were thrilled to be a part of the event last year that raised $30,000!

Our breakfast team cooks for and serves over 100 folks. Most popular are homemade breakfast breads baked by our UUFR Yoga Breakfast Baking Team. We need 8 - 10 folks to bake a dozen muffins or breakfast bread for 10 -12. If you can join us, please touch base with Kelly Maitland or Celane Roden. Further instructions will be provided. For more information, please reach out to either Kelly or Celane. Namaste!!

08/22/2026

Please join us this Sunday morning August 23, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. as we gather for a service led by our own, Dave Rowden as he brings us, "Many Paths to the Same Destination"

Religious divisions and political divisions are becoming more extreme. The focus is on "differences". Dave Rowden believes that almost everyone wants to lead a moral, productive life. Religion and philosophy have always provided guidance for living a Good Life. We all lose sight of this when differences become more important than similarities. This talk is intended to help us focus on the important values we all share and understand how unimportant the differences are.

David W. Rowden, Ph.D., is a retired medical behavioral scientist. His background includes graduate training in medical sociology, medical anthropology, psychology, sociology, and medical economics. He had faculty appointments and teaching responsibilities at the University of Texas Medical Branch Medical School (UTMB) and the UTMB Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. He held faculty appointments in Preventive Medicine, Psychiatry, and Family Practice. He was also the recipient of a Faculty Fellowship in the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School.

For the majority of Dave’s career, he was a consultant with various companies in Washington, DC. His focus was health-related research, evaluation, strategic planning, and information technology. He directed major projects for federal agencies and public health organizations involving substance abuse prevention, HIV/AIDS surveillance, health behavior research, database design, technical assistance, and national information dissemination systems. For six years he served as project director and chief scientist for the National Center for Alcohol and Drug Information. During this time he was also senior vice president for Social Health Services, Ltd. He completed his career at Caliber Associates, where he was Chief Knowledge Officer.

Dave retired in 2003 with his wife, Margaret. His interests are sailing, philosophy, and advances in the sciences. For the last six years, he has served as moderator for the Northern Neck Philosophical Society.

Please be prepared to observe safe distancing before, during, and after this indoor service out of respect and care for those who are invisibly immunocompromised.

Not able to attend in person?

You are welcome to join us on
⇒ Zoom ⇐

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5407560528?pwd=WKoRbZuhjamJ1doAYvzjBLcIiDebHF.1

OoS can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ec114PmrstWM-YqVtOi2Xi3GGyw5Ew4T_yhzB8SQXVE/edit?pli=1&tab=t.0

08/16/2026

Please join us this Sunday morning August 16, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. as we gather for a service led by our
friend, Rev. Andrew Millard, who will be bringing us a message on "Not All Who Wonder Are Lost."

Wonder is the first response of religion, the “Wow!” that begins every prayer. We rejoice that we don’t know all that there is to know, that the truth has not been closed, that we are free to explore and engage with the world through experiences that open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives.

The Rev. Andrew Clive Millard, Ph.D., has served the Mission of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Peninsula in Newport News since 2010. Born and raised in England, he came to the United States for graduate school in physics. Some years later, he joined the Sierra Club; the Institute on Religion in an Age of Science; the World Pantheist Movement; and the Unitarian Society of Hartford (in that order). He went back to school at Hartford Seminary before transferring to the Iliff School of Theology in Denver. Andrew lives in Gloucester with his wife Allison, their daughter, and their furry family.

Please be prepared to observe safe distancing before, during, and after this indoor service out of respect and care for those who are invisibly immunocompromised.

Not able to attend in person?

You are welcome to join us on
⇒ Zoom ⇐
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5407560528?pwd=WKoRbZuhjamJ1doAYvzjBLcIiDebHF.1

OoS can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-RrMj9QoyIn3cTeqFPi7-nlpZp4ZMAjm0nyYBsZYtfI/edit?tab=t.0

08/06/2026

Please join us this Sunday morning August 9, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. as we gather for a service led by our own, Marlie Avant, our Lay Minister. Marlie will be bringing us an exploration of the Trinity - "Trinity as Metaphor: Many Windows, One Light", not as a test of belief, but as one poetic doorway among many through which we can glimpse the same light of love and hidden wholeness. From the beginning, our forebears have been willing to question inherited doctrines and search for language that better fits their experience of a just and loving reality. We’ll explore how Unitarian Universalists can reclaim and re-imagine religious symbols in ways that honor both our wounds and our ongoing search for truth and meaning.”

Marlie weaves a rich tapestry of spiritual insight into both her life and creative expression. She continues to explore the path of awakening and self-discovery, inspired by the words of Thich Nhat Hanh: “The longest journey you will ever take is the 18 inches from your head to your heart.”

Please be prepared to observe safe distancing before, during, and after this indoor service out of respect and care for those who are invisibly immunocompromised.

Not able to attend in person?

You are welcome to join us on
⇒ Zoom ⇐
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5407560528?pwd=WKoRbZuhjamJ1doAYvzjBLcIiDebHF.1

OoS can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-RrMj9QoyIn3cTeqFPi7-nlpZp4ZMAjm0nyYBsZYtfI/edit?tab=t.0

08/04/2026

Inspirational thought of the day. Peace and love, y'all. ✌🏽❤️

07/31/2026

Words from our own Marlie Avant. Loads of wisdom here.... peace y'all

I often picture spiritual life as a table. For some, that table has felt too small—only certain beliefs allowed, only certain questions welcomed, only certain stories considered “faithful.” Many have been told there is no seat for them if they doubt, love differently, carry trauma, or see God (or no‑God) in their own way.
I believe we need a bigger table. A table where the devout and the doubtful, the mystic and the humanist, the “spiritual but not religious” and the quietly exhausted church‑goer can sit side by side. Where we don’t have to agree on everything to share bread, stories, silence, and care.
At a bigger table, the question is not “Do you fit our mold?” but “How is your heart, really?” “What have you lived through?” “What kind of welcome would help you breathe again?” My hope is to help set that kind of table—online, in small circles, and in any space that is tired of having to choose between honesty and belonging.
If you’ve ever felt there was no seat for you, this is a gentle reminder: you deserve a place where you can bring your whole self.

07/29/2026

Please join us this Sunday morning August 2, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. as we gather for a service led by our own, Marlie Avant, our Lay Minister. Marlie will be bringing us "Songs of the Heart:
Chants From Around the World"

Join us for a contemplative service of chant and song drawing from Christian, Gregorian, mystical, and “magical” traditions. We’ll listen to ancient melodies and simple, accessible chants we can sing together, letting repetition and shared breath carry us into a deeper stillness.

No musical experience is needed —
just a willingness to listen, to join in when you wish with your voice or percussion instruments, and to rest in the beauty that has long spoken to hearts around the world.

Please be prepared to observe safe distancing before, during, and after this indoor service out of respect and care for those who are invisibly immunocompromised.

Not able to attend in person?
You are welcome to join us on
⇒ Zoom ⇐
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5407560528...
OoS can be found at

07/28/2026

Here's your weekly affirmation from our Lay Minister, Marlie Avant. Peace and love, y'all.

THE SOUL’S HIDDEN LANTERN

Some days, life feels scattered—too many tasks, too much noise, not enough time to breathe. It can seem as if intimacy has drifted away like a prayer half‑remembered.

Yet beneath the clutter, I believe there is a quiet radiance—a soul’s hidden lantern, steady and waiting. It doesn’t demand perfection. It asks only that we loosen our grip on what numbs us and turn, even for a moment, toward presence: a breath taken with awareness, a tree really seen, a silence allowed to be more than empty.

Often the first step on a mystical path is simple: to trust that the lantern is still there, and to let it light one small corner of our day.

07/23/2026

Please join us this Sunday morning July 26, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. as we gather for a service from our Soul Matters Sunday Series, "Building Belonging". Our facilitators will be Diana Jamison and Marlie Avant.

We will explore the theme, Building Belonging, in an interactive service that will feel more like a sacred conversation than a lecture. Through poetry, silence, and small-group sharing, we’ll explore times when we have felt truly at home and imagine how we can deepen that sense of welcome here at UUFR. All are invited— as together we practice the art of creating a community where no one stands outside the circle.

Diana Jamison has been an active member of UUFR for many years, contributing her time and talents as Secretary, Program Chair, Social Justice Leader, and Cabaret Coordinator. While she values these leadership experiences, she is especially excited about opportunities to share her artistic gifts with the Fellowship in the years ahead.

Diana earned her Master’s degree from the VCU School of Social Work and maintains a limited private practice. She is also the owner of When Ordinary Won’t Do, a distinctive boutique shop. Diana is the proud mother of three and enjoys life with her companion, Charles, and her standard poodle, Tilly.

Marlie Avant is our Lay Minister at our Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of the Rappahannock. She brings a thoughtful serenity to all topics, large and small. Marlie draws on a lifetime of exploration in Western, Eastern, and Indigenous spiritual traditions. She shares stories that illuminate our shared humanity and invites a spirit of compassion, connection, and community.

Please be prepared to observe safe distancing before, during, and after this indoor service out of respect and care for those who are invisibly immunocompromised.

Not able to attend in person?
You are welcome to join us on
⇒ Zoom ⇐
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/5407560528...

OoS can be found at https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PAodG8l0h8jZlYTrH-SRWMDEU29Hr--uLNZd9YO9baM/edit?tab=t.0

Address

366 James Wharf Road
White Stone, VA
22578

Opening Hours

9:30am - 1pm

Website

https://uufrva.org/donate/, https://uufrva.org/

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