Church Hunting in the Triangle

George and I have had the fun of visiting two different churches the past couple of weeks, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Hillsborough and Community Church of Chapel Hill. We had been members together at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship (ERUUF), but have decided to move on.

I must admit some reluctance and sadness over leaving ERUUF, much like leaving a school, home, or job, where there have been many fond memories and growing experiences. The time feels right for a new church home, though, and we wish ERUUF well.

Old Orange County Courthouse, Hillsborough

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Hillsborough (UUCH) is a small congregation, but we were pleased to see several people we knew there! Several others introduced themselves to us and made us feel welcome. I got a lot out of the sermon, and we enjoyed staying for coffee afterward. After the service, George and I went into downtown Hillsborough for lunch at the Wooden Nickle Pub, where I enjoyed a black/white bean veggie burger. Hillsborough is a charming town, where I took a few pictures after lunch.

Community Church of Chapel Hill is a much bigger congregation than UUCH, and reminded us (in a good way) of ERUUF. They happened to have their "Rising Up" Ceremony (for rising 6th and 9th graders and graduation seniors) last Sunday, so we were able to catch a glimpse of the scope of the Religious Education Program (LOTS of kids) and the outpouring of support from the congregation. They also had the flower communion, a Unitarian Universalist ritual, last Sunday, which was nice. We also enjoyed the music, which featured a couple of children's choirs, singing "The Road to Nowhere," "Love Train," and another song. Familiar congregational hymns abounded. After the service, George and I had lunch at Streets Deli in Chapel Hill, then saw the movie, "The Lincoln Lawyer." We'd recommend both!

All in all, we had really good experiences visiting these congregations. We'll continue looking around, visiting new places and returning to these, over the next few months. I'm looking forward to the journey!

MoonPies and Mama Dip's

As a Worship Associate at Eno River Unitarian Universalist Fellowship this morning, I delivered a 5-minute (or so) reflection on the meaning of membership at ERUUF to me, to go along with the theme of the service. I compared membership to MoonPies! I enjoyed being part of this morning's service. It was my third time as a worship associate, and I think it was my favorite experience so far. Although I continue to be a little nervous when I do it, it's getting more natural to me, and I enjoy interacting with the congregation. I got some chuckles from the congregation over my MoonPie analogy, and some people said nice things afterwards, which was encouraging.

Part of what made this morning's service special was that my parents and sister, who were in town already, came to listen! It was fun to have them there, the first time they'd been to ERUUF.

Afterward, we went to eat lunch at Mama Dip's, a restaurant in Chapel Hill, joined by my sister's husband and two daughters. Although the service was slow, we had a good time catching up. They all spent last week together in Pine Knoll Shores, a town on the North Carolina coast. I didn't go because my department was in the throws of settling into a new building. So, it meant a lot that they came to support me this morning, and lunch at Mama Dip's was a lot of fun! (This particular picture includes my mom, sister, brother-in-law, and nieces.)

Weekend activities

Saturday night, George and I went to the Varsity Theatre in Chapel Hill, and saw the movie, "The Science of Sleep." I didn't recognize any of the actors, but it was nice to see some fresh faces. It was an interesting movie, not one I'd see again, but glad I saw it once. And it was a nice date night with George.

Most of the rest of the weekend, I exercised and relaxed. On Saturday I exercised twice, and overdid it a bit. Did lighter workouts yesterday and this morning to let my muscles catch up a little.

George and I enjoyed some down time together as well. With a busy week ahead, it was nice to chill out together.

Last evening I rented and watched "The Pelican Brief." It's one of my favorite repeat movies. I like the Denzel Washington-Julia Roberts combo, the scenes of New Orleans, and the fact that it's a John Grisham story. I haven't kept up with Grisham's later works, but I really enjoyed his earlier books.