Send announcements, which are open to the public at no or minimal cost, to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102 or e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454. For additional listings, visit www.connectionnewspapers.com.
The Rev. Anya Sammler-Michael of the Unitarian Universalists of Sterling will offer a "Building Your Own Theology" course on eight Wednesday evenings from October through early December. The course draws on the concept of the "Moral Compass," identifying eight modes of ethical decision-making. Case studies and conversation will allow for the exploration of the processes, values and theologies that we rely on to make difficult moral and ethical decisions. The course will meet 6:30-8:30 p.m. with the exception of the first session, which will end at 9 p.m. To register call 703-406-3068.
Galilee United Methodist Church’s Sunday evening contemporary service, called Winding Road, has a new time of 5 p.m. The current series is "Jesus, Supersize Me!" Come explore places from the Bible where Jesus goes the extra mile to show us how to "supersize" our lives. Galilee UMC is located at 45425 Winding Road, Sterling. Call 703-430-2203 or visit www.GalileeUMC.org.
Choir Round-Up for all ages, Saturday, Oct. 13, 3:30-7 p.m., at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 605 W. Market St., Leesburg. Rehearsals led by guest conductors, Larry and Sue Correll, area organists and music teachers. Day ends with grand finale miniconcert. Call 703-777-4912.
Congregation Sha'are Shalom, 19357 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg, will be open to the public Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 6:30-8 p.m., as part of the metropolitan-Washington, D.C., Open Houses of Faith program. Members of Sha'are Shalom will introduce Judaism and lead tours of the synagogue. The public is welcome. There is no charge. Visit www.sha-areshalom.org.
Congregation Sha'are Shalom announces that visiting rabbis will lead services in the coming weeks. On Oct. 19-20, Michael Ragozin, a rabbinical student at the Conservative Movement's Jewish Theological Seminary of America and who serves as Congregation Sha'are Shalom's student rabbi, will lead Erev Shabbat (Friday evening) and Shabbat morning services and will also teach classes at the synagogue. On Nov. 3, Rabbi Bonny Grosz of the The Community Rabbi Foundation, will lead Shabbat morning services. Congregation Sha'are Shalom is located at 19357 Evergreen Mills Road, Leesburg. Call 703-737-6500 or visit www.sha-areshalom.org/.
The All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS Center) invites the public to visit their Sterling mosque, 46903 Sugarland Road, Sunday, Oct. 21, 5-8 p.m., as part of the Nation's Capital Open Houses of Faith program. Tours, refreshments, questions, answers and more. Visit www.adamscenter.org or contact at sarah.hasan@verizon.net or 703-431-1626.
Galilee United Methodist Church, 45425 Winding Road, Sterling, invites the community to its evening contemporary worship service at 6 p.m., every Sunday, featuring the Winding Road praise band. Sunday school is available for children in kindergarten through third grade, and child care is available for the younger children. Visit www.GalileeUMC.org or contact the church office at 703-430-2203.
The Unitarian Universalists of Sterling meet on Sunday mornings, at 10:30 a.m., at the Sterling Oaks Commerce Center at 21355 Davis Drive near Route 28 and Church Road. Call 703-406-3068 or visit uusterling.org.
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Loudoun Sunday services are held, at 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m., at the UUCL chapel, located at 20460 Gleedsville Road in Leesburg. UUCL is a welcoming congregation and invites everyone to attend Sunday services. Call the church at 703-737-7644.
St. Gabriel’s Episcopal Church of Lansdowne is extending an invitation to families that have children with autism spectrum, ADHD, bipolar disorder and similar conditions. St. Gabriel's has developed several programs to reach out to the community.
* The "Chrysalis" Room is a safe space for children with autism spectrum, ADHD, bipolar disorder and similar conditions. Includes a trained professional staff that provides appropriate activities and lessons. It is available every Sunday during the regular 10 a.m. worship and for special events.
* Spiritual Support Group for families with special needs, on the first and third Thursdays of each month, from 7-8:30 p.m. This group is completely "drop-in."
All programs held Belmont Ridge Middle School, 19045 Upper Belmont Place in Lansdowne. Visit www.saintgabriels.net or call 703-779-3616.
Cathedral Church of the Transfiguration follows regular services Sundays, at 10 a.m., at the Loudoun County Senior Center at Cascades Marketplace, 21060 Whitfield Place, Sterling. Call the church office 571-434-0888 or contact Father Mike Evans by e-mail dean@ccott.com.
Riverside Presbyterian Church’s Kenya Café will be open, from 9:15-10:30 a.m., Sundays, at Potomac Falls High School. It offers a friendly, comfortable spot to grab a cup of coffee, chat with others or just relax and read the paper while the children are in small group. The café is also designed to raise awareness of Riverside’s partnerships in Kenya and other parts of the world.
Feel free to join the church for worship at 10:35 a.m. Contact 703-444-3528 or www.riversidechurch.com.
Ashburn Presbyterian Church (APC) is offering its Stephen Ministry to people in the community. Stephen Ministry is grounded in Jesus' command to love one another.
Through one-to-one caring relationships those who are hurting and stressed receive a Stephen Minister to listen and pray with them. Caregivers walk with people through a variety of difficult life situations such as: divorce, grief, unemployment, relocation or just the stress of life. Anyone interested in being a care receiver, call the Rev. Mark Armstrong at 703-421-0511.
APC is located at 20962 Ashburn Road. Call the church offices at 703-729-2012 or visit the Web site at www.ashburnpresbyterian.org.
Join Riverside Presbyterian Church, 20 Pidgeon Hill Drive, suite 109, on Monday nights at the church office, 7:15-8:30 p.m. Where middle-school students meet weekly to strengthen and build friendships have fun and study God’s Word in large and small groups. Visit www.riversidechurch.com or call Daniel or Barb at 703-444-3528.
Wat Yarnna Rangsee in Sterling will be offering free meditation classes every Sunday. Inquire and register at the temple at 21950 Shaw Road, Sterling, 703-406-8290/2509.
Beth Chaverim Reform Congregation holds traditional Shabbat services, family services, children’s services and High Holiday services. The religious school features preschool through post confirmation, B’nai Mitzvah, Hebrew High, adult Hebrew and adult education classes. Social activities include interfaith discussions, youth group, Sisterhood, Men’s Club and Empty Nesters. Student Rabbi Jesse Gallop and Rabbi Randi Nagel, lead biweekly Shabbat services, help prepare B’nai Mitzvah students, provide pastoral counseling and sick/bereavement visits and teach adult education classes at monthly pot-luck dinners before Shabbat services. Call 703-391-8669, visit Web site www.bethchaverim.org or e-mail chaverim18@aol.com.
Congregation Sha'are Shalom, Loudoun County's Conservative Synagogue, holds Erev Shabbat services Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Shabbat morning services on the first and third Saturdays of the month at 9:30 a.m. Rabbinic intern Michael Ragozin will preside over services once a month. The congregation has an active Men's Club, Sisterhood and extensive gift shop. Call 703-737-6500, e-mail info@sha-areshalom.org or visit www.sha-areshalom.org. Congregation Sha'are Shalom is located at 19357 Evergreen Mill Road, Leesburg.
The Loudoun Church Alliance is a formal association of churches of many denominations. It works in the areas of youth development, international missions, evangelism outreach, and is now working to develop relationships with government and business. Contact founder and missionary Jack Stagman at jackstagman@adelphia.net.