Building a loving, diverse, caring community

Welcome to Our Newest Members

Nakisha “Nikki” Griffin says she started her quest for the right congregation in 2018, through her passion for social justice, fellowship, and spirituality without the need for conformity. The  UUCS quickly became home for her and her two daughters (Jayda, 11 and Gianna, 6). Nikki works full-time as the Director of Human Resources for Ripple Effect Communications, LLC. As well as being a certified Career Coach through Blush Lotus by Nakisha Griffin in her spare time she enjoys volunteering for Girl Scouts Our Nation’s Capital.
Brian Lynch has long attended UUCS but became an official member on August 21 at the Open House.
Brian and his wife Allie were married by our former minister, Rev Anya, at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. They have two young daughters who like to attend RE and love to attend UUCS family social events.
He works at the Naval Research Laboratory. He likes mountain biking and is a car enthusiast.
John Gallant is a proud parent and grandparent. He is a retired mathematician and software manager. He enjoys history and art, and being a non-degree graduate student at George Mason University. John is a longtime UU, and taught RE for many years at his previous church, where he especially liked facilitating the comparative religion program for teens. Before he came down with long-Covid, John was an avid age-group runner, and is hoping to return to form. Another hobby that keeps him busy is collecting and selling rare books. What draws Joh to UU is a desire to help foster groups of prosocial spirits.
Barbara Ryan:
My dear sister, who is a member of the UU Congregation of Atlanta, introduced me to her faith. I knew I had found my church home after the very first service I attended in 1996. I thoroughly embraced the seven principles as my guide to how to live my life. Every congregation I’ve belonged to (in Ohio, Tennessee, and Illinois) has been loving, caring, and supportive. Involvement in these congregations has been genuinely rewarding. I am looking forward to participating in my new congregation!At my various congregations, I was responsible for the newsletter; taught Sunday School, served on the Outreach Committee, and the Board.My son (the oldest) lives in Dunlap IL with his wife and 4 children. His oldest daughter lives in Champaign IL. My daughter (middle child) lives in Fort Gratiot MI with her husband and 2 children. My youngest lives here in Sterling with her husband, me, and an 8-year old cat. Their son and his wife live near Philadelphia.I was a stay-at-home mom for 10 years; later worked at Illinois State University for 12 years in Normal. IL, in the College of Education as a word processing operator, and then in the Student Center as the Scheduling Coordinator for student organizations, faculty, and staff. Moved to Ohio and worked at the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau as an Executive Assistant. My husband Bob and I moved to Peoria 8 years later to be near my son when Bob began having medical issues. Moved to Sterling after my husband passed away on May 9, 2020.
Jack Hazerjian:
My name is Jack Hazerjian, and I was born and raised in Boston, and have since lived in New York City; Washington, D.C. area; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and a few spots overseas for work. I am divorced and a father of a son and a daughter, both born in Brooklyn and now young adults whom I have marveled at since their births. My daughter has been working in business consulting in NYC (where she was born) for the past two years, while her brother will be finishing up this year his studies in international affairs at University of North Carolina/Chapel Hill, from where she had also graduated.My long career has centered on international public health, and I have managed and provided technical support to project initiatives, mainly funded by the US Government, that are designed to improve delivery and data analysis of health services. In more recent years, I have worked as an independent consultant to support research studies and staff training needs for international health and economic development programs. I have cumulatively spent about 7 years overseas, from dozens of short trips mostly in Africa as well as long-term postings in three countries — Mali, Sudan, and Niger – all of which are located on that continent.I have been sporadically attending services at UUC in Sterling since, I believe, 2016, when I took a new position based in Virginia. Since I still owned a home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, I made arrangements to work remotely about two weeks each month. During my two weeks in the Virginia office, I stayed at the home of my sister and brother-in-law, Stephanie and Paul Roche, founders of this church. They introduced me to UUCS and, since then, I have been somewhat regularly attending services; I have also taken part in a number of church events, including the annual auction.My non-work-related interests lie squarely in the arts, particularly the visual arts, which I studied as an undergraduate. I have long been an avid museum goer and, until recently, been volunteering as a museum educator, at which I had served for 25 years altogether at two art institutions in Brooklyn and Chapel Hill. This is why I have offered as an auction item for the past two years a private tour at a local area museum. In addition, I am keenly interested in the literary and the theatrical/cinematic arts. And I do like solving crossword puzzles, Suduko, and word games. In short, I am a problem solver, an art enthusiast, and an explainer – perhaps, an unholy combination.