Board

Why did you become a Unitarian Universalist?
I was raised Catholic but the religion never spoke to me. I stopped going as soon as I grew up and moved out of my parents home. I did not attend any church for years until my children were born. One day, when Rachael was little (in the 90’s), she asked us why we did not go to church but her friends did. Her mother and I felt it was better to find a church we could commit to than to have her go to someone else’s church that we were not super comfortable with. We found UUS through online searching and began attending.

Why did you become a member of UUCS?
After going semi regularly, I decided to become a member as we were pretty involved in the church activities as a family.

Why did you become a member of the board? What do you hope to accomplish?
I was honored to be asked to serve on the board. I have not served in a position since the ministerial search committee several years ago and it seemed like a good time to serve a term. I hope to provide the board with wise decision making based on my decades of association with this church and my general life and business experience.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Shelly and I love to be outside and hike trails through woods, mountains, and other beautiful places. I love spending time with my adult children and my other family members, and friends.  I also love the theater, Broadway shows, and science fiction entertainment, especially Star Trek and Star War.

Why did you become a Unitarian Universalist?

After years of feeling like a square peg continually trying to fit myself into the Catholicism in which I was raised, and then more years of seeking by way of Oprah’s early online interviews (pre-podcasting!) with spiritual leaders, where writer Elizabeth Lesser suggested Unitarian Universalism to a fellow seeker. My search had begun to feel lonely and I realized I missed going to church. So I looked up the UUCS website, found alignment in the UU principles, listened to sermons online from Rev. Anya, and was warmly welcomed when I finally visited. Even though my first service was a summer WEBS service and I was completely clueless about earth-based spirituality, it really opened my eyes. I took my wildflower seeds home from that service and planted them — I knew I had found something special where I could grow.

Why did you become a member of UUCS?
I felt an immediate connection to the people in this congregation and was impressed by the good they were doing in the community. I wanted to be a part of it, and I wanted my children to grow up in this warm, open-minded community.

Why did you become a member of the board? What do you hope to accomplish?
I stepped back from almost all of my committee roles in 2019 to focus on getting my sons through high school. Then all hell really broke loose! I was so grateful to the folks that stepped up to lead the way through the past couple of years. It was inspiring! It was good for me to have some time to step back and rest, but I noticed a need for some diversity on the board, and I felt the pull to step back into the mix. I will do whatever I can to help support, maintain and grow whatever benefits our congregation and the surrounding community.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I enjoy reading, listening to podcasts, watching movies/tv, walking, creative dabbling, and hanging with our corgi, Jolie. My husband Patrick and I are preparing for our empty nest beginning in September, so there will be even more spare time to fill!

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.

Why did you become a Unitarian Universalist?
I was raised in the South in a very strict evangelical church family.  While attending a Methodist College to become a missionary I began to question my beliefs.  In my early 20’s I started to search for a church community that would allow me to grow my own faith without the constraints of a doctrine that had no room for personal direction.  I found that in the UU Church and am so grateful for the fellowship and community I have found, along with the freedom to explore new directions in my life.

Why did you become a member of UUCS?
UUCS offered me a solid core member group that was friendly and inclusive.  It also offered me the chance to be a participant in the wonderful music program of the church.

Why did you become a member of the board? What do you hope to accomplish?
I would like to know more about how and what it takes to run a church.  Since the board is the main governing body of the church, I hope to have the opportunity to become familiar with and involved with issues of the church.  I hope to be able to part of making decisions that would help our church grow spiritually, and in membership, outreach & social justice.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I love being with and watching my grandchildren grow, wondering which direction they will go with their lives!  I love to garden!  I recently went away for a week and took all my planters from my back deck to my daughters to be cared for during that week.  When I came back and looked out at my deck – it felt empty and lonely.  Once my flowers were on my deck again my spirits were returned and life was again real!  Belonging to UUCS also gives me the same outlook on life.  When I return to UUCS after an absence I am again filled with the joy of friends, music and spirituality!  I also love music and belonging to the UUCS Choir is one of my joys in life.

I grew up in Baltimore, went to college in Virginia, and have lived in Northern Virginia since then. I have worked in Government consulting for my entire career, and currently manage a group of environmental scientists and engineers who conduct environmental cleanup and compliance for Federal, state, and commercial clients.
I have volunteered for and led the Eastern Loudoun 4-H Club, which both my children have been members of, for more than 10 years and am also a sporadic political volun-teer. My wife, Jean, and I have two children – Carter, who attends James Madison Uni-versity, and Emily, who attends Stone Bridge High School. When time allows, I enjoy hiking, traveling, cooking, reading, and socializing with friends.
I have some prior experience with church boards, having served on Community Luther-an Church’s board as their Earthkeeping Ministry Chair for several years. I also have supported RE both here at UUCS and at Community Lutheran. My family began attend-ing UUCS in 2014 and continued attending because the social and moral values and appreciation of science spoke to us in a way that our prior religious experiences had not. We are still here today because of the rich opportunities to spend time with a diverse group of smart, passionate, and interesting folks who care about their community, coun-try, and world. I am hopeful that, now that we are largely past the pandemic’s impacts on our ability to gather, we can grow and further diversify our wonderful congregation.

I am a rising high school senior. I love performing in school in the form of theater and chorus and in church in the choir. My interests are listening to music and pod-casts, baking, and watching movies. I have two dogs (Buddy and Millie) and one cat (Kiwi).

I am one of the original rebels who started UUCS so many years ago. It was never my childhood dream to help create a congregation but I did and I am so glad I did. Our congregation has something special that needs to be sustained so I volunteered for the Treasurer position. Since our beginning, I’ve served in the Finance Committee for several years – even a few years as Treasurer. And I currently pay the bills. In addition to my finance work, I sing with the choir, help with the annual Auction, and occasional-ly help in the RE program.On the personal side, I have two sons who grew up in UUCS, though one is now an avowed atheist and the other one has good intentions to attend but can’t seem to do it! I retired in 2019 after 38 years working with the Federal Government and I regularly volunteer at the Bargain Loft in Herndon where last year I was named volunteer of the year.