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The Rev. Megan L. Foley of Silver Spring is the new minister of the Sugarloaf Congregation of Unitarian Universalists in Germantown and will lead Ingathering Services Sunday to kick off the church year.

Foley graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree and was ordained last spring. Her husband, Neil Donovan, works as executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless in Washington, D.C. They have two sons.

Megan Foley serves on the Board of Directors for the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of Maryland, which promotes state legislation that supports Unitarian Universalist values.

"I'm so excited to be part of such a welcoming, supportive community," she said in a statement. "Sugarloaf is a special place, both in the spirit of its people and in its beautiful location."

The Ingathering Services will be held at 9:30 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. Sunday at the congregation's home at 16913 Germantown Road. Coffee hour is held between the all-ages services. Worship is held in the congregation's yurt, the circular sanctuary the church completed in 2007.

Congratulations

Patrick Cooper, son of Tom and Karen Cooper of Germantown, graduated as a Marine First Class from Parris Island Recruit Depot, South Carolina. He was the fastest runner in all the recruits, achieved a perfect physical fitness test score, expert marksmanship and was squad leader, according to an e-mail from his mother. He will go next to Lejeune, N.C., for infantry training.

Trash your unused electronics

Get rid of your old gadgets and gizmos at a Used Electronics Drop-Off in Germantown on Sunday.

The drop-off is open to all county residents and businesses and runs from noon-4 p.m. at Northwest High School, 13501 Richter Farm Road.

Accepted items include small electronic appliances, calculators, camcorders, CDs and floppy disks, CD players, cell phones, computers and computer-related items, consumer electronics, copiers, cords and cables, chargers, digital cameras, electronic typewriters, fax machines, microwave ovens, personal digital assistant equipment, printers, projection equipment, scanners, telephones, small electronic toys, televisions and VCRs.

Compact fluorescent lights and appliances containing Freon will not be accepted.

For more information, call 301-417-1433 or visit www.montgomery

countymd.gov/hazardouswaste.

Butterflies to help

memories soar

Hospice Caring Inc. will help residents celebrate loved ones with a butterfly release Saturday at Bohrer Park, 506 S. Frederick Ave. aimed to let their hopes, dreams and worries for friends and family soar.

"Around holiday time we have our tree of love, which is a memorial and honor service for people who have passed. This is akin to that," said Matt Gearhart, who is helping organize the event. "This is a summertime event that is geared toward everyone in the community, every race and religion, to honor people who have touched our lives, both past and alive."

The plan hatched from a Native American legend enjoyed at the nonprofit, a nonmedical hospice that provides support and bereavement services to adults and children.

"The legend states that if you want a wish to come true, you will catch a butterfly and whisper your wish to it," Gearhart said. "And because butterflies can't speak, they carry your wish to the great spirit who will pass along your wishes, love and honor."

For $35, residents may honor a friend or memorialize a loved one by sponsoring a single monarch or painted lady butterfly.

The butterflies will be kept in a large butterfly tent at the park and those who have sponsored butterflies can walk through and butterflies may land on them.

"When people walk among the butterflies, they feel close to those they love," Gearhart said.

The event starts at 1:30 p.m. with a ceremony where all the names of loved ones are read aloud. At 2:30-3 p.m., the butterflies will be released. 

Hospice Caring has collected more than 200 names and has closed its rolls to print programs, but will have extra butterflies on hand the day of the ceremony, should others wish to participate, he said.

For more information about the nonprofit, visit www.hospicecaring.org. To find out more about services, call 301-869-HOPE.

Read on Maryland

Montgomery County Public Libraries is participating in the second annual "One Maryland One Book" reading program designed to encourage the shared experience of reading and discussion.

Pick up James McBride's "Song Yet Sung," set on Maryland's Eastern Shore in the 1850s. The protagonist is an enslaved woman called The Dreamer, who has visions of the future and escapes from a plantation, according to a library statement.

County libraries will kick off "One Maryland One Book" with novelist, essayist and author Marita Golden, who will lead a discussion on the book at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the White Oak Library.

The program series will also feature book discussions and community civic discussions.

Discussions of the book upcounty are: 

7:30 p.m. Sept. 24 at Quince Orchard Library, 15831 Quince Orchard Road, Gaithersburg. Call 240-777-0200.

7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at the Poolesville Library, 19633 Fisher Ave. Call 240-773-9550.

1 p.m. Oct. 22 at Montgomery College Germantown Campus, Humanities Building.

Registration is required for the Civic Reflections, where participants discuss race, education, socioeconomics and other matters. The program is scheduled upcounty at 7 p.m. Oct. 15 at the Germantown Library, 19840 Century Blvd. Call 240-777-0110.

The program will conclude at 7 p.m. Oct. 26 when McBride will discuss and sign his book at the Montgomery College, Rockville Campus Theatre Arts Building, 51 Mannakee St.

Park movie preview

Get a sneak peek at Ken Burns' upcoming documentary "The National Parks: America's Best Idea" at Whalen Commons on Friday.

The free 45-minute preview is at 7:30 p.m. at the Poolesville park, 19701 Fisher Ave., and is sponsored by the Heritage Tourism Alliance of Montgomery County and the C&O Canal National Park. Visit www.heritagemontgomery.org for more information.

The six-part, 12-hour series will premiere Sept. 27 on PBS.

Celebrate hispanic heritage

Montgomery County Public Libraries will celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month, Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, with free musical performances by Cantare and Mariachi Los Amigos at branches. All programs begin at 2 p.m., and no registration is required.

The programs are funded through a grant provided by the Friends of the Library, Montgomery County Inc.

In the upcounty, programs are scheduled:

Oct. 17, Cantare, Germantown Library, 19840 Century Blvd. Call 240-777-0110 and Oct. 24, Mariachi Los Amigos, Twinbrook Library, 202 Meadow Drive, Rockville. Call 240-777-0240.

To request ADA program accommodations, call the library hosting the event at least five work days in advance. For library locations and hours, visit or call the library, log on to www.montgomerycountymd.gov/

library or call the Ask-a-Librarian Language Line/Línea en otros idiomas: 240-777-0001. TTY users call Maryland Relay at 7-1-1.

For more information about library programs, visit  www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library.

Share your good news! Send submissions to Melissa A. Chadwick via e-mail at mchadwick@gazette.net, fax at 301-670-7183 or mail to The Germantown-Boyds-Poolesville Gazette, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, MD 20877.