Weekly e-nUUs – November 22nd

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Sunday, Nov. 27th– The Education of God: Noah, led by The Revs. David & Beverly Bumbaugh and  the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer.  Join us for services at 9:30 or 11:15 am.

Beverly and David are natives of Hagerstown Maryland, where they met in High School. They are both graduates of Wilmington College in Ohio and alums of Meadville Lombard Theological School.  They discovered Universalism and began serving Universalist churches while in college.  Having served churches in Ohio, Illinois, Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, they were named ministers emeriti of the Unitarian Church in Summit, New Jersey upon retirement.  They have been married 55 years, have four children, four grandsons, and are living in Bristol Village, Waverly, Ohio.

Chancel Decoration Committee Meeting

Sunday Nov. 27

In the chancel after the 2nd Service

This will be a brief meeting to acquaint new members with the budget, seasonal plans, materials available, and tasks.  Both planners and worker bees are welcome!  The next seasonal change-over will be for St. Nicholas’s Birthday.  The Hanging of the Greens will take place Sunday, December 4.  Be part of the festivities!

The Bittersweet Christmas Band – Traditional and Contemporary Holiday Music

Friday December 3rd at 7:30 pm in the sanctuary.

The holidays are a mixed bag and so is the Bittersweet Christmas Band!

On Friday, December 3rd, traditional artists Phil Cooper, Margaret Nelson & Kate Early join forces with songwriter and “wise” woman Susan Urban for a show that presents every possible perspective on the holiday season from the reverent to the ridiculous.

Two to four-part harmonies and masterful instrumentation on guitar, banjo, mountain dulcimer, hand drum and other percussion instruments make the Bittersweet Christmas Band an act not to be missed!

Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door;  Contact Lois Weir for tickets.

Support Kent Social Services and the Miller Community House this Holiday Season

The RE Committee is sponsoring the annual toy drive for Kent Social Services.  Unwrapped, new toys can be placed in the box in Fessenden Hall from now until early December.  They especially need toys for boys and gift card for teens from Walmart.  If you are in need of ideas, look at the mittens hung in Fesenden Hall.  Each mitten lists a great toy suggestion generated by the children in our religious education program.  Donation deadline is Sunday, December 4th.

This year we are again supporting the “Adopt-a-Family” program of the Miller Community House, an emergency shelter for adults and children located in Portage County.  We will be making purchases based on the wish lists of “our family”, who are mom. dad, two sons (age 16 and 8) and a daughter (age 14).  Checks should be made payable to: Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent with “Miller Community House” in the memo line and placed in the container also located in Fessenden Hall.  Donation deadline is Sunday, December 11th.

Children’s Choir Reforming!

We ran into some snags while trying to form our Children’s Choir, but now those have been cleared and we are ready to move forward once again.  All children age 3 through grade 8 are invited to join our new Children’s Choir.  The choir will be directed by Becky Haines with assistance from Beth Kuemerle.

This will be opportunity for our children to gather to have fun and deepen their faith through music, dance and drama.  The Children’s Choir will be participating in our worship services from time to time, with the first time being Sunday, December 18th for our winter holidays multigenerational worship service.

The children’s choir will meet in the sanctuary by the piano from 10:40 until 11:05 on Sunday mornings.  Children age 3 and 4 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  Older children may attend alone, but their parents and guardians must be in the building.  A special snack will be served to choir participants at 11:05 in Fessenden Hall, before the second service starts at 11:15.

The Lost and found is overflowing.

Please take a moment and take a peek to ensure that you have not recently left anything behind. Items not claimed soon will be donated.  Thank you.  P.S… Don’t forget to check the coat rack at the bottom of the stairs.

A SOCIAL JUSTICE SOCIAL HOUR

by Caroline Arnold

Social justice generally refers to the idea of creating a society or institution that is based on

the principles of equality and solidarity, that understands and values human rights,

and that recognizes the dignity of every human being. Wikipedia

What do we mean by social justice.? Is it religious? secular? political? moral? philosophical? economic? environmental? Is it defined by what it is not: socially-generated injustice?

Or is social justice the only kind of justice there is?

I propose that, above all, social justice is social, about the way we as a society – or in smaller social groups – think, talk and act about issues of justice, fairness, equality.

…and therefore I propose a Social Justice Social Hour – a [Fair-Traded] coffee hour Sunday mornings in Fessenden Hall during second service, starting December 4.

These will be informal friendly discussions – no programmed topics, agendas or speakers — about how we as churches, communities and social entities deal with issues of common justice and the common good.

I plan to facilitate – not lead – explorations of ideas of both substance and process. We won’t be limited to certain topics, nor excused from controversial ones. We will tackle timely and difficult issues – drone killings, WikiLeaks, abortion, gun control, sexual abuse, nuclear energy & weapons.

I hope that participants will bring their ideas and concerns

My hope is that these discussions may help us get to know each other, generate conviviality and solidarity within the church, and create a little more focus and direction on the moral, political, economic and environmental parameters of justice and injustice we face as a church and as citizens of a world community.

Join me on December 4!

* * *

ABOUT CAROLINE ARNOLD

Caroline Arnold retired in 1997 after 12 years on the staff of U.S. Senator John Glenn, both in Washington and in his Cleveland office, writing speeches and ceremonial prose, and monitoring environmental, technical and educational issues in Ohio. Since her retirement she has been a regular op-ed columnist for the Kent-Ravenna Record Courier. Over 100 of her essays have been posted on the progressive web site Common Dreams (www.commondreams.org )

Before going to Washington, Arnold was elected to three terms on the Kent Board of Education. She is a founding member of the Kent Environmental Council and serves on the board of Family & Community Services of Portage County. A member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent since 1967, she recently stepped down as chair of the Social Justice Committee.

Daughter of long time KSU professor and peace activist, Dwight L. Arnold, she has taught at Ohio State University and Kent State University, and founded the Peaceable Kingdom Bakery in Kent.

Arnold is also a cellist and composer. She plays in the Stow Symphony and enjoys playing chamber music, gardening, rambling by the Cuyahoga River and spending time with her two children and their families. 

“Stories of Hope”:  The UU Service Committee’s Guest At Your Table Program

This holiday season we are joining Unitarian Universalists across the country in supporting the work of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee by our participation in their “Guest At Your Table” program.  Doing so allows us to both financially support and learn about our service committee’s human-rights work and to read this year’s featured “Stories of Hope”.

All are invited to take home a donation box or, if you prefer, a donation envelope.  On each side of the box there is a photograph of one of the people from a Story of Hope.  Use the box as a symbol of hospitality and generosity as you “feed your guest with your donations” throughout the holiday season.  Many folks like to put the box on their dining table as a reminder of our faith in action.  The boxes, donation envelopes and booklet which includes the stories of hope are available in the foyer just outside the sanctuary.  We will be collecting the donations for the UUSC on Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, which is January 15th.

Holiday Share is coming soon!

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to both donate and purchase gifts and goodies for yourself and others.  We offer homemade foods and handcrafted items along with other holiday decorations and gifts.  Shop and donate from December 4-18.

Holiday Giving Opportunities

The RE Committee is sponsoring the annual toy drive for Kent Social Services.  Unwrapped, new toys can be placed in the box in Fessenden Hall from now until early December.  They especially need toys for boys and gift card for teens from Walmart.

 

This year we are again supporting the “Adopt-a-Family” program of the Miller Community House, an emergency shelter for adults and children located in Portage County.  We will be making purchases based on the wish lists of “our family”, who are mom. dad, two sons (age 16 and 8) and a daughter (age 14).  Checks should be made payable to: Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent with “Miller Community House” in the memo line and placed in the container also located in Fessenden Hall.

Holiday Food Basket Items Needed

Each year, Kent Social Services assembles and provides holiday food baskets for clients. They are serving more people than ever before and need our help. Between now and mid-December to cover Thanksgiving and Christmas, they are in need of turkey gravy (packet mix, canned or jars/bottles), canned vegetables, canned fruit, sweet potatoes, mashed potato flakes, scalloped potato mix, cake and gelatin mixes, cranberry sauce and Acme gift cards for turkeys and hams.

Gift card donations may be given at the Acme Bucks table in Fessenden Hall between services on Sundays; food items may be left in the closet on the lower level next to the elevator.

Thanks for helping a neighbor in need.

With gratitude,

Elaine Bowen

The Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, December 13 at 7 pm in the home of Kay Wind at 4088 Bayberry Knoll Lane in Ravenna.  This month we are reading a holiday reading of your choice. It may be a novel, short story, or poem. Please bring your reading and a snack to share. In January, we will be reading Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah. The dying wish of a loving father ignites a family drama that brings two sisters and their acid-tongued, Russian-born mother together in a story that reaches back to WWII.  In February we will be readingCaleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks. In 1665, a young man from Martha’s Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Upon this slender factual scaffold, the author has created a luminous tale of love and faith, magic and adventure. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper.

 

Intergenerational Open Mic Night at the Akron UU Church

Unitarian Universalist Church

3300 Morewood Road
Akron, OH 44333

Saturday, December 3rd.

Signup starts at 7:00, performances start at 7:30 and go till 10:00.

$5.00 cover

Bands or solo acts, covers or original music is fine. Poetry or skits welcome. Adults and youth are welcome.

Any questions please contact Scott Evans

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