Weekly e-nUUs – December 7th

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Sunday, December 11– Living with Purpose, led by the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer.

Join us for services at 9:30 or 11:15 am.

 

And we hope you will also join us on December 18 for a Multigenerational Sunday– The Last Straw, led by the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer and Karen Lapidus, Director of Religious Education.  Services at 9:30 or 11:15 am.

 

Tax Implications of Charitable Giving Seminar

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent Vision Statement

Our vitality and passion call us to restore and expand our space to equal

the energy of our dreams.  As we do, we are better equipped to carry on our historic legacy

and embrace our potential for connection, service, programming and outreach.

 Many of you likely know that we will soon be launching a capital campaign in order to help us fulfill our congregation’s vision.  Our Feasibility Team has contracted with an architect to give us an estimate on the cost of our sanctuary renovation project and we hope to have those results before the end of the year.  When we do, we will call a congregational meeting to share the results and to talk about what they mean for our next steps.

 Meanwhile, the Capital Campaign Team, which currently includes Amy Edmonds, Randy Leeson, Dave Smeltzer and the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer, have been busy outlining a plan, timeline and needed resources and connecting with folks from the congregation who told us last year that they would be willing to be Pacesetters for the campaign.  As part of this early preparatory work, the Capital Campaign Team has decided to host a general seminar on the tax implications of charitable giving.

Sondra Gaylord, Enrolled Agent, LLC and Fellow of the National Tax Practice Institute will be our presenter.  Some of you may know Sondra as she is a Unitarian Universalist from the Youngstown area who is a regular at Summer Institute.  She is looking forward to helping members and friends of our congregation learn more about the tax implications of charitable giving as we look forward to our campaign.

In addition to presenting general information, Sondra will discuss the following:

  • tax advantages that may be realized by splitting major gifts over two years
  • the how to and the tax implications of giving physical property including gold, securities, real estate, jewelry etc.
  • tax implications of gifts made as result of withdrawals from IRAs or other retirement accounts
  • tax implications of leaving a gift as a bequest

If you have other general questions you would like her to address, Sondra has requested that we send those to her ahead of time so she can be sure to have all the latest information available to share.  After her presentation, if anyone wants to consult privately about a specific question, Sondra will make herself available for brief individual consultation.

This seminar will be held on Sunday, December 11 beginning at approximately 12:45 pm in Fessenden Hall.  A light lunch will be served.  Please RSVP to the church office by Thursday, 12/8 if you plan to attend so we know how many people to expect for lunch.  If you have questions for Sondra or would like more information, please contact any member of the Capital Campaign Team.

 

Our Poinsettia sale is one of our most beloved Holiday traditions. We still need someone to organize this sale. The task is an easy one, and I will be happy to assist in any way I can. If you would like to manage the sale this year, please contact me by e-mail address:  [email protected]  or by phone at 330-922-5415.  I’m usually available before noon, or after six p.m. every evening except Wednesdays.

Cheryl Spoehr, Trustee for Programing

Holiday Share continues through December 18th!

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 through December 18th.

Susan and I are doing a Remembrance Service on New Year’s Day.  We will be doing a tribute to Sargent Shriver and the Peace Corps.  We have a question that you might be able to help us with – other than Joanne, who else has been in the Peace Corps?  We would like to talk with you about your Peace Corps experience.

Peace,

Mac Goekler

Podcasts of church services are up to date on the church website, including the 11/27 service.  Please find them here – http://feeds.feedburner.com/kentuupodcast.  Folks who were not able to hear the 11/27 service in the Founder’s Lounge can access it online.

 

Dishes Left from Thanksgiving Dinner

Please pick up any dishes you may have left at the church in which you brought your food for the church Thanksgiving dinner.  The remaining dishes are on the counter to the left as you go in the kitchen door.

 Thank you.

 

One more time

We have been fully successful with our first two petition drives.  We stopped the anti-public employee bill and the voter suppression measure, but we are not done yet.  I’ll have petitions for both Portage and Summit counties to stop the unconstitutional gerrymandering redistricting bill.  I’ll be available during coffee hour down in the fellowship hall.

Peace,

Mac Goekler

Healthy Congregations Training

Are you interested in helping our congregation grow even healthier?  We are looking for a small team of people to participate in the upcoming Healthy Congregations training in our cluster.  Healthy Congregations, Inc. is an ecumenical, not for profit educational and consulting agency which focuses on providing resources for training in understanding emotional process in communities of faith, families and organizations.  Initially begun as a project based on Peter Steinke’s book How Your Church Family Works, this series of six workshops has transformed congregations (including Unitarian Universalist) and synagogues all over the country by helping them understand and respond faithfully to emotional process in their communities of faith, their families and other organizations.

The program includes three core sessions and three optional focus sessions.  We are hoping that each person on our team will attend the three core sessions and divide up attendance at the supplemental sessions amongst themselves.  The sessions will be held from approximately 9:30 to 4 on a series of Saturdays rotating between the Unitarian Universalist congregations in Kent, Akron, Youngstown and Canton.  The schedule and topics are as follows:

Three core sessions:

Jan 14 – Creating Healthy Congregations

Feb 4 – Responding to Anxiety and Change

Feb 25 – Leadership in Healthy Congregations

Three focus sessions:

Mar 17 – Relationships in Healthy Congregations

Apr 7 – Stewardship and Generosity

Apr 28 – Spirituality of Healthy Congregations

There is a nominal cost for participation in this program which our church can help cover if needed.  Please speak to Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer if you are interested in participating.

 

Deadline for Supporting Miller Community House this Holiday Season is December 11th!

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.

 

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 reading Caleb’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 at [email protected].

 

Children’s Choir Singing on Sunday, December 18th!

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.

“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.

 

Church Office Closed for the Holidays

Please know that the Church Office will be closed Dec. 26 – Jan. 2.   Rev. Melissa will be on study leave Dec. 26 through Dec. 31 and MaryBeth will be on vacation through Jan. 2.  If you have a pastoral concern or emergency, Rev. Melissa may be reached by cell phone (330-554-7268) through Dec. 31.

Please note that Rev. Melissa will be on vacation Jan. 1 – 7 and during that time Christie Anderson, Commissioned Lay Leader, and Rev. Renee Ruchotzke, Affiliated Community Minister, will be available for pastoral concerns and/or emergencies.  Please note that Rev. Renee is not free on Jan. 7.

The Church Office will re-open on Tuesday, Jan. 3rd.  We wish everyone a joyful Christmas and happy New Year!

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