24 December 2011 Christmas Eve Candlelight Services
Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer, Director of Religious Education Karen Lapidus, Affiliated Community Minister Rev. Renee Ruchotzke, and Worship Associate Elaine Bowen along with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent Choir directed by our Music Director Hal Walker, and possibly one wonderful musical group too!
6:30 pm A special family friendly service of lessons and carols to welcome the spirit of Christmas into the world.
8:30 pm A special service of lessons and carols to welcome the spirit of Christmas into the world.
We will have a special social hour between our two services with punch, coffee, and cookies. Everyone is invited to stop by Fessenden Hall between 7:30 and 8:30. There will be a fun ornament making activity that we hope children will especially enjoy. This is a special time of year when we celebrate families, express our gratitude and joy for the gift of families, both our church family and our individual families. We hope you will take a few minutes between services to have some refreshments, greet friends and share holiday greetings before going home to your own celebrations. Please note that the nursery will be open and staffed for infants and toddlers during both services.
25 December- 10:30 am service only Timeless Gifts
The Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer and Worship Associate Max Grubb
This morning we offer you the timeless gifts of worship and community. We promise touching story, beautiful song and time for contemplation followed by a Christmas brunch for any who would like to stay and share a meal. Elaine and Bill Bowen will be preparing scrambled eggs and Bill’s Biscuits and offering orange juice, coffee and tea. You are welcome to bring a dish to round out the meal if you like, though bringing something is not required.
After brunch, anyone who wishes is welcome to stay for an afternoon of games. Bring your favorite game with you! One of our games will be a white elephant gift exchange. If you would like to participate in the gift exchange, please bring a wrapped gift (homemade or repurposed is fine) and indicate on a tag if the gift would be best received by an adult, youth or child or person of a particular gender. If you are going to purchase something for the gift exchange, please observe a $5 spending limit.
Please note – we will have only one service today at 10:30 am. No religious education classes will be offered. Children are invited to attend the service. Nursery care will be available for infants and toddlers.
1 January 2012 – 10:30 am service only Remembrance Service
Led by: Mac and Susan Goekler
This annual event will again be a celebration of life for those folks we have known or know about. We are what we are today because of all those who have gone before us.
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!
Taking down our Holiday Decorations is not as glamorous as setting them up, but it is just as essential! Please help on January 1st,after Second Service. Many hands make light labors, and we always have fun working together. If you plan on helping, please contact Cheryl Spoehr, e-mail address [email protected],so I will know how many are coming, and provide some snacks. However, walk-ins are always welcome!
School is out, it’s cold and there are no subsidized meals for hungry children in need. Please consider bringing a child friendly food item to Christmas Eve or Christmas Day service for the many families served by Kent Social Services. Items to consider are peanut butter & jelly, dry cereal or oatmeal packets, canned fruit, macaroni & cheese mix, canned ravioli, tomato or chicken noodle soup & crackers.
Thank you for your generosity,
Elaine Bowen
With winter weather arriving, we are aware that there may be occasions when we need to cancel programming at the church. Though we are unlikely to need to cancel Sunday services entirely (Rev. Melissa, our minister, and Hal Walker, our music director, live within walking distance), we may choose to have only the second service if the weather or the roads warrant a delay. It is more likely that we may need to cancel our religious education program in inclement weather as our Director of Religious Education, Karen Lapidus, and many of our volunteer teachers and advisors drive some distance to get to church.
If the weather or the condition of the roads cause you to wonder whether we are proceeding with our programming as scheduled, please check for cancellations before you head out.
You can check in one of three places:
- our church’s Facebook page,
- call the church number and listen to the message on voicemail
- tune in to any television or radio station connected with iAlert.
Listed below are the TV stations, radio stations and websites that i-Alert notifies this year:
Television Stations powered by iAlert
WKYC-TV Channel 3
Radio Stations powered by iAlert
Newsradio WTAM 1100, AM
WMVX, Mix 106.5 FM
WMJI, Magic 105.7 FM
WGAR, My Country 99.5 FM
WAKS, KISS 96.5 FM
WMMS, 100.7 FM Cleveland’s Rock Station
WHLO, 640 AM
WKDD, 98.1 FM
RADIO FREE OHIO 1350 AM
90.3 WCPN ideastream
WCRF, 103.3 FM
WCLV, 104.9 FM
Websites
1350radiofreeohio.com
WKYC Severe Weather Website
http://www.wkyc.com/weather/
Denominational Affairs Meeting
On Jan. 15th after 2nd service a Denominational Affairs open meeting will take place in the Annex to solicit input for the UUA congregational certification section on social justice. We will review the list of potential new study action ideas to be voted on at the Phoenix GA and develop a response for the Commission on Social Witness on our work on Immigration Reform study action issue. Details of what we will be doing can be found using this link:http://www.uua.org/statements/
All are welcome.
Mac Goekler
The Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, January 17 at 7 pm in the home of Betty Kendrick at 175 Graham Rd. Apt. 12 in Cuyahoga Falls. This month we are 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. In April we will be reading the book Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghesse. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper at [email protected].
A “Thank You” we have received…
We the Board of the Ohio-Meadville District thank you for your generous support of the District and Unitarian Universalism through your fair share contribution to the Ohio-Meadville District in the 2010-2011 fiscal year.
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. More information can be found at:
http://www.cerguua.org/
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.
“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.