Kent Community Sing-a-long Tonight!
Join us this evening, April 4th at 7 pm in the Fessenden Hall for our community sing!
Spiritual Cinema Cancelled
Due to an unforeseen event, Spiritual Cinema has been cancelled for this evening.
The Five Below fundraiser begins tomorrow, April 5, and runs through Saturday, April 7 at the Stow store located at 4332 Kent Road. All the items in the store are $5 or less! It is a great opportunity to purchase spring items and Easter goodies! 10% of your purchase is donated to the church with the necessary flyer. Click here to print the necessary flyer.
Stewardship Campaign Update
As of Monday, the total pledged for the 2013 stewardship campaign was over $195,000! Thank you to each and every one of you who has responded so generously to our invitation to help support the mission of our congregation. We are very pleased with the response we have heard so far and we are encouraged that we might come close to our goal of $220,000.
We still have not heard the intentions of approximately 20 people/couples who pledged last year. We are working on reaching out to those individuals. If you have been considering renewing your pledge or making a new pledge, we want you to know that It’s not too late to help us reach our goal of continuing to provide and improve our programs and ministries. We can still count your pledge in our finalized budget if we hear from you in the next week or so. Pledges can be emailed or called in to the church office, or contact Marion Yeagler or Sandy Eaglen.
Sunday, April 8, 2012 In His Eyes
Led by The Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer, Director of Religious Education Karen Lapidus along with Worship Associate Max Grubb – Jesus was radically egalitarian. In his eyes all people were equal. Equality is a hallmark of justice. We will celebrate human equality and dignity in our special Easter services this morning. Our earlier service will be crafted with adults in mind, our later service will be created for children (first graders and up) and adults together. The choir will sing, we will celebrate and our annual egg hunt will be held immediately following our second service.
Egg Hunt for All Children Easter Morning
It has been a long-standing tradition of our church for the Middle School youth to host an Easter Egg Hunt for the younger children on Easter morning.
Here is what all parents need to know:
- Immediately following the 11:15 worship service, all children grade 5 and younger should gather in the front of the sanctuary to decorate bags for collecting the eggs. (In the meantime, the Middle School youth will hide the eggs outside…)
- Parents and guardians are encouraged to assist their children as they travel outside.
- While outside, please supervise your child to assure their safety! The Middle School youth and a team of adults will be outside with the children, but we still need the watchful eyes of our parents.
- The youngest children will hunt for eggs in the backyard of the Annex and the older children will hunt around the periphery of the church.
The Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, April 10 at 7 pm in the home of Kathie Slater. Please bring a snack to share. This month we are reading the book Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghesse. Marion and Shiva Stone are twin brothers born of a secret union between a beautiful Indian nun and a brash British surgeon. Orphaned by their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, bound together by a preternatural connection and a shared fascination with medicine, the twins come of age as Ethiopia hovers on the brink of revolution. Moving from Addis Ababa to New York City and back again, Cutting for Stone is an unforgettable story of love and betrayal, medicine and ordinary miracles–and two brothers whose fates are forever intertwined. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper.
Come Celebrate Passover!
The living tradition of Unitarian Universalism draws from many sources. This spring we will honor the Jewish tradition of Passover celebrating freedom and liberation. Everyone in the congregation is invited to attend our family friendly Passover Seder on Friday, April 13 from 6:15 to 8:15 pm in Fessenden Hall. During the Seder you will get to hear the ancient story of the Jewish people in the land of Egypt and to enjoy the special rituals and foods that are associated with this holiday.
Many of those foods require advance purchase and preparation. In order to make sure that we have enough for everyone we need to know whether you plan to attend by Sunday, April 8. There is a sign up sheet in Fessenden Hall along with a choice of roles you can play to help make our Seder a success. If you have questions or need more information please speak to our Director of Religious Education Karen Lapidus or our minister Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer.
Come Help Make Room for our NEW Tables and Chairs! April 14th 9 am – 12 pm
Thanks to the generous memorial gifts received in honor of Gordon Vars and Robert Wood, we have the resources needed to replace our old tables and chairs. In order to make room for our new ones, we need a community work day. In addition, to preserve the integrity of our new shed, we are ordering patio block to create a level foundation. We’ll need helpers to move the shed, level the ground and lay the block as well as reposition the shed. We’ll appreciate all the help we can get with both of these tasks as “many hands make light work.” Please let us know if you are able to assist. [email protected]
What are your thoughts about UUCK worship? Who are we theologically?
Take the survey today!
Members of the Sunday Program Committee and Reverend Melissa Carvill-Ziemer would like your evaluation of our Sunday worship. We have prepared a short survey enabling members and friends to provide feedback on various aspects
of worship as well as providing us with the some information about the theological make-up of the congregation. The results of the survey will be shared with the congregation in a worship service on May 20. It should only take about
8 minutes to complete on-line. The deadline for completing the survey is April 15, 2012. The following link will take you to the survey.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UUchurchofKentWorshipSurvey
Lois Weir will bring a laptop computer to church on Sunday April 8 and 15 for individuals without internet access. Hard copies are available on the table outside of the sanctuary. If possible, we appreciate completion of the survey online
as the survey site will tabulate the data for us. Contact Lois Weir, Christie Anderson or Rev. Carvill-Ziemer if you have questions.
Art in the Sanctuary
There will be a short “Spring Mood” art exhibit Apr. 1-15 with works by John Kluth with a reception from 12:30 to 2:00 on Apr. 15. The art retrospective reception for Beth Sholtis will be Apr. 22 from 1-3 pn with that exhibit continuing through Apr. 29. In May the exhibit will be provided by the RE department.
“Harvest Your Power: Learning your Leadership Potential” Workshop for April 21
Mark your calendar and save the date! The Leadership Development Team is hosting a leadership workshop and we want you there! Leadership development is very important at UUCK and our hope is to grow great leaders through on site training. In this workshop, we will explore various themes related to leadership, including what it takes to be in leadership and how to better your skills if you already are in a leadership role. We will provide coffee, tea, and juice, and a light snack. There is no charge for the workshop. The workshop will be held in the Annex on April 21st from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Please plan to attend and bring a friend! RSVP to Lori McGee by 4/18.
THE HUMAN RIGHT TO WATER
The April Special Collection on Sunday, April 22nd is for Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s (UUSC) Justice Sunday. The theme is “Justice Is the Human Right to Water”, which focuses on how UUSC upholds the inherent worth and dignity of every person through specifically protecting the human right to water. All people have a right to safe, sufficient, affordable, accessible water for daily human needs. In the United States and internationally, UUSC and their partners are working to defend this right. We are doing this also in support of our Middle School youth. The Middle School students learn about social justice through the curriculum “Heeding the Call: Qualities of a Justice-Maker”.
Through discussions on the interdependence of environmental factors, they made the decision to raise awareness for the human right to safe, sufficient and affordable water. The class is partnering with the UUSC in the “Got Water?” campaign. The goal is to promote international, national, statewide, and local laws for clean waters where they do not exist. Students are making items out of duct tape. Wallets, purses and funky folders will be sold at the church and possibly at the Kent Farmer’s Market to fund this project. Please make out your checks directly to UUSC.
Annual Meeting dates have been set!
Discussion Session: Thursday, May 31, 2012 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary
Voting Session: Sunday, June 3, 2012 10:30 am in the Sanctuary
Attention All Leaders and Committee Chairs
All Annual Reports to be included in the Annual Meeting packet are due April 30th. Please submit or email reports to [email protected]. Thank you. Annual Meeting packets will be available to the congregation on May 13th.
CAMPOUT
“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe”. ~ John Muir
Concerned about where you fit into the scheme of things? Maybe you don’t but could just use a break anyhow. Whatever the reason, start packing your camping gear for a weekend adventure in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny National Forest with fellow UUs and friends on May 11-13.
We will be camping at the Willow Bay Recreation Area, situated on the eastern side of the Allegheny Reservoir, two miles south of the New York State line. Each campsite contains a picnic table, fire ring and tent pad. Facilities include vault and flush toilets, drinking water and -get this- hot water showers! Those who have endured the mud, blood and sweat of previous campouts will appreciate this. Four-person cabins with electric are also available for rental.
Choice of activities is personal and there are no schedules. If you wish to share your experiences around the evening bonfire, you are welcome to do so. Some activities to consider include hiking the North Country Trail (serious hikers only) and/or any of the 33 miles of interconnecting loops in the Tracy Ridge Recreation Area (remember Walden ’04).
Canoe or kayak the reservoir. Bring your own craft or rent.
Visit the historic Kinzua Viaduct formerly promoted as the “Eighth Wonder Of The World”. Once the tallest railroad bridge in existence, it was devastated by a tornado nine years ago. Hike the walkway that extends over the gorge.
Tour the Seneca-Iroquois Museum in nearby Salamanca, N.Y. Learn their version of history.
Go birding. This is the peak migration time for song birds. Watch for waterfowl and raptors.
If you love the outdoors (as I do) you will find that memories of these campouts stay with you over the years. Memories of fellowship, music, great food and the smell of woodsmoke combine for a meaningful and sustaining experience.
I will post more information in Fessenden on April 15. Ed Stolish
A Thank You Note to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent
Thank you for joining the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce – you are one of 32 new members in 2012! We look forward to seeing you at a future KACC event.
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron (UUCA) is eagerly anticipating our 3rd Annual Green Festival culminating with our 7th Annual Green Faire on Sunday, April 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and we hope you will share this news with our community! This Green Festival and Green Faire are unique to our congregation, and the UUCA members who coordinate these events work hard each year to reflect UUCA’s social and ecological values by providing a wide variety of exhibits, vendors and activities for all ages.
Highlights of this year’s Green Festival include:
- Creation of UUCA Community Garden
- Menu for the Future class
- Many Sides of Fracking discussion
- The Green Man: The Face Within the Leaves worship service on Friday, April 20
- 7th Annual Green Faire on Sunday, April 22