Weekly e-nUUs, April 10, 2013

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Worship & Music

 

Services are held on Sunday mornings at 10:00 and 11:30.

 

Sunday, April 14      “Like” this Service

Led by the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer and Worship Associate Max Grubb

A colleague recently asked me whether I have ever used the teleprompter app on an iPad when preaching my sermons.  I didn’t even know a teleprompter app existed! There are so many technologies being devised to help us work, learn, connect and play better and more efficiently. How do we decide when technological developments can help and when they might actually hinder our growth?

 

Bring your phone, tablet or laptop with you to church on April 14 (but don’t worry if you don’t have one or don’t want to bring it with you – you won’t be excluded!)

Our April 14 service will be exploring the ways in which technology generally and social media in particular can help and/or hinder our spiritual growth.  We hope the service will be interactive and would like to invite you to bring your phone, tablet or laptop with you to church that day.  We will be inviting you to post responses to questions we raise in the service on either Facebook or Twitter and those responses will be projected so that they are visible to everyone in attendance.  In order to make this as accessible as possible, we will have both sites up at the same time.  If you do not have a smart phone, tablet or laptop that would allow you to post to Facebook during the service, you can post to Twitter with any phone that has texting capacity.  To sign up for a Twitter account go to https://twitter.com/signup

 

Did you love the Zeng Quartet?  Well then you’re in for another treat!

Andrea Beltran Landers is a cellist from Peru who is currently pursuing a master’s degree in performance at Kent State University.  She will be offering a free concert on Sunday, April 21 at 7:00 PM in our Sanctuary.  Free will offerings in support of our UUCK Music Committee will be gratefully accepted.  Spread the word!

 

CD Subscription for Sunday Services?

Thanks to volunteer extraordinaire Brad Bolton, much of each Sunday’s service is podcast on our website.  Many people who are unable to make it to church use the podcast as a way of catching the services they missed.  People who are thinking about checking out the church often listen to services before they come and some folks forward links to friends or family who they think might be interested in a particular sermon.  Due to the restrictions of copyright law, only the original parts of each service are included in the podcast.  However, Brad records the entirety of the service and is willing to turn those recordings into cds if there are people who might be interested in receiving a weekly subscription.  So long as we are mailing cds to people who are members or friends of the church, we can share the whole service without violating copyright law.  We are thinking this option might be appealing to folks who do not make it to church regularly and who either do not have a computer or are not comfortable with the technology required to listen to podcasts.   We would like to know if such a service would be useful.  If you would be interested in being mailed a cd of the Sunday service each week, please call or send a note to the church office.

 

Lifespan Learning

 

Spiritual Cinema has been rescheduled! 

Please join us for Spiritual Cinema this Friday, April 12 at 7:00 PM. We will watch the motion picture, “The Da Vinci Code” (2006). The movie is 174 minutes and will be followed by a short discussion of some of the topics raised by the movie. This month we will be screening the movie in Dan Flippo’s home.   Please RSVP to Dan at [email protected].

Comments by Dan

Since it is Easter, I thought it would be interesting to watch a movie that brings up many controversial questions about Jesus Christ.  For two thousand years there has been a debate over whether Jesus Christ was a man, god, or both.  Originally, the term “Unitarian” was intended to be an insult of American liberal ministers who questioned the holy trinity concept of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  Famously Thomas Jefferson created his own version of the Gospels in that time period eliminating all miracles and ending at the crucifixion   While I am aware of the creative license that Dan Brown used while writing the Da Vinci Code, I believe it is very effective at raising questions about how much of the gospels is based on historical events and whether it is possible that there are living descendants of Jesus.  Ours is a faith that welcomes these questions and I hope you will join me in a discussion of the historical Jesus after the movie.

 

Community Within

 

Church Directory Complete!

We thank everyone for updating their information and reviewing the draft of our new Church Picture Directory.  Please see the attached file for our now complete Church Directory.    Updated directories will be sent our approximately every 6 months from here forward.  We also would like to extend our appreciation to the members of the Membership Committee for undertaking this arduous task – thank you!

 

Electronic Giving Now Live!

We are excited to announce that after many months of research and planning, we are now able to accept financial contributions on our website.  We are using PayPal in order to provide this service which will allow you to decide the frequency of your giving and also enable you to direct your gift to a particular program or ministry.  Find the yellow Donate Now buttons on left side of each page.  Many thanks to Dan Flippo for his help in setting up this service!

 

ONE MORE CHANCE

To see “Your Basic Treasure Chest of Humor”, in case you missed the April 5th performance.  DVDs of the entire performance will be available for anyone wishing to have one, for the modest price of $5.00; all benefits, of course, going to the church.  If you are interested in receiving one (or more), please enter your name on the signup sheet, which will be available at Coffee Hour this morning.     Thank you, Ted Voneida

Surprise Friends: please remember, to leave your notes Sundays April 21 through May 12 and the “big reveal” is May 19!  Make sure you are there for coffee hour to meet your Surprise Friend in person. In the past, Surprise Friends have exchanged small tokens of friendship during the special revealing celebration. Can’t wait to see you there!

 

UU & Interfaith Connections

 

The April Kent Community Dinner will be held on April 20 at 5:30 pm at the Islamic Community Center at 152 East Steels Corners Road in Cuyahoga Falls.  The Islamic Society of Akron and Kent invites the people of Kent over to get to know them.  Reservations are required.  Call 330-922-9991. Speakers will include Mr. Haleem Najeeullah of the Board of Directors of  the Islamic Society with a keynote address by Dr. Kara Ellis Skora of the Department of Religious Studies of the College of Wooster.

It is a dress affair.  Modest attire is a must in this group. Bring a dessert (no gelatin, lard or pork). Transportation is available. Meet at 4:45 pm behind the United Church of Christ.  Questions?  Call 330-678-8760.

 

District Assembly convening in Niagara Falls April 26-27
This year our Ohio-Meadville District, in a historic move, is having a joint District Assembly with St Lawrence District.  And the Rev Peter Morales, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association,  is the keynote speaker!  This promises to be an energizing event not to be missed!  Deadlines are fast upon us.  Some partial scholarships are available, and must be applied for by March 29.  If you would like more information about workshops and timelines, please go to https://www.uua.org/central-east/events .  You may also contact Marion Yeagler, Ohio-Meadville District Board of Trustees.

 

Outreach and Social Justice

 

UUs to Consider Fracking

If you haven’t registered yet, be sure to do so for the Ohio Meadville-Saint Lawrence Joint District Assembly to be held in Niagara Falls, NY on April 26-27.    www.ohiomeadville.org/districtassembly/deregistration

 

Annual Garlic Mustard Pull
Join us on Saturday, April 20th from 9am-11am pull invasive Garlic Mustard from the parks along the river. This weed chokes out native species and must be pulled before the prolific seed heads open. Afterward, saunter downtown for the Who’s Your Mama? Earth Day festival, knowing you’ve done your part. Meet in the church parking lot across the street and ask Andrew Rome for more information.

 

Thanks to all who donated items for the April Showers outreach project.  Rev. Melissa dropped off and car-load of toiletries donated by you!  We know the generosity of the folks here at UU Church of Kent will be very much appreciated!

 

Income Generation

 

Another successful slice of the PIE!!
Thank you SO much to everyone who helped to make the 2014 Stewardship campaign another success!   Because we came in above last year’s total, we will be able to add some of the programming that we hoped to.  If we can get the six or seven pledges that we are still short, we will be able to do even more.  It’s not too late;  the Finance Committee is meeting on Sunday, the 14th, to set the budget.  You may call the office with your pledge, 330-673-4247, or send it via email, [email protected].  We will report the final numbers next week.  And thank you again to everyone who made a financial commitment!

 

Wanna buy a bunch of cards?  OK!

We sell gift cards for Giant Eagle and Acme stores every Sunday at coffee hour.  This helps the church since we receive 5% of the value of the cards sold, and is convenient for the buyers, since they pay for the face value of the card and use it like a debit card. We rarely run out, but some people occasionally are disappointed when they want buy several hundred dollars’ worth of cards and we only have a few hundred available left to sell. In order to address this issue, we now will guarantee that we have any amount $500 or more available for you on a given Sunday if you email me the previous Sunday or earlier (please allow a minimum of 7 days). Sometimes we have them available in any case–if we have them, we’ll sell them to you. But if you want to be sure, email me and we will arrange to have them reserved for you the following Sunday.

Thanks for buying gift cards through the church rather than using cash at Acme and Giant Eagle stores.

Bob Erdman, Grocery Card Coordinator.

 

Spring Forth With the Giving of Books. 

The time of year has come once more when Robins sing in the rain, the flowers poke their heads up from the warming earth and books appear as if by magic in Fessenden Hall. Yea, the  Annual UUCK Book Sale is nigh, riding in on the southern winds, returning with the geese who had flown south but two short seasons ago. As you perform the ancient ritual of Spring cleaning, please set aside all your gently used books, DVDs, and CDs to donate to the Annual UUCK Book Sale. Just leave them in the designated space in Fessenden Hall between the dates of April 14 and 30 and the book sprites will whisk them away, only to be returned on that foretold day, May 4, where they will take their honored place in supporting the growth and well being of the UUCK. In addition we will be hosting a bake sale table as well. Please consider contributing your favorite home baked cookies, brownies, muffins and other goodies. You may drop them off in the kitchen on Friday May 3rd or Saturday May 4th. Please label them “Book Sale” so we know they are intended for that purpose. Thank you in advance for your generous, heartfelt donations.

Spring—an experience in immortality. -Henry D. Thoreau

Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. –Author Unknown

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