Everything You Wanted to Know About Memory Loss but Forgot to Ask!
Sunday, May 5 1 PM
Supporting Our Loved Ones Living With Memory Loss
Please join us for a discussion of memory loss, an introduction to the different kinds of dementia and how it effects the brain, and how we can support and care for the people in our life who have memory loss. The workshop is presented by Rev. Katie Norris and sponsored by our Care Team. Rev. Katie is a caregiver for her mother who was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia seven years ago. Through this experience and her work as the Executive Director the Carolyn L. Farrell Foundation for Brain Health (farrellfoundation.com), she has been helping to raise awareness about dementia and help communities and families communicate and care for their loved ones with memory loss. We will engage in discussion, discover local resources, and even try a few dementia-friendly activities.
This event will take place on Sunday, May 5 from 1 to 3 pm. A light lunch will be offered immediately following the second service in Fessenden Hall. Please RSVP to the church office so that we can be sure to have enough food available. This event is open to the public so please feel free to invite family and friends to join us. If you plan to attend, please RSVP no later than tomorrow, Thursday, May 2 by 3:00 PM. Thank you.
Worship & Music
Services are held on Sunday mornings at 10:00 and 11:30.
Sunday, May 5 Three Mortalities
Led by the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer and Worship Associate Elaine Bowen
The poet Wendell Berry writes, “No, no, there is no going back. / Less and less you are / that possibility you were. / More and more you have become / those lives and deaths / that have belonged to you.” This morning we will explore what it means to become the lives and death that have belonged to us through three particular mortalities selected by last fall’s service auction sermon winner, Gene Wenninger.
What are you passionate about?
Would you like to lead a Sunday service about it? The Sunday Program Committee meets on May 24th, and is seeking proposals for lay-led services for Summer and Fall. We believe that that the Sunday Service is best reflected in a variety of voices and experiences. Lay-led services allow us to share our individual spiritual journeys, experiences and diverse world views — an important part of our rich Unitarian Universalist heritage. If you might be interested in presenting a service, please complete a proposal, which may be downloaded from our web site at: //kentuu.org/docs/spc/sunday-proposal-e-form.pdf, and send it to Lois Weir.
Not sure about how to put together a complete service? Members of the committee can provide you with the help you need, so don’t be shy! General information about proposal preparation may be found at //kentuu.org/ministry/sunday-program/. Still have questions? Contact Lois.
Can You Share Spring Flowers?
Now that the flowers are blooming again, perhaps you might consider sharing some on Sunday morning. If you have some flowers growing in your yard you would be willing to bring for a Sunday morning service, please sign up on the flower sign-up sheet in Fessenden Hall. In addition, the offer always stands to make a contribution and have the church provide flowers on your behalf. If it is easier, you are welcome to call or email the church office to make arrangements for bringing or purchasing flowers. Thank you for helping to add beauty to our Sunday mornings!
Lifespan Learning
Building Your Own Theology 1 (BYOT)
BYOT is an adult religious exploration class of 10 sessions that guides and encourages to the participants to explore and define their individual belief systems related to religion and spirituality. Classes are 2 to 2 1/2 hours long and will be facilitated by Elaine Bowen, a BYOT veteran of 3 previous sessions. What’s involved? 1) a commitment to attendance (at least 7 – 8 of the 10 sessions) and participation and 2) the willingness to work toward the drafting of your personal credo, a statement of belief(s).
Classes will be held on the following Thursday evenings: May 9 – 16 – 23 – 30, June 6 – 13 – 27 (no 20th due to General Assembly), July 11 & 25 (no 4th for the holiday or 18th due to Summer Institute) and the final session, a sharing of credos with a potluck dinner on August 1. We will begin promptly at 7:00 pm in either Fessenden Hall or the Annex (I do not have reservations made yet) and will try to wrap up by 9:15 pm. There is some “homework” – primarily reading (and thinking); journaling is recommended. During class, there is discussion, activities and personal sharing (we can skip the role playing if you want to!)
A BYOT 1 workbook is necessary; there are a few available for check-out from the church library (do not write in them!) but it is suggested that each participant purchase one from the UUA online bookstore. If that is a financial hardship, please see me and we will work something out.
For the class to work as it is intended, a minimum of 6 people is needed and a maximum of 12 can be accommodated. Please contact me, Elaine Bowen, with any questions and to sign up by no later than May 5th. If there is not enough interest, this offering will be cancelled.
As of April 30, there are 3 participants committed to the program. We need at least 3 more by Sunday, May 5 to go forth. Please contact me ASAP in order for this adult RE program to go forth.
Community Within
Attention All Leaders and Committee Chairs
All Annual Reports to be included in the Annual Meeting packet are due TODAY. Please submit or email reports immediately to MaryBeth at [email protected]. Annual Meeting packets will be available to the congregation on May 15. The Annual Congregational Information Meeting is scheduled for May 30 @ 7 PM and the Voting Meeting will be held on June 2 @ 12:30 PM.
New UU Classes in May
Everything you wanted to know about the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent in particular and Unitarian Universalism in general, but were afraid to ask. Well, maybe not everything, but we try to give you an overview, a starting point. Some history of both, some organizational details. Come join the conversation. And, if you’re curious about membership, this is the place to be.
Part 1 will be on Sunday, May 12, from 9-11 am. Part 2 will be on Sunday, May 19, from 9-11 am. You may attend one or both, although attendance at both is encouraged. Different topics will be covered in each. We will gather at the Annex, the yellow house next to the church.
If you have any questions, contact Claudia Miller or Marion Yeagler.
Art in the Sanctuary
The Middle School Youth have been considering these three central questions in their RE classroom this year: What is a family? What does a family do? Who defines family? Their Family Photography Project is the culmination of that study. It includes photographs and the text from interviews with six of our church families.
Surprise Friends: please remember, to leave your notes on Sundays May 5 and 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!
The Patricia Pownall UU Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, May 14 at 7 pm in the home of Mary Ann Kasper. Please bring a non-dessert snack to share. This month we are reading Breakfast with Buddha by Roland Merullo. The only thing certain about a journey is that it has a beginning and an end-for you never know what may happen along the way. And so it is with this journey into the minds and souls of two very different men-one of them in search of the truth, the other a man who may have already found it. Witty and inventive, this book takes readers into the heart of America and in the process shows us a man about to discover his own true heart. In June, we will be reading a biography of your choice. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper . All are welcome.
The Sanctuary Carpeting Has Been Newly Steam Cleaned . . .
and we would like to keep it clean! This most recent cleaning revealed a fair amount of spilled beverages and ground in food. To preserve the carpeting (and the pew cushions) as long as possible, we request that you do not bring food or beverages except water into the sanctuary. Thank you!
UU & Interfaith Connections
“Mother Wove the Morning” presents an uncensored view of the experiences of women through history, casting light on little taught realities of endurance and triumph that will leave the audience wiser and more appreciative of women’s collective journey. Three actors bring sixteen different women from 20,000 b.c.e. to the present to the stage to share their lives.
Queen Bee’s adaptation of Pearson’s play provides an opportunity to include current events dramatically increasing our investment in these women’s lives and putting them in a global context.
The performance will be held on Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron, 3300 Morewood Rd, Fairlawn, OH, (across from Summit Mall.) $10 suggested donation at the door. A talk back with the actors will follow the production. Refreshments will be served. Childcare provided.
We know some of you are perhaps a road trip distance away. If a group from your church would like to come and arrive early for dinner, give us a call and we can recommend some local eateries.
Don’t hesitate to call if you have questions.
Thank you! And see you soon!
Linda Ryder, Program Chair, UUWA of UUCA
UUCA church office 330-836-2206
Outreach and Social Justice
The annual Equality Ohio Lobby Day will be held on May 8 with a focus on the Equal Employment and Housing Act. There is renewed interest in both the Senate and the House. We will be working hard to pass this legislation in 2013. Our legislators need to hear from us and be educated on these issues. Our stories change hearts and minds.
Unitarian Universalists have always turned out in large numbers for this important work. Are you willing to travel to Columbus that day as part of a group from Kent? If so, please let Rev. Melissa know and register today on the Equality Ohio site: http://www.equalityohio.org/
Empty Baskets = Empty Stomachs
A gentle reminder and nudge to honor UUCK’s commitment to collect non-perishable food items and Acme gift cards for Kent Social Services’ food programs. The two baskets have been a bit empty lately . . . please remember the hungry and food insecure in our community when doing your weekly shopping. Basic everyday food staples are always needed – peanut butter & jelly, tuna, canned fruit & vegetables, macaroni & cheese mix, rice, beans, pasta & spaghetti sauce, cereal, 100% juice and “meal-in-a-can” items or meal mixes.
Let’s fill the baskets and feed some people – one basket is in the ground floor closet next to the elevator and the other is just outside the elevator on the sanctuary level. Acme cards may be purchased and donated at the grocery card sales table in Fessenden Hall between services every Sunday. Large brown paper grocery bags are also an on-going need for the food pantry.
Thank you in advance for your generosity,
Elaine Bowen for the Hunger and Economic Justice Task Group
Income Generation
Tupperware Fundraiser Sneak Peak during the Book Sale & Kick Off Sunday May 5th
Once again we will be having a Tupperware Fundraiser to benefit the church. Last year was a great success and we’d love this year to be even bigger and better!
We will have the Tupperware set up at the book sale on Saturday if you want to get a sneak peak at all the new and sale items. We can take orders that day too!
On Sunday, there will be a display of new Tupperware for you to see along with cash & carry items you can purchase and take home with you that day. We will have order packets for you to take home also to show your family and friends and take their orders.
The Tupperware fundraiser will remain open for 2 or 3 weeks so make sure you get a new catalog and start showing it around to family, friends, neighbors and coworkers. People love Tupperware and it really keeps your food fresh and reduces waste. Good for your pocket and the environment.
A link on the website will be up soon and I will have a link to an online party if you want to buy online and have it shipped directly to you or someone else. Call or email me for the online party link.
Meg Milko, Fundraising Chair
Annual UUCK Book Sale Transformed
The Annual UUCK Book Sale has been transformed into the UUCK BookBook Sale! In addition to our usual collection of great reads, a Tupperware book party will be concurrently held in the Sanctuary. But wait . . . THERE’S MORE! We will also be hosting a bake sale and a lunch counter. Books, food and Tupperware; how could it possibly be better? The UUCK BookBook Sale will take place on Saturday, May 4 from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Be there and be transformed!
The things I want to know are in books; my best friend is the man who’ll get me a book I ain’t read. – Abraham Lincoln
I’ve had so much plastic surgery, when I die they will donate my body to Tupperware. – Joan Rivers