Worship & Music
Sunday services are offered at 9:45 and 11:30 AM.
August 18 – Heirlooms, Curiosities, and Castoffs
Rev. Renee Ruchotzke with Worship Associate Justin Czekaj
Our lives are influenced by the legacy of those who preceded us. How might we choose what to keep and what to set aside as we attempt to live lives of authenticity and purpose?
August 25 – The Spiritual Wisdom of Children
Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer, Director of Religious Education Karen Lapidus, and Worship Associate Sophie Smith.
Everyone is invited to join together for our annual multigenerational, ingathering service. During this special service for all ages, we will celebrate coming together again for the start of a new church year as we lift up children and youth as a source of spiritual wisdom for us all. Nursery care will be provided for our littlest ones during both services.
Please bring a small vial of water and/or a small amount of earth from a place you have been this summer which has nourished your own spirit.
Cuyahoga River Concert Series presents Mignarda
Come enjoy and evening of music featuring the both voice and lute. THIS FRIDAY, August 16 at 8:00 pm in the Sanctuary. Admission is $10 at the door. For more information on this duo, please visit www.mignarda.com
Expanding our music program!
As September approaches, we look forward to the beginning of a new season of our wonderful adult choir. This fall, we return to an old tradition of Sunday evening rehearsals from 6:30-8:00. If you’re interested in singing, we’d love to have you join us. Please contact Hal Walker for a conversation about where in the choir your voice would fit best.
This year, we’re also excited about the start of our own “UU Folk Orchestra.” A “folk orchestra” combines the unique instrumental talents of the congregation. Music reading skills are required. We will rehearse on Thursday evenings from 7-8:15.
Finally, we will be creating a youth choir for treble voices from 3rd grade-7th grade. The weekly one-hour rehearsals will be Wednesdays from 5-6 pm.
As a kickoff to a great year of music, Hal Walker will be hosting an open house potluck at his house for anyone with any interest in either singing in the choir or playing in the folk orchestra. The open house will be merely for fun and information… No commitment required, yet. If you are able to, please bring a dish to share.
Singers and Musicians Open House Potluck!
Sunday, August 18 at 6 o’clock.
Hal Walker’s house
all are welcome…
Lifespan Learning
How Do You Like to Play?
Last Sunday for Summer RE
for Children Preschool through Grade 5
It is still not too late to participate in Summer RE! On Sunday, August 18th, the Thiel/Smith family will be sharing the science of bounciness. Does that sound cool, or what? We will light the chalice promptly at 9:45 am in Fessenden Hall. Nursery care is available for our littlest ones at both the 9:45 and 11:30 services.
Super Brain: Unleashing the Explosive Power of Your Mind to Maximize Health, Happiness, and Spiritual Well-Being by Deepak Chopra, M.D. and Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D.; Joseph P. and Rose F. Kennedy Professor of Neurology, Harvard medical School.
The group will meet from 6:00 to 7:30 at the Eldredge Annex on the following Sunday evenings: September 8 & 22, October 6 & 20, and November 3 & 17.
Upcoming Meeting Topics
September 8: There will be a general overview of the book as well as examination of what we each believe about our brains. The authors present us with five myths about our brains we can work to dispel as well as three brain Super Heroes.
September 22: The topic will be depression. Additional materials will be presented.
Feel free to join us as you are able for an exciting examination of who we are as humans and as individuals.
Questions? Call May Maske.
Community Within
Retirees Luncheon: August 20 12:00 PM in Fessenden Hall
We’ll meet for an hour to an hour and a half depending on the number of people who attend so everyone has an opportunity to check in with the group. All retirees are welcome to join us. Bring your own lunch, beverages will be provided. Please remember that we have shifted our meeting time to the third Tuesday of each month.
Walden Information Meeting – Sunday, August 25 11:00 – 11:15 am in the Sanctuary
Come fine out what we’re all about and we’ll answer any questions you may have about Walden. We hope you’ll consider joining us for this fall’s Walden trip. More information about this fall’s Walden trip can be found in the announcement below.
The Lost & Found is once again overflowing!
Please check the Lost and Found, located on the coat rack shelf outside of Fessenden Hall, for any items that you may have recently left at the Church. After Sunday, August 25th any remaining items will be donated.
New UU Classes in August
Our New UU classes cover 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 2 will be on Sunday, August 18, 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.
Sacred Song Circle
Join us for another Sacred Song Circle on Thursday, August 15, at 6:30 in the Founder’s Lounge for 30 minutes of sacular stimulation and community harmony. You don’t have to consider yourself a singer to be able to participate. It’s free and open to all. The more voices the better! Bring your friends and a water bottle if you’ll need it. Hope to see you there. Saunis
Bill Moyers, one of television’s most perceptive commentators, is known for his thoughtful interviews with guests from many fields. Many of these programs have been recorded on DVD, and we have a number of them in our Library. The Library committee is preparing two programs on Wednesdays, September 11th, and October 9th. Both programs begin at 7:15 P.M. in Fessenden Hall and should conclude by 9:00 P. M. We will view one of Moyer’s programs, and then have a discussion of the issues presented. Refreshments will be served.
The first program on September 9th is a dialogue on faith and reason, described by Moyer’s this Way:
“One of the intriguing questions about faith and reason is how is how two finely-honed minds can examine the case for belief and come to totally different conclusions. Consider Mary Gordon and Colin McGinn. One is a novelist, the other a philosopher. Both were born into Catholic families. One remains a believer, the other an atheist. Yet both are champions of reason.
If you enjoy discussion on questions like these, come and join us. Harry Noden will be Moderator for this program. We promise a stimulating evening of lively exchange.
My dear friends at UUCK,
I’ve had a handful of people ask me recently, “When are you coming back to church?!” The short answer that I know for sure is October 6, when I’ll be serving as Worship Associate when George Buchanan leads worship. The long answer is that I’ve recently become the new Director of Religious Education at SouthWest Unitarian Universalist Church in North Royalton (the church where Evin Carvill-Ziemer is currently serving as half-time Interim Minister).
I accepted the position in June and have been traveling there some Sunday mornings, when I haven’t been in Chicago for classes or preaching or doing professional development (I went to the OWL training the last weekend of August – it was excellent!).
SouthWest has a smaller congregation, and the RE program is only about 20 children right now, but they are looking forward to growth. The DRE position is quarter-time, which works really well with my studies and program requirements. I am learning all sorts of new and wonderful things, and am just in awe of the many, amazing resources we have in our denomination, as well as the amount of support.
Apart from these new adventures in ministerial formation, I’ve just finished my first year at Meadville Lombard (at this point, I’m expecting to be at it another 3 years or so), plan to start Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in the fall, still involved with the Kent Community TimeBank, and enjoying our now 4 cats and sweet puppy.
I miss being in community with all of you – it has meant so very much to me in the almost 7 years I’ve been attending services and participating in service at UUCK, but I am very thankful to have this opportunity to use and develop skills, sharing with SouthWest all I’ve learned from you. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch, and I look forward to seeing some of you in October!
In peace and with love, Kristina Spaude
The Library committee is planning a fall issue of the church publication, Here We Have Gathered, about people and activities of our church. The planning is well underway, but if you would like to submit an article (500 – 1000 words), please contact Martha Kluth or Ann Waters.
The Library Committee is also planning 2 fall Symposiums. Each event will include a one-segment viewing from the Bill Moyers Faith and Reason series, followed by a discussion and refreshments. Each program will
begin at 7:30 and should end by 9:00 P.M. The schedule is:
Wednesday, Sept. 11, 7:30 P.M. in Fessenden Hall, “The Mirror Image”.
Moderator – Harry Noden
Wednesday, Oct. 9, 7:30 P.M. in Fessenden Hall, “Richard Rodrigues”
Moderator – Carolyn Schlemmer
We hope you will be able to attend and look forward to seeing you. If you have any questions, please speak to any Library committee member. Ann Waters
Outreach and Social Justice
Thank you to everyone who supported last week’s special collection. Together we raised $362.00 along with several bags of school supplies in support of Family and Community Service’s Annual School Supply Drive.
Income Generation
Hot Dogs & Ice Cream anyone?
Your Fundraising team would like to have hot dogs and ice cream Sunday, August 18 during coffee hour and after 2nd service. It’s more of a Thank You for all you support this past year than an actual fundraiser, but if you’d like to make a free will donation we won’t turn it down since it all goes to the church.
Hope you can come enjoy!
SAVE THE DATE – ANNUAL THANKS 4 GIVING AUCTION – November 2, 2013
Our annual Thanks 4 Giving Auction will be held on Saturday, November 2, 2013 at the Kent United Church of Christ. Stay tuned for details in the coming months as planning gets under way.
Also, if you want to get involved in a VERY fun committee, the Auction Committee is looking for a few good people to join us! We begin meeting in August a couple times a month to plan and execute our annual auction.
Let me know if you are interested.
Meg Milko
Auction Chair