Worship & Music
Sunday services are offered at 9:45 and 11:30 AM.
Sunday, November 10 – Honor Thy Veterans
Led by Deb Biggins and Worship Associate Colleen Norris – This service will honor our veterans for their service, past and present. Also, in honor of Veteran’s Day, we will have a special offering to benefit Freedom House. The mission of Freedom House is to support homeless veterans in our community in their efforts to achieve greater self-sufficiency and to secure and maintain permanent housing.
Looking for your creativity and expertise with felt!
We are seeking individuals who are both creative and work well with felt! It is our hope to offer a felt board presentation at our earliest worship service offered on Christmas Eve. If you would are interested in assisting, please contact Rev. Renee Ruchotzke or Karen Lapidus.
Lifespan Learning
Idea of the Week
“The Way to Do is to Be”
Often, our lives get into a state where we need to restore our balance and find our true center. In the Daoist tradition within classical Chinese thought, this idea is expressed as “the Way to do is to be” If we want to DO a long walk, it is best to BE in a comfortable posture to begin. If we begin off-balance, then the walk may well be shorter and more painful than we would like.
George
Community Within
Workshop: Options and Challenges in Maintaining Independence
How does a loved one know where the line is when someone they care for can no longer safely maintain their independence at home and how should they handle that? What options might there be if their loved one is resistant to receiving additional assistance? Do you have any advice for older adults when dealing with the concerns of their loved ones who are expressing worries or trying to encourage them to avail themselves of services. What financial considerations need to be taken into account for people of various income levels?
Have you or someone you care for asked these questions? Please join us for the answers on Sunday, November 10th at 12:45 PM in Fessenden Hall.
The workshop, Options and Challenges in Maintaining Independence, will focus on the specific challenges to independence that we face as we age and will feature professionals from Family and Community Services and the Area Agency on Aging. Both agencies will present information and take questions following their presentation.
All are welcome. Lunch will be provided. Please RSVP immediately to the church office if you plan to attend. This presentation is sponsored by our congregation’s Care Team.
Apartment Needed for Congregation Family
A congregation family is looking for housing within the Kent school district. If you have an apartment you might be willing to rent, or know of someone who might, please contact Rev. George Buchanan or leave a message for him with MaryBeth Hannan at the church office.
New UU Class This Sunday!
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 1 will be on Sunday, November 10, from 9-11 am. Part 2 will be on Sunday, November 17, 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.
The Patricia Pownall UU Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, November 12 at 7 pm in Founder’s Lounge at church. Please bring a snack to share. This month we are reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. In December we will be reading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and we are meeting at Kay Wind’s house. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper. All are welcome.
Once again the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent will host Thanksgiving dinner at the church on Thursday, November 28 beginning at 2 pm in Fessenden Hall. Our host, Bonny Graham Esparza, will be preparing a turkey for the feast.
Turkey will be provided so there will be no charge for anyone; however, we will take a free will offering to help cover the cost of a few supplies and some other treats. All who attend are asked to bring a favorite Thanksgiving dinner side dish or dessert to share. A variety of alcohol-free drinks will be provided.
If you plan to come, consider bringing your favorite game to share if you’d also like to enjoy time relaxing with others after the meal.
In order to prepare, please let us know if you are coming. A sign-up sheet has been posted in Fessenden Hall. Alternatively, you can email your reply to the church office. If you do reply via email, please let us know what you will be bringing and whether you are free to help with set up or clean up.
The final Library Symposium will be held on Tuesday, November 12th at 7:00 P.M. in Fessenden Hall. We are allowing the extra half hour for a full viewing of Bill Moyer’s interview with Salman Rushdie. This promises to be an exceptional and provocative program. Refreshments will be available after the viewing, followed by a discussion. Bill Wilen, moderator, will lead the discussion. We look forward to seeing you there.
Sunday, November 17th, Volume III of “Here We Have Gathered” will be available for purchase during coffee hour. This new collection includes essays and reminiscences about church events, both past and current, by Gene Wenninger, Joel Slater, Lori McGee, Reid Parsons, Olive Hobbs, Kathy Slater, Caroline Arnold, and Robert Fildes.
Purchase price is $5.00. This is the major fundraiser for the Library and we will be most grateful for your support.
Book Review
The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona-Mexico Borderlands, by Margaret Regan, Boston, (Beacon Press) 2011. This publication from Beacon Press has been recommended for UU church libraries, and we have recently added it in the Social Justice category. The author has won regional and national journalism awards for her reporting for the Tucson Weekly and other publications. The book is made up of portraits of people who cross the border in hopes of a better life. This powerful report gets at the heart of America’s complicated and tragic story of immigration.
Submitted by Martha Kluth
It takes all of us to create a welcoming environment on Sunday mornings. All the members and friends of this church are needed to extend hospitality to our visitors. We need a large team of people who volunteer to help greet and usher on Sunday mornings, to prepare an inviting coffee hour or to donate flowers to add a focal point of beauty to our services. In order to make it easier to participate, we are using a new tool that will allow you to see what Sunday morning hospitality positions are available and to decide when and how frequently you might be able to help.
Sign up at: www.SignUpGenius.com/go/904054FA9A62BA57-sunday
Outreach and Social Justice
November Special Offering – Sunday, November 10 in support of Freedom House, to honor veterans on Veterans’ Day. The mission of Freedom House is to support homeless veterans in our community in their efforts to achieve greater self-sufficiency and to secure and maintain permanent housing.
Dear Friends,
You may recall that we had a special collection at church last spring for a water project to supply much needed water to two villages in El Salvador. This was done through COCODA (Companion Communities Development Association). Our friend, and director of that group, Ivan Villasboa, is coming to Kent soon and has agreed to give us an update on the project.
Ivan will be giving his presentation on Sunday, November 10th, in Fessenden Hall (basement of UU Church, 228 Gougler Ave., Kent) from 4:30-6:00 pm. Ivan will be accompanied by his wife from El Salvador and two students. They will bring us up to date on the progress of this project, as well as the scholarship fund to assist students in El Salvador to go to college there.
It will be interesting to hear how things are going with this project; we hope you can make it. Please call us at 330 678 8486 if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
Ted and Swanny
The UUCK Environmental Justice Task Groups Presents: Fracking Film Series
7pm Fridays, Fessenden Hall
November 8th, 7pm
Bidder 70 highlights the remarkable story of Tim DeChristopher who, on December 19, 2008 protested the leasing of thousands of acres of pristine Utah land to oil and gas companies. Registered as bidder #70, and without corporate funding, Tim outbid industry giants on land parcels adjacent to national treasures like Canyonlands National Park. Unable to pay for these public lands, Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to serve 2 years in Federal Prison. He was released April 2013 and is currently attending Harvard Divinity School studying to be a UU minister.
Movie to be followed by open discussion.
November 15th, 7pm
Gasland II is a deeper look into the complexities of fracking. Director Josh Fox explores the gas industry and its portrayal of natural gas as a safe and clean alternative to oil. This film provides a comprehensive look at fracking and its impact on individual lives, environmental devastation, and political corruption.
Gasland II will be followed by a speaker presentation and discussion with Mary Greer from Concerned Citizens Ohio.
Contact the church office for more information at (330) 673-4247.