Worship & Music
Services are offered at both 10:00 and 11:30 AM
Join us Sunday, November 4 for An Unexpected Gift
Led by the Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer and Worship Associate MaryLou Holly – That is my favorite definition of grace – an unexpected gift. This morning will serve as an introduction to the theme of grace. What other definitions are there? What is grace all about? How do we make space for it in our lives?
Lifespan Learning and Spiritual Growth & Development
The KentHogwarts Yule Ball is coming on November 10th! Come join us for a family evening of music, dancing and fun. The Yule Ball will be held at the United Church of Christ at 1400 East Main Street Kent, OH
44240 from 6:00 to 9:30 PM. Wear your best robes for the fashion show and bring your wand for the dueling competition. Please bring a dish to share, KentHogwarts will be providing the paper goods and beverages. We are requesting a $5 per person/$15 a family donation for tickets and you can get tickets during coffee hour, online at www.kenthogwarts.org or email us at [email protected] .
Many thanks to all who helped make the Halloween Party wonderful!
Hey middle school youth, high school youth, youth group advisors, middle school teachers, parents, RE Committee members, song-leaders, dish-washers, game-leaders, overnight chaperones costume-wearers and clean-up crew ~~ thanks for making our annual Halloween Party and Haunted House such a wonderful, fun-filled event!
Community Within
New UU Classes in November
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, Nov 11, from 9-11 am. Part 2 will be on Sunday, Nov 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.
The Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, November 13 at 7 pm at the church. Look for the exact location in the weekly publications. Everyone should bring a snack to share. This month we are reading On the Divinity of Second Chances by Kaya McLaren. In this book, McLaren portrays a family on the brink of dissolution-a mother besieged by middle age, a distant father lost in daily life, and their three teenage children struggling in various ways with the family’s disintegration even as they conceal a secret that could send their parents further over the edge. With the help of a group of tap-dancing old ladies, a sensual tango teacher, and a lot of luck, this family is about to learn that everyone gets a second chance which, as McLaren beautifully reminds us in this inspiring novel, is sometimes even better than the first. In December we will be reading a Ruth Reichl book of your choice. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper.
Attention congregation! The battery container is filling up again. I am looking for a volunteer who might be able to take the current contents to a recycling site in Canton. Unfortunately the site is only open on Wednesdays from 9-2 and my job schedule will not allow Wednesday visits from me until sometime in December. The batteries might possibly be flowing out into the street by then! Please drop me an email if you are interested in helping out. I will fill you in on the necessary details. Thanks so much.
Missy O’Hara
HOT OFF THE PRESS : VOLUME 2 of Here We Have Gathered. Copies will be for sale after each Sunday service, beginning with Nov. 4th and will continue to the end of the month. Each inital copy is $4.00; additional copies are $2.00. The contributors to this volume genersouly consented that profits from the sale should go to the Library acquisition fund. Please support the Library; these would make excellent fgifts for former members who still have a connection to the Kent church.
If “we are the sum of all who were and present in our lives”, then this collection of essays is a strong testimonial to the continuing energy of our church. Included are essays about prayer (Robert Fildes), a former minister, Violiet Kochendoerfer (Caroline Arnold and Robert Fildes), Hogwarts (Joel Kuemerle and Karen Lapidus ) UU response to hydrofracking (Paulette Thurman), the Kent Area Sanctuary Group (Ted Voneida), a commentary about the spiritual and practical power of our present church (Paul Cox), and a loving memorial to Gordon Vars (Mary Ann Kasper). These are strong statements on the history of our church, past and present.
The Library Committee is proud to sponsor this project.
Outreach
The Environmental Task Force (former Social Justice Committee) is co-sponsoring an ANTI-FRACKING TEACH-IN along with Frack-Free-Kent on Nov. 9 at 7:00pm in the Sanctuary. FFK is the group that submitted a Community Bill of Rights Ordinance to Kent City Council last spring in an attempt to ban fracking and its related activities in Kent.
Vanessa Pesec, President of NEOGAP – Network for Oil & Gas Accountability & Protection – will speak on “Effects of Fracking on Urban Areas”. Also, Fran Teresi, Trustee, Garrettsville Board of Public Affairs, will speak on “Protecting Our Public Drinking Water.” Both are good speakers and will have time to answer questions. Snacks and beverages will be available.
Questions? Call Ted & Swanny Voneida or Paulette Thurman.
Holiday Giving Traditions Continue
This year the RE Committee will again be sponsoring two winter holiday giving opportunities.
- Again we will be collecting new toys which will be distributed by Kent Social Services to families in Portage County. There will be a donation box in Fessenden Hall starting on Sunday, November 11th through Sunday, December 2nd.
- Each year we support one of the two homeless shelters in Kent, either Miller Community House or Freedom House. This year we will support the shelter for homeless veterans, Freedom House. Our monetary donations will go toward purchasing gift cards from area stores to be given as Christmas presents to the veterans from us. Collection will take place from Sunday, November 11 through Sunday, December 16th.
THANKSGIVING NEEDS!!!
Thanksgiving is coming upon us quickly (Nov. 22) and the Kent Social Services Food Pantry is in need of donations for holiday food baskets for clients. While out doing your own shopping, please (pretty please???) consider the following: canned vegetables and sweet potatoes, canned fruit & cranberry sauce, mashed potato flakes or scalloped potato mix, box stuffing mix, cake mix, gelatin mix, and any type of turkey gravy – jar, can or dry mix. Please leave your item(s) in the lower level closet next to the elevator or on the sanctuary level outside the elevator. I’ll do the rest.
If you prefer, $10 gift cards for either Acme or Giant Eagle are most welcome to purchase perishible items AND you can buy & donate those during coffee hour between services right at church!!!
Thank you in advance for your generosity and blessed be,
Elaine Bowen
Income Generation
The numbers are in! Beef O’Brady’s fundraiser brought in $267.35! Wow…not bad for a Sunday dinner and bake sale. Thanks to all who supported this event either by baking or eating out. You are all very much appreciated!
Thanks 4 Giving Auction . . . A Taste of Kent. . . WE NEED YOU!
We’ve been busy working behind the scenes to bring you an exciting night full of new items and new ideas. We we secured a new auctioneer, then we asked local restaurants and businesses to provide new food offerings and they came through big time! After that we decided to try a new layout of the hall to give us more room. We have free babysitting provided by an adult and older youth. We even have a photo booth to commemorate your evening.
We procured awesome donations from businesses far and wide with a lot of NEW businesses donating this year like Disney, The Works, Cleveland Rock & Roll Hall of Fame & Museum, Kent Lanes, Subway, ProTech Auto Body, Kent Karate & Family Fitness martial arts school and more! For your convenience, see the attached list of available items.
And Hal Walker is donating an opportunity for you to host a Hal Walker House Concert! Wow!
YOU have generously donated a plethora of items and services and the much sought after dinners and outings for the auction. Now all we need is YOU to come and enjoy all the fun! It’s a great way to support the church, hang out with fun people and fill up your social calendar.
Tickets are only $20 and are available at the door. The festivities begin this Saturday, November 3 at 6pm at the United Church of Christ on Horning Rd.
See you there!
NEW Thank You Cards for our local businesses that supported our auction!
We created business size cards for you to take and keep in your wallet or car to hand in when you are shopping or eating at one of the many businesses around town that supported our auction.
Some will be given out Saturday at the auction and extra’s will be available on the bulletin boards around the church. A list of supporting establishments will be posted on the bulletin boards and a PDF will be posted on the website so you can review it when heading to Kent or local areas. Please help us thank the people who donated to our church by letting them know we are supporting their efforts too!
We suggest you leave one for the manager when you are checking out at local stores and leave one with your bill when you eat out at a supporting restaurant. Knowing we appreciate them will help us maintain our relationship and get our name out into the community in an easy and positive way.
Meg Milko
Thanks 4 Giving Auction Chair