Worship & Music
Sunday services are offered at 9:45 and 11:30 AM.
October 20 – The Art of Living
Rev. Wayne Arnason and Worship Associate Mary Lou Holly
“Each of us is an artist whose task it is to shape life into some semblance of the pattern we dream about,” wrote Rev. Arthur Graham. Whether or not we think of ourselves as having artistic gifts, each of us has a responsibility for the artistic creation that is our life. Inspired by the beauty of design in the natural world, and by the work of artists and craftspeople, Rev. Arnason will reflect on what goes into the art of living.
Wanted: Photos from Our Veterans
Deb Biggins will be leading our services on November 10 in on honor of Veterans Day. It is her hope that she will be able to create a display of photos of our Veterans. Please submit all photos to Deb by Oct. 27 in an envelope with your name, rank and service time noted. Thank you.
Lifespan Learning
Karen Lapidus will be away this weekend in St. Paul, MN for the LREDA Fall Conference, which is the annual gathering of the Liberal Religious Educators Association. Directors and Ministers of Religious Education from Unitarian Universalist congregations in the US and Canada along with UUA staff will be worshiping, learning and celebrating together. Colleen Thoele, our RE Assistant will be covering for Karen in her absence.
Beloved Community, Beloved Earth Workshop
Saturday, October 19, 2013
9 AM to 1 PM
Breakfast and lunch provided
Free will donation to cover the cost of food
Leader: Rev. George Buchanan
We face many challenges as we work to sustain ourselves, build stronger communities, and heal our Beloved Earth. Some of these challenges are local, such as hydraulic fracturing; others are more global, including carbon dioxide pollution, drought, and rising sea levels. In this workshop, we consider new and creative ways to sustain our spirits in the face of these challenges. Our focus will be on vision and orientation rather than taking on “one more task.” How do we define our positive vision for our Beloved Earth? How can we be strong and resilient over the long haul? What are the ideas, tools, and resources we need to sustain us?
All members and friends of Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent are welcome, including high school youth. Maximum 25 attendees – first come, first served.
There are still available seats for the workshop, please contact the office by noon on Thursday, Oct. 17 if you are interested in participating.
The Super Brain group will meet at 3 PM this Sunday, October 20 in the Annex. The group will be examining how the regions of the brain affect our ability to function. All are welcome to join in the exploration. Any questions, call Mary Maske at 330.677.0174.
Idea of the week: Beloved Community
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King spoke often of the vision of “beloved community.” By this he meant the positive dream of community, at all levels, built on love, mutuality, and respect. These will be communities free of the scourges of racism, war, and poverty. In our own time, we can also dream of these communities free of sexism and homophobia.
Rev. George Buchanan
Compassionate Dialogue
The Compassionate Dialogue class has been rescheduled for Wednesday nights starting at 7:00 PM and going till 8:45. The class will be held on Nov. 6, 13, 20, and Dec. 4, and 11. The goal is to teach a framework for managing conflict that encourages connection and understanding by using active listening skills. Time will be set aside each class to practice the skills during role playing. There is still time to sign up for the class at the church office if you’re interested. If you have any questions, please feel free to call Saunis.
You and your family are invited to The 736th Annual UUCK Halloween Party and Haunted House!
SATURDAY OCTOBER 26TH at 6:00 PM in Fessenden Hall
This is an all-ages event! Come in costume and have a spooky fun time. Please bring a finger food to share that needs no silverware. Pumpkin carols begin at 6:15. Games for all-ages begin at 6:30. Two versions of the youth designed haunted house to follow (one for the littles and one for the older crowd)
Please come and eat, drink and be scary! See you then!
Donations gratefully accepted to cover expenses.
RadioLab and Pancakes is Back!
Our discussion group will return during second service on October 27th. We have changed the time so that the greatest number of people can participate. We will be meeting in Fessenden Hall at 11:30 a.m. There will be pancakes for those who wish, and our topic is “The Paradox of Choice”. Some psychological research suggests that the twenty-first century offers too many choices for our health. Come and listen to the RadioLab hosts debate this position with famous neurologist and author Oliver Sacks, then we will toss these ideas around for ourselves. Good food, good companions, and good conversation will be had by all. If you have any questions contact Cheryl Spoehr.
Spiritual Cinema – Jurassic Park – Friday, November 1st
Please join us for Spiritual Cinema on Friday, November 1st at 7:00 PM. We will watch the motion picture, “Jurassic Park” based on the novel by Michael Crichton. The middle school youth group is encouraged to attend as they will watch a bit of the film earlier in RE. The movie is 127 minutes and will be followed by a brief discussion of some of the topics raised by the movie. The Flippo family has volunteered to screen the movie in their home (this movie really needs surround sound to be appreciated) and they have room for at least 14 people. Please RSVP to Dan Flippo at [email protected]. Also, if you are in need of a ride or are willing to provide a ride to others, please tell Dan when you RSVP. People are welcome but not required to bring food to share during the movie.
Comments by Dan: Our fourth UU principle calls us to a “responsible search for truth and meaning.” This of course raises the question of what is an irresponsible search for truth? Jurassic Park helps us to consider the ethical implications of scientific advancements in genetic engineering that can be used to treat horrible diseases as well as bring back species that we have made extinct. Prior to attending, I encourage people to read the BBC article, “Should cloned mammoths roam the Earth?”.
Community Within
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
Be the first to see the artwork for the 2013 auction this Friday! Hear the artists talk about their creations while you enjoy appetizers and beverages. Artists this year are Brad Bolton, Don Easterling, Heidrun Hultgren, Wendy Jenks, John Kluth, Claudia Miller, Georgia Quinn, Rhonda Mitchell, and Jan Noden.
Date: Friday, Oct. 18
Time: 7-9 pm
Place: Fessenden Hall
Donation: $15
Art in the Sanctuary – October
We want to thank David Mays, a local landscape and fine arts photographer, for providing the art in the sanctuary for the month of October.
From his statement: “He has always been able to find beauty in his own backyard and specializes in capturing high quality digital photos of his home state of Ohio. David’s fine art prints combine high quality photography with vivid colors, unique perspectives and an artistic eye for detail.” Contact information for the artist and a list of prices is available with the exhibit.
If purchasing a picture, consider contributing to the Church Art Exhibit Committee fund. The prices are subject to the Ohio State sales tax. The suggested tax deductible free will offering to the church of 20% of the purchase price is paid to the artist.
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.
Outreach and Social Justice
October Special Collection
This month’s special collection is to benefit Kent Social Services (KSS) to assist this local outreach with providing food for the holidays for people from our community who are in need. Kent Social Services has no permanent source of funding and relies on the generosity of the community, in the form of monetary contributions and volunteer time.
Social Justice Human Rights Committee Meeting – Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 6:30 PM in the Annex. All are welcome!
Opportunities from the Hunger and Economic Justice Task Group
We have been invited by Trinity Lutheran Church in Kent to be part of augmenting the hot meals available for hungry people in our community. Currently meals are offered every day of the week save Saturdays under the auspices of Kent Social Services. Trinity Lutheran, a trusted partner of Kent Social Services, is planning to offer a hot lunch every Saturday and has invited us to help. We get to determine the frequency with which we would host and to do so we need to know how many of you would be interested in being involved. For each meal we host, we would need 10 – 12 people to cook, serve and clean up. Children are welcome to be an active part of our team so we are especially encouraging families to consider volunteering to participate together. We are thinking we might start with one Saturday every month or every other month.
If you might be interested in being involved, please email Tanya Kahl. Let us know how frequently you would be interested in participating and whether you would be volunteering on your own or with others in your family. Once we know how many people are interested, we’ll make a more concrete plan for our congregation’s involvement.
TRIPLE DIVIDE, an excellent new film on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) will be shown at the Kent Free Library, 312 W. Main St, at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 21st. It is free and open to the public. The title, “Triple Divide” is a reference to the confluence of major watersheds in western Pennsylvania, and has been hailed as the best work to date on the impact of fracking. The film provides a detailed examination of the introduction of hydraulic fracturing in western Pennsylvania, the first area in the northeast to experience large-scale fracking. It has drawn large and enthusiastic crowds at showings in Erie, Penna. and Columbus, Ohio, among others.
UU and Interfaith Connections
The UU Women in Action and the Food Justice Ministry of the UU Church of Akron invite you to a screening on A Place at the Table, a powerful documentary that will change how you think of hunger in America and what solutions there may be.
Thursday, October 17, 7 pm
Free and open to the public
suggested donation at the door
refreshments will be served
This event is open to the public – all are invited to attend. About the film from TakePart.com: “Fifty million people in the US – one in four children – don’t know where their next meal is coming from. Directors Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush examine the issue of hunger in America through the lens of three people struggling with food insecurity…. Ultimately, A Place at the Table shows us how hunger poses serious economic, social and cultural implications for our nation, and that it could be solved once and for all, if the American public decides – as they have in the past – that making healthy food available and affordable is in the best interest of us all.”
Income Generation
Acme Community Cash Back Program
Please remember to save your Acme receipts for the annual Acme Community Cash Back fundraiser. Receipts must be dated from Sept. 2, 2013 – Feb. 3, 2014. A donation box will soon be placed on the grocery card table in Fessenden Hall for you to submit your receipts. Thank you!
Donations needed for Karnival of Kent, the Thanks4Giving Auction
Have you made plans to attend the annual Thanks4Giving auction of the UU Church of Kent on Saturday, Nov 2? It is an evening of fun, frivolity and fundraising not to be missed! It will be held at the United Church of Christ on Horning Rd, beginning at 6 pm.
Time is running out, and we’re looking for donations from our friends and members of the congregation. How about donating a dinner, an event or outing to a museum, a park, a winery or a brewery? Theme baskets are always popular; use your imagination. If you would would like to contribute as a volunteer, contact Trish McLoughlin. She still has some openings to fill. Many hands make light work!
Visit the Auction table at coffee hour every Sunday in October. Tickets are on sale. Donation forms are available. Need ideas for donations? You’ll find them at the table. Make your plans now!