Collage is my passion. This genre engages me with the challenge of integrating my paintings , drawings, photographs, and monotypes- mediums that I love. I begin my work with a subject in mind, one inspired by themes of nature or themes of personal experiences. Next, I select a medium, whichever captivates my interest that day. My initial feeling is one of complete exhilaration with the freedom to express myself, knowing that each piece has the potential of becoming a larger piece that I haven’t yet envisioned. It’s exciting to imagine the possibilities of what the day’s work might become with each piece having an extended life or rebirth in a future collage. Finally, in the last stages of my process, I attempt to select and position the various artistic elements to energize each other in a unified work of art.
This summer, we will patch the ceiling and walls, apply a few coats of paint and, possibly, update the lighting fixtures to make the space a bit more inviting.
Special thanks to Henri Stevens for taking the lead in this project.
We plan to work around any scheduled Fessenden activities to keep the space “open” during this work.
Randy Ruchotzke, Randy McCrystal, and Jennifer Gregg (“on leave” until August 15) Buildings and Grounds Coordinators
Join us in Fessenden Hall this Sunday, July 5 for our monthly pancake breakfast. Breakfast will be served from 9:00 – 10:30 AM. Adults $10, Children $5. This month’s featured flavor is blueberry!
Join us for an evening of the Dances of Universal Peace!
Dance leader: Alicia Patrice Musicians: Lisa Thiel on banjo, Dawn Heartsong on percussion, Daniel Kennedy on percussion, and Emily Hall, Kent UU Director of Music Ministries, on guitar and flute
The Dances of Universal Peace are spiritual practice in motion. Drawing on the sacred phrases, scripture, and poetry of the many spiritual traditions of the earth, the Dances blend chant, live music and evocative movement into a living experience of unity, peace and integration. This taste of our true nature – as Universal Peace – opens to the possibility of a deep spiritual revolution within the person.
The Dances of Universal Peace are beginner friendly and we welcome all to join us! There will be space in our circle to participate seated and to sit and receive the dances for those who wish to. This spiritual practice welcomes people of all faiths to move and connect together.
This event will include musicians from and be a fundraiser for the music ministry program at Kent UU. Donations will benefit the work of the music ministry program to connect, inspire, and empower our world through collective musicking.
Suggested donation $10-15. All amounts welcome, no one turned away for lack of funds. If you are able to donate more, it allows for someone who cannot donate to attend. If you are not able to donate, please come as our guest.
Event will be held in Hobbs Hall (Fellowship Hall located behind the Church). Hobbs Hall is in the building with solar panels on the roof next to the gravel parking lot.
This CONVO will feature as speaker and organizer, Edwin Fuller, UUJO President and Digital Organizer for the Ohio Organizing Collaborative. The CONVO seeks to provide UU congregation members with ideas and processes for effective personal and congregational participation in this year’s critical election. Our goal is to provide support to you by offering tools, strategies, and partnerships, as Edwin will present. UUJO will provide a recording of Edwin’s talk and our CONVO that day with references, and a vital Q&A time for all attendees.
What’s all of that commotion in Hobbs Hall this week?
We have had chronic and serious issues with the 5-year-old HVAC system in Hobbs Hall, including but not limited to malfunctions in the temperature controls, higher than expected energy usage, and the premature failure of an air-conditioning coil. After dozens of hours of volunteer time and unsatisfactory professional service the Board of Trustees voted to end our service contract with the original installer and engage a third party to do an assessment of the entire system. DiMarco and Associates completed the evaluation and provided a report.
In summary, the issues that they found were breaks in the insulation envelope, which caused a major ice dam on the roof and wasted heat, a malfunctioning fresh air intake, incorrect wiring of the fan motors, more incorrect wiring that caused the furnace and AC to run simultaneously in the kitchen and, most importantly, inadequate airflow through the system. You can find their full report here.
After reviewing the report, the Board of Trustees hired DiMarco and Associates to do the prescribed fixes.
Why did the board choose this contractor?
DiMarco and Associates is a company with a sterling reputation for working on problematic systems and for working on “green” systems. We are anticipating a significant reduction in energy requirements and a longer lifespan for all of the parts in a complicated system, not to mention one that heats and cools when it is supposed to, makes less noise and creates a less drafty main hall, which have been chronic and annoying frustrations expressed by many of you.
The board also realizes that, for a system that is this complicated, it is unfair to depend on volunteers to do anything beyond simple maintenance (i.e. changing filters).
How are we paying for this?
The board is deeply grateful to the church member who understood the magnitude of the issues and offered the first half of the $20,000 cost, which enabled the board to move forward with the project. If you would also like to help defray part of the remaining cost, you can make a donation with “Hobbs HVAC” in the memo line.
It’s time to update our visioning statement from 2008 to reflect where we want to go as a congregation over the next few years. All are invited and encouraged to participate in planning our future!
August 30, 11AM (one service): A worship service on visioning
Sept 13, after (one) 11 AM service: potluck and 1st visioning workshop for gathering ideas. This session is for all ages!
Sept 27 after 2nd service: 2nd workshop to coalesce ideas into a proposed vision statement
Oct 18 after 2nd service: session to update/discuss proposal for new Vision Statement
Nov 8 after 2nd service: congregational voting meeting to affirm new vision statement
