The Capital Campaign Team would like to celebrate the terrific progress towards our goal. As of this week, we have raised enough money to fund Phase I of the expansion plans, the new building!  Is everyone ready and excited to see a new building with a large social hall, kitchen with a commercial dishwasher, 2 new RE rooms, and a library? But we’re not done!  Next up: funding Phase II, renovation of the church basement to new and better RE space. Let’s do it!

We appreciate that folks have been taking the time they need to thoughtfully consider their commitment. We thank those who have already pledged, and ask those who have not yet done so to consider making their pledge this week. We are looking forward to bringing the campaign to a conclusion, and want every gift to be counted. Questions? Capital Campaign Team members are available to speak with you at their table in Fessenden Hall after each service.

Marion Yeagler & Kathy Kerns

co-Chairs, Capital Campaign Team

Far out, dudes and dudettes–what are you waiting for!!  GrUUvy Saturday, November 7, is just around the corner!

It’s time to pull out your favorite bell-bottoms and tie-dye T-shirts so you’ll be ready for GrUUvy Kent, UUCK’s biggest and best social/fundraising event of the year!  Join the rest of us swingin’ hipsters at the United Church of Christ at 6:00 P.M. for good food, good talk, and good buys. Get your ticket for just $20.00, and PLEASE remember to turn in your donation forms by this Sunday, November 1!  Well, off to look for our love beads so we can practice our funky chicken in style–see you a week from this Saturday!

UUCK Service Auction Committee

An Evening of Musical Variety 
November 14, 2015     7:30 pm  $15 suggested donation

Our amazingly musical church community has been working hard to prepare for “the big show.” All proceeds from this concert go directly toward continuing to fund the essential position of accompanist for our choir.  Please help us meet our goal of raising $1,000!

Don’t miss what has become a UUCK musical tradition.  We need YOU to take your place in the audience!

September 27, 2015 marked the kickoff of Capital Campaign here at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent.  The day began with inspiring worship services, continued with a celebration lunch, a gathering at the KSU 1910 lounge and finished with a fundraising concert at The Kent Stage featuring Hey Mavis and Hal Walker!

Many thanks to Debra Lynn Hook for creating and sharing  the following video!

We had an excellent turn out for the introduction to our new adult religious education opportunity focusing on racial justice and equity. Building the World We Dream About is an educational series that will provide the opportunity for our community to engage with the tangled knot of privilege, oppression and identity within a sacred, covenantal space held by skilled and trusted facilitators. Everyone is invited to participate.

Classes will be offered on Tuesdays at 10 AM and 7 PM beginning September 15. 

It may be possible for the Church to provide childcare for these classes – if you are in need of childcare, please contact Rev. Melissa no later than 4 PM on Sunday, September 13.  Thank you.

Tired of wearing unsightly and cumbersome headphones?  Can’t hear the services even if you have hearing aids?  Relief is coming, and soon!  The church will have a Hearing Loop system, state of the art technology for public places, installed by the end of September.  Unlike our current system, the Loop will create a magnetic field which is picked up by T-coil-equipped hearing aids, so no headphones are required.
The sound is greatly improved over headphones because each person’s hearing aid is individually tuned to their ears, and annoying room sound is eliminated because the hearing aids fit snugly in the ear canal.  Nearly all in-ear and behind-the-ear hearing aids made in the last 5 years have T-coils in them.  As an added bonus, users can elect to hear the Loop sound only (eliminates room sound), room sound only (eliminates the Loop), or both at once.  The choice is made on the user’s hearing aid.  But wait, there’s more!  We will also receive two receivers and headphones for those who don’t have hearing aids, but need a little assistance.

This all started at Summer Institute.  I noticed that Warren Brown, sound tech for SI and Akron UU member, installed a temporary Loop in the church.  I asked him about it, and he said he installed Loop systems professionally.  And if I helped him out with the grunt work, we’d get a price break. Just last week the Ministerial Executive Team approved the install.  Olive Hobbs, soon you can rejoice!

Look for this Loop System logo in the church soon.

Brad Bolton

“ . . . and to help one another”

Every Sunday, we all speak, and truly mean, this phrase from our Covenant.  On September 20^th, after both services, all UUCK Committees, Teams, and Groups will be showcasing their work and ministries.  Every Committee and Group is looking to educate us about what their team does and how we can help!  There is a Committee or Group for you!  Plan to come to the Ministries Fair in Fessenden Hall during Coffee Hour and after Second Service.  Learn what goes on and find a match with your interests and skills, and your time availability.  Engaging in service to our Community is a pathway to personal and spiritual growth.

Realize our Covenant in your life by committing to some new way of belonging within our Beloved Community this year, whether small or large.  There is much to be done.

Claudia Miller,

Volunteer Ministries Coordinator

This year the Library will partner with the KEC to present a Symposium, “How Global Warming Affects Us and What We Can Do to Save Ourselves.”

It will be held on Monday, Sept. 21st at 7:00 P.M. in the Sanctuary.  A panel of 4 speakers will include 3 Kent State Professors, each presenting a different aspect of climate change: Joseph Ortiz, from Geology; Charles Frederick, from the College of Architecture and Environmental  Design; and Andrea Case from Biological Sciences. Andrew Rome, a congregational member, will talk about assimilating climate change information into everyday life. Bill Wilen will serve as Panel Moderator. The Committee encourages you and your family to join us for this special event. Climate change becomes more critical as we observe its changes on our planet. Questions will be taken at the end of each presentation. A Free Will offering will be accepted and shared with KEC. Refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the program.

The 150th Anniversary Celebration Committee will meet again on Sunday, September 13th after second service.  We will gather in Fessenden Hall.

The Patricia Pownall UU Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, September 8 at 7 pm in the home of Shannon Osorio.  Meet at the church at 6:30 if you want to carpool.  This month we are reading Margot by Jillian Cantor.  Anne Frank has long been a symbol of bravery and hope, but there were two sisters hidden in the annex, two young Jewish girls, one a cultural icon made famous by her published diary and the other, nearly forgotten. In the spring of 1959, The Diary of Anne Frank has just come to the silver screen to great acclaim, and a young woman named Margie Franklin is working in Philadelphia as a secretary at a Jewish law firm. On the surface she lives a quiet life, but Margie has a secret: a life she once lived, a past and a religion she has denied, and a family and a country she left behind.

Margie Franklin is really Margot Frank, older sister of Anne, who did not die in Bergen-Belsen as reported, but who instead escaped the Nazis for America. But now, as her sister becomes a global icon, Margie’s carefully constructed American life begins to fall apart. A new relationship threatens to overtake the young love that sustained her during the war, and her past and present begin to collide. Margie is forced to come to terms with Margot, with the people she loved, and with a life swept up into the course of history.

In October we will be reading The Care and Handling of Roses with Thorns by Margaret Dilloway.

If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper.  All are welcome.

The date for the 2015-2016 Ministries Fair has been set!  September 20^th  is the day and our theme is “…and to help one another!” 

This is the time when all UUCK Committees, Teams, and Groups can showcase all the nuts & bolts, the gears & belts, and the bells & whistles that make our Beloved Community work!  It’s a great opportunity to recruit new members to your team as well.  The Ministries Fair will be OPEN during Coffee Hour and after Second Service.

Each Committee or Group should reserve a table and request a “table tent” sign, by September 11^th, please, by contacting MaryBeth at  330 673-4247 or [email protected].  Then, pick your theme, assemble your brochure(s), information, posters, special effects, sign-up sheets, treats, and so on, that will be part of your

display.  Designate a couple of members of your team to be on hand (after each service) to inform and answer questions about the volunteer opportunities that your committee offers.

So, save the date:  Sunday, September 20^th, UUCK Ministries Fair.

Each Second Sunday, the Membership Team will host a Meet & Greet for newcomers in the Founders’ Lounge at 11:00.  Please join with members of the Membership Committee and Church Staff for coffee, light refreshments, and informal conversation.  Take the opportunity to make yourself known and to meet some friendly folks who can serve as your first circle of UUCK acquaintances!  We’ll do our best to make you feel welcome and comfortable.  Andrea, Trish, Cheryl, Cheryl, Diane, Shannon, Mary, and Claudia will be on hand to help answer your questions, to alert you to activities and opportunities, to “show you the ropes,” and to help you break into the sometimes daunting “Coffee Hour” experience.

Please stay for a short visit after First Service, or, come a little early before Second Service.  We look forward to meeting you.  Whether you are “brand new,” “nearly new,” “sort of new”, or just want to meet UUs, plan to stop by the Meet & Greet table in the Founders’ Lounge (same level as sanctuary) at 11 am (September 13^th and every subsequent Second Sunday of each month).  This is a family friendly event, so kids are welcome.  Nursery care provided.

Join us in the Sanctuary at 7 PM on Thursday, September 3 for an introduction to the upcoming adult religious education opportunity focusing on racial justice and equity.  Building the World We Dream About is an educational series that will provide the opportunity for our community to engage with the tangled knot of privilege, oppression, and identity within a sacred, covenantal space held by skilled and trusted facilitators.   Classes will be offered on Tuesdays at 10 AM and 7 PM beginning September 15.

Plan ahead:

• September 19:  Hal Walker / Matt Watroba
• September 27:  Special “Hey Mavis” concert at the Kent Stage – part of the Capital Campaign Kickoff weekend   To purchase your ticket(s) visit The Kent Stage: http://www.thekentstage.com/
• October 17:  Neil Jacobs

To purchase tickets online for concerts held at the Church: UUCK Online Store

For more information on the concerts and performers: Cuyahoga River Concerts Facebook Page

?Please visit our table or contact Cara Constance if you are able to donate food for the hospitality time during intermission.  Our warm, inviting intermissions are a wonderful part of these intimate concerts.?