Welcoming all of the folks who share their music to make our services meaningful and beautiful! Singers, ringers, instrumentalists, if you have contributed to leading music on a Sunday morning, we would love to have you here. Join us for an evening celebrating you and the gifts you share. Bring a dish to share. Families are welcome!
Community concert hosted by the Kent UU Peace Chorus
Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent 228 Gougler Ave. Kent, OH 44240 Wednesday, May 20, 7:00pm-8:30pm in the Historic Sanctuary
Program is free and open to all! Donations warmly received in support of our Music Ministry.
Join us for an evening of Song! The choir will share favorites from their season and invite those gathered into a participatory experience of shared musicking. Special guests will be included from our Kent UU community, including the Tone Chime Ensemble! Guest songleaders to include: Saunis Parsons, Katie Grigg-Miller, and Merlin Johnson. Featuring Peace Chorus director, Emily Hall and accompanist, Vanessa Vesely
Gather in Hobbs Hall at 10:30am or after the morning RE programming to help lead a couple of hymns from the front of the room! If you are not familiar with the songs, we will be singing them during our Justice Chapel at 9:15am, #153 Oh I Woke Up This Morning and Ella’s Song.
Join Staff Accompanist Vanessa Vesely and Music Director Emily Hall for a fun evening of music and singing!Learn how more about our new hymnal, Sing Out Love, and sing some of our new favorites! Come early and bring your computer/tablet/phone and get your own log in to the virtual hymnal.
Historic Sanctuary at the Kent UU Church Wednesday, January 21 6:00pm Connect with virtual platform – get logged in! 6:30pm-7:30pm Sing!
Join Brad, Margot, and friends for an evening of Kirtan chanting, a way to celebrate unity in diversity by joining voices in “call and response” chants in Sanskrit and English.
Call and response chanting to bring together our worlds, small and large, and share another evening of music, sound and silence. Be the choir and the quiet. Bring your friends
Krsnaa Fitch of Enchanted Hearts will join us again with vocals and Lexie Roth on viola. Guests this evening are Alicia Patrice and Bob Wilson. Alicia will lead us in two Dances of Universal Peace, an art of movement and music as worship. Bob Wilson ministers to the poet in us all, and he will share Inversnaid, with musical accompaniment. Join us!
This quarterly offering is jointly hosted by the communities of the UU Church of Kent and One Love Yoga. All are welcome, so please join us, and invite friends and family. Suggested donation of $10.
Location:
Church Sanctuary @ the UU Church of Kent (elevator is repaired!) 228 Gougler Ave. Kent, OH 44240
The Kent Community Sing has returned! Our next gathering will be Monday, May 11 from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm in Fessenden Hall (social hall on the ground floor of the historical church building). The Community Sing is a fun, casual jam session/ sing-along and is open to anyone in the community. Bring your banjos, ukuleles, fiddles, didgeridoos, a Rise Up Singing songbook if you have one, and your friends!
Upcoming dates: May 11 & May 25
Please note that after this month (May 2026) the Kent Community Sing will not be meeting at the UU Church of Kent.
For more information check out the “Kent Community Sing” Facebook group, or connect with Katie Grigg-Miller. See you there!
Our Peace Chorus season will begin on Wednesday, October 1. The Kent UU Peace Chorus is a part of our music ministry and offers music for two worship services a month. We sing music from a variety of styles including musicals, choral classics, folk songs, hymns, and pieces by UU and local composers. Open to middle/high school students and adults who love to sing. No auditions, only the desire to sing in an ensemble and connect through music and camaraderie. We will meet weekly on Wednesdays from 6:00pm-7:30pm through December 24th (Christmas Eve Service). Contact our music director Emily at [email protected] with any questions!
Join Staff Accompanist Vanessa Vesely and Music Director Emily Hall for a fun evening of music and singing!Learn how to use the new hymnal and sing some of our new favorites! Come early and bring your computer/tablet/phone and get your own log in to the virtual hymnal.
Hobbs Hall at the Kent UU Church Tuesday, September 23 6:00pm Connect with virtual platform – get logged in! 6:30pm-8:00pm Sing!
Are you an avid music listener? Do you live in a musical? Can you name 5 songs that relate to the theme “Embodying Resilience”? Join a music ministry brainstorm session on Wednesday, January 14th at 6:30pm!
Join Director of Music Ministry Emily Hall for a zoom brainstorm session for the musically excited and inclined as we think about what music will support our community in delving deeper into our upcoming worship themes of Resistance, Resilience, Attention, Possibility, Curiosity, and Flourishing. All music fans, all ages welcome!
Enjoy an afternoon of jazzy Christmas tunes in the Church Sanctuary, with festive Christmas cookies and refreshments at intermission.
Along with the brass quintet there will be a few pieces by musical guests including the UUCK Peace Choir.
The Tarnished Brass is Jennifer May and Christie Anderson on trumpet, Don Easterling on French horn, Dave Watt on trombone, and Randy Ruchotzke on tuba.
$20 Advanced tickets are available through the Service Auction website, or $20 free will donation at the door.
Our service next Sunday will include a slide show in celebration of Mother’s Day. If you would like to honor your mother or someone who has been a mother figure in your life, please email a photo to Rev. Melissa by this Saturday morning. Include the name of the person you are honoring. If you are not able to email a photo, you can bring a print to the church office by Friday afternoon instead.
Worship & Music
Sunday services are offered at 9:45 and 11:30 AM.
May 11 – Colorful Spirituality
Rev. Melissa Carvill-Ziemer and Worship Associate Mary Lou Holly
Hindus celebrate a spring holiday called Holi. It is literally a festival of colors. This morning we wonder together how exploring color might help us explore spirituality.
The Library Committee would like to thank the Youth Group and their Advisers for the thoughtful and inspiring service,”Letting Go”, presented last Sunday. Youth participants included Sydney Haines, Allison Norris, Natasha Swango, Paul Marsh, Breanna McCrystal, and Connor May. Their advisers were Mary Ann Kasper, Kathy Kerns, Lori McGee and Beth Kuemerle.
The readings and all the homilies were very moving, the music beautifully chosen, and the sequence of each presentation had a logical and a rhythmic flow from one to the next. We feel fortunate, indeed, that the future of this church rests with such outstanding future leaders.
The readings were taken from The Teachings of the Buddha, Jack Kornfield, ed., Boston, Shambhala, 1996. This book is in the church Library.
The Library Committee: Jane Krimmer, Harry Noden, Carolyn Andrews-Schlemmer, Gene Wenninger, Kathy Wilen, Martha Kluth and Ann Waters.
Community Within
A Walden information meeting will be held in the sanctuary between services on Sunday, May 11th. Whether you are a dedicated Waldenite, a moderate Walden-lite, or an uncertain Walden-might, you are invited to attend.
Dear UUCK Family,
Thank you not only for the gifts but for all of your kindness, prayers, and comforting words through this journey to build our family. I look forward to bringing Hunter to church to meet his extended, chosen family.
Thank you, Trudy Diehl
Attention All Leaders and Committee Chairs
All Annual Reports to be included in the Annual Meeting packet are due immediately! Please submit or email reports to MaryBeth at [email protected]. Annual Meeting packets will be available to the congregation on May 14. The Annual Congregational Information Meeting is scheduled for May 28 @ 7 PM and the Voting Meeting will be held on June 1 @ 12:30 PM.
Surprise Friends – Just a reminder…
Don’t forget your Surprise Friend this week! Bring your surprise (a note, a piece of artwork, etc.) and leave it on the Surprise Friends table in Fessenden Hall.
The Patricia Pownall UU Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, May 13 at 7 pm in the home of Trish Kwartler. This month we are reading Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Let the Great World Spin is the critically acclaimed author’s most ambitious novel yet: a dazzlingly rich vision of the pain, loveliness, mystery, and promise of New York City in the 1970s. Elegantly weaving together seemingly disparate lives, McCann’s powerful allegory comes alive in the unforgettable voices of the city’s people, unexpectedly drawn together by hope, beauty, and the “artistic crime of the century.” A sweeping and radical social novel, it captures the spirit of America in a time of transition, extraordinary promise, and, in hindsight, heartbreaking innocence. In June we will be reading Cloud Cover by Margo Milcetich. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper. All are welcome.
New UU Classes in May!
Curious? Interested in learning more? Ready to take the next step?
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 didn’t know where to go or whom 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, May 4th, from 9-11 am. Part 2 will be on Sunday, May 18th, 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.
Defective Hal Walker Hal-elujah! CDs
If you have purchased a Hal Walker CD from me and found that it would not play, please return it to me and I will replace it with a (hopefully) good one for free. I know of 2 or 3 blank CDs already, and am assuming there are others out there. My expert staff has contacted the manufacturer about the problem. Sorry!
Brad Bolton
Outreach and Social Justice
RiverDay Garlic Mustard Pull on Saturday, May 17th, 10am-12pm
Meet at the parking lot at 143 Gougler Ave. across from the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent to protect our riverside park from invasive weeds. Contact Andrew Rome for more information.
Green Sanctuary of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent presents a free showing of the movie: Forks Over Knives
“A film that can save your life” Roger Ebert Chicago-Sun Times
“Great Movie” Mark Bittman, New York Times columnist
Date: May 23, 2014
Time: 7 pm
Place: The Sanctuary
Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent
Followed by discussion and healthy snacks
Contact person: Trish McLoughlin
UU and Interfaith Connections
The Kent Community TimeBank, Inc. Presents: “Let The Sun Shine In,” A TimeBank Fundraiser*
Friday May 23, 2014
5:30-7:30 PM
At the Kent Historical Society Museum, 237 E. Main St., Kent OH
Admission $20
Contact MaryAnn Kasper if you are interested in purchasing a ticket.
Income Generation
Tupperware Fundraiser coming May 18th!!
During coffee hour we will have a cash-and-carry table of Tupperware for you to purchase, then plan on joining us for the kick off party of our annual Tupperware Fundraiser at 12:45 pm in Fessenden Hall. Please plan on stopping by to see the latest Summer catalog and place your order. This is also a good time to bring in any broken Tupperware that needs replaced.
We will have Fundraiser brochures available for you to take home and obtain orders from family and friends as well as an online party where out of town family and friends can place orders for the church fundraiser.
The church receives a percentage of the sales from every order placed!
Any questions, email or call Meg Milko. Thank you for your support.
Some Notes About Our FY ’15 Budget
The Board has reviewed the budget recommended by the Finance Committee. It is a decent budget in that it covers the expenses of our operation, preserves our current level of staffing, and preserves our payment of our fair share of annual program fund dues to the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Ohio Meadville District. The congregation has made clear that these are core values for us, and we are happy that our pledging is sufficient to reflect these values in our budget. We can all be proud of the hard work we have done to get to this place.
However, we know that many of you will be disappointed to learn that our pledging is not sufficient to maintain the budget we had in FY ’14, nor are we able to grow into all of the goals we had for FY ’15. We told you at the beginning of our stewardship campaign that we had three goals for this year: to respond to rising health insurance costs, to create a fund for our 150th anniversary celebration in 2016-2017, and to invest in our music ministry. Of course we want to make sure that all of our staff meet the UUA fair compensation guidelines, and we also hoped to provide them with a modest 1 or 2% cost-of-living adjustment. Because our pledge total for FY ‘15 shows only a small increase over FY ’14, we are not able to able to accomplish as much as we hoped.
As an employer we are obliged to fulfill the health insurance commitments we have made to staff; this necessitates absorbing increased costs of insurance in our FY ’15 budget. Since FY ’15 pledging does not cover this amount, we had to make cuts in some of our program areas to absorb the additional cost in the budget. The proposed budget as it currently stands covers the increased health insurance costs, but it does not allow us to meet the UUA’s most recent (just received a few days ago) minimum fair compensation guidelines for all of our staff, nor does it include cost-of-living adjustments for all of them.
In addition, this budget does not provide a fund for the 150th anniversary celebration or sufficient additional investment in our music ministry. This past year Hal created the Golden Tones Junior Choir, the Fallow Time Folk Orchestra, and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Kent Tone Chimers, in addition to his work with the adult choir and other responsibilities. We will not be able to sustain the level of musical programming we have this year without additional funding for FY15.
If you are able to reconsider your pledge in light of this information, we would welcome additional contributions. We would love nothing more than to revise the budget to achieve more of our goals in support of our mission.
Thanks to all who worked hard on our stewardship campaign this year, especially the leaders, Kathie Slater, Meg Milko, Sandy Eaglen, and Marion Yeagler. And thanks again to all of you for your contributions of time, talent, and treasures to our beloved church community.
Sincerely,
Elaine Yehle Bowen, on behalf of the Board of Trustees
Terry Leonino and Greg Artzner began to play music together in Kent, Ohio in September of 1973. In the years since then, they have traveled and toured extensively, performed in concerts, at folk clubs and festivals around the world, and recorded many times. Magpie has always embraced a musical rainbow, and with impressive proficiency in each different genre. From traditional, classic country, swing, and blues of the nineteen twenties and thirties, to contemporary songs written by themselves and others, Terry and Greg cover a lot of musical ground.
Pete Seeger wrote: “Greg and Terry can show us all what a wonderful thing it can be for two voices to harmonize together. How lucky I am to have lived to see and hear more links in the chain.”
Sing Out magazine writes: “This recording (Give Light) absolutely radiates light, glowing with great songs in radiant performances… Their music is their religion, and Give Light comes very close to the divine.”
I have compiled Hal’s best performances during Sunday morning services at church over the last 6 years into one critically acclaimed* CD, now available at church on Sunday mornings. They are $10 each, with all proceeds going to the music program at church. Revel in Hal’s original masterpieces! Wonder at his ability to play two instruments at once! Be amazed at John Marfy’s jaw harp prowess! Hear Hallie transition from a girl into a young lady!
Get your collectible “Hal-elujah” CD during coffee hour starting Sunday, March 23, or anytime from Brad Bolton.
View a collection of over 20 videos taken by Dan Flippo during the 2014 Ohio-Meadville District Summer Institute
Magpie
I have compiled Hal’s best performances during Sunday morning services at church over the last 6 years into one critically acclaimed* CD, now available at church on Sunday mornings. They are $10 each, with all proceeds going to the music program at church. Revel in Hal’s original masterpieces! Wonder at his ability to play two instruments at once! Be amazed at John Marfy’s jaw harp prowess! Hear Hallie transition from a girl into a young lady!