Worship & Music
Sunday services are offered at 9:45 and 11:30 AM.
February 9 – Because We Can
Carol Thomas Cissel, Resident Minister at All Souls Unitarian Church in Tulsa, OK and Worship Associate Bonnie Harper – One of life’s salient questions is this, “Why should I help others?” The simple, quick answer is that we help because it is the right thing to do. But, we are not a simple people. There are deeper reasons why we care for others. Join us this morning to talk about the beauty of giving, that unknown thing which drives us to work towards justice and the call to help Because We Can.
Lifespan Learning
Congratulations to Quinn Barker, Daniel Flippo, Sophia Grubb, Brady Ingersoll, James Janus, Elena Kline, Sydney Mack, Gia Marfy, Spencer Marfy, Lucas Pierre and Isaac St. Clair for completing the OWL for Grades 4-6 class. Many thanks to Jennifer May and Jeff Lang for their excellent leadership. OWL is short for Our Whole Lives, which is the Unitarian Universalist Association’s program of comprehensive sexuality education. We also offer the OWL for Grades 7-9 and will offer Adult OWL in the future.
Our Director of Religious Education, Karen Lapidus, will be on vacation from February 11-18. Colleen Thoele, Religious Education Assistant, will handle any RE concerns while Karen is gone. .
RADIOLAB AND PANCAKES
Feb.23rd during 2nd service, our short then is “Ally’s Choice” “Ally’s Choice” is about a girl who lives in a very racist environment. How will her friends and family respond when she decides that she is not “African-American” but “White”, and is accepted as such by the racist leaders in her school? This short challenges all our preconceptions about “race” and identity.
If you have any questions, please contact Cheryl Spoehr.
Community Within
Rev. Melissa will be out of town Thursday through Monday in Portland, OR to chair the UUA’s Western Regional Subcommittee on Candidacy. She will be available by cell phone for urgent concerns and will check email as often as she can.
Stop by the Caring Cards Table on Sunday
Our Care Team is trying an experiment. For the next several Sundays we will have a table in Fessenden Hall where you can start or sign a card to another member or friend of the congregation to let them know that you are thinking about them and wishing them well. A member of our Care Team will be at a table in Fessenden Hall during coffee hour with a variety of cards. You can stop by and ask that a card be started for someone in particular or just stop by and sign the cards that others have started. The cards will remain on the table after the second service so that those who attend that service can sign as well. The cards will be collected and mailed at the beginning of each week. This experiment is designed to help us widen the caring net of our congregation. Give it a try and let us know what you think about the effort.
GLUTEN FREE PRODUCTS
Several of the members of our congregation have an allergy to gluten. The symptoms can vary from mild to very severe. It is important to confirm that any products provided at coffee hours are indeed gluten free. The best way to confirm this is to speak with the person who baked the products. When in doubt, it is best to assume that the product is NOT gluten free. Thank you all for helping to make our refreshments healthy and safe.
New UU Classes in February
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 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, February 9, from 9-11 am. Part 2 will be on Sunday, February 16, 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.
Are you raising a little UU? Come and join the Parents of Young Children group!
Starting in February we will meet once a month. We’ll begin by sharing a meal all together (adults and kids). Childcare will be provided during a our meeting. The Parents of Young Children (PYC) group will resemble our small group ministry but would focus specifically on the issues, concerns, joys and challenges of raising children and creating balance in our spiritual life and parenting roles. This group is for parents and caregivers of kids in kindergarten and under.
For more details, please see Colleen Thoele or Karen Lapidus
The Patricia Pownall UU Book Group will be meeting on Tuesday, February 11 at 7 pm at the home of Kathy Kerns. This month we are reading Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne. This book spans two astonishing stories. The first traces the rise and fall of the Comanches, the most powerful Indian tribe in American history. The second entails one of the most remarkable narratives ever to come out of the Old West: the epic saga of the pioneer woman Cynthia Ann Parker and her mixed blood son Quanah, who became the last and greatest chief of the Comanche. In March we will be reading The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert. If you have any questions you may contact Bonnie Harper. All are welcome
Art in the Sanctuary
For the month of February, we want to thank abstract artist Karen Millia of Ravenna for providing the art in the sanctuary. She graduated recently with a Fine Arts degree from Kent State. She is currently studying graphic design at Stark Tech.
Reverend Melissa’s prepares her thoughtful Sunday homilies using various references that may be of interest to our congregation. The Library will print in the e-nUUs, the primary homily reference she used the previous Sunday, and we will indicate whether the reference is in her personal collection (MCZ), or in the Library (L.) The Library will give strong consideration to purchasing selected references for our collection.
Sunday, January 26th, for the homily, “A Lion’s Heart”, Rev. Melissa used references from the DVD collection, “The Necessity of Virtue,” by Galen Guengrich. This is a 10-part presentation on virtues and how they can support people living into their potential. (MCZ)
A reminder to save Tuesday, Feb. 25 for the 4th and final Library Symposium at 7P.M. in Fessenden Hall. The program will present the recorded (DVD) Bill Moyers interview with the writer, Margaret Atwood. Refreshments will be served after viewing the interview, followed by a discussion with Joel Slater as Moderator.
Come browse in the church Library. We have recently UU Publications from UU sources, donated books on a variety of topics, and magazines of interest which are free for the taking. Instruction for self-checkout are in the Library, but a Library committee member is generally available during coffee hour to assist you.
With winter weather arriving, we are aware that there may be occasions when we need to cancel programming at the church. Though we are unlikely to need to cancel Sunday services entirely (Rev. Melissa, our minister, and Hal Walker, our music director, live within walking distance), we may choose to have only the first service if the weather or the roads indicate limiting programming. It is more likely that we may need to cancel our religious education program in inclement weather as our Director of Religious Education, Karen Lapidus, and many of our volunteer teachers and advisors drive some distance to get to church.
If the weather or the condition of the roads cause you to wonder whether we are proceeding with our programming as scheduled, please check for cancellations before you head out.
You can check in one of three places:
- our church’s Facebook page,
- call the church number and listen to the message on voicemail
- tune in to any television or radio station connected with iAlert. (WKYC-TV, Channel 3)
We’d like to remind our members and friends of the online tool we are using to help schedule volunteers for Sundays. It would be really helpful to the Sunday Volunteer Coordinators if you would be willing to use this tool. Please see the link below. Thank you.
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
Outreach and Social Justice
Green Sanctuary February Heat: Bring your energy, experience, and creative ideas to the continuing UUCK Green Sanctuary process. Think back on your involvement in green activities over the last decade or so. On February 16th during coffee hour we will document our progress in becoming greener as individuals and as a congregation. We will note projects and activities on a timeline along the East wall of Fessenden Hall.
Scheduling on February 16 connects us to the 2014 Interfaith Power & Light National Preach-In on Climate Change (“Doing Our Part”) and to Valentine’s Day weekend. As Preach-In participants we will write and send cards on behalf of the Earth to Members of Congress. To further generate heat we will write love letters to the Earth and post them on the giant new globe hanging in Fessenden Hall.
Next steps? Friday, February 21 at 7pm: Free screening and discussion of the acclaimed film Chasing Ice.
All friends of the earth are invited to these events! Environmentally friendly refreshments included. For further information contact Mary Lou Holly
The Unitarian Universalist Allies for Racial Equity conference is going to be in our backyard this March! Well, technically, it is going to be at West Shore Unitarian Universalist Church in Rocky River. This is an excellent opportunity to connect with Unitarian Universalists from across the country as we explore ways to grow in our journey toward wholeness. The complete conference brochure is attached to this email.
Sunday, Feb 9 – IRTF Social Justice Teach-In at Case Western Reserve University. Workshops include: hunger, poverty, homelessness, sexism, nonviolence, storytelling, voluntarism, justice Bible study, militarism, environmental racism, sustainability and advocacy. Keynote: Sarah Kalloch of Oxfam America’s Behind the Brands campaign. Registration $10, or free for students. Info at 216.961.0003 or IRTFcleveland.org .
UU and Interfaith Connections
Come join us at the UU Church of Akron for Fun Family Theatre Night!
The Unitarian Universalist Church of Akron will host Magical Theatre’s professional touring production of Bunnicula! The Vampire Bunny. Thursday, February 20 at 7 pm.
Based on the beloved children’s book by Deborah and James Howe, Bunnicula is fun for the whole family. BEWARE THE HARE! Is he or isn’t he a vampire? Before it’s too late, Harold the dog and Chester the cat must find out the truth about the newest pet in the Monroe household — a suspicious-looking bunny with unusual habits…and fangs!
The performance is open to the public, all are welcome! $5 suggested donation at the door. To let us know you are coming or if you have questions contact [email protected] or call the church office at 330-836-2206.
Performance is Thursday, February 20, 7 pm, UU Church of Akron, 3300 Morewood Rd, Akron, OH (across from Summit Mall).
Income Generation
Holiday Gift Fair . . . Another huge success
We had a very successful fundraiser again this year. With your help, donations and participation we raised right around $1,200!!!
Thank you,
Meg Milko, Fundraising Chair