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Thursday, October 19, 2023

Quarterly gathering on Sunday, October 22

Would you like a little help deciding what to do with the "Time and Talent" portion of your Covenant? Here's your chance to hear a brief presentation from each of our church areas. This may help you decide where your interests and talents can be of service to our church and the community. This is an opportunity to find activities that will bring you real satisfaction and even joy!


The gathering will occur in Covenant Hall so you'll have a chance to get some food before we begin! There may be other brief reports as well. Please attend and learn the latest news about what's happening at your church.

A message for Coming Out Sunday from Michelle McNevin

Sunday, October 22 - Coming Out Sunday ~ "Living My Authentic Life"

October 11th was National Coming Out Day. I came out to my family when I was 21 years old; however, that was not the only time I had to come out. The coming out process is often messy and nonlinear; through that journey a person creates the opportunity to live their authentic full life. I look forward to sharing my coming out story with you. 

Sunday's Scripture:


Isaiah 43: 1 - 3a


Concerns:

  • Prayers for Mary Fung's father who has entered hospice care and prayers for Mary and Dan as they travel to be with her family. (10/19)
  • Prayers are requested for Janet Wilson. She is having some health concerns that are being checked out. (10/19)
  • Prayers for Barbara Kimball, a friend of Carol Robb, who broke her collarbone when she fell while hiking in Arizona. (10/19)
  • Prayers for peace in the Middle East. (10/12)
  • Prayers for the family and friends of Mark Anderson, who passed from life to Life. (10/12)
  • Prayers for Jim Sommer’s recovery from knee replacement surgery. (10/12)
  • Prayers for the friends and family of Lori Michaels whose father passed from life to Life. (10/12)
  • Karen Rose asks for prayers for her and Daniella: they were injured in a go-kart mishap. Daniella bit her tongue and Karen has a concussion. (10/4)
  • Prayers for victims of natural and human-made disasters everywhere, especially flood victims in Libya and earthquake victims in Morocco. (9/14)
  • Johanna Ballard requests prayers for her sister Cathy and her good friend Bette. (9/7)
  • Samantha Sanchez-French requests prayers for her father, Eric, regarding some not-so-good news about his health. (8/27)
  • Prayers for Dan Schoepf who faces continued health challenges. (8/10)
  • Prayers for Dick Ault's brother-in-law, Charles Proctor, who faces serious health problems. (8/13)
  • Steve Arth is recovering at Asistencia Villa and appreciates prayers and cards. He's beginning to walk with physical therapy. (10/3)
  • Prayers for Janet Edwards, who is in the Plymouth Village Care Center following a fall with pelvic fractures.
  • Prayers for Carla Becerril, who is on hospice and very much appreciates calls, visits, and notes.
  • Prayers for Cynthia McGuigan as she continues her healthcare journey.
  • We continue to hold in our prayers the people of Ukraine.


Ongoing Concerns:

Karen & Daniella

Jerry Andrews

Scott Ault

Dave, brother of Johanna Ballard

Cousin of Rick Cruz

Norma Erickson

Katia Hage

Mary Lou Haney

Beki Hill

Jody Hoelle

Harriet Holt, Beki Hill's mother

Jenny, Sister of Jules Rattray

Amber McGuigan

Bill Buchanan

Pastor Elaine's nephew Michael

Floyd Orr

Ryan and Evan Paul

Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel, Maggie George and Maggie's siblings

Spencer, friend of Stacey Greene

Robert Silver

Arika Torres

Rosemary Tuohy

2023 ART, FOR HEAVEN’S SAKE! IS OVER

BUT WE ARE ALREADY PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR!

 

The Art, for Heaven’s Sake! Planning Committee

THANKS YOU

for all your help in making this year’s show successful. 

Your willingness to help and enthusiasm were greatly appreciated.

We thank you, the church thanks you, the many artists thank you,

and the community thanks you for a job well done.

We hope to see you again next year, October 18-20, 2024!  

The Church office will be closed Monday, October 23

Normal office hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. will resume on Tuesday, October 24.

Racial Justice reflection of the week

In 1849, California’s anti-slavery state constitution meant little because it was not a crime to keep someone enslaved in this state. From 1852 to 1855, the legislature passed fugitive slave laws allowing persons escaping enslavement to be chased down, brought before a court, and sent back to the South even if they had been living in the Free State of California. In 1850, California banned African Americans from testifying against white people in court. Two years later, the California Supreme Court likewise barred Chinese Americans from testifying against whites. The result: white people could commit crimes against African and Chinese Americans with impunity and much of Jim Crow found its way into California.

 

Source: Donald Tamaki, member of the California Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, June 18, 2023, Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. Full speech available here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX92Kf5-_Us

Update from the Settled Pastor Search Committee

We continue to prepare for the early months of 2024, when candidates for our settled pastor position will be submitting their profiles for our consideration.  Recently, we worked to identify the key qualities we seek in a new pastor, using the Church Profile as our main guide.  Those qualities fall into three categories:

1.       “Empathetic and Insightful” – someone who can set a welcoming tone, provide effective pastoral care, and build trust through kindness, humility, and humor.

2.      “Faithful and Articulate” – A curious and life-long learner able to develop coherent messages based in progressive Christian theology and scholarly teachings, and who can deliver them effectively to engage a wide audience.

3.      “Organized and Skilled Leader “ – Someone who can manage an active and complex church; lead with clear communication, delegation, and collaboration; be responsive, organized and prepared; and model healthy respectful relationships with others and oneself.


We also seek a pastor who can help us “move with the times without excluding the past in the areas of service, music and contact with the congregation.”  We seek someone who can help bring in younger church members and reach a more racially- and class-diverse population.  We seek someone who shares our commitment to being open and affirming, accessible, caring for all creation, and dedicated to social justice.


From the RUCC Search Committee: Keith Osajima, Samantha Sanchez-French, Diana Steele-Jones, Janet Wilson, Dee Dee Seek, Sophia Beardemphl, Loring Fiske-Phillips, Minori Tsukimoto, and John Walsh.


If you have any questions, please contact keith@redlandsucc.org

The Pastor ponders transitional anxiety

As an interim pastor specializing in transitions, I like to share information with the congregation. In some churches I do that through the worship service. In some churches I have held weekly Table Talks over lunch. At Redlands UCC I will employ various ways of introducing information about congregational transition, and how we can move forward through the difficulties of change and grief in loving and life-giving ways.


I’ll offer info through this “nearly-weekly” article, which you will find in TheView, via email, Facebook and Teams. I’ll be sharing what we can expect when congregations experience change, the anxieties that we deal with during transitions, and how we can channel our fear or discomfort into healthy and growth-focused behaviors.



Peter Steinke has written a number of helpful books for congregations in transition, including Congregational Leadership In Anxious Times: Being Calm and Courageous No Matter What. Click on the blue link for a useful synopsis.

The Covenants are here! The Covenants are here!

Covenant Booklets are here!

The 2024 Covenant Booklets are now available in Covenant Hall after church each Sunday. You may also pick yours up in the office, Mondays through Thursdays between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. Can't make it to church? Use the link above to download a booklet from the RUCC website.


November 5 is Covenant Sunday. Please have your completed 2024 Covenant ready to turn in on or before that date. If you'd like to submit your covenant electronically you may email it to covenant@redlandsucc.org.

This mailbox is accessible only to the Pastor.

All Saints Day will be observed October 29

With autumn comes a season of endings and beginnings. The days shorten and shadows lengthen. 

 

This is a season when, from the earliest days, humans have sensed a thinning of the veil between the living and those who have passed from this life to the next. It is this thinning of the veil that has led us to the celebration of All Hallows' Eve when children play trick or treat in disguise and pumpkins are carved into lanterns and placed with glowing candles on doorsteps to guide all who pass toward light. 

 

All Saint’s Day is a day when we remember those who have passed from Life to Life, to honor them for the love they offered and the lessons they taught.

 

This All Saints' Day, the first since Jill’s passing, promises to be a meaningful time to be in contact with our feelings, recognizing both the joy of memories and the pain that comes with loss. Our musicians are preparing special music, and the worship area folk are planning ways for us to shine light on the blessings and costs of loving.

 

On Sunday, October 29, please bring with you the names of loved ones whose loss has touched you. If you wish to bring a symbol or memento that recalls a quality of the one who has passed, come to church by 10 a.m. and bring them to the front of the sanctuary. 

 

There will be slips of paper to print names on and baskets to collect them in. Pick up a sympathy card sent in love from a sibling church, that you may take with you to remind you of the power of love.

Please help stock the shelves at YouthHope!

In the month of October, we are helping YouthHope collect non-perishable items such as snacks, canned goods, spaghetti, rice, cereal, etc. YouthHope hands out over 70 boxes of groceries a month to youth and families in the community.


YouthHope was incredibly grateful for our last donation. They even sent us thoughtful thank-you cards that you can see in Covenant Hall on the bulletin board in the corner. Let's show them our support again this month! Thanks to all for your generosity!

The Social Justice Shepherd Group is happy to announce that the Alternative Christmas Faire 2023 will be November 18 - 19    

Dates: Saturday, November 18, 2023,  Set Up 8 AM, Faire 10 AM to 2 PM.

           Sunday, November 19, 2023,   Faire 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM

We have 15 vendors offering handmade goods and original art/photography. All of the vendors are part of our church family and are pleased to share their creations with you. 


You can help: Volunteer to set up and help at the event (it is fun); go through your books and donate up to ten books on social/environmental justice, self-help, spirituality, mental health, inspiring stories, children’s books; bake, bake, bake for our sale; and do your holiday shopping. Unique gifts at fantastic prices (ceramics, jewelry, cards, leather goods, sewn goods, tie-dyed goods, Faire Trade coffee/teas/chocolate, plants/seeds, original art and framed photographs/gifts, recycled women’s clothing.) Donate books in the box marked Christmas Faire in Covenant Hall. All of the proceeds from the bake/book sales go to the Pastor’s Fund. (Contact Ginny 720-308-7835 for more information.)

"Trunk or Treat" on Saturday, October 28

Trunk or Treat is filling up fast!


Our very popular Trunk or Treat event has actually reached capacity on Eventbrite.

But don’t worry; we still have room for members and friends!


Follow this link to sign up.

SIGN UP HERE


You’ll need to enter this password: RUCC (all caps).


Can’t wait to see you at this year’s Trunk or Treat!


Mentone UCC plans gospel concert November 11

November 11, at 5 p.m. is the date set for Mentone UCC's Gospel Concert "Make a Joyful Noise."


The church is located at 1205 Beryl Ave., Mentone, CA 92359.

After a two-year absence, RAIC is returning to the concept of a community choir for our annual Thanksgiving service. The organist will be Jeffrey Rickard, Minister of Music at Trinity. Tina Skousen (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) will be the guest director.

REDLANDS AREA

INTERFAITH COUNCIL

ANNUAL COMMUNITY

THANKSGVING

SERVICE

SUNDAY,

NOVEMBER 19, 2023

4:00 p.m

Trinity Episcopal,

419 S. Fourth Street

Redlands, CA 92373

Anthems chosen this year are Handel’s Thanks Be to Thee and Rutter’s For the Beauty of the Earth.  

d045a64b-a3fc-4dd2-807e-0394ada1e581 image

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

  • October 22 - Quarterly Gathering - See article above.
  • October 23 - Office closed
  • October 28 - "Trunk or Treat" at RUCC
  • October 29 - All Saints Sunday
  • November 4 - Sacred Saturday 9am-noon
  • November 5 - Daylight Savings Time ends -- "Fall back" Saturday night!
  • November 5 - COVENANT SUNDAY - Please have your completed Covenant ready to turn in on or before Nov. 5. See details in the article above.
  • November 5 - Book Group meets after church. See article above.
  • November 11 - Mentone UCC Gospel Concert
  • November 12 - Pet Blessing Sunday
  • November 12 - Wider Ministries quarterly meeting
  • November 12 - Worship Committee
  • November 18-19 - Alternative Christmas Faire - See article above.
  • November 19 - Annual Community Thanksgiving service at Trinity Episcopal Church
  • December 10 - The Youth Group's Annual Christmas Pageant - Contact Andrea Morics for more information. There are parts for children and youth of all ages



The church calendar is found at redlandsucc.org

Click on "calendar" in the red banner near the top of the page

This Week at Redlands United Church of Christ

Sunday, October 22

  • 9:15 a.m. - Seekers
  • 9:30 a.m. - Kids Zone
  • 10:30 a.m. - Worship Service & Sunday School
  • 11:30 a.m. - Fellowship time in Covenant Hall
  • 11:45 a.m. - Congregational Gathering


Monday, October 23

  • Office closed


Tuesday, October 24


Wednesday, October 25

  • Noon - Lunch Bunch with Pastor Elaine

Thursday, October 26


Friday, October 27

  • 7 p.m. Closed women's AA meeting


Saturday, October 28

  • 5:00 p.m. Trunk or Treat - See article above


Sunday, October 29 - All Saints Sunday

  • 9:15 a.m. - Seekers
  • 9:30 a.m. - Kids Zone
  • 10:30 a.m. - Worship Service & Sunday School
  • 11:30 - Fellowship time

RUCC Staff

Interim Pastor: Rev. Elaine Schoepf

Honorary Minister of Arts and Worship:  Rev. Erin Beardemphl

Music Director: David Wells

Associate Music Director: Sophia Ohanian

Children's Education Director: Susi Jacobsen

Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries: Vacant

Office and Property Manager: Veronica Bermudez

Child Care: Joette Orman

 

Website:  www.redlandsucc.org

Phone: 909-793-3520

 

Staff and Other Emails

pastorelaine@redlandsucc.org

musicdirector@redlandsucc.org

childrenseducation@redlandsucc.org

youth@redlandsucc.org



office@redlandsucc.org

weddings@redlandsucc.org

theview@redlandsucc.org