Summer Series continues, Saturday, July 22, at 10a.m.

Summer Series continues this weekend, Saturday morning, July 22nd, at 10a.m.

We will start with Potluck Brunch and Games before we work together to Widen our Welcome.

Bring your favorite Brunch dish if you can and come join us as we explore Welcoming All Worshipers at Redlands UCC. This is an event for all ages; we look forward to sharing our morning with you!

You can help minimize clean-up by bringing your own dishes, cups, and cutlery.

A message from our Pastor and Teacher

Sunday, July 23 ~ "Managing these weeds while the good seed grows." 

We work so hard to plant good seed in good soil--we water it and feed it and lovingly tend it to get a beautiful and healthful harvest. So where do all these weeds come from? 

And while we’re on the topic – what are we going to do about them? 

Some may like to look at this parable as being about good people (us) and bad people (them), with us being lovingly harvested and the baddies taken away to be burned – Others prefer to look at it as about life in general with good and bad experienced together and with us dreaming of the day when all difficulties in life will disappear. What is this parable saying to us? 

Sunday's Scripture

Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

July 16- Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

CLICK HERE FOR THE BULLETIN FOR JULY 23

CELEBRATING THE NEWLYWEDS

This Sunday July 23 after church we will celebrate Sophia Ohanian and Zoë Petersen and their recent wedding – please join us!

Congregation-wide Survey

The Church Profile Committee has compiled a brief survey to gather information to write a well-informed church profile. We want to make sure to represent the voices of everyone at RUCC, so we would love a response from each and every one of you! This survey will take only..5-10 minutes of your time. Please access the survey at this link and feel free to contact Chuck Zamaria, Diana Steele, Dan Wacks, or Paul Welsh with any questions or for technical assistance.

Help us Promote Art, for Heaven’s Sake! Fine Arts Festival

Art, for Heaven’s Sake! is switching to electronic postcards and we need your help. Please help us reach more people by getting your friends and colleagues to sign up for our electronic mailing list. We plan to send out electronic postcards a couple of weeks before the show. If you make it your goal to get 10 or more to sign up it would be a great help. You can use the QR code here or pick up a QR sticker in the gathering area at church. People can also email artforheavensake@gmail.com and ask to be put on the list. All we need is a name and an email address

Reflection of the week from the Racial Justice Team

Did you know that the USA has the highest maternal mortality rate among all developed countries worldwide, and that the death rate for Black women is twice that of White women? Aftershock (https://www.aftershockdocumentary.com) is a true story of two families' firsthand experiences with the Black maternal mortality crisis and how their community came together to honor and fight for two women who died shortly after giving birth.

Aftershock will be screened Wednesday, July 26, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. After the screening of the film, join Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties for a guided discussion focusing on the racial disparities in healthcare access that have devastating impacts on the maternal health of women of color, especially Black women.

Reservations: https://www.weareplannedparenthood.org/a/aftershock-film-screening?_gl=1*1q1h5f2*_ga*MzE0OTY0MjQyLjE2ODk1Njc3MDI.*_gid*MjM5MTkxNDUxLjE2ODk1Njc3MDI.

From the Environmental Justice Team

Conversion of transportation from hydrocarbon-powered to electric vehicles is a key component of plans to decarbonize the global economy, yet electric vehicles come with their own creation justice issues. For example, lithium is critical to the batteries that power electric vehicles (as well as consumer electronics such as cell phones), and obtaining that lithium has environmental and societal impacts. Consider the proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine, which will be located on federal land in Nevada. Yet this land is considered sacred by some Native tribes in the area, and was the subject of a two-year legal battle. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled that the mine had been properly permitted by the federal government, thus allowing construction to go forward.

For a discussion of the issues, click here and for the article about the 9^th Circuit ruling, click here.

A great way to spend a Friday evening!

RUCC has been asked to guest usher on July 28 at the Friday night show of Hello Dolly! at the Redlands Bowl. The duties are easy, and consist mostly of passing the red bowls for the freewill offering at intermission--definitely something that church folk know how to do! This is the Bowl's 100th anniversary year, so the season is very special. Hello Dolly! should be a real standout! Contact Paul Hodson for details.

Do you have a record player and like classical music?

Do you have a record player and like classical music? Helga Vroom has over 200 records she would like to give away; please call 909-280-9701.

LGBTQIAFG hosts movie night Saturday, July 29, at 7:30 p.m.

"For the Bible Tells Me So" will be the Saturday night feature when LGBTQIAFG hosts a movie night on July 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Covenant Hall. There will be free popcorn, snacks and drinks.

Questions? Contact Sam or Sarah (909) 492-2367 / (909) 233-2834

Caring for Kin continues with Women of Faith - School Supplies Needed

Women of Faith, a local organization that assists refugee and immigrant families in resettling, needs school supplies for the children, especiallycollege-ruled notebooks and loose-leaf paper, watercolor markers, pink erasers, highlighters, and small pencil sharpeners.

In addition, Women of Faith are always collecting new and gently used household supplies. While we won't have room on our Caring for Kin cart for such items, if you have things from the attached list that you'd like to donate, please contact Jean Arnott at jeanarnott@gmail.com to learn how you can donate household supplies.

Wider Ministries Area Update

The next quarterly meeting of the Wider Ministries Area will be July 30 at 12 p.m. in the Founders' room. The agenda will include brief progress reports on projects already begun, discussion and voting on financial allocations to local organizations, and brainstorming and discussion of future plans and projects.

Whether or not you signed up to be a member of Wider Ministries, you are welcome at this meeting. If you have a suggestion of a community non-profit organization that would be a worthy recipient of a donation from RUCC, use the attached recommendation form to bring this group to our attention. CLICK HERE to download the form. Please return it to the Area Co-Chairs, Kathie Blakley and Carol Robb, as quickly as possible. (Kathie@redlandsucc.org and Carol@redlandsucc.org)

What happened at the UCC's General Synod? Read all about it here!

by Maic D'Agostino | published on Jul 18, 2023

The United Church of Christ’s 34th General Synod had it all. A new leader and a historic vote. A change from biennial to triennial. And giving witness to some of the most urgent issues — trans dignity, reproductive rights, racial justice, creation care and much more — through resolutions, special speakers, prayer and action.

Indianapolis and the Indiana-Kentucky Conference played hosts from June 30-July 4. It was the UCC’s first in-person national gathering since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Besides the business side of this “family reunion,” delegates and visitors came together to worship, break bread, embrace and shed tears of joy.

Read the full coverage — all news stories together in one place — of General Synod 34 here.

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• July 22 - Summer Series - 10 a.m. to noon.
• July 29 - Summer Series - 10 a.m. to noon.
• July 29 - LBGTQIAFG Movie Night 7:30 p.m. "For the Bible Tells Me So"
• July 30 - Quarterly Meeting of Wider Ministries - 12 p.m.
• August 5 - Concluding session of the Summer Series - 10 a.m. to noon.
• August 19 - Celebration of Life for Rev. Dr. Jill Kirchner-Rose - 10 a.m.



The church calendar for July is found at uccredlands.org

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