Palm Sunday

Our Mission: "We are an inclusive Open and Affirming faith community reaching out with love, compassion, and justice."

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Thursday, March 25, 2021

A Message from Our Pastor and Teacher

Palm Sunday, March 29 ~ "Beguiled by Beauty: From Beauty to Compassion and Justice"

As we conclude our sermon series, “Beguiled by Beauty,” we discover that when our hearts are opened, we not only see the beauty of the world, we also see more clearly what is not well with the world. We see more clearly where life is not flourishing. When we see the joy as well as the pain, the triumph as well as the tragedy, we will be moved to act. As we follow Jesus into Jerusalem, may we move from beauty to compassion and justice.

Sunday's Scripture

Isaiah 52: 1-7,

Mark 11: 1-11__

Worship for Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021

Prelude: All Glory, Laud and Honor arr. by Mark Hayes .................. Sophia Ohanian

Welcome and Call to Worship:______________.._______....>>>......... Ken Hurley Opening Hymn: #213 Hosanna, Loud Hosanna .....>>>...........Led by Zoe Petersen

Opening Prayer:__........________________________________._........_Ken Hurley

Children's Circle: .................................................................................. Kathleen Fox

Community Joys and Concerns: ___________......_................... Dr. Kirchner-Rose

Special Music: Hosanna to the King.by Dan Forrest ................. ....Covenant Stay- .............................................................................................................. at-Home Choir

Scripture: Isaiah 52: 1-7, Mark 11: 1-11_____...................... __...--_.._..._Ken Hurley

Message: "Beguiled by Beauty: From Beauty to Compassion and Justice" .............................................................................................Rev. Dr. Jill Kirchner-Rose

Offertory: Compassion Hymn arr. by James Koerts ....................... Sophia Ohanian

Prayer of Dedication: _________________________..........................._.Ken Hurley

Closing Hymn: #216 All Glory, Laud, and Honor........................Led by Zoe Petersen

Time of Reflection: There is a Fountain arr. by Mark Hayes ........... Sophia Ohanian

Concerns:

Prayers for Leslie, sister of Barbie Fiske-Phillips, who had extensive back surgery and is having complications that intensify the pain.
Prayers for Connie Roener who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and is currently going through chemotherapy.
Prayers for Julie Philip whose brother, Stephen, passed from life to Life.
Prayers for Sue Wallace whose cousin, Bob, passed from life to Life.
Prayers for Mary Lou Haney who will have eye surgery on March 25^th.
Prayers for Maegan Hill who is experiencing back pain.
Prayers for Caroline, mother of Karin Blad, who has been diagnosed with colon cancer.
Prayers for Mariane, mother of Kathie Blakley, who is on hospice.
Prayers for Patricia, sister of Michael Flores, who fell at a construction site and injured herself.
Prayers for Beth Welsh as she appeals the suspension of her driver’s license due to an epileptic seizure.
Prayers for Evan, son of Meagan Hill, who badly sprained his ankle.
Prayers for Evan, son of Margaret Paul, who is facing life challenges.
Inez Diggs requests prayers for her friend, Penni Pierce, who suffers from Pulmonary Fibrosis, and needs a double lung transplant to help her breathing capacity.
Prayers for Rosemary Whitmer who is facing health challenges.
Prayers for Keith, cousin of Maegan Hill, who is blinded by a blood clot.
Prayers for Lorna, mother of Erin Beardemphl, who shattered her kneecap.
Prayers for Claudine, grandmother of Paul and Dante Welsh.
Prayers for Charlie Seek challenged by diabetes related foot issues.
Prayers for Greg Farrell, brother of Karen Walsh, who is undergoing radiation treatment for cancer.
Prayers for Gloria Ebert who is facing heart challenges
Judith Turian requests prayers for Jill Bressler as she undergoes treatment for lung cancer and for Judith's close friend Terri, who is unable to travel to be with Jill because of COVID.
Ongoing prayers for parents, teachers, students navigating online school.
Prayers for Dick Ault, who is awaiting knee replacement surgery.

Ongoing Concerns:

Gretchen and Aaron Andrews

Carla Becerril

Les Budai

Diane Campbell

Diane, Sister-in-Law of Heather King

Carol Chaney

Precia Gwenhwyfer Courtney-Hveen

Cousin of Rick Cruz

Norma Erickson

Betty Gayle

Ronan Godfrey

Jerry Greenfield

Emma Grimauld

Katia Hage

Beki Hill

Jody Hoelle

Harriet Holt, Beki Hill's mother

Mark Alan Johnson, friend of Nancy Hotaling

Kim Johnson, friend of Gretchen Andrews

Jenny, Sister of Jules Rattray

Emily Jones

Hank Kirchner

Amber McGuigan

Bill McIntyre

Amy McQulillian, friend of Gretchen Andrews

Larry Minor

Sarah Montez

Mary Mortensen

Maria Montana

Carmen & Jim Neafsey

Kristin Farmer Preslica

Steve, Brother of Julie Phillip

Nancy Rojas

Adolph Romero

Joan Roth

Spencer, friend of Stacey Greene

Doris Stockton, Kathi Roth's Grandmother

Heather Tee

Arika Torres

Vasquez Family

Helga Vroom

Lent at RUCC

Lenten Series 2021—Continues Wednesday, March 31

Please join us on Wednesday March 31 for the 6th and final Online Lenten Series. This week’s short film is titled "Table Memory"

If you haven’t attended any previous week, don’t let that stop you from joining us for this final session.

Wednesday March 31. Fellowship time begins at 6:45, Discussion begins at 7.

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83189260341

Meeting ID: 831 8926 0341

One tap mobile

+16699009128

Other Services

Maundy Thursday - April 1 Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service at 7:00 p.m.
Good Friday - Ecumenical Good Friday service at 7:00 p.m.

OUTDOOR EASTER SERVICE APRIL 4

RUCC will hold its first in-person, outdoor worship service (since the Pandemic) on Easter Sunday, April 4^th at 9 a.m. It truly will be a day of resurrection and new life! If you are interested in attending, you must RSVP by March 28^th to [email protected] or leave a voice message on the church’s phone system at (909) 793-3520. Please let us know how many people will be in your party. Space is limited. All CDC and other relevant guidelines will be followed. Masks and six feet physical distance are required. Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed!

Our virtual service YouTube will still take place at 10:30 a.m. on Easter Sunday.
The in-person service will be canceled if it rains.
Future outdoor services are pending.

Reflection of the Week from the Racial Justice Team

Since the shutdown a year ago, nearly 3,800 Asian Americans have reported being victims of racist physical or verbal attacks, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a group formed last year to draw awareness to the issue. Almost half of those occurred in California.

Other data signal a worsening situation. Anti-Asian hate crime increased in major cities from 2019 to 2020 while overall hate crime dropped, according to police reports collected by the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.

A Pew Research Center survey in July 2020 found more anti-Asian and anti-Black sentiment than before the pandemic. Six in 10 Asian adults say it is more common for people to express racist or racially insensitive views about people who are Asian than it was before the coronavirus outbreak compared to 4-in-10 white, Black and Hispanic adults. Forty-five percent of Black adults also said it was more common to hear racist comments about Blacks since the pandemic.

- Source: https://edsource.org/2021/california-schools-universities-condemn-asian-attacks-offer-support-to-students/651752

From the Environmental Justice Team

Whether we can somehow listen in on tree talk is a subject that was recently addressed in the specialized literature. Korean scientists have been tracking older women as they walk through forests and urban areas. The result? When the women were walking in the forest, their blood pressure, their lung capacity, and the elasticity of their arteries improved, whereas an excursion into town showed none of these changes. It's possible that phytoncides have a beneficial effect on our immune systems as well as the trees' health, because they kill germs. Personally, however, I think the swirling cocktail of tree talk is the reason we enjoy being out in the forest so much. At least when we are out in undisturbed forests.

Walkers who visit one of the ancient deciduous preserves in the forest I manage always report that their heart feels lighter and they feel right at home. If they walk instead through coniferous forests, which in Central Europe are mostly planted and are, therefore, more fragile, artificial places, they don't experience such feelings. Possibly it's because in ancient beech forests, fewer "alarm calls" go out, and therefore, most messages exchanged between trees are contented ones, and these messages reach our brains as well, via our noses. I am convinced that we intuitively register the forest's health.”

― Peter Wohlleben, The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate—Discoveries from A Secret World

Showers of Love on Sunday, March 28 at 4 p.m.

We will meet in the church parking lot and drive by the homes of members to show our love!

Annual Eggstravaganza on Saturday April 3

Kids and Youth are invited to attend this year’s Eggstravaganza event on Saturday, April 3 10AM-11:30 on the church patio. We will have games, cookie decorating, and an egg hunt!

Please RSVP to [email protected] to ensure that we have enough supplies on hand.

Please bring your own Easter Basket. Also—masks must be worn at all times and we will adhere to Social Disancing protocols.

We look forward to having you join us!

Andrea Morics leads the Education Area

Introducing the 2021-2022 Board - Andrea Morics

I was born in Minneapolis MN and raised in Cherry Hill NJ (across the river from Philadelphia.) I met my husband Steve during an orchestra rehearsal while I was a student at St. Olaf College in Northfield MN—after graduation we got married, and his career as a math professor has taken us from Charlottesville VA to Oberlin OH to Redlands CA. We’ve lived here since 1995 and have raised our two kids, Kate and Peter, in this church. In fact, Peter was baptized at RUCC in 1997.

I have been involved with the RUCC Education committee off and on through the years, sometimes as a Sunday school teacher, sometimes as a committee member, and sometimes as a leader or co-leader. We here at RUCC are fortunate to have such a wide array of enriching educational experiences, thanks to many many congregation members who volunteer to be Sunday school teachers, Book Study leaders, and more.

Celebration of Life for Jay Grayson on April 10 at Noon

We will hold a Celebration of Life Service for Jay Grayson, our beloved caretaker, on Saturday, April 10^th at noon on the patio. If you would like to attend this service, please RSVP to our Office Administrator, Nancy Sheets at [email protected] or call the church office at (909) 793-3520. All attendees are required to wear a mask.

Quarterly Congregational Gathering - April 18

Quarterly gathering on Zoom: Sunday April 18, 2021 at 12:00 noon

Please plan to attend to learn what our different church areas are doing.

March 16 Board Highlights

As your Member-at-Large I am excited to have this opportunity to keep the congregation updated on the happenings of the Board!

__• Moment of inspiration: Jill opened the meeting with a prayer.

__• For the good of the church:

The whole congregation quarterly meeting will be held April 18^th at 12:00 p.m. Please plan on attending.
To help the congregation get to know the Board a little better, each board member will be spotlighted in The View with a short bio about themselves along with a brief description of each board position. So, keep a lookout to learn more about who we are and what we do!
Sue Wallace will be advertising church events and service times in the Community News in an effort to reach out to the Redlands community.
Great News, there will be 2 Easter Services this year! The first service will be held live on the church patio at 9:00 a.m. and the second service will be prerecorded and streamed through the YouTube link at 10:30 a.m. If you plan on attending the live service, please RSVP and wear your favorite mask. More live services will be scheduled in the future – dates and times will be posted in The View.
In keeping with the high-quality services that have been presented, Jill, Jim and Sophia will begin to livestream from the sanctuary. At this point, audience members will consist of the beautiful pictures provided by our mystery artist! All Sunday services will continue to run through the YouTube link at 10:30 a.m.

__• Moment of Education: Dan A. provided a short presentation on how to run a ___meeting in Office 365 Teams.

If you have any questions, concerns or inspirational thoughts you would like for me to share with the Board, please do not hesitate to email me: [email protected]

Sincerely,

Jackie Patrick – Member-at-Large

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

March 18 - Prayer Polygon - 7:30 p.m. on Zoom.
March 24 - Lenten series continues on Zoom.
March 28 - Palm Sunday Virtual Service at 10:30 a.m. on YouTube

.............................Showers of Love - Meet at 4 p.m. in the Church parking lot.

March 31- Lenten series concludes
April 1 - Maundy Thursday Tenebrae Service at 7:00 p.m.

.........................Prayer Polygon 7:30 p.m.

April 2 - Ecumenical Good Friday service at 7:00 p.m.
April 3 - Sacred Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m.

.........................Annual Easter Eggstravaganza 10 to 11:30 a.m. on the patio

April 4 - Easter Sunday In-Person Outdoor Service at 9 a.m.

........................Virtual Easter Service at 10:30 a.m.on YouTube

April 10 - Celebration of Life for Jay Grayson. RSVP .................[email protected] or call the church office at ............ ...............(909) 793-3520
April 11 - Book Club will discuss The Book of Longings by Sue Monk ...............Kidd. Facilitator will be Kathie Blakley.
April 18 - Quarterly Gathering on Zoom. 12:00 p.m.
August 20-22 - Silent Retreat at Serra Retreat Center. Contact Pastor Jill if you are interested in attending.