Sunday, August 3 ~ Rev. John Walsh preaching ~"Do It Again"
As we gather together this Sunday, we’ll explore this passage by Rev. Dr. Howard Thurman, from his book, The Growing Edge:
“Look well to the growing edge. All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree, the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves, fresh blossoms, green fruit."
On this first Sunday after our journey with Rev. Joe, and while we continue to celebrate RUCC’s 50th year, I hope to weave the themes from Galatians, Creation by Dan Forrest, and Thurman’s prayer into a starting place for where RUCC will go from here.
Scripture reading: Galatians 6:9-10
John and his wife, Karen (Worship Leader this Sunday), have been active members of RUCC for many years. John is Chaplain Emeritus at University of Redlands and Karen worked as a social worker and teacher. They have two adult children, Matthew and Caitlin. Matthew lives and works in Palm Springs and you may know Caitlin from her job providing loving child care for RUCC's youngest folks. She also works as a substitute teacher.
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Quarterly Gathering this Sunday, August 3
Please join us right after worship in Covenant Hall to learn the latest news from our church officers and area leaders, and other happenings in the life of the church! Grab a snack and a seat and enjoy discovering what makes RUCC tick!
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Searching...
Greetings from the 2025 Pastoral Search Committee! We held our initial meeting on July 20 and are off to a great start. Rev. Rachael Pryor, Conference Minister of the Southern California Nevada Conference of the UCC, was present to explain the pastoral search process and what we may anticipate as we move forward. Thanks to the efforts of RUCC's 2023 Search Committee, we are further along in the search process and hope to soon begin receiving candidate profiles for review.
In addition, we discussed our individual roles within the committee. Based on Rachael’s recommendations, these roles include technology, communication with the congregation, communication with candidates, chaplains, review of candidates' social media, and committee chair. At our next meeting on August 7, we will consider additional roles and responsibilities and report on each of these in an upcoming edition of The View.
- Lisa Dewey, 2025 Pastoral Search Committee Chair
Please share our settled pastor listing with anyone you feel would be a qualified candidate for our next minister. The Search Committee members are Sophia Beardemphl, Lisa Dewey (chair), Pam Dunn, Kathy Economen, John Hoeger, Nick Mineo-Wells, Keith Osajima, Julie Phillip and Jules Rattray.
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Pastoral coverage for August
With Joe having left and Jake not starting until September, we have a gap in pastoral coverage during August. If you have a need for pastoral care, please first contact your Shepherd Group Leaders, listed below. If you aren't sure which group is yours, you can log into Realm, or you can ask Shepherd Area Leader Maegan Hill or Veronica in the church office.
Hopefully your shepherd group can provide the support you need. But if more help is needed, the Revs. Erin Beardemphl and John Walsh have volunteered to offer that support for the first and second half of August, respectively. Your Shepherd Group Leader will help facilitate in any case.
- Group 1 - Barbie and Loring Fiske-Phillips
- Group 2 - Scott Mong or Joette Orman
- Group 3 - Cid Breyer or Maryn Mineo-Wells
- Group 4 - Maegan Hill or Jayne Miller
- Group 5 - Heather Abushanab or Judith Turian
- Group 6 - Kevin and Dawne Simmons
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In our thoughts and prayers
- Teri Hilker was hospitalized and could use prayers for strength and quick healing.
- Prayers for some answers for Sue Wallace who has been hospitalized for some tests.
- Prayers for Sue Hammond who is experiencing some health challenges.
- Ongoing prayers for Mary Lou Haney, and her daughter and caregiver Jennie, and Jennie’s fiancé Patrick.
- Prayers for congregations whose members have special concerns about ICE raids, even at their church services. Prayers for their safety, and prayers for our ability to be allies in support and solidarity.
- Every week we pray for the victims of violence and oppression around the world. This week we pray again for Gaza, where the UN reports 100,000 women and children are suffering from acute malnutrition. Oxfam and more than 100 other international aid and human rights groups are warning of mass starvation. The famine conditions are caused by the complete blockade of Gaza by the Israeli government, whose prime minister has an active warrant from the International Criminal Court. Lord in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Ongoing concerns:
- Those affected by wildfires, including the UCC in Altadena
- Dick Ault
- Jerry Andrews
- Ron Bickford
- Tim and Ida Blakely
- Bill Buchanan
- Judith Gregory
- Beki Hill
- Harriet Holt, Beki Hill's mother
- Floyd Orr
- Paisley Parcell
- Amber McGuigan
- Cynthia McGuigan
- Dondon and Scott Mong
- Carl Parish
- Dee Dee Seek’s great grandson Jaxson
- Robert Silver
- Tom Miller
- Janet Wilson’s great niece Amelia
- Michael White
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Caring for Kin
Thanks so much for your generous donations of school supplies to Women of Faith! For the month of August, we will be collecting new, unopened toiletries and feminine hygiene supplies for Angels' Closet. Angels' Closet provides toiletries and clothing items to middle school and high school students in the Redlands area. Let's help them get the school year off to a great start!
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Blessing of the Backpacks and Susi Jacobsen Celebration
We have a very special pair of events during Children’s Circle on Sunday, August 10.
Blessing of the Backpacks: Kids! Bring your school backpacks to church for a special blessing—start the school year with a blessed backpack, and it will surely be your best year yet!
Susi Jacobsen celebration: Sadly, August 10 is Susi’s last day as our fearless leader of Children’s Education. We will celebrate her all morning long during Children’s Circle and Sunday School time.
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Sacred Saturday, August 2
Are you looking for a place to slow down, to sit in silence, and listen within? Join us at Sacred Saturday this week. We will meet in Mosaic Hall at 9:00 a.m. and will close noon-ish. All are welcome and encouraged to give yourself the gift of solitude in a contemplative community. Please reach out to Georgia Sforza if you have any questions.
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Seekers group begins a new book discussion
The Seekers group has decided to postpone its next meeting to Sunday, August 17, when they will start discussing The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions by Wayne Teasdale. If you’re interested, the group meets Sunday mornings in Founders Room at 9:15 for social time, with discussion of the book starting at 9:30, and all are welcome.
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Bible study
The Bible study group is starting up again this Monday after a brief summer hiatus. The group is currently using Marcus Borg’s Evolution of the Word: The New Testament in the Order the Books Were Written. Having finished the chapter on Mark, this week, we will start on James. You don’t need to have the Borg book, just read the Bible chapter, or just come and enjoy the conversation! All are welcome in person or online.
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RUCC book group
The next RUCC book group meeting will be held August 10 (note the changed date) in Founders Room, after church around noon. The selection to be discussed is The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys, and the presenter is Rosemary Tuohy.
“Sepetys and Sheinkin deftly weave the desperate urgency of the days before the Blitz with the real history of geniuses like Alan Turing who bent their brilliance to stop Hitler."—The Christian Science Monitor review
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Singing in the Pines
Do you love singing? Solos? Choirs? Small ensembles? Do you love being in the great outdoors and singing out for all you're worth? Register for the Unitarian Universalists' Singing in the Pines, August 7-11, to join Malcolm Hawkes, a collegiate vocal instructor, pedagogue, and choral director.
Lots more information and registration is available at this link. (This event is connected to "Hope Renewed" below.)
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Racial Justice Message
The University of Edinburgh, one of the UK’s oldest and most prestigious educational institutions, played an “outsized” role in the creation of racist scientific theories and greatly profited from transatlantic slavery, a landmark inquiry into its history has found.
The inquiry found that Edinburgh became a “haven” for professors who developed theories of white supremacism in the 18th and 19th centuries, and who played a pivotal role in the creation of discredited “racial pseudo-sciences” that placed Africans at the bottom of a racial hierarchy.
Sir Peter Mathieson, the university’s principal, who commissioned the investigation, said its findings were “hard to read” but that Edinburgh could not have a “selective memory” about its history and achievements.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/jul/27/edinburgh-university-outsized-role-creating-racist-scientific-theories-inquiry
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Environmental Justice Message
The top United Nations court [the International Court of Justice] has ruled that nations are obligated under international law to limit climate change, and countries that don't act could be held legally responsible for climate damages elsewhere. … [T]he decision is only advisory, meaning that countries are not legally bound by it. Still, legal experts say it could be a boost for other climate change lawsuits pending in national courts around the world.
Source: “Nations must act on climate change or could be held responsible, top U.N. court rules,” Lauren Sommer, All Things Considered, National Public Radio, 7/23/25
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New Associate Conference Minister
For those present or online at Rev. Joe's last day at RUCC on Sunday, July 27, you got to see and/or meet our new Associate Conference Minister for equipping leaders, Rev. Dr. Phiwa Langeni (they/he).
Originally from South Africa, Phiwa [pronounced PEE-wah] is passionate about helping people understand that different doesn’t have to be dangerous. Their work invites those aligned with the mainstream to reframe fear as something to interrogate, not inherit.
Their ministry spans a wide range of contexts, from rural multi-charge churches to a thriving progressive congregation, from a large suburban church to a new church start/nonprofit hybrid. In every setting, Phiwa brings warmth, insight, and a passion for equipping leaders to thrive in their unique calls.
Before ministry, Phiwa was (and still is!) a tech nerd. Today, that love of technology fuels their curiosity about algorithmic integrity, digital equity, and leveraging tools in service to the mission: faithful, just, and communal. Their approach is grounded in practical theology, innovation, and a deep reverence for the sacredness of human connection.
Phiwa is the solo parent of an adult daughter who challenges them in brilliance and beauty. In their free time, Phiwa enjoys reading, upcycling, 90s R&B, dad jokes, and creating all manner of things. Like vibranium in fictional Wakanda, creativity is inextricably woven into Phiwa’s existence, strength, and wisdom.
Source: Southern California Nevada Conference, UCC
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This week
Saturday, August 2
Sunday, August 3
- 9:15 a.m. - Kid's Zone
- 10:30 a.m. - Summertime Sunday School
- 10:30 a.m. - Worship in the Sanctuary
- 11:30 a.m. - Quarterly Gathering, Covenant Hall
Monday, August 4
Tuesday, August 5
- 11:00 a.m. - Munch & Muse, Covenant Hall
Wednesday, August 6
- 1:00 p.m. - Mah Jongg, Mosaic Hall
- 7:00 p.m. - Immigration Justice planning meeting
Thursday, August 7
Friday, August 8
- 7:00 p.m. - Women's closed AA meeting
Saturday, August 9
Sunday, August 10
- 9:15 a.m. - Kid's Zone
- 10:30 a.m. - Sunday School kicks off
- 10:30 a.m. - Worship in the Sanctuary (Blessing of the backpacks, Retirement celebration for Susi Jacobsen)
- 12:00 p.m. - Book group
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Upcoming Dates to Remember
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August 17 - Seekers group begins
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September 2 - Rev. Jake Pomeroy begins as Transitional Pastor
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