|
John Walsh will be in the pulpit this Sunday
Sunday, February 9 ~ Fifth Sunday after Epiphany ~ "The Beloved Community: Thoughts from Bonhoeffer and King"
Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Life Together and Martin Luther King’s Beloved Community both tell a story about loving each other. And caring for each other. In this chaotic world, how do we become that community?
| |
|
Concerns:
-
Ongoing prayers for those affected by the Palisades, Eaton, Hughes, and other wildfires, and Altadena Community Church UCC, which was destroyed by the Eaton Fire. A reminder for all of us that recovery will be a marathon, not a sprint.
-
Ongoing prayers for Mary Lou Haney, and her daughter and caregiver Jennie, and Jennie’s fiancé Patrick. Also, prayers for their soccer business which is entering a critical time.
-
Prayers of healing for Dick Ault who is experiencing a lot of pain in his legs due to spinal problems. He is attending online and unable to make it in-person for the time being.
-
Prayers for the friends and family of Fred Arth, who passed from life to Life on Jan. 29, 2025. Fred was a founding member of RUCC along with his parents, Helen and Aaron, and his brother Stephen, who is a covenanted member.
-
Prayers for our ecumenical friends at Lutheran Social Services being targeted for funding cuts, and for all those who rely on funding from USAID and other programs that have been approved by Congress but suspended by the executive branch. Religious social organizations have long partnered with government and philanthropic agencies to provide services to the poorest and most vulnerable people globally.
Ongoing Concerns:
| |
|
Danny Anderson
Jerry Andrews
Johanna Ballard's brother
Bill Buchanan
Judith Gregory
Beki Hill
Harriet Holt, Beki Hill's mother
Paisley Parcell
| |
|
Jules Rattray’s sister, Jenny
Amber McGuigan
Cynthia McGuigan
Dondon and Scott Mong
Floyd Orr
Dee Dee Seek’s great grandson Jaxson
| |
|
Carl Parish
Robert Silver
Steffen family
Sforza family
Tom Miller
Janet Wilson’s great niece Amelia
Michael White
| | |
|
Special message from Dan and the Board
Hello church! Thank you for your support of the 2025 board (including me!) as we get started on this program year. We are looking forward to continuing to grow our spirit of community, both within and outside of our walls. We will have more to share about our plans for the year after our board retreat on February 15. For now, though, I'd like to make everyone aware of a policy decision the board made a couple of years ago, which we probably haven't publicized enough.
The policy is simply this - any fundraiser thats solicits church members should be approved by the board in advance. This applies both to online appeals made on our RUCC Members and Friends Facebook group, and to in-person appeals at the church.
We adopted this policy because we are sensitive to the number of requests that church members receive. We have many appeals that are just from the church, for example, the weekly offering, special quarterly offerings, Caring for Kin, Souper Bowl, Angel Tree, and the appeals that often follow disasters around the world. We are generous people, and we want to support these church-related causes.
There are many other appeals people may want to support, like Girl Scout cookies, wrapping paper and candy sales for the school band, or GoFundMe requests for noteworthy requests. So, the policy does not explicitly prohibit these activities, it just asks that we allow the board to help manage the volume and cadence of these events.
You can contact me or any other board member if you have something you'd like to promote to the church, and we'll consider it at our next monthly board meeting.
Thanks for your support,
Dan Abushanab, President
| | |
|
Pizza With the Pastor...
Sunday, February 16, at noon! An informal gathering for folks considering covenanting with the church for the first time. We'll have copies of the 2025 Covenant booklet and will have a discussion about what it means to become a member of this church. There is an opportunity for questions, not only of Rev. Joe, but a couple of RUCC's volunteer leaders. And of course, lunch is served!
Join us for a time of information, relationships and discussion about whether God may be calling you to Redlands UCC. Enjoy fellowship time after the service, then gather at noon in Founders Room.
| |
|
RUCC Dinners for 8ish 2025
Have you been coming to Redlands United Church of Christ for a while but feel like you still only know a handful of people? Are you looking to make new friends and deepen existing friendships at RUCC this year?
By popular demand, RUCC Dinners for 8ish is back for a third year. Participants will share four meals over the course of a year. Your “set”* will coordinate one meal and you’ll attend three meals coordinated by others, each time with three different sets of people. You’ll end up having a meal with a total of twelve sets of people.
If you are interested in participating in RUCC Dinners for 8ish 2025, please click here to sign up and we will be in touch in the coming weeks. If you have any questions, please send an email to D48ish@redlandsucc.org or contact Kim Lara-Kane or Loring Fiske-Phillips.
Please sign up by February 9th.
*A "set" can be you and a friend, you and a significant other, you and your kids, just you, etc.
| |
|
Seekers schedule change
The Seekers adult study group will continue discussing chapter seven of Becoming Kin, which was of particular interest to the group last week. Please note that the group will meet at 9:15 a.m. for social interaction and will begin discussion at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome, even if you have not finished reading the current book.
Bitten by a Camel: Leaving Church and Finding God by Kent Dobson will be the book Seekers will focus on next.
| |
|
|
Caring for Kin ... Last Chance -- Souper Bowl Competition Ends February 9!
VOTE for your football team and feed our hungry kin!
Kansas City Chiefs ..... tuna, chicken, or other meat in cans or single packets
Philadelphia Eagles ...... various soup products
Our kin in the cold thank you!
Thanks to your generosity we were able to deliver jackets, sweatshirts, and hoodies TWICE to Family Services projects (headed up by Aundrea) and TWICE to Kellie Ferguson for the Men's Cold Weather Shelter and services to the home insecure that are run out of the facilities on Columbia St.
We were also able to make specific deliveries of the items needed to Youth Hope, Women of Faith (Jean Arnott's project for refugee families), and Angel's Closet (Pat William's work with local teens).
Your donations warmed many bodies and hearts! THANK YOU!
More from Caring for Kin
Reminder: Caring for Kin will shift from the Super Bowl collection to collecting your old eyeglasses. Just think how wonderful it would be to give the gift of improved vision. RUCC Seekers will make sure that the glasses are distributed internationally. Prescription and readers accepted with or without cases. Be sure and ask friends and family to contribute as many have them stuffed in a drawer because they didn’t know what to do with them. Now they can do good. Collection dates are February 16 and February 23.
| |
|
|
Rummage Sale coming soon!
Are you saving items for the Rummage Sale??? Only 10 more days until you start donating your treasures! Plan to bring them next Sunday, February 16, either before or after church. We will be collecting items in the Garden Room.
Most importantly, we need volunteers. LOTS OF VOLUNTEERS!! Especially to help box up and deliver any leftovers and to clean up after the sale on February 22. Claudia Tolar will be sitting at a table in Covenant Hall after church this Sunday to take the names of those who want to help. See her before you leave for the Super Bowl!!! You will make Pam and Claudia very happy.
| |
|
Choirs now rehearse on Thursday evenings
Beginning tonight, February 6, the Celebration Ringers handbell choir will rehearse on Thursdays at 6:00 pm in the sanctuary, followed by the Covenant Choir singers' rehearsal at 7:00 pm in Micah Room. If the previous rehearsal day was a challenge for you, perhaps Thursdays will be better! We are always ready to welcome new ringers and singers - contact Music Director David Wells at music@redlandsucc.org or just show up on a Thursday evening for either (or both!) choirs!
| |
|
|
Fiber Prayer Group
We are beginning a prayer group to create prayer shawls for folks in our community. How nice would it be to wrap yourself up in the supportive love of RUCC? How comforting might it be if you were in the hospital, or going through a crisis, to be able to hold on to a gentle reminder that you are not alone, and others are praying with and for you? Those are the gifts this new program hopes to create for the RUCC community. As we knit, crochet, or otherwise create these gifts together, we will also hold the recipients, our church, the community, and world in prayer. The completed prayer shawls will be blessed by the RUCC community during worship services and taken to those in need.
Here's where you come in…if you currently knit, crochet or do any type of fiber work that could be turned into a prayer shawl/blanket, you are encouraged to come to this group. If you have never picked up a needle or thread, but would like to try, you are encouraged to come to this group. There are folks who are willing to teach, and there’s lots of access to YouTube videos to help us along. So, whether you are already darn good at yarn, or have not yet begun and would like an encouraging group to learn with, this may be just for you!
Our first five gatherings have been scheduled – Sundays, Feb. 16, Mar. 30, April 27, May 18, and June 29 – at about 12 noon in Micah Room (after church and fellowship time).
| |
|
Parents, want a kid-free night on Valentine's Day?
Drop off your kid(s) at the church at 5 p.m. on February 14 where they'll enjoy a fun night of movie watching (Ratatouille), pizza making (and devouring), and crafts! Pick them up by 8 p.m. and you don’t even have to pay the babysitter!
For more details, contact Susi Jacobsen.
| |
Pilgrim Pines Winter Camp is February 15-17
It’s almost time for Pilgrim Pines’ annual Winter Camp during Presidents’ Day Weekend. The program is open to kids 6th grade and older. This year's theme is "Belonging."
RUCC offers “camperships” (scholarship funds) to members and also to grandkids of members (even those who don’t attend RUCC). Please contact al_education@redlandsucc.org if you are considering attending. Registration closes Saturday, February 8, 2025.
Use the following link to find more information about the program:
https://www.pilgrimpinescamp.org/wintercamp
| |
|
|
Consecration of Live Oak UCC
RUCC is invited to join in a special celebration on Sunday, February 23, at 3:00 p.m. This will be a joyful day as Rev. Sarah Averette-Phillips (daughter of Barbie and Loring) is officially installed at Live Oak United Church of Christ during their Service of Consecration.
The emerging Live Oak UCC is a unique congregation, born from the consolidation of Brea Congregational Church and the Congregational Church of Fullerton. This new church community is three years in the making and has taken countless hours of love, conversation, dreaming, and growing together to become the vibrant church it is today.
With gratitude for RUCC, the church that formed and believed in her, Sarah hopes to share this milestone with the community that helped shape her faith and ministry.
| |
Environmental justice message
Rising temperatures seem to be helping rat populations grow faster, according to a new study in the journal Science Advances. Researchers found cities that have seen the most warming had more sightings of rats, an indication that the population has grown.
"If the weather stays warmer a little bit later into the fall or into the winter, or if the spring starts a little bit earlier, just by a week or two, that should allow the rats to be above ground, forage for a little bit longer, secure more food resource and presumably turn that into baby rats," [says Jonathan Richardson, professor at the University of Richmond and an author on the study.]
Source: “Rats! Climate change is helping increase their populations in cities,” Lauren Sommer, National Public Radio, 1/31/25: https://www.npr.org/2025/01/31/nx-s1-5279426/population-rats-climate-change-cities
| |
|
Racial Justice reflection of the week
In the early 20th century, historian Carter G. Woodson chafed at the world’s silence on Black achievement. In a racist society that mischaracterized Black people and overlooked their contributions, he worked tirelessly to tell the world about their rich history. Woodson wanted the world to know about the complexity of the historical lives of people of African descent. By celebrating those accomplishments, Woodson created a historical legacy of his own: He is the reason the U.S. celebrates Black History Month each February.
Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/courageous-historian-fought-make-black-history-month
| | |
|
|
Early Potluck and Annual Congregational Meeting -1976
The first official meeting of the new Redlands United Church of Christ was held June 26, 1975, at the Morey House in Redlands which was the home of members, Curtiss and Phyllis Allen.
The new Redlands United Church of Christ met for Sunday services in the First United Methodist Church Sanctuary (1 E. Olive Ave., Redlands), beginning June 29, 1975. The services were at 11:00 a.m. on Sundays, and service time was moved to 7:00 p.m. during the summer.
The RUCC Budget receipts totaled $52,792, and a total of $6,778 was spent from this on Outreach. By the end of the year, the Building Fund totaled $7,961. There were 147 Covenants, with 19 new members being added during the year and 3 deaths.
Kathie Blakley, RUCC Historian
| | |
Special Thank You from Fred Freeman
I want to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to you and all of our church friends for the support and prayers that Kathy and I have received during my recovery from back surgery. It started with a very welcome visit at the hospital from Rev. Joe and continued on as I transitioned from the hospital to my home with meals and fellowship l! It is evident to us that we have chosen the right church and church family!
Thank you to all!!!
Fred and Kathy
| |
|
|
Upcoming Dates to Remember
- February 9 - Conclusion of the Souper Bowl (see article)
- February 13, 8 a.m. - Redlands Area Interfaith Council Bagel Bash at Redlands Seventh Day Adventist Church
- February 14 - Kid-Free night for parents (see article)
- February 15-17, Pilgrim Pines Winter Camp (see article)
- February 16, 12 noon - Pizza with the Pastor (see article)
- February 22 - Rummage Sale (see article)
The church calendar is online at redlandsucc.org/calendar
| |
|
Sunday, February 9
- Seekers ~ 9:15 - Social and 9:30 - Discussion - Founders Room. (see article)
- 9:30 a.m. – Kids’ Zone
- 10:30 a.m. – Worship service
- 11:30 a.m. - Fellowship time, Covenant Hall
- 10:30 to Noon -- Souper Bowl (see article)
Monday, February 10
-
7:00 p.m. - Bible Study at church or online
Tuesday, February 11
- 7:00 p.m. - Stewards - Founders Room
Wednesday, February 12
- 1 p.m. - Mahjong, Mosaic Hall
| |
|
Thursday, February 13
- 8:00 a.m. - Redlands Area Interfaith Council Bagel Bash at Redlands Seventh Day Adventist Church
- 6:00 p.m. - Bell Choir rehearsal in the sanctuary
- 7:00 p.m. - Covenant Choir rehearsal in the Micah Room
Friday, February 14 - Happy Valentine's Day
- 5 - 8 p.m. - Kid-free night (see article)
- 7 p.m. – Woman’s AA Meeting - Founders Room
Saturday, February 15
- 10:00 a.m. - Board retreat
Sunday, February 16
- Seekers ~ 9:15 - Social and 9:30 - Discussion - Founders Room.
- 9:30 a.m. – Kids’ Zone
- 10:30 a.m. – Worship service
- 11:30 a.m. - Fellowship time, Covenant Hall
| |
|
RUCC Staff
Senior Pastor: Rev. Joe Zarro
Music Director: David Wells
Associate Music Director: Sophia Ohanian
Children's Education Director: Susi Jacobsen
Director of Youth Ministries: Kathy McCool
Office and Property Manager: Veronica Bermudez
Child Care: Caitlin Walsh
Website: www.redlandsucc.org
Phone: 909-793-3520
Staff and Other Emails
| |
|
pastor@redlandsucc.org
musicdirector@redlandsucc.org
childrenseducation@redlandsucc.org
youth@redlandsucc.org
| |  |
|
office@redlandsucc.org
weddings@redlandsucc.org
theview@redlandsucc.org
| | | | |
