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A message from our Pastor and Teacher
Sunday, February 2 ~ Fourth Sunday after Epiphany ~ "Humane Sabbath"
Jesus was a rule-breaker when it came to the Sabbath. He knew that the priorities had gotten turned upside down, that legalism and dogma were making the Sabbath a burden instead of a blessing. This is why he healed on the Sabbath and told the Pharisees watching, "is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or destroy it?" These days, I fear that we have over-corrected and have failed to keep the Sabbath in a meaningful way. Few Christians even know why we observe sabbath on Sunday instead of Saturday (to be fair, it's a long story). But whether there are too many rules—or too few—the takeaway is the true purpose of the Sabbath—which is to be a gift and a blessing to humanity. As Jesus said, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. This Sunday, we will look at what makes for a Sabbath that is a true gift.
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Concerns:
- Prayers for those affected by the Palisades, Eaton, Hughes, and other wildfires, now mostly contained. Ongoing prayers for 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 thanksgiving for a successful surgery for Fred Freeman, and prayers of continued recovery and healing. Prayers for his partner and caregiver Kathy Economen.
- Mary Mortensen is home from surgery with a new heart valve. She’s very weak but has a positive attitude. She is so appreciative of the cards and prayers that have been sent and would like more! Prayers also for Larry as he takes care of her.
- Prayers for refugees fleeing from persecution and torture into the USA. According to the National Immigrant Justice Center, a non-partisan human rights organization, last week’s suspension of the refugee resettlement program has already caused devastation among Afghan families, who have waited for years to find safety in the United States.
Ongoing Concerns:
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Danny Anderson
Jerry Andrews
Johanna Ballard's brother
Bill Buchanan
Judith Gregory
Beki Hill
Harriet Holt, Beki Hill's mother
Paisley Parcell
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Jules Rattray’s sister, Jenny
Amber McGuigan
Cynthia McGuigan
Dondon and Scott Mong
Floyd Orr
Dee Dee Seek’s great grandson Jaxson
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Carl Parish
Robert Silver
Steffen family
Sforza family
Tom Miller
Janet Wilson’s great niece Amelia
Michael White
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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.
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Sacred Saturday, February 1
Sometimes we need to get back to basics. We need to take a pause, feel the earth beneath us, breathe the air around us, take a refreshing drink of healing waters, and rekindle hope that burns like fire. This Saturday, February 1, you are encouraged and welcome to come to Sacred Saturday from 9 a.m.-noon for a time of quiet contemplation, prayer and community. We will begin our time in Micah Room in Mosaic Hall and then enjoy the sacred spaces of the RUCC buildings and grounds in this three-hour mini-retreat for our souls.
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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.
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Caring for Kin ... Souper Bowl Competition
February 2 and 9!
The teams have been decided! Vote for your favorite team with your generous donations on two Sundays: February 2 and February 9.
NFC's Philadelphia Eagles ..... any kind of soup product
AFC's Kansas City Chiefs ....... tuna/chicken/meat cans or packets
Remember, this competition will run for two weeks only!
Join the fun! Feed our hungry kin!
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Rummage Sale in three weeks!
The Rummage Sale is only three weeks away! Are you saving your treasures for us?! Not only are we taking clothes, books, toys, small appliances, sports and camping equipment, holiday decorations, linens, artwork, frames, pet items, office supplies, garden items, dishes, and luggage, but there will also be a truck to turn in outdated E-WASTE like computers, printers, and TVs. Sorry, we cannot take furniture.
The Rummage Sale will run on Saturday, February 22 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. You can bring in your donations on Sunday, February 16 before and after church or during the week before the sale from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. We will also accept donations on Wednesday evening from 6-8 p.m.
If you have not been contacted yet and would like to help with set-up, sales, or cleaning up, or deliveries of leftovers, please contact Pam Dunn or Claudia Tolar. You can also sign up to help by visiting the Scrip Table in Covenant Hall on Sunday.
Thank you so much,
Pam Dunn and Claudia Tolar
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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, June 29 – at about 12 noon in Micah Room (after church and fellowship
time).
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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.
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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 February 8, 2025.
Use the following link to find more information about the program:
https://www.pilgrimpinescamp.org/wintercamp
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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.
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Chris Singleton has a message...
of Love not Hate, Unity, and Respect. Chris is a former pro athlete who lost his mother in a racially-motivated mass shooting. He is now an inspirational speaker sharing a message of unity and racial reconciliation.
Wednesday, February 5, University of Redlands Chapel, 6:30 p.m. RSVP needed: Redlands.edu/Singleton
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Environmental justice message
“The Earth has enough resources for our need but not for our greed.”
................Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi
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Racial Justice reflection of the week
“This month, I uncharacteristically made a New Year’s resolution: I’m no longer talking to anyone about antisemitism.
The word – coined by anti-Jewish German journalist Wilhelm Marr in 1879 to intellectualise his racism – has never made sense, and at a time of soaring levels of Jew hatred, is serving to actively cloud the many problems we face. A 2019 poll found that more than half of under-25s did not know what it meant.
However, the real reason it does not make sense is because – outside of 19th-century pseudoscience – there is no such thing as “semitism” to be “anti”.
Source: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/rename-antisemitism-anti-jewish-racism-b2684388.html
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Book Club - this Sunday, February 2
The RUCC Book Group will meet February 2 in Founders Room after church, at noon. The selection for this meeting is The Sun Walks Down by Fiona McFarlane with Beth Kolpien presenting.
Upcoming RUCC Book Group dates and selections:
March 2: Drawn Testimony by Jane Rosenberg, April 6: James by Percival Everett, April 27: Feather Trails, by Sophie A. H. Osborn, No May Meeting, June 1: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
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To be better informed, subscribe to scncucc.org
For the latest information about current events and UCC information, subscribe to the Southern California Nevada UCC Conference newsletter which you can find at scncucc.org. You can subscribe by scrolling down to the button that says, “subscribe here.”
ALSO: The latest information from the Conference is "L.A. Works is THE place to go if you want to volunteer with recovery efforts most effectively." You can connect with them on Facebook or their website laworks.com.
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Upcoming Dates to Remember
- February 1, 9 a.m.-noon - Sacred Saturday (see article)
- February 2, 12 noon - Book Club (see article)
- February 2 & 9 - 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
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Sunday, February 2
- Seekers ~ 9:00 a.m. Social; 9:15 to 10:15 - Discussion - Founders Room.
- 9:30 a.m. – Kids’ Zone
- 10:30 a.m. – Worship service
- 11:30 a.m. - Fellowship time, Covenant Hall
- 12:00 p.m. - Book Group, Founders Room
- all day -- Souper Bowl begins (see article)
Monday, February 3
- 4:00 p.m. - Church Growth meeting
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7:00 p.m. - Bible Study at church or online
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Tuesday, February 4
- 11:00 a.m. - Munch & Muse lunch group
Wednesday, February 5
- 1 p.m. - Mahjong, Mosaic Hall
- 7 p.m. - Choir practice
Thursday, February 6
Friday, February 7
- 7 p.m. – Woman’s AA Meeting - Founders Room
Saturday, February 8
Sunday, February 9
- Seekers ~ 9:00 a.m. Social; 9:15 to 10:15 - Discussion - Founders Room.
- 9:30 a.m. – Kids’ Zone
- 10:30 a.m. – Worship service
- 11:30 a.m. - Fellowship time, Covenant Hall
- all day -- Souper Bowl (see article)
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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
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pastor@redlandsucc.org
musicdirector@redlandsucc.org
childrenseducation@redlandsucc.org
youth@redlandsucc.org
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office@redlandsucc.org
weddings@redlandsucc.org
theview@redlandsucc.org
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