March 16 is Super Shepherd Sunday

This coming Sunday, March 16 has been designated as Super Shepherd Sunday. Most Shepherd Groups will be meeting this day.

Group 1 - Fiske-Phillips, Founders Room

Group 2 - Mong/Orman - Youth Room, Mosaic Hall

Group 3 - Breyer/Mineo-Wells - Micah Rm in Mosaic Hall, about noon-ish

Group 4 - Hill/Miller - at Maegan's house -- see Realm for address, phone #.

Group 5 - Abushanab/Turian - March 16, 12:30 p.m. at Heather and Dan's

Group 6 - Simmons - at the Simmons' after church.

If you have not heard from your Shepherd Leader, or you have not been assigned to a Shepherd Group, please contact Maegan Hill. (She's listed in Realm)

Lenten Series continues Wednesday nights through April 9

2025 RUCC Lenten Series: Dialogues on the Refugee Crisis

Dates: Wednesday nights through April 9

Time: 6:00 -8:00 p.m.

Location: Covenant Hall

As Christians, how do we respond to the Worldwide Refugee Crisis?

Use the following link to sign up to bring soup to share for Week Two:

https://www.perfectpotluck.com/NSYM6831

Starting this week: Our bread during supper will be provided by Dan’s Doughs! 

This year we are using a text, “Dialogues on the Refugee Crisis”, as the basis for our weekly discussion. You will find this week’s chapter by clicking on this link: Chapter Two: A People without a Place. Please do come on Wednesday even if you don’t have a chance to read the chapter: we will be enriched by your presence no matter what.

Childcare is available upon request. Email al_education@redlandsucc.org if you plan to bring a child to the event, or if you have any questions.

RUCC Clean-Up Day, Saturday, March 15

Do you love our beautiful church grounds?! Do you want to make them even more beautiful?! Please mark your calendar for our spring RUCC Clean-Up Day on Saturday, March 15, 9 a.m.—2 p.m. Many hands make light work—it'll be a fun and productive day!

Contact Carole Beswick if you have any questions.

Seekers, Sunday, March 16, 9:30 a.m.

Seekers will have a special session on Sunday, March 16, when we will be joined (online) by Dr. Chris Hoklotubbe, Assistant Professor of Religion at Cornell College, Mount Vernon, Iowa. Dr. Hoklotubbe teaches courses on the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in the Christian Tradition, the New Testament, Roman Religion, Native American Spiritualities, World Religions, and Religion and American Politics. He researches and writes on the Pastoral Epistles and Native American interpretations of the Bible and will share his indigenous scholarship with us.



T. Christopher Hoklotubbe's Academia.edu Page

Social Justice and Witness Workshop - Saturday, March 22    

Rev. Joe will be presenting a Wider Ministries Social Justice &Witness Workshop from 10:30 to 12:30 in Covenant Hall on Saturday, March 22. The workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to envision what can be accomplished in the areas of social justice and witness, and specific ways that RUCC members and friends can work together to accomplish this. This is an ALL-Church event, so everyone is invited and welcome.

Game night - March 29 - save the date

Game and Conversation night will be on Saturday, March 29, at 5:30 p.m., in Covenant Hall. Friday night was not convenient for everyone so we will try this one on Saturday night. Bring your favorite game. An art table will be available. We will introduce BUNCO, an easy and social game. Come, relax, see old friends and make new ones. All ages invited. And we will be serving our famous root beer floats. 

One Great Hour of Sharing March 30

Save the Date: March 30, 2025

Celebrate One Great Hour of Sharing Day by making a difference. Your generosity continues to spread light to places in need.

The theme for the 2025 One Great Hour of Sharing^® is Be the Light. The United Church of Christ invites you to join this meaningful Lenten offering, which supports disaster relief, refugee assistance, and development ministries through Love of Neighbor. 

Young and Middle Adult Social Group Relaunch - April-7:00 p.m.

 Friday, April 4 at 7 p.m. at Redlands Public Market, a group of “young and middle adults” will be gathering for fellowship and social connection. We will have an icebreaker (this time will be “what’s your biggest Easter memory?”), and an opportunity for discussion. There will also be an “Ask Me Anything” theology time with the pastor, Rev. Joe, who will discuss whatever topic is on your mind, especially if you buy him a drink.

RUCC is an intergenerational and covenantal community that brings people of all ages and backgrounds together. Whoever you are, wherever you are on your journey, you are welcome here. And we mean that! Not only is worship and church leadership intergenerational, but we also have a lot of programming open to all ages. But sometimes it makes sense to have ministries geared toward particular demographics – whether it’s youth group, LGBTQ Christians, women’s group, or seniors – to serve our community. For this group we are gearing things toward people ages 21 (young adults) to 50ish (middle adults), but we aren’t strict about it – if you really want to come, then come!

We are looking at doing this monthly on the first Friday at 7 p.m., but we will be trying different locations until we find a good one! April 4 is at Redlands Public Market, but May 2 location is still to be determined.

Next Book Group meeting will be April 6

The RUCC Book Group is reading James by Percival Everett for the month of March, and will discuss the novel at its next meeting on Sunday, April 6, at noon in the Founders Room. The presenter will be Judith Ashton. Please join us.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER• NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

“A brilliant reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—both harrowing and ferociously funny—told from the enslaved Jim's point of view.” (Goodreads review)

Environmental justice message

It’s a Sunday, you’re in Covenant Hall and you’ve finished your Fellowship time snack. Or you’re working in the kitchen, cleaning up. And there you stand in front of two refuse containers, one black, for garbage going to a landfill, and one blue, for materials that can be recycled. Which one is the right receptacle for the item in your hand? It’s not always easy to tell, so here are some City of Redlands guidelines for what to put in the blue recycling container:

PLACE IN RECYCLING CONTAINER:

• Bottles: Water, Soda, Juice
• Jugs: Laundry Detergent, Milk, Juice
• Tubs: Margarine, Yogurt, Sour Cream
• Cans: Soda, Soup, Meat, Juice, Vegetable, Pet Food, Aerosol*
• Aluminum: Trays, Pie Tins, Clean Foil
• Paper: Newspaper, Magazines, Catalogs, Brochures, Office, Envelopes
• Cardboard/Boxes: Cereal, Shoe, Tissue, Shipping Boxes, Paper Tubes
• Glass Bottles: Wine, Beer, Oil, Soda
• Glass Jars: Sauce, Pickles, Preserves
• PVC: Small amounts of PVC and ABS (cut under 18 inches)

*Aerosol cans must be completely empty of all contents

Please flatten all boxes and keep your recyclables free inside your cart. DO NOT use plastic bags for recycling.

To get more information about recycling go to the City of Redlands Solid Waste and Recycling Services website.

Racial Justice reflection of the week

A week after Bloody Sunday on March 7, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson gave a pivotal speech to Congress, calling Selma a turning point in American history, likening it to the famous American battles at Lexington and Concord, and Appomattox.

"Really it's all of us who must overcome the crippling legacy of bigotry and injustice," he said. "And we shall overcome," echoing the refrain of a popular freedom song. LBJ signed the 1965 Voting Rights Act into law later that year.

Source: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/09/nx-s1-5312032/selma-bloody-sunday-60-years-edmund-pettus-bridge

Rev. Joe's installation, May 4 at 4 p.m.

In our denomination, an “installation” is a special service that acknowledges the calling of a minister to a local church. Rev. Joe may have been the pastor since July, but these installations often happen 3 months to a year after the official start date. It’s not just a celebration of the church and the new pastor – it’s about the work of the wider church in the area and the ties that bind us together. This is an opportunity for us to invite other churches and ministers and build relationships outside the “local church” context. The service will have the Conference Minister Rev. Rachael Pryor preaching, and Rev. Joe will preside over communion. We plan on some special music and a reception afterwards in Covenant Hall. Save the date!

Celebrate RUCC's 50th Anniversary

June 21 and 22, 2025

Upcoming Dates to Remember

• March 15 - RUCC Clean-Up Day, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
• March 16 - Super Shepherd Sunday
• March 22 - 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Social Justice Workshop
• March 23 - 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Worship Area workshop in the Sanctuary
• March 30 - The UCC's Special Offering "One Great Hour of Sharing" will be received
• May 4 - 4 p.m. Rev. Joe's installation as RUCC's Senior Pastor
• May 14 - RUCC's third annual blood drive
• June 21-22 - RUCC's 50th Anniversary Celebration

The church calendar is online at http://www.redlandsucc.org/calendar