A message from our Bridge Pastor and Teacher

Sunday, May 21 ~~ "History with God"

Often when we face a struggle, we cannot think of anything beyond the immediate – the pain and need in front of us or another. This psalm recalls the ways in which God kept company with the people of Israel in their history – times when they faced slavery, violence, and the uncertainty of the wilderness. What are ways that we can recall our own history with God – do we feel as though God has helped us navigate some of the difficult and frightening parts of our life’s journey?

Sunday's Scripture

Psalm 68:7-10

MAY 21 - Seventh Sunday of Easter

CLICK HERE FOR THE BULLETIN

FOR MAY 18



This is a PDF file which is easy to download and print for use during the service whether you are watching on line, or attending in person on Sunday.

There's a lot going on Sunday, May 21

• 10:30 a.m. Worship Service
• Immediately after the Service--Special Congregational Meeting to vote on the proposed organ contract. A quorum is required. You may also vote absentee: for the complete proposal and an absentee ballot, CLICK HERE.
• 12:00 p.m. - Wider Ministries meeting - Founders' Room - Presentation by Redlands Housing Solutions Coordinator, David Rabindranath. All are welcome. Following the presentation, Wider Ministries members will vote on second quarter donations to community groups.
• 12:00 p.m. Joint meeting of Shepherd Leaders and Profile Committee to discuss working with the shepherd groups to help develop the Church Profile to call a settled pastor.
• 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. Greeter and Usher's support workshop - Conducted by the Church Growth Area in the Founder's Room. See article below for details.

Caring for Kin - Ongoing food collection

Thank you all for your generous donations so far to Redlands Family Services! In last week's delivery, RUCC supplied 61 boxes of cereal, 38 jars of peanut butter, and 58 boxes of instant oatmeal. We will continue to collect these same three items for the remainder of May (5/21 and 5/28).

Let's keep up the good work!

Reflection of the Week from the Racial Justice Team

The gender pay gap is the difference in earnings between women and men. Women who work full-time and year-round typically make 84 cents for every dollar that men make. For moms, this drops to 74 cents for every dollar that fathers make.

This “motherhood penalty” is sometimes because they must step back or scale back from the workplace to become primary caregivers, and of course that impacts their overall earnings. But for men who become fathers, the data show that they actually get a boost in their earnings. And this may be because employers are more likely to see fathers as providers, offer them more hours, more opportunities, and the fathers can then take advantage of that because, surprise, they have someone at home taking care of the kids and the housework.

The calculations show that Black, Latina, and Native women are making even less than that overall, 84 cents per dollar figure. Black women make 67 cents for every dollar, and Latina and Native women make 57 cents, compared with white men. And that's just the overall number, not the number for moms of color. So that means their total annual losses are much higher.

Source: Smart Money Podcast: Why Moms Face a Pay Penalty — and What to Do About It. https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/smart-money-podcast-why-moms-face-a-pay-penalty-and-what-to-do-about-it

From the Environmental Justice Team

Julie Jackson is an eco-conscious artist whose elegantly designed and crafted wooden lamps, bowls, and vases Under a recently signed agreement, state and federal agencies will work together with the Winnemem Wintu Tribe in efforts to restore winter-run Chinook salmon to some of their former spawning areas upstream of Shasta Dam.

“We’re very hopeful,” said Caleen Sisk, the tribe’s chief and spiritual leader. “It allows us to have a bigger voice in the process of bringing the salmon back.” She said state and federal officials “realized that they really have to have us as partners. …I think it’ll take everybody’s knowledge to really have them restored.”

Source: “Tribe signs pact with California to work together on efforts to save endangered salmon,” by Ian James, Los Angeles Times, May 4, 2023:    

 https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2023-05-04/tribe-california-salmon-agreement

Greeter and Usher Support Workshop

on May 21, 2023

The Church Growth Area and Pastor Jake encourage all greeters and potential greeters to attend a workshop on Sunday, May 21, 2023, from 2-3:30 pm in the Founders’ Room. We also invite ushers and potential ushers to participate. Topics include:

• Responding to emergencies.
• Preparing before worship.
• Avoiding greeter mistakes.
•  Answering frequent questions from visitors.
• Meeting the needs of visitors with disabilities (A2A).

Current greeters will share what works for them and we will all be better prepared to welcome new people to the church. If you are a current greeter or usher, please come and share your expertise. If you have thought about being a greeter or usher, please join us so you will be ready to be successful in that role.

Blood Drive scheduled for Friday, May 26

Have you ever thought about donating blood, but it just wasn't very convenient? We can't come to your home; however, we are coming to your church! The Blood Drive begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Appointments are not required but suggested to save you time. Call 1-800.879.4484 or log on to https://www.lstream.org/

And please pass this information on to family and friends! If you have any questions that are not covered in this flyer, please ask Kerry Dunn who is coordinating the event. He can be reached at (909)963-8304.

Hope to see you on Friday, May 26th!

Strengthen the Church special offering on Pentecost, May 28

Strengthen the Church is an opportunity to sustain not just our growing, renewing, and birthing churches, but also to ensure that the holy ground they create remains the sacred space in which the extravagant welcome of our beloved Jesus is embodied.

Thank you for your prayerful consideration of a gift to sustain this work in our churches. Thank you for helping us create the kind of sacred spaces where holy ground transforms despair into hope, fear into self-confidence, anger into compassion, judgment into hospitality, and disdain into love.

............................Rev. John Dorhauer,

....................................................................... General Minister and President, National Ministries of the UCC

Hygiene Kits for Unsheltered Neighbors

Wider Ministries is engaging in two initiatives to distribute hygiene kits to our unsheltered neighbors.

First, the church purchased a handful of backpacks containing hygiene items that will remain at the church and that can be distributed to unsheltered members of the community as they visit the church.

Second, Wider Ministries will be hosting an event on June 4 during which we'll create hygiene kits to keep in our cars to give to unsheltered individuals as we encounter them in the community. These hygiene kits will include basic (unopened/unused) hygiene items that can fit in a gallon-size Ziploc bag, such as travel-size shampoo and soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, washcloth, fingernail clippers, Band-Aids, menstrual supplies, and socks. They can also include small-denomination gift cards for groceries or fast food.

If you'd like to participate in assembling these kits, please begin purchasing the supplies. The Dollar Tree, CVS, or Target may be great places to find these items. Then, on June 4, we'll come together in the Founder's Room after church to compile all our supplies and assemble the kits together! For more information, please contact Sue Hammond or Diana Steele.

Raise Right - Gift Cards make shopping and fundraising easy

Bulk eGifting – Available exclusively on RaiseRight.com (desktop

only), now you can earn by eGifting in bulk. Select “Send as a gift” on any eGift card product page, then choose the “Bulk Order” gift type to get started. Simply follow the prompts to schedule delivery, add a custom message, upload recipient information, then add to cart and check out. eGift cards are the most convenient way to earn on all your gifting—whether for a birthday, holiday, or even gifting in bulk for teachers, graduates, or your team at the office. With the “Send as a gift by email” feature, learn how you can send eGift cards to as

many as 125 recipients all at once. https://www.raiseright.com/m/how-to-send-egift-cards

About RaiseRight: When you purchase gift cards through the RaiseRight program to pay for your day-to-day expenses or provide as gifts, RUCC receives a rebate that helps fund our missions. It’s an easy way to raise some money for RUCC. Hundreds of retailers participate, including grocery stores, gas stations, home improvement stores, department stores, online retailers, and much more. Please contact Jennifer and Pam at giftcards@redlandsucc.org if you need an enrollment link, need help setting up/accessing your online account or placing an order, have any questions, or want to learn more about the program.  This video will give you an overview of how to get started: https://youtu.be/c-v65F0xr2c

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• May 21 - Special Meeting for congregational vote on final authorization of the organ project.
• May 21 - Wider Ministries quarterly meeting with a guest speaker and consideration of donations for the quarter following the Special Meeting.
• May 26 - Blood drive in Covenant Hall
• May 28 - Pentecost and Strengthen the Church special offering
• May 28 - Beginning of summer kick-off and potluck with Rhymes with Orange at Heather and Dan's right across the street following the service.
• June 10 - Celebration of Life for Nancy Doss 11:00 a.m.
• June 11- Super Shepherd Sunday



The church calendar for May is found at uccredlands.org

Click on "calendar" in the red banner near the top of the page