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Thursday, May 18, 2023

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.

Concerns:

  • Prayers for Jill, Karen, and Daniella.
  • Pam Dunn asks for prayers for rapid healing as she prepares for the first of two outpatient hip surgeries. (5/21)
  • Elliza Ames askes for prayers for her sister Diane and family; Diane's husband Glenn passed from life to Life very unexpectely. (5/11)
  • Prayers for Eliza Ames who suffered a painful fall recently. (5/11)
  • Prayers for Rick Cruz as he recuperates from a successfull pacemaker replacement. (5/11)
  • Prayers for Connie Mitchell as she copes with a foot injury. (5/11))
  • Prayers for Cid Breyer who is recuperating at home from 3 fractured vertebrae. Please call or text before visiting. (5/4)
  • Prayers for Missy Blair Rucker’s mother Dorothy Blair as she recovers in a rehab facility from a broken hip after a fall. (5/4)
  • Prayers for Sherrian Ellison who will be undergoing a breast biopsy. (4/18)
  • Prayers for the family and friends of Gary Johnson, brother of Nan Root, who passed from life to Life. (4/18)
  • Prayers for Connie Mitchell's mother, who has had a bad fall. (4/13)
  • Prayers for Cid Breyer's son Dan, who is recuperating from surgery for a broken femur suffered in a bicycling accident. (4/13)
  • Janet Wilson asks for prayers for her brother Clay who has developed lung problems resulting from his service in Iraq. (3/23)
  • Prayers for the family and friends of Elinor (Ellie) Kemp who passed from life to Life last week. (3/16)
  • Prayers for Sarah Breslaw and her family; her father is now in hospice care. (3/9)
  • Prayers for Tim, husband of Nancy Doss, who has passed from life to Life. (3/12)
  • Ongoing prayers for Ian Naftzger undergoing cancer treatment
  • Jessica Lea asks for prayers for her friends Wilma and Carlos; Carlos has been diagnosed with lymphoma.
  • Prayers for Janet Edwards, who is in the Plymouth Village Care Center following a fall with pelvic fractures.
  • Prayers for Carla Becerril, who is on hospice and very much appreciates calls, visits, and notes.
  • Prayers for Kathryn Gallagher, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
  • Prayers for Cynthia McGuigan as she continues her health care journey.
  • Jayne Miller requests prayers for her dear friend Richard, who is in chemo treatment for aggressive and rare cancer.
  • We continue to hold in our prayers the people of Ukraine.


Ongoing Concerns:

Jerry Andrews

Scott Ault

Dave, brother of Johanna Ballard

Bev Ching

Cousin of Rick Cruz

Norma Erickson

Katia Hage


Beki Hill

Jody Hoelle

Harriet Holt, Beki Hill's mother

Jenny, Sister of Jules Rattray

Hank Kirchner

Amber McGuigan

Floyd Orr

Ryan and Evan Paul

Jim Sommer

Spencer, friend of Stacey Greene

Robert Silver

Arika Torres

Rosemary Tuohy


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.

Share the Joy of Jill

During this time of transition, let us come together as a community to lift up Jill’s ministry and impact. We invite you to share your favorite memories, stories, and examples of how Jill has positively influenced your life and the lives of others. You can share pictures, videos, GIFs, or just put plain text. 


Here is the website created as a virtual scrapbook: uccredlands.org/jill

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!

Michael and Ken delivering food to Family Services Association

Name Tags Support a Welcoming Environment

Our use of name tags at church is visitor-oriented, it makes introductions easier, and it tells others we are open to conversation. Any new interim or settled pastor in our future will really appreciate us wearing name tags as we get to know each other. It supports our goal of being a welcoming community of faith.

 

Maybe you have been asking for a name tag for weeks or months. Maybe yours is lost or destroyed. The good news is that we now have new name tags. For the next several Sundays, the newly printed name tags will be laid out on a table in Covenant Hall. Here are the steps to get yours:

  • Find your tag. They are printed with first and last name only. The tags are in rough alphabetical order. Check your tag. If it’s wrong, make the corrections and put them in the black basket. Do the same if, for example, it reads “Daniel,” and you want to be called “Danny.” Your tag needs to be correct. If you can’t find yours, provide your information on the clipboard in the black basket.
  • Personalize your tag. You are encouraged to include a pronoun sticker because it would be welcoming to someone new to see that we are sensitive to alternative pronoun use. There are also stickers of the Redlands UCC logo, two UCC logos, some pride flags, and assorted other designs. You’re not limited to what is there. Make your tag your own.
  • Complete your tag. Insert the tag into a clear plastic name badge holder. If you already have one from your old 3”x4” name tag, you can use that one. There are empty holders with clips, holders with magnets, and holders with neither. The last ones are used with a lanyard.
  • The last step is to put your new tag in the narthex rack or keep it safe somewhere else. 

By the end of the month, we will remove the existing gray “God is Still Speaking” tags. We also need to figure out a better storage solution – one that rolls and displays the tags in a manner that makes them easier to find and use. The current racks for the tags are often removed for memorial services and other sanctuary events. When moved, the tags may fall out of the rack to the floor and your tag is no longer where you put it. Let the Church Growth Area know if you have any ideas on better tag storage and display. 

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.

Early bird registration for Pilgrim Pines ends May 21!

Follow the link here to learn all about the wonderful programs planned this summer at Pilgrim Pines UCC Camp.


All members and regular attendees of RUCC will receive 50% off their tuition thanks to our Campership Fund. Also, if you have grandkids who don’t attend RUCC but are interested in attending camp: they will be eligible for a 25% discount on tuition.


If you are planning to register please first contact admorics@mac.com for information on how to secure your campership discount.


Get ready for fun and sunshine on the mountain!


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

Order Physical Gift Cards

Physical Gift cards ordered monthly

  •  Order by June 5 - pick up on June 11
  • Order by July 10 - pick up on July 16


In Stock Now

We have a limited number of $100 and $25 Stater Bros. gift cards in stock! Come visit us at the table in Covenant Hall on Sundays after worship.

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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

This Week at Redlands United Church of Christ

Sunday, May 21 - Mothers' Day Sunday

  • 9:15 a.m. - Seekers
  • 9:30 a.m. - Kids' Zone
  • 10:30 a.m. - Worship Service
  • Special meeting for final vote on the organ proposal immediately following the service
  • 11:30 a.m. - Fellowship time
  • 12:00 p.m. - Wider Ministries Quarterly meeting with guest speaker and voting on donations
  • 12 p.m. - Youth Group


Monday, May 22


Tuesday, May 23

  • 7:00 p.m. Board meeting

Wednesday, May 28

Thursday, May 25


Friday, May 26

  • 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Blood Drive - Covenant Hall
  • 7 p.m. Closed women's AA meeting in the Founders' Room.

Saturday, May 27


Sunday, May 28 - Pentecost Sunday

  • 9:15 a.m. - Seekers
  • 9:30 a.m. - Kids' Zone
  • 10:30 a.m. - Worship Service and Strengthen The Chucrh Special Offering.
  • 11:30 a.m. - Fellowship time; also, Summer Kickoff Potluck at the Abushanab's right after church. RSVP - UCCRedlands.org/potluck/
  • 12 p.m. - Youth Group

RUCC Staff

 

Senior Pastor: Rev. Dr. Jill Kirchner-Rose

Bridge Pastor: Rev. Jake Pomeroy

Honorary Minister of Arts and Worship:  Rev. Erin Beardemphl

Music Director: Jim Tong

Accompanist: Sophia Ohanian

Children's Education Director: Susi Jacobsen

Director of Youth and Young Adult Ministries: Vacant

Office and Property Manager: Veronica Bermudez

Child Care: Joette Orman

 

Website:  www.redlandsucc.org

Phone: (909) 793-3520

 

Staff and Other Emails

pastorjill@redlandsucc.org

youth@redlandsucc.org

office@redlandsucc.org

musicdirector@redlandsucc.org

Jake@redlandsucc.org

childrenseducation@redlandsucc.org

weddings@redlandsucc.org theview@redlandsucc.org