Sixth Sunday After Epiphany

Our Mission: "We are an inclusive Open and Affirming faith community reaching out with love, compassion, and justice."

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Thursday, February 10, 2022

In-Person Worship Resumes this Sunday, February 13 at 10:30 a.m.

Dear Church Family,

It is with great joy that we announce the good news that in-person worship will resume this Sunday, February 13, 2022. With the COVID case rates in a steep descent, the Board discussed and approved returning to in-person worship with the following safety measures in place:

1. Masks required generally, surgical or N95 recommended, with the exception of Jill, who continues to test weekly.

2. Communion and fellowship activities will be outside.

We'll continue to offer services online. Thank you for your patience and flexibility during the recent Omicron surge. We look forward to gathering together in-person and online.

Blessings,

Jill Kirchner-Rose ........... Mary Fung....

Minister ............................President

SPECIAL SUNDAY SCHOOL ANNOUNCEMENT!

Hey Kids: we’re so excited to see you in person again!

The last time we met together in person for Sunday School was at the end of December.

We have a lot of catching up to do!

Don’t miss In-Person Sunday School this Sunday, February 13. Your teachers have a lot of fun activities planned for you!

As always, we will wear our masks and practice social distancing.

See you on Sunday!

A Message from Our Pastor and Teacher

Communion and the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany - February 13, 2022 ~ "Spiritual Giants: belle hooks"

This Sunday is Racial Justice Sunday. Similar to COVID-19 and as deadly, racism mutates and remains resistant. Structural racism pervades every aspect of society. Dismantling white supremacy, however, is not solely about what we must tear down. We must ask ourselves, what we must build in its place? The ancient texts of The Gospel of Luke and the modern wisdom of bell hooks, a groundbreaking African-American feminist, invite us to imagine a world free of racism, misogyny, and oppression of every kind.

Sunday's Scriptures

Luke 6: 17 – 23

February 13, 2022 ~ Communion and the Sixth Sunday after Epiphany

Prelude:. Twinklin’ Mary Lou Williams ...................................... Lara Urrutia.

Welcome and Announcements:..........................Rev. Dr. Jill A. Kirchner-Rose

Responsive Call to Worship:....................................................Connie Mitchell

Opening Hymn:. #2 Glory, Glory, Halleluja (vs 1,2, and 3)

Opening Prayer:........................................................................ Connie Mitchell

Childrens' Circle:........................................................................Val McGlasson

Joys and Concerns:............................................................. Dr. Kirchner-Rose

Silent and Pastoral Prayer:...................................................Dr. Kirchner-Rose

Special Music: Shine on Me .. Rollo Dillsworth .................. Covenant Choir

Scripture: Luke 6: 17 – 23 .........................................................Connie Mitchell

Message: “Spiritual Giants: Desmond Tutu”...........................Dr. Kirchner-Rose

Offertory: I Need You to Survive by David Frazier.................... Lara Urrutia

Doxology:...........................................................................,.....

Prayer of Dedication:.................................................................Connie Mitchell

Closing Hymn: Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around

Benediction: ..........................................................................Dr. Kirchner-Rose

Time of Reflection:.My Blue Heaven by George Whiting & Walter Donaldson .................................Arr. By Hazel Scott..........................................Lara Urrutia

Prayers for Cid Breyer who fell and broke her femur in several places. She would welcome calls and cards! Plymouth Village Health Center, 819 Salem Dr. #44 Redlands CA 92373. cell 909-528-8106
Prayers for Nan Root who is recovering from cataract surgery.
Jennifer Brainerd requests prayers for her father, Gary, who is in the hospital with extreme confusion and agitation. Cause unknown.
Beth Welsh requests prayers for her friend, Melissa, who is struggling with MS and has a diaphragmatic hernia that is crushing her organs.
Prayers for the family and friends of Marilyn, sister of Norma Erickson, who passed from life to Life.
Kenneth Lee requests prayers for his mother, Melinda, who has had complications following surgery.
Beth Welsh requests prayers for her mother, Maggie, who has been diagnosed with COVID
Debra Van Engelen and Mark Janz request prayers for grandson, Johnathan, who is in the army stationed in Germany during this time of Russian build-up outside Ukraine.
Prayers for Maegan Hill who faces challenges with MS.
Val McGlasson requests prayers for her sister and nephew who are in need of housing.
Prayers for Kate Rhodes, daughter and granddaughter of friends of Carol Robb, who is having serious and unexplained allergic reactions. Prayers also for her doctors as they search for the cause.
Prayers for Travis, son of Beki Hill, who was diagnosed with COVID.
Prayers for Cynthia McGuigan who faces complications with her chemotherapy treatments. Cynthia and medical staff are determining next steps.
Jolene Barrow requests prayers for her mother, Karen Barrow, who has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and is in significant pain.
Rosemary Tuohy requests prayers for her friend Holly, who is recovering from surgery.
Prayers for Beth Welsh as she recovers from a back injury.
Prayers for Eleanor Kemp who broke her hip and is recuperating at Mission Commons.
Cid Breyer requests prayers for her sister in law, Karen, who is going through chemo and radiation for blood / bone cancer.
Prayers for Carole Beswick who is recovering from partial knee replacement surgery.
Prayers for Marcia Taack who is recovering from knee replacement surgery and has been diagnosed with cellulitis.
Prayers for Glenda Bates, friend of Gretchen Andrews, who has been diagnosed with operable pancreatic cancer
Prayers for Carole Wesson who is currently in the Health Facility at Plymouth Village.
Nan Root requests prayers for her brother Gary who has dementia and has placed on hospice.
Prayers for Richard Ault who broke his hip and is now home recovering.
Prayers for Bob Sheets who is recovering from eye surgery.
Prayers for Eber, brother of Lara Urrutia, who is undergoing tests for a mass in his neck.
Prayers for Lisa, friend of Beth Welsh, who is recovering from emergency surgery.
Johanna Ballard requests healing prayers for her dear friend, Lana.
Sue Hammond requests prayers for her sister-in-law, Linda, who is receiving treatment for multiple myeloma.
Prayers for Burt, family member of Johanna Ballard, who is facing severe health challenges.
Eliza Ames requests prayers for her brother Coyne who is hospitalized and is very ill.
Beth Welsh requests prayers for her brother, Michael, who is recovering from surgery following a work accident.

Ongoing Concerns:

Joe Adcock, family member of Mary Mortensen

Anden, nephew of Michelle McNevin

Jerry Andrews

Jeff Bonadiman

Les Budai

Burt, family member of Johanna Ballard

Diane Campbell

Diane, Sister-in-Law of Heather King

Dave, brother of Johanna Ballard

Carol Chaney

Caroline, mother of Karen Blad

Claudine, grandmother of Paul & Dantae Welsh

Precia Gwenhwyfer Courtney-Hveen

Cousin of Rick Cruz

Norma Erickson

Michael Flores

Betty Gayle

Emma Grimauld

Katia Hage

Beki Hill

Jody Hoelle

Harriet Holt, Beki Hill's mother

Mark Alan Johnson, friend of Nancy Hotaling

Susi Jacobsen

Kim Johnson, friend of Gretchen Andrews

Jenny, Sister of Jules Rattray

Emily Jones

Hank Kirchner

Amber McGuigan

Sara Montez

Bill McIntyre

Maria Montana

Carmen & Jim Neafsey

Ryan and Evan Paul

Rick Peetz, Sr.

Kristin Farmer Preslica

Nancy Rojas

Adolph Romero

Joan Roth

Spencer, friend of Stacey Greene

Miguel Sewer

Doris Stockton, Kathi Roth's Grandmother

Heather Tee

Arika Torres

Rosemary Tuohy

Vasquez Family

Special note regarding the Prayer List: Please review the list for any prayer requests you made that are outdated or that may be removed. Please notify both [email protected] and [email protected] of any changes that are needed. Thank you.

Reflection of the Week from the Racial Justice Team

Did you learn about this in history class? If not, why not?

"Wilmington coup and massacre, political coup and massacre in which the multiracial Fusionist (Republican and Populist) city government of Wilmington, North Carolina, was violently overthrown on November 10, 1898, and as many as 60 Black Americans were killed in a premeditated murder spree that was the culmination of an organized months-long statewide campaign by white supremacists to eliminate African American participation in government and permanently disenfranchise Black citizens of North Carolina. The coup followed on the heels of an election for the county, state, and federal governments that restored a Democratic majority in the state legislature, which set about enacting Jim Crow legislation that disenfranchised Black people in North Carolina for many decades to come."

- Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/Wilmington-coup-and-massacre

From the Environmental Justice Team

Guardians of Nature -- How Samburu Women are Saving Their Forest

It is important to make ourselves aware of the amazing good things that are happening in our world to fight climate change. There are lessons to be learned from other countries, other people.

MARALAL is a sleepy town, several hours north of Nairobi in northern Kenya. It borders the Kirisia Forest, a vast, dense, and mountainous ecosystem that spans 780 square kilometers and generates water for more than 150,000 people living in the parched lowlands below. The forest is home to the Samburu people, a predominantly seminomadic group closely related to the Maasai in language and traditions.

As regional drought pushes communities toward a humanitarian crisis and climate change disrupts pastoralists’ traditional way of life, traditional gender roles are also shifting. The drought has driven Samburu men to leave for months in search of pasture, and in their absence, it is becoming more acceptable for Samburu women to work for money and participate in decision making. Many have teamed up with the Kirisia Community Forest Association (CFA), a collaborative initiative that focuses on addressing deforestation while protecting the livelihood of communities that depend on the forest. The project invites Samburu women to help preserve this critical ecosystem. Until recently, these women were cutting firewood to make charcoal, their only source of income. Now they are directly involved in protecting the trees they once felled, managing the forest, and using its resources sustainably.

Community-based projects like this have the potential to empower women and lift entire communities in sub-Saharan Africa out of poverty while also helping preserve some of the world’s most threatened ecosystems. “Before, we were destroying the forest because we didn’t know it belonged to us,” says Grace Kwamboka Leikoslish, a member of the CFA. “We didn’t know that by cutting down trees, the weather could change, or that wild animals could disappear, or that the water catchments would run dry. Now we know that we must protect it; it is our responsibility and our children’s. The forest gives us a livelihood.”

Some of the crucial activities and projects that the Samburu women are responsible for:

· Founding the Community Forest Association (CFA), which patrols the forests daily, interacts with the community, raises awareness of protecting the environment.

· Beekeeping, now an important economic activity for CFA members.

· Herding goats toward the few water points in the drought-stricken region.

· Rescuing and relocating young and distressed animals from the forests

“With climate change making droughts ever worse year by year…we have to take matters into our own hands.” Zeinab Leboiyare, 24, Maralal woman.

Excerpt from photographic article in Orion Magazine

Link: https://orionmagazine.org/article/guardians-of-nature/

Bible 101 continues every Tuesday through

March 1 at 5 p.m. on Zoom

This 6 week class is an overview of the Bible in its entirety. The class meets on Tuesdays, through March 1 at 5 p.m.

Here is the Zoom link:.

Topic: Bible Study

Time: Tuesdays, January 25^th – March 1 @ 5 p.m.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83189260341

Meeting ID: 831 8926 0341

One tap mobile

+16699009128

Scrip Update

Scrip/Gift Card Program – When you purchase gift cards 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.

Gift Cards in Stock – We carry a limited supply in stock of some of our more popular gift cards, available for purchase after worship with cash or check. Current stock includes:

Stater Bros - $100
Stater Bros - $25
Target - $25
Amazon - $25

Physical Card Order Deadlines – Currently, physical cards are once per month. If the demand increases, we can add a second order each month. Place orders after worship this Sunday, Feb. 13, and the cards will be available to pick up the following Sunday. Here is the ordering schedule for the next few months.

February 14 – available for pickup on February 20

March 14 – available for pickup on March 20

April 11 – available for pickup on April 17

eCards – Remember that you can buy eGift cards, available to you immediately, to use for online or in-person shopping or to send as a gift. Every time you buy, RUCC gets a small rebate. Place orders through the RaiseRight app or at www.shopwithscrip.com.

Use the RaiseRight app or ShopWithScrip.com website – the easiest way to place orders, whether for eCards or physical cards, is to use the RaiseRight app or ShopWithScrip.com website. Login is the same for both the app and website.

Please contact Jennifer at [email protected] if you need help placing an order or want to learn more about the program.

RUCC Transgender Support Group, meeting the first Monday of each month.

Meeting will be in hybrid, offered through zoom and concurrently in person at 5 p.m. in the Garden Room. For information, contact Lea Denise Cain through Realm. Denise will conduct an informal screening for the security of participants.

Looking ahead: RUCC Lenten Series begins Wednesday March 9

What is a mystic? Bruce Epperly defines mystics as people who see holiness in everyday life. We can be mystics without leaving our families, disengaging from daily responsibilities, becoming a priest, or joining a monastic order. Epperly shows how we can experience the living God in the midst of daily life and never again take everyday events for granted.

Bruce Epperly introduces readers to 12 individuals or groups of mystics through the ages: St. Francis of Assisi, the desert mothers and fathers, Benedict of Nursia, the Celtic mystics, Hildegard of Bingen, Mechthild of Magdeburg, Brother Lawrence, the Baal Shem Tov, Howard Thurman, Etty Hillesum, Rumi, and Julian of Norwich.

Each chapter describes each mystic's life, spiritual experiences and worldview, and provides spiritual exercises to help us experience the mystic firsthand. Through his conversational, down-to-earth approach, Epperly inspires us to realize that we can encounter God wherever we are, whatever we are doing.