Summer Series continues, Saturday, July 29, at 10a.m.

We will start with Potluck Brunch and Games before we work together to Widen our Welcome.

Bring your favorite Brunch dish if you can and come join us as we explore Welcoming All Genders at Redlands UCC.  This is an event for all ages; we look forward to sharing our morning with you!

You can help minimize clean-up by bringing your own dishes, cups, and cutlery.

A message from our Pastor and Teacher

Sunday, July 30 ~ "Hidden Things in the Kindom of God"

What do small seeds, a little leavening in a mass of flour, a hidden treasure found unexpectedly, a merchant who finds a fabulous pearl, or a fishing net thrown into the lake have in common with the kindom of God? 

Unexpected outcomes, for sure! And a whole lot more! 

Sunday's Scripture

Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52

The Message Version 

July 30 - Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

CLICK HERE FOR THE BULLETIN FOR JULY 30

Reflection of the week from the Racial Justice Team

“Racism is so universal in this country, so widespread, and deep-seated, that it is invisible because it is so normal.”

 - Shirley Chisholm, American politician, first black woman to be elected to the United States Congress in 1968

From the Environmental Justice Team

As part of the research the Institute for Economics & Peace ( https://www.economicsandpeace.org/ ) has undertaken to help the world achieve peace, the institute issued the third edition of its Ecological Threat Report.  (https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/ETR-2022-Web-1.pdf ) 

The final paragraph of the executive summary states, “Ecological threats will continue to create humanitarian emergencies, increase conflict and result in forced migration, unless there is a sustained effort to reverse the current trend. Ecological threats are becoming more pronounced and affect more people than ever. Building resilience to these threats will increasingly become more important and will require substantial investment now and into the future.” To read about how the effects of ecological stress contribute to migration, see this report by National Public Radio: “Uprooted: How climate change is reshaping migration from Honduras,

https://www.npr.org/2023/07/21/1189253504/climate-change-migration-honduras#:~:text=Since%20the%20beginning%20of%202021,opportunity%2C%20exacerbated%20by%20the%20pandemic

Congregation-wide Survey

The Church Profile Committee has compiled a brief survey to gather information to write a well-informed church profile. We want to make sure to represent the voices of everyone at RUCC, so we would love a response from each and every one of you! This survey will take only..5-10 minutes of your time. Please access the survey at this link and feel free to contact Chuck Zamaria, Diana Steele, Dan Wacks, or Paul Welsh with any questions or for technical assistance.

Help us Promote Art, for Heaven’s Sake! Fine Arts Festival

Art, for Heaven’s Sake! is switching to electronic postcards and we need your help. Please help us reach more people by getting your friends and colleagues to sign up for our electronic mailing list. We plan to send out electronic postcards a couple of weeks before the show. If you make it your goal to get 10 or more to sign up it would be a great help. You can use the QR code here or pick up a QR sticker in the gathering area at church. People can also email [email protected] and ask to be put on the list. All we need is a name and an email address

A great way to spend a Friday evening! It's not too late to volunteer

RUCC has been asked to guest usher on July 28 at the Friday night show of Hello Dolly! at the Redlands Bowl. The duties are easy, and consist mostly of passing the red bowls for the freewill offering at intermission--definitely something that church folk know how to do!

Contact Paul Hodson for details.

Do you have a record player and like classical music?

While there has been some response to Helga Vroom's kind offer to re-home hundreds of classical records, she still has a lot left. If you're a classical music fan and still have a record player or turntable, please take advantage of this incredibly generous offer.

Please call Helga at 909-280-9701.

LGBTQIAFG hosts movie night Saturday, July 29, at 7:30 p.m.

"For the Bible Tells Me So" will be the Saturday night feature when LGBTQIAFG hosts a movie night on July 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Covenant Hall. There will be free popcorn, snacks and drinks.

Questions? Contact Sam or Sarah (909) 492-2367 / (909) 233-2834

Caring for Kin continues with Women of Faith - School Supplies Needed

Women of Faith, a local organization that assists refugee and immigrant families in resettling, needs school supplies for the children, especiallycollege-ruled notebooks and loose-leaf paper, watercolor markers, pink erasers, highlighters, and small pencil sharpeners.

In addition, Women of Faith are always collecting new and gently used household supplies. While we won't have room on our Caring for Kin cart for such items, if you have things from the attached list that you'd like to donate, please contact Jean Arnott at [email protected] to learn how you can donate household supplies.

"The Lunch Bunch" update

The Lunch Bunch has been taking a break. We will return on Wednesday, August 9 at noon, and Pastor Elaine will be joining us. Hopefully many of you will join us and help her to get to know you while you will get the opportunity to know her in this informal setting.

Another chance to get a We’re All In! T-shirt!

By popular demand, we will place another group order for We’re All In T-shirts on August 1. T-shirts are $25 each, and can be ordered in any color and size you want - options are viewable at  https://www.ssactivewear.com/p/gildan/2000 for unisex, or

https://www.ssactivewear.com/p/gildan/2000l for ladies’ sizes. If you want to match the colors of previous orders, choose Military Green or Vegas Gold.

When you're ready to order send an email to [email protected] with the color and size(s) you want, then process payment through Realm.

Book Group news

The RUCC Book Group will meet on Sunday, August 6, 2023 in the Founders Room, off of Covenant Hall, at noon.  The discussion book is All That She Carried by Tiya Miles, and Susan Matthews will facilitate the discussion. Everyone is welcome (even if you haven’t finished the book)! 

NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER AND NEW YORK TIMESBESTSELLER: A renowned historian traces the life of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women to craft a “deeply layered and insightful” (The Washington Post) testament to people who are left out of the archives…”All That She Carried” is a poignant story of resilience and love passed down against steep odds. It honors the creativity and resourcefulness of people who preserved family ties when official systems refused to do so, and it serves as a visionary illustration of how to reconstruct and recount their stories today. (Amazon review)

Wider Ministries Area Update

The next quarterly meeting of the Wider Ministries Area will be July 30 at 12 p.m. in the Founders' room. The agenda will include brief progress reports on projects already begun, discussion and voting on financial allocations to local organizations, and brainstorming and discussion of future plans and projects.

Whether or not you signed up to be a member of Wider Ministries, you are welcome at this meeting. If you have a suggestion of a community non-profit organization that would be a worthy recipient of a donation from RUCC, use the attached recommendation form to bring this group to our attention. CLICK HERE to download the form. Please return it to the Area Co-Chairs, Kathie Blakley and Carol Robb, as quickly as possible. ([email protected] and [email protected])

What happened at the UCC's General Synod? Read all about it here!

Did you miss last week's link to all the news stories from the recent UCC General Synod? Its not too late to find out what happened. Read the full coverage — all news stories together in one place — of General Synod 34 here.

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• July 29 - Summer Series - 10 a.m. to noon.
• July 29 - LBGTQIAFG Movie Night 7:30 p.m. "For the Bible Tells Me So"
• July 30 - Last meeting of Seekers until September 10.
• July 30 - Quarterly Meeting of Wider Ministries - 12 p.m.
• August 5 - Concluding session of the Summer Series - 10 a.m. to noon.
• August 19 - Celebration of Life for Rev. Dr. Jill Kirchner-Rose - 10 a.m.



The church calendars for July and August are found at uccredlands.org

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