What's happening at RUCC this Sunday, March 10

Daylight Savings time begins

Remember to turn your clocks ahead (SPRING FORWARD!) one hour on Saturday night.

It's also Super Shepherd Sunday!

Here's the schedule of when and where the Shepherd groups will meet this Sunday:

• Group #1: Founder's Room after worship for a potluck.
• Group #2: Covenant Hall for a potluck.
• Group #3: Cid Breyer's home for a potluck.
• Group #4: Carol Robb's home for a potluck. 
• Group#5: Heather Abushanab's home for a potluck on MARCH 17TH. 
• Group #6: Dianne Landeros' home for a potluck.

A message from our Pastor and teacher

Fourth Sunday in Lent, March 10 ~ "Don't Trip Me Up!"

“You are a hindrance to me, for you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things”  (Matthew 16:23). It hurts when we are reminded that we are hindering a much-loved one.

Have you ever felt like you were hindering the Way of Jesus in your life? Or the life of the church?

Do personal grief and worries ever begin to demand our attention until our concerns about human things command our entire focus? We will know that is true when human anxieties and sorrows take our eyes from the wonder and the work of God's love. Jesus, as is often true with those whose lives are steeped in prayer, is able to feel the grief or the concern, and then let it go, and move forward with clear focus. How can we be present in feelings of worry or grief without being overtaken by them?

Sunday's Scripture:

Matthew 16:21-23  

Run for Jill - L.A. Marathon, March 17

Please join us in celebrating Jill Kirchner-Rose with our Run for Jill event! We have several church members set to run the LA Marathon on March 17th.

There will also be a special donation open from now until March 24th with all donations to be split between The American Cancer Society and Heifer International. Please use the link below to make your donation in Realm or make your checks out to Redlands United Church of Christ and put Run for Jill in the memo line. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to Celebrate Jill, join in an activity as a Church Family, cheer each other on, and promote positive change.

https://onrealm.org/RUCC/give/runforjill

Get ready for RUCC's Eggstravaganza, March 30, 2024!

Question: What is Eggstravaganza?

Answer: A super-fun RUCC tradition which goes back 30+ years, in which kids and their families gather on the patio (or Covenant Hall, in case of rain) for Eastertime fun and games.

Date: Saturday March 30, 2024 Time: 10:00 a.m. to noon

There will be many activities, games and prizes: including our traditional Bingo game, plus some new ones added this year. It will be fun for all!

Reach out to Susi Jacobsen, Andrea Morics, or Jules Rattray if you have any questions.

Please RSVP to admorics@redlandsucc.org

Caring for Kin

Women of Faith, Interfaith Service Community

This month we are collecting items needed to help refugee families get settled in their new communities. Jean Arnott does an amazing job of coordinating local services needed to enable these new families to find a place to live, stock their homes with necessary supplies, find jobs, enroll in school, access transportation, connect with the community, and so much more. Here are some things that we can collect to help:

Current most-needed items:

Meals for Women’s Cold Weather Shelter

“Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40, New Revised Standard Version

There are several opportunities to provide a meal to the Redlands Women’s Cold Weather Shelter, which will be open until April 26, 2024. They need meals in March and April. The following link will get you to the online signup:

crsredlands.org/meal. This will allow you to take or send a meal. If you take a meal:

• Make it for 8 people.
• Dinner time is 7:00 pm, so bring fully cooked, ready to serve, by 6:30 pm
• Bring to the back building of 602 Church St, Redlands
• Contact person is Jean Pagdilao, (909) 206-4156
• There is a place to send either a meal or a gift card on the link.

Thank you!

RUCC Youth Group

The RUCC Youth Group is open to kids in 6th through 12th Grade.

We have had two enjoyable Youth Group meetings during Lent so far: these have taken place in the Youth Room during Sunday School time. If you are in 6th grade and older, please join us this Sunday in the Youth Room after the Children’s Circle! We are also looking forward to the Western Regional Youth Event taking place in Long Beach this summer.

Please keep an eye out for future Youth fundraisers to support that important event!

Please help keep our Church tidy

We are fortunate that more and more community groups are using our facilities. However, that means that we need to be careful to clean up after our meeting or activity. Thanks, everyone!

We're still looking for a Youth Director!

This may be only a part-time position, but it is important to our church's mission. The Youth Director plays a key role in helping our young people understand why RUCC's values and theology are important to them as they prepare to go out in the world.

......................~~ The RUCC Personnel Committee

From the Environmental Justice Team

Desert Protection or Plunder? - What You Can Do to Make a Difference

And Who Will Succeed Senator Feinstein?

Weeknight interfaith workshop with special guest Hans Johnson

Thursday, March 14, 2024, 7 to 8 p.m.

Covenant Hall, Redlands United Church of Christ,

168 Bellevue Avenue, Redlands, CA 92373

Free admission, RSVP to ddlanderos@gmail.com

Senator Dianne Feinstein was a champion for desert parks and water for more than three decades. The voters’ choice of her replacement will have life-or-death consequences for the desert ecosystem, as will the informed voices of Californians working alongside tribal and business allies. There is a place for you in this exciting advocacy.

Hans Johnson is a leader in nonpartisan advocacy for environmental justice. Longtime director of the George Brown Legacy Project, he also led campaigns to pass Californias’ laws to ban throwaway plastic bags and to protect desert aquifers.

Racial Justice reflection of the week

The 2024 Equality Index of Black America is 75.7%. What does that mean?

That means that rather than having a whole pie (100%), which would mean full equality with whites in 2024, African Americans are missing about 24% of the pie.

Source: 2024 Equality Index, State of Black America, National Urban League. http://stateofblackamerica.org/equality-indexes/2024

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• March 10 - Super Shepherd Sunday -
• March 11, 18, and 25 - Lenten Series continues
• March 12 - Stewards meeting
• March 14 - Environmental Justice Workshop
• March 17 - Wider Ministries "Caring Fair"
• March 20 - Board Meeting
• March 24 - Palm Sunday
• March 28 - Seder and Tenebrae
• March 30 - Eggstravaganza
• March 31 - Easter Sunday
• April 6 - Sacred Saturday, 9 a.m. - noon

The church calendar is found at redlandsucc.org

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