22 - sonkaucc.org - Southwest Ohio Northern Kentucky Association
22 - sonkaucc.org - Southwest Ohio Northern Kentucky Association
22 - sonkaucc.org - Southwest Ohio Northern Kentucky Association
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SNIPPETS April <strong>22</strong>, 2013<br />
SOUTHWEST OHIO NORTHERN KENTUCKY ASSOCIATION<br />
OHIO CONFERENCE-UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST<br />
‘The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world,<br />
and those who live in it.’<br />
(Psalm 24:1)<br />
‘<br />
THIS NEWSLETTER IS MADE POSSIBLE BY YOUR OCWM GIVING.<br />
It’s Earth Day: Perfect Day to Engage in Mission 4/1 Earth<br />
Today, April <strong>22</strong>, is Earth Day, the annual day of action for the environment, and what a perfect day to<br />
participate in the UCC’s Mission 4/1 Earth initiative, a campaign to engage the entire<br />
denomination in a unified effort to green up, power down and speak out for the<br />
environment. Mission 4/1 Earth is going on now and will continue until Pentecost,<br />
May 19. That’s 50 days during Eastertide to achieve the campaign’s goals of doing 1<br />
million hours of earth care activities, planting 100,000 trees and writing 100,000<br />
environmental advocacy letters. Actions toward these goals should be reported on the<br />
national website at http://www.ucc.<strong>org</strong>/earth/.<br />
More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities<br />
each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.<br />
Over the last 40 years, the Earth Day Network has executed<br />
successful environmental campaigns on issues ranging from<br />
climate change and drinking water to voter registration and<br />
saving the whale. The global theme for Earth Day 2013 is “The<br />
Face of Climate Change.” Organizers say this theme was chosen<br />
because of the need to highlight the mounting impact of climate<br />
change on individuals around the world.<br />
Other Special Events Coming Up:<br />
SONKA Spring Gathering<br />
SONKA’s Spring Gathering will be held this Saturday, April<br />
27, at Christ Church UCC in Fort Thomas, KY. Sign-ins begin<br />
at 8:30 a.m. The morning session will include discussions of<br />
proposals for <strong>Ohio</strong> Conference re<strong>org</strong>anizations and SONKA<br />
Listening Session results. Questions from the floor will be<br />
invited. A fund drive for the Rubate Water Project also is<br />
planned, and candidates approved<br />
for ordination will be affirmed.<br />
Five workshops will be offered in<br />
the afternoon, following lunch.<br />
On-line registration is closed.<br />
Anyone who has not yet registered<br />
and would like to attend the<br />
meeting is asked to call the<br />
SONKA office at 937/438-8050, or<br />
888/631-9578.<br />
The Rubate Water Project Fund Drive has a goal of raising<br />
$15,000 for our Global Partners in Rubate Kenya. Thanks in<br />
part to generous contributions from SONKA, the Kenyans now<br />
have a new water system comprised of four miles of pipes and<br />
channels running from a river to the village. A water reserve<br />
tank and filter are still needed at a cost (Continued on p. 2)<br />
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There Are So Many Ways<br />
to Engage in Earth Care<br />
Here are just some of the many<br />
ways to engage in earth care. Time<br />
spent on these activities can be<br />
reported as earth care hours:<br />
- Carpool to work or worship<br />
- Change your furnace filter<br />
- Change old light bulbs to CFLs<br />
- Wash laundry in cold water<br />
- Plant a vegetable garden<br />
- Recycle, recycle, recycle<br />
- Fix dripping faucets<br />
- Conduct a worship service about the<br />
stewardship of the environment<br />
- Use detergents that don’t harm<br />
the environment<br />
- Turn off lights in rooms you’re<br />
not in<br />
- Use <strong>org</strong>anic fertilizer only<br />
- Read about climate change<br />
- Write environmental advocacy<br />
letters<br />
- Ask congregants to bring their own<br />
mugs for coffee hour<br />
For more ideas, go to<br />
http://www.ucc.<strong>org</strong>/earth/resources.<br />
html .
Special Events (Continued from p. 1)<br />
of $15,000. First St. John UCC of Hamilton has offered a matching grant of $7,500 for the fund drive, and<br />
other churches need to pledge $7,500 in order for the goal to be met. Global Partnership Team members<br />
ask that churches plan now to pledge during the Gathering toward this project of helping to deliver<br />
clean, safe water to our Rubate friends, certainly an environmental action/earth care activity<br />
to count toward Mission 4/1 goals.<br />
To date SONKA churches and individuals have donated more than $40,000 for the<br />
Rubate Water Project, with David’s UCC and St. John’s in Newport donating more<br />
than half of that amount, with contributions of $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.<br />
Other donations have come from SONKA churches, mission teams and individuals,<br />
including a 10-year-old who asked for donations to the water project instead of gifts<br />
from his birthday party guests, and a pastor growing his beard and shaving it off.<br />
In another move to honor the UCC’s Mission 4/1 Earth campaign, the offering from the Spring Gathering<br />
will go to <strong>Ohio</strong> Interfaith Power and Light, the <strong>Ohio</strong> affiliate of the national Interfaith Power and Light<br />
Network and a project of the <strong>Ohio</strong> Council of Churches. The mission of <strong>Ohio</strong> Interfaith Power and Light<br />
is to empower a religious response to climate change and to promote energy conservation. For more on<br />
this group, go to http://www.ohipl.<strong>org</strong>/ .<br />
<strong>Ohio</strong> Conference Annual Gathering<br />
The <strong>Ohio</strong> Conference’s 2013 Annual Gathering will be held June 7- 8 at First Community Church North<br />
Campus in Columbus, OH. On-line registration is now open for the event, which will include a keynote<br />
address by David Greenhaw, president of Eden Theological Seminary;<br />
presentations by Christina Braudaway-Bauman, director of the Pastoral<br />
Excellence Network, and Larry Peers, senior consultant with the Alban<br />
Institute; a symposium for authorized ministers on “Pastoral Excellence: The<br />
Massachusetts Conference Model of Small Groups of Clergy for Mutual<br />
Support, Accountability, and Peer Learning;” and more. For more information or to register, go to<br />
http://www.ocucc.<strong>org</strong>/Annual%20Gathering/AnnualGatherings.htm .<br />
UCC General Synod 29<br />
The denomination’s General Synod will meet this year June 28 – July 2 in Long Beach, CA, with special<br />
plenary sessions, exuberant speakers, workshops, intensives,<br />
service projects, worship, proposed resolutions, exhibits,<br />
special luncheons, entertainment, and much, much more.<br />
The theme is “God’s Vision:____.” For more information, go to http://www.ucc.<strong>org</strong>/synod/.<br />
LGBT Coalition National Gathering<br />
The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns will have its National Gathering June 26-28 (right before General<br />
Synod) in Long Beach, CA. The year’s theme is “God’s Vision: Do Justice.” Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III,<br />
pastor of Trinity UCC in Chicago and a prophetic voice for justice and<br />
inclusion, and author Rev. Dr. Marvin Ellison will speak. Rev. Linda<br />
Jaramillo of the national UCC staff and Janice Steele will preach.<br />
Workshops and forums to strengthen ONA ministries will be offered.<br />
To learn more or to register, go to http://www.ucccoalition.<strong>org</strong>/.<br />
-Lynne Wise<br />
Any Interest in OWL Facilitator Training this Summer in Dayton?<br />
Do you teach Our Whole Lives (OWL) in your church? Are you running out of trained facilitators? Do<br />
you want to start or expand your program? Harmony Creek Church in Kettering is<br />
hoping to host a junior and senior high facilitator training session this summer (date<br />
TBD). But there needs to be an adequate number of registrants for the sessions.<br />
Anyone interested in taking facilitator training for the OWL sexuality education program<br />
is asked to contact Pastor Aaron Saari, Youth Coordinator at Harmony Creek Church, at<br />
aaronsaari@yahoo.com. He hopes to be able to gauge the number of possible<br />
participants so that the group can discuss cost per person and training dates.<br />
2<br />
Rubate<br />
Water<br />
Project
Dead Man Walking Author, Helen Prejean, to Speak in Dayton<br />
The author of Dead Man Walking, Helen Prejean, will speak at Epiphany Lutheran Church in Centerville<br />
on Saturday evening, May 18, presented by Good Shepherd Ministries of Dayton, a faith-based ministry<br />
which offers counseling, career planning, spiritual development<br />
and help with material needs to people with histories of<br />
incarceration, and drug and alcohol abuse.<br />
The evening, which will begin at 5:30 p.m., also will feature food,<br />
raffles, a silent auction and testimonies. Advance tickets are<br />
required, and there is an early bird price of $50 per couple until<br />
April 28. A special Meet ‘n’ Greet with Helen Prejean is available<br />
at $70 per couple, beginning at 5 p.m.<br />
Helen Prejean, C.S.J., is a Roman Catholic nun who has become a<br />
leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.<br />
Dead Man Walking, an autobiographical account of her<br />
relationship with a death row inmate, served as the basis for the<br />
well-known feature film, an opera and a play. In the film, she was<br />
Sr. Helen Prejean<br />
portrayed by Susan Sarandon, who won an Academy Award for<br />
the role. The book Dead Man Walking was on the New York Times bestseller list for 31 weeks. It was also<br />
on the international bestseller list.<br />
For tickets, send a check to Good Shepherd Ministries, 3105 E. Fifth St., Dayton, OH 45403, and tickets<br />
will be waiting at will-call the evening of the event. For more information, call 937/938-5781 or email<br />
dalenieberding@hotmail.com .<br />
West Liberty UCC to Install New Pastor, Paul Forrey, May 19<br />
West Liberty UCC will have a special installation service for its new pastor, Paul Forrey, on Sunday, May<br />
19, at 3:30 p.m. at the church, 212 W. Newell St. Clergy are invited to dress casually for the installation,<br />
which will be followed by a reception with light refreshments. All in SONKA are invited.<br />
Cluster 7 Meeting<br />
The Crossroads Cluster, Cluster 7, will meet at<br />
7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, at Knob Prairie<br />
UCC, Enon, to discuss its joint programs.<br />
Bill Mallonee Concert<br />
Bill Mallonee, songwriter and recording artist,<br />
will perform in concert at David’s UCC in<br />
Kettering at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 26. His<br />
wife, Muriah Rose, will<br />
perform with him on<br />
piano and provide<br />
backup vocals. Mallonee<br />
was named in Paste<br />
Magazine’s “100<br />
Greatest Living<br />
Songwriters Poll” a few years ago. Tickets are<br />
$12 in advance (call the church at 937/434-<br />
2131) or $15 at the door.<br />
NEW! Choir Concert at Christ Church<br />
The community-based choir, Voices of the<br />
Commonwealth, will perform in concert at<br />
Christ Church, Fort Thomas, KY, Friday,<br />
April 26, at 7 p.m. The group, part of<br />
<strong>Northern</strong> <strong>Kentucky</strong> School of Music of<br />
THIS WEEK<br />
Immanuel UM Church, will perform Mozart<br />
Solemn Vespers and other selections.<br />
Donations ($10) will be taken at the door.<br />
NEW! St. John at Bellevue Arbor Day<br />
Members of St. John UCC in Bellevue, KY,<br />
wearing their St. John t-shirts, will participate<br />
in Bellevue’s Arbor Day celebration Saturday,<br />
April 27, from 10 a.m. – noon at the park at<br />
Ward and Center. Featured will be tree planting<br />
demonstrations, awards for student tree<br />
artwork, and cookies baked with ingredients<br />
from trees (like almond, pecan and pistachio)<br />
from St. John UCC bakers.<br />
Annual Roast Beef Dinner<br />
St. Paul UCC, Old Blue Rock Road, Colerain<br />
Township, will have its annual roast beef<br />
dinner Saturday, April 27, from 4:30 - 7<br />
p.m. Featured will be roast beef, mashed<br />
potatoes, gravy, green beans, rolls and<br />
dessert. The cost is $10 for adults and $4 for<br />
children under 10. A quilt made by the women<br />
of St. Paul will be raffled off, with tickets at $1<br />
each or six for $5. Call 513/385-9077 with any<br />
questions.
Greenmont Pet Blessing<br />
Greenmont-Oak Park Church, Kettering, will<br />
have a Pet Blessing at its 10:45 a.m. worship<br />
service Sunday, April 28. All are invited to<br />
bring their pets, along with lawn chairs. The<br />
3<br />
service will be held in the big tent next to the<br />
parking lot. The tent will be erected for the<br />
church’s big tent sale, to be held<br />
Friday, April 26, from 7 a.m. – 5<br />
p.m. and Saturday, April<br />
27, from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.<br />
All are invited to the events.<br />
Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Volunteer Opportunities Open<br />
The UCC’s Volunteer Ministries office has announced Hurricane Sandy recovery sites in New York and<br />
New Jersey are ready for volunteers. Two opportunities are open for church groups:<br />
- Atlantic City, NJ, in partnership with the Fuller Center for Housing. This community is ready to<br />
embark on the repair/rebuild stage. The minimum age is 16 years (with limited projects for volunteers<br />
age 14).<br />
- New York City, in partnership with New York Cares, with housing at a local UCC church. This<br />
opportunity involves the continuing muck out/mold remediation stage. Volunteers at this location will<br />
not be doing repair/rebuild. Groups serving here also may engage in non-disaster-related projects with<br />
New York Cares. The minimum age for this location is 18 years.<br />
For more information and registration, go to http://www.ucc.<strong>org</strong>/volunteer/disaster-recovery-volunteers/.<br />
* NATIONAL AND CONFERENCE *<br />
NEW! Conference Summer Camp<br />
Have you registered your camper yet? The <strong>Ohio</strong> Conference Outdoor<br />
Ministries group reports a number of camps are already full or almost<br />
full. Go on-line and register soon at www.journeythehills.<strong>org</strong>.<br />
* OPPORTUNITIES *<br />
Knob Prairie UCC in Enon is looking for an <strong>org</strong>anist/accompanist to accompany its choir during Sunday<br />
worship services and Thursday evening practices. The salary is negotiable. Interested musicians should<br />
contact Worship Director Debbie Kunselman at 937/232-1967 or kkunselman@sbcglobal.net.<br />
* PRAYER REQUEST *<br />
Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Boston and participants in the Boston Marathon. The UCC’s<br />
historic Old South Church is located right at the finish line of the Marathon. We remember how Old South<br />
taught the UCC to lift up our hands to bless with the Bless conference, so we lift our hands to bless and<br />
pray for the participants, the families of the victims, and the people and churches of Boston. "Prayer for<br />
Boston" was written by the UCC's Susan Blain last week in response to the tragedy, and General Minister<br />
and President Geoffrey Black offered a prayer as well.<br />
Please hold in prayer Tim Smith, <strong>Ohio</strong> Conference Vice Moderator and member of St. John in Bellevue,<br />
whose father, Dalton Smith, died April 16. Dalton Smith was a long-time UCC member who served at the<br />
national UCC level in various capacities for more than two decades.<br />
Interim <strong>Association</strong> Minister Kathryn Anadein: kathryna@<strong>sonkaucc</strong>.<strong>org</strong><br />
Snippets Editor/ Communications Coordinator Lynne Wise: lynnew@<strong>sonkaucc</strong>.<strong>org</strong><br />
Bookkeeper Wilda Peters: wildap@<strong>sonkaucc</strong>.<strong>org</strong><br />
Registrar Jim Hill: jimh@<strong>sonkaucc</strong>.<strong>org</strong><br />
SONKA: 937/438-8050 or Toll Free: 888/631-9578<br />
SONKA WEBSITE: www.<strong>sonkaucc</strong>.<strong>org</strong><br />
NATIONAL UCC WEBSITE: www.ucc.<strong>org</strong><br />
OHIO CONFERENCE WEBSITE: www.ocucc.<strong>org</strong><br />
Where in the World is Rev. Kathryn?<br />
Interim <strong>Association</strong> Minister Kathryn Anadein will attend the SONKA Spring Gathering Saturday, April 27, and<br />
will attend the church closing service at the United Church of Christ of West Manchester on Sunday, April 28.