22 - sonkaucc.org - Southwest Ohio Northern Kentucky Association

SNIPPETS April 22, 2013
SOUTHWEST OHIO NORTHERN KENTUCKY ASSOCIATION
OHIO CONFERENCE-UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
‘The earth is the LORD's and all that is in it, the world,
and those who live in it.’
(Psalm 24:1)
‘
THIS NEWSLETTER IS MADE POSSIBLE BY YOUR OCWM GIVING.
It’s Earth Day: Perfect Day to Engage in Mission 4/1 Earth
Today, April 22, is Earth Day, the annual day of action for the environment, and what a perfect day to
participate in the UCC’s Mission 4/1 Earth initiative, a campaign to engage the entire
denomination in a unified effort to green up, power down and speak out for the
environment. Mission 4/1 Earth is going on now and will continue until Pentecost,
May 19. That’s 50 days during Eastertide to achieve the campaign’s goals of doing 1
million hours of earth care activities, planting 100,000 trees and writing 100,000
environmental advocacy letters. Actions toward these goals should be reported on the
national website at http://www.ucc.org/earth/.
More than 1 billion people now participate in Earth Day activities
each year, making it the largest civic observance in the world.
Over the last 40 years, the Earth Day Network has executed
successful environmental campaigns on issues ranging from
climate change and drinking water to voter registration and
saving the whale. The global theme for Earth Day 2013 is “The
Face of Climate Change.” Organizers say this theme was chosen
because of the need to highlight the mounting impact of climate
change on individuals around the world.
Other Special Events Coming Up:
SONKA Spring Gathering
SONKA’s Spring Gathering will be held this Saturday, April
27, at Christ Church UCC in Fort Thomas, KY. Sign-ins begin
at 8:30 a.m. The morning session will include discussions of
proposals for Ohio Conference reorganizations and SONKA
Listening Session results. Questions from the floor will be
invited. A fund drive for the Rubate Water Project also is
planned, and candidates approved
for ordination will be affirmed.
Five workshops will be offered in
the afternoon, following lunch.
On-line registration is closed.
Anyone who has not yet registered
and would like to attend the
meeting is asked to call the
SONKA office at 937/438-8050, or
888/631-9578.
The Rubate Water Project Fund Drive has a goal of raising
$15,000 for our Global Partners in Rubate Kenya. Thanks in
part to generous contributions from SONKA, the Kenyans now
have a new water system comprised of four miles of pipes and
channels running from a river to the village. A water reserve
tank and filter are still needed at a cost (Continued on p. 2)
There Are So Many Ways
to Engage in Earth Care
Here are just some of the many
ways to engage in earth care. Time
spent on these activities can be
reported as earth care hours:
- Carpool to work or worship
- Change your furnace filter
- Change old light bulbs to CFLs
- Wash laundry in cold water
- Plant a vegetable garden
- Recycle, recycle, recycle
- Fix dripping faucets
- Conduct a worship service about the
stewardship of the environment
- Use detergents that don’t harm
the environment
- Turn off lights in rooms you’re
not in
- Use organic fertilizer only
- Read about climate change
- Write environmental advocacy
letters
- Ask congregants to bring their own
mugs for coffee hour
For more ideas, go to
http://www.ucc.org/earth/resources.
html .

Special Events (Continued from p. 1)
of $15,000. First St. John UCC of Hamilton has offered a matching grant of $7,500 for the fund drive, and
other churches need to pledge $7,500 in order for the goal to be met. Global Partnership Team members
ask that churches plan now to pledge during the Gathering toward this project of helping to deliver
clean, safe water to our Rubate friends, certainly an environmental action/earth care activity
to count toward Mission 4/1 goals.
To date SONKA churches and individuals have donated more than $40,000 for the
Rubate Water Project, with David’s UCC and St. John’s in Newport donating more
than half of that amount, with contributions of $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.
Other donations have come from SONKA churches, mission teams and individuals,
including a 10-year-old who asked for donations to the water project instead of gifts
from his birthday party guests, and a pastor growing his beard and shaving it off.
In another move to honor the UCC’s Mission 4/1 Earth campaign, the offering from the Spring Gathering
will go to Ohio Interfaith Power and Light, the Ohio affiliate of the national Interfaith Power and Light
Network and a project of the Ohio Council of Churches. The mission of Ohio Interfaith Power and Light
is to empower a religious response to climate change and to promote energy conservation. For more on
this group, go to http://www.ohipl.org/ .
Ohio Conference Annual Gathering
The Ohio Conference’s 2013 Annual Gathering will be held June 7- 8 at First Community Church North
Campus in Columbus, OH. On-line registration is now open for the event, which will include a keynote
address by David Greenhaw, president of Eden Theological Seminary;
presentations by Christina Braudaway-Bauman, director of the Pastoral
Excellence Network, and Larry Peers, senior consultant with the Alban
Institute; a symposium for authorized ministers on “Pastoral Excellence: The
Massachusetts Conference Model of Small Groups of Clergy for Mutual
Support, Accountability, and Peer Learning;” and more. For more information or to register, go to
http://www.ocucc.org/Annual%20Gathering/AnnualGatherings.htm .
UCC General Synod 29
The denomination’s General Synod will meet this year June 28 – July 2 in Long Beach, CA, with special
plenary sessions, exuberant speakers, workshops, intensives,
service projects, worship, proposed resolutions, exhibits,
special luncheons, entertainment, and much, much more.
The theme is “God’s Vision:____.” For more information, go to http://www.ucc.org/synod/.
LGBT Coalition National Gathering
The UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns will have its National Gathering June 26-28 (right before General
Synod) in Long Beach, CA. The year’s theme is “God’s Vision: Do Justice.” Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III,
pastor of Trinity UCC in Chicago and a prophetic voice for justice and
inclusion, and author Rev. Dr. Marvin Ellison will speak. Rev. Linda
Jaramillo of the national UCC staff and Janice Steele will preach.
Workshops and forums to strengthen ONA ministries will be offered.
To learn more or to register, go to http://www.ucccoalition.org/.
-Lynne Wise
Any Interest in OWL Facilitator Training this Summer in Dayton?
Do you teach Our Whole Lives (OWL) in your church? Are you running out of trained facilitators? Do
you want to start or expand your program? Harmony Creek Church in Kettering is
hoping to host a junior and senior high facilitator training session this summer (date
TBD). But there needs to be an adequate number of registrants for the sessions.
Anyone interested in taking facilitator training for the OWL sexuality education program
is asked to contact Pastor Aaron Saari, Youth Coordinator at Harmony Creek Church, at
aaronsaari@yahoo.com. He hopes to be able to gauge the number of possible
participants so that the group can discuss cost per person and training dates.
2
Rubate
Water
Project

Dead Man Walking Author, Helen Prejean, to Speak in Dayton
The author of Dead Man Walking, Helen Prejean, will speak at Epiphany Lutheran Church in Centerville
on Saturday evening, May 18, presented by Good Shepherd Ministries of Dayton, a faith-based ministry
which offers counseling, career planning, spiritual development
and help with material needs to people with histories of
incarceration, and drug and alcohol abuse.
The evening, which will begin at 5:30 p.m., also will feature food,
raffles, a silent auction and testimonies. Advance tickets are
required, and there is an early bird price of $50 per couple until
April 28. A special Meet ‘n’ Greet with Helen Prejean is available
at $70 per couple, beginning at 5 p.m.
Helen Prejean, C.S.J., is a Roman Catholic nun who has become a
leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty.
Dead Man Walking, an autobiographical account of her
relationship with a death row inmate, served as the basis for the
well-known feature film, an opera and a play. In the film, she was
Sr. Helen Prejean
portrayed by Susan Sarandon, who won an Academy Award for
the role. The book Dead Man Walking was on the New York Times bestseller list for 31 weeks. It was also
on the international bestseller list.
For tickets, send a check to Good Shepherd Ministries, 3105 E. Fifth St., Dayton, OH 45403, and tickets
will be waiting at will-call the evening of the event. For more information, call 937/938-5781 or email
dalenieberding@hotmail.com .
West Liberty UCC to Install New Pastor, Paul Forrey, May 19
West Liberty UCC will have a special installation service for its new pastor, Paul Forrey, on Sunday, May
19, at 3:30 p.m. at the church, 212 W. Newell St. Clergy are invited to dress casually for the installation,
which will be followed by a reception with light refreshments. All in SONKA are invited.
Cluster 7 Meeting
The Crossroads Cluster, Cluster 7, will meet at
7 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, at Knob Prairie
UCC, Enon, to discuss its joint programs.
Bill Mallonee Concert
Bill Mallonee, songwriter and recording artist,
will perform in concert at David’s UCC in
Kettering at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 26. His
wife, Muriah Rose, will
perform with him on
piano and provide
backup vocals. Mallonee
was named in Paste
Magazine’s “100
Greatest Living
Songwriters Poll” a few years ago. Tickets are
$12 in advance (call the church at 937/434-
2131) or $15 at the door.
NEW! Choir Concert at Christ Church
The community-based choir, Voices of the
Commonwealth, will perform in concert at
Christ Church, Fort Thomas, KY, Friday,
April 26, at 7 p.m. The group, part of
Northern Kentucky School of Music of
THIS WEEK
Immanuel UM Church, will perform Mozart
Solemn Vespers and other selections.
Donations ($10) will be taken at the door.
NEW! St. John at Bellevue Arbor Day
Members of St. John UCC in Bellevue, KY,
wearing their St. John t-shirts, will participate
in Bellevue’s Arbor Day celebration Saturday,
April 27, from 10 a.m. – noon at the park at
Ward and Center. Featured will be tree planting
demonstrations, awards for student tree
artwork, and cookies baked with ingredients
from trees (like almond, pecan and pistachio)
from St. John UCC bakers.
Annual Roast Beef Dinner
St. Paul UCC, Old Blue Rock Road, Colerain
Township, will have its annual roast beef
dinner Saturday, April 27, from 4:30 - 7
p.m. Featured will be roast beef, mashed
potatoes, gravy, green beans, rolls and
dessert. The cost is $10 for adults and $4 for
children under 10. A quilt made by the women
of St. Paul will be raffled off, with tickets at $1
each or six for $5. Call 513/385-9077 with any
questions.

Greenmont Pet Blessing
Greenmont-Oak Park Church, Kettering, will
have a Pet Blessing at its 10:45 a.m. worship
service Sunday, April 28. All are invited to
bring their pets, along with lawn chairs. The
3
service will be held in the big tent next to the
parking lot. The tent will be erected for the
church’s big tent sale, to be held
Friday, April 26, from 7 a.m. – 5
p.m. and Saturday, April
27, from 7 a.m. – 1 p.m.
All are invited to the events.
Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief Volunteer Opportunities Open
The UCC’s Volunteer Ministries office has announced Hurricane Sandy recovery sites in New York and
New Jersey are ready for volunteers. Two opportunities are open for church groups:
- Atlantic City, NJ, in partnership with the Fuller Center for Housing. This community is ready to
embark on the repair/rebuild stage. The minimum age is 16 years (with limited projects for volunteers
age 14).
- New York City, in partnership with New York Cares, with housing at a local UCC church. This
opportunity involves the continuing muck out/mold remediation stage. Volunteers at this location will
not be doing repair/rebuild. Groups serving here also may engage in non-disaster-related projects with
New York Cares. The minimum age for this location is 18 years.
For more information and registration, go to http://www.ucc.org/volunteer/disaster-recovery-volunteers/.
* NATIONAL AND CONFERENCE *
NEW! Conference Summer Camp
Have you registered your camper yet? The Ohio Conference Outdoor
Ministries group reports a number of camps are already full or almost
full. Go on-line and register soon at www.journeythehills.org.
* OPPORTUNITIES *
Knob Prairie UCC in Enon is looking for an organist/accompanist to accompany its choir during Sunday
worship services and Thursday evening practices. The salary is negotiable. Interested musicians should
contact Worship Director Debbie Kunselman at 937/232-1967 or kkunselman@sbcglobal.net.
* PRAYER REQUEST *
Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Boston and participants in the Boston Marathon. The UCC’s
historic Old South Church is located right at the finish line of the Marathon. We remember how Old South
taught the UCC to lift up our hands to bless with the Bless conference, so we lift our hands to bless and
pray for the participants, the families of the victims, and the people and churches of Boston. "Prayer for
Boston" was written by the UCC's Susan Blain last week in response to the tragedy, and General Minister
and President Geoffrey Black offered a prayer as well.
Please hold in prayer Tim Smith, Ohio Conference Vice Moderator and member of St. John in Bellevue,
whose father, Dalton Smith, died April 16. Dalton Smith was a long-time UCC member who served at the
national UCC level in various capacities for more than two decades.
Interim Association Minister Kathryn Anadein: kathryna@sonkaucc.org
Snippets Editor/ Communications Coordinator Lynne Wise: lynnew@sonkaucc.org
Bookkeeper Wilda Peters: wildap@sonkaucc.org
Registrar Jim Hill: jimh@sonkaucc.org
SONKA: 937/438-8050 or Toll Free: 888/631-9578
SONKA WEBSITE: www.sonkaucc.org
NATIONAL UCC WEBSITE: www.ucc.org
OHIO CONFERENCE WEBSITE: www.ocucc.org
Where in the World is Rev. Kathryn?
Interim Association Minister Kathryn Anadein will attend the SONKA Spring Gathering Saturday, April 27, and
will attend the church closing service at the United Church of Christ of West Manchester on Sunday, April 28.