THE COLUMNS. POTLUCK LUNCH Sunday, September 29 Following the 10:15 service. September 2013

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1 Newsletter of the Richfield United Church of Christ THE COLUMNS September 2013 Celebrating our relationship with the natural world. Sunday, September 8: Cosmos Sunday, September 15: Storm Sunday, September 22: Ocean Sunday, September 29: Land Blessing of the Animals: Saturday, October 5 at 10am Sunday School For All Ages Begins Sunday, September 8 9:00 am: Our intergenerational gathering time with Brenda Lindsey 9:15 am: preschool through adult classes The Adult class with Jim Schilling will be starting September 8th with topics related to the Season of Creation. What does God tell us about our relationship with the natural world? POTLUCK LUNCH Sunday, September 29 Following the 10:15 service You have been reading about the exciting month planned by Rev. Gifford. The WPM Board would like to end the celebration with a potluck (of course!). In celebration of the bounty of our garden(s), we are inviting the congregation to participate in a fresh and healthy lunch on September 29 following the 10:15 service. Please bring whatever you would like to share, fresh and nutritional would be great! Plates, cups, utensils and beverages will be provided. P.S. Desserts are welcome as well, healthy or not!

2 Join us during the month of September in giving thanks for God s creation, celebrating our relationship with the natural world and praying for the earth s healing, as RUCC will observe a Season of Creation. There is no focus in the church s liturgical year (Advent, Christmas, Lent, etc.) on God the Creator, no opportunity to reflect in a concentrated way on the foundations of redemption and sanctification, namely, the very creation itself that is redeemed and sanctified. Designed initially by a group of concerned Christian environmentalists in South Pacific churches, the Season of Creation suggests three sets of four themes to be followed over a three year cycle. Usually the season is observed over the four Sundays preceding the Festival of St. Francis of Assisi. The themes followed at Richfield UCC will be: Cosmos: September 8; Storm, September 15; Ocean, September 22; and Land, September 29. Each worship service will feature special ways to bring colorful, festive symbols, pictures or artifacts into the Sanctuary, and I will be preaching from a special set of scripture readings assembled for these themes as well. The Season of Creation will conclude with a Blessing of the Animals event to be held on the green in the village s center on October 5 at 10:00 am. Pet owners, shelter workers, and animal health care workers and professional are invited for a brief time prayer and worship and blessing of the animals in their care. Pets may be brought to the event for blessing or represented by pictures or names. Rev. Stephen Gifford Mark Your Calendars The Blessing of the Animals Saturday, October 5 10:00 am On the village green in Richfield center Our Season of Creation celebration will conclude with a Blessing of the Animals event to be held on Saturday, October 5, at 10:00 am. Pets may be brought to the event for blessing or represented by pictures or names.

3 Moderator's Moment By the time you read this, the Pastoral Search Committee has met two or three times. We are under way building the profile for what we are looking for in a new minister. The profile will help us determine what s best for us and our future. Just thinking about this process is exhausting. Even during my professional career, I haven t had to review 70 resumes to find the best few eligible ministers for an official interview. And that s only one half of the process. Not only do we build the profile for the best minister for the RUCC, but we build a profile so our candidates know exactly who we are and what we re looking for. The profile we build for us will hopefully be inviting enough to get the best possible candidates to send us their profile. It will describe to every candidate what type of church we are, how large, our financials, our goals, and our outreach programs. I m sure that Rev Ray and Rev Stephen have both been through the process a few times in their careers, but from the other side. I wonder though, if Rev Ray had the church profile in the back of his head in 2009 when he planned the Jacob s Ladder campaign. There was a laundry list of items that we wanted to accomplish. Much of it, like the covered walkway, bell tower, well pump and other smaller items were completed. But we didn t get to the bathrooms, education wing boiler replacement and possible air conditioning for the Fellowship Hall/Gathering Room. Boards will continue to review the funds available from that campaign and determine what we will be able to accomplish to beautify our church. We re going to want it to look its best when we present ourselves to potential candidates. My proverbial door is always open: willhartcpp@hotmail.com Best regards, Will Hart Richfield United Church of Christ Youth Group 411 September 1: Greet, Usher and Host Coffee Hour at the 10:15 service Saturday, September 21: Service project at the Williard Food Pantry in Akron. 7:30 am noon. Watch your s for details. Recycle Marilyn Freeman s Richfield UCC youthdirector@richfielducc.com Call/Text me ~ Cell number is RUCC Recycling Opportunities Youth Group Recycling Printer Ink Cartridges and Cell Phone Fundraiser Place your used ink cartridges and old cell phones in the cardboard container in the entranceway with proceeds to benefit the Youth Fund. Save Your Aluminum Cans Bob Neillie has offered to recycle aluminum cans that are brought to the church and donate the funds received to the Adult Mission Group. Bring your rinsed out cans (aluminum only) to the church office and Bob will collect them each Sunday.

4 Bell Choir Check It Out! Sharon Muhlheim, our bell choir director, invites 3rd graders to adults to come and experience playing the hand bells. Call or Sharon to set up an appointment to ring the bells. Call Sharon at or at Bell Choir practice begins Thursday, September 12. Junior bells at 6:15 and Adult bells at 7:15pm Choir Practice Begins The choir will begin practicing on Sunday, September 8, at 11:30. New members are always welcome. Church Banners For Our Sanctuary There will be a planning meeting to discuss hand-stitching the finishing touches on our new sanctuary banners on Friday, September 13, at 7:00 pm. Come and join us if you are interested in helping, or contact Betty Kylin or the church office. Gathering Room Gallery Jane DiLullo Jim Sens Our Gathering Room Gallery will feature the artwork of Jane DiLullo and Jim Sens during the month of September. Jane DiLullo has a bachelor's degree in Art and English from Allegheny College. She is a past President and Programs Chair for the Hudson Society of Artists, and is the current Scholarship Chairman for the HSA. Jane is also the chairman of the PTA Reflections Cultural Arts Program for the Hudson City Schools. This national program recognizes students of all ages in several arts categories. As a member of the Crooked River Gang, Jane's artwork is frequently exhibited at MD Garage in Peninsula from April through October. She works primarily in pastel, mixed media, and collage. Primarily a self-taught artist, Jim Sens has been painting and drawing since his high school days. Jim s high school art teacher, Mr. Jose Cintron, was a major influence in Jim s decision to continue to work on his artwork even though his career path took him in different directions. Jim started painting and drawing professionally while in high school. Jim worked at Bailey s Department store in downtown Cleveland after school as a stock boy. When leaders at the store discovered Jim s artistic talent they soon had him painting signs and doing pen & ink illustrations that were placed in the store s windows at the corners of Huron and Prospect. Jim s paintings are in many private collections throughout the U.S. Jim has had his artwork published in the Permanente Journal (a publication for physicians in the Kaiser Permanente Medical Group), and the 2013 Summer Schedule of Events of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Jim has exhibited his artwork at the Carlisle Nature Center in the Lorain County Metro Parks. Jim is a member of the Crooked River Gang, a group of artists that regularly exhibit their artwork at the MD Garage in The Cuyahoga Valley National Park. In 2010 Jim was awarded First Place in the Parma Area Fine Arts Council Art Show.

5 Ushers for September Gordon Brown Bud Snow Dave Johnson Dave Hakos Boards and Council Board & Council Meetings will be Monday, September 9 Boards: 7:00 pm Council: 8:15 pm Men s Health Group Thursday, September 12 2:30 pm Gathering Room Book Club Book Club will meet at 7:00 pm on Monday, September 23. The book selection for September is Cold Gather by Tom Buechler. September birthdays 9/1 Leah Mulheim 9/1 Herb Scibbe 9/3 Amanda Walker 9/3 Allison Remec 9/4 John Ahlborg 9/4 Aaron Stanley 9/5 Brenda Lindsey 9/6 James Koewler 9/7 Tim Olecki 9/8 Barbara Sterenberg 9/9 Jean Gentner 9/9 Robert Neillie 9/9 Tim Wheeler 9/10 Anna Grace Keppler 9/12 Karen Butera 9/12 Hildegard Guerin 9/13 Jocelyn Schweitzer 9/14 Laurie Koewler 9/14 Gary Lindsey 9/15 Alice Klagge 9/1 Tom & Sherri Barker 9/6 Mark & Jenny Mitchell 9/6 Dick & Lynne Johnson 9/7 Herb & Janice Scibbe 9/10 Tim & Linda Hnath 9/11 Lew & Becky Monegan 9/11 Dale & Chris Stanley 9/17 Rolland Gilbert Petek 9/18 Rebecca Johnson 9/19 Budd Snow 9/20 Summyr Shura Petek 9/21 Kathryn Schreiner 9/23 Nadia Ahlborg 9/23 Charles Douglas 9/24 Gary Summers 9/25 Heather Heston 9/26 Ruth Ackermann 9/26 Abby Reagan 9/27 Barbara Luther 9/28 Megan Scarbrough *If we have forgotten your birthday or anniversary, call the church office and we will update our files. Anniversaries 9/14 Pieter & Betty van der Meer 9/15 Buzz & Alice Klagge 9/15 Harold & Marian Stertzbach 9/21 Vince & Stacy Westphal 9/22 Daniel & Nancy Owen 9/25 Todd & Maryke Bard The Pastoral Search Committee Our Pastoral Search Committee has begun its task of finding a new minister. The members of the Search Committee are Mark Mitchell, Jessie Monegan, Amy Shepker, Laura Willis, Will Hart, Abbey Sobieraj, Nagwa Ahlborg, and Paul Swan. Retirement Village Project Update Two Apartments for Rent All new two-bedroom deluxe apartments available for rent November 1st. Contact Sharon Murphy, the Retirement Village manager at Rental applications are available in the church office with the policy statement.

6 Richfield United Church of Christ 4340 W. Streetsboro Rd. Richfield, Ohio Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 4 GATHERING OF THE CHURCH FAMILY EVERY SUNDAY 8:00 AM Early Worship Service 9:00 AM Sunday School for all ages 10:15 AM Worship Service 11:15 AM Coffee Hour 11:30 AM Choir Practice EVERY WEEK MON 7:30 PM AA TUES 7:00 PM BOY SCOUTS WED 6:30 AM MEN S GROUP 10:00 AM WOMEN S GROUP 8:00 PM AA THURS 6:15 JR. BELL CHOIR (SEPT. 12) 7:15 ADULT BELL CHOIR SAT 8:30 PM AA September Activities September 1: Youth Group greets, ushers and hosts coffee hour September 2: Labor Day/Office closed September 4: Hobbitts Back to School September 8: Sunday school begins, Choir practice begins / Search committee meets at 7pm September 9: Church Boards meet at 7:00 pm / Council meets at 8:15 pm September 12: Men s Health Group 2:30 in the Gathering room / Jr. & Adult Bell Practice Begins September 13: Sanctuary Banner Committee meets at 7pm September 21: Youth Service Project at Williard Food Pantry 7:30-noon September 23: Book Club at 7pm September 29: Potluck Luncheon following the 10:15 service September Scouting at RUCC: Boy Scouts begin meeting on Tuesdays at 7pm Wolf and Bear Cubs begin meeting at RUCC (First & Third Mondays) Webelos begin meeting at RUCC (First & Third Thursdays) Richfield United Church of Christ Phone: Fax: Richfielducc@windstream.net Web page: richfielducc.com