The North Unitarian Universalist Congregation Newsletter April 2008

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April News and Events!

NEW MEMBER SUNDAY RESCHEDULED FOR APRIL 20 The New Member Recognition original scheduled during the Blizzard Sunday has been rescheduled for April 20. If you are interested in joining the church at that time, please contact Rev. Susan Ritchie at 740-657-8081 or RevRitchie@aol.com ANNUAL PASSOVER SEDER DINNER SET FOR APRIL 23 Please join your friends at NUUC for a Passover Seder dinner on Wednesday, April 23 at 6:00 pm in Fellowship Hall. Rev. Ritchie will provide her famous home smoked brisket, matzo, and the affikomen. Please sign up to bring an alternative entrée, side dish, or dessert AND one of the ritual elements (red wine—kosher or not, your choice; charoset; grape juice, horseradish; parsley; a bitter lettuce; roasted eggs; or lamb bone). We don’t even attempt to keep kosher, but no leavened dishes, pork, shellfish, or dishes of meat and cream, please. Sign up by noon Sunday, April 20 using the sign-up sheet on the bulletin board or by calling the church office (740-657-8081). UU ORIENTATION SESSIONS NUUC will hold a New Member Recognition on Sunday, April 20 during the service. If you or someone you know is interested in membership, please sign up to attend the next UU Orientation set for Sunday, June 1 from 9:15am to 10:15am at Nielsen House (nursery services may be available – please inquire if you have a need). Rev. Susan Ritchie and Eileen Watters will lead the session, and information on the denomination’s (and our congregation’s) history and the meaning of membership will be presented, and a corresponding New Member Sunday is planned for Sunday, June 8. If you or someone you know might be interested in membership, sign up to attend the Orientation on the sheet in Fellowship Hall, or contact Rev. Ritchie at 740-657-8081. (Additional Orientations are slated for September 21 and December 7, with New Member Sundays planned for October 5 and December 14). AFTER-WORSHIP DISCUSSION FORMAT The Adult Religious Education & Enrichment Committee continues to sponsor a new after-worship discussion format. Join Rev. Susan Ritchie in the parlor of Nielsen House after service on selected Sundays to converse further about the day’s worship topic. No need to sign up—just be at Nielsen House at 11:45a.m.! Next discussion scheduled is on Sunday, April 6 (“Follow Me”). FAIR TRADE SALES The Social Action Committee will hold its monthly Fair Trade Sale on Sunday, April 13 (held the second Sunday of every month.) Please support this project by considering a purchase of delicious coffees, teas and chocolates after the service on April 13. BROWN BAG BOOKS Join the Brown Bag Books group on Wednesday, April 16 at 12:30 pm in Fellowship Hall to discuss American Bloomsbury-- Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Nathaniel Howthorne, and Henry David Thoreau:  Their Lives, Their Loves, Their Work by Susan Cheever. Her dynamic narrative reveals the tumultuous, often scandalous lives of these literary heroes who were once considered avant-garde, bohemian types, at odds with the establishment. Reviews of the book may be found at www.amazon.com. If you have questions, contact group facilitator Ruth Rusk at ruthrusk@midohio.net. YOGA CLASSES AT NUUC Want to try yoga? Drop in to Certified Yoga instructor Holly Jones’ yoga classes any Tuesday evening through April 29 from 7:00-8:15pm in Fellowship Hall. The class is geared for those with little to no yoga experience and is suitable for all ages and levels of fitness. Emphasis is on safe, gentle stretching with the goals of increasing flexibility, strength, balance and range of motion. Drop-ins always welcome; just pay $8.00 at the door for individual sessions. For more information contact Jeri Dill at the church office at 740-657-8081, ext. 1 or nuucjdill@aol.com MUSIC SUNDAY Mark your calendars now for Music Sunday on May 18. This celebration of the musical life of our congregation will feature selections from the full choir, vocal soloists, and instrumentalists. As music director, I continue to be inspired by the depth of musical talent in this congregation. This Music Sunday will feature the NUUC Choir singing some of their favorite songs from the 2007-2008 season, including “Gate, Gate,” which is an exciting setting of a Buddhist text. Seventh grader Lily Rodeheffer, who received the highest rating at Solo and Ensemble Contest this year, will be playing flute. Outstanding vocalists Kurt Zielenbach and SarabethMahusky-Petras will perform solos, and our pianist Wade Jones is working on something special. As in years past, Music Sunday is a combination of the traditional elements of our service and musical selections from a variety of genres, all neatly packed into one hour. We still have room for a few more performers. If you sing, play an instrument, or dance, and if you’d like to perform for Music Sunday, please contact me at marlenemetz@yahoo.com before April 15. Thanks! Marlene Metz, Music Director Go to: Page 1 Page 3 Page 4

April Calendar (N) = Nielsen House (F) = Fellowship Hall (S) = Sanctuary April 1 7:00pm – Yoga (F) April 5 10:30am – Covenant Group (N) April 6 11:45am – Social Action Committee - After-Worship Discussion Group (N) April 8 7:00pm – Yoga (F) - Worship Committee April 13 9:15am – Children’s RE Committee (N) “Loose Change” Sunday After worship - Fair Trade Sale 11:45am – Adult RE & Enrichment Committee Noon – Bldg. Exploratory Committee (S) 6:00pm – Covenant Group (N) April 15 7:00pm – Yoga (F) April 16 12:30pm – Brown Bag Books (F) April 19 9:00am – Board Meeting April 20 PASSOVER; New Member Recognition 11:45am – Membership Committee (N) April 22 7:00pm – Yoga (F) May newsletter submission deadline April 23 6:00pm – Passover Seder Dinner (F) April 24 7:00pm – Spirituality Group April 26 12:30-4:00pm - Sanctuary in-use (private recital) April 27 After service – Spring Potluck Lunch (F) April 29 7:00pm – Yoga (F) OHIO-MEADVILLE DISTRICT OF THE UUA LEADERSHIP COURSES Where is the leader inside you? We and most churches have a lot of people who could be leaders and would be very good at it, but aren’t really sure what is involved, or what is expected, and so the leader in them remains hidden. Or maybe you have been on committees, have some good ideas, but assume that you are the new person on the committee, and you would not be able to lead it. In fact, leaders are really just people who care. They need a few tools. And we need good leaders in our churches. In recognition that we have many “closet leaders,” our district has put together a one-day workshop for new and potential leaders. It addresses the tools leaders use, some myths about leadership, and provides a much better understanding of how churches do (or should) work. Unlike most Lay Leadership courses, this will be presented on three different Saturdays, so everyone has an opportunity to attend: April 19 in Meadville, PA; April 26 in Marietta, OH; and May 17 in Findlay, OH. You can sign up online at http://www.ohiomeadville.org/conference/leaderconf08.html; click on the date and location that suits you to register. Or call the OMD office at 740-252-5980 to register. Sign up more than one week ahead of the conference and the cost is only $20. If any question on the course, contact Bob Erdman: Chair, OMD Leadership Development Team, 330-656-2275, pearlybob@gmail.com, or Dianne Digianantonio, Conference Coordinator, at 330-495-8463. SPRING POTLUCK LUNCH APRIL 27 The Social Committee is sponsoring a Spring Potluck lunch after service on Sunday, April 27. Drinks will be provided. Just bring your favorite main dish, veggie, salad or dessert to share! Please sign up on the sheet posted on the bulletin board in Fellowship Hall, nothing the number of adults and children in your party. For questions please contact Kristin Grimshaw at 614-840-1950 or grimshaw@wowway.com ARTWORK ON DISPLAY IN SANCTUARY The artwork on display in the sanctuary through April is the work of Heather Cornelius, a local artist living in Columbus Ohio. She recently had works displayed at MadLab's show "The Painted Surface" and at Norka Futon in the Short North. She works in many mediums including acrylic, oil, digital painting and photography. All the works being shown are acrylic. To see more of her work, visit her website at http://squish-art.com. Or contact her at gothicsquish@gmail.com Please take some time to view Heather’s display in the next several weeks. And, as always, if you have or know of art work you would like to see displayed in the sanctuary, please let Rev. Ritchie know (RevRitchie@aol.com )