A message from Rev. Joe for Candidate Sunday

April 21, 2024 ~ Fourth Sunday of Easter and Candidate Sunday ~ "Parable of the Sequoia Seed"

I’m looking forward to worshipping with you this Sunday on Earth Day weekend and sharing one of my favorite parables: the Parable of the Mustard Seed. In it, Jesus tells us the kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that grows until the birds of the air can make nests in the branches. Jesus asks us to see God’s work not as something descending complete from heaven, but rather something that grows steadily from the earth.

The sermon and children’s circle message will focus on a different type of seed: the pinecones of the Great Sequoia tree. Like the parable of the mustard seed, the sermon “Parable of the Sequoia Seed” will look for inspiration and wisdom in the life cycle of the Sequoia, which needs wildfires and snowstorms to reproduce. I will, of course, also speak to why I wish to serve Redlands UCC as its next pastor and how a small group of faithful, committed people can be the seeds of change and growth in the world. Hope to meet you on Sunday! 

Sunday's Scripture:

Mark 4:30 - 32

Getting comfortable with the tech at church - continues on Monday, April 22

It’s not too late to join!

This class is for everyone who would like help with all the technology here at RUCC. Led by Dan Abushanab, this course will help us all become more familiar with Teams, Forms, QR Codes, Screen sharing and more!

• Week 2 (April 22): Document collaboration. Co-editing documents in channels, sharing links. OneNote vs. Word, benefits of each.
• Week 3 (May 6): Scheduling and hosting meetings in Teams and using the room systems available at the church.
• Week 4 (May 13): More advanced tools. Gathering content in Forms, making a QR code, adding new tabs to channels

Classes meet in the Founders Room starting at 6 p.m. (Note the earlier start time)

Caring for Kin -

Just TWO MORE WEEKS (April 21 and 28) to bring in your donations for dogs and cats while they are waiting to find loving homes.

Thank you for your generosity. The Yucaipa Animal Placement Society (YAPS), the Benevolent Animal Rescue Committee (BARC), and the Redlands Animal Shelter have asked for the following donations:....

We still need 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 RUCC Environmental Justice Team

Earth Day 2024 is almost here!

Officially, Earth Day takes place on April 22, 2024, but there’s too much going on and too much work to be done, to dedicate just one day to the planet. You can find information about Earth Day events worldwide, the history of Earth Day, and the work of EARTHDAY.ORG, the global coordinator of Earth Day at: https://www.earthday.org/earth-day-2024/

Redlands will celebrate Earth Day with a day of climate action on Saturday, April 20, 2024. The celebration will include hands-on projects, learning opportunities, even a chance to get stuff repaired for free! The fun begins at 9:00 a.m. and lasts into the afternoon. For a list of projects with links to further information and registration, go to https://www.redlandsearthday.org/participate-in-a-project. For more information about activities and events taking place on Redlands’ day of climate action go to https://www.redlandsearthday.org/. 

Meanwhile, the second annual United Church of Christ Earth Summit, hosted by the Church of Christ at Dartmouth College, will take place beginning at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time, Saturday, April 20, 2024. Author and activist Bill McKibben will be the keynote speaker and the summit will be live-streamed via Zoom. For more information and registration, go to: https://ucc.zoom.us/webinar/register/9317026581054/WN_rYyzeGCVSIiQ_kNEH5DPQg#/registration

Those who register will receive a link to a recording of the summit, so you can take part in activities in Redlands and watch the recording of the UCC Earth Summit afterwards.

Creation Celebration 2024: The RUCC Family Nature Fair - April 27

It’s time to get ready for the 3rd Annual RUCC Family Nature Fair! Fun and games on the patio as we celebrate our natural world.

Date: Saturday April 27 Time: 10 a.m. to noon

Kids go from station to station, adding stickers to their Nature Passports. Here is just a partial list of fun stations we have planned for this year’s Fair:

• Tumbling in the Garden with Joette and Foundations Gymnastics.
• Sierra Club: Clean Transportation For All.
• Go on a guided Nature Walk with Gretchen Andrews in our gardens.
• Decorate your own small plant pots and then plant some seeds and seedlings. Take them home to watch them grow!
• ...and More!

Please follow this link to RSVP and to learn all the fun details:

eventbrite.com

Racial justice reflection of the week

Pew Research asked which is the bigger problem regarding racial discrimination. 53% said people NOT seeing discrimination where it really DOES exist is the bigger problem. 45% said people SEEING discrimination where it really DOESN’T exist is the larger issue.

Views on this changed between 2019 and 2023. Previously, it was 57% to 42%; the gap narrowed from 15 to 8 percentage points.

Americans’ views differed greatly by race and ethnicity: 88% of Black adults say people overlooking real discrimination is the bigger problem, followed by Asian (66%), Hispanic (58%), and White (45%).

Source: https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/08/25/americans-are-divided-on-whether-society-overlooks-racial-discrimination-or-sees-it-where-it-doesnt-exist/

Next Book Group meeting is May 5

The RUCC Book Group will discuss The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride on May 5, in the Founders Room. The discussion leaders will be Susan Matthews and Karen Walsh. The time has changed to 12:30 to 1:30 p.m., as there will be a Quarterly RUCC meeting on May 5 following the church service. This will not be a potluck, so the Book Group may be able to start a little earlier if the meeting finishes earlier.

“A murder mystery locked inside a Great American Novel . . . Charming, smart, heart-blistering, and heart-healing.” —Danez Smith, The New York Times Book Review

“We all need—we all deserve—this vibrant, love-affirming novel that bounds over any difference that claims to separate us.” —Ron Charles, The Washington Post

From James McBride, author of the bestselling Oprah’s Book Club pick Deacon King Kong and the National Book Award–winning The Good Lord Bird, a novel about small-town secrets and the people who keep them.

(Amazon reviews)

REVISED RUCC Book Group Schedule 2024:

Wider Ministries seeks your input about donations by May 19

If you know a worthwhile charitable organization to which the church should consider giving a donation, RUCC Wider Ministries wants to hear from you! There were many outstanding groups represented at last month’s Caring Fair. Wider Ministries donations must go outside of RUCC to other deserving groups. Donation criteria are 1) Designation as a 501 (c ) (3) charitable organization 2) Support for the mission and values of RUCC and 3) A relationship with RUCC in some way, such as participating in our recent Caring Fair, or being a group that a RUCC member is involved with. 

You can find donation suggestion forms by clicking HERE, or on the Wider Ministries Bulletin Board, where you can also find Thank You letters to RUCC from many of the organizations we help. Donation forms may be turned into Kathie Blakley (blakley13@gmail.com), Wider Ministries area leader, or to any member of the Wider Ministries group.



The deadline is May 19, which is the next Wider Ministries Quarterly Meeting.

UPCOMING DATES TO REMEMBER

• April 22, May 6, 13 - Getting comfortable with technology series of classes
• April 20 - Day of Climate Action (see article above)
• April 21 - Candidate service with Rev. Joe Zarro followed by congregational meeting to vote on calling him as RUCC's next settled pastor
• April 27 - 3rd Annual RUCC Family Nature Fair
• May 2 - Mayor's Prayer Breakfast at U of R (See article above)
• May 4 - Sacred Saturday
• May 7 - Y-Circus (see article above)
• May 15 - Blood Drive 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at RUCC. To make an appointment, call 1-800-879-4484, or visit lstream.org/Redlands
• May 19 - Wider Ministries Quarterly Meeting to approve donations (see article above)
• June 9 - 10 - Southern California Nevada Conference of the UCC Annual Gathering at Chapman University and on line
• June 23 - 27 - Western Regional Youth Event



The church calendar is found at redlandsucc.org

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