Announcements

On Sunday, March 23, 2025, four new HUUC members signed the membership book. The following introduces these new members: Cynthia Kufla, Aaron Bird, Rachel “Rai” Bosch , and Samuel Bosch-Bird to HUUC.

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Cynthia Kukla

Cynthia Kukla is relatively new to Heritage Church, but she has been a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington-Normal in Bloomington, Illinois, since the 1990’s. Since moving back to Ohio a few years ago, she has been wanting to reconnect with UU-ism and a UU church.

Her return to the Cincinnati area was driven by a desire to be closer to her grandchildren. Cynthia lives in West Clermont County, where she has completed construction of a “glorious art studio” right behind her house. She says that “the fun and effort involved in building my studio is what kept me from joining the church sooner. I only fired two contractors!”

Cynthia is an Emerita Professor of Art who started her career at Northern Kentucky University, a place that still holds many fond memories for her. She says, “I am still in touch with many of my former NKU students here – which is wonderful.”

Cynthia specializes in watercolors, and regularly teaches watercolor workshops at the Cincinnati Nature Center and Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park. She’s also an environmentalist, nature-lover, and casual gardener.

Aaron Bird 

Aaron Bird grew up in Elkins, West Virginia, in the Episcopal Church, where his father serves as the presiding priest at Grace Episcopal. His journey to Cincinnati began when a software corporation acquired his employer’s company, coinciding with his wife Rai’s pursuit of a PhD at the University of Cincinnati.

 Aaron works in AI implementation, and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, cave exploring, and boating, as well as cheering on FC Cincinnati. Aaron and Rai began attending Heritage because they were seeking a welcoming community where their children, Samuel, Zach, and Tyler, could connect with like-minded peers. Aaron has been particularly inspired by the congregation’s commitment to kindness, love, and community, and now feels called to formally join the church, to, in his words, “help sustain this vibrant community for generations to come.”

 Rachel “Rai” Bosch 

Rachel “Rai” Bosch grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut, where her spiritual foundation was shaped at the Unitarian Society of New Haven. The UU principles have been a guiding force throughout Rai’s life.

After relocating to Cincinnati to pursue a PhD in geosciences, she and Aaron sought a welcoming spiritual home for their family – and Heritage became that safe, supportive community where their children could thrive.

Now a licensed professional geologist and environmental consultant specializing in caves, karst, and fractured rock systems, Rai’s scientific curiosity aligns with her reverence for the natural world.

They find joy in cave exploration, boating, swimming, cheering for FC Cincinnati with their family, and most recently, fly fishing. Rai’s spiritual path continues to be illuminated by the UU principles of the inherent human dignity, the free search for truth, and the pursuit of worldwide peace and justice. They cherish Heritage as a community where individuals support each other’s unique spiritual journeys while collectively working toward these shared ideals.

 Samuel Bosch-Bird 

Samuel Bosch-Bird was born in West Virginia, and then home-schooled in Michigan until sixth grade. In 2016, when its family moved to Cincinnati, some of its first friends in the area were made at Heritage.

Samuel came out as transgender in 2018. It studied Information Technology at U.C. for a year in 2022-23, but currently works in retail, with plans to slowly ease back into education to find a job in I.T. Samuel has multiple souls, most of which are animals, with the most important being a dragon; it does volunteer work online for a website about nonhuman-identifying people. Its special interest has been Minecraft since it started playing the game in 2013, and it’s been running Minecraft servers for fun since 2019.

Consistent throughout Samuel’s time at Heritage has been evidence of the love that is the spirit of the church. It says, “Heritage has a very warm, welcoming, and supportive community, with a clear commitment to support the wider community through service and charity.” Samuel has always felt joy and recognition at Heritage, and wants to continue to be part of such a community whose spirituality is full of love and support.

Images source: courtesy of Rev. Bill Gupton

As the date of Rev. Bill Gupton’s retirement from the role as HUUC senior minister approaches at the end of May, the ministerial transition efforts move forward.

Board President Jaime Castle announced during services on Sunday, March 9, 2025 and in a follow up email announcement that, “we have entered into a contract to work with consultants Rev. Mitra Jafarzadeh and Rabbi Jonathan Cohen (Courage and Covenant LLC.) to professionally guide us through the transition and help our congregation do a meaningful self-assessment.”

Jaime’s announcement continued to describe these consultants’ role and the reasons behind this contract. “Courage and Covenant collaborates with congregations through ongoing consultation and evaluation. They strive to understand both leadership direction and member experiences, ensuring authenticity to the congregation’s mission. Their work evolves as needed, but they remain committed to helping Heritage engage its members, clarify values and priorities, strengthen leadership, and express hopes for its next religious leader. Expect more information to be coming about this as there will be many opportunities for engagement through congregational interviews and discussions! The length of our contract with them is five months and our aim is to have a contract minister in August.” 

More information on these consultants and what they do can be found at: https://courageandcovenant.org

A transition team has also been formed to recommend to the Board a contract minister. Members of this team include Garry Wilson and Jaime Castle (both from the Board), Bob Lamb, Louise Lawarre, Les Tacy, Mimi Sinclair, and Katie Kpaeyeh. 

Image caption: Rev. Mitra Jafarzadeh and Rabbi Jonathan Cohen (Courage and Covenant LLC.
Image source: https://courageandcovenant.org/

Are you ready to become a member of Heritage Church? Our next New Member Ceremony is Sunday, March 23, 2025.

Speak with Rev. Bill to learn more.

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/ytydex5f

Most HUUC congregants are unaware of the many decisions made each month to keep our community going. Many actions taken on the behalf of the community are determined by the HUUC Board of Trustees. The Board typically meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 p.m. in the Heritage Room. Yet few people are aware that the majority of these meetings are open to the public.

HUUC members and friends are allowed to witness these meetings but are restrained from participating in the discussions or the votes. On occasion, the Board will go into executive session where non-board members are not allowed to attend.

If you want to see our busy and dedicated Trustees in action, or are considering becoming a Trustee, you might find attending a meeting worthwhile. To assure that a meeting is held at its typical date, time, and location or will not be in executive session, obtain the latest information by contacting Board President Jaime Castle at:

Image source: https://tinyurl.com/de3muwwm