Two successful sales this spring—Books & Bling and the rummage sale—brought in approximately $4,000 of much-needed funds for our church. In addition, both sales proved to be a successful outreach into our community since most of our customers were not church members.

It is important that we continue these sales in future years on a regular schedule, so that the community, as well as our congregation, knows to expect them, can plan for them, and actively participate.

My experience is that our fellow church members are always willing to help pull off these events, but that the position of an overall coordinator, the person managing the ins and outs of these sales, goes begging to be filled. But being in charge can be fun! Plus, you get first dibs on all the cool items coming in.

As coordinator of both sales this past year, I have developed a system, an easy-to-follow road map, if you will, of the steps needed to be successful. It breaks down the work of the sales into manageable components, make the job of coordinator much easier. Plus, having specific tasks for which volunteers are needed also makes recruitment easier.

If you would like more information on how you can be a leader in the fundraising solution for our church, please contact me, Barbara Rohrer, at 513.314.8705 or barbara@lyghtelrohrer.com.

5/20/2023.

This summer, as you travel – or stay home – be sure to collect a small vial of water for our Ingathering Sunday Water Ceremony on August 27. Whether it’s from grandma’s creek, the Pacific Ocean, the Ohio River, a melting glacier – or your own backyard – just make sure the water has some special significance of location, event, or memory for you and/or your family.

It is our tradition to ceremoniously gather our waters at the end of summer, in the process creating the next year’s Heritage Church UU “holy water” by merging the powerful energies and intentions and prayers of all of us into one intermingled pool. This sacred water is then used (after sterilization, of course!) throughout the year for baby and child dedications, memorial services, and other ceremonial, ritual events.

So, gather your water – and mark your calendar for Sunday, August 27, 2023, and our annual Ingathering Sunday Water Ceremony!

The Heirloom editor is also serving as a Heritage Church delegate to the UUA General Assembly, which occurs toward the end of June. This is the time that would usually be used for creating the Heirloom. Therefore, please submit articles for the Heirloom on or before June 15, 2023. Type content into the body of an email, or attach as a Word document, and email to russaraujo@gmail.com. See the Heirloom and Website Submitter’s Guide at https://huuc.net/website-and-heirloom-submitters-guide/.

Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church is developing a redesigned website. The project was presented to the HUUC Board of Trustees in February, 2023, and the target for completion is the end of 2023. The project is limited to the website at huuc.net and may also affect the Heirloom newsletter. Other aspects of church communication are outside the scope of the project.

This effort has three main objectives: to provide a more modern-looking website, to upgrade the website technology, and to reduce the time the webmaster spends each month on website work.

A Website Redesign Plan document has been developed that provides high-level information regarding website content, homepage layout, the use of images, and technology. The plan is tentative and preliminary, for discussion purposes only. A link to the plan is at the end of this article.

Described below are some of the main changes from a website user perspective.

~ The homepage will have a more outward focus, with more content intended for visitors surfing the web for a possible church home. The style of the homepage will be updated, and there will be no sidebar.

~ The site navigation will be changed. The main menu will have slightly different choices, and will not use a cascading style of submenus. A set of “tools” links will appear above the main menu. Many of the random links that are at the bottom of each page on the current website will be moved to appropriate sections.

~ The list of upcoming activities and meetings will be moved into the body of the website, available with one click on the homepage but no longer displayed on the homepage.

~ For the images shown for individual activities and meetings, the website will use graphics that, with repeated use, become emblems of the particular type of event or meeting. There will be fewer unique, one-time-use images on the website. People submitting to the website may include an appropriate image to use with their article if they wish. Sunday worship services will continue to have unique graphics.

~ Some content of the current website will not be on the new website. Most of this will be content applicable to the past but not currently needed or kept up.

More information is contained in the 10-page Website Redesign Plan.

If you have questions, comments, or suggestions regarding the website redesign plan, please feel free to contact Russ Araujo at:

4/21/2023.

We are delighted to announce that our Music Search Committee has unanimously recommended, and our Board of Trustees has unanimously voted, to hire Sherry McCamley as Heritage Church’s new Music Director and Accompanist. Sherry will join our staff this summer, following the retirement of Les Tacy.

Many of you are already familiar with Sherry since she has regularly subbed for Les for many years. Sherry brings 15 years of experience accompanying choirs, selecting hymns and worship music, and singing/performing at other churches around Cincinnati. She is a composer/director/performer whose credits include “She’s Crazy,” a cabaret-style performance that shines a tender light on mental health issues, and “Sherryoke,” an improvisational, interactive musical experience. Sherry also has taught music and drama at several area high schools, worked with the Ensemble Theatre Company, and offered her many musical gifts to the community in other ways ever since graduating from Penn State University with a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education (Piano/Voice Major).

Our dedicated Search Committee (Alison Lang-Hickey, Joann Meyer, Roger Miller, and Kate Wells) has worked hard since last fall, creating a job description, advertising the position, receiving and reviewing applications, interviewing four very strong candidates, and ultimately settling on Sherry. They are excited to present her to you as our new Music Director and Accompanist.

Welcome to our HUUC staff, Sherry McCamley!

You can show your support for people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and in other sexuality and gender minority groups. The Pride Flag “Welcoming” stickers are back. If you don’t have one on your name tag and would like one, pick one up from the bulletin board in the hallway.

3/27/2023.

Pronoun stickers are available in the church office for anyone wishing to add their pronouns to their nametag. Preprinted stickers provide the most common choices: “she/her”; “they/them”; or “he/him”. If you prefer another combination (such as “she/they”) or a different pronoun (such as “ze/zir”), please add your request to the Name Tag Request list by the Guest Book or send an email to me at:

Martha Viehmann (she/her)
Church Administrator

3/20/2023.

 

You might see us walking in the parking lot during Sunday morning service, or making sure the door locks behind you when you leave. We’re the HUUC Security Team, and we’d like to introduce ourselves. Bob Lamb and Susan Conley are leading the effort, along with Bob Booth, John Colebrook, David Knight, Molly McTighe, Luke Walczewski, Garry Wilson, and others.

Everyone is concerned about security these days. Some churches have an outside security person, but we decided to keep it in-house. Some of us have had training with the Ohio Crime Prevention Association (OCPA) in House of Worship Security & Risk Management Training, and are aware of the real and perceived threats that exist.

There are many things that the HUUC Board has done through the years to enhance safety and security around the church. We have Emergency Charts that detail what to do in an emergency, a defibrillator, financial and childcare policies, and policies on cyber security and church document storage. In addition, your Security Team plans to monitor social media, increase awareness of safety, and offer opportunities for First Aid and CPR training.

If you have specific concerns or would like to join our team, please contact Bob Lamb.

2/24/2023

The Heritage UU Church office is open from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Occasional variations in the schedule may occur, so you may want to call before you visit.

 

Posted 7/20/2022. Updated 1/17/2023.