by Rev. Bill Gupton

As we move into October 2022, things are picking up at Heritage Church. Our children and youth are resuming their during-worship Religious Education classes and activities. Speaking of worship, our “reimagined” services are offering something for just about everyone. We’re also “reimagining church” itself – what do we want and need, and what are we willing to either work for or pay for in a church – here in this brave new world we find ourselves in?

Meanwhile, several long-time favorites are back: a Men’s Group. Our monthly potluck lunches. Chalice Circles. The Women’s Retreat (offsite). Then there are those activities that never seemed to miss a beat (although they had to adapt) during the pandemic: the Women’s Book Club. Sunday services. Vespers services. Sing Out Sisters. The Choir. And of course, there’s a few new things happening too, including monthly “Dinner Church” and our Banned Books Group.

The bottom line is: Heritage Church is hopping this fall! Laci Adams and I are honored to serve such a vibrant, active Unitarian Universalist community. And we think Heritage is just what Cincinnati needs, right about now.

An important election is coming up, and we offer honest, values-based social justice opportunities to make a difference in our world. A spiritual emptiness seems to pervade our social conversation, and we offer a unique brand of love-centered, this-world-focused spirituality for both those who have been with us a long time, and newcomers as well.

So invite your friends. Share a Sunday – or another weekday program – with them. As the weather begins to grow a bit cooler, wear your Unitarian Universalism on your sleeve. For our children’s sake. For our friends and loved ones’ sake. For our world’s sake.

See you at church!

Blessings,
Rev. Bill

October 2022.

by Julie Kane

I am amazed at the number of volunteer hours it takes to run Heritage. I appreciate all the former presidents and the commitment they made to this church. Each had their challenges, like starting a capital campaign and then working to remodel the building. Let’s not forget Covid which pushed us to reimagining worship and the technology it required. So many of the worship leadership stepped up and made our Sunday services work on line. Let’s not forget the talented staff who make Heritage work so well.

What really may surprise you is how many responsibilities are owned by the volunteers at Heritage. Whether being on the board or helping in some other way, we are what makes Heritage work. When each of us joined Heritage, we pledged to share our gifts and talents to support our community. I know we are all busy with our lives but please remember many hands make light work. May I ask you to get involved in our community in a way that works for all of us.

On Saturday, October 8, 2022, we will be meeting at the Anderson Center to Reimagine Heritage. This retreat will be a from 9:30 to 4:00 P.M. Please consider joining us and sharing your talents.

Julie Kane

October 2022.

by Les Tacy, Music Director

When I was hired to be the Music Director in the summer of 2014, I was thrilled! Matt Quick, the previous Music Director, was very kind during the transition, giving me great information and support.

I have been blessed to share musically with many wonderful members and friends at Heritage through the years. I have enjoyed the support of Rev. Bill Gupton. I have also been welcomed and appreciated by everyone else at Heritage. I will be retiring from the Music Director position no later than June 30, 2023. What a great experience this has been!

Even though I’m retiring from this role, as a church member I will still be actively involved at Heritage. This will include musical contributions. I am hoping to be a substitute musician on Sundays when the new Music Director is not playing. And I hope to continue to provide solo and/or small group musical ministry when needed. In addition to music, I am especially interested in new non-music roles and opportunities at Heritage. Finally, I want to volunteer more at Heritage Acres, as Steph and I have a deep commitment to those sacred grounds.

So, I’m simply “passing the baton” to the next person, but not leaving Heritage. Steph and I plan to continue being willing participants in the life of our community!

Les

October 2022.

by Rev. Bill Gupton

The fall is my favorite time of year, from a church perspective, and as we enter this new season this year I am particularly excited about the work that is before us at Heritage – because it is going to be both fun, and important! This fall we will be:

~ Engaging in a process we are calling “Reimagining Church.” Similar to the “Reimagining Worship” process that took place last spring, we will gather as a congregation in a day-long retreat to consider what it means to be a church here in the third decade of the 21st century, when individuals’, families’, and society’s expectations of a church community – or any community – are very different than they were even five or ten years ago, much less in the 20th century.

~ Resuming congregational meal-sharing, with the return of monthly after-church potluck lunches on the second Sunday of the month beginning in September, and instituting a monthly midweek Dinner Church program on the first Wednesday of the month beginning in October.

~ Creating more opportunities for small-group connection, including a return of our Men’s Group, adult education classes, Chalice Circles and more.

~ Providing new and fun religious education for children, youth and families.

~ Examining what it means to be a member of Heritage Church, circa 2022.

~ Dusting off our Mission and Vision Statement, and perhaps even considering whether we need to revise it.

~ Beginning to talk about how we would like to celebrate, and honor, the 200th anniversary of the founding of our congregation, which will be coming in the spring of 2027 – less than five years away!

What an exciting time to be part of Heritage Church – whether you are new to our church family or have been here for years. I look forward to being with you on Ingathering Sunday, September 11, as we celebrate the end of summer, the return to community, our UU Water Ceremony, and a lunch thereafter.

See you at church!

Blessings,
Bill

September 2022.

by Julie Kane

With the summer ending and the beginning of a new church year, let’s begin gathering together again in the sanctuary. In the past few years, we all have been to virtual church in our PJ’s and sweats. It’s time to get dressed and come back to the sanctuary. We all feel that special energy when we are together.

We all have a fond memory of a moment in the sanctuary. It may be the Water Ceremony, Christmas Eve, the Flower Communion or a personal experience. What is your fondest memory? One that stands out for me was receiving the Annual Booth Award for service to the church. I was humbled and grateful for the recognition.

In the past we’ve had potluck meals once a month. In the last few weeks, we have had an Auction Dinner, Healthy Lifestyles (which meets weekly) and the Children’s Peace Camp at church; meals were shared at all of these. It’s time to have potlucks again! So, after the Water Ceremony service on September 11th, we will have a potluck. Bring yourself and a favorite dish to share. I plan on making something sweet. We plan to continue potluck every second Sunday of the month.

Please join us where everyone knows your name.

Julie Kane
HUUC Board of Trustees President

September 2022.

by Laci Lee Adams, Director of Lifespan Faith Development

Do you play enough? This is a serious question, so give it a bit of serious consideration. When was the last time you played? What were you doing? Who did you play with? How did it feel, in general and towards those that you played with? What did that play help grow in you?

Becoming a parent has certainly brought play back to the forefront of my mind. It wasn’t that I didn’t play at all before Benny, but I didn’t play often. There have been periods of my life that included more play, a monthly LGBTQ+ game night, my weekly bowling league, my fantasy football league, but no regular, unstructured, daily play. For adults, we are not really encouraged to play, so over time, play is replaced with more “adult” endeavors. That is until we find ourselves with kids, who play all the time.

For nearly 20 years, there has been a growing movement of educators that have been making the case for play in the classroom (even though the value of play has certainly been known about for much, much longer)! You may have noticed the expansion of play-based pre-schools or elementary school curriculums. If you would like to know more about play in the classroom, check this out: https://caseforplay.tumblr.com/

The waves of play are starting to lap at the shores of religious education or adult faith development. Have you ever considered what we are intentionally or unintentionally communicating when we describe Sunday activities for children and youth as Sunday “school”? Truthfully, I’m not sure that young people want an extra day of “school.” What would it mean to our young people to think of church as a time for Sunday play? How would we approach curriculum and planning differently if we were going to play together? If our goal is to foster connection and resilience amongst our young people, would they be better served by school or play?

Some of the goals of the faith community involve creating spaces that we can all be fully present in, be fully known in, be free to explore and question in! These are playful spaces that are connective, challenging, and inspiring. So, my question for you, might you be interested in a Sunday play date?

Best,
Laci

September 2022.

by Rev. Bill Gupton

Did you know that there was a time when this congregation did not hold Sunday services in the month of August? I’m told that in the 1970s and 1980s, Heritage – and before it, Salem Acres – shut down in August, giving not only the minister, but everyone, a vacation! In fact, the “tradition” was sufficiently recent that, when I arrived at Heritage in 2002, there were still some long-time members who grumbled (good-naturedly) when we would have church at this time of year.

Now, of course, many schools start in August. Church consultants report that August is a prime month for those who are looking for a new church home – “church shoppers” – to check out potential congregations (so expect to warmly welcome some visitors over the next few weeks). And it’s also a time when your church staff is frantically preparing for the fall season, when things really ramp up in congregational life.

This fall, you can expect a lot more activity and programming at Heritage. We’ll be offering Chalice Circles (small-group spiritual support and exploration groups), dinner groups, and other Adult Education opportunities. Religious Education for our children and youth will resume. Potluck lunches will return. And – building on the success of last spring’s “Reimagining Worship” retreat – Laci and I are planning a “Reimagining Church” weekend in October.

With a new Church Administrator (welcome, Martha Viehmann!), a general housecleaning (classrooms, we’re looking at you!), and maybe even a grounds-cleaning, things will soon feel refreshed and ready for the fall. It’s a great time to come back to Heritage. Bring a friend. Bring the family. We’d love to see you!

Blessings,
Bill

August 2022.

by Julie Kane

Welcome to a new church year. I am greatly honored to serve as your Board of Trustee President. Stephen and I have been members since 1986 when we moved to Cincinnati. Before moving here, we belonged to a UU Church in Queens, NY. Like many of you we were seeking a religious home for our family. Which we found at Heritage so many years ago.

I have been active at Heritage in many ways over the years: on the Board three times, been part of the Clara Barton Guild, Book Club, remodeling the kitchen, Heathy Lifestyles, the Caring Circle and of course the Women’s Retreat.

I want to welcome our new Board members Rebecca Pace and Luke Walzcewski, and current members John Sandman, Michelle Kelly, Meredith Meyer, and Kay Inskeep. As your board, please feel free to share with us your questions, comments and suggestions.

A thank you to Michael Wilhite and Mark Buckley for serving on the Board. Their knowledge and energy will be missed.

I have learned over the years that our church depends on committed volunteers to keep it operating. Please consider volunteering at Heritage. There are many ways to help both great or small.

This year let’s restore and renew our energy. The last few years have left us all exhausted dealing with the pandemic and political upheavals. Let’s come back this fall with a commitment to reimage our church both spiritually and socially.

Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Julie Kane

7/24/2022.

by Steve McCamley

We should all be very pleased that, in recent legislation responding to gun violence, Governor DeWine, the Ohio Legislature, and U.S. Congress have all increased funding for mental health programs and services in Ohio and across the country. Mental health issues are much more common than many people realize. 54 million Americans ages 13 and older experience a mental health issue in a given year. NAMI – National Alliance on Mental Illness – says everyone has a family member, co-worker, or friend that is affected by mental illness. Globally, mental health difficulties for adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic have doubled. The U.S. Surgeon General has declared mental health issues among our youth a national crisis. With a large and growing problem, increased funding is welcome and needed.

In response to recent mass shootings, these were typical Republican reactions – Texas Governor Abbott – “We need to do a better job with mental health.” Former President Trump – “We need to drastically change our approach to mental health.” Senator McConnell – “There are two broad categories that underscore the problem, mental illness and school safety.” But, addressing mental health issues will not fix our gun violence and mass shooting problem, because the assumption that gun violence and mass shootings are caused by mental illness is wrong. Only 5% of violent crime is committed by people with a mental illness, meaning 95% is not. Of the approximately 1 million violent crimes in the U.S. in 2020, that would mean 50,000 were committed by people with mental illness. Which means that 99.9% of the 54 million Americans with mental health issues are not violent.

Fewer than half of people with a mental health issue receive any treatment. There are many reasons for this – cost, lack of access. But a big reason is stigma – negative attitudes about a person or group based on their appearance or behavior, often unfairly (a negative stereotype).

Stop associating the mental health challenges faced by 54 million Americans with the terrible actions of mass shooters. Rage, hatred and grievance are not mental illnesses. Entitled men armed with assault rifles, and fragile egos, and the conviction that others are “less than human” are flawed, but not suffering from an illness.

To add to the pain, suffering and stigma of tens of millions of people by associating their illness with violence is bad enough. To do so to provide political cover for your unpopular policies? That is just contemptible.

Every country in the world has people with mental health issues, at rates very similar to ours. Every country in the world has angry young men, and embittered people. But we are the only country that allows civilians to easily buy weapons of mass destruction, and we are the only country to experience weekly mass shootings. The connection is obvious to anyone who is honest enough to see it.

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Steve McCamley is not only the Choir Director of Heritage Universalist Unitarian Church, he is President of Stop The Stigma Productions, a non-profit with a mission to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental illness and addiction.

7/23/2022

by Rev. Bill Gupton

Summer is definitely here, and a somewhat “normal” summer at that. I – along with other Heritage staff members – will be taking time off for vacations, family business, summer camps, rest and reflection over the next several weeks. The pace of life around the church, both in person and virtually, will noticeably slow. But rest assured, when late August rolls around, there will once again be a lot going on at Heritage Church – more activity, in fact, than at any time since 2019. Remember those pre-COVID days?

Summer will also be a time of transition in the HUUC office. Our departing Church Administrator, Vali Dugan, is wrapping up her time on our staff this month. She will be helping welcome and orient our new Church Administrator, Martha Viehmann. Many of you will recognize Martha from her work with Greater Anderson Promotes Peace (GAPP), in which she has helped coordinate many events and programs at Heritage over the years. Welcome to our staff, Martha!

I want to thank those volunteers who have stepped up to bring in the mail, check the phone lines, even water the plants during this period when we have been short-staffed. It truly does “take a village.” Other volunteers continue to help us with worship services during our summer “slowdown,” when both Laci and I take some time off. Many thanks to those, and all our volunteers!

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Stay cool.

I look forward to seeing you at the end of the month.

Blessings,
Bill

July 2022.