by Karen Hager, Interim Religious Educator

It’s hard to believe, but my time with Heritage as an Interim is coming to a close. I’ve enjoyed working with my old congregation the past five months, and I have hopefully helped you prepare for your new settled Director of Lifespan Faith Development (DLFD).

One of my final goals is to leave a recommended program for the new staff member to enable them to hit the ground running in fall. It’s looking very likely that we will be able to be back together in person for RE classes. Our current plans are to hold classes outdoors, weather permitting; and in bad weather, to move indoors with mitigation efforts in place.

There is one big obstacle to holding RE classes, though, and that is recruiting enough teachers. We need to recruit 4-teacher teams for every class meeting this fall, or simply put, classes can’t happen.

Can we count on you to teach RE this fall?

Teaching RE can seem scary if you’ve never done it before, but it actually is a very fun and rewarding volunteer position. We ask our teachers to make a one semester, 8 Sunday commitment. You are agreeing to lead 4 classes and to assist another teacher in 4 classes – that’s it! We expect all curricula content and class prep to be done for you so you can concentrate on simply teaching. And my curricula recommendations will be for fun classes our kids want to attend and enjoy thoroughly!

Teach RE and you will be directly making a difference to a child and helping to grow our next generation of UUs. But you, too, will get a great deal out of teaching. This is a spiritually nourishing volunteer position that teaches you about Unitarian Universalism in the process – I guarantee it won’t be only the kids who are learning!

So, can you agree to devote 8 Sundays between September and January toward helping us achieve an in-person RE program? We need all congregants to step forward and help if they are able.

For more information, or to volunteer to teach, contact me at:

Karen

June 2021.

by Tamilyn Moore

Must admit, I’m doing a little happy dance that this is my last Heirloom article as Board President. This has been one of the hardest parts of the position for me. I appreciate Russ giving me grace in submitting articles at the last minute, and sometimes even a day or two late. Russ, your patience with me has made this easier and I thank you for that.

It has been an honor to serve for three years on the Heritage Board of Trustees and to be President of the Board this past year. I thank you for trusting me with this and hope that I have served the Heritage community well.

I have learned a lot over the last three years. I have learned a lot about myself. It has been a pleasure to work with all the Board members I have worked with. We have worked through a lot of challenges over the years. Covid-19 was certainly an unexpected challenge to add to the mix.

The Heritage community has risen to the challenges that Covid-19 threw our way. So many virtual events have occurred and amazing virtual services each week. We have kept safe and kept connected.

Now we are discussing plans for re-opening. We are looking forward to outside services starting June 6. We can now safely have more meetings and larger groups at church. I look forward to seeing you all in person very soon!

Virtual hugs to all!
Tamilyn Moore

June 2021.

by Rev. Bill Gupton

This month will mark our return to in-person Heritage Church community with our first worship service together in more than a year, on Sunday, June 6! (see details elsewhere in the newsletter, on our website, and in your email inbox). I look forward to seeing many of you on that long-anticipated morning – sharing smiles and tears and the sheer joy of being in one another’s presence after such a lengthy separation. It will be simply glorious to be together, and we will celebrate whether there is rain or shine, whether we can hear each other over the cicadas or not!

Roughly 100 of you responded to a survey conducted last month about congregational attitudes toward “reopening” for in-person events, including religious education and worship. The overwhelming majority were in favor of providing in-person options as well as Zoom options for community – reflecting a new reality that will be part of our congregational life moving forward. Our volunteer teams (Safety and Reopening Team, Worship Committee, Board, etc.) are committed to providing options while lowering risk to our community’s health and safety. In keeping with our Universalist values, we also share a deep commitment to inclusion – which in this case means considering the well-being of those who are immunocompromised or unvaccinated, as well as the full range of opinions, feelings, and emotions around this sensitive topic. In addition, we also want to continue to be welcoming to newcomers and visitors.

In short, we are entering a new and exciting phase in the life and long history of our congregation – a time when changes will continue and in-person activities will gradually resume, but the “old normal” will not return. Together, we will be creating a “new normal” that will in some ways be comforting and reassuring, and in other ways unfamiliar and awkward. As such we will need to be understanding and forgiving of one another. Mistakes will be made. Anxiety will be heightened (and a year’s worth of pent-up anxiety perhaps sometimes expressed). As people of faith – of Universalist faith – we will be called upon to grant grace, maybe even repeatedly, to one another.

Let us remember, and if necessary remind one another, to do just that. Let us remember, and embody, the Love that is the spirit of this church. Soon, we will be together again. Halleluiah!

Namaste,
Rev. Bill

June 2021.

by Rev. Bill Gupton

I don’t know if it was the fact that my four-month sabbatical was incredibly recharging and restful (as I often called it, a “winter hibernation”), or if it is all the exciting things that are going on at Heritage Church and Heritage Acres right now – but I have been loving every minute of my first few weeks back with you. It has been wonderful to catch up with those of you whom I’ve been able to connect with (and if I haven’t connected with you yet, please feel free to give me a call or send me a text; I’d love to hear how things are going for you).

Where to begin the story of this whirlwind April? We are bringing a new Church Administrator onboard, Vali (pronounced like “Molly” but with a “V”) Dugan, giving her some time to work and overlap with Denise Martinez as she gets oriented to our office and our community. By the way, as it was with our retiring Religious Educator, Rev. Leslie Woodward, it will be very hard to say goodbye to Denise when she retires at the end of May after 19 years – 19 years! – with us. Watch for updates about when and how you can be part of our thank-you send-off celebration for Denise.

Meanwhile, we have begun the search for our next Religious Educator. We will begin receiving applications any day now as we start another process of discernment to determine who we think will be the best fit not only for the needs of our children and families, but also for all our adults, as we enter a new era of “lifespan faith development” in our Unitarian Universalist community.

At the same time, discussions have begun in earnest around another important area of discernment for the congregation – when and how we might best safely “reopen” to either full or limited in-person worship, religious education, and other activities. This is a complicated and nuanced conversation, and the Board has appointed a large but nimble 10-person team to look at it from every angle and consider many options and alternatives, because one thing is certain: Whatever congregational life in America and at Heritage Church will look like in the year 2021 and beyond, we will never be able to go back to “the way it was before.”

One thing that will certainly change is how we worship together. Even that word “together” has new layers of meaning now as we enter what will surely be known as the “post-pandemic world.” We have adapted to online worship such that now, it is a given that the future will include some version of what the UUA is calling “multi-platform worship” – a blending of in-person worship, for those who want it, and online worship and community, for those who prefer that platform or those who are geographically or physically unable to join in person.

What will all this mean for church “membership”? How will folks be connected in this brave new world? Those are questions for yet another group of volunteers. We will be assembling a Connections Team in the near future to explore this area of church life; if you’d like to be part of such a team, please let me know.

Meanwhile (there’s that word again), it has been perhaps the busiest month ever for Heritage Acres. We have sold more than a dozen burial plans, planned for a well-attended Open House that included events ranging from a natural art exhibition to a shrouding demonstration, and received tremendous media coverage from the Enquirer to the Eastside Press to public radio. Oh, and we accomplished a goal I had set for completion during my sabbatical – Heritage Acres was recently certified as a Natural Burial Ground by the Green Burial Council!

Yes, it’s been a very full month. It is such a blessing to be back with you, and to be your minister. Thank you for the faith you have put in me for 19 years now and counting. I love you all.

Namaste,
Rev. Bill

May 2021.

by Karen Hager, Interim Religious Educator

This is the time of year that RE begins planning for the launch of the fall program. This year, we are faced with the uncertainty of not knowing exactly where and how we will be able to meet. Our fingers are crossed that COVID conditions will have improved to the point that we will be able to meet together in person in some way this fall!

This means, however, that we need to think about teacher recruitment right now. We cannot hold RE classes if we don’t have teachers. If you’ve never taught RE before, please consider joining us this year. Teaching RE is a fun and rewarding experience, and experienced teachers know that RE classes do make a difference in a child’s life.

If you’ve joined our online classes this winter, you’ve had a chance to observe what teaching is like firsthand. Teaching in person is very similar – with fewer technology headaches!

If you agree to teach, you are making a one-semester, 8-Sunday commitment – that’s it! You lead 4 classes and assist in 4 classes. In my normal classes, I take care of all the prep required and provide all curricula ready to teach so that teachers can concentrate on the fun of teaching; I’ll be encouraging your new settled religious educator to do the same. So, teaching RE will NOT require a large time commitment on your part, and it is NOT a scary proposition!

Teach RE and you will likely find it to be one of the most spiritually rewarding volunteer positions that you’ve ever held. You will be helping to grow the next generation of Unitarian Universalists while having the fun of spending an hour roughly every other week with a class of children.

And, bottom line, we need you! We can’t hold RE classes if people don’t volunteer to teach. So, please consider joining the HUUC RE teaching team this fall and be a part of the return of RE.

If you’d like more information on teaching RE, contact me at:

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Parents: you should have received an email with a link to a survey on reopening this fall. We are asking every parent with children in grades PreK-8 to respond so that we can consider the opinions of parents as we discuss possible reopening plans. Please look for this survey and respond if you haven’t already. If you don’t see it, email me and I’ll resend the survey link. Email me at:

May, 2021.

by Karen Hager, Interim Religious Educator

Over a year has now passed since Heritage closed its doors, due to the pandemic, and over a year has passed since RE families have been able to gather in person. Zoom classes are the next best thing, but online connections cannot replace physically being in each other’s presence.

Thankfully, the weather is warming, vaccinations are increasing, and COVID numbers are declining. And, with these better conditions, RE will now be able to offer opportunities for families of all types and sizes to gather in person.

The Interim RE Committee has begun planning for monthly family activities, held at HUUC. These activities will be outside, masked, socially distanced, and COVID-friendly in all other aspects. As of this writing, our first event is about to happen: an Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt, hosted by the Kpaeyeh and Meyer families. (Held Sunday, March 28.)

The next planned event is a Bird Feeding event, to be held on Sunday, April 25 from 3-5 pm. A “make your own birdfeeder” craft is being planned, as well as bird identification activities and snacks. Drop by any time between 3-5 to join the fun.

Family activities are designed to best suit kids ages 3-10, but all congregants are welcome, including all ages and family types.

If you are interested in helping with future in-person family activities, please email Karen Hager at:

April 2021.

by Rev. Bill Gupton

Beloveds –

Soon, I will be back with you, returning from a four-month, delayed sabbatical in which I have, true to my promise, “hibernated” through this difficult winter. The timing of my sabbatical clock, as it were, resulted in something I think it is fair to say is fairly unique among ministers of any generation – a “pandemic sabbatical.”

So what, exactly, have I been doing, these past four months? Like any creature in hibernation, I have been sleeping. I have rested. I have not gone out much (after all, we are still in a pandemic). In fact, neither Jennifer nor I even left the greater Cincinnati area, save for a quick end-of-sabbatical weekend away at a rental cabin in the country.

When I did get out, it was usually to the beautiful rolling hills of Heritage Acres, where the seasons come and go in unhurried grace. Winter at Heritage Acres is a quiet, reflective time, perfect for someone on sabbatical. It is also the best time to tend to the tasks of removing those pesky vines, invasives, brambles and fallen branches (not to mention entire fallen trees) – a sort of “winter cleaning” for our sacred sanctuary. And what a blessing it was to be able to do this work with and alongside my son, who has been unexpectedly with us for the past year, thanks to the pandemic. I did my best to cherish every single moment of the opportunity to be with Patrick, drinking in the invigorating fresh air and getting to know the incredible young man that he has become.

Akin to the winter cleaning taking place at Heritage Acres, our family undertook, in our home, a long-overdue assessment of the accumulated “stuff” of three lifetimes. Perhaps you have heard of the Swedish practice of “dostagning” – commonly translated as “Death Cleaning.” It is both a domestic and a spiritual practice, the sorting through of one’s possessions with the dual purpose of decluttering (ostensibly so that one’s survivors do not have to do so upon one’s death) and reminiscing. What to hold onto? What to get rid of? What the heck is some of this stuff, and why do we have it? What tender memories are woven into this or that material object, this trinket, that poem or letter?

Needless to say, dostagning is a huge undertaking – which is to say, although I (and in fact, all three of us in the Gupton-Sanders home) began it during my sabbatical, the process is ongoing. Yet already, there is a sense of accomplishment. But the best part of it all, as you might imagine, is indeed the memories. The opportunity to reflect on a life’s journey. A journey – a path – that has led me here, to this beloved community. It is hard to believe that we have been in Cincinnati now almost 19 years. Patrick grew up in this place, and in this home. Meanwhile, we have welcomed so many into our church home – just as we, ourselves, were welcomed way back in 2002. We have also said goodbye to many, whether they were called elsewhere on their own life’s path, or whether their journey in this life itself reached its inevitable end.

Through it all, we have been held by, and within, an eternal Love. And we have held one another, with our own love.

Thank you, for the memories. Thank you for being part of this amazing journey, and this amazing congregation. I look forward to being back with you in April.

Namaste,
Rev. Bill

April 2021.

by Tamilyn Moore

Happy Spring all! There is green everywhere and beautiful flowers are starting to bloom. We have more light and warmer temperatures each day. We get to welcome Rev. Bill back on April 1. Lots of things to smile about!

Hitting one year of quarantine has me thinking a lot about where I was at a year ago and where I am now. The thoughts a year ago were that it would be great to work at home for a month or so (ha!) and have more time with the family. We would enjoy the spring weather and get some things done around the house. We would spend more time together and grow closer as we shared laughs. I would have lots of time to work out and would be in great shape by the time we were done.

Now, some of those house projects are done, some are still in the middle of getting done. Still working at home with no return-to-work plan in place or even discussed. Again, enjoying the warmer weather and more time outside, more sunshine to soak up. In a good rhythm with the family with lots of laughs had and still happening. We have happily discovered a new ice cream place that can accommodate all our dietary needs. Some working out has happened, and we have all stayed healthy.

Also now, I have received my second vaccine dose, Nicole will get her second soon, and one child becomes eligible to schedule on March 29. We will have another layer of protection against Covid-19 and can breathe a little easier when we do our shopping or participate in outdoor activities. Hoping the vaccine will be approved for the under 16 crowd soon so the entire family will have this extra layer of protection. We all still need to keep other protections in place for those who cannot get the vaccine and to prevent more variants from getting a chance of developing. Just a little longer to keep on wearing that mask and keep on with a physical distance from others.

Wishing each of you more sun, more light, more happiness!

Virtual hugs to all!

Tamilyn Moore

April 2021.

by Karen Hager, Interim Religious Educator

With a full month of shared programming behind us, I can report that the UU congregation in Blacksburg, VA is greatly enjoying this new arrangement with Heritage. We have had children and youth join our Children’s RE classes and Middle School meetings, and nearly every adult class offered has had HUUC attendees.

This is a wonderful opportunity to meet and connect with UUs outside of our home congregations, and we have so much to learn from each other! If you haven’t yet taken advantage of the opportunity to join the Blacksburg congregation, I urge you to do so.

In the articles on Religious Exploration for Children and Youth and Adult Faith Development Programs, you can learn about the many classes and activities now open to HUUC congregants.

FYI, I’ll be teaching “The Fifth Dimension for Adults” class on Tuesday, March 23 myself. It was wonderful to see so many HUUC attendees – with many faces familiar to me! – at our last class. I hope you’ll join us this month for a fun and fascinating discussion.

Karen

March 2021

by Tamilyn Moore

Hope everyone has dug out of the snow and that you are enjoying all the icicles as the sun shines through them as the snow melts.

With all the snow, the initial signs of spring are hidden. If the crocuses are coming up, we cannot see them. Hopefully as the snow melts, we will see that green of spring poking up through the grass and in our flower beds. The trees don’t seem to be budding out yet, they must be waiting for the snow to melt away as well. I look forward to all the new growth the snow will lead to as it provides sustained water to all the plants waiting to grow and bloom again.

With more and more people getting vaccinated, I look forward to the new growth that will lead to as well. While we need to keep vigilant with mask wearing and physical distancing, we can feel more confident that we are protecting ourselves and others when we are also vaccinated and more around us are vaccinated. Helping my mom to try to find an open vaccine appointment has shown me how frustrating the process can be. I hope many of you are having success finding an open appointment, getting your vaccine scheduled, and getting administered those vaccines. Hopefully Nicole and I will get ours soon as more Ohio locations open up to those who are at a higher risk due to medical conditions.

It will still be a while before we are back to having in-person services. I miss seeing all your faces and most of all, I miss the genuine hugs received from so many. Distant and virtual hugs just aren’t the same, but it is what we have for now with those outside of our bubble.

Be sure to watch spring arrive, watch the greens of spring show up in more and more places, enjoy the sun helping to melt the snow and provide us warmth through the cold. While I have enjoyed my time outside shoveling, getting fresh air, waving at neighbors as they walk or drive by, I look forward to longer times outside as the warmer temperatures allow for it. Stay safe, stay warm!

Virtual hugs to all!

Tamilyn Moore

February 21, 2021.