After a summer of meeting alternate weeks for Sunday worship at Moundview Park, we held our last service there for a while on August 29. (Our upcoming services will be a mixture of outside at church and Zoom-only.) A couple of Heritage Church members took a few pictures that day to commemorate our time at the park.

2021.

As noted in the news, the For the People Act establishes standards for voting, elections and representation, including congressional campaign financing and gerrymandering. It has passed the U.S. House but not the Senate. A procedural rule change that would increase the likelihood of passage in the Senate has been opposed by West Virginia senator Joe Manchin.

On Monday, June 14, the national Poor People’s Campaign held its Moral Monday rally in Charleston, West Virginia. The purpose was to add pressure for the rule change. Heritage member Rebecca Pace was there to show her support for the rule change and for the For the People Act.

Rebecca said “It was great to hear Rev. William Barber speak about the Poor People’s Campaign. I believe voting reform is the first step, to the policy changes we need, to address the poverty and inequality that plagues our country.”

2021.

Heritage Church is pleased to welcome our next Church Administrator, Vali Dugan! Vali (pronounced like “Molly” but with a “V”) was hired after a two-month search process that included 30 applicants. Our Church Administrator Search Committee (Michael Wilhite, Donna Buckley, Bob Booth and Maureen Boylan) received 30 applications and narrowed the field to three finalists before unanimously recommending Vali to the Board of Trustees, which itself unanimously voted to hire her, beginning May 1.

Vali will work throughout the month of May alongside Denise Martinez, who is retiring on May 31 after 19 years as our Church Administrator. With a full month to overlap with and become oriented by Denise, Vali will be more than ready to take over the reins of the church office beginning in June.

Vali is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, but has lived in Deer Park with her partner, Chris, since 2014. She is the proud mother of three daughters, ranging in age from 17 to 25, and loves being a grandmother to her 22-month old grandson. While living in Albuquerque, Vali was a member of, and Religious Education Assistant at, First Unitarian Church, where she says she enjoyed the UU community, served on committees, and sang with the band for the contemporary worship service. Her professional background includes administration and office management. In her free time, Vali creates 3-D collage art, writes poetry, loves to travel, and practices yoga and Zumba.

2021.

Most UUs are familiar with our Seven Principles. We live out these Principles within a “living tradition” of wisdom and spirituality, drawn from sources as diverse as science, poetry, scripture, and personal experience. The Sixth Source states that we affirm and promote: “Spiritual teachings of Earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.”

Like most things, the HUUC Pagan Group has radically changed during the pandemic. Over the past year we have met in very small groups for all the holy days. We celebrated the Spring Equinox outside with eight households in attendance.

Though low-key; we are very active. For more information contact:

3/31/2021.

In 2020, over $5,000 in money was donated to Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) by a five-church cluster that includes Heritage Church. This money was in addition to gift cards and in-kind donations that members of those churches provided.

IHN is a network of congregations that work together to provide meals and shelter to homeless families while they seek permanent housing. In normal times, four homeless families stay in a church, synagogue or mosque, usually for a week at a time before being rotated to another congregational host. In our case, First Unitarian Church of Cincinnati hosted families, and four other congregations—St. John’s UU Church, Heritage UU Church, a Baptist church, and a Mennonite church—provided support resources and volunteers.

In 2020, restrictions under the pandemic made this approach impossible, and IHN switched to housing its client families in motel suites. This allowed the families to maintain social distancing and to cook their own food. Such an approach nearly eliminated the need for volunteers but required far greater funds. Heritage and the other churches came through with monetary donations to pay for the motels, gift cards that allowed families to obtain food and supplies, and in-kind donations such as cleaning supplies.

If you are interested in learning more about Heritage’s involvement in IHN, or possibly volunteering when those roles open up again, please contact Rae Jane Araujo at:

2/13/20212.

Have you noticed the familiar face of Jill Beyette joining our Sunday Worship Zoom Services? Jill and husband Rick, and their daughters Claire and Anna, are Life Members of Heritage UU Church, though they now live in Athens, Georgia, where they lead busy lives at the University of Georgia. Rick is the Founding Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Jill is a professor in the Biology Department.

During their nine years as members of HUUC, all four family members devoted their time and talents to serving the Heritage community. Both Jill and Rick have experience serving on the Worship Committee, as well as practical experience using technology in their professional fields. As local Worship Committee members continue to rotate off the committee, it can be challenging to fill vacancies. It occurred to Rev. Bill Gupton that, since our worship services are currently produced online (our Tech Coordinator, Danny Goldstein, is located in New Jersey), it seemed natural to tap individuals like Jill—with deep roots to HUUC—who could step in easily as a Worship Committee member, at least for the short-term.

Jill happily joined the Worship Committee on January 1, 2021. Says Jill, “Heritage and its members are one of the great joys in my life, and I’m very happy to return to this sacred corner of Cincinnati once again-virtually speaking. I have enjoyed joining in the past few worship services, and experience that spark of Heritage inspiration that I’ve missed since we moved to Athens. It’s like coming home. I look forward to serving in community with the other worship associates, and to being with you in Spirit and in Zoom.” Welcome, Jill!

1/25/2021.

For several years now, Heritage has supported the Inter Parish Ministry Holiday Adopt a Family program. It was no surprise that IPM had to adapt the way they would do this yearly gift-giving program that supplied so many families with toys, clothing, and other requested supplies such as cleaning and household items.

The plan this year was to supply each registered family member with a $25 gift card so they could choose items for themselves. Gift cards were delivered inside a stocking stuffed with a few additional items to bring some holiday cheer. Heritage came through big time with your donations to fund our stockings. Through your generosity, we were able to deliver 46 stockings stuffed with gift cards and surprises valued at just over $1,500. Thank you for all the ways you help keep our Heritage traditions alive while adapting to change.

December 2020.

The Heritage Choir is still meeting and singing together! We are doing that over Zoom! The quality time we share is very meaningful, even if we can’t actually hear each other sing. Steve McCamley works with the choir on three choral pieces for each rehearsal that we hold. Sherry McCamley plays the piano while Les Tacy plays the role of Zoom Host. This effort that Steve and Sherry are overseeing is a bonding gathering, without a performance as it’s end objective.

12/11/2020.

The story of how Heritage Acres Memorial Sanctuary came to be is prominently featured in the December edition of Cincinnati Magazine. Pick up a copy at your local newsstand, grocery or drugstore beginning December 1.

The article highlights not only Heritage Acres, but Heritage Church – our environmental mission and commitment to changing the way death is dealt with in our culture. There are gorgeous full-color photos, quotes from Heritage folks, and a loving tribute to the late Connie Booth. Get your copy soon, while supplies last!

11/23/2020.

In the United States, over one-third of all available food goes uneaten through loss or waste. Worldwide loss is about 40%. When food is tossed aside, so too are opportunities for improved food security, economic growth, and environmental prosperity. Our partnership with La Soupe helps to address this systemic problem. New estimates from Penn State University suggest that an average household wastes about $1,900 per year—translating to $240 billion in wasted food nationally.

We are deeply grateful to partner with La Soupe, which is now located in Walnut Hills. In the past, items from La Soupe have included: lettuce, bananas, apples, broccoli, cabbage, leeks, limes, “lunchables,” cottage cheese, lunch meat, semi-prepared meal kits, potato salad, fruit trays, vegetable trays, sandwiches, chocolate milk, yogurt, onions, potatoes, squash, eggplant, avocado toast kits, breads, donuts, cakes, whole cooked turkeys, shredded carrots, rainbow carrots, celery, eggs, cheese, cookies, pears, brussel sprouts, zucchini, kale, beans and more. The day and time vary according to La Soupe’s schedule. The items depend on what foods La Soupe has rescued from places like Kroger’s, Gordon Food Service, Trader Joe’s, Pop’s Donut Shop, Bread Smith, Servati’s, LaRosa’s, Jungle Jim’s etc.

This year Heritage Healthy Cooking Classes has had 22 food distributions that have served over 600 people! We have done this with very little cost and over 400 volunteer hours. Huge thanks to the drivers, gardeners, packers, delivery and clean up teams! This was an experimental year for the raised beds behind the church. They actually produced a fair amount of produce. We plan to improve the beds next year.

We delivered an oversized, heartfelt thank you card to La Soupe during our last pick-up. They are deeply touched by our gratitude.

Click here to support the mission and work of La Soupe: https://lasoupe.org/donate

If you have questions or want to help with the Heritage Healthy Cooking Classes food distribution, please contact Tracy Jo at:

 

 

 

 

11/17/2020.