Heritage UU Church

Celebrating Life
Creating Community
Seeking Justice

UU Hymn: “We Are a Gentle, Angry People”

Weeks of June 6 and 13.

Our hymn for the next two weeks is “We Are a Gentle, Angry People”, number 170. This song is written by Holly Near, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly_Near, an American singer-songwriter, actress, teacher, and activist.

This song is a call to action. The lyrics show everyone that we will not be moved, and while we are angry, we are also loving and gentle in our hopes to make positive social change.

At Heritage Church, we sang this hymn Sunday, May 30, 2021, in remembrance of those who suffered due to a racially motivated massacre. To quote the History Channel’s website, history.com, “On June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in the predominantly Black Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event remains one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history, and, for a period, remained one of the least-known: News reports were largely squelched, despite the fact that hundreds of people were killed and thousands left homeless” – https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/tulsa-race-massacre.

Please join in singing, or listening to, this notable hymn. On YouTube: We Are a Gentle, Angry People

2021.

UU Hymn of the Week: Finlandia Medley

Week May 30, 2021

Our hymn is a combination of two hymns, a medley of the Finlandia tune, numbers 159 and 318. The composer of this Finnish tune is Jean Sebelius. It is considered the national anthem for many in Finland, and its most important song.

The lyrics of hymn 159 are by Lloyd Stone, written as a prayer of peace. The lyrics of hymn 318 are written by Unitarian minister Samuel Anthony Wright, for the Unitarian and Universalist youth at their Continental Convention of 1953-54. His lyrics bring into focus the concept of Oneness, less than a decade before the Unitarian and Universalist faiths would indeed join as one.

We are graced to have Joan Stoffregen lead this medley, singing the alto and soprano lines, while Les Tacy sings the tenor and bass lines.

Enjoy and sing along as this medley combines the important lyrics of both hymns.

Enjoy the YouTube video: Finlandia Medley

Poison Hemlock Alert

Church members and friends should be alert for a large stand of poison hemlock on the edge of the church property, just up the hill where the back and front parking lots meet (a bit to the east of the outdoor restroom associated with the Anderson Trail parking lot, which, though most people don’t know it, is also on HUUC property).

This is a pretty plant. It is also a very dangerous plant — so be sure not to touch it! Keep children away from it. Thank you.

5/25/2021.

Babes Will Read “The Vanishing Half”

Wednesday, June 16, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. Venue TBD.

Named best book of the year by many sources, Amazon.com describes the next Babes with Book (BWB or Heritage’s Woman’s book club) selection—The Vanishing Half, by Brit Bennett—as follows: “Told in flashbacks and alternating points of view, this novel asks what is personal identity, if not your past. A riveting and sympathetic story about the bonds of sisterhood and just how strong they are, even at their weakest.” The story follows two sisters, one passing as white, the other as Black.*

Due to the uncertain climatic conditions (i.e. weather, cicadas, and possible indoor gathering) for the next BWB meeting date, June 16, 7-9 pm, we have yet to determine if we will hold this meeting virtually or in person. Discussions via the BWB Google group the week prior will determine the venue. If you wish to join this Google group, contact Vali in the office. If you want a one-time invitation to the meeting, contact Barb at:

Our future reads and meeting dates currently consist of:

  • July 21 – The Painted Girls, by Cathy Marie Buchanan
  • August 18 – The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates
  • September 15 – News of the World, by Paulette Jiles

All female members and friends are always welcome to attend any meeting, whether or not they have read the book.

* Editor’s note: This capitalization of “Black” but not “white” follows the Associated Press stylebook. Many other stylebooks follow this approach, while some do not. To make decisions regarding a newsletter, choosing to follow the AP stylebook seems appropriate.

Board Briefs for May 2021

HUUC Board of Trustees, 2020-2021.

The COVID Policy has been updated.

The Worship Committee requested outdoor services begin up to 2 times a month through August, with masks on and socially distanced. The Board approved.

The Board approved the rental of the church by a third party in September, 2021.

Reminder of Meeting Dates –

  • Budget Town Hall – Board to share Budget with congregation -May 16th – 1:30 pm (zoom)
  • Annual meeting date for congregation – June 6th @ 1:30 pm (zoom)

UU Hymn of the Week: “There Is More Love Somewhere”

Week of May 16, 2021.

This week our hymn is #95. We are honored to have Joan Stoffregen, Heritage choir member, sing this for us, along with music director Les Tacy. The lyrics are on the video, so please feel free to sing along!

This tune is named for Steve Biko, the South African activist who started the Black Consciousness movement. He died from injuries while in the custody of the police.

As Kimberley Debus, author of the blog FarFringe.com states, “A song like this is incredibly radical, suggesting that what’s in front of us isn’t everything, and there’s always more for us to do, explore, resist, and open ourselves to.”

Thanks go to Stephanie Tacy, who did the video and audio editing for this hymn.

Enjoy the YouTube video: There Is More Love Somewhere

UU Hymn of the Week: “De Colores”

Week of May 2, 2021.

Our hymn of the week is #305, “De Colores,” sung by Les Tacy, Heritage UU Church’s Music Director. This was sung for Heritage’s Flower Communion on May 2nd.

This popular Mexican folk tune adds beautiful, musical color to the selections in our hymnal, “Singing the Living Tradition”. The lyrics were written by David Arkin and published by the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles.

According to Wikipedia, De Colores “…is associated with the United Farm Workers union, as one of the most commonly heard songs sung during rallies. The song is also associated with Mexican folklore, but it is not known for certain when and where the song originated. It is believed to have been in circulation throughout the Americas since the 16th century, with melodies being brought over from Spain during the colonial era.”

Enjoy singing along with this wonderful hymn. Thanks to Stephanie Tacy for creating the video for this rendition.

Enjoy the YouTube video De Colores.

Drive-Through Procession in Memory of Connie Booth

Heritage Acres memorial Sanctuary, May 2020

Sunday, May 2, 2021, at 1:00 p.m., at Heritage Acres Memorial Sanctuary.

Our Sunday morning on May 2nd starts with a Flower Communion Worship Service. The first part of the service will be an online Zoom-based gathering, followed by a drive-through flower communion at Heritage UU Church.

Later in the day, at 1:00 p.m., the flowers you bring to church will be placed on Connie Booth’s grave at Heritage Acres Memorial Sanctuary. The flowers will be placed by her husband, Bob. Connie was the energy and guiding light behind our HUUC Flower Communion, and Sunday just happens to be the one-year anniversary of the day we laid Connie’s ashes to rest there.

So, you are invited to another drive-through procession at Heritage Acres, driving by Connie’s grave and enjoying the flowers and the view (the weather Sunday is supposed to be phenomenal).

Heritage Acres is located at 796 Locust Corner Road 45245. Directions can be found here: https://www.heritageacresmemorial.org/visits/

Drive-Through Flower Communion

Sunday, May 2, in person, as part of the worship service, at Heritage UU Church.

An abbreviated Zoom worship service will precede this in-person (but masked) adaptation of the flower communion. Learn more about the Zoom-based portion of the Flower Communion Sunday service.

After the Zoom portion of the worship service, we will take a brief break, with folks having the option of staying for a few minutes in our accustomed community time “breakout rooms” for conversation with others on Zoom, or hopping in your car and heading to Heritage! (If you do come to Heritage, remember to bring a fresh flower for our Flower Communion.)

To create safer traffic flow and keep cars from backing up out onto Newtown Road, we ask that as much as possible, those families whose last names begin with the letters A-L arrive at the church parking lot sometime between 11:15 and 11:30, while those with last names beginning with M-Z arrive between 11:30 and 11:45.

Other details:

  1. Bring a flower to share.
  2. You will leave your flower in the traditional HUUC Flower Communion basket, created and popularized by the late Connie Booth.
  3. See and say hello to others from our Heritage Community (those driving through with you, our musicians, members of our Worship Committee, Rev. Bill and more).
  4. Experience live music from both Les Tacy and Mimi Sinclair.
  5. There will be an opportunity to physically contribute a check or cash to our outreach offering recipient for the week, the Civic Garden Center of Cincinnati, where Connie Booth worked for so many years as a Master Gardener.
  6. As you leave the parking lot, you will receive a different flower from the one you brought (this year, not one of those brought by others that morning).

Everything will be shown live in our Zoom link, thanks to volunteer camerapersons, so that those who cannot or do not wish to leave home can watch.

In the afternoon, at 1:00 p.m., the flowers brought to the Flower Communion will be placed on the grave of Connie Booth at Heritage Acres Memorial Sanctuary. You are invited to a drive through procession in memory of Connie Booth.

UU Hymn of the Week: “Guide My Feet”

Week of April 25, 2021.

For this week we invite you to open your hymnals to hymn #348, “Guide My Feet”. This hymn was sung at our April 25th service.

The text is inspired from Psalm 119 of the Old Testament. It is a song calling for God’s guidance as we seek to walk a path that is difficult at times. As Kimberley Debus, author of the Blog Notes from the Far Fringe, farfringe.com, states: “Psalm 119 is a long lament to God for mercy. The writer is seeking protection. So, it is no wonder the enslaved Africans might have heard this psalm and wanted to ask for the same thing.”

A special thanks to Stephanie Tacy, who is the audio and video editor for all musical pieces performed by Les Tacy.

Enjoy the YouTube video Guide My Feet.

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Heritage UU Church …

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