Once again this year, Heritage UU Church collected toys and cash donations for the Inter Parish Ministry Holiday Stores. Our Outreach Coordinator, Regina Pugh, made a video of all the toys collected, which you can view at the YouTube video IPM Holiday Gifts.

Bob Drake is one of several HUUC members and friends who volunteer at IPM locations. He passed along this message from IPM:

Thanks to YOUR generosity, the spirit of the season came alive in powerful ways at IPM Food Pantry’s 2021 Christmas Store at Crossroads East Side Church last week.

At the two-day event, 425 client families were able to shop from an abundance of gifts for their families at the Christmas Store, choosing items ranging from baby toys to presents for senior citizens. Additionally, IPM was able to distribute toys and gifts to over 200 clients at the Amelia and Newtown Drive-Through Pantries. The remaining gifts were transported to western Kentucky to be given to families devastated by the recent tornadoes there.

“There were more gifts to choose from than I ever imagined” said Christina, a mother of three teenaged girls and a year-old son. “My shopper was helpful and I could take my time to shop. It was such a fun experience picking out what my kids wanted. It was just easy and very organized … the Christmas Store was wonderful!”

We are so grateful for the thousands of gifts that were donated, the hundreds of hours put in by volunteers and the partnership with Crossroads East Side to make the Christmas Store an unforgettable experience for IPM clients.

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If you have questions about IPM, talk with Bob Drake or Regina Pugh, or send an email to:

12/22/2021.

Many UUs who identify as white have been growing in our understanding of racial justice issues and the desire to put our faith into action on behalf of community members who are Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Authentic equitable relationships built across differences, especially race, require white people to get out of the comfort zones that arise from centuries of ingrained white privilege. BIPOC members often meet in their own affinity groups to consider their own truths, perceptions and hopes. Deep individual personal reflection is the foundation for significant systemic change in our congregations and our society.

The UU Council of Greater Cincinnati invites white-identified UUs to engage in honest, challenging conversations to explore a deeper understanding of how systemic racism has shaped our personal and collective realities. The first UU Council of Greater Cincinnati (UUCGC) Anti-Racism Learning Pod is underway. This winter series of 3 monthly conversations is now closed to create an intimate atmosphere for sharing. The spring series will begin in February and will be open to new and returning participants. We believe we can learn more, support one another more, and accomplish more when we join together with our UU faith as our platform. For more information, please contact Louise Lawarre at:

11/23/2021

Join in with others at Heritage as we search for truth and meaning in considering our response to a proposed Eighth Principle.*

The work of dismantling racism, both in terms of personal bigotry and in the daily reality of systemic oppression, is critical at national and local levels. It is also challenging us as Unitarian Universalists to look inward into our own congregations and institutions.

At Heritage, small conversations have begun about the 8th Principle. But our larger, congregational-level discussions will begin on Sunday, February 13. Following a worship service that day focused on racial justice, the Racial Justice Team will host the first of a series of town-hall style conversations. These discussions will provide an opportunity to learn more about the 8th Principle, consider what it would mean for Heritage, and hear differing perspectives about its impact.

Whether Heritage members feel this additional principle is right for our congregation at this time or not, there are many ways we can learn about, and become involved in, the work of a more just and equitable society. This work has been key for UUs since the 1960s, and is as urgent today as ever. If you’d like more information in advance of our February service, please contact the Racial Justice Team at:

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*Proposed 8th Principle: “journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”

11/23/2021.

The Inter Parish Ministry (IPM) location in Amelia now has a clothing donation box like the existing box at the Newtown location. IPM has partnered with St. Vincent de Paul to provide clothing for IPM clients unable to pick out clothing in the pantries due to Covid restrictions. St. Vincent de Paul collects the clothing and in return provides IPM with clothing gift cards for IPM’s clients to use.

To learn more about IPM, visit the Inter Parish Ministry website. To learn more about Heritage Church’s involvement in IPM, call Bob Drake, or email Bob and other IPM volunteers at:

8/9/2021.

For years, Heritage UU Church supported the Inter Parish Ministry choice food pantries with donations of food and household supplies. The pandemic put a halt to these physical donations, though we continued to support IPM with our outreach offerings. Now IPM is accepting food and supply donations again.

To add a little fun, you might want to donate food especially for meal kits, as IPM describes below:

Did you know? IPM is once again accepting food donations! Right now we are working to supply our new program, IPM Plates! We LOVE to provide families with a complete, nutritious meal in a bag containing all of the ingredients, ready to prepare with simple instructions. Please help us create Taco Tuesday and/or Barbecue Night by donating the following: taco shells, taco seasoning packets, canned chicken, barbecue sauce, and hamburger buns! Thank you for your support of IPM and our neighbors in need. We are so grateful when you join us in feeding families and nourishing souls.

You can also donate other food and supplies. You can always look online to find a list of IPM’s current needs.

Donations can be delivered to either the Newtown or Amelia locations:

IPM Newtown Location
3509 Debolt Rd.
Cincinnati, OH 45244
Monday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Tuesday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

IPM Amelia Location
1075 W Ohio Pike (on K of C Drive)
Cincinnati, OH 45245
Thursday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Friday: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

If you have any questions about the Heritage Church involvement with IPM, please talk with Bob Drake, Kay Inskeep, Regina Pugh, or Mike Roberts, or send them an email at:

6/18/2021.

Did you know that Heritage Church has an account with Kiva.org? Kiva is an organization that uses crowdfunding to make loans to remove barriers to financial access around the world. They currently work in 77 countries and provide loans that support a variety of needs including small businesses, education, home improvement, healthcare, the arts, and agriculture.

Utilizing an outreach offering in May of 2017, Heritage opened a Kiva account with $604 and made four loans. Loan recipients were chosen with the help of Heritage youth. As those loans were paid back, new ones were made. Since 2017 Heritage Church has made 23 loans to 16 countries totaling $1575.

Loans must be at least $25 and we will soon have enough money in our account to make a new loan. If you have a young person in your home who would like to help choose the next recipient, send a message to

Covid-19 has changed lots of things, including how Interfaith Hospitality Network (IHN) feeds, shelters, and shows love to homeless families. Here are the important things to know.

IHN programming falls under essential services as outlined in section 8 of Governor Mike DeWine’s Stay-at-Home Order. Staff and volunteers can travel for these purposes, but such travel should be reduced and limited as much as possible, especially for volunteers.

Under current emergency Board of Health orders, it is not permitted to have the homeless receive shelter for a week in church buildings. Families in emergency shelter are now in a hotel so that they have access to their own kitchen and bathroom spaces. This also allows for social distancing from volunteers, staff, and other families. Families are still served by their case managers, often by phone and email.

IHN will still rely on persons and congregations to provide food, but this will be handled differently. More information will be provided later. What is known now is that, to limit food handling and number of drop offs, IHN will be asking for donations of pre-packaged breakfast, lunch, and snack supplies only. Possibilities include Lunchables, or packages of luncheon meats and loaves of bread that a whole family can use to make sandwiches, rather than the volunteers making the sandwiches themselves. Items that can microwaved are also especially helpful (mac and cheese cups, soup cups, etc.).

Here are some things you can do now to help:

(1) Donate Kroger gift cards to help provide for families. Luckily, there is a Kroger within walking distance of the hotel.  The large ask, what we need each of you to do, is to donate some amount on a Kroger gift card for IHN.  This can be ordered online to be shipped directly to IHN ( 990 Nassau Ave – 45206), to minimize contact.  Increments of $10 are preferred, not to exceed $50. 

(2) Make a contribution to IHN by visiting: www.ihncincinnati.org/take-action/give

(3) Donate items to make kid/adult activity packs for families. Anything that can entertain a family that is isolated would be helpful. These can include puzzles and board games. Please provide new, unopened items only.

Donations can also be mailed to:

Interfaith Hospitality Network
990 Nassau Street
Cincinnati, OH 45206.

Thanks so much for continuing to work together, even as we remain apart.

If you have questions, please email Rae Jane Araujo at:

March 25, 2020.

A recent cleaning and organization of our kitchen revealed an abundance of disposable plates, cups, cutlery, napkins, and over 2000 (yes, 2,000) plastic gloves! The greenest thing we can do is to use up the disposables that we already have in the kitchen.

As a Certified Green Congregation, we committed to using reusable plates, cups, etc. PLEASE DO NOT BRING ANY DISPOSABLE KITCHEN ITEMS INTO HERITAGE UU CHURCH.

That includes not bringing any plastic water bottles or, especially, Styrofoam cups.

Plastic is killing more than 1.1 million seabirds and animals every year.

The average person eats 70,000 microplastics each year.

Plastic chemicals are absorbed by the body—93 percent of Americans age six or older test positive for BPA (a plastic chemical), which is linked to fertility problems, male impotence, heart disease, and may cause cancer.

Please read the sign in the kitchen regarding recycling. The chart clearly shows what you can recycle in our area.

Also, another housekeeping item: Do NOT use sand for holding candles, etc., in carpeted areas. The sand spills and is then ground into the carpeting, causing premature wear.

Sincerely,
The Tuesday Morning Green Cleaning Team

Questions? Talk with anyone on the cleaning team, or send email to:

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Editor’s Note: The chalice water bottle pictured is available at InSpirit, the UUA Book and Gift Shop.

Our 7th UU Principle reminds us to Respect the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part. And our 6th Source invites us to celebrate the sacred circle of life and instructs us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature. One way to do that is to continue to be mindful of what and how to recycle at Heritage and at home. Heritage uses Rumpke Recycling Service. Here are the items that they accept:

WHAT YOU CAN RECYCLE

Accept: Paper

 

Accept: Plastic Bottles and Jugs

Accept: Cartons

Accept: Metals

Accept: Glass Bottles and Jars

UNACCEPTABLE MATERIALS

Would you like a handy flyer of this information that you can print out and put up on your refrigerator or elsewhere? Click here to get What You Can Recycle.

If you have any questions, please speak with Tracy Jo Small.

March 2019.