On Sunday, March 23, 2025, four new HUUC members signed the membership book. The following introduces these new members: Cynthia Kufla, Aaron Bird, Rachel “Rai” Bosch , and Samuel Bosch-Bird to HUUC.
Cynthia Kukla
Cynthia Kukla is relatively new to Heritage Church, but she has been a member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington-Normal in Bloomington, Illinois, since the 1990’s. Since moving back to Ohio a few years ago, she has been wanting to reconnect with UU-ism and a UU church.
Her return to the Cincinnati area was driven by a desire to be closer to her grandchildren. Cynthia lives in West Clermont County, where she has completed construction of a “glorious art studio” right behind her house. She says that “the fun and effort involved in building my studio is what kept me from joining the church sooner. I only fired two contractors!”
Cynthia is an Emerita Professor of Art who started her career at Northern Kentucky University, a place that still holds many fond memories for her. She says, “I am still in touch with many of my former NKU students here – which is wonderful.”
Cynthia specializes in watercolors, and regularly teaches watercolor workshops at the Cincinnati Nature Center and Pyramid Hill Sculpture Park. She’s also an environmentalist, nature-lover, and casual gardener.
Aaron Bird
Aaron Bird grew up in Elkins, West Virginia, in the Episcopal Church, where his father serves as the presiding priest at Grace Episcopal. His journey to Cincinnati began when a software corporation acquired his employer’s company, coinciding with his wife Rai’s pursuit of a PhD at the University of Cincinnati.
Aaron works in AI implementation, and enjoys outdoor activities such as hiking, cave exploring, and boating, as well as cheering on FC Cincinnati. Aaron and Rai began attending Heritage because they were seeking a welcoming community where their children, Samuel, Zach, and Tyler, could connect with like-minded peers. Aaron has been particularly inspired by the congregation’s commitment to kindness, love, and community, and now feels called to formally join the church, to, in his words, “help sustain this vibrant community for generations to come.”
Rachel “Rai” Bosch
Rachel “Rai” Bosch grew up in Cheshire, Connecticut, where her spiritual foundation was shaped at the Unitarian Society of New Haven. The UU principles have been a guiding force throughout Rai’s life.
After relocating to Cincinnati to pursue a PhD in geosciences, she and Aaron sought a welcoming spiritual home for their family – and Heritage became that safe, supportive community where their children could thrive.
Now a licensed professional geologist and environmental consultant specializing in caves, karst, and fractured rock systems, Rai’s scientific curiosity aligns with her reverence for the natural world.
They find joy in cave exploration, boating, swimming, cheering for FC Cincinnati with their family, and most recently, fly fishing. Rai’s spiritual path continues to be illuminated by the UU principles of the inherent human dignity, the free search for truth, and the pursuit of worldwide peace and justice. They cherish Heritage as a community where individuals support each other’s unique spiritual journeys while collectively working toward these shared ideals.
Samuel Bosch-Bird
Samuel Bosch-Bird was born in West Virginia, and then home-schooled in Michigan until sixth grade. In 2016, when its family moved to Cincinnati, some of its first friends in the area were made at Heritage.
Samuel came out as transgender in 2018. It studied Information Technology at U.C. for a year in 2022-23, but currently works in retail, with plans to slowly ease back into education to find a job in I.T. Samuel has multiple souls, most of which are animals, with the most important being a dragon; it does volunteer work online for a website about nonhuman-identifying people. Its special interest has been Minecraft since it started playing the game in 2013, and it’s been running Minecraft servers for fun since 2019.
Consistent throughout Samuel’s time at Heritage has been evidence of the love that is the spirit of the church. It says, “Heritage has a very warm, welcoming, and supportive community, with a clear commitment to support the wider community through service and charity.” Samuel has always felt joy and recognition at Heritage, and wants to continue to be part of such a community whose spirituality is full of love and support.
Images source: courtesy of Rev. Bill Gupton