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 Update and Resources
September 17, 2021
“Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me,
and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.” ~Mark 9:37
Sunday Worship at 10am
In an ongoing effort to keep us all healthy and safe, we continue to provide several ways to worship at Kent UCC. Join us in our sanctuary on Sunday for our 10am worship service in person! Please note the 100 person maximum capacity in our sanctuary currently; plan to arrive to worship before 10am to get a seat! Or watch our live stream by clicking here. You can also view the service later on our Kent UCC Video page. Click here to print the bulletin for an order of worship for those worshiping online.
 
To prepare for our in person Sunday service:
  • Wear your mask. All staff, congregants and guests will wear a mask that covers the nose, mouth and chin when inside our church building. If you forget yours, there will be masks provided. 
  • Practice good hygiene and social distancing. Hand sanitizer and sanitizing products are readily available throughout the church. 
  • Ushers will seat you every other pew to maintain social distancing. 
  • Only our director of music and choir section leaders will sing. We all look forward to singing as a congregation, but for now, this is the safest way to proceed. 
  • Bring your offerings to place in the secure containers in the narthex. 
  • There will be no childcare or Sunday School but there will be boxes especially prepared for each child/family for use during worship in the pews. There will also be a children’s sermon/Snapchat during the service. The lounge will be available during worship for any parent or guardian in need of a quiet space.
  • We will stay in our pews to pass the peace of Christ.
  • There will be no greeting line after worship.
  • The ushers will release you from your pews following the service. 
  • There will be no coffee hour or other food or beverages consumed inside.
In Person Health and Safety Policy
As we take the next step into a new phase of in person worship and ministry, as a covenantal community we ask you to read our policy HERE. The COVID Advisory Team, staff, and Council have been diligently working to ensure the health and safety of our congregation and community, weighing the physical, mental, spiritual, and financial risks to our health. If staff, congregants, friends or guests have any concerns about their health and safety within these guidelines or restrictions, they can reach out to the moderator team or Council for assistance. As a covenantal community of faith, it is up to each of us to support this policy.
Blessing of the Animals
On Sunday afternoon, September 26 at 4pm, join Pastor Amy to bless our beloved animals! Weather-permitting, we will gather outside on the front lawn of the churchyard with our animal companions. If you would rather bring a picture or symbol of your companion, please do so. You are also invited to bring a remembrance or photo of pets that have died and are still a part of your heart. Animals should be on leashes or in carriers. If the weather does not cooperate, we will reschedule for Sunday, Oct. 3. Come to celebrate the Spirit of God in all creatures great and small, and especially in the animal companions that are part of our families.  
Flowers for Sunday Worship
You are invited to contribute flowers to adorn our worship space. We are all enriched by the beauty of God’s creation as expressed through flowers! Please consider remembering and honoring a loved one, celebrating a special occasion, lifting up someone in our church family, or simply sharing your joy. Now that we’re back in the sanctuary, our chancel is waiting to be adorned with flowers this fall and winter! Please sign up HERE to save a date and make your dedication. Thank you so much!
Fall Adult Education Class
“I wish I knew the Bible better.” “I don’t understand why that’s in the Bible!” “I want a different kind of relationship with the Bible.” If you’ve ever found yourself saying these phrases, our fall adult education class is for you! Join Pastor Kim to discuss Inspired: Slaying Giants, Walking on Water, and Loving the Bible Again by Rachel Held Evans. We’ll meet on Zoom from 7-8 pm on Wednesdays, September 29 through Wednesday, November 24.
Please sign up HERE.
New Social Justice Book Study
Our anti-racism book club has been meeting diligently for a year now! All are welcome from the church and community at any time. We are now meeting the 4th Monday of every month at 7pm via Zoom. On September 27th and October 25, we will be discussing Our Time is Now by Stacey Abrams. We are happy to welcome LaTesha Dukes, local activist, school board candidate, and Mental Health Board member, as facilitator of this discussion. You won't want to miss this opportunity to learn more about voter rights and how to put our faith into action. Please have the first five chapters read by our first discussion.  
Neighbors in Need Special Offering
The Neighbors in Need offering, which we will receive on October 3, supports the UCC’s ministries of justice and compassion throughout the United States. Two-thirds of the offering is used by the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries to fund a wide array of local and national justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects. Working with members of the UCC Justice and Peace Action Network, Justice and Witness continues its strong policy advocacy work on issues such as the federal budget, voting rights, immigration, health care, hate crimes, civil liberties, and environmental justice. Neighbors in Need also supports our American Indian neighbors in the UCC. One-third of the offering supports the UCC’s Council for American Indian Ministries (CAIM). Please give prayerful consideration to the offering you will contribute to Neighbors in Need on World Communion Sunday or by clicking here and choosing Neighbors in Need.
Acme Cash Back Program
Please save your Acme receipt slips for the Acme Cash Back program to support our Women’s Fellowship! As we return to worship in our building, look for the baskets on the entry table near Fellowship Hall, one upstairs on the narthex windowsill and one in the office. We need the whole receipt slip for it be counted in our total. Receipts that qualify can be collected through December 25, 2021. The last day for turning in your slips is January 25, 2022. Thank you so much for your support!
Time Capsule
In honor and celebration of our recent bicentennial, we buried a time capsule after worship last Sunday. Fun was had by all! The capsule is not to be opened until the year 2050. To read Pastor Amy’s letter to the Kent UCC congregation in 2050, please click HERE. For more information on what was included in the capsule, please contact Jaime Baughman or a member of the Bicentennial Committee.  
Please Update Your Records
Are your records up to date with the church office? Have you moved? Changed phone numbers? Have a new email address? Please check with the church office to make sure your information is up to date. Please email Leah with any changes.
In Our Prayers
Doris Aeschliman
Jaime Baughman and family
Dorothy Blum Ebright, friend of Debbie Barber
Rudy Capece, grandson of Debbie and Al Barber
Bev Feher, long-time friend of Barb Marken
Carol Horner
Pete Jones and family, friends of Leah Davis
Billy O’Malley, nephew of Annie O’Malley
Bruce Moore
Noel Reeves
Tallu Schuyler Quinn, friend of Pastor Amy
Terri, friend of Megan Snyder
This Week’s Scripture Lesson
Mark 9:30-37
They went on from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.” Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”
Thanks be to God, who is still speaking!
Whoever you are, wherever you are on life's journey...
you're welcome here!
OUR MISSION:
Enlivened by the grace of Jesus Christ and empowered by the Holy Spirit,
Kent United Church of Christ does justice, embraces faithful love, and walks humbly with our God to serve and transform lives, our community and the world. (Micah 6:8)