Church Building Remains Temporarily Closed
The church building will remain temporarily closed to all due to the Covid-19 pandemic until further notice; except church staff, facilities chair and vendors, Board members, the Assistant Treasurer, and those involved in the production of electronic Sunday services.
Exceptions by the Board of Trustees will be made on a "one off" basis for restrictive opening.
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Rev's Reflections
As I write this, I’ve been at my parents’ for three days now, visiting for the first time in nearly twenty months, thanks to Covid and scheduling difficulties before that.
I have to chuckle because there are a few stories I’ve heard more than once since arriving. A couple are new “tales of the pandemic” involving friends and neighbors, like the one about the retired cop next door who died unexpectedly in February. But some of them are old family lore, so old and oft-repeated that I could tell them myself using the same words that have been repeated for decades, like the one about my grandmother cutting herself a huge slice of cake before it was frosted just like in the Duncan Hines commercial of the time.
It’s not that my parents are senile, or reminiscing with the urgency of someone about to cross over into death. They aren’t at all. Quite the opposite in fact. They are still working, volunteering, and managing their rental properties. Their minds are sharp, their bodies active. And of course, that’s why I have to chuckle. Their repetitiveness reminds me of how many times I’ve done the same thing.
There are times, during Beverages and Banter for example, when I share a recollection or anecdote that I know I’ve shared before in the same venue. I hear myself using the exact same words and phrases AGAIN, and yet, I continue. Amazingly, nobody ever shuts me down and says “Rev. Denis, you’ve told us that exact same story before.” But then again, I find myself keeping still when I’m hearing the same story again from one of you.
I don’t know about you, but I find that there is something comforting in sharing stories over and over again, to the point where they become like prayers, the stanzas etched up our hearts and the hearts of the people who will survive after we’re gone. After all that telling an retelling, they may not remain perfectly factually correct, but they have a certain amount of truth to them, preserving the past the way we want it to be, perhaps with the hope that it can make the future better.
There’s no harm I guess in retelling tales in ways that make us feel better about where we’ve been and where we’re going. It reminds me of the Thomas Kinkade original that my mother has hanging in her dining room, which I face from the chair I always sit in. It’s a scene from San Francisco, looking down Lombard, the famous “crookedest street in America,” except it’s Lombard street as it’s never existed, glistening with rain water, burnished around the edges, perfectly lit, with tiny billows of low clouds on a night warm enough to have the top down on the car.
My mother got the picture while I was living there. On their visits, she and my father loved to ride down Lombard, after some time trying to spot my house across the Bay. When she would look at her painting, she’d imagine me enjoying life in this beautiful, safe, idealized place.
I look at it, and all I can think about is what’s missing from the image: The shocking disparity in tax rates that advantaged the super-rich; the ever-present folks experiencing homelessness; the stylistic chaos that’s always present in a land that values property rights over architectural heritage; and the fact that there aren’t anywhere near as many US flags in the entire city as there are in that one picture. That’s not even getting into the anachronisms of different eras represented in attire, automobiles and architecture.
Two things here are important. My mother loves the picture because it always brought her comfort to think of me there. And I, along with thousands of other people, know the truth, and can share those true stories.
In Peace,
Rev Denis
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Upcoming RE Events
Movie Night
The second Tuesday of each month is Movie Night! Each month a movie will be chosen by the group that attended last. Everyone has a month to watch the movie and then we come together (on Zoom) to discuss what we liked, did not like, and learned. The link to the zoom discussion is… https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84236683211
Links to past Church Services –
You Tube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU3Nq-5WPOqu22uPwokYb6g
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/EastShoreUUChurch
CLASSES
May
Sunday 2 – Zoom class at 12 noon
Tuesday 4 – Project 1619 at 7pm
Wednesday 5 – FWN at 6pm
Sunday 9 – Mother’s Day
Sunday 9 – Zoom class at 12 noon
Tuesday 11 – Movie Night at 7pm
Sunday 16 – Zoom class at 12 noon
Tuesday 18 – Project 1619 at 7pm
Thursday 20 – Circle of Mom at 6:30 pm
Sunday 23 – Zoom class at 12 noon
Saturday 29 – Art of Spirituality at 12 noon
Sunday 30 – Zoom class at 12 noon
Sunday 30 – Developing Our Faith Team Meeting at 1 p.m.
Church Events – Everything will be on Zoom until future notice
SOCIAL JUSTICE PROJECTS
The foodbank at Old South Church needs volunteers. Especially strong backs on Thursdays when deliveries happen. If you would like to help, please contact Halcyon.
If you would like to participate in Geauga SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) Support Network, please contact Minna Zelch or email geaugasogi@gmail.com. Geauga SOGI Support Network was started by a group of people including Minna and August Zelch. Their mission statement is: Working together with individuals, families, friends, and the Geauga community to embrace Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity. We support each other through collaboration, education, and advocacy. You do NOT have to live in Geauga to participate.
GATHERINGS
FIRST WEDNESDAY NIGHT:
1st Wednesday every month 6:00pm on Zoom
Join us on Zoom for Dinner and Discussion
CIRCLE OF MOM:
3rd Thursday every month 6:30pm on Zoom
I can’t supply the chocolate or the flowers, but we can still come together for conversation. I will send everyone a link before the gathering each month.
Zoom link…https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88266988002
SPIRITUALITY OF ART:
3rd Saturday every month at noon on Zoom
Gather any art supplies, it can be as simple as a pen and a piece of paper, it could be what you are knitting, sewing, sculpting or whatever. We will connect on Zoom and create art in our own space together. We can still talk and share and listen to music or just share the moment in quiet. I will send everyone a link before the gathering each month. Zoom link… https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89964009942
PERSONAL NOTE
Due to the radical changes in our world, I just want to let everyone know that if you need someone to talk to, give me a call. I will listen if you need. I will joke if you need. I will share if you need. My phone number is 440-708-4596. -Halcyon
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The stewardship campaign has gone very well. We are at 91% response, with $164,473 pledged. Those who have yet to respond have been contacted, a majority indicated that they would be responding in the near future, so we are just waiting for those responses to make a final report to the board of trustees for our financial planning for the next fiscal year. I would like to thank my fellow committee members Jerie Green, Pam Leininger and Barbara Phillips for their capable assistance. I would also like to thank Rev Denis for his input which has also been critical. I hope to report in the next Beacon the final results. So please, those who have not responded, send your pledge cards in!
Respectfully,
Mary Mason
Chair of Stewardship Committee
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BEVERAGES
&
BANTER
May Gatherings
Tuesday, May 4 @ 2:00 PM
Saturday, May 8 @ 10:00 AM
Thursday, May 13 @ 7:00 PM
Friday, May 14 @ 9:00 AM
Wednesday, May 19 @ 7:00 PM
Saturday, May 22 @ 10:00 AM
Tuesday, May 25 @ 4:00 PM
Friday, May 28 @ 2:00 PM
Tuesday, June 1 @ 10:00 AM
The dates and times of Beverages and Banter gatherings via zoom are subject to change or cancellation. We do the best we can to schedule in advance, but due to the limitations of our Zoom accounts, and the preference that must be given to committee work, changes may be necessary.
Links to the Zoom meetings will be sent out via email a few days prior and just before each gathering. If you need a link, please contact Rev Denis, minister@eastshore.org
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May Loose Offering
Old South Food Pantry
The May loose collection will be shared with Old South United Church of Christ’s food pantry in Kirtland. “I see some wonderful people come in the door desperate for food because they’re out of food or on a fixed income,” coordinator Bill Knox said in a News-Herald article. During the pandemic they have been even busier. Beside your financial donation, they are also always looking for volunteers.
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