Our Summer Movie Night Friday, July 25

6:30 pm Snack and 7:00 pm Movie “Frozen”

Join us on Friday, July 25, as the Christian Education Board hosts a summer movie night in the air-conditioned comfort of the sanctuary. Bring your pillows and blankets to

watch “Frozen”, a 2013 computer-animated film, produced by Walt Disney, featuring some of the most popular music hits of the year. Inspired by

Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale The Snow Queen, the film tells the story of a fearless princess who sets off on an epic journey alongside a rugged mountain man,

his loyal pet reindeer, and a hapless snowman to find her estranged sister, whose icy powers have inadvertently trapped the kingdom in eternal winter.

Great fun for all ages. We start at 6:30 with a hot dog and ice-cream sundae snack, and the movie

begins on the sanctuary big screen at 7:00 pm (with popcorn, of course!)

Bell Choir Chimes The bell choir is happy to report that almost $400 was

collected on Community Garage Sale Day, thanks to the generous donation of "treasures" from many of you. If you recall from the June Columns, this money is earmarked as

seed money for the purchase of chimes. Our goal is to raise $3000 for the purchase of four octaves. During the next few months, you will

see a bulletin insert to remind you of our plea for donations from the congregation, either in memory or honor of a loved one, or just because you enjoy the music that the bell choir adds to the service! Your donation of $50 will purchase one of the forty-nine

chimes we need. We hope to have the funds together by the end of September so that we can have a dedication and music prepared for the holiday season.

Thanks for considering this support of our music program!

Donation slips can be found in this issue of the Columns, in the Sunday bulletins and in the church office.

Newsletter of the Richfield United Church of Christ

THE COLUMNS July 2014

We Had a Great Week! Stop by our Fellowship Hall bulletin board to see pictures

of some of the fun things we did at VBS.

Our VBS Mission Projects Feed Our Fish

With a boy-vs.-girl contest, we fed our seaside fish each day with pennies, nickels, dimes

and quarters. Although the boys led most of the week with the heaviest fish, the girls pulled

ahead on the last day. Together, the VBS kids brought in 53 3/4 pounds of coins,

which will be used to purchase fish for several families somewhere in the world through

Heifer International. The families will learn how to raise the fish to use as food and income

for their family. Many thanks to Barb Luther, Tristin and Brody Bard, Sam Gerber, Sherri

Barker and Phyllis Sommer for stopping in the office and separating and rolling the coins.

Goldfish Snack Packs Our VBS kids packed your donated Goldfish crackers into 130 snack packs for the

Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen. On Friday, June 27th Becky Monegan and Sam and Beth Gerber

handed the snacks out to those who came to lunch at the soup kitchen.

Our Seaside Boat of Fruit The kids from Vacation Bible School and congregation members

donated a boat-load of canned fruit for the Feed My Sheep Soup Kitchen.

Thanks to our VBS Staff Our thanks to all of our volunteers who helped make this a great

week of fun for the 49 kids who participated in our VBS program.

Phyllis Sommer and Ceec Bard gave everyone a warm welcome at the registration table.

Rachel Luther began and ended our days with music. Our site volunteers were Becky Monegan,

Joe Shepker and Devin Capps at the Sink or Swim Games; Gabby Sorensen, Nagwa Ahlborg

and Alex and Libby Hackworth at the Seaside Snacks; Abbey Sobieraj and Anne Gill at the

Splash-tacular crafts; Brenda Lindsey at Seashore Bible stories and Sally Gill at the

Cast Our Nets Mission Project site. Our group leaders (crowd control specialists) were

Dawn and Jim Schilling, Anna and Maggie Gerber, Megan Scarbrough, Tracey Gates,

Patty Ellis, Maryke Bard, Abbey Kozma, Ian Hackworth and Carl Ahlborg. Our thanks also

to Luther Farms for the use of the benches and to Matt Cern of Village Seamless Gutter Co.

for donating two gutters for our boat races. Thank you to John, Carl and Kevin Ahlborg,

Patty and Chuck Ellis (along with Anna Keppler) and Sally Gill for help in setting up our seaside

beach. And thanks to Pieter van der Meer for his behind-the-scenes help.

Writings From The Rev (July, 2014) The Season is now upon us. While many may think it started over a month ago with Memorial Weekend, it really has only been since June 21st. It’s a time filled with both excitement and anxiety. It’s a time eagerly awaited by some, while others wait in dreaded anticipation. Yes folks, we are now fully into the season of SUMMER VACATION. Children, rejoice! Mothers, beware! Fathers, hold onto your wallets! Ten glorious weeks of No School! Come on Mom, come on Dad, don't you remember what it was like, the freedom and the fun, sleeping in, swimming at the pool? Vacations are important, and every now and then we all need one. Whether you go to school, or work in an office, or drive a truck, or build houses, or teach, or work in healthcare, or run a

household, every so often we need to have a vacation.

How does that old saying go, “All work and no play... are bound to make your hair turn gray.” (Well, maybe that’s not exactly how it goes.) Anyway, the point is the mind and the body both need time to relax and retreat from life’s daily routines. So, by withdrawing for a time we give ourselves opportunities for regeneration and new growth. Time and time again we hear the medical profession warn of the dangers that come from not taking adequate time off from life’s pressures. This is why vacations are a good thing to take, now and then.

Even Jesus knew when it was time to take a break.

What’s good for Jesus is good for us all. So, have you ever thought about "SPIRITUAL VACATIONS?" No, it doesn’t mean sleeping in on Sunday mornings a couple of times a year, or sharing a cup of coffee with Joel Osteen, instead sharing the cup of the communion with the Family of God in worship. A spiritual vacation is actually a time of renewal and growth for the heart and soul. Hear these words from the 23rd Psalm, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still

waters; he RESTORES my soul.”

Have you ever thought of Sunday worship as a spiritual vacation? Sunday is the Christian Sabbath, a day of rest, a day of renewal. Sunday is the day that we set aside from the rest of the week, in order that we might retreat from the demands of the world around us. It doesn’t mean that we hide from those demands, it means that we allow ourselves time to pull back, to reflect upon our lives and our relationship with God through the reflection of the “stilled” waters. Worship is not truly worship if we cannot retreat from our busy world long enough to let God in. (I understand that not everyone has the option of having Sunday as a day off, so make

your Sabbath where and when you can.)

For many of us there are two kinds of vacations coming up in the remaining weeks of this summer. One will be for a well-earned rest from our daily jobs, in order to renew and refresh the mind and the body. The other is our weekly "spiritual vacation" for the renewal of our hearts and our souls. Please, don’t get the two of them confused, thinking that your work vacation is also a vacation from worship and the Church. God is the ultimate renewer of life, both physically and spiritually. So, as you vacation this summer, whether it is in green pastures,

or by stilled waters, or on the beach, or in the mountains, don’t forget to take the time to vacation with God.

“The Peace of God Be With You!”

Interim Pastor, Rev. Ralph Wearstler

Congregation Snapshots A new church directory is in the works, with picture-taking

time scheduled for September. However, Rev. Ralph would

like to work on a collection of digital snapshots of

congregation members to assist him and our future pastor,

in the time before our directory is printed. If you have a

good digital camera and could help with this project,

please see Rev. Ralph after worship or call him at the office.

Richfield United Church of Christ

Richfield email — youthdirector@richfielducc.com

Text me ~ Cell number is 330-697-7132.

Youth Group Safety Town Project A school age child is hit by a car—injured and sometimes killed -- every 12 days in the city of Akron. Akron does not have its own Safety Town program—until now. Grant money has been secured to offer this program in five different locations in Akron so that it is accessible to those with transportation challenges. Akron safety forces will be there to present programs. Each child will receive a t-shirt and a bike helmet. We constructed two of the buildings to be used in this program—the church and the school, so now we are off to serve in the actual program! Our youth from Pilgrim and Richfield UCC will be volunteering in the Safety Town Programs at Fairlawn West UCC the week of July 14 – 18 and First Grace UCC the week of July 21-25. We will be serving both morning and afternoon session so it will be a full day! Please pray for this important mission that will result in saved lives.

Adventures With God Camp Monday, August 4 – Wednesday August 6.

We leave at 1:30 pm from Pilgrim UCC and arrive back by 5 pm on Wednesday.

Come and join us in the great outdoor adventure as we explore God’s wonderful

creation! This camp is open to children and youth who have completed Kindergarten

through the 6th grade. There are limited opportunities for older youth to be camp

assistants. This is tent camping at Pastor Kirk Bruce’s family farm East of Caldwell of

Rt.77 South. Registration forms will be posted soon. Please see Marilyn Freeman for more

information.

Great News! The search committee has decided on a final candidate for our new minister. Council has reviewed the profile and given their approval to move forward with the

compensation package and offer. Bad News! I can’t give out any names yet; it’s still too soon. Our offer still needs to be reviewed with Western Reserve Association, not for approval,

but just to make sure we’re meeting the guidelines and standards they try to uphold. Our candidate needs to accept, and then we need to hold a congregational meeting so you can meet and listen to a sermon. After the sermon, the congregation will have a chance to review

a short profile and we’ll call for a vote. If the call is passed, THEN, the timeline would be within 3 months that our new minister would be with us.

The minister we are looking at is head minister at another church...so we must respect their Constitution and allow for up to 3 months for the exit period.

I’m proud of the search committee and especially Jessie Monegan for leading such a diverse group of individuals. There were heated debates, emotional discussions,

and personal growth for every one of us. I can honestly say that I’m a better person and Christian after working with them.

God bless, Will Hart My proverbial door is always open: willhartcpp@hotmail.com

Moderator's Moment

July birthdays 7/2 Linda Romans-Hnath

7/2 Melvin Pay

7/6 Helen Stanton

7/6 J.T. Mitchell

7/7 Emma Butera

7/8 Robert Duricko

7/9 Allen Scarbrough

7/9 Charlotte Grace Hamilton

7/9 Riley Clara Lindsey

7/10 Jan Sikora

7/10 Jan Weber

7/11 Ceec Bard

7/11 Joan Reed

7/11 Abbey Sobieraj

7/11 Jeanne Weber

7/13 Ruth Knopp

7/13 Sara Luther

Bell Choir Chimes Please accept my donation of $_____________ for the purchase of chimes for the Richfield United Church of Christ Bell Choir. I would like my donation recorded as: In honor of _____________________ In memory of ___________________ Donor’s name:___________________

Ushers for July 1st Sunday of the Month: Youth Group

Gary Obenauer

Tom & Sherri Barker Dick Johnson

July Lay Reader

First Sunday: Youth representative Herb Scibbe

Boards and Council Christian Ed Board, S&A Board, WPM and Council will meet July 14 at 7 pm.

Men’s Health Group & Book Club

The Men’s Health Group and the Book Club

are taking some time off this summer. Meetings will resume in September.

We are looking for a volunteer to work in the office on

Friday, July 18. Hours would be 9-1 and duties would be to

answer the phone, collect mail. If you can help, give the office a call.

Our Church Garden

Our church garden is off to a great

start with harvests of lettuce, radishes, swiss chard and basil.

Watch for our harvest throughout the summer on the garden table in

the Fellowship Hall on Sunday mornings. Your cash donations go

towards the sponsorship of Maria through Children International. If you have

extra produce from your gardens, feel free to add it to our garden table.

On the Fellowship Hall bulletin board we have posted a new picture of Maria,

who is now 11 years old, and a yearly update of her family life and

interests from Children International.

July Anniversaries

7/1 Jeff & Jeanne Weber

7/4 Newton & Sally Heston

7/9 Donald & Candi Venus

7/10 Jeff & Cindy Braun

7/12 Dave & Barb Hayes

7/20 Robert & Caroline Neillie

7/27 Claude & Summer Petek

7/15 Tegan Lynn Sobieraj

7/17 Paige Dabernig

7/17 George Magnus Sobieraj

7/17 Emily Christine Keppler

7/18 Janice Scibbe

7/20 Jeff Braun

7/20 Victoria Kastl

7/23 Daniel Hostetler

7/23 Betty Kylin

7/23 Claire Supelak

7/25 Megan Simmons

7/28 Robert Ertel

7/29 Barbara Rosene

7/29 Margaret Tallant

7/30 James Needham

7/31 Richard Bumblis

7/31 Peter Holan

*If we have forgotten your

birthday or anniversary, call

the church office and we will

update our files.

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Permit No. 4

Richfield United Church of Christ 4340 W. Streetsboro Rd. Richfield, Ohio 44286

July Activities July 4: Fourth of July, office closed

July 6: Communion and Commissioning of Youth

who are participating at the Regional Youth Event in Wisconsin

July 14: Church Boards meet at 7 pm. / Church Council meets at 8:15 pm

July 25: Summer Movie Night on the sanctuary big screen / 6:30 snacks / movie at 7 pm.

GATHERING OF THE CHURCH FAMILY

Richfield United Church

of Christ Phone: 330-659-3532

Fax: 330-659-2506

Richfielducc@windstream.net

Web page: richfielducc.com

EVERY SUNDAY 8:00 AM Early Worship Service

Sunday school will resume in September

10:15 AM Worship Service

11:15 AM Coffee Hour

WED

6:30 AM MEN’S GROUP

10:00 AM WOMEN’S GROUP

8:00 PM AA

EVERY WEEK

MON 7:30 PM AA

TUES BOY SCOUTS WILL RESUME IN SEPTEMBER

THURS BELL CHOIR PRACTICE WILL RESUME IN SEPTEMBER

SAT 8:30 PM AA