Brecksville

Join us on Sunday, February 19th at 10 AM for our special Mardi Gras Sunday service. There will be an inspirational and uplifting message, live New Orleans jazz music, followed by a potluck lunch. This is an event that all of us at BUCC look forward to every year. If you haven’t attended a service with us before, we invite you to come and worship with us. All are welcome.

For people of faith, voting and sharing our ideas on public policy is a way of living out Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbor.  To that end, OCWM has started a monthly letter/postcard writing project.

The first of these is a non-partisan way to encourage others to vote.  If you are interested, this is something you can do one your own.  You can get started by going to the website VoteFWD.org where you will create an account and wait a day or two to be “approved.”   Then, you can “adopt” groups of 5 or 20 people to receive your letters.  Using names and addresses provided by VoteFWD.org, you’ll add handwritten messages to a printed letter, and personally encourage others to get out and vote. This is a proven method of boosting voter turnout up to 3.4%.  All letters are to be mailed on October 29.  If you have any questions, feel free to contact Ann Kelley (contact information can be found by going to the church website and logging into Breeze or by contacting the church office.)

After that, we’ll continue to meet on the second Tuesday of each month to write to our legislators on issues that matter to us.  Drawing on resources endorsed by the UCC, we’ll make our voices heard. 

The Stewardship Ministry invites you to take part in some much deserved Self-Care Sessions with Carol VanDuyne, long time member of BUCC. The sessions will include meditation, mindfulness, gentle movement, and breath work. They will take place on each of the four Wednesdays in October. Join Carol in the Parlor from 11am to noon. Please plan to wear a mask to keep everyone protected. The sessions are free and open to all.

The Cleveland Wind Trio will perform a free concert at Brecksville United Church of Christ on October 23 at 4:00. The ensemble members are recent graduates of the Cleveland Institute of Music. Repertoire on the program includes works by Mozart, Schubert, and Juon. A light reception will follow the concert.

STRAWBERRY SOCIAL – On June 12th, we’ll be celebrating summer in Pilgrim Hall
with our annual Strawberry Social. We’ll have Strawberry snacks and a “jam session”
where you can learn to make your own strawberry jam. The event will take place during
Fellowship Hour, right after the service. Come hungry!

Sadly, we stood and still stand with the the families in Uvalde, Texas. Our hearts are broken in the wake of this tragedy. Words fail us. We pray for this madness to end. We can all do more. Let us all be open to inspiration for positive action.

POSTCARDS IN PILGRIM HALL – On Wednesday, June 1st, we’ll be gathering in Pilgrim Hall from 6:30 – 8:30 pm to write postcards to Ohio legislators, urging them to vote “no” on House Bill 616. If you are not familiar with this bill, you can review the content and summary here: https://ohiohouse.gov/legislation/134/hb616
We will be providing the postcards, postage, and some pizza for dinner, along with sample copy that you can use to write your message. Our friends from Brecksville UMC will be joining us for this event, as well as other members of the community who are also opposed to the bill.
If you’d like to attend the event, please fill out the registration form so we can have an estimated count of who will be there. Please feel free to invite friends in the community who would like to join us in our efforts. All are welcome! Here’s a link to the registration form. https://buccoh.breezechms.com/form/pph0601
If you have any questions or would like to volunteer at the event, please contact Heidi Spangler or call the church office at 440-526-4364.

The Stewardship ministry is inviting children and adults of all ages and abilities, to help prepare for our Pentecost Sunday butterfly release by adopting a caterpillar (or two), so you can foster them into painted lady butterflies in your homes. On a couple Sundays in May, we will be handing out kits with caterpillars in individual cups along with small emergence containers and detailed instructions on how to help a caterpillar’s metamorphosis into a butterfly. Then you can bring them back to church on Sunday June 5, and help with our butterfly release. Don’t worry if you’ve never done this before, our kits are easy to use and we can provide any advice you will need. We hope you will participate in this interesting and inspirational activity. For more information, contact Carol Miller.

After a long closure of the nursery due to the COVID pandemic, Council has approved the reopening and staffing of the nursery. The nursery has been thoroughly cleaned and is ready to greet our little ones. Before the Staff Congregation Relations Ministry fills the Church Nursery Attendant position with a permanent employee, we would like to assess the need. We are looking for several adult volunteers who would be willing to staff the nursery one to two Sundays, over a two-month period. We would ask that the volunteer arrive 10-15 minutes before the service. If there are no children in the nursery after the Children’s Sermon concludes, the volunteer is free to leave the nursery. You may sign up using Breeze, or you may contact either Evie Novak of the SCR Ministry or the church office, if you are willing to help out.

Please don’t throw away your old Easter Lilies and spring plants in pots.

We will replant any viable bulbs around church and recycle the rest. We will take any plants.

Place them in the box in the entry way at Church.

Pick-up service also available.

Contact Peg Duffy with any questions.