notes from September 2, 2009

River Valley Covenant Cluster Meeting
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
St. Paul's UCC, Newport

The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. Present: Kay Young, Rudi Gruenke, Cherie Hambleton, Steve Hecky, Fred Hoeweler, Cynthia Priem, David Schwab, and Stuart Blersch.

Co-dean Kay Young began the meeting with a prayer.

Upcoming events:

• Mark Young's installation as pastor of Immanuel UCC, St. Bernard, Sunday, Sept 13 at 3 p.m.

• Cynthia Priem's ordination, Sunday, Sept 27, St. Paul UCC, Fort Thomas. Supper 5:30 p.m., ordination 7 p.m. Email Cynthia if you plan to attend: oep@juno.com

• Churchapolooza, a Day for Missions, Sunday, October 4, 4-7:30 p.m., at First UCC, College Hill. Featuring music groups from area congregations and a pulled pork dinner. $9 for adults.

• Crop Walk,Oct.11, beginning at 2 p.m. Meet at the Peace Bell, 4th and York in Newport. The walk will cross the Purple People Bridge and return to Kentucky via the Taylor-Southgate Bridge. Proceeds benefit the Free Store Foodbank. Email Linda Kemp-Baird for info on participating: lindakb@fuse.net

• RVCC Thanksgiving service, Sunday, November 22, at Philippus UCC in Over-the-Rhine. Potluck supper 5:30 p.m., service 7 p.m. Kay Young volunteered to lead the service, which will focus on giving thanks, rather than the history of the holiday. The event will be open to all. We will not have communion. Cherie will email event info to each of us, and we can then make our own flyers.

Good news from our congregations:

• Faith UCC: Kay Young led highly successful classes on two books, "The Great Emergence: How Christianity is Changing and Why" and "1959" by Fred Kaplan—both highly recommended.

• St Peter & St. Paul UCC: Jim Hill led a blessing of the animals service.

• Philippus UCC: The church hosted a neighborhood supper that included breast cancer screenings. They ran out of hamburgers. Cherie is leading a bible study group on Mondays from 11-2. The focus is the book of Acts.

• The Gathering UCC: Pastor Steve van Kuiken has accepted a call in Tucson. Ruth Brandon will meet with the congregation to inform them about the UCC search process.

• St. John's UCC: The church will participate in a joint confirmation program with Bellevue, Latonia, and Ft. Thomas (Christ UCC).

• Salem UCC: The church's Gabriel's Corner was a site for Fringe Festival plays; they are planning ADA accessible restrooms, and they sponsored an anti-violence art program.

• St. Paul UCC: The church is preparing for Cynthia's ordination, their first such service in the congregation's history.

• Pilgrim Chapel UCC: The church is growing, and they are installing an elevator.

• Christ Church UCC: David Schwab, Interim Pastor, will lead the congregation through this time of transition (2 years). The congregation is enthusiastic about its future possibilities.

Next meeting: Wednesday, October 7, Salem UCC, 1425 Sycamore St., Over-the-Rhine.

Respectfully submitted,
Stuart Blersch, sec'y

Notes from May 5, 2009

River Valley Covenant Cluster Meeting
Wednesday, May 5, 2009
Philippus UCC, Over-the-Rhine

The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. Present: Pam DeFusco, Cherie Hableton, Keith Haithcock, Steve Hecky, Cynthia Priem, Bala'zs Szücs, and Stuart Blersch.

Pam began the meeting with an excerpt from Jesus' Plan for a New World. Next we each reported on something good that has happened in our congregations.

Crop Walk: Keith reviewed tentative plans for the October 3 event. The steering committee will decide how to distribute the 25% of the take that will be earmarked for local needs.

Washington UCC Work Day: we discussed possible activities to augment or replace the traditional annual RVCC Doing Something Beautiful event. Suggestions included:

• having several Camp Washington street feeds during the year and/or

• focusing on a specific project, such as renovating a house in CW, that volunteers from the cluster could volunteer for and work on over an extended period of time.

Cherie told us about her faith journey, which began in Cayahoga Falls ("Coga Falls") Ohio, and has now brought her to Philippus Church. Her Husband Paul Burden is also an ordained minister.

The meeting adjourned at noon.

The next meeting will be Wednesday, July 1, at the Gathering UCC in Over-the-Rhine.

Respectfully submitted,
Stuart Blersch, sec'y

April 1 meeting notes

River Valley Covenant Cluster Meeting
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
St. John UCC, Bellevue

The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. Present: Keith Haithcock, Rudy Gruenke, Steve Hecky, Jim Hill, Linda Kemp-Baird, Cynthia Priem, Kay Young, Mark Young, and Stuart Blersch.

We began with a prayer from The Living Book of Daily Prayer, published by Pilgrim Press.

Crop Walk: Keith announced that this ecumenical event is scheduled for Saturday, October 3, as a benefit for Church World Service. 25% of the take will be used locally, and 75% globally. The approximately 3-mile route includes 3 bridges: Roebling, Purple People, and Taylor-Southgate.

We discussed the potential conflict with our annual fall workday at Washington UCC. One suggestion was to identify one specific project, such as renovating a house, with a set number of volunteers. We will discuss options with Pam at the May meeting.

Mark, Steve, and Linda agreed to work with Keith to plan the Crop Walk.

Keith announced that the Lenten get-togethers have been very successful and should be expanded next year.

The meeting adjourned at noon.

After the meeting we went to lunch with Mark Young, who is leaving our cluster to become pastor at Immanuel UCC in St. Bernard.

Next meeting: Wednesday, May , 2009, at Philippus UCC, in Over-the-Rhine. Our discussion topic: how do we conduct our Sunday services?

Respectfully submitted,
Stuart Blersch, sec'y

March 4 meeting notes

River Valley Covenant Cluster Meeting
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
St. Paul UCC, Fort Thomas

The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. Present: Andrew Birken, Pam DeFusco, Keith Haithcock, Rudy Gruenke, Gil fauber, Steve Hecky, Linda Kemp-Baird, Cynthia Priem, Henry Marksbury, Mark Young, and Stuart Blersch.

Andrew Birken is now the interim pastor at St. Paul UCC in Alexandria.

We welcomed our guest, Ruth Brandon, who led the meeting. We began by reading the parable of the sheep, as rewritten by a child in Harlem. We continued with the theme of outreach by role playing situations involving people who don't have religious backgrounds but who make contact with our church. We discussed ways of reaching these people.

Ruth handed out a rubric, "Contrasting Theological Paradigms," which compares the "establishment church" with the "mission church." The Center for Parish Development created the rubric.

Steve commented that the most difficult diversity issue is to be found within our own congregations: the status quo members vs. the more progressive members.

The meeting adjourned at noon.

Next meeting: Wednesday, April 1, 2009, at St. John UCC, Bellevue. Our discussion topic: how do we conduct our Sunday services?

After the meeting we will go to lunch with Mark Young, who is leaving our cluster to become pastor at Immanuel UCC in St. Bernard.

Respectfully submitted,
Stuart Blersch, sec'y

February minutes

River Valley Covenant Cluster Meeting
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Faith UCC, Anderson Township

The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. Present: Pam DeFusco, Keith Haithcock, Rudy Gruenke, Kay Young, Steve Hecky, Cynthia Priem, and Stuart Blersch.

We began the meeting with each member briefly answering this question: What are you doing here? Some of the responses: to open minds and hearts; to find a base community with a liberation theology; to be part of an inclusive congregation; to do God's work; to find and experience the joy of faith; to partner with other churches in an ecumenical spirit.

We agreed to continue meeting at 11:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the month. The yearly schedule is listed on the RVCC website.

Mark Young has left Christ UCC in Ft. Thomas and will be pastor at Immanuel UCC in St. Bernard.

We discussed church fundraising. In addition to a well-planned stewardship campaign, suggestions included challenging the congregation to tithe for one month; have a double tithe Sunday for one Sunday alone; having a dinner plus a movie or entertainment and charging admission; using the church's space to generate income; cutting down on heat bills by having committees meet on the same day of the week; and getting grants to fund programs such as a homework club.

Our discussion topic for April: how do we conduct our Sunday services?

Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 4, 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul UCC in Ft. Thomas. Ruth Brandon will attend.

Respectfully submitted,
Stuart Blersch, sec'y

January minutes

River Valley Covenant Cluster Meetineeg
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Immanuel UCC, Bromley, Kentucky

The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. Present: Pam DeFusco, Rudy Gruenke, Keith Haithcock, Bill Hamilton, Steve Heckey, Jim Hill, Jim Korpik, and Stuart Blersch.

We opened the meeting with Ann Weems' poem, "I Celebrate the Church of Jesus Christ," in honor of Jim Korpik's many years of service to the UCC. We stated our individual wishes for his future in retirement.

Pam expressed our concern at the loss of Steve Heckey's father.

Keith reported that the Crop Walk is slowly mobilizing.

St. John's in Newport, St. John in Bellevue, and St. Mark in Latonia are planning a combined confirmation class, meeting at 6 p.m. for 13 weeks beginning Wednesday, September 16, 2009, and ending January 6, 2010. The class will meet at St. John's in Newport. It is hoped that this confirmation class will form a core for a RVCC youth fellowship group.

Sherry Hamilton is the new pastor at Philippus UCC.

We decided to change our regular meeting time to 9:00-10:00 a.m. on the first Wednesday of the month.

We agreed on the following meeting locations for 2009:
• February: Faith UCC, Anderson Twp.
• March: St. Paul UCC, Ft. Thomas
• April: St. John UCC, Bellevue
• May: Philippus UCC, Over-the-Rhine
• June: The Gathering UCC, Over-the-Rhine
• July: no meeting
• August: Christ UCC, Ft. Thomas
• September: St. John's UCC, Newport
• October: Salem UCC, Over-the-Rhine
• November: St. Paul, Alexandria
• December: Washington UCC, Camp Washington

The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.

Next meeting: Wednesday, February 4, 9:00-10:00 a.m. at Faith UCC, in Anderson Township.

Respectfully submitted,
Stuart Blersch, sec'y

December minutes

River Valley Covenant Cluster Meeting
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Washington UCC, Camp Washington

The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. Present: Ben Darby, Pam DeFusco, Jim Hill, Steve Heckey, Jim Korpik, Cynthia Priem, and Stuart Blersch.

Washington UCC served a delicious Advent brunch, complete with hand-picked local blackberries.

Steve reported that Leonard Pitts would cost us $5,000, so we will need a plan B for an event to initiate a conversation on race.

The UCC Mission Priority Board has a smaller budget this year, but Washington UCC is still a major beneficiary.

We discussed whether our cluster should be more involved in the annual Churchapalooza, which is a Cluster 2 event.

Pam will attend the ACT meeting Saturday.

A Hungarian Reform pastor will be in residence at Washington UCC for 6 months.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, Jan. 7, at Immanuel UCC in Bromley, Ky. This will be Jim Korpik's last RVVC meeting as pastor of St. Paul UCC, Alexandria.

Respectfully submitted,
Stuart Blersch, sec'y

November minutes

River Valley Covenant Cluster Meeting
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
St. John UCC, Bellevue

The meeting began at 11:00 a.m. Present: Gil Fauber, Jim Hill, Rudy Gruenke, Keith Haithcock, Bill Hamilton, Steve Heckey, Jim Korpik, Cynthia Priem, Doug Slagle, Kay Young, and Stuart Blersch.

We welcomed Keith back from his sabbatical.

Upcoming denominational meetings: Bill Hamilton offered St. Paul UCC in Fort Thomas for the Dean's meeting in February. Jim Korpik will attend the ACT meeting December 6 at Immanuel UCC in St. Bernard.

Thanks: Pam sent her thanks to those who participated in the successful work day at Washington UCC.

More thanks: Stuart thanked Steve Heckey and St. Pauls' Newport for sponsoring the "Reinventing the Urban Church" workshop in October.

Sacred Conversation on Race: Steve is waiting to hear from Leonard Pitts for a cluster event in January or February. Kay said that she has a plan B. We discussed the possibility of planning an event at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center.

Crop Walk: The consensus was to participate in the fall 2008 event, but making sure it doesn't conflict with our Washington UCC work day.

Listen up! Keith encouraged us to get involved with UCC's "God is Still Speaking" programs.

Confirmation plans: Kay, Steve, and Keith will meet to plan activities for confirmation classes.

The meeting adjourned at noon.

Next meeting: Advent Brunch, Wednesday, December 4, 11:00 a.m. at Washington UCC, 2950 Sidney Ave. in Camp Washington.

Respectfully submitted,
Stuart Blersch, sec'y