Today – One Great Hour of Sharing Offering Palm Sunday. Since 1949, millions of Christians have joined, through One Great Hour of Sharing, to share God’s love with people experiencing need. Our gifts support ministries of disaster response, refugee assistance and resettlement, and community development that help people find safe refuge, start new lives and work together to strengthen their families and communities.
Recognizing that the hope we have in Christ is lived out in our hope for one another, we respond with gifts that help our siblings around the world find the hope for a better future.
Union Church’s Palm Sunday worship service uses fair trade palms purchased from Eco-Palms. Eco-Palms is committed to the issues of justice and environmental stewardship. At least a quarter of farmers in the Central area of Guatemala earn additional income from harvesting fronds; and more than a quarter of households support themselves exclusively by collecting fronds. Eco-Palms protects income to forest communities and preserves trees which are needed for shade through sustainable harvest programs. Of the $4.5 million per year spent on palms, those purchased by Union Church are but a small number, but they confirm our commitment to justice in any way possible.
Sing Hallelujah! On Easter morning, (April 5), it’s a wonderful Union Church tradition for all those who’d like to, to come up to the choir loft and join in singing the Hallelujah Chorus to close our Easter celebration of the Resurrection.
Order Lilies for Easter! Order an Easter Lily to beautify the sanctuary for the Easter season! We’ll pick them up and keep them watered. You may dedicate your lily in honor or memory of loved ones. Please order by noon Wednesday, April 1, for inclusion in the Easter bulletin.
Open Table Community Meals Every Wednesday 5:30pm-6:30pm:“Open Table” is a “pay what you can” ($0-$$) meal open to anyone. The food is great, the company is better, the hungry are fed, and we pray the love Jesus will be shown!
April 1 Menu
· Spaghetti and meatballs
· Pasta Aioli (garlic, olive oil, herbs)
· Salad
· Bread and Butter
· Brownies Ala Mode
Blessing Box: Are you doing any shopping this week? Please consider buying for the Blessing Box. Easy-to-eat, single serving packages seem to be the most popular – tuna or chicken salad kits, granola bars, squeezable fruit — that kind of thing; although ALL contributions are welcome
12th Annual Victory Garden Blitz April 9-11, Berea Urban Farm Join us for the 12th annual Victory Garden Blitz! During the first 11 Blitzes, hundreds of volunteers built and distributed 1,771 raised garden beds throughout Berea and Madison County. Our goal this year is 120 more beds contributing to local food security and community health. You can help by:
· bagging soil,
· building beds
· delivering beds,
· assisting with paperwork
· making food for the volunteers.
· Purchase a bed!
All Invited! Summer Holmes, a mosaic artist from Ohio (and sister to Debbonnaire Kovacs) will be presenting a one-woman show of her work in the community room on Friday, April 10 from 5-10 pm and Saturday, April 11, from 2-7 pm. If you’d like to learn to do what she does, there will also be a Mosaic Class from 10-1:30 on the Saturday. $60 covers instruction and all materials, and participation is limited to 12, so register early by calling or texting 859-779-0793. Venmo, Zelle, or CashApp details are on the posters at the front and back doors or will be given when you call or text. Learn more about her work at holmesmadeart.etsy.com. 10% of all proceeds will be donated to Union Church.
Kentucky Bach Choir Steve Bolster, Co-Artistic Director of the Kentucky Bach Choir, invites you to the spring concert on Sunday, April 12 at 7:00 pm at the First Presbyterian Church, 174 North Mill St, Lexington. The program, Love, Our Salvation, juxtaposes music from Lent and Easter. It features the Bach motet Fürchte dich nicht, unaccompanied motets by di Lasso, Palestrina, and Brahms, anthems by Howells, Finzi, and Mealor, and several choruses from the Saint Matthew Passion accompanied by orchestra. The choir hopes that audience members will find comfort, inspiration, and courage from our program about God’s sacrificial love for humankind, and the love that we, in return, are asked to share with others (“What love demands!) Tickets are available at kentuckybachchoir.org.
During Rev. Kent’s Sabbatical, the congregation will be on a journey of our own. With the theme of “Breathe and Sing”, we will have many opportunities to explore both literal and metaphorical breathing and singing. A calendar of events will be forthcoming, but here’s info about the first two offerings. All activities will be FREE, but a registration link will be sent out to make sure that enough supplies are available.
Painting! WEDNESDAY APRIL 15th: 6:00, after Open Table. Alvera Perman will be leading us in a Paint and Sip (minus the wine).
Alexander Technique Workshop SATURDAY, APRIL 18th: 10:30 – 2:00. Dr. Stephen Bolster and Dr. Ann Rhodes will be teaching a workshop on the Alexander Technique at Union Church. The Alexander Technique is a practical means by which students in many disciplines can enhance performance and prevent tension. This method involves physical re-education of the balance of the head, neck, and spine that affects the whole body. Students of the technique experience more buoyancy and freedom of movement, deeper breath support, and increased function in speaking, singing and daily activities The class will explore exercises and applications to help us become more aware of habits and muscle tension that prevent them from performing at optimal level. Participants will work with these techniques while singing, speaking, and moving in class.
“Bucolics” Workshop SATURDAY, APRIL 25: 1:00 pm, at Union Church, open to all. The “Bucolics” Project with Brendan Taffe and Maurice Manning. The Bucolics Project encompasses ballads, hymns and fiddle tunes along with spoken word by Kentucky poet Maurice Manning from his 2007 collection, Bucolics. The poems in the book are a conversation between a field hand and a divine being known only as ‘Boss’, living on the knife edge between faith and doubt. Each song is based on an archival field recording from the Appalachian Sound Archives, housed at Berea College in Berea, Kentucky. This is a project about renewal and transformation, about drawing from traditional material to create something new but still rooted. Concert at 7 pm at Gray Auditorium.
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