TheOutlookMay 2014

In the early months of 2009 no one at formerEpworth-Euclid or First Church had in mindand heart what has happened since thecreation of University Circle United MethodistChurch. Since January of 2010, the Spirit ofGod has been moving over and through all ofus as we have taken the steps to become thisgrowing, inclusive, diverse family of faith inthe city of Cleveland.

God has led us in this effort. God is stillleading. Even in terms of geography, lookwhere God has led—and is leading—us!

We are now a gathering community offaith right “smack-dab” in the middle of someof the most dynamic growth initiatives in thiscity. Is it not amazingly wonderful that we arefinding ourselves at the strategic center ofcommunity expansion, renewal anddevelopment?!

Over the years as many congregations haveleft the city, our strategic decision to jointogether in a new urban initiative has beenthought by some as untenable and unwise.

God, however, has had a greater idea. Lookwhat is happening all around us.

The currently-underway Upper Chesterproject means housing for families, studentsand professional people coming to workamidst the “eds, meds and arts” institutions inUniversity Circle. This Upper Chester projectis only two and one half blocks west of us.

One-and-one-half blocks to our northwest,Case Western Reserve University isdeveloping its west campus extension. Theformer temple of the great Rabbi Abba Silverwill be refurbished and enhanced with astriking addition, serving as the university’sperforming arts center. Again, just over a cityblock from our front door.

Next summer, ground will be broken for a28-story apartment complex on the corner ofEuclid and East 107 Street; just one block

chalktalk

BY DR. KENNETH W. CHALKER

TheOutlookwhere all are welcome all the time

University Circle United Methodist Church

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On April 24, the Finance Committeeand Board of Trustees met together todetermine if the chancel renovationplanned over two years ago would goforward this summer. In acongregational meeting held nearly ayear ago, the Trustees were given theauthority to determine the timing of therenovation project.

Trustees Tom Yanks and MichaelBier presented a financial analysis ofthe impact the chancel renovation andnecessary roof and masonry repairswould have on our endowment andfinancial operations over the next severalyears. They presented three scenarios thatconsidered the income potential from the E.30th property, current operating deficits,capital expenditures for repairs required overthe next 3–5 years and the chancel renovation.These scenarios were based upon no changes

Trustees, Finance Voteto Begin Chancel Renewal

‘First Sunday’ PotluckFollowing worship May 4

Great HallBring a food dish to share.

As part of our May 4 worship service, wewelcome five new members to our churchfamily: Patricia Bennett, Tierra English,Margertha McLean and Jeanie and DennisVargo—a small but energetic group!

Following worship is the First-SundayPotluck—a perfect opportunity to introduceyourself to these newest members, who wouldappreciate putting a name to a face.

Just a reminder: if you receive this issue intime, please RSVP to the church office if youDO plan to attend the potluck (for planningreasons). And, bring something along to share.

Thanks very much for your help inrecognizing and affirming our newestmembers.

~Judy Sockman, Coordinator of Membership and Volunteers

in membership or our current levels offinancial giving.

In the first two scenarios (#1 with a one-year lease and #2 with a sale in 2015) ourendowment would be depleted by 2016 and2017, respectively. A third scenario showed

2 University Circle United Methodist Church May 2014

May 11, 2014May’s SSL happens to fall on Mother’s Day,offering a wonderful opportunity to inviteall the mothers…in fact, everyone…in yourfamily to take part in this fun gathering.Bring your friends and neighbors along,too. ALL ARE WELCOME!

We had such a great time last Novemberat the Barrister’s Deli, we’ve decided to gothere again. Nick, Barrister’s owner, willagain open on Sunday JUST FORUS!

Since 1964, Barrister’shomemade-quality food has been aCleveland tradition. Generousportions of premium deli meatsand cheeses fill their sandwiches, whilehand-pressed half-pound burgers are awell-known daily feature. Homemadefresh-cut fries, potato salad, coleslaw, pastasalad and soups are just a few of the manyenjoyable menu choices.

Prices: Salads—$8–8.50; Sandwiches,Wraps, and Platters—$5.24–$10.50. Also,half sandwiches are available from $3.50–$5.25.

Directions from UCUMC can be found inthe Sunday bulletin. RSVP to Betz Richards@ 440-235-9343, or email:chefbetz1@aol.com by Tuesday, May 6.

SUNDAY SECOND LUNCH(SSL)

Join us Sunday, May 11,when our church’s youthconduct a verymemorable worshipservice they themselveshave planned. Thetheme of the day, JOY,will be incorporated intoall of the liturgy and music of themorning. Also included in the service is thecelebration of Confirmation. The Confirmandswill be reading their Statements of Faith,which are always meaningful moments in thelife of our faith family.

Support our Youth and Confirmands byjoining us for worship on May 11; a “sweet”reception follows.

You’ve seen his reviews of the ClevelandOrchestra in The Plain Dealer. Now, comehear Zach Lewis, PD music critic and amember of our congregation, speak aboutMozart’s Requiem, Sunday, May 4 at 9:30amin the Yoder Room.

The story of the Requiem Mass in D Minorhas all the intrigue of a modern-day thriller.Commissioned anonymously by an eccentriccount who hoped to pass off the piece as hisown, it was unfinished upon Mozart’s death in1791 but was mysteriously completed. Zachsheds light on the Requiem‘s completion andon the behind-the-scenes operations of theCleveland Orchestra.

Following worship and lunch at the First-Sunday Potluck in the Great Hall, whether you

Youth Sunday,ConfirmationPromise toTouch Hearts

Zach Lewis Explores Mozart’s Requiem

To EverythingThere Is a Season

Our Ruach services have been a deep and peaceful way to breathe in “The Source”every week through music, sacred literature and silence. And the Narthex hasprovided an extraordinary space for meditation and reflection. But, the day afterEaster we collectively breathed our last “regularly scheduled” practice with thefollowing reflection, which I hope brings you peace:

~Blessing in the Chaos~To all that is chaotic in you, let there come silence.Let there be a calming of the clamoring, a stillingof the voices that have laid their claim on you,that have made their home in you, that go with youeven to the holy places but will not let you rest,will not let you hear your life with wholenessor feel the grace that has fashioned you.

Let what distracts you cease. Let what divides you cease. Let there come an end to what diminishes and demeans,and let depart all that keeps you in its cage. Let there be an opening into the quiet that liesbeneath the chaos, where you find the peaceyou did not think possible, and see what shimmersbeneath the storm.

Jan Richardson

Thank you so much to UCUMC for allowing resources for Ruach to be available.All who attended these gatherings…and I…benefited in ways that cannot beadequately expressed. There is little language for what happens to one in the spaceof meditation.

We plan to bring Ruach back, now and then, so stay apprised, plan to be a part ofour next services and, until then, go in peace.

~Juliette Regnier, Coordinator

have previously purchased tickets or wish topurchase them at the door, make your way toSeverance Hall for the Cleveland Orchestra’s3:00 performance of—you guessed it—Mozart’s Requiem.

May 2014 University Circle United Methodist Church 3

This month’s Grace Notesis dedicated solely to ourAssistant Director ofMusic/Organist, JoannaLi. As you probably know,Jo will be leaving UCUMCat the end of June to go onto great things in NorthCarolina with her partner,Andrea (whom you’veprobably met in church).Jo auditioned for theorganist position at FirstChurch just weeks after Iaccepted the Director ofMusic position. After shestarted playing, one of themembers on the searchcommittee leaned over andsaid, “She’s really good, right?” And I nodded my head with a bigsmile and said, “Oh yeah. She’s reeaally good.”

Jo has been just a blessing to this congregation and to all of us inthe Music and Arts program. She has a warm spirit, is technicallyexemplary and is a superb musician. She will be greatly missed, butwe all know that someone up there has further great things in storeahead for Ms. Joanna Li, and we wish her nothing but the best.

In next month’s Grace Notes, I’ll share with you our Music andArts plans as we move into the summer and fall. But now we focus onenjoying the music-making of Joanna while she’s among us atUCUMC. I’m sure she would appreciate all your words of support,love and appreciation in the weeks ahead.

From everyone at UCUMC, Jo, we can’t begin to thank you forsharing your gift of music with us. Best of luck and God’s blessing inyour new venture!

~Nathan Motta, Director of Music and Arts

GRACENOTES

Continued from page 1south of us.

And, if all of this were not amazingenough, beginning later this spring, theOpportunity Corridor Project embarks on thecreation of a grand boulevard that will offernearly effortless access to University Circle.Amazing.

Clearly, where once some thought ourchurch might become something of a “holy-oil-can” museum, illustrating a notable pastwith an unclear future, it is now apparentthat God has other plans.

All this is absolutely astounding. God hasmade us brand new. God has put us right inthe middle of a great community that, bothfiguratively and literally, is becoming brandnew. In this time and place, God is using us tobe a living example of how stones are rolled

away and life bursts forth in remarkableways.

God has placed us at the very center ofnew life. Indeed, as Easter people, we knowabout this promise of new life! God has calledus for just such a time as this. Let us choose,then, a future that joins with others tobreathe this new life into our changing

community. Let us choose, then, to make alasting difference in the lives of those whomwe nurture with our love and care. And let uschoose to enable the Spirit of God to continuemoving over and through us as we worktogether to grow this vibrant, inclusive,diverse family of faith in this resurrected city.

It IS, after all, our mission.

Chalk Talk

See you in Church!

Our Liturgical Dancers lifted Easter morning spirits during our Resurrectionservice.

9:00—Uppity Women class, Parlor

9:30—Bible 101 class, Yoder Room

10:45—Children and Youth groups meet

11:00—Worship in the Sanctuary

Visit online at www.churchinthecircle.com

Dr. Kenneth W. Chalker, Senior Pastor1919 E. 107th St., Cleveland, OH 44106

www.churchinthecircle.com216.421.1200

Outlook Editor: Jim Hogg—hoggwriter@gmail.comPhotographers: Jeff Day, David Hughes, Brian MischEditorial Staff: K. Shamp, E. Prince, C. Day, M. Abele

UNIVERSITY CIRCLEOUTLOOK

Joanna Li at the organ

A brass quintet accompanies the Chancel Choir in preparation for our Easterservice.

4 University Circle United Methodist Church May 2014

People in churches tend to talk a lot about “God’s timing.” Often it’s anattempt to explain why things don’t seem to be happening in the timeframe we would prefer. Our church family has had some real firsthandexperience with God’s timing surrounding our chancel project.

It has been almost a year since we first had hopes of selling the E.30th St. property and beginning this new construction venturetogether. Things did not go quite as planned, so we began to pray. Fornearly fifty weeks we have prayed together, seeking guidance from theAlmighty. And now, it seems, our time and God’s time have “aligned.”The chancel project will begin this summer.

But don’t stop praying! We are becoming more proficient every dayat seeking God in big things and small, in our personal lives and ourcorporate life together. The yellow prayer guide will continue in thebulletin every Sunday. If you miss it, it’s also posted Monday to ourFacebook page, or you can go to my blog,barefootpastorette.blogspot.com and find it there, along with previousweeks’ guides.

Prayer changes things, and the first thing a life of prayer changes isthe one offering the prayers. Thanks, as always, for loving one anotherin this way.

~Heidi Denman, MDiv, Minister of Pastoral Care

Neighborhood Lunch For over 15 years on the last Sunday of each month, our NeighborhoodLunch program here at UCUMC has created and served a balancedmeal for needy neighborhood residents, with church volunteerssupplying and preparing all the food.

This year, a new element of Neighborhood Lunch features anopportunity for volunteers to participate as hosts, assisting the servingteam by dining with the guests, making sure their beverages are refilledand generally bringing a more personal approach to this long-runningprogram.

Talk with Jennifer Bier to find out more about this hostingopportunity as well as other ways you can become involved in theNeighborhood Lunch program.

ABOVE: Community Speaks presenter and Cuyahoga County Executivecandidate Armond Budish and his wife, Amy, with Dr. Chalker andMENS group chairs Ed Dickson and Dave Hundertmark.

BELOW: Betty Spencer (ctr) of the Summit County CollaborativeAgainst Human Trafficking and UMW-sponsored speaker March 23,with UMW President Ester Crawl-Bey and Dr. Chalker.

Outlook Proofreader Steps AsideEach issue of The Outlook newsletter has its own“challenges” that often end up needing another setof knowledgeable eyes to catch things that needcorrected. One of the loyal crew that has taken onthis task for many years is Kathleen Shamp,longtime member of this congregation andstalwart supporter of this church’s mission to bethe voice of Christianity in our University Circlecommunity.

Kathleen has chosen to step back from her roleas a safeguard when we read through the words proposed for eachOutlook issue. Her “catches” helped save any number of contributorsfrom being misunderstood. And her dry humor has kept each reviewsession lively. All of us involved in this newsletter venture will miss herskilled assistance with our focus to make this source of communicationthe best it can be.

Thank you, Kathleen, for your valued gifts of time and talent. Theyhave left their mark on the life of this church.

~Jim Hogg, Editor

Rabbi Susan Stone joined Dr. Chalker in an intriguing Lenten series,“Jesus Was A Jew.”

May 2014 ALL ARE WELCOME ALL THE TIME 5

that, if the chancel renovation was notundertaken, the endowment would bedepleted in 2018 and 2019, respectively.

After intense but respectful discussion, avote was taken (11 votes in favor, 6 opposed,3 abstentions), and it was decided thatUCUMC will move forward this summer withits vision for a renewed chancel.

It is anticipated that, by mid-May, the

Cleveland Metropolitan School District(CMSD) will sign a contract with our churchto lease our East 30th property beginningthis summer. This profitable agreement alsocontains an option for CMSD to buy thebuilding in 2015, which discussions provehighly likely. Our former First Churchbuilding will once again be used by childrenenrolled in CMSD’s highly successfulCampus International School—the tenant

who leased our property for three yearsbefore needing more space for their growingprogram. The school is expanding beyond itscurrent location, and CMSD begannegotiating with UCUMC late last year toreturn a portion of their grade levels to ourchurch.

A congregational meeting will followworship on Sunday, May 4, to further discussthis decision.

Trustees, Finance Vote to Begin Chancel RenewalContinued from page 1

Families and dancers enter the Palm Sunday service withpalm leaves waving. Lee Ann and Steve Campisi (left) pausewith their children, Gianna and Michael, and LiturgicalDancers Christian Sims and Edna Duffy.

‘BLESSED IS H EWHO COMES’

‘BLESSED IS H EWHO COMES’

University Circle United Methodist Church1919 E. 107th St.,Cleveland, OH 44106

M AY4 New Member Sunday

Guest Speaker—Zach Lewis, 9:30–10:30am, Yoder Room Youth rehearsal, 10am, Youth Room Potluck, 12:30pm, Great Hall Orchestra Concert for those withreservations, 3pm

11 Mothers’ Day; Confirmation and YouthSunday SSL for those with reservations,Barristers’ Deli, 1pm

14 Trustees, 6pm, Reception Room 20 Finance, 6pm, Reception Room 25 Neighborhood Lunch, 1pm, Great Hall 26 Memorial Day—church office closed

6 University Circle United Methodist Church May 2014

What’s HappeningFind additional information about these coming events and others at

www.churchinthecircle.com

Chancel Choir, Wednesday, 7:15pmChancel Ringers (hand bells), Wednesday,

6pm, Dr. Chalker’s Bible 101 class, Sunday, 9:30am Finance, 3rd Tuesdays, Reception Room, 6pmFullCircle Combo, Sunday morningsGarden Club, 3rd Wednesdays, Yoder Room,

7pm

Gospel Choir, Thursday, 7pm; Sunday 9:30am Liturgical Dance, Sunday, 9:30am, 12:30pm Lunch Bunch, noon, last Tuesday of monthMENS Saturday Lunch, quarterlyMENS Speaker Forum, quarterlyNeighborhood Basketball, Monday and

Thursday eveningsNeighborhood Lunch, last Sunday of month

(assist)Neighborhood Volleyball, Wednesday

eveningsSecond-Sunday Lunches (SSL) after worship,

monthlyTrustees, 2nd Wednesdays, Reception Room,

6pmUppity Women class, Sunday, 9am

Participate in and/or assist with these Events & Opportunities:

Additional Parking on MLK BlvdThanks to University Circle Inc. (UCI), of which UCUMC is a member, and thecity, parking is now permitted Sundaymornings on both sides of Martin LutherKing Jr. Blvd.