This week's events and announcements at Beneficent Church! (Note: If you can't see the entire newsletter, click "View in Browser" at the top of the email.) Issue Date: June 3, 2021 Sunday Worship "Stormy River Bend," Tony Abeyta, 2018 You are invited to join us for our virtual Youth and Scholarship Sunday worship service at 10am! If you are unable to attend, we will post a recording of the service on our YouTube channel ​ afterward. This Sunday also includes a celebration of Holy Communion, so have ready your bread and grape juice. Download a PDF of the bulletin below. (It's also available on our website ​.) Click here to connect. Meeting ID: 594 289 087 Passcode: 1743 Call-in: 1-646-558-8656 ; when prompted for a Participant ID, press "#." When attending any of our services, review "Etiquette for Our Online Gatherings" below for important notes.​ Jun 6 2021 - ZOOM worship bulletin.pdf Download File Prayer Requests, Visitor Sign-In, Contact Staff A Milestone for Sean Amato This week, Beneficent member Sean Amato was received as a Member in Discernment by the Committee on Church and Ministry of the Rhode Island Association, UCC! Reaching this milestone is another step on Sean's path as he plans to start his online studies with Chicago Theological Seminary this fall. Congratulations, Sean! Queer Vespers Tonight Tonight at 7pm, join Rev. Gwen Howard for a weekly Queer Vespers service, an ecumenical worship service created by someone in the LGBTQ+ community for members of the LGBTQ+ community as well as allies and accomplices. The service usually runs for about half an hour and is followed by a social time. To join the service (or if you'd like more information, please contact: [email protected] . Wear Orange for Gun Violence Awareness Day – Tomorrow According to Gun Violence Archive (a nonprofit organization which tracks gun violence statistics nationwide), between April 13 and May 23 of this year , 2,232 people were killed in this country due to gun violence and another 600 were injured, One way you can help call attention to this second pandemic is to wear orange on the seventh annual National Gun Violence Awareness Day, Friday, June 4. This national observance honors the people killed or wounded by gun violence and the survivors of gun violence, and renews our commitment to ending gun violence in America by taking action. To learn more, visit the Wear Orange website The Changing Landscape of Religious Fundraising – Sunday Beneficent member David Cleaver-Bartholomew, who also serves as the Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations for the Southern New England Conference UCC, will deliver a presentation on the changing landscape of religious fundraising following worship this Sunday, June 6. There has been a huge shift in this area over the years – especially in terms of connecting money and mission – and all members of the congregation and community are invited to attend and learn more. (Members of the Generosity Team, Finance Committee and Investment Committee are especially encouraged to come.) This presentation also is a requirement for a certificate program David is pursuing, so please attend and support his efforts. Click here to connect. Meeting ID: 868 4786 9149 Passcode: 1743 Call-in: 1-646-558-8656 ; when prompted for a Participant ID, press "#." “Outdoor Fun” Photo Contest for June Throughout the month of June, the Agape Committee is sponsoring a photo contest entitled “Outdoor Fun” – the perfect way to remember your outdoor gatherings with church friends! Throughout the month of June, the Agape Committee is sponsoring a photo contest entitled “Outdoor Fun” – the perfect way to remember your outdoor gatherings with church friends! It’s easy to participate: just take a picture of you doing your favorite outdoor activity or hobby (gardening, going to the beach, making smores, hanging with your church friends), then email it to to Agape Committee chair Lynn Estrada ( [email protected] ). Be sure to include a short description so we can include it in our e-newsletter. (It might also appear on Facebook, so be sure everyone in the picture is okay with that.) The committee will choose the winning photos each week which will be published in the “Weekly Update.” The final winner will appear in the July 1 issue of “Weekly Update.” Staff and Holiday Schedules Director of Christian Education Jaquel Scott will be unavailable on Monday and Tuesday, June 7 and 8. Pastor Elizabeth will be unavailable on Friday, June 11. If you have an urgent pastoral concern, please contact Pastor Jermaine at [email protected] or (401) 679-6960. For most Fridays between Memorial Day (May 31) and Labor Day (September 6), Office and Communications Manager Michele Adamo will not be available. If you need something urgently, please contact her at [email protected] or (401) 537-8987 ​. Pride Sunday - June 13 Beneficent Church invites all to join us for a celebration of Pride Sunday next Sunday, June 13. At that worship service, our guest preacher will be Rachel Maddox, a non-binary playwright, storyteller, teaching artist, and critical educator who has been based out of Providence, Rhode Island for almost four years. A New Jersey native, Rachel received a bachelor’s degree in Theater with a Playwriting concentration, and an Elementary Education Teaching Credential from Connecticut College in New London, CT. Rachel’s work has brought them across the country and back, and up the northeastern coast before landing in Providence to begin work with the Rhode Island Black Storytellers (RIBS) as Funda Festival Managing Director. Rachel currently works as a storyteller, teaching artist, and technology manager for RIBS in addition to other teaching work for various artistic and academic programs. They continue to develop new work and workshop their existing play, Destructive Behaviors. Urban League of Rhode Island - Scholarship Application The Urban League of Rhode Island has an Educational Scholarship for High School graduates entering college. Eligible students must be: (1) Rhode Island residents (2) High school senior (3) Accepted into a college or university to pursue a Bachelor's or Associate degree. Students who are currently enrolled in an accredited institution may receive an award if extra funds become available. In addition, students who have been out of high school for a number of years and choose return to seek higher education will be considered as well. The application is available here ; you can find out more about the Urban League of Rhode Island on their website . The deadline to apply is June 15, 2021. Annual Program Meeting of Beneficent Church – June 20 The Annual Program Meeting of the Beneficent Congregational Church will take place via Zoom following worship on Sunday, June 20, 2021. At that meeting, the congregation will vote on a number of proposed changes to the church’s bylaws; please click here to download the details and review them in advance. A PDF of the Annual Program Report will be emailed to members no later than Sunday, June 6; hard copies will be sent to those without computer access. Note that, while all are encouraged to attend the meeting, only members of Beneficent Church will be allowed to vote. Rent/Utility Relief Available for Those Impacted by COVID-19 Rhode Island has received $200 million from the federal government to assist those whose housing has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications are open and you can apply to receive this assistance which can be used to help with rent and utility payments if you’re eligible. To qualify, your household income must meet certain requirements; and you must be qualified for unemployment benefits or experience reduced income/increased housing costs, or had financial hardship due to the pandemic; and you must show that you’re at risk of losing your housing. Both tenants and landlords will have to provide documentation. To learn more about the program and find out what information is needed, visit their website at https://www.rihousing.com/rentreliefri/ Safety During the Pandemic While the church is closed for all worship services, meetings, and events, a skeleton crew of staff and volunteers visit the church occasionally for brief periods to maintain the building, access records, and research specific financial matters - basically tasks needed to keep the business of the church moving. When it's necessary to visit the building, all visitors (including staff, volunteers, and visiting vendors) are required to wear face coverings at all times . And to assist in contact tracing (as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, Rhode Island Department of Health, and the National Institutes of Health), we have a sign-in log at the front door. Each visitor is required to sign in and sign out so we have an accurate record of who to contact in case of exposure to COVID-19. Those records will be kept until we have returned to the Meeting House. Need Something Posted? Have an event or gathering that you want us to post on our Facebook page ? While we try to make sure the big events are promoted on our page, we could use your help! If your group is hosting something that you'd like to have shared on our Facebook page, please email the details to [email protected] ​. Thank you! Reminders About Scheduling Meetings If you are the leader of a committee, group, or ministry team at Beneficent Church, please keep in mind these reminders when you are scheduling meetings and events: All gatherings are online only until we return for in-person worship (currently not expected until June 2021 at the earliest) All online gatherings must be scheduled by contacting Office and Communications Manager Michele Adamo at (401) 537-8987 or ( [email protected] , or by leaving a message at 401-331-9844). Michele will schedule your gathering using one of