Calendar
Sat September
19
9:45am - Council Meeting
Sunday September
20
Worship at 10:00 & 11:30
Rev. Jennifer Owen-O'Quill
preaches
1:00pm - Membership 101
Small Group Sign Up
Monday September
21
9:00am- 2U Employment Group
Tuesday September
22
6:00pm - Social Justice Council Meeting
Thurs September
24
5:30pm - Night Ministry Volunteering
Sunday September
27
Intergenerational Worship at 10:00 & 11:30
Monday September
28
9:00am - 2U Employment Group
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Church
Office Information & Staff
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Membership 101 - Orientation to Unitarian Universalism
When?
Sunday September 20,
1:00 -
2:30pm
Where? Fleishman Hall
(downstairs)
Who? Anyone who wants to know more about UUism,
Second Unitarian Church, or wants to meet some other good
people.
What? A conversation about UU ideas and sharing
our own questions and paths. Snacks and childcare are provided. Check out the Sources of Our Faith sermon series
to help you think about questions you might have. Sign up at the What's
Happening table at church or contact Membership Coordinator, Lisa Todd at secondunitarian@att.net.
Why?
Because you have some questions about church or faith or belonging to a
community in an intentional way. Join us! |
Unemployed or Underemployed?
Join the 2U Employment Group! Come for support, concrete
resources, and accountability. We meet every Monday morning in the Palmer Room
from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. Activities include goal setting, resume writing and mock
interviewing.
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Communication Deadlines
Sunday Order of Service Mondays by
noon. Please make sure that events are inclusive of all members. No
additional inserts will be included in the order of service without prior
approval of the church office. Send announcement requests to faithdev_2u@att.net. The Anvil - 2nd & 4th Mondays of the month.
Send newsletter submissions to faithdev_2u@att.net. Scheduling EventsAll space for church
activities must be scheduled in advance through the Membership Coordinator, Lisa
Todd, secondunitarian@att.net. The church is open for group
activities on Sundays 9am - 2pm or by appointment. |
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From the Minister
It is so good to be back among you! A 3 month sabbatical goes by very
fast, but its also a long time to be away. I missed you.
Ministry cycles (like life cycles) seen to move in seven year intervals,
and so, as I begin my eighth year with you I am looking forward to what lies
ahead for us in this new season of life and ministry. But I confess, I return
with more questions than answers.
I wonder how you are doing. What is going on in this stage of your life?
What are you wrestling with personally? professionally? spiritually? What are
the spiritual issues that are on you mind lately (or which ones are you dodging
for now)? How do you want to grow during this time in your life? What do you
want to discover? How would you like grow in your faith and in your spiritual
life? What do you think would help to sustain and encourage you right now?
What would challenge and equip you for the coming season of your own life?
And how can the church support us as we move through life together? How
can this community help us as we strive to grow? How can we encourage one
another to go deeper so that our lives might have more hope, more purpose and
more meaning?
I look forward to exploring your questions and mine, knowing they will be
different and trusting that we have a lot to learn together.
May God's peace be with you and may the Light of Love carry you as you move
through your days.
I'll see you in church!
Jennifer
P.S. Check out my preaching blog at PastorJen.com. Its a place to share
your questions and stories, ideas and reflections about upcoming sermon series
and a great way (I hope!) for us to shape our worship life together.
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 Small Group Ministry Sign Up
Small group ministry is meant to build relationships by sharing in meaningful
ways with one another. The groups include time for fellowship, sharing, quiet
meditation and discussion on a theme.
The initial Covenant groups discuss the values expressed
in our church covenant. How do we become more authentic, generous, honest,
loving, spiritually awake, justice seeking and community building people?
Covenant groups are open to anyone who can commit to the eight
weeks.
This year we will begin to offer another type of small groups for
people who have already been in a covenant group OR who are members of the
church. These "Going Deeper" groups will
spend four weeks discussing Unitarian Universalist theology followed by four
weeks on a topic of the facilitator's choosing.
Both the Covenant and the
Going Deeper groups will start the last week in September. At the end of the
eight weeks each group will decide if they would like to continue meeting, how
frequently and what focus they would like to have for their discussions.
Sign up this Sunday, September 20.
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 Social Justice Corner
"The religious community is essential, for alone our vision
is too narrow to see all that must be seen. Together, our vision widens and
strength is renewed." - Mark Morrison-Reed (Unitarian Universalist
Minister)
ACTION ALERT - Taking Action Today for Affordable Healthcare
Working for justice in our world is a principle way for Unitarian
Universalists to express our faith. Acting on our values is what we do
and who we are. So let's stand with those of us, like me, who are without
healthcare and work together to lift up justice and to bring change.
As you know, Lakeview Action
Coalition (LAC) is working hard to improve access to affordable
healthcare locally and at the county level and we need your
help.
LAC is a member of the Fair Care
Coalition. For over two years, we have fought for and helped write an ordinance
(the Healthcare Access Protection Initiative [HAPI]) that increases the amount
of financial assistance that local hospitals provide to low-income, uninsured
county residents. The ordinance also expands and standardizes the methods by
which hospitals communicate the availability of financial aid. It will be up
for a vote this fall.
The commissioners need to hear from
you!
Please follow this link to send an
e-mail to the County Board urging them to vote 'YES' for the HAPI
Ordinance.
http://citizenspeak.org/node/1731
This is an urgent issue!
The hospital associations are fighting back. It is imperative that the
commissioners see there is a broad base of community support for this
ordinance. Thank you.
EVENTS & MEETINGS in September and October 2009
Over the next few months there are some powerful and important
events & meetings that ALL ARE WELCOME to participate. Please mark your
calendars and save the date(s); also there are links to sites where you can
learn and receive more information. The following events and meetings are
driven by organizations and issues that 2U supports, or are sponsored by members
of 2U. So please come and support their work so that we together can walk
the path toward justice.
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9/16 7pm - "Sweet Home Chicago"
Campaign, If you are interested in hearing more about this campaign, the
campaign to gain more TIF funding for affordable housing, you are invited to
the Lakeview Action Coalition Affordable Housing Taskforce Meeting at Broadway
United Methodist Church - 3344 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL.
·
9/16, 7pm - 44th
Ward CAPS Meeting. Support Center on Halsted and Be a Night Ministry Youth Ally
At The Same Time. On the same
evening, at the same time, you can support youth and the Center on Halsted
(COH) by going to a CAPS meeting at COH. The Center on Halsted has been
receiving a lot of pressure from some residents and could use some community
support. At the Center on Halsted - 3656
N. Halsted, Chicago, IL.
·
9/18, 11am - Children
of the Incarcerated Vigil and Hearing If you work in downtown
Chicago, or can make it to the Loop, then here is a great way to spend your
lunch break. The Community Renewal Society/Civic Action will be holding a vigil
in support of children who has a parent in prison, followed by a hearing. At James R. Thompson Center (outside plaza) -
100 W. Randolph, Chicago, IL (For information
go to the Community Renewal Society website: www.communityrenewalsociety.org)
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9/30, TBA - "Come on
Everybody Let's Be HAPI" - A Community Forum If you believe that everyone should have
access to healthcare irrespective of a person's insurance status, then come to
this community forum and hear from our elected Cook County Commissioners whether
or not they support the Health Access Protection Initiative Ordinance (HAPI),
which proposes to provide financial assistance to the uninsured and
underinsured at all Hospitals in Cook County. At Grace Place - 637 S. Dearborn,
Chicago, IL (For information about the ordinance go to the Lakeview Action
Coalition website: www.lakeviewaction.org,
and click Health Care)
·
10/12, 6:30pm - Training on the
State of Illinois Operating Budget. Let's not be fooled again on the
budget. The Lakeview Action Coalition will be holding a training on the "ins"
and "outs" of the State of Illinois Operating, so we can Impact the this issue
in the near future. At the Ruth Shriman House - 4040 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago,
IL (just north of Irving Park). (Please see the flier on the "What's Happening"
Table.
·
10/22, 7 - 8:30pm - The Lakeview
Action Coalition Fall Fundraiser 2009 This annual fundraiser will be
honoring the following leaders in our community: State Representative Sara
Feigenholtz, The Parkway Apartments Tenants Association, and Heartland Housing.
Tickets are $75. At St. Clement's Church -2524 N. Orchard Street, Chicago, IL
Peace with justice.
Curtis
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Rosh Hashanah
Autumn is a special, spiritual time of the year
for people of the Jewish faith. Elul (a month of introspection, repentance, and
reconciliation) leads to Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur - the most important of all
Jewish Holidays. Together Rosh Hashana and Yom
Kippur are known as the Yamim Nora'im,
the "Days of Awe". In English they are often referred to as the "High Holy
Days".
Rosh Hashanah (ROSH
hah-SHAH-nah) literally means "head of the year" and is commonly referred
to as the "Jewish New Year". It is seen as the symbolic anniversary of the
creation of the world.
Rosh Hashanah is the "Day of Judgment" - the day
on which judgment on each person is pronounced and signed by God in the Book of
Life. (While judgment is pronounced on Rosh Hashanah, that judgment is not made
absolute/"sealed" until Yom Kippur.)
Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days
of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. In 2009 (Jewish Year 5770) Rosh Hashanah begins
at sundown on Friday September 18 and ends at nightfall on Sunday September 20.
Please note that some Reconstructionist and Reform Jewish communities only
observe the first day of Rosh Hashanah; others observe two days.
Rosh Hashanah is a day of rest and,
with some variations, the activities prohibited on Shabbat are also
prohibited on Rosh Hashanah.
It is a time of praying in synagogue
and for hearing the shofar (a ram's horn which is blown somewhat like a
trumpet). Rosh Hashanah is a time of family gatherings, of special meals with
challah and includes sweet tasting foods (such as a piece of apple
dipped in honey to symbolize the desire for a sweet year).
On the afternoon of the first day
observant Jews may follow the practice of tashlikh (which literally means "casting
off"). In this ritual prayers are recited near naturally flowing water and one's
sins are symbolically cast into that water. For many the custom includes tossing
bread or pebbles into the water to represent the "casting off" of sins.
Traditional
Greeting: "Shana Tova" - which is Hebrew and is usually
translated as "For a Good Year" - is the traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting.
From http://www.commontables.org |
CAUUC News
Unity Temple
Centennial Gala
A once-in-a-lifetime celebration of the 100th
anniversary of the dedication of Frank Lloyd Wright's modern masterpiece in Oak
Park. Internationally acclaimed composer
Peter Lieberson, under commission from the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation,
has written a luminous piece, "The Coming of Light," which will be performed by
the Chicago Chamber Musicians on Saturday,
September 26, at 7 pm in the luminous sanctuary of Unity Temple Unitarian
Universalist Congregation in Oak Park.
Come for a "Sunset reception" at 6 p.m.
The concert will be followed by dessert and a silent auction, a
fundraiser for the Unity Temple Restoration Foundation. More information at www.utconcerts.com.
The Treasures of
Uptown: A series of interfaith
gatherings
People's Church of
Chicago will hold a series of Sunday afternoon gatherings to explore how
interreligious cooperation among the world's diverse faith communities can
contribute to peace in the world and greater recognition of human rights. The first such gathering features the
Reverend Dirk Ficca, executive director of the Council for a Parliament of the
World's Religions, happening on Sunday,
October 11, 1-4 pm. Long-timers will
recognize the Parliament as having been founded by a group of Unitarians in the
1890's, led by Jenkin Lloyd Jones. Its
focus has remained on building a vibrant interreligious movement in Chicago and
around the world, and indeed such enthusiasm was generated by the 1993 World
Parliament in Chicago, led by the Rev. Ficca, that Parliaments have been
subsequently convened in Capetown in 19999, Barcelona in 2004, Monterrey in
2007, and Melbourne this December, 2009.
The series "Treasures of Uptown" - referring to the diverse people and
faiths of the urban neighborhood - will be held monthly on the Second Sunday,
1-4 pm at the People's Church of Chicago.
www.peopleschurchchicago.org
Social Justice
Leaders Gathering
The UUs for Social Justice invites leaders of social justice
programs in UU congregations to meet for a day of sharing resources and ideas
on Saturday, October 17, 10am-2:30pm, at
the Hinsdale Unitarian Church www.hinsdaleunitarian.org. A light lunch will be served for a free-will
donation. For more information and
registration, email uusj@sbcglobal.net.
The Rev. Qiyamah
Rahman at CAUUC gathering
The Reverend Qiyamal Rahman, Director of Contextual Ministry
at Meadville-Lombard Theological School will speak on "Multiracial
Congregations: Can we get there from
here?" at the annual meeting of the Chicago Area UU Council, Saturday, November 7, 9am-3pm at the North
Shore Unitarian Church in Deerfield www.nsuc.org. The day will include an afternoon of
roundtable discussions sharing perspectives and developing "next steps" toward
multiracial congregations. Register at www.uuchicago.org.
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