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The Global and the Local
Events all over the world in the past months have been startling, inspiring, frightening, and unimaginable all in turns. From the murder of a Queer activist in Uganda, through peaceful protests and civil wars, to disaster in Japan, there is too much of magnitude happening to be ignored. At the same time, there is much to attend to here at home as well, and it is also of real importance: from our neighborhood social justice commitments, like the Fitts Fund recipents and the Night Ministry, to considering the future of Second Unitarian and our upcoming search process.
In this issue of the Anvil, you'll see more information about both our local and global involvements. Please take the time to read through everything - there is information here about a Town Hall meeting on April 17thregarding a Ministerial Search for 2U as well as information about the rest of the world.
Faithfully, and with prayers for a peaceful time ahead,
the Rev. Adam Robersmith
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From the Board of Trustees
 Town Hall Meeting on the Ministerial Search Process: April 17 after service in the Sanctuary
Please save the date to attend a Congregational Town Hall Meeting to discuss the Ministerial Search Process on Sunday, April 17th at 11:30am. The Board of Trustees has invited our Ministerial Settlement Representative, Axel Gehrmann, to lead this discussion with the congregation. Axel will describe the recommended search process and the qualities of an effective search committee. Axel will also answer your questions. As you know, we will be electing a Ministerial Search Committee at our Annual Meeting on May 15th. This discussion with Axel on April 17th will give us an expert's opinion on what we all need to do and know in order to conduct the best possible ministerial search process. If you are interested in being on the Search Committee, want to learn how other congregations approach the search process, or have other search-related questions, all of these topics will be discussed. Everyone is invited, so please plan to attend. With gratitude, |
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How to Make Your Contribution Count
We are all concerned about our brothers and sisters in Japan; anxious to help. But, as some of us have learned the hard way, spontaneous giving can sometimes be less effective than we would wish. Here are some tips from Charity Navigator, an online tool for intelligent giving.
- Give to an established charity with a verifiable record of success in providing disaster relief.
- Designate your investment: Specify that you want your donation to be used exclusively to respond to this particular crisis. Consider exactly what you want your support to do. Some charities provide medical assistance, others shelter and food. Others focus on rebuilding efforts.
- Send money, not supplies. Established charities can partner with suppliers to acquire appropriate amounts of needed materials. No cash on hand? You may wish to organize a large garage sale, turning your used items into cash that can be donated. (And, of course, we mean check or money order, not cash.)
- Stick with the tried and true charities. A good place to start looking for the most efficient charities is the online Charity Navigator. Avoid telemarketers, unsolicited emails with attachments and emails from people claiming to be victims. Ask members of our community. Nikki Smith, chairman of the board of Heiwa Terrace and a member of the Japanese American Service Committee (JASC), suggests donating to the JASC.
- The Unitarian Universalist Association has also posted a link for a Japan Relief Fund.
For more information, please contact 2U Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) Local Co-Reps Molly Rossow and Paul Konkoly.
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Unitarian Universalism in Africa
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Young Adult Ministry
Don't let the name scare you, we don't sit around and read aloud from Twilight in the young adult section of the library. The 2U Young Adults are actually a ragtag collection of people aged 18-35 who attend Second Unitarian Church. Our goal is to create meaningful connections and explore opportunities to serve both in the church and in the community around us. It's an ever-changing bunch, so there are lots of opportunities to meet new folks.
It's a pretty simple deal: as a group, we decide what we are most interested in and plan a few things to do together. There are usually a few activities a month to get involved in. Movie nights, craft nights, and game nights are great opportunities for fellowship and fun times. Circle worships offer discussion in a small-group setting, focusing on a different spiritual topic each time. There are also potlucks, yoga practices, coffee hours, social justice service projects, and much more. If you can think of it, bring it. New ideas and projects are always welcome, be it spiritual, service, or social. Like most things, you get out of it what you put in to it.
If you are looking for a place to connect, the 2U Young Adults are here for you. So, come hang out with us! For more information, contact our fearless leader Arcenia Harmon at oya7@yahoo.com.
Or check us out online on our Facebook page or Yahoo Group.
As warm weather approaches, we're all looking for ways to get out of the house. If you're age 18-35, please join our Young Adult Ministry as we plot and plan our Spring activities. If you have ideas of just want to get in on the ground floor of our social and religious calendar join us in the Youth Room (downstairs) at 12pm on Sunday March 27th. Refreshments will be provided. For more information contact Arcenia Harmon at oya7@yahoo.com. |
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Orientation to 2nd Unitarian Church
 Second Unitarian Church would like to invite any and all visitors to the orientation we will be holding on Sunday April 3, 11:45 - 1:45. This orientation will be facilitated by members of the 2U Membership Committee and will be an opportunity to share information about the rich history of UUism, the shared values of UUists, 2U's own role in the larger UU movement, and what membership at 2U can look like. Attending an orientation is one prerequisite for formalizing membership at 2U. So, whether you are a regular visitor who is ready to commit to membership, or you are a casual visitor who just wants to learn more about Unitarian Universalism, please join us! Snacks will be provided and childcare will be available upon request. To register, please sign-up at the What's Happening table at church (the big table in the middle of the Palmer Room) or contact Membership Committee Chair John Broome, broomejv@att.net. We look forward to seeing you there! |
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Community Night - Wednesday April 6
 We will be enjoying pizza ($5 per person) and fellowship beginning at 5:30, followed by Vespers at 6:30.
RSVP to Gabrielle programs@secondunitarian.org
We hope to see you there!
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Green Sanctuary News
CALLING ALL GARDENERS, ARTISTS & BUILDERS
Bring your ideas , suggestions and sketches to help plan a sustainable, native habitat for the 2U backyard. Join the Green Sanctuary in creating a space that will encourage native wildlife species, while making an inviting setting for 2U members and friends to interact with nature and each other, orfor simply contemplating in a peaceful spot. How can you help? Assess backyard soil conditions and needs. Use your artistic gardening eye and/or your green thumb to help design a layout that will accommodate native plants and people. Building skills will help with benches, arbors, trellis'. We'll spend the first day discussing ideas and move forward from there. Email Libby at threebmetaldesign@yahoo.com to let me know you're interested. Put 2U Garden in subject line.Meet March 20th after service in the Palmer Room. Want to learn more about sustainable yards? The Chicago Center for Green Technology (located at 445 N. Sacramento Blvd.) hosts a number of free classes aimed at green technology in Chicago. You can register by calling (312) 746-9642. Here are some upcoming classes geared towards green gardening: 3/12 Getting the Ideal Lawn, Naturally! 3/31 Constructing Rain Gardens and Bioswales 4/16 Sustainable Yard Workshop Click here for a complete listing of classes and look under Green Tech U. CHICAGO RIVER DAY SATURDAY, MAY 14, 9:00AM-12:00PM Sign up now and join 2U members as we team up with Friends of the Chicago River and 4,000 volunteers for a day of hands-on environmental work along the Chicago River. Volunteers include ordinary citizens and policy-makers alike who range in age from pre-schoolers to seniors, represent a wide variety of ethnic and economic backgrounds, and reside throughout the 673-square mile Chicago River watershed. Volunteers work side-by-side to collect garbage and sort for recycling, remove invasive vegetation, spruce up river-edge trails, plant native seedlings and more. Friends of the Chicago River is also expanding hands-on learning opportunities this year by introducing volunteers to simple everyday practices that conserve water, help stop unnecessary flooding, and prevent pollutants from running into the river. |
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Introduction to UU Spiritual Practices
April 6, 13, 27; May 4, 11, 18, 7-8:30pm
What is a spiritual practice? Spiritual practice is a habitual and deliberate action that satisfies and enriches the practitioner by deepening the appreciation for life. It connects the practitioner with his/her inner self and outer community. It requires experimentation to match the individual to the right practice.
This course teaches the basics of common Unitarian Universalist spiritual practices: spiritual journaling, prayer, meditation, communing with nature, service, and worship. It is experiential in nature. Each session will introduce one spiritual practice. The group will practice it together. Participants will then practice it for 15-30 minutes each day until the next session. The follow-up meeting will review participants' experiences with the practice. This process of experimentation will help participants find a spiritual practice that works for them. Hopefully, they will then continue with that practice.
This course is in faith development. It seeks to evoke participant's spirits, inspire them, challenge them, and guide them to make informed choices about new ways of being and acting in the world. It is not a course in religious education that provides cognitive teaching about spirituality in the abstract or objective sense. Consequently, the structure of this course follows Thomas E. Groome's five movements of "Shared Praxis": participants name where they are act, the reflect on their actions, they learn about the faith tradition and its action, they compare their action to the faith tradition, and they chose a faith response. Briefly, the five steps are act, reflect, learn, compare, and engage. Each session follows this sequence. The exercises of the course rely on hands-on active learning techniques. The participants learn by doing.
The course was developed by Rev. Rudra Dundzila, August Staas, and others.
The meeting dates are April 6, 13, 27; May 4, 11, 18, 7-8:30 (immediately after Vespers & Community Nights)
Suggested reading for participants: Scott W. Alexander. Everyday Spiritual Practice: Simples Pathways for Enriching Your Life. Boston: Skinner, 1999. Available from the UUA Bookstore.
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Spring Ahead for Social Change
This year, instead of doing an in-person fundraising event, the Community Renewal Society (CRS) is planning a special online event called "Spring Ahead for Social Change." This virtual fundraiser will consist of a month long online auction (Feb 20th to March 20th), releases of web videos from staff and volunteers, and a web address from our Executive Director at the culmination of the online auction on March 20, 2011. Not only will there be great deals on items most everyone can use, but 100% of the ticket sales and/or auction purchases will support Community Renewal Society's programs. Community Renewal Society is very excited to try something new and we hope you'll take a look at our online auction. The silent auction offers things like cooking/dance classes, a kindle gift pack, artwork by nationally recognized artists, and dinner at premier Chicago area restaurants. Please check out the website and register to bid. If you have any questions or would like some help be sure to email us at events@communityrenewalsociety.org or call 312-427-4830 x 2000.
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Help Wanted!!
2U members Kathy Koch and Pat Zukosky are getting married June 11th, 2011at 2U!
We are looking to hire 4-5 people to help run the event. This would include set up, clean up, serving and bar tending. The hourly rate would be $12. Interested? Please call Kathy at 847-567-6811 or e-mail at Kathylkoch@aol.com. If you know of a good DJ or photographer please drop us a line as well.
Thanks!
Kathy and Pat
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We're On The Air!
A new hour-long radio program, "Food for the Soul," now airs at 6 p.m. Sunday evenings on Chicago's Progressive Talk Radio -- 820AM, 92.7FM(North), 92.5FM(West), 99.9FM(South).It features the worship services of area Unitarian Universalist congregations, with special music, testimonials, and short essays elaborating the vision and values of UU's. Congregations participating in the first broadcasts include DuPage, Third in Chicago, and Unity Temple in Oak Park. The programming runs for 13 weeks through May and is enabled through your contributions to Chicagoland Marketing Initiative, a program of your Chicago Area UU Council (uuchicago.org). Check it out!
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Sabbaticals for Organizers of Color
Applications Due April 5, 2011
The Center for Social Inclusion invites applications for the 2011 Alston
Bannerman Sabbatical Fellowships from long-time organizers of color who
would benefit from the opportunity to step back, reflect, and recharge.
Fellows are awarded $25,000 to take sabbaticals for three months or
more. Please forward and post this announcement widely, and encourage
qualified organizers of color you know to apply.
To qualify for a fellowship, an applicant must be a person of color;
have more than ten years of community organizing experience; be
committed to social change work in communities of color; and live in the
United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, or the U.S. Virgin
Islands.
Beyond the basic eligibility criteria, the program seeks applicants
whose work: attacks root causes of inequity by organizing those affected to take collective strategic action; challenges the systems that perpetrate
injustice and effects institutional and structural change; builds community capacity for democratic participation and develops grassroots leadership; acknowledges the cultural values of the community; creates accountable participatory structures in which community members have decision-making power; and contributes to building a movement for social change by making connections between issues, developing alliances with other constituencies, and collaborating with other organizations.
Alston Bannerman Fellows use their sabbaticals to travel, study, visit
with other organizers, read, write, acquire new skills, plan, evaluate,
explore new interests, spend time with their families, recover their
health, and restore their spirits.
For more information and an application:
2011 Alston Bannerman Sabbatical Fellowship
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Whale Coast Alaska 2011
 Have you always dreamed of visiting Alaska? Do you enjoy meeting other UUs? Do you enjoy getting to know your fellow travelers? If so, WhaleCoast Alaska 2011 is for you! Four Alaskan UU fellowships invite you to experience our eco-cultural and spiritual program this summer as we celebrate our 15th year! See Alaska through the eyes of local UUs with homestays, wildlife experiences, and tour activities in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and Sitka. Visit Denali National Park. Experience Native Alaskan culture. Enjoy all that our beautiful state has to offer. Programs led by Dave Frey and Bre Griffin, members of the farthest north UU congregation, with 36 years of Alaska living between them. Visit www.WhaleCoastAK.org or email dfrey@whalecoastak.org or information, or call 907-322-4966. We would love to share our Alaska with you! |
Money Matter$ Fiscal Year 2010-11 Operating Budget Status: YTD through January Income Pledges & Collection Plate 122,556 Other Income 31,974 Total YTD Income $154,530 Expenses Collection Plate Sharing 5,006 All Other Expenses 141,703 Total YTD Expenses $146,709 Total Annual Budget $254,474 Balance Sheet Snapshot - January Total Reserves & Investments 216,842 Land & Building (2001 appraisal) 2,060,000 Endowment 1,256 Restricted Funds 8,689 Total Long Term Debt $287,025 |
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| Community Sing | |
Wednesday, March 30th 7:00pm in the Sanctuary
Marianne Parker & Jim Simonis will lead us in singing selections from Singing in the Journey: supplement to Singing in the Living Tradition.
Selections in this hymnal include a variety of musical styles including Folk, Jazz, Contemporary, Gospel, and World Music. A few examples are:
Turn the World Around Shall we gather at the River? Blue Boat Home Hush How Could Anyone When the Spirit Says Do We look forward to singing with you!
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| Calendar | |
Tuesday March 15
7:30 - Choir Rehearsal
Wednesday March 16
6:30 - Vespers
7:00 - Folk Ensemble Rehearsal
7:00 - UU Path
Saturday March 19
9:45 - Council Meeting
Sunday March 20
Lay-Led service at 10:30
Gary Bondurant preaches; music by the 2U Folk Ensemble
Noon - Green Sanctuary Meeting
Tuesday March 22
7:30 - Choir Rehearsal
Wednesday March 23
6:30 - Vespers
7:00 - UU Path
7:00 - LFD Council
Sunday March 27
Worship at 10:30
Rev. Adam Robersmith preaches; music by the 2U Choir
Noon - RSC Meeting
Noon - Young Adult Circle Worship
Wednesday March 30
6:30 - Vespers
7:00 - UU Path
7:00 - Community Sing
Sunday April 3
Worship at 10:30
Rev. Adam Robersmith preaches; music by Kat Wyand
11:45 - Orientation
Noon - Pastoral Care Team
Noon - Social Justice Council
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| Lay-Led Service March 20, 2011 |
The sermon will be an edited version of one given by Robert Collyer, 2U's first minister, and among the most pulpit orators of the late 19th century, with a career in Chicago that stretched from 1860 to 1879. The sermon will celebrate his humanistic spirit, and his insights into the experiences we all have in trying to make real our many hopes, dreams and aspirations.
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| Church Office Information & Staff | |
Office Hours
Tuesday - Friday, 9am - 1pm
Consulting Minister
Rev. Adam Robersmith
773-549-0260, ext. 13
minister@secondunitarian.org
Director of Programs
Gabrielle Montgomery
773-549-0260, ext. 12
programs@secondunitarian.org
Music Director
Marianne Parker
musicdirector
@secondunitarian.org
Community Minister
Rev. Rudra Dundzila
773-593-7500
rdundzila@uuma.org
Business Manager
Chris Engler
773-549-0260, ext. 10
office@secondunitarian.org
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| Communications Deadlines | To have something included in the order of service, send it via email to Gabrielle at programs@secondunitarian.org by Wednesday at noon.
The Anvil comes out on the 1st & 15th of every month. The deadline is two business days before the 1st & 15th of the month. Email submissions to Gabrielle at programs@secondunitarian.org. |
| 2U Ministry Leaders Contact Information | Board of Trustees
Mark Sneathen
msneathen@yahoo.com
Bookstore
Gene Horcher
horcher@att.net
Council
Neal Shankman
nshankma@hotmail.com
Finance Committee
Gregory Redfeairn
mr.rojo47@yahoo.com
Green Sanctuary
Libby Harvey-Hill
threebmetaldesign@yahoo.com
Hospitality
Pat Zukosky
zukosky@sbcglobal.net
Lifespan Faith Development
Alyssa Joy Stowe
alyssa.stowe@gmail.com
Membership
John Broome
broomejv@att.net
Music Committee
Nanna Cross
n.cross@sbcglobal.net
Pastoral Care
Rev. Adam Robersmith
minister@secondunitarian.org
Religious Services
Gary Bondurant
bondurantgary@gmail.com
Lee-Ann Meredith
badkitty@core.com
Safe Congregations Team
Lourdes Guerrero
lsguerr4@mac.com
Lee-Ann Meredith
badkitty@core.com
Social Justice
David Groves
david@grovesology.com
Curtis Smith
cmwright@sbcglobal.net
Transylvania Church
Kimberly Bares
773-506-9319 kimberlybares@yahoo.com
Webmaster
Neal Shankman
nshankma@hotmail.com
WIDE Community
Atena Danner-McPhaden
atena.danner@gmail.com
Young Adult Group
Arcenia Harmon
oya7@yahoo.com |
| Sara Thomsen Concert at Third Unitarian Church | We'd like to invite you to Sara Thomsen's concert at Third Unitarian Church on Saturday, March 26. See the flier.
We hope you can join us for this special evening.
Scott Aaseng
Interim Director of Music
Third Unitarian Church of Chicago
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| Board of Trustees | Mark Sneathen, Chair
msneathen@yahoo.com
August Staas, Chair Elect
august@staas.com
Jeff Siegel, Past Chair
jsiegel@hntb.com
Laura McKee, Treasurer
mckeelaura@ymail.com
Liz Krumweide, Secretary
liz.krum@yahoo.com
Neal Shankman, Council
nshankma@hotmail.com
Berlinda Browne, Trustee
berlinda.browne@yahoo.com
Jonathan Dunmore, Trustee
drfooz@comcast.net
Norman Groetzinger, Trustee
groetzinger.n@comcast.net
Curtis Smith, Trustee
cmwright@sbcglobal.net |
| Board Minutes | | Available here are the most recent approved minutes of the 2U Board of Trustees' monthly meeting. Please note that approved minutes are also posted on the bulletin board on the north wall of the Palmer Room. |
| Collection Plate Sharing | |
Our Fitts Fund recipient for February was the Marjorie Kovler Center. We raised $560.90. Thank you!
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