From the Board of Trustees

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,

Mark Sneathen

Chair of your Board of Trustees

msneathen@yahoo.com 

312.401.7458

Orientation to 2nd Unitarian Church

Help Needed for Night Ministry

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 by NOON on Wednesday, April 6. programs@secondunitarian.org 

 

We hope to see you there!

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. 

Anti-Bullying Workshop

April 10, Noon - 1:15 in Fleishman Hall

 

Bullying has been in the news a lot recently.  The Safe Congregations Committee (SCC) is offering an anti-bullying workshop after the service on April 10^th.   

 

We will look at preconceived ideas of bullying, what to do when you observe bullying and Second Unitarian Church's SCC steps to report the behavior if it occurs at Second Unitarian.

 

Please RSVP (so we can save a tree when we print handouts) to Lee-Ann Meredith at badkitty@core.com or Gabrielle Montgomery at programs@secondunitarian.org.

Young Adult Ministry

The 2U Young Adult Group invites any and all 18-35 year olds to join us Sunday, April 10th after services for a circle worship on the topic of Spring and Rebirth. All are invited to bring a reading with

meaning to you on the topic. Other upcoming 2UYA events include a craft night, a movie night, a playdate for our young adult parents, and monthly yoga classes. If any of these events spark your interest,

or if you have a brilliant idea for an event you would like to see

happen, email group facilitator Arcenia Harmon at oya7@yahoo.com.

Roots & Branches

Bringing a Lay-Led Service to Life

by Erin Walter

 

After my sermon in February, many of you asked how a lay-led service comes together. The short answer is: teamwork! Here's a peek behind the scenes.

 

My work started last fall -- with a lot of wondering. I needed a message I felt especially inspired and qualified to share. Once I picked "facing fear," I poured over the hymnal, looking for related readings and songs. Then I visited a Religious Services Committee meeting, where members listened supportively to my still-forming ideas. Nobody flinched when I teared up. (Thanks, guys!)

 

Each step got comfier, thanks to a slew of kind and talented 2U members. Lee-Ann Meredith, my irreplaceable Religious Services Committee (RSC) mentor, never covered new drafts in scary red ink, and I'll always adore her for saying, "This reminds me of the song from 'The King and I' - 'I Whistle a Happy Tune.'" If you saw the service, you know what an unforgettable job Jim Simonis, Jonathan Dunmore, and their kazoos did in bringing the tune to life, 2U-style!

 

In the month before the service, I consulted with Rev. Robersmith, who gave sage advice and a script for the basics, as well as with Marianne Parker, who approved and accompanied my hymn picks. Gabrielle Montgomery made sure all the pieces were in place the week before (and so fabulously embodied Mrs. Peacock for the Clue scene at the pulpit). Gary Bondurant served as a stellar worship associate, Neal Shankman ably represented the board, and friends in the congregation kept up the encouragement, even as I edited at the last minute.

 

Perhaps most helpful? Simply attending Sunday services. Each week I took home inspiration and ideas for my service. The hardest part was saving energy to write after my daughter went to sleep at night, and the best was sharing that special Sunday with the wonderful people above and so many of you.

 

If you feel called to give a sermon too, I hope you will heed that call. It's a life-affirming experience - and you won't be on your own! (For more info, contact rsc@secondunitarian.org.)

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!

Sabbaticals for Organizers of Color

Whale Coast Alaska 2011

Money Matter$

Fiscal Year 2010-11 Operating Budget Status: YTD through February 

 

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

Second Unitarian Church of Chicago
656 West Barry Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60657
www.secondunitarian.org