As you build your schedules for the holiday season, make sure to include our 2U events in your calendars! Whether you're looking for ways to celebrate the holiday spirit - or ways to take refuge from what the world has to offer - our congregation is a good place to be in the month of December.

Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:00: Please take a break during the busy weeks of December to join us for our Advent Vespers services! With singing, readings, and stillness, we'll spend time peacefully remembering that this season is about hope, love, joy, and peace -- no matter what stories you cherish or holidays you celebrate.

Sunday, Dec 2nd: This is the first Sunday of Advent and as always, we'll start decorating our Mitten Trees in the Sanctuary. If you're not familiar with this 2U tradition, you'll learn about it during worship!

Tuesday, Dec 4th: 2U's outreach with The Night Ministry takes place this Tuesday and the first Tuesday of every month from 5pm-10:30pm.

Sunday, Dec 9th: Our Holiday Music Service & Cookie Sale!

Sunday, Dec 16th: Our morning worship will celebrate the last day of Hanukkah and consider what this story means for us today.

Friday, Dec 21st: Join us at 6:30pm as the 2U Sun/Moon Group offers our yearly Winter Solstice service.

Sunday, Dec 23rd: This Sunday will be an intergenerational service celebrating the Festivals of Light as we approach Christmas Eve.

Monday, Dec 24th: Please join us for our annual Candlelight Christmas Eve service at 7pm!

Sunday, Dec 30th: We're bringing back a 2U tradition! On the Sunday between Christmas and New Year's, we'll have a Pancake Breakfast and Fellowship Sunday. There won't be a full worship service this day; instead, we'll have a time for members of the congregation to come together for a morning of good food and great fun.

I look forward to seeing you throughout the month - may your holidays be peaceful, joyful, healthy, and restful!

Faithfully,

Rev. Adam

As the busy month of December begins, please take note of the Children and Youth Faith Development schedule through the holidays:

December 2:  Regular Children's Classes

December 9:  Intergenerational Music Sunday Service (Green Caterpillar Room will be open)

December 16:  Regular Children's Classes

December 23:  Intergenerational Holiday Service          (Green Caterpillar Room will be open)

December 24:  Christmas Eve Service (No Children's Classes or Green Caterpillar Room)

December 30:  Pancake Breakfast (No Children's Classes or Green Caterpillar Room)

January 6:  Regular Children's Classes Resume

Sunday, December 9, 2012

 11:30 am

Enjoy the beautiful music on this Music Sunday, and afterwards purchase a wide variety of homemade cookies and other baked goods to enjoy or give as gifts. This is a wonderful 2U tradition.

Cookie bakers and volunteers to help on the day of the event are still needed! Sign up on the What's Happening table, or contact Barb Hailey at (773) 844-8846 or Kate Friedlob at (773) 528-0884 for more information. 

You are invited to celebrate Winter Solstice on Friday, December 21, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. This is the 7th year of celebrating Winter Solstice at 2U and we look forward to seeing you at the ritual again this year. If you haven't joined us before, please join us this year.

Yule or the Winter Solstice marks the longest night of the year. In the Pagan tradition it is when the Earth Goddess gives birth to the Sun God. Once born, the Sun God gains strength making the days longer, and the Earth Goddess gains strength preparing the land for a new round of harvests. As part of this natural cycle, people have used the dark time of winter for rest and rejuvenation, some of us have faced pain and fear during this time, but we all come together on the Winter Solstice to move forward into the light, the time of rebirth, renewal and rebuilding.

Community time after the Yule Ritual will be potluck. Please bring a snack or drink to share.

Melissa Cannata hails from Sandwich, MA - on Cape Cod. She studied Latin and Greek Classics at UMass-Amherst and then taught English in Finland and Italy for a year. Now she teaches Latin at the Science and Art Academy in Des Plaines, while studying for her master's degree in education at Loyola. In her free time, Melissa enjoys drawing, reading, running, and learning new languages. At 2U, she is a member of the Young Adult Group.

David Gutowsky grew up in Griffith, IN. After attending Purdue University where he majored in political science, David worked in purchasing. Currently, he works as the purchasing manager in IT with the Illinois Housing Development Authority-which helps develop affordable housing. In his leisure time, David enjoys running, biking, and socializing. David is a member of the UU Church of Hobart, IN as well as attending 2U since February. He is active with the Night Ministry and Social Justice Council as well as serving on the Finance Committee.

Jacqueline ("Jackie") Dienstag grew up in Dryden, NY. She attended Cornell University where she studied communications. Jackie lived in the San Francisco Bay area and then moved to Rochester, NY, before moving to Highland Park when her company re-located here. Jackie worked as a consultant to and as an executive of various businesses. Now retired, she and her husband Jerry, moved into the city. Their daughter, Isabelle, recently graduated from college and is applying to graduate school. Jackie became interested in UUism from her sister and found 2U to be the closest congregation. She is interested in working on the grounds of the church and might be interested in serving on the Board where her business skills could be put to good use.

Darrick Jackson grew up in Pontiac, MI. He attended Purdue University where he studied audiology and speech pathology. Having been involved in theatre in high school and college, Darrick worked at the Indiana Repertory Theatre in Indianapolis before moving to Boston where he worked for the North Shore Music Theatre. Darrick took a break from theatre and became a Braille transcriber. Around that time, he discovered UUism which led him to the Andover-Newton Theology School. Along the way, Darrick worked for the UUA Youth Office, the administration office of the Boston School of Theology, and was the consulting minister at UU churches in Storrs, CN and Monson, MA. He moved to Chicago to be the Director of Contextual Ministry at Meadville-Lombard Theology School. In his free time, Darrick enjoys knitting. At 2U, he has joined the choir and is interested in working with children in Spirit Play.

Heather Dreznick hails from our own Lakeview community. She traveled to Central and South America and lived in Seattle and Vermont for a time. Heather attended Seattle Community College, Loyola University, and UIC. She has worked as a nanny, a dula, and in the restaurant business. Heather is studying nursing at Truman College with a goal to work in midwifery and public health. She is married to Brett, and they have a son, Oliver, four, and a daughter, Clementine, one year old. Heather enjoys running (hopes to participate in next year's marathon), cooking, jewelry-making and other crafts, and playing with her children. She attended the UU church in Brattleboro, VT, and when she returned to Chicago, where her family lives, found 2U. Eventually, Heather would like to volunteer with the Night Ministry.

A warm welcome to Melissa, David, Jackie, Darrick, Heather, Oliver, and Clementine!!!!!