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Newsletter of 2nd Unitarian Church of Chicago
Apr 15, 2013
In This Issue
Coming Up at 2U
 
Wednesday, April 17
Vespers Service at 6:30pm

Sunday, April 21
Service at 10:30
Preacher: Rev. Adam Robersmith
Music by Gail Gallagher

Wednesday, April 24
Vespers Service at 6:30pm

Sunday, April 28
Patchwork Service at 10:30
Preachers: The Sunday Services Committee
Music by the 2U Choir

Wednesday, May 1
Vespers Service at 6:30pm

Sunday, May 5
Service at 10:30
Preacher: Rev. Adam Robersmith
Music by Nanna Cross & Gail Gallagher

Wednesday, May 8
Vespers Service at 6:30pm

Sunday, May 12
Patchwork Service at 10:30
Preachers: Rhonda Kineman, Melanie Bienemann, Janice Stashwick
Music by Carey Farrell
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Children & Youth Faith Development Schedule
 
Child care for infants and toddlers is available every Sunday in the Green Caterpillar room. 

Sunday, April 21
Spirit Play
UU Explorers

Sunday, April 28
Spirit Play
UU Explorers
 
Sunday, May 5
Spirit Play
UU Explorers
 
Sunday, May 12
Spirit Play
Roots & Shoots
 
Sunday, May 19
Spirit Play
UU Explorers
 
Sunday, May 26
Spirit Play
UU Explorers
 
Sunday, June 2
Flower Communion
Intergen: No classes
______________________
_________________
Church Office Information & Staff

Minister
773-549-0260, ext. 13
Office Hours:
Wed-Thurs 1:00-9:00 pm
 
 
Dir. of Faith Development
773-549-0260, ext. 12
Office Hours:
Wed 1:00-6:00, Sun 9:00-1:00

Office Administrator
773-549-0260, ext. 10
Office Hours: 
Mon-Thurs 10:00-4:00 
 
Community Minister
773-593-7500
 
Music Director
                                  
2U Ministry Leaders

Board of Trustees

Bookstore

Building & Grounds

Committee on Ministry

Finance Committee

Green Sanctuary

Hospitality 

Lifespan Faith Dev.

Membership

Music

Newsletter

Night Ministry

Pastoral Care

Sunday Services

Safe Congregations 

Small Group Ministry

Social Justice

Transylvania Church

Webmaster

Young Adult Group
Erin Rusmi
_____________________
 
Board of Trustees 
 


 






                                  
Visioning Update from John Houck
vision
Some of our members participated in Visioning meetings last fall. One group noted that it wasn't entirely clear what the Visioning process was, or what the end result was supposed to be. This update intends to both illustrate and update what has recently occurred in the Visioning effort, where it is going, and some of what will result.
 
Each Visioning session was co-facilitated by a member of the Board of Trustees and a member of the Committee on Ministries. There were guided exercises to elicit and draw out areas where the members thought our congregation was doing well, and areas where we might focus efforts to improve. Both perspectives are vital to distilling what our Vision as a congregation might say, and how it can be a tool for improvement. Each session collected thoughts on what was meaningful and spiritual, drafting a brief Vision statement based on the group's perspective. These statements were recorded and collected to represent how the 60 or so members who participated see our congregation.
 
This week, a group of volunteers with representatives from the Committee on Ministries, the Board, and the Ministerial Search Committee met with Rev. Adam Robersmith and a member with impressive professional facilitator skills. This working group considered and parsed these collected Visioning inputs with the Search Committee and Committee on Ministries outputs from the past two years. After considering and analyzing them for resonant themes, these common themes were collected, agreed upon, and assembled into a draft Vision statement. After the group has digested our draft, and some of the potential refinements are made, the statement will be shared with the congregation in a variety of ways, including a sermon to communicate what our collective voices have to say about how we see ourselves, both now and going forward.
 
The statement created through this process is not an official mission statement or a change to our covenant, but rather an additional guide for the congregation's leadership as we think about how we will live out our covenant together through the coming years.
 
We look forward to bringing your ideas back to you!
 
John Houck,
Member, Committee on Ministries
Welcome to Our Newest 2U Members
 
Elizabeth Kindig was born in the small town of Brook, IN (north of Purdue University). She studied photography at DePauw University in Greencastle, IN, spending her junior year at the Glasgow School of Art in Scotland. After graduating, she returned to Glasgow for a time. Elizabeth moved to Chicago and worked as a freelance photographer before she returned to school, earning her master's degree in teaching from DePaul University. She teaches English at an alternative high school on the west side. Her very challenging students, formerly incarcerated, are being re-acclimated to a school setting. In her free time Liz enjoys running, theater, music, and poetry reading. She found 2U as she walked by the church. She has joined the Social Justice Committee and the book club. Liz feels comfortable at 2U which supports her values and concern for others.

Jeremy Brown hails from Oshkosh, WI. He studied fine arts at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh and in graduate school at the U of W at Milwaukee focusing on sculpture and metal-working. Jeremy will graduate this month with a master's degree in Application Development from the Illinois Institute of Technology. He works for Nokia writing computer software which generates images for GPS systems, among other things. Currently he is working on a three-dimensional project which will be on display at the Chicago Architectural Foundation and a "happiness project" (ask him about it!). In his free time, Jeremy likes art and design and music. He found 2U with his wife Deanna whom he married in 2010. He appreciates the access to a spiritual time and place and the open-minded, non-judgmental attitude he has found at 2U.

Deanna Brown was born in Peru, IN, but has lived in many different places, including Portland, OR, Columbia, SC, Arkansas, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She received a degree in biology from the University of South Carolina at Columbia and attended Marquette University for her master's degree in nursing. Deanna is a certified nurse-midwife who has worked in the midwifery department at the University of Illinois and at Planned Parenthood. She is considering several options as she is finding her true path, career-wise. Deanna is interested in organic gardening, medicinal herbs, yoga, cycling, reading, camping, hiking, and hanging out with family and friends. She attended the UU church in Racine for a time and when she moved to Chicago, found 2U. Jeremy and Deanna are pleased to have found a church home at 2U.

A warm welcome to Elizabeth, Jeremy and Deanna!
Building & Grounds Work Party
Sunday, April 21, 2013
12:00pm
 
It's time for spring cleaning! Building and Grounds invites you to join us in celebrating Earth Day by cleaning up the grounds. On April 21st at noon we will be cleaning up the yard and gardens to get a fresh start this spring. If you are interested in helping, please contact Don MacGregor at [email protected] or call 773-517-7334.
The Mystery of Worship
Sunday Services Committee Patchwork Service
Sunday, April 28, 2013
10:30am
 

What is Worship? Our covenant guides us in the way that we worship and allows us to approach spirituality with an open heart and open mind. The Sunday Services Committee will explore the meaning of worship, ways in which it affects us and how we approach worship as Unitarian Universalists. We embrace the challenges, compassion and inspiration that worship encourages us to experience. Please join us on April 28th to examine the concept of worship with fellow congregants.

Fiber Arts Bunch
pastel yarn Sunday, April 28, 2013
2:00-4:00pm
 
Do you knit? Sew? Embroider? Crochet? Macrame? All of the above? Or none, but you have always wanted to learn? Anyone from beginners to experts are invited to attend the 2U Fiber Arts Bunch. We meet monthly, alternating between Sunday and Saturday. The next meeting will be Sunday, April 28th from 2 to 4 in the afternoon, hosted by Nancy Kloetzli. For more information, please email Nancy, or give her a call at (785) 817-9586.
Scout's Honor Screening and Discussion
Sunday, April 28, 2013
12:00pm
 
Join us on Sunday, April 28th in Fleishman Hall for a screening and discussion of the 2001 award-winning documentary Scout's Honor. Scout's Honor tells the story of Steve Cozza, Dave Rice, Tim Curran, and James Dale and their efforts to change the BSA's membership policies. The UUA is part of a coalition lobbying the BSA for inclusive policy reform at its May 2013 board meeting.
From the Social Justice Council
receipts
Save your Walgreens receipts! The FORCE Project* is calling on Walgreens to ban the box on their employment applications. 70 congregations of CRS will be participating. We want to show Walgreens that people who shop at their store want employment opportunities for people with records - our neighbors, our friends, our family, us. Please save your Walgreens receipts in the coming weeks and turn them in to the basket at the Welcome Table.

*FORCE (Fighting to Overcome Records and Create Equality) is a group of formerly incarcerated and convicted people who are fighting for the restoration of their rights. Find more information here.
Endpoint Theatre's Chronic Malcontents
chronic malcontents April 5 through 21, 2013
Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm
Sundays at 2:30pm
Second Unitarian Church Loft
656 W. Barry, Chicago

Join Endpoint Theatre for the world premier of a new type of musical theater that gets the audience involved! This is a dark comedy about the working stiffs at Splayne Corporation who have completely had it with their jobs. What happens when they and the audience plot to bring the company down? Improbably improvisational, Chronic Malcontents will help you release all that built-up tension after a hard week's work. Whether you hate your job, hate your boss, just need to vent or just like to watch, this show is just the ticket!

Let's Hear It For the Moms

Mother's Day is coming up sooner than you think : May 12.  This year, 2U will be having a special Mother's Day service for all those who have mothered us through the years. We're asking that you send us (electronic) pictures of women you would like to honor: your mother, you with your mother, you with your children, pictures of people who have mothered or nurtured you, pictures of important women in your life.

If you would like to share your photos, please email them to Janice Stashwick by Sunday, April 28. Please identify the people in the pics and their relationships. The pictures will be publicly displayed either in the Sanctuary or in the Palmer Room.
Choir Corner
sheet music
Greet spring! Sing! Join the 2U choir! The choir rehearses around the piano in the sanctuary on Tuesdays at 7:30pm. All voices are welcome-- basses and tenors are very welcome. For more information, contact music director Marianne Parker, or just come to a rehearsal.
Rissho Kosei-kai Coming to Meadville Lombard
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 Kosho Niwano book cover
5:30pm
610 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60605

You are invited to join Meadville Lombard Theological School in welcoming Rev. Kosho Niwano for a book discussion and signing on April 24, 2013.

Rev. Kosho is president-designate of Rissho Kosei-kai, which now has over two million member households worldwide. She is the mother of four children, and recently published the book, The Buddha in Everyone's Heart; Seeking the World of the Lotus Sutra.

In this inspiring collection of reminiscences, a young religious leader shares the fruits of her personal study of the teachings of Rev. Nikkyo Niwano (1906-1999), her grandfather and the founder of the international lay Buddhist organization Rissho Kosei-kai. The teachings of Rev. Nikkyo Niwano are still relevant in our turbulent times. Rev. Kosho bears witness to her grandfather's lifelong dedication to the liberation from suffering for all people through the teachings of the Lotus Sutra, one of the most important Mahayana Buddhist scriptures.

Rev. Kosho will discuss her book on Wednesday, April 24th at 5:30pm. Following the talk, Rev. Kosho will conduct a book signing and Meadville Lombard will host a reception. All are welcome!

Please contact Celina Maggi, Assistant Director of Development and Communications at Meadville Lombard, with any questions.
Money Matters
Fiscal Year 2012-13: YTD Through March

Income
Pledges & Collection Plate $   148,530
Other Income $     53,284
Total (YTD) $   201,814
Budget Projection 2012-13 $   244,725
Expenses
Collection Plate Sharing $       7,452
All other Expenses $    184,018
Total (YTD) $    191,470
Budget Projection 2012-13 $    254,958
Debt and Deficit
Projected Deficit 2012-13 $     10,233
Long Term Debt $   233,706


Anvil Deadlines
Have a message to put in the Anvil? Plan ahead!  Please have all submissions in to Jen Duston at [email protected] by 5pm on the Wednesday before the 1st or the 15th of the month.