Snowflake Garland

Anvil header

Newsletter of 2nd Unitarian Church of Chicago
January 2, 2015
In This Issue
Worship at 2U

Sunday, January 4
Service at 10:30
Preacher: Rev. Adam Robersmith
Music by Michael McElvain &
Jim Simonis

Sunday, January 11
Service at 10:30
Preacher: Rev. Adam Robersmith

Sunday, January 18
Service at 10:30
Preacher: Rev. Rudra Dundzila
Music by the 2U Choir

Sunday, January 25
Service at 10:30
Guest Preacher: Rev. Mark Morrison-Reed
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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, January 4
Spirit Play
UU Explorers

Sunday, January 11
Spirit Play
Roots & Shoots
Youth Group

Sunday, January 18
Spirit Play
UU Explorers

Sunday, January 25
Spirit Play
UU Explorers
Youth Group
______________________
_________________
Church Office Information & Staff

Minister
773-549-0260, ext. 13
Office Hours:
Wed-Thurs evenings, other days & times by appointment
 
Dir. of Faith Development
773-549-0260, ext. 12
Office Hours:
Sun 9:00-3:00
Other days & times by appointment

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

Adult Faith Dev.

Bookstore

Buddhist Fellowship

Building & Grounds

Committee on Ministry

Covenant of Earth & Sky

Fellowship Committee

Finance Committee

Green Sanctuary

Hospitality 

Library

Lifespan Faith Dev.

Membership

Music

Newsletter

Night Ministry Outreach

Pastoral Care

Safe Congregations 

Senior Luncheon

Small Group Ministry

Social Justice

Sunday Services

Transylvania Church

Webmaster

Young Adult Group
David Dyer
Stephanie Bens
_____________________
Board of Trustees 
 
 






                                  
From the Minister

As we start this new calendar year, I'm finding myself caught up in a rush of gratitude and want to share it with all of you.


Thank you for your cards of sympathy, holiday wishes, and thoughtful gifts.

Thank you for stepping in to help the congregation and its members, and for remembering to take care of yourselves when you're snuffly or sick!

Thank you for your support of this congregation through your pledges and your efforts - you continue to surprise and delight me with the generous ways in which you make this place a thriving community of faith, fellowship, and service.

Thank you for filling our worship with your songs, silences, and presence - and thank you for taking it out into the world and living it.

Thank you for what you bring to one another, the relationships you build, and the support, growth, and transformation you make possible at 2U!

For all this gratitude, I want to share an invitation with you as well: I invite each of you to find your way into being someone on the giving and receiving end of thanks in our congregation. By finding your place in our ministries as a leader, a volunteer, or a participant, you will create opportunities for gratitude all the way around.

I hope, too, you have plenty to be thankful for as this year begins. May this year be a very Happy New Year for us all!

Faithfully,
Rev. Adam

From the Rev. Karen Mooney

Gratitude is a hard task master - once you have figured out that you should be grateful you begin realizing how many things there are to be grateful for. That someone invented door knobs, that air has just the right amount of oxygen, that a gathering of good people is always an inspiration... Today I am writing to say thank you to the community of Second Unitarian for your generosity of spirit, skill and resource in my ordination, now last year (I am a little late in getting this thanks out.) It takes a group of good people to get just about anything done but it takes people who care to get it done well. Thank you for taking the time, whether as a planner, a cook, a helper, singer, sewer, counter, host, a voice that spoke aloud the words that belong to a congregation to ordain - thank you.

 

Peace and all good things from the bounty of faith,

Karen Mooney

Winter Orientation Begins January 11th

Calling all visitors-- who want to become members!

 

The 2U Winter Orientation will be held Sunday, January 11; Sunday, January 18; and Sunday, January 25 following services. Sessions are scheduled to begin at noon in Fleishman Hall and will end at 2pm or before. If you are interested in attending, please sign up on the Welcome Table in the Palmer Room. Child care will be available for those who request it in advance.

 

While attending any one of these three orientation sessions will meet the by-law requirements for membership, attending all three will provide a greater breadth and depth of understanding for the theological roots of our community, ways to engage with the 2U community, how 2U is organized, and what membership really means.

 

Please contact Membership Chair Judy Corbeille with any questions, or for more information.
Crossing Borders Music Presents:
Looking Back and Looking Forward
Sunday, January 11, 2015
3:00pm
2U Social Justice Council presents a free concert of Crossing Borders Music in Looking Back and Looking Forward: A Concert for the 5th Anniversary of Haiti's Earthquake, a program of chamber music by Haitian composers that remembers the victims of Haiti's earthquake and presents a hopeful vision of moving forward in solidarity. Free-will donations will benefit the Haitian American Museum of Chicago, whose collections highlight the country's rich visual arts tradition. Selected artwork from the museum will be on display at the concert.
What Does the Committee on Ministries Do?

The Committee on Ministries' (COM) mission is to create and maintain a safe and supportive environment at 2U by supporting our shared ministry.  COM facilitates communication within the 2U community: members and friends, ministerial team and staff.  Its role is to provide a means for congregants and friends to learn about the church's ministries, plans for the future and to provide feedback and suggestions.

 

The members of COM are appointed by the 2U Board of Trustees.  We meet on a monthly basis with Rev. Adam to discuss current projects.  COM also works with Rev. Adam to negotiate any challenges within the church community.

 

COM recently adopted Appreciative Inquiry (AI).  AI allows for a respectful conversation about where we are and where we would like to go.  Instead of asking "what is wrong?" or "how can we improve?" the conversation begins with a statement of appreciation for 2U's current condition and acknowledgment that we are all responsible for the health of our community.  The integral question then, is "what can I do to improve the 2U community?"

 

COM is involved in two major areas this year. First, we have commenced a series of COM chats to provide AI on the minister, Rev. Adam Robersmith.  This process is less extensive that the first assessment of his work, which occurred in 2013.  Second, COM is working with other church ministries, including 2U committees, to encourage them to set objectives for the coming church year and to evaluate their performance at the end of the church year.  Therefore, in addition to attending a retreat of the Church Council of Committees, COM is available to help each committee deal with any impediments or challenges they are facing.  The assignment of COM members is:

 

Council and LFD Council: Marilyn Hebda

Green Sanctuary: Laura McKee

Hospitality: David Martin

Membership: Jonathan Dunmore

Music, Social Justice, and Sunday Services: Marva Williams

 

If you wish to communicate with COM, feel free to contact any of our members.  In addition, you can email us as a group at [email protected].  This email address also includes Rev. Adam.

Classes From the Pastoral Care Team in 2015

The Pastoral Care Team at 2U is hosting a series of classes to provide information about approaches to planning for many aspects of the end of life. They hosted three sessions during fall 2014, and will hold several more in winter and spring 2015. Mark your calendars for these upcoming session dates: 

  • Healthcare decisions related to aging and end of life: Saturday, January 24, 10:00am-12:00pm in the Palmer Room. Rev. Elizabeth Harding, 2U member and Chaplain at Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter, will lead this workshop. She will discuss the benefits of palliative care and hospice, and will review grief counseling. She will also provide an overview of what services are covered by Medicare and supplementary/long-term care insurance.
  • Financial planning considerations: Sunday, February 22, 12:00-1:30pm in the Sanctuary. Joan Ente, geriatric care manager for CJE SeniorLife, will join us as a guest presenter. She will discuss important financial obligations to keep in mind as age and you approach end of life, in relation to health/long term care expenses, housing, funeral and burial, etc. She will help people get a sense of what it costs to "get old".
  • Legal aspects of planning for end of life: Sunday, March 22, 12:00-1:30pm in the Sanctuary. August Staas, 2U member and attorney at law, will cover considerations related to the law that you may have questions about as you age. Topics include wills, trusts, power of attorney, bequests to the church, and tissue/organ donations.
  • Death with Dignity: While not legal in Illinois, physician-aid-in-dying is an important movement in relation to end-of-life care options, so we will host two events this spring in relation to it. on Saturday, April 25, 10:00-12:00pm, we will screen the documentary How to Die in Oregon, which tells the stories of terminally ill Oregonians, their family and friends, and their doctors, as they consider utilizing physician aid in dying. The following weekend, on Sunday, May 3, 12:00-1:30pm, we will be joined for a panel discussion by two individuals who are leading the movement to legalize physician aid in dying in Illinois: Bess Schenkier of Compassion & Choices, and Ed Gogol of Hemlock of Illinois.

Please RSVP here to help us plan for each session, and a reminder email will be sent to you the week before. The series is open to everyone, regardless of age, spot in the "planning" process, or being a 2U member or not. To help cover costs of guest speakers, we request each attendee to donate a one-time amount of $10, no matter if you attend one class or all of them. You can bring cash or check (made out to Bonnie Ewald) on the day of the event.

Please contact Nanna Cross or Bonnie Ewald with any questions.

Call for LGBTQ Task Force Facilitator

chalice globe Beginning in January, 2015: 

  • Lead monthly meetings with a fabulous group of activists!
  • Coordinate the 2U/Chicago Area contingent in the LGBTQ Pride Parade!
  • Organize Transgender Day of Remembrance event each year!
  • Network with other loving churches in Chicago to bring greater LGBTQ equality!
  • Stand on the Side of Love all the time, 24/7/365!
If any of this sounds of interest to you, let me know! Email me or give me a call/text at (773) 573-7991. Send along any questions as well.
 
In Solidarity, 
Ashley
UCE Seeks Home Hospitality

Home hospitality is needed for the UU conference Escalating Inequality or Opportunity for All? to be held at the Unitarian Church of Evanston on February 20-22, 2015. To find out more about the conference, or to sign up to attend, go to the Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community website. If you can offer home hospitality for those attending the conference, please complete this form. Call Carol Nielsen with any questions at (847) 869-1177. 

Third Unitarian Seeks RE Assistant

Third Unitarian Church of Chicago is seeking a part-time RE assistant as they anticipate the departure of their Director of Religious Education at the end of the church year. They are hopeful that the right candidate for this assistant position would transition into the DRE position next year. A job description can be found here. If you're interested in applying, please send cover letter, resume, and three references to Rev. Jennifer Nordstrom

Choir Corner

Sheet music star The 2U choir rehearses in the sanctuary on Tuesday evenings from 7:15 to 8:30. Fend of the winter blues with the warmth of musical community - join the choir! All voices are welcome; sopranos are especially welcome. For more information (and to double-check the rehearsal schedule in the holiday season), contact music director Marianne Parker.

Money Matters
The weekly cost of running 2U is $5,890!

2U's annual budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015 is $306,403.

For the Year to Date period July 1 to November 30, 2014:
Actual Pledges + Collection Plate =
$106,144
Budgeted Pledges + Collection Plate =
$100,929
     Surplus or (Deficit)
$   5,215

ActualBudgeted
Total Revenues Year-to-Date =$144,971$135,549
Total Expenses Year-to-Date =$125,516$124,377
     Total Surplus or (Deficit)$ 19,455$ 11,172

In November, we raised $687.00 for the collection plate sharing recipient, the UUSC.

Thank you so much for helping to make 2U possible!
Anvil Deadlines
Have a message to put in the Anvil? Plan ahead!  Please have all submissions for the next newsletter in to Jen Duston at [email protected] by noon on Wednesday, Jan. 14th.