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Newsletter of 2nd Unitarian Church of Chicago
January 4, 2016
In This Issue...
Worship at 2U

Sunday, January 10
Service at 10:30
Preacher: Rev. Emmy Lou Belcher
Music: Marianne Parker

Sunday, January 17
Service at 10:30
Preacher: Rev. Emmy Lou Belcher
Music: Carey Farrell

Sunday, January 24
Service at 10:30
Preacher: Rev. Emmy Lou Belcher
Music: 2U Choir

Sunday, January 31
Service at 10:30
Preachers: Karen Goldner and Laura McKee
Music: Jonathan Dunmore and Rosalind Hurwitz
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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 10
Spirit Play
UU Explorers

Sunday, January 17
Spirit Play
UU Explorers

Sunday, January 24
Spirit Play
UU Explorers

Sunday, January 31
Spirit Play
UU Explorers
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Church Office Information & Staff

 Sabbatical Minister
773-549-0260, ext. 15
Office Hours:
Wednesday afternoons and evenings; Sunday afternoons
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

Congregational Administrator
773-549-0260, ext. 10
Office Hours: 
Mon-Thurs 10:00-4:00
 
Community Minister
773-593-7500
 
Community Minister
773-592-2809
 
Music Director
                                  
2U Ministry Leaders

Board of Trustees

Adult Faith Dev.

Bookstore

Buddhist Fellowship

Building & Grounds
Open

Committee on Ministry

Covenant of Earth & Sky

Fellowship Committee

Finance Committee

Green Sanctuary

Hospitality 

Library

Lifespan Faith Dev.

Membership

Music

Newsletter

Night Ministry Outreach

Nominating Committee

Pastoral Care

Safe Congregations 

Senior Potluck Lunch

Small Group Ministry

Social Justice

Sunday Services

Transylvania Church

Webmaster

Young Adult Group
David Dyer
Stephanie Bens
_____________________
Board of Trustees 
 

 





                                  
From the Sabbatical Minister, Rev. Emmy Lou
Well, the sparkle and tinsel are put away and the darkness of winter sets in. But winter is not a time of just sleep. It is a time for working behind the scenes so that life will have the energy and form to break out in spring glory. Greta Cosby called it the time of pregnancy. And there will be many forms of work going on to make the life of our church hearty and heartening in the months of flowers and harvest. 

One is the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day celebration held on the Monday of his holiday. It reflects so much of what we treasure - interfaith cooperation, honoring diversity as a gift of life, bending the arc of life toward justice. It is sponsored by Community Renewal Society and promises to be invigorating as we continue the work of MLK for justice and peace. Look for the flyer in this newsletter and in your Orders of Service that can give you more directions. 

Another piece of important work done during the winter months is our church pledge drive. Without your resources, the church has no resources, for, indeed, you are the church. Your yearning for community and for a meaningful life create this church and maintain it as a base for fellowship, challenge, and inspiration. 

So I hope you will enthusiastically respond to those leading the pledge drive. Pledges are our way of estimating the funds we will have for the next year - allowing us to build the budget that will guide our church through the next cycle of activity and inspiration. Without your pledge, we cannot make sensible plans, cannot anticipate growth, cannot operate without chaos. So I invite you to take some quality time in winter's dark days to lay the ground for justice, for worship and spiritual growth, for caring and support of each other. 

- Rev. Emmy Lou Belcher, Sabbatical Minister
Our Special Gifts Campaign Ends Today!
Our Special Gifts Campaign ends today!  There is still time to donate! Please call the office at (773) 549-0260 or email [email protected]. You may also donate online by going to our website: http://www.secondunitarian.org/contribute/

Lastly, thank you to all those who have already contributed towards our campaign!
January Board of Trustee's Meeting
Wednesday, January 13
7:00 PM

The January Board of Trustee's Meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 13 at 7:00 PM. All are welcome to attend.
Winter Orientation 
Calling all visitors who want to become members!

2U Winter Orientation will be held Sunday, January 24, Sunday, January 31 and Sunday, February 7 following services. Sessions are scheduled to begin at noon in Fleishman Hall and will end at 2:00 PM 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 sessions 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.
2U Dinner on Saturday, February 6
What are 2U Dinners? Dinners are planned potlucks held every few months in members' homes purely for social enjoyment. You may sign up to be a guest or to host a dinner, usually for 8-14 persons. The host provides the main dish and "assigns" the other participants one item to bring, i.e. salad, vegetable, dessert, etc.

This is a fun way to get to know your fellow members and to enjoy the 2U community. Find the sign-up sheet on the Welcome Table. The next 2U Dinner will be held on Saturday, February 6. Come join us.
January Board Chat
Sunday, January 17, 2016
11:30 AM

Our January Board Chat will be on Sunday, January 17 after service at 11:30 AM, and will be led by Roger Wykes, the Council Chair of the Board of Trustees. The topic will be receiving feedback regarding 2U's Council and 2U's various committees/teams/groups/councils.
From the Library Committee 
The 2U Library welcomes more volunteers. Can you help? Specifically we can use help processing books that have been cataloged. Processing includes pasting on labels, cards, and pockets; stamping our name on the title page, and placing them on selves. You can help our library evolve. Contact Jill Althage at [email protected] or 773-973-5610. We'll set up a time to meet and process some books. You'll see we have some really interesting books. Perhaps you'll find one you'd like to check out and read too.
MLK Day Faith In Action Assembly

Small Group Ministries

Dear fellow congregants,
 
Happy New Year! I wish your lives are filled with faith, hope and love this year.
 
2U seeks to nurture it members. One way is through Small Group Ministry, also known as Circles groups. A group of 8-10 commit to meeting monthly to share the events from their lives and their thoughts on Unitarian Universalist concerns, such as belief or social justice. Each month, the group picks its topic of discussion for the following month from a collection of resources.
 
You are invited to join a short-term Circles Group that will meet the third Wednesday of each month, January-May: Jan 20, Feb 17, March 16, April 20, and May18. Meetings will be 7-9 PM at the church. The co-facilitators will be Erin Rusmi and David Dyer, although group members will be able to take turns leading the group after the first couple of meetings. The group will open with fellowship, a chalice lighting, a check in, a brief reading, discussion of the reading topic, fellowship, selection of next month's topic, check out, and extinguishing the flame.
 
Sign up now: http://goo.gl/forms/f7S5UySDWn. The sign up deadline is Sunday, Jan 17 (Martin Luther King Sunday).
 
If you have any questions, please contact me (773-593-7500 or [email protected]).
 
I hope to see you soon at church!
 
Rev. Rudra Dundzila
Community Minister
Money Matters
Please Catch Up on Your Pledge!
A significant number of folks are behind on their pledges so the Board & Finance Committee are concerned about a potential deficit this year ending 6/30/2016 of at least $15,000 or even more! Why?
  • 18% of pledge units have contributed $0 as of December 14.
  • Last year, pledge income fell short of budget by 7.7%, the highest level in quite some time.
  • Collection plate income is coming in lower this year.
The Board & Finance Committee will be watching the pledge situation more closely and contacting late members in January. For now, we are delaying payment of UUA dues.
 
Remember! If your circumstances have changed and it is no longer possible for you to honor your pledge, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE notify Andrew Zallar in the office ([email protected]) so the Board can take action to conserve our resources!
 
We have already depleted our reserve fund by 23% this year to a balance of $58,516 in order to hire an interim minister, Rev. Belcher, and the Board strongly desires to maintain this level of reserves. For our last fiscal year, 2U had a loss of $4,936 and we can not continue to deplete our rainy day fund.
 
Evergreen Fest Raises $9,545!
A fun time was had with auction bidding, dancing, dining and socializing on Dec. 5. Over 100 tickets were sold and many thanks to all who participated! 
 
Special Gifts Target Raised to $15,000
This year end fundraising campaign helps fund everything in our budget from the minister's salary to the mortgage and heating bill. The Board raised the target by $5,500 due to lower expected fundraising income this year. A match of $7,500 created by a number of concerned members should help us hit the target. The campaign runs through January 4.
 
How are the Church's Finances so far this Year?
The weekly cost of running 2U is $6,321! 2U's annual budget for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016 is $328,672.

So far, we are doing OK and the surplus shown below reflects the timing of our income as the Fitts fund income mostly comes in during the first half of our year and rental income is running ahead of target. And those paying pledges upfront have masked those behind on their pledges but this effect will disappear in the new year. December income should be healthy due to fundraising and special gifts. But in the January to June stretch, we use up the fall's surplus and try to break-even for the year. For us to break-even it is important for everyone to honor their pledges!

For the Year-to-Date period July 1 to November 30, 2015:
Actual Pledges + Collection Plate =
$97,433
Budgeted Pledges + Collection Plate =
$98,661
     Surplus or (Deficit)
($1,228)

ActualBudgeted
Revenues Year-to-Date =$137,890
$131,919
     + Use of Reserves (Rev. Belcher)* =$9,689
$9,689
Total Revenues Year-to-Date =$147,579$141,608
Total Expenses Year-to-Date =$136,229
$135,322
     Total Surplus or (Deficit)
$11,350
$6,286

*Note: The Interim Minister position is budgeted at $17,000 for the 5 months Rev. Belcher is with us and Rev. Robersmith is on sabbatical and this is being paid for out of our reserves. The $17,000 had been transferred into our Operating Account and will be paid out through the end of January.

Collection Plate Sharing
In November, we raised $713.08 towards the collection plate sharing recipient, UUSC.

Thank you all so much for helping to make 2U possible!
Thank You Spot!
 
Winter brings winter chores. A big thank you to the hard working folks who do the shoveling, the mopping, the heating, the making-sure-the-pipes-don't-freeze - and all the other things involved in getting 2U safely through the winter.

This space is for the many many things around 2U that we'd like to thank someone for, but we don't know who. Or we know who to thank and this spot is a good place to do it. Have an anonymous thank you that you'd like to share? Please email it to [email protected].
Choir Corner
Start the New Year with singing! Join the choir!

The 2U choir rehearses in the sanctuary on Tuesday evenings from 7:15 to 8:30 in the sanctuary.

For more information, please contact Music Director, Marianne Parker.

Stay Connected
Did you know that the UUA and MidAmerica Region UUA have their own respective newsletters?

Click here for more information about the UUA and click here to sign up for their newsletter, UU World.

Click here for more information about the MidAmerica Region UUA and click here to sign up for their newsletter.
Submission Deadlines
Have a message to put in the next Anvil or Orders of Service? Plan ahead! 

Please have all submissions for the next newsletter submitted by noon on Wednesday, January 13.

Please have all submissions for the Orders of Service submitted by noon on the Wednesday prior to the Sunday you'd like the announcement to appear. All announcements are subject to change at the discretion of the Congregational Administrator. Space is limited!

Second Unitarian Church of Chicago
656 West Barry Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657

Phone: (773) 549-0260