Posts from October 2021
We Got Ohana
Next month, our weekly message array in the Unichord will change from the Minister’s Message by me every week, to one by me only once a month, and the other weekly messages from others, including Steve Stultz as Board President, and other leaders and messengers to be determined. This week, my family enlarged from four children to seven, as Deborah and I became foster parents of three siblings from the Micronesian Island group Chuuk. Micronesia has a special immigration agreement…
PADS Signup for November
Dear Friends, Thank you to all who volunteered in October to provide lunches for PADS, the homeless shelter in Elgin. Here is the link to the PADS Signup for November Please note, UUCE is preparing and delivering Monday lunches, but, the staff is still doing the serving. Thank you. Dotty Carringi, UUCE PADS Coordinator dotster2@comcast.net847-502-4835 “Homeless Doesn’t Have To Mean Hopeless” — Elgin PADS
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s Coffee Project
Coffees, and Chocolates and Teas, Oh My! Fair Trade and Organic, Too! UUs are linked with small farmers and their families through fair trade, thanks to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee’s Coffee Project. The UUSC is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization advancing human rights together with an international community of grassroots partners and advocates. The UUSC works with Equal Exchange, which supplies fair trade products to many faith groups. The coffees we sell at UUCE are not only fair trade and…
Reopening for Sunday October 31st
With the metrics in good shape, we’re finally having our first in-person service this Sunday, October 31st! What to Expect In line with CDC guidelines, all adults and children over 2 years are required to wear a face mask covering the nose and mouth. The Sanctuary will be set up for social distancing, air flow (windows open and fans moving the air, so please dress appropriately), and ask folks to continue practicing social distancing in the church. We will be…
Religious Education for ages 4-18
RE will be up and running again as soon as we are back in person. We are planning for our first classes to take place on Sunday, October 31st and will continue on a limited basis (based on the availability of our wonderful volunteers!). If you haven’t already signed up the young people in your family, please contact Marj Askins. Kids aged 4-11 will meet in the big classroom on the 3rd floor, and youth aged 12 and up will…
Music for the Soul
The Service for this Sunday, October 24th, will focus on music that is unusual in its emotional power, both for great happiness and for deep sorrow. There will be five pieces of music in the sermon, and chances are, you don’t know them all. One of them, the last one, is a magnificent piece of music, led by one of the greatest, and long enough for meditative contemplation. This will be my last appearance in the virtual pulpit we have…
Chicago Area UU Council Fall Conference – Nov 13th
The Chicago Area UU Council (CAUUC) Fall Conference will be held on Saturday, November 13th 9:30am-12pm and be conducted via Zoom video conference. There is NO FEE required to participate, though donations are welcome and appreciated to help defer the costs of the conference and support the ongoing work of CAUUC. Please join us for a keynote presentation on navigating grief followed by a rich panel discussion on the topic: Gathering and Strengthening Our UU Communities REGISTRATION LINK: uuchicagoarea.org/conference Keynote…
Fourth Sunday Styrofoam Collection
The Fourth Sunday Styrofoam Collection will be on Sunday, October 24th from 12:00 to 12:30 pm in the church parking lot. Please separate your CLEAN food grade from your packaging foam and put them in the Prius(es) with the open hatchback(s). Styrofoam peanuts are NOT accepted (take those to UPS store). The Styrofoam collected will be taken to Dart Container Corporation in North Aurora. Thank you for recycling! Mary Alice Masonick
PADS Signup for November
Dear Friends, Thank you to all who volunteered in October to provide lunches for PADS, the homeless shelter in Elgin. Here is the link to the PADS Signup for November where you may choose your desired level of participation. Feel free to contact me with questions. Thank you. Dotty Carringi, UUCE PADS Coordinator dotster2@comcast.net847-502-4835 “Homeless Doesn’t Have To Mean Hopeless” — Elgin PADS https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F054AABA82CA4FC1-pads4
John Lennon, Influencer
I invite you to tune in to this Sunday’s Service, which focuses on Lennon’s 10-year post-Beatles career. Having long tired of Beatlemania, he lit out on his own with Yoko. He issued two amazing records in his first two post-Beatles years, 1970 and 1971: John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and Imagine. The first was a serious statement of freedom from pop music, and an embrace of his new wife, and of being able to freely sing about his interior states. It’s…
Reopening Postponed
We’re committed to a reopening that honors our UU Principles and is safe for all: young, old, healthy, immunocompromised, vaccinated, and those who cannot get vaccinated yet or at all. Because of this, we are postponing our reopening until the cases for school-aged children meet our metric goals again. School-Age COVID Cases UUCE has three metrics for determining reopening. Two of our metric goals are being met, but in order to reopen, school-age cases need to have a two-week downward…
Personally, Emotionally, I am Sorrowful
The Church’s leadership and I have negotiated an agreement that saves having to take monies from the scant remaining reserves to pay out my contract for a ministry that too many of you have found unsatisfactory. So, this is a sad ending, but under the circumstances, one that feels fair to all. Personally, emotionally, I am sorrowful, but OK, thank you, and I wish you the best. I depart at the end of October, and my final time with you…
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