Notice of Special Meeting of the Society March 23, 2025

 
It’s time to care for the building we love so much!

Please plan to attend a special congregational meeting immediately following our worship service on March 23, 2025.  The last two editions of Kairos have included articles about the deteriorating siding on our church building and what will be involved and the cost of replacing it.  Before the Board can authorize such an expense, it must be approved by a vote of the Society. 

Please review the Summary by clicking the button below. We also have printed copies of Part 2 of the project summary available at church.

Questions? See Dave Schubert, Clark Logemann, Steve Lewis, Bob Spelman or Matt Menze.

Kairos Submission Guidelines
Our goal is to keep our members and friends updated on the latest news and upcoming events.
Each submission needs to include only the most important information describing the event and the action you want people to take. Following these guidelines will make it easier to inform and inspire participation.

1. Each submission needs a graphic
2. Title, date, time and place
3. 2 – 3 sentences describing the event and what impact it will have on participants.
4. Contact information of leaders

*Kairos submissions are due by 5pm on Monday. Send your notices to our Office Manager, Autumn Powell at uurockford@gmail.com.

Thank you for following these guidelines,
Rev. Joyce

Eco-Justice Wonderful Wednesday: All Ages Spring Equinox Celebration!

Wednesday, March 19 at 5:30 pm in Deale Hall

Join us for an all-ages Spring Equinox celebration with snacks, music, a Story for All Ages, seed ritual, and more! We will remind ourselves that no matter how much uncertainty we find in our world, we trust that spring will always come and hope remains. Attendees are invited to bring a small nature treasure to help decorate our altar during the celebration. If you have any questions, reach out to Rebecca Beneditz or Dawn Nimmo. We hope you will join us!

UU Who’s Who?
                    featuring Gary Lawrence (current Nominating Panel Chair)

Question 1: What do you enjoy about being a member of the Nominating Panel?
Answer: By far it is getting to see and meet the amazing people and incredible talents we have right here in our congregation – diverse people and talents that I wasn’t even aware of before.

Question 2: How did you get your position?
Answer: I’ve been a member of this church over 30 years, and a choir member most of those years. And in those 30 years. I’d never even BEEN to a Board meeting. I pretty much took the Board and all they do for granted, so the call to ask me to serve on the Nominating Panel was a wake-up call for me, and a chance to give something back to the church that was here for me when I needed it.

Question 3: How much time do you spend doing work on the Nominating Panel?
Answer: Nominating Panel work has taken a little longer than usual this year because we are improving the process. We should be back to normal next year. The Nominating Panel’s work used to be compressed into one crazy month, and one of the changes we made was to spread that time more evenly over the year to be able to make the best candidate choices.

Please nominate someone to help serve the church at: nominating@uurockford.org
We’re accepting nominations until March 31. 

Wesley Willows Group
The Wesley Willows group will meet the following days and times this coming year in the reflection room at the Town Center.

April 23, Wednesday, at 10 am

RSO Concert on Immigrants
 
Immigrants are front and center in our politics today, and their protection is a key human rights issue of our congregation.  It’s amazing that the concert planned by Rockford Symphony a year ago is so timely.
 
The March 8^th concert at the Coronado incorporates history from Midway Village Museum, stories of Rockford immigrants, and performances by actors from AET, Artists’ Ensemble Theater, in a night of orchestral music.
 
The featured work, Ellis Island:  Dream of America, by Peter Boyer combines music with excerpts of diaries of Americans who arrived through Ellis Island. 
 
The RSO is inviting its audience to submit personal immigration stories, some of which will be selected and acted by Carolyn Cadigan, Stephen F. Vrtol, Marissa Nosi Swanson, Gary Wingert, Betsy Baker, David A. Gingerich and Margaret Raether, all professional actors with AET.
 
For info. and tickets Click Here

Are you called to bring a loving, UU presence inside your local jail or prison?

Please join the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of IL leaders for an “inside” jail and prison facilitation training, held Saturday, March 8, from 2pm to 5pm in Rm. 3 at the Unitarian Church of Evanston at 1330 Ridge Avenue. 

This small-group style facilitator training will serve as a foundation for going in to facilitate circles in jail or prison.  We currently have active ministries in Cook County jail men’s and women’s sides as well as at Logan Women’s prison, with potential expansion to Decatur Women’s prison. We will cover skill-building for trauma-informed facilitation, grounding, self-care and cultural humility. 

Register here: bit.ly/uupmi_inside_ministry

Please note: you cannot participate in IL Dept of Corrections programming (prison) if you are a pen pal with someone locked up in IDOC. Questions? Can’t make the date but still interested? Contact UUPMI here.

Our Vision: A loving congregation that connects with ourselves, one another, and the larger community.  

Our Mission: We care for ourselves, each other, and our neighbors while taking risks acting for justice. We are continuously building an inclusive, empowered, anti-oppressive, anti-racist, multicultural congregation. Our connections foster radical love for ourselves and others.

The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL  |   4848 Turner St., Rockford, IL 61107   |   815-398-6322    |   uurockford.org  |