Transgender People, Reproductive Rights, and a Theology of Becoming. April 16, 2023, at 10:00 a.m.Onlineand in-person
Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson The current “debates” about gender identity and reproductive freedom are about power, control, and culture – but they are also about theology. Questions about life, time, fate, God’s role, and the like are also at stake here. I’ll explain why my theology supports a deeper vision of freedom and autonomy.
We will share the plate with Get Connected 815 Our mission is to help (High-Risk) Re-entry individuals impacted by incarceration ENTER into the community successfully and self-sustainably. Here at Get Connected, we respond to various needs within the High-Risk Re-entry population. Risks are assessed utilizing a Risk, Needs, & Responsivity Assessment Model. The latter model is utilized in evidence based practices and programming. Reducing Violence & creating awareness of resources to eliminate real-life barriers due to former incarceration is an important Get Connected Vision. Click Here to Donate
Happy Birthday to: Kay Hotchkiss (04/11), Dick Lake (04/11), Leslie Mahan (04/11), Linda Spelman (04/12), Pat Lewis (04/12), Alice Enichen (04/13), Michelle Lattanzio (04/13), Cynthia Swacina (04/17), & Wanda Hoover (04/18)!
Matthew Fields Huckstep shared that his sister Annie died peacefully following a massive heart attack. Our thoughts and prayers are with Matthew and his family at this difficult time.
Volunteers for Sunday, April 16
Greeters: We Need 2 Volunteers
Guest Table: We Need 2 Volunteers
Ushers: Dick Lake & Myrna Lake
Coffee Hosts: We Need 2 Volunteers Please note that if you volunteer for coffee host you will need to clean up afterward and run the cups through the sanitizer. Spitty and others are happy to help you become familiar with how to handle this easy job. Sign Up Here
Thank you to all of you who have already turned in your commitments to support the church in the coming fiscal year. If you haven’t done so yet, please fill it out today:https://uurockford.breezechms.com/form/20b2b47025.
Matthew’s Memo
Spring!
Right in time for Easter, spring has finally come. I hope I didn’t jinx it (I actually don’t believe in jinxes), but I took down my storm windows and put up the screens and opened the windows for fresh air. It’s so great. Took some walks along the river, and some flowers coming up.
What excites me most about the change of weather is that more things will start happening. Music at the Gardens, Dinner on the Dock, and City Market will all begin soon. Festivals, activities, and gatherings will soon be around the corner.
What are you excited about? The return of flowers, wildlife, sunshine and longer evenings? Social activities? Parks?
What I’m wondering about is how we can structure our lives so that more what brings us joy is present all the time. When I think about the things that bring me joy, I need to ask myself – why don’t I make space for these things more often. I love a walk in the neighborhood – so, why don’t I take one each day? I enjoy being with friends – so I should make plans. I love travel – so I should structure my calendar to make time and book that trip.
If you love gardening, or swimming, or knitting, or reading, or whatever it is – how can you make more space for it in your life?
We should do what we love. Life is a gift, and time is precious. Let us find and make joy.
In faith,
Matthew
Strictly Sondheim April 15
The Camerata Emanon Singers and Tim Anderson invite everyone to their spring concert, “Strictly Sondheim,” to be held at our church on Saturday, April 15 at 7:30 pm.
The evening will celebrate the legendary composer Stephen Sondheim and include classics from some of his best-known Broadway shows.
As a special treat, performing arts students from Rockford University will present solos and duets from favorite Sondheim musicals.
Admission is $10 ($5 for students). Cash or check only, please.
Darn near the only tax break for ordinary people. If you enjoy paying Taxes, ignore this advice.
Consider donating to the church from your IRA by using a QCD.
The QCD (Qualified Charitable Deduction) is a mechanism of withdrawing money from your IRA to be used as a donation to a charitable organization (like the church). This way you do not have to pay income tax on that withdrawal, unlike every other IRA withdrawal on which you do have to pay taxes. There are several technicalities:
Your investment company or mutual fund company will help you, and know what is required.
You must be over 70.5 years old. But a QCD is especially helpful if you are 73 and must take Required Minimum Distributions.
The QCD donation can be used against the amount you are required to take from your IRA as a Required Minimum Distribution. You will have to keep track of how much you may still need to remove each year. If you set up standing instructions for RMDs, you will probably have to stop those instructions and do it manually.
Your IRA investment company will probably have a separate form to fill out to request the QCD.
Investment companies vary. Some will demand to mail the check direct to the church. Some will make the check out to the church, but demand to mail it to you.
The investment company will probably include the charitable donation amount in your 1099 tax form. You will be responsible for remembering and claiming the deduction when you prepare your taxes.
After all these complications, this is still just about the only tax break most people can take advantage of. So, why not use it.
If you have any questions, you can call me at 815-979-5901. But, it is best to talk to whoever has your IRA investments.
Steve Lewis
Our Caring Team is a support network within UU Church Rockford that seeks to provide compassionate and caring assistance to members on an as-needed basis. Here are just a couple of the many ways we can connect volunteers to members who have a specific need:
We organize the preparation and delivery of meals and the completion of errands for members following surgery or during an illness.
We set up rides for members of our community to attend worship services and go to medical appointments.
You can contact Rev. Joyce f you need assistance or know someone who needs support in one of these or other ways.
We would love for you to join our Caring Team. If you are able to help by preparing a meal, dropping off carry-out, running an errand, providing a ride, or something else along these lines for one of our members, feel free to reach out to Rev. Joyce at revjoycepalmer@yahoo.com The strength of our community is reflected in the ways we support each other and our aim is to continue to grow this important ministry!
Thinking of spring cleaning? Think of Woodsong! We are on the lookout for some items to add to our playground materials. If you are in a position to donate any gently used items on the following list, please mark them WOODSONG and leave them near the mailboxes across from the elevators. Thank you so much for thinking of us!
-small wooden bowls (up to 6 inch diameter)
-metal muffin tins/small cake pans/cake pans in interesting shapes (star, heart, flower, etc.)
-melamine dishes (cups, saucers, small plates, bowls)
-measuring cups (metal or plastic), scoops, small sand shovels
-plastic farm animals
-toy trucks/cars (bigger than a Hot Wheel/Matchbox vehicle – no ride-on toys, please)
-small playground balls (no basketballs, footballs, baseballs, please)
-Duplo building blocks (the larger type of Lego)
And, of course, we are always in need of birdseed.
WINNEBAGO COUNTY RESOURCES
List of resources that may be helpful to you or someone you know.
VICTIM/SURVIVOR SERVICES
Family Peace Center – 1-779-348-7600
Remedies Renewing Lives – 24-hour Domestic Violence Hotline – 1-815-962-6102
OLDER ADULT SERVICES
Catholic Charities Long Term Care Ombudsman Program – 1-815-316-0040 or 1-800-369-0895
Mercyhealth at Home/Older Adult Services – 1-815-971-3502
Lifescape Community Services – 1-815-963-1609 or 1-800-779-1189
SERVICES/ADVOCACY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Center for Sight and Hearing – 1-815-332-6800 P
RAMP – 1-815-968-7467
The ARC – 1-815-965-3455
Support the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights’ (ICIRR) 2023 Platform
Ensure immigrants are treated with respect and receive the support they need
ICIRR, one of UUANI’s community-led partners, is holding a Springfield Advocacy Day on Thursday, April 27. Please reply to this email to sign up for the Advocacy Day. The sign-up deadline is 11am this Friday, April 14.
ICIRR is advocating for adequate funding for immigrant services, requiring hospitals to screen for state program eligibility before billing a patient, and to make standard driver’s licenses and state IDs available to all residents, among other steps. Please tell your legislators that you support ICIRR’s Everybody In 2023 platform.
We will watch GOING SANE-The State of Mental Health Care in America which follows 3 families seeking evidence-based treatment for mental illness & introduces leading experts who reveal that patients continue to receive outdated & disproven treatments.
Join us at the Baha’i Center 1650 N Alpine: Lower level in Highcrest Shopping Center.
We will show the film at The Baha’i Center in person with a facilitated discussion after the showing of the film.
The film discussions are presented in partnership with The Baha’i Community of the Rockford Area and Rockford Public Library.
Book Discussion Note the Date Change
for this month only!
We hope you will attend the Critical Race Theory program at Rock Valley College on April 27th.
Wednesday April 26, 2023 6:00 p.m.
Join us by zoom for a discussion of Defund Fear: Safety Without Policing, Prisons, and Punishment by Zach Norris. He invites us to challenge the failed experiment of the current punitive carceral state. He talks of civic engagement, violence prevention, juvenile justice with a goal of shifting economic resources away from prisons and punishment and towards economic opportunity.
Please join us as we celebrate the passage of SB1909 concerning the deceptive practices of Crisis Pregnancy Centers in the state of Illinois! A big thanks to all our Pro-Choice legislators!!
We will also be welcoming Sydni White representing Medical Students for Choice who will inform us on their activities assisting patients’ needs after receiving reproductive care at the Auburn St. Women’s Center, and how we can help.
Please see the list of supplies needed and bring an item to the meeting if you wish to participate in this project. If you would like to drop off some items, supplies can be dropped off at the UIC Rockford Campus,
1601 Parkview Ave, Rockford. Also, if people want to donate money to this cause so items can be bought, they can Venmo Sydni at Sydni-White.
Another option is their wishlist on Amazon. The link is https://a.co/echnSbN Items will be sent directly to the Auburn St. clinic.
And remember: Democracy is not a spectator sport!
See you there!
Please join us!
Urinetown the Musical Sunday, April 30 at 2pm
Buy your $5.00 ticket while they last!
Join us for an afternoon at the Rockford University Maddox Theatre to experience Urinetown. Winner of three Tony Awards, three Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards and two Obie Awards, Urinetown is a hilarious musical satire of the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bureaucracy, corporate mismanagement, municipal politics and musical theatre itself! Hilariously funny and touchingly honest, Urinetown provides a fresh perspective on one of America’s greatest art forms.
We have 10 tickets available for the Sunday matinee. After the show join members and friends of the church for refreshments at church. See Rev Joyce for tickets.
The Board of Trustees:
President: Judy Gustafson
Clerk: Bob Spelman
Vice-President: Spitty Tata
Treasurer: Steve Blomgren
Trustees: Sarah Greer, Jami Edmonds, & Rebecca Beneditz
The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL | 4848 Turner St., Rockford, IL 61107 | 815-398-6322 | uurockford.org |
