Music Sunday: Kindness in Winter
December 6, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. (Online Only at facebook.com/uurockford)
The Unicantors
This Sunday, we celebrate our December Music Sunday once again. However, in this year when nothing is as it should be, our service of music will not feature a major work presented by the Unicantors. (However, the Unicantors will make a surprise appearance on Sunday that you won’t want to miss!) Instead, our talented musical friends Rachel Handlin, Michael Beert, and Aria Beert, affectionately known as the Beert Family Band, will join us to present a variety of musical selections related to winter. The selections include both familiar and new tunes from a wide variety of styles, including works by Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, and Vaughan Williams, among others. As our theme for the month of December is kindness, different elements of the service will touch on the importance of expressions of kindness and love in times of adversity and cold-heartedness (seasonal or otherwise). We hope this service of music will warm your hearts as we face the impending chill and challenge of a pandemic winter.
Happy Birthday to: Peggy Menze (12/01), Sally Walker (12/02), Jack Berti (12/03), & Jack Rosemore (12/07)!
Please keep Jan Dunham in your thoughts and prayers. Her husband, David died Saturday, Nov. 28th at Wesley Willows. Memorial service date and time TBD.
Share the Plate with Meld
Rockford MELD’s Mission is “guiding young parents to build a strong family and lead a responsible life by providing shelter, education and life skills training”. Through our programs and services MELD offers support and resources, life and job skills training, parenting information, emergency shelter and housing. MELD provides programs for young parents and their children in our community. Click here to donate.
Care and Choices at the End of Life: A gift to yourself and
your family
Presented by Northern Illinois Compassion and Choices
Log on to an interactive and informative (zoom) get-together to discuss
resources to make your end-of-life planning meaningful and less stressful for
you. Advanced planning also helps friends and family advocate for your
wishes when you may not be able to request or decline care.
We will be using resources fromwww.compassionandchoices.orgif you
would like a sneak peek.
Bring questions, concerns, and any thoughts on what gives value to your
life. Then join us for practical tips, new insights, and a forum to address what
often isn’t discussed easily: how to die well on your own terms.
Wednesday, December 2, 7-8:00 pm Zoom ID: 337-267-3668
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/5662364814 Meeting ID: 566 236 4814
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,5662364814# US (Germantown)
+13126266799,,5662364814# US (Chicago)
Auction / Market Place / Art Fair News
By Day 2, fifty seven (57) bidders had registered. Bidding for Auction Items opened up on Friday. Bidding closes December 9.
Several of the “Buy it Now” Arts and Craft items were purchased and are gone.
If you need to check your status, go to the auction website. The My Account tab will show your status summary, including the bids you have entered. Double clicking a Bid Item in your summary will take you to that item, which displays the up-to-the-moment bidding status.
The auction website is also formatted for tablets and phones.
If you need help, email to: auctionchair2020@gmail.com.
UU Annual MELD Donation Collection (with a 2020 twist) We are collecting items to be donated to Rockford MELD again this year. Rockford MELD, a non-profit social service agency, started in 1981. The organization provides programs and services for young parents and their children in the Rockford community. MELD offers emergency shelter and housing, parenting information, life and job skills training, support, resources, and prevention education.
This year, you can follow the link below to an Amazon wish list that contains items that the women have requested. You can choose to purchase as many items from the list as you’d like by adding them to your cart. When choosing your shipping address, select Terry Lynch’s Gift Registry Address. Then proceed with your payment method as usual. The selected items will be shipped to the person at MELD that is coordinating the donations. We hope this twist on our traditional donation collection at the church will be just as successful as years past. Questions can be directed to Lindsay Dunn, Director of Religious Education. Thank you so much for your support!
Ideally, gifts would be received by Friday, December 18. Thank you!
UU’s and SRI Investing
So what does “SRI” stand for? If you read the article “Investing in Change” in the Summer issue of UU World, you know it means “Socially Responsible Investing.” And you know that the UUA has been at the forefront of SRI for decades. It’s about making money while doing good.
In case you don’t have this issue next to your recliner, you can read it at this link:
Our congregation has “permanent funds” that it invests in order to use the income to fund the outreach and programs of our church. Memorials in honor of deceased members often become “permanent funds.” Endowments are not spent; instead, they are invested, and only their income is spent.
Part of our permanent fund is invested in the UUCEF, the Unitarian Universalist Common Endowment Fund. This fund is pooled from over 300 UU congregations and the UUA itself. The UUA then invests $200 million in carefully selected funds and stocks to earn at least 4.5% that can be withdrawn annually by its member congregations. Eighty percent of that $200,000,000 is invested in SRI funds, also called ESG for Environmental, Social, Governance; in general, these funds make the world a better place.
The 5-minute video in this link was made by the UUA in 2015, to explain why its UUCEF fund uses SRI criteria and methods to earn its returns:
While only congregations can invest in the UUCEF, there are many investments that use SRI/ESG criteria. Most of my retirement fund is in socially responsible investments. Now is the time many of us consider tax-deductible donations. But we may be overlooking another way to “do good.” By investing in socially responsible investments, we can earn money while improving the lives of people and the environment. Ask your investment advisor how you can participate in SRI for the new year.
Submitted by Teresa Wilmot
*ZOOM Church Calendar*
Most “all church” events will be 337-267-3668. This is the Personal Meeting
ID for “Thomas Kerr,” our online identity (and the minister from 1870-1900,
who used all the new technology of his time to reach those he
served). Generally, there will be a waiting room and the host will need to
admit you.
– Coffee Hour on Sunday. 337-267-3668. 11:10 am. Chris will
be host.
– Touchstones: contact your touchstones group facilitator for the time
and meeting ID, if you don’t already have it.
– Caring Team Meeting – The first Tuesday of each month at 6 pm. ID 337-267-3668
Want to have a group – a book group, a parent group, a “circle supper”, or
whatever you like? You can create a free Zoom account (40-minute limit,
though often waived by zoom at minute 35). Or, you can use “Thomas Kerr’s”
– just email Autumn atoffice@uurockford.organd she can give you the login
and password.
• I Am Greta, a documentary now streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime, celebrates the work of Greta Thunberg, whose campaign to save the natural world led her from school strikes to speaking at the UN General Assembly. Here is the link to watch on-line [free trial], or you can watch on Hulu or Prime. https://www.hulu.com/movie/i-am-greta-6eb88d15-22f0-4f7b-90aa-6933ddc2f90a
• Coming Back to Life: The Updated Guide to the Work That Reconnects by Joanna Macy and Molly Young Brown. One of the readings from Sunday was “Healing Begins With Gratitude.” “Joanna Macy’s and Molly Young Brown’s new book is a spectacular and accessible blueprint for conflict resolution, environmental sustainability, and a planet we all hope to embrace collectively and enjoy. The measures recommended in this book are ones that every individual and community can get behind. Coming Back to Life is a perfect title for a marvelous book.”
To look at the table of contents or index, go here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865717753/ref=rdr_ext_tmb For reviews, go here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0865717753/ref=rdr_ext_tmb To read the Message from the Dalai Lama, see “First Pages” link on the left side and scroll down.
• Mother Earth we thank you~~Chief Jake Swamp from “Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message
