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Christmas Eve
December 24, 2021, at 5:00 p.m.Onlineand In-Person Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson An all-ages Christmas Eve candlelight serve with readings, music, and reflections. Masks are required. If the weather behaves, we will end the service outside with candles and the singing of silent night. Bring your friends and family. We Need 2 Ushers to volunteer for Christmas Eve
The Gift of Healing December 26, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.Onlineand In-Person Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson
We’ll expand on the story of the magi’s gifts to explore how we can give and accept the gifts of healing from others. What is the “gold, frankincense, and myrrh” for our time?
Volunteers for Sunday Morning December 26 R.E. K and Under: Susan Caravello & 1 volunteer needed
R.E. Grade 1 and Over: Allyson Rosemore & Bill Scarpaci
Ushers: We Need 2
Greeters: We Need 2
Guest Table: We Need 2
Thank you to those of you who have volunteered already! Here is the google doc where you can sign up: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_Ch323vqDurrzCrpFpCL-E__qBszopnimyHZ00w3zzM/edit?usp=sharing
Or just email me at office@uurockford.org and let me know and I’ll put you in the system for that day.
Thank you!
Happy Birthday to: Misha Sanders (12/21), Ron Johnson (12/24), Magda Pandya (12/24), Roger Crook (12/24), Kim Lowman Vollmer (12/26), John Ekedahl (12/27), & Carol Knodle (12/28)!
We will Share the Plate with Shelter Care Ministries for Christmas Eve
It is the mission of Shelter Care Ministries to provide shelter, awaken hope, and honor dignity for every person who seeks assistance through our programs. Our focus is on individuals living with a chronic mental illness and families that are experiencing homeless in the Winnebago and Boone county area. Click here for more information. Click Here to Donate
We will Share the Plate with Get Connected 815 for Sunday, December 26 Connecting formerly impacted individuals of our community to resources. Promoting self-branding, resource education & training, through Strategic Networking. We aim high in assisting those with real life barriers towards empowerment and Inclusion! Click Here to Donate
Matthew’s Memo
Today, Tuesday the 21st of December, is the winter solstice. In the Northern Hemisphere, it is the shortest amount of daylight and the longest night. In traditions around the world, it is a time for reflection, to embrace the long night, the barness of things; and then, it is a time to celebrate – to celebrate the return of the sun, and the cycles of the earth, and the community that will get us through the winter which is to come.
Though here in Rockford we’ve had a few flurries, no snow has yet covered the earth. But the nights are long. In an ordinary year, I like this – the quiet evening, contrasted with the bustle of so much of the year. A time to slow down.
But for the last almost two years now, I’ve already limited the bustle. We go out less. I don’t gather with crowds unless I know they’ll be masked – which pretty much rules out any group that it isn’t UU’s or government/school sponsored. So the balance of the dark isn’t as necessary. Yet, the seasonality of our lives is a reminder that the earth keeps spinning, and the sun will return. That things will change – not all at once. A minute one day, a minute one day, and then soon, the whole day will be different.
So take a moment to honor this, the shortest day. Reflect, pause, and consider. Our lives go on. The earth spins. The day returns.
In faith,
Matthew
P.S. I will be on vacation, and out of reach, from the afternoon of Dec. 26th until January 3rd. Contact Autumn Powell in the office if you need anything.
The office will be closed Friday, December 24 & Saturday, December 25. The staff will be working remotely or out of town the week of December 27 – 31. Please call ahead of time before driving to the church. Happy Holidays from all the staff here at The Unitarian Universalist Church!
Continuation of Our Whole Lives for 7th-9th Grade
We will be offering additional sessions of the O.W.L. curriculum for 7th-9th grades beginning in January. This is intended as a continuation for those who have participated in the sessions offered this fall, but we also welcome newcomers! Contact Lindsay Trank or Lauren Smith for more information.
Wonderful Wednesday Offerings! January 5, 7pm “Remember, Release, Rekindle” We gather for an evening of reflection on the year that was and on your hopes for the future. We will journal, share and begin a vision board if you like. Rev. Joyce will lead the session.
MY WAY: AFRICAN AMERICAN ART FROM THE BLACK SOUTH
Art and Lunch Outing
Thursday, January 13th at 11:30
Rockford Art Museum
Let’s gather at the Rockford Art Museum to view the My Way exhibition and enjoy lunch downtown at Sister’s On Main. The exhibit surveys a collection of 156 works of art representing the styles and practices of a unique and inspired group of 46 artists including 8 original quilts constructed by the Gee’s Bends quilters of rural Boykin, Alabama. Please RSVP by January 10th to Rev Joyce at assistminister@uurockford.org
Being An Anti-Racist Church
The Board and leaders of the church are moving towards articulating that being on a continuous journey toward being an “anti-racist and multicultural church” is important to us. What does that mean? Let’s figure that out.
To get us together in this work, we want every member of the congregation to attend one of the four sessions we are offering on “being an anti-racist church.”
The sessions are:
Sunday, January 16th, 11:30am, in Deale Hall – masks required
Wednesday, January 26th, Noon, in Deale Hall – masks required, but you can bring a lunch and remove your mask to eat
Wednesday, Feb. 9th, 7pm, on zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82720790087.
Sunday, Feb 20th, 11:30am, in Deale Hall – masks required.
Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color are welcome to attend any of these sessions AND/OR to attend a session for BIPOC folks ONLY on Wednesday, Jan 19th, at 5:30pm in Deale Hall, co-led by Rev. Matthew and Rev. Joyce.
The other sessions will be led by Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson. All the sessions are identical in content, choose one.
The sessions will be 1 hour. This is a high-level overview. We will work through a list of the characteristics of an anti-racist and multicultural congregation. Please plan to attend one of these sessions.
Eliminate Racism 815
Book Discussion
Thursday December 30, 2021 6:00 p.m.
Join us by zoom for a discussion of The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein. He exposes the myth that America’s cities have segregated through individual prejudices making clear it was laws/policy decisions passed by local, state and federal government that promoted discriminatory patterns that continue to this day.
Please read the book on your own and we will discuss it.
Join the Zoom Meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81211275487 Book discussions are presented in partnership with Rockford Public Library.
Film Discussion
Friday January 14, 2022
6-8:30 p.m.
Howard Zinn: A People’s History of US: Zinn talks about those who have no voice in the official history of the United States: slaves, Indians, textile workers, union men
Join Zoom Meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81211275487 The film discussions are presented in partnership with Tony Turner of Conscious Coaching, The Baha’i Community of the Rockford Area, and Rockford Public Library.
The Board of Trustees:
President: Amanda Tapfield
Clerk: Bob Spelman
Vice-President: Judy Gustafson
Treasurer: Teresa Wilmot
Trustees: Khanh Oehlke, Sarah Greer, Jami Edmonds
The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL | 4848 Turner St., Rockford, IL 61107 | 815-398-6322 | uurockford.org |
January 5, 7pm “Remember, Release, Rekindle” We gather for an evening of reflection on the year that was and on your hopes for the future. We will journal, share and begin a vision board if you like. Rev. Joyce will lead the session.
