Standard message and data rates may apply. You have the right to OPT-OUT receiving messages at any time. TO OPT-OUT, reply "STOP" to any text message you receive from us.
Radical Hospitality February 23, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. Online and in-person Rev. Allison Farnum How do Unitarian Universalist communal values get to the root of hospitality? Explore via the lens of prisoner solidarity efforts as our radical welcome moves beyond all that conspires to separate us.
We will share the plate with Get Connected 815
Get Connected’s mission is to help the formerly incarcerated re-enter society successfully and self-sustainably. We are passionately and wholeheartedly committed to our mission. Thank you so much to those individuals and organizations who have helped by volunteering your precious time with our organization. We will continue to press forward in an effort to pave a smooth pathway leading to services, support, and a welcoming embrace to those reentering the community after incarceration. Click Here to Donate
Happy Birthday to: Kathy Killackey (Feb 18), Nancy Eliseo (Feb 19), Roland Christen (Feb 20), Lee Johnson-Doyle (Feb 20), Nicole Ticknor (Feb 21), Leslie Williams (Feb 22), Tim Palmer (Feb 22), Tracey Armstrong (Feb 22), & Chizuko Duncanson (Feb 25)!
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.
Each submission needs a graphic
Title, date, time and place
2 – 3 sentences describing the event and what impact it will have on participants.
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
We’ve Avoided Talking About it It’s not Sex………..It’s Siding
It’s long past time we did something about the siding on our building. Click the button below to read more.
Wonderful Wednesday Event – Welcome With Dignity 815
February 19, 2025, 6:00 PM
Come hear stories of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from the Rockford region. “Welcome With Dignity 815” respects the dignity and human rights of immigrants and asylum seekers in the 815 Rockford IL area and dispels myths.
Welcome With Dignity 815 is a new coalition of advocates, friends, and neighbors working to:
Confront and correct lies about immigration
Proactively share true immigration information
Bring together a group of Rockford residents who care about the damaging, racism against immigrants and want to make a positive change
Create space for stories to be shared
Why:
We love all of our neighbors
The hate coming toward the immigrant community affects all of us
Rockford is on the cusp of revitalization, and that cannot be done without including all segments of our population
When the immigrant community thrives, the whole community thrives
To strengthen our whole city and bring people together
Our next in-person meeting for the ACLU of Illinois in Rockford will be Thursday, February 20 at 6:30pm. We will be on the third floor at the Rockford Public Library main branch. A speaker from the ACLU of Illinois will provide a Know Your Rights presentation.
Getting to Know UU Path to Membership Sunday, February 23, 12:30 – 2:30
For Newcomers interested in membership.
All 3 sessions in one day!
UU COMMON READ: Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Nonbinary People and Their Families. Join the Sex & Gender Justice Team in reading and discussing this beautiful and positive book. Last chance to purchase the book during coffee hour this Sunday 26th. Or you can buy it online through the UU Bookstore or Amazon. It’s also available on Kindle. We will have our book discussion on Sunday, February 23, from 1 – 3 pm
Pen Pal Workshop Sunday, February 23rd after service UU Prison Ministry of Illinois Pen Pal Program leaders are hosting a workshop after service, with the hope of recruiting more pen pals for 30+ Illinois incarcerated individuals who wish to be matched. Grab a snack in Deale Hall and come to the Church Office meeting room for a 45-minute workshop. Rev. Allison is leading this group.
Question 1: What did you enjoy about being a member of the Board? Answer: I enjoyed hearing what was behind the scenes at the church. My involvement to date centered on the choir, which, of course, meant only going to church twice a week. I enjoyed working with people I only knew by sight. One of my tasks on the Board was serving on the Summer Minister Committee. I enjoyed the interaction with those young seminarians, finding solutions to their housing problems.
Question 2: How did you get your position? Answer: I didn’t “volunteer” for the Board. Basically no one had ever asked me. I received a telephone call from someone on the Nominating Committee. I’d never considered being part of the Board. I tried to find an excuse to say “no”. I didn’t have any conflict with Wednesday night. It was only one night a month. Finally, I reluctantly said “Yes”.
When I was approached to be President of the Board I was flabbergasted! I wasn’t a leader!Rev. Matthew had faith in me. I figured he’d help me. And he did. I learned how to be a leader. When I woke up on the Fourth of July, it suddenly hit me that I was now the president and I was scared. I sat on the couch in my living room, planning what I was going to do, I read Dan Hotchkiss’ book on church government that week. I introduced consent agenda. I coped with replacing the sanctuary air conditioner with a special congregational meeting. I proposed by-law change to the minimum expenditure requiring a congregational vote. By the time my term ended, I believe I was a leader.
Question 3: What was the first position you volunteered for at the church? Answer: The first position I volunteered for was the RE committee. My daughter, Erin was about 2 years old and I was interested in learning more about what she was learning.
JIGSAWPUZZLE EXCHANGE
We are going to start a jigsaw puzzle exchange at the church! Puzzles around 1000 pieces seem to be the most popular. Put your first name on the back and the date you complete the puzzle. Please bring it back when you are done and exchange it for another. It will be fun to see all the names. Look for the puzzle table in Deale Hall.
Submitted by Kim Lowman Vollmer
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
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
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 8th 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.
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 Board of Trustees:
President: Matt Menze
Clerk: Kim Lowman Vollmer
Vice-President: Wendy Bennett
Treasurer: Bob Spelman Trustees: Clark Logemann, Rebecca Beneditz, Neita Webster
The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL | 4848 Turner St., Rockford, IL 61107 | 815-398-6322 | uurockford.org |
