The Power of Two
February 13, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.Online and in-person Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson A close friendship or romantic relationship can be a balm in times of trouble, a source of wisdom when are full of doubt, and give us the power to become our best selves. How might we nurture “the power of two” in our lives?
Happy Birthday to: Pete Giolitto (02/09), Colleen McDonald (02/09), Winnie Chin (02/09), Todd Elliott (02/09), Dave Schubert (02/10), Tracey Koppen (02/10), James Dehler (02/11), & Jesse Hodierne (02/14)!
Please hold the Whitsitt family in your thoughts and prayers, Koko the great-granddaughter of Robert and Billie Whitsitt died after a tragic accident.
We will Share the Plate with UUANI UUANI provides Unitarian Universalists across Illinois with advocacy and legislative leadership to effectively build community and power to promote justice and a healthy planet. We bring social justice into the heart of spiritual life of congregations and develop ways for church communities to live the UU principles. We help bridge communities and congregations and align spirituality with tangible actions to affect change. Click Here to Donate
Kairos Column / Social Media post-Feb 8 2022
The church staff, who has been empowered by the board to implement our covid policies, reviewed our county numbers, trends, and realities over the last few days. We wanted to know if could we return to offering both in-person and online worship? And if so, with what modifications are needed to welcome families with young children who are almost but not quite yet eligible for vaccination?
We have decided that the answer to the first question is yes. Beginning this Sunday, February 13th, we will again offer both online and in-person worship at 10 am central time. You can come to the church, or join on Facebook or YouTube.
If you come in-person, remember that masks are required. We strongly recommend an N94 or N95 high-quality mask. You can order them online, and they offer much higher protection (and, often, more comfort!) than cloth masks. Also remember that we will be humming, not singing, in-person until the numbers get much lower. And: vaccinations, including booster shots, are expected and enthusiastically recommended for all who are eligible.
If you or a member of your family has any symptoms or was exposed to a positive case, please join from home, not in-person.
What about our families with young children? (Keep reading, even if you don’t have a young child because this affects everyone). A few facts:
The pandemic has been brutal for parents of young children, and they feel like the nation is forgetting they exist. Please know we love you and care for you.
Children under five may be eligible for vaccination by the end of the month, but they are not yet.
We are not in a position to ask staff or volunteers to work with children under five right now. Soon! But not yet.
Many of our families with young children have opted for online worship in the last two months. But some have chosen to come in-person, because that’s what their spirit needs. Right now, we are going to do our best to center the needs of these families who have had it so rough.
Our families, including our volunteers, have children both under and over five. We need to offer the same options for all our kids.
As soon as it is warm enough, our religious education program will move back outside!
There are no perfect choices.
So, families with children of any age or youth are welcome to come to worship in the sanctuary. They are also welcome to join with other families in Deale Hall and watch/listen to the service together. You can begin in the Sanctuary and stay there, begin in the Sanctuary and go to Deale Hall after the story for all ages, or begin and stay in Deale Hall. There will be Legos, coloring books, and other things for children to do with their hands in Deale Hall (there are also coloring sheets they can bring into the sanctuary). A few modifications to the worship will be made to explicitly include content for children.
No nursery care or RE classroom time will be available at this time – a combination of warmer weather, vaccination eligibility, and volunteer sign-ups will shift that soon. This is a temporary measure.
If you are not comfortable with the possibility that children who are not eligible for vaccination yet might be in the sanctuary, you should choose to watch online.
Lindsay Trank and Lauren Smith will be around on Sunday will check in with families before worship and in Deale Hall – but caregivers are responsible for their children and youth. At least one caregiver must accompany any children who go to Deale Hall.
Questions? Just ask me. We’re all figuring this out together.
In faith,
Matthew
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 next sessions are: Wednesday, Feb. 9th, 7pm, on zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82720790087.
Sunday, Feb 20th, 11:30am, in Deale Hall – masks required. (watch for any change to location).
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 at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82720790087. 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.
Our congregation’s Accessibility and Inclusion Ministry, AIM Team is meeting on Thursday, February 10th at 6:00pm.
The AIM Team strives to welcome individuals with disabilities and their families into the congregation. The main purpose of the team is to keep track of the big picture of the congregation’s welcome and accessibility, address issues of concern and possibly develop strategies to address these concerns.
AIM team meetings will be held quarterly, February, May, September, and November. Each meeting will last about an hour and a half. We may organize workshops, or guest speakers at other times of the year.
Consider being part of the AIM Team at UU Church Rockford. If you have questions, please give me a call. We will meet via Zoom on Thursday, February 10th at 6:00pm.
If you plan to join us, please let me know. There is a report and other information to review prior to the meeting.
Wonderful Wednesday February 17th at 7 pm
Rockford’s Pending CDFI’s
On January 10, 2022, Rockford’s City Council unanimously passed a long-term loan agreement financing a CDFI in partnership with Northern Illinois Community Development Corporation (NICDC), the Rockford Local Development Corporation (RLDC), and local financial institutions (banks.)
What is a CDFI anyway? Whom in Rockford will be affected by this new entity? How will they be affected? What can individuals do to support this CDFI?
A second CDFI is also in planning, but not through the city.
These two institutions are not in competition; Rockford could use even more CDFI’s. Each has a unique niche, but both serve low-income neighborhoods in our community, and they include a lot of people. As these neighborhoods improve economically, Rockford will be a stronger, more equitable city, which benefits all of us.
Join me on Wednesday, 2/17 to learn more about this federal designation.
Film Discussion
Friday February 11, 2022
6-8:30 p.m.
For Ahkeem: Challenges facing African-American teenagers:Intimate coming of age story illuminates challenges that many black teenagers face in America today and witnesses the strength resilience and determination it takes to survive.
Join Zoom Meeting here: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81211275487 The film discussions are presented in partnership with The Baha’i Community of the Rockford Area and Rockford Public Library.
Book Discussion
Thursday February 24, 2022 6:00 p.m.
Join us by zoom for a discussion of 1619 Project-A New Origin Storyby Nikole Hannah-Jones and multiple other contributors.
We will be discussing pages 249-480.
The book reframes our understanding of American history by placing slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative.
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.
Dear colleagues,
Thank you to the colleagues who have signed onto our faith leader support letter that defends pretrial fairness and supports criminal justice reforms made last year with the passage of the Safe-T Act. We are in a political climate where legislators -who supported pretrial fairness and ending money bond- are backpedaling due to bad information, fear-mongering, and racist rhetoric in the midst of a really wonky, short session with elections coming up. Just last week Republican legislators introduced a bill to repeal the entirety of the Safe-T Act, which includes the Pretrial Fairness Act. We don’t think this will go through, but this is one of dozens that are entering the hopper.
We have only around 40 clergy signed onto this letter that not only supports the pretrial fairness act but also says we support criminal justice reforms. We need at least 100 clergy signed on.
So far we only have 15 people signed up to attend the faith-based teach-in. With your help, we can have a robust group of people of faith building new relationships together while learning about decarceration through pretrial fairness.
THE TWO-PRONGED ASK:
1) You can share the content and graphics below in your newsletters to help us educate UUs about pretrial fairness and how we really are at the 50-yard line, still working for a touchdown.
Faith Based Pretrial Fairness Act Teach-In: Join us on February 15th at 6pm for “On Faith and Freedom,” a virtual interfaith teach-in for clergy and people of faith on the Pretrial Fairness Act and the movement for pretrial freedom.
Many thanks for your continued dedication in a time where your demands are many. Your moral voice matters to us at UUPMI and as part of the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice.
Blessings,
Allison
Defend the Pretrial Fairness Act and Stop Bills Promoting Mass Incarceration
One year ago, Illinois legislators passed the Pretrial Fairness Act as a section of the SAFE-T Act, a large criminal justice reform package. Next year, the Pretrial Fairness Act will go into full effect, ending our state’s use of money bond and transforming our pretrial legal system by ensuring people will no longer be locked up before being convicted of anything simply because they cannot pay for their freedom.
But, the fight isn’t over. Law enforcement and other political conservatives are already trying to convince legislators to dismantle the Pretrial Fairness Act before it is implemented. We must demand our legislators–elected officials who work for us!–say NO to mass incarceration and YES to pretrial freedom and the presumption of innocence. You can do two things:
Writing to Legislators: Reactionary racist backlash is threatening to not only undo the changes we’ve set in motion, but also to push for regressive policies fueling mass incarceration. We are calling on people across Illinois to come together and let our legislators know that real community safety comes from ensuring that our neighbors have the resources they need to thrive, not through punishment. Simply use this form to contact your legislators.
Attend our Faith Based Pretrial Fairness Act Teach-In: Join us on February 15th at 6pm for “On Faith and Freedom,” a virtual teach-in for clergy and people of faith on the Pretrial Fairness Act and the movement for pretrial freedom. Presenters from the Network will share how faith calls us to defend the historic progress made through this legislation and there will be space for attendees to engage in community conversation on these themes. Register here.
To make sure the law is fully and faithfully implemented, we have to make our voices heard to defend it against this dehumanizing backlash!
Community Events
Wondering about where to get a special gift for a dear one or to shop at a place where you support local artists and the magic that happens when people connect around shared values?! Do join us at Inscape Collective in the former Just Goods space on Saturday, February 12 between 2 & 7 PM!
Trip to Collette Ireland
Lee County Council on Aging are organizing a trip to Ireland from October 5-12 of this year. The trip is a guided tour through Collette. For more information click here gateway.gocollette.com/link/1083188 Questions please contact April Reed lccoabookkeeper@comcast.net815-288-9236
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 |
