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Heart Goes “Boom Boom Boom”
January 9, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.Onlineand In-Person
Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson The spirit of renewal is fed by hope, adventure, and cutting loose from the expectations that we have set for ourselves, or allowed others to set for us. How can play and courage help you renew what is stale for you?
Volunteers for Sunday Morning January 9 R.E. K and Under: Lauren Smith & Ann Caskey
R.E. Grade 1 and 3: Tracey Koppen & Rachel Keyes
R.E. Grades 4 & Up: Lindsay Trank
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: Amanda Tapfield (01/04), Shane Baker (01/05), Claire Rotolo (01/07), Chandra Pellman (01/07), Caralou Erickson (01/08), Barbara Wilson (01/08), Rebecca Quirk (01/08), Ronda White (01/09), Robin Enders (01/09), Christina Geiselhart (01/09), & Mark Schultz (01/11)!
We will Share the Plate with Eliminate Racism 815
Whose mission is to radically alter divisive social patterns by building genuine relationships across racial, religious, class and cultural differences. Click Here to Donate
Matthew’s Memo January 4, 2022
Welcome to ’22! I have decided that I’m ready to drop the “twenty” and refer to the year with the last digits only. We’ll see if anyone joins me – so far I haven’t had any takers.
The year is starting out “not so great” with rising cases of COVID-19 around the world and right here in our county. Many people we know are getting it; though their vaccination is keeping it mild, it’s still very unpleasant. It also means plans are getting canceled or changed, and that’s no fun at all.
I do urge you to get your booster if you are eligible. And if you or a member of your household is ill, please stay home.
Our commitment to folks staying home means we are going to have last-minute shortages of both volunteers and staff. Please pitch in if you can if you see a need on a Sunday. We’ll do the best we can, and that will be good enough.
That is my motto for this new year – we will do the best we can, and that will be good enough.
The other goal I’m setting is to find moments of joy and delight – to not let everything be miserable, because not everything is miserable. Love, laughter, joy, music, play, justice, hope – all these things are real too.
As you come into this new year, I invite you to consider what your approach might be. How can you “do your best and let that be good enough?”
In faith,
Matthew
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 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.
