Just As I Am; Why Universalists Don’t Do Altar Calls
July 10, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. Online and in-person
Rev. Misha Sanders
We will Share the Plate with R.U.M. Founded in 1962, RUM (as Rockford Urban Ministries is affectionately known) is the outreach of more than twenty faith communities working together on social justice ministries. Click Here to Donate
Happy Birthday to: Tim Rowley (07/05), Amber Bruns (07/05), Bob King (07/06), Linda Kimel (07/07), Gina Pulciani (07/08), Alan Griffith (07/09), Matt Menze (07/09), Myrna Rowe (07/10), David Weissbard (07/10), Jerri Jones (07/10), Barb Joyner (07/11), & Nicole Taylor (07/12)!
Volunteers for Sunday, July 10
Ushers: We Need 2 Volunteers
Greeters: We Need 2 Volunteers
Guest Table: We Need 2 Volunteers
Coffee Hosts: We Need 2 Volunteers
Please note that if you volunteer for coffee host you will need to clean up afterward and run the cups through the sanitizer.
As a sure sign of being in my mid-forties, I’ve been spending more and more time with physical therapists. I have a set of exercises I’m supposed to be doing for my hip (turns out my legs aren’t exactly the same length, which is normal) and another for my neck and spine (slouching is bad for you!). And, unsurprisingly, I don’t do them every day.
I don’t feel it the day I skip. I feel it the next day, or a few days a later. That’s when it starts to hurt again.
The analogy to spiritual work is self-evident. I need to do regular work to keep my spirit and heart strong and open. If I do that work, I feel pretty good. If I don’t, I don’t feel right away, but later on. When I need those “muscles and joints” to work well, they don’t behave.
What are those spiritual exercises?
It includes study and learning – I need to be reading, thinking, and learning about new things. Otherwise I get trapped in my own cul-de-sac of the mind.
It includes finding joy, beauty, and gratitude in this world. The more pain in the news or in my life, the more important this becomes. Not to deny the pain, but to find the strength and courage to address it.
And it includes, for me, time with colleagues. To worship together, talk together, laugh together – this is spiritual food for my soul. Being with them two weeks ago, and feasting on our community, I realized just how hungry I was. It was a blessing.
What are your spiritual exercises? What keeps your spirit both strong and flexible? Are you making time each day to do them?
Staying healthy and well is, sometimes, a matter of habit. I hope you will find habits that nourish you, body and soul.
In faith,
Matthew
P.S. I will be on vacation from July 8th through July 17th.
Winnebago County Citizens for Choice – WCCC Thursday July 7, 6:30 p.m. at the Church
Following the SCOTUS decision to roll back Roe v Wade, many people have questions and concerns! Join us to talk and explore our options for supporting body autonomy! Because Women’s Rights ARE Human Rights! Guest Speaker Dr. Christensen
Caring Team
Our Caring Team continues to provide supportive, loving care through the summer months. If you or a loved one has a care need, please let Rev. Joyce or a member of the Care Team know. We are here for you. Contact Rev. Joyce at revjoycepalmer@yahoo.com
Plans for Adult Programs: Come Help Us Grow!
You are invited to join me and others in planning for Adult Programs for the upcoming Fall and Spring. We are encouraging members and friends with a variety of perspectives and from various traditions to provide input and leadership for our adult programs in accordance with our ends “to equip people to share radical love in their daily lives, and to have authentic conversations”.
We are looking for both ideas and leaders. Do you have a topic or community leader you would like to hear from? Let us know if you are interested in leading a discussion group, either a one time group or a short series. We can provide mentoring if this is new to you, or perhaps pair you up with an experienced facilitator.
If you are interested in meeting to brainstorm future topics or want to lead a group, please let Rev. Joyce know atrevjoycpalmer@yahoo.com
Memorial Services
Have you found that attending a memorial service is often a time you are especially proud to be a Unitarian Universalist? Help us continue this tradition by volunteering to assist in providing modest food and drinks after memorial services. Services usually occur on a Saturday or Sunday. The committee would especially welcome a younger church member to participate.
Thank you to Linda Lawrence and Reggie French for volunteering to provide family support to members for memorial services. Caring for each other does make our church family stronger.
Give us a call: Sue Wilke 815-742-9709, Teresa Palmeno 815-988-1763, or Linda Spelman 815-979-877
The Justice For All team is transforming into the Racial and Economic Justice cluster of the Faith In Action model for our congregation’s social justice work. We welcome all the members of the Justice For All team as well as those who would like to live our Unitarian Universalist values by focusing on economic and racial justice activities. We will be meeting on July 10th after service in the library. Come join us!
Film Discussion
Friday July 8 2022
6-8:30 p.m.
Black in Minneapolis: A modern-day Malcolm X story, told through the eyes of a Black man who witnesses his brother’s murder by police during a routine traffic stop by generating a movement of Black people to fight against systemic oppression through community organizing, political policy, and force.
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.
The Board of Trustees:
President: Judy Gustafson
Clerk: Bob Spelman
Vice-President: Spitty Tata
Treasurer: Steve Blomgren
Trustees: Shoko Chien, Sarah Greer, Jami Edmonds
The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL | 4848 Turner St., Rockford, IL 61107 | 815-398-6322 | uurockford.org |
A modern-day Malcolm X story, told through the eyes of a Black man who witnesses his brother’s murder by police during a routine traffic stop by generating a movement of Black people to fight against systemic oppression through community organizing, political policy, and force.
