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Care for your Soul
June 13, 2021, at 10:00 a.m. Online and In-Person
Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnoson
What does it mean to care for your soul? What is a soul, and how does one care for it? We’ll explore these questions through the only way we can: metaphor and mystery. Join us. The annual meeting will follow the service. MASKS REQUIRED IN-PERSON.
Happy Birthday to: Christine Lippitt (06/11), Jordan DeWilde (06/11), Glenda Shaver (06/13), Susan Fumo (06/13), Karen Freund (06/14), Mary Runestad (06/15), Jim Maier (06/15), Merrick Johnson (06/15), & Deb Bridges (06/15)!
After 40 years in Rockford, Jack Berti and Diana Creer-Berti are moving back to the place where they met and fell in love: Winning Wheels Rehab Center, in Prophetstown, IL. Needing to relocate to a place with more care, Jack and Diana have fond memories of the quality and dignity of care at Winning Wheels. Their greatest sorrow is being further away from their church family. Jack moved Monday, June 7th, and Diana will follow by the end of June. To make them feel connected when they arrive at their new home, you can send them a card or picture. Send it to Jack and Diana Berti, c/o Winning Wheels, 701 E 3rd St, Prophetstown, IL 61277.
We will Share the Plate with The Tommy Corral Memorial Foundation
The Tommy Corral Memorial Foundation is a local organization that provides education to the community, government, and social service members on the factors that lead to suicide. They also provide resources such as support groups for survivors of suicide and their loved ones. Additionally, they provide financial assistance for those struggling with mental illness and suicidal thoughts, the ones in our community that fall through the cracks of our healthcare system, so that they too can receive counseling and other treatments in their journey to wellness. The non-profit is run by the family of Tommy Corral, who was 19 years old when he died from depression and suicide. The Tommy Corral Memorial Foundation has a collaborative approach with partners, supporters, and government, which compounds their impact in the area. https://tommycorralmemorialfoundation.com
Well, that was something. We gathered on Sunday in-person, as well as online, for worship. It was so wonderful to see so many of your faces (well, your eyes). To hear your voices, to give hugs and handshakes and fist-bumps, per your preference. I’ve had more energy and focus since. We’re back, baby!
Things went smoothly. Everyone wore their masks. Kids figured out where they were going and what they were doing, and their early nerves quickly dissipated. We had 23 children outside – which is at the high end of what we thought possible. And we had about 150 adults in the sanctuary – including some first-time visitors. We sang (softly, more or less) along with Tim, and it was wonderful.
Let’s keep it up! Spread the word to church folks you didn’t see. And invite those friends and family and neighbors who are UU-curious. Now is a great time to visit.
Also, a huge thank you to those of you who have completed your pledge form for the upcoming fiscal year. So many of you have made substantial increases to your giving to support our ministry. If you haven’t turned in your form yet, please do so right away:https://uurockford.breezechms.com/form/20b2b4.
Later this week, be on the lookout for an email with the official agenda for the annual meeting, including the budget summary. The agenda will include the zoom info if you choose to attend that way – the meeting will also be in person. That is this Sunday right after church.
See you soon! Yay!
In faith,
Matthew
Resolutions for Annual Meeting
The annual meeting will take place on June 13th, at 11 am. The agenda will include the election of officers (see elsewhere for the report from the nominating panel), the approval of a budget and permanent fund allocations (forthcoming – please complete your pledge if you haven’t already), and two resolutions. The first is very simple.
“We, the members of The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, vote to authorize the ordination of Omega Burckhardt to the Unitarian Universalist Ministry at a ceremony in the near future. The date for the ceremony shall be set by the Senior Minister and the ordinand.”
It’ll be our pleasure to ordain Omega – and a chance for her to be with you in person! Please be prepared to vote enthusiastically to support her ministry.
The second resolution is longer. If you’ve been reading Teresa’s columns about UUA business, you may know about this. The resolution itself explains what it is all about. It reads:
“Whereas, The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, has connected our living faith with our work against racial injustice since we proudly called the abolitionist Unitarian minister Rev. Augustus Conant in 1855, including the vigorous efforts of ministers and members of this church to establish and defend the Booker T. Washington Community Center, and to work for fair housing, equitable education, intercultural understanding, and end systems of racial injustice nationally and locally; and
Whereas, a group of Unitarian Universalists has advanced a proposed 8th Principle, which reads: Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.; and
Whereas Unitarian Universalist congregations have endorsed and adopted this 8th principle in solidarity with these aims, and congregations have been asked by Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism to add their support for this work; and
Whereas The Unitarian Universalist Association has appointed and empowered an Article 2 Commission to propose a long-overdue rewrite of the current principles and purposes (Article 2 of our association’s bylaws) and that this commission includes an original author of the 8th principle, Paula Cole Jones, and that the commission has indicated that the spirit of the 8th Principle will be included in their draft to be presented to the General Assembly of the UUA;
Therefore, The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, affirms that building a diverse multicultural Beloved Community and accountably dismantling racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions is an essential part of our journey to spiritual wholeness and supports the inclusion of the spirit of the proposed 8th Principal in the Article 2 Commission’s forthcoming language; and
We also commit ourselves to building a diverse multicultural Beloved Community in our congregation, including through our common and individual actions to dismantle racism and other oppressions. “
The most important part of this resolution, for us, is the last sentence. We are not just affirming for this for Unitarian Universalists in general, but for ourselves. We already have very similar language in our ends statements, and we have been doing this kind of work for a long time – but there’s a lot more to do.
This 8th Principal resolution comes to you from the Senior Minister and the Board, with the support of our Justice For All team leaders. We hope you’ll strongly support it as well.
In faith,
Matthew
Justice For All Meeting Postponed
Because of the Congregational Meeting is happening after Sunday’s service, we will postpone our next meeting till Sunday, June 20th starting ten minutes after the end of the service. We will be meeting in the Conference Room. Anyone interested is invited.
Duane and Shiraz
Our Rockford UU family needs YOU!
Join the Caring Team and be part of the wonderful fabric of our congregation. We have members who, at times, need to rely on our community for things like rides to the store or to a medical appointment, meals to be cooked and delivered, a friendly visit to relieve the isolation, etc. Can you rise to the occasion? Join the Caring Team the first Tuesday of each month at 6pm to learn how to offer support.
Speaking from personal experience as not only a member of the Caring Team but at one time a recipient, it is truly a wonderful experience. Caring about others is also caring for yourself. In the spirit of this month’s Sunday messages, it’s good for the soul as we dwell in love for each other!
For more information, you are welcome to contact Kathy Scarpaci, Caring Team chair, at kscarpaci@yahoo.com or call the church office.
Do you have a need or know someone who does? Let us know.
Submitted by Caring Team member Bob Babcock
Attention Ramblers!!
We will meet on Wednesday, June 9, at 2:00 PM at Sugar River Alder Forest Preserve –
10255 Haas Rd, Shirland, IL 61024. Meet at the South entrance on Haas Rd.
(For those of you familiar with Colored Sands FP, it’s on the same road)
If the weather is not in our favor, we will meet the following Wednesday, June 16th.
At this year’s virtual General Assembly 2021, at some time after 12:30 pm on Saturday, June 26th, the delegates will vote on making this draft statement an official Statement of Conscience, a legal statement to the world of an ethical position. The UUA doesn’t approve SOC’s easily, and they show wide agreement of its member congregations.
Normally the association would be working on another CSAI now, and would vote on a new CSAI at this General Assembly. However, the CSW, Commission on Social Witness, concluded last year that no new CSAI’s would be proposed for a period of time. This draft SOC and the previous one, Our Democracy Uncorrupted, are so important now, that congregations should be allowed to devote their energy toward these goals, without new issues. This action is unprecedented.
Please consider attending this virtual General Assembly, June 23 to 27. View this 3:32 minute invitation from our President, Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray.
Literature Link for June 6, 2021-Gathering our spirits
• “Tug o’ War” by Shel Silverstein. This is classic wit from Silverstein. “I will not play at tug o’war./ I’d rather play at hug o’ war,” Here is an audio read aloud by his son. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErO_hc03d4M • John Lewis: We Are the Beloved Community. “I discovered that you have to have this sense of faith that what you’re moving toward is already done.” Civil rights leader John Lewis on living as if the “beloved community” were already our reality.” This is a podcast from NPR’s On Being with Krista Tippet. A moving testament to this great leader. https://onbeing.org/programs/beloved-community-john-lewis-2/
• The Eatonville Anthology by Zora Neale Hurston. “In fourteen [very] short vignettes we meet some of the residents of Eatonville, Florida. It is a small African-American community. The anecdotes are often humorous, describing the eccentricities, perceptions, crimes, entertainments, and tall-tales of the townspeople.” We see community building at a personal level. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~MA01/Grand-Jean/Hurston/Chapters/anthology.html
• “Overlapping Universes” by Lin Gauthier [poem] “there’s a universe/ bound to each person we meet/big invisible bubbles/ around compact little bodies”
My favorite line though is “the magic only happens/ when souls connect in trust” https://allpoetry.com/poems/about/Connection
In faith,
Dale Dunnigan
*ZOOM Church Calendar*
Most “all church” events will be 337-267-3668. This is the Personal Meeting
ID for “Thomas Kerr,” our online identity (and the minister from 1870-1900,
who used all the new technology of his time to reach those he
served). Generally, there will be a waiting room and the host will need to
admit you.
-Social Justice Committee will meet on July 7th at 7:00 p.m. in the Library
– Coffee Hour on Sunday. 337-267-3668. 11:10 am. Chris will
be host.
– Touchstones: contact your touchstones group facilitator for the time
and meeting ID, if you don’t already have it.
– Caring Team Meeting – The first Tuesday of each month at 6 pm. ID 337-267-3668
-Membership Team Meetingsare on the 1st Thursday of the month at 7 pm. Meeting ID: 980 2780 4780
Want to have a group – a book group, a parent group, a “circle supper”, or
whatever you like? You can create a free Zoom account (40-minute limit,
though often waived by zoom at minute 35). Or, you can use “Thomas Kerr’s”
– just email Autumn atoffice@uurockford.organd she can give you the login
and password. Please make sure to tell Autumn if you are having a meeting so we can put it on the calendar.
The Unitarian Universalist Church, Rockford, IL | 4848 Turner St., Rockford, IL 61107 | 815-398-6322 | uurockford.org |
