The Courage to Parent May 8, 2022, at 10:00 a.m.Online and in-person Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson
Being a mother or any kind of parent is a courageous choice. In this world of war, the climate crisis, pandemic, and economic insecurity, it can also be a courageous choice to not be a parent. We’ll talk about courage, choice, parenting, freedom, peace and all that is swirling around us.
We will Share the Plate Crusader Community Health
Crusader Community Health serves the Rock River Valley area with quality primary health care for all people in need. Click Here to Donate
Happy Birthday to: Ed Foster (05/04), Mary Ann Brown (05/05), Carol Fox (05/09), & Christe Lunsford (05/09)!
Volunteers for Sunday, May 8
Ushers: We Need 2 Volunteers
Greeters: We Need 2 Volunteers
Guest Table: We Need 2 Volunteers
Coffee Hosts: Spitty Tata & We Need 1 More Volunteer
Please note that if you volunteer for coffee host you will need to clean up afterward and run the cups through the sanitizer.
Last night, a copy of the draft opinion of the majority of the supreme court overturning Roe and Casey, and allowing states to ban reproductive health care, was leaked to the press. Here is what I have to say about that draft opinion.
As a pastor, I know many people who have had an abortion. They have been young teenagers, pressured into sex, and mom’s in their 40’s who had already started menopause and thought there was no way they could get pregnant. They have been clergy, businesswomen, artists, and politicians. Some got pregnant from rape. Some had partners who left when the pregnancy was discovered. Some were atheists, some were Christians, others were UU’s or various other faiths. In each and every case, the option to choose was life-giving, necessary, and a blessing.
As a theologian, I believe that life begins with the first breath. This is the theological position of many of the world’s religions, including in the Jewish tradition. As a follower of the process theology inspired by Alfred North Whitehead, I draw a strong distinction between potentiality and actuality. Potential life has some moral weight, of course, but it is not life, and the decision of what to do with her own body belongs to the living person, and to her alone.
As a student of the supreme court and the constitution, I know that this is the most radical court we have seen since the 1920’s. The majority does not believe in unenumerated rights. That includes not just the right to abortion health care, but also the right to marry, the right to contraception, the right to privacy, or the right to be free from discrimination based on race or gender. The only rights they believe in are the rights of conservatives to discriminate against people they don’t like. This is just the beginning.
As a student of politics, I know that the remedy is democracy – to make our democracy reflect the will of the people. Americans overwhelming support a right to abortion health care. Getting enough votes to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act in the Senate means winning two more seats – most likely, in 2022, in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Working for that Wisconsin seat will matter. We will also need to hold the house, a tough challenge – and IL-17 is key to making that happen. We will hold a forum of the IL-17 primary tomorrow night at 7 pm on zoom – the info is elsewhere in this Kairos.
As a father, I know that every child deserves to be fully loved and wanted. I know so many parents who know that abortion health care allowed them to be a better parent to their children.
As a student of economics, I know that rich women will get abortion health care when they need it. It is poor women who will die from unsafe abortions. Here in Northern Illinois, you can help reduce that injustice by supporting Scotti’s fund, named for our beloved late member and devoted abortion rights supporter, Scotti Lichtenheld. You can send a check to “Scotti’s Fund for Women’s Health” and mail it to PO Box 4443, Rockford, IL 61110.
As a Unitarian Universalist, I hold that reproductive justice is a religious value. This includes paid parental leave, affordable child and health care, comprehensive sex education, and abortion health care for all. Bodily autonomy, the freedom to make your own choices, and policies that actually care for the children we have – these are my religious values.
I am not surprised by the court’s draft decision, but I will not accept it. This court, packed by a seditious president who did not win the popular vote, is illegitimate. I intend to do all I can to reverse it and to ensure that all people have access to abortion health care without restriction.
In faith,
Matthew
Info for candidates for forum
The zoom is
Topic: Candidate Forum – May 4th
Time: May 4, 2022 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)
The forum begins at 7, it would be great if the candidate was on at 6:45 for tech check.
That is the same ID that you can share with others – feel free to help us promote it!
I will welcome people.
There will be 7-8 questions, asked by different folks from the congregations or partner organizations.
Each candidate will have 2 minutes to answer each question. We will rotate the order each time.
Each candidate will get 2 minutes for a closing statement.
The forum will be recorded and posted afterwards.
Five candidates have confirmed: Sorenson, Wallace, Normoyle, Logemann, and Williams.
The Library Team is pleased to announce the addition of three new books to our collection: Unitarian Christianity by William Ellery Channing, Woman In the Nineteenth Century by Margaret Fuller, and Darkening the Doorways by Mark D. Morrison-Reed
It’s Time to Get Together Again Auction
– which means it’s time for the UU Auction to get under way.
After two years of being apart, let us get to know each other again. What better way to do this than over a delicious meal, at a cocktail party, at a friendly game night, a beautiful nature hike, or a painting party! This year’s Auction will concentrate on social activities that will help us reconnect!
So, here is the plan: Starting now, please take some time to think about a social gathering(s) that you could host. Then, beginning May 15 until June 1, the UU Church Online Auction site will be open for your donated offerings. Be creative! A link to the Auction website will appear in the May 10th issue of Kairos, but will not be accessible until Monday, May 16, when you will be able to self-post your donations. If you need assistance or have any questions, you can contact Wendy Bennett (815-218-0082) or Peggy Menze (360-485-8324).
Spread your offering ideas out over the coming year.
Take some folks to lunch and a movie.
Go watch skydivers at Rochelle Airport.
Get a group and go kayaking.
Offer a holiday gathering, a harvest supper, a summer soirée!
Plan a field trip to a park or museum, a sledding party, a swim party, a winter doldrums gathering.
The possibilities are endless and sky’s the limit!!
Next: Bidding on events will begin on June 1, 2022 and end the night of the Annual Meeting, June 15, 2022.
So…Let’s Get Together, again!!
Wendy & Peggy, co-chairs
Camerata Emanon Singers Present “Of Moon and Stars” May 6
A collaboration with Mendelssohn Performing Arts Center
Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Mendelssohn PAC – Starr Center Auditorium, 415 North Church Street, Rockford IL 61103
Tickets are $20 In Advance / $25 At the Door / $6 Student
A musical celebration of the warmth, wisdom, and wonder of our nighttime celestial companions, a source of inspiration for musical and poetic arts throughout the ages.
The concert, led by music director Tim Anderson, will feature timeless pieces by Schubert, Barber, Brubeck, Thompson, and Lauridsen, as well as gems from contemporary choral repertoire by Daniel Elder, Susan LaBarr, and Stuart Chapman Hill and a few fun pieces mixed in for good measure. For specific invitation about COVID-19 protocols, contact Mendelssohn PAC at 815.964.9713.
Bring a Friend Sundays
Do you have a friend or neighbor who might be interested in learning more about our spiritual community?
Sunday, May 15 is Music Sunday-share the gifts and talents of our wonderful choir and Music Director Tim Anderson with the music lovers in your life.
Sunday, May 22 is Rev. Matthew preaching on the Courage to Be which promises not only to inspire and challenge us, but also provide encouragement to practice our faith in meaningful ways.
AIM Team invites you to a training on Microaggressions and Disability
Monday, May 23 at 11am in the Library. Join us for Oops/Ouch presentation with:
Lighten up!
Generosity Campaign 2022
It’s time to Lighten Up! To celebrate, to be joyful, to have fun, and to turn up our light as a church. We’re about to begin our generosity (aka stewardship, aka pledge drive) campaign for the coming fiscal year. We hope every member will attend ONE of the following events. Each event is designed to highlight something fun and good about our church. There will be a brief stewardship presentation at each event, but the focus will be on having fun and doing good together. More information to come. But for now, select one event and put it on your calendar.
Wesley Willows Happy Hour! Meet on the driveway at the home of Myrna and Dick Lake. BYOB. Contact office if you need address. Friday, May 6th, 4pm.
Woods and Prairie at the Church! Meet in the parking lot to hike our woods and prairie with a naturalist guide. Saturday, May 7, 2pm.
Ice-cream Social! We’ll get an ice-cream truck. It’ll be great. Sunday, May 15th, after church.
See you at one of these events!
Your generosity team: Ruth Little, Wendy Bennett, Linda Johnson, Sara Dorner, Sandi Campbell, and Matthew Johnson
Film Discussion
Friday May 13, 2022
6-8:30 p.m. What’s Race Got to do with it? Social Disparities & Student Success: Despite years of diversity programs, campuses remain hamstrung in their efforts to become more welcoming of all. 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 May 26, 2022 6:00 p.m.
Join us by zoom for a discussion of Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America by John Lewis. The book draws from his experience as a prominent leader of the Civil Rights Movement to offer timeless wisdom for anyone interested in inspiring real change toward a freer more peaceful society.
Please read the book on your own and we will discuss it.
Book discussions are presented in partnership with Rockford Public Library.
Community Events
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 |
