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Living In the Borderland
October 18, 2020, at 10:00 a.m. (Online Only at facebook.com/uurockford)
Rev. Dr. Marlene Walker
Liminal times, transition times, borderland times can be times of great creativity. So much of our lives these past few months have been lived in the space between what was and what is yet to be. This is also true of the time in the life of a congregation when a minister takes a sabbatical or during an interim ministry. How do we live in the spaces between so that we allow them to be a rich and creative time?
Happy Birthday to: Jennifer Riley (10/22), Francie Barnes (10/24), Wendy Larson Bennett (10/26), & Diana Creer-Berti (10/26)!
Share the Plate with UUSC
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) is a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization advancing human rights together with an international community of grassroots partners and advocates. Click here to donate.
UU Church First Online Auction/ Marketplace/ Art Fair!
Wonderful Wednesday, October 28 at 7:00 p.m.
Church member David Black will share stories, photos, and experiences from his two recent trips to Tijuana, Mexico where he volunteered in assisting asylum seekers. Zoom ID: 337-267-3668
A Care Package for Uncertain Times
Today is only 2 weeks from election day, November 3rd, a day we are all both looking forward to and dreading. Besides the certainty that we won’t know the outcome of the election late that night, is the uncertainty of that outcome.
Now is the time to relax and think happy thoughts, as hard as that might be. Here is a smorgasbord of podcasts, poems, and essays designed to help you do just that.
This is from the website, On Being, a public radio site by Krista Tippett.
In particular, I recommend the podcast, “Tending Joy and Practicing Delight” with guest Ross Gay. You can listen by clicking the blue circle with an arrow beneath the title; no need to download the podcast. Each podcast runs a little less than an hour.
If you’re short on time, try the 2-minute “Guided Lovingkindness Meditation.’
You’ll also find, at the bottom of the page, the poem that was read during Sunday’s worship service, “The Peace of Wild Things,” written by Wendell Berry. This recording is also read by Wendell Berry.
Submitted by Teresa Wilmot
*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.
– 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
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.
Donating to NPR
Do you count on Northern Public Radio as a trusted source of news, music, and entertainment? If so, you probably know that the annual pledge drive for the local stations – 89.5 WNIJ/NPR and Classical WNIU 90.5/105.7) – is underway. But did you realize you can contribute to Public Radio and benefit our church at the same time? Here’s how it goes:
Working together, we can pool our tax-deductible donations and enable the church to air underwriting messages (Public Radio’s version of ads) informing the community about our church, its programs, and events. Once you decide on the amount of your gift, write the check to Unitarian Universalist Church, with “NPR” in the memo line. The office will send one big check to Northern Public Radio, and soon listeners throughout Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin will start hearing about Rockford’s UU Church on their favorite radio programs.
The result? Much-needed revenue for the stations and valuable publicity for our church. Questions? Contact the church office.
Literature Link for the Oct 18 sermon about Grace
• Doerr’s characters are full of grief and longing, but also replete with grace. His compassion for human frailty is extraordinarily moving. In luminous prose, he writes about the power and beauty of nature and about the tiny miracles that transform our lives. About Grace is heartbreaking, radiant, and astonishingly accomplished. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/553995.About_Grace
• “Searching for Summer,” by Joan Aiken portrays a young newlywed couple who set off to find luck for their marriage by seeking sunshine, not seen since the terrible days of war. The bride wears yellow in hopes of having the blessing of the sun. https://www.scribd.com/doc/200167328/Joan-Aiken-searching-for-Summer
• https://poets.org/poem/grace-1 From the poet laureate, Joy Harjo, comes this search for grace. Example line:
“I could say grace was a woman with time on her hands,“
In faith,
Dale Dunnigan
Community Events
Building Belonging Community Conversation On Othering & Belonging with john a. Powell Friday, October 23, at 12 – 2 p.m.
