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Dear beloved Fellowship community,
How are you doing? I admit that as the months drag on in this pandemic and the need for physical distance only increases (as infection rates continue to rise in our community), I find myself feeling increasingly sad, frustrated, angry, and overwhelmed by the realities of life “in these times.”
And yet, I am also aware that this is the time of year marked by so many new beginnings… school has begun and children have headed off to their first day—even if that is taking place in their living room or basement! We welcomed our new intern minister Ali Peters this week, and you will get a chance to welcome her on Sunday. The Fellowship is kicking off our new program year over the next week or two, with Wellspring, children and youth RE, choir, and other programs starting up afresh. You’ll notice some changes coming soon to our Sunday worship service, and I hope that you will take a few moments to participate in some of the ways we are offering.
Our theme for this program year is Growing Resilience. Resilience is a word that means strong, but also flexible. It means being able to sustain ourselves, but not at the expense of connection and community. All of these new beginnings give me hope, that we are, individually and collectively, so much more resilient than we might even know.
Trust me: I realize that one more Zoom meeting or one more e-mail is a lot to ask right now. But your creative and amazing staff and lay-leaders have been working hard to find ways to create meaningful connections to sustain each other spiritually through the weeks and months ahead. This is a long-haul, friends. We need to take time to re-connect to our values, our hopes, and our community so that we can Grow Resilience in ourselves and each other.
May it be so!
See you on Sunday…Rev. Christina
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Sunday Service10:00 am CST
Mingling of the Waters, an all-ages service with Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy, Rev. Leah Ongiri, and Ali Peters
Click HERE for Worship Service details
Click HERE for details on the Mingling of the Waters Car Parade
Call in: 312-626-6799
with meeting ID 176 319 484
- Click HERE for worship service Zoom link
- Listen to past sermons HERE
- Watch some of our past sermons on our Youtube channel
- Click HERE for information on hosting a traveling chalice in your home
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Hello parents of religious education students,
Children’s Chapel will meet at 9:00 AM on Sunday for check-in with friends and a mini-introduction to, “What is Water Mingling?” At 10:00 kids and parents are invited to our all ages Mingling of the Waters service, and the day will culminate in the Mingling of the Waters Car Parade later in the afternoon.
Youth Connection will meet at 11:00 AM after the Mingling service to wrap-up our year and our unit on Atheism and Agnosticism.
We hope to see everyone on Sunday! - Kim Hartman, director of religious education
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Click the image above for details on all these events.
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- September 10 What do UUs Believe? with Marie Luna, director of congregational life
- September 17 - Is this a new religion? with Marie Luna, director of congregational life
- September 22 - How do we "do church"? with Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy, Senior Minister
- September 30 - Anti-racism Learning Group Discussion Part 1 of 3 with Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy, Senior Minister
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| Religious Education - Children and Youth
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Religious Education Classes Start September 20
Join us for our new and exciting virtual program year!
Sunday programs:
• Children’s Chapel (grades pre-K through 6): First and third Sunday of each month
• Crossing Paths (Formerly Building Bridges) (grades 7 through 12): Second and fourth Sunday of each month
For details please visit our website HERE.
In order to provide a safe learning experience for our children, registration of all children between the ages of Pre-K through 12th grade is required in order to receive Zoom links. Please make every effort to register your child(ren) by the due date, as this will help us keep our families better informed about current happenings and use our staff resources most efficiently.
Registration Link HERE. Registrations for the year are due September 27, 2020.
There is a $20 registration fee for each child; the fee for families with more than two children is $45. Scholarships are available, contact Kim Hartman, director of religious education, at kim@fvuuf.org for information. If you are a visitor who would like to attend without registration, please contact Kim.
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Travel Meeting for DevaSunday, September 20 from 11:00-12:30 pm CST
Zoom link HERE
Meeting ID: 852 3600 5761, Passcode: 789131
Call In: 301-715-8592
Please join us for a fun and informational meeting to discuss our next trip to Deva in June of 2022. It will be a multi-generational trip, with a youth focus, to deepen our roots in our UU faith. Our meeting will have pictures, stories, and ways to get ready for the trip. We will discuss fundraising strategies, information about the history, culture, and language of Transylvania. Youth grades 6 and up are encouraged to attend the meeting as well!
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Dear friends,
I hope you are well! I’m writing to welcome everyone to participate online in music-making at the Fellowship this year.
- Singing with the Fellowship Choir (online, most Wednesdays at 7:00 pm)
- Discussing music (online, occasional Wednesdays at 7:00 pm)
- Putting together small-group special music, i.e. mUUse (online, scheduling TBD)
- Offering an audio or video musical contribution for prelude music
Remember, there’s a difference between physical distancing and social distancing. Even while we’re apart physically, let’s connect with one another socially in song.
Peace,
Steve
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Journey Group Facebook GroupMarty Arnold and Brian Murton are facilitating a Facebook group for those who can't participate in the monthly Journey Group meetings. All are invited to join this group to engage with the themes on your own time. The monthly theme packet will be provided in the group. Click on the link above to ask to join the private group and then read and agree to the posted covenant. Contact Marie Luna, director of congregational life, at marie@fvuuf.org with questions.
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The new Justice Hub webpage is live!Find out how to support justice within the Fellowship and beyond at our new Justice Hub webpage.
This week, there are lots of things you'll want to know about:
- A Zoom meeting to learn about local election processes including the integrity of our vote-by-mail system
- Ways to get involved with UU the Vote, including a phone-banking opportunity with other UUs
- Sign up to serve dinner at the Pillars adult shelter
- The Green Sanctuary Team is exploring the intersection of environmental and racial justice... Join them!
- A UUA/Side with Love webinar to learn about national criminal justice reform
If you want to submit something to the Justice Hub webpage for publication each weekend, submit by Wednesday HERE.
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A Note from Rev. LeahI was honored to have the text and audio recording of an essay I wrote, based on some research for Fellowship services (most recently when I preached on August 9th, which you can hear here) included in Quest for Meaning, a project of Church of the Larger Fellowship, a Unitarian Universalist congregation without walls.
The Quest for Meaning site engages people of all ages and stages in Unitarian Universalism, and its many ministries nurture depth and meaning in places as diverse as family dinner tables, prison cells, and military mess halls. Their theme this month was imagination.
Check out my contribution and a variety of materials HERE.
Most importantly, thanks for being a place that supports me in contributing to conversations in the larger UU community. The Fellowship encourages my imagination and for that I am grateful!
Love, Leah
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Notable Extras
- Black Lives Matter Lending Library
- Zoom Guidance
- Masks Available at the Little Free Library
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Click HERE for details about all these groups.
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- Anti Racism Fellowship Facebook Group
A group for people affiliated with our Fellowship who want to learn about racism, anti-racism, and how to be better allies in the struggle for racial justice ongoing, find the group and ask to join by clicking HERE.
- Fellowship Community Journal
Ongoing, submit your work to leah@fvuuf.org
More information HERE.
- Fellowship Pen Pals - Click HERE for information.
- Joyful Mind Zen Sangha; Saturdays, 7:00 am CST
- Men's Group, First Wednesdays & Third Tuesdays, 7-9:00 pm CST
- Pollinate (BIPoC), Email pollinate.BIPoC@hotmail.com for meeting information
- Smiling Dandelion Sangha, Sundays, 6-7:30 pm CST
- Spill it Sister, Second Thursday of the month, 6:30-8:00 pm CST
- Third Thursday Book Club, Third Thursday of the month, 2:00 pm CST. Click the link above for the reading list.
- UU Parenting Support Group, First Monday of the month, 6-7:30 pm
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