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Friday February 16
7:00pm Women's Group
Sunday February 18
9:00am Choir
9:00am OWL
9:15am Coffee with Questions
10:30am Coming of Age
10:45am Music Service
6:00pm Youth Group
6:30pm Chalice Circle
Monday February 19
7:30pm Mindfulness
Tuesday February 20 7:00pm Board Meeting
Wednesday Feb. 21
7:30pm McHenry County Odyssey
Thursday February 22
1:30pm Mindfulness
7:00pm McHenry County Pride
Friday February 23
7:00pm Green Sanctuary Movie
All Committee Meetings are open and you are welcome to attend.
Monday 10-2
Wednesday 10-2
Thursday 10-2
Friday 10-2
Others by appointment
Click
here for Website Calendar Link
Click Here to see the latest Board Minutes
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This Week in Religious Education
It's Sunday! Let's Go to Church!
All levels of R.E are in full swing, attendance is amazingly awesome, thanks to families who have made Religious Education a priority. The Spirit Play class will continue learning from stories from various religions. The World Religions class completed Buddhism and has moved on to Judaism. The 11th and 12 grade O.W.L class will continue every Sunday from 9:00 -12:00 as scheduled, any changes will be communicated to parents in advance directly from the facilitators. The Coming Of Age students are having a Retreat to Green Lake this weekend with the facilitators.
Youth Group will meet this Sunday at 6:00pm. There is a Youth Conference at DuPage UU church on March 9th-11th, completed registration forms need to be in the Director
's office by February 11th, due to available funds in the Youth Group account, there will be no charge to the families to attend this CONference!
We are looking for church members who would be willing to be in the Youth Group classroom with Mariela (most Sundays from 6:00-8:00), until we can find another solution. If this is something you could do, or share with others, please contact Sam Jones. 815 382-5571
An activity group for LGBTQ teens meets on the 4th Wednesday of the month, 7-9PM, in the downstairs youth room. The time of the meeting coincides with the meeting of McHenry PTI (Parents of Transgender Individuals). Led by Raina Hodgson, the mother of a trans teen, the group provides a safe space for teens to be together for conversation, games, and fun activities. Raina will be assisted by Laura Michaels, a school psychologist in the Rockford area and mother of a gender non-conforming teen.
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Please forward this newsletter to any interested friends and relatives using the forward to a friend button on the left hand side of this newsletter.
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Sunday, February 18, 2018, 10:45 am 
Celebrating Life and Community Through Music: Eastern Europe and Japan
Hanauta Duo
Join us for Worship Art's program for creating a worship experience through music. Olya Prohorova from Moldova and Erina Koyasu have joined together to create a wonderful sound combination of flute and violin.
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This is a wonderful opportunity to invite neighbors and friends to participate in a worship service that is both innovative and a celebration of the sacred within us - we come together to share beauty and the joy that it inspires.
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Mindfulness Workshop Rescheduled to Saturday, March 17
The workshop date needed to be moved. Come take a break from winter as we spend an afternoon exploring exercises to live more mindfully. The workshop will be held at Tree of Life, March 17, 12:45 - 4:30. Advance registration is necessary. The flyer can be accessed at this link: http://treeoflifeuu.org/2018/01/08/heart-mindfulness-retreat-and-workshop-2/Â There are also flyers and registration forms in the fellowship room. If you have more questions contact M. E. (Emi) Tanabe m.e.tanabe@comcast.net
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 Women's Book Club
Our next gathering will be on Friday March 23rd from 6pm-9pm at Judy Whitaker's place (8660 Belfield Rd in Crystal Lake). We are reading and discussing The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain (2015, Gallic Books, paperback is 159 pages). We are meeting a little earlier so we can celebrate a few book club member birthdays (Therese on 3/18 and Sandra on 3/22), so please bring a small food favorite or appetizer to share. Book description: "Heroic bookseller Laurent Letellier comes across an abandoned handbag on a Parisian street. There's nothing in the bag to indicate who it belongs to, although there's all sorts of other things in it. Laurent feels a strong impulse to find the owner and tries to puzzle together who she might be from the contents of the bag. Especially a red notebook with her jottings, which really makes him want to meet her. Without even a name to go on, and only a few of her possessions to help him, how is he to find one woman in a city of millions?" There are only 9 copies total listed for the local libraries, and none are eBook or audio book, just regular print. Book retailers list copies for around $10-$12 if you need/wish to purchase it. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me, Therese Hart, via email (theresehrt@yahoo.com) or in the Women's Circle group on Facebook, thanks!
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 February Women's Circle
Tonight!
Attention Women! Let's have a Chocolate and Cheese night!
Please join us for our next Chill Out with Friends: Friday, February 16 at 7pm.
We extend a special invitation to all women who marched on January 20th. We'll talk about what we are planting in 2018. What sustains us? What allows us the perseverance to continue moving forward? Come share your vision with us, and bring some chocolate or cheese to share! Contact Heather Madaus for more information: 815-509-7862
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Community Care Committee
The following
JOYS
and CONCERNS were shared with the Care Committee.
From Sue Eberhardt - We are leaving Sunday morning February 18 for Mayo Clinic in Rochester MN. I will be consulting with Neurosurgery and will most likely be undergoing brain surgery for the suprasellar meningioma that has been growing over the last seven years of "Watchful Waiting." Ray will be with me until I am stabilized, perhaps a week and then I will remain hospitalized for at least another week. I look forward to seeing you all sometime in the spring.
Patrick Murfin is happy to say that his daughter's heart surgery went well and she is recovering at home!
Jim Hecht passed away on Monday, February 12th. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, February 24, 4:00pm at
Blue Lotus Temple in Woodstock. Please hold Jim's family in your hearts.
Joys and Concerns shared during the service will be printed in the Happenings and Bulletin unless there is a request made to the office or community care committee to withhold.
Happy birthday to
Linda Kress (2/16)!
Please note that this committee can be reached at caring@treeoflifeuu.org
If you are looking for a ride to church, please contact Pat Costigan, our Transportation Coordinator, who is matching people in need of rides with others who are willing to provide them.
Drivers to and from Sunday services needed! Do you drive through Crystal Lake on your way to services in Sunday? Let Pat Costigan know. We try to keep the commitment to once per month and can be creative! Please email:
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Sharing Your Gifts
Do you love the light streaming in through all the windows and skylights during the service on Sundays? Do you feel relief knowing your children are receiving well thought out, inspiring lessons in the church school? Do you have fun at our musical services? If any of these questions bring a yes to your lips, then you should check out the Stewardship Committee. Stewardship helps ensure that our building and programs are funded through the pledge drive, fundraisers, and inspired generosity. We need idea people, get-dirty-in-the-trenches people, communicator people, details people, and people that know how to have fun. We are meeting Wednesday, February 21, 2018 7pm in the sanctuary. Contact Judy Stettner with any questions. stettner.judy@gmail.com
Another way to give to Tree of Life is through online shopping.
You can help Tree of Life UU Congregation with free donations whenever you shop online with
iGive.com. Right now, iGive is giving out bonus donations! New members who join by 3/11 can get an extra $5 donation for Tree of Life UU Congregation. The stores make this possible because they want you to like them and shop at them over and over again. There's 1880 socially-responsible stores helping to make donations happen.
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Medicare for All Forum
Wednesday March 7, 2018 7:00pm your social justice team is hosting a viewing and panel discussion on universal health coverage. We will show the film "Fix It" and have several experts to answer your questions. Please join us.
Click here to view the Facebook event.
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Green Sanctuary Movie
Friday February 23, 2018 7:00pm
On a cold February night what can be better than cuddling up for a good movie that will get you fired up? Come join your Tree of Life friends in viewing Al Gore's
An Inconvenient Sequel / Speaking Truth to Power.
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Coffee with Questions
Topic: Love Relationship(s)
Presenter: Russ Marks
Time:Sunday, February 18, 2018
Location:TREE OF LIFE
Unitarian Universalist Congregation
5603 W. Bull Valley Road
McHenry, Illinois 60050
Phone: (815) 322-2464
CHILDCARE AVAILABLE ON EMAIL REQUEST TO SAM JONES
The discussion will focus on stories of love relationship(s) with girlfriend(s) and boyfriend(s), wife or wives and husband(s).
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Chalice Sparx Family Camp & Retreat 
Hiking the trails, singing by the campfire, playing games ... all childhood camp fun. But this camp and retreat is not just for kids - it's for people of all ages. Make connections, build friendships and experience nature together as a family - with other families, youth and adults - in an environment where diverse religious, spiritual and theological perspectives are welcomed and celebrated. With programs for children drawing upon the natural environment, workshops for adults and youth on spiritual practices, multigenerational worship, and fun group activities such as canoeing, archery, s'mores around a campfire and popcorn popped in a kettle over an open fire -- all with a variety of accommodations from to dormitory-style lodging or hotel-like rooms in the Retreat Center. Tent and RV camping is also available at nearby Amigo Park.
Chalice Sparx Family Camp & Retreat
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MidAmerica Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship (UUBF) Daylong Retreat, May 2018
Mark your calendars so you can attend the first ever one-day MidAmerica Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship retreat, May 5, 2018, 9-5, at Lake Country Unitarian Universalist Church in Heartland, Wisconsin (half hour west of Milwaukee).
Rev. Zenshin Florence Caplow will be the keynote speaker. Florence is the minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Urbana Champaign, Illinois and a Soto Zen priest and teacher in the Shunryu Suzuki Roshi lineage. She has been practicing vipassana and Zen for thirty years, is on the Board of the UU Buddhist Fellowship, and is the co-author of the Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-Five Centuries of Awakened Women.
Join us for a day of comradery, meditation, dharma talks and discussion with other Unitarian Universalists interested in meditation, mindfulness and/or Buddhism. Home stays will be available. For further information and to be added to the email list contact Terry Kinsey at
mindful@unitytemple.org.
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UU Leadership Institute
Online Learning for Committed Lay Leaders and Religious Professionals
Healthy boundaries, communication, conflict navigation, covenant, mission, stewardship, building trust, adapting to change... are these concepts that you would like to bring more intentionally into your daily practice of Unitarian Universalism? The UU Leadership Institute offers a way there, with online courses designed for Lay Leaders and Religious Professionals to learn and grow in faith together. Team up with a few friends, board members, or colleagues for the learning to have the most impact.
We offer four Core Courses in Leadership Development (http://www.uuinstitute.org/corecourses/). Complete the lessons at your convenience and hold conversations with your teammates as you advance through the course. This semester we're also offering five courses in specialized topics: compassionate communication, faith formation, safer congregations, and spiritual companioning (http://www.uuinstitute.org/spring2018/). Each course has 8 lessons and costs $30.
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MidWest Leadership School Announces Summer  2018 Dates
Jack Round, Lay Staff Member
MidWest Leadership School (MWLS) will be held from July 15 - 21 on the campus of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.
Please mark your calendars and spread the word!
This will be our second year at Luther, and participants said they appreciated the scenic beauty of the location.
There is an Adult School and a Youth School, and we are unique among UU leadership schools in that the schools are designed to do several activities together and safely interact.
MWLS creates opportunities to learn about the history of Unitarian Universalism, about yourself as an individual, and your role as a member of a congregation in a larger movement grounded in liberal theology.
MWLS attendees come away from the experience with a better understanding of healthy organizational practices.
Is MWLS for you or someone you know?
Anyone wishing to increase their leadership skills in a church context are encouraged to talk to us. Many incoming board members and presidents find this to be an excellent preparation for their service. Many youth enjoy being with like-minded peers, and the supportive environment enables them to help discern and activate their leadership passions.
Read more about MidWest Leadership School at www.mwls.org and follow us on Facebook for updates at https://www.facebook.com/mwls.org
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Contacts
Judy Stettner
Office Administrator
Sam Jones
Director of Religious Education
Forrest Ransburg
Director of Music
Carrie MacDonald
Board President
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