I t is wonderful to have air conditioning in the Sanctuary and Palmer Room as of last Sunday for the first time in our building's 111 year history. Despite the heat outside, some of us attending felt it was actually a little too cool. Really! For some, this will make a real difference in their ability to attend during the hottest months. Many thanks to Steve Hier, Andrew Zallar, the Building and Grounds Committee and the anonymous donor who helped make this happen.

The June 9 issue of The Hammer included an article on the March on Springfield protest. A little local flavor here. Jim Simonis and I joined ONE Northside (one of the organizing groups) for their May 30 bus ride and protest. We ran into 2U members Gene Horcher, Nanna Cross and Adelaide Meyers at the Capitol. (Also ran into UU's from First, Evanston and Peoria.) Gene was one of the 34 people arrested for barricading the door to Governor Rauner's office. Gene remarked that he really appreciated the core protesters who handcuffed themselves together and sat on the hard tile floor for over 10 hours with no bathroom breaks. Gene was arrested about 11 pm for refusing to leave and is a proud member of the multi arrest club. The protest drew TV crews to cover the issues and highlight the legislature and Governor's failure to agree on a budget, to the detriment of our citizens, for Illinois' fiscal year starting July 1. Gene was protesting for a balanced state budget funded with tax increases on the wealthy and corporations in order to support important funding for social services. Thank you, Gene, for standing up for the least among us. 2U has been a member of ONE Northside for many years, we share our collection plate with them, and our own Curtis Smith is currently on their Board. If you're not familiar with them, check out their site: onenorthside.org.

General Assembly ("GA") runs June 21-25 in New Orleans this year. Rev. Robersmith, Darrick Jackson, Elizabeth Harding, Rita DeBoer and myself will attend from 2U. Adam will be back to conduct our services on Sunday, June 25. Rita and I plan to attend a session on the Settled Minister search for 3 hours. This year, we elect a President for a 6 year term and the three candidates are Rev. Jeanne Pupke, Rev. Alison Miller, and Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray.  There will be a candidate forum and election on the evening of Friday, June 23.

Board Changes as of July 1. Thank you to Susan Zeigler for 3 years of board service as chair of one version or another. Susan's dedicated efforts and commitment have greatly contributed to 2U. Many thanks to Erin Rusmi who has served as Secretary for the past 2 years and also sings in the choir and is active in social justice. We will miss them both and welcome Tom Clowes as Chair-Elect and Joyce Haeckel as our new Secretary.

Susan writes: " The community at Second Unitarian Church has been invaluable to my spiritual growth over the years, and being on the board was a profound spiritual experience in and of itself. Serving on the board let me see the inner workings of 2U and understand them and how decisions are made. This has been vitally important for me to understand what's going on in a deeper and more meaningful way and to have empathy for our decision makers."

See you in our nice, air conditioned church!