December 6, 2019
a whole-hearted community,
feeding body, mind & spirit

Theme for December: Compassion
Saturday, Dec 7
12noon: A New Earth Book Discussion in the Living room

Sunday, Dec 8
9:30am: Hospitality Team Leader Breakfast in the Alliance room

10am: Fair Trade in the Alice Warren room

12noon: Animal Ministry in the Alliance room
4pm: Deck-the-Halls in the church

Tuesday, Dec 10
7pm: Holiday Blues Service in the sanctuary

Wednesday, Dec 11
7pm: Board of Trustees meeting in room 5

Thursday, Dec 12
1pm: Women's Alliance Holiday Pot Luck at Nancy Adkins home in Brookfield.

7pm: Religion in the Movies in Joshi Chapel

7pm: Beautification meeting in the Living room

Saturday, Dec 14
10:30am: Worship Team in room 6

12:00 pm: Music Committee meeting in room 6
Worship at 10:30am
Dec 8 - Cultivating Compassion
Each of us is called to bring love and compassion and bravery to the world. We will examine how we might deepen and cultivate compassion in our lives - and examine the final day of the UU holiday of Chalica .   ~Rev Pam Rumancik

Dec 8 th 4pm "Deck the Halls" Gathering
Join us for a fun evening of food, fellowship & holiday carols at 4:00pm in the church. We’ll decorate for the season, share a delicious vegetarian meal and then sing songs of the season. All welcome – bring a friend or neighbor to share the sounds of the season.
 
Tuesday, Dec 10 at 7:00pm - Holiday Blues Service
With so much loss and sadness in the world around us, it is often difficult to fully enter into the bright lights and merriment that is expected of us. All are welcome to join a quiet evening in the church exploring the deep flow of grief which inhabit every life – especially during the holidays. A short reception will follow the service.  ~Rev Pam Rumancik & Worship Team


Dec 15 - Annual Holiday No-rehearse Pageant:
Become a wise person or an angel – the mother of Jesus or the donkey she rides into Bethlehem. This year we revisit the Nativity story – and other holiday stories. Come. Laugh, act, sing and enjoy a wonderful celebration of the season.  Rev Pam Rumancik & Pam Fodor
Sunday Special Collection
For the past five years, our congregation has partnered with DuPagePads to staff an overnight shelter to provide the homeless with hot meals and a clean, dry, safe place to sleep. We staff the shelter twice a year, usually in May and September. The DuPagePads center in Wheaton provides the day-to-day necessities such as showers and laundry facilities that are not usually available at the overnight shelters.
In addition to housing, DupagePads provides support services that include case management and life coaching, employment support such as GED courses and job coaching, as well as engagement with employers to get jobs.
Your donation will go to support the work that they do on a daily basis to help individuals and families who need these services.
Please make checks out to UCH and please put DupagePads in the memo. Thank you!
COMMUNITY
Caring Corner
The ripples of our lives touch those around us. We keep in mind all of our members and friends including...

  • Former member Kathryn Stockwell, who recently passed away.
  • All homebound members who can no longer make it in to church.

Please let us know of folks we should add to our list and share with our Caring Circle Coordinators .
 
*You will find the Caring Circle list of Area Coordinators at the end of the Touchstone found on our website at http://www.hinsdaleunitarian.org/new/the-touchstone/
This Week In The
Religious Education Program

Play Group:  Will be available
Spirit Play: Wonderings about The Festivals of Light
Chapel Service:  Wonderings about compassion sparked by the book Winter Sparrow and the Pine Tree.  When is it easy to show compassion? Why is it sometimes difficult? How do our principles call us to show compassion?
Coming of Age: God Beliefs
Senior High Youth Group: Fellowship

One of the best things you can do to help your child(ren) benefit from the RE program and to enjoy church school is to provide regular attendance. Consistent attendance enables participants to build on previous experiences and develop a rapport with classmates and teachers. Each child is important and has unique contributions to make! See you soon!
Poinsettia Orders
Look for Poinsettia Order forms in your Order of Service or on the visitors desk this Sunday.The Hinsdale Flower Shop will again be providing their beautiful 8 inch pot for $25.They will adorn the sanctuary for the service and then you take them home to enhance your Christmas decorations. Please fill out the form and either leave it in the offertory basket or at the visitors desk. You can also mail or email it to office@hinsdaleunitarian.org or call Linda and place your order. However you choose to order, we have to have them all by Sunday, Dec 15. Thank you!
Join us on Sunday, December 8 th at 4:00pm
 to decorate the church for the holiday season.
Stay for delicious vegetarian stew and great conversation with church family .
Then spread holiday cheer with a sing along!
All ages welcome- please RSVP to Pam Fodor
re@hinsdaleunitarian.org or 630-323-2885
Tuesday, Dec 10 th at 7:00pm – Holiday Blues: Service of Solace & Song
The holiday season can be bright and full of fun, but it can also
intensify feelings of loneliness, loss, grief, anxiety or isolation. We will gather on Tuesday, Dec 10 th at 7:00 pm to honor the blues that hit so many of us and to find ways to support one another through the darkest time of the year. There will be a short reception with refreshments following the service. Invite someone you know who may be feeling blue. We’ll light a candle in the darkness with the light of community. ~Rev Pam Rumancik & Worship Team
Women’s Alliance Holiday Potluck
The Women’s Alliance meeting for December will be a potluck at Nancy Adkins house, 3731 Madison Ave, Brookfield, on Thursday, Dec 12 at 12noon . Please bring a dish to share and rsvp to Nancy Adkins ( nfadkins@gmail.com ) whether you are able to attend or not.
Religion in the Movies will hold its next viewing and discussion on Thursday, December 12, at 7:00 in Joshi Auditorium. The movie will be Shadowlands.

Spirituality on Tap will meet at 7:00 on Monday December 16 at Palmer Place: 56 S. Lagrange Rd, LaGrange. We’ll discuss chapters six and seven (the Mystics) from Jules Evans’ book Philosophy for Life and Other Dangerous Situations.

Questions on either event? Contact Keith Landis at jacjelan@sbcglobal.net.
Emergency Relief Fund
Most every life faces at least one of those moments when just about everything seems to have gone wrong. Often, family and friends can help but sometimes no assistance is forthcoming – that’s why we have the UCH Emergency Relief Fund .
If a crisis swamps you or a family member and temporary financial assistance would make a difference, please contact Rev Pam and let her know what you need. All requests are confidential. This fund was established for our church to be able to support one another in times of need. We refill the fund each year with the offering at our Christmas Eve services.
If you or someone you know needs help – please do not hesitate to talk to Rev Pam.
Fair Trade
We will be open every Sunday in December before Christmas so save some of your shopping for us! 

"A New Earth" Class - based on the book by Eckhart Tolle will be Saturday Dec 7 at noon in the Rutherford Room (living room) in the church.  
Join Rev Pam in exploring Tolle's insights to help us grow a new earth in our own community. Read through chapters 5 & 6 of the book for Saturday Dec 7. You can listen to a discussion of the chapters by Oprah and author Eckhart Tolle here.
The final class will be 21st - All are welcome to attend!
Your 2019 Winter Touchstone is now available on our website!
Read about UCH news and upcoming events. Here are some headlines:
  • From The Minister...
  • Dwell In Possibility: The Power of We 
  • 2019 Christmas Schedule of Services & Events!
  • Beloved Conversations and UCH
  • Harvest Home
  • 150th Year Anniversary Homecoming Weekend
  • Congregational Meeting
  • Upcoming Vote on a Congregational Covenant
  • Sunny Solar Celebration
  • Leap into Leadership Luncheon
  • Animal Ministry Post-Holiday Dinner and Survey
  • Fair Trade at UCH - Roots and Current Update
  • Conscious Aging Workshop
  • Book Read and Discussion for Our Families
  • Trans-Parent Love
  • Emergency Relief Fund

Please click on the logo below or go to www.hinsdaleunitarian.org to read...

2019 Christmas Schedule of Services & Events!
Check the Christmas Page on our website by clicking on the button below and see the many great things we have planned for December! Mark your calendars and don't miss out!
Chalica – a UU Holiday Celebration: Chalica begins on the first Monday in December and lasts seven days. Each day,  a chalice  is lit and the day is spent reflecting on the meaning of that day’s principle and doing a good deed that honors that principle. Not all Unitarian Universalists celebrate Chalica, but it has a growing following. There is a Chalica  Facebook page ,  blog , and many Chalica-themed  videos on YouTube . We have Chalica coloring books available for our families at the back of the sanctuary on Sunday.
New Small Group Ministry Night Being Offered! Looking for connection and deep, satisfying, and thoughtful conversation? A new SGM meeting will be offered the first Thursday of the month with the next meeting on Jan 2nd at 7pm in room 5. Contact Lenny Edgin ledgin@gmail.com if you are interested in participating. All are welcome to attend!
Let the Force be with UU!
Saturday Dec 21 st @ Don your Wookie suit and light saber and join fellow UU’s from across the area on Saturday, December 21st at Classic Cinemas Lake Theater on 1022 Lake Street in Oak Park for a private showing of “Rise of Skywalker”. The organizers are looking at meeting earlier to make light sabers and share some UU fellowship before heading over to the movie. Cost is a reasonable $6. Find more information here or for online ticket purchases here - https://m.bpt.me/event/4453640
Child Dedication on Christmas Eve:  We have a tradition of welcoming children into the loving care of this church during the peace and beauty of the holiday season. Meet with Rev Pam and Pam Fodor to find out more and plan your participation. Invite friends and family, celebrate the care that this community has for its tiniest members. 
Conscious Aging
Join us here at UCH for a 6 part workshop on aging. The workshop will focus on listening to our own inner wisdom and guidance, integrating Talking Points and best practices, sharing in intimate conversation circles, and listening to the collective wisdom of the group.
 At this workshop you will learn how to:
·        Explore unexamined, self-limiting beliefs, stereotypes and assumptions about aging and make better, more conscious choices about our worldviews on aging;
·        Develop self-compassion to cope more effectively with change, worry, and stresses associated with aging;
·        Discover and reflect on what has given heart and meaning to our lives and how that informs our intentions for our aging process;
·        Enhance connection and reduce isolation from others and the web of life by understanding our shared humanity in the aging process;
·        Reduce fear and increase acceptance in the presence of death and dying for ourselves and for our loved ones.
The fee is $99 for all six dates which are Thursdays – Jan. 16, 23, 30; February 6, 13, 20, 7:00 – 9:00pm.
Click HERE for more information!
SOCIAL JUSTICE
The Black Lives Matter Initiative / Beloved Conversations Alumni team meetings will now be scheduled on THIRD TUESDAYS.
Black Lives Matter Initiative Weekly Link:



To view the full Race Resources page on our website, please click HERE
and More.......
Emergency Exit Map
Please note that in the back of every Singing the Living Tradition hymnal there is an emergency exit route map. In case of an emergency, refer to this guide and please assist others who do not have a map.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Check Us Out and “Like" the UCH Facebook Page!
In addition to News and Notes and The Touchstone, we will be using our Facebook page to keep the congregation and the community informed about upcoming events and initiatives. Share our posts with your family and friends. Just click on the logo above and search for “Unitarian Church of Hinsdale” in the search bar.
You can also find us on Twitter at @UUHinsdale .