Worship for this Sunday - January 10, 2021
Live Streaming at 10am
Re-Imagining / Rev. Allison Farnum
Rev. Allison Farnum is a Unitarian Universalist minister, serving as Director of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois. She recently returned to the Evanston, IL, after more than a decade serving her first call as minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers, FL. A graduate of Meadville Lombard Theological School, she has also served as an Adjunct Consultant for our UUA’s MidAmerica Region. She credits 2nd Unitarian of Chicago for her call to ministry and now serves the Rev. Jason Lydon’s ministry there as an affiliated community minister. Allison loves all things culinary and is a proud mother of two young children and wife to her beloved Andy Crossen.
January Theme: Imagination
Live Stream Worship at 10am
Recorded Viewing Available at Noon

Live stream link can be found here.
OFFERTORY :: Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois
Unity Temple Gives. Each week we give our Sunday collection to an organization that aligns with our values. This Sunday’s collection will benefit the UU Prison Ministry of Illinois – equipping Unitarian Universalists in Illinois to ​transform institutions and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex through education, advocacy, in-prison ministries, and equipping congregations to do
this work.

To contribute to Unity Temple’s Sunday collection, please text 73256 with the message UTUUC $____ (dollar sign followed by your donation amount), and select “Offering”. You may also give at the UTUUC website, by using the camera on your phone to scan the QR code on the screen during the Offertory or by sending a check, payable to Unity Temple, noting UU Prison Ministry of Illinois on the memo line, to 875 Lake St., Oak Park, 60301, and we will send a collective check on your behalf. Thank you for your generous support!
Worship Service :: will be at 10am on YouTube Live. You can access it here

Coffee Hour :: Immediately following the service (around 10:45am) the Virtual Coffee Hour will be on Zoom. Go to Zoom Password: 875875 Or access directly here.
Coffee Hour Courtesies :: Coffee Hour is a time for old and new friendships to be enjoyed. In the spirit of community, and in honor of our 1st Principle that upholds the inherent worth and dignity of every person, we ask everyone to be mindful of the brief time we have together during breakout sessions. Please remember these courtesies to ensure everyone a meaningful and fun experience.
Unity Temple Faith In Action Network
Spiritually Grounded / Deeply Relational / Strategically Effective
Announcing Sunday Collections 2021
Thank you to all who voted for our Sunday collection recipients at the congregational annual meeting The votes have been tallied, and we are pleased to announce the list of organizations that will receive collections in 2021. You can access the list here.
Prison Industrial Complex 101 :: Join us for this two-part online workshop on January 16 & January 23 from 10–11:30am. We will learn to:
  • Examine the prison industrial complex root: its reach, impact & our ability to transform it.
  • Connect UU values to the work to divest from prisons and police and invest in building new systems of safety, healing, and accountability.
  • Build connections with organizations engaged in prisoner solidarity and restorative justice.
  • Learn about the UU Prison Ministry and how we can support this work.
Register here. Questions? Contact: uupmi.info@gmail.com
Plastic Lid Recycling :: Plastic lid recycling is back! Mann elementary school (921 N. Kenilworth, Oak Park) is collecting lids for a new bench. Lids should be clean and dry and dropped off in the school vestibule from 8am-3pm weekdays beginning January 11. Milk, flip-top, deodorant, and medication bottle caps with the cardboard removed are all needed! More information here. Questions? Contact: ecojustice@unitytemple.org
Seeds of Justice: Organizing for Transformational Justice As the elections have passed, we are still left with a deeply divided country in deep need of both healing and powerful action for justice. How can our local churches be a part of this change? Rev. Cy Fields and Rev. Alan Taylor shall host Alex Wiesendenger who recently published Seeds of Justice: How to Organize your Church to Transform the World. Drawing from over a decade of work the frontlines of struggles for justice, Alex now provides a handbook to translate a commitment to social justice. On January 14 from 7pm–8:30, come hear from veteran faith-based leaders and acivists, Rev. Fields, Rev. Taylor, and Christina Rice-Martin as well as experience a 20 minute training from Alex. The hour long gathering can be accessed at here. Please register ahead of time here
Martin Luther King, Jr. Virtual Faith in Action Assembly with the Community Renewal Society :: Register for any or all of these on line meetings here. Monday, January 18, 2021–9am till 5pm. Save the date and reserve your spot for these virtual events!
 
1–3pm: Healing Circle
6–8:00pm Healing Circle
8pm: Online screening of WTTW Chicago’s FIRSTHAND: Living in Poverty
Save the Date! 
January 25, 7pm
Community of Congregations Annual Gathering–Responding to the Housing Crisis
We will be joined by Natalie Moore, WBEZ reporter and author of The South Side along with representatives from Housing Forward, Oak Park Regional housing Center and the Leaders Network. Zoom information available soon.
Raise your voice for pretrial freedom in Illinois! 
At the end of this week, the Illinois legislature will be meeting for the first time in months. Racial justice legislation is on the agenda. 

Now more than ever, we need you to tell them that Illinois wants to pass the Pretrial Fairness Act Poverty is not a crime, yet Illinois courts often allow money to be the deciding factor in determining whether someone remains in jail while their case is pending. After a judge sets a money bond, the only thing keeping someone incarcerated is the size of their bank account. This wealth-based incarceration has devastating effects on Black, Brown and impoverished communities. The time to reform Illinois’ pretrial justice system is now!

At the beginning of 2020, Governor J.B. Pritzker announced his plan to end money bond in Illinois. The Pretrial Fairness Act will not only end money bond, but also establish fair and reliable processes for making pretrial decisions that prioritize community safety rather than wealth. We need you to raise your voice for pretrial freedom in Illinois! TAKE ACTION to ask your legislators to support the Pretrial Fairness Act Allied with the Coalition to End Money Bond Comments, questions, suggestions? Contact us.
Our shared mission is a powerful gift, especially during these times of uncertainty and unrest. As we breathe life into it, our mission takes on the shape and color of a world we only dared to dream about five years ago.
It inspires us to embrace values of connection, transformation, justice and acceptance that underpin our response to the urgent needs of humanity and the earth.
It energizes us to transform ourselves, our congregation and our world by welcoming all, inspiring compassion, nurturing wonder and serving community.
It comforts us to know we are joined together in spirit on this journey toward a future we promised to build.
A future in which we…create a culture of radical hospitality and relationships with people across boundaries of race, class and other identities that divide us…cultivate caring communities, bear witness to love and pain and respond, individually and collectively, with acts of compassion…nurture and celebrate a sense of wonder and create opportunities for spiritual deepening, questioning and growth…act in partnership for justice and live our faith in service.
 
Even virtually - especially virtually - our shared mission brings and keeps us together. It is the greater whole.
Save the Date–January 31, 2021
Rev. Nancy McDonald Ladd, author of After the Good News: Progressive Faith Beyond Optimism will preach the Sunday service, adapting themes from her book to the Unity Temple context. Ladd is a dynamic speaker. Check out her remarks at the 2016 GA (from 1:12:00 to 1:40:00) on the UUA website here.

In the afternoon following the sermon (time tbd), the Welcoming All Team is sponsoring an all-congregational discussion of the sermon on Zoom. There will be facilitated break-out sessions followed by a time to come together. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to attend!

After the Good News, is available on Amazon here, or alternatively 3 loaner copies are available for pickup at the UT Community Center at 1019 South Blvd. If time is tight, you are welcome to read the following short summary of “top quotes” from After the Good News go here. Stay tuned for more details and a chance to sign up for the all-congregation discussion!

Tell Me Something Good is still going strong! Every Monday at noon, YOU are invited drop-in for a little dose of inspiration and goodness shared by fellow congregants. It's quick and easy. Hope to see you there! Join Zoom Meeting https://uuma.zoom.us/j/98514736011 Meeting ID: 985 1473 601

Unity Temple BIPOC FRIENDS Gathering :: What are your imaginings, your dreams, your resolutions for our lives in the New Year? As I celebrated Kwanzaa recently for the first time, the principles Nia (Purpose) and Kujchagulia (Self-determination) inspired me to craft a new identity: to stop looking outward for gratification and self-realization – and to start looking within; to hold on a little longer. Please join me and our BIPOC friends in a Zoom gathering of New Beginnings and Resolutions on Sunday, January 17 at 12pm. Please email bipocfriends@unitytemple.org to join our email list and get the Zoom link. See you then! – Lecretia Williams
Knitwits 
Calling all knitters to knit mittens for Hepzibah, baby blankets for the Linus project or any knitting project that spreads goodwill and warmth. We can choose a group focus or each participant can choose their own while spending a little virtual time together. Let's gather on zoom the first and third Thursday mornings 10am to 11:15am and continuing through the winter months. Looking forward to sharing ideas Contact Barbara Boockmeier at knitters@unitytemple.org for the zoom link.
Virtual Women’s Retreat–Keep the Weekend Open! :: Sacred Cycles of a Woman’s Life, February 26th–28th. 
Featuring keynote speaker Nancy Vedder-Shults to speak on Creativity in Chaotic Times. Followed by workshops, music, and connection. Registration will be open later in the month of January. It’s meaningful to us this year won’t pass without our beloved retreat experience. More information about sign up to follow.
Sharing, Mondays at Noon Need a lunchtime boost in your day? Every Monday at Noon Jeanette Mancusi invites you to take a break in your workday and briefly share something good that has happened to you recently. We hope you can join us! Click here to join the call. Questions may be sent to tlewis@unitytemple.org. Join Zoom Meeting https://uuma.zoom.us/j/98514736011 Meeting ID: 985 1473 601

Visitor Form
If you would like to be contacted about how to get involved with our community, please take a moment to fill out this form.
What is Coffee Hour?
It is a time to connect with old friends and make new friends following worship service on Sunday mornings. Attendees socialize in small groups of 6-8 during breakout sessions. We hope you will join us!
Invitation To Get Involved
We are so glad you have found us and invite you to begin a process of getting to know one another with hopes that you will be inspired to become part of our vibrant community. Contact tlewis@unitytemple.org for Zoom access to the following sessions.
Newcomer Orientation
Sunday, 1/17/21 from 11-12pm OR
Monday, 1/18/21 from 7-8 pm

Each month we offer an orientation to familiarize participants with the fundamentals of Unitarian Universalism, and an overview of our mission and programs. 

Pathway to Membership
Sunday, 1/24/21 11–12pm OR Monday, 1/25/21 to 7–8

We want you to know how we learn and grow, create community, care for one another, governor and financially support ourselves, and have fun! Join this monthly class to experience a deep dive into UTUUC.

 
Becoming a Member
We recommend attending our orientation, meeting our ministers, and learning about how we work by attending our interactive informational sessions. Upon completion we invite you to sign The Membership Book and fill out an Enrollment Kit. If for some reason, you are unable to attend our sessions, please contact Tina Lewis, Director of Membership & Engagement to discuss alternative arrangements.
This monthly offering provides an opportunity to get to know our ministers in a small group setting, share your story and ask questions about Unitarian Universalism and our congregation.
Meet the Ministers
Rev. Alan Taylor
Sunday, 1/10 from 11-12 and
Wednesday, 1/13 from 7-8pm

Rev. Emily Gage
Sunday, 1/10 from 11-12 and
Wednesday, 1/13 from 7-8pm

Daily Mindful Reflection Community 30 minute meeting, 7 days a week! Starts at 8:25am and ends at 9am every day, seven days a week. This will be different from our regular Tuesday night meeting. The daily meditation will include opening words, 20 minutes of mindful reflection, and closing words. 

All are welcome! You are welcome to attend regularly or sporadically. The Zoom link for the daily mindful reflection is listed below. This Zoom platform does not allow the use of phone numbers to provide dial-in access on this platform. Zoom information:
Time: Every Day (including weekends) at 08:30am Central Time (US and Canada)
Meeting ID: 373 008 242 Password: 4IFrYx
Mindful Reflection Online Community Tuesday Evenings Zoom meeting room opens at 6:45pm, program starts at 7:10pm. You Are Welcome Here! We will follow our usual format with 20 minutes of Mindful Reflection followed by a dharma talk and discussion. Questions email mindful@unitytemple.org Click here or use this link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/829387209pwd=YkpmNkhISk4yVUEyVEVid1dVRG9Gdz09
You should not need to enter these numbers, but just in case, here they are: Meeting ID: 829 387 209 Password: 887083 Other way to join:
One tap mobile +13126266799,,829387209# US
Unity Temple Choir Wednesday Sessions :: Music director, Marty Swisher hosts weekly Unity Temple Choir sessions. Each Wednesday from 7-7:30pm all are welcome to warm up your voice, learn a song and connect with singing. Join Zoom meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89503027611?pwd=M2Y1WHIvTGw4c1hsNWlGa0dUUVpnQT09
Meeting ID: 895 0302 7611 Password: 062305

As we continue to find new ways to join together in virtual community we have launched additional portals to financially support UTUUC. Details can be found here. If you have questions please reach out to office@unitytemple.org. Thank you!
Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings
NOTE: As of March 13, 2020 we are temporarily suspending in person AA meetings. Questions about AA? Please contact Ron at winder.upper@hotmail.com. This link will take you to a list of suspended / relocated AA meetings in Chicagoland.
Planned Giving offers a variety of meaningful ways to support our congregation through charitable gifts and can be made by anybody – young and old, working or retired. These gifts are made today, but they support the future needs of your congregation and Unitarian Universalism. You can obtain more information about planned gifts by contacting the Planned Giving Team at plannedgiving@unitytemple.org