COVID Protocol: As we continue to consider the most vulnerable among us, we will require proof of vaccinations in addition to wearing a mask in our facilities. We realize this could be frustrating as mitigation guidelines are changing in the wider community and appreciate adherence to the current Unity Temple adopted measures. May our covenantal community continue to hold one another with respect and care.
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Good Bones and Blessed Rebels
Rev. Emily Gage
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April Theme: Awakening
Live Stream Worship at 10am / Recorded Viewing Available at Noon
Live stream link can be found here.
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OFFERING : PASO
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 West Suburban Action Project / Proyecto de Acción de los Suburbios del Oeste (PASO). PASO combines leadership development, education and community organizing to effect powerful change – ordinary people creating extraordinary change! Learn more here.
You may donate by placing cash or check in the donation box in the front pew on the main floor, sending a check to the Unity Temple office (to 875 Lake St., Oak Park, 60301) with (name of organization) on the memo line, by texting 73256 with the message UTUUC $____ (dollar sign followed by your donation amount) and select “Offering," by using the camera on your phone to scan the QR code on the screen during the Offertory or you can give at the UTUUC website. Whatever modality you choose, may what you give bring you joy.
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Sunday Worship Service
In-person and online options for worship are now offered. Proof of COVID vaccinations for those who are eligible will be required to attend in-person. (This includes everyone age 5 or older. Vaccines for those younger than 5 are not yet available.) In addition, all those 2 and older must wear a mask covering their nose and mouth. More details can be found on our website here. You can access the live stream on YouTube at 10am here.
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Community Hour is Back!
That's right, there will be coffee and cookies, information tables, and of course time for wonderful conversations in Unity House following service. We look forward to seeing you there! Cookie donations are now being excepted, no nuts please!
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In-Person Religious Education We are pleased to announce the return to in-person religious education for all of our young people. Preschoolers will be in their classroom for the whole service. Children in Kindergarten-5th grades will begin service with their families and go to RE classes after the story for all ages portion of the service. Class leaders will meet their classes in Unity House and walk to their classrooms together. Grades 6th through Youth Group will meet at the Community Center at 1019 South Blvd beginning at 10am and ending at 11am. For those families who would like to continue to participate in religious education via zoom, there will be a weekly activity for all ages via zoom from 9-9:30. Please email Val Ridenour vridenour@unitytemple.org or Rev. Emily Gage egage@unitytemple.org with any questions.
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Radical Compassion Group Meets this Sunday April 10 at 7pm on Zoom. This is a drop-in group where each session will stand on its own and participants can come to any or all sessions. It is inspired by the book Radical Compassion by Tara Brach, but it is NOT a book discussion. It is an opportunity to discover new practices. Feel free to join us even if this is your first time as it is not required that participants read the book. We will be practicing the teachings of Chapter 8 and 9 on April 10. A chapter summary will be offered and practice questions will be discussed.
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UU the Vote Elections have consequences and as UU’s we are called to advocate for our values. In 2020, UU the Vote reached millions of voters and made a discernible impact in pivotal states like Georgia, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. We hope to surpass that effort in 2022. Join us for the launch of this year’s campaign on Sunday, April 10 at 3pm CT. This 90-minute live webinar will feature UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, our state partners, and our new UU the Vote Campaign Manager. Learn how we’ll be showing up for ballot measures to combat voter suppression, fight for reproductive justice, and resist the criminalization of BIack, Indigenous, and people of color communities. Register here. Questions? Contact: votelove@unitytemple.org. Watch for more information about our statewide launch with UUANI on May 14, and our Unity Temple team efforts beginning later this spring!
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What Sort of Ministry?April 16, 2022 from 10am till Noon
Please plan to be with us on April 16 (in person is best, but we’ll live-stream it also) in the sanctuary at Unity Temple. We will join in a very important discussion with our Lead for the MidAmerica Region, Rev. David Pyle. Rev. Pyle will outline the paths we could follow at the end of Rev. Dawn’s interim ministry, including bringing on a settled minister or a developmental minister. We seek engaged discussion about our alternatives so would like to have as many members attend as possible. Questions: board@unitytemple.org.
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The Daily Mindful Reflection Community celebrated their 2-year on Friday April 8. Average weekday attendance has been holding at 50 participants. We are so proud of this feat and encourage all who are interested to participate. The daily group convenes at 8:25am for a friendly greeting, then brief opening and closing words as well as 20 minutes of silent meditation. Each session ends by 9am.
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Mindful Reflection Online Community Tuesday Evenings Zoom meeting room opens at 6:45pm, program starts promptly at 7:20pm. 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.
ID: 373 008 242 / Passcode: 4IFrYx
One tap mobile: +13126266799,,373008242#,,,,*940220#1 312 626 6799 Meeting ID: 373 008 242 / Passcode: 940220
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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.
Time: Every Day (including weekends) at 08:30am Central Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting here. ID: 373 008 242 / Passcode: 4IFrYx. One tap mobile: +13126266799,,373008242#,,,,*940220#1 312 626 6799 Meeting ID: 373 008 242 / Passcode: 940220
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Spring Music Festival 2022 : The annual Spring Music Festival showcases the outstanding talent of members and friends of the congregation. Anchored by the Unity Temple Players (our house band), this not-to-be-missed event includes professionals as well as the very best amateur talent of our musical family. Proceeds provide scholarships for area high school students who compete for one of three $1,000 awards applied to voice instruction and to benefit the Unity Temple Music Program.
Spring Music Festival 2022 will take place at Unity Temple on April 30, 7–9:30 pm. Doors open at 6:30pm. Adults: $15 presale / $20 at the door and children (13 and under): $5. Online ticket sales as well as in-person ticket sales after service are open. Invite a friend. It promises to be a most enjoyable evening.
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Pathways to Recovery at Unity Temple is a safe and confidential space where we will explore UU principles and our congregation’s values of connection, acceptance and transformation to support recovery from addiction. It is a peer-led group that is intended to be a supplement to, not a replacement for, other addiction recovery groups such as AA, SMART Recovery, and Recovery Dharma. We will meet every other Wednesday at in Gale House at 7pm, beginning April 27. Questions can be directed to recovery@unitytemple.org. |
MidAmerica Regional Assembly 2022
MidAmerica Regional Assembly 2022 is now open for registration! It takes place on Saturday, April 30, 2022 from 10am–2pm ET / 9am–1pm CT. The keynote speaker is social justice educator, storyteller and speaker, CB Beal. There will be worship, the annual business meeting, a keynote address and conversation as well as community break out rooms for discussion. There is a sliding scale fee between $25 to $50 and scholarships are available. Learn more and register here.
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Becoming a Member
For more information about how to become a member of Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation. Contact
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Would you like to get to know more people in our congregation? Come to our monthly meet and greet on Sunday, May 1 from 1–2pm in Unity House located across from the sanctuary at Unity Temple. New and established congregants alike are invited to attend. Registration is helpful, though drop-ins are welcome. Contact tlewis@unitytemple.org to register in advance.
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The 2022 Spring / Summer Adult Softball League Begins April 22! This league is for skilled, semi-competitive teams that enjoy the social aspect of the sport. Co-ed 14 inch league ages 18 & up. We are offering mens on Tuesday night and co-ed on Friday night, both nights are one league (recreational / intermediate league), no divisions.
Cost is $60 per person (sponsorships are available). Jersey cost is $30 per Jersey (custom team jerseys, sponsorships available).
Game times take place on Fridays at 7:15pm / 8:15pm / 9:15pm. 10 game regular season + post-season tournament for those who qualify. All games are played at Ridgeland Common Park. Covid guidelines will adhere to current protocols when the season begins. For information on how to sign up contact sports@unitytemple.org.
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UUA General Assembly 2022
Registration for General Assembly 2022 in-person in Portland, Oregon is now open. Financial support for registration as well as a payment plan is available. General Assembly 2022 will be a multiplatform event, with registration options for in-person and/or virtual participation.
The 2022 UUA General Assembly (GA) Housing Reservation System offers attendees premium amenities, discounted rates, and the best networking opportunities. Attendees who book within the UUA housing block will be in the expert hands of Connections Housing, the only official 2022 UUA General Assembly Housing Bureau.
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Spring is full of new growth and opportunity at UTUUC. Stop by the information tables during Community Hour to talk with someone about how you can be part of all sorts of new volunteer roles that will reconnect you with old friends and introduce you to new ones while strengthening our beloved community. See below for opportunities and contact volunteer@unitytemple.org for more information.
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Sign up to volunteer here for the Upcoming Celebration of Life services:
Alice Muciek
Sunday, April 24 at 3pm
Mona McNeese
Saturday, May 7 at 10am
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Would you like to see our congregation develop a financially secure future? Do you have ideas on how to cultivate support and appreciation for UTUUC through stewardship and generosity?
UTUUC’s Board of Trustees are seeking volunteers to form a five-member Stewardship Committee, which will be responsible for coordinating and overseeing all fundraising activities, resource development, and gift cultivation to further our congregation's mission. Members with experience working on the Annual Auction, Fund Drive and Planned Giving teams are especially welcome. Transform your vision for UTUUC into a reality—VOLUNTEER! For more information, contact the members of the Nominating Committee (Alec Brownlow, Aisha Ellis, Amanda Kaleta-Kott, Jane Wood, Erik Wise) at nominations@unitytemple.org.
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Unity Temple Faith In Action Network
Spiritually Grounded / Deeply Relational / Strategically Effective
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OFFERING : PASO
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 West Suburban Action Project / Proyecto de Acción de los Suburbios del Oeste (PASO). PASO combines leadership development, education and community organizing to effect powerful change – ordinary people creating extraordinary change! Learn more here.
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UU Prison Pen Pal Workshop Learn what it's like to correspond with someone in prison—and the opportunities for transformation. Sponsored by the Church of the Larger Fellowship (CLF) Ambassador Program of Illinois. Workshop takes place on Sunday, May 1, 2-4 PM via ZOOM. We have over 30 incarcerated persons waiting to be matched!
Pre-registration required: RSVP to prisonpenpals@unitytemple.org with your name, email address, congregation affiliation and any questions. Upon confirmation, a short video prerequisite and the Zoom link will be sent.
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UU Side with Love asks for your collective action to affirm trans lives. Please click here for the call to action as well as vital resources. Questions? Contact:
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Book Drive Our congregation has been invited by Cathy Blanford of the Hinsdale UU Prison Pen Pal Program to join their book drive supporting the Urbana Champaign Books to Prisoners Project. This is a volunteer organization in which volunteers read letters from incarcerated individuals from prisons throughout Illinois and then select books from a donated collection to fill their requests. Reading has been proven to increase empathy and reduce recidivism among prisoners. In addition to providing books to those seeking them, 50% of the proceeds from the sale of books on this site will be donated to the UC Books to Prisoners Project to help pay for postage and shipping supplies. Details can be found here. Questions can be sent to prisonpenpals@unitytemple.org.
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Faith in Action Newsletter We’ve launched a renewed Faith in Action newsletter filled with impactful actions. Check it out here. If you didn’t receive this monthly newsletter and would like to, please subscribe here. Questions? Contact Rev. Colleen at cvahey@unitytemple.org. |
UUANI Action of the Week Each week our Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of IL (UUANI) offers a call to action. Sign-up to receive these simple and impactful actions direct to your in-box here.
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DRUUMM Public Worship: Sunday, May 4 at 7pm (CST) Rev. Tyler Coles, Guest Preacher and Dr. Zanaida Robles, Musical Artist
All are invited to the Diverse Revolutionary UU Multicultural Ministry (DRUUMM) public worship service, You Can Count on This. Faith can be a sustaining force throughout the course of one’s life. Yet in a world that is all too cruel and harsh, faith can be twisted, becoming instead a tool that fosters both isolation and a sense of underwhelm. What do we do when this happens for us as Unitarian Universalists? Let us gather in the fortifying spirit of love made known in community as we re-member ourselves, for ourselves, in the presence of all that we choose to name as Holy. Learn more here.
This service is an opportunity for the wider world of Unitarian Universalism to connect with DRUUMM and be in community together. It is open to everyone while prioritizing space for Black, Indigenous and People of Color. We particularly encourage our DRUUMM members in multiracial families and White antiracist allies to join. RSVP here by May 3. Unity Temple is a co-sponsor of this worship & fundraiser.
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DRUUMM is a partner organization of Unity Temple BIPOC Friends. UT BIPOC’s goals are to create community through the sharing and celebration of our unique racial and cultural identities, and to grow in our faith practice so we can live out our values of connection, transformation, justice and acceptance as aligned with our UU principles. We can be reached at bipocfriends@unitytemple.org
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Housing Forward has moved the warming shelter site to Grace Episcopal Church, 924 Lake St. We are organizing a team of volunteers to assist some weekday evenings, 6–10:30pm. Volunteers are asked to greet clients and help set-up and clean-up the dining space (meals are already arranged). COVID protocols will be in place and proof of vaccination is required for all volunteers. View this slideshow for a brief orientation. If interested, please contact Judy Gaietto-Grace, our liaison to Housing Forward: housingforward@unitytemple.org
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Did you miss “Digging into the 8th Principle” worship service on February 13? Perhaps you want to watch it again? If yes, you can find it here. You will be inspired and challenged by the music, stories and reflections. Thank you to all who participated in the post-worship Community Conversation. The 8th Principle team will be reviewing the feedback to determine next steps for the journey. Wondering about opportunities to engage? Please complete the Interest Card here.
To date 150 UU congregations and organizations have adopted the 8th Principle, which calls for us to “accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.” Your 8th Principle team continues to revise the following documents to help you learn more. Please check them out. Contact 8thPrinciple@unitytemple.org if you have questions.
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The Vintage Home Show
Come to The Vintage Home Show, offered in-person for 2022 on Saturday, April 9 from 1-5pm. You are invited to attend seminars, visit vendor booths and ask experts about your home renovation projects. General Admission tickets are $15. Find information here on the event and ways to participate or contact Alice Kloska at 708.260.6661 or akloska@utrf.org
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UTRF Chamber Music Series : Duo Diorama & CSO Players
Unity Chamber Music Series artistic directors Winston Choi and MingHaun Xu of Duo Diorama are joined by Chicago Symphony Orchestra musicians John Bruce Yeh, clarinet, and Oto Carillo, horn. They will perform trios by Bartok, Brahms, and Khatchaturian on Friday, April 8 at 7pm. Tickets range from $20 – $30 based on seating. You can find information on Member, Student discounts and concert information here or contact Alice Kloska at 708.260.6661 or akloska@utrf.org.
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Through Our Differences, We Are One :: The beloved community includes people of all political parties. Here at Unity Temple we call people to live out our faith but this does not mean we share the same political or partisan perspective. May we remind one another to honor our own life experience in the development of our unique perspective while honoring that of others. The core of being a religious liberal is remaining open to and respectful of a pluralism of theological positions and political stances. As Unitarian Universalists, we affirm the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large while also knowing that endorsements or support of particular candidates cannot be part of our congregational process.
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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
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Support Our Work : 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!
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