COVID Protocol: Our Covid-19 protocols have been adjusted, we are now in Blue. In respect and care for the vulnerable, masking is required in our facilities despite changing external guidelines. Please visit our website here for more details.
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Office Hours: If you are planning to come by 1019 (our Unity Temple Community Center) for any reason during the week, please check to make sure a staff person will be here to help you. Contact office@unitytemple.org. | |
A Bigger Belonging / Rev. Emily Gage
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September Theme: Belonging
Live Stream Worship at 10am / Recorded Viewing Available at Noon
Live stream link can be found here.
This will be Emily’s last Sunday before her sabbatical begins on October 1st.
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Sunday's chalice table flowers will be given by Norman Coleman in gratitude for his sisters and brothers: Isabel, Elnora, Martha, Bernice, Mary,
Charles, Eugene and David..
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OFFERING : BUILD Chicago
Unity Temple Gives. Each week we give our Sunday collection to an organization that aligns with our values. This Sunday's collection will benefit BUILD Chicago - providing powerful experiential learning opportunities to nearly 6,000 youth in the Austin community. BUILD uses entrepreneurship to ignite the potential of youth from under-resourced communities and propel them to high school, college, and career success.
You may donate by placing cash or check in one of the circulating baskets during the service, sending a check to the Unity Temple office (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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The Engagement Fair is This Sunday! There are many interest groups at Unity Temple, providing members with diverse opportunities for community, learning, service and fun! Please mark your calendar for Sunday, September 25 right after service to visit the Engagement Fair in Unity House. Friendly representatives from the groups will be on hand to tell you about what they do and how to get involved. It’s a wonderful way to learn more about the culture and values of our congregation and to find new ways to be involved. Don’t miss it! | |
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Reflecting With The Board: The Board of Trustees will hold its next Reflecting with the Board session on Monday September 26 at 7pm. Please join us.
The Zoom link can be found here. Meeting ID: 867 5702 8578 / Passcode: 410 414 2593
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Relational Covenant World Cafe: The Transition Team invites you to join us after service on October 2 for a light lunch at 11:15 immediately followed, at noon, by a Relational Covenant World Cafe to talk about our hopes and vision for how we relate to each other.
We hope you can participate in this Relational Covenant World Cafe. Registration is helpful for our planning, but walk-ins are welcome. You can register at this link.
Children are familiar with creating covenants in their RE classes and are invited to participate, as well. We are hoping to have an open and honest conversation in a multigenerational setting for about 90 minutes. If your family would be better served through childcare, you can request care by sending an email to childcare@unitytemple.org.
Your Transition Team,
Marsha Borders, Glenn Brewer, Vera Dowell, Fran Knechel, Ian Morrison
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On August 28 we celebrated Homecoming Sunday on the patios complete with a UU Selfie Station and activities. We hope you enjoy these memories of our joyful day! Click here for a video (also found on our YouTube channel). | |
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Becoming a Member
We are excited to resume our Pathway to Membership sessions this fall and invite you to attend! This two part gathering is designed to help you decide whether or not becoming an active member of our faith community is right for you. You will get to know others in a a small group setting, learn about our congregations history and how things work today, as well as explore ways to be part of our future in meaningful and fun ways.
Fall Pathway to Membership Schedule
These sessions meet from 1-3pm at the UTUUC Community Center. Childcare is available upon request. Online accommodations can be arranged. Masks are required at this time. To register for one of the two-part sessions listed below, contact tlewis@unitytemple.org.
October 16 & 23 / November 13 & 20
We will celebrate new members in community at a brief ceremony during Welcome Sunday on December 4. We look forward to your participation!
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Women's Connection Potluck Tonight!
Join us tonight Friday, September 23, beginning at 5:30pm. 1019 South Boulevard is the place. Wine and ice water will be provided but whatever you'd like to bring, homemade or from Jewel, will be welcomed. There is no program; this is seen as a chance for casual connections! We would appreciate knowing if you plan to come although last-minute drop-in is fine. You may reply to this email.
Mothers, child care will be provided on request. Just let us know .
Questions can be sent to womensconnection@unitytemple.org.
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Call for Cookies
Community Hour on the patios will continue, however, our cookie supply is running low. Donations are now being gratefully accepted. If you would like to donate a package or two of cookies, please drop them off in the kitchen on Sunday mornings. Note: NO NUTS. Also, gluten free cookies are much appreciated too. Thank you!
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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, October 2 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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Sip & Share Your Hospitality & Connections Committee invites you to please join us for an in-person Sip & Share on Thursday, October 20 from 6:30-8pm at the Unity Temple Community Center located at 1019 South Blvd in Oak Park. Bring your own beverage to enjoy and some conversation or topics to share as you casually mingle with other guests. It’s sure to be lively evening!
| Job Postings: Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation is hiring! We are looking for a part time Bookkeeper, a part time Office Assistant and a Nursery Supervisor and Childcare Coordinator. Details can be found on our website here. | |
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Singers Ages 6-10 are Invited to Participate
The 2023 Fall Chalice Singers, the Unity Temple Children's Choir, will begin on Sunday, October 9 and rehearse after Sunday worship from 11:15 to noon each week until performance on November 20. Singers ages 6-10 are invited to participate where the music makes you move and the snacks are fabulous! Music Director, Marty Swisher will lead the troupe! Sign up will take place on September 25 at the Engagement Fair or email Marty at mswisher@unitytemple.org.
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Religious Education
Each year, we ask our families to register and re-register their children for our religious education programming. It ensures we have the most up to date information about our young people, helps us with planning, and gives us an ongoing communication loop. Along with information, we ask for a registration fee of $50 per child (for pledging members and friends) and $100 per child (for non-pledging members or friends). These fees help support elements of our program. Scholarships are granted by request to Emily Gage egage@unitytemple.org
or Val Ridenour
vridenour@unitytemple.org.
Please register your child/children for Religious Education using this link.
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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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The Mindful Reflection
community meets every TUESDAY evening virtually and in person in Unity House at Unity Temple. Meeting opens at 6:45pm for camaraderie, the program starts promptly at 7:20pm. Vaccinations are encouraged, masks are mandatory. We will follow our usual format with 20 minutes of Mindful Reflection followed by a dharma talk and discussion. Questions email
mindful@unitytemple.org. Join Zoom meeting here.
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Unity Temple Faith In Action Network
Spiritually Grounded / Deeply Relational / Strategically Effective
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Vote Love Democracy Celebration - multi-platform
Join us online or on-site Sunday, October 16, Noon-2pm, for our Vote Love Democracy Celebration! We’ll gather at the UTUUC Community Center or on Zoom where we’ll hear from UU the Vote Campaign Manager JaZahn Hicks, updates from UU congregations across the state and close with an action opportunity. Register here. Questions? Contact: votelove@unitytemple.org
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Vote Love
In 2020, Unity Temple reached 17,000 voters with postcards and phone banking! Here’s what you can do this year:
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Make a plan to vote! Check out this Voter Information Page from UUANI.
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Contact disenfranchised voters via letter writing. Stop by our table at community hour or contact votelove@unitytemple.org to sign-up to write letters.
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Sign-up here to learn more about being an election judge!
Questions? Contact: votelove@unitytemple.org
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Prison Pen Pals:
Over 30 individuals who are incarcerated in Illinois and members of the UU Church of the Larger Fellowship, are waiting, many of them for over a year, to be assigned an outside pen pal. Become a pen pal or consider teaming up with a friend to do this together. Your engagement can make a huge difference! To learn more, visit the UU Prison Ministry of IL website here, and contact Barbara at prisonpenpals@unitytemple.org.
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Faith in Action Newsletter
We invite you to subscribe to our monthly Faith in Action newsletter filled with impactful actions. Please subscribe here. Questions? Contact Rev. Colleen, Assistant Minister for Faith in Action cvahey@unitytemple.org.
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Support Asylum Seekers Our partners at the IL Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights are providing support for the more than 500 people who have arrived in Chicago from Texas. On-site volunteers are needed in Burr Ridge and Countryside from 11:30a-2:30pm and 5-8pm to help serve meals, play with kids, run errands, etc. Spanish-speaking volunteers are preferred. Volunteers are also needed to help sort donations at Casa Michocan, 1638 S. Blue Island. If interested and available, please contact: immigration@unitytemple.org.
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Our neighbors at Housing Forward are in need of food for their Interim Housing program. Please see the open dates and sign-up here to provide a meal. All meals must be suitable for grab-and-go (individually wrapped). You may also donate to Housing Forward and designate your donation for “Interim Housing program meals.” Donations of bottled water are also welcome. Please drop-off at the center located in the Write Inn, 211 N. Oak Park Ave, Oak Park. Questions? Contact Judy: housingforward@unitytemple.org
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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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To date 212 UU congregations and organizations have adopted the 8th Principle, including most recently our neighbors, 2nd U of Chicago, and the Unitarian Church of Hinsdale. Each week the number increases! Interested in learning more about the 8th Principle? Check out UTUUC’s worship service “Digging into the 8th Principle” here and explore the following documents, prepared for you by our own 8th Principle Team:
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Important update from the 8th Principle Team and the Board:
Although we have temporarily postponed a vote on the 8th Principle per se, on May 10, 2022, the Board approved the chartering of an Anti-Oppression Anti-Racism (AO/AR) Committee of the Board. This committee will have the responsibility of working closely with the Board and lay leadership to guide the congregation to more authentically and accountably live out its values, covenant, and mission by applying an AO/AR lens to all the ways that we engage with one another and the surrounding community.
In keeping with the AO/AR charter, the Board is finalizing the open selection process, which will include an application form to be completed by UTUUC members who are interested in serving on the AO/AR Committee. Stay tuned!
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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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