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Friday, February 17, 2023 | | |
One Great Hour of Sharing
Offering Date - Sunday, March 19, 2023
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It's time to share.
One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) special mission offering of the United Church of Christ involves you in disaster, refugee/immigration, and development ministries throughout the world. When a disaster strikes or people are displaced or made refugees by violence or extreme poverty, you are part of the immediate response and of the long-term recovery.
Through OGHS you engage in holistic development programs including health care, education, agriculture, food sustainability, micro-financing and women’s empowerment. Because the UCC relates in mutual partnership to churches and organizations through Global Ministries and worldwide response & recovery networks, your contributions to One Great Hour of Sharing put you in the right place at the right time for the relief, accompaniment and recovery of the most vulnerable. You meet immediate needs and you address the underlying causes that create those needs in the first place.
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UCC Yearbook Deadline Approaching!
As of Wednesday, February 15, only 37 of our 220 churches in the Illinois Conference have completed their Yearbook reporting. This is less than 20% of our churches. The annual yearbook is not simply a formality. The UCC Yearbook is a legal document that verifies your church's standing within the denomination and proves your 501(c)3 status under the denomination's group exemption. Data from the annual reports is also used in the church profile when you are searching for a new pastor - and if no reports have been submitted for your church for five (5) years, all data reverts to zeros. Your participation is the ONLY way our records are kept current and accurate.
The deadline for churches to complete their reporting is MIDNIGHT (EST) MARCH 1ST! Click here for a PDF copy of the yearbook reporting instructions. You can also click on the button below to be directed to the UCC Yearbook and Directory webpage where you will find the link to DataHub along with other resources and instructions. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Naomi in the Conference Office by email or phone (708-344-4470).
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Outdoor Ministries - Camp of the Week!
Over the next several weeks, we will be highlighting the various camp and retreat opportunities at Pilgrim Park and Tower Hill this summer. There are many offerings happening this year including some new ones. We hope that you will come out of the ordinary and into the sacred and join us at camp this summer!
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Service and Learning Camp
June 25-30 at Tower Hill, Grades 9-12
Fee: $500
Directors: Tres Lampkins, Rudra Dundzilla
For Senior High School youth who want to make an impact in our world. We will be exploring Eco justice, economic justice, and racial justice by getting our hands dirty and working with local organizations. Projects could include invasive species removal, building a wheelchair ramp, and restoring a city playground.
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Join the Movement creates Lenten journey for courageous conversations - United Church of Christ | Lent is a season when many people take on a new spiritual discipline. When it begins this year on Wednesday, Feb. 22, Join the Movement Toward Racial Justice is inviting people to take up the spiritual practice of courageous conversations. Each day during Lent, Join the Movement will offer daily prompts that encourage antiracist conversations. | | | |
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Messy Church Training
March 11, 2023
Messy Church is a form of church for children and adults that involves creativity, celebration, and hospitality. It's church for people at all stages of their faith journey and of any age, with its aim to introduce Jesus and to give an opportunity to encounter and grow closer to Jesus. Messy Church models and promotes healthy ways of growing as a family: a nuclear family, an extended family, and a global and local church family. Messy Church includes four parts: a welcome, a creative time to explore the biblical theme, a meal, and a celebration time of worship. Most Messy Churches meet once a month, at a time that is welcoming, especially to those who might not a church home of their own. Messy Church is fun!
Want to learn more about Messy Church or thinking about starting a Messy Church? “Get Started” is our foundational training event that is highly recommended for any church planning to start a Messy Church.
Join Ronda Bower in Chicago for an in person Get Started in Messy Church training, March 11, 2023, 9 a.m. – 3 p.m., at United in Faith Lutheran Church, 6525 W Irving Park Road, Chicago, IL 60634.
Download the flyer here.
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Susan Draper White Lecture
March 6, 2023
United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities would like to invite you to share news about our upcoming March 6, 2023 Susan Draper White Lecture, “Influence of Feminist Theology over 60 Years at United.”
As United celebrates its 60th year, we are taking time to reflect on how feminist theology has influenced United’s development as a seminary. For this event, President Molly T. Marshall will moderate a discussion with retired and current faculty members. Guests include former United Professor Mary Potter, as well as Professors Emeritae Dr. Mary Farrell Bednarowski, Rev. Dr. Barbara Anne Keely, and Rev. Dr. Carolyn Pressler. Joining the conversation are current faculty members Dr. Jennifer Awes Freeman and Rev. Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape.
Join us for a lively and informative conversation as we explore what it was about United that drew in so many gifted feminist theologians, how they impacted our students’ educational experience, and how the field continues to evolve today. The image is a detail from Re-Imagining, by Nancy Chinn and Winn Rea, painted at the 1993 Re-Imaging Conference.
Learn more/register to attend here.
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The Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ Names First Black Female Executive Director in Its 51-Year History | |
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CLEVELAND, February 15, 2023 (Newswire.com) - The Open and Affirming Coalition (ONA) of the United Church of Christ (UCC) has selected Rev. Dr. Katrina Roseboro-Marsh as its Executive Director. The ONA Coalition is an LGBTQIA+ Advocacy organization in social justice covenant with a faith movement.
"I am honored and excited for this opportunity. I realize how important my selection is and I recognize the magnitude of what this opportunity will mean for the LGBTQIA+ community," said Executive Director Rev. Dr. Katrina Roseboro-Marsh. "I accept this challenge because the ONA of the UCC has laid the sturdy groundwork to make its next steps forward in reimaging and revisioning, with regeneration as a goal."
Dr. Marsh has over 16 years of experience as a clinician working with a diversified client population. Her particular focus has been her work with LGBTQIA+ identified, as well as those who identify as African American/Black.
The search committee chair and a Coalition Leadership Team member, Rev. Derek Terry, noted, "We are excited to welcome Dr. Katrina to our team because of her unique voice, energy, and experience. With the current attack on queerness in schools and communities across the country, we feel an obligation to protect and ensure the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Accordingly, while some work to erase the experiences of BIPOC people from the pages of history books, we are eager to work with Dr. Katrina as she leads us to increase our advocacy work through an intentionally more intersectional approach."
Dr. Marsh begins serving with the Coalition on Feb. 16, 2023.
Dr. Marsh can be reached via email at katrina@openandaffirming.org. Please consider celebrating this milestone with a tax-deductible donation to the Coalition as we continue advocating for the full inclusion and safety of all LGBTQIA+ individuals and families. Visit openandaffirming.org/donation to give today. We thank you!
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FAITHFUL FRIDAYS is published by the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ, 1840 Westchester Blvd, Suite 200, Westchester, IL 60154. The Rev. Molly Carlson, Conference Minister; Sarah Lohrbach, Editor. Copy may be sent to: SarahLohrbach@ilucc.org.
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