Loyalty of Spirit / Rev. Alan Taylor

Live stream link can be found here.

Unity Temple Gives. Each week we give our Sunday collection to an organization that aligns with our values. This Sunday’s collection will benefit Disabled American Veterans – empowering veterans to lead high quality lives with respect and dignity. DAV services are offered at no cost to veterans, their families and survivors. Learn more here.  

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 DAV 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!

The Community Transformation Team (CTT) is currently working on a comprehensive phased opening policy taking into account the guidelines and rules presented by the Center for Disease Control, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Village of Oak Park. Here is where we are now. The CTT will continue to keep everyone updated in regards to the decisions made and the guidelines that we as a congregation will need to follow within our unique building settings. Website link can be found here. Questions and comments can be directed to: communitytransformationteam@unitytemple.org

To help the committee in this work, we ask for you to please share your thoughts on our current communications efforts in this brief, 5-minute survey. Your participation is crucial in helping the Communications Committee determine what is working and what could use some improvement when it comes to emails, social media, the new Unity Temple website and other ways we share news and updates. The survey will close on June 15. Take the survey.

Unity Temple Summer RE Goes Virtual With the Theme of "Grow Together" Join us each week as we present online programming that will instill our fine young people's spiritual growth, serving as an opportunity to connect and practice our principles together. We will be offering Activities for All Ages via Zoom every Sunday beginning at 9:30am. Meanwhile, if you have any questions or thoughts to share, please contact summer_re@unitytemple.org

Unity Temple Gives. Each week we give our Sunday collection to an organization that aligns with our values. This Sunday’s collection will benefit Disabled American Veterans – empowering veterans to lead high quality lives with respect and dignity. DAV services are offered at no cost to veterans, their families and survivors. Learn more here.

Climate Rally! Join the UU Advocacy Network of IL and the Sunrise movement via Zoom this Sunday, May 30, 1-2pm. This will be our final push for CEJA (Clean Energy Jobs Act)! Illinois needs a massive expansion in renewable energy, a more equitable workforce, and relief for the communities most affected by climate change, pollution, and environmental racism. This Sunday we’re gathering virtually to contact our legislators, and let them know what this bill means for our communities. Take action with us by signing up here! Questions? Contact ecojustice@unitytemple.org

NOTE: Only people who have signed up using this link will be admitted. Please do not share this invitation with outside parties. Upon arrival, attendees will be asked to sign in and provide a phone number and email address to be used in the event that contract tracing is needed. Each participant is required to wear a mask for the duration of their time inside Unity Temple. Masks should fit securely around the nose and chin. Please maintain a physical distance of at least six feet between those around and stay only in the areas of the building that are made available to you. Please sanitize your hands frequently. If you are sick or have come in contact with anyone who has been ill, please refrain from participating. Sign up to participate here.

Additional Farewell Events: Please find more information about a series of planned farewell events beginning at the end of May and going thru the end of June here. These allow for more opportunities to connect with Rev. Taylor and your fellow congregants in person.

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.

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.