What does The Path of Resistance mean? Click HERE to find out.
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Commitment has been on my mind lately. Partly because as I wrote the lenten reflections on racial justice, I once again find myself realizing that the work before us is daunting. I have been also thinking about this in light of our recent elections and political climate. There are absolutely times in which dialogue between opposing viewpoints is best ended. There are also moments when it is important to commit to the longer relationship even when viewpoints are so distant.
And, I have been thinking of commitment in light of the religious landscape, with so many people leaving churches in the last several decades. I am all for leaving a tradition that no longer fits who you are and what you believe, but there has to be a replacement for the community that is lost when one leaves. We need community, we are relational creatures but our society has given no other alternative. This is why our DUUC community is so important.
I get it, commitment is hard. Especially when it is easy to escape from something unpleasant or challenging. As a white person, if I am not committed to the relationships I have with people of color, or if I have no relationships with people of color, it would be really easy for me not to make racial justice a priority in my life.
Congregational life is about being in community and the community being in existence for the long term. It can be easy to consider walking away when things don’t go exactly as one would like. This feeling is not limited to members. It can be felt by staff and minister alike.
In congregational life, however, I believe that relationships are the things that challenge us to grow, to realize our full potential. There is a higher purpose of being in community with one another, as DuPage UU Church’s mission statement speaks this when we state that we commit to transform ourselves and the world.
I write this message to you this month, when we are looking at a world in chaos. And when we as a congregation have chosen to embrace some significant changes (a new staff member, a new way of doing Sunday mornings, policy-based governance, a new minister!), it is very easy to consider backing away from the challenge of transformation. It is easy to consider wavering in our commitment.
However, I have often been surprised about how challenge makes me even more committed to people and causes. When I find myself in a committed place with people I love, with a clear vision for the future, it makes me willing to stick out the challenges and once they are resolved, I find myself even more committed and inspired.
All of this to say, I love you. I am committed to you. I believe in you. I want to be transformed by you. I have faith that our struggles will bring us closer together - and through it all we will transform ourselves and our world.
I need commitment right now, in a world that is unstable, volatile, and lashing out at me and the people I love. I get up each morning with the amazing gift of being your minister, knowing that what we face, we commit to facing together - and we will grow stronger, together.
In love,
rev. mandi
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Sunday Service
In-person and Online
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Sunday, April 2, 2023 @ 10:30am
Power of Community: RESIST!
rev. mandi huizenga and Francisco Ruiz, Music Director
The Music of the Movement lets us embody our justice values in action. Join us for this multi-generational service exploring music of resistance.
Sunday, April 9, 2023 @ 10:30am
Resisting the State
rev. mandi huizenga
Empire has long collected martyrs of those who resist the state. On this Easter Sunday, we look at some of these martyrs and how we can resist.
Sunday, April 16, 2023 @ 10:30am
Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
Sunday, April 23, 2023 @ 10:30am
Transition, Affirmation & Graduation
Steven Cooper, Director of Religious Education
This service is the culmination of the T.A.G. program. Our Junior and Senior youth and their mentors will share their statements of belief with the congregation.
Sunday, April 30, 2023 @ 10:30am
Resisting the Temptation to Avoid Tension
rev. mandi huizenga
Conflict is uncomfortable. Yet it is often a catalyst for creative ways of thinking and being in the world. How can we move more easily in times of disagreement?
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EASTER SUNDAY
APRIL 9th
AFTER THE
SERVICE
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Calendar Planning for 2023-2024
Staff will be meeting soon to begin planning the 2023-2024 program year. We need ALL teams and committees to submit a room reservation form for meetings and/or events for the 2023-2024 program year.
- Reservations in 2022-2023 will not automatically be reserved in 2023-2024.
- You must fill out this form even if you previously sent Sheri a request via email.
- If your group has several non-recurring events/meetings, you will need to submit one form per event/meeting.
Please follow this link to submit your form.
The deadline for submissions is April 30th.
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Seven Principles Revisions and Denominational Affairs
Sunday, April 23, 2023, 12:30 pm
Join rev. mandi, Steve Cooper, and Neil Lichtman to continue our discussion on the Article II revisions, the UUA presidential election, and other issues that will be addressed at the 2023 UUA's General Assembly in Pittsburgh. All are welcome to attend. A light lunch will be offered.
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Sunday, May 7, 12:30 pm
Want to learn more about Unitarian Universalism? Thinking about becoming a member of DuPage UU Church? Already a member but want a refresher?
rev. mandi invites you to join her in learning more about our faith and our religious community. This class will be held on Zoom.
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May 7th
after the service
All hands on deck for church clean up - inside and out
Fun. Fellowship. Food.
Sign up for your job at
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Elders Circle
Are you interested in meeting once a month with others to discuss
lifespan issues -both pro and con? Do you want to share your story and hear others' stories, with friendly conversation and a few laughs along the way? Consider coming to the DUUC Elder Circle, which welcomes both congregants and friends. We meet monthly on the fourth Wednesday at 10 a.m. for two hours. It is a hybrid
meeting--both in person and on Zoom. A discussion guide on an interesting topic is provided before each meeting. For more information, contact Bev Becker at tovah04@yahoo.com or Bob Harris at bobharris1900@yahoo.com.
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2023 DuPage UU Annual Meeting
June 4! Come for the Sunday service; stay for the slate, state-of-the-church summary, and celebration of a stellar year! The Annual Meeting (in person and online) will begin shortly after the service. Stay tuned for more details!
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Making Better Choices: It’s Earth Month!
As we have promoted for many years in our DUUC newsletter spaces, reducing our consumption of “stuff” should always be high on our list in our quest for sustainable living, and respecting the web of life of which we are a part. Reuse items, repurpose if you can, donate them, or recycle. Trashing should always be our last choice.
Throughout April, the Green Sanctuary collection of metal keys and oral hygiene products will continue, put your items in the containers on our table at the northwest end of coat hallway. There is also a jar for bread tags; that collection is ongoing. Bread tags are the small, plastic squares that hold bread bags closed.
More Details: Oral-B sponsors the program for consumers to “send in used oral care products including toothbrushes, brush heads, toothpaste tubes, mouthwash containers, floss containers, floss string, and floss picks.” For our collection:
1. package items from your household in a sealed plastic bag
2. remove leftover toothpaste or mouthwash from tubes and bottles
3. items do not need to be cleaned, but must be dry for UPS shipping
4. bring used oral care products, any brand
5. electric toothbrushes are not accepted through this program
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These will be final when approved at the April
Board meeting.
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Find out what's happening at DuPage UU Church!
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April Special Offering
During April the Special offering will benefit the Animal Rescue Foundation, nominated by Jenny Hobbs. A.R.F. is a no-kill, all volunteer, foster based organization dedicated to rescuing and rehoming homeless dogs and cats into loving forever homes, including animals that other rescue groups cannot help due to
advanced age or exceptional medical needs of the animals. ARF helps save 1000+ animals each year. They are completely dependent on donations and fundraising and make a huge impact not only in our
local communities, but by taking in animals from other counties and even states that would otherwise be euthanized.
$2,456.08 was collected for the Tom Galloway Scholarship Fund during the month of February. Thank you for your generosity.
To make a donation, please click HERE.
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Beltane
April 29, 2023 7-9 pm
Sanctuary
Welcoming all to help the Hearth of Life ring in the Celtic holiday of Beltane and celebrate Spring at it's apex!
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From the DUUC Library and Book Store |
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Borrowing a book, DVD, or CD from the DUUC Library?
Just a gentle reminder from the DUUC Library volunteers: when you borrow a book, DVD or CD from the DUUC Library, please put your name, phone number and e-mail address on the check-out card located in the pocket in the front of the book. Then place this check-out card, any returned materials or other items in the large basket in the Library alcove area in Kreves Hall.
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DUUC Library Monthly Book Recommendations - April
Throughout the year, the DUUC Library will have monthly book recommendations based upon a monthly holiday or historical significance. Information about these featured DUUC Library books will be available on a book list flyer in the Library Alcove area in Kreves Hall. For April 2023, Earth Day Month will be celebrated.
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Accessibility and Inclusion with the New COVID Protocols
Now that masks are recommended, but not required in the building, the AIM Team would like to offer a few suggestions to keep your group meetings as accessible and inclusive as possible.
- Continue to offer meetings via Zoom or a combination of Zoom and in person.
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Set up Zoom meetings by emailing Sheri at calendar@dupageuuchurch.org. Using the church Zoom account ensures that closed captioning will be available during meetings.
- Leaders should talk with group members individually to find out if they are still able to participate in person if others in the group are not masked.
- Please keep comments such as being “so happy to see smiling faces” to a minimum, especially if any members of the group are still masking.
- Continue to limit your exposure to others if you have symptoms of unknown origin or have been exposed to COVID-19.
- Consider wearing a mask if you have a cold.
Thank you for helping to ensure everyone is able to safely participate in your group meetings.
Disability Awareness Observance
The DUUC Accessibility and Inclusion Ministry Team strives to increase awareness of issues surrounding disability and disability rights and to help make all church programs and spaces as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you have questions about AIM at DUUC, have accessibility or inclusion questions, suggestions, or concerns at church, and/or would like to join the DUUC AIM Team, please email us at aim@dupageuuchurch.org.
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YUUth Ensemble will be playing at the May 7 service this year, and we are looking for kids/youth who would like to participate. We would like to practice after services on the Sundays below from 11:40-12:15 in one of the church rooms. Please let me know if you can play by replying directly to rkcampb37@gmail.com or 630-995-5030 if you would like to join us. Thanks!!
Sundays: Apr. 9, Apr. 16, Apr. 23, Apr. 30, and May 7
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Plans for the summer begin in spring, and SMILE has plans for our fifth summer to be worth SMILE-ing about! More than 25 students have already submitted applications for one of the internships that we offer in July in local business locations. If you have noticed the display in Kreves Hall you will have seen 4 different groups of photos and comments about the young people who enjoyed their internships in a variety of local businesses during the summer of 2022, including three students who were invited by their employers to return as regular employees during their after school time during the subsequent school year.
Your donations during January 2023 to the Special Collection were very generous; we are asking for others to be as generous as you were then so that we can invite 25 high school youngsters to participate in SMILE (Students, Mentors, Internships, with Local Employers) this summer.
One simple way to make a donation on-line can be done through the DUUC website: dupageuuchurch.org; touch the DONATE button; if you select the VANCO link, you can scroll down to the SMILE option to make your donation.
If you have questions or want more information about the SMILE project, you may contact any of our team members:
Lynn Clark, Pat Kocher-Cowan, Carolyn Drake, Jane Gano, Jan Moretti, Elaine Waite
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Mindfulness Meditation
Mondays 7:00pm - 8:45pm
This mindfulness meditation group is open to anyone who has interest in meditation from beginners to more advanced. Our time together consists of sitting meditation, walking meditation (when we meet in person), a short teaching and responsive group sharing.
For more information, go to our website:
We are meeting Hybrid in the DUUC Learning Center and on Zoom.
Meeting ID: 885 7102 1238
Passcode: 512058
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April 2, 2023 @ Noon
Scott and Mike will be joined by reverend mandi as Science Sunday explores "Awe and Wonder in Science". Join us at DUUC at noon on April 2nd as we sit informally to investigate theological, humanistic, and scientific perceptions of the world we live in. Do human-created (or influenced) perspectives foster human flourishing and the awe and wonder of this magnificent world, or do they impede them?
We hope you can find time in your Sunday to stop in the Sanctuary at noon to join in the conversation!! Where do Science, Unitarian Universalism, Humanism and a religiously liberal mindset mesh, and can we foster a sense of Awe and Wonder in our approach to Life? There will be time for discussion and input by all at this gathering!
Sunday, April 16, 2023 @ Noon
On Sunday, April 16th, Scott Thompson will continue the discussion he began with last month's "The Brain and Consciousness." This month, he will discuss "Consciousness, the Brain and Artificial Intelligence." During this program, we will explore some recent astonishing developments in A.I. technology and how they can help us understand what the brain does. In the twentieth century, many psychologists determined that it was counterproductive to talk about what happens inside the brain, much less in the mind of a human being. Instead, they bid us concentrate on behaviorism: what a person does or says. In the past few decades, modern technology has enabled us to peer inside a conscious brain to learn something about what is happening inside that 3 lb lump of tangled neurons. Most recently (i.e. in the past couple of years), researchers in the field of machine learning and neural networks have discovered ways to get computing machines to "think" in rudimentary ways. The astonishing part is that there are deep similarities between what computer scientists and cognitive scientists are discovering about a physical network of connected decision-points (e.g. neurons or circults) can and do function. We're now at a juncture when we can learn a great deal about human consciousness by studying not just brains, but also the latest developments in A.I. such as text and image generators. Please join us for this thought-provoking discussion.
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Humanist Group
On Wednesday Evening April 12th, at 7:30 PM, the Humanist discussion group will meet to discuss the related topic of what it means to be a conscious entity, and what sorts of rights should be ascribed to such entities. If you were intrigued by the Science Sunday topic for this month, then join a discussion about morals, A.I. and consciousness.
Next month, the topic arc concludes with a Science Sunday (and a Humanist Discussion) about the idea of free will.
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Sunday Flowers Needed
Celebrate a person or event by providing flowers for a Sunday service. Flowers are still needed throughout the summer months. You may request to have Sunday Flowers order a $35 standard arrangement for you from Phillip’s Flowers. Or, if you are planning to attend the service in person, you may choose to bring in your own arrangement from your garden or favorite flower shop. The arrangement should be brought to the sanctuary by 10:20 a.m. Your dedication will be printed in the email with the link to the on-line version of the Order of Service as well as in the printed Order of Service. The flowers are yours to take home after the service. If you are not attending service, you may pick up your flowers either on Sunday 11:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m., or contact Sheri, office@dupageuuchurch.org or (630) 505-9408, to make arrangements for pick-up during office hours. Payment may be made by sending a check made out to DUUC for $35 to the church office (write “flowers” on the memo line), through the DUUC Payment Portal (select “other” under donation, and write in “flowers”), or VANCO (select “flowers fund”). Contact Kristen Tang at flowers@dupageuuchurch.org or (630) 305-7771 for more information and/or to request a date. Thank you!
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The deadline for submissions for the May newsletter is MONDAY, April 24, 2023 @ 9am. Please email your submissions to Sheri at office@dupageuuchurch.org. |
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In the Wider Unitarian Universalist World |
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UUA Presidential Candidate Forum
Saturday, April 29, 2023, 1 pm
Evanston UU Church
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General Assembly 2023 is coming to Pittsburgh, PA! Join us June 21-25, 2023 in-person or virtually to worship, witness, learn, connect, and make policy for the Association through democratic process.
This year's Ware Lecturer is Imani Perry, the Hughes-Rogers Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and a faculty associate with Gender and Sexuality Studies and Jazz Studies. In the summer of 2023 she will join the faculty at Harvard University as a Radcliffe Professor. Perry is also a contributing writer for The Atlantic and the author of seven books. The Ware Lecture will take place on Saturday, June 24 at 7 pm ET and requires registration to view the live stream or attend in-person.
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Please consider making a donation to support
DuPage UU Church and all of its programs.
Thank you!
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DuPage UU Church
630-505-9408
office@dupageuuchurch.org
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See what's happening on our social sites: |
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