cauuc spring conference - may 18 · help uus communicate, organize, and locate people with similar...
TRANSCRIPT
April 2019 Newsletter
Chicago Area Unitarian Universalist Council (CAUUC)In this issue:
CAUUC Spring Conference on May 18!
Affinity Groups - join now!Calendar of Upcoming EventsVolunteer Opportunities - we need you!Job Postings
CAUUC Spring Conference - May 18
By Mike Gilley ([email protected])
The CAUUC Spring Conference: "Working Together toBe Welcoming to All" will be held on May 18th 9am-2:30pm. The conference is conducted in collaborationwith UU Action Network of Illinois (UUANI), UU PrisonMinistry of Illinois, and Youth and Young Adults (YaYA)Justice. The conference will be followed by theCAUUC Annual Meeting from 2:30pm-3:30pm. The
event is scheduled to take place at the Unity Temple Community Center,however we have reserved Countryside Church in Palatine as an alternate sitedue to roof repair work that may close down the Community Center during thetime of our event. We will communicate with everyone that registers for theevent about the final location.
We are encouraging congregations to think about how they could use thisconference to incorporate a focus on Welcoming All into their congregationallife as UUANI will be encouraging congregations across the state to do in thefall. The conference will incorporate 3 elements leading to action:
1) Gathering Service to celebrate our togetherness and ground our work
2) General session featuring a keynote presentation and panelists to help us
understand our practices and inform how they affect how welcoming we are to the verypeople our UU values demand we seek justice for and with suchas: immigrants, people of color, the LGBTQ community, formerly incarceratedpeople, and socioeconomically disadvantaged people, and youth and youngadults.
Keynote presentation: Beloved Community is a Verb by Rev. Kellie KellyRev. Kellie Kelly is the new settled minister for Miami Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Dayton,
OH (August 2018). Kellie earned her Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Leadership Studies at
Meadville Lombard Theological School (May 2018). Kellie is from a white working-poor family of
restaurant workers. As a third-generation single mother, she became the first person in her family to
attend college, completing her undergraduate degree at the age of 41. Kellie was the Intern Minister at
Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation from 2016-2018 and the chairperson of UU Class
Conversations from 2015-2018.
Panelists include:Rev. Kellie KellyMonica CosbyChriste LunsfordElise MiedlarLeo Monroy
3) Networking session with Chicago area UUs to build relationships andencourage collaboration because we can get more done as a collective ofChicago area UUs. The following AFFINITY GROUPS will meet up at theconference to work on making our congregations Welcoming to All:
Social Justice Board and Leadership DevelopmentReligious Education (Children's RE & Adult Faith Development)Buildings & GroundsMembershipStewardshipSocial Media
The Chicago Area UU Council Annual Meeting will immediately follow theconference. In addition to the election of the Board for the new year, we will beseeking input on our work for the coming year on conference programs,
communications, collaboration, advertising, etc.
Visit uuchicagoarea.org/workshop or click HERE to register for the event.
Sponsored by:
YaYA Justice
During our spring 2018 conference, many of you expressed interest in
maintaining communications with people from other UU congregations thatshare a common interest or play a similar leadership role to you. To that end,we've been working on an Affinity Group strategy which is now in the earlyimplementation phase.
CAUUC's Affinity Group strategy offers 3 types of person-to-personinteractions:
In-person gatherings e.g. spring and fall CAUUC conferences or UUANI
gatheringNEW: Periodic online video meetings - possibly moderated and
employing format that includes a pre-planned discussion topic, some lecture orbest practice sharing, Q&A, and some open time for impromptu discussionusing a free app called Zoom
NEW!: Online Google Groups online forum experiment
The online Google Groups that we have created thus far include:UUChicagoArea-Board and Leadership DevelopmentUUChicagoArea-Buildings and GroundsUUChicagoArea-MembershipUUChicagoArea-StewardshipUUChicagoArea-Social Justice (Social Justice/Environmental Justice)UUChicagoArea-Social MediaUUChicagoArea-CAUUC Board
Want to get plugged into an Affinity Group right now? We're happy to add youso you can get communicating! Eventually we hope to have a self-servicemodel where you can add yourself to a group, but during this experimentalphase, please send an email and I'll get you registered. REGISTER ME FORA CAUUC AFFINITY GROUP or email us.
If you use Google Calendar, subscribe to our calendar by
adding "[email protected]"
Calendar of Upcoming Events
UU Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI)Events
APR 5: Building Bridges - Statewide JusticeGathering in Alton, IL ahead of the MidAmericaRegional Assembly info
Meadville Lombard Theological School -Seminary for a Day Events
APR 20: Building Religious Communities toSave Democracy - a replay of the workshopconducted at the Fall CAUUC conference info
UU Prison Ministry of Illinois (UUPMI) EventsAPR 28: Prison Industrial Complex @
Countryside Church UU info
Denominational/Regional UU Events MAY 1 & 2: UU Assn of Membership
Professionals (UUAMP) Conference in Milwaukeeinfo
MAY 18: CAUUC Spring Conference @ UnityTemple Annex info
MAY 18: CAUUC Annual Meeting @ UnityTemple Annex
JUN 19-23 UUA General Assembly (Spokane,WA) info
UU Association of Membership
Professionals ConferenceMay 1 & 2 at First Unitarian Society, Milwaukee, WIKeynote: "This is the Year: Answering the Call ofLiberation"
Rev. Sofia Betancourt is a Ph.D. Candidate at YaleUniversity in the departments of Religious Ethics and African AmericanStudies. With a title drawn from Martín Espada's "Imagine the Angels of Bread," ourkeynote will focus on the imminent theological call to liberation in ourcongregational ministries. How we embrace this moment of possibility in ourmovement, how we radically re-imagine ourselves responding to the urgencyof white supremacy in our times, has everything to do with how we "do church"in these days. This is the year to imbue our administrative expertise with anunflagging, justice-centered purpose.
See more and register for the UUAMP conference by clicking HERE
Volunteer Opportunities - We need you!
Is volunteer work part of your spiritual practice? CAUUC has several roles weneed hep with. We would love to hear from anyone who has interest.
Congregational Liaison - if your congregation doesn't have a member on
the CAUUC board, the congregational liaison is a communications channelbetween your congregation and CAUUC.
CAUUC Board Member/Officer - Board member candidates are put forth bythe CAUUC Nominating Committee and voted on at our Annual Meeting (May18, 2019). Board members are the operations backbone of CAUUC. Weplan and run our spring and fall conferences, manage our social mediaplatforms, and stay attuned to the needs of congregations in pursuit of ourmission of growing UUism and strengthening congregations.
Conference Volunteers - we always have needs of volunteers to carry outevery aspect of our events including music and worship, registration, foodplanning and kitchen help.
Reporter/Writer/Photographer/PR - We also need people to help with newsstories, picture taking, and event reporting to help with our variouscommunications platforms.
Website/Application Development - We are also looking for people thathave technical expertise to help us stay current with new technologies that canhelp UUs communicate, organize, and locate people with similar interests orroles.
If any of these sound like something you're interested in or you'd like to learnmore about, please contact us at: [email protected]
JOB POSTINGS
Director of Lifespan Religious Education at Countryside Church UU in
Palatine, IL.
See the job posting page here: http://ccuu.org/DLREsearch
The Western Crescent Choir Festival was held this past Sunday, April 7, 2019 in Palatine.
The event featured the choirs of UU Church of Joliet, UU Society of Geneva, UUChurch of Elgin, Prairie Circle UU Congregation (Grayslake), Tree of Life UUCongregation (McHenry), and Countryside Church UU (Palatine). A freewill offering made by attendees of the event was given to Faith in Place,
Partners for Our Communities, and Interfaith Community for DetainedImmigrants. If you love music and weren't there, you missed out on a specialevent! See more pictures from the event captured by Barrie Burr,photographer and member of Countryside Church, by clicking on thelink: Western Crescent Choir Festival
CAUUC Mission Statement
The Chicago Area Unitarian Universalist Council is comprised of17 UU congregations located in the greater Chicago Area. Ourmission is to support member congregations by workingtogether to achieve a common goal of promoting UnitarianUniversalist principles. Our work involves:
increasing the visibility of the UU community to the greaterChicago community such as through radio advertising, social media work, and theweb;
promoting advocacy of social justice;strengthening our congregations through sharing of programs, particularly for
leadership development; andentering into appropriate coalitions with other faith traditions which share our core
values.
For more information about serving as a CAUUC congregationalrepresentative or to get involved in other ways, contact us [email protected]
CAUUC Web Site: uuchicagoarea.org
VISIT CAUUC ON THE WEB
