Community Post Unitarian Universalist Community Church

Park Forest, IL November , 2009

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN By Pat Segner

This is the mission of our faith;

To teach the fragile art of hospitality:

To revere both the critical mind and the generous heart;

To prove that diversity need not mean divisiveness;

And to witness to all that we must hold the whole world in our hands.

William F. Schulz

In October the Board, Convener Council, and Committee on Ministry held a

very educational and inspiring meeting with Rev. Yielbonzie about our vision

for our church. The two areas that impressed me the most and where I

volunteered to concentrate my efforts were fostering growing and ex-

panding minds (both adults and children), widening horizons and providing

more depth in our church activities.

All the areas discussed seemed to converge and merge, all related to

growth and encouraging diversity. It is interesting to ask how do we do

depth? Would having more multi-cultural music in our services be part of

depth? If we were to embark on a new out-reach project how would we go

about it. Would listening to a targeted group as to what they needed be a

way of building trust and depth of program.

Our Covenant and Mediation Ministry speak to idea that "the end does not

justify the means", the process that we use to work together is as impor-

tant for the health of this church as our end results. Our service to others

can have a deep commitment to our principles.

How we, as a congregation, are know outside our walls is important. I add

that we can deepen and strengthen our community by sharing what we

already do and provide. A example of this would be to share member pro-

files on the website or the newsletter so we all knew more of each others

stories.

A mission statement is short-- As Rev. Yielbonzie says, "the ocean not all

the waves". Here is a sample from me: UUCC is a loving church community

of cultural diversity ,in which each person is encouraged to seek their own

spiritual truth and meaning and to offer service to others.

I invite you to tell me your mission statement. Better, write it out in ad-

vance, and put it in my hand. I thank you in advance for your spirit of

discovery. In Love and fellowship, Pat

TELL ME MORE

A couple of weeks ago an active, generous church member who teaches in the religious education program and has three children

in the classes, approached me with a request.

She had been wrestling with the idea and practice of prayer and

wanted to know if I had any resources that might be helpful to

her. As I took a moment to consider her request I asked her to tell

me more. She volunteered that she might have some negative

baggage from her religious upbringing related to the word prayer.

We were standing in the sanctuary where, each week, the service

ends with the unison singing of “Spirit of Life.” Knowing that this

member had a positive experience of the song I pointed out that

the song in fact was a prayer. It is a bidding prayer, addressed to

the “spirit of life,” seeking its presence in our individual lives

through a diversity ways: singing, blowing, rising, moving, holding,

setting free. This spirit is a generous and compassionate giver.

This exchange reminded me of similar encounters with avowed

“atheists” who tell me they do not believe in god. Like others, I

have responded to this affirmation with an honest question: “Tell

me, what god is it that you don’t believe in?” Where were they

born? What century gave them a name? Who were their parents, their ancestors, their source of water – their parts per million?

tell me more.

Over and over my faith is renewed by discovering the life giving dimensions at the root of practices I once rejected. Perennial

customs give life the shape of justice in this place during our times.

In the time to come I want to know more about the questions and

practices you wrestle with (or with which you wrestle). Next week i will relate what I learned one morning at the PADS home-

less shelter when I asked a young man to “Tell me more.”

See you in church,

Yielbonzie

MINISTER’S COLUMN By Rev. Yielbonzie Charles Johnson

Sunday Services Sunday Worship Services

November 1st: Family of Origin, Family of Choice: OK church family, it’s

like this. Occasionally, I am asked questions like, “Do you have a family?”

or “Are you a family man?” I believe the only valid question in this regard,

to any of us, is “Tell me about your family?”

November 8th: Sermon presented by Donita Lythberg

November 15: “A Place At The Table”: One of the songs in our Unitarian

Universalist hymnal affirms that “we’re gonna sit at the welcome table.” In

this season of harvest and thanksgiving we ask “what is your place?” What

is our place?

November 22nd: Sermon presented by Ed Loomis.

November 29th: Sermon presented by Joseph Cherry

“There are some really interesting people in our church,” commented one of

our middle school RE students as I drove him home from a night of photo-

graphing families at the church.

“What makes them interesting?” I asked.

“A lot of them have adopted kids,” he answered. “That’s really cool.”

While I don’t know if it’s accurate to say that “a lot” of families at UUCCPF

have adopted children, it was true that two of the families our RE students

photographed that night had brought pictures of their adopted children, now

adults. The kids had listened attentively as they interviewed our church

members before photographing them and heard the stories of how their

adopted children became part of their families.

In fact, I thought the kids listened attentively to every family they inter-

viewed during our three photography sessions, which will ultimately lead to

a photo-documentary exhibit that is part of this fall’s Family curriculum. For

many of the middle and high school students involved in the project, these

photo/interview sessions were the first interaction they had ever had with

people they see at church every Sunday—even the parents of their fellow

RE students!

It is not often that adults (especially seniors) and young people have the

opportunity to sit and chat. It is even rarer for the young people to be

asking the questions in such a conversation. I can’t recall any of my boys

ever asking their grandparents, “So how’s the ballroom dancing class coming

along?”

Amazingly, the kids remembered what they learned during the interview and photography sessions. When they evaluated the printed photos a few weeks

later, one of the selection criteria was whether a photo captured the person-

ality of the family. The kids would use their knowledge of each family to

lobby for certain photos: “The dad is into baseball, so we need to use the

photo that shows his Cubs shirt,” or “The kids are really active, and so use

the picture shows more energy.”

The families photographed for the project are now in the process of writing

a short piece to accompany their photograph, which the RE youth will add

to. The exhibit will appear sometime in December. Even if some of the pho-

tos could use a bit more light or better focus, the project will have been a

success because it broadened and deepened the RE students’ view of their

church family and allowed them to connect on a personal level. In my ideal

church, there would be more opportunities for intergenerational connections.

I’m imagining an adult curriculum called “Tweens and Teens,” in which the

tables are turned, and the adults interview the RE students!

Jodi Libretti, DRE

What’s going on in RE? Jodi Libretti, Director of RE

Sunday Forums at 11:30am. November 1st: Community Sunday . No Forum

November 8th: Sandy Matteson (and perhaps

Karen Gunter) will share their work in Arusha Tanzania, Africa, through “Kid Care International.” They will narrate

slides about a school providing pre-school education and nutrition for orphaned African children, and a malaria treatment and prevention

program for young children.

November 15th: “Expectations: Yours and Mine” Remember back in late August, before our new minister had arrived in the area,? Dave

Matteson led a discussion on “Expectations of predominantly white UU churches when calling a minister of color”, based on discussions of this

issue at UU General Assembly. Now our new minister has been with us for a couple months, here’s a chance.

November 22nd: Music forum: Singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco. Bev

Feldt will continue a series of listening to and discussing songs.

November 29: Thanksgiving weekend. No Forum.

Our Capital Fund Needs You With the chill of winter about to descend, you will be pleased to know

that a new furnace has been purchased and installed in our church to keep

us warm. That is the good news. The not so good news is that the cost of

the new furnace dropped our Capital Fund balance to zero. From now to

the end of January 2010 we have set a goal to raise $3000 to pay for much

needed repairs to windows in the Minister's office and Classroom I.

The Board of Trustees asks members and friends to renew their support

of this fund which provides for the long term care for our facilities. Contri-

butions large or small can be placed in the Sunday collection plate or sent to

the church office. All contributions should be labeled Capital Fund donation.

We must ensure the future of the one building we all call our home.

With grateful thanks,

Rich Treptow

Treasurer

Daytimer's Book Group

There is no book meeting in

November. Next meeting is on

December 8th.

Traitor: A novel of Lady Jane Grey

By Alison Weir(Rosalee)

FRIDAY COVENANT

We invite everyone to join us for sharing and discus-

sion on the 2nd and 4th Fridays of every month from

7-9 p.m. During the first hour we go around our

circle, each having the opportunity to talk about what

is happening in our lives. The second hour we discuss a

topic chosen by our group. Come join us!

November 13th: Meeting Life’s Challenges

November 27th: Movies

WEDNESDAY MORNING

COVENANT GROUP

We invite new conversation and social-izing after the group. We meet on 2nd and 4th Wednesdays each month from 10a.m.to Noon. Bring a bag lunch for sharing and conversation.

November 4th— Grace and Blessings

This will be the only meeting in November.

Rainbow Cafe is a social event that pro-vides a safe and welcoming environment for single or partnered gay, lesbian, bisex-ual, and transgender adults and their allies, by creating a space where they are able to

socialize outside of the usual bars. The Café is open every 3rd Saturday of the month from 7-9:30 pm here at UUCC.

Next Café: November 21st, 2009

“A Moment in Balance”

Karen Nielsen leads Yoga Classes Monday and Thursday mornings 9:30a.m. – 11a.m. and on Wednesday evenings 7:30p.m.– 9p.m. No reservations needed. Drop in fee is $10 per class and the 6th one is FREE. For information (708) 755-3577

Dances of Universal Peace are Circle,

Meditative, Prayerful dances to the mantras

from all World Religions. They originated with Murshid Samuel

Lewis, a Sufi teacher, in San Francisco in the late 1960’s. We meet from 4pm-

6pm at the UUCC. Nancy Pfalscfraft, a certified D.U.P Teacher, is our primary leader. For info call Pat Segner 748-2217

Insight Meditation Monday Night Meditation

Beginning November 2

The Monday Night Insight Medita-

tion Group will meet a half-hour

earlier from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., in the Gathering

Room. Beginners or experienced mediators,

please join us!

FREE TO ALL.

UUCCPF Social Issues

There will be no movie events scheduled for

November or December.

The notification for the January 2010 movie will be sent in

December.

Green Corner

Letting your faucet run for five minutes uses

about as much energy as let-ting a 60-watt light bulb run

for 14 hours. (EPA, 2008)

UUCCPF on ENEWS

Our congregation is invited to go to enewspf.com

to read Gary Kopycinski’s weekly news about Park

Forest and the world. We pay a fee to write about

UUCC under “Clubs and Organizations”. The col-

umn is updated periodically emphasizing events

open to the public. Take a look and give me feed

back and suggestions. I would love help with the

writing.

Pat Segner

MEDIATION MINISTRY The Mediation Ministry up & running.

The first step in mediation process is CONSULTATION'" We hope to emphasize this process in our church community. A congregate with a "knot" in communication, relationship, & or behavior with another person in the congregation may come to any member of the Mediation Ministry to discuss the situation on an informal basis.

All discussion is confidential (no written records kept at this point). Both parties work toward better understanding the issues, finding a solution and doing a direct action. Follow up meetings can be held if necessary.

If conflict is not resolved formal mediation, as outlined in bro-chure can be used. Revised brochure will be available shortly.

Members of the Mediation Ministry are: Pat Segner (Coordinator), Dave Matteson,

Darlene Obejda, Janet Moffat, Gail Roy & Bruce Swiecicki.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Everyone born in November

1

10am, Worship/ RE

11:30, Community

Sunday- No Forum

2

9:30am, Yoga

8pm, Meditation

3

7:30 pm Council Meeting

4

10am, Covenant Group

7:30pm, Yoga

5

9:30am, Yoga

7pm Men’s Group

6 7

8

10am, Worship/ RE

11:30, Forum

9

9:30am, Yoga

8pm, Meditation

10 11

7:30pm, Yoga

12

9:30am, Yoga

13

7pm Covenant Grp

14

15

10am, Worship/RE

11:30am, Forum

16

9:30am, Yoga

8pm, Meditation

17

7pm, Board Meeting

18

7:30pm, Yoga

19

9:30am, Yoga

7pm Men’s Group

20

21

7pm, Rainbow Cafe

22

10am, Worship/RE

11:30am, Forum

23

9:30am, Yoga

8pm, Meditation

24

25

Newsletter Deadline 7:30pm, Yoga

26 Thanksgiving

9:30am, Yoga

27

28

7pm, Movie Night

29 10am, Worship/RE

11:30, Forum

30

9:30am Yoga

8pm Meditation

Building Rentals

The Board is in the process of review-ing building rental policy. Our present schedule is geared to one time rent-als for a wedding or a party. We would like to offer some rates for on-going activities such as classes, etc. Our members are asked to pay a very modest rental fee if their activity does not relate directly to our church pro-gram. If you have suggestions or questions, please talk with a Board

member.

Unitarian Universalist Community Church 70 East Sycamore Drive Park Forest, IL 60466-2600

Newsletter November Issue

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Church Information Office Administrator 70 Sycamore Drive Evelia Lopez Park Forest, IL 60466 Office Hours: PHONE: 708-481-5339 Monday – Friday E-Mail : admin@uuccpf.org 9am – 1pm Web : www.uuccpf.org

(Please note from time to time some office hours vary)

Newsletter Deadline for December is: November 25th

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