Chicago Area UU News Summer 2018
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Mike Gilley <[email protected]> Chicago Area UU Council (CAUUC) Newsletter - Summer 2018 [CORRECTED] 1 message Mike Gilley <[email protected]> Tue, Jul 10, 2018 at 9:43 PM Bcc: [email protected] Resending with corrections to links to the Spring Workshop breakout session notes Summer 2018 Newsletter Chicago Area Unitarian Universalist Council (CAUUC) In this issue: President's Corner Upcoming Events Calendar Report from the CAUUC Spring Workshop -We are Better Together with breakout session notes UUs in the News: Affordable housing development in Deerfield Families Belong Together rallies Insist on Justice! Resist Inequality! event Poor People's Campaign Tearing Down Walls - Building Up Connections CAUUC Annual Meeting & Election Results President's Corner By Mike Gilley ([email protected]) We Are Better Together Spring Workshop and CAUUC Annual Meeting - May 12th provided participants with inspiration and taught me some lessons about "herding cats". See the report below to get a little perspective on what all took place as well as summary notes from the breakout sessions that were held at the event. CAUUC Fall Conference - SAVE THE DATE! SAT, NOV 10 Please reserve time on your calendar to join in on the CAUUC fall conference. We're very early in the planning cycle and taking input on everything related to carrying out the event from topics and activities to the location and food. This is your opportunity to influence what we're doing. Please email me any suggestions. Thanks! CAUUC Meeting With Chicago Area Liberal Ministers (CALM) The CAUUC Board continues to work with the CALM minister to ensure CAUUC's work is in alignment with the work of our UU clergy, our focus is placed on the needs of our area congregations and communities we live in, and that we are increasing the relevance and awareness of UUism by living our values. CAUUC will have representatives at the next CALM meeting on September 4th to continue our collaboration. Upcoming Events Multiple dates: Cook County Jail Voter Registration and Training dates Jul 15-21: MidWest Leadership School Aug 4: CAUUC Board Meeting Sep 4: CAUUC @ CALM Meeting Nov 10: CAUUC Fall Conference Jan 15-27: UU Men's Retreat in Des Plaines sponsored by Unity Temple now reaching out to all UU area churches. Contact Rich Pokorny ([email protected]) for more info. Report from the CAUUC Spring Workshop: We Are Better Together By Doug Erickson and Mike Gilley Reverend David Swartz and Reverend Hilary Krivchenia provide a spiritual introduction to the workshop held May 12th at Countryside Unitarian Church from 9 am to 2 pm. Forty five people from 12 congregations participated in the event including 8 ministers and staff from Chicago area UU congregations, the UU Military Ministry, and UU Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI). We Are Better Together spent the morning reviewing both past and future congregational event programming to provide participants a balcony view of the activities going on in the greater Chicago area that are open to non-UUs, UUs from other congregations, or are interfaith in nature. By sharing our work plans with each other, we inspire and create opportunities to collaborate or replicate ideas--either of which can reduce the burden on the limited resources that our individual congregations have to act on our UU values to make the world a better place. Attendees were provided with a print out of congregational activities and contacts to help promote connecting with people that are inspired about a particular idea. This portion of the event was experimental and we’re still looking for ways to ensure that when congregations are developing their programming, they are remembering to incorporate CAUUC into the communications plan so that CAUUC can help create awareness and grow participation by casting a wider net through social media, mailers, newsletters, and future forms of communications. One example of action that occurred as a result of the workshop was initiated by Holly Kerr of North Shore Unitarian Church (NSUC). Holly expressed interest in the work being done by Countryside Church on the Poor People’s Campaign that was presented by Maryanne O’Dowd as well as the “Movies with Meaning” events conducted by Don Bussey. Mike Gilley helped organize a call between Rev. Lucas Hergert (NSUC), Holly Kerr, Rev. Hilary Krivchenia (CCUU), and Maryanne O’Dowd to discuss the Poor People’s Campaign and potential collaboration. Looking beyond the walls of our own congregation and recognizing the successes and creativity of the programming/events conducted at other area congregations is prerequisite to leveraging best practices and replicating or collaborating on programming/events carried out by others. It is for this reason that CAUUC intends to act as a communications funnel for congregational programs and events and to act as a curator for best practices and processes/procedures that need not be reinvented over and over. Attendees had an opportunity to participate in 2 different breakout sessions of their choice. We had asked during the registration process for some prioritization of breakout topics that helped us carry out sessions that were aligned to the needs of the attendees. Based on the ranking and the limited availability of resources to serve as facilitators and note takers, we combined a few topics resulting in the following offerings. You can review the notes from each of the breakout sessions by clicking on the links below: Board / Leadership Development - Breakout Session Notes Social Justice - Breakout Session Notes Stewardship - Breakout Session Notes Music & Workship + Pastoral Care - Breakout Session Notes Children's and Adult Religious Education - Breakout Session Notes Social Media & Membership - Breakout Session Notes Are you interested in joining in on the discussion related to any of these breakout sessions? We're organizing affinity groups interested in communicating with leaders from Chicago area congregations to share best practices, identify collaboration opportunities, act as a sounding board for problem solving, and more. The affinity groups are conceived to be part of the ongoing development of an "operating system" for collaboration. UUs in the News If you know of a UU in the news, please send information about the publication to [email protected] Rev. Lucas Hergert was one of several clergy that spoke to the Deerfield Plan Commission encouraging them to provide building permits allowing a 25-unit affordable housing project to be built on the property of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Deerfield Review published a story on July 2nd tited "Affordable housing development gets thumbs up from Deerfield Plan Commission". Read it here. "Families Belong Together" Rallies There were a number of Families Belong Together rallies taking place nationally as well as in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago and suburbs including Arlington Heights. UUs from across the greater Chicago area joined many other organizations and individuals to protest the Trump administration for separating kids from parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Speakers at the Arlington Heights rally included Rev. Hilary Krivchenia (below left) from Countryside Church UU and Melanie Schikore (below right) both a member of Countryside Church and Executive Director at Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants. Insist on Justice! Resist Inequality! Congregational Study Action Issue: Escalating Inequality. Author Chuck Collins was the opening speaker at Insist on Justice! Resist Inequality! conference held on April 21, 2018. Read about CSAI: Escalating Inequality from the UUA web site Resist Inequality conference pictures Read about Unitarian Universalists for a Just Economic Community Poor People's Campaign The Poor People's Campaign is a national call for Moral Revival challenging the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation, and the nation's distorted morality. UUs across the Chicago area came together in multiple events advocating for justice with leadership from Rev. Scott Aaseng of the UU Advocacy Network of Illinois and Rev. Karen Mooney of UU Prison Ministries of Illinois. Tearing Down Walls - Building Up Connections, Community, Solidarity by Doug Erickson The event was organized by UU Advocacy Network of Illinois (Rev. Scott Aaseng), UU Prison Ministries of Illinois (Rev. Karen Mooney), and YaYA Justice (Claire Roarty) took place at Countryside Church UU on March 24-25. It was great to have 3 active UU groups combine their efforts for a wonderful and informative workshop and panel discussion. The event featured worship and song with a choir of singers from different UU churches and expression of compassion towards those in the prison system. The Friday evening panel discussion included Marlon Chamberlin of Live Free Chicago/READI, Monica Cosby of Westside Justice Center / Moms United Against Violence and Incarceration / UU Prison Ministry of Illinois, Michelle Day of Nehemiah Trinity Rising, Ethos - Circles and Ciphers / Just Harvest. The panel host was Claire Roarty of YaYA Justice. A session on Fair Tax was led by Alex Tindal Wiesendanger outlined practical steps and the need for a system where corporations pay their share and the need for progressive tax structures. During the workshop we were requested to write on different (paper) walls. The event closed with particpants tearing down the wall of “rage”. CAUUC Annual Meeting & Board Election Results By Mike Gilley ([email protected]) We had an unusual Annual