Newsletter

August 2024

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News and activities abound!

Have you noticed ALL that is happening in our active and we've-got-it-going-on! church community? The weeklies and first-of-month newsletter are so full of great news, activities, and opportunities that the email message often can't show it all, so is "clipped." All that goodness is a great problem to have, but be sure to note the link - at the top of this message - that encourages you to view the full weekly/newsletter message as a webpage. Don't miss a thing!

Dear DUUC Members, Friends, and Well-wishers!

It is almost time! Our new program year launches on Sunday, August 18th with Ingathering Sunday and Water Communion at 10 am followed by a church potluck. We hope to see you all there!

We have so many exciting things planned for the coming year and so many ways to get involved! We are well on our way to becoming a “Good Trouble” congregation through UU Vote, a national initiative through the Side With Love campaign by the Unitarian Universalist Association. Look for more information on Sunday mornings on how you can help get people out to vote!

We will once again be offering the Transforming Hearts Collective’s curriculum, Trans Inclusion in Congregations. We encourage you to participate so we can truly embrace our value of inclusion and equity in all that we do.

We will be examining our new Unitarian Universalist Values (formerly the seven UU principles) as passed at the UUA’s General Assembly in June of this year. With love at the center of all we do, we will have worship and learning opportunities on these new values.

We will be offering the Our Whole Lives (OWL) curriculum for all our children. This comprehensive sexual education series will be offered for K-1st, 5th-6th, 8th-9th, and 10th-12th graders.

Our Visioning Task Force will be launching their work this year. Stay tuned for multiple opportunities to participate in ways to share your thoughts and ideas about who we wish to be as a community in the next years.

There are so many things happening in the coming year, please do read all of the opportunities in this newsletter to stay informed on how to get involved. 

Yet, our activities are not the only ways for us to be a part of this community. As we expand our leadership development opportunities, we will be participating in learning opportunities. We welcome your team, committee, small group, or just you to join us in reading through some of the books that we will be exploring to further grow as leaders and change-makers in our church and community. Here are some of the books we are reading:

Committee on Shared Ministry is reading:

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High 

Board of Trustees is reading:

Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership

Committee on Shared Ministry, Board of Trustees, and Staff are reading:

Finding Our Way: Leadership For An Uncertain Time

Pastoral Ministries Associates are reading:

What It Takes To Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World

Unitarian Universalists are reading the UUA’s Common Read:

Authentic Selves: Celebrating Trans and Non-Binary People and Their Families

rev. mandi is reading:

For her professional development plan:

Every Season Sacred: Reflections, Prayers, and Invitations to Nurture Your Soul and Nurture Your Family Through the Year

Our Unforming: De-Westernizing Spiritual Formation

Art and Faith: A Theology of Making

The Next Worship: Glorifying God in a Diverse World

First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament

Between the Listening and the Telling: How Stories Can Save Us

Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human

For her minister’s study group (Topic is speculative fiction) :

A Psalm For the Wild-Built

A People’s Future of the United States

Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer Speculative Fiction

The Oxford Book of Science Fiction

The City We Became

For herself:

Becoming Ungovernable: An Abolition Feminist Ethic for Democratic Living

Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Bond with the Natural World

Church of the Wild: How Nature Invites Us Into the Sacred

Thinking in Systems

I am so excited about the coming year and our journey together to explore our future. 

rev. mandi huizenga

Sunday Services

In-person and Online

Sunday, August 4, 2024

10:00 AM Worship Service - All ages

Growing our Circle

By Tina Lewis, Director of Membership and Engagement

Let’s begin the month of Welcoming by reflecting on the value of community and the ways in which we can grow our circle of community together.

Sunday, August 11, 2024

10:00 AM Worship Service - All ages

Prison Abolition Movement

By Pat Kocher-Cowan, DUUC member

Have you heard of the Prison Abolition Movement? DUUC member Pat Kocher-Cowan will share what she has learned about its origins and what its proponents envision could take the place of imprisonment while making communities safer. Pat will explore how Unitarian Universalist values intersect with that of modern-day abolitionists.

Sunday, August 18, 2024

(one service only at 10:00 AM)

Welcoming Every Drop: Ingathering Sunday & Water Communion

Led by rev. mandi huizenga

Welcome to the first Sunday of our Program Year! Join us to celebrate our inclusive community by celebrating water communion (bring water from your favorite place) and for a blessing of the backpacks (students and teachers should bring their bags!). Following the service, please join us for a community potluck.

Many helping hands of all ages are needed on Ingathering Sunday. If you enjoy making sidewalk art with chalk, decorating, setting up and breaking down Kreves Hall and the patio, managing food and beverages, and/or enthusiastically welcoming people as they arrive please sign up to help. DUUC will provide beverages. Everyone else is invited to bring food to share. Those with the last name beginning with A-L are asked to bring side dishes, M-S main dishes, and T-Z desserts. If you are unable to provide a dish to share, that’s okay too. There will no doubt be plenty for all! Sign-up HERE or contact Tina Lewis at tlewis@dupageuuchurch.org. 

Sunday, August 25, 2024

Begin two services

9:00 AM Worship Service - All ages

11:30 AM - Worship Service - All ages

A People Without Vision Perish

Led by rev. mandi huizenga and the DUUC Visioning Task Force

As we launch our new program year, the DUUC Visioning Task Force will be looking at our church's Vision Statement. Join us this Sunday as we explore the importance of having a vision and what this work will look like for us.

ZUUm Hour @ 11AM thru August 18th

It doesn’t have to be an hour. A time for everyone online to catch up after the morning service has concluded. All are welcome! Use the link below to join.

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 897 9832 1118

Passcode: 589902

Special Offering for August SARET Charitable Fund

This organization helps needy individuals, especially those with medical challenges and disabilities, who for various reasons, receive minimal and sometimes no aid from governmental organizations. Many would be homeless without assistance from SARET. Their mission is to prevent homelessness and hunger in the western suburbs of the Chicago-land area and to provide hope when hope seems impossible, to restore dignity to individuals or families facing a current economic and life crisis as the organization seeks creative tools to help move the family toward economic stability. Nominated by Barbara Roos. For more information on Saret, click here.

Click here to make a donation.

Engagement Fair

Sunday August 25 

There are so many ways you can engage in the life of this wonderfully vibrant church! We want to learn more about what you are interested in participating in, what skills you have to offer the community, and how we can help you make connections in the upcoming year. Don’t miss the new annual Engagement Fair between services to learn more about Affinity Groups, Auction, Chalice Circles, Fall Retreat, UU the Vote, volunteer teams you can be part of, and more! 

What’s Community Hour?

A fun new way to build community and learn about all the amazing things happening in the church! Mark your calendars now! Beginning Sunday, September 8 we will be hosting Community Hour on the second Sunday of every month from 10:00-11:30. It will be a great way for first service and second service attendees to connect and enjoy refreshments together. Information tables promoting upcoming events, activities and volunteer opportunities will also be present. 

2024-2025 UU Common Read

The 2024-2025 UU Common Read, Authentic Selves edited by Peggy Gillespie, is now available for borrowing from the DUUC Library and is on display in the Library alcove area in Kreves Hall. The UU Common Read builds community in UU congregations by giving diverse people a shared platform for reflection and a shared focus for action. For more information about the UU Common Read including workshop guides, discussion guides, and videos visit: https://www.uua.org/read

Who's on first?

With the new church year comes rotation of leadership positions. Thanks again to those who served in the 2023-24 church year and welcome (or welcome back) to those who are serving in this 2024-25 church year that began July 1. 

The Board, committees, and teams will be back at it in August after a well-deserved summer break. Find who's who and who's where in current church leadership under Organization on the website: 

• Board and Elected Leaders
• Congregation/Governance/Program structure and contacts
• Committee on Shared Ministry (COSM)

Become a Member 

Pathway to Membership classes will resume in October. Becoming a member is a two part process that includes an afternoon class and luncheon. Childcare is available upon request. In addition, online accommodations are available twice a year. To learn more contact tlewis@dupageuuchurch.org.

Affinity Groups

Affinity groups bring people together who share common interests and identities. These groups come together to enjoy activities, support one another, and foster a sense of belonging. They play a vital role in building community in our church. Learn more HERE. If you have interest in starting a new group, contact tlewis@dupageuuchurch.org. 

Volunteers Make It All Happen!

As the new program year approaches, new volunteer teams are being developed to support all aspects of congregational life. Many helping hands are needed on Sunday mornings in particular. If you have interest in serving as a greeter, usher, coffee maker, AV support or classroom support person contact tlewis@dupageuuchurch.org to learn more. 

Chalice Circle Facilitators Wanted!

We are looking for members who would like to be In-Person or Online Facilitators for our small group ministry, Chalice Circles, beginning the end of August and running through May of next year. For more information or to sign up, please click here.

Facilities Committee Shout Out

Please notice new improvements around the property! We would like to thank several people for helping to make them happen: Bob Harris (updated plaque by the front door--DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church); George Peck (newly organized rock wall around the Memorial Garden; and, Joe Gano (bridge in back of church, linking the parking lot with the gathering area in the back).

DUUC Community Campfire, Tie-dye & Potluck

Saturday, August 24 at DuPage UU Church

Hot dog Potluck & Tie-Dye at 5:00 p.m.

S'mores at 7:00 p.m.

We will supply:

Hot dogs (with veg/vegan alternatives), lemonade and S'mores

You supply:

You! Everyone is welcome. A 100% cotton T-shirt or a pair of at least 80% cotton socks if you wish to tie-dye. A side dish to share. Lawn chairs.

We will be in a sectioned off area of the parking lot. Please park in the auxiliary parking lot across the street. Handicap and limited mobility parking will still be accessible.  

Join us in the great outdoors! This month, DUUC’s AIM Team is putting a spotlight on accessible trails and outdoor recreation in the area. Trails accessible to wheelchairs and walkers are loosely defined as having a wide, hard surface, and having little to no gradient. Wheelchair accessible trails are often made of asphalt or concrete, but some crushed stone trails are also labeled wheelchair friendly, so be sure to look up the trail description before you go.

• For a comprehensive listing, description, and maps of wheelchair accessible trails throughout Illinois, check out TrailLink.
• On the website AllTrails, you can also search for wheelchair friendly trails in your area.
• The Morton Arboretum in Lisle lists and describes wheelchair, walker, and stroller friendly paths in their Roll Out Into Nature blog.
• Will County's Forest Preserve Nature Center now has the GRIT Freedom Chair. Learn more about it on this NBC Chicago news segment.
• The Forest Preserve District of Will County's Four Rivers Education Center in Channahon was the first nature center to receive the National Inclusion Project's accreditation.
• Forest Preserve District of DuPage County now has an all-terrain wheelchair at Fullersburg Woods. For more information and a reservation form, see the DuPage Forest Preserve website.
• Silver Lake at Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville has a kayak and canoe launch which meets ADA requirements for recreational boating facilities. According to a news release from the DuPage Forest Preserve website, the boat launch allows individuals of all ages and abilities to launch a kayak without assistance, and includes a boat slip surrounded on three sides and a transfer platform with handrails.
• If birding is your thing, check out the Birdability Map. According to the National Audubon website, the Birdability Map is a crowdsourced map that describes in detail the accessibility features of birding locations all over the world.

Happy trails to all!

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.

Graceful Preparations Support Group

The Graceful Preparation Support Group meets on the second Saturday of each month from 10 am to noon at DUUC. The group is an outgrowth of the four sessions held this spring to discuss legal, medical, financial and care issues we all will likely face in the final years of our lives.

The support group meets to support members’ progress and share resources we have discovered. Attendees need not have attended the original four sessions; speakers from those sessions would be most welcome but are not expected to be present. Church members are helping one another work through the items the speakers brought up.

Crafting and Conversation

Join us the first Thursday of every month for Crafting and Conversation! This is a casual group, open to all, meeting from 7-9 pm in the Founders Room at DUUC.

You are encouraged to bring a craft project of your own to work on - scrapbooking, chainmaille, knitting, crocheting, counted cross stitch, painting, or anything portable. If you wish to come and visit, that’s great, too! Children are welcome to come with their adults and work on a craft, too.!

Questions? Contact Kelley Trombly-Freytag and Diane Kay Gelder at craft@dupageuuchurch.org.

Young Adult Group

20s and 30s members and friends, come join us at our monthly Young Adults Group meeting! We will be discussing short and long-term plans for the group as well as general socializing. All people in their 20s and 30s are welcome! Friday, August 16 @ 7pm in Kreves Hall. For more information, contact yag@dupageuuchurch.org.

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.

We are meeting Hybrid in the DUUC Learning Center and on Zoom.

Zoom link

Meeting ID: 871 1920 5816

Passcode: 897802

For more information, go to our website: 

www.presentmomentsangha.org

Sunday Flowers Needed 

Celebrate a person or event by providing flowers for a Sunday service. Flowers are need for various dates throughout the 2024-25 church year.

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 8:50 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 second service. If you are not attending service that day, you may 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), or through Realm (select Giving and +Give, choose Flowers from the Fund dropdown).Contact Kristen Tang flowers@dupageuuchurch.org or (630) 305-7771 for more information and/or to request a date. Thank you!

Please consider making a donation to support DuPage UU Church and all of its programs.

Text "DUUC" to 73256 using your mobile device OR click here.

Thank you!