Excerpts from the January, 2003
Rev. Grey's column, "Both Sides," is available
here.
Lifespan Religious Education
By Rev. Marlene Walker
January is the month when we take a collective deep breath. The Holiday Season is over, the days are beginning to lengthen - imperceptibly at first but then a hint of noticing as January nears its end. Winter has finally found its rhythm. In RE in January we, too, take a deep breath. In January we are into our Winter InterSession in earnest. This year we will be focusing on our Seventh UU Principle "Respect for the Interdependent Web of all Existence of Which We are a Part." All children and youth will gather each Sunday at 10:00 AM in the Garden Room for a special Young Peoples worship service followed by a variety of activities and projects focused on environmental justice and sustainability until 11:30. We will also once again make bowls for sale at the Empty Bowls Soup Lunch (profits will go to the Hyde Park Kenwood Food Pantry) which will be held on Sunday Feb. 2nd as well as tie dying some very special t-shirts that will be for sale at the Soup Lunch as well. The t-shirts are a fundraiser for our Haiti Project.
It will be a busy, busy month.Come down and visit with us during Social Hour. In February we will return to our regular Way Cool Sunday School schedule of Multigenerational Worship on the first Sundays, Curriculum Sundays on the second and Fourth Sundays, Social Justice Sunday on the third Sundays and Arts and Drama Sundays on fifth Sundays of the month. We still need a few more adult and older youth facilitators for the Spring session of Way Cool so if you would like to join us please speak with me. One change coming up in February is that we will once again have both a junior youth group and a senior youth group since we now have a critical mass of youth in both age groups! The Junior group will meet during Way Cool Sunday School (10:20 -11:30). The Senior group will meet from noon until 1:30.
Winter Blessings to all!
Rev. Marlene
RE Calendar
Sundays January 5 - 26th Way Cool Sunday School WinterSession 10:00 - 11:30
in the Garden Room.
Children's Worship, social justice activities, Empty Bowl making and t-shirt
tie-dying.
January 21 7:30 pm RE Council Meeting in Pennington Classroom .(NOTE this is
a change from our usual second Tuesday)
January 25 Unity Party 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Save the Date:
Alex Coutts Memorial Concert
A concert in memory of Alex Coutts will be held in the Sanctuary on Sunday, February 2, at 3:00 p.m. The choir will sing, and there will be vocal and instrumental soloists. The concert is being organized by Joan Staples and Martha Swisher, Alex's voice teacher.
Great Books
Great Books will be meeting the second Sunday, January 12, in the Choir Room at 11:30 a.m. We will discuss Anton Chekhov's short story, " A Dull Story." Call Kennie James or Gloria Gnatz for further information.
Talent Auction Coming in March
Madieria Myrieckes reports that the annual Talent Auction will be held sometime in March, and it is time to begin thinking of what you want to contribute. More info in next month's newsletter.
Among Us
Our warmest wishes to Michael Donner who will be undergoing surgery soon after the New Year.
It was good to see some of our college age and older young adults home for the holidays: Jordan Greenlee, Kelsey Harden, Alicia Stern.
Congratulations to Ron Wentzel whose 11 years with First Church were celebrated on December 22, 2002. We are glad that Ron is healing well from his illness and we thank Geza Gyuk and Katherine Szoke for preparing a lovely Social Hour for the celebration.
We continue to hold Betty Holcomb in our heart in this time when some of her close family are very ill.
Our warmest wishes to Cynthia Redd, recovering from an accident.
Our warmest wishes to Richard Jones as he settles into Montgomery Place.
Our deepest sympathy to Joanne Kent on the recent death of her husband John Kent after a long illness
Congratulations to Alek Lappin, now a "red jacket" member of the Chicago Children's Choir and a soloist at our Christmas Eve Service. Kudos to Alek.
We continue to hold Devon and Tinessa Moss and their family in our hearts as Devon serves in our Armed Forces.
A big Thank You to all who helped with our Christmas Eve Candlelight Vespers Service and all who helped with our annual Kwanzaa Celebration.
And another big Thank You to Grace Williams, Ivan Lappin, and Cindy Pardo who are taking initial leadership in our Bell Tower Restoration Fund Raising Task Force.
Small Group Ministry Learning Group
The Small Group Ministry Learning Group meets on Sunday, January 26 at 5:30 p.m. For details see the December newsletter, page 10.
From the Board
By Cynthia Oakes
Congregation President
At the December meeting of the Board of Trustees, we found ourselves referring to the Bylaws of the First Unitarian Society of Chicago time and time again. If you are new to our congregation, you may not be aware that the Bylaws were adopted at the Annual Meeting held in 1981. They have been revised and amended eight times. Among other things, they specify the name of the Society, its purpose and affiliations, outline membership requirements and clearly spell out the responsibilities and duties of the Trustees and Officers of the Society. As outlined in the Bylaws, Article VI, Section 1. a. : "The Trustees shall have the care, custody, and control of the real and personal property of the Society and shall establish the policies necessary for the conduct of the programs and affairs of the Society." The Bylaws also state that "It is the responsibility of the Trustees to monitor the budget throughout the year. Shortfalls in income or excesses in expenses that may emerge as a year goes on must be balanced by reducing expenses or increasing income." (Article X, Section 3.) When one agrees to become a Trustee, it is a grave responsibility indeed
The Treasurer's Report in December noted that our Society currently has a budget
shortfall. Our pledges are not being collected at the rate necessary to support
our programs or to pay our Ministers, Church Administrator, Musical Directors,
custodial staff, or part-time office assistant. Thanks to our Fund-raising Committee
and their outstanding efforts, the budget income has been increased by $4,000.
Many of you are doing all you can, and then some. And to all of you the Society
is indebted. We are, however, still about $10,000 short of the budget voted
on by us, the Members of the Society, at our last Annual Meeting. To be
in accordance with the Bylaws, the Trustees must balance the budget -- one way
or another. Please make our job easy. Resolve this New Year to pay your pledge
in a timely fashion, to pay your family Religious Education Registration fee,
to put your money where I know your heart is. Once again from the Bylaws, Article
II :"The Society is a community of members and friends who, in fellowhip
together, seek enduring moral and spiritual values and strive to help one another
to live in accordance with them." Please support this wonderful Society
that gives us all so much.
At December's Board meeting the Trustees:
If you would like to read the minutes of Board meetings, Bylaws and Board policies or review the Treasurer's monthly report, you will be happy to know that the Bylaws require that they be made public. You can obtain copies of all of these through the office.
A Rave Notice for the "How Come Christmas"
Pageant
By Dr. Norma R. Poinsett
I want to thank Lia McCoo, the creator/director/ guitarist/narrator, and everyone who participated in the Sunday, December 15 pageant "How Come Christmas." The story is from Christmas Gif, a book by the late Charlemae Rollins, a Chicago Public Library (CPL) Children's Librarian. Her book includes poems, recipes, sayings and folk stories about African American life. Fifty years ago when I became a CPL children's librarian, Charlemae had distinguished herself for many years at CPL's Hall Branch, at 45th and Michigan. She was to African American literature for young people what Margaret Burroughs was to the DuSable Museum of African American culture at 57th and Cottage Grove. Charlemae confronted CPL for including in its collection the short story, "Little Black Sambo," which disparaged African Americans. Because of her crusade, Sambo was banned from the CPL collection.
During the 1950's, Charlemae's fellow librarians across the country honored her for her pioneering efforts in encouraging librarians to develop book collections that fairly represented African American and other cultures. "How Come Christmas," a folktale handed down from slavery, reminded me of my grandparents, parents, other relatives and friends who told us kids stories that had been handed down to them. I found quite appropriate and entertaining Lia's recitation of the story in the post-slavery, African American vernacular. I enjoyed singing Christmas carols with the cast. I found thoughtful and informative several coffee-hour conversations about the Pageant. I am pleased to be a member of a church community that appreciates African American literature enough to include samples in our worship services.
First Forum: Transportation Issues
"What's Around the Corner in Transportation: 2003 and Beyond" is the First Forum presentation on Sunday, January 19 at 11 a.m., sponsored by the Environmental Task Force. There will be three panelists: Jacky Grimshaw from the Center for Neighborhood Technology, which was responsible for community input on the $25 billion transportation budget; Kappy Laing from the Environmental Law Policy Committee; and Kathy Summers representing I-GO CARS, a group that manages sharing new, fuel efficient cars now available in Hyde Park.
The Environmental Task Force, newly recognized as a Task Force of the Social Justice Council, is also considering application to the Green Sanctuary Program of the 7th Principle Project (a UUA Affiliate). We welcome all who are interested to our monthly meetings in VOV to discuss ways to implement our 7th Principle. For more information, please contact Ellen LaRue.
Green Corner
By Dottie Barron and Ellen LaRue
The first Green Corner is for coffee drinkers. Consider using Fair Trade coffee. This is the coffee that is grown by small farmers and for which the farmers actually get a living wage. Most Fair Trade coffee is also organic (good for the people that drink from the nearby wells and that drink the coffee) and shade grown (good for the birds and butterflies that live in the forest). But most organic and shade grown coffee is not Fair Trade, so you need to read the label. The Hyde Park Co-op carries a variety of such coffees for $7.99 per pound. You may find you'll use less because of its more intense flavor. For more information, check out www.equalexchange.com or www.oxfam.org. Fair Trade coffee costs more, so when we buy it we will need to remind ourselves why we are taxing ourselves -- it's for the animals, the land, and the farmers that grew it. (I say we, because I mostly drink Folgers freeze-dried, not Fair Trade. So when you see me, please ask if I have started to walk my talk. - Ellen)
Emancipation Proclamation Pageant
OH, FREEDOM: THE DAY OF JUBILEE , A Dramatic Lecture in Three Acts, will be presented Saturday, January 18 at 7:00 p.m. in the sanctuary of First Unitarian Church. This is an evolving dramatic lecture celebrating the 140th anniversary of the moral/historical meaning of the Emancipation Proclamation, 1863-2003, the 40th anniversary year of the historic March on Washington 1963 - 2003, and the Tenth Anniversary of our Pageant, 1994 - 2003
This will be the first time the Pageant will not be on a Sunday. Therefore, we are hoping that many people will attend from other churches, community groups, the University, etc. However, we would like to be clear that this is an amateur production, whose primary energy is not so much in a brilliant performance but more in celebrating this great event, to the best of our ability, defined as a mix of time, commitment, and skill. Our general principle is this: if you can find a better production of this Event, we encourage you to attend that one. But if you wish to have a unique approach to the 140th anniversary celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, then the First Unitarian Church on Saturday, January 18th is the place to be. We will be having a free-will offering and, hopefully, an ad book as a way to make a contribution to the Bell Tower Restoration Project.
Rehearsal/meeting dates:
a.. Warm up (optional), Sunday, 5 January 2003, 11:45 am - 12:30 pm, VOV
b. Full rehearsal, Saturday, January 11, 2003, chez les Campbells,
5222 S. Dorchester, 4 - 6 pm.
c. Dress rehearsal, Friday, January 17, 2003, Sanctuary, First Unitarian Church
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
d. The full Pageant itself: Saturday, January 18, 2003, 7:00 p.m.
We still need singers, dancers, and audience participators. To hook up, call Joanne Kent at 643-2188.
UNITY CELEBRATION 2003 CE:
International, Multiracial, Intergenerational, Multiethnic, and Interweaving
"Celebrating Our Home"
Music, Dancing, Food, Conversation, Activities for Children,
and
"A-spire-ation" Fund-raising Activities
Bring your favorite pasta (or ante-pasta or post-pasta) to share!
Saturday January 25*, 2003
6 pm to 10 pm
First Unitarian Church of Chicago
Individuals $5
Families $15 maximum
Social Justice Council, Charlotte Lackner Antiracist Committee, Religious Education
Council, Board of Trustees, Program Council, and Interweave, co-sponsors
* Snow Date February 1
December 8 Anti-War Protest
By Bobbi Campbell
On Sunday afternoon December 8 approximately 15 First U'ers joined a couple of hundred other Hyde Parkers in protesting the coming war in Iraq. It was a bright and briskly cold at 3:00 as we assembled in front of Pennington Center. After a few speeches, including remarks from State Representative Barbara Currie and from our own Richard Jenifer about his experiences in World War II, we stepped off on our route. Carrying signs and chanting, we marched up Woodlawn and down 53rd Street to Harold Washington Park at Hyde Park Boulevard. We stayed on the sidewalks except when crossing the streets, which we did at the direction of our parade marshalls; at Lake Park Boulevard we crossed diagonally, blocking traffic in both directions, with the support of many drivers who blew their horns.
Leafletting took place along the route of the march. The text of the leaflet was a condensation of the letter opposing the war that we had sent earlier to our Congresspeople. About 5000 of these leaflets had been distributed earlier in Hyde Park. The response from people in the street was very positive, as had also been the case at our November 2 rally.
When we reached Harold Washington Park, much invigorated by our walk, we had another rally of songs and speeches. Finley Campbell was the final speaker. He admonished us to organize soldiers as the only way to really stop the war, oppose police attacks on black and Latin youth, and do away with the roots of war which is the love of money instead of the love of people. Following the singing of "We Shall Overcome" we had a candlelight/ flashlight vigil.
The idea for the march came from the "9/11 Study Group," which had decided to have a second peace rally December 7, the anniversary of Pearl Harbor. When we communicated with "Hyde Parkers Against the War in Iraq," we found that they had already started planning a demonstration for December 8, and we decided to join forces.
Many people and groups participated in planning for the rally. Members of "9/11" prepared the leaflet and met with community organizers from "Hyde Parkers Against the War in Iraq" and students from the University of Chicago. The youth made posters which we carried and which will be used at the big rally downtown December 15. Residents of Montgomery Place made posters, one of which read "War will not help. Ask us. We know. Signed The Senior Citizens of Montgomery Place."
We don't know if or when this war will come, but we believe it is important for us to bear witness against the terrorism being carried out in our name by our government. Please join us as we continue this process. When the war begins, the Social Justice Council has planned to convene all concerned church members at 6 p.m. that same day at the Henry Moore sculpture (the chain reaction monument) on Ellis between 56th and 57th.
Nature of Racism Course
This Adult RE feature is going along quite well, with six registered students.
We have dealt with such questions as did racism as an ideology exist before
the rise of merchant capitalism? So, what's wrong with the Liberalist analysis
as a way of dealing with the nature of racism; i.e., Color blindness, Humanist,
and Tolerance Approaches? This semester, we are using two texts, The Columbiad,
edited by Finley C. Campbell, and The Miner's Canary by Guinier and Torres.
In January, we deal with the following: Enlisting Race to Resist a Racist Hierarchy:
Resolving A Contradiction
Sunday, January 12, 2003, 9:00 am, VOV.
We answer the question: What is the difference between ethnic pragmatism, people
of colorism (or neo-racism), and political economic racism? Chapter 3, The Miner's
Canary; Chapter 3, The Columbiad
Please join us. A pro-rated fee is suggested. For more information, call Dr. F. C. Campbell.
Charlotte Lackner Anti-Racism Committee
The Charlotte Lackner Anti-Racism Committee is preparing to set up a "small-group" for authentic conversations about race, racism, and anti-racism. We have also formed a subcommittee to inventory our church and the ways in which is it Euro-centric or not. We also are exploring how to use and share our bibliography of publications about racism and the experience of people of color. Our meetings are the 4th Sunday of each month. If you are interested, please contact Joanne Kent, Frieda Stillerman, or Ellen LaRue.
Report from the Social Justice Council
By Dr. Finley C. Campbell, Chair
General Report: The SJC met this past December after a very successful joint anti-war walk for peace and against war, involving us and a new group in our community, Hyde Parkers Against the War in Iraq. We saw clips of the amateur video made of the event and discussed the possibilities of future activities. Our plan is that when the attack begins, we will carry out the following scenario: When (not if) the war begins, meet the Social Justice Council and Hyde Parkers Against the War at the Chain Reaction Monument (the Henry Moore Sculpture) on S. Ellis between 56th and 57th at 6:00 pm for protesting, professing, and planning.
Racial Justice Task Force: The RJT also met in December. In essence, the main focus of that meeting was, first, on the nature of neo-racism, defined as that form of racism which emerged when selected minorities (the so-called Talented Tenth) were incorporated into a system of institutionalized racism with the proviso that they would help maintain that system, especially the separation of people of color from whites. In addition, there was a major discussion about anti-Arab racism, the role of Islam in the development of Western Civilization, and the need to incorporate Islamic elements into our own church services. It was proposed that we submit an idea to the Worship and Music Committee which called for developing a creative way to celebrate the Islamic holy day of Ha'ij, which will take place in February.
9/11 Discussion Group: Despite the fact that the 9/11 Discussion Group has been responsible for two major anti-war demonstrations in the Hyde Park area, they remain primarily a discussion group, committed to raising consciousness about the issues which were created by the racist terrorist attack on the United States in 2001. We are still dealing with the Great Chess Board, by Z. Bryzinski, who argues that the true focus on all US American foreign policy should be on preventing the rise of a Eurasian power capable of challenging US imperialism. We will read the last chapter of this controversial book for our January meeting.
Environmental Task Force: The main things going on are checking out a program called the Green Sanctuary, ways that a church can be environmentally responsible, based on the Seventh Principle Project, and working on a First Forum on Transportation for January 19th.
Hyde Park - Kenwood Interfaith Council: the main report dealt with the Transition Housing Program being launched by the Council, with a significant amount of money raised during the special collection at a December church service.
Unitarian Universalists for Social Justice (UUSJ): A positive report was made concerning the human rights conference sponsored by UUSJ at the Evanston church on Saturday, December 7th. Ana Mustafa was an attendee and many important points were raised about the erosion of civil liberties for unpopular minorities in the United States since 9/11.
A proposal was put forward in the new business portion of the meeting that we continue to contemplate developing a political education or political awareness program, which would be more linked, legally, to electoral politics. The chair was empowered to develop a more precise proposal for consideration by the Council and then, if okayed, be submitted to the Board of Trustees
A new feature: quick movie reviews from a social justice perspective based on critical evaluations of both film and thematic qualities.
** Star Trek Nemesis: the previews were more exciting than the movie, but it had some very dramatic moments. Theme: shows what happens when an oppressed people create a revolution based on vengeance rather than justice; there is a tragic ending; i.e., one which moves us to pity and fear and catharsis. 600 N. Michigan theater
*** Way from Heaven: This movie, which actually Interweave and CLARC should check out, deals with the theme of homosexual and interracial relationships in the context of a 1950's, upper middle class, white nuclear family in a posh Hartford, Connecticut suburb. Be prepared to bring a handkerchief. Great mise en scene. Esquire theater
*** Bowling for Columbine: This movie has already been highly recommended and reviewed. The main point for me was the interview with Charlton "Moses" Heston who argues that the main cause of crime in the United States as compared with Canada is racial mixing, and it is crime which generates the need for gun ownership. Esquire theater