A Month of
Sundays
July & August, 2000
Worship services begin at 10:00 am
July 2, 2000
Songs of Freedom
Worship Leader: Rev. Nina Grey
Worship Associate: Joan Staples
In honor of July 4th, our day of Independence, we explore some of the evolving meanings of freedom, from our nation's founding until today.
The sermon will incorporate some patriotic music, sung by Joan Staples.
The Choir also sings. Join us in thinking more deeply about freedom as an individual reality and in the context of community living.
July 9, 2000
Creating a Life
Worship Leader: Rev. Nina Grey
Worship Associate: Joan Pederson
Summer calls us to more balanced living. Yet creating a meaningful life is a year-round challenge. Rev. Grey will reflect on this challenge, drawing for some of her inspiration on two books, Composing a Life, by Mary Catherine Bateson (daughter of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson), and Getting a Life, by Jacqueline Blix and David Heitmiller. This service will give you an opportunity to think about the life you are creating, one day at a time.
11:30: Great Books, Choir Room
11:30: Orientation to Unitarian Univeralism and First Unitarian Church, VOV
July 16, 2000
Masking and Unmasking the Sacred
Worship Leader: Rev. Viola Moore
Worship Associate: Rosemary Snow
Consider the sacred and how we may discover and rediscover it in our lives.
The Rev. Viola Moore, a long-time member of this church, is a minister in the United Church of Christ. Her most recent full-time ministry was to a congregation in East Chicago, IN. She has also worked with Chicago-area UU churches and fellowships from time to time.
July 23, 2000
The Other Side of Freedom: A Meditation on the Fourth Principle
Worship Leader: Anthony David
Unitarian Universalism affirms and promotes a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. But do religious freedom and responsibility go together? Larry Reyka says that they do not and for this reason he resigned (in 1995) his ministry position. He argued that he needs a church that positively affirms his humanist faith stance instead of merely tolerating it, and mere toleration is all that UU faith communities have to offer. But is he right? Or has Reyka overlooked the resources Unitarian Universalism offers for supporting active and vibrant faith commitment?
Anthony David is a ministry student at Meadville/Lombard Theological School. With his wife, Laura Keys-David, and his daughter, Sofia, he has participated in the life of our congregation this past year. Anthony was also our Religious Education Assistant, supporting Rev. Beth Williams and the R.E. program. This summer, Anthony is engaged in a Clinical Pastoral Education program at Montgomery Place.
July 30, 2000
Envisioning the Future: A Report from UUA GA 2000
Worship Leader: Dr. Finley C. Campbell
Persons who attended the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly in June 2000 report on highlights, activities, and matters of social concern presented in Nashville.
Dr. Finley C. Campbell has been a member of the Unitarian Universalist tradition since 1956 when he joined the only integrated church in Atlanta, GA, the First Unitarian Church of Atlanta. Later, during the 1960s, when he was at the University of Chicago, our church was one of his favorite places to drop in. He joined First Unitarian Church of Chicago in 1992. He is on the Board of Trustees and is a social humanist activist on the Social Justice Council, is a member of the Charlotte Lackner Anti-Racism Committee, teaches adult education courses on racism and other topics, and is a member of the Worship and Music Committee and a Worship Associate.
He chairs the language arts committee at DeVry Institute of Technology, Chicago Campus, where he teaches technical communications. He is the father of six children of "various sorts" and husband of Dr. Roberta Lammers Campbell, chair of the Social Justice Council.
August
August 6, 2000
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? UUs Finding Their Own Ministry
Worship Leader: Betty V. Holcomb
Betty will speak about finding that which causes passion from within, that which causes us to work when we thought we were too tired, and that which we'd gladly do for free.
Betty Holcomb is a UU with both fellowship and ministry experience. Having joined the UU Fellowship of Columbia, MO, in 1973, she has enjoyed membership in North Shore Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Deerfield and then here at First U since 1990. Her involvement in these three congregations and nationally has included RE Council, Membership Committee, Board Member, Whitney Young Grants Panel and Jubilee Working Group for Antiracism. Outside of UU activities, Betty enjoys Life Membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and Hyde Park Kiwanis among other interests. Employment with a multinational pharmaceutical company finances her real ministry.
August 13, 2000
Topic and Worship participants to be announced
August 20, 2000
Called To Witness
Worship Leader: Rev. Nina Grey
At General Assembly, the delegates voted to support several Actions of Immediate Witness, including one to endorse a rally in Washington, DC to protest racial profiling. As of the date of this writing, the rally is scheduled for August 26. Why do we call these stands "witnesses"? What part does witnessing play in a comprehensive approach to social justice?
First Forum, led by Rev. Nina Grey
We will familiarize ourselves with the GA Actions of Immediate Witness and focus on the themes of Rev. Grey's sermon, "Called to Witness."
August 27, 2000
Creating A Life, 2: Work and Self
Worship Leader: Rev. Nina Grey
We will look at some meanings of work and its relationship to the self, drawing on the thought of Mary Catherine Bateson, Ram Dass, and others. Perhaps there is a relationship between some forms of work and our UU principles.
11:45 a.m. Orientation for Newcomers and Others
Rev. Nina Grey and the Membership Committee will host this one-session orientation for newcomers to First Unitarian Church. The Orientation is a brief overview of Unitarian Universalist history and principles and some information about our church. We focus on the particular questions participants bring to the table. Refreshments will be served. Call Rev. Nina Grey or Holly Jamison, chair of the Membership Committee, with any questions.