Worker Justice

Ted comes to us from the "Labor in the Pulpit" program of the Chicago Interfaith Committee on Worker Justice. He is Director of Public Policy for that organization, and has served on the staffs of both the SEIU and AFSCME labor unions.

September 13
Worship Leaders:
Rev. Nina D. Grey
Rev. W. David Arksey
Danielle Gerrior

Water Ceremony Ingathering:
We Are Not Our Own

We are not our own. We belong to the earth, sky, and the living waters. We belong to each other, to strangers we have yet to meet, to our community, and our world. On this first Sunday after Labor Day, we re-gather as a house of welcome, a community of all ages. For our Annual Ingathering Water Ceremony, we are invited to bring water from our separate life journeys, whether near or far, and to pour our water into a common bowl, symbol of our shared quest for truth and meaning, caring and justice. A community of all ages, we will contemplate and share our various summer moments: of nature's gifts, of family and friendship and community, of gratitude and generosity, of vision and hope for the future.

Belonging

What are reasons for houses of worship, for gatherings in religious community? What does it mean to belong to a community of faith? Does belonging imply something about the ways we are with one another? What shall we give? What receive? This reflection looks to the heritage of Unitarianism and Universalism, which we inherit. It turns to the covenants of our religious ancestors, their expectations of themselves and each other, and it asks, what are our own expectations of and visions for our faith.

September 24
Worship Leader: Rev. Nina Grey

Sing of Living, Sing of Dying

The leaves are beginning to turn. Major western religions like Judaism and Islam mark this time as sacred, as a time of beginnings and blessings, of life renewing. Yet it is also a time of loss, of letting go. In the metaphor of the Rev. Thomas Mikelson, living and dying are parts of an "eternal process". Today we mark the Equinox and autumn's beginning. Our worship will reflect some of the gifts of our nature-based traditions. We will wonder about our own human part in this eternal process.

October 1
Worship Leader: Rev. Nina Grey
Guest Speaker: Madeiria Myrieckes

A High Holy Day Reflection on Forgiveness

In this service honoring the Jewish High Holy Days of Rosh Hashona (the New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) Madeiria Myrieckes will plumb the depths of that most difficult of human tasks, forgiving. This important and complex theme of the Jewish tradition emerges in many world religions and is a challenge for us in our daily lives.

Madeiria Myrieckes is a long-time member of the First Unitarian Church of Chicago. She is the current chair of the Lay Pastoral Care Associates and offers many other of her gifts to the life of our church. She was the coordinator of the Sabbatical Committee in 2005, and she has attended UU Leadership School.

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