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CUC VOICE WINTER WORSHIP SCHEDULE - 10:45 A.M. Sunday, January 11 - "CHINESE NEW YEAR" Sunday, January 18 - "WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DREAM?" Sunday, January 25 - "WHAT'S IN A NAME?" Sunday, February 1 and Sunday, February 8 - Dan and Pat will be on vacation in Mexico these two Sundays. Carol Alfus and the Worship Committee has arranged for guest speakers. Sunday, February 1 - "DO NOT DESPAIR FOR THE FUTURE OF THE MOVEMENT" Sunday, February 8 - "LIVING THE WATERCOURSE WAY: TAOISM AND TAI CHI" In conjunction with the Sunday service on tai chi, the day before the service, Saturday, February 7 from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at church, Denise will be leading a workshop, "Tai Chi: The Five Elements." This workshop will give you a simple, moving meditation to practice. By learning a series of simple movements you will be able to learn the basics of this ancient form of meditation. Anyone can do it. Even if you have to sit you can learn how to benefit from Tai Chi. Tai Chi is the meditation associated with Taoism. By learning movements which signify the elements of the earth, our bodies relax, our minds focus, and our lives center. Great for improving balance, circulation, and flexibility. Denise has taught Tai Chi for over 30 years. She loves the beauty and discipline of Tai Chi and loves to open the door to this spiritual discipline for new students. She is a hospital chaplain and has had ministries in the parish, on the UUA staff, and as a church consultant. Wear layered loose clothing and non-tread shoes (slippers or heavy stockings are fine). Bring an open mind and a willingness to enjoy yourself. The fee is $25.00 or whatever you can afford. OFFICE CHANGES We have had five individuals (four church members and one referral from a church member) express interest in the secretarial position that will be vacant by the end of January. Our wonderful secretary, Deb Krumholz, is moving back to Minnesota! Our other wonderful secretary, Steven Hall, is staying! We will be interviewing these five individuals during January and should have the position filled by the time Deb leaves. EBAY SITE MANAGER NEEDED We are getting close to having the church ready to host an eBay site, where items would be donated to the church and then sold on eBay so that the church would receive the funds from the sale. We are in need of someone to oversee this for us. This position would work from the church on commission from a portion of the sales. We would provide training for this person, so no experience in running an eBay site is necessary. If you're interested in this, please contact Steven in the church office as soon as possible. CHANGING THE NAME OF THE CHURCH The informal discussion on the possible name change for the church has been switched to Sunday, January 25. These are the options based on responses that we've received so far: Unitarian Universalist Church of McHenry County, Unitarian Universalist Church of Woodstock, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of McHenry County, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Woodstock, no change (keep Congregational Unitarian Church), and a "wild card" (another option of your choice outside of these five). SPRING FUNDRAISER The Church Council has decided to organize a Spring Fundraiser in the form of a "fancy dinner" to be held at the church and catered by some of our most illustrious cooks. The dinner will be in conjunction with a service auction where members can auction off personal services or valuable artifacts. We will be holding an organizing meeting in January and are looking for those willing to help. Please contact the church office. JANUARY FUN NIGHT - STORIES FROM THE ATTIC Join us for fun night Friday, January 16 at 6:30 p.m. downstairs at the church. This time Lora Cantele hosts as we will share "Stories from the Attic," a.k.a. the old noggin! If you plan to attend, please think of a story or two involving yourself that is interesting and/or funny, that someone probably doesn't know about you. Then think of three words (things) that seemingly don't go together about each story. This is a game for all ages! The rest is a secret, but rest assured you won't have to get up and do a silly dance, unless you want to! For the kids, perhaps the parents can help them come up with a story or two and their words. Just in case, we will have a bowl of questions for them to answer, and some backup games. Think of it as little known facts we will be sharing to get to know each other better in a fun and funny way! Please bring a snack or beverage to share. Looking forward to seeing you there! SMALL GROUP MEETINGS We now have several small groups that meet for the purpose of spiritual, intellectual, and personal learning. You are invited to any of these groups. If you are interested, contact the church office and we will put you in touch with the coordinator. The Spiritual Practices group meets every other Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the parsonage. Our next meeting is Monday, January 19. Nicette Crawford will lead that session. Each week our members share their own spiritual approach to life. The Spiritual Reading group does not meet on a regular schedule, but meets approximately every month at 7:00 p.m. in the parsonage. Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 18. We will be reading "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. If you want to attend, please begin reading the book before you come. "Small Group #1" meets on the first Tuesday of every month at the homes of its members. The next meeting is Tuesday, February 3 at 6:00 p.m. for potluck and discussion at the home of Cathy Connelly and her daughter, Field Fred. These meetings have an open agenda and often end up talking about personal things. The Sunday Morning Adult RE class meets most Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in the parsonage. Please refer to the separate article for their January schedule. Our "A Course in Miracles" group meets Sundays at 9:00 a.m. in the parsonage. Please see the separate article for news regarding this group's activities. ADULT RE CLASSES FOR JANUARY Here is the schedule for the Adult RE Class for the remainder of January. Classes are held Sundays at 9:00 a.m. upstairs in the parsonage. Hope to see you there! January 11 - Frank Wedig will facilitate a discussion on the NPR "Speaking of Faith" radio program dated August 21, 2008 entitled "Rick and Kay Warren at Saddleback." In this program NPR revisits a 2007 conversation with evangelical leaders Rick and Kay Warren, exploring where they came from and what motivates them. Rick Warren hosted the first post-primary joint appearance of Barack Obama and John McCain at his Saddleback Church in southern California. This two hour event is just one sign of the cross-cultural authority Rick and Kay have achieved in a handful of years. January 18 - Anna Teresa Evans (formerly Gilhooly) will host a forum called "The Ethics of Food Continued." The session will include viewing the video lecture "Moving Beyond Fast Food Nation" from Princeton University's conference, "Food, Ethics and the Environment. " January 25 - The Peace and Justice Committee will sponsor the program for the day. Planned is Sig Goodwin's presentation on nuclear disarmament. A COURSE IN MIRACLES GROUP STARTS NEW PROGRAM The "A Course in Miracles" group will be beginning a new program on Sunday, January 11 at 9:00 a.m. downstairs in the parsonage called "The Way of Mastery." It is a series of 35 lessons from a book of the same name which is based on the principles of "A Course in Miracles." There will be no need to purchase the book; the lesson will be handed out every Sunday. For more information, go to www.aicm.org and www.shantichristo.com, or contact Sam Jones at samjones@ameritech.net. MEMBER CARE TEAM We have added to the Member Care Committee everyone that we know of who has volunteered to take special care of members in need. The Committee now includes Kathy Berryhill, Elizabeth Dimond, Sarah Fields, Meg Hromyak (chairperson), Sam Jones, Karen Meyer, Bob and Ann Tirk, Frank Wedig, Bruce Weiss, and Pat Young. Please let us know if you would either not like to be on the Committee or would like to be added to the Committee. We are currently looking for a third person to rotate visits with Betty McCullagh and someone to pick up Rita Kay Halvorsen and bring her to church on a scheduled basis. Please contact Deb in the church office about this. LONG RANGE (FIVE YEAR) PLAN UPDATE This is a bulleted summary of our Long Range (Five Year) Plan Update, outlining what our goals are for September 2009 and what we've already accomplished. Staffing
Progress
FacilityÂ
Progress
Marketing (Member Development)
Progress
Religious Education
Progress
Member Care
Progress
Advocacy (Peace & Justice)
Progress
Worship & Music
Progress
MEMBER NEWS We have been asked to include in each newsletter an update on the personal news of our members that would be of interest to the entire congregation. Please let us know as you become aware of other news. Marcia Johnson, our Moderator, left for Palestine on Sunday, January 4 with a group of Lutheran bishops. Because of the chaos and unrest in the region, we are hoping and praying for Marcia's safety during her stay in Palestine and her trip home. George and Judy Sowinski traveled to Delaware over the Christmas holiday, where they were able to be there for the birth of their granddaughter Sophie on December 24. Our best wishes to their new addition.
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