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CUC VOICE WINTER WORSHIP SCHEDULE - 10:45 A.M.
Sunday, January 25 - "WHERE IS YOUR DREAM? (PART II)"
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 SECRETARIAL POSITION UPDATE We have narrowed our search for a new secretary down to three candidates who are members of our church. During the next four weeks, Deb will be training these candidates either on site or remotely from Minnesota. They will fill her regular times in the office. Steen will also be there at his regular time. If you have any questions, simply contact the church office and leave a message. Whoever is working will respond. 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). Please join us this Sunday and tell us what you think. DAN AND PAT ON VACATION Dan and Pat will be on vacation in Mexico from Friday, January 30 to Friday, February 13. They will be back in church on Sunday, February 15. If you need anything related to church business in Dan's absence, please call the church office. CHURCH BUSINESS COMING UP We are preparing now for the Congregational Meeting in May where we will nominate and elect church officers, approve a budget, and announce the final results of our pledge drive. We are interested in your ideas for possible church officers, for any changes in the budget, and for an approach in the pledge drive. Please contact Steven in the church office if you have any thoughts. NEW DIRECTORY The new church directory for calendar year 2008-2009 is being printed this week. We're hoping to have it in church this Sunday, January 25 for distribution. A special thanks to Don Metivier and Sport Decals for the printing. WEBSITE DELAYS Recently we announced that the new CUCW.org was going to be up and running on Wednesday, January 14. If you've gone onto the website, you've noticed that the change hasn't happened yet. I was out of the office for a week starting on January 14 and there are some last-minute technical difficulties that still need to be resolved before the new website is operational. I sincerely apologize for the delays and hope you'll bear with me as we get the last few things completed to get your new church website online. SPRING FUNDRAISER The Member Care Committee met in January and is making plans now 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. WACM CONCERT On Sunday, February 8, at 7:00 p.m. at Grace Lutheran Church in Woodstock, our choir will be performing in a concert sponsored by the Woodstock Area Community Ministry (WACM) for the benefit of the Direct Assistance Program. Choirs from the different Woodstock churches that support WACM will have representatives singing with a combined choir. Our choir will also sing two songs as part of the program. Please come enjoy the music and show your support for this fine organization. There is a suggested donation of $5 at the door. A special collection will also be taken during the concert. CHOIR CONCERT BRINGS JOYFUL SOUNDS ON FEBRUARY 15 Our choir will team up with the choir from St. Lawrence Church in Libertyville to present a blockbuster choir concert at St. Lawrence Church on Sunday, February 15 at 7:00 p.m., with a reception to follow. The concert is free, but a free-will offering will be appreciated. Proceeds will be sent to their sister parish, St. Bartholomew's in the diocese of Renk, Sudan, for their community outreach services in war-torn southwestern Sudan. Each choir will each sing a few of their own favorites and then combine to sing five pieces together. The music will range from traditional to gospel to hip-hop. Piano, trumpet and other instruments will accompany the choirs, including an organ solo by St. Lawrence music director Alan Whaley. The choirs will rehearse in the afternoon and enjoy supper and fellowship before the concert. Please come to Libertyville and enjoy the program presented by both choirs. The address is 125 Church Street, Libertyville, IL 60048. More information about this concert will be presented at our Sunday services and through e-mail. SECOND ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL FILM FESTIVAL The Green Sanctuary is sponsoring its second annual Environmental Film Festival on Sunday, February 8 from 1:00 to 9:00 p.m. The festival will feature three full-length feature films and a number of other short films. Admission is free. For more information please contact Margaret Fox-Hawthorne at 815-943-6828 or margfh2000@yahoo.com. VOLUNTARY SIMPLICITY COURSE The Green Sanctuary will be holding a Voluntary Simplicity Course Sundays at 9:00 a.m. starting in February. The course will have 5-6 sessions and will be limited to a maximum of 12 participants. The cost of the materials is $20.00. The exact starting date for these sessions hasn't been announced yet, but we will let you know when it is finalized. For more information please contact Margaret Fox-Hawthorne at 815-943-6828 or margfh2000@yahoo.com. FEBRUARY FUN NIGHT - GAME NIGHT Our next Fun Night is Friday, February 20 at 6:30 p.m. It will be another Game Night. Constance Curran will lead the games. 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, February 2. The leader will be Kerrie Kurth. 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. We are currently working on a February 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. A COURSE IN MIRACLES GROUP STARTS "THE WAY OF MASTERY" The "A Course in Miracles" group has begun a program Sundays 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. 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, returned safely from Palestine last Saturday, January 17. We're glad to have her back. We have heard that Kris Wedeking has broken her foot and is going to be laid up for a while. We're hoping for a quick recovery.
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