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Daylight saving time ends at 2am Sunday, Nov. 5.
That's when clocks will be set back an hour.
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Dear Members and Friends of DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church,
I took two books with me on my recent vacation trip. Embers: One Ojibway’s Meditations by Richard Wagamese and For Small Creatures Such as We: Rituals for Finding Meaning in Our Unlikely World by Sasha Sagan (daughter of Carl Sagan). Running through both of these books is a theme of finding the transcendent (that which is beyond or larger than ourselves) in all that we do. I like how Sasha Sagan phrases it when she writes, “Growing up in our home, there was no conflict between science and spirituality. My parents taught me that nature as revealed by science was a source of great, stirring pleasure. Logic, evidence, and proof did not detract from the feeling that something was transcendent-quite the opposite. It was the source of its magnificence (Sagan 5).”
I have a tendency to wake each morning and rush to start my day. I am incredibly productive between 7 am and 2 pm. I am focused and clear minded. I love to get to business and start checking off my to-do list. I also know that if I am to be my best self, the best minister I can be for you, I have to start with some centering practices. I hate to postpone my work. I am a type A, oldest child with a strong predilection towards the protestant work ethic, which means I sometimes see spiritual practices as a burden or as a waste of time.
Yet, I also have to face the truth that part of my work to be your minister and to simply be a human working towards my best self, means that I have to take the time to center myself. In fact, I know when I haven’t been centering myself. It is obvious, at least to me. As Richard Wagamese writes in Embers, “There’s something elemental about sweet grass, sage, tobacco, and cedar smouldering in an abalone bowl by the light of a single candle in the early morning dark. It reminds me of what is most important in my day: acknowledging and embracing the sacred. Without that, I can’t walk out my door and discern the sacredness of other people. I can’t be my own best self. Without that, I can’t allow myself my limitations or allow others theirs. I can’t be fair and loving and non-judgemental. Without that, I can’t feel the depth and wonder of the mystery everywhere around me. I can’t experience gratitude, worship, or communion without that mystery. Those sacred moments of connection, when I choose to take them, are what set my feet on the path I hope to take right through my day. Some days, some moments, I stray from it-but I always know it’s there (Wagamese 60).” Without my centering, I often do not respond well to crises, I cannot hold good boundaries, and sometimes I find myself with less patience. I need the time it takes to ground myself, no matter how much I’d rather start on my work.
Our worship theme this month is centering. My two vacation reads were a great reminder of why we need to center and how we can center. Whether you have lost or postponed a centering practice or need to start one, I encourage you to consider a practice as we begin to enter the slower, colder months. Months that also include busy-ness, in which strain and stress can be overwhelming. Finding the time, when there is time, can make a spiritual practice of grounding centering a habitual practice.
Sasha Sagan’s quote above is a reminder that we can find the sacred centering all around us…but we also need to cultivate a practice to slow down and look for it. Otherwise, it is so easy to skip those moments that might transform us into something new and deepen our relationship to each other and our earth.
I hope you will explore with me, this month, some practices for centering during worship and in our other programs. Or send me an email about what practices you find meaningful. I am always looking for ways to deepen my own ways to listen and grow.
In faithful service,
rev. mandi
rev. mandi huizenga
Minister
DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church
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Sunday Services
In-person and Online
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Sunday, November 5, 2023
9:00 AM Worship Service - All ages
10:00 AM Coffee Hour - All ages
10:15 AM Education Hour - All ages
11:30 AM - Worship Service - All ages
The Worship services will be identical in content and order.
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A Heart’s Resting Place
rev. mandi huizenga
Our faith is the foundation of our lives, guiding us through our struggles and inspiring us in our joy. Where does your heart rest?
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10:15 AM Adult Learning Offerings
Science Sunday (Learning Center)
Free Will: A Reconsideration
Free will has been defined as the capacity or ability to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgments that apply only to actions that are freely chosen. Philosophers and scientists have debated the existence of Free Will for thousands of years. If Free Will is an illusion there are immense ramifications legally, socially, interpersonally, medically, and religiously. We probably will not be able to resolve the questions behind the concept of Free Will in an hour-long talk, but we will touch on some of the major points in the debate, and try to understand the groundwork behind each viewpoint.
Recently, our own Scott Thompson delivered another of his thoughtful, cogent, and illuminating seminars.
His Subject was: Free Will.
His Question was: Do We Have Free Will.
His Conclusion was: No, We Do Not!
Dr. Joanne Reid reconsiders the evidence. Using a different perspective, Dr. Reid concludes the universe is not deterministic, but is probabilistic. Free will cannot exist in a deterministic universe, but does exist in a probabilistic universe. However, just because people have free will, doesn’t mean they use it.
Realm Training I (Sanctuary)
Our church has started using a new Church Management Software named Realm. Realm is a cloud-based church management solution that helps users in church administration, accounting and community management. Church members are provided with a mobile app and online access so you can stay connected with the church anytime, anywhere. Keep up with your small groups, RSVP for church events, manage your volunteer assignments, view your giving, update your individual and family profile information, and more.
Linda Zetterberg will introduce the features of the app and the steps to gain access.
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Sunday, November 12, 2023
9:00 AM Worship Service - All ages
10:00 AM Coffee Hour - All ages
10:15 AM Education Hour - All ages
11:30 AM - Worship Service - All ages
The Worship services will be identical in content and order.
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Spiritual Centering
rev. mandi huizenga
Come explore our monthly worship theme of Centering by considering the spiritual practices of the world and why centering ourselves is important.
10:15 AM Adult Learning Offerings
Citizens’ Climate Lobby (Sanctuary)
Facilitated by Mark Ailes
Mark will discuss the latest from CCL, accomplishments, current actions and next steps toward a livable world. There will be time for Q & A.
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Sunday, November 19, 2023
9:00 AM Worship Service - All ages
10:00 AM Coffee Hour - All ages
10:15 AM Education Hour - All ages
11:30 AM - Worship Service - All ages
The Worship services will be identical in content and order.
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Manifesting Gratitude
rev. mandi huizenga
In many indigenous traditions, gratitude is based on reciprocity not obligation. As we enter the holiday week focused on giving thanks, let us consider what gratitude means as an outpouring of the gifts we have been given.
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10:15 AM Adult Learning Offerings
Science Sunday (Learning Center)
Henrietta Leavitt, Annie Jump Cannon, Antonia Maury, and Williamenia Fleming were Computers. Specifically, they computed, analyzed, categorized, and cataloged stars by meticulously scrutinizing photographic plates obtained from the largest telescopes of their day. They also discovered new types of stars and began standardizing methods for determining stellar composition, distance, size, and luminosity. However, their work was often overlooked in their day, and afterward, due to the gender bias then prominent (and still too common) in science. It's past time we celebrate their ingenious contributions to astronomy.
During this Science Sunday, we will learn about the contribution of these 18th and early 19th-century women to astronomy. From there, we'll cover the modern classification of stellar types and what that classification tells us about the life cycle of all-stars as they mature along what is deemed the "main sequence." The classic representation of the main sequence is known as the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram, and we'll use this diagram to appreciate\ the lives and types of stars.
Disability 101 (Sanctuary)
Join members of DUUC’s Accessibility and Inclusion Ministry (AIM) Team as we explore one of the largest, most diverse marginalized groups in the United States. We will look at the two most prevalent models of disability as well as touch on topics such as ableism, disability etiquette, and advocacy for disability rights.
Facilitated by the AIM Team
The DUUC Accessibility and Inclusion Ministry Team strives to increase awareness of issues surrounding disability and disability rights and to help make all church programs and spaces as accessible and inclusive as possible.
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Sunday, November 26, 2023
Single service and no education hour (Thanksgiving weekend)
10:00 AM Worship Service - All ages
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Psalms for Today
Rev. Jules Taylor
The book of Psalms from the Old Testament is comprised of tools of the ancient world. Tools for healing, cries of anguish and for justice, expressions of humanity from a people in a torn and broken world. What is there to be learned from these tools and how can they be useful in our modern context?
Rev. Jules Taylor is a Unitarian Universalist community minister specializing in critical incident response, community crisis, and pastoral care. Rev. Taylor is the Senior Director of Contextual Ministry and an affiliate professor at Meadville Lombard Theological School. Agitating, preaching, and working towards dismantling systems of White Supremacy are key in Rev. Taylor’s theology and work.
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During November the Special Offering will benefit the Humanitarian Service Project nominated by Karen Hutt. The Humanitarian Service Project is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for seniors and children affected by poverty.
They serve the elderly, children, and their families living in DuPage and Kane Counties with meals and other essentials. Their programs are designed to meet the basic needs of those struggling in poverty and to support their emotional wellbeing. HSP is a private, non-profit, and their goal is to live in a community where no child, senior, mom, dad or grandparent fears going to bed hungry, and they always have a safe place to come for help. For more information on the Humanitarian Service Project visit https://hsp.agency. Please click here to donate.
During the month of September $1393.47 was given to support the Alive Center. Thank you for your continued generosity.
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Welcome New Members!
We are honored and delighted that you have chosen to become a member of our church and look forward to building a beloved community with you. Kevin Crowley, Jennifer Darling, May Frazier, Brenda Henry, Barbara Perry, Molly Rix, Olivia Rodriguez, Ariel and Kate Steffens, Ingrid Temple, and Alexos Trocki.
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Auction 2023: Superheroes update!
Gear up, fly or leap in, and prep for bidding madness!
The Silent/Online portion of Auction 2023 runs from November 2, at 4:00 pm until Sunday, November 5 at 8:30 am. Ticket holders will have received Silent/Online bidding instructions via email. You will need this information to bid. Check out the awesome offerings in the catalog.
Questions? Contact auction@dupageuuchurch.org. Item pickup will be on Sunday in Kreves Hall unless otherwise arranged.
The Live Auction activity begins Saturday, November 4 at 5:30 pm with hors d'oeuvres and drinks; bidding begins at 7:00 pm. Review the Live Auction Catalog to plan your bidding strategy! We can't wait to see all the superheroes - big and little, in their finery - who show up!!
The Auction team is grateful for the volunteers and donors who are making all of this happen. And we are grateful in advance for all ticketholders and bidders supporting this beloved community!
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Friday Fall Soup Night
The weather is changing, well sort of anyway. Maybe it will be chilly by Friday, November 10? Either way, we are having a soup night and hope YOU can come enjoy food and fellowship in Kreves Hall at 6:30 pm. Vegetarian and gluten free options will be provided. Registration is helpful is planning food and seating, but not manditory. All ages welcome. Contact Tina Lewis at tlewis@dupageuuchurch.org if you are able to attend.
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Meet & Greet (Learning Center)
Would you like to get to know more people in the congregation? We will be hosting a special social hour between services on Sunday, November 12. It’s a great way for new members, visitors, and established members to get to know one another in a small group setting. This group will meet in the Learning Center. Walk-ins are welcome, though registration is helpful for set-up. Contact Tina Lewis at tlewis@dupageuuchurch.org to register.
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Membership Classes
Are you curious to learn what being a member of DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church (DUUC) is all about? The next Pathway to Membership class will be November 12 & 19 from 1:00-4:00 pm. In the first session, participants will share stories about their religious/spiritual histories and learn about Unitarian Universalism and DUUC’s history in a small group setting. The second session will focus on how the church works, what membership offers, what it means to be a member, and how we can build a future together. Childcare is available upon request. Light refreshments will be provided. Contact Tina Lewis at tlewis@dupageuuchurch.org or 630-505-9418 to register.
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Realm Is Here!
We have exciting news! Our church is launching a new interactive database that will allow you to update your profile, manage your pledge, register for religious education and events, access the member directory, and more.
Initial training on how to use the new system will be provided on Sundays, November 5 and December 3 in the sanctuary during the adult learning hour from 10:15-11:15.
In preparation of the training, all member privacy settings will be changed to create the new member directory. The only information fellow members will be able to see is your contact information. You will receive an email notification when your settings have been updated.
We look forward to learning how to use this new tool and hope everyone will participate!
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Sunday Worship Volunteers!
The Sunday Services Team is looking for people to join their team! We are looking for creative, thoughtful, and enthusiastic members who would like to serve on our advisory team and/or become a worship associate. If you are interested, please reach out to rev. mandi by email:
revmandi@dupageuuchurch.org
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Let’s Keep the Coffee Flowing!
Volunteers are needed to help set-up/clean-up refreshments between services in November and December. Please add your name to the Sign Up Genius TODAY if you can help. Thank you, thank you! Click here.
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Call for Volunteers
It's time to decorate for the holidays and we need YOUR help! Following services on Sunday, November 26 volunteers are needed to beautify our spaces for the holiday season. Six to eight people who are comfortable on ladders are needed. Please contact Tina Lewis tlewis@dupageuuchurch.org to sign up.
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Despite the chilly weather, Trunk-or-Treat was a great success! Thank you Youth Religious Education Team for organizing such a fun event. | |
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Next Styrofoam Recycling Collection is November 12th
Bring Styrofoam to church between 8:30 am and 1:00 pm on this date only; leave it in the entrance foyer. Volunteers will transport the discards to Dart Industries.
Bag packaging foam, e.g., the packing that comes with a new computer monitor, separate from food use foam—egg cartons, meat trays, take-out containers, and coffee cups. Styrofoam peanuts must go in a separate bag because we bring them to different locations. All foam must be clean! Use clear plastic bags if you happen to have them—but don’t buy them special—that’s just so we can see what's in the bags. These bags are recycled at Dart. Styrofoam is expanded polystyrene (#6 plastic) but not all polystyrene is Styrofoam. Please look carefully—some packing material can fool you. When in doubt, throw it out.
Eliminating the use of Styrofoam altogether is our goal, but if you do receive it, recycle it. If you can’t make this date, transport your Styrofoam to Dart yourself (bring a friend’s or neighbors’, too, for fuel efficiency) at 310 Evergreen Dr., North Aurora. Open 24/7.
This message is from your Green Sanctuary friends. Questions to Susan at sfc1939@comcast.net
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Social Media Accessibility
This month, AIM is reporting on how to make social media posts more accessible to people with visual impairments. Many blind and visually impaired people use screen readers which read the text displayed on their computer, tablet, or phone screen. (For an example of what a screen reader sounds like, see this Screen Reader Demo on YouTube.) To make social media posts with photos more accessible and enjoyable for all, it is a great idea to add image descriptions or ALT text. Photos without image descriptions or ALT text will be read by the screen reader as simply “image.” People with visual impairments will miss out on whatever was meant to be conveyed with the posted picture.
An image description can easily be added to the text portion of a post. Describe the photo like you are telling someone about it over the phone.
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Image description: A close-up of a large maple tree. The leaves at the top are a brilliant red, while the middle and lower branches have a mix of red, deep orange, and orange-yellow leaves. A bright blue sky with a few white clouds can be seen above and between the tree branches.
ALT text or alternative text is embedded in the image. According to Accessible Social, ALT text is added to an image tag in the HTML code of a webpage or through a platform’s designated alt text field. Some social media platforms like Facebook automatically add ALT text to images, but automatic ALT text is often not very accurate or descriptive. To learn how to add or edit your own ALT text to images on Facebook, see this Facebook help page. To add ALT text on Instagram, see this Instagram help page. To add ALT text on X/Twitter, see this X Help Center page.
Hashtags on social media can be made more accessible to screen readers by using Pascal or Camel Case. In Pascal Case, each word in a multi word hashtag is capitalized. For example: #AccessibiltyIsAwsome. In Camel Case, all words after the first word are capitalized: #accesibiltyIsAwesome. Both Pascal and Camel Case make hashtags much more readable to screen readers and to humans than all lower case: #accessibiltyisawesome.
The DUUC Accessibility and Inclusion Ministry Team strives to increase awareness of issues surrounding disability and disability rights and to help make all church programs and spaces as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you have questions about AIM at DUUC, have accessibility or inclusion questions, suggestions, or concerns at church, and/or would like to join the DUUC AIM Team, please email us at aim@dupageuuchurch.org.
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DuPage River cleanup 2023, Part 2
A small contingent canoed the West Branch of the DuPage River in late October (when it was still warm!) to comply with our twice-a-year DuPage UU Church commitment with the county's Adopt-a-Stream program. We are keeping a portion of the river and its banks usable and safe for wildlife and human enjoyment. From the river view as they paddled from Warrenville Grove to McDowell Grove, it was remarkably un-littered! That's a good thing. The largest prize of the day this time was a truck tire! Along with the land-based pickup in July with our members and friends, we are helping to keep this precious resource clean. We'll walk the banks and paddle the river again in the Spring!
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Do You Know the Labyrinth?
Our backyard labyrinth was created in July of 2015 as an Eagle Scout project by church youth Zak Knusel (red shirt in photo below) of Troop 505.
The labyrinth was designed by Steve Cooper.
In September 2020, Josh Culver, another hopeful Eagle Scout, incorporated refreshing the paths of the labyrinth with landscape fabric and mulch as part of his project. New benches were part of the endeavor, as well.
Maintenance of this mediation/walking path has been irregular over the years, and we are looking for 2-3 people to adopt this spot and keep it tidy. This would involve a visit once or twice per month, during the growing season, for weeding and otherwise keeping it kempt, at the volunteers’ discretion. Are you willing? Can you help? Contact Susan at sfc1939@comcast.net to volunteer. Peace to you.
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Humanist Group
Wednesday, Nov 8th at 7:30 PM
The Prairie State Humanists discussion group will convene to discuss the following: When we look back on history, we can spot moral failings of our ancestors. Whether the issue is the many horrific practices contrary to modern sensibilities regarding social justice, or slavery and indentured servitude or even the freedom to vote. Now consider, what might people 200 years from now consider some of our moral failings as a society? Perhaps it's the fact that we eat meat, or that we were slow to act on climate change. Our justice system might be called into question, along with issues of inequality. Bring your ideas and join what's sure to be a lively discussion!
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Play your instrument for the YUUth Ensemble Holiday Song!
YUUth Ensemble will be playing at the December 17 Holiday Music service this year, and we are looking for kids/youth who would like to participate. If you have been playing your instrument for at least one year and are past the beginner stage, we would love to have you join us. We will be practicing right after RE classes end on the Sundays below from 11:20-12:00 in one of the church rooms. Please contact Karen Campbell directly at rkcampb37@gmail.com or 630-995-5030 if you would like to join us. Thanks!!
Sundays: Nov. 5, Nov. 12, Nov. 19, Dec. 3, Dec. 10, and Dec. 17
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Calling All Musicians!
The Music Team is looking for instrumentalists and vocalists who would like to do solos and/or participate in small ensembles for special music during Sunday services. All instruments and voice parts welcome. Contact Karen Campbell at rkcampb37@gmail.com or 630-995-5030 for more information.
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DUUC Library Monthly Book Recommendations – November
Throughout the year, the DUUC Library will have monthly book recommendations based upon a monthly holiday, historical significance, etc. Information about these featured DUUC Library books will be available on a book list flyer in the Library Alcove area in Kreves Hall. For November 2023, books on gratitude will be featured.
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Sunday Flowers Needed
Celebrate a person or event by providing flowers for a Sunday service. Flowers are currently needed January through May of 2024. You may request to have Sunday Flowers order a $35 standard arrangement for you from Phillip’s Flowers. Or, if you are planning to attend the service in person, you may choose to bring in your own arrangement from your garden or favorite flower shop. The arrangement should be brought to the sanctuary by 8:50 a.m. Your dedication will be printed in the email with the link to the on-line version of the Order of Service as well as in the printed Order of Service. The flowers are yours to take home after the second service. If you are not attending service that day, you may contact Sheri at office@dupageuuchurch.org or (630) 505-9408 to make arrangements for pick-up during office hours. Payment may be made by sending a check made out to DUUC for $35 to the church office (write “flowers” on the memo line), through the DUUC Payment Portal (select “other” under donation, and write in “flowers”), or VANCO (select “flowers fund”). Contact Kristen Tang at flowers@dupageuuchurch.org or (630) 305-7771 for more information and/or to request a date. Thank you!
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Find out what's happening at
DuPage UU Church!
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Calendar of Church Activities & Building Use | |
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Do you need to contact a staff member? | |
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Room reservation requests
can be made by filling out
this form.
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Zoom link requests
can be made by sending an email to calendar@dupageuuchurch.org
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Newsletter Deadline
The deadline for the
December newsletter is
Monday, Nov. 27 @ 9am.
Please email your submissions to office@dupageuuchurch.org.
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Please consider making a donation to support DuPage UU Church and all of its programs. Thank you!
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In the Wider Unitarian Universalist World | |
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This event is geared toward anyone who serves as a UU religious professional or in a lay leadership capacity in their congregation.
As our world bears witness to the tragic and traumatic events unfolding in Palestine & Israel, many of us are yearning for a faithful way to discuss and engage what is occurring.
Why We Cannot Turn Away: Resources for UU Leaders
Engaging on Israel and Palestine
Webinar
Monday, November 6 at 5pm PT / 8pm ET
Join us for this session for religious professionals, where we will invite multiple expert voices to help us deepen our understanding in truth and possibility.
Sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Association and hosted by Muslim and Jewish UU professionals, this session will feature guest appearances by experts who will share about the history of the region, how our world arrived at the current moment, some history about UU engagement with these issues, and what we as people of faith might do in response to it. In this time of collective fear and grief, let us form a community willing to learn, struggle, and heal together.
This session will be recorded and made available as a resource for congregations after the live event, and you may register even if you are unable to attend live.
All who register for this event will receive a zoom link to the live event as well as follow up communications including the video recording and congregational conversation template.
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DuPage UU Church
630-505-9408
office@dupageuuchurch.org
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