TUC Occupies the Progressive Dinner–and Chicago!

Hey TUC:

Good to see almost a packed house at our “Celebration of Life” last weekend, and it was a pleasure to recall four key TUC “living icons” of the 20th Century–Norm Roth, Harry Gaynor, Margaret “Peg” Sering and the Reverend E.T. Buehrer.  The naming ceremony for the latest member of the Bradley clan to join Third Church was also a treat (see the picture below).  I hope you’ve made your plans to attend the annual “Progressive Dinner,” held at the Oak Park homes of Bebe Simon, Mena and David Boulanger, Karla Chew, and Ann and Joe Kransdorf, tomorrow night.  Sunday morning will also be busy, with the Bob Simpson Forum at 10 a.m., the “Celebration of Life” at 11 a.m., both focused on the “Occupy” movement.  Then we’ll decamp for the corner of LaSalle and Jackson downtown next to the Board of Trade to join those who lead the “Occupy” movement here in the city.  We’ll be joined by folks from First Unitarian Church, Second Unitarian Church, Unity Temple UU Congregation, Beverly Unitarian Church on the city’s South Side and the Unitarian Church of Evanston as we offer moral support, bring food and plan next steps for a Chicago UU presence with “Occupy” as we move into winter.

I have to agree with Hendrik Hertzberg, the New Yorker writer, when he says that Occupiers have to learn that “real change” to a “political economy rigged to benefit the rich over the poor” is through politics themselves.  But with a U.S. political system so in the thrall of monied interests, protests and other calls for a change outside this “political economy” must not be minimized.  For indeed, Mr. Hertzberg and others have to remember how demonstrations influenced public policy during the Civil Rights and Vietnam War eras.

See you in church!

Everyone looks at the star of the show last Sunday!

Being Roberta, etc,

Hey TUC:
It’s the end of October, and with it shorter hours of daylight and actual frost on the pumpkin. Before it gets too cold, and you lose heart to visit Grant Park and “Occupy Chicago,” take a look at the pictures of the induction ceremony of the Illinois Senior Citizen Hall of Fame. This event took place on Monday at the Governor’s Mansion in Springfield, and our own Roberta Wilson was one of four inductees. Barbara Minor and I were on hand for the celebration, and the pictures are below. Enjoy the weekend with the “Day of the Dead” service, and I’ll see you next week,

Beautifying the Grounds, etc., as Autumn Arrives…

Coming Back to ‘Community’

The calendar turns past Labor Day, and with it our attempts to extend the reach of summer: the last good-weather chance to dip the canoe in the Fox River, or to lie on the beaches close to Saugatuck. The familiar rhythms of the school year are on the cusp. And like parents who’ve prepared their charges by shopping for togs and three-ring binders, for the past few weeks the staff and lay leaders at TUC have been preparing for the new church “year.”
The overtures are indeed underway. Our Board, comprised of five members and chaired by incoming President Allen Matthews, already gathered in Oak Park for a retreat a few weeks ago to set goals through the 2012 Annual Meeting, and the roster of major congregational activities has been largely set. The staff also met for its retreat in Evanston to get clear on points of emphasis and to continue planning for our Sunday morning programs.
There’s usually time to express and hear a range of opinions, and bloviating, at retreats. We were mercifully free of either at each meeting. But what struck me was the repetition of the phrase, “community,” among the both board and the staff. It seems something like a trend, for I’ve heard this frequently in the past few years at Third Church, notably in the “pulpit editorials” from our newer members last winter.
And the benefits of “community” have also surfaced in other recent conversations. At a high school reunion in August, a friend bemoaned a missed opportunity to join a local UU congregation. She felt it would’ve given her racially and religiously-mixed family a chance to experience a much-needed sense of “community” in an otherwise homogenous, small New England town. “And my kids,” she added with a sigh, “really needed that kind of support when they were growing up.”
General understandings of “community” come to mind: a group of people with shared values and experiences, one that offers the possibility of forming smaller groups marked by even closer bonds. TUC, like other congregations, offers these: we have the UU small group ministries known as “Chalice Circles,” as well various overlapping and informal collections of long-time friends.
Religious institutions often give much in the way of support of its members and the reinforcement of personal identity. I think it’s why Third tends to matter so much to its members. But we exist not just for ourselves. It’s to extend this sense of belonging to others.
It’s long been argued that churches are not closed social groups. We provide comfort and care to our members, yes, but we also aim to make a difference in the world beyond our walls. We keep our doors open to welcome newcomers, and in particular the stranger, so that our circle of empathy can be expanded. We offer scholarships to college-bound Austin kids, built a community garden and host a Head Start center because they tend first toward the transformation of our corner of the world, and then, as a result, our members can feel better about themselves. If we join our friends, other allies and residents in Austin in acts of local empowerment, TUC is enriched and our sense of “community” is legitimately deepened.
The great African-American theologian Howard Thurman once wrote, “Community cannot for long feed on itself; it can only flourish with the coming of others from beyond, their unknown and undiscovered brothers.” Our members come back, and newcomers join TUC again and again because of our sense of “community”–a community that moves beyond itself through service toward others.
See you in church on Opening Sunday and throughout the year, where we’ll lift up this spirit through our “Celebrations of Life.” And if you want to hear more on this topic, come to the September 18th program–it’ll be the focus on the sermon.

“Closing Sunday,” Father’s Day, and the TUC Construction boom…

Hey TUC:
I hope you can join us for “Closing Sunday” this coming Sunday at 11 a.m., when we’ll recognize Flower Communion and offer our thanks to a variety of folks, notably our outgoing Interim Director of Music Scott Aaseng! Scoot has been terrific in his role over the past two years, and he’ll be dearly missed.

Also, our summer work projects are in full gear at the moment, with the “old” iron fence having been installed in the Community Garden this morning. The new five-foot fence will be in place later next week, along with a new retaining wall next to the Robeson Room south windows. I’m also pleased at our record of hiring minority contractors for these projects, with Davis and Sons Iron Work, Inc. being an example. Pictured on break from their labors below are Eugene and Tim Davis, respectively, and in honor of Father’s Day, I’ve also included a picture of the Orono, ME, High School varsity baseball coaching staff–my brother-in-law Donnie Joseph on the left, and my dad Wally Covell on the right.

See you in church!

The Passing of a “Peaceful Warrior,” and RE Sunday…

Hey TUC:
By now many of you have likely heard on the news of Ron Chew’s death this past Tuesday. At the time of his passing, Ron was 78, and while hampered by myriad health issues, he was a passionate advocate of many peace and social justice causes. Trained as an economist, he turned against a type and worked against “laissez-faire” capitalism, arguing instead for a more humane and just economic system than we what we live in at the moment. Active in Veterans for Peace, both on the local and national levels, he was also a near-constant figure at protests across the city during the height of the recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. I could count on seeing him-in even extreme weather–waving his anti-war placards as I drove off the Austin Boulevard exit ramp at the Eisenhower Expressway. Ron and his friends at TUC and elsewhere seemed then like lonely sentinels against increasing militarism throughout the course of the Bush Administration. But public opinion, witnessed in part through the election of Barack Obama, turned in their direction by the end of the decade. At TUC, he was active in the Social Action, Forums and Austin Scholarship Committees, playing pivotal roles in each for many years. This is a great loss for Third, for his family, and for the progressive community in the Midwest, and what we know at the moment is that we’ll hold a memorial service at TUC by the end of June. In the meantime, send Karla and her family all the love you can generate…

Meanwhile, it’s RE Sunday at Third this weekend, and RE Director Kate Wilford will lead a ceremony recognizing our many RE volunteers in the middle of the service. We’ll also be graced by the presence of Dr. Victoria Holland, an operatic soprano and member of the music faculty of Loyola University here in the city, as she offers three pieces during the program. If you haven’t heard Dr. Williams sing, you’re in for a treat!

The pictures below are of Connie Toebe, our Office Administrator, as she sits on the stump of what used to be the large mulberry tree right outside the Sanctuary windows. The tree was removed to allow for landscaping improvements on the south grounds of the campus, and more work on this area will continue next week. The other two pictures from First Unitarian Church in New Orleans are from Dr. Dan Covell as he works with students from Massachusetts this week on continuing clean-up efforts in the aftermath–some six years later–of Hurricane Katrina.

See you in church!

Austin Scholarship, Earl’s Wisdom, in 13.1 miles or less

Hey TUC:
You might feel like the church “year” is over, what with the summery climes this weekend. One U. of C. wag once said Chicago was a “Southern city with a Northern climate,” and while that might be in some ways true, it can still feel like Atlanta from June to September around here. In any case, we’ll have fifteen scholarship award recipients and their families in the Sanctuary this Sunday, and it’s one of the highlights on our calendar. Former Austin High School principal Earl Williams, a product of the Chicago Public School system, and a long-time educator, will have an insightful message to share with the students about perseverance and commitment to advancement. He should know; his life and leadership in the city’s school is a testament to both. And he might share his recollections of the Scholarship program’s early days, which would be of particular interest to those of us who’ve come to TUC in the last decade. If you plan to be with us this Sunday, get here early–seating will be at a premium.

Our Board of Trustees will meet for their end-of-the-year gathering at the Zacny/ Barcroft home tomorrow. They’ll both assess the past year and get ready for the new one, all while thanking the out-going members and welcoming the incoming class. I’ll join them after running in the Chicago “13.1″ half-marathon, which starts and ends at the South Shore Cultural Center in the morning. With temps expected to be in the 80′s, I hope to have something left in the tank for the rest of the weekend. Stay tuned, and a picture of some of the Austin Outreach “movers and shakers” is below.

See you in church!

Reflections, On Memorial Day

Friends:
It’s Memorial Day weekend, and while many Americans will spend the three days at backyard parties or at the beach, it’s also a time of recollection–of loved ones who’ve passed away, particularly as a result of military service. This is in keeping with the history of the observance–it was first known as “Decoration Day,” as the head of the organization for Northern Civil War veterans had suggested a day–intentionally not the anniversary of a great battle–of national recognition for veterans of both Union and Confederate armies. The event had also been originally observed in cemeteries in the North; in the South, the day was typically marked on or near important battlefields. And women were instrumental in these earliest recognitions. Indeed, the Women’s Relief Corps, some 100,000 members strong in the late 19th Century, either led or help stage these events on either side of the Mason-Dixon line.

The relationship of Memorial Day to cemeteries is but one reason I support the development of a “memorial garden” at TUC. Having such a spot on our grounds would be a lovely way to remember our now-deceased former members, those whose efforts helped TUC extend its legacy of progressive thought and action to the present day. And thus, if Memorial Day typically recognizes those who died in our country’s name in war, why not also recognize those who willingly sacrificed much in the name of justice and peace?

This weekend also carries personal poignancy, as it marks the one-year anniversary of my mother’s death. This Sunday at Third Church, we’ll be with members who have survived the death of their children, and I’ll be thinking of them. My heart and mind will also be filled with reminiscences of Janet Dexter Covell, of her zest for life and for educating children, and of her parent’s final resting place on a shaded, grassy hillside overlooking the Great Androscoggin falls in Maine.

I look forward to seeing you in church, and a lovely panoramic picture of the congregation in the midst of reflective observance–in this case, at the recent Seder–is below.

The Year That Was: The Minister’s Report for Annual Meeting 2011

Friends:
Greetings to all of you on the occasion of our 142nd Annual Meeting! At our gathering of ministers prior to the recent District Assembly in Bloomington, a colleague asked me how the past year had been for me. Typically I offer a standard response: “Just fine,” or “Not bad, with a few ups and downs.” Not so this year: I indicated that few years, either as a lay leader or minister, had been as challenging. My suspicion is that many, if not all of our Board members might say the same. Concerns about the status of a former member, the struggles in transition to a new form of board governance and budgetary constraints all informed the work of the Board this past year. I was no less affected by the same as I balanced these along with the typical responsibilities of ministry.

And so 2010-’11 was a year of some congregational tension and conflict. Some, perhaps most of it was painful, and I believe it’s at least part of the reason we witnessed the resignation of a new Board member just this month. Yet as difficult as it was, I’ve rarely learned as much about myself, my ministry, and about congregations in transition as I have over the last year. I tend to see these learnings as a positive result. When placed alongside other successes I’ll outline below it gives me a richer, more complete picture of our congregational life, and it leads me to see me to see the past year as something other than mired in conflict and loss. I’ll cover these in three areas: Sunday Services, Administration and Board Relationships, and Pastoral Concerns:

1. Sunday Services: As I have for the past few years, I’ve either led offered preaching, or both, at an average of 3.5 “Celebrations of Life” since late August, 2011. We’ve adjusted the format of these services slightly over the past few years, adding another hymn, a chalice lighting and extinguishing ceremony, and an expanded “Time For All Ages” section. We’ve taken these steps in part to answer expressed desires for more ritual, better-defined “beginnings and endings,” and a greater focus on our young people in the services. In general, these changes seem to have been accepted. I’ve heard particular appreciation expressed for the increasing number of young people seen in the Sanctuary most Sunday mornings, and for the ways in which our Interim Director of Music, Scott Aaseng, has worked with us–notably with the assistance of our choir–to improve the level of congregational participation in singing. Similarly, our guest speakers have been well-received this year, from Dr. Jennifer Thomson and the Reverends Emmy Lou Belcher and Qiyamah Rahman in the fall to Dr. Christopher Reed, Ron and Serethea Reid, Sharon Cyr, the Reverend Myriam Renaud and Aaron Freeman in the late winter and spring. And for the second time in three years, a moderator of our entire denomination (Ginni Courter) will be with us this coming Sunday to preach before our Annual Meeting.

The inclusion of “family-focused” services on Saturday evening have been another salutary development this past year. Including the increasingly-popular Seder ceremony and meal, we’ve had four such programs since January, with one more to go on May 21st. These services tend to be intimate and interactive, with a focus on music and storytelling, and Kate, Scott and Jamie Boyce have been wonderfully collegial as we’ve planned and implemented these programs.

2. Administration and Board Relationships: I’m pleased to report that strong staff coordination and collaboration helped us in achieving the goals we established in August 2010. Connie Toebe, our Office Administrator, has been a courteous, consistent presence in the office since she joined us in April, 2009. Her capacity for managing detail led me and the Finance Committee this past winter to move some of the day-to-day bill-paying responsibilities to her. She’s responded well, and with an addition of three hours to her work week for the bulk of the year, Connie will likely assume more responsibilities as she becomes familiar with our on-line accounting processes. New DRE Kate Wilford has been instrumental in adding a third classroom for our young people, and has admirably re-shaped the RE curricula to accommodate growth and change in that key area of our congregational life. Our Director of Membership Jamie Boyce has continued her good work in the Sunday greeting and Membership Committee liaison areas and, when it seemed likely that we’d lose her due to budget constraints, the congregation showed how much they valued her contributions by supporting a drive to fund the position through FY 2012. And yet this area still presents us with a challenge for next year. We’re losing Scott Aaseng in June as he moves to continue his training for the UU ministry as a student minister at Unity Temple in Oak Park next fall. The pianist, composer and vocalist Christopher Dunn-Rankin, a life-long UU from California, will move into this position in August. Christopher is no stranger to the choir, or to us, and thus I hope the transition from staffer to another will be reasonably smooth.

As I noted above, our Board had no shortage of challenges this past year. At times the strains of addressing our issues were very apparent, and it led to moments of strong disagreement. Indeed, the resignation of a member at the end of the first year of service is but one result of this course of events. That said, I appreciate the resilience and continued professionalism of Gary Zacny, our Board chair. Much to his credit, Gary confronted difficult and potentially contentious issues directly, and then tried, as magnanimously as he could, to manage subsequent conversations toward a constructive result. That was no mean feat, particularly for a relative newcomer to Third Church. And the movement toward, and understanding of, Policy Governance is somewhat halting for our Board and congregation. I remain supportive of a board focused on achieving of our mission by the creation of policies in line with “best practices.” But the path to this goal has been long, and not linear. For this next year in particular, I’ll be open to insights from our congregation as we work on deciding the form of sustainable, future-oriented governance best suited to Third Church.

I continue to enjoy the work involved in affairs of our Central Midwest District. I’ll move into the second year of my presidency in July. Meanwhile, the movement toward “regionalism,” or the combining of three Midwestern districts into one governance or service-delivery unit, continues in full force. There’s a strong possibility that the boards of these districts–Heartland, Central Midwest, and Prairie Star–will meet in Chicago in October, and I’ll forward more information on this as the date nears.

3. Pastoral Concerns: With a slight increase in pastoral meeting requests and hospital visitations over the previous three years, I’ve appreciated the consistent flow of information coming from our Caring Committee. Dorothy Wilz, Sandi Wiatr and Karla Chew have been particularly helpful in letting me know of illnesses or major life transitions. Indeed, there have been several of the above, with many multiple hospital or nursing home visits in the months of September and November, 2011, and January and March, 2011. I’ve also participated in or conducted memorial services and weddings for non-members, typically held offsite in the Chicagoland area. Lastly, and sadly, I’ll officiate at the memorial service of Norm Roth, our one of our long-time, totemic former members, here at Third on Sunday, June 5th–a date which will be another mark of the passing of an era in our congregational history.

Let me once more offer my deepest appreciation for the privilege of serving the congregation, and alongside you, in shared ministry here at Third. I am no less committed to its flourishing than when I was called here almost eight years ago. Much has been done together, while much remains to be done. The task of building a congregation adept at multi-culturalism, ready to extend the prophetic heritage of which we can be justly proud, is always at hand. Let’s continue to take this course together, in hope, forgiveness and in courage, today and tomorrow.

-Warmly, in the Spirit,

Brian

DA 2011, Emancipation, and the Expanding Garden

Hey TUC’ers:

Hope you’re ready for “Celebration of Life” with extensive lay involvement this Sunday, as Jerry Parker and Scott Aaseng are choreographing a reading of Finley Campbell’s “Oh Freedom! An Emancipation Pageant” at 11 a.m. for our “Celebration of Life.” You’ll see TUC’ers of long and not-so-long tenure assume various roles of figures from both the Civil War and the Civil Rights Eras, and it promises to be much fun.

Those of you who attended District Assembly witnessed a thoughtful and inspiring presentation on multi-cultural diversity by the Reverend Dr. Mark Morrison-Reed. Dr. Morrison-Reed challenged us to address this issue by, as he said, “intentionally embracing the tensions in inclusionary practices,” and also “being ready to forgive ourselves if we’re not perfect, or make mistakes” in the process. Sage insights, indeed. Finley Campbell (noted above) offered an inspiring message on the charge for radical inclusivity he sees imbedded in our UU “Principles and Purposes” at the Friday night worship service, and the annual business meeting of the district was one of the most feverish in recent memory, with a good many questions raised about a couple of fairly-controversial suggested by-law changes. The picture at the bottom is of a collection of TUC members, staffers and a former staffer helping me celebrated after I was given the Jean Kapuscik Award for “distinguished service in ministry” to the Central Midwest District, as nominated by my peers in the CMwD chapter of the UU Minister’s Association. From left to right is Kate Wilford, our DRE, our Treasurer Anne Koerber, our former DRE Justine Urbikas, yours truly, Gerry Messler of our Membership Committee, our Director of Music Scott Aaseng, and Social Action Committee impresario Jerry Parker.

Also, the pace is picking up in the Community Garden, as three new beds have been added this past week by the City of Chicago Green Corps. Roger Masson has organized a bed-rental system whereby folks from the neighborhood can rent, for a nominal fee, a bed to plant a range of vegetables or fruits. Our neighbors and our friends at Little Leaders have taken him up on it, and the work will begin soon on planting, etc. The picture below is of Dave and Melissa Taub as they stand behind a Viburnum shrub adjacent to the garden that I planted last year in honor of my father.

See you in church!