Every Long Journey – Curiosity is a gift but to act on it requires courage. Empathy is a skill and to learn it enables us to move from a place of shame to a place of compassion and courage.  Come listen to voices of curiosity, empathy, and courage in the songs we will sing, in the meditative music of crystal tone bowls, and in the words of Rev. Linda’s sermon.

Rev. Linda Slabon, LCSW, served the UU Fellowship of DeKalb for 26 years along with her spouse, Dr. Toni Tollerud, who served as Music Director. Now retired, Linda is a Minister Emerita, a DeKalb County Board member, and Clinical Social Worker.  She sees clients in her private practice and completes the laundry at home promptly.

A retired professor from Northern Illinois University, Toni does state-wide seminars on supervision and trauma, and gardens with a passion. Grandma Toni and Bionic Nana Linda (with her new titanium hips) love to sing with their three year old grand-daughter, Amelia.

Cultivating Joy – How do we cultivate joy as a spiritual practice of restoration and resistance? Visiting Minister The Rev. Darrick Jackson is the Director of Education of the UU Ministers Association and an Affiliated Community Minister with Second Unitarian Church. He is one of the authors in the book “Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity and Power in Ministry.” Darrick is active in DRUUMM (the UU ministry for people of color). He is also the treasurer and Workshop Leader for Healing Moments (a ministry for caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s).

Finding Beauty – The Worship Arts Committee leads this service with three perspectives on different ways of seeing beauty and what that can mean in our lives.   William Phillips, Lynn Kendall, Tom Hempfling, Barbara Badr, and Jinny Niemann contributing along with Annette Wallace as Worship Associate.

Stories, told in a thousand different ways and handed down from generation to generation, dictate gender roles. How do we move beyond binary gender stereotypes in our family relationships to develop work/life balance? In what ways have we all been hurt by the limitations of patriarchy and how can we break down the barriers within ourselves and our society so that we can lead more spiritually rich and emotionally courageous lives? On Father’s Day, this daughter of toxic masculinity invites three members of different generations and life experiences into a conversation about what masculinity, without toxicity, means for them. Rev. Eileen leads the service with John LaPlante, Ben Kornfeld, and Griffin Larson-Erf contributing. Don MacGregor is our Worship Associate. Nursery, Pre-K childcare, and an activity for children Kindergarten through 5^th grade will be offered during this hour.

Worship Service at 10 a.m.

Our Annual Flower Communion is a celebration of the beauty and vibrancy of our beloved community. Each of us contributes our own gifts to the altar, as symbolized by the flowers you bring, and the splendor is expanded by our sharing. We will learn about and enact this cherished Unitarian Universalist ritual, we will marvel at how our Ends statements are being realized and wonder how we might more fully live our mission in the coming year. This is a service for all ages, though there will be child care for nursery through pre-K available. Following the service, is our annual church picnic (see below for details). Please bring some flowers from your garden or the store.

Worship Service at 10 a.m.

Memorial Day is a day to remember those whose lives have been lost in battle. As we honor fallen soldiers, we also recognize that war is fought on many fronts, and trauma can come in many forms. We are shaped by our stories and our scars and we can live through trauma with resilience and hope. There will be an activity for pre-K through 5th grade and childcare for nursery and pre-K. Rev. Eileen Wiviott leads the service.

Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing

Come feel the rhythms of life as our choir, Gregory, and guest jazz musicians lay down the beat for us. Nadav Simon, our guest percussionist, has selected our musical pieces based on their rhythm histories, and the choral sharing will be an outgrowth of their recent workshop with him. At the 9:15 service, Dr. Mary will share the story Love, by Matt de la Peña, and we’ll hear from our seniors bridging to adulthood; at our 11:00 service, we will celebrate our beloved teachers and the arc of our year of learning in religious education. Join us!