Getting Ready to Roost

In the past two months, we have been busy preparing for the new church year and our efforts are being seen and felt. Let’s take a quick look back and truly appreciate and celebrate them:

• The Family Ministry Team created a family-friendly area in the sanctuary. Last week, we voted on what to call this space. The choices were The Nest, Curiosity Corner, and Sacred Circle. And the winner is…drum roll, please…The Nest!
• We also needed chickens (volunteers) to help take care of the chicks (young people), and we have been blessed to have these folks to tend to our youngest: Rachelle Brooks, Penny Doyle, Wendy Drake, Ellie Feddersen, Ann Gadzikowski, Linda Herried, Sue Larson, Gillian Lawrence, Norell Liddell, Janice Milanovich, Margaret Shaklee, Sarah Vanderwicken, and Karen Wylie.
• We added Lindsey Kennedy to our childcare staff to tend to our babies and toddlers.
• We are coordinating an Our Whole Lives Sexuality Education (OWL) program with Chicago-area UU congregations for our youth in 7th-12th grades. Dana Deane is one of our awesome facilitators.
• The Adult Faith Formation Team (Dan Solomon, Bob Mesle, and Emily Eckwahl-Sanna) has put together a wonderful selection of topics to start off the year. We began with Faith as Faithfulness and currently have Journey of Belonging with Rev. Susan. Coming up we have Transgender Inclusion in Congregations, The Poetry of Mary Oliver, Ethics: Committed Relativism, The Fiction of Louise Penny, and The 1619 Project, an Introduction. The Forum Discussion Group has also begun to meet twice monthly on Sunday mornings.

Now that we are off to a great start, we can turn our energy towards improving our nest – physically and figuratively. The Family Ministry Team is exploring how we can make new families feel more welcomed and engaged in the life of the congregation. We are looking at ways to get communications to new families better, such as the website, and at making improvements in the nursery this winter. Check out this year’s programs and events in the Lifespan Faith Formation Brochure.

Other ideas being explored are a monthly family-friendly gathering, book clubs for kids and youth, and a welcome bag for new families. If you’d like to help make any of these a reality, we’d love to have your input! As always, if you have a passion or idea that you’d like to share, submit your idea via the Program Proposal Form.

In Faith,

Kathy