Thanksgiving Dinner at the Church

We are having a traditional Thanksgiving feast at the church. Any and all are welcome to join us on Thanksgiving Day at 4:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Please get in touch with Sam Beshers at beshers@illinois.edu or 390-3279 if you would like to come.

We will spend the afternoon at the church preparing food, decorating tables, playing games and enjoying the holiday season together. Many hands make light work, and too many cooks are just enough!

Church Office Closed Thanksgiving and Day After

The church office will be closed all day next Thursday, November 27^th and Friday, November 28^th in celebration of Thanksgiving. The normal office hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. will resume on Monday, December 2^nd. Thank you J

Poinsettias to Decorate Our Church and Your Home

If you would like to purchase a poinsettia to decorate our Sanctuary during the month of December and then your home after the Christmas Eve Candlelight Services, please stop by the poinsettia table in Fellowship Hall and fill out an order slip. The cost is $12, and the plant will be labeled with the name of the purchaser in addition to the name(s) of whomever you choose to remember or honor with your purchase. If you have questions, please direct them to Beth Cobb at bethac54@comcast.net.

Shared Offering Selections for 2014

The Social Action Committee recently held our annual Shared Offering Nomination voting meeting for the 2014 Shared Offerings. We had a great list of nominations with 27 in all! It was very difficult to whittle the list down to 11, but it shows how many wonderful organizations there are in our community doing important work. 

Here is the list of 2014’s 11 Shared Offerings (not in any particular order) that were chosen at the meeting. We will match each organization below to a specific month at the December SAC meeting. Thank you all who nominated an organization, and thank you all who attended the meeting to help select this list. 

C-U Immigration Forum

Rape Advocacy, Counseling, & Education Services (RACES)

Education Justice Project/Prison Justice Project (student group)

Canaan Development Foundation — Men’s & Women’s SAFE House

Wesley Evening Food Pantry

Channing-Murray Foundation/Red Herring Vegetarian Restaurant

Champaign County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA)

Children’s Advocacy Center of Champaign County

Urbana High School SPLASH Program

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

Union of Concerned Scientists

In Recognition of the Centennial of Our Building

One hundred years ago, on November 30^th of 1913, the cornerstone was laid for the stone church building that, at that time, was just the Universalist Church. The Universalists first built on this corner in 1871; a brick building that was torn down to make way for a slightly larger footprint and a more appealing façade with the stone. The 1871 brick foundation was used again for the new structure. It took almost a year to complete the new building, which was dedicated in September of 1914. The cornerstone can be seen on the northeast wall of the Children's Chapel.

Watch for more ‘moments in history’ as we prepare to celebrate the hundredth birthday of the stone church.

— Jerry Carden, Property Chair 

New Church Directories Now Available

The 2013-2014 Church Directory, which contains contact information for friends and members of the church, is now available. You may pick up your household’s copy this Sunday, November 10^th after both services from the literature table in Fellowship Hall.

Going to be out of town? Contact office administrator Brittni Ballard at admin@uucuc.org and ask for your copy to be mailed. Prefer your directory in an electronic format? Contact Brittni to request a PDF copy via e-mail.

If you discover an error, please send the correction to Brittni so it may be reflected in the next printout and PDF.

A Night of Chocolate, Film, and Discussion

The Religious Education and Social Action Committees held A Night of Chocolate, Film, and Discussion on Thursday, November 14^th at 6:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. They showed the documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate,” which reveals shocking evidence of child and forced labor in the cocoa industry, and they took some simple actions to help end this exploitation. Children in attendance watched “Willie Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” 

Did You Join Us for Stewardship Workshop?

A special worship service was held on November 17^th  featuring UUA consultant Thom Thomas, who spoke on “Renaissance.” Following the second service, at 12:30 p.m., Thom led a stewardship workshop. He wrote, “The workshop is going to be an afternoon focusing on Evangelism for UU's. We will explore how to ‘sell’ our mission, and how to put a foundation under our ‘City in the Clouds.’ In other words, we will learn how to talk to UU's about monetizing our dreams.”

Childcare and light lunches were provided.

Storytelling Benefit for Eastern Illinois Foodbank

The Social Action Committee, in partnership with the Champaign-Urbana Storytelling Guild, hosted a benefit for the Eastern Illinois Food Bank at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 16^th.  "Feeding Body and Soul", a storytelling celebration, was held in Fellowship Hall.

The evening was a feast of stories that entertained and engaged the mind and heart with a sampling of tasty treats for the body as well. Our own Sue Searing was one of the featured storytellers. 

The suggested donation was $10, with all proceeds going to the Eastern Illinois Food Bank.

Partner Church Sunday is Almost Here

Do you want to learn more about “Water in India,” sing along to a great spiritual with the CrUUners, and support our partner churches at the same time?  Then join us for our Partner Church Celebration during both services on Sunday, December 8^th!

Marriage Equality Celebration

Marriage equality legislation has finally passed in Illinois! The UU Church of Urbana-Champaign celebrated this civil rights victory between services on Sunday, November 10^th at the Second Sunday Potluck. Attendants were invited to bring a rainbow-colored or themed dish in honor of the new legislation.