CROP Walk Rally March 7, 7:30 p.m. at UU Church in Urbana

Our church will host a rally for all interested religious groups on March 7 in Fellowship Hall at 7:30 pm. This is basically an informational meeting. If your organization wishes to participate in this important event, you must be present/represented at this informational meeting. If you need more information, please contact the church at 384-8862. The Hunger Initiative Team is happy to announce that the UU Church is the host for this year’s CROP Walk. We were invited to host largely because of the tremendous effort so many of you made last year which enabled us to turn in the third highest donation of all the religious groups in the community that took part in CROP Walk 2012. CROP Hunger Walks are sponsored by Church World Service all over the country. Each walk is organized locally, and involves an interfaith effort throughout the community. Funds that are raised are used to fight hunger both locally and internationally. Founded in 1947, CROP was an acronym for Christian Rural Overseas Program. Its mission was to allow Midwest farms to share their grain with hungry folks in post WW II Europe and Asia. Now the emphasis has shifted somewhat, but the acronym has stuck. Some of the funding still goes overseas to help developing countries obtain seeds, fresh water, and technical expertise. The rest of the funding goes to local agencies that will be designated at the beginning of the campaign. Everyone in the congregation who is interested in participating in the walk will receive a packet of information and forms. Each one will talk to friends and family about the event, and try to collect donations for the cause. The CROP walk will take place on the afternoon of April 14 from 1:30 to around 5pm. Walkers should gather in the sanctuary, then everyone will set off on a 6-mile walk, looping through town and back to the church. We will provide drinks and snacks for the walkers in Fellowship Hall during the afternoon. Watch for more details soon!

Hunger Initiative opportunities at the Wesley Evening Food Pantry!

Have you wanted to do something with this group? Lots of UUs volunteer at the Wesley Evening Food Pantry as part of our Hunger Initiative. Karen Ruhleder has volunteered for over a year and is impressed with the sense of teamwork at Wesley. She helps distribute the bread and sweets and helps customers pack their bags to make sure they fit in as much as possible within the household limit. She remembers one interesting moment: watching a mother talk her young child into picking cinnamon raisin bagels over chocolate cookies! Sandy Hannum has worked early afternoon shifts a few times. She was part of a crew that repacked a truck load of fresh vegetables (e.g., onions, tomatoes) into smaller bags. A meaningful part of this experience was getting to know an undergraduate nutrition student who was part of her work group. She helped with a special event at King School where food bags were packed for immigrant families. Cindy Loui has volunteered for over a year and others in her family join her when they can. She finds it very meaningful to be helping in such a hands-on way, to be interacting directly with customers and humbling to see the real faces and personalities of hunger and poverty in our area. Michael Loui has volunteered multiple times, directing traffic in the parking lot in the heat and the cold, replenishing the food lines, and helping clients shop. One gracious client told him the food was "a blessing." Karen Folk has volunteered since March and finds the volunteer work very fulfilling. With her Spanish skills, she has helped Latino clients select groceries, explaining the choices, etc. Like Karen R., she has mastered the skill of packing the bags in the best way to maximize the quantity of food the customers get. She really appreciates the enthusiasm and caring the other volunteers show to the clients and helping others with fewer resources reminds her of how privileged and fortunate her situation is. Jennifer Greene has volunteered for several shifts over the past year and a half. The crew she worked with unboxes the food that is being distributed. She fully enjoys interacting with the customers as they come through the food line, offering information about what food is available that evening. Upon occasion, she helps guide a Spanish-speaking customer through the line. Other UUs who volunteer at Wesley: Lynn and Carolyn Wiley, Sandy Finnerty, Umeeta Sadarangani, Marilyn Ryan, and Pat Nolan. The pantry is open on the third Thursday of every month. The next pantry date is Feb. 21. There are multiple ways you can help. Join us!

February Shared Offering Recipient: Saving Our Lives, Hear Our Truths

This month's Shared Offering recipient is Saving Our Lives, Hear Our Truths (SOLHOT), a "a space to celebrate Black girlhood in all of its complexity with Black girls and those who love and support us. In SOLHOT we dance, sing, discuss important issues, create art, and organize together to improve the communities of which we are a part. We do what needs to be done. The process of doing SOLHOT involves being together and deciding what our work will be based on the gifts, talents, and ideas of those who show up. More than anything we value Black girls’ lives and create spaces to affirm Black girl genius." Girls who participate in SOLHOT meet after school to gather together to share stories, insights, art, and expression--all with the aim of celebrating black girlhood." (SOLHOT is...) an arts-infused space that is dedicated to documenting the lived experiences of Black female students (from middle school to graduate students) for the purpose of producing knowledge that is relevant, action-oriented, and collaborative. In SOLHOT, Black women and girls creatively engage with and work against the obstacles in their daily lives. Working against and through a dominant culture that claims their race, gender, class, age, and sexuality cause their "problem behavior," these Black women and girls work together to disrupt contemporary discourses of Black girlhood as inherently problematic.

The History of the Unitarian Congregation of Székelykál

In honor of the 250th anniversary of the Unitarian Congregation of Székelykál, Romania, The current minister of that congregation, Attila Molnar, wrote this very interesting history of their congregation. The written document was then translated by one of our own UU Congregation, Steve Herzog. Please enjoy! Click Here to read this very interesting account...

It's Stewardship Season!

Thank You for a Successful Guest at Your Table Program!

Congratulations! This year our congregation was able to raise $1,502.78 through our Guest at Your Table program. Five gifts of $100 or more are eligible to be matched dollar for dollar, thanks to the generosity of the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock in Manhasset, N. Y. Guest at Your Table gifts supports Unitarian Universalist’s Service Committee’s work where the need is the greatest for projects to advance human rights and social justice around the world. Thank you to everyone who donated.

January Shared Offering Recipient: Emergency Shelter for Families with Children (ESF)

The Shared Offering Recipient for this month is the new Emergency Shelter for Families with Children (ESF), slated to open next month. Currently, if a family in C-U becomes homeless and seeks emergency shelter, the mom has to stay at the women’s shelter, the dad at the men’s shelter, the kids go to yet another place. The ESF aims to change this situation by providing basic emergency housing and crucial case management services so that homeless families may remain together. During the family’s short-term stay, the parent(s) work with a professional to secure a more stable housing situation. Donations to the new ESF shelter will help with housing costs and staff salaries. Each school year in Champaign County, there are more than 300 kids whose families become homeless; living in their cars, couch surfing from the home of one friend to another. The ESF will give these families a place to stay while they work on finding safe, stable, affordable housing. All contributions to the church specifically designated as being for this organization, and half of the plate collections throughout the month of January will be donated to this worthy organization. For more information, contact the church at (217) 384-8862 or admin@uucuc.org.