Reflections delivered on August 12, 2018 by Rev. Scott Aaseng and Rev. Karen Mooney, Elise Miedlar and Frankie Tilbrook. The world is in need of our many hands doing the work of justice. But what is it that we are building as we work? Leaders of three UU justice organizations in Illinois will share their perspectives: Rev. Karen Mooney, Director of the UU Prison Ministry of IL (UUPMI), Rev. Scott Aaseng, Executive Director of the UU Advocacy Network of IL (UUANI), and Elise Miedlar, Coordinator and Frankie Tilbrook, Leader of Youth and Young Adult (YaYA) Justice.
UUPMI equips UUs in Illinois to transform institutions and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex. For more information, contact Rev. Karen Mooney at uupmi.info@gmail.com or uupmi.org.
UUANI builds community and power among UU congregations in Illinois to put our UU values into effective action for justice, beloved community and a healthy planet. For more information, contact Rev. Scott Aaseng at uuani@uuani.org.
YaYA Justice is an up and coming UU social justice group focused on connecting young people ranging in age from their teens well into their twenties. We work to give young people opportunities to get involved in all kinds of activism out of the necessity for youth and young adult focused action when change is plentiful and generational divides are at their largest. For more information, contact Elise Miedlar and Frankie Tilbrook at yayajustice@uuani.org.
The theme for August is what it means to be a people of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Sermon delivered by Rev. Dr. Clare Butterfield on August 5, 2018. We look for voyages - great journeys that give meaning to our lives. But meaning is made in relationship. Sometimes with snakes.
Rev. Dr. Clare Butterfield is the Program Director for the Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Foundation (ISEIF), helping to originate and manage the grants function since 2013. She brings to ISEIF her background in grassroots environmental education around Illinois and wide network of relationships in the field, which were established in her prior position for 14 years as founder and Executive Director of Faith in Place. Prior to that she worked as a transactional attorney, specializing in corporate and tax law. She also manages a small consulting practice, 2 Point 0 Studio, on the side, on the website for which she occasionally blogs. Her graduate education includes a J.D. from the University of Illinois, a Doctor of Ministry from Chicago Theological Seminary and a Masters of Divinity from Meadville Lombard Theological School. She is also ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister. Clare can be contacted at c.butterfield@iseif.org or 312-239-6752.
The theme for August is what it means to be a people of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Sermon delivered by Rev. Darrick Jackson on July 29, 2018. How do we survive in this changing world? What gives us the strength to keep going, to fight for justice, to be better human beings?
Rev. Darrick Jackson is the Director of Education of the UU Ministers Association. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Meadville Lombard Theological School and one of the authors in the book “Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity and Power in Ministry.”
The theme for July is what it means to be a people of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on July 22, 2018. Rev. Gage shares that if you’re paying attention at all to the news these days, it’s hard not to feel disoriented. To me, anyway, it feels like so much is in question. So much is up in the air. Sometimes I get overwhelmed. And sometimes I try and remind myself of that Sun Tzu saying about how in the midst of chaos, there is opportunity.
The theme for July is what it means to be a people of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Reflections offered by congregants Emma Farrell and Alice Ocrey and Rev. Kellie Kelly on July 15, 2018. As part of this Unity Temple Mental Health Awareness Team (MyHAT) service, Emma, Alice and Kellie share how mental illness has touched their lives in the hopes that sharing their stories will help reduce the stigma, increase our understanding and encourage support.
The theme for July is what it means to be a people of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Sermon delivered by Unity Temple congregant and lay leader Chuck Ruth on July 1, 2018. Becoming more conscious is the spiritual imperative of our time. Chuck shares what this means for us and the wider world.
The theme for July is what it means to be a people of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Sermon delivered by Intern Minister Kellie Kelly on November 27, 2016. Kellie asks us to reflect on the parts we play in our own stories and to consider rewriting our stories with courage and hope.
The theme for November is what it means to be a community of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Sermon delivered by Minister of Faith Development Rev. Emily Gage on November 20, 2016. It is preceded by a reflection on the Unitarian Universalist principles by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor. "How lucky we are to be alive right now," says Lin-Manuel Miranda, creator of the smash musical, "Hamilton." Lucky because life is a gift, and we keep on seeing these wonderful things around us even when we are sad or scared or angry. We only need look around.
The theme for November is what it means to be a community of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Sermon delivered by Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on November 13, 2016. With the presidential election just behind us, Rev. Taylor provides a reflection on hope, love, and resilience. For this is a time to grieve and connect with others to ward off bitterness and cynicism.
The theme for November is what it means to be a community of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.
Sermon delivered by Rev. Scott Aaseng and Senior Minister Rev. Alan Taylor on November 6, 2016. Our 3rd UU Principle calls us to both accept each other and encourage each other to grow spiritually. How do we call each other -- including those who oppose our values -- to be our best selves after this election?
Rev. Aaseng was a musician, a community activist, and a Lutheran pastor (among other things) prior to discovering his call to Unitarian Universalist ministry.
Scott graduated from the St. Olaf Paracollege with a degree in Peace Studies, and spent a year studying and traveling in South Africa during the apartheid years. He volunteered as a teacher in rural Tanzania, before returning to the U.S. and earning his M.Div. at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He interned at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, and served a small Lutheran congregation on the southwest side of Chicago for five years in the early 1990’s.
He left ordained ministry to become primary caregiver for his two daughters, while becoming project director and then grant-writer for the Southwest Youth Collaborative, a community-based youth organization he helped found. He also served as musician for a number of church gospel choirs, and went on to serve as Village Musician at Holden Village, a Lutheran retreat center in the mountains of Washington state. Upon returning to Chicago in 2005, he became a project assistant with American Friends Service Committee, coordinating a nationally touring display of combat boots and civilian shoes showing the human cost of war. He also began attending Third Unitarian Church in Chicago with his family.
Becoming a musician at Third Unitarian in 2009 re-awakened his call to ministry, now more clearly grounded in Unitarian Universalism. He took classes at both Starr King and Meadville Lombard seminaries, completed his internship at Unity Temple, and went on to serve as Unity Temple’s first Assistant Minister for Social Justice. He has since served as part-time Consulting Minister at the Unitarian Church of Quincy, Illinois and at First Unitarian Church of Hobart, Indiana. He now serves as Director of the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois.
Scott has lived on the west side of Chicago for 20 years with his spouse, Gale Holmlund, and their two teenage daughters, Sunniva and Brita. He enjoys bicycling, playing piano, being outdoors, and traveling with his family.
The theme for November is what it means to be a community of story. To read about our theme-based ministry, please visit http://www.unitytemple.org/faith-development/soul-connections on our website.