Letter from the Board 2/1/2025
Dear 2U Friends,
This first month of 2025 has been a busy and challenging month for me, both personally and professionally. I imagine it has been for many in our community. As I navigate challenging times, I find that holding my community, my friends, and my family close and gathering together with them to share concerns, learn from each other, and share moments of joy together is one of the strongest tools I have. It has been wonderful to see so many people in our church this past month! Whether you are new to our community, have been coming here for a short time, or coming here for a long time, know that you being in church or joining us online makes me smile every single week.
Another moment that made me smile from January was seeing the success of the Warming Hearts dinner that the youth participating in our Coming of Age program hosted on January 25th! It was incredible to see our youth organizing to raise funds for the Greater Chicago Food Depository and their trip to Boston in June that is the final experience in their Coming of Age journey, AND incredible to see the community and fellowship built among everyone who came, participated, and had a great time supporting our youth. Huge thanks to all of the youth, their advisors Clare Gervasi, Sue Dunmore, Ryland Rich, and Greg Potts, and of course, to our excellent Director of Faith Development, Brittany Morse for all of their work!
This was a special event for me because I’m the parent of one of Coming of Age participants - my daughter is currently going through the program. Coming of Age is an educational curriculum offered in Unitarian Universalist congregations to support youth in developing their spiritual, religious, and ethical identities. In the best UU tradition, it asks youth to engage with different questions, wisdom from a variety of religious traditions and secular sources, and experiences to form the basis for this exploration and development.
Our world is full of challenges and pressures that constantly push us away from our best intentions. Being part of a UU Youth Group was an essential part of forming my moral compass and convictions growing up - learning, laughing, and growing with other UU teens are key memories that I’ve returned to throughout my life. My hope for my daughter and for all of our youth is that this exploration will help them form a firm grounding in their ethical and spiritual principles, that will allow them to withstand those challenges and pressures and work towards creating the world they want to see. I hope the community we find at church can help all of us draw strength and inspiration to keep working to create the world we want to see as well.
As you read through this month’s Anvil, I hope you’ll also be lifted up by the community updates you read there and that you’ll take advantage of the opportunities to connect. Let’s keep moving forward together, holding Love at the center.
