Life with addiction, mental illness and stigma

DUUC Editor's Note: Our fellow congregant,Ruth Elliott, has graciously shared with us her family's journey of addiction, mental illness and facing the stigma that goes with each. Ruth previously shared this story with our congregation and we appreciate her sharing it again here.

It started about 9 years ago with a handwriting tutor.  In grade three Graham’s handwriting was terrible. I found him a handwriting tutor and drove him there three times a week until we realized it wasn’t having any effect on his handwriting. Over the next year it became clear it was something more than sloppy penmanship, it was like his brain was going way too fast for his hand to keep up. I found him a psychologist, had him tested and to absolutely no one’s surprise he was diagnosed with ADHD, and so started a long and inglorious period where I became an expert on 504 education plans, communicating with teachers, school social workers, and psychologists. I learned everything I could about the –constantly changing - prescribed medications and while I was at it I tweaked his already pretty healthy diet in an effort to improve his concentration and focus. At some point he told me he was seeing colors that weren't there, I had his eyes checked – all normal, and chocked it up to an intelligent and creative kid’s imagination.

Spotlight on UU: Susan Birk

Spotlight on DuPage Unitarian Univeralist Congregant:  Susan Birk
(Each month DUUC spotlights a member of our congregation and asks them for a peek into their relationship with DUUC)

How did you find DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church?
We used to go to Diversity Dinners, which is run by DUUC member Stephanie Downs Hughes. One night, we were supposed to bring an image that really meant something to us. Stephanie brought a framed image of the 7 Principles. When she read the 7 Principals, it was the first time I had ever felt a connection to a religion of any kind. I didn't know anything about Unitarian Universalism, but the 7 Principles embodied the ideas I already believed in. My husband, David, was reading about the Jefferson Bible and Thomas Jefferson’s connection to Unitarianism. That led him to the DUUC website. We decided to visit DUUC. We've been members for about four years.

What keeps you coming back?
We love many of the services by Emmy Lou Belcher because they inspire us to work on being better people. We like that they’re both spiritual and intellectual.
We've met so many wonderful people here. This is an activist church that is really involved in supporting the community. The green thrust is
especially important to me.

What has been your most memorable moment here?
The new member recognition service when we became members. That was when I realized I
had really made a commitment to UU-ism. I felt like I had found my spiritual home.

Where is your favorite spot to sit in the new sanctuary?
I somehow end up in the front on the right a lot.

What have you participated in here at DUUC?
I’m on the Public Ministry, Marketing and Green Sanctuary committees. There are so many ways to get involved!

Get to know Susan and our other fellow congregants at our next service or activity!  You can find what we are doing, both at sanctuary and in our community by visiting our website!

Heart Talk: Youth Religious Education

Photo Credit: "Rainbow paper heart bunting" by the green gables Flickr 

©Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License

We are midway through our Spring session of Youth Religious Education (Y.R.E) 
here at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church. It is great to see our young congregants meeting together, forming friendships, and discussing great things together. 

This session, in our 1st - 6th grade classes we are using a new (to us!) curriculum called Heart Talk for Kids©. 

Heart Talk for Kids© is based on Compassionate  (Nonviolent) Communication. Curriculum designers Debbie Berkana and Veronica  Lassen, were inspired to create Heart Talk because of their passion for creating  more connection and peace on the planet. 

The main intention is to create a space where people truly see each other. This space of respectful connection is a place that honors the ‘inherent worth and dignity of every person.’ It is a space that allows us to live our UU values. Each lesson in the curriculum includes specific references to one or more UU Principles.

Sample of Lesson Topics:- Heart Talk Introduction - Observation - Feelings - Human Universal Needs- Requests - Self-Empathy - Exploring Anger - 6th grade classes, we are using a new (to us!) curriculum - Gratitude and Celebration - Observation in Nature - Empathy and Conflict Resolution Empathy for Others - Anger, Empathy and Conflict Resolution - Peace and Contribution 

If you have a child in the Y.R.E program we encourage you to spend some time discussing their classroom theme for the day and their thoughts on the topic. OurY.R.E children have amazing insight and the lesson themes encourage openness and discussion.

For more information on Heart Talk for Kids© or the research that led to its creation please visit:www.heartvistas.com Debbie and Veronica live in the Pacific Northwest and arecommitted to growing luscious tomatoes, happy children and peace. 

www.cnvc.org : international Nonviolent Communication (NVC) website with information on NVC activities worldwide. You can also find a list of feelings and 
universal needs there.

www.nonviolentcommunication.com : Puddledancer Press, publisher of NVC-related materials. It includes many articles on parenting, NVC in schools, mediation, restorative justice, interviews with Marshall Rosenberg, etc.

WomanSpirit Winter Conference 2014 in Pictures

On February 7-9, DUUC hosted the Women & Religion Committee’s Winter WomanSpirit 2014 conference.  The conference,  Wisdom for the Journey: A Weekend with Sue Monk Kidd,  had 150 attendees. Below are just some of the photographs, taken by our very own Ruth Elliott, of the many powerful moments at the conference.  

Becky Trombley-Freytag speaking during the Opening Ceremony.

The group Cymbal performed.  From Dekalb,   the group members are (not in order of picture) Rev. Linda Slabon, Dr. Toni Tollerud, Dr. Lynn McCanne, Terri Mann-Lamb, Linda Matuszewski, and Elisa Woodruff.

The attendees sang along with the group Cymbal on Friday night.  Sue Monk Kidd (fourth woman from right, in red scarf) attended the opening ceremony as well.

Sue Monk Kidd during the keynote speech on Saturday. 

 

The 150 attendees of Winter WomanSpirit Retreat were excited to see Sue Monk Kidd and hear about her books, including her new one “The Invention Of Wings.”

Sue Monk Kidd autographing books.

Kelley Trombly-Freytag lit the chalice before the closing ceremony Saturday.

 

Rev. Denise Tracy, chair of the Women & Religion Committee during the closing ceremony.

All photography by Ruth Elliott Photography.

Liberal Theology 101

Does the word theology make you shudder? If so, join our Community Minister Myriam leanings. Theology has a range of meanings. Did you know that nearly every theologian (and there have been many!) working through the ages has had a different definition of this word, some of which you may find interesting and compelling. This course will explore a Renaud on Sunday February 16^th for Liberal Theology 101.  This course aims to put an end to your case of the shudders by helping you discover a new meaning(s) that fits your spiritual and religious way to claim, or reclaim, this important word. Do you also wonder what makes a theology, “liberal?” Come find out in this two-hour class!

Liberal Theology 101              Feb. 16, 2014                 1:30-3:30 PM

Save the dates for another fantastic course coming up in March!

Have you found yourself backing off from taking risks? Got burned in life or in social-justice-work and you’re not taking any chances you’ll get burned again? For ethicist, Dr. Sharon Welch, backing-off is the result of what she calls an “ethic of control.” When we subscribe to such an ethic, we expect (demand!) results. Welch recommends that we adopt an “ethic of risk” instead.  In this course we will discuss readings from Welch’s book (provided in advance as .pdf files). We will apply her ethic of risk to real-life quandaries. This course is two two-hour sessions. 

Sharon Welch’s Ethic of Risk  March 2 & 9, 2014         1:30-3:30 PM

Courses are open to DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church (DUUC) members, friends and the general public.

Rev. Renaud will also be at DUUC on February 23^rd to present her second service of the year at both the 9:30am and 11:15am services.  Rev. Renaud is currently a PhD student in Theology at the Chicago Divinity School and serves our DUUC community through academic scholarship.

For more information about our Ministerial team including Rev. Myriam Renaud, please visit:

http://www.dupageuuchurch.com/index.php/who-we-are/staff

Winter WomanSpirit Conference

DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church is excited for the upcoming Winter WomanSpirit conference being held this weekend, February 7-9!

Winter WomanSpirit is a weekend-long gathering and interactive celebration of creativity, connection and inner strength for all women organized by the Women and Religion Committee of the UUA and is being held here, at DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church this year!

The conference includes workshops, a concert, a talent show/coffeehouse, a vendor space for women artisans, a raffle (with proceeds benefiting the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago Patterson and McDaniel Family Center, the rape crisis center for DuPage County), and times for reflection and celebration.

Sue Monk Kidd

The featured speaker will be Sue Monk Kidd, author of the bestselling novel The Secret Life of Bees, The Mermaid Chair and the upcoming novel, The Invention of Wings.  Her voice at Winter WomanSpirit will be a welcome presence and will help set a contemplative tone for the conference. 

Workshop topics and presenters include:

• Secrets of Stress Reduction with Ragani, a Ph.D. clinical psychologist with expertise in the Himalayan traditions of yoga, meditation and eastern music.
• Healing Power of Vibrational Sound with Peggy Patty and Phyllis Lau. Patty is a Reiki master/teacher, drum circle facilitator, crystal bowl facilitator and certified tuning fork practitioner. Participants will experience the vibratory effects of drums, crystal bowl, rattles, tuning forks and voice, and are welcome to bring drums and percussion.
• A Wise Woman Learns to Write a Blessing with Edna C. Groves, M.S., founder of Words that Endure,® national workshop presenter and a former psychotherapist. Participants will begin to write a blessing for a descendant and leave with a framework for creating more.
• Tai Chi: A Moving Meditation with Rev. Denise Tracy, who has been a teacher of Tai Chi for 30 years. Participants will learn a series of simple movements that can be used as a meditation that supports balance, perspective and a sense of spiritual well-being.
• Collage as a Spiritual Practice with Rev. Emmy Lou Belcher, minister of DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church and an artist. Creating collages from magazine pages and decorative papers, participants will explore a medium that can give expression to spiritual questions and feelings without having to draw or paint.

For more information or to register for the conference please visit:

http://www.womenandreligion.org or  www.regonline.com/w2014

Spotlight on UU: Lori Melhart

Spotlight on UU

Five Questions with DuPage Unitarian Universalist Congregant Lori
Melhart

How did you find our church?

When I was in Junior High, my parents were separated, and my Dad brought us to this church.  Then in 2007 when we moved to Lisle I decided I was coming back home to my church.  I became a member in 2009. (Dupage UU Church note: Lori celebrated her five year anniversary this month and was congratulated during service on Sunday January 12th. Congrats Lori!)

What makes you keep coming back?

Sense of belonging and inclusion is really important to me.  I feel like I belong here and that I’m among my own people when I walk in the door.  I appreciate the fact that you don’t have to be a member to be invited and involved in pretty much everything here. Of course, it's the core belief that we all share about including everyone.  Being open minded and not judging others are things that I need to hear every week.

What has been your most memorable moment here?

The candle light service on Christmas Eve.  I can’t always make it but I try to every year.  It somehow categorizes the holiday in a way that I can accept it.  Outside of this place, Christmas is either too commercial or too hypocritical, which is always something that I can’t quite accept about it.  But during that candle light service here I get to embrace it and feel it the way I think it should be felt.

 Where is your favorite spot to sit in the new sanctuary?

It used  to be far over to the back right hand side with you, but when you’re not there I felt like I was isolating myself so I found my friend Rachel in the middle area, so now I’m sitting in the middle.  But I still like sitting over in the back able to look out the window to see the trees and the pond.

How do you help at the church?

I was the Spirit Play teacher a few years ago and I liked that. I have subbed a few times.  I do also run a support group with Karen Seymour-Ells for parents of special needs kids that meet once a month. I certainly have plans to do so in the future.