Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon Come to UU Congregation in McHenry

The Meisel Music Collective will present Jazz on a Sunday Afternoon on Sunday, May 19, at 5pm at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry (Tree of Life), 5603 Bull Valley Road. 

The Meisel Music Collective formed in 2011 when other jazz musicians were added to the already working trio of Ryan Meisel, James Galinski and Celia Faye. The group strives to tear down the walls of musical classification.  Each member is trained in jazz and the classical tradition, but are truly improvisers at heart. 

They all bring a special piece of the puzzle with their musical abilities, compositions and personalities.  The core of the group is comprised of Ryan Meisel’s arrangements and saxophone soloing.  Celia Faye tops off the group’s power with her gospel, blues and soulful compositions, colorful saxophone playing and singing. This band’s power resonates deep within listener’s souls.

A $10 Admission is requested.

For more information contact Tom Steffens at tom92109@gmail.com or call 815 404-7908.

Haystack’s Coffee House Open Mic Returns to McHenry UU Church

After a very successful opening event in January the Haystack’s Coffee House Open Mic and Jam Night returns for an evening of entertainment on Friday May 10 from 7 to 10 pm at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry (Tree of Life), 5603 Bull Valley Road.

The evening will feature local performers showing their skills as folk, R&R, jazz, classical musicians, comedians and poets. All are invited to attend, perform or just sit back and enjoy the entertainment.

“Open Mic” means anyone is welcome to take the stage and perform music, comedy or poetry. There will be a limitation placed on the amount of acts performing.  Performances should be kept to less than 10 minutes. Several times during the evening, there will be a “jam” for all who want to perform in a large group musical number.

An acoustic piano and a sound system will be provided.

Admission to the Haystack’s Coffee House Open Mic & Jam night is free. There will be a free will offering taken to cover expenses.

Those interested in performing should contact Tom Steffens at tom92109@gmail.com or call 815 404-7908.

Another Friday, Another Vigil for Marriage Equality This Friday in Crystal Lake

Members of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry (Tree of Life). Parents and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and Fortunate Families, a Catholic family group, will stage a silent roadside vigil for Marriage Equality on Friday, April 19 in Crystal Lake at the corner of Rt. 14 and Main Street from 5 to 6:30 pm.

The vigil is in support of  the Religious Freedom and Marriage Fairness Act which is now pending in the Illinois House after passing the Senate.

It is the second vigil the groups have scheduled.  One in McHenry on March 22 attracted more than 50 participants and an enthusiastic response from passing motorists.

“As long as the issue remains pending in Illinois, we will continue to witness for justice and stand on the side of love,” according to Patrick Murfin, Chair of the UU Congregation’s Social Justice Committee.  Similar vigils will be held in other McHenry County communities.

The vigil follows up on “lobbying in mass” visits to local legislators and an ongoing phone, e-mail, and letter writing campaign,

“The time has come,”  Murfin said noting that polling suggests a solid and growing majority of Illinois residents now support same sex marriage.

Anyone can join the vigil.  Volunteers are urged to bring their own signs and maintain a thoughtful and respectful attitude.

For more information contact Patrick Murfin, 815 814-5645 or e-mail pmurfin@sbcglobal.net .

National Poetry Month—Patrick Murfin "Calling You"

Every year during National Poetry Month I slip in something by me in hopes that the neighborhood will rub off on me.  It takes audacity, I know, but it is the rent the real poets pay for their modicum of attention here. 

This year’s poem was created in my role as poet laureate (self-designated) of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry (Tree of Life.)  Today the Congregation is installing the Rev. Sean Parker Dennison as the called minister.  A pretty big deal.

To commemorate the occasion, as I have done at similar auspicious moments in the Congregation’s life,  I committed poetry.  And mighty odd poetry if I do say so myself.  I venture to say no other minister has ever been on the receiving end of anything remotely like it, for which most of them will be eternally grateful.

It has already been pointed out that this might even be not entirely appropriate to the occasion on liturgical if not esthetic grounds.  It seems more related to the calling of a minister, rather than his installation.  Fair enough, but there is not the proper hoopla, ritual, and goat sacrificing for the call, which is pretty much an announcement made one Sunday morning. 

I’m maintaining that the installation completes the deal like a quarterback’s Hail Mary Pass in the last moments of a tie game pulled down by a sticky fingered receiver.  Time for celebration all around.

If that explanation doesn’t satisfy you, take it up with the U.U. Pope.  Good luck with that.

Anyway, I’ve got this nicely framed and wrapped in brown paper to give to Sean, who can hang it anywhere he chooses…or sell at his next garage sale for a good hard nickel.

Calling You

For the Installation of the Rev. Sean Parker Dennison

As Minister of

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry

Tree of Life

April 7, 2013

Understand us—

If we are Nelson Eddy trussed up in a crimson tunic,

impossibly stiff  Stetson on our head

and you are Jeanette McDonald,

blonde and demure in the prow of a slender canoe

on a mirror smooth lake in the moonlight.

            Or…

            If there is a boar’s bristle in our hat and we are in lederhosen,

                        knees chilled to the Alpine air

                        and you are in the vale below

                        among your goats and blossoms.

            Or…

            If we are black birds in a quartet

                        stranded on the far side of the fruit tree

                        and you are the trio of turtle doves

            cooing in the misting dawn.

We are calling you.

—Patrick Murfin

With All the High Church U.U.s Can Muster We Will Install a Minister

Rev. Dennison at the UUA General Assembly 2012

The Rev. Sean Parker Dennison will be formally installed as the settled minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in McHenry (Tree of Life), 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry at 4 p.m. Sunday, April 7.

Rev. Dennison was called by a unanimous vote at a congregational meeting a year ago after a two and a half year search.  He preached his first official sermon in August.  He will be the 40th minister to the 148 year old congregation that began as the First Congregational Church of Woodstock.

“Being installed as minister of this growing, passionate congregation is a joy and an honor” Dennison said, “I look forward to many years working together to fulfill our new motto: Rooted in Love – Reaching for Justice.”

Dennison previously served congregations in San Luis Obispo, California and Salt Lake City, Utah and has been active in denominational affairs.  He is also a popular blogger and a voice for the transgender community.

The installation service will include a robed processional of religious professionals.  Minister Emeritus to the congregation, the Rev. Dan Larsen will give the welcome, and the Rev. Rosemary Bray-McNatt, senior minister of the Fourth Universalist Society in New York City, will preach the installation sermon.  McNatt is a noted denominational leader and a prolific writer.

Others participating in the ceremony include the Rev. Kent McKusick, Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Ames, Iowa; the Rev. Hilary Landau Krivchenia, Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist, Palatine, Illinois; the Rev. Dr. Matthew Johnson-Doyle, Unitarian Universalist Church of Rockford; and Mr. Barb Greve, Interim Director of Religious Education, Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Atlanta, Georgia.

Kathe Lacy-Anderson, President of the Congregation, will lead the exchange of promises between Rev. Dennison and the Congregation that makes the installation official.

Music will be provided by the Adult Choir under the direction of Thomas Steffens.  A highlight will be an anthem composed by Steffens to a poem by Rev. Dennison.

A reception will follow the service.