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Thanks for taking a moment to check out these events in our shared life & the wider world.

If you’d like something included in an upcoming newsletter, please let the office know! Reach out to office@waucc.org or 773-935-0642 (text or call).

Join us on November 16th for a Wellington Way that will get to the ❤️ of our “why” as a community – which will help us plan for the year ahead! Want to study up ahead of time?
Check out Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk: Start with Why.

A new weekly offering to keep our hearts, minds, and actions aligned with the people of Palestine.

OCHA has documented 71 settler attacks in the West Bank happening between October 7-13. Half of these attacks occurred in the context of the olive harvest season, which commences in October each year. Israeli settlers injured at least 43 Palestinians, while the army injured at least 99 and killed 1 Palestinian. In addition, over 1,430 Palestinian-owned trees and saplings (mostly olive) and 40 vehicles were vandalized. 

Divine Creator, in your hand is “the life of every living thing and the breath of every human being” (Job 12:10). We mourn the sins of settler colonialism that defile the beauty and goodness of your creation. During this olive harvest, marked by pain and violence, we pray for comfort and strength for Palestinian farmers and their families. We pray for an end to occupation and for justice and accountability for all who commit acts of violence.

Lord in your mercy…hear our prayer.
From the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center

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Wellington Church Members:

Thanks to all 26 members (54% of total membership) who completed the pastoral evaluation. This was the first evaluation since the pastor was hired.  In the future, we anticipate that the pastor and council will develop goals that can be clearly identified and measured.

The congregation’s reflections showed a healthy appreciation for the pastor’s gifts and commitment particularly with community engagement and mission, pastoral care, balanced leadership and administration, and worship and preaching.

There were some responses for the pastor to continue balancing outreach, spiritual formation and self-care to avoid burnout.

Overall, the evaluation was quite positive.  

Faithfully, 

WUCC Personnel Committee

Kryss Chupp, Roland Dehne, Jordan Dobrowski, Karen Graham, Colleen Harper.

Ann-Louise’s colleague, Kristin Jackson, wrote this piece about what it was like for her to attend the Broadview protest with Ann-Louise and Joey Sylvester on October 3rd. Feel free to share it with folks you know who might be seeing different coverage of what’s happening in Chicago during this ICE invasion!

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AT&T: STOP PROFITING FROM OUR NEIGHBORS’ PAIN
As a follow-up to the October 18th No Kings rallies, faith communities and other values-aligned organizations are invited to participate in public actions in front of every AT&T store in Illinois on Sunday afternoon, November 16 to get AT&T to end its contract with ICE. AT&T currently has a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract to provide communications services for ICE’s abductions and deportations, with a bigger contract on the way. Each organization and faith community is challenged to organize or join an action at one or more local AT&T stores. Please indicate your interest by filling out this form which has more info.

Take Action for Public Health & Safety in Chicago’s Budget

On October 12, Debbie Southorn joined us for a report-back from the Outreach committee.  She shared about the Public Health & Safety campaign in Chicago – who’s organizing to help make sure that we protect vital investments in the public health department, youth jobs, and public mental healthcare from cuts in this year’s budget.  We can do that by reallocating funds from police department vacancies – and through the tiny corporate head tax that Mayor Johnson is proposing we re-instate. 

Take action! Contact your alders – tell them you support investments in public health & safety in this year’s budget using this link:

https://publichealthsafetychicago.org/take-action

Want to get more involved with the campaign?  There are phone-banking opportunities nearly every week!  Reach out to Debbie directly to get involved (dsouthor@gmail.com).  Let’s oppose the Trump agenda in the streets AND in our budget by protecting investments in our communities. 

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Dave Safeblade can’t wait to welcome you into this circle of community! Grab your favorite beverage, and click on THIS LINK to join our bi-weekly gathering on Zoom. Bring your prayers, a good joke, or a reminiscence to share. All are welcome! 

Upcoming Outreach Report from the Field!

Join us on Sunday November 9th after worship to hear from Rubi Mendez, an incredible youth organizer who travelled to the Philippines last year with support from Wellington UCC.  Rubi was a youth intern during our 2022 WILD program, leading a group of 20 high school students in a program to learn about community organizing in Chicago.  When she got to college, she joined Dissenters – a national youth organization opposing the war industry.  With Dissenters, Rubi travelled to the Philippines last summer to learn from Filipino workers, students and families that have been directly impacted by US militarism. 

During this report-back, she’ll share about her life-changing trip to the Philippines, and about ongoing work she’s doing to support the Filipino community here in Chicago – including ways we can get involved!  We hope you’ll join us!  

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Are you mad, anxious or afraid about the Trump administration’s attack on our communities? Do you want to fight back but don’t know how? Or are you already fighting to keep your neighbors safe, and want to take your fight-back to the next level?

Then join ONE Northside for their community Town Hall Sunday, November 16th from 1:30-3:30pm! We’ll be making sense of the moment, building a vision for the world we want to win, and sharing strategies to fight back against the racist, authoritarian, pro-billionaire agenda now and for years to come. Childcare, English-Spanish translation and security (including Migra Watch) will be provided, as well as light refreshments. 

You can register HERE! Location will be announced shortly.

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Our community partners at American Indian Health Service of Chicago are celebrating their 51st anniversary in style!

Interested in attending? Let Outreach Committee Chair Barb Lagoni (barb@lagonihealth.com) know – we may have some complementary tickets available! 

The evening will feature:

·  A vibrant cultural Welcome Reception with hors d’oeuvres, a Native food station, and entertainment

·  Inspiring stories of impact from AIHSC community members

·  A powerful showcase of Native American heritage through music, drums, and dance

·  Opportunities to invest in AIHSC’s expansion through sponsorships, donations, community tables, and our “Spirit of 51” Campaign in celebration of our 51 years of service.

Get more information HERE.

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Sometimes you just need a document!

Click below if you’re looking for:

• This Sunday’s BULLETIN
• The latest version of the CHURCH DIRECTORY
• The approved CHURCH COUNCIL MINUTES (Sept mtg)
• Buying something for church? Remember that it’s tax-exempt! CLICK HERE for a copy of the form.
• Need to be reimbursed for a church expense? Download a Wellington REIMBURSEMENT FORM and submit it to the Church Office!

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