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Archived Items Previously Posted on the CMA Website Through July 2004
The Center for Parish Development's CONVOCATION 2004: LIVING MISSIONALLY -
BECOMING A PEOPLE OF SALT AND LIGHT, will be held this year JULY 29-31,
2004 at Cenacle Retreat Center in Chicago, Illinois. Get information and register at:
www.missionalchurch.org
or call Convocation Coordinator Beatrice Vansen toll free at 866-752-1596.
POSTED THROUGH JULY 2004:
Action to Save the Dan Ryan
The Illinois Department of Transportation in Springfield has announced a plan for
reconstruction of the Dan Ryan Expressway. Community groups on Chicago's south side
have voiced opposition claiming that the plan will significantly reduce service
to the south side of Chicago and could seriously harm that community.
Under the currently proposed plan, IDOT will permanently remove all access ramps at
51st and 59th Streets and eliminate the southern ramps at 43rd and 76th Streets.
In addition, the reconstruction process will shut down substantial stretches of
the Dan Ryan for extended periods of time.
Those opposed to the IDOT plan include members of Trinity United Church of Christ in
Chicago, members of CMA's Church in Society Committee, representatives of the
Community Renewal Society, and the newly formed Committee to Save the Dan Ryan,
According to the committee, the Dan Ryan Expressway is a critical artery linking South
Side residents and businesses to the Loop and to other South Side, suburban, and Indiana
communities. It allows people to travel efficiently to jobs and it brings families and
customers to the community. Yet, the reconstruction plan seems to focus on addressing
the needs of suburban commuters without considering its impact on the Chicago community.
The committee believes that closing down the Dan Ryan for extended periods of time and
permanently eliminating ramps at 4 major intersecting arteries is likely to have substantial
negative impact on the Southside. It will seriously reduce the ability of Southside residents
to access downtown Chicago and other parts of our region. In addition, many Southside
businesses depend on the convenience provided by these ramps and will be placed in jeopardy
if the ramps are removed. Moreover, the shifts in traffic caused by the ramp elimination
are likely to have unforeseen, negative results, as more and more motorists try to utilize
roadways that are already congested. All of this can lead to reduced investment in
Chicago's South Side.
The Committee to Save the Dan Ryan is urging Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary
Tim Martin, Governor Rod Blagojevich, Mayor Richard Daley, and other elected officials to
develop a reconstruction plan that improves the Dan Ryan while maintaining full access for
Southside residents, businesses, and other organizations.
CMA's Church in Society Committee and the CMA Council believe it would be appropriate for
churches and individuals from all over CMA to support the committee's efforts to stop the
closing of the 12 ramps on the Ryan.
Please consider contacting Mr. Tim Martin, Secretary, Illinois Department of Transportation,
2300 S. Dirksen Parkway, Springfield, IL 62764 to voice your concerns.
Ryan Rehab Update
Jan 24, 2004
Ryan Rehab Options:
State will study alternative plans
By Hal Dardick
Tribune staff reporter
January 24, 2004
Illinois transportation officials Friday presented nearly a dozen alternative plans for ramps on the Dan Ryan Expressway to a newly created community task force.
The state engineers presented the options based on demands from local community groups that some entrance and exit ramps slated for permanent closing in the coming $430 million expressway reconstruction remain open.
The alternatives Friday reflect input from residents, businesses and community organizations in the affected South Side neighborhoods.
The Committee to Save the Dan Ryan last month filed a civil rights complaint with the U.S. Justice Department, saying the plan discriminates against mostly African-American South Side residents.
"We are encouraged by the fact that we are here--that all of us are here--and IDOT has put on the table more options," said Bernard Loyd of the Committee to Save the Dan Ryan.
Loyd was one of 31 ministers, community leaders, business representatives, educators and media representatives Gov. Rod Blagojevich appointed to the Dan Ryan Taskforce.
Under the current plan to rebuild the expressway between 31st Street and Interstate Highway 57, IDOT would close 12 ramps and build two new ones.
The modifications presented Friday envision ways to keep all the old ramps and add the two new ones. The alternatives would eliminate "forced merges," where four lanes of traffic squeeze into three, but not all the "weaves," where the closeness of on- and off-ramps force vehicles into hazardous maneuvers, IDOT engineer Mike Matkovic said.
IDOT Secretary Tim Martin said all task force recommendations will be considered by IDOT, which will make the final decision.
"We need to reach a consensus, and that means everybody isn't going to get what they want," Martin said.
Even as the IDOT officials presented the possible alternatives, however, they said four proposed changes did not appear to meet all safety standards.
Other alternatives described as "workable" by Matkovic involved acquiring land, which could delay the project by two years.
One proposed change would also require IDOT to rebuild two bridges.
Loyd said he was "very disappointed" more critics of the renovation plan weren't on the task force and argued IDOT should re-evaluate the entire plan.
IDOT spokeswoman Kim Morreale said the original plan was designed to make Dan Ryan traffic move faster and more safely.
Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune
Senate Bill 3007
Victory Celebration
Invitation from the Community Renewal Society: CRS recently won its campaign to
pass Senate Bill 3007, the first criminal sealing of felony records bill ever passed in
United States history. To celebrate and thank their supporters they are hosting a potluck
and cultural exchange. Come help them celebrate, learn more about Community Renewal,
and enjoy great entertainment and delicious home-cooked food.
Join us Saturday July 24, 2004, 4pm, at United Church of Hyde Park, 1448 E 53rd
Street, Chicago. For more information call 312-673-3844 or 312-673-3839.
Sensitivity Awareness Worship Service
You are cordially invited to attend a Sensitivity Awareness Worship Service entitled
Extending A Hand of Compassion on Sunday, July 25, 2004, at 2:30 pm in
the Sanctuary at Trinity United Church of Christ. The service is sponsored by the
Kujichagulia Ministry at Trinity.
Kujichagulia, the 2nd principle of the Nguzo Saba meaning "Self-Determination," is a
ministry of Trinity United Church of Christ that provides resources, networking and
hands-on assistance to persons who are physically, mentally, and/or emotionally challenged.
Trinity is located at 400 West 95th Street, Chicago 60628; Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright,
Jr., Senior Pastor; telephone 773-962-5650.
For more information, call Jackie Payton at 773-373-7042
(Posted 03/22/04 - Removed 7/21/04)
ASSOCIATE PASTOR: ST. PETERS CHURCH, Elmhurst, Illinois
St. Peters Church in Elmhurst, Illinois, is seeking an Associate Pastor (3/4 time to full time).
We are looking for a leader who has a strong faith and knows what she/he believes.
However, this person needs to be open to the variety of ideas and faith stances
that are a part of St. Peter's. The pastor who will work well here must have a
collegial style of relating to the membership and to a dynamic staff consisting
of two other ordained ministers, as well as a number of other professionals and
support personnel.
St. Peter's prides itself on effectively using the many talents of its lay people
in all aspects of our church life including Church Services and our various Boards
and Committees. St. Peter's Church Council consists of all committee chairs, as
well as members at large from the congregation. The Church Council provides strong
leadership guiding the activities of the Church Staff. Weekly staff meetings are
held including all St. Peter's staff members to insure that the needs of the church
identified by the Council, Pastor Staff and lay staff are being met. Ten members of
the staff are active members of the congregation.
St. Peter's is looking for a pastor who is open to spiritual growth and is able to
help others develop their spiritual life.
We need a leader who can conceptualize, implement and evaluate programs, but also can
relate to people on a one to one basis.
St. Peter's is a church that in the past twenty-five years or so has moved from a
more traditional German ethnic background to being a community church that reflects
Elmhurst. It also has become younger. The person who comes will need to minister to
those who would like to maintain a more traditional ministry and those who are more
open to change. This includes things like worship style, social issues and dealing
with the church's financial assets.
St. Peter's is a church set in a suburb of professional people who have high
expectations for themselves, the Church generally and the staff. A pastor needs to
have a comfort level with that kind of context and the saints/sinners who live in it.
Finally, we are a Church with unlimited potential for growth in all areas. We are
looking forward to calling an associate pastor who can help us develop our potential.
UCC National Youth Event
July 22-26, 2004
Read information from
University of Tennessee below
A UCC National Youth Event will take place July 22-26, 2004, at the University of Tennessee,
in Knoxville, TN. Up to date information is posted on a special UCC web site at:
www.ucc.org/youth. All UCC churches should have
received information several month ago from the national church about this event.
The Youth Ministry Network of the Chicago Metropolitan Association would like to
encourage all churches throughout the Illinois Conference to participate in this event.
Several youth groups are combining this trip with service experiences in,
around or on the way to Knoxville. Some are coordinating these experiences
to occur before the youth gathering and some afterwards. If you contact the
national staff listed on the above listed web page, they have contacts for
some work camp possibilities around the Knoxville vicinity.
We recognize that most of the youth groups within the Illinois Conference
are small, run by volunteers and that sometimes this makes it difficult to
plan trips such as this. Our Youth Ministry Network wants to help connect
folks who might be interested in participating but who might have only a couple
of youth who are interested in attending; or who might be interested in coordinating
travel arrangements and/or workcamps with another group; or who might have youth
who are interested but chaperones who are not able to take the time off from work;
or who might already be planning to attend and would be willing and able to bring
youth whose home church youth groups do not necessarily have the people
resources to provide chaperones for this event.
THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE
Department of Conferences
Dear NYE Group Coordinator:
Hello. My name is Elaina Davenport and I will be assisting your group during the
next few months as you prepare for NYE 2004. We at UT Conferences are excited about
hosting this event and are looking forward to your group's arrival on our campus.
Between now and then, however, there are many questions that might arise and several
deadlines to be met. Please read the below checklist carefully.
The current registration fee is $300 per person and this fee is valid
until April 30, 2004. The late registration fee is $325 from May 1 until June 1,
2004. The FINAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE is June 1, 2004.
When our office receives registrations, we check them carefully to be certain
that all steps outlined by the UCC have been followed. If any registration forms
are incomplete or missing, we will send you back a flyer indicating what needs
to be completed for each person. Please make your corrections as soon as possible
and resubmit the corrected or missing forms to us as soon as you can.
If someone in your group needs to cancel, the cancellation must be submitted
in writing (by mail, fax, or email). Cancellations received before June 1, 2004
will incur a $25 processing fee per person. After June 1, no refunds are available.
Submit cancellations using the following contact information:
Mail: UT Conferences, Attn NYE, PO Box 2648, Knoxville, TN 37901
Fax: 865-974-0264
E-mail: NYE@outreach.utk.edu
Substitutions are always welcome, but are required in writing from the group leader.
However, once workshop selections are made, the person who is taking the place of the
original registrant must assume the workshops for which the original participant
registered. No workshop changes are permitted for substitutions.
Workshop Booklets and Registration Forms will be forwarded to you this spring.
It will be your responsibility as Group Coordinator to disseminate the workshop
information and collect the completed workshop registration forms. These should be
submitted back to us as a group. We will process the workshop registration requests
and forward back to you a confirmation letter showing the workshop schedule for each
participant in your group.
Housing assignments will begin after the registration deadline on June 1, 2004.
This will enable us to keep conference groups housed together as much as possible.
After housing assignments are completed, a final confirmation packet will be forwarded
to you that includes all the final details you will need for your trip to Knoxville.
This includes your housing assignment, a final confirmation letter showing workshop
registrations received to date, and a Group Leader's Guide that provides important
information about your trip to Knoxville and your stay on the UT campus. Once your
group is assigned to a housing location, you will be asked to provide us with a
tentative rooming list.
When you arrive, youth should room with youth and adults with adults unless
special circumstances exist. Genders will be separated by floor or wing. Although
we will make every effort to complete your rooming list before you arrive, you will
be ultimately responsible for assigning and/or approving the actual beds and roommates
for your group when you arrive. Registration will begin at each residence hall at
10:00am on Thursday, July 22, but many rooms may not be available for check-in
until 3pm that day due to previous night's occupancy.
Again, you should expect to receive your workshop information soon. Please feel free
to contact me if you have any questions at all. I can be reached in the following ways
(e-mail is the quickest):
Elaina Davenport
UT Conferences - NYE 2004
PO Box 2648
Knoxville, TN 37901
Phone: 865-974-0280
Fax: 865-974-0264
E-mail: davenporte@outreach.utk.edu
I look forward to working with you over the next few months. Thank you.
Elaina Davenport, UT Conferences Event Management Team
JULY 13-17: COREM CONVOCATION
The Council for Racial and Ethnic Ministries of the UCC (COREM) will hold its next
Convocation in Chicago on July 13-17, 2004, at the Hyatt Hotel at McCormick Place
at 23rd Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Drive in Historic Bronzeville.
The theme of this Second National COREM Convocation is: "SPIRITUALLY ARMED and
STANDING FIRM", as reflected in Ephesians 6:10-18.
The Council for Racial and Ethnic Ministries (COREM) was created by the 14th General
Synod of the United Church of Christ to advocate for racial and ethnic concerns within
the UCC. It is composed of representatives from five groups:
- Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM)
- Council for Hispanic Ministries (CHM)
- Ministers for Racial, Social and Economic Justice (MRSEJ)
- Pacific Islander and Asian American Ministries (PAAM)
- United Black Christians (UBC)
There will be Pre-Convocation caucus gatherings of MRSEJ and UBC on July 13-14, 2004.
Kenwood UCC-Chicago will host the evening fellowship on Tuesday, July 13th, and Trinity
UCC-Chicago will host the evening fellowship on Wednesday, July 14th.
The CAIM, CHM, and PAAM caucuses will meet July 15-18, 2004.
The COREM Convocation will consist of the joint caucuses of all five entities on
July 15-17, 2004. All caucuses are welcome to attend all events.
For more information contact Charles Carpenter, Deacon at Congregational Church
of Park Manor and President of United Black Christians-Chicago Chapter (773-684-1242).
We are "Spiritually Armed and Standing Strong," and we solicit your support and your
prayers as we endeavor to make COREM-CHICAGO the place to be in July 2004.
Thank you for your consideration and cooperation.
COREM Banquet Invitation
The Ethnic Ministries of
the United Church of Christ
Invite you to join with COREM In their
BANQUET CELEBRATION
An Evening of Ethnic Entertainment
Experience Cultural Diversity in
MUSIC, SONG AND DANCE
Friday, July 16, 2004 - 7:30 pm
Hyatt Regency McCormick Place
2300 South Dr. King Dr.
Donation $50.00
For ticket information contact:
Rev. Luther Holland: 773-224-4700
Charles Carpenter: 773-684-1242
Harlette Washington: 773-374-2325
Give Us Your Old Glasses
So We Can Give New Glasses
To Someone Who Needs Them
COREM Convocation 2004 has selected New Eyes For The Needy as its service
project for the Convocation July 13-18, 2004. We ask that every person attending
the Convocation in Chicago bring at least one pair of used prescription eyeglasses
or nonprescription sunglasses. There will be a container in the registration area
for your donation.
New Eyes For The Needy is a non-profit volunteer organization whose purpose
is to help provide better vision for the poor the world over. New Eyes is endorsed
by the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the Opticians Association of America and
the National Society for the Prevention of Blindness.
Since 1932, New Eyes has helped nearly seven million visually impaired poor
people throughout the world. Residents of the United States are given vouchers
with which to purchase new prescription eyeglasses. New Eyes sends reusable
donated eyeglasses to medical missions and international charitable organizations
in over 25 countries around the globe in Asia, Africa, Europe, Mexico, Central and
South America.
JULY 7-13: PARLIAMENT OF THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS
The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions (CPWR) invites you to join
thousands of people representing the vast diversity of the world's religious,
spiritual, and cultural traditions as they converge in Barcelona, Spain from
July 7-13, for the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions.
This highly anticipated gathering will forge new pathways to peace as its participants
dialogue with open hearts and minds, reflect on critical issues facing the world, and
celebrate the richness of the world's religious and spiritual traditions. The Parliament
will be a rare opportunity for individuals to participate in more than four hundred
seminars, workshops, panel discussions, performances, and celebrations focused on intra-
and interreligious dialogue and the role that religion and spirituality have played and
can continue to play in fostering a more peaceful, just, and sustainable world.
Special emphasis will be placed on humanitarian concerns such as the refugee crisis,
international debt relief, religiously motivated and targeted violence, and accessibility
to clean water, with particular attention paid to the ways in which religious and
spiritual communities can continue to address and alleviate these critical issues.
The Parliament will include such notable presenters as H. H. the XIV Dalai Lama,
Archbishop Ricard Maria Carles of Barcelona, Ms. Karen Armstrong, Dr. Deepak Chopra,
Nobel Laureate Dr. Shirin Ebadi, Ms. Ela Ghandi, Dr. Jane Goodall, Dr. Hans Kung,
Nobel Laureate Mrs. Mairead Corrigan McGuire, H.E. Dr. Abdullah Omar Nasseef,
Dr. Raimon Panikkar, Dr. Rosemary Radford Ruther, and Rabbi Henry Sobel. Also
invited are Dr. Frederico Mayor, and Dr. Tariq Ramadan.
For more information on the 2004 Parliament of the World's Religions, including
registration information, please visit www.cpwr.org
or contact Erin Williams, Outreach Coordinator, at 312-629-2990 ext 241;
erin@cpwr.org
Wed, July 7, 6pm — Cluster Five Planning Meeting at St John's Faith UCC in Matteson
Wed, July 7, 6:30pm — COREM Convocation Local Planning Committee Meeting at the
Congregational Church of Park Manor in Chicago
Fri, July 9, 10a-3p — Illinois Conference Youth Committee retreat at Pilgrim
Park (lunch included). The Committee plans to make some decisions on direction and purpose,
create a "mission statement" and create an Illinois Conference Youth banner to be
displayed at the UCC National Youth Event July 22-26 at the University of
Tennessee. Please encourage your Association's representatives to come to
this very important retreat.
The Rev. Michael Denton will be on vacation until July 1st and will be unable to return
telephone calls or e-mail messages until after he returns. If you have an emergency,
please contact the Rev. Edward Goode at the CMA office at 312-939-5918 or
edwardgoode@cmaucc.org
Darnell Singleton
We offer our deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Darnell Singleton, Sr.,
a member of Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago who has been called home to
our Lord. Mr Singleton was a charter member of Trinity and the first baby dedicated
by Trinity's pastor, Rev. Dr. Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. He was also a member of the
Trinity staff as the percussionist/congo player for the Music Department and accompanied Trinity's
Sanctuary Choir during worship services and many travel engagements nationally and
internationally. Services will be held on Monday, July 5, 2004 at Trinity UCC,
400 W 95th St, Chicago 60628 (773-962-5650); Wake 8:30 am; Funeral 9:30 am.
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