C O M M O N C A L L PRESIDENT S MESSAGE

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1 Oak Park River Forest Community of Congregations F E B R U A R Y C O M M O N C A L L I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Accessible Faith Grant 2 Time to Renew 2 New Book: Behind the Kitchen Door Beneath the Blindfold presented by OPTCJ CROP Walk Needs Co-coordinator Events of Note 3 Ashes to Go on 4 Hunger Predicts Mental Health Problems in Interfaith Clergy To 5 Update from the Emergency Clothes Closet Events of Note 5 Faith Perspectives Program on Health Care Reform Community Meetings are Back Annual Meeting PRESIDENT S MESSAGE What a joy to see so many of you at our annual dinner last week. Representatives of at least 17 congregations gathered at West Suburban Temple Har Zion for a delicious middle eastern buffet and an excellent presentation on interfaith community building presented by Asaf Bar-Tura of the Jewish Council on Urban affairs and Humaira Basith from the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago who have been working together to expand communities through the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative. Humaira's remarks included touching and moving personal stories. First time guests were amazed to discover the breadth and scope of the activities of the Community of Congregations as they heard reports from our various ministries including Celebrating Seniors, The Holiday Food and Gift Program, Sacred Spaces and more. Information was provided about the CROP walk and other important activities. The gathering was welcomed by Rabbi Robin Damsky of West Suburban Temple, who invited us to sing together and whose opening prayer reminded us that the gifts of God require human assistance to be fulfilled. Her beautiful singing was heard again at the conclusion of the Grace After Meals she led later in the evening. A highlight of the evening was the opportunity to acknowledge each of the many congregations in attendance. The evening of food, fellowship and learning, was beautifully concluded with a benediction offered by Rev. Sally Iberg of Pilgrim Church. I want to thank all who attended and all who helped make the evening such a success. We now look forward to our first Community Meeting of the year, to be held on March 21. Watch for details. Blessings, Leonard Grossman

2 Page 2 T I M E TO R E N EW About 50 congregations in Oak Park, River Forest, and surrounding areas participate with the Community of Congregations through membership or support of our ministries like the Holiday Food and Gift Basket, Celebrating Seniors Coalition, and the Annual House of Worship Walk. January marks the start of our renewal season and we hope you will recommit to the Community of Congregations as we prepare for Please consider contributing at one of the recommended levels: Up to 25 members: $ members: $ members: $ members: $400 More than 200 members: $500 Feel free to send your membership dues to: Community of Congregations P.O. Box 3365 Oak Park, IL Please contact Katie Avalos with questions at oprfcoc@gmail.com. A CCESSIBLE FAITH GRANT PROGRAM The Retirement Research Foundation is pleased to announce the 2013 Accessible Faith Grant Program to enable houses of worship to make accessibility improvements to their facilities. The program is available to houses of worship in six metro Chicago counties: Cook, DuPage, McHenry. Since the program began 10 years ago, the Foundation has awarded 141 grants to religious congregations totaling almost $3.1 million to make their facilities more accessible. You will find a full description of the program, Common Call application form, and tips for completing the application in the Accessible Faith Grant Program section of From the home page, please go to Chicago Area Programs. Applications are accepted from March 1 through June 1, 2013 N E W BOOK: BEHIND THE KITCHEN DOOR Unitarian Universalists have always united behind the responsibility to build a more decent society. In 2011 and 2012, Unitarian Universalists chose to make one aspect of that responsibility our role in the food chain explicit. Representatives of our congregations at General Assembly adopted a national Statement of Conscience called Ethical Eating: Food and Environmental Justice, and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) launched its Choose Compassionate Consumption campaign. Why food and why now? We are beginning to understand that when it comes to food, our society is speeding along various tracks, each heading toward a different future. Some of those futures further degrade people who are already carrying more than their share of social burdens, multiply the suffering of animals that are already living in misery, and further exploit natural resources that are already destabilized. Other futures build the world we dream about, where rights are respected and creation is honored. In 2013, UUSC is teaming up with Unitarian Universalists across the country who are committed to ethical eating and to promoting the human rights of workers in the food system. Remember how Michael Pollan s Omnivore s Dilemma and Eric Schlosser s Fast Food Nation (made into the movie Food, Inc.) created a sea change of public interest in healthier eating? You can do that for the human rights of workers throughout the food chain with Behind the Kitchen Door: What Every Diner Should Know About the People Who Feed Us, a new book written by Saru Jayaraman. In it, Jayaraman shows us that food sustainability depends not only on the sourcing of the ingredients, but also on how workers are treated! Behind the Kitchen Door is not just a book it s an opportunity to change the national conversation about how to create a truly sustainable food system. Will you commit to buying Behind the Kitchen Door? Sign up right now to buy the book between February 11 and February 23 at This book will put an essential issue of economic justice on the map but only with your help. All proceeds from the book support the work of a UUSC partner organization to advance restaurant workers rights! Submitted by: Janet Holden, Unity Temple

Common Call OPCTJ OFFERS FREE SHOWING OF BENEAT H THE BLINDFOLD A nursing home aide from Africa. An actor from Colombia. A U.S. Navy veteran from Chicago and a physician from Guatemala.

3 Common Call OPCTJ OFFERS FREE SHOWING OF BENEAT H THE BLINDFOLD A nursing home aide from Africa. An actor from Colombia. A U.S. Navy veteran from Chicago and a physician from Guatemala. They have a horrific experience in common: they all have been tortured. Rarely given a voice, they are among the over 500,000 torture survivors who live in the U.S. As they share their powerful stories, we follow them through the daunting step of building new lives, careers, and relationships. And despite the continued psychological and physical fallout from their experience, they feel empowered to speak out and become public advocates for an end to torture. Presented by The Oak Park Coalition for Truth & Justice, Beneath the Blindfold is the first documentary to look at the lifelong impact of torture and to paint a holistic portrait of the survivors experience and path to healing. Beneath the Blindfold is a beautiful film with genuine sensitivity and glow Not to be missed. -Jerome McDonald, host of Worldview, WBEZ, 91.5 FM, Chicago. Best political documentary of Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader. A panel presentation with filmmakers Kathy Berger and Inez Sommer and torture survivor Matilde de la Sierra, Q&A and open discussion will follow the film showing. Light refreshments are served. Details: February 24, 2013 at 2 pm Oak Park Main Library 2nd Floor Small Meeting Room Page 3 E V E N T S OF N O T E Movie Night : The Secret February 8, at 7:00 pm. Unity of Oak Park 405 N. Euclid, Oak Park For more info visit An Italian Valentine: Dinner and Concert February 9 at 6:00 pm. United Lutheran Church 409 Greenfield St., Oak Park For more info call: CROP WALK NEEDS CO-COORDINATOR The CROP Hunger Walkathon West Team is seeking a new Coordinator or Co- Coordinators to join the 2013 Team will mark the 30 th year of the CROP Hunger Walk in the OPRF area. Because of our wonderful community, the CROP Walk has been extremely successful over the years, with over a million dollars raised during that time. These funds support the amazing work of Church World Service, which serves those in need abroad and at home, with 25% of the proceeds distributed to the following local agencies: Cluster Tutoring Columbus Park Food Pantry Forest Park Food Pantry OPRF Walk-In- Ministry OPRF Food Pantry Pine Avenue Food Pantry Proviso Food Pantry St. Eulalia Quinn Center Food Pantry West Suburban PADS These agencies provide much-needed services to our community and they are appreciative of the help we give them through the outstanding efforts of all those involved in the CROP Walks, especially now when the need is greater than ever. Feel free to check out our website at alk.org for more information. We are asking for a threeyear stewardship commitment. The new Coordinator(s) would be mentored the first year, lead the second year, and train a new Coordinator the third year. If you are interested in offering your time and talent to fight against hunger here and abroad please contact Pat Eichenold at or eichenold@yahoo.com. We would be happy to meet with you, provide you with details, and answer any questions. Taizé February 15 at 7:30 pm Euclid Avenue United Methodist Church 405 S. Euclid, Oak Park More information at Kindness is Contagious : Bob Schwalb, Chicago Program Director for HEART, will share inspiring stories about his work implementing humane and character education curricula in Chicago area schools. Unity of Oak Park 405 N. Euclid, Oak Park February 17, at 12:45 pm. For more info visit

4 Page 4 Common Call ASHES TO GO ON FEBRUARY 13TH Priests and pastors from Oak Park River Forest will take to the streets on Ash Wednesday, February 13th, to offer Ash Wednesday rites marking the beginning of Lent. Last year Lutherans, Episcopalians, United Church of Christ and Presbyterians were all seen walking the streets and train platforms. The initiative called Ashes to Go, started by Rev. Emily Mellot of Calvary Episcopal Church in Lombard, reaches people who can t attend church services, where ashes are placed on the forehead in the shape of the cross. This will be the third year for Schreiner who has found it to be an amazingly powerful ministry. People are searching for the Spiritual and this happens to be a symbol that so many people yearn for. Jesus was always going to the people and so will area pastors and lay people on the 13th. Schreiner mentioned that the group is respectful of other religious traditions. and states that this is in done in such a way that those for whom this reli- gious traditions and states this is in done in a way that those for whom this religious symbol is important will know that it is available to them. Congregations interested in participating in Rite of the Imposition of Ashes are invited to take to the train stations and streets on Ash Wednesday. Please Shawn Schreiner if you are willing to participate: shawnschreiner@sbcglobal.net. H U N G E R PREDICTS MENTA L HEALT H PROBLEMS IN T E E N S Hunger is a pain. Even our own minor experiences with skipped meals or dieting make us sympathize with those who routinely go without. We understand that hunger makes it hard to concentrate, leaves us lightheaded, and makes us grumpy. While the physical effects are somewhat familiar for most of us, the mental health repercussions of hunger are not so intuitive. If you stop for a minute and think about the mental anguish parents go through daily wondering if they can feed their families, you get a hint at the toll hunger can take on mental health. We ve known for a long time that food insecure parents those who lack the ability to purchase adequate amounts of food to meet basic needs have higher rates of depression and anxiety. What we didn t know until recently is that the same can be said for kids. A study published in the December 2012 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry found that adolescents who experienced food insecurity in the past year have a much higher prevalence of mental disorders than adolescents whose families have reliable access to food. The study found that food insecurity in teens was associated with elevated odds of every class of common mental disorder examined, including mood, anxiety, behavioral, and substance disorders. And the linkage to hunger was strong. Food insecurity was associated with adolescent mental disorders more strongly than parental education and income. These findings are especially concerning because over 20% of Ameri- can families with children fall into the food-insecure category. In neighboring Austin (which Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry serves), the rate is over 34%. Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry helps offset the ravages of hunger by providing food-insecure families including those with kids with the assistance they need: fresh produce, lean meat, dairy products, bread, and nonperishable food items. Last year we served almost 16,000 families nearly half of which include children. Including repeat visits, 14,328 children were served last year 1,835 from Oak Park-River Forest alone. Working together as a community, we can help families maintain both physical and mental health. If you re interested in helping out, check out our volunteer and donor options at Together we can make a difference in lives of thousands of neighbors in need. Submitted by: Michele Zurakowski, Executive Director Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry ### The article "Food Insecurity and Mental Disorders in a National Sample of U.S. Adolescents" by Katie A. McLaughlin, Jennifer Greif Green, Ph.D., Margarita Alegría, E. Jane Costello, Michael J. Gruber, Nancy A. Sampson, Ronald C. Kessler, appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Volume 51, Issue 12 (December 2012), published by Elsevier.

Common Call Page 5 INTERFAITH CLERY: LET S GAT HER Join leaders of congregations throughout Oak Park and surrounding areas at a gathering for fellowship and to discuss our role in addressing

5 Common Call Page 5 INTERFAITH CLERY: LET S GAT HER Join leaders of congregations throughout Oak Park and surrounding areas at a gathering for fellowship and to discuss our role in addressing community issues of common concern. We hope for a diverse group and wish to include representatives from congregations that do not have ord- ained clergy as well. We had a small group meet on January 9th, and we decided we would like to continue, and hopefully gather a larger group of leaders. Please spread the word. The meeting will be at Unity Temple, 875 Lake St in Oak Park at 9 a.m. on February 20th. Breakfast will be served beginning at 8:45 am. If interested RSVP to: Rev. Emily Gage Minister of Faith Development Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation X103 T H E CLOSET OPEN TIL FEBRUARY 23RD The Emergency Clothes Closet ( The Closet ), located at 931 Lake Street, Oak Park, IL (Calvary Memorial Church) will be open through Saturday, February 23, The Closet provides emergency clothing for men and women in need, including homeless members of our community, living on the brink of survival, as well as middle-class individuals that have hit a major life obstacle, such as a health crisis or the loss of a job. Regardless of the circumstances that bring a client to The Closet, it is staffed and situated to provide warm coats, thermal underwear, boots, hats/gloves and other essential clothing to those in need in times of unexpected hardship. Since opening in October 2009, The Closet has served approximately 3,000 clients and has provided approximately 24,000 items of clothing and footwear to those in need. While a large percentage of the items provided to The Closet s clients are derived from direct clothing donations from individuals and businesses, financial donations allow us to purchase large quantities of our high need items in the most needed sizes (and condition) that ensure appropriate use and long-lasting wear. In addition, financial donations allow The Closet to better utilize valuable volunteer time, since sorting of bulk clothing donations entail considerable manpower but routinely result in non-essential or non-useable inventory (unless the origin of the bulk donation is via a veryfocused and deliberate essential clothing drive). As we near the close to the Closet season, we are asking all neighboring churches and community organizations to support The Closet in the form of financial or material donations. We are suggesting that clothing donations be in the form of gently used or new winter boots and winter coats only (the greatest need from a sizing perspective is Large, XL, XXL and larger). Your support is greatly appreciated. If you are positioned to provide financial support, or to organize a coat or boot drive, or have questions or concerns regarding The Closet, please contact Carol Ungaretti at carol.ungaretti@aon.com E V E N T S OF N O T E Interfaith Clergy Gathering February 20 at 9:00 p.m. Unity Temple 875 Lake Street, Oak Park More information at Taizé at Unity Temple February 22 at 7:00 p.m. Unity Temple 875 Lake Street, Oak Park More information at In the Spirit of Taizé March 1 at 7:30 p.m Ascension Catholic Church 808 S. East Ave, Oak Park More information at taize.html Beneath the Blindfold presented by the Oak Park Coalition for Truth & Justice February 24 at 2:00 pm Oak Park Main Library 2nd Floor 834 Lake St., Oak Park For more info visit Movie Night : Jesus and the Awakening of God-Consciousness Unity of Oak Park 405 N. Euclid, Oak Park March 8 at 7:00 pm. For more info visit

6 Page 6 Common Call FAITH PERSPECTIVES PROGRAM ON HEALTH CARE REFORM Sister Simone Campbell, one of the "Nuns on the Bus," will be the guest speaker at a Faith Perspectives program on health care reform at Grace Lutheran Church, 7300 Division in River Forest, on Sunday, March 10, at 2:00 p.m. Campbell will speak about her career in public policy and advocacy, as well as about continuing issues in the delivery of health care in America. She will also talk about how Christians can be effective advocates. The program is free and open to all. The March 10 forum is the second Faith Perspectives forum of the season, in which the theme has been healthcare reform. The first presentation last November presented background on the U.S. health care system and the changes that are underway because of the Affordable Care Act. Speakers and audience members also discussed the faith perspective on if and how medical care should be made available to people who cannot afford to pay for it.campbell is the executive director of NET- WORK, a Catholic social justice advocacy organization in Washington, D. C. She has extensive experience in public policy and advocacy. In Washington, she and her organization lobby on issues of peace-building, immigration reform, healthcare, and economic justice. During the 2010 congressional debate about healthcare reform, she wrote the famous nuns letter supporting health care reform and got 59 leaders of Catholic Sisters to sign on. This action was cited by many as critically important in passing the Affordable Care Act. She was thanked by President Obama and invited to the ceremony celebrating its being signed into law. Campbell was also instrumental in organizing the Nuns on the Bus tour in the summer of 2012, which drew attention to the Ryan Budget and its big cuts in programs that help people in need. The nuns traveled through nine states in the heart of the U.S., holding rallies and prayer services, and received an avalanche of attention among religious communities, elected officials and the media. A noted speaker and educator on public policy issues, Campbell's advocacy is rooted in her faith, in doing what Jesus says we should do. She is quick-witted and has appeared with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" as well as with Stephen Colbert. In a December 13 appearance on "The Colbert Report," she argued gently, with a firm smile, that Christians should stand with the poor. "Jesus invites you to the manger. Jesus invites you to the side of the poor." Grace Lutheran Church sponsors Faith Perspectives forums to provide an opportunity for people of faith to come together, listen, learn and explore thoughts and feelings about social and moral issues. The Sunday afternoon seminars, held in late fall and again in late winter, offer participants both information and ethical perspectives on controversial issues, minus the polarizing language and hype typical of much of the discussion in the other settings. It is the hope of the congregation that by acknowledging different viewpoints while recognizing shared values, churches may become places where people can have compassionate and critical discussions about potentially divisive issues. COMMUNITY MEETINGS ARE BACK Community of Congregations is excited to announce to return of our Community Meetings. The first will be held on Thursday, March 23, 2013 with details to follow. Please feel free to topics you are interested in to oprfcoc@gmail.com.

ANNUAL MEETING A SUCCESS Thank you to West Suburban Temple Har Zion and Rabbi Robin Damsky for hosting Community of Congregations 2013 Annual Meeting.

Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago.

Vice President, Joe McDonald Ascension Catholic Church Secretary, Pam Meyerson Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation Treasurer, Valerie Lester Oak Park Friends Immediate Past President,

7 ANNUAL MEETING A SUCCESS Thank you to West Suburban Temple Har Zion and Rabbi Robin Damsky for hosting Community of Congregations 2013 Annual Meeting. We greatly appreciate the support of the individuals who attended the meeting and our speakers, Assaf Bar-Tura from the Jewish-Muslim Community Building Initiative, and Humaira Basith from the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago. Pictured: Rabbi Robin Damsky, Humaira Basith, Assaf Bar-Tura, and Leonard Grossman Community of Congregations Executive Committee Officers: President, Leonard Grossman West Suburban Temple Har Zion Vice President, Joe McDonald Ascension Catholic Church Secretary, Pam Meyerson Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation Treasurer, Valerie Lester Oak Park Friends Immediate Past President, Shawn Schreiner Grace Episcopal Church At-large committee members: Bud Hayes First United Church Lowell Eckberg First United Methodist Church Jim Robinson Oak Park Temple Delegates Emeritus: Harriette Robinet and McLouis Robinet St. Edmund Parish To learn more please visit: If your organization has a special celebration or activity that you would like to share with the Community of Congregations network, please send your information to Katie Avalos at oprfcoc@gmail.com by the 20 th of the month.

C O M M O N C A L L P R E S I D E N T S MESSAGE F E B R U A R Y Dear Friends,

Oak Park River Forest Community of Congregations F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 4 C O M M O N C A L L P R E S I D E N T S MESSAGE I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E : Time to Renew 2 President s Message Continued Oak