Andrew and Henriët are members of the Unity Temple Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Oak Park, Illinois. Frank Lloyd Wright designed the beautiful building. They picked a weekend we were in town to dedicate Jurgen.
The day before we took turns playing with the little guy. One of his three favorite toys is this giraffe. It has two handles on it so he can pass it back and forth from hand-to-had. It is also just the right size and shape to put in his mouth for gumming. It’s fun to see him concentrate so hard when he is focusing on things.
They have a mirror next to Jurgen’s mat in the living room. He enjoys checking out the kid in there.
They have a few Christmas decorations up. Next year Christmas will be a MUCH bigger deal.
Jurgen likes to take strolls. We’ve put him in his stroller on most occasions now that he is six months old. But he still loves his carrier.
Sunday morning December 21, 2014 was he day of the dedication. We attended church with Andrew and Henriët last September and like it. While it isn’t a Christian church it still is very spiritual. I like their credo: “Connect: Listen. Open. Serve”. They work for social justice.They dedicate each week’s offering to a cause. This week it was to assist the homeless.
One of the most moving parts of the service is during the sharing of joys and concerns when they read off the names of people killed by gun violence in the Chicago area during the previous seven days. This week they had to read at least eight names. They also name the soldiers from Chicago who died in battle in the past week. Unfortunately, they had to name two soldiers this week.
The dedication ceremony uses four elements: water, fire, air, and earth. To represent the earth they presented Jurgen with a rose from which the thorns were removed. This represents the members of the church taking care of him. When he turns 16 they’ll give him another rose – with the thorns attached, representing the time when he will have to start watching out for himself.
After church we went down the street to Delia’s Kitchen for a nice breakfast.
It was a wonderful day; I’m so glad we could be present.
