Celebrate New Year’s Eve at Tree of Life UUC! On December 31, 2024, we gather for a night of music and games before we ring in the New Year. The event starts at 4:00 pm, with a "midnight" ball drop at 6 pm (London time), and closes at 6:30 pm. This year's theme is "Decades." We encourage you to dress from your favorite decade! Bring a small bite appetizer or dessert to share. We will have punch and sparkling apple juice. Wine, champagne, and beer will be available at the bar (for a cash donation). Children are welcome, although no childcare will be provided. Have a neon fanny pack, boombox, or mirrorball in the basement? How about a strand of fake pearls, a pink scarf from the 50s, or a toy cigar? Nostalgic items wanted on loan to decorate our event. Contact Lora Cantele or Beth Hoover if you have anything to share. PLEASE RSVP for this event by emailing Lora.Cantele@gmail.com.

What we need from you:

• RSVP for the event 

• sign up to bring a food item

• sign up to be contacted if they have a nostalgic item to share as a prop/decoration

• volunteers for clean up

Eat delicious latkes, made from scratch, fried up MCJC style, and heated in our new oven. Play dreidel!  Light candles!  Sing your favorite Chanukah songs!  Create your own edible dreidel!  Exchange White Elephant "gifts"!
 
You can bring a menorah to light, and we'll also have extra menorahs and candles.  We'll have pennies for the dreidel game, but feel free to bring a bag if you save them too!
 
Something new for fun....we'll have a White Elephant gift exchange.  Find something in your possession (don't spend any money!), that you no longer want, but think that somebody else would enjoy!  Please bring it nicely wrapped to the party.  Each person should bring a gift if they choose to participate, so if you're coming as a "couple", you would each bring your own gift.  We'll likely do a fun swap/steal game!

Latke making volunteers are being sought to assist Dale starting around 2pm. If you able to help please contact Dale directly. 

If you're looking for a good dining, good fellowship experience, come and enjoy the  2024 MCJC Christmas Chinese Dinner.  
 
This annual dinner is scheduled for 4:30 pm on Tuesday December 24th at The Chop Suey Hut 218 N. Throop Street in Woodstock.   MCJC needs to give the restaurant a "head count"  of how many people from MCJC to plan for.

Kindly RSVP to MCJC "Let's Get Together" chairperson Bruce Weiss at events@mcjconline.org no later than Friday December 20th.
 

Rabbi Gordon will participate along with an MCJC shofar blower TBA.

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In honor of the 85th anniversary of "The Wizard of Oz", acclaimed musical theater historian Charles will perform his highly entertaining and brilliantly-crafted show "The Creation of The Wizard of Oz". The presentation combines original graphics, audio tracks, video clips, and a scripted narrative. A dessert social will take place immediately following the program. The Tree of Life community will be extended an invitation to come and enjoy the day's activities.

Kindly RSVP to events@mcjconline.org.

The MCJC book selection for November 7 will be On Her Own by Lihi Lapid (translated by Sondra Silverston), an Israeli bestseller by the wife of former prime minister and current opposition leader Yair Lapid. Set between the eve of Passover and Israel's Independence Day, the story centers around Nina, a teenage runaway who witnesses a murder, and ends up hiding out in the Tel Aviv apartment of Carmella, an elderly woman with dementia who mistakes Nina for her granddaughter. A propulsive page-turner, the narrative continuously shifts perspectives and also tells the story of Nina's single mother, a Russian immigrant, and Carmella's son who has moved to America, as well as other compelling secondary characters. 

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Simchat Torah
with CKI
Thursday, October 24, 6:30 pm

Come celebrate our yearly joy at completing the cycle of reading the Torah and starting right over again. MCJC will celebrate Simchat Torah with CKI in Elgin, 330 Division Street. For an even fuller experience there is Torah Study at 4 pm, Yizkor for Shmini Atzeret at 5:15 pm, and dinner at 5:45 pm.  

Please join us for Shabbat dinner in Rabbi Gordon’s Sukkah. Email rabbi@mcjconline.org to RSVP and request the address.

Yom Kippur Morning Service

Including Yizkor

Led by Rabbi Maralee Gordon

Multi-Access

Saturday, October 12, 9:00 AM

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Kol Nidre Service

Led by Rabbi Maralee Gordon

Multi-Access

Friday, October 12, 6:00 pm

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The month of Elul traditionally is a time of reflection, so that when we gather for Rosh Hashana, we’ve already done some of the soul-searching that goes into our New Year self-assessment. This intensifies on the Saturday night preceding Rosh Hashana, this year September 28. As has been our custom over the past few years, we will observe Selichot with CKI, the Elgin congregation. We will start at 7 pm with Havdalah, the beautiful ceremony that marks the end of Shabbat, and then we will view the 2007 movie The Bucket List. Two cancer patients sharing a hospital room find they have two things in common: a need to come to terms with who they are and what they have done with their lives, and a desire to complete a list of things they want to see and do before they die, themes of our High Holidays. CKI is at 330 Division St, Elgin, parking is in their lot around the corner on College Street.

                                MCJC "LET'S GET TOGETHER" PROGRAM

                                 1:15 PM SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 22, 2024

        NEW MCJC HOME: TREE OF LIFE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CONGREGATION

                                       5603 BULL VALLEY ROAD   MCHENRY, IL

              NOA BAUM,  INTERNATIONALLY ACCLAIMED ISRAELI STORYTELLER

           "A TASTE OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN" AND "A LAND TWICE PROMISED"

Internationally acclaimed Israeli storyteller Noa Baum will present a 45-minute excerpt of her highly entertaining presentation "A Taste of The Garden of Eden" plus a 15-minute excerpt of her award-winning presentation "A Land Twice Promised" at 1:15 pm on Sunday September 22, 2024 at the Tree of Life Unitarian Universalist Congregation 5603 Bull Valley Road in McHenry (MCJC's new home).

Noa Baum's "A Taste of The Garden of Eden" celebrates Jewish traditions through the use of Jewish folktales and through personal stories of Noa's growing up years in Jerusalem.   Noa Baum's "A Land Twice Promised"  explores perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and is a peace-building story play whose goal is to build bridges of understanding and compassion among Israelis and Palestinians.

This program will kick-off the 2024-2025 MCJC "let's get together" program series and is a non-ticketed, free admission event.  Reservations are needed for this program and should be made to Bruce Weiss by email at office@mcjconline.org or by phone at 815-455-

A dessert social will take place immediately following the program. 

Noa Baum has performed extensively in Israel, Turkey, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and at hundreds of venues in the United States including the The World Bank, The Mayo Clinic, The Kennedy Center, the U.S. Dpartment of Defense, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commision, AARP, and numerous civic festivals, universities, primary schools, and faith congregations.