This fall, sixteen newcomers to UUCUC took part in a Pathways to Membership class, and fourteen of them chose to sign the book and become official voting members of our congregation! Please join me in warmly welcoming these new members into deeper connection and involvement with our community. You can read brief introductions here, and I encourage you to send welcoming messages and personal invitations to church events their way in the coming days.
If you are interested in taking part in (or helping out with) the next Pathways to Membership class, planned for mid-January, contact Rev. Sally at associate-minister@uucuc.org.
Margaret Lovell and her wife, Sheila Pitts, moved to Urbana in August 2022 from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Margaret has been a member of UU churches in Albuquerque and Kennesaw, GA. She is a retired science writer, having spent most of her professional career working for Sandia National Laboratories. Margaret is a member of a Soul Matters group and looks forward to participating in more activities. She and Sheila enjoy playing bridge, attending performances at Krannert and other venues, and meeting new friends. margaret.lovell(at)me.com
Kristin and Ian LeSueur moved to Urbana, near Blair Park, in 2019. They both grew up in Catholic families but are exploring different ways of faith together. Kristin is originally from Texas and is a Registered Dietitian that specializes in foodservice software and nutrition education. She loves to garden and work on creative projects like collage, crochet, and sewing. Ian grew up in Champaign and attended Seton Hall University for his Ph.D. studies. Ian is a Clinical Psychologist at the counseling center on campus. He spends his time tinkering with vintage Nintendo consoles and working on projects around the house.
Kristin and Ian love film, video games, and going on road trips together. They were married at the Art Theater on Halloween of 2015. They live with their cats Louisa and Ripley, and are expecting their first little girl, Eve, who is due in December. Kristin and Ian both look forward to becoming more involved with the UUCUC community and are happy to be members of this wonderful congregation. knbowers10(at)gmail.com and ilesueur(at)gmail.com
Brandy Barter-Storm (she/her) moved to Urbana with her husband and two daughters in summer of 2020. She is an ESL teacher at Centennial High School in Champaign and is working on her PhD in Reading, Language, and Literacy. Her daughters (Helen, 6 and June, 4) love participating in REE and the UUCUC community has been a wonderful component of their family finding community in the UC area. brandy.barter(at)gmail.com
Wendy Hartley is a recent arrival from Nevada City, California. She has been a social activist most of her adult life, supporting a variety of causes, e.g., the elderly, anti-racism and anti- bullying, and Palestinian human rights.
She is often accompanied by her little service dog, Fergus, whom she hopes will be welcomed by the UU community. They are a team. wensteve(at)c-zone.net
Julia Cronin moved back to Champaign in 2020, after 5 years away, and is so grateful for the wonderful people she has been able to meet through UUCUC. When not rocking the 9-to-5, she enjoys gardening, writing, cooking, composing and playing music, and hiking. As a Taoist, she is always ready to unlearn something new. jkcronin111(at)gmail.com
Hanna Schian (she/her) is a University of Illinois student studying law. She relocated from Michigan to Urbana-Champaign for a new start as well as her education. As an atheist, Hanna looks to the Unitarian Universalist Church for community and guidance with others. Hanna enjoys playing video games and reading. She is happy to be part of a community where she can meet new people and talk about religious and secular topics alike.
Bea Betzner was born in Chicago in 1955 and raised in Los Angeles (Encino). She has devoted her life to service as a humanitarian and philanthropist. Bea is single, no kids and a retired Psychotherapist. She loves nature and her favorite wildflower is the california poppy. As a volunteer in the 55+ community she lives in, she takes care of the little free pantry. bbetzner(at)gmail.com
Judith Rowett moved to Urbana from Galena, IL 3 months ago to be near family and to join and participate in active membership with UUCUC. She participated from afar in UUCUC Church Services online for months. Her neighbors were amused by her very enthusiastic but off-key hymn singing and energized spirit that emerged.
Judy has 4 children, 3 step-children, 10 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. She has had a career as a Psychiatric Nurse and Clinical Social Worker in Private Practice, and her husband of 42 years was Director of Mental Health in Will Co IL. Her husband left the earth during the 2020 pandemic after a quarantine in which they passed the time completely alone together, which for them was not all bad. They enjoyed 8 months of closeness with expanded communication and exploration of activities during lockdown. Their lives were filled with collaboration and mutual sharing of growth. With Barney her fuzzy dear friend, Judith looks forward to an active, involved life in the community of Champaign-Urbana. judyrowett(at)msn.com
Joe & Jeannie Rasmussen are thankful to have found a faith community that is very welcoming, and excited to be a part of supporting social justice issues they firmly believe in.
Jeannie and Joe are longtime Champaign residents. Jeannie is a retired Early Childhood teacher and Joe is still working at Developmental Services Center. They have two awesome adult children: Annie and Kyle. And they recently gained another family member – a cute 4.5 month old Cockapoo named Pepper! They enjoy gardening and landscaping, traveling when they can, and visiting with family. Jeanrasmussen1014(at)gmail.com and rasmussen.jmr(at)gmail.com
Lori Miller lives in Mahomet with her husband Greg and their ten-year-old daughters Amanda and Sarah. The family prefers to minimize their online visibility, so their photo is of their family cat, Patches.
Greg is the fifth generation to farm north of Seymour. In fact, Greg, Lori, and Greg’s parents are busy harvesting corn and soybeans this time of year. Among other duties, Lori helps drive the combine or the tractor pulling the grain cart. Previously Lori received her Master’s of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois and worked for nearly eighteen years at the University of Illinois Library. Prior to that, she received a Master’s of Arts in English at Purdue University.
When Lori is not working on the farm, she loves spending time with her family, often outdoors. She explores museums, bookstores, and public libraries with them, and she’s glad that they read a wide variety of books. Lori also likes learning about gardening, farming, and the history of farming. She enjoys listening to music and public radio and watching standup and improv comedy.
Lori grew up in the country near Tuscola with many pets and livestock and loved these animals. But she never had a pet as an adult. When everyone felt extremely isolated at home during the pandemic, they adopted two lovable cats from the Humane Society—a tortoiseshell adult named Patches (pictured above) and a black kitten they named Peppermint.
That isolation encouraged Lori to join the open minded and welcoming Unitarian Universalist Church of Urbana-Champaign. Loki.lori(at)gmail.com
Mia Trevino is a grad student at UIUC studying Urban Planning and is so happy to have found this church. She is originally from the Dallas-Forth Worth area in Texas and was looking for a place of acceptance, fellowship, and caring about the community. It is amazing to be around like-minded people who strive to make a difference in this world. Her heart feels so full every time she comes to service and she truly feels safe and comfortable in this congregation. mia.g.trevino(at)gmail.com