The 2012 annual meeting will be held Sunday, Feb. 26, at 12:15 pm in the church sanctuary. Pizza will be served.

Unity of Madison by-laws require that church members renew their membership annually. Printed renewal forms can be found in the church foyer, or you may print your own by using this link (PDF).

Turn in completed forms any of the following ways:

• Drop it off in the church foyer on any Sunday by Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 3 pm
• Mail it in to the church office no later than Wednesday, Feb. 15, Unity of Madison, 601 Tompkins Drive, Madison, WI 53716, Attn: Membership Renewal
• Bring it with you to the Annual Meeting on Sunday, February 26.

Remember, all are invited to join us for the Annual Meeting, though only renewing members who have turned in their Renewal Forms on or before Feb. 26 will be able to vote for new Board of Trustees or other church business. Please contact the church office at 221-1376 if you have any questions.

A presentation on SAIL (Supporting Active Independent Lives) will take place from 12:15-1:45 pm on Sunday, Jan. 29. Please bring a sack lunch.

By popular demand, Unity of Madison will be holding a good ol’ fashioned Sing-Along on the fourth Sundays between services in the sanctuary. We will be using music from the hymnal and the
white binder. The first one will be Feb. 26 at 9:45 am. Please join us!

“Loving Yourself Well: Transforming Your Relationship with Food and Body,” an 8-week women’s circle with Linda Tyllo, will be held Tuesdays, March 6-May 1, from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Are you ready to imagine a relationship with food and your body that leaves you nourished and fulfilled each day? Can you imagine having the confidence to relax and enjoy the foods you choose to eat? Imagine how good you’d feel if eating was a pure pleasure and exercise a delight. Imagine taking care of yourself with healthy, lifelong habits not because you should do them but because they actually feel good. What if living life from the inside out led to weight loss, not as the exclusive goal, but as a pleasurable side effect.

If any of this is ringing true for you, please consider this an invitation to the Loving Yourself Well Women’s Circle. We will explore some of the myths accepted as truth which actually hold us back, and choose to re-write the story in a way that empowers us as we manifest our greatest health. We will also explore eight little known practices that actually enhance our metabolism: relaxation, quality, awareness, rhythm, pleasure, thought, story and the Sacred.

This experience is lovingly facilitated by Linda Tyllo, certified in holistic health counseling and dynamic eating psychology. Group size will be limited to create a safe and sacred space. Cost is $77 for the eight-week series. If you are interested in giving yourself
this opportunity, please contact Linda for more information and registration materials. You can reach her by email or phone at lindatyllo@gmail.com or (608) 206-7610.

Reiki Master Teacher and Karuna Reiki® Practitioner, Patty Penner will be offering free 15-minute mini-Reiki chair sessions between services the first Sunday of every month starting on Feb. 5, in hospitality (lower level). For more information on Patty, Reiki or Karuna Reiki: www.RainbowWomanReiki.com. No appointment necessary.

There will be a blessing of the Prayer Shawls on Sunday, Feb. 5 during both services. Shawls will be displayed. Also, we would like to invite anyone who has received a shawl in the past to bring it and be a part of this blessing. After both services members of the Prayer Shawl Ministry will be downstairs in hospitality. Bring your needles and hooks and join us. We will answer questions about the team and some basic patterns will be available. Any questions, call
Ann Munkres at 608-221-2252.

Beyond Meditation, a 2-hour workshop, will be held Thursday, Jan. 26, 6:30-8:30 pm and Saturday, Feb. 25, 1-3 pm. Cost is $10.

Meditation is a powerful tool with scientifically validated results to move one toward higher levels of awareness. But within the framework of spiritual realization, there are innumerable techniques to improve attentional capacity. The Theravadan Buddhists refer to this as informal practice or mindfulness in daily life. Furthermore, modern people have the psychological, historical, technological, and cultural knowledge to free the mind through skeptical introspection. Enlightenment is fundamentally a psycho-social process that banishes fear, leading ultimately to free oneself from the fear of social ostracism. Lastly, many have lost touch with the body. Yet it is the foundation from which mind understands the world. Unless one
practices physical disciplines, progress will be difficult. The ancients told us as much through practices such as Hatha yoga from the Vedic tradition, the legendary founding of Shaolin from the father of Zen Arya Bodhidharma, Qigong from Taoism, and Bushido from Japan. But even Western activities such as weightlifting, cycling, water sports, etc, if done with mindfulness, can move one into increased awareness of our “holding tank.”

Bring 5 objects in a bag or container large enough to insert your hand into. Questions? Contact Rafe Montello at 608-222-8457 or rafe@20thCenturyAmericanZen.org.

Susan McVicker will lead “Gathering of Hearts in Indian Country” on Saturday, Jan. 28, from 10 am -1 pm. Suggested love offering is $20, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Join others whose hearts are called by Indian Country. Find out where our paths are converging. During these times of Great Turning, our Mother Earth and humanity need Indigenous wisdom in balance with postmodern consciousness. As a circle, we will explore our eco-identity, a way of life connected with natural, spiritual, and social dimensions, through the Within Direction. We will express gratitude for Native American Indian persistence, explore the “lay of the land” as it manifests in our hearts and in today’s world, and pay attention to the territory of our interrelatedness. Come out during the cold month to gather with others for a warmly informative, inspirational, and experiential Saturday morning.

If possible bring: rattles, flutes, a light lunch potluck item (traditional Native American Indian dish or snack to pass – any foods with corn, beans, squash, rice, potatoes or wild game) and warm layers and footwear (to go to the Medicine Wheel weather permitting).
Registration appreciated. Walk-ins welcome. To register, please sign up in the narthex (starting two weeks prior) or phone the office (608) 221-1376. There will be a 12-person registration minimum for the workshop to be held.

Suzan McVicker works in Madison to support individual and community wellbeing. Her practice as psychotherapist, consultant, and trainer is informed by the Internal Family Systems model, a healing way of compassionate witness that combines ancient wisdom traditions with contemporary research. She is a Cherokee descendant.

All hands on deck! Unity will have a deep cleaning day on Saturday, Feb. 4, from 9 am -2 pm. Let’s roll up our sleeves and bring our good, positive energy to give our church home the attention it deserves. Together we can have fun and bring order into every area that’s crying out. Teamwork makes it all come together easily.

The last time we did a deep cleaning at Unity was in 2009, before our re-modeling. It is time once again to thoroughly clean our church home and release anything that doesn’t belong in our respective areas. We invite everyone to bring a broom, a duster, rags, a bucket, and paper bags in case there are items needing to be cleared out. We also invite you to bring a sack lunch. We plan on working from 9-12:30 pm, take a half-hour lunch break and complete whatever needs to be completed in the remaining hour, if necessary.

Yang style Tai Chi Classes will be held Wednesdays, 10-11:15 am (upper level) starting Feb 8. Cost is $9 per class.

This 75-minute class begins with a warm up and ends with a cool down, using movements from many exercise traditions including QiQong, Belly Dancing and Yoga. You will first learn the 10 movement form, the basic training form, for working your way up to the 24 movement form.

If you are interested in living longer (a recent study in Australia confirmed that T’ai Chi changes your DNA causing you to live longer), improving your balance, flexibility, having more energy and
strengthening your bones, then T’ai Chi is for you! For more information, visit RainbowWomanReiki.com. Classes will be taught by Patty Penner, Reiki Master Teacher, Yang Style T’ai Chi Chuan Instructor, Wild Goose QiQong Instructor.