Tri-Cities religion notes and events

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Unity

Fox Valley Unity Church, 230 Webster St. in Batavia is holding its annual book sale before and after church services from 9:30 to 10 a.m. and from 11 a.m. to noon Sunday and Jan. 20.

Used and new books, tapes, videos, CD's and DVD's will be offered for sale.

• Fox Valley Unity church is also collecting stuffed bears from Sunday to Feb. 10. Bears will be hugged and filled with love during church services and delivered to a local nursing home for Valentines Day.

Stuffed bears can be donated to Fox Valley Unity at 230 Webster St. in Batavia.

For information, call Fox Valley Unity at (630) 879-1115 or visit www.foxvalleyunity.org.

Habitat for Humanity

A pancake breakfast to benefit Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity will be held from 8 to 11 a.m. today at the Advent Christian Church, 905 N. Edgelawn Drive in Aurora.

The public is invited. Admission is $7 for people age 10 and older.

The menu includes pancakes, sausage, scrambled eggs, coffee, milk and orange juice.

Church volunteers will serve the breakfast.

Call (630)1963 for information.

Founded in 1989, Aurora-based Fox Valley Habitat is a nonprofit ministry that partners with working families in need of affordable housing.

Volunteers have completed about 40 units in Aurora and Montgomery. More than 100 people have partnered with Habitat to receive decent, affordable shelter.

Call (630) 859-3333 or visit www.foxvalleyhabitat.org for information.

Catholic

Women are invited to learn about weathering and resolving relationship conflicts at the January meeting of Morning Break for Women at St. Peter Church in Geneva. The group meets from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Peter Church, 1891 Kaneville Road in Geneva.

Geneva psychologist Denise M. Dojka will present "Journeying Through Disconnections: Conflict Resolution Among Women."

"All of us have experienced disconnections with friends and family, but few of us have learned how to repair those disconnections well," Dojka said in a prepared statement. "Sometimes the dis-connection may just be a stutter in our relationship, or at other times it may be much deeper."

She will discuss waging good conflict, what happens in each stage, and how to return to a good relationship. She will also address how to build relational competence and relational resilience in ourselves and in our children.

The morning begins with time for fellowship and a continental breakfast in the church's lower level Marquette Room. A donation of $3 is suggested. Childcare is available for a fee. Infants may remain with their mothers.

Women of all ages are invited to attend.

To register, call Pam Mucha at (630) 232-0557. Walk-ins are also welcome.

• Acts of the Apostles will be presented at the Fox Valley Catholic Bible study for women. Sessions will be from 9:15 to 11 a.m. Thursdays through March 13 at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 2300 Main St., Batavia.

Registration is $25. Child care is available for a donation of $10 per child for the session; there is no cost for infants. Scholarships are available upon request.

To register, call Mary Hendrian at (630) 208-8425.

• The Acts of the Apostles and the Gospel of Luke will be the topics at Tuesday evening adult Bible study for winter at St. John Neumann Church, 2900 E. Main St. (just west of Kirk Road on Route 64) in St. Charles.

Classes begin Jan. 22 and run from 7:30 to 9 p.m. each Tuesday. The facilitator is Sister Judy Nickels.

There is a $15 fee for materials that may be paid at the first meeting. No one will be excluded due to inability to pay.

For reservations, call (630) 377-2797 or e-mail adulted@stjohnneumannchurch.org.

Unitarian

The Unitarian Universalist Society of Geneva will host a free presentation and discussion on practical ways to reduce "carbon footprints" in response to climate change. The event will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 22 at the church, 102 S. Second St. in Geneva.

Sandy Justis, who has worked with the Union of Concerned Scientists and the writers of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will address ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which are considered by some scientists to be threats to the planet.

Participants will learn how to get wind power into homes, offices, churches and governmental facilities without having to install a wind turbine in the backyard.

Justis will also discuss conservation practices that can be implemented immediately and that will help pay for wind power year after year.

The half hour presentation will be followed by discussion. Coffee and dessert will be served.

The church is a wind-powered facility.

The presentation is being hosted by the congregation's Green Sanctuary Committee and the women teachers of the Gamma Xi Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.

For information, contact the church office at (630) 232-2350 or Sandy Justis at (847) 695-0840, or e-mail sandyjustis@aol.com.

Methodist

Batavia United Methodist Church will present "Reducing Family Stress While Encouraging Independence" at 9 and 10:30 a.m. Sunday and Jan. 20. The church is at 8 N. Batavia Ave.

The presenter is Thor Johansen, licensed clinical psychologist at Samaritan Interfaith Counseling Center.

The presentation focuses on what parents can do to reduce family stress and simultaneously encourage children to become more responsible and independent.

Participants will learn how to foster self-confidence and independence in their children, and they will hear new ways of building self-esteem through positive discipline.

• Batavia United Methodist Church will begin the 10-week Alpha Course at 6:30 p.m. Monday at the church at 8 N. Batavia Ave.

The course is an introduction to the Christian faith. The evening beings with a dinner and includes a video and discussion.

For reservations, call Deb Mengler at (630) 879-7060. Convenient parking is found of the east side of the church, off of Water Street.

Unity

Fox Valley Unity Church, 230 Webster St., Batavia, is offering the class "Jesus Christ Heals" weekly from noon to 2 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Feb. 19.

Students will gain a deeper understanding of spiritual healing and the role of Christ consciousness. The class includes reading, discussion and prayer. The class is the work of Unity cofounder Charles Fillmore.

Donations will be accepted. The study book will be offered for sale.

To register, call Fox Valley Unity at (630) 879-1115. More information can be found online at www.foxvalleyunity.org.