Community Care and Connection

Welcome to our Community Care and Connection page, where we highlight ways to care for and connect with fellow Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington congregants. This space serves as a bulletin page that will be updated based on need.

From Mary Reardon

Are you concerned about the health of our forests? Join MC-IRIS, the Sierra Club and the Hoosier National Forest as we eradicate the invasive Japanese Stiltgrass from the Pate Hollow and Hayes Trails. We're a fun loving group and experience joy, camaraderie and a sense of accomplishment as we rid the forests of these invasives, so that native wildflowers may emerge. See the attached flyer for dates and times.

Returning Violin Student Seeks Living Space for Upcoming Academic Year

Dear Friends,

Our dear friends in Salt Lake City have a friend named Lynn Rosen, who is looking for housing in Bloomington for the 2025–26 academic year. She’s a violinist with the Utah Symphony and will be taking a sabbatical to pursue a Master’s in Violin Performance at the Jacobs School of Music.

Do you happen to know of anyone who might need a house or pet sitter, who might benefit from sharing their home, or who would be open to renting a room to a musician? Lynn has also mentioned swapping for childcare, etc.

A bit about Lynn: She was originally accepted to the IU master’s program with a TA in 1979 but instead accepted a concertmaster position with the Tulsa Philharmonic. She joined the Utah Symphony in 1982 and has been there since. She’s excited to return to Jacobs to study and practice—and would ideally like a place where she could practice at home as well.

Lynn has three children—one starting college and twins in high school—who will stay in Salt Lake City with her husband, a clarinetist. She plans to travel back home a few times during the year. She’s also an experienced Airbnb superhost (though her listing will be paused this year), which speaks to her conscientiousness and ability to maintain a clean, welcoming space.

If you have any creative ideas for housing, we’d appreciate it. Several years ago, our friends’ daughter came from Germany on a Fullbright and lived for 6 months in our neighbor Stine Levy’s home. It was before Stine needed full-time care, but having another person around added an important level of safety and comradeship for her. I’m wondering if we all know anyone who’d appreciate such a companion for the coming year.

Lynn plans to arrive in Bloomington before August 20. You can reach her directly at musicbox@xmission.com, or feel free to contact me Mary Craig and Markus Vodosek using this contact form if you have any leads or suggestions.

Thanks so much for giving this request some consideration!

Mary Craig

Check out the new listings on the Bulletin Board at the Courtyard entrance. Carol Ver Wiebe diligently updates them with newspaper clippings about UU's in the News!