Help keep people warm: January 21, 2022

Yellow knitted hat on wooden background.

The Rainbow Alliance has teamed up with the Giving House to collect winter hats, gloves, and hand warmers for Connections for the Homeless. Connections serves people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity on the north shore of Chicago. The hats and gloves should be for men. Hand warmers are very much appreciated as well.

Because we will be returning to in-person services on February 13th:

  • Buy your item(s) and bring them to the lobby on either Feb. 13th, 20th, or 27th.

  • Place your items in the Giving House structure that sits in the lobby. (If you don’t see it, please ask someone at the desk and they will help you locate it.)

Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Help keep people warm: January 21, 20222022-01-26T19:41:25+00:00

New Titles Added to Rainbow Alliance Transgender Lending Library

Rainbow Alliance announces the addition of 27 new titles to the UCE Transgender Lending Library. The additions span all age groups from pre-school through adult. These books range from fiction to anthologies, sociology resources, and one graphic novel.

Here’s a preview of a few of these informative and inspiring books:

Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress by Christine Baldacchino: A picture book about a sensitive and artistic child who is bullied for wearing an orange dress. Presents a  message of self-empowerment. Winner of three accolades, including the American Library Association’s Rainbow List. Pre-K – Grade 2.

George by Alex Gino: George wants to play Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web in her 4th grade class play. The teacher says no, she can’t, because she’s a boy. George hatches a plan to be Charlotte and also to show who she really is. Winner of multiple book awards. For Grades 4-6.

Beyond Magenta by Kuklin: Interviews with and photos of six transgender teens as they describe the transition each of them made to recognize their true selves. A Stonewall Honor Book. Teens.

Outside the XY, Morgan Mann Willis, editor: an anthology of more than 50 autobiographical pieces by people of of black or brown color that examine what it is like to inhabit masculinity outside of cisgendered manhood. Offers a variety of perspectives from those too often marginalized. Adults.

Becoming Nicole by Amy Ellis Nutt: a true account of a family learning to embrace a transgender child. Based on 4 years of reporting by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist. Includes glossary, reader’s guide, and bibliography. A New York Times Notable Book and recipient of accolades from People, Men’s Journal, and  Stonewall Honors in Nonfiction. Adults.

The Transgender Lending Library book cart is outside Room 3. Browse through the books. You’re sure to find something you’ll want to read.

New Titles Added to Rainbow Alliance Transgender Lending Library2017-07-26T16:46:48+00:00

Transgender Lending Library

Six books are now available for sign-out on transgender issues, as put together by the Rainbow Alliance. Ranging from historical perspective to fiction, from bios to personal essays, from adult to children, in their own way all present a truth worthy of exploration.

Available for sign-out now. Look for them on the new lending library shelves.

Transgender History: Covers the history of the transgender movement from the mid-20th century through 2008. The first chapter includes a useful vocabulary breakdown. There’s an extensive resources list for other materials.

Gender Outlaws: the Next Generation: A personal look at the lives of a range of transgender folks. Essays, commentary, comic art, and conversations, all of which explore what gender means. Written by Kate Bornstein, who authored the original Gender Outlaws. Kate’s collaborator S. Bear Bergman is an award- winning author, storyteller, and performer.

Gender Failure: a creative book with alternating biographical essays. Includes song lyrics, photos, and art. Spoon, an indie folk-electronic musician, writes of the difficulties of dating when questioning one’s identity. Coyote, an author and spoken-word performer, writes of the decision to get a bilateral mastectomy.

Red: A Crayon’s Story: A picture book that makes the point to be true to your inner self, despite the opinions of others. A blue crayon mislabeled red tries to live up to the expectations of others who want him to conform to what red is. A new friend offers a fresh perspective that makes all the difference. Works as an uplifting story for children (pre-school through kindergarten) and as an allegory for adults.

10,000 Dresses: about a gender-variant child’s struggle to become who she feels she is inside. Bailey dreams about magical dresses but no one appreciates her passion. When Bailey meets Laurel, her life changes. NOTE: some reviewers thought negative elements in the story were not resolved. We advise you read Dresses before sharing with your child. Elementary reader level.

Symptoms of Being Human: the teen offering in our compendium. A debut novel in which Riley, the protagonist, is tagged an “it” in high school. Riley identifies as gender fluid and is forced to decide if they should come out when their anonymous blog attracts threats. Deals with many teens’ feelings of isolation.

Transgender Lending Library2017-05-24T14:18:45+00:00

Welcoming Congregation

The Unitarian Church of Evanston holds the status of a “Welcoming Congregation” within the Unitarian Universalist Association and continues to follow a course of study developed by the UUA to uphold that status. As a Welcoming Congregation, UCE pledges to address the needs of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people at every level of congregational life, and celebrate the lives and loves of all people in the spirit of the first principle of Unitarian Universalism.The Welcoming Congregation program initiated by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is a volunteer program for congregations to become more inclusive towards bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgender people. The goal of the program is to reduce prejudice by increasing understanding and acceptance among people of different sexual orientations.

UCE has followed the UUA program and has been granted the status of “Welcoming Congregation.” UCE has audited its practices of welcoming gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people and has worked toward increasing understanding and acceptance among people of different sexual orientations.

As the UUA states, “Our vision goes beyond the Welcoming Congregation Program. By taking this first step, we hope to explore more issues such as sexism, racism, ablesim, and others. Being a Welcoming Congregation can act as a catalyst to learning more about ourselves and to ending exclusion. Only when we are truly open to the wealth of diversity in our world will the inherent worth and dignity of every person be affirmed with a large voice.”

Welcoming Congregation2017-05-24T14:18:46+00:00
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