June 2020 - Page 3 of 3

Days of Social Action: June 5, 2020

There are so many ways you can participate in social action, from showing up, signing on, donating, or committing yourself to learn more. Here are daily lists of actions you can take part in, on the front lines or from your home. Actions are gathered from the UUA, Moveon, Indivisible, UUSJ, Color of Change, SUR, Faithful America.

Saturday

Show UP Stand WITH: Activate: Chicago March for Justice for George Floyd – Saturday, June 6th at 11 a.m. Where: Humboldt Park Boathouse (former home of Chance the Snapper). We will march to end Police Brutality. We will march because #blacklivesmatter. We march for justice for George Floyd and his Family. Please wear masks – This march will be peaceful.
Show UP to Stand WITH: Display a BLACK LIVES MATTER! Sign in your yard: REAL Message: Signs are now available for UCE members and friends and neighbors. Signs may be purchased and picked up between 1 pm and 6 pm from Annette Wallace. Call 847-826-6825 to assure a pickup time and for address and parking instructions. Bring $10 cash per sign (you can donate more if you wish). You may also pay by check made out to UCE with BLM in memo line. Contribution goes to Chicago Community Bond Fund, The Moran Center, and the purchase of additional signs. Safety measures are being followed. We ask that you wear a mask and keep at least 6 feet distance during pickup and payment.
We recommend that you display a sign, and that you take some additional antiracist action. Need some ideas? Check out the UCE home page “Take Action.”
Read this article on Performative Allyship and how to engage in powerful activism beyond social media.
Sign ON to Stand WITH: Color of Change: Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was in her home in Louisville, KY on March 13thwhen officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department barged in without a warning nor announcement and broke through her door, fired off more than 20 bullets, and ultimately took Breonna’s life. #JusticeforBre: Police officers who killed Breonna Taylor must be FIRED.
Give MONEY to Stand WITH: NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
Commit to LEARN to Stand WITH: Read this article in the Atlantic titled “When People View Citizens as Enemies.”

Sunday

Show UP to Stand WITH: Faithful America: Keep showing up. If you’re a white person who can attend protests, please do so. Be sure to follow the lead of organizers of color, and be willing to protect them if asked when the police arrive. Wear something that identifies you as a person of faith lifting up the moral voice. Learn de-escalation and bystander-intervention tactics.
Show UP to Stand WITH: Join in the Movement for Black Lives in daily action. The time for action is now, people are taking to the streets, flooding social media, calling local officials and demanding justice for those who have been killed by the police all over the county and now is the time to join them.
Sign ON to Stand WITH: Color of Change: Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was in her home in Louisville, KY on March 13thwhen officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department barged in without a warning nor announcement and broke through her door, fired off more than 20 bullets, and ultimately took Breonna’s life. #JusticeforBre: Police officers who killed Breonna Taylor must be FIRED.
Give MONEY to Stand WITH: Black Lives Matter Global Network
Commit to LEARN to Stand WITH: UUA: Join the “Unfinished Business” political education series hosted by Side with Love and Love Resists (starting Wednesday June 10).

Monday

Make CALLS to Stand WITH: UUSJ: Police/National Guard murdered David Mcatee in Louisville around 12 am as they shot blindly into a crowd outside Mcatee’s business. Governor Beshear is allowing LMPD to independently investigate themselves. This cannot stand. Calls must be made:
- Mayor Greg Fischer – Call (502) 574-2003
- Governor Beshear – Call (502) 564-2611
- County Attorney- Call (502) 574-6336
- SCRIPT: My name is [X] and I am calling to ask for the following actions in response to the murder of David Mcatee:
  - Immediate release of all body camera footage
  - Appoint citizen review panel with subpoena power to investigate
  - (Mayor only) immediately appoint interim police chief
  - (Mayor only) immediately fire the officers involved in shooting David Mcatee as well as those responsible for Breonna Taylor’s murder.
Sign ON to Stand WITH: Color of Change: Keep echoing the demands of Black organizers. Sign the “State of Emergency: End the War on Black people!” list of demands from Color of Change, one of the most important civil-rights organizations of the digital age.
Give MONEY to Stand WITH: Chicago Community Bond Fund: Chicagoland bail fund
Commit to LEARN to Stand WITH: Listen to Trevor Noah as he reflects with wisdom and compassion on what is going on in America. https://youtu.be/v4amCfVbA_c He speaks truth to power.

Tuesday

Show UP to Stand WITH: SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice) Check to see if a local SURJ chapter near you is already planning an action, join them and help them organize — find a chapter near you here. Stay in this moment by taking one of the actions listed here.
Sign ON to Stand WITH: UUA: Support the uprising and commit to joining other UUs in working to combat the violence of militarism and the police state: Share this message widely with your networks. Speak about your convictions in support of Black liberation. Articulate your support of Black organizing, grounded in your Unitarian Universalist faith. Have hard conversations with your family, your social networks, your neighbors. And sign up at this link to be connected with a network of UUs committing to learning, reflecting, and acting together.
Give MONEY to Stand WITH: Color of Change Education Fund – Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization.
Commit to LEARN to Stand WITH: UUA: Check out this full list of “Resources for Accountability and Action for Black Lives” which will be updated regularly

Wednesday

Show UP to Stand WITH: From SURJ: Post images and content from the Movement for Black Lives @mvmnt4blklives. They have called for Trump to resign and continue to call for the defunding of the police. Find, follow, and amplify local Black-led organizing.
Sign ON to Stand WITH: UUA: We have called on the Minneapolis City Council to become these visionary leaders by pledging to defund the Minneapolis Police Department and invest in the resources that really keep us safe and healthy, especially in Black communities, Indigenous communities and communities of color.
Give MONEY to Stand WITH: Black Visions Collective – Black Visions Collective (BLVC) believes in a future where all Black people have autonomy, safety is community-led, and we are in right relationship within our ecosystems.
Commit to LEARN to Stand WITH: Read this article about 75 things that white people can do for racial justice.

Thursday

Make CALLS to Stand WITH: Use the Winning Justice Prosecutor Project from Color of Change to make calls to keep pressure on the two District Attorneys to take responsibility for the large role they played in delaying justice for the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. Make calls now.
Sign ON to Stand WITH: UUSJ: On May 27th, 2020, Tony McDade, a black transgender masculine person was shot five times in the back and killed by a Tallahassee Police Department (TPD) officer. TPD, notorious for its racism, white supremacy, and transphobia has consistently misgendered Tony and refused to release the officer’s body camera footage and/or admit their wrongdoing in murdering and misgendering an unarmed black trans person. Please join us in demanding #JusticeForTony.
Give MONEY to Stand WITH: Reclaim the Block: Community fund
Commit to LEARN to Stand WITH: This document is intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work. If you haven’t engaged in anti-racism work in the past, start now.

Friday

Show UP to Stand WITH: Poor Peoples Campaign: Join the June 20th virtual march on Washington with the Poor Peoples Campaign. Stay in Place! Stay Alive! Organize! The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is calling for people across the country to Stay in Place! Stay Alive! Organize! And Don’t Believe the Lies! Right now, states are beginning to reopen against the best recommendations of doctors, public health officials and other experts. State legislatures, governors, and the federal government are putting millions of people, especially the poor, at great risk by reopening too soon.
Sign ON to Stand WITH: UUSJ: Demand resignation of Brunswick District Attorney Jackie Johnson for not issuing a warrant of arrest for the murderers of Ahmaud Arbery on February 23, 2020. On Sunday, February 23, 2020, Ahmaud Arbery was unarmed when he was chased and gunned down by Travis and Gregory McMichael. They should have been arrested on February 23rd and as a result she should resign due to judicial malpractice. Click here to sign
Give MONEY to Stand WITH: Black Visions Collective: Supporting Black activists on the ground
Commit to LEARN to Stand WITH: Watch Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III – As our country struggles with a fresh epidemic of senseless deaths of African Americans, Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III has a powerful message for us, “When Is Someday?” This message serves are a prelude to his sermonic video, “The Cross and the Lynching Tree: A Requiem for Ahmaud Arbery.” Two messages to awaken your spirit, open your hearts, and inspire you to action.

Days of Social Action: June 5, 2020UCE UCE2020-06-10T23:21:28+00:00

From your UCE Ministers: June 5, 2020

Beloveds,

We’re running out of ways to express our weariness and outrage. Words are not enough. Like you, we are sickened by the ongoing killing of Black People by police officers who are shielded in a system designed to murder and oppress, rather than protect, Black life. We are working to stay in the discomfort and pain necessary to be in the struggle without succumbing to fragility. Dismantling white supremacy, so clearly on display in every single facet of our society, is ALL of ours to struggle with.

We, your ministers, are working to contribute our voices and bodies and minds to this struggle in the ways we can. This struggle cannot wait another single minute. It cannot wait for another precious life to be snuffed out by abusive power without rebuke. We know that you are in the struggle too, each in your own way. We see you and we love you.

We say enough is enough. We say white silence equals white violence. We say Black Lives Matter. We say all of their names and hold space in between for the thousands whose names we do not know. We hold silence for the millions who have not died but have been subjected to our racist systems. We hold space for the countless who have asked and even screamed over time for help, who we could not see or actively ignored. We say no more. You are our people. We are outraged and grieve with you. When George cried for his mother, all mothers heard his voice. When he said he could not breath, he demanded that all who breathe hear and be held to task. 

Some have asked if there will be a vigil in Evanston to honor the lives of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, and countless others. Our answer is this: we will go, as we are able, where we are asked to go by our kin who are suffering most at the hands of white supremacy in all the forms it takes – the neglect of our healthcare system, the indifference of our economic system, the bias of our education system, the cruelty of our prison system, and the grotesque abuse with impunity of our policing system. We will go where we are asked to go by organizations like Black Lives Matter, Color of Change, and leaders in the Black communities around us. We will show up with our bodies in solidarity with Black bodies who are valued less in every aspect of our shared society.

We will show up with you even when it is hard and may cost us. We show up with you as we struggle to do it right. We show up with you as you once again put your trust in our working to dismantle the systems built to bring safety only to a segment of us. We see you. We will show up with you. 

We have a responsibility, in our mostly white progressive congregation, to stay in the struggle in whatever ways we can. Not everyone can go to a protest or a march. We want you to hear us: You do not have to put your life at risk to be in the struggle. You do not need to contribute money if you do not have money to give. But there are many ways to stay in the struggle, to not let up, to not let a fascist and cowardly dictator silence our constitutional right to protest abusive power. We will not be silent.

We will work to engage our own racism, so People of Color do not need to lead in that fight as well. We will work to follow the lead of the communities most impacted and we will listen and give preference to their needs. We will call one another out and in, educate ourselves, and honor the life-giving resources People of Color have made available in abundance.

There are many ways to contribute and participate. Here are some:

Activate: Chicago March for Justice for George Floyd

Saturday, June 6th at 11 a.m.

Where: TBD

Please wear masks

This march will be peaceful

We will march to end Police Brutality
We will march because #blacklivesmatter
We march for justice for George Floyd and his Family

This march will be peaceful

Evanston United Black Men Rally to Support Black Lives

Sunday, June 7th at 2pm at Fountain Square (downtown Evanston)

Meet in the UCE parking lot at 1:30 to walk over together

To volunteer contact:

Omar Brown (312) 339 – 4537

Jared Davis (847) 708 – 0426

Jude Laude (708) 833 – 3017

Go to the Movement for Black Lives. They have posted a week of action with understanding and appreciation for all the levels of risk people are willing and able to take: https://m4bl.org/week-of-action/

Contribute to the Chicago Area Bond Fund to help those who are detained as victims of structural violence. Many have been arrested unfairly during the extreme and militarized response to largely peaceful protests in the city and around the country. It is important that we not let people languish in jail.

Display a BACK LIVES MATTER! Sign in your yard:

REAL Message: Signs are now available for UCE members and friends and neighbors.

Black Lives Matter signs may be purchased and picked up between 1pm and 6pm at Annette Wallace’s home.
Call Annette Wallace 847-826-6825 to assure a pickup time and for address and parking instructions.
Bring $10 cash per sign (you can donate more if you wish). You may also pay by check made out to UCE with BLM in memo line.
Contribution goes to Chicago Community Bond Fund www.chicagobond.org, The Moran Center www.moran-center.org, and the purchase of additional signs.
Safety measures are being followed. We ask that you wear a mask and keep at least 6 feet distance during pickup and payment.
We recommend that you display a sign, and that you take some additional antiracist action. Need some ideas? Check out the UCE home page “Take Action”: www.ucevanston.org.

Read this article on Performative Allyship and how to engage in powerful activism beyond social media.

This has been and will continue to be a long struggle. We will only be able to stay in it and recognize and dismantle the systems of oppression that are rampant all around us by being in community with one another and partners to our siblings at the front lines.

With love and in our shared faith,

Rev. Eileen Wiviott

Rev. Karen Mooney

Rev. Karen Gustafson

From your UCE Ministers: June 5, 2020UCE UCE2020-06-04T21:36:03+00:00

Staff Appreciation – Vickie Hellyer

Thanks and Congratulations to Vickie Hellyer!

The Board of Trustees and Executive Team celebrate UCE Director of Music, Vickie Hellyer. Vickie joined us in 2015, and has led our choir with creativity, patience, love, and generosity of spirit. For 24 years, Vickie has also served the DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church as their Choir Director once a month. This Sunday will be her last Sunday with the DuPage Church and we celebrate her long tenure and service to Unitarian Universalism through worship and song.

In addition to her work with the UCE choir, Vickie coordinates beautiful musical performances for worship services on non-choir Sundays. She is always eager to select challenging pieces that add to the theme and message of the overall worship experience and goes above and beyond to support choristers of all levels to rise to the occasion. She makes recordings for them to practice with and holds extra rehearsals.

During this time when we are not able to be, or sing, together, Vickie has spent countless hours guiding choir members and section leaders to join their voices virtually and create powerful pieces. She coordinates all the section leads and singers of the hymns and arranges instrumentalists. Vickie also meets with singers each Thursday to enable the choir to remain connected, and practice in new ways.

One choir member says of Vickie, “Through her warm heartedness, attention to personal details, and a wonderful sense of humor she has created a community of caring within the choir. We are more than just a group of singers.”

Vickie, you contribute so much to the life of the church – when we meet in person and when we meet on-line. – and we appreciate your many gifts.

Staff Appreciation – Vickie HellyerUCE UCE2020-06-01T20:48:46+00:00

June 2020 Shared Offering

The Shared Plate donations for the month of June will go to ICIRR, the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. ICIRR is a Chicago-based organization founded in 1986 which is dedicated to promoting the rights of immigrants and refugees to full and equal participation in the civic, cultural, social and political life of a diverse society. ICIRR is an inclusive entity that organizes, educates and demonstrates in matters concerning healthcare access, public benefits access, civic engagement, and citizenship. Their work is designed to promote the welfare and rights of all immigrants and refugees regardless of ethnic origin. It is the state’s largest multiethnic immigrant advocacy organization, supporting a population which receives little to no governmental funding and which lives under multiple threats including deportation, family separation, arrest, and violence.

ICIRR has been heavily involved in advocacy/policy on the local, state and national levels. Some of their initiatives have included:

Welcoming Illinois, Welcoming Cities
The fight against the Public Charge rule change by the Department of Homeland Security, and against the proposed HUD mixed-status rule
Advocacy for DACA
The publication of reports such as the “Platform for Resistance”, “Illinois Immigrant Political Almanac”, “Rock the Naturalized Vote”, “Affordable Care Act Implementation in Illinois: Overcoming Barriers to Immigrant Health Care Access”, “The Affordable Care Act (ACA): A Reflection on Immigrant Access in Illinois”, and others.

To find out more about ICIRR, please consult their website: https://www.icirr.org/

June 2020 Shared OfferingUCE UCE2020-06-01T19:22:59+00:00

June 7, 2020

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, June 7th at 11:15 am.

“Beauty and ugliness, as joy and woe, are woven fine” – Who owns the beauty and who has access to it? Who names the ugliness? Is it possible for thriving to emerge from rage and destruction? This will be a flower communion of a different kind.

Rev. Eileen leads the service, accompanied by Director of Lifespan Religious Education, Kathy Underwood, with several musical pieces directed by Vickie Hellyer.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note the 9:30 and 11:15 services are being rolled into one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) (click here to learn more).

June 7, 2020UCE UCE2020-06-01T19:23:18+00:00

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