VirtUUal Faith Formation: March 5, 2021
What’s Happening in Lifespan Faith Formation?
Welcome as we continue our theme of Commitment! This week we focus on the segments The Welcome Mat, At the Table, and The Message Board. Check out this week’s video here. You can access the Soulful Home packet here at your own leisure.
Many Ways to Connect
Taking Flight Sex Ed Program for 7th-9th Youth – Sunday at 1 pm. Youth must be registered to attend. Look for the email that went out with the link.
High School Youth – Virtually on Sunday at 4 pm. Look for an email with details.
Pre/K Kids and Families – POP (Parents of Preschoolers) – March’s materials are available here. The password is YouGotThis2020 (case sensitive.) This UU-based program is to be used all month long. Do whatever fits your family’s schedule.
Family Fun Outdoors – March 21 at 11 am – 12:30 pm – we will meet for a short hike at a local park or forest preserve. More details to come!
Upcoming Forum Discussion – March 7 at 10 am
The Forum’s Future
Leaders: Carol & Brian Nielsen and Kathy Underwood
This discussion will provide an opportunity for Forum participants to consider the future of the Forum, evaluate this past year’s program, and discuss plans for going forward. A survey to evaluate this year’s program to date can be found below. Please complete the survey by March 15. The survey loads slowly so please be patient.
Current & Upcoming Adult Faith Formation Programs
Towards an Understanding of BELOVED by Toni Morrison – Tuesday, March 2. 7-8:30 pm via Zoom. Facilitated by Barbara Mesle.
Neo-Paganism History, Theology, and Ritual – Tuesdays, March 16, 23, 30 at 7-8:30 pm via Zoom. Facilitated by Rev. Susan Frances and Taryn Seawright. In this three-part series, Taryn and Rev. Susan will explore the history, theology, and ritual of Neo-Paganism.
March Madness: March 5, 2021
I BET YOU THOUGHT “MARCH MADNESS” MEANT BASKETBALL
Good guess, but in our UCE world, it means a final power push to provide 12 more days of bagged lunches for the folks served by Evanston’s Connections for the Homeless. So far, we’ve scored over 1,000 fresh meals delivered and with 300 more we have a slam-dunk to finish up the season.
For everyone who has been contributing to this effort since last October, Bravo! – and a great big Thank You! This is a very satisfying project that can be done by volunteers who want to help, but need to avoid close contact with the public. It can be done by one person, or you can get together with a partner to share the tasks (and fun – put on the music while you make sandwiches). Dribbling while you dance is optional.
We’re here to help you score your own 3-pointer.
How do you get started?
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- Choose a day (Mon. through Fri.) from the calendar on the Connections website,
Connect2home.org Go to ‘volunteer’, ‘make bag lunches’, ‘sign up to prepare bag lunches to one of our locations’. This is also where you choose the location you prefer. - Email Maggie Weiss at msmaggie6@comcast.net to let her know the date and location you have chosen.
- Pick up a bag with nonperishable components of 25 lunches from Carol Nielsen.
- Choose a day (Mon. through Fri.) from the calendar on the Connections website,
This will contain juices, granola bars, condiments and individual bags for sandwiches and lunches. carolnielsen2100@gmail.com
Then, you buy the fresh items you will use in your lunches – bread, meat, and cheese to make sandwiches, and fresh fruit. We will pay for the non-perishables; you will pay for the fresh foods. We have found the best prices at ALDI, but shop wherever you choose.
For a more detailed shopping guide, please click the button below..
The cost of fresh foods for one lunch is about $1.54, so you can do 25 lunches for under $40.
Need coaching? Please contact Sheila Holder at skholder8@gmail.com
From Carol Nielsen, Maggie Weiss, Sheila Holder
Board Goals Update: March 5, 2021
As mentioned a couple months ago, the Board developed its goals for the church year at our annual retreat in July of 2020. We monitor our progress on a monthly basis. In case you want to check on how we are doing, here is a condensed list of the goals and which Board members are in charge of monitoring each one. You can get a short report from any of the Board members, or if you want to discuss any related issues, we always welcome opportunities to talk about UCE.
Every Pledge Matters: March 5, 2021
Every Pledge Matters … Especially YOURS!
The 2021-22 UCE pledge drive is officially underway!
If you haven’t already, please look for your pledge packet in your email inbox. There are three easy ways to pledge; please use the one that’s most convenient for you. If you have already pledged, you should have received a confirmation email from Jessica Meis. If you have submitted a pledge, but have not received a confirmation, email admin@ucevanston.org ASAP.
You’ll also want to check out all the resources on the Pledge Drive page, including a FAQ, tips on completing the Google form, how to set up automatic payments, and more.
One of our goals is 100% participation this year from all our members and pledging friends. Your pledge is an essential part of bringing UCE’s mission to life and light in this world!
Here’s how every dollar you give will fund these critical program areas:
Submit your pledge form as soon as you can and no later than March 14th.
PLUS, once you’ve submitted your pledge form, you’re automatically eligible for one of the fabulous door prizes at the March 13th Pledge Drive Celebration!
Thank you for your generosity … and may what you give bring you joy!
Questions? Jessica Meis is ready to help you at admin@ucevanston.org or (847) 864-1330.
March 7, 2021
We will host an online worship service on Sunday, March 7th at 11:15 am.
The 8th Principle
Our congregation is on an ongoing journey of shaping our welcoming community through our anti-racism and anti-oppression work. One part of this journey involves the proposed 8th Principle, which reads: “We … covenant to affirm and promote: Journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and in our institutions.”
This week we will touch upon the concepts encompassed within the 8th Principle. Together, we can actively engage in accountable anti-oppression and anti-racism work as we build Beloved Community.
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 there will only be one service time during the summer 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 Poor People’s Campaign.
From DLRE: March 5, 2021
What’s faith got to do with it?
Since my arrival at UCE, I have been engaging many of you in conversation about your thoughts on what the term “religious education” means to you and the congregation. For most, it is the teaching of Unitarian Universalism to children. And yet it is so much more! How so, you may be asking?
Let me count the ways…
- We strive to teach people from all ages and stages of life, not just children and youth.
- We yearn to learn about our world and our place in it, not just about UUism.
- We search for our truth about life’s Big Questions in community, with those who guide and challenge us along the way. “Teacher” is the common word for people who help us, but we can also say “guide”, “spirit guide”, “mentor”, “elder”, “sage”, “prophet”.
- We want to be transformed, not just educated.
- Faith is not a subject; it is a way of life that is to be modeled and lived – no matter what your beliefs are about the divine.
If the above is true, then does the term “religious education” encompass all of this? In my opinion, not entirely. Other words are being used more in our denomination, such as faith formation, faith development, religious exploration, spiritual development. I personally feel drawn to faith formation though. It speaks to the growth and learning across our lifespan, that it is a process that continues as we age. I asked some colleagues to chime in on what the difference is between religious education and faith formation, and here are a few of their thoughts:
- Religious education is teaching to model, and faith formation is a growing with the model.
- Faith formation is deep, broad, done in community, everyone doing it. Religious education is top-down, teacher knows, and student learns (might not be mono-directional in practice).
- Faith formation helps move us beyond reductive understanding of the word education.
- Faith formation is lifelong and evolving, and RE is equated as being mostly “for kids”.
We are beginning to use “faith formation” more in our language- on the website, in the newsletter, and in conversations. For some this is a moot point, and for others it is pushing buttons. I can understand the latter, as I have had some words hang me up, such as the word “church”. As I have grown in my understanding of spirituality and faith formation, I have become less sensitive to this, although I still experience it at times.
With the creation of the Faith Formation Force, aka F3, we will be exploring with curiosity what faith formation can look and feel like at UCE as one goes through the stages of life. How do we support and encourage each other to “yearn to learn” about our faith as Unitarian Universalist and human beings? What do we need along the way? What are the best and engaging ways to do this?
I am excited to be headed on this journey with you – transformation is a beautiful thing!
In Faith,
Kathy