Members and Friends opportunities are being planned for outdoor activities at UCE this summer and here is the first one of the season. You will have the chance, in a safe environment, to see fellow congregants you may not have seen in months.  

I invite you to join in on the fun for our first-ever UCE Parking Lot Pop-up Sale. May 22, 2021 (rain date May 29) 10-2. This is an important fundraising event for UCE and is guaranteed to be fun for people of all ages. There will be a balloon guy to entertain the children while parents socialize and sell items no longer needed that could be treasured by others. Proceeds from the sale will benefit UCE in lieu of our regular Annual Rummage Sale.   

The planning team is making it easy for everyone to participate in one way or another. If you have items you want to bring, but not enough for a table, you can share with someone else. If you are concerned about being at a table alone, no worries, we will get a buddy who can keep you company or just take over while you get something to eat or drink or go to the washroom. Whatever the challenge is Carol Nielsen and our enthusiastic Pop Up Sale Team will help resolve it. We want everyone to feel welcome and able to participate in some way.  

We need individuals and groups to host a table or volunteer to make this event a success. Tables so far include the UCE choir, the Board of Trustees, Staff, The Chris Isely Cancer Support Group and others. We are so excited for this springtime event outside where we can gather to have fun and support UCE. Talk to your covenant group, your proximity partner friends, book group, or other affinity group you belong to and encourage their participation. It will be fun and will help us make our fiscal year financial goals.  

UCE Covid Guidelines, including wearing masks and social distancing, will be followed for the protection of all who sell and attend. Feel free to email me at srobinson@ucevanston.org with any questions you may have.  

Speaking of our outdoor space, if you drive through our parking lot you may see Barbara Butz and Nancy Lee planting pollinator plants for our new garden just east of the bike racks on the west lawn. Congregants have been donating plants and these two have been planting this week. On the south end of the lot we have had the 35 year old  tired and shabby bushes in the planters along the west wall of the wing removed. New soil and installation of grasses and other plants that will show interest and color throughout the year will replace the old bushes.  

On the east side of the building, you will notice that major repair has been done to the spalling concrete and the hand railings have been reinstalled. While this is not the entrance to our church, it is important for it to remain safe and visibly pleasing to all who pass by. Before we return to UCE at some point in the fall, new signage will be made for the east doors.  

Several Capital Campaign projects have been accomplished as you have read in previous newsletter articles. Each week several teams meet and make decisions to keep projects moving forward.  

Last week the Sanctuary Cooling Team entered into a contract with Blue Frost Heating and Cooling for a Design Development Study so that our team can decide between two options that we have chosen. We are trying to determine if one system is better for the environment over the other and how these fit into our budget plan. Our plan is to begin installation this summer.  

Currently Gillian Lawrence is working on a plan for the lobby to assist our Lobby Wing Refurb Team on flow of the space taking into consideration input from users of the space that we met with which includes Hospitality, Membership, Accessibility, Inclusion, History and Families, and others. This plan will help us decide how to place furnishings in the most welcoming, safe and attractive way.  

The Intergenerational Playscape installation of the ramp and walkways is planned to begin in June with landscaping to follow in July. I am currently working with Preservation and Zoning for approvals on the drawings. Accessibility and generational inclusion has been considered at every step of planning. This will be a beautiful and fun space to be outdoors at UCE whether it is children playing or a meeting taking place, it will be a lovely new useful area for our congregation. We have received a generous donation from the Woods family for the Accessibility Ramp which will be named in honor of Alma and Dave Woods.  

Furniture for Room 2 is on its way. Lighting has been completed in the lobby and Room 2. Carpet for the sanctuary steps has been ordered. As you have heard previously, lighting and shades were installed as well as new flooring throughout the wing. 

Projects for the coming year include an accessible and inclusive in the lower level, a hearing loop for the sanctuary, security cameras for the interior space and funding of a Building Fund for future repairs and improvements. 

Last week I received a call from the Schweikher Foundation, which is located in the home of Martyl Langsdorf who painted the large mural in the sanctuary and designed the stained glass that graces the east and west doors. Four members of staff and documents from the foundation were thrilled to find verification of information they have been tracking and were excited to see drawings of our sanctuary building. They verified that the chairs were designed for our building, built in Denmark and shipped here. There is another church in the southern suburbs that have the same blue slit windows and chairs that we do. Our church is recognized by architects and artists for the significant contributions that Paul Schweikher made during the modernism period. They would like to host an evening at (or on zoom) about our building and its significance.  

This sounds like a fun idea and will be helpful in educating so many of the younger generation of our congregation that are not familiar with the historical or architectural significance of our building and its artwork. Groups from the Art Institute have visited UCE over the years to feast their eyes on our space.  

Sandra Robinson, Executive Operations Director