VirtUUal Faith Formation: May 28, 2021
Many Ways to Connect
Parents’ Chat: Coffee with Kathy – Saturday, June 5 or Sunday, June 13 at 10 am – Join me for a virtual cup of coffee (or tea) and share your thoughts about our Faith Formation (RE) Program this fall as we look at ways of being back together in person again. Sign up here!
Sidewalk Chalk Games and Art – June 6th – 4-5:30 pm! All ages are invited to gather in the UCE parking lot for some sidewalk chalk games and art! Bring a spirit of playfulness and your creativity!
High School Youth – June 27 will be our next gathering, either late afternoon or early evening. Look for an email with details soon!
Current & Upcoming Adult Faith Formation
Sealed by Katie Langston: Q&A with the Author – Tuesday, June 1 at 7 pm – Katie Langston’s memoir, Sealed, tells the story of her conversion to mainline Christianity out of Mormonism. Attendance at the 4/27 reading group led by Ruth Orme-Johnson is not required to also attend the Q&A.
Deepening UU Identity – June 30 at 6:30-8 pm at UCE –Ever wonder what’s up in the balcony? Did you even know we had a balcony? What’s it like to stand in the pulpit or peek behind the chancel? Do you even know what the chancel is or how it got there? Come to church for a tour of the building you thought you knew. Learn about the history of our congregation, what the church was like when we first moved in. Join in a scavenger hunt of hidden passageways and lost artifacts. This is an event for all ages and whole families. As with all church activities, you’ll need to wear a mask.
Forum Discussion Group Meets Sunday, June 6
Have you attended it? Avoided it? Wondered about it? A team is forming to plan 9 months of Forums for next church year, that is 18 sessions in all (two per month). Would you like to offer some topics for the Forum to tackle next year? You are invited to help shape these sessions. Your input is gonna be helpful. Email or call Shirley Adams, Diane Markel, Bob Mesle, or Steve Serikaku and offer ideas or join the team! The more, the merrier!
Urgent Need for Lunches: May 28, 2021
Connections for the Homeless provides sack lunches at three locations in Evanston, Monday through Friday, year round. Volunteer sign-ups are not keeping up with the need right now. If you have been thinking about trying this, NOW is the time.
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).
How do you get started?
- 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 to let her know the date and location you have chosen. msmaggie6@comcast.net
- Pick up a bag with nonperishable components of 25 lunches from Carol Nielsen. 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. The cost of fresh foods for one lunch is about $1.54, so you can do 25 lunches for $40-$45.
Need coaching? Please contact Sheila Holder at skholder8@gmail.com
Thanks for all you do,
Carol Nielsen, Maggie Weiss, Sheila Holder
Endowment Task Force Update: May 28, 2021
As a reminder, the Endowment Task Force consists of two members of the Endowment Committee, (Jane Kenamore and Margaret Schatz), two members of the Board of Trustees (Joe Romeo and Tom Ticknor), two members representing the Integrated Stewardship Council (Rob Wingader and Susan Comstock) and one member at large to represent the congregation as a whole, (Alice Swan).
So far the ETF has met three times. We have been working to identify issues we hope to address. We began by listing those topics of which we were aware based on our experience. We have added many more that were submitted by members of the congregation in response to our survey. We are building collaboration and developing a plan to address concerns which will ultimately be presented to the congregation.
We also want to be sure that we keep track of those practices we want to continue. If you would like, please send Joe Romeo a note to include any of those which occur to you.
Thank you very much for the continued interest in this critical asset.
Anti-Oppression Task Force Update: May 28, 2021
The Anti-Oppression Task Force Planning Group has assisted the UCE Board with entering into a contract with YWCA Evanston/North Shore’s Equity Institute. As consultants, the YWCA will assist with the formation of our anti-oppression task force. Thank you to everyone who submitted an interest form for this task force. You will be hearing from Rev. Eileen Wiviott or Rev. Susan Frances shortly.
The Planning Group has officially dissolved after setting the foundation for the newly forming anti-oppression task force to begin its job of dismantling white supremacy culture in our congregation and working with community partners. Thank you to everyone who was involved with the Planning Group over the past year:
Rev. Eileen Wiviott
Rev. Karen Gustafson
Rev. Susan Frances
Jessica Tomell-Presto, UCE Board Chair
Martha Holman
Shannon Lang
Linda LaPlante
Carolyn Laughlin
Beth McDonald
Sally Parsons
Joe Romeo
Donna Schiller
Steve Serikaku
Gail Smith
Sarah Vanderwicken
The consultants from the YWCA Evanston/North Shore’s Equity Institute working with UCE will be Tiffany McDowell, Equity Institute Director, and Eileen Heineman, Manager of Equity Institute Community Outreach. Members of their staff will provide supporting roles as needed.
The task force will be forming over the summer and the next communication about its work, including its formal name, will be from the task force itself. Among its first tasks will be team building, formation of an operating structure or leadership model, and creating a work plan. As efforts get underway, the task force will be calling on congregants to assist in various tasks. Working to dismantle oppressions is a life-long endeavor and you are encouraged to share your reflections, creativity, and vision with the task force.
May 30, 2021
We will host an online worship service on Sunday, May 30th at 11:15 am.
Collective Grieving
Memorial Day is a time set aside for collective mourning. This year we mourn the deaths from COVID-19 of almost 3.5 million people worldwide. This year we mourn the deaths of our loved ones and friends who died from causes unrelated to COVID-19, but because of the pandemic we were unable to grieve for them in our usual ways. This Memorial Day Weekend, let us come together to celebrate their lives, to honor the myriad ways we have mourned, and to acknowledge the ways in which our grief will continue to be actively with us as we gather together in-person more frequently and with more people.
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 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 Deborah’s Place.
VirtUUal Faith Formation: May 21, 2021
What’s Happening in Faith Formation?
Welcome as we continue our theme, Story! This week we focus on the segments At the Bedside, The Extra Mile, and Blessing. 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 – our last week! We will meet at UCE on the lawn at 5:30p for a short celebration and session.
Pre/K Kids and Families – POP (Parents of Preschoolers) – May’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.
High School Youth – We know this last month of school will be busy, so we won’t be meeting. Plans are being made for an in-person gathering next month, so look for an email soon!
Sidewalk Chalk Games and Art – June 6th – 4-5:30 pm! All ages are invited to gather in the UCE parking lot for some sidewalk chalk games and art! Bring a spirit of playfulness and your creativity!
Current & Upcoming Adult Faith Formation
Deepening UU Identity – May 26 at 7-8:30 pm via Zoom and June 30 at 6:30-8 pm at UCE – Join us for our next session UU Spirituality: what does spirituality mean to us and how can we practice spirituality however we answer ultimate questions. Led by Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan Frances.
Sealed by Katie Langston: Q&A with the Author – Tuesday, June 1 at 7 pm – Katie Langston’s memoir, Sealed, tells the story of her conversion to mainline Christianity out of Mormonism. Attendance at the 4/27 reading group led by Ruth Orme-Johnson is not required to also attend the Q&A.
From EOD: May 21, 2021
Before launching into this exciting update on upcoming events and ongoing changes at UCE, I’d like to remind everyone to help us make our year-end budget by ensuring that your pledge payments are complete for this fiscal year ending on June 30. Vickie Doebele, Staff Accountant, will be sending out statements at the end of this month. Your generosity and financial support are greatly appreciated.
We are fast approaching our first-ever UCE Parking Lot Pop-Up Sale. Carol Nielsen and I have been ramping up all of the planning in preparation for Saturday’s big event. We have sixteen vendors to sale their wares, a bike selling area, a jewelry table and an art area. Many have stepped up to take a table, set up, do sales, clean-up, work the food tent, and greet guests as they arrived. Nick the Balloon Guy will be there shaping his incredible animal balloon sculptures. You must plan to be there for a day of fun and so many bargains. For participants the set-up time is 8 a.m. The sale opens at 10 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. Here are a few preview photos.
Outside our landscaping is shaping up. Barbara Butz has been working for weeks planting our pollinator garden. Plants are taking root and emerging to fill the space in our west garden.
Just to the south along the west wall of the wing, Carol Nielsen and I have been tackling improvement of the old, tired and dying trees and bushes with our landscaper Ernesto. Carol has carefully chosen grasses to provide color, texture and interest year-round. Next time you are there (hopefully Saturday), please take a look at the trees and grasses planted along our building.
These and other improvements have happened due to the generosity of this congregation. Our Capital Campaign funded new sewers, a new parking lot surface, a lighted walkway from Greenwood, new planters, a pollinator garden and new plant life along the wing.
Projects continue indoors. New furniture for Room 2 arrived today. Next week our team will choose carpet. Once the carpet is installed, Room 2 is ready for use with its beautiful new look – new shades, ceilings tiles, lighting, furniture and carpet.
Construction is set for June 30 for the Accessibility Ramp and Playscape. This timing is, of course, dependent on the issuance of the building permit. Artist Indira Johnson will meet with Faith Formation families soon to make mosaics for the walkways. Once the hardscape is installed the space will be transformed with flowers, grasses and bushes making it a tranquil area for meetings and a fun area for children to roam through paths finding magical fairy houses, climbing on logs and enjoying the new Intergenerational Playscape.
The sanctuary cooling work continues. Next week our HVAC company will review the findings of a report submitted by a company we hired to do a design development report. Once complete, we will have a better sense of the decisions our team needs to make. Our project team works closely with our Capital Campaign Implementation Committee and leadership at UCE.
Gilliam Lawrence and Johna VanDyke continue to work with our team on lobby upgrades. We are on the verge of choosing furniture. Carpet has been ordered for the lobby ramp and sanctuary platform. Decisions are still being made on exactly what is needed to provide a space that is welcoming and comfortable for all who enter no matter your age or physical abilities. We look forward to our littles being able to hang their own coats in our lobby coat area. Stay tuned for progress as we work toward returning to our space in September.
I was pleased to see how many members and friends attended our Annual Meeting. This meeting marks an important transition in our church year for staff as we begin to wind down after several busy months. Once the Pop-Up Sale is over, I have a few trips planned. I will celebrate my mom’s 94th birthday and joyfully visit my family, most of whom I have not seen for 1.5 years. I will travel to the Seattle area soon, as my son Ryan, who so many of you know from his time as lobby staff at UCE, is moving there with his partner Samantha. I will take this time to help them settle in and enjoy some outdoor adventures in nature. Rest and restoration will pave the way for our partial return to the building in September.
Sandra Robinson, Executive Operations Director
Staff Profile – Adam Gough: May 21, 2021
Adam Gough is truly a Renaissance Man. He operates, manages, and maintains the technical tools that keep our programs and worship services humming. In his role as Congregational Life Assistant, he assists senior staff, freeing them from tasks such as chasing down copyrights to music (critical but time-consuming), doing production for livestream events, and making our virtual choir recordings come alive in a rich and seamless way. For those who wish to join a covenant group, he finds one with openings. He manages the new member process as point person before folks join as members. He also curates Realm. And he is a certified Operations Specialist who can handle most IT problems that pop up in the office.
Adam is an accomplished bass trombone player, a composer of musical scores (as well as songs for an album he hopes to produce), creator of sound effects for games and videos, and photographer of toys he captures in arresting poses that he shares with fans on Instagram.
Reverend Eileen says Adam’s work with the congregation is ministry through technology. Using his skills to deepen the healing and richness that music and images provide, Adam helps contributes to the pastoral care of the congregation. Responding to cries for support on technical issues, he is pleased to help and is often hailed for his patience, understanding, and ability to make people comfortable. As he often says, “I’m here to help. Call on me. It’s my job.”
Find out more about Adam on the UCE website under the About tab, Who We Are, Ministers and Staff. Check out his music and sound effects at his website, adamgoughsound.com.