Endowment Grants Approved: July 2, 2021
Submitted by Jane Kenamore
The Endowment Committee recommended, and the Board approved the following grants for FY21-22, in their respective June meetings:
Banner for the lobby showing the 8 Principles $950
Hybrid worship/conferencing equipment $18,600
Interfaith Action support for blankets, laundry, hospitality center $15,000
Family Focus scholarships $6,650
Leadership development scholarships $900
Storyteller for intergenerational worship $1,800
Choir section leads $9,000
Total $52,900
The next application deadline will be October 31, 2021. $39,876 remains to be distributed in FY21-22. The Endowment grant application is on the Endowment Page of the UCE Website under “Ways to Give” or click here to download.
If you have questions or would like to see an example of a successful application, please contact Margaret Schatz, email mesharbor@gmail.com.
July 4, 2021
We will host an online worship service on Sunday, July 4th at 11:15 am.
The Game of Life
Since ancient human history, board games have been a way of entertaining ourselves and bringing people together. From chess to “Monopoly,” these games are not only rich with strategy and memories – but also lessons for how to be in community during difficult times. Join guest preacher Rev. Monica Kling-Garcia as they share the wisdom and lessons found in these games, and what we can learn from them about what it can mean to be a covenantal community.
The Rev. Monica Kling-Garcia (they/them) is a community minister and will begin a new role as a Chaplain Resident at UnityPoint – Meriter hospital in Madison, WI later this fall. Having studied religion both in the US and the UK, while also having travelled to 11 different countries, Monica’s personal theology embodies how humanity is deeply connected and also uniquely diverse. A Wisconsinite at heart, Monica currently lives in Chicago with their husband Logan and their energetic cat Yen.
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 Assata’s Daughters.
VirtUUal Faith Formation: June 25, 2021
This Summer in Faith Formation
This week, we explore our theme of Play in the At Play segment of our Soulful Home packet. Watch a short video here and check out the whole packet here.
CANCELLED due to weather: Summer Solstice Picnic and Campfire – TONIGHT, June 25, 6-8:30 pm on the South Lawn.
High School Youth, Recent Grads, Current College Students – June 27, 6-8 pm – Sign up here for a gathering on the lawn to picnic, have some s’mores, play some games, and have some fun! Bring a picnic/snack, chair/blanket, and any cool toys the group can play with together on the lawn.
Deepening UU Identity: ALL AGES UCE History Tour
Deepening UU Identity – June 30 at 6:30-8 pm at UCE (In-Person) – 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. Everyone is encouraged to wear a mask. Those who are not vaccinated are required to wear a mask.
VirtUUal Faith Formation: June 18, 2021
This Summer in Faith Formation
This week, we explore our theme of Play in the From the Mailbox segment of our Soulful Home packet. Watch a short video here and check out the whole packet here.
Summer Solstice Picnic and Campfire – June 25, 6-8:30 pm on the South Lawn. Bring lawn chairs/blanket and a picnic supper and stay for a campfire and s’mores!
High School Youth, Recent Grads, Current College Students – June 27, 6-8 pm – Sign up here for a gathering on the lawn to picnic, have some s’mores, play some games, and have some fun! Bring a picnic/snack, chair/blanket, and any cool toys the group can play with together on the lawn.
Deepening UU Identity: All Ages UCE History Tour
Deepening UU Identity – June 30 at 6:30-8 pm at UCE (In-Person) – 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.
Staff Profile – Jessica Meis: June 25, 2021
Our communications coordinator feels valued here. And no wonder. Jessica Meis has so many skills that help us fulfill our mission — whether it’s publicizing and assisting at our pledge drive, creating a graphic for our Christmas Eve service, or putting together our newsletter. She adds your notices to our calendar and the orders of service, and can post notices to social media for you.
Jessica lived her early formative years in Texas. A graduate of Cornell College (Mount Vernon, Iowa), she completed a Bachelor of Special Studies in Art History and Latin American studies. Her research focused on feminist and Latinx art, as she felt they have been under-represented in recognized bodies of works. One of Jessica’s favorite painters is Frida Kahlo. Kahlo said of her work that she liked to paint her own reality. Jessica said depicting her reality might consist of collages depicting how she found UCE and how much she treasures the opportunity to contribute her ideas and develop her skills.
Jessica spends her off-work time playing tennis, watching her favorite TV shows, and capturing candid shots of people and images of doors with her camera. Doors, she says, have their own personalities.
This summer, Jessica is excited about attending the Renaissance Faire in Bristol, Wisconsin. Sometime in the future, she wants to visit Thailand, where she looks forward to indulging some of her favorite foods.
One senses Jessica Meis will always find new and exciting adventures to explore.
From EOD: July 2, 2021
Hello my friends,
We are all looking forward to the return to the building in September. The Capital Campaign Implementation Committee (CCIC) project managers continue to meet each week, zoom in between and sometimes meet at the building in order to get the space in order by the fall.
Room two is on the edge of completion. New furniture arrived and carpet is in the process of being ordered. Beautiful new intimate ceiling lighting has been installed as well as new ceiling tiles. The shades will provide warmth and privacy, and still allow for sunshine to come through when they are raised. It really satisfies the need for quiet meetings, covenant groups, our Udumbara meditation group, as well as small memorials from time to time.
Most of the lobby furniture has arrived. New carpet was installed on Monday of last week. The team is working on adding children’s coat hooks to the coat rack area, as well as a new entry desk where visitors and members can check in, pick up information and be greeted by lobby staff and the Sunday hospitality team. Enjoy the photos of the progress we have made. We know that you will enjoy the visible changes as well as improvement to the flow and comfort of the spaces in the lobby and wing.
Old Carpet Removal
New Carpet and a Sneak Peak at the New Room 2 Furniture
The ramp and playscape project was scheduled to begin on June 30, but is delayed due to our building permit for the accessibility ramp. The Capital Campaign Implementation Committee is working with Nature’s Perspective toward a resolution of issues related to zoning and permeable surfaces. Sandy Danforth is co-project lead and will ensure that we move forward as quickly as possible. Once the hardscapes are installed, including pervious pathways, the plantings can proceed.
Sanctuary Cooling continues to be studied and discussed weekly by the Sanctuary Cooling Team. It has been a much more complex evaluation to determine our needs, match current equipment and plan for the future than anticipated at the onset of this study. A summary statement will be prepared in the days following my return. In the meantime, co-project manager Greg Grabowski is keeping the project moving forward while I am away in the coming weeks.
Rentals are beginning to return. Our Buddhist Sangha Udumbara is returning to a limited schedule in Room 2 on Saturdays and Tuesdays. They will eventually expand to the regular weekly meetings. Currently, there is a bike camp each weekday on the parking lot and in Room 3. This has been a very worthwhile adventure in many ways. It provides a safe, open space for children to learn to ride and do so safely while providing a much-needed rental revenue stream for UCE. I am in conversations with others about music events, weddings, memorials and other events that we are trying to figure out as we move into an expanded opening of our building.
Meetings and events are opening up slowly for our congregation. It will take time, patience and understanding as we change from closure to being in the building. Please remember to follow procedures for signing up for an event or communicating with Jessica Meis at admin@ucevanston.org. If you scheduled a meeting that needs to be canceled, please remember to let her know so that we can plan accordingly. Office hours and lobby staff will be more limited than previously. We will soon have a better sense of our staff hours and office hours, which we will share with you in the weeks ahead.
Finally, I want to thank everyone who participated in our UCE Parking Lot Pop-Up Sale as a table leader, participant, donor or whatever role you played. It was a big success. While the crowds were not as robust as we had hoped, we understand that the pandemic was still just beginning to wane and not everyone was ready to return to crowds. Additionally, events take time to build. Jessica Meis did a good job of sending out notices to area churches, publications, posting online garage sale events, and posting on social media. Susan Comstock and I projected $6000 income in our financial projections, which was totally a seat-of-the-pants guess early in the year before we knew what plans would emerge. We made $3000 clear and free after expenses, which we are very happy about. Most of all, it was an extraordinarily satisfying way for us to gather outside and share time with one another. Lots of hugs and smiles were shared. Stay tuned for next time. We have documented all planning and hope to build on the idea for a future date.
Sandra Robinson, Executive Operations Director
June 27, 2021 – Live at 11 am!
UCE joins an online worship service with the UUA General Assembly on Sunday, June 27th at 11 am.
General Assembly Worship
Join the largest annual gathering of UUs joining in worship. This powerful, communal worship experience will stream on Sunday, June 27, 2021 at 11 am CST. Members of the public are welcome to view the service. Learn more here.
Joys and Sorrows cannot be read this Sunday, but please submit yours through this online form to be read another Sunday. 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 Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.
From DLRE: June 18, 2021
Telling New Stories, Playing New Games
In my last newsletter article, I wrote about some of the stories we tell ourselves as a congregation. Stories such as “Upstairs, Downstairs” about how the young people are downstairs and the adults are upstairs, totally engage in all aspects of congregational life. And then there was the story about faith formation being more than education and about it being for all ages and stages in life. I then had posed the question, “How can we re-write the endings of these stories?”
And so now the re-writing of these stories truly begins! As we gather again this summer at in-person events, we are creating new stories that will shape our future. What better way to do this than by having fun together and playing? We’ve already started to have some fun actually – five families came for the Sidewalk Chalk Art and Games event despite the 90-degree weather and wearing face masks. The artwork was fabulous, and the favorite game of the afternoon was Four Square. It was wonderful to see each other!
The fun will continue with several more events, with the next one being a Summer Solstice Campfire on June 25. Those who wish to gather for a picnic will meet at 6p on the south lawn, with the campfire and s’mores beginning around 7p. Come whenever you can and stay as long as you want.
The high school youth and current college students are invited for some lawn games and a campfire on June 27, with a picnic and games at 6p. Youth can sign up here by June 25.
And the fun doesn’t stop here! The Faith Formation Force is hosting Wednesdays on the Lawn throughout July. These Five-Star gatherings are for all ages and promise food, faith, family, fellowship, and fun! We kick off this series with the Magic of Music, led by Kristin Lems and members of the Worship Arts Committee. We’ll begin at 5:30 for those who wish to bring a picnic and start the program at 6:15. You can read more details elsewhere in this newsletter. Feel free to come for any or all of the Wednesdays on the Lawn gatherings.
We hope you come out and play with us this summer!
In Faith,
Kathy