From EOD: July 30, 2021
We are fast approaching the reopening of the building on September 12. While the building has been well cared for and capital campaign projects continue, we find ourselves working at a quick pace to complete final details and prepare the space for you as we gather in our building again. This will be a joyous time to see each other and reconnect.
As many of you may know from your experience in doing home improvements, or perhaps through your work, it is increasingly difficult to get products and contractors in a timely way.
Before I go into the details of what you might expect inside, let me fill you in on exciting projects that are taking place outdoors. We are almost there in obtaining our permit for the ramp. Once the permit is let, construction will begin. It is still our hope to get the ramp and all plantings done this summer and fall. We are looking forward to our Intergenerational Playscape and Accessibility Ramp from the southwest door of the sanctuary.
Barb Butz and volunteers have created a beautiful pollinator garden on the northwest lawn. Today when I was there the sun was shining, multiple flowers were in bloom, and the native prairie garden plants loomed behind and high above. It is just beautiful. Thank you garden team. Along the west wall of the wing you will see new prairie grasses and a few yews planted with hostas on the south end of the lot. Thank you, Carol Nielsen for following up on that much needed improvement. It seems we could say we have developed a “Garden Ministry”. The talents of our congregants and care for our grounds is a gift to everyone at UCE and those who visit us.
Remember our rain gardens? There’s one on the east and one on the southeast of our property. A group of Northwestern Engineering students are working with Kimberly Gray, Chair and Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering to study our southeast rain garden. NW received a federal grant to study how cities can achieve installations of more urban rain gardens. They found out about ours and came to talk with us back in the spring. They are now following up to confirm their proposal to install a “weather station” with sensors to test the water and various aspects of the rainfall collected. This project will be presented to the Green Team and Buildings and Grounds at our joint September meeting. The students have assembled a power-point that explains the design and our study objectives. The professor and her team were very impressed with the fact that we have not one, but two rain gardens, and that they appear to be working well. This will be an exciting project for the Green Team and Buildings and Grounds to discuss and look forward to. Stay tuned as we provide additional information in the months ahead.
The lobby may not quite be as complete as we had hoped, as this hinges on our new hospitality desk availability and other refinements for furniture. Our goal is to make the lobby as user-friendly and welcoming as possible, with a special focus on how all generations can move in the space that flows better and creates a safe environment. We are excited about a new larger monitor that provides more information about what is going on in the building as well as general information about UCE events and activities.
Room 2 carpet will be laid next week, but alas, there is a back order on the trim that goes around the room. We are hoping that it arrives by the promised September 3rd date. Once installed Room 2, will have new carpet, furniture, shades, ceiling tiles and lighting. Rather than fixtures like the office and Room 3, we chose softer lighting that will work with our existing sconces to provide a quieter feeling for covenant groups, small memorials and meditation. We think you will enjoy the feeling of this clean and fresh updated space.
Steven and Liz are cleaning rugs and removing paper from the hallway areas where we have been protecting the new floors installed earlier this year, as well as going through each and every room to clean and tidy up for our ingathering in September.
On September 19th, we will dedicate the new, beautiful kitchen. As you will recall, we closed the week before our planned event in March. Please join us for this important recognition of the love and care that has gone into making our kitchen the heart of our home and a place where we gather for hospitality and connection.
VirtUUal Faith Formation: July 30, 2021
This Summer in Faith Formation
Welcome to our last Soulful Home packet for the summer! Our focus is on the segments At the Bedside and Blessing. Watch this short video or you can still check out the whole packet here.
Family Engagement Survey – Parents, please fill out this short survey regarding your family’s participation at UCE this fall. It should take 5 minutes or less!
Young poets wanted! We’re looking for poetry by young people for the August 15 worship service. Send your original poems to Kathy by August 8. Our theme is “play”, but your poem can be on anything that inspires you.
Worship and Faith Formation this Fall – If you haven’t seen the video about our worship and faith formation format for this fall yet, check it out here. And if you missed Kathy’s article about this last week you can find it here.
Registration for Faith Formation begins next week! This year more than ever, it is important that parents register their young people, so that we can plan according to current guidelines.
UCE Book Groups
UCE Fiction Book Group meets Friday August 20 at 7 pm by ZOOM to discuss Circe by Madeline Miller.
“A bold and subversive retelling of the goddess’s story,” this #1 New York Times bestseller is “both epic and intimate in its scope, recasting the most infamous female figure from the Odyssey as a hero in her own right” (Alexandra Alter, The New York Times).
The nonfiction book group won’t be meeting in August to discuss books but we look forward to selecting books for the coming year at our Zoom meeting at 2 pm on August 22nd.
We’re hoping that everyone who has a nonfiction book they recommend and, perhaps, would like to discuss with others at UCE, will add the title to this google document. We’re hoping that this document will encourage UCErs to share their love of books by recommending titles. The nonfiction book group will consider all titles added to this google doc and we hope that many people who submit titles will join us at the August 22nd meeting and then continue with us throughout the church year.
August 1, 2021
We will host an online worship service on Sunday, August 1st at 11:15 am.
Living Our Mission Through the Arts: Drama
Nurturing the Human Spirit and Making the World Whole Through the Arts: living our mission through the arts. The creative endeavor is more than the fluff of life. It is essential to our humanity to create, express, and process our struggles through the arts. During August we will explore five modes of artistic and creative expression and their centrality in making meaning in our lives. This Sunday we will explore Drama and how its various expressions impact us, inspire us, and connect us.
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 Black Lives of UU.
VirtUUal Faith Formation: July 23, 2021
This Summer in Faith Formation
Welcome to our Soulful Home packet this week! Our focus is on the segment “The Extra Mile”. Watch this short video or you can still check out the whole packet here.
Family Engagement Survey – Parents, please fill out this short survey regarding your family’s participation at UCE this fall. It should take 5 minutes or less!
Wednesdays on the Lawn
Our next gathering will feature four storytellers from Northwestern University around a campfire. And of course, we’ll have s’mores! (Feel free to bring your own if you prefer).
- 5:30 – 6:15 gather on the church lawn for a picnic. Picnic is flexible timing or optional.
- 6:15 – 6:30 opening song and chalice lighting
- 6:30 – 7:15 fiercely faithful family friendly activity
- 7:15 – 7:30 closing circle and song
Bring your own picnic (food, beverages, chairs, blankets, and mask). Masks are required when not eating or drinking. Join in music, worship and learning for people of all ages. Tell your friends and neighbors. All are welcome! Stay tuned for more information.
General Assembly Chat
July 27 at 7 pm via Zoom – Those who attended General Assembly are gathering to share what they learned and how we can incorporate those learnings at UCE.
From DLRE: July 23, 2021
Playing with Planning
With August just around the corner, plans are underway for this fall and our hopeful return to the building on Sunday mornings. Rev. Eileen, Rev. Susan, and I have been sharing with many of you our excitement with the new format for worship and faith formation this year. During our interim period with Rev. Karen, it became apparent that the congregation wanted a more multigenerational community, where all ages are involved in the full life of the congregation. When I interviewed to be your next Director of Religious Education, this was one desire that was emphasized. It had already been something I was exploring professionally too, and so I was eager to give it more serious consideration when I was hired. And then the pandemic arrived.
These past 18 months has shown us many things. One of which, is that we are able to adapt to change fairly quickly, although not always easily. It made us look at how we spend our time, energy, talents, and finances more closely, as well as how those align with our values and goals. And it gave us an appreciation for time with family and friends and the realization that we want – and need – to spend quality time together.
With the learnings gained from Rev. Karen’s time here, Rev. Eileen and I formed the Faith Formation Force to explore ways to build a more multigenerational community. The Force has been a force for sure! To test out some ideas, they created the Wednesdays in July program. We have had 32 people of all ages participate each week and it has been wonderful! (Look in this newsletter for more details.)
From there, we considered ways of doing worship and faith formation differently that would be more welcoming to families with younger children and youth and meet our challenge to create a multigenerational community. And now we are making final plans and have begun to unveil this new creation! Check out our introductory video here and on the UCE website, or you can view the format here. You will also receive a hard copy in the mail next month.
The Faith Formation Force is asking various groups/committees and individuals to share their talents in this new endeavor. For example, we are planning to have one Sunday focus on the arts, such as music, drama, and drawing, and are asking people with those skills to help facilitate a small group for an activity. As you look at this format, consider how you can join us in this shared ministry of building beloved community for all ages.
We are anticipating as many things as possible as we finalize the details. Feel free to reach out to myself, Rev. Eileen, or the Faith Formation Force (Cheryl Mounts, Karena Nelson, Margaret Shaklee, Dan Solomon and Carla Williams) with your observations and questions. There will also be opportunities to give feedback over the next few months as we begin this new journey. We ask for your grace and patience as we lean into this new way of being together.
In Faith,
Kathy
July 25, 2021
We will host an online worship service on Sunday, July 25th at 11:15 am.
Goodness and Mercy
Guest Preacher: Rev. Allison Farnum
In a dominant culture that fetishizes crime and punishment while remaining apathetic to the failures of the penal system, our Unitarian Universalist theologies remind us that we can rely on deeper truths of goodness and mercy that still hold each of us accountable in and to the interdependent web of life.
Rev. Allison Farnum is the Minister and Director at the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois, a statewide ministry that focuses on equipping Unitarian Universalists in Illinois to transform institutions and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex. For more information, please visit www.uupmi.org.
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: July 16, 2021
This Summer in Faith Formation
Welcome back to our Soulful Home packet this week! Our focus is on the segment “On the Porch”, where parents get to focus on themselves and parenthood. Watch this short video or you can still check out the whole packet here.
Family Engagement Survey – Parents, please fill out this short survey regarding your family’s participation at UCE this fall. It should take 5 minutes or less!
Wednesdays on the Lawn
Our next gathering will feature a labyrinth walk. We’ll also make herbal scent bags. And we’ll have some singing too!
- 5:30 – 6:15 gather on the church lawn for a picnic. Picnic is flexible timing or optional.
- 6:15 – 6:30 opening song and chalice lighting
- 6:30 – 7:15 fiercely faithful family friendly activity
- 7:15 – 7:30 closing circle and song
Bring your own picnic (food, beverages, chairs, blankets, and mask). Masks are required when not eating or drinking. Join in music, worship and learning for people of all ages. Tell your friends and neighbors. All are welcome! Stay tuned for more information.