Friday, July 31, 2026
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DLFF Newsletter – July 2026 Widening the Circle
It’s hard to believe that summer is more than half over for those who go by the school calendar. I prefer to go with the technical date of August 7, which is the halfway point between the summer solstice and the fall equinox. Time seems to go faster as I get older. As of this writing, I mark seven years at UUCE and 30 years as a religious educator. So much has changed in our congregation and in the larger world in that time!
At this time of year, I anticipate all the excitement in the coming church year – worship, potlucks, the Engagement Fair, game nights, campfires, and of course, faith formation! There is so much happening at UUCE all year, but fall has a special energy with it.
I have been exploring ways to widen our circle and to encourage and invite more intergenerational connections based on the feedback that many parents gave last year. There are so many ideas that I can’t possibly do them all, so I thought I’d share some concrete ones here in the hope that many of you would find something that you would enjoy doing with our young people, youth, and families.
For a one-time commitment:
- Co-sponsor a parent’s time out – team up with a friend to watch a small group of kids while parents gather for some adult time.
- Invite youth or families to join your team or committee for a special event or task – this could be gardening, putting toiletries together for the shelter, making signs for an event, a dance party or talent show – the sky’s the limit! Perhaps add this to your team’s agenda – how to include young people and families
- Do you like art shows, museums, mini-golf, picnics and parks? Invite a family to join you on an outing.
- Do you have a special hobby or talent that you can share with youth or children? I can help find a way to make that happen.
For a little more commitment:
If you have 5 Sundays during the year to commit, you could connect more with youth and children by helping with faith formation on Sunday mornings. You can choose the age group you prefer and which Sunday mornings work best for you. Feel free to join our Volunteer Orientation on August 22 to learn more.
For a bigger commitment:
- Join the Family Ministry Team – you don’t need to be a parent to join us! We appreciate the perspectives from all ages and stages as we plan events all year.
- Consider co-facilitating an OWL sex ed program in the future – training is provided to run programs for young kids, teens, and adults. Wouldn’t it be awesome to run an adult OWL program, wink-wink?!
These are just a few examples of the many ways we can connect across the ages and build relationships over time. If you have other ideas you’d like to try, I’m happy to help make them happen. Doing so can only make our community stronger, caring, and cultivate leadership for the future. We’re on our way to fulfilling our mission to create a world made whole.
In Faith,
Kathy
August 2, 2026
Dreamers
“Their heads were always in the stars.” This could be said of Joseph from the Biblical book of Genesis and Luke Skywalker of Star Wars. Their hero journeys have much to teach us about where we come from and why we might be here. Rev. Jules Taylor is our Worship Leader with Mary Dudek as Worship Associate. Gregory Shifrin is our pianist.
Rev. Jules Taylor is a Unitarian Universalist community minister specializing in critical incident response, community crisis, and pastoral care. Jules is the Senior Director of Contextual Ministry and an affiliate professor at Meadville Lombard Theological School. In addition, Jules serves as a chaplain (Major) in the New York Air National Guard, responder with the UU Trauma Response Ministry, and is a certified divorce coach.
Today’s offering will be shared with Mother and Child Alliance, whose mission is to strengthen the safety net for pregnant persons before and after delivery, to prevent HIV transmission and other serious infections in newborns, and to address the disparate prenatal and postpartum systems of care in Illinois and across the U.S.
Upcoming Services
8/9/2026 – Dr. Elizabeth Mace, Sounds of Silence
8/16/2026 – Ryland Rich, Imperceptible Song
8/23/2026 – Rev. Susan Frances, Slackline Thoughts
8/30/2026 – Rev. Allison Farnum, Activating Transformation
Update from Rev. Susan Frances – 7/24/2026
Hi Friends,
I hope this summer is bringing you some moments of rest and some moments of joy. I am trying to visit new places this summer. This month, my wife and I went bowling at Timber Lanes Bowling Alley on Irving Park Road for the first time when four of our nephews visited us and ate lunch at the Waterfront Café on Sheridan Road for the first time with friends we haven’t seen in a while. Next week, I will be in Door County from July 27-31 visiting another set of new places. Rev. Elizabeth Harding, our Community Affiliated Minister, will be in town and available if you have a pastoral care need arise.
Each Sunday I am grateful for the community we have at UUCE. Grateful for the Sunday morning volunteers. Grateful for the Sunday morning guest leaders and staff. Grateful for each of you who shows up in this sacred space to share a bit of yourself, to share your joys and celebrations, to share your sorrows and hardships.
If you are looking for ways to get more connected, here are several ideas for this summer:
- Stay after the Sunday worship service and sit down in the Continuing the Conversation Circle near the lobby doors at the back of the sanctuary.
- Stop by our UU the Vote program table after the Sunday worship service to learn more about how to support voter engagement, maybe taking home a stack of postcards to write and mail.
- Log into our online Yoga group on Wednesdays from 9:30-10:30 am.
- Show up and join the Catalyst for Democracy Team members at the weekly Beacon for Democracy gathering on Thursdays from 6:00-6:30 pm at Dempster & Ridge.
- Save the Date for our Service of Remembrance at 9:00 am on August 30th and our Engagement Fair at 11:30 am on September 20th.
And, if you are feeling new to UUCE and wanting to learn more about our community, I invite you to attend one of the upcoming Journey Toward Membership classes to learn more about how to make a deeper connection within UUCE.
Our Journey Toward Membership class is a 90-minute class that explores our UU identity, what it means to be part of a covenantal faith tradition, and the rewards and responsibilities of membership. We will be welcoming new members during our September 27th worship service and one of the requirements to join is that you have taken the Journey Toward Membership class. You only have to take the class once and we are offering it several times in August and September. To register, please click the link on the date and time that works for you:
- Sunday, August 16, from 9:00-10:20 am in Room 12.
- Thursday, August 27, from 7:00-8:30 pm in Room 3.
- Sunday, September 6, from 9:00-10:20 am in Room 12.
- Wednesday, September 9, from 6:30-8:00 pm via zoom.
- Tuesday, September 15, from 6:30-8:00 pm via zoom.
Whether you are seeking to get more engaged or enjoying a quiet summer, I am grateful you are part of our UUCE community.
Yours in building kinship among us,
Rev. Susan
Friday, July 24, 2026
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Sunday, July 26, 2026
What’s Your Story?
Storytelling has always been an important part of being human. So important, in fact, that stories are a key way for us to understand ourselves, each other, and the world around us. Today, we reflect on how we write our own stories, how we tell them, and how we can use stories to build a better future and a better world. Nellie Eastman leads the service with Sarah Vanderwicken as Worship Associate. Gregory Shifrin is our pianist.
Nellie Eastman is a transgender woman, a mother, a lover, and a fighter. She cares fiercely for her family, friends, loved ones, and community, and strives to make the lives of everyone around her just a little bit better, or at least a little more entertaining. She has two wonderful children that she is raising in partnership with her friend and Coparent. She lives in Chicago with her nesting partner, and stays out of trouble. …Most of the time.
Today’s offering will be shared with Zacharias Center, which works to mobilize the community toward ending systemic sexual violence while amplifying the voice of survivors through trauma-informed care, advocacy, and prevention education.
Upcoming Services
8/2/2026 – Rev. Jules Taylor, Dreamers
8/9/2026 – Dr. Elizabeth Mace, Sounds of Silence
8/16/2026 – Ryland Rich, Imperceptible Song
8/23/2026 – Rev. Susan Frances
Friday, July 17, 2026
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Sunday, July 19, 2026
In The Absence of Clarity
When people in any organization are not given clear, shared, honest answers to the question of what they are trying to accomplish together, they do not operate in a neutral zone. They fill in the center. They fill it with their own histories, their own fears, their own private visions of what the organization should be. And they work from those private understandings, which means a congregation full of people who genuinely share the same values can still be pulling in fundamentally different directions, without anyone having done anything wrong. This is why it is important to create a shared understanding of how to live the mission, because in the absence of clarity, people fill in their own meaning and context. Rev. David Miller, a native Evanstonian, is our preacher. Lynn Kendall serves as Worship Associate and Gregory Shifrin is on the piano.
Rev. David A. Miller has served the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Fairfax as the senior minister since 2015. Before coming to UUCF, Rev. Miller was the settled minister of the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Fellowship of San Dieguito in Southern California since 2009. David was raised Jewish in the Skokie/Evanston area. Before he was called to the ministry, David spent more than 25 years in executive management, strategic planning, marketing, business development, and fundraising with private sector and non-profit organizations. He also served Unitarian Universalism as a member of the Standing on the Side of Love National Creative Advisory Team.
Upcoming Services
7/26/2026 – Nellie Eastman, What’s Your Story?
8/2/2026 – Rev. Jules Taylor, Dreamers
8/9/2026 – Dr. Elizabeth Mace, Sounds of Silence
8/16/2026 – Ryland Rich, Imperceptible Song
Friday, July 10, 2026
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Sunday, July 12, 2026
Deepening Gratitude
Galen Guengerich, a UU minister and theologian, argues that gratitude is the Unitarian Universalist spiritual practice. How does gratitude show up in your life? What are the connections between Unitarian Universalist values and gratitude as a practice? Gratitude moves our hearts and minds, encouraging us to be aware of our connections to the interdependent web. Rev. Elizabeth Harding is our preacher, Ally Hunter our Worship Associate, and Gregory Shifrin is on the piano.
Rev. Elizabeth Harding serves as UUCE’s Affiliated Community Minister. She grew up at Second Unitarian Church of Chicago. She graduated from the University of Chicago’s Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice in 2005 and then from Meadville Lombard Theological School in 2006. Elizabeth was ordained in 2007 by Second Unitarian Church of Chicago and received full fellowship from the UUA in 2017. Elizabeth has served 4 churches as their affiliated community minister and is excited to join UCE’s vibrant community. She has served in ministry as a hospital chaplain, hospice chaplain, bereavement social worker, and most recently, as 2U’s acting minister for religious education.
Today’s offering will be shared with Zacharias Center, whose mission is to mobilize the community toward ending systemic sexual violence while amplifying the voice of survivors through trauma informed care, advocacy, and prevention education.
Upcoming Services
7/19/2026 – Rev. David Miller, In The Absence of Clarity
7/26/2026 – Nellie Eastman, What’s Your Story?
8/2/2026 – Rev. Jules Taylor, Dreamers
8/9/2026 – Dr. Elizabeth Mace, Sounds of Silence
