Friday, November 7, 2025
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MITTEN TREE 2025
MITTEN TREE 2025
Mitten Tree gift sign-up is up and running (HERE). It may seem too early to be thinking about the holidays, but gifts are due back at UCE for sorting and wrapping by SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30th, so don’t delay in signing up! Don’t want to shop? You can donate money and the mitten tree elves will shop for you–you may Zelle or Venmo Jenny Walsh, jmw99free at gmail dot com or 847-309-3648, or write a check to UCE with Mitten Tree in the memo.
Sign up to help with organizing/shopping/wrapping HERE.
This longstanding tradition is a beautiful snapshot of our community’s shared values and a privilege to help organize. Read on below about where your gifts will go this year, AND MAY WHAT YOU GIVE BRING YOU JOY!
In addition to providing gifts for two of the asylum-seeking families whom our congregation is supporting, read on for more information on the three organizations we are partnering with this year:
Lydia Home (formerly Rice Child & Family Center) is located just down Ridge from UCE and is a safe home with wrap-around services for children with post-traumatic behavioral dysregulation making traditional foster care inaccessible to them. The facility includes a medical clinic, group therapy classrooms, special education facilities, art therapy and maintains a goal of helping children return to a loving family environment. UCE has supported residents of the center for a number of years as our own Mitten Tree founder, Carol Nielsen is a long-committed volunteer.
Connections for the Homeless is an organization near and dear to our UCE community. Whether through shared plate, Mitten Trees past, Our Giving House donations, or supporting affordable housing programs, Connections has and will continue to be a meaningful partnership for us. Connections supports more than 1500 people a year – preventing homelessness, sheltering those in crisis, providing advocacy services, and fostering development of job and educational skills.
Family Focus Evanston began in 1976 as the original drop-in center for parents in Evanston, Illinois. Forty years later, Family Focus continues to serve the Evanston community. Services available include early childhood home visiting, Family Advocacy Center, after school, Grandparents raising Grandchildren, and community partnership initiatives such as the Foster Street Urban Agriculture program. Family Focus, Inc. offers innovative, community-based programs that help parents, grandparents, and foster and adoptive parents gain confidence and competence as the primary educators of their children.
Sunday, November 9, 2025
Cultivating Gratitude in Hard Soil
In a world that can feel heavy and unyielding, how do we keep our hearts open? This service explores the practice of gratitude—not as denial of pain, but as an embodied discipline that softens the hard soil in our lives and helps us stay resourced for the journey.
Dr. Emma Farrell leads this service with Janelle Brittain as Worship Associate. Andy Carpenter shares his talents on the tenor saxophone and Gregory Shifrin shares his talents on the piano.
Today’s offering will be shared with Restore Justice Foundation, which advocates for fairness, humanity, and compassion throughout the Illinois criminal legal system, with a primary focus on those affected by extreme sentences as youth.
Upcoming Services
November 16th – The Alchemy of Gratitude – Rev. Eileen
November 23rd – Bread Communion – Rev. Eileen
Friday, October 31, 2025
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Family Fall Feedback – Friday, October 31, 2025
DLFF Newsletter – November 2025
Family Fall Feedback
Last week, Rev. Eileen and I hosted a virtual gathering for parents to hear how they are doing and how they are engaging in and feeling about our faith community. They were open and honest and brave to share with us, which is what we hoped for. I wish to share some of this with you here.
Parents expressed overwhelmingly their joy at how much they and their children have been embraced, welcomed, and included. Having childcare available on Sunday mornings for choir rehearsal and worship has made a huge difference. The Nest has certainly been a big part of those with younger children to feel at home. And while it was acknowledged that it can get a bit noisy and parents worry about this, they appreciate that their little ones can make some noise without getting “shushed” and glared at. We also shared some ideas on ways we can help little ones – and parents – learn when to be quieter and when it’s okay to be a little noisy in worship. After all, how can we expect our youngest to grow up to be practicing UUs if we don’t show them how?
Another thing that parents appreciate is how we maintain many of our traditions, such as Ornament Sunday and the rummage sale. Creating community was another major factor, with the restarting of the youth group, Picnics in the Park, Our Whole Lives (OWL) sex ed program, and of course, snacks. Food is always good!
We then had a conversation about what they need more from UCE. The overall arch of their responses was to make more connections – for the parents and especially between generations. Some ideas shared were to have childcare available for things such as a parents’ night out and for a parents’-only program or activity, having the older youth help the younger ones and the young adults help with the youth, and having young people be a pen pal with an older adult who isn’t able to attend worship in person.
Much more was shared – too much to write about here. Rev. Eileen and I would love to hear from others too. You can do so in this Family Fall Feedback form. We will keep you posted on where this takes us.
In the meantime, our last Family Friday had 27 people of all ages gather to help weed one of the gardens and then enjoy a campfire and s’mores. Now that the weather is getting colder, our gatherings will be indoors. On November 7 we will have a family game night. Bring a snack and/or beverage to share and a favorite game. Looking at December, we will have our annual Cocoa, Carols, and Community on the 5th. We’ll wrap gifts for the mitten tree and then enjoy hot cocoa and sing holiday favorites.
My plan is to offer the Our Whole Lives (OWL) sex ed program for youth in 7th-9th grades beginning in January. Parents of youth should have gotten an email about this. If not, please let me know and I will send you the information. I am also hoping to offer the young adult OWL program this year. You older adults might get your turn in 2027!
For adults, Dr. Emma Farrell continues their series on Artificial Intelligence, which will be in person and on Zoom on November 5. And on November 19, join me for Create Your UU Elevator Speech, where you will develop an elevator speech about your UU faith. It is called an “elevator speech” because on an elevator ride when someone asks you, “What is Unitarian Universalism?” you only have a short time to make a meaningful statement.
Lastly, there are a couple of invitations from other organizations in Evanston to join in on: Fall Fire Pit with the Evanston Friends Meeting on November 16, and a story time at the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum. See the blurbs elsewhere in the newsletter for the details.
As always, we continue to build community within UCE and beyond.
In Gratitude,
Kathy
Sunday, November 2, 2025
Gratitude for Our Ancestors
Honoring our UCE Founders, with thankfulness for those ancestors who planted long ago seeds of possibility so that we may continue to carry on their legacy and be good ancestors for our descendants. Rev. Eileen leads this service with Shirley Adams as Worship Associate. The UCE Choir, directed by Vickie Hellyer and accompanied by Gregory Shifrin on piano bless us with music.
Today’s offering will be shared with Restore Justice Foundation, which advocates for fairness, humanity, and compassion throughout the Illinois criminal legal system, with a primary focus on those affected by extreme sentences as youth.
Upcoming Services
November 9th – Cultivating Gratitude in Hard soil – Dr. Emma Farrell
November 16th – The Alchemy of Gratitude – Rev. Eileen
November 23rd – Bread Communion – Rev. Eileen
Friday, October 24, 2025
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Sunday, October 26, 2025
Steady, Loving Confrontation
Members of UCE who journeyed the Living Legacy Pilgrimage to Alabama in September reflect on their experience and learning. Rev. Eileen leads the service with contributions from Bex Blackmore, Gretchen Brewster, Dana Deane, Carol Emory, Meredith Haydon, Jeanne Kerl, Cheryl Mounts, Jinny Niemann, and Carla Williams. The UCE Choir, directed by Vickie Hellyer our Music Director and accompanied by Gregory Shifrin on piano provide music.
Today’s offering will be shared with Run On Climate Education Fund, whose mission is to accelerate cutting-edge climate policy at the local level in communities across the country, including right here in Evanston, which is one of Run On Climate’s focal cities for 2025.
Upcoming Services
November 2nd – Honoring Our Founders – Rev. Eileen
November 9th – Cultivating Gratitude in Hard soil – Dr. Emma Farrell
November 16th – The Alchemy of Gratitude – Rev. Eileen
November 23rd – Bread Communion – Rev. Eileen
Friday, October 17, 2025
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Two impressions for you of the SOLARbration this past Sunday from Board Member, Michael Drennan
1. Folk music matters: As a longtime advocate of sustainability and environmental justice in Evanston, working for big companies and small houses of worship I find it easy to get “lost in the weeds” of multivariate data streams and conflicting technology assessments. To see the country walk away from united action on a general interest item like their kids’ future makes it hard to want to raise my head. However something in Kristin Lem’s tone, a freshness, an enthusiasm in her original composition titled “solartopia” based on Harvey Wasserman’s book brought hope that we can live within our (planetary) means. The lyrics of Pete Seeger’s 2010 composition titled “SolarTopia” suggested we would power our houses and cars “with the might that is made up in the stars.” We knew we could go solar and recognized that we should leave fossil fuels in the ground, and now we have.
2. Just keep talking: As Rev. Eileen took pains to recount after service Sunday we’ve been talking solar since the turn of the century. And while I wouldn’t chalk up our daytime solar use simply to regulatory state changes, the IRA, better technology or the last best wishes of old friends now gone, I would also be remiss not to mention them. We wouldn’t have solar power at UCE without Barbara Young, Faith in Place, and Verde Energy Solutions.
And what made them do what they did; say yes when it didn’t seem it would matter much, say “go for it” when the way to go was less than certain? We’ve been discussing this for twenty five years, especially the coulds: could we switch from gas and nuclear to using solar and geothermal; could the building envelope and those gorgeous windows have upgrades to make them more efficient? Those kept me busy a long time parsing numbers and estimates, talking to building professionals and church members. And I remain occupied charting those small steps towards carbon neutrality.
When Rev. Eileen saw panels go up on her neighbors roof, some small spirit told her we should go solar. Probably the same spirit who spoke to Barbara Young – who’d also heard us Green Team types go on about solar for years. She knew what she should do, what she personally could do. And when she passed she made sure it happened. As your newest Board of Trustees member I’m obliged to continue exercising the courage Rev. Eileen, Kristin, Barbara and countless others have expressed through their words, songs, and actions. We can all look forward to Pete Seger’s SolarTopia across “God’s Green World” given we just keep talking.
