Sunday, September 10, 2017
“Gathering the Waters: Ingathering and Welcome” – 9:15 and 11:00am
Come celebrate our annual water communion and celebrate our new members as we begin the church year. Rev. Bret Lortie leading.
Help UCE donate to Hurricane Harvey victims!
We will be collecting diapers at UCE to ship to the Texas Diaper Bank, which is distributing diaper kits to hurricane evacuees. Relief organizations in Texas are assisting thousands of evacuees with food, water and shelter, but don’t always provide diapers. We will send both diapers for babies and young children, as well as for seniors with incontinence. Please bring your donations to church, starting this Sunday, September 3rd, through Sunday September 10th. If you have questions, contact Heather Brown at heathermbrown1970@sbcglobal.net
Sunday, September 3, 2017
“Identity, Intersections, and Impasses” – 10:00am
In an age of identity politics and intersectionality, as we struggle to build a broad justice coalition, friction comes with the territory. How we move within and among that friction is of ultimate concern. Rev. Eileen Wiviott will preach this Labor Day sermon.
Sunday, August 27, 2017
“Tools for the Work of Our Hands” – 10:00am
Complex identities sometimes make it feel dangerous to move through the world authentically. But that very complexity can also prove an invaluable tool in our struggle for a more just world. Mandie McGlynn speaking.
UCE Organizing Team news and opportunities – CRS, Prison Ministry, UUANI, Green Team
Here are some news and events to know about. For more information on any of these please contact Dale Griffin or other participants.
CRS (Community Renewal Society) – We are looking into local efforts supporting affordable housing with other north suburban CRS congregations.
The UU Prison Ministry of Illinois will hold part two of “Radical Hospitality” at UCE, September 9 from 9am to 1pm, on welcoming returning citizens at church and partnering with them to transition into life outside of prison. We are setting up support circles and other re-entry support for returning citizens. To be involved with this project please contact Dale Griffin.
UUANI (UU Advocacy Network of Illinois) continues to advocate the areas of race, income inequality, and climate change. Contact Scott Aaseng or uu-advocacy-illinois.org to receive weekly emails that make it easy to join other UUANI supporters on timely advocacy on racial, economic and environmental justice, and more! Over 50 members of UCE have participated.
The Green Team and Organizing Team invite you to a presentation Sunday, October 22 at 12:30pm on legislation to preserve beautiful red rock wilderness in Utah, championed by our own Sen. Durbin. Please RSVP to Heather Brown or Dale Griffin.
Board of Trustees Kicks Off New Fiscal Year
The board of trustees got together on August 4-5 for our annual retreat (to Room 3!) to get to know new members Jane Bannor and Jim Clark, and get ourselves geared up for our new year. Our new board president, Janelle Brittain, assembled an agenda that included collaborative communication, whys and hows of Policy Governance (the set of UU governance practices that we as a church having been using), selecting our board goals for the year, reviewing key aspects of our financial statements, and two guest speakers.
The most significant topic of our agenda was around taking our Policy Governance practices to the next level. The board feels that we are working well together and we like the structure of Policy Governance, but that we perhaps spend too much time looking at staff reports instead of on our most important job of focusing on the big picture. Laura Park from Unity Consulting in St Paul, which specializes in UU Policy Governance, led us via teleconference in a 2 ½ hour workshop to help us improve on the areas where we think the board should do better. We focused our discussion on increasing communication with the congregation (“board linkage”, in Policy Governance terminology), and on increasing attention on the congregation’s vision of ourselves and where we hope to be heading.
Our second guest speaker was Eileen Heineman, Director of Racial Justice Community Engagement at the Evanston YWCA. Eileen spoke on sensitizing us to the sense of otherness anyone not fitting into a majority group might feel—and how best to approach situations where we want people to feel welcome and accommodated, but not singled out. Thank you to REAL for arranging this excellent talk.
Board goals for this coming year include:
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- – Use a “powerful question” as a way to have deep conversation among the board and the congregation members that will help tune us into our shared vision
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- – Improve board skills, especially specific skills around leadership and communication
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- – Help assure that the Capital Campaign has a good start
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- – Maintain good linkage with the congregation—gather information around needs and interests, and make sure relevant board information is shared with the congregation in interesting ways
- – Assure that the Long-Range Plan continues towards activation
In addition to Janelle, Jane and Jim, board members this year include Kerry Heckman, Heike Eghardt, Tom Ticknor, Susan Comstock, Gary Zachny and Jeanne Kerl. All of us love to hear from anyone in the congregation—please grab any of us with any thoughts, ideas or concerns!
Sunday, August 20, 2017
“Unconditional Love: Our Annual Pet Blessing Service” – 10:00am
It’s bring your pet to church day! They will worship with us, sing (or bark) along, and be celebrated as the important parts of our lives they represent. At the end of the service we will bless our furred and feathered friends. Rev. Bret Lortie leading.