UCE, Author at UC Evanston

From The Executive Operations Director

It is exciting to be a part of all of the activity and forward momentum at UCE. New leaders are emerging, long time members are stepping into significant roles, pledge drive, ministerial search and capital campaign are setting the stage for an even brighter future.

Members and pledging friends will be receiving a letter shortly with information about how you can make your pledge for the 2019-2020 fiscal year. There is so much to be grateful for at UCE, so many programs, a new settled minister on the horizon, community events, social justice work, not to mention meaningful worship which enriches our lives and reminds us to go out in the world and keep striving to make it a better place. All of this happens through the hard work of staff and volunteers. Our building provides a safe and comfortable place for us to do this good work. All of this requires generosity on the part of members and friends of UCE.

Julie Milner is this year’s Pledge Drive Chair. This year’s pledge effort will be an abbreviated process with a letter and information followed by testimonials and reminders of why everyone should support UCE and raise their pledge. At the end of the drive on March 31 there will be a celebration. The theme is “Engagement”

Watch your mail for your letter and join us each Sunday to be reminded of why financial support is so important to keep the Worship, Music, Religious Education, Great Staff, Social Justice Work, Care of our Building, and the many events and meetings that support why we are in this community.

Thank you for your part in keeping us strong and thriving.

From The Executive Operations DirectorUCE2019-03-08T19:52:29+00:00

CONFLICT RESOLUTION and HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS LENDING LIBRARY NOW AVAILABLE

The Congregational Relations Team (CRT) is delighted to announce the opening of our new lending library on conflict resolution and healthy relationships, located on the book cart in the hallway right outside the church office. We thank the Endowment Committee for funding the project to date, and plan to add more materials in the future. While most books are for adults, the library includes some targeted to children from preschoolers through junior high age, and a few intended for teachers or youth group leaders. The CRT encourages all members of the UCE community to check out the library and make use of it as needed, and to please let us know which books you (or your children or students) find most helpful, as we plan to purchase additional copies of the most popular titles. Suggestions of additional titles always welcome too. Please direct feedback to Carla Leone, CRT Chair at Carla.leone10@gmail.com. Here is a list of titles of books for adults; in future issues we will list those for children and youth and provide a little more information about each book and why we chose them.

Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When the Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan & Al SwitzlerEverything is Workable: A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution by Diane Musha Hamilton

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury

Conflict Management in Congregations – David Scott, Editor

Every Congregation Needs a Little Conflict by George Bullard Jr

When Sorry Isn’t Enough by Gary Chapman & Jennifer Thomas

I Hear You: The Surprisingly Simple Skill Behind Extraordinary Relationships by Michael S. Sorensen

The Relationship Cure by John Gottman

The Relationship Skills Workbook by Julia B. Colwell, PhD

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

4 Essential Keys to Effective Communication by Bento C. Leal III

CONFLICT RESOLUTION and HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS LENDING LIBRARY NOW AVAILABLEUCE2019-03-06T20:05:33+00:00

March 10, 2019

Waldo Emerson’s Obsession: Give All To Love

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) asked a lot of questions of those who claimed to be the voice of God in nineteenth-century America. He found religion stale, with adherents living vicariously through the real-time faith encounters of previous generations, those who actually “beheld God and nature face to face.” Ralph Waldo soon determined to settle for nothing less than a fresh anointing, a genuine encounter with all that is holy. His questions: “Why should not we also enjoy an original relation to the universe?” “Why should not we also have a poetry and philosophy of insight and not of tradition and a religion by revelation to us, and not the history of theirs?” Today these will be our questions too. Service led by Rev. Gregory Stewart. All Ages Worship at 9:15. Religious Education classes begin downstairs.

March 10, 2019UCE2019-04-26T20:40:07+00:00

Upswing Advocates Leadership Training: Building a Gender Inclusive and Affirming Community

The Board of Trustees invites members of the church who consider themselves leaders in the church in any capacity to join us for this workshop on Saturday, March 23rd from 10 am – 12:30 pm.

UCE is committed to radical welcoming and we seek to expand our capacity to live our first principle – not just affirming that all people have value but ensuring that those who might feel marginalized in other spaces, know they will find a safe and affirming space among us. This begins at a personal level with education and reflection about our understandings of gender and ways to be welcoming as a community surrounding gender and its effect on social interactions.

This workshop will provide an overview of key terms related to gender and an opportunity for attendees to explore their own attitudes and experiences related to cultural norms, gender identity, and gender expression.

For more information or to RSVP, contact Rev. Eileen Wiviott, ewiviott@ucevanston.org, or Lane Deamant, emdeamant@gmail.com

Upswing Advocates Leadership Training: Building a Gender Inclusive and Affirming CommunityUCE2019-02-26T22:01:11+00:00

March 3, 2019

Is There Any Good News?

Headlines pummel us daily with bad news, and television news sources offer “Breaking News” around the clock with the fear that the end is surely near. Does Unitarian Universalism give us anything to hold on to in troubled times? We’ll find out by examining the core of our liberal faith and the Unitarian Universalist movement that arises out if it. I believe that what distinguishes our congregation from others makes us a destination for those who desire a fresh movement of the spirit, unencumbered by dogma and encouraged by debate. But how will they find us if we don’t articulate our faith? This is a good day to begin again. Downstairs start for Religious Education at 11 am. Service led by Rev. Gregory Stewart

March 3, 2019UCE2019-04-26T20:48:53+00:00

February 22, 2019

February 22 2019

February 22, 2019UCE2019-02-22T22:35:07+00:00

From The Executive Operations Director

Accounting Update: We have not yet hired a replacement for Razvan Sofronie. I have been handling daily financial tasks with assistance from Tamiko Deville and volunteers Melanie Kitchner, Vickie Doebele. Twice a month I receive assistance from a CPA who does tax forms, checks tax payments and assists with payroll when necessary. We are searching for a 15 per hour a week accounting person. Thank you to Tamiko, Melanie and Vickie for your willingness to assist with these daily financial tasks.

Sunday offering: Please make sure your contributions are noted in the memo line of your checks. It makes accounting so much easier, especially now that we have volunteers assisting with deposits.

Pledge Drive 2019-20 will be done in March. Julie Milner has graciously volunteered to manage this effort and is off to a great running start. Julie presented highlights of her plans at the Board of Trustees meeting last evening. You will be learning more in the newsletter, website and through personal contact. Stay tuned for an exciting pledge drive!!

Capital Campaign volunteer positions have been filled thanks to CC Chair Martha Holman, Rev. Eileen Wiviott and others who have worked diligently to find just the right leaders. Plans are in progress. More information will be provided to the congregation shortly. Project leaders are beginning their work now.

Integrated Stewardship Council meets monthly. This is a vibrant team of financial leaders in the church. I am staff lead. Members include Susan Carlton, member-at-large and Secretary; Susan Comstock, Treasurer; Amy Dooley, Endowment; Marianne Griebler, Member-At-Large; Julie Milner, Pledge Drive Chair; Martha Holman, Capital Campaign Chair; Tom Ticknor, Member-At-Large. Last month the group approved a preliminary draft of the 2019-2020 which was then reviewed by the Board of Trustees at their February meeting. A budget presentation will be made at the March 10^th Ministerial Search Committee Congregational Meeting. Changes will be made to the draft as the pledge drive moves forward and other decisions are reviewed prior to the Annual Meeting in May.

REALM Membership Database: Tom Carlton has taken on the role of Project Manager. Tom has made great progress in moving forward on the migration of data from MemInfo to REALM. Melanie Kitchner has been assisting Tom as she has extensive knowledge of the program due to her participation in the data scrubbing during the initial months after data was moved from MemInfo to REALM. We have a ways to go yet before launching our new database, but once we do it will be a great tool for our members, staff and leadership.

Please contact me anytime with questions on finance, buildings and grounds, rentals and administration. I am always available to talk with you. 847-864-1330 or srobinson@ucevanston.org

From The Executive Operations DirectorUCE2019-02-22T20:12:47+00:00

REAL Meal – Friday March 1, 2019

February has turned out to be too short and too busy to schedule a REAL Meal, so we have pushed into the first evening of March for our next event. We’ll meet at Good to Go, the Jamaican restaurant that moved last year across the street to their snazzy new digs on the Evanston side, 711 Howard. It’s a large establishment, with an extensive menu and space for a much larger group than we’ve been able to accommodate in the past. But we’ll still need to give the management a week’s notice on the numbers we expect, so make your reservation early with Betty Walker, blw35@comcast.net. And go to their website to check out the menu and read the story of the owner, Tony Levy, who learned the recipes for his signature offerings in his mother’s kitchen in his native Jamaica.

REAL Meal – Friday March 1, 2019UCE2020-10-08T23:32:39+00:00

February 24, 2019

UCE Through the Decades

We celebrate the heritage of UCE by hearing from members of UCE about the decade they joined the congregation. We begin in the 1960s and end with the 2010s. Please come and hear about these journeys of faith, hope and justice through the decades. Service led by Rev. Gregory Stewart and Rev. Eileen Wiviott. All Ages Worship at 9:15. Religious Education class begin downstairs.

February 24, 2019UCE2019-03-06T23:43:15+00:00

February 15, 2018

February 15 2019

February 15, 2018UCE2019-02-15T21:00:11+00:00

About UCE

Calendar