First, we appreciate all 63 people who very thoughtfully sat in and provided feedback on the chairs last Sunday. We are asking for those who’ve not yet voted for your favorite chair, to try the chairs on Sunday April 30^th and put your vote in.

As we are gathering your feedback on the sample chairs, some people have asked questions that the Sanctuary Chairs Team will answer here.

Background Note: The Sanctuary Chairs Team has been meeting off and on for 3 years doing extensive research and exploring various chairs considering many, many options and approaches.

Why are we getting new chairs?
Unfortunately, the current chairs are breaking. Our current chairs are 55 years old and have been breaking at a rate of at least 19 chairs per year. Over a 7-year timespan we repaired 132 broken chairs, and at our last count, we had 57 chairs still in need of repair and 30 that are beyond repair. Instead of spending thousands of dollars repairing chairs that many of our members find no longer meet their needs, we decided 4 years ago to buy new chairs. Thus, we allocated money from the Capital Campaign to pay for them. Because we want to provide a safe environment for our congregation, guests and renters, we do not want to put their safety at risk as they sit in a chair that collapses under them.

Why don’t we just replicate the current chairs?
We explored this option. We researched 11 different companies to get quotes to replicate our current wooden, non-cushioned chairs. Their quotes ranged from $780-1700 per chair. That is way beyond our budget. Our current budget is a maximum of $350 per chair.

Why can’t we have wood chairs?
The Team also wanted wood chairs and looked at many varieties for 3 years. Besides often costing much more, the weight of today’s wooden chairs is greater. Today’s chairs have wider seats. Also, we would want wooden chairs with cushions. The lightest weight wooden chairs we could find were 17lbs. Note: Our current chairs are 12 lbs.

What is the difference between the Capital Campaign and the current pledge campaign?
The current pledge campaign is for the Annual Operating Budget. This Pledge drive only supports the operations of the church including staff salaries etc. The Capital Campaign is run about every 5-10 years and is a special effort to raise money with the sole purpose of repairing, maintaining or upgrading the church building and grounds. Monies from the Capital Campaign cannot be used for the Operating Budget.

How can we keep cushions clean?
We’ve selected options where the seat material is a “performance driven” coated fabric, resistant to moisture and staining.

Are these chairs eco-friendly?
We have looked at the carbon footprint of our choices. For example, one of the chairs we’ve chosen for you to test drive is produced without PVC’s, FR, formaldehyde, solvents, plasticizers, phthalates or lead and meets other eco-friendly standards.

Why did one chair get taken out of the test group?
Sadly we learned at the lat minute that the chair cost more than what we were led to believe earlier, so it is out of our budget.

When I came to UCE for the kickoff of Rev. Eileen’s sabbatical, for the service on Sunday morning, I talked for a few minutes about the strands that weave our lives together, the connections that we make and could make during this sabbatical ministry. It’s been a pleasure to get to know more of you, and in some cases, find out some connections that I didn’t know about—-for example, Linda LaPlante and I met, and I found out that she was a part of a small fellowship whose members eventually became a part of Second Unitarian Church of Chicago. It’s been lovely to attend the pastoral care team meetings and learn about how you take care of each other here at UCE. You have a lot of avenues for communication with each other, with the pastoral care team, which means that people know that if they have a need, this caring community will do their best to help out with that need. This give and take, this mutual care, is an important part of a healthy spiritual community. These are strong blessings you are, and that you share with each other.

One of the ways that we also bless each other is by finding and using our self-care/spiritual practices and sticking to them, which can be hard with the ebb and flow of life’s challenges. One of the strands in my life that helps me both physically and spiritually is the practice of swimming. Each spring, my family obtains pool passes for the Skokie park district and we try and take the kids every few days. (Secretly, it’s also to tire them out!) It is such a joy to watch my youngest, Simon, in his exuberance. Whether or not he has his floatie on, he jumps right in! And then realizes that he isn’t afloat anymore! We have to be there, to catch him, as he is fearless and exuberant. Lucas is more in the place where he loves to explore and play with friends—bringing water toys like rings and little torpedoes. He loves his goggles.

My own swimming practice is different—with earplugs, I can have some time for laps early in the morning, which center me for the day, and help me be a focused and calm minister and mom. I can only count my laps; I can’t think about my family or my worries; I can only count my laps, back and forth, and be in the moment. Life is like all those experiences in the pool—sometimes it is full of exuberance, like for Simon, and other times, it’s full of exploration and play, like the water is for Lucas. And other times, it is a time of focus, feeling that calm take over your body in the water. There will be times when our community catches us, like we need to catch Simon, and truly, that is one of the blessings of UCE. That we have the opportunity to have the full range of our lives— sometimes play, sometimes exuberance, sometimes we need to be supported by each other, and sometimes, we find that being in the moment is exactly what we need. May you feel connected to UCE and your/our community in the coming spring days and months. Thank you again for this opportunity to get connected with you all!

Rev. Elizabeth A. Harding, AM, MDiv, LCSW

At General Assembly (GA) 2023, Unitarian Universalists will take an initial vote on proposed changes to Article II of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Bylaws, which includes the current UUA purposes, principles, sources, and clauses on inclusion and freedom of belief. The UUA Board of Trustees encourages you to read the full proposal from the 
Article II Study Commission and get more information about the process. The UUA’s goal is to maximize discussion and engagement with this proposal, which addresses the foundational values and purposes of our faith community. Until April 30, 2023, any Unitarian Universalist may submit suggestions and ideas through an online form for ways they recommend modifying the Article II Study Commission proposal (PDF). Each suggestion or idea should describe specific language changes to the proposal, explain the reason, and be limited to a single section of the proposal. Individuals may submit multiple suggestions and ideas. All qualifying suggestions will be posted for public chat discussion at discuss.uua.org, starting after April 15. Suggestions must be received by April 30 in order to be posted. Additionally, the UUA Board of Trustees will host public discussion workshops on May 11, 18 and 21, 2023, to review suggestions and ideas. These rounds of public discussion will inform the way amendments are prioritized for discussion and voting at General Assembly.

For more information see frequently asked questions or contact administration@uua.org