Dr. Gloria McDaniel-Hall is an assistant professor in the Educational Leadership Department at National Louis University in Chicago. She is a special guest at Kristin Lems’ Friday upcoming night concert at UCE, an auction donation about the 8th Principle. 

She has been a school principal, director of school quality and curriculum and instruction specialist and classroom teacher, with a tenure of nearly 40 years as an educator.  She presents and publishes in many venues and co-leads the racial justice task force in National College of Education.

Dr. McDaniel-Hall believes education is the human rights issue of our time and has devoted her life to equity for all members of the school community.

She has written two children’s books. The first, Gloria Finds her Voice, is about her own journey as one of the first children to integrate a school in Galveston, Texas. The second, Payton Finds a Friend, recounts a first grader’s first days in a new school.

She has made solo pilgrimages to the important sites of the modern civil rights movement and the sites where enslaved ancestors suffered and endured the shameful history of slavery in the US.  She is that rare combination of a brilliant, hungry mind and an ebullient nature and Kristin is enormously grateful that she will be gracing us this Friday!

Dear beloved Unitarian Universalists,

I am so delighted to be serving in sabbatical ministry with you!  At the end of February I was honored to receive a stole from Rev. Eileen that I wear every Sunday with you. The stole is a reminder of the privilege of ministry. This particular stole is a product of the Rev. Eileen’s installation, woven with the materials that went from hand to hand in the sanctuary and infused with love from people attending online, reminding us of the tapestry of community we weave together. She gifted it to me for the time I am with you, and I have felt so welcomed by you all!  Getting to know your staff and meeting you on Sundays, holding your joys and sorrows in my heart, is such a gift.  The warmth of this congregation is palpable.  You extend it inward to yourselves as a caring congregation, as well as taking that care and concern into showing up “outside the walls.”

At our staff meeting I heard that near twenty members came to the screening and discussion of Who We Are hosted by one of our neighboring congregations, Second Baptist Church.  UCE REAL and prison ministry team members hosted the E.A.T. Reparations for the War on Drugs event as a way to learn and also show solidarity for this outstanding black-led organization that is organizing statewide to develop partnerships in reparations.  Members attended the play We Own This Now as well as celebrated Beth Emet’s 20-Year Anniversary Celebration of the Soup Kitchen.  And, we care for our inner lives and our people: Adult Faith Formation faithfuls explore meaning in Nature, our place in the cosmos, and interconnectedness. As Trans Day of Visibility approaches, our youth will be focusing on lifting up our trans siblings in love (which may, of course, include them holding themselves in love and care!).

All the while, spring is officially here. We can ground ourselves in the faith that the greening will be upon us soon. Tender and strong, new shoots will spring up, reminding us to tend what is greening and rising in us. I feel the blessing of being woven into this special time with you good, caring people. Happy Spring!

With gratitude,

Rev. Allison

Greetings from your Executive Operations Director

Pledge Drive Update: A letter is going out to the congregation about our recent pledge drive. We are still over $68,000 short of our goal. We hope you will open the letter and read what the Board has to say about the need for those who have not pledged to do so, and for those who have pledged to consider giving a bit more. To everyone who has pledged your generosity is greatly appreciated.

Our Building and Grounds: Spring is showing signs of hope as the trees bud outside my office window. This week, for the first time in a few years, the deciduous trees on the UCE property were trimmed. This was important for the health of the trees, as well as the potential damage to the building and roof line. Sunrise Tree Care provided a reasonable quote and came highly recommended by Nature’s Perspective who did our Southwest Garden and Intergenerational Playscape Garden plantings. Ahead will be a beautiful season for playing and meeting in and among our gardens at UCE this spring and summer.

Two windows in the lobby were replaced in February. One was due to damage and the other a broken seal. The damage occurred on the evening of the 19th or in the early hours of the 20th and was found as I entered the building on Monday, morning February 20. We have no reason to believe it was an act of hate. The impact was not strong enough to penetrate both panes of glass. The lobby windows provide an expansive view of our north gardens. It will be lovely to see our pollinator garden and new plantings that were done last summer as part of the sanctuary cooling project. It will take some time for the gardens to fill in, but they had a terrific a great start with adequate watering and weeding. Kudos to the donors of our Capital Campaign, the Capital Campaign Implementation Committee, the UCE Garden Team, Barbara Butz and all volunteers who worked tirelessly to plan, plant and care for these gardens.

Rummage Sale 2023 is well underway. Our team has had three planning meetings, most department leads are in place, and we have even revised the floor plan to make it an even better sale than last year, if that is possible. Start saving your items for donation. A revised “Tips Sheet” is underway and will be distributed to the congregation shortly. Soon you will see boxes of hangers in the lobby hallway by the bathrooms awaiting your taking them home for your clothing donations. We need someone to run the Durable Goods Department. Woody Haynes will help us with bicycles this year, but we need someone to run the department. If you like Rummage Sale, spending time with congregants and talking with people at the sale, give some thought to leading that department. Durable goods include camping gear, sporting goods, bikes, and related items. Set up begins Sunday, May 7 after the service until 8 p.m. through Thursday, May 11. The sale is Friday May 12, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 13, 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. We will accept donations from Sunday May 7, 1 -8 p.m. and Monday and Tuesday May 8 and 9, 9 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Upcoming Concert: Peter Mayer returns to UCE on Friday, May 19. Many of you will remember that we had an extraordinary party on Saturday before we closed on Tuesday due to the pandemic. It was a memorable concert and we have invited him back to share a great night of music with us. Peter’s song “Blue Boat Home” is in our UU teal hymnal. Tickets will go on sale through Eventbrite in April. Mark your calendar and plan to attend.

Capital Campaign Projects Update Please look at and try out the sanctuary chair samples at the back of the sanctuary. The Sanctuary Chairs Team of the Capital Campaign are researching replacement chairs. A form will be provided so that you can review the chairs and let us know your thoughts.

The lower-level bathroom construction continues. Colors for the partitions, walls and tile for the floors are being selected. Lighting is being upgraded. As I write, an automatic push plate and equipment are being installed so that anyone in a wheelchair or using a walker will have greater east entering the accessible bathroom.