UCE UCE, Author at UC Evanston

August 28, 2022

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, August 28th at 10:15 am.

Social Transformation Through Dance and Poetry

We conclude our August series on the Arts with dance and poetry, which are both connected and empowered by rhythmic breath. Worship contributors for this Sunday are Nehanda Julot, Ann McCallister, and Rev. Eileen Wiviott.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Interfaith Action of Evanston.

August 28, 2022UCE UCE2022-08-23T19:55:31+00:00

The Nest – From Kathy Underwood, Director of Lifespan Faith Formation

In my column last month, I posed the question, which came first – the chicken or the egg? I used this as an analogy for my primary focus at this time of the year – determining whether to find volunteers first and form a program for our young people based on that, or to form the program and then find the volunteers.

And so now we get to work building our nest for this year. There’s so much to do to get ready for the arrival of our young people, and so much to look forward to! Let’s start with the people…

We have had some fun this summer due to the generosity of several people. Our Wednesdays on the Lawn gave us the joy of connecting with each other and having fun. We started with a Summer Solstice ritual, and in July had a scavenger hunt in the rain garden led by Northwestern University grad student, Haley Lewis, followed by a game night. So far this month, we had a dance party where Ellie Federson and Shirley Adams taught us some dance moves. This past week, Rev. Eileen gave a backpack blessing, and we celebrated the beginning of the school year with a bonfire and s’mores. Our last gathering will be on the 31st – movie night on the lawn!

The Family Ministry Team has been busy this summer too. We recently had a “spruce-up” party, where we checked the supplies in the lower-level rooms and got things ready for opening day on September 18. It was an all-ages event: the Lawrences, Liddells, Drakes, and Milanoviches helped sharpen pencils and test markers among other tasks. Our biggest endeavor is a special project that we’re initially calling The Nest to be unveiled at our Ingathering on September 11. I don’t want to spoil it too much, so for now let me just say that it is a family and kid-friendly area we are creating in the sanctuary. We will be giving you an opportunity to follow our 5th Principle and vote on a name to call this special area, so please do so!

As we create The Nest, so too are we building a larger, figurative, nest – the faith formation program. While we have quite a few “chickens” (volunteers), we need a few more. Before you think to yourself, “I’m not qualified to do that!”, let me put you at ease. We are not in need of experts on UUism, world religions, spirituality, social justice, or any topic in particular. We DO need people who are good listeners, are compassionate, and are eager to learn and have fun. We NEED folks who genuinely care about the next generation and forming relationships so that our young people can grow into our UU faith as young adults and beyond. If this is something you can embrace and would like to consider, you can read more details elsewhere in this newsletter.

In Faith,

Kathy

The Nest – From Kathy Underwood, Director of Lifespan Faith FormationUCE UCE2022-08-19T18:15:00+00:00

Endowment News

Endowment News

The Endowment Committee is happy to announce that grants to six applicants for the church year 2022-2023 were approved by the Board of Trustees at the June meeting. Here is the LINK to our Endowment webpage with the list of new grants.

Building & Grounds: $15,000 for repairs and improvements expenses expected over the course of this year
Worship Arts: $7,000 for Choir Section Leaders expense (with the remaining cost of that program coming from the Music Fund)
Garden Team: $1,380 for plants, tools and mulch to support various UCE gardens and the Cahill vegetable garden (which supports food pantries)
Immigrant Solidarity (Refugee Support Team): $5,950 for rent and other expenses for 4 months for an Afghan refugee family in great need of support
REAL/Prison Ministry: $7,500 for READI For Re-Entry, a program to support Chicago-area incarcerated men reentering society. Our grant will be used to pay interns serving as peer-to-peer mentors.
Food and Shelter Team: $1,450 to cover cost of purchased meals for the two fall Soup Kitchens held at UCE

The next application deadline is October 31. If your team would like to submit an application, be sure to be in touch with Endowment early for guidance.

As of the new church year effective July 1, your elected Endowment Trustees are Bill Hartgering and Susan Comstock (co-chairs), and Jessica Wingader. Additional Committee members are Jane Kenamore, Margaret Schatz and Bob Seyfried. We expect to have a very busy year working with the Board of Trustees and the congregation on the suggestions expected from the Endowment Task Force.

Many thanks to Jim Clark, who is stepping down from the Committee in September after 10 years of service. We’d also like to acknowledge the service of Will Van Dyke, Barbara Butz and Tom Hempfling who all stepped down from the Committee in June. They all contributed wise counsel and tremendous energy as they helped guide the Endowment Committee from its modest beginnings to the much larger fund and more structured approach we have today.

For more information on Endowment, go to our webpage under the Giving tab on the UCE website, or email us at endowment@ucevanston.org

Endowment NewsUCE UCE2022-11-30T19:16:21+00:00

Support our Young People!

Thank you for considering this volunteer opportunity! Here are a few details to consider:

· The young people will be in the first half of the worship service and will go to their groups after joys and sorrows, around 11a, and end by noon.

· Preschool/Kindergarten – led by Ann Gadzikowski

· Elementary Ages – grades 1-6 – led by Kathy Underwood and Sue Larson

· Youth Group – grades 7-12 – led by Linda Herried and Ann McCallister

· All materials are prepared for you ahead of time – you only need to read through the lesson plan and be ready to help and have fun!

· You are guaranteed to learn more about UUism, the world, and yourself. Bonus: you’ll get to form relationships with our awesome kids and youth!

· You can volunteer for one of the “blocks” of time, or you can spread out your commitment over the year.

· All volunteers will have a background screening done confidentially.

If this still interests you, contact Kathy Underwood today!

This Sunday…

· All ages are invited to remain in the worship service. Nursery care (ages 0-3) is available during worship in room 11 from 10:15-11:30a

And looking ahead…

· Wednesdays on the Lawn – our last one!

o August 31 – Movie on the Lawn – 6:30 for picnicking, 7:15-ish showtime. If you have a suggestion for a movie, email Kathy with your ideas!

Families can explore our theme of Celebrating Blessings in their own timeframe in the Soulful Home Packet

Support our Young People!UCE UCE2022-08-25T17:11:24+00:00

August 19, 2022

Click here to read this week’s newsletter.

August 19, 2022UCE UCE2022-09-20T17:27:27+00:00

August 21, 2022

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, August 21th at 10:15 am.

Social Transformation Through the Visual Arts

We continue our series exploring the power of the arts to transform us personally, spiritually, and to empower social movements for change. We focus on street art, graffiti, art of the marginalized and the reclaiming and beautifying of things cast aside. Betty Walker and Rev. Eileen Wiviott are the worship leaders and our guest musician is cellist, Eric Powers.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Interfaith Action of Evanston.

August 21, 2022UCE UCE2022-08-16T16:12:10+00:00

August 12, 2022

Click here to read this week’s newsletter.

August 12, 2022UCE UCE2022-08-16T16:16:50+00:00

August 14, 2022

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, August 14th at 10:15 am.

Social Transformation Through the Arts – Drama

Social movements for change have always been empowered and expressed through the arts. We draw on this power and inspiration to build solidarity and strength for the journey toward a more just and whole society. We continue our exploration with drama. How has theater shaped social transformation in this country and how can we use its power today?

We are grateful for the shared wisdom and experience of Dr. D. Soyini Madison, professor emeritus in the Department of Performance Studies at Northwestern. She focuses on ethnography and performance and the intersections of local activism, the political economy of human rights, and indigenous performance tactics. Sarah Vanderwicken and Rev. Eileen Wiviott are worship participants as well.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Interfaith Action of Evanston.

August 14, 2022UCE UCE2022-08-12T19:36:16+00:00

Knowing Your Rights for Reproductive Justice

Illinois is a state with strong legislative protections for people who are pregnant, including providing legal access to abortion care. The ACLU of Illinois provides information about Illinois laws and protections and knowing your rights to abortion access. Our Unitarian Universalist faith supports Reproductive Justice and affirms that our bodies are sacred, that we are each endowed with the twin gifts of agency and conscience, and that each of us should have the power to decide what does and doesn’t happen to our bodies at every moment of our lives because consent and self-determination are holy.

Here are some of the many ways to live into our UU values and support Reproductive Justice:

VOTE! If you want to get involved with UUtheVote, please contact Shirley Adams through Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org.

Get involved in conversations with your legislators! If you want to work with our Legislative Action Team, please contact Jane Bannor through Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org.

Donate to one of the organizations helping people who are pregnant have abortion access as an option:

Healthcare providers with abortion access:

Abortion funds, which remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion access:

National Network of Abortion Funds

Direct service providers (help with travel coordination and costs, lodging, food, medicine, and emotional support):

Midwest Access Coalition

Educating medical providers on a wide range of comprehensive reproductive health care topics that improve access:

Midwest Access Project

Volunteer with an organization providing abortion access:

Finally, one of the best ways is to talk with others about your values and your support of self-determination, abortion access, and privacy rights! At UCE, we have formed a Reproductive Justice Ad Hoc Group. If you would like to be engaged with this group, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org. Knowing this is a long-haul issue, we are already partnering with our sister congregations through the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois, our local interfaith colleagues, and abortion access providers in the Midwest to determine how we, as a congregation, can support Reproductive Justice for all.

Knowing Your Rights for Reproductive JusticeUCE UCE2022-08-12T17:30:39+00:00

The Anti-Oppression Task Force Needs You!

As you may recall, the Board of Trustees commissioned an Anti-Oppression Task Force (AOTF) at UCE in response to a call from the congregation, Evanston Interfaith leaders, the UUA through the Commission on Institutional Change, and Black Lives of UU “to engage in the struggle to dismantle white supremacy as it collectively exists” and “to become more inclusive, equitable, and diverse while… work[ing]…to be accountable to those most affected by injustice.” The purpose of the UCE Anti-Oppression Task Force is to determine the ways in which we might answer this call, making justice a reality both in our congregation and beyond.

For the last year, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has been working with our consultants at the YWCA Equity Institute. The AOTF has pinpointed three goals for its work:

expanding the congregation’s ownership of anti-racism, anti-oppression work;
increasing power sharing at UCE; and
encouraging radical inclusion and hospitality.

With the assistance of the YWCA, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has determined that the first step in realizing these goals is to communicate with the congregation. We need to understand and discern where we are and what we might do as a congregation to continue our anti-racism, anti-oppression journey and to build our Beloved Community.

For this reason, the Anti-Oppression Task Force has created three similar, but not identical surveys: one that has been given to members of the Board of Trustees, one that will be given to the Staff, and one that will be given to the congregation. These surveys are the result of months of discussion among task force members. The information from the surveys will be collected and summarized by the YWCA Equity Institute. All of the surveys will be done individually and anonymously.

Board members are completing their surveys now and will be discussing next steps in collaboration with the YWCA at the Board retreat in August. The Staff will be working through their survey at their annual retreat in September. The congregation can expect to see the survey in their email boxes in August. After the survey is released to the congregation, members of the Anti-Oppression Task Force will also be available after the service on Sunday mornings to assist in completing the survey and to answer questions. We need you, all of you, to complete the survey!

The Anti-Oppression Task Force is an important part of our congregation’s anti-racism, anti-oppression efforts and an integral part of our Eighth Principle work. The survey is the next step in diving deeply into this work. We appreciate your willingness to join us on this journey! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Rev. Eileen Wiviott at ewiviott@ucevanston.org or Rev. Susan Frances at sfrances@ucevanston.org.

The Anti-Oppression Task Force Needs You!UCE UCE2022-08-05T17:57:27+00:00

About UCE UCE

Calendar