UCE UCE, Author at UC Evanston

From DLRE: January 7, 2021

Well, here we go again! With the recent increase in Covid cases we find ourselves once again returning to virtual worship and faith formation. It may be bringing a lot of different feelings up for you and your family: frustration, boredom, feeling stuck and in a rut, perhaps tired and run-down too. Our resilience is being tested yet again.

And yet I am feeling more optimistic this time around. Winter is naturally a time for staying indoors more and taking time for reflection, especially at New Year’s. I am noticing that the sky is lightening earlier and staying out just a bit later in the day now. I am blessed with a warm house, a full refrigerator, a job that allows me to work from home when needed, and a spouse who puts up with me 24/7.

For us at UCE, we are still able to gather in small groups. This helps tremendously with the spirits and morale of those who feel comfortable being in person. Of course, we are also able to gather in the great outdoors and enjoy the beauty of winter along the lakefront, in forest preserves, and around the block in our own neighborhoods. And we can take the time to explore this month’s theme, Living with Intention.

While most of our Faith Formation programs will be virtual in January, we will sprinkle in some outdoor fun too! I hope you join us in some of these programs and events:

January 9 –
Join our guest Storyteller, Olivia Behr, after worship and kinship time at 11:35 am for a storytelling workshop on our intentions. Together we will explore the hopes and obstacles of our journeys.
After Faith Formation Hour, all ages are invited to meet at Emily Oaks in Skokie at 12:30p for a nature walk, and perhaps a special activity – a Gnome Hunt!

January 11 at 7 pm – Belonging to One Another in a Time of Rupture: How COVID Can Change Healthcare, Caregivers, and Relationships – Tuesday, on Zoom.
A Conversation with Andi Chatburn, DO, MA, HEC-C, Regional Director for Ethics, Providence Health, Washington Montana Region.

January 16 – a Youth Group outing is being planned, so stay tuned!

Forum Discussion Group resumes January 16 at 11:35 am on Zoom
Scaling up social solidarity: Is it realistic for all to have what they need? Envision what is possible. Words to contemplate before our discussion: “The world has enough for everyone’s needs, but not everyone’s greed,” Mahatma Gandhi

Beginning January 18 – What Do yUU Believe? A credo class for youth and adults together.
How do you talk about what you believe and how does what you believe show up in the way you live your life? How do you articulate what it means to be a Unitarian Universalist? In these four virtual sessions, designed for youth and adults (age 12 and up) Kathy Underwood and Rev. Eileen Wiviott will accompany you on the journey toward understanding and articulating your beliefs and how they align with our UU faith. All sessions will be on Zoom.

January 18th 7pm – 8:30pm
January 25th 7pm – 8:30pm
February 1st 7pm – 8:30pm
February 8th 7pm – 8:30pm

January 23 – One-to-One Conversations – 11:35 am
Giving your time and interest in another person can go a long way to build relationships. We’ll explore ways to connect to each other virtually and in person to grow our faith community.

Sledding at 1 pm if there is snow. More details to come!

January 30 – Spiritual Practices at 11:35 am
All ages are invited to join any of these programs. Check the newsletter later this month for further details:

Prayer for UUs with Rev. Eileen
Imbolc Ritual led by Taryn Seawright and Dan Solomon
Meditation led by Ellie Feddersen and Diane Markel
Tai Chi led by Renee Gatsis

See you there!
Kathy Underwood

From DLRE: January 7, 2021UCE UCE2022-01-06T16:44:10+00:00

Belonging to One Another in a Time of Rupture…: January 11, 2022

Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at 7-8:30 pm | Virtual session on Zoom | Facilitated by Dr. Andi Chatburn

A Conversation with Andi Chatburn, DO, MA, HEC-C,
Regional Director for Ethics, Providence Health, Washington Montana Region.

Dr Chatburn will share personal experiences bearing witness to conflict from the bedside to the boardroom and beyond, working as a clinical bioethicist during the global COVID pandemic and ongoing domestic political turmoil. Acute Care hospitals, particularly intensive care units, represent a microcosm of how individuals and communities cope and engage in interpersonal relationships when the stakes are high and emotions run strong. We will explore together the effect they've had on the environment of care in hospitals, and participants will reflect in small groups on their own experiences. For many, the experiences of conflict lead to a hunger for what theologian, attorney, and civil rights activist Valarie Kaur calls Revolutionary Love. Chatburn will introduce the Revolutionary Love compass, used as an educational tool in hospitals through the ethics curriculum, as a tool for personal, communal, and systems transformation.

More about Dr. Andi Chatburn, DO, MA

Dr. Andi Chatburn, DO, MA in Medical Ethics, HEC-C, is a Palliative Care physician in Spokane, Washington, and serves as the Regional Director for Ethics for Providence St. Joseph Health in Eastern Washington and Western Montana. Dr. Chatburn values time spent "standing in the gap" of uncertainty in clinical questions ranging from beginning to the end of life. This promotes curiosity and relationship while exploring questions of 'how we ought to be with one another in community' as we seek to address the challenges of promoting health for a better world.

Register Here

Belonging to One Another in a Time of Rupture…: January 11, 2022UCE UCE2022-01-05T22:13:15+00:00

A Pandemic and an Epidemic: January 4, 2022

A Pandemic and an Epidemic: Covid-19 and Alternative Facts

Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at 7-8:30 pm | Virtual Sessions on Zoom | Facilitated by Howard Jarvis, MD

Dr. Jarvis will speak about how a large regional health system in rural America confronted the medical and cultural realities of Covid, and what unique steps were taken initially. They eventually became the epicenter of the delta wave pandemic, and are now dealing with another peak. The crisis continues to be exacerbated by a low vaccination rate in Springfield, and dismal vaccination rates in the more rural areas. There will be some discussion of the politics of downplaying the effectiveness of masks, social distancing, and vaccines.

Howard Jarvis, MD, FAAEM, has been interviewed by CNN and the Kansas City star because he has been on the front lines of the battle with Covid and “alternative facts.”

He is Chairman of the Department of Emergency Medicine and Medical Director of the Emergency Department at CoxHealth in Springfield, MO—an area with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. He graduated from Washington University School of Medicine and trained at MetroHealth- Case Western Reserve and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, where he was Chief Resident in Emergency Medicine.

Prior to medical school he was in the Graceland University Honors Program directed by UCE Members Bob and Barbara Mesle. He took Bob’s Medical Ethics class, as well as Barbara’s British Literature class, the latter of which was his favorite college course. This Kansas City Star interview with Dr. Jarvis offers a good look at him and his situation.

Register

A Pandemic and an Epidemic: January 4, 2022UCE UCE2022-01-03T19:58:24+00:00

January 9, 2022

We will host a virtual worship service on Sunday, January 9th at 10:15 am.

Justifying Our Means and Ends
In October, we talked about renewing our Ends Statements* and introduced the process of exploring our core values through an exercise called The Experience of the Holy. Many of you have participated in these meaning making conversations over the past several months. In this service, we will explore what we’ve learned so far about the values we share and the aspirations we can intentionally claim in the coming years. Rev. Eileen leads the service with Lynn Kendall as Worship Associate.

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 Community Renewal Society (CRS).

January 9, 2022UCE UCE2022-01-07T20:06:56+00:00

December 31, 2021

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December 31, 2021UCE UCE2021-12-24T19:08:31+00:00

January 2, 2022

We will host a virtual worship service on Sunday, January 2nd at 10:15 am.

UCE Fire Communion
On Fire Communion Sunday, we will pause to reflect on the past year and look forward to the new year. We will strive to ground ourselves in love, enfold our heartbreaks and anxieties, and embrace our joys and celebrations from 2021. Then, remaining grounded in our loving community, we will turn ourselves toward 2022 with all its uncertainties and possibilities. As we celebrate our Fire Communion online this year, please have with you a piece of paper, something to write with, and 1 to 4 candles to light.

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 Community Renewal Society (CRS).

January 2, 2022UCE UCE2022-01-07T20:08:16+00:00

December 24, 2021

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December 24, 2021UCE UCE2021-12-24T00:10:20+00:00

December 26, 2021

We will host a virtual worship service on Sunday, December 26th at 10:15 am.

I Love to Laugh
Laughter is the best medicine, a pure form of joy, with the power to connect us. As we conclude our monthly theme of Opening to Joy and the year 2021, which didn’t give us much to laugh about, we look for laughter to heal, connect, and fortify us.

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 Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC).

December 26, 2021UCE UCE2021-12-21T20:58:07+00:00

December 17, 2021

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December 17, 2021UCE UCE2021-12-17T20:08:46+00:00

From Rev. Susan Frances: December 17, 2021

Dear Friends,

As the longest night of the year approaches, I have been spending more time with a cup of tea and a notepad being introspective. Some of the wonderful gifts during this dark time of year are nature’s examples of slowing down and settling in, which I find to be an invitation for spending some time reflecting on where I am, where I have been, and where I am going. This year I find myself thinking mainly about what connections I would like to make in the new year and what I would like to learn this year.

I have been voted onto the Board of Directors for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois (ACLU-IL) and will start a three-year term on January 1, 2022. I am humbled by the caliber of the other Board members and am looking forward to learning from and networking with them to continue to make Illinois a state where women have access to all types of health care, where the police have some accountability under a consent decree, and where trans students have a legal ally to assist them with negotiating safe space in their schools. I am hopeful this connection will provide possibilities to enhance our community’s already deep commitment to social justice.

What connections are you interested in making? Would you like to be in a Covenant Group? Do you need the support of the Addictions and Recovery Group, the Caregiver Support Group, or the Cancer Support Group? Do you need guidance on how to connect with BLUU Havens or Rainbow Alliance? Have you been waiting to volunteer to teach our children, advise our youth, join one of our social justice teams, or spend a day in the administrative office? If I can help you get more connected within our UCE community, please reach out to me at sfrances@ucevanston.org. If you would like someone from the Pastoral Care Team to talk with you, please let me know or complete our Request for Care form.

One of the joys of my monthly meetings with the Committee on Ministry for my Preliminary Fellowship with the UUA is that we spend time sharing our values and the underlying theology and talking about how we are living those values out in the world. I spent some time earlier this week finding a good resource for them on Religious Naturalism and it made we want to spend time this year reading some of the Religious Naturalist theologians that I know about but haven’t read their texts yet. Side note: If you look up Religious Naturalism on Wikipedia, you will find reference to and a photo of our own retired community minister, The Rev. Jerry A. Stone.

What are you interested in learning about? In January and February, we have two classes that everyone is invited to take to deepen your understanding of Unitarian Universalism or your own belief system. For new and ongoing visitors, we have a third class about UCE and membership.

Would you like to learn more about Unitarian Universalist history? Our Introduction to Unitarian Universalism class takes an in-depth look at our progressive faith, including Unitarian Universalist principles, sources, and covenant. This class is a must for visitors wanting to learn about Unitarian Universalism, but it is also a class for anyone wanting a reminder on how the threads weaving our faith tradition together have been woven from the 2nd Century into the 21st Century. This is a single session class that will be offered virtually on Sunday, January 16, 2022 at 1:00-2:30 pm or in-person on Sunday, January 23, 2022 at 2:30-4:00 pm. Click here to register.

Would you like to enhance how you express your personal theology? What do yUU Believe? is a 4-part class designed for youth and adults (age 12 and up) to take you on a journey toward better understanding and articulating your Unitarian Universalist theology. This 4-session class will alternate between being in-person and being on Zoom on the following Tuesdays, January 18 (in-person), 25 (via Zoom), February 1 (via Zoom), and 8 (in-person), 2022 at 7:00-8:30 pm. Click here to register.

Would you like to learn more about becoming a member of UCE? Journey Toward Membership is a 2-part class that explores our spiritual lives and what it means to be a member of an intentional community like the Unitarian Church of Evanston. The next in-person class, parts 1 and 2, will be on Tuesdays, February 1 and 8, 2022 at 6:30-8:00 pm. Click here to register. The next virtual class, parts 1 and 2, will be on Wednesdays, February 2 and 9, 2022 at 6:30-8:00 pm. Click here to register. You may also mix up the sessions, for example taking part 1 virtually and part 2 in-person.

As the Winter Solstice on December 21st approaches, embrace the long nights. Make time to slow down, settle in, and reflect on what is happening in your life, in our community, and in our country and world. Many of us are not feeling holiday festive this year and that is okay. If you don’t have the energy to reflect on making new connections and learning something new, that is okay. Be present in the here and now, however that is for you.

Whatever holiday traditions you celebrate during this time of year, I’m wishing you love, comfort, and joy to fill the long lovely nights of winter.

In faith,
Rev. Susan

From Rev. Susan Frances: December 17, 2021UCE UCE2021-12-17T18:52:03+00:00

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