Back and Forth

Congregational life in early spring is just like the weather: back and forth. One day it’s sunny and 72 degrees out and the next day it’s 27 degrees with snow flurries. I personally like the change in weather, because if it were nice and sunny every day, it would be difficult to get chores and work done. I also appreciate those nicer days even more after the colder, cloudy ones.

At UCE, my work life goes back and forth as well. There are the days when I am hunkered down and focused on what is happening in the coming week or two. There is a sense of routine in those tasks that makes it easier to stay the course. I have a particular destination that leads to various age groups connecting with one another and learning more about their UU identity, themselves, and the world around them.

And then there are the days when I am lured by the warmth and can veer away for a bit  – not just as a time to rejuvenate, but as a time to step back and look at the bigger picture, to see the whole ocean, the beaches, the islands and the forest and animals. How can I help us explore all that there is and discover the awe and wonder that lies all around us? Who among us needs more support and better tools for the journey? 

Perhaps the Deeper Joy map is a good visual for this (see above). Rev. Eileen and I led a worship service using this map on March 8, for those who aren’t familiar with it. And while it focuses more on building connection and community, it touches on the idea that we’re all on a journey together – a faith formation journey. The joy, as well as the challenge, is that we’re not all starting at the same place. Some are just arriving to Unitarian Universalism and some have been here a while. Some need the safety of the Bonding Harbor and others hunger for the Canyons of Deeper Sharing. 

I look at this map knowing that I am one person also on the journey and yet responsible for guiding others on theirs. It is an honor I take seriously. And I know I am not alone as I have the best beside me – a wonderful staff, an awesome Family Ministry Team, and friends and family. And there’s plenty of room on my boat for you to come along too.

In Faith,

Kathy

DLFF Newsletter – March 2026 

Springing Forward

Ah yes, it’s that time of the year we meet mostly with hope and also with a little less sleep – the daylight saving time change! For some, it is the first sign of spring, although I have been seeing signs for a couple of weeks now. Red-winged blackbirds are back at the ponds and marshes in my neighborhood as well as swans, and many of the trees and shrubs have the beginnings of budding on their branches. If the squirrels hadn’t eaten my crocus and snowdrop bulbs, they would be seen by now. And I have heard that sandhill cranes have been spotted a little further south, which is always a welcoming sound and site.

Here at UCE, there is much to look forward to as we approach the spring equinox. I know that things can get lost in the scrolling down of the newsletter, and that we focus on things coming up in a short window of time, so I wish to highlight some events coming up that you might otherwise miss here.

Our joint worship service with Lula B. Sherman United Methodist Church on March 22 will begin at 11a, and promises to be inspiring with a title such as “The Gospel According to Patty LaBelle”. Our faith formation program, Meeting Our Interfaith Neighbors, spent time with their congregation last month and look forward to gathering with them again.

Looking into April, we begin the month with our family-friendly Seder, led by Dan Solomon. This will be on April 3 at 5:30p in the sanctuary. This is an evening to experience aspects of this Jewish celebration, taste the foods, sing the songs, hear the stories and prayers, and for kids to search for the afikomen. You need not be Jewish to participate. Feel free to bring a side dish to share that doesn’t contain yeast (as in bread/rolls) or pork. Please register here.

Easter Sunday follows Passover on April 5, when we will have an all-ages worship service followed by a Peeps Show and an egg-cellent spread during Kinship Time. And yes, you read that correctly, a Peeps show! All ages are invited to show their creativity, humor, and spirit by making a display using marshmallow peeps. These will be set out to view while waiting in line for all the delicious food. And for Kinship Time, feel free to bring an egg dish to share or other side dish that means “spring and rebirth” to you. We’ll also have a little egg hunt out on the south lawn, weather permitting.

Our final session of the AI-Artificial Intelligence series with Dr. Emma Farrell is on April 7th, with the topic of Skills for Every Day and Congregational Life. We have learned quite a lot about AI in this program and I personally still have mixed feelings about it. Hopefully, this last session will help me and others to see how it can be used in ways that connect to what we value most. You can register here to get further information.

Our awesome youth group and young adults will be leading our worship service on April 12. I don’t want to give away anything at this point, but it is always wonderful to see and hear them and what their hearts and spirits are filled with at this time and place in their lives. 

We end the month of April by joining in the Earth Day Evanston Clean Up at Pioneer Park on the 26th from 12-2p. Our faith formation programs will end when worship ends so that families can join in the cleanup efforts. All supplies will be provided. And for those who wish to celebrate our efforts, we’ll walk to Cold Stone Creamery for a little treat around 1p. 

We have so much to look forward to!

In Faith,

Kathy

Lifelong Learnings

I have been reminded recently of an important lesson: that lifelong learning is inevitable, necessary, and sometimes painful. We grow through our willingness to engage honestly with challenges and hardships. And with grace, forgiveness, and some hard work, we can experience peace and greater trust in the midst of our struggles.

You may have seen the email about two incidents at a youth overnight last month. I want to reassure you that Rev. Eileen and I are talking and meeting with those involved as well as those who are helpful advisors to help rebuild trust, improve communication, and look at our policies and procedures with due diligence and care.

I have been reminded that, in our relationships, impact matters immensely despite our intentions. It is a lesson I am still learning. One is never too old, nor above, learning how their actions can affect others. This has brought out so many feelings in me – sadness, worry, a sense of urgency, trauma from other family and life events, among others. I’m grateful that those involved are willing to stay in relationship as we reflect and strive to do better.

As I have been processing these incidents, I have been looking at them from an even wider perspective, a societal one. I wrote in a previous column during the pandemic about an article I read, which predicted we would see the effects of the pandemic in 5-7 years. We wondered back then how the lack of connection to others outside of the family would manifest as children and youth went back to school and other activities. The same was said about adults returning to offices and jobs in the service industries. Will we navigate this transition in healthy and positive ways? Since we are now amid this period, it’s hard to know to what degree we’re being successful.

We are still figuring out how to be with one another in the world, as well as here at UCE since we reopened our doors. The current political climate has brought many new people into our sanctuary, including families with children and youth. How do we welcome them, and embrace their presence and guide them as they navigate new relationships and friendships? One way we do so is by practicing our covenantal faith. Each faith formation group creates their own covenant and decides how they will address a break in that covenant should it occur. It is the role of those of us who are adult leaders to help guide our children and youth as they practice living those covenants, understand the impacts when they are broken, and work to repair them in the ways that are possible. It is hard work that takes courage, care, and time.

And so, the lifelong learning continues. We will keep working to repair hurt feelings while taking ownership for the harm we have caused. Reconciliation and repair in relationships is the work of our faith. It is what makes the full living of our values possible. As difficult as this is, I am one to dive in and keep working on it. After all, that is what my UU values ask me to do. I’m grateful to have you as part of my lifelong learnings.

In Faith,

Kathy

New Year Changes

The ringing in of a new year lends itself to reflection and setting intentions as we embark on our journey in life. Our Fire Communion ritual offers a way to do so in community with others. While I missed this at UCE, I was able to participate at my home congregation, the Elgin UU Church, and I must say I struggled with it.

Their ritual has two parts to it: the first is to think of the things you wish to be rid of, the things that have not served you well in the past year, and then write them on flash paper and burn it. The second part is to then think of something that you wish to invite into your life, something that you need to help you be more authentic and a better person, and then think of a word or two that can be your mantra for the year. And this is the part I struggled with – what do I want to invite into my life this year? The possibilities are endless! How do I choose just one?

Those who know me also know that I am one to generally and enthusiastically embrace change, which is why I am baffled as to why I had a hard time coming up with my mantra. I seem to welcome it more in my professional life, which often shows up on our backpack tags that are blessed at the beginning of the school year. This year’s mantra is “Something Possible!” Perhaps I should keep that as my personal one as well.

Part of this New Year ritual and tradition is to look back on the previous year. Out of curiosity, I looked back at what I wrote in the newsletter in January 2025. It focused on some findings I learned about the ways parents and families are challenged and how faith communities can help. There were several ideas on ways to make connections across the generations, such as older adults being “grandparents”, “aunties” and “uncles” to our younger ones and young adults teaming up with our youth for game nights and other activities.

And while we have done some of this, we continue to explore more ways of connecting people. Rev. Eileen and I met with some parents this past fall to hear their thoughts on what helps them and ways we can offer even more support and connection. One of their ideas was to improve The Nest area for families in worship so that it is more accessible to late-comers and is situated so parents are closer to the rug where the children sit. Gillian Lawrence came up with a plan that encompasses these needs and we will unveil it this Sunday. I welcome your feedback as you experience this new arrangement.

A few of the ideas mentioned that we are tackling this year: ways to improve communication between parents, having parent activities while offering childcare, and a family sleepover. As these come to fruition, you will hear more about them, so stay tuned!

Whether or not you have a mantra or word for 2026, may you find encouragement, support, hope, and joy here at UCE as you travel the road of life.

In Faith,

Kathy

DLFF Newsletter – December 2025 

Gratitude and Hope

As we end this month and our Soul Matter’s theme of Nurturing Gratitude, I am reflecting on the many things and people I am grateful for this year. My family and friends are the first that come to mind – both those alive and those who have died. They have helped make me who I am today with many lessons learned along the way. I also find myself grateful for little things each day, such as a tree with its crimson leaves still clinging to the branches, or a hot cup of chai on a chilly morning.

At UCE, there are so many people I’m grateful for! The staff, or course, is the best. They’re not only good at their jobs, they’re passionate, respectful, and joyful as they work with each other and the congregation. And in my little corner of it all, I have some dedicated people who care about our young people and make them feel welcomed and a part of UCE life. 

As we celebrate friends and family and all we’re grateful for, I invite you to add to our gratitude tree in the lobby if you haven’t yet done so. You can find a basket of paper leaves to write your gratitude on and then hang them on the tree in the corner of the reading nook.

As we look to a new month starting next week, our Soul Matters theme is Choosing Hope. With all that is going on in our area, the country, and the world, it is hard to feel any hope at all. The cold and dreary days certainly don’t help either. UCE, on the other hand, helps so much! I have heard many stories in the past couple of weeks when someone shared how meaningful our community is and how it gives them hope. 

Christmas is certainly a time of hope for many with the promise of the shining star and the baby in the manger to bring peace and joy to all. As you can see in this newsletter, there is much happening at UCE to be grateful and hopeful for; Cocoa, Carols, and Community, Ornament Sunday, the Christmas Pageant, Christmas Eve worship, and many ways to make a difference in the world through our committees and community partnerships.

In closing, I wish to share this poem from our Soul Matters Sharing Circle by Julián Jamaica Soto:

We Hold Hope Close 

In this community, we hold hope close. We don’t
always know what comes next, but that cannot dissuade us.
We don’t always know just what to do, but that will not mean
that we are lost in the wilderness. We rely on the certainty
beneath, the foundation of our values and ethics. We
are the people who return to love like a North Star and to
the truth that we are greater together than we are alone.
Our hope does not live in some glimmer of an indistinct future.
Rather, we know the way to the world of which we dream,
and by covenant and the movement forward of one right action
and the next, we know that one day we will arrive at home.

With Gratitude,

Kathy

DLFF Newsletter – November 2025 

Family Fall Feedback

Last week, Rev. Eileen and I hosted a virtual gathering for parents to hear how they are doing and how they are engaging in and feeling about our faith community. They were open and honest and brave to share with us, which is what we hoped for. I wish to share some of this with you here.

Parents expressed overwhelmingly their joy at how much they and their children have been embraced, welcomed, and included. Having childcare available on Sunday mornings for choir rehearsal and worship has made a huge difference. The Nest has certainly been a big part of those with younger children to feel at home. And while it was acknowledged that it can get a bit noisy and parents worry about this, they appreciate that their little ones can make some noise without getting “shushed” and glared at. We also shared some ideas on ways we can help little ones – and parents – learn when to be quieter and when it’s okay to be a little noisy in worship. After all, how can we expect our youngest to grow up to be practicing UUs if we don’t show them how?

Another thing that parents appreciate is how we maintain many of our traditions, such as Ornament Sunday and the rummage sale. Creating community was another major factor, with the restarting of the youth group, Picnics in the Park, Our Whole Lives (OWL) sex ed program, and of course, snacks. Food is always good!

We then had a conversation about what they need more from UCE. The overall arch of their responses was to make more connections – for the parents and especially between generations. Some ideas shared were to have childcare available for things such as a parents’ night out and for a parents’-only program or activity, having the older youth help the younger ones and the young adults help with the youth, and having young people be a pen pal with an older adult who isn’t able to attend worship in person.

Much more was shared – too much to write about here. Rev. Eileen and I would love to hear from others too. You can do so in this Family Fall Feedback form. We will keep you posted on where this takes us.

In the meantime, our last Family Friday had 27 people of all ages gather to help weed one of the gardens and then enjoy a campfire and s’mores. Now that the weather is getting colder, our gatherings will be indoors. On November 7 we will have a family game night. Bring a snack and/or beverage to share and a favorite game. Looking at December, we will have our annual Cocoa, Carols, and Community on the 5th. We’ll wrap gifts for the mitten tree and then enjoy hot cocoa and sing holiday favorites.

My plan is to offer the Our Whole Lives (OWL) sex ed program for youth in 7th-9th grades beginning in January. Parents of youth should have gotten an email about this. If not, please let me know and I will send you the information. I am also hoping to offer the young adult OWL program this year. You older adults might get your turn in 2027!

For adults, Dr. Emma Farrell continues their series on Artificial Intelligence, which will be in person and on Zoom on November 5. And on November 19, join me for Create Your UU Elevator Speech, where you will develop an elevator speech about your UU faith. It is called an “elevator speech” because on an elevator ride when someone asks you, “What is Unitarian Universalism?” you only have a short time to make a meaningful statement.

Lastly, there are a couple of invitations from other organizations in Evanston to join in on: Fall Fire Pit with the Evanston Friends Meeting on November 16, and a story time at the Gichigamiin Indigenous Nations Museum. See the blurbs elsewhere in the newsletter for the details.

As always, we continue to build community within UCE and beyond.

In Gratitude,

Kathy

DLFF Newsletter – October 2025 

Fall Findings

I write this upon my return from the Living Legacy Pilgrimage in Alabama that I went on, joined by 17 others from UCE. To say that this experience was transformative would be an understatement. While I was fortunate that I grew up in a place that had good public schools and didn’t shy away from the history of the Civil Rights Movement, I still learned even more about the many stories that happened in between the ones I learned about in school. However, hearing the personal accounts and walking in the same places that made history were the things that brought that history alive and helped me feel many emotions. Our tour guides used readings, poetry, and music to enhance it all in a meaningful way. 

I am thankful to Rev. Eileen for telling me about this tour five years ago and her dream of having a group from UCE go – a dream that has now happened! And so I now have a dream: to pass this pilgrimage on to our youth. I’m not exactly sure when or how this will happen, but it will. Perhaps if enough people in the coming generations have such an opportunity, then I can only believe that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream of equality for all can be a reality. 

Dreams aside, there is much happening in faith formation and UCE as a whole. The Family Ministry Team and the Lively Spirit Dancers had a wonderful turnout last month at their dance party on the lawn. The weather was perfect, the music uplifting, and the company joyful! Our next event is this Friday when we join the garden team to do a little weeding followed by a campfire and s’mores. Come join us at any time between 6-8p! And then on November 7, we will have a family game night, so mark your calendars for that too.

In faith formation, we have some wonderful opportunities for adults to explore and grow in. This Sunday, the Endowment Committee hosts an “Estate Planning and Charitable Giving Workshop” after the worship service. You can register and learn more here. On Tuesday, October 7, be sure to catch Dr. Emma Farrell’s first session in their series on Artificial Intelligence, which will be on Zoom. On October 14, Rev. Eileen and I begin our three-part series on Deepening the Spiritual Journey, which is  an exploration of the spiritual pathways we have all traveled in our lives; the pathways which have led us to where we are today.

For our young people, we are blessed to welcome our newest faith formation guides/leaders: Andy Donatowski, Katie Ediger, Dr. Emma Farrell, Lee Solock, and Patrick Thornton.  They are gathering this Sunday before worship to learn the about what we do and why we do it, and to ask questions along the way. If you are interested in connecting with our younger members, feel free to join us! We will have light refreshments at 9:15a and begin immediately at 9:30a in room 3. Childcare is available.

We continue to welcome new families at UCE and in our faith formation program for children and youth. We have had an average of ten young people in each of our groups for the first few weeks of the new church year. Our youth had a lock-in two weeks ago, with 14 attending! They voted on ideas for the year and had fun playing games – especially Hide-and-Seek and the Cookie Face game.

We are growing in numbers and in spirit! Indeed we are blessed.

In Faith,

Kathy

August has always been a month of mixed feelings for me. As a youngster, my family went on just one vacation when I was six years old to visit family in Marquette, Michigan. I have quite a few memories of that trip – partially because it was the only one we ever took, and partially because my younger sister and I got lost in the pine forest while there. Why my parents let us roam around in a strange place, I’ll never know! Things are certainly different these days.

While my family didn’t travel, the summer months were filled with adventures around our block. Bicycle riding and roller skating were favorites. Playing jacks, spoons, and Ghost in the Graveyard, and getting hot and sweaty until it was time to go inside to enjoy a cold bowl of ice cream. Time at the local pool with swimming lessons, the smell of chlorine, suntan lotion (not recommended now!), and sunshine. 

My sister and I have birthdays at the end of August, which was exciting as long as we didn’t think about having to go to school. There were years when school would start on my birthday, which was not fun. No one would know ahead of time that it was my birthday, and so it was never acknowledged. I always felt bad for those of us with summer birthdays.

However, the start of the school year had some perks. The best one was our once-a-year shopping trip for clothes and shoes for school and gym class, not to mention all of the supplies. I reveled at choosing my crayons, folders, notebooks, and pens! The smell of new notebook paper and markers was heaven to me! 

When I think about those summertime memories, I can’t help but wonder if our young people have similar experiences about summer and the start of a new school year. My hope is that all of our kids and youth have fond memories and feelings about their time in our community. And while it is important that they learn academic skills, sports, and hobbies, it is imperative that they learn about and reflect the values we uphold as Unitarian Universalists: justice, equity, transformation, pluralism, interconnectedness, generosity, and of course, love. 

All of us here at UCE are helping our young people learn these values and demonstrating how to live them in our daily lives. Whether you volunteer with a group of kids or not, they are watching what we do and hearing what we say. They are forming their faith as well as informing ours. I often hear adult volunteers say how surprised they were to be more of a learner than a teacher when working with young people, and that their own faith formation grew by doing so. Some also say that they feel more hopeful about the future by hearing the kids and youth converse on topics beyond their years. Their imaginations and insights are creative and inspiring!

This year in our Faith Formation Program, we continue to build community and relationships while exploring our UU values and striving to make the world a better place. We’ll be using a variety of curricula during the year for those in 1st-9th grades, such as Soul Matters, Holy Troublemakers and Unconventional Saints, Games to Build Community, and ChUUrchcraft. For our youngest, Ann Gadzikowski continues to create a special program based on storytelling. You can see an example here. 

If any of this has piqued your interest, we have volunteer spots open for Chalice Children (pre/K) and for Heads, Hearts, and Hands (1st-5th). You can learn more about the year ahead by joining us at our Meet & Greet on August 23 from 10-11:30a. This is for any parent, grandparent, or curious person, and those who will be a volunteer. RSVP here by August 19 to help in planning for childcare and food. And I’m happy to talk with you more at any time, of course!

Our Middle School Youth Group will be having a lock-in on September 12-13 at UCE. Details were emailed out this week. If you didn’t get the email, please let me know.

Our Family Fridays resume on September 5 at 6p for a Dance Party. Join the Lively Spirits Dancers for an evening of music, dancing, and fun! Come and go as you wish. Bring a snack or beverage to share. You can help choose dance songs too – just submit your vote here (and your kids’) for songs to be added to the playlist.

For the adults, Dan Solomon, Bob Mesle, Rev. Eileen and I are planning the program calendar for the year and we’ll be sharing it with you soon. Our lineup includes continuing the Meeting Our Interfaith Neighbors and End of Life Planning programs, as well as Deepening the Spiritual Journey and UU history.

I hope that these last few weeks of summer become cherished memories, and that we create new ones at UCE as we start a new church year.

In Faith,

Kathy

Taking Time

Taking Time

I love my job. It has such a wide variety of tasks and challenges, I never get bored. Frustrated, perhaps, but never bored. There are many aspects to being a religious educator that uses both the left and right sides of my brain, such as creativity, art, and music, thinking outside of the box, budgeting, organizing, relationship-building. There is the physical aspect – logging many steps and stairs on my pedometer, moving furniture and supplies, late nights and overnights. And then there is the emotional side, the times when someone is hurt, angry, sad, anxious, and they need a compassionate ear or help working out a conflict. I love my job. This reminds me of a song I like, Vacation by Dirty Heads. Take a listen here, and see if you agree. “Ay, ay aye, I’m on vacation every single day because I love my occupation!”

Well, maybe that’s not entirely true, because vacations away from work – as much as I love my job – are important. A change of pace helps to rejuvenate the body and brain. Time away from a computer is especially important these days.

My husband, Todd, and I got to spend 18 days on our first trip overseas to the United Kingdom. We crammed a lot into our time but made sure every few days was a “light” one. We met so many people, including Morgan Wood, who is currently playing Eliza Schuyler in Hamilton on Broadway, while on a Winnie-the-Pooh tour – yes, you read that correctly. We traveled to Pooh Corner for lunch and then Ashdown Forest, which became the Hundred Acre Wood in the books by A. A. Milne.

I won’t bore you with all the details of where we went and things we saw and did here, but I’d be happy to share more in person when I see you. I’m so grateful to love my occupation and job, and to have the ability to take time off for rejuvenation.

Now I am getting back into the workday routine and planning for the coming church year. But to keep the feeling of being on vacation alive, we have a couple of events coming up that you might enjoy. 

This Sunday is Beach Day at Lighthouse Beach in Evanston from 12-3p. Bring a picnic lunch and your beach toys for some fun in the sun! Information on passes can be found here. In case of rain or storms, our backup date is August 10.

On August 5, join the Family Ministry Team at Sketchbook Brewing in Skokie from 6-8p. They have a wonderful beer garden as well as indoor seating with all kinds of games to entertain kids and adults. Snacks are available for purchase and you can bring your own food in.

I hope you have been able to take time this summer too, and find yourself rejuvenated for a new church year!

In Faith,

Kathy

Summertime Freedom Ramblings

You might know that our Soul Matters theme this summer is Freedom. While sometimes
I don’t connect as much to a theme, this is one of those months where I feel a
resonance with it.
We have the more obvious connections to freedom this month with Juneteenth on June
19, which commemorates when the news of the emancipation of enslaved people finally
reached Galveston, Texas in 1865, over two years after President Lincoln’s
proclamation. And in July, we have Independence Day, of course.
Less obvious perhaps is the freedom to get outdoors more and enjoy the warmth of the
sun and the beauty of Mother Nature. With daylight lasting until at least 9p, it feels like
there is more time in a day to enjoy it, even if you had to work for most of the day.
Our Unitarian history for many congregations was to not have worship services during
the summer, a tradition that many still hold onto, especially smaller congregations.
Since many Unitarians were fairly wealthy, they had the means to take time off and
travel or spend the summer at vacation homes. I feel torn about this part of our history,
with its classism and white privilege. And yet I wish that we could enjoy a longer stretch
of time off to relax and renew our spirits, which would then lead us to determine how our
many ministries will work together in our struggle and hope to help make the world
whole.
Perhaps one solution to this is to carve out times throughout the year for reflection that
lead into further planning and collaboration. What if we, the whole congregation, took
one week or weekend off every quarter from church responsibilities and challenged
ourselves to deep introspection about our work – whatever that may be – and then
reconvened in a festive way to share our insights and determine our course for the next
three months? I wonder how, or if, this would change our ministry to each other and the
world at large.
One could also argue that we should take time for this every day, even if for just 10
minutes. Having a spiritual practice helps with making time for reflection and
introspection. Life often gets in the way though, especially if it is on our own time with no
obligation to others to do so.
In two weeks, I’ll be heading to the United Kingdom with my husband, Todd, as a
celebration of our 40 years of marriage. While we have a lot planned to see and do and
want to take advantage of finally going overseas, I know that taking time to simply sit
still will be even more necessary.
I endeavor to do so, and hope this for you as well.

In Faith,

Kathy