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

DLFF Newsletter – May 2025

In Joy and Gratitude

The church year has a similar cycle to the school year, and we are in the final month before summer kicks in. We continue to celebrate all that we’ve done before beginning the cycle over again.

Our Faith Formation Sunday on May 4 was a culmination of some of this. We welcomed 17 new members, heard a story by one of our youngest featuring a goblin, saw the development of a round of the game Telestrations, and heard our four senior high youth speak about the meaning of this community to them as they graduate and head off to their next phase in life. It was  full of wonderful music from the family choir and the regular choir, and a special Star Wars tribute on the violin by Enzo Wallin. Indeed, there is much to celebrate!

Last week, I wrote a Hats Off for all the volunteers in our faith formation program, and apparently I did a poor job of cutting and pasting before I sent it to be published. This resulted in my accidental deletion of Andy Donakowski from my kudos. My apologies to Andy – and to anyone else I might have deleted. Please know that your contributions are sincerely appreciated!

Our Young Adult group has really taken off this year, which has been wonderful to see. They began the year with a monthly gathering to play games and socialize, but it has expanded exponentially from there. They formed a communication avenue via the app, Discord, as a way to share joys, sorrows, memes, games, food, resources, and more. They also felt a need to meet more often, and have started Soulful Sunday, which is a time after Kinship Time to meet and have more meaningful conversation about the worship service. As if that isn’t enough, some of them have decided to start their own covenant group to do a deeper dive into our Soul Matters themes and other topics. Fair warning: they might approach you or a team or committee about ways to connect across the generations and be involved in the rest of the UCE community. 

For our younger members, our summer program begins on June 15. We will be doing an art-based program this year that we’re calling Artsy-Fartsy Summer. Kiley Korey and Grey Wiviott are helping me build and lead this program, which is so exciting! They have so many great ideas, it’s been hard choosing which ones to do. If you love to express your creativity, or simply love to see the creativity of our kids, then feel free to join us!

The Family Ministry Team is planning their last gathering in early June and a beach day later this summer, so look for the details soon. 

I will be travelling to the United Kingdom June 23-July 13 to celebrate my 40th wedding anniversary with my husband, Todd. This is our first experience travelling across the pond and we’re a little nervous but also excited. Wendy Drake will be stepping in for me on the Sundays I am gone, so please connect with her if you need anything.

Whether you’re travelling or not, have a wonderful start to your summer!

In Faith,

Kathy

Springtime Joy

Our theme this month has been Joy, and it sure has lived up to it so far! Last Sunday’s worship service with the youth and young adults was full of joy and creativity! It is so inspiring and uplifting to hear and see their insights and passion. We are blessed to have them in our community.

This weekend, we celebrate Passover and Easter Sunday, both joyous occasions. All ages are invited to the family-friendly Passover Seder tonight at 5:30p in the sanctuary. Bring a side dish to share that doesn’t contain yeast or pork. 

 On Sunday, we will have an Easter potluck brunch during Kinship Time. Those who made Spring Peeps displays can leave them on the counter by the storage room along the west wall by the kitchen. We had so many creative displays last year, like this one of the sanctuary made by Jim Dibble (notice the Rev. Eileen bunny and song-leaders!) I look forward to seeing what others thought up this year!

For those with youngsters, we will also have an Easter Egg Hunt on the lawn, weather permitting. We will gather in The Nest after worship for instructions. Our youngest will go outside first for a head start, followed by older children and youth. 

Last month, Jeanne Kerl led a seed-planting activity for our Family Friday event, and a couple of families have reported that they are now seeing sprouts. It is such a joy to have members of the congregation share their passions with our younger ages! I like to think that the kids will watch their seedlings as they grow and then plant them in their yards for the summer and think of the fun they had making the terrariums that nurtured them.

We have been nurturing our young people and adults too all year long with the many programs, events, celebrations, and gatherings we’ve had. In just a few weeks on May 4, we will celebrate our new members who have joined our community recently as well as our young people who are in the midst of big transitions in their lives. Our youth will participate in our traditional Bridging Ceremony, a ceremony that recognizes those who are entering high school as well as those who are leaving high school and becoming young adults, or in UU terms, “emerging adults”. It is a most moving and emotional event that the whole congregation takes part in and witnesses.

Of course, our nurturing doesn’t end here! Our summer program for our young people begins on June 15. We will be doing an art-based program this year that we’re calling Artsy-Fartsy Summer. Kiley Korey and Grey Wiviott are helping me build and lead this program, which is so exciting! They have so many great ideas, it’s been hard choosing which ones to do. We’d love to have any adults who like to engage in a variety of arts to join us too. Look for more details soon. 

As always, if you have an idea to share or would like to help nurture others’ ideas that build community between generations, the Family Ministry Team welcomes you to join them. What better way to make the world whole than by nurturing our young people and families? After all, the future is theirs to grow.

In Faith,

Kathy

DLFF Newsletter – February 2025

I am sitting in my office with the sunlight streaming in as I write. One of my favorite things to do is sit in a sunny window and read while sipping some decadent flavor of tea. Last week when it was below zero, I took my dog for our usual 1.5 mile walk and saw a small flock of robins in a tree. It was then that I knew spring was coming soon. Sure enough, after a couple of colder-than-normal weeks for this time of year, it is a balmy 52 degrees out today! There is hope after all!

I am one of those people who is closely attuned to weather and seasons. I love to surround myself with tokens that remind me of this – rocks, shells, leaves, bird nests, warm blankets, and the colors of the season. This parallels my feeling about life in general – things are constantly changing, so take notice of them before they’re gone. I try not to fret over something that will not last long. I need to keep this in the back of my mind and hold it internally during these turbulent times in our country and world. I want to believe that this will not last.

Of course, the pressing issue is about what happens in the meantime. The saying, “Be the change you wish to see” resonates with me but I struggle in discerning where and how to do this. What injustices and causes are most important? They all are, in the end. Because everything is interdependent, each one has a direct connection and effect with the others. We can also refer to this as intersectionality. So with this reasoning, the answer to myself is simply to act on ANY cause, and it will tug on the threads in the web of life that are connected to it.

UCE gives me the inspiration to act. Hearing people’s stories, finding ways to widen the circle, and seeing the impact of so many people individually and collectively, gives me hope. Our young people need to hear and see this as well as take part in it as best they can. As parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles, we need to include them in our conversations on the injustices we are passionate about and listen to their perspectives and solutions. They need to know that we care about their future, that we have not abandoned them and left them to deal with it when they grow older. They, like us, need to know that spring is coming.

Our Family Friday event earlier this month was making toys for dogs and cats from old t-shirts for a local animal shelter. Next month, we will be planting a variety of seeds to take home and tend to. Our middle school youth are interested in planting trees or something similar. These are simple ways to include younger people in our efforts to make the world a better place. If you are part of a local effort that can include children and youth in any kind of social action, please let me know.

May we create the change we wish to see.

In Faith,

Kathy