Tuesdays, Nov. 23, 30;  7:00-8:45 pm
Sessions available online via Zoom
Facilitated by UCE member Barbara Mesle 

Whether you’re new to Toni Morrison or an experienced reader of her novels, it’s always better to have friends to discuss with.  A MERCY is s h o r t  (for Toni)–only 167 pages. We’ll tackle the novel in two halves to make it easier yet.  This novel is set in pre-colonial America. Ms. Morrison always addresses issues from multiple points of view and with multiple narrators.  Her self-proclaimed project to write the stories for African-American girls and women back into the mainframe of American history.  I love the complex characters and plot of A Mercy.  I hope you will too.  Please come and bring your experience and voice to the conversation about the Nobel prize winning author who wrote ten novels about why Black Lives Matter. 

Who is Barbara Hiles Mesle?  

As a college professor of literature, (MA University of Chicago, Ph.D the University of Kansas), I taught a seminar in the novels of Toni Morrison for more than a decade.  Ms. Morrison, in my opinion, may be considered the Shakespeare of the 21st century.  I have a lot of experience making her novels more accessible and seeing connections within her impressive body of work.  I think of Toni as a friend of my heart and mind (though I never met her in person).   

I loved my job as an English teacher for more 40 years, most of them at a small university.  But I was often reluctant to tell strangers that I was a professor of literature and writing.  Why?  Because sometimes this pall would come over their face, as if I was silently correcting their grammar, undangling their participles, and looking for “hidden meaning.”  I promise you that is not me!  After a lifetime of discussing literary texts, I have developed great respect for the insights of readers.  You have things to teach me too!  Let’s work together to begin to unpack this lovely novel. 

What’s Happening in Faith Formation?

Nursery Help Needed – We need one adult or teen to help Julia in the nursery each Sunday from 10 am-12:30 pm. You can help just once or as many Sundays as you want. Our littlest members are a joy to be with! Contact Kathy if you can help.

Volunteer Orientation Saturday at 10-11:30 am – All who are interested in volunteering for our new faith formation hour are invited to learn more at this virtual gathering. Click here to join the meeting.

Outdoor Game Days: If you enjoy being outside and playing games such as Sharks and Minnows (tag), Bum Volleyball, and Popcorn, then we need you! You don’t know those games? That’s okay! Looking for fun adults to help play games on October 3 and 17 with a group of young people from 10:45 am-12:15 pm. Contact Kathy if you can help.

Playscape Steppingstone Event – September 25 and October 2 – Families are invited to help make steppingstones. For more details and to register, click here.

Registration for Faith Formation begins! This year more than ever, it is important that parents register their young people, so that we can plan according to current guidelines. Please complete the form here for all young people, 0-18 years old.

A New Church Year, A New Theme – Embracing Possibility! Check out the new Soulful Home packet here! The packet is designed for families to explore the monthly theme at their own pace and interest.

Looking Ahead…Wednesday on the Lawn returns! October 27 at 5:30 pm – 7 pm. More details soon!

College-bound youth and young adults! A network to connect with UUs wherever you are! Join Rev. Byron Tyler Coles & Rev. Stevie K Carmody Eama for an information session about the recently launched Bridging Youth Hospitality Network! Next gathering is Thursday, October 7th, 6pm CST.

Check the links below for Zoom registration and more information. Spread the survey to recently bridged youth and the communities that want to welcome them!

Forum Discussion Group – This Sunday, September 19

Join the Forum Discussion this Sunday, September 19 at 11:30 am during Faith Formation Hour in Room 3: “What is meant by Defund the Police?” Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss and a representative from the UU Prison Ministry Team will present ideas from the City of Evanston, the UUA, and Defund CPD. Each speaker will present on the subject, then we will open up the floor for questions. Members can attend in person or virtually. This will be an exchange of ideas, not a debate. Among the topics we will explore are the role of police and whose safety is protected.

UCE Book Groups

UCE Fiction Book Group is reading My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Book 1, a graphic novel by Emil Ferris. Discussion meeting September 17, 7-8:30 pm via Zoom. 

Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of late ’60s Chicago, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is the fictional graphic diary of 10-year-old Karen Reyes, filled with B-movie horror and pulp monster magazine iconography. Karen Reyes tries to solve the murder of her enigmatic upstairs neighbor, Anka Silverberg, a holocaust survivor, while the interconnected stories of those around her unfold. When Karen’s investigation takes us back to Anka’s life in Nazi Germany, the reader discovers how the personal, the political, the past, and the present converge.

The nonfiction book group will meet via Zoom at 2 pm on Sunday, September 26th to discuss How the South Won the Civil War: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soul of America.

The author, Heather Cox Richardson, writes about how the South was the ideological victor of the Civil War as expansion of the Western frontier allowed the hierarchies of the South to proliferate. The book has been called “a thought-provoking study of the centuries-spanning battle between oligarchy and equality in America.”

What’s Happening in Faith Formation?

Ingathering/Water Communion this Sunday! We will be creating a rainstorm during the worship service. If you’d like to make a rain stick at home, here are some short videos to help you make a simple rain stick:

• Without using nails – https://youtu.be/giI9RfsA0uM
• Using nails or toothpicks – https://youtu.be/NQgwPSmWLzw

After worship, we will encircle the building with our collected waters and water the gardens and grounds. And for a little extra fun, we will have a water balloon toss! Feel free to come for any or all these activities as you feel comfortable.

Faith Formation Help this Fall – If you’d like to join in making this new format fun and engaging, look here for some of the ways you can do so! If you haven’t seen the video about our worship and faith formation format for this fall yet, check it out here. And if you missed Kathy’s recent article about this you can find it here.

Playscape Steppingstone Event – September 25 and October 2 – Families are invited to help make steppingstones. For more details and to register, click here.

Registration for Faith Formation begins! This year more than ever, it is important that parents register their young people, so that we can plan according to current guidelines. Please complete the form here for all young people, 0-18 years old.

UCE Book Groups

UCE Fiction Book Group is reading My Favorite Thing is Monsters, Book 1, a graphic novel by Emil Ferris. Discussion meeting September 17, 7-8:30 pm via Zoom. 

Set against the tumultuous political backdrop of late ’60s Chicago, My Favorite Thing Is Monsters is the fictional graphic diary of 10-year-old Karen Reyes, filled with B-movie horror and pulp monster magazine iconography. Karen Reyes tries to solve the murder of her enigmatic upstairs neighbor, Anka Silverberg, a holocaust survivor, while the interconnected stories of those around her unfold. When Karen’s investigation takes us back to Anka’s life in Nazi Germany, the reader discovers how the personal, the political, the past, and the present converge.

Forum Resumes Sunday, September 19 during Faith Formation Hour

The first Forum session for the 2021-22 church year is titled “What is meant by Defund the Police?” Our speakers will be Daniel Biss, mayor of Evanston, and a representative from Defund CPD. Each speaker will present their ideas on the subject, then we will open up the floor for questions. Members can attend in person or virtually. This will be an exchange of ideas, not a debate. Among the topics we will explore are the role of police and whose safety is protected.