2026 UUA General Assembly Livestreamed Sunday Worship Service

 Come unite with UUs across the country for an awe-inspiring Sunday worship celebration! 

At 9:30 am, we will gather in the sanctuary for the pre-service Community Sing. This joyful gathering invites all participants to join in beloved hymns and spirited music that connect us across distance and difference. No experience is needed, just bring your voice and your heart.

At 10:00 am (note time change), join Rev. Susan Frances and our UU Network Team in the sanctuary to watch the livestream of this worship service led by The Rev. Jen Youngsun Ryu. Through music, preaching, and ritual, we will ground ourselves in our Unitarian Universalist faith and be renewed for the work of justice, compassion, and community in the world.

This Sunday we will be creating community space inclusive of our immunocompromised members & friends by requiring all attendees to be masked on the main floor from 9 am – 1 pm. Please take your Kinship Time food and beverages onto the South Lawn to enjoy unmasked. Gatherings in the Lower Level rooms may be unmasked.

You may join the Community Sing and the GA Worship Service directly through the Livestream button in the newsletter or the Worship Livestream button on the Home page.

For the offertory, we will be passing the collection bowls. Anything collected here in the sanctuary, will benefit our Shared Offering Program recipient, Deborah’s Place, whose mission is to open doors of opportunity for women who are homeless. The supportive housing and services provided by Deborah’s Place offers women a key to healing and moving on from the experience of homelessness.

Upcoming Services:

June 28 – Kera Beskin’s spiritual journey with Rev. Eileen Wiviott as worship associate. (Rev. Eileen’s last Sunday before her two month sabbatical.)

July 5 – This Country is a Piece of Me and I am a Piece of This Country – Rev. Susan Frances

July 12 – Rev. Elizabeth Harding

July 19 – In the Absence of Clarity – Rev. David Miller

Pride in Our Community

Happy Pride! This year we gather together to celebrate the pride we take in our community. It takes a collective effort to come together to demand a better world, to be present and comfort each other’s grief, and to model what it looks like to center Love in daily living. This Sunday, we will remember the 10 year anniversary of the mass shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando. We will shine our pride upon the loving community we have created here at UUCE as we continue to engage in building an accountable and inclusive world.

This Sunday’s service was created by Rev. Susan Frances, Alison Issen, Steven Baksa, Mags Johnston, and Carol Young. Musicians Kiley Korey, Taylor Hobart, Cora Adair, and Gregory Shifrin provide our music.

Today’s offering will be shared with Deborah’s Place, whose mission is to open doors of opportunity for women who are homeless. The supportive housing and services provided by Deborah’s Place offers women a key to healing and moving on from the experience of homelessness.

Upcoming Services

June 21 – Start time of 10 am for 90-minute Livestream of UUA General Assembly Sunday Morning Worship Service

June 28 – Kera Beskin’s spiritual journey with Rev. Eileen Wiviott as worship associate. (Rev. Eileen’s last Sunday before her two month sabbatical.)

July 5 – This Country is a Piece of Me and I am a Piece of This Country – Rev. Susan Frances

July 12 – Rev. Elizabeth Harding

 Love Is…Mutual Flourishing 

We celebrate our uniquely Unitarian Universalist Flower Communion. Please bring a flower or many to contribute to our communion. We will also dedicate some of our wonderful children and bid a fond farewell to our beloved Ministerial Intern, Dr. (and soon to be Reverend) Emma Farrell. Charles M. Anderson and Chester Beck, soloists; the UCE Choir, directed by Vickie Hellyer and accompanied by Gregory Shifrin on piano and Nadav Simon on percussion, and The Lively Spirit Dancers provide music to lift our spirits. Annual picnic and potluck to follow service. Please bring a dish to share.

Today’s offering will be shared with Deborah’s Place, which opens doors of opportunity for women that experience homelessness in Chicago through supportive services and permanent housing.

Upcoming Services

June 14 – The Power of Community to Heal – Rev. Susan Frances

June 21 – UUA General Assembly Worship (masks required) Livestream starts at 10 a.m.

June 28 – Kera Beskin’s Spiritual Journey

July 5 – This Country is a Piece of Me and I am a Piece of This Country – Rev. Susan Frances

Love Is…Mutual Flourishing

 We celebrate our uniquely Unitarian Universalist Flower Communion. Please bring a flower or many to contribute to our communion. We will also dedicate some of our wonderful children and bid a fond farewell to our beloved Ministerial Intern, Dr. (and soon to be Reverend) Emma Farrell. Ellie Feddersen serves as our Worship Associate. The UCE Choir, directed by Vickie Hellyer and accompanied by Gregory Shifrin on piano, provide music to life our spirits.

Today’s offering will be shared with Deborah’s Place, which opens doors of opportunity for women that experience homelessness in Chicago through supportive services and permanent housing.

Upcoming Services

June 14 – The Power of Community to Heal – Rev. Susan Frances

June 21 – UUA General Assembly Worship (masks required) Livestream starts at 10 a.m.

June 28 – Kera Beskin’s Spiritual Journey

July 5 – This Country is a Piece of Me and I am a Piece of This Country – Rev. Susan Frances

The Courage to be Curious

It’s hard to be brave and curious when things change so rapidly. Things are changing faster than we can possibly adjust to, but we can build the courage to slow down together amidst overwhelming change and move forward with curiosity. We bid a fond farewell to beloved, long-time members, Lee and Jane Bannor who are moving away. Rev. Eileen leads the service with Carla Williams as the Worship Associate. Charles Anderson is our hymn and song leader and Gregory Shifrin on piano lead us musically.

Today’s offering will be shared with The Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois (UUPMI), which works to equip UU’s in Illinois to ​transform institutions, partnering with and supporting people harmed by the prison industrial complex.

Upcoming Services

June 7 – Flower Communion and Child Dedications – Rev. Eileen

June 14 – The Power of Community to Heal – Rev. Susan Frances

June 21 – UUA General Assembly Worship (masks required) Livestream starts at 10 a.m.

June 28 – Kera Beskin’s Spiritual Journey

A Home By Any Other Name

 What does it mean to be a Unitarian Universalist? How often do you say you’re a Unitarian with the Universalist part implied? Why the second U matters. Rev. Eileen leads this service with Bob Mesle as Worship Associate. Music is provided by the UCE Choir, directed by Vickie Hellyer, along with Gregory Shifrin on piano.

Today’s offering will be shared with The Children’s Best Interest Project, whose mission is to assist parents with dismissal or reduction of charges in minor criminal cases and to educate Illinois families, organizations, and lawyers about the Children’s Best Interest Act, which requires Illinois courts to consider children’s needs when making sentencing decisions about their parents. 

Upcoming Services

May 24 – Rev. Allison Farnum and Monica Cosby

May 31 – The Courage to Be Curious – Rev. Eileen Wiviott

June 7 – Flower Communion and Child Dedications – Rev. Eileen

June 14 – The Power of Community to Heal – Rev. Susan Frances

The Fierce Love of Mothering

Mother’s Day can carry gratitude, grief, tenderness, and complexity. In this service, we will honor fierce love in all its forms, whether it comes from mothers or not — love that protects, nurtures, and helps life grow. Together, we will reflect on what it might mean to turn that love toward one another for our collective liberation.

Dr. Emma Farrell, ministerial intern, leads this service with Ellie Feddersen as worship associate. The UCE Choir and  Children’s Choir, along with soloist Jenn Wisegarver and pianist Gregory Shifrin provide the music.

Today’s offering will be shared with The Children’s Best Interest Project, whose mission is to assist parents with dismissal or reduction of charges in minor criminal cases and to educate Illinois families, organizations, and lawyers about the Children’s Best Interest Act, which requires Illinois courts to consider children’s needs when making sentencing decisions about their parents. 

Upcoming Services

May 17 – A Home By Any Other Name – Rev. Eileen Wiviott

May 24 – Rev. Allison Farnum and Monica Cosby

May 31 – The Courage to Be Curious – Rev. Eileen Wiviott

Constructing Curiosity: Faith Formation Sunday

As we returned to in-person worship in 2021, our Faith Formation Sunday looked at how we wanted UCE to be for all to grow in their UU faith. Together, we built a structure with our visions and commitments written on blocks. Are you curious about whether we have kept to those visions? How can we continue constructing and building Beloved Community on the foundation we began with? Kathy Underwood, Director of Lifespan Faith Formation, leads this service with Ally Hunter as worship associates. Ally Hunter on vocals and the ukulele, Taylor Hobart on harp, and Gregory Shifrin on piano provide the music.

Today’s offering will be shared with Children’s Best Interest Project.

Upcoming Services

May 10 – The Fierce Love of Mothering – Dr. Emma Farrell

May 17 – A Home By Any Other Name – Rev. Eileen Wiviott

May 24 – Rev. Allison Farnum