The Courage to Disrupt Denial

Denial is a powerful force that serves a purpose: it gives us a false sense of safety and shields us from discomfort. Trouble is, it prevents growth and depth of connection. Breaking through our systems of denial is easier said than done. Together, we can build our capacity to disrupt denial and dismantle systems that oppress our bodies, minds, and spirits. Rev. Eileen leads this service with Martha Holman as Worship Associate. The UUCE Choir, led by Music Director Vickie Hellyer, and accompanied by Gregory Shifrin on piano offer their combined musical gifts.

Today’s offering will be shared with Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois or UUPMI, whose mission is to equip UU’s in Illinois to ​transform institutions as well as partner with and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex.

Upcoming Services

October 18 – The Courage of Children – Rev. Eileen with Ann Gadzikowski

October 25 – Shared Ministry – Rev. Susan Frances (Choir)

November 1 – Honoring Our Ancestors – Rev. Eileen Wiviott

November 8 – Healing What is Broken – Rev. Eileen Wiviott

Instinctual Courage

 Our animal kin can teach us so much including how to listen to the signals of our bodies, without getting hijacked, as well as calming our nervous systems to be responsive rather than reactive to the urge to fight, fly, or freeze. We bless our animal companions this Sunday. Feel free to bring your well-behaved and leashed (or as appropriate contained) pets to receive a blessing from the community. Rev. Eileen leads the service with Annette Wallace as our Worship Associate. Kristin Lems and Tom Hempfling offer music, including one original song by Kristin Lems and Gregory Shifrin will be on the piano.

Today’s offering will be shared with Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois or UUPMI, whose mission is to equip UU’s in Illinois to ​transform institutions as well as partner with and support people harmed by the prison industrial complex.

Upcoming Services

October 11 – Disrupting Denial – Rev. Eileen (Choir)

October 18 – The Courage of Children – Rev. Eileen with Ann Gadzikowski

October 25 – Shared Ministry – Rev. Susan Frances (Choir)

November 1 – Honoring Our Ancestors – Rev. Eileen Wiviott

Beginning Again with our Covenant of Engagement

 Following the Board’s retreat we will introduce our hopes to begin a process of reflecting on the Covenant of Engagement that has guided us in our relationships to each other and the congregation over the last 15 years. We will also reconstitute our covenant by welcoming new members! Rev. Eileen leads the service, with Rev. Susan leading the new member covenant. Kera Beskin, Board President, will be our Worship Associate. The UUCE Choir is directed by Vickie Hellyer, Music Director, and Gregory Shifrin is on piano.

Today’s offering will be shared with Building Peaceful Bridges, whose mission is to foster multicultural relationships by assisting in the integration of newcomers into American society and educating communities on the challenges facing newcomer populations through their stories.

Upcoming Services

October 4 – Instinctual Courage and our annual Pet Blessing – Rev. Eileen

October 11 – Disrupting Denial – Rev. Eileen (Choir)

October 18 – The Courage of Children – Rev. Eileen with Ann Gadzikowski

October 25 – Shared Ministry – Rev. Susan Frances (Choir)

On the Frontlines of Social Change

 We explore what it means to build our capacity to be Frontline Responders, living our values boldly within our Social Change Ecosystems. Rev. Eileen leads the service with Sally Parsons as Worship Associate. Kiley Korey is our song leader with Gregory Shifrin on piano and Kevin Barrow on guitar.

Today’s offering will be shared with Building Peaceful Bridges, whose mission is to foster multicultural relationships by assisting in the integration of newcomers into American society and educating communities on the challenges facing newcomer populations through their stories.

Upcoming Services

September 27 – Beginning Again with our Covenant of Engagement – Rev. Eileen

October 4 – Instinctual Courage and our annual Pet Blessing – Rev. Eileen

October 11 – Disrupting Denial – Rev. Eileen 

October 18 – The Courage of Children

 Refreshing Our Souls

 Our annual Ingathering Service and Water Communion Blessing. You are invited to bring a small container of water to symbolize what has refreshed your spirits this summer. It may be actual water from places you’ve travelled, from a puddle in the park, or simply from your tap. We will bless one another with the sacred gift of water. Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan will lead the service with Becky Crawford as Worship Associate. The UUCE Choir returns this Sunday, directed by Vickie Hellyer and accompanied by talented pianist, Yun-Hua Chang. 

Today’s offering will be shared with Building Peaceful Bridges, whose mission is to foster multicultural relationships by assisting in the integration of newcomers into American society and educating communities on the challenges facing newcomer populations through their stories.

Upcoming Services

September 20 – On the Frontlines of Social Change – Rev. Eileen

September 27 – Beginning Again with our Covenant of Engagement – Rev. Eileen

October 4 – Instinctual Courage and our annual Pet Blessing – Rev. Eileen

October 11 – Disrupting Denial – Rev. Eileen 

The Power of Coalition

We honor Labor Day with our guest, Margarita Klein, from Arise Chicago. Arise Chicago organizes the collective power of working class immigrants in partnership with faith communities to uplift all workers. We are pleased to be a part of their Labor in the Pulpit speakers program. Rev. Eileen Wiviott, Senior Minister, returns from her summer sabbatical. Ally Hunter is our Worship Associate and Gregory Shifrin is on the piano.

Today’s offering will be shared with Building Peaceful Bridges, whose mission is to foster multicultural relationships by assisting in the integration of newcomers into American society and educating communities on the challenges facing newcomer populations through their stories.

Upcoming Services

September 13 – Water Communion Blessing and Ingathering – Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan

September 20 – On the Frontlines of Social Change (ALL AGES) – Rev. Eileen

September 27 – Beginning Again with our Covenant of Engagement – Rev. Eileen

October 4 – Instinctual Courage and our annual Pet Blessing – Rev. Eileen

The Power of Coalition

We honor Labor Day with our guest, Margarita Klein, from Arise Chicago. Arise Chicago organizes the collective power of working class immigrants in partnership with faith communities to uplift all workers. We are pleased to be a part of their Labor in the Pulpit speakers program. Rev. Eileen Wiviott, Senior Minister, returns from her summer sabbatical. Ally Hunter is our Worship Associate and Gregory Shifrin is on the piano.

Today’s offering will be shared with Building Peaceful Bridges, whose mission is to foster multicultural relationships by assisting in the integration of newcomers into American society and educating communities on the challenges facing newcomer populations through their stories.

Upcoming Services

September 13 – Water Communion Blessing and Ingathering  (All Ages) – Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan

September 20 – On the Frontlines of Social Change – Rev. Eileen

September 27 – Beginning Again with our Covenant of Engagement – Rev. Eileen

October 4 – Instinctual Courage and our annual Pet Blessing – Rev. Eileen

 Activating Transformation

What does it mean to make Love a force for transformation in a world shaped by punishment, isolation, and injustice? Drawing on the work of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois, this service explores how acts of compassion become acts of resistance. Together, we will reflect on our UU values, the practice of solidarity with incarcerated people, and the ways that courageous love can transform both individual lives and the systems we inhabit. Rev. Allison Farnum and Keith Talley with the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois (UUPMI) lead our worship service with worship associate Janelle Brittain and pianist Gregory Shifrin.

Keith Talley (him/him)  is a system-impacted Muslim leader working at the crossroads of reentry, faith, and narrative justice. He serves as Prison Solidarity Specialist with the  Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of IL, Reentry Program Coordinator at Phalanx Family Services, and Founder & CEO of Revolutionary Reentry Hub. Introduced to UUPMI through the Pen Pal Program while caged, Keith found not a call to conversion, but a deep alignment of values. Today, he serves as Director of Programs with UUPMI and works to build bridges between spiritual traditions and to transform how we see, and stand with those returning from prison.

Rev. Allison Farnum (she/her/ella) is the Director and Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of IL, and a lifelong Unitarian Universalist. She is dedicated to the vision of collective liberation, one mindful act of care at a time.

Today’s offering will be shared with the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois, known as UUPMI.

Upcoming Services

9/6/2026 – Rev. Eileen Wiviott, The Power of Coalition

9/13/2026 – Ingathering Water Communion with Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan

9/20/2026 – Rev. Eileen Wiviott, Change Makers

9/27/2026 – Rev. Eileen Wiviott, Beginning Again with our Covenant of Engagement

Slackline Thoughts

Embodied practices, such as jogging, yoga, or walking a slackline, benefit our mind, body, and spirit. Aidan Caravana, Finn Liddell, and Rev. Susan Frances will share their slackline experiences during our service, which will be held in the round in the sanctuary with Gregory Shifrin accompanying on piano. We will have a moment for our annual Backpack and Bag Blessing to start the new school year. We will end the service on the South Lawn and anyone interested may walk Aidan’s slackline, weather permitting. Comfortable, flat-soled shoes are good for walking the slackline.

Today’s offering will be shared with Mother and Child Alliance, whose mission is to strengthen the safety net for pregnant persons before and after delivery, to prevent HIV transmission and other serious infections in newborns, and to address the disparate prenatal and postpartum systems of care in Illinois and across the U.S.

Upcoming Services

8/30/2026 – Rev. Allison Farnum, Activating Transformation

9/6/2026 – Rev. Eileen Wiviott, The Power of Coalition

9/13/2026 – Ingathering Water Communion with Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan

9/20/2026 – Rev. Eileen Wiviott, Change Makers

Imperceptible Song

What is your relationship with attention? Learning from bats, this worship service will cultivate attention for what is beyond our senses. We will cocreate an experience of wonder and deepen our relationship with a species in our area. Ally Hunter is the Worship Associate and Gregory Shifrin is on piano.

Ryland Rich (she/they) is currently serving as the ministerial intern at Third Unitarian Church of Chicago while completing seminary at Meadville Lombard Theological School. Originally from MidCoast Maine, Ryland has lived in Chicago for four years. Curiosity and delight shape her ministry alongside Ryland’s experiences with labor organizing and conflict mediation. 

Today’s offering will be shared with Mother and Child Alliance, whose mission is to strengthen the safety net for pregnant persons before and after delivery, to prevent HIV transmission and other serious infections in newborns, and to address the disparate prenatal and postpartum systems of care in Illinois and across the U.S.

Upcoming Services

8/23/2026 – Rev. Susan Frances, Slackline Thoughts

8/30/2026 – Rev. Allison Farnum, Activating Transformation

9/6/2026 – Rev. Eileen Wiviott, The Power of Coalition

9/13/2026 – Ingathering Water Communion with Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan