We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, July 31st at 10:15 am.

Exploring Spiritual Journeys
Each of us travels a journey of the spirit, which has shaped us and led us to this moment. Our connections in this community deepen when we share these stories and hearing them inspires us to live more purposeful lives. In this service we will hear from two people who have been raised in our tradition, one as a UU in this congregation, and one as a Universalist who joined UCE many years ago: Lee Bannor and Linda LaPlante.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Mother and Child Alliance.

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, July 24th at 10:15 am.

Fluent in Faith
When it comes to languages, most of us take being fluent in one language for granted. Some of us are even fluent in more than one language. But what does it mean to be “fluent in faith?” What does it mean for Unitarian Universalists? And why does being fluent in faith matter? These are a few of the questions we will explore in our time together this Sunday.

Heike Eghardt is a student in the MDiv program at Meadville Lombard Theological School. She found Unitarian Universalism in 2013 and has been a member of UCE ever since. Born and raised in Germany, she has called the greater Chicago area home for over two decades. She currently lives with her husband in Evanston, IL.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy.

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, July 17th at 10:15 am.

Some, if not all
The year was 2022. | They answered the phone call from Planned Parenthood where they had volunteered. They were being asked to staff the phone line. “I can do some of the hours, but not all.” | He woke up in his grief. He stared at the toaster waffles he had made. “I can eat some of them but not all.” | There are days when “some” is good enough. The fear of “all” can’t stop us from doing what “some” we can. In this service, we will explore how to know the “some” we can do even when we feel like we can’t do “all.”

Rev. Jon Coffee is a UU minister in Knoxville, TN, where he lives with his husband, Keith. Jon is a community minister affiliated with Tennessee valley Unitarian Universalist Church. Jon graduated from Meadville Lombard in 2017 with a Master of Divinity degree. He became a staff member at Meadville Lombard Theological School during his final year of the MDiv program. In his role as Assistant Director of Financial Aid and Student Services, he forges relationships with Meadville students, past (alumni), present (current students), and future (prospective students).

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy.

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, July 10th at 10:15 am.

We the People
In the past few weeks, we’ve marked Independence Day and celebrated General Assembly. In this service we recognize the democratic process both within the context of this nation and the Unitarian Universalist Association.

Rev. Julie Taylor is a Unitarian Universalist community minister specializing in critical incident response, community crisis and pastoral care. Rev. Taylor is the Senior Director of Contextual Ministry and an affiliate professor at Meadville Lombard Theological School. Agitating, preaching, and working towards dismantling systems of White Supremacy are key in Rev. Taylor’s theology and work.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy.

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, July 3rd at 10:15 am.

The Circle of Love
This Sunday we gather in the Universalist spirit and are reminded that no one is outside the circle of love. Joining with guest speaker, the Rev. Allison Farnum, we are invited to feel the power of our living tradition through the lens of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois.

Rev. Allison Farnum (she/her/hers) is the Director and Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois and an affiliated community minister at Second Unitarian Church of Chicago, Illinois. She lives with her partner and two children in Evanston, IL.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Moran Center for Youth Advocacy.

We will join the UUA General Assembly worship service on Sunday, June 26th at 11:30 am. Please join us in the sanctuary or from your home. Kinship time will be held in the back of the sanctuary before the service at 11 am.

2022 UUA General Assembly Live Streamed Sunday Worship Service
Join us at 11:30 am for the largest annual gathering of UUs worshiping together. Rev. Gretchen Haley, Senior Minister of the Foothills Unitarian Universalist Church in Fort Collins, CO, will lead the Sunday Worship service, along with worship team members Rev. Sean Neil-Barron, Shari Halliday-Quan, and the GA Choir. We will live stream the service from the sanctuary at 11:30 am. You may live stream from home, by clicking here.

We will not be able to read any Joys and Sorrows this Sunday. Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form, and we will read it next Sunday, July 3. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is Restore Justice Foundation.

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, June 19th at 10:15 am.

Juneteenth: Reclaiming Joy on the Long Journey of Freedom
We honor and celebrate Juneteenth, which became a federal holiday last year. This day marks an end to slavery in this country when, two and a half years after the emancipation proclamation, people enslaved in Galveston, Texas finally got word that they had been freed. The struggle for true justice and liberation was then, as it is now, far from over. As we reckon with history, we hold in awe the power and joy that persists amidst suffering. Rev. Eileen leads the service with Annette Wallace as Worship Associate.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is Restore Justice Foundation.

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, June 12th at 10:15 am.

It’s Okay to Say Gay
In our service today, as LGBTQIA+ youth are attacked and dehumanized in Florida, South Carolina, Texas, and other states, we hope to remind you all that to be gay, or trans, or nonbinary, or however you identify, and especially to talk about it, is not shameful or wrong—but beautiful.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is Restore Justice Foundation.

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, June 5th at 10:15 am.

The Blessing and Beauty of Community
We celebrate the annual tradition of the flower communion, a cherished and uniquely Unitarian Universalist ritual, created by Unitarian Minister and founder of the Unitarian Church in Czechoslovakia, Nobert Capek (1870-1942), to lift up joy in the midst of despair. Please bring flowers, whether from your garden or purchased, to add to our collective bouquet. Together we will express gratitude for the resilience we bring to one another.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is Restore Justice Foundation.

We will host an in-person and virtual worship service on Sunday, May 29th at 10:15 am.

Tending Our Metaphorical Cups
Grief and trauma have all too often been a part of our lives over the past two years. The strain and stress of such events often drains our energy, manifests in physical pain, brings up existential questions, and affects our disposition. During times such as these, it is important to attend to our metaphorical cups, so they don’t run dry. On this Memorial Day Weekend, we will honor our grief, acknowledge our trauma, and attend to the care and hope that has the ability to fill our mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional cups.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 9 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is Mother and Child Alliance.