We will host an online worship service on Sunday, June 6th at 11:15 am.

Flower Communion: the seeds we sow
Growing trust, creating joy, and finding beauty are spiritual practices empowering the work of our mission. We celebrate the beauty and struggle of Beloved Community and say goodbye and thank you to Rev. Karen.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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 Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights.

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, May 30th at 11:15 am.

Collective Grieving
Memorial Day is a time set aside for collective mourning. This year we mourn the deaths from COVID-19 of almost 3.5 million people worldwide. This year we mourn the deaths of our loved ones and friends who died from causes unrelated to COVID-19, but because of the pandemic we were unable to grieve for them in our usual ways. This Memorial Day Weekend, let us come together to celebrate their lives, to honor the myriad ways we have mourned, and to acknowledge the ways in which our grief will continue to be actively with us as we gather together in-person more frequently and with more people.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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 Deborah’s Place.

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, May 23rd at 11:15 am.

Transitions and a New Reality
with guest preacher, Rev. David Pyle 

This time of pandemic has changed what it means to be a church in ways that we are only beginning to see.  As we begin to contemplate coming back together, we are not in the process of recreating what was, but creating something new, which is work of both celebrating the possible and grieving the changes.  We will explore together what the new reality of “church” can be.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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 UU Prison Ministry of Illinois.

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, May 16th at 11:15 am.

For All that Has Been, ‘Thanks’, for All That Is to Be, ‘Yes!’
by Rev. Karen Gustafson, Interim Minister  

There are many stories to tell about the last two years: personal stories that reflect the joys and sorrows, the transitions and accumulated experience in the life of each individual reading these words. There are also stories about the individual and collective experience of being part of the UCE community as you have engaged in the process of looking at the ways you embody your mission to nurture the human spirit for a world made whole, as you made your way to settle your next Senior Minister. Add to the mix a pandemic that completely altered the way you are in community. How has all of this changed the story of who you are and what you may become? 

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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 UU Prison Ministry of Illinois.

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, May 9th at 11:15 am.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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 UU Prison Ministry of Illinois.

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, May 2nd at 11:15 am.

The Formation of Our Faith
We are at an exciting point in time, as this pandemic has given us an opportunity to breathe – to re-evaluate and re-think things in our lives, with our UCE community being one of those. Our Faith Formation Force has been exploring new ways of “doing church” that better supports the spiritual, educational, and social needs of our community throughout the lifespan. Today, we celebrate the faith formation of our young people and families through pictures, videos, readings, and music. We will recognize our 8th graders as they bridge into high school, and hear from our graduating high school seniors as they bridge into young adulthood, and we will welcome our newest members joining our beloved community.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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 UU Prison Ministry of Illinois.

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, April 18th at 11:15 am.

The Beauty and Promise of our Earth and its Inhabitants
Music, poetry, and dance have the power to inspire, and to effect change. These art forms can teach us to look within, to listen, to take risks, and to help heal a wounded world. The UCE Choir and Soloists, Gregory Shifrin and Guest Instrumentalists, Dancers, Worship Arts Team, Music Director Vickie Hellyer and Rev. Eileen bring you songs and poems to celebrate the beauty and promise of our Earth and its inhabitants. View the service flyer here.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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.

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, April 11th at 11:15 am.

What Will Become of Us
Becoming is a name for a certain kind of change. Can we change and not notice? What is the cost to the human spirit of unclaimed change?

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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.

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, April 4th at 11:15 am.

The Transformation of the Tomb
After such a period of hardship, entombed in isolation, loss, and darkness, what resources will be needed to emerge? Finding hope, healing and resilience after the trauma of the tomb.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 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.