Returning to the Root of Joy

Music is an expression of our deepest emotions and it can also transform our spirits into a transcendent experience of joy, especially when practiced in inclusive, beloved community. Vickie Hellyer, Director of Music, leads worship with the UCE Choir; Ann Gadzikowski on viola, Elizabeth Anderson on cello, Andy Carpenter on sax, Nadav Simon on drums, and Gregory Shifrin on piano. Soloists and Readers from the UCE Choir and Rev. Eileen contribute to this, our annual Spring Music Sunday.

Today’s offering will be shared with the Sanctuary Working Group, a solidarity organization, supports and accompanies vulnerable migrants in their journey towards sustainable independence.

Upcoming Worship Services

April 13th – Rev. Eileen with UCE Youth on Joy

April 20th – Easter Sunday and Child Dedications – Rev. Eileen with Dr. Emma Farrell 

April 27th – Knowing Ourselves – Rev. Susan Frances

May 4th  – Faith Formation Recognition

Returning to the Root of Joy

Music is an expression of our deepest emotions and it can also transform our spirits into a transcendent experience of joy, especially when practiced in inclusive, beloved community. Vickie Hellyer, Director of Music, leads worship with the UCE Choir; Ann Gadzikowski on viola, Elizabeth Anderson on cello, Andy Carpenter on sax, Nadav Simon on drums, and Gregory Shifrin on piano. Soloists and Readers from the UCE Choir and Rev. Eileen contribute to this, our annual Spring Music Sunday.

Today’s offering will be shared with Sanctuary Working Group, a solidarity organization, which supports and accompanies vulnerable migrants in their journey towards sustainable independence.

Upcoming worship services:

April 13th – Rev. Eileen with UCE Youth on Joy

April 20th – Easter Sunday and Child Dedications – Rev. Eileen with Dr. Emma Farrell

April 27th – Rev. Susan

May 4th  – Faith Formation Recognition

Trusting the Way

Up is down. Left is right. Fact is fiction. In these dizzying and dispiriting times what and who can we trust?

Drawing from The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust by Francis S. Collins, Rev. Eileen with worship associate, Robb Geiger, will explore the essentialness of cultivating trust in community. The UCE Choir, directed by Vickie Hellyer and accompanied by Gregory Shifrin will lift our spirits.

March’s shared offering recipient is the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois (UUPMI), whose mission is to equip UU’s in Illinois to transform institutions; partnering with and supporting people harmed by the prison industrial complex.

Upcoming Worship Services

March 23rd – Call and Response – Matt Meyers, UU Musician and Worship Leader

March 30th – Rev. Susan returns from sabbatical to share her experiences

April 6th – Music Sunday – The Practice of Joy

April 13th – Rev. Eileen with UCE Youth and Young Adults on Joy 

The Internal Work of Radical Welcome

The work of sustained cultural change that puts love at the center is done through relationships. What does it look like to broaden our horizons and make room for true pluralism and alterity? What does it mean to trust people to be the experts of their own lives? As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr described, it starts by making room for the other within. 

Dr. Emma Farrell, ministerial intern, leads the service, with Bob Mesle as Worship Associate. Charles M. Anderson will be our vocalist/hymn leader and Gregory Shifrin our pianist.

March’s shared offering recipient is the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois (UUPMI), whose mission is to equip UU’s in Illinois to transform institutions; partnering with and supporting people harmed by the prison industrial complex.

Upcoming Services:

March 9th – Progress is Possible, Not Guaranteed: Stories of Lesser Known Heroes – Rev. Eileen

March 16th – In What Can We Trust? – Rev. Eileen

March 23rd – Call and Response – Matt Meyers, UU Musician and Worship Leader

March 30th – Rev. Susan returns from sabbatical to share her experiences

The Weaving of Our Messy Lives: Barbara Mesle’s Spiritual Journey

Barbara Mesle, who attended the Deepening The Spiritual Journey class in the fall of 2023, shares her story of learning and loving in community. Kiley Korey and Rev. Eileen will be her Worship Associates. The UCE Choir, directed by Vickie Hellyer and accompanied by Gregory Shifrin on piano, provide the music. 

This month’s offering will be shared with Community Renewal Society, a faith-based, community organizing and public policy organization that works with congregations in and around Chicago to address issues of racism and poverty.

March 2nd – The Internal Work of Radical Welcome – Dr. Emma Farrell

March 9th – Progress is Possible, Not Guaranteed: Stories of Lesser Known Heroes – Rev. Eileen Wiviott

March 23rd – Call and Response – Matt Meyers, UU Musician and Worship Leader