Dear Friends, 

I’m enjoying reconnecting with more and more of you each week. In this time of being physically apart, I have been relying on REALM, our new database and membership directory, in order to find your email addresses and occasionally to look at a photo to make sure my memory of name and face match. So, I am pleased to announce that we are rolling out REALM for our members and pledging friends this week. 

You are invited to attend coffee hour at 12:15 pm this Sunday, September 20, 2020, via Zoom to learn more about REALM from Jessica Meis, our Communications Coordinator, and Adam Gough, our Congregational Life Assistant. They have a virtual scavenger hunt planned! 

In 2016, UCE created its current Long Range plan. Part of this strategic planning included providing an accessible database to build connection, develop leadership, increase engagement, and enable members and friends to share their gifts, talents, and interests with one another. This was an expressed aspiration for the membership, social justice, stewardship, and lifespan learning councils.   

As a result, a volunteer task force was formed to explore several options, leading to the recommendation of REALM. An Endowment grant to purchase the REALM software was drafted by Rev. Eileen Wiviott, Sandra Robinson, and Brian Nielsen and approved by the Endowment Committee and the Board of Trustees in 2018. 

Since September 2019, pledge payment statements are being sent via email through REALM, which has been more reliable, as well as saving staff time and postage. And now, the final information from MEMINFO, our previous and limited database, has finished being migrated to REALM, and the staff and congregational leadership have started to receive training on the various features. In addition to the ability to promote connections within our community, REALM also has four levels of privacy settings, so you can work with Adam or Jessica to make sure you are comfortable with what information is viewable by others.  

Be on the lookout for an email that reads “Join our Online Community.” Open this email and click the link to set up a password. You may also click here for video tutorials on creating your password and updating your profile. I am hopeful that you will take a moment to attend to your profile. As we continue to meet virtually, having access to email addresses, phone numbers, and a photo will help us continue to connect with each other. 

I know it sounds a bit silly to say that a robust database will lead to a richer community, but because of the communication features in REALM, I actually think it will, especially while we are physically separated. 

Speaking of a richer community, I am feeling fortunate to be able to conduct the pet and animal blessing on October 4, 2020. My mild allergy to animal dander has increased over the years, so I no longer attend worship service when there is an animal blessing. Since we are having virtual services right now, I am able to lead our Pet and Animal Blessing! My family has had many pets, furry and scaly, over the years, so being able to participate in this service is a great joy and one of the gifts I have received in the midst of this challenging pandemic. Please take a moment to send Adam (agough@ucvanston.org) a photo of your pet, you with your pet, or your favorite animal!  

As we navigate this virtual world of new databases and online services together, I am continually reminded that these are tools that assist us in living out our values of caring for and connecting with each other. These tools do not define us, our relationships do. I’m looking forward to continuing to build my relationship with you.

Blessings, 

Rev. Susan 

Dear Friends, 

I was so pleased that so many of you could join my ordination ceremony via Zoom on August 2, 2020. The accompanying photo is of me in the robe that I bought with the gift certificate to WomenSpirit Vestaments that UCE gave me at the end of my internship and the exquisite stole that Carol Nielsen created as my gift from UCE upon my ordination. Thank you! The other gift from UCE upon my ordination was the wonderful O Love piece by the joint UCE and 2U Choir! Thank you to everyone who sang, to Vickie Hellyer for the rehearsals and for conducting, to Gregory Shifrin for the accompaniment, and to Adam Gough for editing it all together.  

I have been thinking about the start of the new church year and how to express the tone and live into the culture shifting challenge set at the 2020 Virtual GA. The speakers I heard and the Actions of Immediate Witness that were passed reflected the calls I hear locally and nationally for a new social and economic order in conjunction with a revitalized democracy.  

So many of our principles support this cultural and political transformation: justice, equity, and compassion in human relations – a free and responsible search for truth and meaning – the right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large – the goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all.  

When you have a moment this week, think about which one of these principles resonates most with you right now? Life ebbs and flows and it might be a different principle next week, but this week, what resonates with you. And then think about how you might put that principle into practice. Reach out to me if you have an idea. Now is the time to be creative in our compassion and our action. 

In faith, 

Rev. Susan 

On Monday, August 3rd, we will welcome the very newly (less than 24 hours, to be precise) ordained Rev. Susan Frances, as our part-time Congregational Life Director. As you hopefully know by now, Rev. Karen Mooney is departing UCE as she has decided to focus solely on being the Executive Director of UUANI. We are so grateful to Karen for the time she has been with us. Her wisdom, deep spiritual nature, and powerful ministry has been so very needed at this difficult–to–navigate time and she will be dearly missed. Thank you, Karen, for your ongoing commitment to our faith. 

We recognize that the decision to hire Susan Frances, our former Ministerial Intern, may have seemed swift and somewhat veiled. As we examine our power structures and how they show up in hiring practices, we are mindful of the harm a lack of transparency can cause. However, while we needed to make the decision quickly, please know that it was well-considered. Karen Mooney’s announced departure came just three months after we had concluded a thorough search for the position, in which we considered several strong candidates including Susan. The timing didn’t work for Susan last year, but it does now and having someone with Susan’s skills and well-established relationships is a windfall for the congregation, especially at this complicated time.  

We are thrilled to have Susan join the staff team. She brings the same insight, compassion, intelligence, and excellent skills to the role of Congregational Life Director as she did as our Intern. Her contract with us is for one year at which time it will be re-considered. The settled senior minister, who will be determined by the spring of this year, will be in dialogue with Susan and the board about the position long-term. 

For now, please join me in welcoming Susan into the role of directing UCE’s focus on social justice and membership.  

Yours in faith and in service, 

Eileen