This 4-part virtual Series “Transcendentalism and Today” with author of “Conflagration: How the Transcendentalists Sparked the American Struggle for Racial, Gender, and Social Justice,” John Buehrens. Sessions were hosted via Zoom.

September 12 – Spiritual Friendships Across Differences

• Click here to access the recording for session 1.

September 19 – Women’s Rights Then and Now

• Click here to view the session outline.
• Click here to access the recording of session 2.

September 26 – Anti-Racism Then and Now

• Click here to view the session outline.
• Click here to access the recording of session 3.

October 3 – Saving and Savoring Nature

• Click here to access the recording of session 4. – coming soon

This series is co-sponsored by Unitarian Church of Evanston, Unity Temple, and North Shore Unitarian Church. All are welcome to attend.

Brain Health & Wellness Series: Aging, Memory, and Care

I am running out of ways to say my heart is broken. I have no more words to express the outrage I feel about the merciless, cowardly and hateful violence inflicted on black bodies. The shooting of Jacob Blake III, in front of his three children on Sunday night, is only the most recent example. I don’t have the words to express how deeply sad and angry I am for the pain and loss I imagine his family is feeling and the trauma his children have experienced. I pray that they find a way to heal from that horrific experience.  

At the rally in Evanston on Tuesday night, Alderman Cicely Fleming spoke of the collective trauma of racism and violence. Each new violent example of the destructive and vile white supremacy that rules our nation, unchecked by our criminal injustice system, adds to our collective and compounded trauma. Our world, our community, and each one of us is in need of collective healing and repair from this physical, mental and spiritual trauma. 

This week, I learned of the history of solidarity between the Unitarian Church of Evanston and Ebenezer AME Church in Evanston. I knew that our former minister, Charles Eddis, marched for open housing in Evanston in the 1960’s. I didn’t realize until this week that it was Jacob Blake’s grandfather, Rev. Jacob Blake Sr., who led those marches and championed affordable housing especially for senior citizens. I am regretful that a close collegial relationship hasn’t continued between our congregations over the years. I’ve reached out to Rev. Deborah Scott to offer my support, in whatever way it might be needed or wanted. I will attend the outdoor service of lament on Sunday at 2pm at 1800 Maple Ave. I hope you will join me if you are able, even though I know it will not be enough. I will weep for the victims of corrosive and destructive white supremacy, so flagrantly on display through the weak and the pitiless. My tears will accomplish nothing.  

My prayer of lament is that our tears fuel our rage, and that our rage empowers us to act in solidarity with those whose lives have been and continue to be torn apart by racism and criminalization which dehumanizes and devalues black and brown lives over and over again. We must say enough is enough and speak out against the false narratives of white supremacy. The REAL team, with your ministers and leaders are continuously working to offer meaningful actions you can take. Keep an eye on the newsletter and the home page of the website. For now, one meaningful action you can take is to sign up to support the Breathe Act. 

Please join me in sending prayers for the well–being of Jacob Blake III, his family, his children, his faith community and for those who died protesting in the streets. Do not believe the lies that Jacob Blake was somehow at fault. Do not fall for the false narrative that rioting and looting are the reason two people were killed on Wednesday night. Those deaths were the result of white supremacy valuing property over people, pure and simple. And we cannot rest until it is abolished. May we not rest until every black and brown life, is held as precious and loved, safe and whole, in the same way that white lives are.  

And I share this letter from the African Methodist Episcopal Church: 

White Supremacy Terrorism, African Methodism and The Struggle To Redeem The Soul of America 

The servant leaders of the African Methodist Episcopal Church watched the video of the shooting of Mr. Jacob Blake III, 29 years old, and watched in unholy horror as we heard at least seven shots. Now the family is confirming that Jacob has at least 9 bullets in his body and at this time is paralyzed from the waist down. 

Sadly, we watched white supremacist police terrorism strike and now must write another “call to action” to remind the nation and the world, that because “Black Lives Matter” this systemic violence against men and women of color must stop immediately. 

The shooting of Jacob Blake, in the back several times, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in a car filled with his family including three children, ages 3, 7, and 8, has the nation in an uproar. The inhumane treatment of another person of color, in the shadow of the assassinations of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and the recent shooting death by police of Trayford Pellerin in Lafayette, Louisiana, are just more examples of the political tyranny and insensitivity inflicted on people of color in this nation. We raise the same question found in a recent newspaper headline: “WHY ARE POLICE STILL USING UNWARRANTED FORCE ON BLACK PEOPLE?” 

When Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and a group of Blacks in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, formed the Free African Society leaders in 1787, it laid the foundation for the organization, growth, and development of the global AME Church in 1816. 

Brother Jacob Blake, III is one of the fruits of the AME Church tree of faith, freedom, and family. The Blake family has served as ministers for four generations in pulpits around the country. His grandfather, Rev. Jacob Blake, Sr. was the Pastor of Ebenezer AME Church in Evanston, Illinois, and leader in protests that created fair housing policies in Evanston. Today, Brother Jacob Blake’s cousin Rev. Robert Blake led in uncovering the Flint, MI water contamination in 2014 and now serves as the pastor of Greater Quinn AME Church in Detroit, Michigan. 

From Denmark Vesey’s planned slave revolt organized in what is now called Mother Emmanuel AME Church to the assassination of the Emmanuel 9 on June 17th, 2015, to the shooting in the back of Jacob Blake, III in front of his three young children on August 23, 2020, the AME Church has resisted and fought back against the institutional violence perpetrated against Black people. 

Today, we call for our friends, ecumenical partners, and people of all faiths to join the African Methodist Episcopal Church in resisting and overcoming white rage and terrorism and continue to pray for the spiritual, physical, and emotional healing of Jacob Blake, III and his family and using up this Sunday’s services to denounce police brutality. 

Bishop Michael L. Mitchell, President of the Council of Bishops
Bishop Adam J. Richardson, Senior Bishop
Bishop Wilfred J. Messiah, President of the General Board
Bishop Frank Madison Reid III, Chair of the Social Action Commission
Mrs. Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, Director/Consultation, Social Action Commission

From Jessica Meis, Communications Coordinator

Many of us in the modern age use social media in some way. Whether we are on the platforms to share life updates with our friends and family, promote our favorite business or a cause we believe in, or just to scroll through the many articles about recent events, social media has become a part of the good and the bad of society. Social Media has been the platform for many social justice movements for years, but recently it has also become a source of hate and misinformation. 

Kevin Roose, a technology columnist with the New York Times, described in a recent podcast how Facebook has been used to undermine the Black Lives Matter Movement. Donald Trump has also used social media to promote acts of violence in response to the George Floyd protests. Although the same racially-charged and violent message was shared on both platforms, Facebook and Twitter took two very different approaches. While Twitter marked the tweet as going against their policies, Facebook did nothing and continues to hold that position in spite of outside pressure from civil rights organizations. This is not the first time Facebook has stood by while hate speech has continued to fill their platform. Although officially “banned” in March 2019, white supremacist and white nationalists continue to operate on Facebook with no repercussions. 

In light of these events, UCE ministers and staff have decided to participate in the #StopHateForProfit campaign and pause all paid advertising on Facebook and Instagram (also owned by Facebook). This campaign was organized by civil rights organizations including NAACP, Color of Change, Anti-Defamation League, and Sleeping Giants as a response to Facebook’s inaction to the spread of racism and hate on their platform in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests across the US. We join these organizations in wanting Facebook to tackle hate speech and misinformation head on instead of continually hiding behind the guise of free speech. 

While some organizations have decided to step away from using Facebook entirely due to Facebook’s continuous lack of support for non-profit organizations, UCE staff do not feel this is the right move in our efforts for social justice. While there are some new Facebook alternatives, these platforms have the danger of being populated by conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, and white supremacists that have been banned from mainstream platforms, like Facebook, already. To protect our community and our credible voice in the fight for social justice, we do not feel switching to a different platform is safe. UCE does not do fundraising through Facebook, but we do promote our events, our values, and organizations that share those values. We cannot give up our use of Facebook that helps us nurture the human spirit for a world made whole. We share the same power as bad actors on Facebook. Although they use this power for evil, it is not entirely evil and we needn’t hand it over to them. We can use the power of social media for love and to perpetuate our values.  

Are you wondering how to use Facebook for good? Check out this list to learn how you can use the platform to nurture the human spirit for a world made whole:

• Shares and reacts have the most weight in Facebook’s algorithm. Since UCE will not be paying for ads, when you get the chance, share and react to UCE content. 
• Share and react to content by people of color and organizations that fight for social justice and equity.
• Follow official pages for activists and non-profit organizations.
• Promote Black-owned businesses by sharing and reacting to their content.
• Share important articles about social justice to educate those in your online community. 
• Report hate speech and misinformation. The more people that report hateful content, the better the chances of getting it taken down. 
• Sign this petition showing your support for businesses that are taking part in the #StopHateForProfit campaign.

If you would like to leave Facebook entirely, consider Twitter! Lots of social justice movements and journalists take action and organize on Twitter. UCE will be posting more there soon! If you have any questions about this move or would like to learn more, email Jessica Meis, Communications Coordinator, at admin@ucevanston.org.

Dear UCE: 

I am delighted to be reconnecting you with this August. 

On August 2nd, I will be ordained in an online ceremony. You are invited to attend and the Zoom link is embedded in the invitation in the UCE e-newsletter this week. During my ordination, please feel free to join in with one or more of these items: 

• Bring a candle. I am inviting everyone to light a chalice in their home during the chalice lighting. 
• Wear complimentary colors. I’m inviting folks to wear orange, purple, black, and white for the ceremony. 
• Take a photo. Since I love photo albums and we will be in our respective homes, I’m inviting everyone to take a photo at some point during the ceremony and email it to me after the service. My email address is sfrances@ucevanston.org.  

I am thrilled to say that on August 3rd I will be rejoining your congregation as your Director of Congregational Life. I know Rev. Karen Mooney has done an excellent job of shaping this position and I look forward to continuing this ministry. I am impressed by how you have shaped a community during this pandemic that has attracted new members while also supporting current friends and members. I know there is anxiety as we figure out how to keep connected when we will not be gathering together en masse for many months to come. I hope to be a touchstone for you as we collectively find new and creative ways to connect with each other.  

I also know from my conversations with Rev. Karen Mooney, Rev. Eileen, and Rev. Karen Gustafson that you are enmeshed in the hard work of decentering whiteness in our predominately white congregation. I’m proud that UCE has already started this work from the Black Lives Matter sign to the investment in UU The Vote for the upcoming elections. It is my hope to support you, challenge you, and be there for you in this hard and complicated work. 

In faith,
Susan Frances