Here is Something To Look Forward To

Though the Church has been closed, we have been fortunate that the kitchen renovation was coming to an end anyway. The final painting has been completed, a motion light activated, and a thorough cleaning of all cabinets, fixtures, and appliances was done.  Building, plumbing and electrical inspections have been done, and we passed!  Still to be done are the health and fire inspections, which will be completed once the City of Evanston conducts regular business. The health inspectors need to see how we are planning to use the kitchen, so we will initially need to stock the cabinets with about 50 boxes of old housewares currently being  stored under the stairs and the new housewares we have purchased.

There are MANY new features to look forward to in addition to the clean walls, new sinks, and several other changes:

• Thanks to a generous grant from the UCE Endowment, the Church purchased new silverware, plates, soup bowls, side plates, water pitchers, water servers, serving platters, and bowls. New plastic tumblers are on order, which will allow us to stop using the compostable cups and all the other compostable serving items that were costing the Church $5,000 annually.
• New undercounter dishwashers are now in place and have been tested. The Eco-Lab salesman came about two weeks ago and hooked up the two chemicals that are needed. The new high-temperature dishwashers work very fast and very hot. We ran a couple of loads to make sure everything works.
• The coffee maker is installed and ready to use. The new layout will make coffee service much more convenient, with no need to move hot coffeemakers out onto tables for serving that delicious Sunday morning coffee.
• New coat hooks have been installed in the storage closet, giving our kitchen volunteers a safe and clean area for storing coats.  There is a cupboard to store purses too!

There are a few minor punch list items that will be completed once we are open. We are waiting on a few orders—a stainless shelf to go over the three-sink combo, locks for a couple of cupboards, and a shelf for the east-side closet.

We are so grateful to Karen Courtright who has made over 15 butcher aprons for the kitchen. We will have a ready and clean supply every time we work. We owe Karen a big thank you for her sewing skills.

Some have taken the Illinois Food Handling Certification Course. It costs $10 and can be done online. If you are interested in doing this, please contact Carol Nielsen. We hope to have 10-15 people who have this food handling certificate. It takes about 2 hours and might be a good way to fill your time and to be available when the church is open to help with food service.

It is exciting to look forward to when are back in our building and enjoying coffee hour in our newly renovated kitchen. Thanks to everyone for their generous donation to the Capital Campaign, that offered us the opportunity to make a welcoming and lovely space both for ourselves and for future soup kitchens, and other social justice projects involving food.

Dear Parents,

I hope you are hanging in there this week and that you and your family are finding a new “norm”. If you’re not already connected to our Children and Youth Facebook page, please do! You’ll find suggestions on things to do at home and other ideas shared there. Of course, if you have something your family is doing that you’d like to share, I’d love to see it!

This week’s VirtUUal RE session is on the Wisdom of Simplicity. Click here to watch the video. During this video, feel free to pause when suggested, or whenever you need to, and come back to it. For the activities I mention, here are the links:

Story: Henry Builds a Cabin – https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=henry+builds+a+cabin#id=2&vid=046b6126cccef1ced81889fbed33ff39&action=click or check it out as an electronic book from your library.

Further Reading:

Henry Hikes to Fitchburg: https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video;_ylt=AwrJ7JhtNXleRdsA1ExXNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEyNW1hOXZiBGNvbG8DYmYxBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDQjk3NjZfMQRzZWMDc2M-?p=Henry+Hikes+to+Fitchburg&fr=mcafee#action=view&id=3&vid=4a2377ff3e20e202e3da96d3c94da3ef

The Biggest House in the World by Leonni: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDg9GxETmXQ

A Squash and a Squeeze: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkdX73Onf04

The Gift of Nothing by Patrick Mcdonnell: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH6Btqh2fus 

Stuff by Margerite Palantini: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uoBh1cW7Go

Kite Flying – here’s a simple kite you can make using a garbage bag, two dowels/sticks, string, and tape:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-u5Aa3BkCQg

Neighborhood Love Notes Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1111215548947191/

Send pictures of any of the things you did to me too! kunderwood@ucevanston.org

For middle school youth, you can learn about and teach your family about Hinduism here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZXZLKclKfUSHKyrd5VeUloAcheK7F0FsG2oBdz3aY8A/edit?usp=sharing

Another resource for families from Soul Matters, Soulful Home: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ja5oAHPu9-PBGtG6x08l9eEOK78dJAfXDKeXukYaJr8/edit?usp=sharing

In Faith,

Kathy Underwood

Due to the harsh environment, fear, and very real health risks, most of us are settled into staying at home except for essential needs.  We are staying connected to the light of our UCE faith virtually, and staying connected to relatives and friends the same way.  AND, we are still doing what we can to be kind and thoughtful, to continue to actively help those who live on the margins, and to reach out to those who are most vulnerable right now.   

Even though we are living through a pandemic, UCE social action work continues.  Here are some of the ways to offer support: 

• Tell Congress: Include Immigrant Families in COVID-19 Stimulus Package NOW!  
  Click here for a Google form. 
• If you are medical professional: contact ICE representatives about equitable health and financial support. Ask medical representatives to sign on to this Open Letter. 
• Join Illinois Prison Project and Restore Justice Illinois to ask Cook County States Attorney Kimberly Foxx for decarceration for Cook County. Click here for a Google form. 
• Support Paid Sick Leave for All– Illinois has no state paid leave policy and 1.5 million workers in Illinois have no right to a single paid sick day. Click here for an online form. 
• Volunteer at Connections for the Homeless sites. Learn more here.

What Is UCE Doing These Days to Make the World Whole? 

Here are just some of the ongoing efforts in which you all are involved. 

• UCE Endowment funds the Immigration Team request to send more than $6,700 to Team Brownsville to aid in the water purification project that provides daily drinking water to over 3,000 people at our border. 
• UCE Endowment funds the Immigration Team request for $1,800 as a partner with Countryside UU Church and others in creating Chalice House, a home for a family or three individuals while they await determination of their application for refugee status.  http://ccuu.org/chalice-house
• UCE folks have worked in West Rogers Park to assist Communities United in finding free food sources for people unable to leave home due to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). 
• Action e-mails to congregants and others to send messages to Jan Schakowsky, Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth encouraging them to be sure the aid package sends money to those most impacted by the current crisis. 
• Messages to the same lawmakers to support healthy voting rights actions throughout this important election year. 
• Social justice teams at UCE continue to meet and plan and act – virtually now for the most part .
• UCE people are helping each other as needed, calling people, seeing who needs assistance, making masks at home for healthcare workers and those who are caring for the elderly and sick. 
• Trying to support Black small business owners in the area, like Yo-Fresh Café which uses GrubHub for delivery. 
• REAL Team is making plans for virtual movie discussions and more. 
• UUPMI pen pal program and solidarity circles are ongoing.  
• UCE’s Soup Kitchens Managers are hard at work planning creative alternate ways of serving the hungry – offering doorstep take-out!   

I’m sure there are more ongoing efforts that we have missed – let us know!  And if you want to connect with one of these groups please feel free to contact Martha Holman (holman.martha@gmail.com) or Rev. Karen Mooney (kmooney@ucevanston.org) or the team involved for more information. 

March 17 UCE Update

Dear Parents,

I hope you are doing as well as can be given all that is happening. I am holding you all in my thoughts and prayers – that you are able to work in safety, that your family is taking care of each other, and that you are finding some joy and gratitude in this challenging time.

This week’s VirtUUal RE session is on the Wisdom of Our Bodies. Here is the link to it: https://youtu.be/KuybkrY7sIc

During this video, feel free to pause when suggested, or whenever you need to, and come back to it. For the activities I mention, here are the links:

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iEdCgp1QEc

Parts that Bend (Sung to: “B-I-N-G-O) – https://www.preschooleducation.com/sbody.shtml

For middle school youth, you can learn about and teach your family about Hinduism here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/10mRlDC3-byDxANUwAHhm0E9qs4ep0wBFSuL5im3G1js/edit?usp=sharing

There will also be a virtual check-in and gathering on Monday mornings at 10a and Wednesday evenings at 7:30p, where folks can drop in to share what is happening in their lives and do an activity or read a story. I encourage you to share your ideas too! Perhaps families could take turns showing a simple craft or activity that they did during the week? Let’s see what we can do with this!

For Monday, March 23, you can Join Zoom Meeting at
https://zoom.us/j/712829587?pwd=bUtkejVHOUwzOFFpcEhuSXQrWlBCUT09
Password 251684

For March 25, Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/850227269?pwd=dno2NWhsUytpd1lTdHJMRXlkeWFBQT09
Password: 060826

Another resource for families from Soul Matters, Soulful Home: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ja5oAHPu9-PBGtG6x08l9eEOK78dJAfXDKeXukYaJr8/edit?usp=sharing

In Faith,

Kathy Underwood

Dear Parents,

I hope you are doing as well as can be given all that is happening this week. I am holding you all in my thoughts and prayers – yes, even those of you who I haven’t met yet! Parenting is challenging enough these days, and when exceptional events happen, it becomes even more so.

I did a short ~16 minute video of this week’s RE session for the elementary ages. Here is the link to it: https://youtu.be/OUW5Hwdwz3U

I am not a video person by any means, so this was a good learning experience for me! Since we will be virtual for a bit longer than one week, I will hopefully get more comfortable with this as time goes on! During this video, feel free to pause when suggested, or whenever you need to, and come back to it. I talk about a link to a YouTube video on how to make a mini-book. Here is the link to that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-XcyV9rwwY

For middle school youth, we had planned to visit the Buddhist Center, but had to cancel it. So, let’s try the next best thing: a virtual tour! Here’s one created in China by university students from Idaho: http://thinglinkblog.com/2017/05/26/virtual-reality-tour-of-chinese-buddhist-monastery-on-thinglink/

For high school youth, there will be a virtual youth group gathering at 7p. Youth can join via this link: https://zoom.us/j/310513248?pwd=SkFrK3F4QzQvanJWdGozemJxcXNQUT09
Meeting ID: 310 513 248
Password: 650391

I would like to offer some virtual check-ins during the week – perhaps one afternoon for young kids, and another for older youth and then one for parents. If this would be valuable to you and your family, simply e-mail kunderwood@ucevanston.org and let me know which days/times work best from these:

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday at 4-4:30p for younger kids
Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday at 8-8:30p for older youth
Monday, Wednesday, or Friday at 10a for parents
Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday at 9p for parents

Some resources:

• Storytimes – https://www.facebook.com/FlamingoRampant/?__tn__=%2CdkCH-R-R&eid=ARCWzsqfgNe8Jiwf6gvmCJBslE4Psbiu89TVLoQdG7r5Y5qWojSt0tumN7CrQGu3wwoMBUd5SSVvrWRr&hc_ref=ARTePpCVeSOOH-0w3_72vx-jN8SC8yWeVn_4rHipboUCwot8cEqB7wnEMvrkEQjkUxs&fref=nf&hc_location=group
• Tumble Podcast for Kids on COVID-19

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tumble-science-podcast-for-kids/id984771479?i=1000468315460&fbclid=IwAR0mXj2qJ6aEjVe7oetXq0u_eJ8o6Lg21BEqvz5mmKyoNNSAUubKlQfK6bQ

• Don’t forget the family pages in your UU World magazine!

And to end on a happier note, a little UU humor:

The youngsters in a UU RE program were drawing pictures. The adult leader asked one, “What are you drawing a picture of?”
“I’m drawing a picture of God,” was the reply.
“But nobody knows what God looks like,” objected the adult.
“They will,” said the youngster, “when I get my picture done.”

In Faith,

Kathy

Important UCE Update

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