MITTEN TREE 2024!

Mitten Tree gift sign-up is up and running (HERE). It may seem too early to be thinking about the holidays, but gifts are due back at UCE for sorting and wrapping by SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, so don’t delay in signing up!

Don’t want to shop? You can donate money and the mitten tree elves will shop for you–you may Zelle or Venmo Alice Swan, aeswan at yahoo dot com or 612-202-3985, or write a check to UCE with Mitten Tree in the memo.

Sign up to help with organizing/shopping/wrapping HERE. 

This longstanding tradition is a beautiful snapshot of our community’s shared values and a privilege to help organize. Read on below about where your gifts will go this year, AND MAY WHAT YOU GIVE BRING YOU JOY!

Read on for more information about the four organizations we are partnering with this year. 

Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, located in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, works to restore human dignity through hospitality, hope, and healing. Their work includes: building relationships among youth and families impacted by violence and/or conflict; creating safe spaces where people can experience radical hospitality, hope, and healing; and promoting a restorative justice approach to resolve conflict and build a sense of community. 

Mitten tree gifts will go to members of the monthly mothers’ circles, which support women healing from trauma and striving to move forward. By coming together in circle, they create a safe space to share stories of loved ones, laugh and cry, and journey together toward healing. This is not a path that should be walked alone; participants find strength being in relationship with one another. To learn more about this amazing work, ask Alice Swan!

Lydia Home (formerly Rice Child & Family Center) is located just down Ridge from UCE and is a safe home with wrap-around services for children with post-traumatic behavioral dysregulation making traditional foster care inaccessible to them. The facility includes a medical clinic, group therapy classrooms, special education facilities, art therapy and maintains a goal of helping children return to a loving family environment. UCE has supported residents of the center for a number of years as our own Mitten Tree founder, Carol Nielsen is a long-committed volunteer.  

Connections for the Homeless is an organization near and dear to our UCE community. Whether through shared plate, Mitten Trees past, Our Giving House donations, or supporting affordable housing programs, Connections has and will continue to be a meaningful partnership for us. Connections supports more than 1500 people a year – preventing homelessness, sheltering those in crisis, providing advocacy services, and fostering development of job and educational skills. 

Brave Space Alliance Brave Space Alliance (BSA) is the first Black trans-led LGBTQ Center in Chicago. A small, brave group of individuals founded BSA in 2017 to fill the significant gap in advocacy, programs, services, and spaces of care and connection centering and led by trans and gender expansive people. They provide affirming, culturally competent, for-us-by-us resources. https://www.bravespacealliance.org/

Friday, May 31, 2024 is a night I will always remember. I was surrounded by my family, friends, staff, and so many of you, the congregation We gathered in our beautiful sanctuary to say goodbye. Many of my art buds and longtime good friends were here. While it was bittersweet knowing I would not be lighting candles with you on Sunday morning for a while, it was a perfect honoring. I felt as though tiny particles of joy were raining upon and around me.

Renee Gatsis, Gay Riseborough, Elizabeth Kennedy, Tory Bassani and Maggie Wilson, thank you for coordinating this most perfect event. To all of you UCE artists who brought your work to honor my love for the arts and to express the talent of so many at UCE. Every piece was wonderful and graced the sanctuary with such beauty. Several pieces of my ceramic art was included with many other UCE artists: Renee Gatsis, Maggie Wilson, Suzanne Lis Daley, Kathy Talmage, Sydney Francolino, Robb Geiger, Eileen Wiviott, Claudia Dancing, Nancy Katz, Catherine Deamant, Forrest Marie Linsell, Lucy Elam, Margaret Schatz, Carol Nielsen, Jean Durkin, Jan Augustyn, Jean Butzen, Bill Hartgering, Craig Jobson, Peggy Boccard, Patrecia Lenore, Andrew Fisher, Carol Johnson, Sarah Kaiser-Amaral, Barbara Seyfried, Kristin Larsen, William Irons, Liz Kennedy, Sue WIell, and Maggie Weiss.

Thank you Kevin Barrow, JoLynn Cotton, Robb Geiger, Gregory Shifrin for the lovely music throughout the evening. How lucky UCE is to have so many talented musicians and vocalists.

I appreciate all of you who served food, worked in the kitchen, tended the bar, shopped, donated food – whatever you did to make the night special, thank you. Gratitude to many who brought or sent cards, and amazing, thoughtful gifts. My heart is overflowing.

I’ll post photos from the evening once I have all of them. I received a few so far and will post on member to member once I have more. Maybe some can be posted on the bulletin board and I can send digital prints as well. All of that will be worked out soon. It was important to me to get as many of you captured on film as possible. Yancy Hughes is an Evanston photographer if you ever need a kind, talented person to take photos. He’s great.

Yesterday, Eileen hosted a staff party outside at Five & Dime. We had so much fun together sharing good food, desserts and many stories. Here’s a photo from yesterday. Thank you all. That day of sunshine will beam in my heart for a very long time.

In summary, after the parties are over and life moves on, I will remember you and value our years together whether it was 1 or 22. UCE has been a place where my skills and talents have been supported and appreciated. I have enjoyed caring for the building and grounds, managing rentals, supervising staff, overseeing the financial health of UCE and making sure the use of money and resources were in order. I loved working with volunteers to ensure fundraisers were a success, and to improve our building through our capital campaigns. Working for a church is not just a job, but a ministry. I have laughed and cried with all of you at some point during my career. I’ve seen ministers, interims and interns come and go. I’ve seen elders and beloved members pass away. I see new babies and children returning to UCE. I marvel at the memories of children who when I arrived were babies and are now adults. It’s been a great ride, like a roller coaster sometimes, but worth every challenge and wonderful moment.

My life goes on in endless song with new opportunities and connections with family and friends. Please stay in touch. Stop by my pottery studio, drop a line, give me a call. I will forever hold each of you in my heart.