Greetings from your Executive Operations Director 4.12.24

The “Path of Totality” eclipse viewing was once again an amazing experience. The beauty of nature and our universe never ceases to amaze me. I had the opportunity to experience the eclipse with my 97 year old mom, brother, son, daughter-in-law and friends. What impressed me was the feeling of unity, connectedness and wonder shared by the Southern Illinois community as thousands landed there over the weekend. Garden of the Gods and Shawnee National Forest are sites to behold. If you have an opportunity to visit, do so. I’m hiking there in June with friends as I end my journey at UCE.

I encourage you to explore the petroglyphs, rock formations made by glaciers, woods, waterfalls, and wildlife.

These have been satisfying months working part-time toward my retirement. I’ve been busy sorting through files, moving papers to archives, sharing electronic files and photos. It’s been a walk down memory lane for sure. I have photos of every rummage sale, night of the arts, pageant, and hundreds of photos of beloved members and friends. All good things must come to an end. I’m ending this journey with grace, gratitude, and love for what I have experienced, accomplished, and leave behind. I will remember many moments here, many people who have gone before and are here now. To the beat of our Saturday morning drumming group, I carried ministry chairs onto the chancel after a day of antiquing when I scored four mid century chairs. I danced with our little ones in the sanctuary on Night of the Arts. I wept at the memorials of members whose lives touched me deeply. I pushed the envelope to record myself singing at the coaching of Vickie Hellyer just because Rev. Karen Gustafson requested staff and the choir perform a special song for her online party. Many concerts I produced in our sanctuary ranging from June Carvell’s granddaughter Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck, Holly Near, Emma’s Revolution, Peter Mayer, Howard Levy, Melanie DeMore, and Junior Mance. I maintain my belief that music is our universal language. I have loved these people and this building. I have cared for the architecture and art because they are a meaningful legacy of those before us. I had the pleasure of working with many boards, committees, teams and ministers over my 22 years at UCE.

In the past few years I had the privilege of working with church members to fulfil the mission of our capital campaign by leading projects with some very special people. I am leaving the church with a beautiful lobby, accessible and inclusive bathrooms on the lower level, a new parking lot, air conditioning, and many visible improvements which Adam Gough will carry on. It has been a joy to train and mentor Adam. I am currently working with Suzanne Lis Daley to learn the rental program. Eileen, Susan and Vickie Doebele will take on the remaining pieces of my portfolio.

Meanwhile, I continue to work toward teaching, sharing and putting much effort into rebuilding our rental program. Bit by bit we are edging our way back. It’s quite amazing how covid affected our lives in ways beyond our understanding. One impact on UCE resulted in a drastic reduction in our rental program. It took time for people to return to the building. Costs and volunteers limited the way organizations do fundraising. We are so pleased that Infant Welfare Society had their “Sneakers Ball” here this past weekend. Evanston Symphony Orchestra rehearses weekly in our sanctuary and Skunkworks, a local dance organization rehearses and performs in the sanctuary. In March we finally exceeded our monthly rental budget goal.

I continue to chair the Integrated Stewardship Council (ISC) until the fiscal year-end when Rev. Eileen will take on that role, interface with our Staff Accountant Vickie Doebele on financial matters, approve invoices and attend Board of Trustees meetings.

In closing, I hope you will plan to join us on Friday, May 31st for a wonderful night together. A group of congregants have planned a special party with an art theme, which they knew would warm my heart. This will be a joyous and tearful evening as I say goodbye as Executive Operations Director at UCE and hello to another life beyond these walls.

 Greetings from your Executive Operations Director 3.07.2024

On Friday, I join friends Tory Bassani and Elizabeth Kennedy as we take 10 women from UCE to experience our “Annual Thrift Day” Each of these individuals purchased at Serendipity Auction the opportunity to visit some of our favorite spots. We begin the day with frittata, quiche, coffee cake, fruit, tea, and espresso drinks. We pack a bag lunch that we share together between visits to the stores, and we end the day with wine, cheese, soft drinks, and sharing our hauls. Trophies will be given for the “Biggest Haul”, “Most Unusual Item” and “Spent the Most”. We had an extraordinary day together last year. Tory, Elizabeth, and I can’t wait to meet everyone this year and spend the day doing something we love sharing together and with others. This is community!!  

LGBTQ+ exhibit at UCE in Room 3 – Friday, March 8 through Wednesday, March 20. Lilly Sweeney and Izzy Joslin of New Trier have created collages as part of a semester-long project. The concept was to use vintage photography and quotes from Former LGBTQ+ students at New Trier to create artwork that reflects their harrowing experiences. Most of the quotes come from a series of letters sent to New Trier in 1996 by gay students through the organization GLSEN. Full copies of the letters have not been seen in decades, but excerpts still exist and were integral to the create of this project. In response to these letters, the superintendent Hank Bangser, and the first openly gay teacher, Bonnie Beach, created the Safe Schools Committee, which greatly improved the school environment for students of marginalized groups. Although many improvements have been made since the letters were sent, there is still a lot of work to be done to ensure the safety of LGBTA+ students in all schools, including New Trier. Visitors can view the exhibit in Room 3 during office hours. Congregants are encouraged to visit Room 3 when you are here. UCE is pleased to host this important project by New Trier students.  

Sean Talmage has joined the UCE staff as the regular Sunday morning Lobby Staff. Dan Baer who has been with us for more than 10 years will remain on board as our substitute. This new arrangement provides opportunities for Dan to do his wonderful traveling and still be connected to UCE. Please welcome Sean and remember to say thank you to Dan Baer for his devotion to this work.  Jeanie McCullough will also remain on board for Lobby Staff rotation.

Chicago Faces Not Forgotten Exhibit at UCE  (a memorial exhibit honoring 72 young lives lost to gun violence) 

Congregant and Evanston Artist Sarah Kaiser with member Renee Gatsis have organized an exhibit to raise awareness of the horrific toll of gun violence. A quilts exhibit will be hung in our lobby between Saturday, March 23 (opening 1-3) through April 23. Visitors can see the exhibit M-F 10-4 and on Sundays 9-1.  

UCE Rental Highlight Udumbara Zen Sangha will soon be celebrating their tenth year with UCE. Here are a few words from Rev. Tricia Teater “What a journey it has been.  Sandra and the graceful and skilled staff never fail to accommodate and make us feel welcome.   

Together we’ve survived snow storms, floods, leaky ceilings, and a pandemic.  But as I write this today, all I really recall is being nestled in Room 2, the beautiful garden, the sunrises and the shadows that fall across the Shoji screens.” As EOD I have immensely enjoyed their presence. We are pleased that Udumbara is part of our UCE family.    

The owners of C&W Market & Ice Cream, Clarence Weaver and his wife Beverly, in March 2020 responded to the covid crisis by setting up a nonprofit organization and using their storefront to distribute free foods to those in need. They continue to provide fresh meat, vegetables and fruit along with nonperishable food items to seniors, District 65 families, and those experiencing homelessness and food insecurity. They serve almost 50 people every other Saturday morning.

Since they have plenty of storage, the Food & Shelter Team decided to partner with them to support their generous work by providing nonperishable items on a monthly basis. We will be collecting one type of non-perishable food each month.

C&W Market & Ice Cream is a Black owned business on the corner of Dodge and Church. This is a prime location for food distribution. You can also support this business by buying Ice Cream and/or other sundries there.

Thanks for your donation.

In the fall of 2020, the Board of Trustees commissioned an Anti-Oppression Task Force (AOTF) at UCE in response to a call from the Congregation, Evanston Interfaith leaders, the Unitarian Universalist Association through the Commission on Institutional Change, and Black Lives of UU (BLUU), “to engage in the struggle to dismantle white supremacy as it collectively exists” 1. and “to become more inclusive, equitable, and diverse while… work[ing]…to be accountable to those most affected by injustice.” 2 The purpose of AOTF was to find ways the Congregation might answer this call, making justice a reality both in our Congregation and beyond.

Realizing that we needed the assistance of consultants, the AOTF began working with the YWCA Equity Institute in July of 2021. With the aid of the YWCA, the AOTF surveyed the Congregation, Board of Trustees, and Staff, in order to understand where we are and what we might do as a Congregation to continue our anti-racism, anti- oppression (AR/AO) journey, and to build our multicultural Beloved Community. We shared with the Congregation the information from these surveys, at a summit in January 2023.

The YWCA provided written recommendations to the AOTF in February 2023. The AOTF met in March 2023 to determine our top three priorities for each aim. Then, in April 2023, we created three working groups, one for each aim. We are now looking to expand the membership of the AOTF, to work on implementing the YWCA’s recommendations. Look for information about on Aim 2 and Aim 3 in the newsletter over the next two newsletters.

1 “https://ucevanston.org/evanston-interfaith-juneteenth-letter/”

2 “https://www.uua.org/uuagovernance/committees/cic/widening”

First, we appreciate all 63 people who very thoughtfully sat in and provided feedback on the chairs last Sunday. We are asking for those who’ve not yet voted for your favorite chair, to try the chairs on Sunday April 30^th and put your vote in.

As we are gathering your feedback on the sample chairs, some people have asked questions that the Sanctuary Chairs Team will answer here.

Background Note: The Sanctuary Chairs Team has been meeting off and on for 3 years doing extensive research and exploring various chairs considering many, many options and approaches.

Why are we getting new chairs?
Unfortunately, the current chairs are breaking. Our current chairs are 55 years old and have been breaking at a rate of at least 19 chairs per year. Over a 7-year timespan we repaired 132 broken chairs, and at our last count, we had 57 chairs still in need of repair and 30 that are beyond repair. Instead of spending thousands of dollars repairing chairs that many of our members find no longer meet their needs, we decided 4 years ago to buy new chairs. Thus, we allocated money from the Capital Campaign to pay for them. Because we want to provide a safe environment for our congregation, guests and renters, we do not want to put their safety at risk as they sit in a chair that collapses under them.

Why don’t we just replicate the current chairs?
We explored this option. We researched 11 different companies to get quotes to replicate our current wooden, non-cushioned chairs. Their quotes ranged from $780-1700 per chair. That is way beyond our budget. Our current budget is a maximum of $350 per chair.

Why can’t we have wood chairs?
The Team also wanted wood chairs and looked at many varieties for 3 years. Besides often costing much more, the weight of today’s wooden chairs is greater. Today’s chairs have wider seats. Also, we would want wooden chairs with cushions. The lightest weight wooden chairs we could find were 17lbs. Note: Our current chairs are 12 lbs.

What is the difference between the Capital Campaign and the current pledge campaign?
The current pledge campaign is for the Annual Operating Budget. This Pledge drive only supports the operations of the church including staff salaries etc. The Capital Campaign is run about every 5-10 years and is a special effort to raise money with the sole purpose of repairing, maintaining or upgrading the church building and grounds. Monies from the Capital Campaign cannot be used for the Operating Budget.

How can we keep cushions clean?
We’ve selected options where the seat material is a “performance driven” coated fabric, resistant to moisture and staining.

Are these chairs eco-friendly?
We have looked at the carbon footprint of our choices. For example, one of the chairs we’ve chosen for you to test drive is produced without PVC’s, FR, formaldehyde, solvents, plasticizers, phthalates or lead and meets other eco-friendly standards.

Why did one chair get taken out of the test group?
Sadly we learned at the lat minute that the chair cost more than what we were led to believe earlier, so it is out of our budget.

When I came to UCE for the kickoff of Rev. Eileen’s sabbatical, for the service on Sunday morning, I talked for a few minutes about the strands that weave our lives together, the connections that we make and could make during this sabbatical ministry. It’s been a pleasure to get to know more of you, and in some cases, find out some connections that I didn’t know about—-for example, Linda LaPlante and I met, and I found out that she was a part of a small fellowship whose members eventually became a part of Second Unitarian Church of Chicago. It’s been lovely to attend the pastoral care team meetings and learn about how you take care of each other here at UCE. You have a lot of avenues for communication with each other, with the pastoral care team, which means that people know that if they have a need, this caring community will do their best to help out with that need. This give and take, this mutual care, is an important part of a healthy spiritual community. These are strong blessings you are, and that you share with each other.

One of the ways that we also bless each other is by finding and using our self-care/spiritual practices and sticking to them, which can be hard with the ebb and flow of life’s challenges. One of the strands in my life that helps me both physically and spiritually is the practice of swimming. Each spring, my family obtains pool passes for the Skokie park district and we try and take the kids every few days. (Secretly, it’s also to tire them out!) It is such a joy to watch my youngest, Simon, in his exuberance. Whether or not he has his floatie on, he jumps right in! And then realizes that he isn’t afloat anymore! We have to be there, to catch him, as he is fearless and exuberant. Lucas is more in the place where he loves to explore and play with friends—bringing water toys like rings and little torpedoes. He loves his goggles.

My own swimming practice is different—with earplugs, I can have some time for laps early in the morning, which center me for the day, and help me be a focused and calm minister and mom. I can only count my laps; I can’t think about my family or my worries; I can only count my laps, back and forth, and be in the moment. Life is like all those experiences in the pool—sometimes it is full of exuberance, like for Simon, and other times, it’s full of exploration and play, like the water is for Lucas. And other times, it is a time of focus, feeling that calm take over your body in the water. There will be times when our community catches us, like we need to catch Simon, and truly, that is one of the blessings of UCE. That we have the opportunity to have the full range of our lives— sometimes play, sometimes exuberance, sometimes we need to be supported by each other, and sometimes, we find that being in the moment is exactly what we need. May you feel connected to UCE and your/our community in the coming spring days and months. Thank you again for this opportunity to get connected with you all!

Rev. Elizabeth A. Harding, AM, MDiv, LCSW

At General Assembly (GA) 2023, Unitarian Universalists will take an initial vote on proposed changes to Article II of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Bylaws, which includes the current UUA purposes, principles, sources, and clauses on inclusion and freedom of belief. The UUA Board of Trustees encourages you to read the full proposal from the 
Article II Study Commission and get more information about the process. The UUA’s goal is to maximize discussion and engagement with this proposal, which addresses the foundational values and purposes of our faith community. Until April 30, 2023, any Unitarian Universalist may submit suggestions and ideas through an online form for ways they recommend modifying the Article II Study Commission proposal (PDF). Each suggestion or idea should describe specific language changes to the proposal, explain the reason, and be limited to a single section of the proposal. Individuals may submit multiple suggestions and ideas. All qualifying suggestions will be posted for public chat discussion at discuss.uua.org, starting after April 15. Suggestions must be received by April 30 in order to be posted. Additionally, the UUA Board of Trustees will host public discussion workshops on May 11, 18 and 21, 2023, to review suggestions and ideas. These rounds of public discussion will inform the way amendments are prioritized for discussion and voting at General Assembly.

For more information see frequently asked questions or contact administration@uua.org