From Rev. Susan Frances: March 25, 2022

Dear Friends, 

You are invited to our New Member Reception in the sanctuary this Sunday after the worship service!  

We are welcoming 9 new members during our service this Sunday. Plus, the 29 members who joined us since our building closed in March 2020 will be part of the New Member Reception. It will be a time for introductions and connecting. I hope you join us! 

I am taking a class right now with the Interim Ministry Network and in the paper I wrote this week I used the Buddhist sacred story of Indra’s Net: 

“Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out indefinitely in all directions. In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel at the net’s every node, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering like stars of the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that the process of reflection is infinite.” 

~ The Avatamsaka Sutra
Francis H. Cook: Hua-Yen Buddhism : The Jewel Net Of Indra 1977 

 In this metaphor, whatever affects one jewel affects them all. There are jewels that are close to us, such as each of our new members becoming a closer jewel in our faith community’s part of the jeweled net, and jewels that are farther from us, such as UUs in other states and residents of our city who we don’t know. How we choose to connect and engage with the world, our city, our neighborhood, our congregation, and our family affects those near and far from us in the jeweled net. With this in mind, I invite you think about how you will be engaged this week, this spring, or this year.  

Several folks have already made new connections and gotten engaged through our Social Justice Program Fair held on February 27th. Thank you to the members of the 8 teams and affinity group who participated!!! The photos are of: 

• BLUU Haven Chicago  
• Food and Shelter Team  
• Green Team  
• Immigrant Solidarity Team  
• Legislative Action Team  
• Prison Ministry Team  
• Racial Equity Action and Leadership Team  
• Rainbow Alliance  

Team 8th Principle is working on a resolution in support of national and local reparations for Black Americans and Black Evanstonians that will be voted upon at our congregation’s annual meeting on May 15, 2022. You are invited to attend one of their Reparations & UCE Conversations. Contact Martha Holman through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org or see the article in this newsletter for more information. 

Our UUtheVote initiative will launch on April 10, 2022! Voting is one of the ways in which we live our values in the world. I invite you to be part of our 40,000 Points of Love initiative to reach out to fellow voters. Contact Shirley Adams through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org or see the article in this newsletter for more information on how to get engaged. 

If you are interested in how our worship services are created, you are invited to participate in a Worship Play Date with Rev. Eileen Wiviott. The next Play Date is on April 9, 2022, from 9:00 am – 12:00 pm. You can register through the article in this newsletter. You are also invited to join the choir by contacting our Music Director, Vickie Hellyer, at vhellyer@ucevanston.org. 

The Denominational Affairs Team is gearing up for our national Unitarian Universalist Association’s General Assembly, being held virtually as well as in-person in Portland, Oregon, from June 22-26, 2022. Our Association is in the midst of a national review of our 7 Principles and 6 Sources and you are invited to engage in this review process. Contact Peggy Boccard through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org or see the article in this newsletter for ways to participate. 

If you are interested in connecting with a small group of people, you are invited to join a covenant group, one of the groups that participate in spiritual practices such as yoga or tai chi, or one of our four women’s circles. Contact Adam Gough at agough@ucevanston.org for more information.  

The pandemic has created a new way of being in the world and each of us is emerging this spring in ways different than before. You are invited to go slow and follow what is good for your body, mind, and spirit. If getting more connected and engaged feels right, I hope something I’ve mentioned calls to you. If you are in need of more rest and to continue to rejuvenate to get through difficult days, please take the time you need to care for yourself. If you or another member or friend in our community need support, please reach out for assistance through our Congregational Care and Support Teams. You are invited to connect and engage in the ways that support your whole being. 

This spring, may you feel the connection of all of us as reflected in Indra’s Net. May the feel of the rain, the sight of the returning migratory birds, the sound of the wind, or the smell of moist soil remind you of that connection and that you are an essential part of the interconnected web of life. 

In faith, 

Rev. Susan