Sunday Service: In-person and Online Sunday at 10:30am

A UCE Financial Update from the Integrated Stewardship Council: November 20, 2020

During the pledge drive last spring, we promised you an update in November as to how UCE was doing financially — and whether we would possibly need to come back to members to ask for more help.   

We are happy to report that our financials are stable.  Importantly, we received a Payroll Protection Program loan (PPP) of $72,000 that we used to pay salaries this spring and summer. We fully expect this to be converted to a grant. We have also benefitted from a combination of late and additional pledges, non-pledge extra gifts, significant cost savings in running the building, and a successful Serendipity Auction. 

As a result, we have been able to maintain staffing (other than kitchen, childcare and lobby, all of whom we paid through mid-July), and keep virtual programming in full swing. As a result of all these factors, we expect to end this year with a surplus. 

We do have significant concerns about next year’s budget when we will not have the PPP to help us out.  Therefore, our plan is to carry over the surplus from this current fiscal year to fiscal 2021-22 in order to maintain stable staffing into that year.  Thus, we will continue to keep an eagle eye on expenses this year, in order to be well positioned for FY 2021-22. 

We’ll share more information as we launch the formal budget process in January. Thank you for your generosity! We are so grateful to have UCE and its staff available to support us through these difficult times. And we couldn’t have done that with you. 

A UCE Financial Update from the Integrated Stewardship Council: November 20, 20202020-11-16T22:38:53+00:00

November 22, 2020

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, November 22nd at 11:15 am.

“Breaking Bread Together”
Bread communion is one of four traditional communion services celebrated at UCE (water, bread, fire, flower). In years past, on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we’d bring our bread or other gluten free treats forward to a common table, where they’d be sliced and shared. There are bountiful metaphors around bread and what it means to break bread together. Together we will create a new kind of communion, sharing our stories and rituals of gathering abundance and nourishing transformation.

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time during the summer so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Brennan Center.

November 22, 20202020-11-20T15:43:58+00:00

VirtUUal RE: November 13, 2020

This week in the Soulful Home packet we focus on the segments From the Mailbox and On the Porch. Check out this week’s video for a short synopsis.
If you missed the Welcome and Intro to RE, check it out here, or you can read about it here.
Registration Time
Although we might not be having in-person RE on Sunday mornings yet, it is important to know who wants to connect – whether virtual or not. By registering, we can ensure that you get information on all programs and events for all ages this year. Sign up here!
Many Ways to Connect
All Families:  
Fellowship – Sunday after worship – Join the virtual coffee hour zoom where parents and families can meet and greet in their own breakout room!
Parents on the Porch – THIS SUNDAY at 8:30-9 pm – Grab your favorite beverage and join other parents on the porch – virtually – to share concerns and thoughts on our monthly theme of Healing and life in general. Sign up here.
Campfire on the Lawn – November 21 at 4:30-6 pm – Sign up here.
Pre/K Kids and Families – POP (Parents of Preschoolers)! November’s materials are available here. The password is YouGotThis2020 (case sensitive.) This UU-based program is to be used all month long. Do whatever fits your family’s schedule. We’ll have a parent’s virtual gathering on November 23 at 8 pm to share our experiences. Sign up at here.Zoom info will be sent via email closer to the event.
High School Youth – Sunday – Look for emails with details!
For Adults
UCE Forum – Sunday, November 15th at 10 am
UU 6th Principle: 6th principle: The goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all
Leader: Jim Strickler
Jim will briefly explain the far-reaching implications of this principle and why he thinks it is so difficult to practice–and yet likely to be achieved. Come to discuss what Principle 6 means for you and how you act.
Click here to join the Zoom meeting. Meeting ID: 983 5136 0044 Passcode: 789218
One tap mobile +13126266799,,98351360044#,,,,,,0#,,789218# US (Chicago)
Christ for UU’s
Tuesdays, Nov. 10, 17; Dec. 1, 8, 15; 7:30-8:45 PM,
All sessions will be via Zoom.
Facilitated by UCE member Amy Pooley.
  • What can we as Unitarian Universalists learn from reading the New Testament?
  • Who was Jesus and why does he matter?
  • How can getting in touch with our Unitarian and our Universalist roots help us rethink the Christian message and even understand it in a new way?
Join us in discussing these questions and more on five Tuesdays in November and December. The course will be based on readings from the New Testament and the recent Beacon Press release “Christ for Unitarian Universalists.” We welcome you to purchase a copy of the book here to follow the course’s reading schedule, but the discussion will also be accessible for those who have not done the reading and would simply like to show up to share and listen.
Amy Pooley has been a UU for over a decade and a Christian for just a few years. She has a love for our faith’s Unitarian and Universalist roots. She is a graduate student in Counseling and she and her wife Ruth are the moms of a toddler.
If you’re interested in attending, please click here to RSVP.
Contact Amy Pooley at amycpooley@gmail.com if you have questions.
VirtUUal RE: November 13, 20202020-11-13T19:56:03+00:00

Mitten Tree Update: November 13, 2020

In a season that might feel disorienting, you can anchor to your UU values through the UCE Mitten Tree! New “mittens” will be hung as requests come in. Like most things this year, we have made a few tweaks to keep givers, receivers, and shuttlers in between safe. Please visit the Mitten Tree here, read the instructions for how each organization needs us to handle gifts, select requests you can fill, and may what you give bring you JOY!

The Mitten Tree is a tradition at UCE stretching back over 34 years, bringing a mutual sense of belonging and fulfillment for our church and broader community. We are so fortunate for the care and intention Carol Nielsen has brought to this practice of giving, and all of the gifts of friendship, inspiration, and gratitude many have received through participation.

This year, we will be partnering with 3 very special organizations to make the holiday season a little brighter:

The 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. This year, we will be matched with 12 children to fulfill their holiday wish list. For security and safety, items can be purchased from an Amazon registry and sent directly to the Rice Center.

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. This year, we are looking to fulfill requests from 50 of their deserving clients.

Our third partnering organization this year is NEW. Sarah’s Circle has a proud history dating back to 1979 focused on meeting the needs of homeless women in Chicago. In December 2020, they will be opening a 38 unit Permanent Supportive Housing facility in Uptown. It is truly inspiring to see their team bring the pieces together, and we have the opportunity to make sure every new home has towels and dishes for each woman’s new home. Check out their website at https://sarahs-circle.org/ to learn more about this amazing organization.

Mitten Tree Update: November 13, 20202023-11-15T20:24:08+00:00

Serving Connections in the Season of Giving: November 13, 2020

Try on one of these ideas and find a fit – Serving Connections for the Homeless in the Season of Giving

As the winter holiday season approaches, have you wondered how you and your family could tangibly help other community members? Do you find yourself torn between feeding the hungry or advocating to build affordable housing in Evanston?

UCE has started a partnership with Connections for the Homeless and their housing advocacy group, Joining Forces for Affordable Housing. You can work with UCE friends to do some task from a wide range of service work from making lunches, collecting specific clothing, working at Hilda’s place or working on a myriad of housing advocacy projects including advocacy work with our local and state governments. Whether your passion is food, housing, children’s issues, legal justice reform, mental health, or equity, there is a role for you in this project.

Below are two links that will give you background on volunteering efforts you can participate in – one link to advocacy tasks that you can do from home and one to more direct service tasks, like providing sack lunches or volunteering in the clothing closet. Some of these tasks are family friendly and some can be done comfortably by one adult alone at home. Some are easy (join an email list), and some are harder (attend a monthly meeting and report what happened).

Ways to Participate in Joining Forces Advocacy for Affordable Housing
Ways to Volunteer with Connections for the Homeless

Find one thing on these lists you can do before the year end and make your contribution to our UCE partners in justice and to the people they serve. Guaranteed to make your holiday brighter!

To explore where to begin with your preferred volunteer efforts, contact Carol Nielsen (carolnielsen2100@gmail.com) for direct service opportunities, Dale Griffin (dalecgriffin@comcast.net), Les Butler (wb1630@hotmail.com), or Judy LeFevour (judy.m.lefevour@gmail.com)  for prison ministry support or Sarah Vanderwicken (vanderesq@mindspring.com) to discuss housing advocacy.

Serving Connections in the Season of Giving: November 13, 20202020-11-12T20:01:44+00:00

Hear the MSC Final Report: November 13, 2020

A big thank you to everyone who filled out the survey and participated in our focus groups and cottage meetings! The Ministerial Search Committee has been hard at work going through all of your comments and feedback.
The final result is the Congregational Record, a compilation of answers to over 50 questions that provide information to prospective ministerial candidates about topics ranging from our building and grounds to the congregation’s organizational structure to UCE’s priorities for a new minister. We will be submitting this record to the UUA by December 1.
Before we do that, however, we want to share with the congregation what we have learned. Your input about what’s important to us as a congregation, what kind of a congregation we want to be, and how we live out our mission is what gives this process integrity. The Congregational Record should be a reflection of the broad range of voices we have in our congregation.
To this end, we will be presenting some of what we’ve learned from you all this autumn during coffee hour after the Sunday service on Sunday, November 22. We’ll share an overview of some of the major issues addressed in the Congregational Record, and there will be a way for you to offer feedback.
This is your last opportunity to share your thoughts about anything our next Senior Minister should know about UCE. We hope you will use your influence and join us on November 22.

The Ministerial Search Committee is grateful to the Endowment Committee for funding the search process.

Hear the MSC Final Report: November 13, 20202020-11-11T22:14:20+00:00

Calling all Bidders!: November 13, 2020

Have you signed onto the Serendipity Auction website yet? It has over 170 different donations from 115 different members! Easy to use and fun to peruse, please take a look–you only have one day left to bid! Click here to go to the Auction website! You can register using your email that you use in the church directory (any issues, please email us at auction@ucevanston.org). There is something for everyone, including children–and three different raffles, with tickets only $5 each!
Later today, we will send members and registered bidders the Zoom link for our entertaining Celebration Party on Saturday evening at 7 pm, with lots of Zoom preparties starting at 6:40 pm. Want to make a Serendipity Boulevard or Anything Goes mocktail or cocktail? Click INGREDIENTS for the ingredients list and come to Dan Lawrence’s preparty. Have technical questions, or just want to hang out for a bit with old or new friends? There are preparties for that, too. The Celebration will be your last chance to get your final bids in, all the raffle winners will be drawn and announced, and you will get to see up close the final minutes of action. Hope to see you there!
And don’t forget, you need to actually get your won items. Dessert boxes need to be picked up at UCE on Saturday from noon – 2 pm. Physical auction items and gift certificates need to be picked up on Sunday (with few other dates available). Click PICKUP TIMES to sign up for a contactless pickup slot at UCE. Need your items delivered to your home? No problem, contact us at auction@ucevanston.org.
Calling all Bidders!: November 13, 20202020-11-11T21:51:06+00:00

November 15, 2020

We will host an online worship service on Sunday, November 15th at 11:15 am.

“Hope, Expectation and Disappointment on the Road to Beloved Community” – Rev. Karen Gustafson
“There can be no deep  disappointment  where there is not deep love.” – Martin Luther King, Jr. 

Disappointment is a normal part of every day. Things just don’t always live up to our hopes or expectations. We are, nonetheless, drawn forth by longing and hope for a closer approximation of how we think life should be and what it would take to make it that way. How do our differing ways of managing our expectations and disappointments shape the various cultures we live in – our families, our social connections, our work environments or even the past and future of UCE? What do our Unitarian Universalist covenants teach us about the path forward from disappointment in our progress toward beloved community? 

Please submit your Joys and Sorrows through this online form. If you submit a message by 11 am, we will try to read it that Sunday. Thank you for your patience as we are adapting to best serve you all! Note there will only be one service time during the summer so that we can gather together as a whole community of faith. You can still give to the shared offering through “text to give,” mail a check to the office with “shared offering” in the memo line, or go to our website and hit “give” on the upper right or click here. This Sunday’s shared offering recipient is the Brennan Center.

November 15, 20202020-11-10T16:36:25+00:00

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Evanston

1330 Ridge Ave
Evanston, IL 60201
Directions

(847) 864-1330
uce@ucevanston.org

UCE’s office hours:

Monday: CLOSED
Tuesday: 10 AM – 12:30 PM, 1:30 PM – 4 PM
Wednesday: 10 AM – 1 PM
Thursday: 10 AM – 12:30 PM, 1:30 PM – 4 PM
Friday: 10 AM – 1 PM
Saturday: CLOSED
Sunday: 10 AM – 1 PM

In-person and Virtual Sunday Service is held at 10:30 am.

Become A Member

Member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association covenant to affirm and promote the Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism.

The Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Evanston is recognized by the Unitarian Universalist Association as a Welcoming Congregation, a Peace Advocate Congregation, and a Green Sanctuary.

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