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What is Unitarian Universalism? We Are Unitarian Universalists from Unitarian Universalist Assoc. on Vimeo. Read the video transcript Read more on the UUA Website Our Current Values and Inspirations  You may read the UUA values that UCE has embraced, along with UCE's mission and vision here. Our faith community embraces a vast array of personal inspirations. Acknowledgment of these sources of inspiration are expressed by our Unitarian Universalist Assocation as "Direct experiences of transcending mystery and wonder are primary sources of Unitarian Universalist inspiration. These experiences open our hearts, renew our spirits, and transform our lives. We draw upon, and are inspired by, sacred, secular, and scientific understandings that help us make meaning and live into our values. These sources ground us and sustain us in ordinary, difficult, and joyous times. We respect the histories, contexts, and cultures in which these sources were created and are currently practiced. Grateful for the experiences that move us, aware of the religious ancestries we inherit, and enlivened by the diversity which enriches our faith, we are called to ever deepen and expand our wisdom." We invite you to join us [...]

Adult Program Archive The word “faith” can be problematic for UUs because its history of “belief without evidence” clashes with our open and honest search for truth and meaning. But “faith” is a word with many complex and inter-acting meanings. I propose that we begin by thinking of Faith in terms of Faithfulness. From there we can explore what faithfulness can mean in relation to trust, belief, hope, spirituality, ethical commitments, and the open and honest search for truth and meaning. Our Journey of Belonging Series is a class for visitors and members. Get to know folks in our UCE community as we delve into UU History, our sources, and our values and principles. A Journey Through UU History Do you wonder about the heretics of the 2nd century or the universal love embraced by our Universalist ancestors? Do you wonder about the transcendentalist and humanist forbearers in our Unitarian tradition or about the 1961 merger that created the Unitarian Universalist Association? Come Journey Through our UU History. Spiritual Journeys & Inspiration Each of us has a unique combination of inspirations, sources, and life experiences that ground us in our theology, whether it [...]

Faith Formation for Children, Youth, and Adults Q & A About Faith Formation for Children and Youth LEARN MORE What We Teach & Why LEARN MORE Enrolling Your Child LEARN MORE Family Events & Activities LEARN MORE Family Ministry Team LEARN MORE Faith Formation News Learn More In our religious community, we are learning together and teaching each other all the time. Religious education is a lifelong process of learning how to relate to the mysteries of life, to each other, and to the larger community. Our lifespan religious education program includes aspects of religious study, spiritual practice, and ethical development.We challenge and support each other in our individual spiritual journeys and in our collective religious journey. We offer our children nurturance and guidance as they develop and learn to live out their beliefs [...]

Board of Trustees Welcome to the Board of Trustees page. Learn more about UCE's Board and read about current updates and events. Click the + signs below to read more. For a link to join the next Board meeting (third Thursday of each month), email admin@ucevanston.org. Nurturing the Human Spirit for a World Made Whole The mission of the Board of Trustees is to promote the vision and mission of the congregation by setting policy and providing oversight, leadership, and support for the activities and administration of the church. We will accomplish this mission with tolerance, respect, commitment, reason, honesty, and energy using the democratic process. President, Board of Trustees Chief Executive Officer of the church, per bylaws Presides at monthly and special meetings of the Board of Trustees Presides at annual and (often) special meetings of the Congregation Presides at meetings of the Executive Committee where the agenda is established for Board and Congregational meetings Responsible for notifying the Vice-President of expected absences Is generally the point of contact for members of the congregation who wish to communicate with the Board Serves a ceremonial role at the request of the Ministers, New Members [...]

Church Leadership UCE LEADERSHIP TOOLKIT UCE Leadership Toolkit: Guidance for Who, What, Where & How to be a successful Leader Ever wonder: What Committees & Teams are available in UCE? Who do I talk to about getting reimbursed for an expenditure? How do I set a meeting Agenda? And much, much more… The UCE Leadership Toolkit is an extensive written resource for you to access to know the who’s, what’s and how’s of leading a committee, team, task force or council.   It is available on the website. Go to ucevanston.org, scroll down to tab on left “Leadership/Governance”, then choose tab “Leadership”, then “UCE Leadership Toolkit”. Scan the Table of Contents for the topic you want more information on. Get ready to be impressed with all of the resources available for you. Room and Publicity Request: Form to submit to request a room, give setup, and specify publicity for your meeting/event. Event Feedback Form: Form to submit after your event has concluded. Are you heading up a committee or team for UCE? Then you need to know about this resource  Introducing “LEADERSHIP ADVISOR PROGRAM” Do you head up a UCE committee or team? The Leadership Development Team (LDT) [...]

Realm Resources On this page, you'll find helpful tools to use UCE's membership database and connection software. Short guides are provided as videos or text. Feel free to use whichever is helpful to you! If you have any further questions or would like to know more about Realm, please e-mail Adam Gough at agough@ucevanston.org. Go to Realm Guided Tutorial & Intro to Realm Realm FAQ Setting Up Your Account Find your Realm invitation in your e-mail. Subject "Join Our Online Community!" If you believe you should have received an invitation but haven't yet, please contact the church office. Click the link in the e-mail. The link will take you to a page to create your password and set up your account. Check your e-mail again for another e-mail with a link to verify your e-mail address. Subject "E-mail Verification." Click the second link to be taken to the sign-in page. Type in the password you just created and click sign-in. Verify your phone number by entering the number UCE has on file for you. [...]

Transgender Inclusion in Congregations What to Expect This is an online course geared toward people from generally LGBTQ-welcoming congregations or faith groups who want to deepen their understanding of gender and transgender identities and are invested in creating truly trans-affirming faith communities.There are six sessions. Each one includes a 45- to 60-minute lecture by instructors Rev. Mykal Slack & Zr. Alex Kapitan, reflection questions, resources to take it deeper, and a short informal quiz. Sessions 1 and 2 are designed to ground you in this work, theologically, spiritually, and historically, and help you explore why we are called as people of faith to dismantle gender-based oppression—as well as exploring how each and every one of us are impacted by it and practices that can help us stay present. Sessions 3 and 4 explore gender diversity and the lived experiences of trans people—including the ways that race, class, and other factors influence those experiences—along with trans spirituality. Sessions 5 and 6 are all about culture and how to transform it. Expanding the circle of inclusion within a congregation or faith group requires understanding the unique culture of that group, along with how that culture works [...]

Setting Up UCE Meetings & Events Virtual Gatherings Many of our UCE groups are meeting virtually. UCE ministers and staff are here to help you set up a digital meeting or event. Check out the virtual meeting resource page to find out ways to host a digital meeting. All UCE virtual events can be added to the UCE calendar. If you are interested in having your virtual events featured on the calendar, please contact the office at 847-864-1330 or email admin@ucevanston.org. Plan a Virtual Meeting! In-person & Multi-platform Gatherings The UCE building is host to many types of gatherings throughout the year. If you would like to hold a group meeting or event on UCE grounds, please refer to the UCE’s building use guidelines before contacting the office. In order to help these events go smoothly, please be in contact with UCE staff and follow the tips below. If you are a representative of an outside group that would like to rent UCE's space or a UCE member that would like to plan a personal event at UCE, please refer to the Rental Information. One [...]

UCE & Reparations UCE puts our values in action and Supports Reparations in Evanston and Beyond In 2021, our congregation passed the 8th Principle, committing ourselves to journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions. In May of 2022, we passed a resolution to support reparations locally and nationally. We resolved to support reparations from the federal government of the United States of America to Black Americans; to support the passage of H.R. 40,“Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act”; and to support reparations being made to Black residents within the City of Evanston. Therefore, we support the City of Evanston’s reparations programs, the Evanston Reparations Community Fund, and related reparation efforts made with direct involvement by the Black residents of Evanston. A month later in June of 2022, empowered by this resolution, our Senior Minister signed on to join our interfaith siblings in supporting the Evanston reparations initiative and the Evanston Reparations Community Fund. Rev. Eileen Wiviott signed on to this statement with clergy and leaders from 16 other faith [...]

News from the Board of Trustees March 3, 2016 Submitted by: Janelle Brittain Creating Our Future As we look at UCE’s accomplishments over the last 125 years, it prompts us to think, ”What do we want to accomplish in the future?” We create our future every day. The Board of Trustees has decided to lead us in a conscious, focused and purposeful choosing of what we want to accomplish and living who we want to be. As Yogi Berra said, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going, because you might not get there.” We have started a Long Range Planning process and we want everyone’s input in 2 ways! Congregational Survey We have designed a very comprehensive survey that we will use to help guide our decisions at all levels: teams, committees, councils, board and staff. From March 13-24 we will hand it out at Sunday services and it will be available on the UCE website. Your input will help to create our future. Please fill it out! Long Range Plan Every group, team, committee, council [...]