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The UCE Office will be Closed Today for Good Friday.

Apologies for any Inconvenience.

In-Person & Virtual Worship Service

this Sunday, April 9th at 10:30 am

Faith Formation Hour this Sunday!

Childcare (0-3 years) is available in room 11 from 10:15am-11:45am.

Families can explore our theme, Resistance, at home at their own pace with the Soulful Home packet.

Easter Sunday Festivities



If you have extra Easter eggs or treats feel free to bring them to the kitchen. Donations for the dry goods hunt can be left in the bin by the Giving House. Young people will gather in The Nest in the sanctuary after worship for the hunt.

Rev. Eileen Wiviott is currently on a scheduled sabbatical until Sunday, May 28th. In her absence, please contact:

• Rev. Elizabeth Harding (eharding@ucevanston.org), Sabbatical Minister covering pastoral care: Wednesdays, 11:00am-4:30 pm, Thursdays, 10:30am-2:00pm, or by appointment.
• Rev. Allison Farnum (afarnum@ucevanston.org), Sabbatical Minister covering worship and staffing: Tuesdays, 10:30am-3:30pm, or by appointment.
• Rev. Susan Frances (sfrances@ucevanston.org), Assistant Minister for Congregational Life: Thursdays, 10:30am-3:30 pm, or by appointment.

Do Not Get Scammed: Rev. Eileen will not be sending or receiving emails or text messages during her sabbatical.

Child Dedication Ceremony

Our next Child Dedication Ceremony will be on Sunday, May 14, 2023. This is a ceremony in which our community dedicates ourselves to the care of our children and to supporting families as they try to live our shared values in community. A child dedication can happen at any age/stage of childhood. If you would like to have a child in your family dedicated on May 14, 2023, please contact Rev. Susan Frances at sfrances@ucevanston.org by April 20, 2023.

Hats off to Lee Bannor

Our hats are off to Lee Bannor. 

Immigrant Solidarity co-planner.   

Watching kids who evolved.  

Getting out the vote. Solved. 

Come volunteer like Lee Bannor. 

The Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) is hosting a Family Passover Seder on

Saturday, April 8, 2023. All are welcome!

RSVP to info@jrctogether.org. RSVP required.

Journey Toward Membership

Are you interested in becoming a member of our UCE community? Are you not sure, but would like to learn more? Join Rev. Susan for our Journey Toward Membership class.

Register below for the class via Zoom on April 12, 2023, from 7:00-8:00 pm. The class is the same as the in-person, so you only need to attend one.

If you are interested in joining, please save the date on Sunday, April 23, 2023, when we will be welcoming a class of new members during the worship service and having a New Member Reception afterwards.

UUA Board announcement about the

Article II Idea Submission Form

The UUA Article II Study Commission has released its report and the proposed revision of Article II and invites suggestions and ideas from individuals. You are invited to use the link in the article below to access the form before April 30 to suggest specific language changes, using a separate form for each section of the proposal.

Links to the Article II Study Report, including the proposal, and to frequently asked questions are also included in the article.

Further opportunities for discussion include:

• Our sixth and final Zoom session on Reimagining Article II on April 19, 2023, 6:30-8:00 pm, led by Betty Walker, Carla Williams, and Cheryl Mounts. The theme is Article II Connecting. Register HERE.

• May 7, 2023, 9:30-10:20 am, in-person in Room 3, led by Cheryl Mounts with the Denominational Affairs Team. The theme is Reviewing the Article II Report. There is no registration, you are invited to drop in.

Grief Group starting at UCE on Thursday April 27

7 to 8:30pm in Room 2.

This group will provide support and education for those who have had a loss either recently or in the past. For questions or to register please contact Ellen Rieger LCPC at elleneriegr@gmail.com or admin@ucevanston.org.

The 2023 UCE Rummage Sale is fast approaching!  

Friday, May 12 ~ 9:00 am - 6:00 pm 

Saturday, May 13 ~ 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 pm

Have you started gathering your donations?  If so, thank you!  Please remember that clothes must be on hangers, and other items should be sorted into boxes/bags and labeled by the department - Housewares, Children’s, Treasures, Jewelry, etc.  Refer to the 2023 Donation Tip Sheet for a listing of departments and what is/is not being accepted.  Donations may be dropped off at the church on Sunday, 5/7 from 1-8p and Monday, 5/8 from 9a-8p.

And, speaking of donations, your wonderful baked goods are what make Café Rummage so successful.  BAKE NOW AND FREEZE!  Please consider BAKING, WRAPPING AND FREEZING baked goods NOW to donate to Café Rummage:  banana bread, blondies, pumpkin bread, carrot cake or muffins, oatmeal raisin bars, or gingerbread. All are appreciated. Or … make a double recipe, freeze one batch for the Café and enjoy the second one over the Easter holiday.  Contact Meredith Haydon at mhaydon@haydonlegal.com if any questions.

2023 UUA General Assembly

The 2023 UUA General Assembly will be held in Pittsburgh, PA from June 21 – 25 online and in-person. 

Registration is now open. Click here for details.

The Denominational Affairs Team is asking you to consider being a Delegate to this General Assembly. Delegates will be considering changes to the UUA Bylaws, Article 2, that address racism, non-human life, and the inclusivity of the democratic process in our Principles, Purposes, and Sources. Delegates can attend in-person and virtually.

If you are interested, please contact Peggy Boccard via REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org.

We will continue to provide information via the Newsletter. 

A Scientific Thought Experiment on the Birth of Meaning: How the Universe Gave Us Our Mojo

Wednesdays, April 12 & 19, 7-8:30 pm. In-person + Zoom. Facilitated by Robb Geiger.

Daniel Dennett wrote in his book, Darwin's Dangerous Idea, that "evolution creates meaning out of nothing". This class will explore the theories of Terrance Deacon about how life may have emerged from inanimate matter, and the philosophical ramifications. We will be thinking at the intersection of science and philosophy. Participants will see how the emergence of life gives birth to information, intentionality, purpose, and meaning. Register HERE.

April Showers…The Forum Discussion Group invites you for a special guest appearance, Dr. Gray from Northwestern University, to talk about UCE’s rain garden and the research she is doing.

Sunday, April 16 at 9:30am in room 3 and on Zoom.

Families Friday – April 14, 5:30-7:30pm in the Sanctuary

Join us for an Earth Day celebration! Bring an Earth-related snack to share – this could be something grown in the Earth, something green or blue, something round – use your imagination!

Young Adult Earth Day Gathering - April 21 7:00-9:30pm  

Bring a game or snack to share that relates to the environment. Use your imagination! We’ll end our evening with a short Earth Day vespers worship - UU style. Register here.

July 7-9, 2023 We are a multigenerational community that is intentionally welcoming for LGBTQ+ families, and families who have a member who is trans* or non-binary make up a sizeable portion of the families who have attended over the years. We have nurtured several trans kids in their journey toward adulthood and offer a time out of time and a place out of place experience for Unitarian Universalist families to connect and support one another.

Youth 14-18yo – Want to earn a stipend while gaining leadership skills?

YWCA's Youth Leadership Program is a 5-week program that uses creative and experiential learning activities to promote and develop healthy relationships among your peers and the community. Our intention is to assist youth in becoming leaders and advocates for positive change in our community. Program starts April 11. Register HERE.

UCE Fiction Book Group 

Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Friday, April 21, 7-8:30pm on ZOOM

When global climate change and economic crises lead to social chaos in the early 2020s, California becomes full of dangers, from pervasive water shortage to masses of vagabonds who will do anything to live to see another day. Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated community with her preacher father, family, and neighbors, sheltered from the surrounding anarchy. In a society where any vulnerability is a risk, she suffers from hyperempathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' emotions.

Next Read: May 19: I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart.

UCE Non-Fiction Book Group: American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer.

The nonfiction book group will meet Sunday, April 23, 2023 at 2 p.m. via Zoom.

Award-winning journalist Shane Bauer embedded himself in a private prison in Winnfield, Louisiana as a prison guard  for four months in 2018 and wrote about what he experienced. He also shares with readers a thoroughly researched history of for-profit prisons in America from their origins in slavery and Southern prison farms.

The New York Times Book Review rated this book as one of the ten best books of 2018.

Soup Kitchen

Wednesday April 12th

The full-service Soup Kitchen is back!

We need more volunteers than we have needed during covid. We will be serving a sit-down meal with real plates!

Please sign up to volunteer during the event and/or sign up to bring some food or beverage. We are so glad we can again serve our guests inside.

Please click below to sign up!

Please direct Questions to either Ellie Feddersen or Marilyn Wroblewski.

FAST & REAL Team Co-Sponsor

Open Communities Workshop

On April 25, 2023, from 6:30-8:00 pm, our Food & Shelter Team (FAST) and our Racial Equity Action Leadership (REAL) Team are co-sponsoring a collaborative workshop put on by Open Communities, Dino Robinson, and The Alliance to End Homelessness in Suburban Cook County. Please join us in-person or online for this event!

Join the UCE Team in the Race Against Hate

Now in its 24rd year, the Race Against Hate will be held on Fathers’ Day, June 18, 2023, at 7:30 am in Long Field, Evanston, and UCE will again be a part of it! 

Some of us run, some walk, some roll! Please join us for the Race Against Hate by joining the UCE Racial Equity Team 2023. (The YWCA has generously offered UCE 2 free registrations. So, the first 2 people to register using the code unitarian23, will be able to register for free!) If you can’t be with us in the Race, but want to join in spirit, support the team through your donation. Click this link to get to our Team page where you can register or sponsor the UCE Racial Equity Team or one of its members. 

Dana Deane is coordinating the UCE Racial Equity Team 2023. Please let her know if you have any questions at Dddeane847@gmail.com .

You Can Galvanize Our Community!

Does your social justice team need to spread the work quickly about an event, a rally, a protest? Is there a school board or city council meeting this week that UCE members should attend, to be seen and heard? Is there an urgent need for folks to show up, to stand with an anti-oppression group, or amplify the voices of marginalized community members?

Consider tapping the UCE Local Response Network (LRN)! The LRN is a UCE communication vehicle consisting of a network of folks ready to take action. Groups or individuals share alerts with the LRN coordinators who send the message out to a list of over 70 (and growing) UCE members interested in engaging in local social justice events. You can reach “action oriented” folks who then have the option of joining in.

Alert requests are reviewed using this criteria:

• Grounding: Does it reflect the deeply held values and interests of people in our congregation?
• Accountability: Are we acting in relationships of solidarity with those most impacted, particularly those most marginalized? [also: do we know and trust who is suggesting this action?]
• Fit: Does it match our capacity to act effectively, and does it strategically build our capacity? [i.e. does it make sense for us to do this based on the congregation’s current energy and focus?]
• Opportunity: Is there an opportunity to actually achieve meaningful results?
• Engagement: How does the opportunity require us to be engaged [i.e. from our computer at home or in relationship out in the community]?

Send your alert submissions to Carolyn Laughlin through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org with “LRN Alert” in the subject line.



Thank you for activating our UCE community to live our values out in the world!

Abortion Access Fundraising

The UCE Abortion Access Team is seeking individuals to host informational and fundraising meetings to benefit the Chicago Abortion Fund, which provides support for people facing barriers to accessing abortion care. Hosts invite congregants and friends to either a Zoom or in-person gathering during April, May, or June. The Abortion Access Team will provide the invitation, a facilitator, and a script for the meeting. Thank you for taking action to reclaim abortion access! Please contact Jean Butzen or Jon Siegel through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org to learn more.

Giving House Continues...

April is BEANS month

We are accepting donations of canned or dried beans in the giving house for the month of April.

The Giving house is a small wooden "house" that is located in the front lobby. We are partnering with a new free food supplier for the food insecure.

Clarence Weaver and his wife Beverly in March 2020 responded to the covid crisis by setting up a nonprofit organization and using 

their storefront (C&W Market & Ice Cream) to distribute free foods to those in need.

They 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. They are continuing this service to our community

Since they have plenty of storage, we can support their generous work by providing nonperishable items. We will be collecting one type of non-perishable food each month. April is Beans 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.