Nurturing the Human Spirit for a World Made Whole |
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In-Person & Virtual Worship Service
this Sunday, April 8th at 10:15 am
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“Affirming the Worth and Dignity of Every Gender”
Each of us is a gendered being. But our gender is subject to societal dictates of which genders have power and privilege. We reach out to you to embrace a spectrum of genders as equally deserving of power, privilege and possibilities. The service is co-created by the UCE Youth Group.
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Chair Yoga - Starts this Sunday, April 10 |
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NEW starting April 10 we will be adding in person yoga before the service 9-10 am in Room 3. This will be a gentle yoga, mostly sitting in chairs, inclusive for everyone, wear comfortable clothing that you don't need to change before service starts. We will continue on the 2nd Sunday of the month for several months, see how it goes.
We engage with yoga as a spiritual/mindfulness practice and don't concentrate on physical activity so much.
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Faith Formation Hour for All Ages (11:35 am-12:30 pm) Following Kinship Time in the back of the sanctuary (11:15-11:35 am) |
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Widening the Circle of Concern THIS SUNDAY - Reading 2 Chapters for April 10 Faith Formation Hour
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Want to learn what our Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is recommending as ways to dismantle white supremacy culture within our Faith Formation structures? Congregants are encouraged to participate in small group discussions of the Report of the UUA Commission on Institutional Change, Widening the Circle of Concern. This report is a guiding document for UCE’s Anti-Racism/Anti-Oppression work. For our discussion in April, we will be reading 2 chapters. You are encouraged to read the chapter on Restoration and Reparations and the chapter on Accountability and Resources before April 10th so you are prepared for the conversation. You do not need to have participated in previous conversations to join this one! Please continue reading.
- Click here to join on Zoom.
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Nursery (ages 0-3) – Room 11
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Reparations & UCE this Sunday |
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Please join us this Sunday, April 10 from 1:15-2:15 pm via Zoom for a congregation-wide conversation. There will be short presentation followed by open discussion. See article below for further information. Join here on Zoom.
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From Sandra Robinson, Executive Operations Director |
Greetings Members and Friends,
We are into the 4th quarter of our 2021/22 fiscal year which ends on June 30. The Budget Working Group of the Integrated Stewardship meets this weekend to revise the budget draft based on results from the pledge drive. Members of the team are Board President Joe Romeo, Sr. Minister Eileen Wiviott, Treasurer Tom Carlton, ISC Member-At-Large Susan Comstock and myself as Executive Operations Director and Staff Lead of ISC. The draft will be presented at the ISC meeting on Thursday evening and to the Board of Trustees on the following Thursday evening. The budget will be voted on at the May 15th Annual Meeting.
For those of you who may not have had the opportunity yet to pledge please do so as soon as possible. Every pledge counts as we review budget numbers as we are required by policy to include in our pledge income only pledges in hand. Thank you to all of you have done so. Your financial participation and support make it possible for us to continue to provide the quality programming and worship that we all need now more than ever. We have done well to weather this pandemic and are working very hard to continue that momentum.
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Mother's Day Child Dedications at UCE |
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If you have a child or children you would like to be dedicated to our UCE community on Mother's Day on Sunday, May 8 (regardless of the child's age), please contact Rev. Eileen at ewiviott@ucevanston.org.
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Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
responds to the war in Ukraine
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The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee responds to the war in Ukraine and demands an end to the bloodshed. Follow the link below to their response and for ways to help the Ukrainian people. |
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We Need Your Input On Our New ENDS Statement! |
Our Ends Statements are a map of where we hope to be in 5 years. They are a vision of who we want to become. These statements have been created with your input and we need your continued feedback to get them ready for the whole congregation to vote on at our annual meeting, May 15th.
This is the proposed draft of our Congregational Ends, offered by the Board of Trustees and Ministers:
We welcome, affirm, and promote the worth and dignity of people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds, cultures, and identities in our physical and virtual spaces as we practice Beloved Community.
We support the spiritual growth and well-being of our congregational community, cultivating gratitude, joy, wonder, and an openness to personal and relational transformation as we strive to build a better world.
We bravely and lovingly engage in conversations that challenge us to explore our personal, congregational, and community history, and commit to anti-racism and anti-oppression with honesty, humility, and accountability.
We engage in our interconnected world, form diverse connections in the community, and act for peace, social, environmental, and economic justice, within, among, and beyond our congregation.
Please join us at one of these times to offer your perspective on these statements:
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Saturday, April 16th at noon (on Zoom and in person)
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Hats Off to our Kitchen Volunteers on March 27 & April 3! |
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Our hats are off to Karen Courtright, Trudi Davis, Meredith Haydon, Judy LeFevour, Diane Markel, Carol Nielsen, Maggie Wilson, and Marilyn Wroblewski for making our first two Sundays of serving food and hot beverages after the Sunday morning service since March of 2020 a success!
Carol provided a training on how to use the equipment in our renovated kitchen in mid-March. Trudi, Meredith, Judy, Diane, Maggie, and Marilyn with the New Member Team hosted a wonderful New Member Reception on March 27th. Then, Karen and Carol were the Kitchen Attendants for our Kinship Time on April 3rd.
We do not have paid kitchen staff for the remainder of this church year, so it will be necessary to have ongoing volunteers as Kitchen Attendants if we want to continue to have food, coffee, and hot tea during Kinship Time.
Thank you, Carol, Trudi, Meredith, Judy, Diane, Maggie, Marilyn, and Karen, for sharing your love through kitchen delights!
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UCE Building Availability -
The UCE Office Hours: Tuesday - Friday 10am-5pm
If you have music to share in worship, we would love to add your to our list. We are looking for either live or recorded performances for Sunday mornings to enhance our worship. Reach out to Rev. Eileen or Vickie Hellyer.
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Wednesday Zoom Gatherings Continue on 2nd & 4th Wednesdays at 5:30 pm via Zoom.
UCE Earth Day Celebration is Friday, April 22 at 7 pm at UCE.
Emma's Revolution Concert is Saturday, April 30 at 7 pm at UCE.
UUA Regional Assembly is Saturday, April 30. More info below.
Plant Swap is Saturday, May 14 from 2-5 pm in the UCE Parking Lot!
UCE's Rummage Sale is May 20-21! More info below!
May 29 - All Church Ice Cream Social during Faith Formation Hour
June 5 - All Church Picnic during Faith Formation Hour
June 22-26 is UUA General Assembly
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This Week's Events & Links |
Saturday, April 9
- Worship Planning Playdate at 9-11 am - Sanctuary
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Virtual Pilates at 9:30 am on Zoom. Email Janelle Brittain to join.
- Tai Chi at 9:45 am & 11 am at Room 6 at UCE.
- Afternoon of the Arts at 3 pm in the UCE Sanctuary.
Sunday, April 10
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Chris Isely Cancer Support Group at 8:45 am in Room 6 and via Zoom. Contact Renee Hoff for the Zoom link.
- Chair Yoga at 9 am in Room 3.
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Worship Service at 10:15 am - Sanctuary & Youtube. Click here to join.
- Kinship Time at 11:15-11:35 am - back of the sanctuary
- Faith Formation Hour this Sunday:
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Widening the Circle of Concern Discussions - Sanctuary and Zoom. Click here to join.
Monday, April 11
Tuesday, April 12
Wednesday, April 13
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Yoga at 9:30 am via 8x8. Click here to join.
- Wednesday All Church Zoom Gathering at 5:30 pm on Zoom.
Thursday, April 14
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Meditation Group at 5:30 pm via Zoom. Email Lisa Solomon for the link.
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If you're viewing the newsletter in your email inbox, click on "View entire message" at the bottom of the email to read the full newsletter!
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Congregational Connections |
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Upcoming Worship Planning Playdate - April 9 |
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Our next Worship Planning Playdate is coming up April 9th from 9 am - Noon in the UCE Sanctuary. All are welcome if you are interested in helping to shape the upcoming worship services. Registration is not required to attend but will help us in planning.
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The Rosemary Zwick Night Afternoon of the Arts
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Reviving a tradition started by artist and UCE member Rosemary Zwick, The Rosemary Zwick Night
Afternoon of the Arts will be Saturday, April 9 from 3:00-5:00 pm. The sanctuary will be filled with people of all ages enjoying a variety of art projects.
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From the Board of Trustees |
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At the March UCE Board meeting, Martha Holman of Team 8th provided details and answered questions regarding a proposed UCE resolution supporting reparations at the national and local level. The Board approved moving forward with support of this historic measure. It is part of the UUA’s focus, and our own mission to make the world whole.
We invite you to be curious and informed and join us in supporting national legislation and local efforts in Evanston at our General Membership Meeting in May. More information and opportunities for discussion are available:
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April 10, 2022, Town Hall from 1:15-2:15 pm, via Zoom. Join here on Zoom.
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April 15, 2022, Discussion with the Board from 6:00-7:00 pm, via Zoom. Join here on Zoom.
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April 27, 2022, Wednesday Gathering from 5:30-6:30 pm, via Zoom. Join here on Zoom.
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May 1, 2022, Faith Formation Hour from 11:35 am – 12:35 pm, in-person and via Zoom. Join here on Zoom.
Also, you may want to have your covenant or other small group discuss Reparations when you meet in April or May. If you would like to talk with someone from Team 8th one-on-one to understand more, please contact Gretchen Brewster through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org.
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2022 UCE Rummage Sale Update |
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Friday, 5/20/22 from 9 am - 6 pm
Saturday, 5/21/22 from 9 am - 1 pm
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Mark your calendar! Reserve the above sale dates as well as:
- Drop-Off Dates: Sun 5/15, 3-7pm+ Mon 5/16, 9am-8pm
- Setup Dates: Sun 5/15, 3-7pm + Tue 5/17-Thu 5/19, 9am-5pm
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Donate baked goods! Email Meredith Haydon to let her know what you’d like to bring.
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Tell a friend! Encourage friends to donate items (pass along the Donation Tip Sheet) and to attend the sale.
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Sell items online ahead of the sale! Use the power of the UCE Member-to-Member group, Facebook Marketplace or NextDoor to sell large furniture, electronics, large dinnerware sets, etc. and donate proceeds to UCE.
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Spread the word on social media! Advertise the sale via your personal Facebook, Instagram or other social media accounts.
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Emma's Revolution Concert at UCE - Saturday, April 30 |
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UCE is excited to host Emma's Revolution CD Release Concert In-Person & Livestreamed on Saturday April 30th at 7pm! Tickets can be purchased on their website.This is a special evening of music and an important fundraiser for UCE. Please plan to join us.
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Grief Group Begins April 25 |
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Ellen Rieger will be facilitating a grief group beginning on Monday, April 25. This group will be for anyone grieving the loss of a person, a decline in health, or any other loss that is problematic. The group will be part education and part support. It is very hard to grieve alone so come join us as we travel the ups and downs of loss. We will meet every other Monday on Zoom from 7:00 to 8:15 pm. For more information contact Ellen Rieger ellenerieger@gmail.com.
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DRUUMM Worship Service for ALL on May 4th |
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You Can Count On This
Rev. Tyler Coles, Guest Preacher
Dr. Zanaida Robles, Musical Artist
Faith can be both a guiding light and sustaining force throughout the course of one’s life. Yet in a world that is all too cruel and harsh, faith can be twisted, becoming instead a tool that fosters both isolation and a sense of underwhelm. What do we do when this happens for us as Unitarian Universalists? Come, let us gather in the fortifying spirit of love made known in community as we re-member ourselves, for ourselves, in the presence of all that we choose to name as Holy. RSVP at this link by May 3rd.
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What's All This I Hear About Shared Ministry? |
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The UUA describes Shared Ministry as the concept that the “ministry of the congregation does not belong exclusively to ordained clergy, but to everyone.” As a faith community we believe that all have equal access to the divine. Shared ministry means that each of us--ordained minister, staff, UCE member—contributes to carrying out the mission of the congregation. You might serve on the Board, sing in the choir, participate in a covenant group, join a social action group—the list is long at UCE.
What is the COSM?
The Committee on Shared Ministry helps the congregation live into shared ministry. That is, it helps members recognize and improve the contributions we each make to UCE. Shared Ministry has a sacred quality to it: it is not just “what we do'' but also “how we do it.” As both the “great covenant” that we say each Sunday and the Covenant of Engagement state, we agree to engage with each other with compassion and respect as we strive to carry out our mission.
What are the Main Goals of the COSM?
The COSM focuses on three goals:
- Greater Transparency: identify groups contributing to UCE’s shared ministry, share information about them, and provide additional channels for congregants to share feedback on our shared ministry.
- Greater Accountability: work with the ministers, staff and Board to assess how well the congregation is meeting its goals and identify needs we should address.
- Greater Partnership: serve as a sounding board for the senior minister and support their continued development.
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13 States Participate in Regional Assembly.
Can You Name Them?
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The MidAmerica Region of the Unitarian Universalist Association includes nearly 200 UU congregations and lIke UUA, provides numerous services and support to UU congregations. These services include relationship building, leadership development, faith formation, cultural competence, and support for dismantling systemic white supremacy culture, as well as coaching in stewardship and conflict transformation.
Regional Assembly is MidAmerica’s annual gathering and will happen virtually on April 30. The keynote speaker is CB Beal - if you have participated in the Beloved Conversations program in the last few years, you know CB! In addition to the keynote, we will hold worship, the Annual Business Meeting, and there will also be time for break out rooms for connection and conversation.
Looking to connect with other UCE members attending Regional Assembly? Send an email to a member of the Denominational Affairs Committee: Shirley Adams, Lee Bannor, Peggy Boccard, Melanie Kitchner, Cheryl Mounts, Betty Walker or Carla Williams.
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Come to General Assembly 2022!! |
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Friends, now is your opportunity to join thousands of other UUs at the annual General Assembly! The steps are easy. For information about GA, go here. At that GA website you’ll find links to everything you’d want to know. But for what you need right now:
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2) Sign up for Housing. If you’d like to take advantage of the special offers assigned to UUA GA participants, go to the sign-up page to select your hotel and room.
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Call for UCE Delegates to the UUA General Assembly |
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Now is your opportunity to join thousands of UUs, both in-person or virtually, at the 2022 UUA General Assembly (GA). UCE is looking for members interested in serving as delegates. Whether attending in-person or virtually your participation supports your personal development and our congregation’s growth and development, which in turn supports our mission to nurture the human spirit for a world made whole.
Delegates are asked to commitment to the following:
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Study: https://www.uua.org/ga/congregations/delegates
- Read and review the proposed issues for the assembly
- Attend Preparing for General Assembly workshop(s) about planned issues to discuss and understand the congregation’s response/concerns
- Attend plenary sessions (business meetings) at assembly and vote as appropriate
- Contribute to a consolidated report back to the Board and congregation after the assembly (major vote results, new resolutions, significant theme messages)
Funds Available for Delegates and Non-Delegates Attending General Assembly
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UUA Study of our Principles and Sources Seeks Your Input |
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The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has commissioned a study of Article II of the UUA Bylaws. Article II is comprised of our Principles and Purposes and is the foundation for the work of our Unitarian Universalist (UU) movement. It encompasses the covenant to which all of our UU congregations and UU covenanted communities pledge themselves when they become members of our UUA. |
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Our New Garden Team is inviting all people interested in playing in the earth with Mother Nature on May 7th from 10 am - 12 pm for a UCE Gardening Day. We’ll be giving our gardens a Spring Cleaning, doing some planting and digging, then mulching. Additionally, we are looking for some people with strength for branch trimming and for digging. We have a couple of specialty projects where we need those skills. Please contact Janelle Brittain ASAP if you are interested either in attending the Gardening Day event or the Specialty Team work.
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Help Grow Food for the Hungry |
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Volunteers needed for planting session at the UCE Cahill Food Pantry Garden May 14th, 10 am - 12 pm
Join an intergenerational social justice effort in the garden! Last year UCE gardening at John J. Cahill, Inc. (on Church St.) resulted in almost 300 pounds of produce donations to Edible Evanston (for Harvest Pantry and Hillside Pantry). Be a part of the experience this season starting with a planting session Saturday May 14, 10 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Young gardeners with adult supervision also welcome. Help later in the season with cultivating, weeding and harvesting is also needed. Please contact Dale Griffin or Barbara Butz to register or express interest for later. Thanks!
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Have you heard the buzz about a reparations vote at our congregational meeting in May? At UCE’s annual meeting members will have a chance to vote on a resolution supporting reparations at the national and local level, and how UCE can support these programs and make further inroads against racism and promoting racial healing. We welcome your feedback on the planned motion for our May congregational meeting.
Please join us at one of the following congregation wide conversations with a short presentation followed by open discussion:
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April 10, 2022, Town Hall from 1:15-2:15 pm, via Zoom. Join here on Zoom.
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April 15, 2022, Discussion with the Board from 6:00-7:00 pm, via Zoom. Join here on Zoom.
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April 27, 2022, Wednesday Gathering from 5:30-6:30 pm, via Zoom. Join here on Zoom.
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May 1, 2022, Faith Formation Hour from 11:35 am – 12:35 pm, in-person and via Zoom. Join here on Zoom.
You may also plan to have your covenant group or small group discuss Reparations when you meet in April or May. If you would like to talk with someone from Team 8th one-on-one to understand more, please contact Gretchen Brewster through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org.
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UUtheVote Launch on April 10, 2022 |
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After reaching 22,500 people in 2020, this year our UUtheVote Team has a 40,000 Points of Love initiative. Contact Shirley Adams or Carolyn Laughlin via REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org to get involved.
This Sunday, April 10th, at 3 pm CT, join the UUA Side With Love Organizing Strategy Team’s UUtheVote Launch. This 90-minute live webinar will feature UUA President Rev. Susan Frederick-Gray, state partners, and the new UU the Vote Campaign Manager. Learn how UUtheVote is going deeper into values-based conversation, showing up for ballot measures to combat voter suppression, fight for reproductive justice, and resist the criminalization of BIack, Indigenous, and people of color communities. Click here to register.
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Taproot: A National UU BIPOC Space |
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The work of spiritual community is complicated in the 21st century. From busy schedules to the ever-pressing tension brought on by systemic injustice, the need for faithful leadership that is grounded and resilient is imperative. This is all the more true for leaders within our congregations who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC). BIPoC Leaders rooted in Unitarian Universalist congregations are invited to take part in a monthly virtual gathering as we explore these pillars in creating means by which to ground ourselves in resilient communities of care:
- Rest & Renewal
- Analysis Building
- Leadership Development
Dates: April 14, and May 12, 2022.
Time: 7 PM CT
This space is explicitly for people identifying as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPoC).
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What's Happening in Faith Formation? |
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Faith Formation Hour this Sunday at 11:35 am…
- Nursery (ages 0-3) in Room 11 from 10 am-12:30 pm
- Widening the Circle Discussion in the Sanctuary and on Zoom.
Welcome to our monthly theme, Awakening! Families can explore this in their own timeframe in the Soulful Home packet.
...and beyond!
Youth Group Gathering at Busse Woods - Saturday, April 23, 2022
3-7 pm (Times are still tentative). Come with your peers and spend an afternoon with UU teens from Elgin, Geneva, Hinsdale, Naperville and Palatine.
Earth Day Justice Fair – April 24 during Faith Formation Hour
We’ll be making lunch bags for Connections for the Homeless using earth-friendly sandwich bags. There will also be many family-friendly activities facilitated by the Green Team.
Adult Playdate – April 26 at 7 pm on Zoom - Adults are gathering for a “playdate” of sorts for an hour of imagining what programs and events we can offer adults at all stages of life! We will have a “no-holding-back” brainstorming on what you need and want to experience in the coming year at UCE. Educational? Social? Religious? Experiential? Register here. More details to come!
For Young Adults (18-30 years old) – UU Wellspring – a virtual place to explore spiritual understandings through our UU Sources, and on a sliding-fee scale, so pretty affordable! Register here.
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Why Do We Work So D*** Much? Begins April 5 |
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Computers and robots were supposed to make our lives easier, our work days and weeks shorter, but Americans are working harder and longer and getting a lot less satisfaction from it. How did we get here? What will work look like in the future? And how can we make a better and more fulfilling life for ourselves and our communities?
This class will be facilitated by UCE Members, Betty Walker, Carol Nielsen, and Brian Nielsen on Tuesdays, April 12, and 19 from 7-8:30 pm in Room 3 & on Zoom. Registration is not required to attend.
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Faith Formation Listening Circles in May |
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Rev. Eileen and Kathy Underwood want to hear from you! As we near the end of this experimental church year, we want to hear what your experience with faith formation hour has been for you and how we can make it better for next year. Please join us for one of these gatherings:
- May 1 at 11:35 am at UCE
- May 4 at 7 pm on Zoom
- May 10 at 7 pm on Zoom
- May 14 at 10 am at UCE
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April 15, the UCE Fiction Book Group will discuss Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jessmyn Ward.
Sing, Unburied, Sing journeys through Mississippi’s past and present, examining the ugly truths at the heart of the American story and the power—and limitations—of family bonds. Jojo is thirteen years old and trying to learn from the men around him how to be a Black man. When Jojo’s white father is released from prison, the family travels through Mississippi to Parchman Farm, the State Penitentiary. At Parchman there is another thirteen-year-old boy, the ghost of a dead inmate who carries all the ugly history of the South with him. He, too, has something to teach Jojo about fathers and sons and the legacy of families. All are Welcome!
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Join the nonfiction book group at 2 p.m. on April 24th to discuss Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World by Katharine Hayhoe.
Climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe knows how to navigate all sides of the conversation on our changing planet, negotiating distrust of data, indifference to imminent threats, and resistance to proposed solutions. She has found that the most important thing we can do to address climate change is to talk to others to find shared values and plan for a better future. We invite members of the Green Team and others concerned about climate change to join us.
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Registration Open for this summer's
Chalice Sparx Family Camp & Retreat for UU Families
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Registration for this summer’s Chalice Sparx Family Camp & Retreat for Unitarian Universalist families is now open. Join us July 8-10 in Cassopolis, Michigan for an amazing all-ages experience at lovely Camp Friedenswald in southwestern Michigan -- only 90 miles from Chicago. As an intentional UU covenanted community, we are especially welcoming to Trans children, youth and their families.
We are a non-profit organization run by Unitarian Universalist religious educators, ministers, and lay persons from all over the Midwest.
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Unitarian Church of Evanston
1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201
847-864-1330
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