Where is the Staff?

Yesterday, the UCE staff met at the Loyola Retreat & Ecology Campus in Woodstock, IL for an overnight retreat. Rev. Sharon Dittmar with the UUA MidAmerica Region's office has been working with Rev. Eileen this year to lead the staff through a recalibration as Rev. Eileen, Rev. Susan, Vickie Doebele, Suzanne Lis Daley, Adam Gough, and Liz Kennedy-Eason have each taken on new roles after the departure of our Executive Operations Director, Sandra Robinson. Although the staff has already transitioned into their expanded roles, we are looking forward to returning to you after our staff retreat ready for the year ahead. A year that will be full of implementing new ideas, updating existing processes, and practicing patience as we continue what has so far been a healthy and transparent transition. 

We look forward to returning from the staff retreat on Friday (tonight!) to join you for the congregation-wide Potluck and Program brought to you by the Board of Trustees and facilitated by Rev. Sharon. See the information below to join us!

Orientation For Volunteers and Parents Saturday, September 14th, 10-11:30am



All volunteers in our Faith Formation Program for Children and Youth and those considering it are invited to gather for a continental breakfast to learn more about what we’ll be doing this year, meet others, ask questions, and offer suggestions. Please let Kathy Underwood know by September 8 if you’ll need childcare.

OWL (Our Whole Lives) for 4th-6th Grades

SAVE THE DATE: We will have an Orientation for parents and young people on October 6, 12-3pm for those interested in learning more about this sex-ed program. Lunch will be provided. If childcare is needed, please let me know by September 30. Email Kathy Underwood for further details.

2024-2025 Choir Season Welcome Party/Rehearsal

August 29th, 7-8:30pm

Whether you are presently singing with the choir or you are interested in the possibility of singing with the UCE choir, you are invited to attend! 

On Thursday, August 29, from 7-8:30 pm in Room 3, we’ll be celebrating the start of this year’s choir year! Whoo-hoo! There’ll be info about this upcoming choir season, answers to any choir-related questions you may have, choir schedules, choir info sheets, a chance to get to know UCE Choristers and prospective choristers, some snacks to take home with you, a bit o’ singing, and a lot o’ FUN! 

Any questions? Contact Vickie Hellyer – vhellyer@ucevanston.org 

Also contact Vickie if you’d like to join off-site and need the Zoom info.

Praise in the Park!

As part of our ongoing effort to get to know our neighboring faith communities, UCE will have a table at the Evanston Own It & City of Evanston’s Praise in the Park event on August 31, 2024, from 12:00-5:00 pm. 

Full details at: https://www.evanstonownit.org/praisepark.

It’ll be a fun day at Twiggs Park, so we hope you can attend for a little bit and stop by the UCE table to say hi to Rev. Susan, Rev. Eileen, and the UCE table volunteers. 

Help Needed to Plan Samhain Spiral Dance

Save the date on October 27, 2024 at 6:00 pm to celebrate Samhain. This year, our Samhain ritual will again include a Spiral Dance to connect us with our deceased loved ones and to build energy to sustain us as the winter begins. We will follow the Spiral Dance with a potluck to honor the time of year that traditionally marks the last harvest of the season.

The UCE Pagan Collective is looking for volunteers to help plan the Samhain ritual and the potluck that follows. Please contact Taryn Seawright (tarynnelsonseawright at gmail dot com) or Peter Silverman (ptiferet at mac dot com) to get engaged!

Curious about Beloved Conversations?

Register Today!

It's time to register for the fall session of Beloved Conversations, which is 12-week deep dive into the personal, transformative, spirit-growing work each of us needs to do around issues of race, identity, and justice, in relationship with other folks who share some similar experiences!

This spiritual formation program that mixes multi-media learning and reflection at your own pace, processing in small groups, and worshipping together in community! You can access it entirely online and the materials are accessible for up to a year after the start of the program. Check out our Beloved Conversations website for lots of information about Within and all of our exciting programs!

Fall Term Within Begins: September 10th, 2024

Fall Term Within Ends: December 3rd, 2024

Register here through August 31, 2024.

UCE has scholarships available for the Beloved Conversations: Within registration fee. Please complete an application here or contact Rev. Susan Frances at sfrances@ucevanston.org.

Have you already taken Beloved Conversations? If so, please complete these three questions. We are still trying to get an accurate count of UCE alums. If you have questions, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org. 

1000 Postcards Distributed Last Sunday !

UCE members and friends picked up 1,000 postcards Sunday - to send vital information and voter participation encouragement to GA and NC voters! 

 GA and NC Mail dates are September 15 to 30th.

Postcard distribution continues every week in the back of the sanctuary. It's easy, it's fun, and you become part of our UUtheVote team intent on advancing UU values! Come by for your packet of 20 or 40 cards, and reach out to Greg Grabowski (GregwGrabowski at gmail dot com), who is working hard to keep up with demand, for special orders.  

Looking for more ACTIVE and Face-to Face Engagement?

Milwaukee Voter Registration Project (MVP)

Wisconsin is critical, and UCE members and friends can make a real difference in Milwaukee! Engage with folks face-to-face, to check registration status, register folks who have changed their address, and share enthusiasm for participating this fall.

TheTeutonia DMV location has the IDEAL demographics for this work!

Teutonia - 6073 N Teutonia Ave, Milwaukee, WI (M-F, 3 shifts per day)

Trained and seeking a shift? Use SignUp here: 

Not done the one hour Zoom training? Email LauraKushner2x@gmail.com and share the best date and time for your 1 hour Zoom training:

- Wednesday, September 4 at 7:00 PM

- Tuesday, September 17 at 1:30 PM

Georgia & North Carolina postcard mail dates: Sept 15-30th.

Interfaith Action of Evanston SNAPGap – September 2024 Please assist with the collection of items to bridge the gap for individuals and families. Your participation and generosity is greatly appreciated. In August we distributed items to 279 families. For September we are collecting: • Shampoo • Soap These items will be distributed at the Tues., Sept. 10th Producemobile.

Items can be purchased online for delivery or drop them off at:

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church,

1509 Ridge, Evanston, IL 60201

Drop-off Hours start Tues. September 3rd

• Monday, Wednesday & Friday, 7:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

• Sun. Sept. 8th, 12 pm - 2 pm.

• Mon., Sept. 9th, 4 pm - 6 pm

Service of Remembrance

Sunday August 25th at 9:00am 

The Chris Isely Cancer Support Group will host the annual Service of Remembrance on Sunday, 8/25/24, at 9:00 a.m. This service honors the loved ones we’ve lost for any reason, whether within our church family or in our personal lives. Rev. Eileen and members of the group will lead the brief ceremony. 

At this service, we will read aloud the names of those who we've lost over the last 12 months. In addition, anyone who wishes to honor the memory of a loved one, regardless of when they died, is invited to attend. The service will take place outside on the south lawn of the church. (In the event of rain, the service will move inside, to the rear of the sanctuary.) The community is invited to join us.

We Are Raising Funds for a Healing Space

for Liz Kennedy Eason -

Click here for more info!

UU MEN'S RETREAT

Virtual Retreat Event on Saturday, September 14, 2024.

10:00AM until 12:00PM (CDT), On-Line via Zoom.

"The Invisible Partners: How the Male and Female in each of us affects our relationships."

Facilitated by: Illuman-Men Transforming Men, a global non-profit committed to helping men become healthier, more authentic men. Their presenters through a combination of ritual, story, image, and council will introduce the four stages of the Anima archetype in a Man's life: Eve, Helen, Mary, and Sophia.

OPEN TO ALL PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS MALE.



REGISTRATION COST: Suggested donation of $20 is asked with a minimum set at $5. Donation instructions will be sent with link.

TO REGISTER, GET LINK, OR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS: e-mail to mensretreat@unitytemple.org

Sponsored by the Men's Retreat committee: Mark Johansen, Rich Pokorny, Allan Lindrup, Bob Innocenzi, Alan Johnson, Nai Owens, John Meade, Johnathan Hand, Doug Erickson & Ron Dubreuil.