If using Gmail, please click: [Message clipped]  View entire message to read the whole newsletter.

UCE Supports Reparations in Evanston and Beyond

In May of 2022 we resolved as a congregation to support reparations locally and nationally, and in June I stood in Fountain Square with clergy and leaders of 16 other Evanston congregations to make that commitment public. Each of us faith leaders signed onto a statement that held us to the promise that we will continue to educate ourselves and our community about the need for reparative justice, to own and begin to redress the enormous harms that have taken place nationally and locally, including the devastation of chattel slavery, the oppression and trauma of Jim Crow laws, the ongoing injustice of mass incarceration, and the insidiousness of redlining and housing discrimination in this city.

The compounded impacts of these and so many other injustices have created a wealth disparity and incalculable harm to Black citizens. Evanston is the first U.S. city to provide reparations since Reconstruction and we are called by our own resolution and the eighth principle of our faith to take an active part in what has been thoughtfully put forth.

What does it mean to repair the greatest sins of this nation’s founding?

What is the obligation of white residents to those who have been harmed by racial injustices?

What actions does our commitment to accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions call us to?

The Mitten Tree Gift Giving

Happy Everything! Mitten Tree is BACK in full force! This winter holiday tradition of gift giving is a wonderful way to connect with organizations and neighbors outside the walls of UCE.

This year we are leaning into our SHARED MINISTRY all around. There will be opportunities for everyone to lend a hand and fill a mitten that speaks to them. Sign up HERE to fulfill gift requests.

This longstanding tradition is an overwhelmingly beautiful snapshot of our community’s shared values and a privilege to help organize. Read on below about where your gifts will go this year, AND MAY WHAT YOU GIVE BRING YOU JOY!

We're gathering photos of you lighting, holding, or extinguishing a candle or chalice in your home for our annual Fire Communion, which will be held on Sunday, January 1st.



Send your photo to Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org by December 19th.

Our hats are off to the UCE folks who showed up for the City of Evanston's Land Use Commission vote on Wednesday Night to support our community partner, Connections for the Homeless, in their endeavor to purchase the Margarita Inn in order to continue to use it to house those in need 

Thank you to Carol Nielsen and Toni Rey for organizing our community around attending this meeting. Thank you to Toni Rey who spoke in support of the continued use of the Margarita Inn by Connections

Thank you to Carol Nielsen, Johna Van Dyke, Maggie Weiss, Bill Hartgering, Dana Dean, Renee Hoff, Gretchen Brewster, and everyone else from UCE who were in the at least four overflow rooms to be in solidarity with the residents of the Margarita Inn and the staff of Connections for the Homeless.

For two and a half years, Connections has been running the Margarita Inn to provide safe, supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness in our community, while also providing services, resources, and guidance toward permanent housing. Thank you to all who give of their time, passion, and resources to Connections as they lead Evanston's efforts to end homelessness. Due in part to your efforts, the Land Use Commission voted 5-3 to recommend the special use permit, which means this now moves on to the City Council.

Worship Planning Playdate

Join us for our worship planning playdate on December 6th from 12pm - 1pm.

We meet on the first Tuesdays of every month over Zoom.

Click Here to Register.

Join us on the Zoom Here.

Blue Holiday Service - December 7th at 5:30 pm 

December is not a joyful time of year for everyone. For many, the holidays are difficult, made even more so by the heightened expectation that everyone BE HAPPY. If you are looking for a space of comfort during the holiday season, please join our ‘blue’ holiday service. Together we will help hold, with tenderness, the sorrows that remain with us.  

Our Lost and Found is now full!



If you would like to check the box for any items that might be yours, please do so before Monday, December 7th when clothing contents will be turned over to Connections for the Homeless.

How Are We Living Our Values?

Supporting spiritual growth and well-being

This month, we are looking for your input on our second value statement:

We support the spiritual growth and well-being of our congregational community, cultivating gratitude, joy, curiosity, wonder, and an openness to personal and relational transformation as we strive to build a better world. 

Please take a few minutes to complete this questionnaire on-line. We're looking for your feedback by END OF TODAY, December 2nd.

Thanks for your participation!

UCE Parents of Trans Kids Group

to begin meeting on January 22nd at 12:30 pm at UCE

Many of us know the joy and pride of having children (of all ages) who identify as trans, non-binary, or gender non-conforming. Rev. Eileen will host a monthly gathering for parents, grandparents, or caregivers of people in their lives who are transitioning or have transitioned. This will be a space for connection, support, questions, and holding of complexity and questions. Please let Rev. Eileen know if you plan to join us or if you have questions.

Unitarian Men's Retreat Friday, January 27 to Sunday, January 29, 2023.

Join other UU men to explore Turning Points In Our Lives. Cabrini Retreat Center, 9430 Golf Road, DesPlaines 60016.

Cost of $200 includes private room for two nights, three meals Saturday and breakfast Sunday, plus pizza party on Friday night.

Scholarships available. We welcome all who identify as male. Our goal is to encourage each other to share, learn and support each other in looking into the meaning of our lives. Men from Unity Temple, UU Church of Evanston, and Countryside UU are already participating.

For the flyer, signup sheet and more information,

Contact Mark Johansen - markeric-j@hotmail.com

UCE builds Beloved Community and offers care to one another in several ways.

The Congregational Care and Support Team, or CCST, is the umbrella for the following teams:

· Caring Team - Meals: Members who bring meals to your home in difficult times 

· Pastoral Care Team: Works with the Ministers to provide spiritual and emotional support for the congregation

· Memorial Reception Team: Coordinates receptions following member memorial services

· Caring Team - Rides: Coordinates rides for members to church and for medical appointments 

The CCST is led by an Intake Coordinator, currently Ellie Feddersen. She forwards requests for care to the appropriate sub-team.

You can access support or offer support through the google form on the website: https://ucevanston.org/care-support-committee

You may also contact Ellie Feddersen at: elliefeddersen@gmail.com

We are a caring community. If you or a fellow member needs support with meals, rides or emotional/spiritual issues, please don’t hesitate to contact Ellie by filling in the form (preferrable) or emailing her.

To volunteer on one of the CCST teams, click here to Offer Care.

Ornament Sunday Potluck – Next Sunday!

Join us after worship for this fun tradition at UCE! We’d love to have two more people to staff a table of a simple ornament craft. Sign up here to help with the fun or bring finger food to share!

Christmas Pageant and Treats – December 18

Another annual tradition you can participate in! We still need some wise people, a messenger angel, stars, shepherds, and animals. We have a few speaking parts too. Sign up here to claim your spot. Or bring your favorite treat to share!

Photo by Rick Oldland on Unsplash

UCE Fiction Book Group: My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout

Join us on Friday, December 16th at 7 p.m. via Zoom to discuss My Name is Lucy Barton.

Lucy Barton is recovering slowly from what should have been a simple operation. Her mother, to whom she hasn’t spoken for many years, comes to see her. Gentle gossip about people from Lucy’s childhood in Amgash, Illinois, seems to reconnect them, but just below the surface lie the tension and longing that have informed every aspect of Lucy’s life: her escape from her troubled family, her desire to become a writer, her marriage, her love for her two daughters. Knitting this powerful narrative together is the brilliant storytelling voice of Lucy herself: keenly observant, deeply human, and truly unforgettable.

UCE Non-Fiction Book Group: How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell

Join us on Sunday, December 17th at 2 p.m. via Zoom to discuss Odell's ideas about how we can and must actively and continuously choose how we use our attention, the most precious and overdrawn resource we have.

In a world where addictive technology is designed to buy and sell our attention, and our value is determined by our 24/7 data productivity, it can seem impossible to escape. But in this inspiring field guide to dropping out of the attention economy, artist and critic Jenny Odell shows us how we can undertake bolder forms of political action, re-imagine our role in the environment, and arrive at more meaningful understandings of happiness and progress.

Holiday Cards for Incarcerated Unitarian Men and Women

Standing in our belief that no one is outside the Circle of Love, please stop at our Prison Ministry Team table after service this Sunday, December 4, to write a holiday card or two to fellow Unitarian men and women who are incarcerated. A few simple sentences of acknowledgement from you can make such a difference, offering a desperately needed link with humanity where there is so little to be found. Thank you!

Supporting Reproductive Justice

During the recent elections, voters in Vermont and California enshrined access to reproductive health care into their state constitutions, while voters in Kentucky and Montana followed the lead of voters in Kansas to reject ballot referendums that would further impede access to reproductive health care.

Illinois is a state with strong legislative protections for people who are pregnant, including providing legal access to abortion care. Know your rights to abortion access.

Our Unitarian Universalist faith supports Reproductive Justice and affirms that our bodies are sacred, that we are each endowed with the twin gifts of agency and conscience, and that each of us should have the power to decide what does and doesn’t happen to our bodies at every moment of our lives because consent and self-determination are holy. To get engaged with how our congregation is supporting reproductive health care, contact Jean Butzen through Realm or at admin@ucevston.org.

Endowment Grants Approved

The Endowment Committee is delighted to report that four additional grants have been approved by the Committee and the Board of Trustees from our October 31 application cycle.

• Food and Shelter Team: $1,000 to cover the cost of supplies and some food for the two spring Soup Kitchens held at UCE.

• Immigrant Solidarity (Refugee Support Team): $2,160 to cover the cost of childcare for the family's mother to attend ESL classes.

• Food and Shelter Team: $4,320 to Interfaith Action of Evanston to cover the cost of a new weekend breakfast program for shelter residents.

• Racial Equity Action Leadership (REAL)/Anti-Oppression Task Force/Social Justice Council: $20,000 as matching funds for UCE fundraising for the Evanston Reparations Community Fund.

This brings the total amount of grants approved for this fiscal year 2022-2023 to $65,760!

We have approximately $10,000 of funding left for this fiscal year (and many worthy causes)! Our last application deadline for this year is January 31.

Questions? Check out our webpage, email us at endowment@ucevanston.org, or contact one of our co-chairs Bill Hartgering and Susan Comstock.

UCE Native Communities Solidarity Team Forming

The creation of our

UCE Land Acknowledgment was the first step to learning how we might live in solidarity with local and national native communities. We have now formed a UCE Native Communities Solidarity Team. If you are interested in helping to lead UCE’s journey of education, relationship building, and acting in solidarity to engage with contemporary issues affecting Indigenous communities, join us! 

For more information or to become a member of the Native Communities Solidarity Team, please contact Sallie Eggers through Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org.  

Giving House Continues... December is PASTA month

We are accepting donations of PASTA - Dry Pasta and Mac 'n' Cheese Mix - in the giving house for the month of December.

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. December is Pasta 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. 

Save the Date: January 21st 

(Specific time TBD)

for an All-Congregation Workshop

sponsored by the Anti-Oppression Task Force,

the Board of Trustees, and

our Consultants with the YWCA Equity Institute

[Note: There was a mistake in the first email sent out about this event. You should save the date for Saturday, January 21, 2023, and not January 23rd.]



Come hear the results of the Anti-Oppression survey so many of you took part in this August. We will be exploring together where we’ve been, where we are now, and where we’re going on the journey of building Beloved Community. 

We'd like to make this as accessible to as many in our congregation as possible, so please let us know what times would work best for you here.