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

In-Person & Virtual Worship Service

this Sunday, February 19th at 10:30 am

Please join us this Sunday, February 19th, after our worship service for a mimosa brunch to celebrate the official end of our Pledge Drive. Good food, mimosas, balloons, music and an activity or two for the children! Don’t miss it!

Pledge Drive: We’re Circling for a Landing!

Our flight is nearing its end. ETA is Sunday, February 19th at noon. If you haven’t yet submitted your pledge form, now is the time to do so. The Board of Trustees must know our pledge base to develop the budget for fiscal year 2023-2024 that we will vote on at our annual meeting in May.

Your Packet Hasn’t Landed? If you have not received your packet and it's not in your spam or promotions folder, please contact David in the church office at admin@ucevanston.org.

Ethical Social Media Engagement – Tuesday, February 21 at 8-9pm – Zoom only. Join us for part two of this three-part series on how and why we engage in social media and what this has to do with being a Unitarian Universalist. Facilitated by Emily Eckwahl-Sanna. For details and to register, click here.

Hats off to Greg Grabowski

Greg is our all around go-to guy for advice and assistance on a variety of projects and activities at UCE. He is thorough, smart, kind and thoughtful. 

Greg served on the Sanctuary Cooling Team of the Capital Campaign as well as the Parking Lot and Sidewalks Project Team Co-Leader. He serves on the Capital Campaign Implementation Committee, always thinking through issues carefully and giving us his best guidance. 

Besides his hands-on work on the building and on the committee, Greg is one of our regular greeters on Sunday morning. He is often a last-minute substitute for our Greeters Hospitality Team. This year, Greg is also one of our four coordinators for our UU the Vote Team, focused on registering folks to vote.

Greg, thank you for all that you do to care for our congregation and support our staff. 

"Save the Date"

Budget Town Hall 

February 21st at 7pm on Zoom. 

Our congregational budgeting process is something all members have a right and responsibility to participate in. A Budget Working Group as part of the Integrated Stewardship Council, has drafted an annual operating budget based on our expected expenses and pledge drive goal. Please join this meeting to understanding our budget process, challenges and needs. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and prepare yourself to vote at our annual meeting in May. 

BLUU HAVENS CHICAGO FEBRUARY GATHERING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18TH 1:00-2:30 on Zoom Join at 12:30 for Socializing or Just Hanging Out & Listening to Music!

We welcome you to join us for our February Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism BLUU Havens Chicago Gathering.

In Celebration of Black History Month please join us for “Shared Stories-Histories of the Diaspora".

From Nominating and Recruiting Committee

Bylaws Revision Proposal

In anticipation of the annual congregational meeting this spring, the Nominating and Recruiting (N&R) Committee is proposing a few bylaws revisions related to their work.

First, is to change the committee name to the “Nominating Committee,” which will align with UUA and UCE leadership development team models. Second, to seek and retain leaders at UCE, we propose to reduce to six members serving two-year terms (three members elected each year for two-year terms). We also propose inclusion of language on how to handle vacancies on the committee. Click here to read the proposed bylaws changes.

N&R members will be available for seeking comments and discussion at the upcoming Town Hall Meeting on February 21, 2023 and a Bylaws Revision Informational Meeting on Sunday, March 5, 2023, at 9:30 am on zoom.

8th Principle Concert by Kristin Lems

UCE's own professional folksinger and songwriter, Kristin Lems, is offering a concert with music inspired by the 8th Principle on Friday, March 24, 2023 at 7:00 pm (NOTE: Date Change). This is a Serendipity Auction item and tickets are still available at $15. Pay in advance or at the door. Contact: auction@ucevanston.org.

The 8th Principle that UCE adopted reads: “We, a member congregation of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: 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.”

You’ve heard her wonderful music and her singing at our services, and this is a chance to hear her in concert. Kristin’s music has been performed nationwide at events for the ERA and women’s rights, safe energy, peace, racial equality and other social justice causes.

You are invited to learn more about the Doctrine of Discovery through a 90-minute play about love of land, loss of land, and what it means to “own” something.

We Own This Now



When: Friday, March 17, 2023 at 7:00pm and Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 3:00pm

Where: Reba Place Church, 620 Madison St, Evanston, IL 60202

Admission: Free

Tickets: Save the date and stay tuned for how to get tickets.

SAVE THE DATE

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. 

Families First Friday – March 3, 5:30-7:30pm in Room 3

Join us for a family-friendly game night! This will be an appetizer potluck, so bring your favorite munchies to share. We’ll have an assortment of games or bring your family’s favorite. Sign up here.

Parents Circle – March 5 at 9:30am in Room 13 – All parents are invited to meet to share the joys and challenges of parenting before the worship service.

Lunch-Making for Connections for the Homeless



The Family Ministry Team invites all ages to help make lunches for Connections. You can sign up here to donate supplies or to deliver them, or help assemble the lunches after worship on March 12.

UCE Fiction Book Group: Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty

Join TONIGHT Friday, February 17, at 7 pm by ZOOM

Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty, an expose by a white author of life in the deep South seventy years after the end of the Civil War. Rev. Eileen will join to discuss the selection of this book.

[Note: you may want to read Rev. Eileen's article above].

Next Reads:

March 17: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

April 21: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

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

UCE Non-Fiction Book Group: The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman

The nonfiction book group will meet Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 2 p.m. via Zoom.

The Big Thirst brilliantly explores our strange and complex relationship to water.

We delight in watching waves roll in from the ocean; we take great comfort from sliding into a hot bath; and we will pay a thousand times the price of tap water to drink our preferred brand of the bottled version. We love water--but at the moment, we don't appreciate it or respect it. We need to rethink our essential relationship to water and bring creativity to ensuring that we'll always have plenty of it.

Expanding Ownership of Anti-Oppression,

Everywhere All At Once!

Join the UCE Racial Equity Action and Leadership (REAL) Team on February 22, 2023, from 7:00-8:30 pm via Zoom to vision the future of UCE's anti-oppression work, and the role of the REAL Team in light of the information shared during the Anti-Oppression Summit. 

Whether or not you were able to attend the Summit, you are invited to attend on February 22nd and share your ideas about ways each of us can expand the ownership of our anti-racism and anti-oppression work within our congregation, and how the REAL Team can contribute and support the process.

Expand Ownership of Anti-Racism at UCE!

It's time to enroll for Beloved Conversations online class!  About 20% of our UCE congregation have taken this course, and you can too!  Click the button below to register. Scholarships are available.  This is an online course that includes self exploration of resources, small group discussions, and large group presentations.  From the Fahs educators: 

We are currently building new communities of learners in both of our Gathering Our Selves programs (for Black, Indigenous, People of Color participants) and our Un/Learning for Liberation program (for white participants). Join us for a 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!

Registration will run from February 1st through February 28th and the Spring Term will kick off on March 13th, 2023. Whether this is your first time joining us or you are considering returning for another term of the program, we would love to have you as a part of our learning community! Spring and Fall content are different, so even if you were with us in the fall, you can join us again for entirely new learning! If you participated in a previous term of BCV: Within, you can save 20% off your registration using coupon code BCVALUMSPRING23

Check out our Beloved Conversations website for lots of information about Within and all of our exciting programs!

Post Carding for Consequential Wisconsin

Supreme Court Election

Make a big difference with a little effort! Wisconsin is holding elections to replace a retiring Supreme Court justice. The result will impact Wisconsin for years to come. 

A POSITIVE outcome will...

• Safeguard abortion rights in Wisconsin by preventing the enforcement of a law passed in 1849, 70 years before the 19th amendment gave women the right to vote

• Address Wisconsin’s severely gerrymandered map, widely considered to be the nation's most egregious, which constricts the voice of progressives

• Prevent Wisconsin’s legislature from disenfranchising voting rights during the 2024 presidential election

These off-year state Supreme Court elections are notoriously low-turnout— so get-out-the-vote efforts can have an outsized effect. This election will have a nonpartisan judicial ballot — thus voters need more encouragement to be informed, and VOTE.

Boots on the Ground!

Supermarket Legends, a very effective, non-partisan GOTV organization, registers voters at DMVs in Milwaukee. The work is well organized, impactful, and rewarding. Volunteers are needed! Reach out directly to

Jim Balk for info on training and hours, or contact Carolyn Laughlin (REALM or admin@ucevanston.org).

Join the Abortion Access Team

Are you ready to take action to address the access issues caused by the Dobbs decision? UCE’s Abortion Access Team meets the 2nd Wednesday of each month on Zoom from 7:00-8:30 pm. Please join us for the next meeting on March 8, 2023. Please contact Jean Butzen or Jon Siegel through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org to learn more.

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... February is CANNED SOUP month

We are accepting donations of CANNED SOUP in the giving house for the month of February.

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. February is CANNED SOUP 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.