Value 2 Monitoring Report Available

Thanks to those of you who offered your feedback about how we as a congregation are living into our shared value of support[ing] 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.

With the help of the Committee on Shared Ministry, I regularly gather input and report to the board how I perceive we are doing with the ongoing work of living our values. I’m sharing with you the report I wrote and presented in December on our second value statement. You can find previous monitoring reports in this folder as well.

Please reach out to me or members of the Committee on Shared Ministry if you have any questions.

Yours in faith,

Rev. Eileen

Sandra Robinson, on behalf of the Integrated Stewardship Council, asks that you watch for your pledge statement which should have arrived Friday via email. Pledge statements help us keep you up to date on your pledge balance and your payment ensures that we can successfully keep our projected income on target for the fiscal year. Thank you.

We also ask that you nominate two members-at-large to serve on the ISC. These would be members who have an interest in financial aspects of UCE and are available to meet on the 2nd Thursday of the month.



We are also seeking a replacement ISC Secretary to replace Susan Carlton, effective July 1, the beginning of our new fiscal year. Please email Sandra, if you are interested or know of others who may be.

Final Proposed Revision to Article II

The final version of the proposed revision to Article II of the UUA Bylaws is now available! The deadline for submitting an amendment is 11:59 p.m. ET on February 1, 2024.

All qualified amendments will be considered at 2024 General Assembly. Click below to learn more, and to sign up for future newsletters directly from the UUA GA.

Living Our UU Values, where are you on the journey?

What is our purpose as a congregation and a faith community? Why is it necessary to evolve our 8 Principles into the proposed Values of generosity, justice, equity, transformation, interdependence, and pluralism? Join members of the Denominational Affairs and ministerial staff for six conversations to explore what it means to center love and live into our UU Values. Sessions 1-5 will be held via Zoom. Session 6 will be held in-person at UCE.

What do Love and Inclusion mean to you and how do they help create the Beloved Community?



The next session on Love & Inclusion will be held Wednesday, January 17th from 6:30-8:00 p.m. via ZOOM: 

Read more about our UU values and these sessions.

GENERAL ASSEMBLY REGISTRATION OPENS IN DECEMBER!

General Assembly is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists, where we conduct business of the Association, explore the theological underpinnings of our faith, and lean fully into our mission and principles. Please join us online Wednesday, June 20 through Sunday, June 23, 2024 for this 4-day immersive experience where we participate in inspirational worship services and informative workshops, reconvene with friends and colleagues, and explore our virtual exhibit hall. GA is an unforgettable experience for the thousands of UUs who participate. You’ll leave with renewed energy and innovative ideas to share with UCE and community-at-large!

Registration is open! To see all about this coming GA and access the registration page go to:

Young Adult Nature Walk for Saturday is CANCELED. We will find a new date later this month to gather.

Family Friday Game Night on January 19 at 6:30-8:30pm All ages are invited to an evening of games and snacks. Bring your favorite game and a snack to share. Drop in at any time.

Parent’s Perk – January 21 at 9:30am – Parents of young people of all ages gather before worship monthly. This month we’ll share thoughts and ideas on what we want to do or change in our families in the new year. We can try to be accountable to each other in the year ahead!

Interfaith Prayer Gathering for the Holy Land

Many of us are reeling from the violence we have been witnessing in the Holy Land. We may not know the way forward, but we know we need the Divine and we need one another. We welcome those of all faith backgrounds to come together in these heart wrenching times. In partnership with clergy and members of First United Methodist Church, we will spend time calling on the Divine through silent prayer. We will gather to collectively lament, grieve, and to be held in community.

Please join us on Saturday, January 6, 2024 at 6pm at

Raymond Park - 1489 Chicago Ave. Evanston.

The annual Interfaith MLK service will be on Sunday, January 14th, at 3pm at Alice Milar Chapel. Please mark your calendars and look for more information in the coming week. This service is sponsored by the Evanston Interfaith Clergy and Leaders and Evanston Own It congregations. 

January's Shared Offering

UCE shares its loose plate offering in January with the Community Renewal Society (CRS). CRS is an organization of over 70 member churches in the Chicago area who have been working together for civil rights and social justice for over 130 years. CRS engineers social change by participating in public demonstrations, social justice training and lobbying state legislators and others. CRS determines what issues to work on by participation from its churches and their members, staff and by working with other organizations.

Members of UCE can work with CRS issue committees to propose specific policies or attend an event or training session. UCE members could also join regular meetings of UCE’s Legislative Action Team on the second Tuesday of each month, from 5:30 – 6:30pm.

On Martin Luther King Day, Monday January 15th, at 10 AM, all who register can attend CRS’ annual inspirational celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Interfaith Actions' Walk for Warmth: January 15th.

This family friendly event has become an Evanston tradition and will kick off at 11 am on Monday, Jan 15th, from First United Methodist Church. 

The two-mile Walk for Warmth brings volunteers together to walk a circuit of downtown Evanston churches, each of which serves as a host to the IAE Overnight Shelter. Walkers raise money through donations and sponsorships in what is an ideal project for the MLK Day of Service, honoring Dr. King’s legacy and fight for economic justice. Participation in the Walk for Warmth is open to anyone. Many of the more than 40 faith communities which comprise IAE will be assembling teams of walkers, including people of all ages. 



More information. 

Barbara Young Celebration of Life

Saturday, January 27, 2024, at 2 pm, we will celebrate the life of our much beloved Barbara Young. 

Two Margarets (Shaklee & Talmage) are organizing hospitality. If it would please you to take on a small role or bring a favorite food to honor Barbara, log in HERE to make your selection. If you want to opt out of the technology, email Margaret Shaklee with your offer to help.

In memory of Kay Gredell, former UCE member and choir member, and longtime member of Countryside Church UU in Palatine, died recently.

Her service will be at Countryside Church on Sunday at 12:00pm. Those who knew her are welcome to attend. The choir was very important to her and she remembered singing with the UCE choir very fondly.