Nurturing the Human Spirit for a World Made Whole | |
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In-Person & Virtual Worship Service
this Sunday, July 16th at 10:30 am
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Practicing Peace in Anxious Times
Our minds and bodies have evolved anxiety to respond to real threats. Given the threats we face today, issues that we can’t respond to with the same kind of immediacy, how do we manage the anxiety our minds and bodies still carry which does not serve us? We’ll practice together some ways of building our capacity to hold the inevitable anxiety and cultivate more happiness and inner peace.
Rev. Eileen leads this service with Worship Associate Elaine Seigel.
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Please join us after the service this Sunday for
Kinship Time in the back of the Sanctuary!
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Faith Formation Hour this Sunday!
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Childcare (0-3 years) is available in room 11 from 10am-11:45am
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Wisdom Tales & Wild Games we’ll be “visiting” Mexico this morning! Helpers are needed for July 16 when we visit Saudi Arabia and August 20 when we visit Australia, so sign up here!
Families can explore our new theme, Delight, at home at their own pace with the Soulful Home packet.
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From Kathy Underwood
Director of Lifespan Faith Formation
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Continuing to Share
Last month, I wrote about my concern regarding the loss of colleagues in their positions in the past few months and how shared ministry can help congregations in keeping staff and developing healthy working relationships. Since we are a covenantal community, we are all about relationships!
This past year, I finally felt like I was forming new relationships with members of UCE despite having been on staff for three years. The pandemic made it difficult to get to know folks during my first year here. I am still learning names and meeting people I haven’t had the chance to meet in the past two years. It is a strange feeling to feel almost like a new hire after three years!
And so this lag in getting to know everyone has made a slight challenge in creating shared ministry within my area of faith formation. Networking is so important, and is best done when a relationship has already been formed. I rely on the staff who have been here longer to help me along the way, and of course, this is a part of shared ministry too.
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Our Hats are off to Michelle Novak. Michelle has served UCE in many capacities, including as one of the leaders of our Immigrant Solidarity Team. As part of that team, she recently organized a successful drive for items to donate to asylum seekers living in police stations and other public buildings. Michelle is also working with the Sanctuary Working Group in Skokie to help welcome an asylum seeking family and providing material needs. There are still opportunities to help with that here and also be more directly involved with the family. Michelle also served a few years ago as a member of the Board of Trustees and has served as a representative from UCE on the Chicago Area UU Council. Thank you, Michelle, for all the ways you help our congregation to live our values out in the world.
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UCE Building Availability -
The UCE Office Hours: Monday - Friday 10:30am-4:30pm
Please review UCE's current COVID Guidelines before considering to meet in person. If your group would like to meet in-person at UCE, please fill out a Room & Publicity Request Form.
If you have music to share in worship, we would love to add you to our list to enhance our worship services. Reach out to Vickie Hellyer at vhellyer@ucevanston.org.
| This Week's Events & Links | |
Saturday, July 15
- Virtual Pilates at 9:30am via Zoom.
- Worship Planning at 9:30am in Room 6.
- Beginner Tai Chi at 9:45am in Room 3.
- Intermediate Tai Chi at 11am in Room 3.
- Immigrant Solidarity Team at 4pm via Zoom.
Sunday, July 16
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Chris Isely Cancer Support Group at 9am in Room 6 and Via Zoom. Contact Renee Hoff for the Zoom Link.
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All-Ages Worship Service at 10:30 am in the Sanctuary & on YouTube.
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This Week's Events & Links Cont...
- Summer Faith Formation at 11am in Room 3.
- Kinship Time in the back of the sanctuary at 11:30am.
- UCE TransParentsy Meeting at 12pm in Room 2.
- Sine Nomine Covenant Group at 1pm via Zoom.
Monday, July 17
- Food with Spirit Group at 5.30pm via Zoom.
- Durkin Covenant Group at 7pm online.
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UCE Addictions & Recovery at 7pm via Zoom.
Tuesday, July 18
- Caregiver Support Group at 7pm via Zoom.
- Womens Circle #1 at 7pm online.
Wednesday, July 19
Thursday, July 20
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Meditation Group at 5:30pm via Zoom - Please contact Lisa Solomon for the Zoom link.
- Board of Trustees Meeting at 7pm via Zoom.
Friday, July 21
- Fiction Book Group at 7pm via Zoom.
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Congregational Connections | |
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UUs Rolling on the River - Inspiration and Energy in Pittsburgh
“I found myself in a river reverie. The rolling Allegheny echoed through the halls at GA. Rumbling over the nearby bridge, the constant freight trains hauled away the products of the land. Each speaker introduced themself by citing the indigenous peoples whose lands they now occupied. Together we sang, ‘Shall We Gather at the River’”. UCE delegate Elaine Siegel.
The flurry of activity that was the 2023 Unitarian Universalist Association’s (UUA) General Assembly (GA) has subsided but the excitement rolls on. Held June 21-25 in Pittsburgh UUs gathered to conduct business, elect and install new leaders, debate revisions to our Bylaws and proposed Actions of Immediate Witness, learn together, network and create experiences, celebrate and worship together, and participate in numerous other events. 1,319 delegates attended in-person and 827 delegates attended virtually. (More than 4,000 attended all together - not everyone served as a delegate). UCE had 8 total Delegates, two of whom attended in-person.
UUA’s Highlights from GA
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Calling All Thespians and Wanna-bees | |
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Plays are a great avenue for exploring what it means to be human. Play reading in a group is an easy and fun way to do that, get to know more of each other, and find an outlet for your dramatic flair. If you are interested in possibly joining a play-reading group at UCE, email Sarah Vanderwicken. Once we see how many are interested, we'll figure out a gathering time and place
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New Sanctuary Chairs Feedback: Round Two
Thanks to the 106 people who provided feedback on the first round of test chairs. We listened to some of you who had further concerns and questions. So, this time we have a variety of wood chairs to compare with the winning ergonomic type chair. We sought to get samples that had colors more along the line of what we might purchase. We are running this feedback period from July 7-23rd. The chairs are sitting at the back of the sanctuary with the feedback forms ready. Please put your completed form in the box. So please take a moment to join the fun of “putting your derriere in the chair” and give us your feedback.
Your feedback is sought on: Comfort, Attractive Design, Color Scheme and Weight
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A concert to honor Gay Menges, Jon's mom, on August 20th. This is a free concert but if you're able to make a contribution of $10-$20, it would be greatly appreciated. | |
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Faith Formation Hour this Sunday:
Childcare (0-3 years) is available in Room 11 from 10a-11:45a
Wisdom Tales & Wild Games - we'll be "visiting" Saudi Arabia this morning! We need just one more helper - e-mail Kathy if you'd like to "travel" with us.
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Looking ahead in Faith Formation...
TWO Summer Concert Meetups next week!
July 18 at 7p at Elks Park, Evanston for Suite Mollie - a variety of funk, rock, soul, and R&B and a little Jazz. Marcy Hicks is our point person for this concert.
July 19 at 7p in Skokie on the Green for The Empty Pockets, featuring UCE’s Dan Solomon’s nephew, Josh. – craft rootsy, often-cerebral and always-catchy Americana rock ‘n roll with a smack of Texas saloon and a taste of Motown soul. Dan is our point person for this event.
If you’d like to be our point person on July 26 in Skokie, please email Kathy.
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The Family Ministry Team is planning a beach day at 12 - 3pm on July 23 at Lighthouse Beach in Evanston! Bring a picnic or snack. More info on the beach here.
Want to know more about Faith Formation this year? Read our brochure here.
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UCE Fiction Book Group
Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
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The Fiction book group will meet Friday, July 21, 2023 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.
Birnam Wood is a self-described guerrilla gardening collective that sometimes legally, and sometimes less so, cultivates wherever it can, “along verges and fence lines, beside motorway offramps, inside demolition sites and in junkyards filled with abandoned cars.” Through “doing instead of talking,” these feisty idealists hope for widespread, lasting social change. They want people to see how much fertile land goes to waste.
Then the outlaws come to town. For an especially delicious spread of fertile land recently freed up by climate devastation, Birnam Wood is up against an American billionaire doomsteader intent on acquiring the land to support his end of the world bunker. For starters – the land is also, of course, rich in minerals. Environmentalists among us will be in their element in this rodeo!
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Giving House Continues... | |
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For the month of July, we are accepting donations of rice in the Giving House.
The Giving House is a small wooden "house" that is located in the front lobby. We are partnering with C&W Market & Ice Cream to distribute free foods to those in need.
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Unitarian Church of Evanston
1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201
847-864-1330
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