Sunday Service

July 6, 2025 at 10:30 am 

Childcare (0-3 years) is available in room 11, 10:15a-12:15p

Summer Artsy Fun returns July 13th!

Be sure to check out the new Soulful Home packet on our summer’s theme of Freedom. 

  You can see what’s coming up on our evolving calendar here.

Bring Flowers for Sunday Worship

Would you like to bring flowers from your garden or your favorite flowers from a shop for the chancel table on a Sunday morning? To volunteer, click here to go to SignUp.com, scroll to the Sunday you would like to bring flowers, and select the Flowers/Chalice spot.

You are encouraged to light and extinguish the chalice on the Sunday that you bring flowers, however, if you are uncomfortable being in front of people, please contact Rev. Susan [insert my email] at least a week before you are bringing flowers and she will make arrangements for someone else to light the chalice.

The solar panels covering most of our roof have now been connected to ComEd! You'll soon see the display in the lobby that shows the power we are generating. Thanks again to all who helped make this possible.

UPDATE FROM REV. EILEEN WIVIOTT

I always feel a little conflicted on the Fourth of July. I love fireworks and have fond memories of sitting with my family and neighbors on a blanket as marching bands and community organizations paraded past, throwing candy and honking. However, I’m not, even on a good day wildly patriotic. I don’t love and never have loved saying the pledge of allegiance, or singing our national anthem, which I think should be, unequivocally, the Ray Charles version of America the Beautiful, rather than the bomb-bursting-rocket-red-glaring Star-Spangled Banner.

Our Hats are off to the REAL Team and Social Justice Council poster makers. Our REAL Team Planning Group, Cheryl Mounts, Becky Crawford, and Alison Issen, gathered supplies and snacks and hosted a poster making event along with Social Justice Council members Shirley Adams, Shelia Holder, Dennis Wilson, and Maggie Wilson. Around 30 people gathered to make posters for the No Kings rallies, as well as for the weekly Beacons of Light gatherings happening every Thursday from 7:00-7:30 pm. Thank you for organizing this event and for the creative and inspiring signs! Please look for future poster making events in the newsletter as we continue to unite around preserving our democracy.

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Friday, July 4th:

• NO EVENTS

Saturday, July 5th:

• Virtual Pilates, 9:30am, via Zoom
• Beginning Tai Chi, 9:45-10:45am, Sanctuary
• Intermediate Tai Chi, 11-12pm, Sanctuary

Sunday, July 6th:

• Chris Isely Cancer Support Group, 9am-10:15am, in-person Rm 6 and via Zoom
• Worship Service, 10:30-11:30am, Sanctuary
• Kinship Time, 11:30-12:30pm, Back of the Sanctuary
• Young Adult Soulful Sunday, 12:15-1pm, Room 3
• Herried Covenant Group, 3:30-4:30pm, via Zoom
• Nominating Committee Meeting, 7-8:30pm, via Zoom

Monday, July 7th:

• Food With Spirit Group, 5:30-6:30pm, via Zoom
• UCE Addictions and Recovery, 6:45-7:45pm, via Zoom
• Bernstein Covenant Group, 7-9pm, via Zoom
• Durkin Covenant Group, 7-9pm, via Zoom
• Monday Night Covenant Group, 7-9pm, via Zoom

Tuesday, July 8th:

• Denominational Affairs 12:30-1:30pm, via Zoom
• Women's Circle of Friends Covenant, 1-2:30pm, via Zoom
• Emissions Reduction Task Force, 2:30-3:30pm, via Zoom

Wednesday, July 9th:

• Yoga Online, 9:30am, via Zoom
• THAT Covenant Group, 7-9pm, via Zoom
• Congregational Connections Team, 7-8pm, via Zoom

Thursday, July 10th:

• Evanston Near South Proximity Group, 1-2pm, via Zoom
• Meditation Group, 5:30-6:30pm, via Zoom
• Beacon of Light Gathering, 7-7:30pm, Dempster and Ridge

Our Shared Offering Program

Our Shared Offering Program is one of the ways that we live into our mission statement "for a world made whole." Each Sunday, the funds collected during our worship service either via text donations or in the collection bowls (and not otherwise designated for a pledge or something else) are shared equally between our operating budget and the current Shared Offering Recipient.

This Sunday's offering will be shared with Open Communities, which works to eradicate housing discrimination and unjust practices that perpetuate segregation and inequity.

Come be a Beacon of Light!

The gatherings at the corner of Dempster & Ridge, inspired by the Beacons of Light movement, continue to provide a source of hope and solidarity for the participants, those driving by, and our neighbors.

All are welcome to join us every Thursday from 7:00-7:30 pm throughout the summer. Bring a colorful sign with a positive message visioning a future shaped by love and justice (sign inspiration here), or include The Beacon’s QR code to spread the light even further.

If Dempster & Ridge is not near your home, you are invited to join one of the other locations in Evanston (there will be people gathering at all 3 locations each Thursday): Chicago & Main or Central & Lincolnwood. Whether we’re three people or 100, we are part of something bigger. Come be a light!

Race Against Hate Recap

Once again UCE was a great supporter of the Ricky Byrdsong Memorial Race Against Hate. 3700 people participated in the Race and the YWCA raised nearly $200,000 from the event. Although registering on the website to be on our team was nearly impossible, UCE was nevertheless the 5th largest fundraiser! The Race Against Hate was well covered by the press, including the Evanston Roundtable and WGN (which features an interview with Amy Statton’s sister!)

Thank you to all who ran, walked, and/or donated to this very worthy cause.

UCE Young Adult Group

Third Friday Faith Formation & Game Nights

Our next gathering is Friday, July 18th



The Young Adult Group at UCE is a group for young adults (18-35) interested in exploring spiritual deepening in community. We meet on every 3rd Friday from 7-9pm in Room 3 to discuss monthly Soul Matters themes, check in with each other, eat snacks, and play games.

Contact Kiley Korey (kileyekorey at gmail dot com), Kevin Barrow (kbarrow13 at gmail dot com) or Kathy Underwood (kunderwood at ucevanston dot org) with any questions.

Alabama Living Legacy Pilgrimage

Join Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan on September 24-28, 2025, for a Living Legacy tour through Alabama curated by the Living Legacy Project [LLP). We choose this tour because LLP was founded by UUs. During the course of the tour, we will be provided with details about our Unitarian Universalist connection with the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches. Folks who have indicated an interest were emailed earlier this week. If you would like to participate and did not receive an email about the tour, please email Rev. Susan. July 24, 2025 is the deadline to complete the two-step registration process:

1. Pre-register with the Living Legacy Project, who is the tour guide.
2. Register and make a non-refundable deposit of $600 with Educational Travel Adventures, who handles the transportation, lodging and meal logistics.

Shared Offering Program Nominations Open

Nominations for the 2025-2026 Shared Offering Program are now being accepted by the Social Justice Council until July 26, 2025. If you have any questions about this Program, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org.

Picnics in the Park - next gathering will be July 6 and 20

Weather-permitting, families of all ages (not just littles!) are invited to meet up at 

Penny Park after worship on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of the month.

The next meeting of the UCE Fiction Book Group

is Friday, July 18th, 7-8pm using our Recurring Zoom link

The UCE Fiction Book Group is reading Cat’s Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut’s 1963 satire of an American vision for the future of mankind, “at once blackly fatalistic and hilariously funny." Banned in several spaces, Vonnegut’s take-down turns out to be one of the twentieth century’s iconic works of fiction.  

The next meeting of the UCE Nonfiction Book Group will be at 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 27th on Zoom using our recurring Zoom link.

We will discuss Travels with Charley in Search of America by John Steinbeck. In this book, Steinbeck describes his 1960 cross country trip with his French poodle Charley. Steinbeck’s goal was to rediscover the country he had been writing about for many years.

On August 24th we will select the books we will discuss in the fall and winter.

Beach Day

The Family Ministry Team invites all ages to a beach day at Lighthouse Beach on July 20 from 12-3p. Rain date is scheduled for August 10.

ONGOING UU CONNECTIONS

Trans and Nonbinary Lives Matter

You are beloved just as you are!

The UUA denounced the June 18th U.S. Supreme Court ruling in United States v. Skrmetti, which allows Tennessee’s state law banning gender-affirming care for youth to remain in effect. Read the UUA response here: The Unitarian Universalist Association Condemns U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in the United States v. Skrmetti Case.

As Unitarian Universalists, our faith calls us to keep love at the center. And love, in this moment, moves like this:

• Join UPLIFT Action: UPLIFT Action is a UUA Side With Love campaign advocating for bodily autonomy and providing resources for Transgender and Nonbinary People. Every Body is Sacred. Subscribe to the UPLIFT Action Newsletter at https://sidewithlove.org/upliftaction. 

• Participate in The Woodlands: This is a new monthly virtual pastoral care program for trans people and their families, launching September 7, 2025. Open to all ages, each gathering includes a shared grounding ritual, identity-affirming breakout rooms, and a closing reflection. With spaces for trans adults, youth, and caregivers, The Woodlands offers a sacred, supportive environment to process grief, share joy, and build resilient community. Sessions are chaplain-led and will take place on the first Sunday of each month through May 2026. Learn more at www.uua.org/lgbtq/thewoodlands.

• Support UU Trans Religious Professionals: Known as TRUUsT, this is an organization of trans Unitarian Universalists who are living out a call to ministry within Unitarian Universalism. Email admin@transuu.org to learn how you might join them or support their work.

• Connect with LGBTQIA+ Resources: Visit  www.uua.org/lgbtq/resources for a growing library of resources to support LGBTQIA+ people in your life. 

This moment is heartbreaking—but it is not the ending. Our love is defiant. Our care is revolutionary. Our community is resilient. 

Unitarian Church of Evanston

1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201

847-864-1330