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In-Person & Virtual Worship Service

this Sunday, June 18th at 10:30 am

The UCE Offices will be closed on Monday, June 19th in observance of Juneteenth

Note about June 25th Sunday Worship time difference!

On Sunday, the 25th, we will be livestreaming the UUA General Assembly Worship Service from Pittsburgh which begins at 10 a.m. CST rather than our usual 10:30 worship time and runs for 1.5 hours. Come to UCE to enjoy worshipping with Unitarian Universalists from around the country!

If you would prefer to watch the livestream from home, rather than coming to UCE, please click the button below.

Faith Formation Hour this Sunday!

• Childcare (0-3 years) is available in room 11 from 10am-11:45am

• Wisdom Tales & Wild Games: Visiting Greece - for ages preschool through 8th grades, we will meet in room 3 this summer so we can enjoy the South Lawn on nice days. Helpers are needed too - sign up here!

Families can explore our new theme, Delight, at home at their own pace with the Soulful Home packet.

Fair Trade Shoppers - Summer is arriving, and the Fair Trade Cart will be taking a vacation during July and August. It's time to stock up on coffee, chocolate, and other goodies. Don't wait too long; some items could run out before our last day on June 25! 

Hats off to Steve Serikaku

Our hats are off to Steve Serikaku for his vision and leadership in our anti-oppression work. Expanding upon his experience as a trained circle keeper, Steve coordinated with the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois to organize and fund through an Endowment Grant a Family Circles program for UCE families led by facilitator and friend, Jennifer Viets. The purpose of the program was to give parents skills that lead to restorative justice when conflict arises in the family. Steve is also an active member of our Anti-Oppression Task Force, our new Native Communities Solidarity Team, and sits on the Social Justice Council as the representative for our Prison Ministry Team.  

Thank you, Steve, for helping us embody the practical skills needed to transform our thoughts into actions. 

GUUrls’ Night Out - TONIGHT!

Join the annual GUUrls’* Night Out Party for delicious dinner, delightful desserts, wonderful wine and convivial conversation TONIGHT, Friday, June 16 at 6:30 pm at $45/person. Don’t miss this UCE tradition designed to honor the positive aspects of the feminine. Join us if you wish to spend an evening living up this side of you (*GUUrls=female, transgender, femme, womxn, non-binary).

To reserve your spot, email us at: auction@ucevanston.org.

Tomorrows Prom is Cancelled

Rainbow Alliance's Be Yourself Prom will be postponed until the fall. Please keep an eye on the newsletter for more updates about this event later this year.

Happy Pride!

UCE Parents of Trans Kids Group

This Sunday, June 18 at 12:00 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. Join Rev. Eileen on Sunday, June 18 for a gathering of parents, grandparents, or caregivers of people in their lives who are transitioning or have transitioned. This will be a space for connection, support, and holding of complexity and questions. Please let Rev. Eileen know if you plan to join us or if you have questions.

2023 UUA General Assembly is Here

The UUA General Assembly (GA) kicks off in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this Wednesday, June 21. 

UCE has two delegates attending in-person, Shirley Adams and Elaine Siegel, along with Rev. Eileen. Delegates attending virtually are Peggy Boccard, Melanie Kitchner, Cheryl Mounts, Joe Romeo, Betty Walker, and Carla Williams. Key issues for this year's GA include the election of the UUA President, Rev. Sofia Betancourt, as well as other UUA leaders, and discussion of the proposed changes to UUA's Article 2. Your UCE delegates and members of the Denominational Affairs Committee have met regularly to review the issues and discuss the proposal for Article 2. Delegates attending virtually will gather at UCE to watch this year's Ware lecture speaker, Imani Perry. Dr. Perry is a scholar of law, literary and cultural studies, and an author of creative nonfiction. She recently joined the faculty at Harvard University as a Radcliffe Professor.

Watch for future newsletter articles reporting on the activities and actions from the 2023 GA!  

A concert to honor Gay Menges, Jon's mom. This is a free concert but if you're able to make a contribution of $10-$20, it would be greatly appreciated.

Looking ahead in Faith Formation...

Summer Concerts – June 20 at 7p for Midnight Sun Band – join UCE folks for this outdoor concert in Twiggs Park, Evanston. Kathy Underwood is our point person, so look for her and the UCE sign. To get email updates, register here.

If you’d like to be our point person for the next concert on June 28 in Skokie, email Kathy.

You can see a working calendar here that includes multi-age events. As in life, things change, so you can refer to this calendar throughout the year for updates or read them in the newsletter.

Want to know more about Faith Formation this year? Read our brochure here.

UCE Fiction Book Group 

Trust, by Hernan Diaz.

The Fiction book group will meet TONIGHT Friday, June 16, 2023 at 7 p.m. via Zoom.

A genre-bending, time hop-scotching saga of New York city’s elite from old-money New York in the last years of the 19th century to the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. Hernan Diaz takes a closer look at the human cost and cost in natural resources that undergirded wealth as amassed by the American elite. Diaz turns a dazzling light on wealth in America, revealing an underside we’d rather not know, but an underside — or backside — we Americans are complicit in covering. Shades of Henry James and Edith Wharton.

UCE Non-Fiction Book Group: 

Mistakes and Miracles: Congregations on the Road to Multiculturalism by Nancy Palmer Jones and Karin Lin

The nonfiction book group will meet Sunday, June 25, 2023 at 2:00p.m. via Zoom.

In this year’s UUA Common Read, the authors share the experiences of five UU congregations across the U.S. as they take on the call for Beloved Community, to practice a radically inclusive and compassionate, anti-racist, anti-oppressive, and multicultural faith within their churches and to act powerfully in partnership and solidarity for justice and liberation beyond.  Rev. nancy and Ms. Lin hope that these stories of transformation will inspire readers to take the risks, make the mistakes, discover the creativity, and be enriched by the joys of multicultural, antiracist work.

Juneteenth Parade & Celebration

Tomorrow, June 17th, starting at 10.30am

Join the UCE Team in the Race Against Hate

THIS SUNDAY!

Now in its 24rd year, the Race Against Hate will be held this Fathers’ Day, June 18, 2023, at 7:30 am in Long Field, Evanston, and UCE will again be a part of it! 

Some of us run, some walk, some roll! Please join us for the Race Against Hate by joining the UCE Racial Equity Team 2023. (The YWCA has generously offered UCE 2 free registrations. So, the first 2 people to register using the code unitarian23, will be able to register for free!) If you can’t be with us in the Race, but want to join in spirit, support the team through your donation. Click this link to get to our Team page where you can register or sponsor the UCE Racial Equity Team or one of its members. 

Dana Deane is coordinating the UCE Racial Equity Team 2023. Please let her know if you have any questions at Dddeane847@gmail.com .

Shared Offering Program Nominations Open

Nominations for the 2023-2024 Shared Offering Program are now being accepted by the Social Justice Council. If you have any questions about this Program, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org.

RefugeeOne Needs Volunteers to Set-Up Apartments

Want to help prepare apartments for dozens of newly arriving refugees this summer?

The RefugeeOne housing team is looking for 8-10 on-call volunteers to support with apartment set-ups. This could include cleaning, unpacking household goods, putting away groceries, and generally getting an apartment ready for an arriving family!

The ideal volunteer has some daytime, weekday flexibility and is comfortable jumping in where needed. They should be able to travel to the Chicago Rogers Park and West Ridge neighborhoods.

If interested, send an email to volunteer@refugeeone.org with the subject 'Housing Support' and they'll get back to you!

How to Help Refugees and Asylum Seekers Locally

Chicago-area organizations have responded quickly to assist immigrants to our region. UCE’s Immigrant Solidarity Team (IST) and other Evanston-based faith groups are working with the Sanctuary Working Group (SWG) of the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America (CRLN) to help.

You can support the SWG of CRLN in three ways:

1. Donate Money: Your contribution helps purchase basic necessities such as toothbrushes, shoes, etc. To donate, click HERE.

2. Provide Short-Term Housing: Welcome an individual or family into your home for a night or two while they wait their turn to move into a shelter. To sign up, click HERE.

3. Provide Long-Term Housing: Share your home for several weeks or months with individuals or provide ongoing financial support to people who are moving into their own apartments. For more information, click HERE.

Separately from CRLN, people in Rogers Park, with the help of Ald. Maria Hadden, are organizing emergency overnight housing for people who are currently sleeping on the floor of the Rogers Park police station.

For more details, please contact Michelle Novak or Jim Strickler of the UCE IST through the Realm Membership Directory or at admin@ucevanston.org.

Get Invited to an Abortion Access Team House Meeting

The UCE Abortion Access Team is working with several UCE members to host informational and fundraising meetings to benefit the Chicago Abortion Fund, which provides support for people facing barriers to accessing abortion care. House meetings are scheduled from May 16 through June 25. If you have not yet been invited to attend a meeting but would like to hear more, please reach out to Jean Butzen or Jon Siegel through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org and ask to be included in another upcoming event!!

Giving House Continues...

For the month of June, we are accepting donations of pasta 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.