Here’s what’s coming up in our congregational life—opportunities to connect, learn, and participate in the weeks ahead

Sunday Service

June 21, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. 

MASKS REQUIRED for June 21 Worship Service Starting at 10 AM

Sunday, June 21st, will be a mask-required Sunday when attendees will be required to wear a mask in the building from 9 am - 1 pm. We will be livestreaming the UUA General Assembly's Community Sing from 9:30-10 am and Worship Service from 10-11:30 am. We hope you are able to join us for one or both!

This Sunday…

Children and youth will stay in the worship service this morning.



Childcare (0-3 years) is available in Room 11 from 9:45am-12pm

Phineas and Ferb Phartsy Fun



Our summer program continues June 28!

We’ll be making all kinds of art based on episodes of the show, Phineas and Ferb!

Courage. Sanctuary. Imagination

Happy Juneteenth! This day marks the liberation of those enslaved in this country 161 years ago. It was a freedom that should have never needed to be won; a freedom too long unrecognized and far too incomplete. It is an incomplete freedom even now, given the exceptions to slavery allowed by the 13th amendment.

It took two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation for the last of those enslaved in Galveston, Texas to learn they had been freed. I can only imagine the bitterness of that revelation. How enraging it must have been to learn that freedom was granted but not communicated. But despite the ugliness of this injustice, there was joy and determination.

Welcome to New Staff Accountant

Welcome to Mark Westcott, our new staff accountant, who will be taking on the role after Vickie Doebele’s retirement. Mark comes to us with a wealth of experience with non-profits and other faith communities. After a few months of transition, he will be working mostly remotely. If you have any questions or concerns about pledge payments or other financial matters, please contact Mark at the same email address Vickie has used, finance@ucevanston.org. We continue to be grateful for the many years and long hours of Vickie's dedicated service and wish her relaxation and joy in retirement. She will remain a member of the congregation so you will continue to see her around UUCE.

Our hats are off to the many volunteers who helped make the 3^rd Annual Interfaith Family Pride Fest a success. Joy and Beloved Community were on full display throughout Raymond Park on Sunday afternoon as we listened and danced to great music, enjoyed ice cream, cotton candy, and popcorn, and met new and old friends. It was wonderful to be among the host of faith communities and community organizations in Evanston, all there to celebrate pride in a family-friendly environment. Thanks to Mary Dudek, Asayo Horibe, Sheila Holder, and Becky Taveirne for staffing the First Aid Tent. Thankfully, it was all Bandaides and water. Thanks to Neil and Margaret Koreman and Chris Stefano for helping with set up. Thank you to the marshals who were on hand to ensure everyone was enjoying the fest without incident: Steven Baksa, Heike Eghardt, and Forrest Marie Peters Linsell. Thanks to those who staffed our UUCE table: Shirley Adams, Griffin Larson-Erf, Christine Peters, Hòa Voscott, and Grey Wiviott (who glitter blessed anyone who'd let them). And thanks to those who helped with popcorn and cotton candy: Allison Brill, Olga Chwa, Tori Foreman, Meredith Haydon, and Peter Silverman. What a joy it is to celebrate and serve our community together.

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Friday, June 19th: Juneteenth - UUCE OFFICE CLOSED

• Young Adult Group, 7-10pm, Rooms 3 and 12
• Fiction Book Group, 7-8:30pm, via Zoom

Saturday, June 20th:

• Virtual Pilates, 9:30-10:30am, via Zoom
• Beginner Tai Chi, 9:45-10:45am, Sanctuary
• UUCE Prison Ministry, 10:30-11:30, via Zoom
• Intermediate Tai Chi, 11-12pm, Sanctuary
• Rainbow Alliance Reboot, 12:30-2pm, Room 6 and Zoom
• Immigrant Solidarity Team, 4-5pm, via Zoom
• UUA GA Ware Lecture Watch Party, 6:30-8:30pm, Room 3

Sunday, June 21st:

• Chris Isley Cancer Support Group, 9-10:15am, Room 6 & Zoom
• UUA Community Sing, 9:30-10:00am, Sanctuary
• General Assembly Worship Watch Party - Masks Required, 10-11:30am, Sanctuary and Livestream
• Kinship Time, 11:30am-12:30pm, Back of the Sanctuary
• UUCE Pagan Collective Monthly Meeting, 12-1:30pm, Room 13
• Sine Nomine Covenant Group, 12:15-2pm, Offsite or Zoom
• TransParentsy Group, 12:30-2pm, Room 2
• UUCE Pagan Solstice Event, 1:30-3:30pm, Sanctuary and South Lawn

Monday, June 22nd:

• UUCE Addictions and Recovery, 6:45-7:45am, via Zoom

Tuesday, June 23rd:

• Retired Women's Group, 5-7pm, Back of Sanctuary
• Leadership Development Team Meeting, 6-7pm, via Zoom
• Short-Term Covenant Group Reunion, 7-9pm, Room 2

Wednesday, June 24th:

• Yoga, 9:30-10:30am, via Google Meet
• Staff Meeting, 11:00am, Room 2
• Hope Covenant Group, 7-9pm, Room 2
• How Two Faith Communities Helped to Break the Chain, 7-8:30pm, via Zoom

Thursday, June 25th:

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

The UUCE Fiction Book Group is reading Vigil (January 2026) by George Saunders. At the bedside of an oil company CEO as he is ferried by a vibrant Jill “Doll” Blaine from this world into the next. Her job is to bring the charge to understand his impact in the world, before he leaves it. And our oil CEO has no regrets, even as the ghosts of the past in true Dickensian fashion visit him one by one on this his final evening. With George Saunders’ signature whimsy, wit, and dead-on (as it were) reckoning.

Meeting Friday, June 19, at 7p.m. by ZOOM

UUCE Rainbow Alliance Reboot

Be part of the Rainbow Alliance Reboot on June 20, 2026, 12:30-2:00 pm. Join Rev. Susan Frances for lunch on the South Lawn, or in Room 3 if the weather is inclement, at 12:30 pm. Rev. Susan will bring the main dish. Feel free to bring a lunchtime appetizer or dessert to share.

At 1:15 pm, we'll move into Room 3 to include anyone joining us online in our visioning process. We will be visioning the future of our Rainbow Alliance, which strives to connect and support the LGBTQIA+ community and allies both within UUCE and in the broader community.

Click here to RSVP.

Midsummer Feast coming up - Sunday, June 21

Please join the UUCE Pagan Collective for a solstice feast on Sunday, June 21 at 1:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary and on the South lawn. All are welcome as we celebrate the longest day of the year with a brief ritual, potluck feast, games, crafts and music, a real fire for marshmallows and a faux bonfire for jumping. UUCE members and friends, adults, children, all are welcome! If you have the time and resources, please bring a dish to share. If not, your presence will be a gift to us all.

The Retired Women will be meeting next Tuesday, June 23, 5-7, for our potluck and discussion in the back of the Sanctuary. Bring a book to talk about and then to give away! We will not be meeting during the summer because we will be too busy reading at the beach!

How Two Faith Communities Are Working Toward Justice

Join the REAL Team via Zoom on June 24 from 7:00–8:30 p.m. for a discussion on how two Unitarian Universalist congregations are working to address historic racial injustices and engage in meaningful repair.

Register here:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1XRt-WG-Rvp3Jzl2jqEAMrec9TfWcvObMTLjYNYc8pNk/edit

At King’s Chapel in Boston, research revealed that at least 219 children, women, and men were enslaved by ministers and members of the congregation. In response, the church has undertaken efforts to acknowledge and repair the harms caused by enslavement, including engaging an artist to help develop a creative vision for remembrance and reconciliation. Roeshana Moore-Evans of King’s Chapel will share insights into the congregation’s research and reparative work.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, All Souls Unitarian Church recently commemorated the 105th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre through its annual Promise & Repair service. The service explored what happens when promises are broken—by individuals, communities, institutions, or entire societies—and what it takes to begin the work of repair. UUCE’s own Bex Blackmore will share reflections from her experience as a congregant of All Souls and the congregation’s ongoing commitment to justice and healing.

We hope you will join us for this important conversation.

Celebration of Life for Stuart Novy

Friday, June 26, at 11am, we will celebrate the life of our much beloved Stuart Novy. 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 Stuart (or Kay), click HERE, make your selection and click SignUP!

Celebration of Life for Michael Wylie

Saturday, June 27, at 1pm, we will celebrate the life of Michael Wylie, husband of our much beloved Karen Wylie. 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 Michael (or Karen), click HERE, make your selection and click SignUP!

If you want to opt out of the technology, email Margaret Shaklee with your offer to help.

Many thanks!

The Nonfiction Book Group will discuss Undivided: The Quest for Racial Solidarity in an American Church by Hahrie Han on Sunday, June 28th. Join us at 2 p.m. using our recurring Zoom link.

In this book political scientist Hahrie Han investigates how Crossroads, a white-dominated evangelical megachurch in Cincinnati, created a faith-based program designed to foster antiracism and systemic change.The author tells the story of four people, two white and two black, whose lives were fundamentally altered by the program.

On July 26th, we’ll discuss A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson. This book is available in print, electronic, and audio formats and also as a movie starring Robert Redford.Enjoy it in whichever format you prefer.

Register for the 1946 Movie in REALM

Wisconsin Voter Registration Training

Get trained to register voters in Wisconsin. Once trained, you will be invited to go to one of several Milwaukee DMVs to register voters as they wait for services.

All trainings are held via zoom and the next training date is:



• Wednesday, July 8 - 7:00 PM
• Tuesday, July 14 - 1:00PM
• Wednesday, July 29 - 7:00PM

The training is one hour and presented by the Milwaukee Voter Project. For more information, please contact Laura Kushner with the Milwaukee Voter Project at laurakushnerx2 at gmail dot com or Rev. Susan Frances at sfrances at ucevanston dot org. 

We’re working out the details on a social action project for

Connections for the Homeless, so stay tuned!



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

Family-Friendly Friendship Meals 

There are two family-friendly events coming up:

Concert at Millenium Park on 07/23 – sign up here

Backyard Chillin' and Grillin' Barbeque on 08/29 for children 6 and up  - sign up here

UUCE Young Adult Group

Third Friday Faith Formation & Game Nights



The Young Adult Group at UUCE 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@ucevanston.org) with any questions.

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 something else) are shared equally between our operating budget and the current Shared Offering Program recipient.

This Sunday's offering will be shared with Deborah's Place,  which opens doors of opportunity for women that experience homelessness in Chicago through supportive services and permanent housing.

SNAPGap CUTS NEED OUR HELP

For the 6/24 distribution, SNAPGap is collecting soap and deodorant. Interfaith Action of Evanston is coordinating the distribution which occurs at The Vineyard food pantry. Items can be dropped off at First Presbyterian Church, 1427 Chicago Ave, Monday-Thursday, 9AM-5PM , Saturday/Sunday from 8:30-12:30 until June 23.

A link to an Amazon wish list is available on the IAE Website, under "news".

Contact Toni Rey for more information.

Shared Offering Program Nominations Open

Nominations for the 2026-2027 Shared Offering Program are now being accepted by the Social Justice Council. To nominate an organization, click here for the Shared Offering Program nomination Google Form. The deadline to submit nominations is July 14, 2026.

The UUCE Shared Offering Program divides the undesignated funds we receive each Sunday equally between the congregation’s operating fund and an organization selected by the Social Justice Council. Click here for the Selection Process Description that the Social Justice Council uses to review nominations. If you have any questions about the Shared Offering Program, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org.

Join the UUCE Race Against Hate Team



Be a part of the Race Against Hate by joining the UUCE Team on June 21, 2026. Every Father’s Day, the YWCA hosts a race to honor Ricky Byrdsong, who was murdered by a white supremacist in front of his children while walking near their Skokie home. You can run or walk 5k or 10k, and there are Kids Fun Runs. Proceeds from the event support the Evanston/North Shore YWCA racial equity programming. More information about the Race and Ricky Byrdsong is here.

Register for the Race here.

If you can’t be with us in the Race, but want to join in spirit, support the Team through your donation. Be sure to apply your donation to the UUCE Team.

Dana Deane is coordinating the UUCE Team 2026. Please let her know if you have any questions. Dddeane847 at gmail dot com or 847-682-1045.

LOVE RESISTS

ONGOING UU CONNECTIONS

Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Evanston

1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201

847-864-1330