Sunday Service

June 27, 2025 at 10:00am 

Ministers’ time away: Rev. Eileen will be away from June 16 - July 1 and Rev. Susan will be away from June 24 - July 7. While they are both away (the 24th - the 1st). Rev. Elizabeth Harding will cover any pastoral emergencies. You can reach her at eharding@ucevanston.org

Children and youth will go to their faith formation program after joys and sorrows

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

Summer Artsy Fun returns! Those 3 years and older are invited to join us in room for some art fun!. We’ll be doing some sensory painting with shaving cream. Parents of those younger than 3rd grade, please sign your child(ren) in and then pick them up at noon.

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.

UPDATE FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

written by Joe Romeo

After more than eight years on the UCE Board, on June 12, I attended my last Board meeting. Here are some of the important things that I remember having happened in that time, beginning a little before my arrival in 2016. Perhaps they will bring back some good memories, or maybe you might learn of something in our recent past, before you joined us.

2015-2018: After Bret Lortie, our minister at the time, had encouraged the Board to adopt Policy Governance, the Board studied how to properly do that and worked on its proper and complete implementation.

2018: We approved a revision of our policies and by-laws (including term limits for Board Members).

2018: Bret left to become a minister in the Air Force, prompting UCE to enter an interim ministry - with Rev. Greg who left in May of 2019. At that time Eileen was asked to become Acting Senior Minister and Rev. Karen Gustafson came to lead the interim work with us for nearly two years, until June of 2021.

2019-2021: Rev. Karen led us through an important period of interim work, during which we examined our values and determined what we would most value in our senior minister.

2020: Covid 19 brought us to an abrupt reconfiguration of how we interact with the community and celebrate our spirituality. Zoom became ubiquitous, and Adam became invaluable. YouTube services allowed us to enjoy many of our favorite aspects of services and Zoom allowed us to continue to conduct social justice efforts and personal and spiritual support activities.

2020: Susan Frances was hired and has provided considerable guidance and assistance, especially with Social Justice activities.

January 2021: After serious and extensive considerations and thorough our interim work, the Ministerial Search Committee led the congregation through the process of calling Rev. Eileen to be our Settled Senior Minister. The decision was nearly unanimous.

Our Hats are off to Michael Skilton. He did a wonderful job hanging our new monitor out in the lobby. As soon as we receive permission to operate from ComEd, this screen will display information about what our solar panels are doing, including current power, energy generated, money saved, and environmental benefits. If you see it switched on, make sure to check it out! Thanks, Michael!

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Friday, June 27th:

• NO EVENTS

Saturday, June 28th:

• Worship Planning Team, 9:30-11am, via Zoom
• Beginning Tai Chi, 9:45-10:45am, Sanctuary
• Intermediate Tai Chi, 11-12pm, Sanctuary
• Immigrant Solidarity Team, 4-5pm, via Zoom

Sunday, June 29th:

• Chris Isely Cancer Support Group, 9am-10:15am, in-person Rm 6 and via Zoom
• Summer Artsy Fun, 10:30-12pm, Room 3
• Young Adult Soulful Sunday, 12:15-1pm, Room 6
• Non-Fiction Book Club, 2pm via Zoom
• Parents Covenant Group, 4-6pm, Offsite

Monday, June 30th:

• UCE Addictions and Recovery, 6:45-7:45pm, via Zoom

Tuesday, July 1st:

• Membership Team Meeting, 12:30-1:30pm, via Zoom
• Caregiver Support Group, 7-8:30pm, via Zoom
• First Women's Circle, 7-8pm, via Zoom

Wednesday, July 2nd:

• Yoga Online, 9:30am, via Zoom
• Executive Meeting, 3:15pm, via Zoom
• Congregational Connections Team, 7-8pm, via Zoom

Thursday, July 3rd:

• Meditation Group, 5:30-6:30pm, via Zoom

Friday, July 4th:

• UCE OFFICES CLOSED

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 the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network Illinois, known as UUANI. UUANI empowers Unitarian Universalists across Illinois to work for spiritually grounded, relationally accountable and strategically effective action in solidarity with those most impacted by injustice.

UCE is a Snowy Owl sponsor of Faith in Place’s 2025 Environment and Spirituality Summit. The Summit will explore the theme of 'Strong and Supported' and features keynote speaker Robin Wall Kimmerer. Each session of the Summit will dive into ways we can give and receive healing to the Earth around us and create a healthier and more just world.

Register here

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!

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.

Are You Friendly?

If your answer is "Yes, generally" and you attend Sunday services from time to time, you are a qualified UCE Hospitality Greeter! Why join this fabulous team? Meet new people, connect the names and faces, provide a warm welcome to all who enter to strengthen our sense of community! The "job" is quite flexible in terms of time commitment - only sign up when it works for you. We can ALWAYS use more friendly, helpful spirits in these positions. Reach out to Carolynblaughlin at gmail dot com to sign up or learn more. Thank you!

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, 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 June 29th, on Zoom using our recurring Zoom link.

We will discuss The Originalism Trap: How Extremists Stole the Constitution and How We Can Take It Back by Madiba K. Dennie.

Originalism holds that if it’s not in the Constitution as the Founders wrote it, then it’s irrelevant. Dennie advocates for “inclusive constitutionalism”, arguing that the law evolves and is not frozen in time and inalterable.

On July 27th our group will discuss Travels with Charley by John Steinbeck.

• Everyone is welcome to join us.

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. 

2025 General Assembly

UUA Statement on U.S. and Iran; GA Delegates Approve CSAI and AIWs

Key activities from the 2025 General Assembly in Baltimore, MD are listed below. Watch future newsletters for more information.

The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) issued a statement condemning the military action the U.S. government took against Iran. (https://www.uua.org/pressroom/press-releases/uua-condemns-action-against-iran)

UUA General Assembly (GA) delegates approved the Congregational Study Action Issue (CSAI) of “Abolition is Faith Formation” .(https://www.uua.org/action/process/2025-proposed-csais/abolition-faith-formation)

Three Actions of Immediate Witness (AIW) were approved by the delegates at GA:  

• Faithful Defiance of Authoritarianism: Reaffirming Our Covenants for Democracy and Freedom (https://www.uua.org/action/process/2025-proposed-aiw-faithful-defiance-authoritarianism)
• Defending LGBTIQ Freedom Amid Funding Crisis: A Call for Global Solidarity (https://www.uua.org/action/process/2025-proposed-aiw-funding-global-lgbtiq-freedom-amid-crisis)
• We Declare and Affirm: Immigrants Are People Who Have Inherent Worth and Inalienable Rights (https://www.uua.org/action/process/2025-proposed-aiw-all-people-have-inherent-worth-and-inalienable-rights)



Many thanks to UCE members and ministers who served as delegates in-person and online for the 2025 General Assembly: Shirley Adams, Kera Beskin, Peggy Boccard, Rev. Susan Frances, Martha Holman, Cheryl Mounts, Steve Serikaku, Elaine Siegel, Carla Williams, Rev. Eileen Wiviott.

MUUSA 2025 – July 6–12 at Trout Lodge

Join fellow Unitarian Universalists for a week of community, reflection, and fun at the Midwest UU Summer Assembly (MUUSA), held July 6–12, 2025, at Trout Lodge in Potosi, Missouri. This intergenerational retreat offers age-specific programs for children, youth, and adults, along with workshops, worship, and recreational activities in a beautiful lakeside setting. This year’s theme speaker is Rev. Sunshine Wolfe. Scholarships are available to help make camp accessible to all. For more information and to register, visit muusa.org.

UUA QUUest Camps:

Immerse Youth in UU Values & Earth Justice at UUA QUUest Camps!

This summer, Camp Blue Boat (Idaho) and QUUest Mountain West (Wyoming) will provide transformative week-long experiences for UU middle and high school youth. In partnership with the UU College of Social Justice, we’re integrating justice work, including environmental stewardship, into daily camp life. From worship under the stars to hands-on activities that connect spiritual practice and Earth care, youth will spend the week immersed in what it means to live their UU values in harmony with the planet. Registration is now open for current 5th-12th graders. Learn more and support this vital ministry at uua.org/pwrcamp.

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Unitarian Church of Evanston

1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201

847-864-1330