Nurturing the Human Spirit for a World Made Whole |
|
Virtual Worship Service
this Sunday, May 16 at 11:15 am
|
|
|
|
For All that Has Been, ‘Thanks’, for All That Is to Be, ‘Yes!’
by Rev. Karen Gustafson, Interim Minister
There are many stories to tell about the last two years: personal stories that reflect the joys and sorrows, the transitions and accumulated experience in the life of each individual reading these words. There are also stories about the individual and collective experience of being part of the UCE community as you have engaged in the process of looking at the ways you embody your mission to nurture the human spirit for a world made whole, as you made your way to settle your next Senior Minister. Add to the mix a pandemic that completely altered the way you are in community. How has all of this changed the story of who you are and what you may become?
|
|
|
|
The Stories We Tell Ourselves
From Kathy Underwood, Director of Lifespan Religious Education
|
We all have stories that we tell ourselves. Some we learned as young children. And some we have been retelling ourselves for decades. Some stories are ones from the communities we are connected to – our families, friends, schools, workplaces, and yes, our congregations. |
|
|
|
Hats Off to Nominating & Recruiting members
Vickie Doebele, Woody Haynes, and Maggie Wilson!
|
Hats off to Maggie Wilson, Vickie Doebele and Woody Haynes for their exceptional years of service to the Nominating and Recruitment Committee (N&R). In particular, their leadership, commitment and sense of humor has helped the committee to navigate 2020-21, a year and a half like no other. Their ongoing leadership for the church continued at a time when many of us have needed to put all our time and energy into the survival of our own selves and families. Together with the N&R team they have worked tirelessly to reach out to over 130 members to inquire about leadership opportunities and conduct one-on-one conversations. Thank you to Maggie, Vickie and Woody for your mentorship, management skills and the rapport that you have brought to the N&R Committee. |
|
Flower Communion Pictures |
Please participate in our annual flower communion service on June 6th by sending in a photo or two of your favorite flowers. Whether they are from your garden, home, or neighborhood, please share your jpegs to this folder by June 1st!
|
|
|
|
UCE's First Ever Parking Lot Pop-Up Sale is almost here! |
|
Help us knock it out of the park! (Ahh—back to those baseball analogies.) Past rummage sales brought over 120 congregants to help during the week of the sale. This is only a day! We need more help for the POP-UP Parking lot sale to be held on May 22nd. Many have stepped up volunteering to have a table, helping with food and set-up. We need people to distribute flyers, helpers on the day of the sale. Please sign up by the end of TODAY (May 14)!
Flyers are available at church on May 15 from 10 am to 11 am. You are also encouraged to bring any fine jewelry you have to sell so we can pass it along to our jewelry mavens, Claudia Dancing and Judy Holman. They will have a table selling fine jewelry—silver, gold and other unique pieces. Carol Nielsen will be at church to give you tags, take your jewelry, give you flyers and general encouragement!
If you have questions call or write Carol Nielsen or Sandra Robinson. There is still time to have a table and to plan to help in other ways. This is our first in-person gathering for church members and a great way to see old friends and make new ones. This sale is in-person! It is not by Zoom! Come and see what we can accomplish together and in-person.
|
|
 |
UCE Annual Meeting is Sunday, May 16 - Voting Members should have received an email with info and a Zoom Link. If you did not and believe you are a voting member, contact the Office.
UCE Building Availability - The UCE building and grounds are available on a limited basis to small gatherings. Please read UCE's Reopening Guidelines before contacting staff about availability. These guidelines were updated this week.
Chalice Lighters Needed - If you would like to light the UCE chalice OR record you and your family lighting a chalice at home to be used in the Sunday service, please send an email to Rev. Eileen.
|
UCE's First Pop-Up Parking Lot Sale is Saturday, May 22. Learn more above!
This month's Reflections with the Board is on May 23 at 10 am.
Endowment Fund Application Deadline is May 31. More info below.
Sidewalk Chalk Games and Art is June 6 at 4 pm. More info below.
UCE's Annual Calendaring Event is June 12 at 10 am. Between now and June 9th, submit your planned or possible events to Jessica Meis to create a proposed calendar.
UUA Virtual General Assembly is June 23 - June 27. More info below.
|
|
|
|
This Week's Events & Links |
Saturday, May 15
-
Harms Woods Restoration at 9 am at Harms Woods. More info below.
-
Black Lives of UU Havens Chicago Gathering via Zoom. To request a zoom link please email BLUUHavenChicago@gmail.com.
-
Limited Plant Swap at 2-3:30 pm at the UCE Parking Lot. More info below.
-
Immigrant Solidarity Team at 4 pm via Zoom. Email Lee Bannor for the link.
Sunday, May 16
-
Chris Isely Cancer Support Group at 9:30 am via Zoom - Email Renee Hoff for details.
-
Forum Discussion Group at 10 am via Zoom. Click here to join.
-
Virtual Annual Meeting at 12:30 pm via Youtube Livestream. Click here to join. Voting Members please join us via Zoom at the link you have been provided.
Monday, May 17
Tuesday, May 18
Wednesday, May 19
-
Virtual Yoga at 9:30 am via 8x8. Click here to join.
-
All Church Zoom gathering at 5:30 pm - Look for the link in Wednesday emails.
-
Learn Spanish Group at 6:30 pm via 8x8. Click here to join.
Thursday, May 20
-
Virtual Meditation at 5:30 pm via Zoom. Email Andrea DeMers for the link.
-
Board of Trustees meet at 7 pm via Zoom. Email the Office if you would like to join.
|
|
|
|
Updated Guidelines for UCE Building Use |
|
The Covid Task Force, in consultation with the staff, have revised the guidelines for building use. We are planning a multi-access approach to Sunday worship services in September - live-streamed and in-person worship with modifications including masks, distancing, and reduced numbers in attendance. Over the summer, gatherings outdoors and in the sanctuary of up to 60 people will be allowed, again with masks and social distancing. Smaller groups are allowed in rooms 3 and 6. Please review these guidelines for full details and contact Rev. Eileen or Sandra Robinson with questions. |
|
From the Endowment Task Force |
|
The Endowment Task Force is holding our second meeting soon, and would appreciate some help from members by filling out the short survey below. This will help the Task Force define our task.
The content of responses will be shared with the committee, but not names. Please provide as much detail as might be helpful for the committee to understand. If you have any questions, please email Joe Romeo.
|
|
Endowment Fund: Deadline for Grant Applications |
|
The final deadline for submitting Endowment Fund grant applications during the current church year will be May 31. There is about $10,000-$15,000 available for disbursement from the 2020-21 distribution amount.
Endowment Funds are a significant resource for our community because they can be used to support special initiatives that further the mission and work of UCE. For additional information, read What Can Endowment Funds be Used for? at UCE Endowment Fund: Frequently Asked Questions.
|
|
Congregational Connections |
|
2021 Minns Lecture Series - May 14, 21, and 28 |
|
|
|
The Minns Lectures Committee sponsors an annual series of free lectures by UU ministers on religious topics. The 2021 Minns Lecturer is Dr. Anthony B. Pinn, who is the Agnes Cullen Arnold Professor of Humanities and Professor of Religious Studies at Rice University. His 3-part lecture series explores the various aspects concerning the rabid nationalism and marginalization of despised populations marking so much of public life in the United States. |
|
May Black Lives of UU Havens Chicago Gathering |
|
We welcome you to join us for our May Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU) Havens Chicago Gathering on Saturday, May 15 at 1-2:30 pm on Zoom. Join at 12:30 for Socializing or Just Hanging Out & Listening to Music!
This Month’s Theme: “Inspiration Through Art-PART 2” We Were So Inspired Last Month, We Are Doing It Again! In what ways has black art touched your life? Do you have a great story with an album? What's the first black painting that struck you? Were you a singer? Do you have a favorite play you always watch? Which comic book (featuring a black character) did you see yourself in first? (Any art from anywhere in the diaspora counts!)
We Will Open With Those Who Didn’t Get A Chance To Share Last Month. We will also welcome your ideas for themes for future gatherings and you won’t want to miss our Closing Dance Party! This will be a Black Only Sacred Space. To request a zoom link please email: BLUUHavenChicago@gmail.com.
|
|
|
|
Mark your calendars for Saturday, May
15 at 2-3:30 pm for a LIMITED Plant Swap in the UCE parking lot.
This will be an outdoor event - no rain date. We ask that everyone bring Plants Only, no pots, books, hoses, tools, or garden equipment. We will follow social distancing guidelines. Everyone should stay 6 feet apart, wear a mask, and wait in line outside the parking lot if more spacing is necessary. There will be no food or refreshments. Pre trades/swaps are encouraged. Let us continue the community spirit we have enjoyed so many times.
|
|
8th Principle Adoption Process |
|
Voting members: Look for more information about the 8th Principle resolution in your packet of documents for the annual program.
If you have not yet been part of a group conversation about the 8th Principle and would like to talk with someone from Team 8th one-on-one, please contact Rev. Susan Frances at
|
|
May 19 DRUUMM Worship and Fundraiser |
|
You are invited to the DRUUMM Worship & Fundraiser on May 19th at 7:30 pm.
It’s easy to become so overwhelmed by the tragedies of the day that we no longer feel human. We must find ways to return to our present human experience; becoming a softer and stronger human, again. This worship will lift up the DRUUMM community and explore the journey toward our human-ness. All are invited and welcome to experience, return, and give to the DRUUMM (Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries) BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) community. We look forward to being with you in worship.
We are at a sensitive moment after an incredibly difficult year of pandemic and loss in our communities. Your witness and solidarity are greatly needed to help us thrive into the future. Our goal is to connect more deeply with our wider Unitarian Universalist community to share DRUUMM’s mission, highlight some of our key activities, and raise funds in support of expanding our chaplain and pastoral care work with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color in Unitarian Universalism.
|
|
Message from the Board of Trustees |
|
Although we normally meet on the second Sunday of the month, this month’s edition of “Reflections with the Board” will be held on May 23rd at 10 am. An invitation and Zoom link for this meeting will be in the newsletter the Friday before. This month we will spend one more session discussing Chapter Four: Hospitality and Inclusion from Widening the Circle of Concern; so, please join us on the 23rd!
|
|
Annual UCE Calendaring Event |
|
The Board and Rev. Eileen are hosting a calendaring event on Saturday, June 12th at 10-11 am. The purpose of this event is to create together a shared calendar of major events and programs throughout the year. It will be a time to vision together, see where there are potential conflicts, and share our space and energy more abundantly.
Between now and June 9th, we would like each group to discuss any planned or possible events and programs and send those events (with preferred times and dates) to Jessica Meis at admin@ucevanston.org. She will put these onto a proposed calendar that we will then review together on the 12th. We’ll go through month by month and work through any issues or adjustments that need to be made.
|
|
Are you contemplating attending the virtual General Assembly (GA) this year? If you are willing (eager?) to be a delegate, let the board know that by using the link below. Delegates must attend all of the plenary sessions, so it is a commitment. The board will choose 8 delegates from the pool of available members.
There are scholarships available from UCE Endowment and from the UUA to cover the registration fee. The dates are June 23 - 27, 2021. More than 20 members attended last year. This year there is a youth track, so families can attend together.
|
|
|
VirtUUal Faith Formation and Ways to Connect |
|
Taking Flight Sex Ed Program for 7th-9th Youth – we will not meet on this week due to the Annual Meeting after worship.
Pre/K Kids and Families - POP (Parents of Preschoolers) – May’s materials are available here. The password is YouGotThis2020 (case sensitive.) This UU-based program is to be used all month long. Do whatever fits your family’s schedule.
High School Youth - We know this last month of school will be busy, so we won’t be meeting. Plans are being made for an in-person gathering next month, so look for an email soon!
Sidewalk Chalk Games and Art – June 6th – 4-5:30 pm! All ages are invited to gather in the UCE parking lot for some sidewalk chalk games and art! Feel free to bring your own sidewalk chalk and your creativity!
|
|
UCE Forum Discussion - Sunday, May 16 at 10 am |
|
Join Forum’s final program for this year! Our 4th principle ask for a commitment to a free and responsible search for truth and meaning. Because the mind is our primary tool, a responsible search would involve developing an understanding of how the mind works. Tom Carlton and George Monical will facilitate a discussion about how research might inform our approach to the 4th principle. In this Forum, we will identify resources and concepts that you might consider in your quest. Significant references will be drawn from the book Thinking Fast and Slow, by Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman.
|
|
|
Make an Impact on Next year's Forum Discussion! |
|
Have you attended it? Avoided it? Wondered about it? A team is forming to plan 9 months of Forums for next church year, that is 18 sessions in all (two per month). Would you like to offer some topics for the Forum to tackle next year? You are invited to help shape these sessions. Your input is gonna be helpful. Email or call Shirley Adams, Diane Markel, Bob Mesle, or Steve Serikaku and offer ideas or join the team! The more, the merrier! |
|
Current and Upcoming Adult Religious Education |
|
Intersectionality in Speculative Fiction: N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season - Tuesdays, May 18 at 7-8:30 pm - Facilitated by UCE member Emily Eckwahl-Sanna. Imagine a world where apocalypses are commonplace. Where frequent seismic activity—whether volcanoes, earthquakes, or other environmental disasters—result in extended winters and the widespread loss of human life.
|
|
Deepening UU Identity - May 26 at 7-8:30 pm via Zoom – Join us for our next session UU Spirituality: what does spirituality mean to us and how can we practice spirituality however we answer ultimate questions. Led by Rev. Eileen and Rev. Susan Frances
|
|
|
Sealed by Katie Langston: Q&A with the Author – Tuesday, June 1 at 7 pm - Katie Langston’s memoir, Sealed, tells the story of her conversion to mainline Christianity out of Mormonism. Attendance at the 4/27 reading group led by Ruth Orme-Johnson is not required to also attend the Q&A.
|
|
UCE Book Groups - This May |
|
|
|
The UCE Fiction Book Group meets next on Friday, May 21 at 7-8:30 pm to discuss My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie.
Spanning the tumult of the Revolution and reaching all the way to the eve of the Civil War, through the decades where the nation itself was being invented out of whole cloth, My Dear Hamilton tells of the changes that swept Eliza into the maelstrom that was the birth of a nation, while maintaining its focus on her as the new revolutionary woman who shaped an American legacy in her own right.
|
|
The Nonfiction book group will discuss Isabel Wilkerson’s book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontent at 2 pm via Zoom on Sunday, May 23.
In this book, Wilkerson explains how the hierarchy of caste goes far beyond the confines of race, class, or gender and she documents how the caste system in the U.S. parallels two others, in India and in Nazi Germany. She brings the topic alive with real people, as she did in her previous book, The Warmth of Other Suns.
|
|
|
May Events with the Green Team |
UCE and the Green Team are on the move in May! Lots of chances to get outside, to walk, to garden, to restore nature and your spirits.
-
Restore Harms Woods Nature Preserve, Saturday, May 15, 9am - noon. More info below.
-
Meet other gardeners on Saturday, May 15, at the Plant Swap in the UCE parking lot, 2 pm -3:30 pm. Contact Doug Erickson for details.
-
Walk The 606 on Wednesday May 19 at 1pm. We can meet at the UCE parking lot at noon and carpool to Walsh Park. or you can meet us at Walsh Park at 1pm. Email Shirley Adams or Robb Geiger for details.
-
Buy or sell at the UCE Parking Lot Pop Up Sale on Saturday, May 22. Reduce, reuse, recycle, reSale! More details on UCE homepage.
-
Saturday, June 5, 1pm. Zoom in with the Green Team and offer your ideas and energy.
|
|
Harms Woods Outing with the Green team |
Come celebrate spring with a habitat restoration outing at beautiful Harms Woods in Glenview on Saturday, May 15 at 9 am to Noon! We will be removing invasive plants to allow more space and sunlight for our beautiful native plants. This outing is suitable for anyone 10 and older (youth must be accompanied by a responsible adult) and everyone works at their own pace. The woods are beautiful, the wildflowers will be out and you will be doing extremely important work in restoring vital habitat to support our native plants, insects and birds.
|
|
Interfaith Action of Evanston Virtual Fundraiser Celebrates Hospitality Center's 35th Birthday |
Join Interfaith Action of Evanston in a joyous celebration of the 35th anniversary of its Hospitality Center at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Evanston. In a Facebook Live event, Interfaith Action will share the history of this critical service for those experiencing homelessness and celebrate those who have helped the Hospitality Center make an impact on that community. In addition, a host of participants, led by renowned violinist Rachel Barton Pine and Evanston rapper Big Chuck, will celebrate the event musically. The event will go live on Interfaith Action of Evanston’s Facebook page on May 23, at 7 pm. It will be archived for later viewing in the Facebook page as well. Donations can be made through the link below. Participation does not require a Facebook membership.
|
|
Rainbow Alliance Meets June 1 |
Rainbow Alliance Meets on Tuesday, June 1 - All are Invited! Rainbow Alliance's next planning meeting will be held on June 1 at 7:00 pm. If you are interested in joining, please email Lizzy at eapowers1019@gmail.com or Jordan at jordan.strueber@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
|
|
Now Accepting Nominees for the 2021-2022 Shared Plate Program |
The Social Justice Council invites you to submit nominees for the 2021-2022 Shared Plate Program. Each year, UCE’s Shared Plate Program donates half of the Sunday offering received to 13 organizations in support of their social justice efforts. The deadline for submitting a Nomination Form is June 30, 2021.
Organizations may be nominated by a UCE member or staff. For 2021-2022, in light of the reality of our present crises, in order to be eligible for the Shared Plate Program an organization must address systemic racism and/or the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on people of color and the poor.
|
|
Unitarian Church of Evanston
1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201
847-864-1330
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
