Sunday Service

November 9, 2025 at 10:30 am 

Serendipity Auction: Final Countdown!

The finish line is in sight—get those last bids in! Online bidding closes Saturday, November 8 at 11:00 a.m. Not done having fun? Raffle Tickets are still available through 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 9. It’s your final chance to toss your name in the hat and support UCE in a joyful way.

How to make the most of the final hours?

• Place (or update) your max bids now so you don’t miss out in the final minutes.
• Use “Buy It Now” where it’s offered—secure your favorite item on the spot.
• Share the catalog with a friend who loves a good cause and a great find.

Thank you for the generosity, creativity, and community spirit you’ve poured into Serendipity this year. Every bid and every ticket helps UCE shine. Questions? Reach out to the Serendipity Team and we’ll help you finish strong - auction@ucevanston.org.

The Endowment Committee has adopted an exciting and ambitious new vision!

Established in 1986, the Endowment Fund invites members to make gifts that preserve our congregation for future generations. The fund also helps meet current needs within our congregation, supports our community partners, and provides grants for impactful local projects.

Like the roots that nourish and stabilize a tree, Endowment dollars strengthen our community—promoting health, resilience, and vitality. And now, we have a bold vision for the future:

Our vision:

The UCE Endowment Fund will grow to $10 million by 2050 through legacy gifts and effective stewardship. This growth will allow the Endowment Fund to provide more than $5 million in grants over the next 25 years—encouraging innovation, strengthening community, and advancing congregational vitality.

If you have questions about the Endowment Fund, how to make a gift, or how to include the Fund in your will, please reach out to any Endowment Trustee: Bob Seyfried, Jean Butzen, Shirley Adams, Lisa Solomon, or Alexa Bezjian-Avery (2027). You may also contact Committee Members Topher Carrington, Melanie Kitchner (Board Representative), or Jeanne Kerl.

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

This Sunday…

Childcare (0-3 years) is available in room 11 from 8:45a-12:15p. 

Chalice Children (Pre/K/1st) in room 9 – Our children will explore the theme of Courage and create rubber stamp pictures after hearing the story, Owl Babies.

Hearts, and Hands (2nd-5th) in room 8 – Our young people will explore the importance and joy of appreciating the little things in life in Gratitude and the Ordinary.

Youth Group (6th+) in room 10 – Our youth will explore the importance and joy of appreciating the little things in life in Notice the Small Things.

Faith Formation Registration

Please register your young person, ages 1-18 here.

Join us on Zoom November 10 at 7pm!

   We’ll share ideas on ways to build connections and community.

Create Your UU Elevator Speech – November 18 at 7p – Youth and Adults

Have you ever been caught tongue-tied when asked about Unitarian Universalism? Then this program is for you! Create Your UU Elevator Speech guides participants through developing an elevator speech about their UU faith. It is called an “elevator speech” because, on an elevator ride when someone asks you “what is Unitarian Universalism?” you only have a short time to make a meaningful statement. Register here.

Hi Friends,

I had so much fun at our SOLARbration! I loved singing along with the live music, meeting the speakers, and especially the ribbon cutting. Mary Beth Roth took the photo of me immediately following the cutting of the green ribbon with the giant scissors to celebrate the installation of our solar panels.

Each week I am grateful to be part of this faith community that values finding ways to celebrate and restore one’s spirit alongside the social engagement needed in this moment to continue to seek accountability for the ongoing abuse of power within our federal government systems. You inspire me.

Our Catalyst for Democracy Team has joined our Social Justice Council and is launching a Love Resists: Engaging in Noncooperation campaign. The focus areas of the Love Resists campaign are:

· Action

· Building Community

· Training geared toward engagement

Catalyst team members will be organizing within these areas and sharing ways to engage through the newsletter and through our UCE Local Response Network. Right now, there are many ways to get engaged. Please remember that you don’t have to do or attend all the things. That if each of us is engaged when and how we can be, then we are able to take turns and continue to make a difference. The vital part is that we all are participating, which includes reaching out for support when we need it, making time to rest when we need it, and then doing the one next thing that we can do.

The hard work of social change includes the laughter and joy of community building. I encourage you to reach out to each other, to your friends and families, to your neighbors and colleagues and talk with them about what it is that you are able to do together.

Hats Off

Our hats are off to Taryn Nelson Seawright, Taylor Hobart, and Carol Mergl of our UCE Pagan Collective for our Samhain Spiral Dance on Sunday. They anchored a collaborative community event to celebrate Samhain, the Pagan holiday that celebrates the final harvest, marks the beginning of winter, and honors our ancestors. The ritual included a Spiral Dance, which celebrates the scared cycle of life, death, and rebirth and is a meaningful way to honor the deceased. 65 community members, including a dozen folks from UCE, participated in the Samhain Spiral Dance. Thank you, Taryn, Taylor, and Carol, for hosting this event and creating a space where people with differing backgrounds, identities, and abilities were able to come together to honor the ancestors and celebrate the turning of the seasons.

• To submit Newsletter requests Please use our Google Form found HERE to submit your articles and images. The deadline is Noon on Wednesdays.

• If you're viewing the newsletter in your email inbox, click on "View entire message" at the bottom of the email to read the full newsletter!

Friday, November 7th:

• Family Friday Game Night, 6-8pm, Room 3
• Young Adult Covenant Group, 7-9pm, Room 12

Saturday, November 8th:

• Virtual Pilates, 9:30am, via Zoom
• Beginner Tai Chi, 9:45-10:45am, Room 3
• Intermediate Tai Chi, 11-12pm, Room 3

Sunday, November 9th:

• Loftstrom Covenant Group, 8:45-10:15am, via Zoom
• Chris Isley Cancer Support Group, 9-10:15am, Room 6 & Zoom
• Green Team Meeting, 9:15-10:15am, Room 2
• Worship Service, 10:30-11:30am, Sanctuary
• Serendipity Auction Item Pickup, 11:30-12:30pm, back of Sanctuary
• Young Adult Group Soulful Sunday, 12:15-1pm, Room 12
• Community Singing Circle, 12:30-1:30pm, Room 3
• Nominating Committee Meeting, 7-8:30pm, via Zoom

Monday, November 10th:

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

Tuesday, November 11th: Veteran's Day, UCE Offices Closed

• UU Network Team, 11-12pm, via Zoom
• Women's Circle of Friends Covenant Group, 1-2:30pm, via Zoom
• Emissions Reduction Task Force, 2:30-3:30pm, via Zoom
• Covenant Group Facilitator's Training, Room 3

Wednesday, November 12th:

• Yoga Online, 9:30-10:30am, via Zoom
• THAT Covenant Group, 7-9pm, via Zoom
• Living Legacy Panel Presentation, 7-8:30pm, Room 3 and Zoom

Thursday, November 13th:

• Evanston Near South Proximity Group, 1-2pm, via Zoom
• Beacons of Light, 4-4:30pm
• Meditation Group, 5:30-6:30pm, via Zoom
• Choir Rehearsal, 7-8:45pm, Sanctuary

UCE Cares

UCE is a congregation of mutual care and support in service of our overall mission to nurture the human spirit for a world made whole. In these difficult and overwhelming times, we’re all struggling in different ways to take care of ourselves and each other. The Congregational Care and Support Teams are here to help.

The Caring Team provides practical care like meals and rides during health challenges or other family transitions.

The Pastoral Care Team works with the ministers to provide spiritual accompaniment for members of the congregation struggling with loneliness, grief, anxiety and other concerns. We don’t provide therapy but a thoughtful listening partner.

If you’re struggling financially or need short term help with a bill or payment, please reach out to one of the ministers to access our pastoral care funds.



If you know of someone who might need care, if you need care yourself, or if you would like to offer care to others, please visit our Congregational Care Page

 Attend A Journey Toward Membership Class

Are you a new or long-time visitor? Are you interested in committing to our UCE community as a member? Are you not sure, but would like some more information? Our Journey Toward Membership class covers UU history and values, what is means to be part of a covenantal faith tradition, and the rewards and responsibilities of being a member of UCE.

Join Rev. Susan and the Membership Team at one of our Journey Toward Membership classes. The class is 90-minutes and you only need to attend it once before joining. Next class dates are:

• Saturday, November 15, 2025, 1:00-2:30 pm, Room 12, no child care available. Click here to register.
• Sunday, December 7, 2025, 9:00-10:20 am, Room 12, child care provided. Click here to register. 

If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Susan Frances at sfrances@ucevanston.org.

The Music Team is sponsoring a community singing event at UCE, Sunday November 9 at 12:30pm.

We have arranged for an experienced song leader, Megan Eberhardt (Old Town School of Folk Music and more) to help us join in an informal singing experience. All songs will be taught orally, on-the-spot. Experienced and non-experienced singers are welcome! We will sing songs in unison, rounds, call and response and more. Come experience the simple joy of singing together. And walk away revitalized, connected and with old and new singable songs in your heart and pocket.

This a free event with a free will offering to cover costs open to all. Children accompanied by parents are welcome.

Here is a video to give you an idea of what it is like:

photo credit: Tess Graham.

The Power of Non-cooperation; Steps Toward Action for the Busy Person!

Save the date for a local boycott action November 16.

Details in follow-up

newsletter. 

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have

any.” Alice Walker’s quote speaks to this moment that we are facing as a nation.

We have been learning a lot about non-cooperation these days as an effective tool of

civic resistance, but what does it mean and what can it really look like?

“Noncooperation is refusing to do what is expected, disrupting the normal course of

events and withdrawing support from unjust or illegal policies.” The goal is to

“undermine the authority of an unjust system to establish its unfair policies.” By creating

cracks in its foundation of power, it can ultimately weaken the regime.

Non-cooperation can take many forms: One is simply using one’s purchasing power to

boycott certain companies or canceling subscriptions. It works because it affects the

economic system, which is a powerful pillar of society. If enough people participate, it

can be impactful. 

Next Steps: Next week, we will share more about those Pillars and how to rock them!

Join the Catalyst for Democracy team on REALM or at the back of the Sanctuary after

Service.

The next meeting of the UCE Fiction Book Group

is Friday, November 21st, using our Recurring Zoom link

The UCE Fiction Book Group is reading "American Pastoral" by Philip Roth. Pulitzer Prize Winner 1998. Philip Roth shows us ourselves like no other.

Swede Lvov lives the American Dream until his daughter is lured into the radical left terrorism of the late 1960’s and brings it all down. What is the American Dream and how do we manage (or not) to include everyone in it?

Next read: Kiran Desai, "The Inheritance of Loss," December 18.

The Nonfiction book group will meet online at 2 p.m. on Sunday, November 23, using our recurring Zoom link.

Join us to discuss The Light Eaters: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoe Schlanger. Washington Post staff writer Zoe Schlanger provides an overview of sometimes controversial plant research and challenges readers to rethink the role of plants and expand their appreciation for plants’ essential role in the great web of existence.

On Dec. 28th we’ll discuss On Looking: A Walker’s Guide to the Art of Observation by Alexandra Horowitz.

Celebration of Life for Irene Adler

Saturday, November 22, at 1:30pm, we will celebrate the life of our much beloved Irene Adler. 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 Irene click HERE, make your selection and click SignUP!

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

Many thanks!

MITTEN TREE 2025

Mitten Tree gift sign-up is up and running (HERE). It may seem too early to be thinking about the holidays, but gifts are due back at UCE for sorting and wrapping by SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30th, so don’t delay in signing up! Don’t want to shop? You can donate money and the mitten tree elves will shop for you–you may Zelle or Venmo Jenny Walsh, jmw99free at gmail dot com or 847-309-3648, or write a check to UCE with Mitten Tree in the memo.

Sign up to help with organizing/shopping/wrapping HERE. 

This longstanding tradition is a beautiful snapshot of our community’s shared values and a privilege to help organize. Read on below about where your gifts will go this year, AND MAY WHAT YOU GIVE BRING YOU JOY!

2nd Annual UCE Camping Trip!

Next summer may seem like a long time away, but we are starting to gauge interest in our second camping trip and want your input. Please fill out this brief survey (by Nov. 24) sharing your opinions and needs.

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 Restore Justice Foundation, whose mission is to make Illinois a safer and more compassionate state by replacing the ineffective, extreme sentencing policies of the past with evidence-based laws that allow families and communities to heal. 

Family Friday Game Night – This Friday, 6-8p

Always a good time! All ages are invited for a game night.

Bring a snack or beverage to share and a favorite game.

OWL Orientation for Parents of 7th-9th Graders

Learn about this popular sex-ed program on December 7, 2-3:30p.

Friends are able to participate as long as a parent attends this meeting.

UCE Young Adult Group

Third Friday Faith Formation & Game Nights

Our next gathering is Friday, November 21st



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@ucevanston.org) with any questions.

Christmas is Coming!

We have three fun events next month!

Cocoa, Carols, and Community – December 5, 6-8p

We’ll wrap gifts for the mitten tree and then enjoy hot cocoa and sing carols.

 Ornament Sunday – December 7 during Kinship Time

Make several holiday ornaments. Sign up here to staff a craft table or to help set up or bring treats.



Christmas Pageant – December 21 during worship

You can claim a role by signing up here or simply show up before worship to claim one not yet taken.

Come be a Beacon of Light!

With the time change, we have changed the time for our gatherings at the corner of Dempster & Ridge every Thursday to be from 4:00-4:30 pm starting November 6.

Inspired by Beacons of Light, 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. You may join the Beacons of Light WhatsApp group by filling out their form.

Whether we’re three people or 100, we continue to provide a source of hope and solidarity for the participants, those driving by, and our neighbors. All are welcome!

Community Solar Options For You (Solar Without Panels)

At our Solarbration to celebrate the installation of our solar panels, we were joined by Climate Action Evanston. Climate Action shared with us about "Solar Without Panels," sometimes referred to as "community solar."  It's a program for homeowners, condo dwellers, and renters who want solar-generated electricity--but can't physically install panels where they live. Instead, they get electricity from a solar "farm" nearby. 

The sign-up process takes 10 minutes and is this easy:

1. Call one of these providers (Climate Action Evanston does not endorse or receive a fee from any of these providers):
2. Nexamp
3. Solstice
4. Ampion
5. Clearway
6. Sunscription
7. Ask for a "subscription."
8. Give them your ComEd account number. There is no credit check, no contract, and no sign-up fee.
9. They do the rest. 

If you have questions, please contact T. Manning, Education and Outreach Coordinator with Climate Action Evanston, at tmanning@climateactionevanston.org.

ONGOING UU CONNECTIONS

Unitarian Church of Evanston

1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201

847-864-1330