Howard Levy and Chris Siebold Concert Tickets Now Available

Mark your calendars, line up your sitter and get ready for a spectacular evening of musical excitement. Howard Levy and Chris Siebold are coming to our very own sanctuary on OCTOBER 23^rd at 7:00 pm. The duo, who have performed to great acclaim in the US, Europe and South America, features Howard Levy’s virtuosic harmonica and piano playing & Chris Siebold’s masterful resonator guitar work.

For those of you who are unfamiliar his work, Levy is a widely acknowledged master of the diatonic harmonica, a superb pianist, innovative composer, recording artist, bandleader, teacher, producer, and Evanston resident. Over his 40-plus year career, he has been featured on more than 300 recordings, won two Grammys and composed the first concerto for the diatonic harmonica. He was a founding member of the bluegrass-fusion group Béla Fleck and the Flecktones, and a frequent guest musician on NPR’s popular radio broadcast A Prairie Home Companion.

This promises to be an exciting evening of music you will not soon forget, and as a bonus, is a fundraiser for our church. Get your tickets and tell your friends and neighbors! Prices are set at $35 in advance, or

$40 at the door the evening of the concert. 

Young Adult Game Night

October 21 at 7pm in Room 3

Bring a favorite game and/or snack to share!

Register here

Hats Off to Bob and Barbara Mesle

Our hats are off to Bob and Barbara Mesle, who share their passions at UCE in many ways. They are both greeters with our Sunday morning Greeters Hospitality Team, encouraging connections and conversations among visitors and members. Each of them also frequently facilitates sessions with our Adult Faith Formation programs.

Most recently, Bob lead Faith as Faithfulness in September for the Forum Discussion Group and more in-depth the following Tuesday evening.. This winter, you can join Bob in a discussion about Ethics: Committed Relativism on November 1 or about The 1619 Project on December 6. 

This fall, you can join Barbara in a discussion on The Poetry of Mary Oliver on October 25 or on The Fiction of Louise Penny on November 15.

Bob and Barbara are often found at church when we serve meals and engaging in service in a variety of ways. Bob has also joined in the cadre of Worship Associates. Thank you, Barbara and Bob, for sharing your knowledge and blessing us with your commitment to engaging in deep conversations on a wide range of topics.

Never heard of the Serendipity Auction before?

Well, it is one of our major FUNdraisers!

The Serendipity Auction is a social highlight of the church calendar and one of our major fundraising events. This year we will have an evening of food, bidding, socializing and FUN! There will also be a livestream option to view the entertainment and festivities.

Our goals this year are to have a multi-generational event and to engage newer members to be a part of this FUN event! Place your dinner order now through the UCE auction website.

Those who have already made donations—thank you! Check out the evolving catalog on the UCE auction website. Contemplating what to donate? Check out the Ideas page! Consider inviting a newer member to share in a donation or to co-host an in-person or virtual group event, such as a dinner, a tour or a game night. This is a great way for affinity groups to participate together to offer a donation, perhaps a basket full of “What I Do for Fun!” items. Deadline for donations is October 30.

Wondering how to get involved or how this all works? We are available to chat at the auction table after Sunday’s service. Contact us at: auction@ucevanston.org

2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions Early Bird Registration Rate Only Through October 31st

The next Parliament of World’s Religions will be held August 14-18, 2023, in Chicago! Early Bird registration with a significant registration fee discount is happening now through October 31st!

Two New Member Engagement Teams Coming to UCE

The Membership Engagement Task Force has been hard at work for the past 18 months. After distilling and discerning the information gathered from focus groups and best practices research, the Task Force is launching two new teams that will sit on the Membership Engagement Council.

The new Congregation Connections Team is focused on helping visitors and members navigate how to get more connected, including fun socializing and making volunteer options clearer, so that you can form deeper connections within our community. If you believe making meaningful connections with others at UCE is essential to who we want to be as a Beloved Community, please consider joining the Congregation Connections Team!

The new Leadership Development Team is riveted on the role of lay leadership at UCE, including providing the congregation with a leadership model and roadmap to grow, develop, and support strong, positive lay leadership in our congregation. This team is seeking a few interested and energetic members to launch this endeavor!

If you are interested in joining either new team or interested in learning about the new teams, please click on the link below by October 27, 2022, and someone will be in touch with you. For questions, please reach out to Carolyn Laughlin via Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org or contact Rev. Susan.

Upcoming Endowment Grant Application Deadlines

Have a worthy project or community partner your team would like to nominate for an endowment grant? We have two remaining cycles for this year's funding and close to $40,000 in grant making capacity potentially available.

Application deadlines for the two cycles are October 31st and January 31st. Get all the information you need on Endowments home page or find us on the UCE homepage by clicking "ways to give". we highly recommend getting applications in early in order to ensure everything is in order. Questions? Contact us at: endowment@ucevanston.org

UCE builds Beloved Community and offers care to one another in several ways.

The Congregational Care and Support Team, or CCST, is the umbrella for the following teams:

· Caring Team - Meals: Members who bring meals to your home in difficult times 

· Pastoral Care Team: Works with the Ministers to provide spiritual and emotional support for the congregation

· Memorial Reception Team: Coordinates receptions following member memorial services

· Caring Team - Rides: Coordinates rides for members to church and for medical appointments 

The CCST is led by an Intake Coordinator, currently Ellie Feddersen. She forwards requests for care to the appropriate sub-team.

You can access support or offer support through the google form on the website: https://ucevanston.org/care-support-committee

You may also contact Ellie Feddersen at: elliefeddersen@gmail.com

We are a caring community. If you or a fellow member needs support with meals, rides or emotional/spiritual issues, please don’t hesitate to contact Ellie by filling in the form (preferrable) or emailing her.

To volunteer on one of the CCST teams, click here to Offer Care.

Journey of Belonging Series

Our Journey of Belonging Series is a class for visitors and members. Get to know folks in our UCE community as we delve into UU History, our sources, and our values and principles. This series is great for all members and highly recommended for visitors and new members.

· Journeying in Covenant on October 18: Delve into our UU Principles and what it means to be in covenant.

· Journey Toward Membership on October 25: If you are a visitor interested in joining UCE, you are invited to a fourth class to learn about the rights and responsibilities of membership.

This series meets Tuesday's evenings in October from 7:00-8:00 pm via Zoom. Register here

UCE Fiction Book Group: The Netanyahus, by Joshua Cohen

The UCE Fiction Book group is reading Joshua Cohen, The Netanyahus: An account of a minor and ultimately even negligible episode in the history of a famous family

Winner of the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction -Corbin College, not quite upstate New York, winter 1959–1960: Ruben Blum, a Jewish historian—but not an historian of the Jews—is co-opted onto a hiring committee to review the application of an exiled Israeli scholar specializing in the Spanish Inquisition. When Benzion Netanyahu shows up for an interview, family unexpectedly in tow, Blum plays the reluctant host to guests who proceed to lay waste to his American complacencies.

Meeting Friday, October 21, at 7pm by ZOOM

UCE Non-Fiction Book Group: The Devil's Highway: A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea

The nonfiction book group will meet via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Sunday, October 23rd to discuss The Devil's Highway: A True Story by Luis Alberto Urrea.

In May 2001, a group of men attempted to cross the Mexican border into the desert of southern Arizona, through the deadliest region of the continent, the “Devil’s Highway.” Three years later, Luis Alberto Urrea wrote about what happened to them. The result was a national bestseller, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, a “book of the year” in multiple newspapers, and a work proclaimed as a modern American classic.

Join the Zoom here!

We're in the last few miles of our marathon race to the November 8 election and we know we'll make it to the end! Need some final encouragement? 

Then join the party on Sunday October 16! Bring a friend.

Our state wide UU Advocacy Network of Illinois has scheduled a restorative Democracy Party for us Sunday, October 16, after the worship service, in Room 6 at 12:00 pm. Bring a snack to share, your favorite beverage, your stories to share and your postcards to write if that is your favorite democracy tool!.  And bring a friend! We will connect via Zoom with UU's all over the state. All our congregations are partying at the same time. 

You've been working and continue to work so hard to strengthen our democracy by helping to get out the vote! Be proud of your efforts.

October 16 is the last day to pick up postcards for this election.

Can't make it on Sunday? 

• Contact Carolyn Laughlin via Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org to have postcards delivered to you.
• Visit UUANI and sign up for their Actions of the Week .
• Challenge your creative response to our current situation at the national UUtheVote event page.
• Sign up for "Meeting the Moment", a national UUtheVote series to sharpen your knowledge and skills for encouraging voters.
• Join the UUtheVote Facebook group for more actions and events.

Very important Reminder Regarding Judicial Races: Voting for judges can be confusing and overwhelming. Injustice Watch, a non-partisan, non-profit organization offers their judicial election guide for your use in evaluating the candidates. 

Every vote counts & your efforts to encourage voter participation continue to be extremely important! Thank you!

Interfaith Action of Evanston Volunteer Training

Interfaith Action of Evanston (IAE) operates an emergency overnight shelter each winter. This year, UCE will be hosting the shelter from January 15 – February 4, 2023. You may volunteer to help in the shelter at UCE or any of the other nine sites.

IAE has new volunteer trainings on 10/17/22 at 7:00pm via Zoom and on 10/25/22 in-person at 7:00pm at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, 1004 Greenwood. UCE's very own Shawn Iles will be providing part of the trainings.  For more information please contact Sue Murphy with IAE at ia@interfaithactionofevanston.org or Shawn Iles via REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org.

GIVING HOUSE REOPENS - October is BEANS month. 

We are accepting donations of canned or dried beans in the Giving House for the month of October - which is a small wooden "house" that will be located in the front lobby. 

We are partnering with a new free food supplier for the food insecure - Clarence Weaver and his wife Beverly responded to the covid crisis in March 2020 by setting up a non profit organization and using 

their storefront (C&W Market & Ice Cream) to distribute free foods to those in need.

They provide fresh meat, vegetables and fruit along with nonperishable food items to seniors, District 65 families and those experiencing homelessness. They serve almost 50 people every other Saturday morning and are continuing this service to our community

Since they have plenty of storage, we can support their generous work by providing nonperishable items. We will be collecting one type of non-perishable food each month. October is BEANS (Canned or Dried) 

C&W Market & Ice Cream is a Black owned business on the corner of Dodge and Church and is a prime location for food distribution. 

UCE Hosting Milestones Event

Asylum Seekers Continue to Arrive in Chicago

Seeking Asylum is a Human Right! The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to seek asylum from persecution in other countries. People seeking safety and refuge should be welcomed with dignity and compassion — not turned away.

In the first week of September, 99 asylum seekers arrived in Chicago on buses from Texas. They continue to arrive and 750 have come as of the date of this writing. This might be the start of more regular arrivals in our area.

Opportunities for Action: 

• To donate, the Interfaith Community for Detained Immigrants (ICDI) has set up this fund to help with cash assistance and created an amazon wishlist to help restock their supplies.  

• The main request of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has been for Spanish translators able to stay at the shelters to help people get settled. It appears this need has been met, however, you may contact Rev. Scott Aaseng with the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI) at scottaaseng@gmail.com, if you would like to volunteer.  

• A recent Block Club Chicago article lists additional ways to provide assistance to Chicago's new arrivals.  

The City of Chicago, Catholic Charities, ICDI, and ICIRR are coordinating efforts for this group. ~ UCE Immigrant Solidarity Team 

Harms Woods Work Outing

Harms Woods Seed Collection, October 23 1 pm - 4 pm

Come celebrate fall with a habitat restoration outing at beautiful Harms Woods in Glenview! We will be collecting wildflower seeds for using in reseeding areas cleared of invasive plants. It's an easy and interesting activity, and is always a lovely walk in the woods led by the very knowledgeable long-time stewards, John and Jane Balaban