Halloween Happenings!

Campfire and Chili Cook-Off Tonight! 6p on the South Lawn

Bring a pot of chili or a side dish to share. We’ll have s’more by the fire and share some Halloween stories. Costumes invited!



Costume Parade on Sunday at noon! All ages are invited to dress up and join in a short parade. Meet in the sanctuary to begin at noon. 

Join Us to Reduce UCE's Carbon Emissions by 2035

We are putting together a committee to focus on reducing UCE's carbon emissions by 2035. The first meeting of this committee will be November 1, 2022, from 5:30-6:30 pm via Zoom. Contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org to get the Zoom link or if you are interested but unable to attend this initial meeting.

The UCE Board passed a broad resolution in 2020 that resolves that UCE will meet the same standards of carbon emission reduction by 2035 as set for in the City of Evanston's 2018 Evanston Climate Action Resilience Plan. The pandemic set us behind, but we are now moving forward with this effort. 

It will take the imagination and cooperation of our entire community to meet these goals. You are invited to join the newly forming committee and be one of the leaders on this journey.

Worship Planning Playdate

- Change of Date

Our November Worship Planning Playdate has moved from November 1st to November 8th. Apologies in advance for any inconvenience caused.

Rev. Eileen will be away on study leave until November 1st.

Please address urgent pastoral needs to Rev. Susan Frances and any issues regarding the building or operations to Sandra Robinson while she is away. 

Hats Off to Concert Volunteers

Hats Off to volunteers who helped Sandra Robinson with the Howard Levy Concert. 

It made all the difference that there was coverage of the many tasks that make a concert go smoothly. Thank you all. Lynn Kendall assisted with publicity and volunteer coordination, Peggy Boccard, Marcy Hicks and David Schroeder assisted with check in and ticket sales. Renee Hoff prepared food for the Green Room and worked at the cafe with Lynn Kendall and Janelle Brittain. Alice Chrostowski sold merchandise.

The concert was a great success as guests were happy. Some say it was like having Howard and Chris in their living room. As a bonus, we made money for UCE programs. Kudos to all who helped make this event a memorable one. 

Ellen Rieger LCPC is offering a grief group beginning Nov 10 at 7:00pm.

This group is open to all who have suffered a loss either recently or in the past. We will meet in person at the church. The group will run for 6 sessions on consecutive Thursdays. Some goals of the group are to share your story in a safe place, find coping skills to help deal with your loss, and support around navigating holidays, birthdays , and anniversary dates. Please contact Ellen ellenerieger@gmail.com or register here.

Deadline for Donations for the Serendipity Auction is fast approaching…

What will make UCE’s Serendipity Auction a success? YOUR donations! Never donated before? This is the year to do it! Click here to donate on the UCE auction website. Consider offering your best self: offer to shovel snow, prepare and deliver a meal or dessert! Do you have a hidden artistic or creative skill that we do not yet know about? Put it on display at the auction. Would you co-host a group event? We will help you with ideas and finding a compatible co-host. The deadline for submitting donations is October 31, 2022.

Come to the FUN All Ages Celebration Party, Sat. Nov. 12 from 5:00-8:00 pm. See the auction items, socialize, get your face painted, take a picture with photo props, see a hula dance demonstration, learn a dance and much more! Order your dinner NOW through the auction website. Please sign up to volunteer for a shift to greet, bartend, serve dinner, bundle items or clean-up. Coming soon: an e-mail with the answers to all your questions about registering and bidding. Any questions, write us at auction@ucevanston.org.

Strengthening Ties with the Wider UU Community

The Denominational Affairs Team recently had a retreat to review its purpose and role. We are pleased to present the final product of our discussion. Denominational Affairs (DA):

Seeks to strengthen ties between our congregation and the larger association: We alert our members to resources offered by the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and encourage participation in our Chicagoland area, regional and national activities. We aspired to achieve this by:

· Serving as a catalyst for greater connection between UCE and Unitarian Universalism (UUism)

· Being joyful in our work

· Creating fun-filled gatherings

· Advocating for UCE participation in local, regional, and national activities

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

Program Submission Deadline Extended for the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions

The theme of the 2023 gathering has been determined: A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom & Human Rights. With this theme in mind, you are invited to submit a program proposal for the convening of the next Parliament of the World’s Religions to be hosted August 14-18, 2023 in Chicago. Submissions are due by Thursday, November 3, 2022.

The Call for Programs for the 2023 Convening provides a unique opportunity for members of our Unitarian Universalist community to highlight the richness and diversity of our participation in the global interfaith movement and in the rich tapestry that is the world's largest interfaith event. Join our global community in making history as part of the cohort of UU presenters at the Parliament of the World's Religions!

Discuss the Draft Revisions of the UU Principles & Sources

The Article II Study Commission of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) has issued its first draft of what they hope is a reimagined Article II that will “lead us into the second quarter of the 21st Century, while honoring the historic roots of our liberal, progressive faith.” Article II of the UUA Bylaws is better known as the home of our Principles, Purposes, and Sources. Click here to read the draft of Article II.

There are two ways to engage with this re-visioning of our principles and sources and you are invited to participate in both:

1. Join a Zoom Feedback Session with the UUA to provide direct feedback on the entire Article II revision. There are 8 dates offered from November 5-14, 2022.

2. Join Rev. Susan and Betty Walker with the UCE Denominational Affairs Team to explore what these revisions mean. This is a 6-session class meeting once a month from November 2022 through April 2023 to explore these six topics provided by the Article II Study Commission: Co-Creating Unitarian Universalism, Shared UU Values, Inspirations, Mission and Purpose, Covenant, and Connecting. Join us for our first session on November 16, 2022, from 6:30-8:00 pm, via Zoom to delve into what it means to shake up our UU principles.

How to Become a Member of UCE

We will be welcoming a new class of members during our worship service on November 13, 2022. If you have been thinking about joining, please plan to attend our in-person Journey Toward Membership class on November 6, 2022, to learn about the rights and responsibilities of membership.

The Journey Toward Membership class will meet in Room 12 from 9:30-10:30 am on November 6th before the worship service. Child care is available. We will offer another round of in-person and online membership classes in the spring.

Please plan to join us for our annual Transgender Day of Remembrance Vigil on Sunday, November 20^th at 5:30pm.

This will be in person as well as livestreamed.

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.

Ethics: Committed Relativism on November 1 at 7-8:30p in room 3 and on Zoom

How can we be committed to deep ethical principles while still respecting cultural and intellectual relativism? 

Bob Mesle will offer a clear model for thinking about this dilemma with time for discussion and sharing. Register here.

UCE Fiction Book Group: Martyrs' Crossing, by Amy Wilentz

Amy Wilentz has a deep, firsthand understanding of the impossible snarl of politics and daily life that is Israel and the West Bank. 

Into that landscape she places a young Israeli soldier who must deny a young Palestinian mother and her sick son passage through a Jerusalem checkpoint toward crisis medical attention. 

The story spins out the ensuing tapestry of relationships, as each tries to assess loyalty, friendship, and personal sacrifice, reflecting the tragedy that is Palestine and Israel.

Meeting November 18, at 7pm by ZOOM

UCE Non-Fiction Book Group: Ten Windows: How Great Poems Transform the World by Jane Hirshfield

Join us on Sunday November, 20th as we explore this dazzling collection of ten essays by the master poet and essayist Jane Hirshfield on how the best poems work.

“Poetry,” Jane Hirshfield has said, “is language that foments revolutions of being.” In ten eloquent and highly original explorations, she unfolds some of the ways this is done–by the inclusion of hiddenness, paradox, and surprise; by a perennial awareness of the place of uncertainty in our lives; by language’s own acts of discovery; by the powers of image, statement, music, and feeling to enlarge in every direction.



Join the Zoom here!

Producemobile Donation Last Call

Interfaith Action Evanston (IAE) is operating the monthly Producemobile, which distributes fresh produce to Evanston’s families experiencing food insecurity. For more than a year, Interfaith has added SNAPGap, collecting and distributing items that most of us consider necessary, but are not eligible for purchase with federal benefits. Items for collection and distribution on November 8 are: lotion and bar soap. Items can be purchased online or locally, you can drop them at:   

Northminster Presbyterian Church

2515 Central Park

Evanston, IL 60201

Drop-off Hours are:

Monday and Friday 8:30am-2:30pm 

Tuesday 8:30am-5:00pm

Wednesday 8:30am-7:00pm

There’s Still Time to Get Out The Vote!

1. If you have postcards left, even though it is after the deadlines, do send them!

2. The Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois encourages us to use this app to encourage 3 friends to vote in favor of the Workers Rights Amendment, https://workersrights.com/me-plus-three/

3. Planned Parenthood provides this easy app called Impactive to encourage your friends and family in your contact list to vote, https://app.impactive.io/campaigns/planned-parenthood-action-fund. Create login and follow instructions. App signon campaign code: = 667088.

4. Text 3 friends or family members to remind them to vote. This kind of text from a friend is much more powerful than an anonymous text or call.

5. Lift your spirits with this music video by Jim Scott, UU troubadour, and a

bunch of his friends. It is wonderfully produced and fun to watch and sing along with, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5modvbYz_B8

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. 

The Mitten Tree is Coming!

We have four wonderful community partners this year. If you enjoy shopping for a gift request for the Mitten Tree, getting to know a host of wrappers, and seeing a list of hundreds of gifts fulfilled, please email Bridget Wild via Realm or at admin@ucevanston.org to get involved.  

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