Nurturing the Human Spirit for a World Made Whole | |
Sunday Service February 11th at 10:30am | |
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Darwin and Douglass: An imagined conversation about our common humanity.
We honor the lives of two great minds in the month of their birthdays and imagine what they might have to say to each other about evolution, race, and our common humanity. We look to two prophets of societal and scientific wisdom in our search for truth and meaning. Rev. Eileen leads the service with Sarah Vanderwicken as worship associate. The choir led by Vickie Hellyer and accompanied by Gregory Shifrin lead us in song.
Children & youth will go to their Faith Formation programs after joys and sorrows.
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Faith Formation Hour this Sunday
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Childcare (0-3 years) is available in room 11 from 9:15-11:45am
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Chalice Children (pre/k) in room 9 – The children will explore the theme of “Our Beautiful Earth” by learning about stormy weather.
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Heads, Hearts, and Hands (1st-6th) in room 8 – The young people will continue looking at our denomination’s proposed changes to Article II by playing a game “Change in the Weather”.
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Youth Group (7th-12th) in room 13 – the youth will explore the concept of Privilege.
Families can explore our new theme, The Gift of Justice and Equity, at home and on their own timeframe with the Soulful Home packet. Send pictures to Kathy Underwood of your family as you explore the many ideas here!
See our “living” calendar of programs and events here.
Parents can register their children/youth for the Faith Formation Program here.
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Membership Class - A Journey Through UU History
Join Rev. Susan in Room 12 from 9:30-10:20 am this Sunday February 11th, to journey through our UU history from the 2nd through the 21st Centuries. This is a class geared toward visitors who are new to Unitarian Universalism, but everyone is welcome!
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Empty Bowls SOUPER Sunday February 11th -
JOIN US!
Empty Bowls SOUPER Sunday is upon us! Join us immediately after the service this Sunday, February 11th to shop for your favorite donated handmade bowl. We’ll fill it with your choice from 11 delicious donated hot soups and chilis. Meals are accompanied by fruit, cheese, cookies and freshly baked bread served and donated by Evanston’s own, David the Bread Guy. Meal cost is $6/bowl with a $18 maximum per family or included with the cost of a bowl. (Prices range from $10 - $40.). As all volunteer slots are full, we just need hungry UCE members to participate. Proceeds will benefit the Hillside Panty, Producemobile and Connections for the Homeless.
We look forward to feeding you!
Sheila, Maggie, and The UCE Food & Shelter Team
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This week I received an email in my inbox containing a poem that provided some useful insight at the right moment. I’ve had the chance to be a part of some difficult but important conversations of late and the words in the poem, “A Place at the Table” by Rich Orloff was an unexpected gift. The poem begins:
When it’s time to hold the meeting
Give fear a place at the table
When fear feels estranged from your gatherings
It only works harder to be let in.
When we’re in the middle of conflict or difficult conversations, it can be hard to remember conflict is not always bad. We may know this intellectually, but for many, conflict is so uncomfortable, even painful, that we want to avoid it at all costs. However, inviting our fear, grief, anger, joy, even our ego, to the table can make these aspects of ourselves less powerful. Acknowledging our feelings as a part of us, giving them a seat at the table without giving them the gavel, can help us transform difficult conversations into moments of deeper connection with others.
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Our hats are off to Cathy Deamant and Chris Yoo for all the time and energy they spend volunteering in the kitchen. This past Sunday, Cathy and Chris swooped in and volunteered to cover as the Sunday Morning Kitchen Attendants when the scheduled volunteers needed an unexpected last-minute substitute. Plus, Kathy Talmage was having a bad back day and was very grateful to Cathy and Chris for their tremendous help. In addition to being regular Sunday morning volunteers in the kitchen, Chris and Cathy have been volunteering to set-up, clean-up, and provide food for the Generosity Conversations happening for our Pledge Drive.
Thank you, Chris and Cathy, for nourishing our community!
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This Week's Events & Links | |
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Friday, Feb 9th:
Saturday, Feb 10th:
- Virtual Pilates, 9:30-10:30am, via Zoom
- Parent's Night Out, 4-7pm, Rm 3
Sunday, Feb 11th:
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Chris Isely Cancer Support Group at 9am in-person Rm 6 and via Zoom Link.
- Journey of Belonging, 9:30-10:30am, Rm 12
- Parent's Perk, 9:30-10:15am, Rm 13
- Worship Service at 10:30am Sanctuary & on YouTube
- Mistakes & Miracles, 12:30-1:30pm, Rm 2
- Souper Bowl Sunday, 11:30am - 1:30pm, Sanctuary Cafe
- BLUU online Worship, 3-4:30pm, via Zoom
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Monday, Feb 12th:
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Addictions and Recovery, 7-9pm, via Zoom
Tuesday, Feb 13th:
- Denominational Affairs, 12-1:30pm, via Zoom
- Women's Circle of Friends, 1-2:30pm, via Zoom
- Emissions Reduction Task Force, 2:30-3:30pm, via Zoom
- Legislative Action Team, 5:30-6:30pm, via Zoom
Wednesday, Feb 14th:
- Yoga, 9:30-10:30am, via 8x8
- Please be aware we have an all Staff Meeting every Wed from 11-12:30pm
Thursday Feb 15th:
- Meditation Group, 5:30-7pm, via Zoom
- Board of Trustees, 7-9pm, via Zoom
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PLEASE NOTE: Newsletter submissions should be sent to Newsletter@ucevanston.org by noon on Wednesday. | |
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! | |
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The 2024-25 Pledge Drive is underway. If you haven't seen your pledge letter, check your spam/junk folder for a Constant Contact email from the UCE Admin@ address. If you still don't see it, send an email to pledgeinfo@ucevanston.org
And please plan to join us for the Pledge celebration potluck on March 3rd after worship. Bring your favorite recipe to contribute to our abundance!
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Congregational Connections | |
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Join the Beloved Conversations Bandwagon!
It's time to register for the spring sessions of Beloved Conversations classes. It's taught by experts from the UU Fahs Collaborative and is richly rewarding! Register here:
Registration will run from February 1st through February 29th and the Spring Term will kick off on March 12th, 2024.
Join us for a deep dive into the personal, transformative, spirit-growing work each of us needs to do around issues of race, identity, and justice, in relationship with other folks who share some similar experiences!
Within is a 12-week spiritual formation program that mixes multi-media learning and reflection at your own pace, processing in small groups, and worshipping together in community! You can access it entirely online and the materials are accessible for up to a year after the start of the program.
Check out our Beloved Conversations website for lots of information about Within and all of our exciting programs!
UCE has scholarships available for the Beloved Conversations: Within registration fee. Please complete an application here or contact Rev. Susan.
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Have you already taken Beloved Conversations? If so, please complete these three questions. We are trying to get an accurate count of UCE alums. If you have questions, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org. | | | |
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Get ready! Plans are already underway for the 2024 Rummage Sale.
As winter winds down and spring-cleaning approaches, please set aside items for donating to this year’s sale and encourage friends and neighbors to do the same!
Key dates to mark on your calendar:
2024 Sale Dates: Fri 5/3/24 – Sat 5/4/24
2024 Donation Dates: Sun 4/28/24 – Mon 4/29/24
2024 Setup Dates: Sun 4/28/24 – Thurs 5/2/24
What items are being accepted? As we have in the last two years, we will soon publish the 2024 Donation Tip Sheet.
Beginning in mid-March, the rummage sale planning committee will sponsor an informational table on Sundays at the back of the sanctuary. Likewise, we will post announcements to this newsletter.
Thank you for your past support of the sale. We look forward to your participation once again!
Email rummage@ucevanston.org with questions,
comments or suggestions.
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Save the Date: April 19th
The MidAmerica Region is coming together - both online and at the First Unitarian Society of Madison, WI on Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20 of 2024 for a multiplatform Regional Assembly!
The Keynote address will be given by the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, President of the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations, and Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia A. Thompson, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ. There will be workshops, the Annual Business Meeting of the MidAmerica Region, and opportunities to meet many UU Leaders from across our faith tradition.
For those who are in person, there will even be opportunities to tour this historic church designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. But most importantly, it is a time for us to come together as Unitarian Universalists from across the MidAmerica Region. Please join us, online and in-person for our first-ever multi-platform MidAmerica Regional Assembly!
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WHAT IS BLUU HAVENS?
A place for Black UUs and UU adjencent folx to call home. A place to feel held by, or more connected to, Black ancestry, Black love, Black thought, Black artistry, and Black faith. What we want is a Unitarian Universalism that, at EVERY turn, honors, uplifts, and equips our Black Lives.
Contact us at: bluuhavenchicago@gmail.com. Betty, Alice, Curtis, LeCretia, Shannon
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Parent’s Night Out – February 10, 4-7p
The Family Ministry Team is offering this fun time for kids as a part of the auction. Have an early evening to yourself while the kids enjoy stories, games, and crafts with the theme of the Lunar New Year.
Details here.
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Parent’s Perk – February 11 at 9:30a in Rm 13
Summer will be here before you know it, and for many families, that means summer camps! Come learn about UU camps and share other camp resources and experiences.
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Souper Bowl Sunday – Kinship Time on February 11
Kids can make Valentine cards while enjoying a bowl of soup or chili. See details about this “fun”draiser above in this newsletter.
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What does Liberation look like to you?
Write or draw what you think or picture at the
Soul Matters bulletin board by Room 12!
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Learning Together: An Interfaith Approach to the War in Gaza
February 17 & 18 2:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Tickets Available on Eventbrite for $20 (plus fees of about $3)
Tickets at the door are $25 (with no fees)
Discount Code for UCE members and friends as an event sponsor: INTERFAITH
Discounted tickets are $5 (plus fees of about $2)
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We Are All Inn - Finally!
Tuesday, February 13, 3pm-6pm
1566 Oak Ave, Evanston, IL 60201
Join us in celebrating the successful purchase of the Margarita Inn and a new era for Connections for the Homeless! This event will include tours of the Margarita Inn and a short program at 4:30pm featuring the voices of residents, staff, elected officials, and community members.
The Margarita Inn is a hotel-based shelter that is ideal to prepare folks for long-term housing solutions. Read More here.
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UCE Non-Fiction Book Group
South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation by Imani Perry.
Winner of the 2022 National Book Award for Nonfiction. In South to America, Imani Perry shows that the meaning of American is inextricably linked with the South, and that our understanding of its history and culture is the key to understanding the nation as a whole. This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. As she travels around the South, the author weaves together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors and her lived experiences. South to America offers an assertion that if we want to build a more humane future for the United States, we must center our concern below the Mason-Dixon Line.
Zoom discussion
Sunday, February 25th at 2 p.m. using our recurring ZOOM link
3/24/2024: Hey America, Grow Up! by David Brooks (NYTimes opinion column)
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UCE Fiction Book Group
North Woods
by Daniel Mason.
A sweeping novel about a single house in the woods of New England, told through the lives of those who inhabit it across the centuries.
Following the cycles of history, nature, and even language, North Woods shows the myriad, magical ways in which we’re connected to our environment, to history, and to one another.
A moving tale of memory and fate from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and author of The Piano Tuner and The Winter Soldier.
Zoom discussion, Friday, February 16th at 7pm, using our recurring
ZOOM link.
Upcoming Title:
3/15/24: Paul Harding This Other Eden
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Mistakes & Miracles Book Group
Sunday Feb 11th from 12:30-1:30 pm in Room 2
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CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO READ MORE: | |
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Unitarian Church of Evanston
1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201
847-864-1330
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