Sunday Service

November 23, 2025 at 10:30 am 

Bring Bread and Accoutrements on Sunday!

In celebration of the many ways we sustain each other, you are invited to bring bread from your tradition or culture or just some you like! You’re also asked to bring something to accompany bread, such as cheese, spreads, fruit, etc. We will share these offerings after the service on Sunday, 11/23.

Gift Card Collection during Annual Bread Communion

For our Bread Communion on November 23, 2025, we are asking you to bring a gift card along with your loaf of bread. Gift cards will be donated to these two local organizations:

Gift cards in the amount of $75 from Visa, MasterCard, Valli, Jewel, and Aldi

will be donated to the Community Cares Collaborative, which helped organize

the massive food drive at ETHS and is now working with District 65 and 202 social

workers to supplement the approximately 3,000 families who receive free and

reduced lunches and are in need of food support right now.  

All other gift cards of any kind and in any amount will be donated to Interfaith

Action of Evanston to be distributed through their Hospitality Center run out of St.

Mark’s Episcopal Church from 7-11 am, Monday – Friday.

November 30th is a Mask Required Sunday

Masks are required for our worship service on Sunday, November 30th. As we continue to create space for in-person community time with our immunocompromised members and friends, we will have a mask required service once a quarter. The next mask required services will be February 1st and June 28th. 

On a mask required Sunday, masks are required to be worn by everyone from 10 am – 1 pm on the entire main floor. Gatherings in the Lower Level rooms may be unmasked.

Kinship Time food and beverages may be enjoyed by being briefly unmasked in the café area.

Children and youth will remain in worship for our Bread Communion

This Sunday…

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

Faith Formation programs return November 30 for ages 3+.

Faith Formation Registration

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

Ornament Sunday - December 7

during Kinship Time

Join the fun for this UCE tradition!

You can make a variety of holiday ornaments for your tree or the UCE tree.

And if you’d like to help staff a table, you can see some ideas or suggest your own on the sign up here.

Will You Pray With Me?

Wait! Come back! I promise it's not that scary.

All this month in worship we have been inviting you to consider prayer as a spiritual practice and what kind of prayer we Unitarian Universalists might find accessible and helpful. Often, we think of prayer as petitionary– asking God to give us what we want or think we need. “Please God, let our team win the big game tonight,” is the classic example. Most of us don’t adhere to the idea of a God who would take requests and fulfill them according to some mystical calculation. Absolutely no shade to those who do find this idea of God, or some version of it, useful.

Our hats are off to members of our Catalyst for Democracy Team for their coalition work with the Unitarian Universalist Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI), Unitarian Universalist Association Side with Love, and other nonprofits who are seeking to hold accountable the corporations profiting from contracts with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The coalition gathered over 1000 individuals at 18 AT&T locations across Illinois this past Sunday afternoon to demand AT&T terminate its contract that supplies DHS and ICE with the communication systems and equipment relied upon in their abductions of individuals across the Chicago metro area. People’s Action has a “Say No to AT&T Until They Stop Contracting with ICE” petition you may sign.

Our Catalyst team collaborated with Indivisible Evanston to organize a demonstration outside of the Evanston AT&T store with 70-100 community members attending the hour-long demonstration, including 2 dozen UCE members. Coverage in the RoundTable showed Mary Dudek leading our chants. Michael Skilton was quoted in the Evanston Now article. In the coverage by The Daily Northwestern, Janelle Brittain spoke to our immigrant families living in fear and Steve Serikaku was quoted, saying “We side with love. We side with what is good for all. We are asking AT&T to do the same.”

Thank you, Mary, Michael, and Steve, for all your planning to successfully bring this issue to the larger community. Thank you to Janelle for showing up and speaking with the press and to Margaret Koreman for photographing the event. Thank you to Lynn Ludaway, Mary Ellen McGoey, and Shirley Adams, for their behind the scenes organizing. Thank you to Sarah Vanderwicken for putting together chant sheets, and to Alison Issen for being another chant leader. Thank you to everyone who attended for giving voice to our UU values.

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Friday, November 21st:

• The Play's The Thing, 6:30-9:00pm, Room 3
• Young Adult Group, 7-10pm, Rooms 6 and 12

Saturday, November 22nd:

• Virtual Pilates, 9:30am, via Zoom
• Beginner Tai Chi, 9:45-10:45am, Room 6
• Intermediate Tai Chi, 11-12pm, Room 6
• Irene Adler Memorial, 1:30-3:30pm, Sanctuary

Sunday, November 23rd:

• Chris Isley Cancer Support Group, 9-10:15am, Room 6 & Zoom
• UCE Choir Rehearsal, 9-10:10am, Sanctuary
• Worship Service/Bread Communion, 10:30-11:30am, Sanctuary
• Potluck/Kinship Time, 11:30-12:30pm, Sanctuary Cafe
• Young Adult Group Soulful Sunday, 12:15-1pm, Room 12
• Non-Fiction Book Club, 2pm, via Zoom

Monday, November 24th:

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

Tuesday, November 25th:

• Leadership Development Team Meeting, 6-7pm, via Zoom

Wednesday, November 26th:

• Yoga Online, 9:30-10:30am, via Zoom

Thursday, November 27th-Friday November 28th: THANKSGIVING BREAK - UCE Offices Closed

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

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!

 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. The next class date is:



• 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 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.



MITTEN TREE 2025

THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23, is the last day to sign up to purchase gifts for Mitten Tree (sign up HERE or you may stop at the table at the back of the sanctuary after the worship service). There are still many unclaimed items, 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.

Gifts are due back at UCE BY SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 30, for sorting and wrapping. 

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

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

Holiday Greetings for the Incarcerated-A UCE Tradition

UCE’s Prison Ministry invites all congregants to join our team after services on consecutive Sundays, November 30 and December 7, to compose holiday wishes for UUs who are incarcerated in Illinois prisons. This has become an annual tradition at UCE which is deeply appreciated by imprisoned UUs who will spend their holidays far away from family and friends. As we find ourselves in a moment of arrests and incarceration throughout the country, we need to remember those who have been suffering the pain of separation for years, if not decades in Illinois prisons. We hope you will take a few minutes to join us at the back of the sanctuary to send greetings to those who many believe are outside the circle of love. Our Unitarian values teach us that no one is outside that circle and our holiday wishes to the incarcerated are one way we prove the depth of that conviction. Please join us.

Claim your Lost & Found Items by November 30



As winter approaches, it is time to empty out the Lost & Found drawer and make room for more. Any items not claimed by November 30th will be donated.

The Lost & Found drawer and hanging items are located in the lobby across from the bathrooms. Small items, such as keys and jewelry, are kept in a box in the office.

Please look for your lost items on Sunday morning or when the office is open from 10 am - 4 pm Tuesday through Friday.

Our successful action “STOP AT&T's COLLABORATION WITH ICE” at the Evanston AT&T store was in collaboration with the UUANI and UUA Side with Love campaigns of non-cooperation as well as our local Indivisible Evanston.   It was a highly effective action with lots of public support and garnered positive news coverage.  

To keep the momentum going, UCE’s Catalyst for Democracy recommends ongoing use of our economic power especially at this time of year.  Instead of Black Friday sales, consider skipping purchasing from big corporations and instead buying local from businesses that support your values and your communities – a true win/win!  Small Business Saturday, 11/29/25, is happening in Evanston, Chicago and other localities.  Also, please stop by the program table after Sunday’s service for more information/resources.  We’d love to chat with you!

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. 

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.

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.

Family Fall Feedback – December 14 at 12:15p

Based on our gathering with Rev. Eileen recently, we now invite parents/families to help us prioritize the many ideas that were shared. Childcare available.

If you’d like to add your thoughts, please respond to this short survey.

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!

Passage of the Clean Slate Bill

It is with great joy that we celebrate the passage of HB 1836, the Clean Slate bill. After four years of advocacy and organizing, the Illinois state legislature passed a bill that will automatically seal the records of people convicted of misdemeanors and low-level felonies. Over 2.2 million people in Illinois can benefit from this law. It opens up opportunities for work, housing, and education, all of which lead to better post-release outcomes for those who served sentences in Illinois prisons. This law recognizes the inherent worthiness and dignity of every human being. As the Clean Slate Illinois Coalition states, “True justice extends beyond punishment - it opens pathways to renewed purpose and economic vitality.”

If you helped in any way to pass this law from filing witness slips to contacting your legislators, thank you!

~ Prison Ministry Team and Legislative Action Team

LOVE RESISTS

 Community Mutual Aid

Here are ways to support our neighbors impacted by ICE detentions, SNAP uncertainty, rising health insurance premiums, job loss, and the rise in grocery prices.

Thursday, November 27, 2025. Volunteer on Thanksgiving Day at the Annual Thanksgiving Dinner for our Interfaith Action Soup Kitchen Guests. You may donate food to be delivered between 12:00-12:30 pm. You may volunteer at the dinner between 12:00-4:30 pm.

Donate to your local food pantry and soup kitchen. In Evanston, these include:

• Fill up the UCE Giving House located in our lobby. We are collecting pasta, rice, grains, beans, cereal, soups, canned fish, and canned meat to donate to C&W Market Foundation in Evanston. 

• Interfaith Action of Evanston (IAE) publishes the schedule of Soup Kitchens, sponsored by them and other nonprofits. We keep hard copies of this schedule and the IAE Overnight Shelter in the red folder in the Welcome Center cabinet.

• Support the Evanston Community Fridges. You may contribute funds online or donate food at one of the three locations in Evanston: 1601 Payne Street, 1335 Dodge Avenue, 620 Madison Street. 

Donate to Evanston Latinos, which is working with local Sanctuary groups to support local families impacted by ICE detentions. When you donate online, write in the memo line either “Sanctuary Evanston” or “Sanctuary Niles Township.”

Carry a whistle. In neighborhoods across Chicagoland and the country, whistle brigades come together to alert each other to ICE presence in the neighborhood so that vulnerable individuals may hide and less vulnerable individuals may record what is happening. Blow in a short rhythm for ICE agent or vehicle sightings and walk toward their location if possible. Blow in a long continuous rhythm when witnessing an abduction in process. Take photos or video of what you are seeing.

When ICE is active in your area, provide inside options for workers.

• Ask your landscaper or snow removal company to skip their regular service, so their employees are not vulnerable while working in your yard, and still pay them for what would have been their regular service. 
• Plan to be home when outdoor painters or other service providers are at your home, so if you hear the local whistle brigade, you can let vulnerable persons inside your home.
• Talk with your cleaning service provider to make sure employees have transportation to and from your home and are not walking long distances from public transit.

ONGOING UU CONNECTIONS

Unitarian Church of Evanston

1330 Ridge Ave. Evanston, IL 60201

847-864-1330