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In-Person & Virtual Worship Service

this Sunday, January 29th at 10:30 am

SCAM EMAILS

It has come to our attention once again that congregants are receiving scam emails appearing to be from Rev. Eileen - Please report and disregard.

Many thanks.

Endowment Task Force Recommendations are Out!

The Endowment Task Force recommendations are out! Click HERE to read them. we look forward to seeing you at the Endowment Task Force Town Hall Meeting in Room 6 and on Zoom THIS SUNDAY at 12.15pm in person after the service. You may also email your comments to Task Force chair Joe Romeo.

And a reminder: the final grant application deadline for this church year (ending June 30) is January 31. Check the Endowment webpage to learn more about how to apply for a grant, or contact us at endowment@ucevanston.org. 

Get Ready for Our Pledge Drive Takeoff!

The UCE 2023-2024 annual pledge drive is about to take off. Click Below for the flight plan

Young Adult Virtual Gathering



Young adults (18-35) are gathering on Zoom THIS SUNDAY at 2pm, for conversation and virtual games, hosted by Lane Deamant all the way from Scotland! Register HERE to join the fun! And here is the Zoom LINK to join!

Masks & Boosters

With more people attending on Sunday mornings, please remember that we continue to recommend that you wear a mask inside and make time to get the latest COVID-19 vaccine booster.

Flowers & Chalice

Starting February 5, 2023, we will return to having volunteers bring flowers for the chancel. Whoever brings flowers will also light and extinguish the chalice during our worship service.

If you, your family and friends, or your team or small group would like to bring flowers and tend the chalice on a Sunday morning, please click here and select the Sunday that works for you.

If you have questions or ideas about Sunday mornings, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org.

Our Hats Are Off to the volunteers who hosted a successful Anti-Oppression Task Force Summit this past Saturday.

Thank you to the current members of the Anti-Oppression Task Force (AOTF) who spent hours planning the Summit: Christine Allender, Dana Deane, Jean Durkin, Martha Holman, Melanie Kitchner, Griffin Larson-Erf, Beth McDonald, Mary Ellen McGoey, Cheryl Mounts, Joe Romeo, Steve Serikaku, Elaine Seigel, Mike Takada, Jessica Tomell-Presto, Betty Walker, Annette Wallace, Rex Wallin, Carla Williams, Maggie Wilson, and Chris Yoo. 

We also send our gratitude to the additional volunteers who helped out the day of the Summit from being a zoom host to bringing food: Shirley Adams, Jean Butzen, Mary Dudek, Meredith Haydon, Marcy Hicks, Lynn Kendall, Carolyn Lauglin, Jinny Niemann, Margaret Shaklee, Sarah Vanderwicken, and Maggie Weiss. 

With over 80 attendees at the Summit, we are on our way to living into the Anti-Oppression Task Force’s aims of expanding the congregation’s ownership of the anti-racism, anti-oppression work; increasing power sharing at UCE; and encouraging radical inclusion and hospitality. Details about our way forward will be forthcoming.  

"Save the Date"

Budget Town Hall Meeting, February 21 at 7 p.m. via Zoom

Chicago Area UU Council Winter Conference

The Chicago Area UU Council will be holding its in-person and online winter conference TOMORROW - Saturday, January 28, 2023, from 9:00am-2:00pm at Countryside Church UU in Palatine.

Rev. Marcus Fogliano, Project Manager to the Office of the President of the UUA, will provide the keynote presentation titled “Finding Our Center – A journey to the central values the Article II Study Commission have presented for our consideration.”

The UUA Article II Study Commission has issued its

Article II Study Report!

Our senior minister, Rev. Eileen Wiviott, and our former Director of Faith Formation, Dr. Mary Lamb Shelden, will also be guest panelists at the conference.

Emissions Reduction Task Force is in Force!

A new group has been convened, and we are raring to go! The Emissions Reduction Task Force’s leadership is comprised of Michael Drennan (liaison from Green Team), David Bates-Jeffreys (liaison from the Board of Trustees), Robb Geiger (liaison from Building & Grounds), Sandra Robinson, and Rev. Susan Frances. We have been given a mandate by the Board to compare our building energy usage and emissions with guidelines set out by the City of Evanston regarding reducing our emissions—of energy usage, water usage, and waste generation. This will get us ready for a cleaner energy future. We are committed to making UCE a leader in Evanston in responding to the climate crisis by going as green as we can.  

We have already started to analyze the energy use of the building, and in the future we will be expanding that analysis to include water usage and waste generation. In a few months, we hope to produce measurable goals for energy usage, and a timeline for reaching a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2035 through energy efficiency efforts. Watch the newsletter for our public launch—a green party, complete with green tea!

If you want to help on this task force, we would love to have you; contact David Bates-Jefferys or Michael Drennan through Realm or Sandra Robinson at srobinson@ucevanston.org.

Spring 2023 Queer Prom Planning Meeting

Would you like to go to an alternative Prom? For some of us, prom was not a safe option during high school. For some of us, prom was a wonderful part of high school. Whatever your past relationship with the Prom, you are invited to help Rainbow Alliance plan an alternative prom for the Spring of 2023. We’ll need teams for music, decorations, food, publicity! It takes a lot to plan a Prom and we’re gathering members of the queer communities and allies to plan a night of fun for the entire UCE community. 

The first Prom Planning Meeting will be on February 7, 2023, from 7:00-8:00 pm. Register here to get the Zoom link. 

If you have questions, please contact Jordan Strueber via REALM or Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org. 

Googling at UCE

On Sunday, February 12th, our very own Adam Gough will be holding Google Docs Training in Room 3 from 12-1pm. Please feel free to drop along!

2023 UUA General Assembly

The 2023 UUA General Assembly will be held in Pittsburgh, PA from June 21 – 25 online and in-person. 

Registration is now open. Click here for details.

The Denominational Affairs Team is asking you to consider being a Delegate to this General Assembly. Delegates will be considering changes to the UUA Bylaws, Article 2, that address racism, non-human life, and the inclusivity of the democratic process in our Principles, Purposes, and Sources. Delegates can attend in-person and virtually.

If you are interested, please contact Peggy Boccard via REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org.

We will continue to provide information via the Newsletter. 

Poetry for Caregivers

Join us on Tuesday, Jan 31, 7-8:30 pm, in-person in room 3 and on Zoom.

Poet Leota Ester will invite group conversation and sharing in response to selected poems from her book, Crossing: A Caregiver’s Journey. Leota wrote this poetry as she and her husband, Lee, traveled through his Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

Her experiences and observations may serve as a guide, perhaps a solace, for those who care for a loved one. Register here.

UCE Fiction Book Group: Delta Wedding by Eudora Welty

Join us Friday, February 17, at 7 pm by ZOOM

A vivid and charming portrait of a large southern family, the Fairchilds, who live on a plantation in the Mississippi delta. The story, set in 1923, is exquisitely woven from the ordinary events of family life, centered around the visit of a young relative, Laura McRaven, and the family’s preparations for her cousin Dabney’s wedding.

Next Reads:

March 17: Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

April 21: Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

May 19: I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart.

UCE Non-Fiction Book Group: The Big Thirst by Charles Fishman

The nonfiction book group will meet Sunday, February 26, 2023 at 2 p.m. via Zoom.

The Big Thirst brilliantly explores our strange and complex relationship to water.

We delight in watching waves roll in from the ocean; we take great comfort from sliding into a hot bath; and we will pay a thousand times the price of tap water to drink our preferred brand of the bottled version. We love water--but at the moment, we don't appreciate it or respect it. We need to rethink our essential relationship to water and bring creativity to ensuring that we'll always have plenty of it.

Sharing our Racial Justice History

Thank you to Dana Deane, Margaret Shaklee, Jane Kenamore, and Lee Bannor for your work exploring our historical documents, working together to understand the themes we wanted to share, and for communicating so well on Sunday, January 15th. Several people asked if the written reflections could be shared, so we will store these reflections on our website's history page, found HERE under Historical Articles

REAL Team Visioning

Join the UCE Racial Equity Action and Leadership (REAL) Team on February 22, 2023, via Zoom from 7:00-8:30 pm to discussion how the REAL Team will be moving forward in light of the information shared during the Anti-Oppression Summit.

Becky Crawford and Cheryl Mounts will be available during the Anti-Oppression Summit to answer questions. Whether or not you are able to attend the Summit this weekend, your input at the February 22nd meeting is vital to determining how our REAL Team will continue its work.

Join the new UCE Local Response Network

I WANT to do more social justice work!! (But, I don’t have the time…  I already spend my day engaged…there are too MANY  issues to know where to start …)

The new UCE Local Response Network could be for you!

The Local Response Network (LRN) enables members of the UCE community to take immediate, short-term action on local social justice issues. 

LRN alerts will be emailed to volunteers inviting you to engage in opportunities across multiple issues affecting our local community. Examples from this past year would have been marching for abortion rights, attending a vigil after the Highland Park shooting, or signing a petition to support the Margarita Inn. There is NO obligation to say “yes” to any particular invitation, and no long term commitment.  Joining LRN offers total flexibility, fits any personal schedule, and enables UCE members to take quick, short-term action right in our own community. 

Whether you are already a member of a UCE social justice team or not, the Local Response Network may be right for you. To learn more or sign up, reach out to Carolyn Laughlin through REALM, visit the table in the back of the sanctuary on Sunday, Jan.28, or contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org

Citizens Greener Evanston Meeting

Citizen’s Greener Evanston (CGE) is Reconvening on Climate Action & Resilience on Saturday, January 28th, 2023, from 3:00-5:00 pm at the Evanston Lorraine Morton Civic Center 4^th Floor Parasol Room. Please bring your ideas about how we can best coordinate climate action across organizations in Evanston.

Evanston organizations are invited to provide an update on what their organization is working on that is related to climate action. UCE is not planning to provide an update at this meeting. If you are interested in getting involved with CGE and attending what will be quarterly meetings, please contact Rev. Susan at sfrances@ucevanston.org.

Giving House Continues... February is CANNED SOUP month

We are accepting donations of CANNED SOUP in the giving house for the month of February.

The Giving house is a small wooden "house" that is located in the front lobby. We are partnering with a new free food supplier for the food insecure.

Clarence Weaver and his wife Beverly in March 2020 responded to the covid crisis by setting up a nonprofit 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 and food insecurity. They serve almost 50 people every other Saturday morning. They 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. February is CANNED SOUP month.

 C&W Market & Ice Cream is a Black owned business on the corner of Dodge and Church. This is a prime location for food distribution.  You can also support this business by buying Ice Cream and/or other sundries there. Thanks for your donation.