News (Page 2)

New, Improved PADS Signup — 3 months at a time!

Dear Friends,  I’m trying something different for our PADS shelter volunteers. The signup for the first and third Mondays of the month now includes three months at a time — to give you plenty of time to plan. Here’s the link for June, July and August. Let’s fill it up! PADS Lunch Signup for June, July, August Dotty CarringiUUCE PADS Coordinator847-502-4835 “Homeless Doesn’t Have To Mean Hopeless” — Elgin PADS

Fourth Sunday Styrofoam Collection

The Fourth Sunday Styrofoam Collection is on May 28 from 11:30am to 12 Noon. Place your bags of foam in the Blue Prius near the church entrance. Please separate CLEAN Food Grade Styrofoam from packaging Styrofoam, and bag the food grade foam. No Styrofoam peanuts (they can no longer be taken to a UPS store). Thank you for recycling your Styrofoam and try to cut down your use. Styrofoam can be avoided to a great extent. It is damaging our…

From Kevin Sweeney, Interim Treasurer

Since February the Financial Committee has been hard at work putting together the proposed budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.  Our church operates on a fiscal year beginning July 1st and ending June 30th.  Each year we reach out to committees and groups to ask how much funding they want for the next year, and also use the amounts provided by the Stewardship folks to enter pledges and calculate expected income.  We check those amounts against recent payments to ensure they…

Board of Trustee Meeting Minutes 1/29/23 & 2/12/23

BOT Meeting 1/29/23 & 2/12/23 Present: Erica, Krista, Steve, Tom, Henry Check in – Centering – Krista ET – Previous employee news Kevin Sweeney / ET – Finance Share the Plate change – Discussed streamlining the process Worship Team’s budget for guest speakers – Will discuss Feb. 12th Part-time minister option – February 12th Treasurer position – Discussed the transition to new treasurer 11/26/2022 Minutes Approved The rest will be covered in the February 12th, 2023, meeting: · Strategy/Next Steps/Council…

PADS Signup for June — Save the Dates!

Dear Friends, Please save the dates for June PADS signup. We need volunteers for Monday, June 5 and Monday, June 19. UUCE is committed to supporting basic needs of our homeless neighbors by regularly delivering meals and supplies to Elgin PADS, which stands for Public Action to Deliver Shelter. You may sign up to prepare and deliver one or all three courses, or you may volunteer as a server. Thank you! PADS Lunch Signup for Junesignupgenius.com Dotty CarringiUUCE PADS Coordinator847-502-4835…

BRAVER/WISER, Courage and Compassion for Life as it is.

The Uncovering Jennifer Hundley-Batts “How can I bless this food? It blesses me.”—Rev. Nancy Shaffer, in “Field at Table” from Instructions in Joy I compost. Obsessively. You may be a dinner companion whom I’ve awkwardly asked to gift me your leftover broccoli stems or tamale wrappers. You may be a coworker whose banana peel has been tucked away in my empty lunch container next to an apple core.It all ends up in my backyard compost pile, where you’ll also find my dedication…
Copper collection plate on a wooden table

Faith In Place

The Share the Plate recipient for the month of May is:  Faith In Place; People of Faith and Justice Protecting Our Earth   Faith in Place is a local organization based in Chicago, Illinois that coordinates religious leaders of diverse faiths and spiritualities leading the environmental movement to create healthy, just, and sustainable communities for all.  Faith in Place empowers people of diverse faiths and spiritualities to be leaders in advancing environmental and racial justice, providing resources to educate, connect, and…

Ethnic Eating; Barangeroo Recap and May’s Restaurant Selection

If you were looking for a meal with ambiance, be very glad you skipped Australia; but, if you were seeking some extremely tasty eating, you missed a chance. It was providential that only three folks went to Barangeroo because the space held two tables and a few other seats. The food made up for it. It was hard to choose between the eight different pies they featured. In fact, we brought 6 different frozen pies home. If you have a…

Shared Harvest Spring Potluck Picnic

UUCE members and friends of the church are invited to attend a Spring Potluck Picnic hosted by Shared Harvest Food Co-op on Saturday, May 13 from 11:00 a.m to 1:30 p.m., at UUCE. Bring a dish to share, enjoy good food, visit with Shared Harvest owner/members and supporters, and learn about their efforts to open a community-owned organic food co-op in Elgin. Tours of McQueen Station Farm will be available (register at picnic check in). The event will be held largely outdoors but…

PADS Shelter Signup for May

Dear Friends, Here is the link to sign up for lunch preparation and/or serving. UUCE is now volunteering for Elgin PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter) on the first and third Monday of each month. Thank you for your service and support! Dotty CarringiUUCE PADS Coordinator847-502-4835 “Homeless Doesn’t Have To Mean Hopeless” — Elgin PADS

Ethnic Eating At Barangaroos and May Date Change

By the time you read this, we will be a couple of days away from dining at Barangaroos Aussie Pies. It should be an interesting experience. In May, we will be targeting the country of Austria. As it happens sometimes, I did not consult the master schedule which is maintained by the Hislip household master (not me) so I must change the proposed date to Sunday, May 21st. On that date at 4:30 pm, we are dining at Heidi’s Fortune Pub at 2326 Hassell…

Elgin Pride: Save the Date! 

UUCE is proud to support Elgin’s first ever Pride parade and festival on Saturday, June 3, 2023. Pride month and related annual events are celebrated globally, with its origins being the result of decades of LGBTQIA+ activism and organizing for equal rights. On June 28, 1970, on the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising, the first Pride marches were held in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Thousands of LGBTQIA+ people gathered to commemorate Stonewall and demonstrate for equal rights. Elgin’s plans…