Youth Bridging Service
May 3, 2026- 10:00 AM
As our seniors graduate and begin new chapters, we wish them well and honor the hard work that has brought them here. Join us in celebrating our kids. Rev. Pam Rumancik & Rev. Karen Mooney will lead worship.The Secret of Community
April 26, 2026- 10:00 AM
We are longing to go home to a place we’ve never been. To be seen and heard and known- but what are we willing to give up to maintain connection? It is a tremendous blessing and it asks a lot....Earth Day Service
April 19, 2026- 10:00 AM
The earth is experiencing changes never before seen. Can we love Her even as we all transition to a new reality? What does looking ahead seven generations look like today? Rev. Pam Rumancik will lead worship. The service will...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
April 12, 2026- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. This intentional gathering remembers the ancient ways of ancestors who circled and sang under the night sky. Come as you are, ready to rest, remember, and be renewed. This...Until We Are All Free
April 12, 2026- 10:00 AM
In challenging times that call us to live out our religious values, join Rev. Allison Farnum and Keith Talley of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois as we explore how we “get free” from the lens of Unitarian Universalist...Easter: All on a Rising Day
April 5, 2026- 10:00 AM
We look at the world and what we may find as we visit Easter, Unitarian Universalist style. Rev. Pam Rumancik will lead worship. Please join us in the Sanctuary or via live stream at https://bit.ly/CCUUworshipSvc or to listen via phone,...The Thing with Feathers: What Hope Looks Like
March 29, 2026- 10:00 AM
The service will be led by Dr. Mary Lamb Shelden, who is a lifelong, second-generation UU, a writer, a certified religious educator, a skilled facilitator and consultant, and a credentialed spiritual director, certified and commissioned by Meadville Lombard Theological School....Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
March 22, 2026- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. March 22: Finding Our Way. Join the conversation about keeping this service alive. Join us for a gentle, restorative time of connection. We will use objects to invite one...Here Comes the Sun
March 22, 2026- 10:00 AM
The Strings, Choir, and Rev. Pam Rumancik look at the coming of spring through the lens of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons: Spring. This is the third of four seasonal music services offered in honor of the 300th anniversary of Vivaldi’s Four...Spiritual Journeys Service
March 15, 2026- 10:00 AM
Spiritual Journeys services are offered periodically, during which church members will share stories of their faith journey. This Sunday, Adam and Michael Lunter and Jeanmarie Dwyer-Wrigley will share their spiritual journeys. Please join us in the Sanctuary or via live...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
March 8, 2026- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. This intentional gathering remembers the ancient ways of ancestors who circled and sang under the night sky. Come as you are, ready to rest, remember, and be renewed. This...What Kind of Love is at the Center?
March 8, 2026- 10:00 AM
The new logo for our faith puts love at the center, but what might it leave behind? Forgiveness, Humility, Compassion, Grace? Being a UU means defining our own terms and remembering the fullness of being human. Rev. Pam Rumancik will lead...Lay Your Burden Down
March 1, 2026- 10:00 AM
Does our secular humanist relationship with the world mean everything is now on our thin human shoulders? How did a focus on individual freedom actually come to lay more on our plates? Where are the structures to help us navigate...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
February 22, 2026- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. This intentional gathering remembers the ancient ways of ancestors who circled and sang under the night sky. Come as you are, ready to rest, remember, and be renewed. This...A New Era of Action in Illinois
February 22, 2026- 10:00 AM
What happens when 30+ congregations speak with one moral voice? We are delighted to welcome Natasha Walker, our new leader at the UU Advocacy Network of Illinois (UUANI), to the pulpit. Natasha brings a unique perspective to our movement, combining...Embodied Activism
February 15, 2026- 10:00 AM
We’re hearing the word ‘somatic’ everywhere these days. Soma, meaning body, meaning that we’ve been in our heads too long and need to reconnect to our whole selves. How does this relate to living out our values in the world?...Healthy Competition?
February 8, 2026- 10:00 AM
Our Senior High Youth Group will lead this worship service. Come out to support the youth as they wrestle with all the ways we compete in the world and why. This is an all-church service; young people attend worship with...The Seeds of Fascism
February 1, 2026- 10:00 AM
Mark Huston will present an exploration of the roots of fascism and a sermon originally preached in 1938 in Germany by Julius Von Jan. Please join us in the Sanctuary or via live stream at https://bit.ly/CCUUworshipSvc or to listen via...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
January 25, 2026- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. This intentional gathering remembers the ancient ways of ancestors who circled and sang under the night sky. Sept 25: Vibrational Healing with Nancy Frenk and Cindy Thornton. Join us...What Love Asks of Us Now
January 25, 2026- 10:00 AM
Many of us are living amid profound change and a sense of unraveling in the world around us. Rooted in Unitarian Universalist theology and the wisdom of Sharon Welch and Grace Lee Boggs, this service invites us to pause, notice...Dissolution & New Beginnings
January 18, 2026- 10:00 AM
Letting go is an important part of every new beginning. Here in the depth of winter, the world sits dormant, waiting for the coming of spring and new life. What practices might help to allow the old to pass away...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
January 11, 2026- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. This intentional gathering remembers the ancient ways of ancestors who circled and sang under the night sky. Come as you are, ready to rest, remember, and be renewed. This...Queen of Soul: Aretha Franklin
January 11, 2026- 10:00 AM
Some people are more ‘soulful’ than others - right? But what does that mean? The human experience spans a wide spectrum. Do some people have a different connection to the All than others? Let’s explore. Rev. Pam Rumancik will lead...Another Trip Around the Sun
January 4, 2026- 10:00 AM
We begin another year wondering what is coming, what we have to offer, how we might live more fully into the gift of being-ness. bring your intentions for 2026 and be ready to leave behind that which needs to be...Awesome Hope
December 28, 2025- 10:00 AM
In this time of upheaval and uncertainty, can we cultivate the experience of wonder? Where could it lead us? Our pulpit guest this morning, Anne Clough (she/her), is a seminarian in the Master of Divinity program at Meadville Lombard Theological School....Christmas Eve Candlelight Service
December 24, 2025- 4:00 PM
The theme of our service will be Welcoming the Stranger. Gathered together, we will sing carols, hear stories, and remember a message of light and life. Our Christmas Eve offering is for the Minister's Discretionary Fund. Please join us in...Out of Darkness: Light
December 21, 2025- 10:00 AM
Our second musical celebration of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. We meet on the shortest day of the year to celebrate in sound and song.Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
December 14, 2025- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings: Sunday, Dec 14 @5pm, Songs of the Season - Bodhi Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, Yule with the Spark Band. Join us to sing in the season of lights and hope. This intentional gathering remembers the...All-Church Holiday Pageant
December 14, 2025- 10:00 AM
So many things to celebrate in December! Join us as we hold our annual No-Rehearse Pageant which invites the entire congregation into joy. It is a sing-along Living Nativity Story, and the entire congregation has a part! If you would...Spark in the Morning
December 7, 2025- 10:00 AM
Wonder what goes on in the Sunday evening service but haven’t gotten a chance to attend? We’ll be offering a taste of the very different flavor this morning. Spark Musicians will play, we’ll have movement, song and conversation. When people...No Worship or Religious Exploration on November 30
November 30, 2025- 10:00 AM
Service is officially cancelled for Sunday, Nov 30. Children’s RE is also cancelled. We don’t want anyone risking injury or frostbite by trying to get to church. The scheduled Buddhist service will be postponed until January. Alternatives to watch while...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
November 23, 2025- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. On Nov 23, join us for Vibrational Healing with crystal sound bowls by Nancy Frenk & Cindy Thornton. This intentional gathering remembers the ancient ways of ancestors who circled...Stone Soup Revisited
November 23, 2025- 10:00 AM
This will be our second annual Stone Soup Thanksgiving Service. We gather together, bringing what we have, offering what we can. Together we celebrate the miracle of gratitude and how it can change everything. Rev. Pam Rumancik and Rev. Karen...Transgender Day of Remembrance Service
November 19, 2025- 6:00 PM
During this service, we will honor all those lives lost to hate and fear of difference. November 20 is the annual Transgender Day of Remembrance, and we will gather the evening before as a people of faith to say aloud...Affirming Life
November 16, 2025- 10:00 AM
They say a gift of death is appreciating life more. Her fans watched in real time as Andrea Gibson found solace, inspiration, and joy in the midst of a terrible diagnosis. What can we learn from folx who choose gratitude...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
November 9, 2025- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. This intentional gathering remembers the ancient ways of ancestors who circled and sang under the night sky. Come as you are, ready to rest, remember, and be renewed. This...Beyond Saying Thank You
November 9, 2025- 10:00 AM
Our pulpit guest this morning will be the Rev. R Ken Turner, a New Thought minister who blends his spiritual calling with a background in video and television production to inspire personal transformation. As Senior Minister of Unity of Chicago...How Goes Your Soul?
November 2, 2025- 10:00 AM
The Christian calendar celebrates All Souls Day - a day to remember everyone who has lived and walked the earth. Some argue that there is no such thing as a soul, but I think we recognize soulfulness when we see...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
October 26, 2025- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. Oct 26: We sing the body electric: A Song Circle with the Spark Band. Join us for a meditative journey through sound and spirit. In this experience, simple, repeating musical phrases...What Does It Mean to Be Human?
October 26, 2025- 10:00 AM
The definition of human has changed over the years. We used to be described as the only creatures to use tools - wrong. The only creatures to grieve, or share, or feel empathy. All of those definitions have fallen away...Liberal Religion (not an oxymoron)
October 19, 2025- 10:00 AM
Discover the living spirit of Unitarian Universalism—where faith is found in curiosity, conversation, and the shared journey toward meaning, love, and belonging. Rev. Karen Mooney will lead worship. Please join us in the Sanctuary or via live stream at https://bit.ly/CCUUworshipSvc...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
October 12, 2025- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. Oct 12: Moving Peace - Circle of Movement and Song with Dr. Mary Shelden. Join us for a meditative journey through movement and sound where simple movements and sacred...Can We Rest Now?
October 12, 2025- 10:00 AM
Sabbath is more than an ancient custom for other people. Sabbath is a way of being that reminds us we are more than cogs in a machine. Humans need rest to remember who we are. Rest can be a radical...Different Strokes for Different Folks
October 5, 2025- 10:00 AM
In a Galaxy far, far away, a bunch of ‘aliens’ got trapped on a planet during an emergency. What they learned during their time together about each other taught them a whole lot about themselves. Based on Becky Chambers’ The...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
September 28, 2025- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. Sunday, September 28th @ 5 pm: Vibrational Healing - Crystal Sound Bowls with Nancy Frenk and Cindy Thornton. Join us for a sound journey as we meditate with the gentle frequencies...Four Seasons: Fall
September 28, 2025- 10:00 AM
Humans have been fascinated by the turning of the seasons for eons. Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall, in all the cooler climates offer a way to measure our progress - or lack thereof. As we bid farewell to summer and look...We Are [Still] Made for These Times
September 21, 2025- 10:00 AM
In times like these, it’s easy to freak out, numb out, check out, burn out. But as Bayo Akomolefe says, “The times are urgent; let us slow down.” Let us take care of ourselves and each other, let us gain...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
September 14, 2025- 5:00 PM
Tending the Spark - Where the Body Remembers, the Spirit Sings. This intentional gathering remembers the ancient ways of ancestors who circled and sang under the night sky. Come as you are, ready to rest, remember, and be renewed. This...Make New Friends but Keep the Old
September 14, 2025- 10:00 AM
Making and keeping friends - it seems like it should be simple but in today’s world it feels harder than ever. Relationships are the bedrock of a happy life. What have we forgotten about friendship in a digital world? Can...Ingathering and Water Communion
September 7, 2025- 10:00 AM
We begin our church year with a tradition of water communion, mingling the water we’ve collected from a meaningful place in our lives. Maybe grandma’s backyard, a trip to the ocean, a river you got to wade in during the...Seeking a Seat on a Flying Saucer
August 31, 2025- 10:00 AM
Rev. Dr. C. Scot Giles will lead this Sunday's worship service. One reaction to the chaos of the world situation is to joke about wanting to be abducted by a flying saucer, hoping that might be better. This sermon is...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
August 24, 2025- 5:00 PM
This is an alternative service featuring movement, chant & conversation with a dinner after. All are welcome to attend. If you have non-church friends/family who might be interested, please pass along this invitation. This service will be held on the...Back At It
August 24, 2025- 10:00 AM
We don’t get new supplies or uniforms, but there is something special about starting the new church year. If you’ve been among the faithful who came all summer or have been gallivanting about and are returning with the end of...Finding Gilligan's Island
August 17, 2025- 10:00 AM
An old sitcom from the sixties holds curious parallels to society today. What might we learn about getting along? Can we create islands of sanity for those we love? Join us! Rev. Pam Rumancik will lead this Sunday's service, which...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
August 10, 2025- 5:00 PM
This is an alternative service featuring movement, chant & conversation with a dinner after. All are welcome to attend. If you have non-church friends/family who might be interested, please pass along this invitation. This service will be held on the...Blessing of the Animals: What Animals Teach Us in Troubled Times
August 10, 2025- 10:00 AM
Join us for our annual service honoring the animals who bring love, comfort, and wisdom into our lives. Feel free to bring well-behaved leashed, crated, or caged pets. Share the Plate: Half of the offering will be donated to Bat...The Ugly Duckling (or What Constitutes a Fairy Tale)
August 3, 2025- 10:00 AM
Our Feminine Divine Women's Group will lead worship this morning.Until We All Are Free
July 27, 2025- 10:00 AM
Join Keith Talley, Prisoner Solidarity Specialist of the Unitarian Universalist Prison Ministry of Illinois as we explore how we “get free” from the lens of Unitarian Universalist prisoner solidarity work. Please join us in the Sanctuary or via live stream...Empowering the Spunky Girl Heroine
July 20, 2025- 10:00 AM
Our service will consider what can happen when we -- all of us -- embrace the spunky girl heroine within ourselves and in one another. The service will be led by Dr. Mary Lamb Shelden is a lifelong, second-generation UU,...Spiritual Chiropractor
July 13, 2025- 10:00 AM
Our pulpit guest this Sunday, the Rev. R Ken Turner is Senior Minister of Unity of Chicago South, the leading fully online New Thought spiritual community. Share the Plate: Half of the offering will be shared with UU Service Committee....American Music
July 6, 2025- 10:00 AM
Join the Countryside Band for this annual all-music service, which is the Band’s take on American life in 2025. We’ll have a gumbo of rock, jazz, classical, folk and blues including songs by Mary Gauthier, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee,...Pride Service
June 29, 2025- 10:00 AM
Join us to celebrate Pride month with songs, readings, stories, and messages of hope and inspiration. In addition to highlighting some of the past achievements and significant milestones of the LGBTQ movement, we will look at some of the current...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
June 22, 2025- 5:00 PM
Do you have friends and family who long for connection? For a place to explore the deeper questions of life? For a place to remember our connection to the whole but for whom ‘church’ is a non-starter? Do you have...Revolution Begins with a Dream
June 22, 2025- 10:00 AM
We will be viewing the live stream of the worship service from UUA General Assembly, being held in Baltimore MD. It is the largest gathering of UUs in worship. The sermon will be given by Rev. Dr. Nicole Kirk, who...Summer Solstice Service
June 15, 2025- 10:00 AM
The Summer Solstice, also called Midsummer, is a festival of growth and the joy of living. Join us to celebrate the energy of abundant sunshine and thriving plants and animals and to rejoice in the exuberance of life. To add...Tending the Spark: An Evening Gathering
June 8, 2025- 5:00 PM
Do you have friends and family who long for connection? For a place to explore the deeper questions of life? For a place to remember our connection to the whole but for whom ‘church’ is a non-starter? Do you have...Flower Communion
June 8, 2025- 10:00 AM
Bring a bloom or blossom to church to share and go home with something different. We celebrate our own diversity, equity, and inclusion on a spiritual level this Sunday. We will also welcome new members during the service. Together we make...Day of Service Sunday
June 1, 2025- 12:00 AM
No worship service on June 1. Instead, go out into the world and offer it your embodied love. Participate in or attend the Buffalo Grove Pride Parade. Write postcards to elected officials. Weed the church grounds. Find a way to...Drawing on the Power of the Other Side
May 25, 2025- 10:00 AM
One of the attractions of spiritual work is the hope that one can get help to solve problems from another realm of being – a spirit world, a heaven, one’s ancestors, etc. There is a long tradition in Universalism about...Imagine There's No Heaven
May 18, 2025- 10:00 AM
It’s easy if you try. How can we imagine an entirely new society which affirms the worth and dignity of every person? It’s not really that easy, but let’s try.On Children
May 11, 2025- 10:00 AM
Rev. Pam Rumancik and Rev. Karen Mooney will lead this All-Church Service. Young people attend worship with their family and do not have religious exploration classes. The service will include recognition of our Bridging Youth.May the 4th Be with You
May 4, 2025- 10:00 AM
Poetry is a force which opens up locked and hidden parts of the human psyche. On May 4th, join us for a service on Poetry as a Religion.Earth Day Service
April 27, 2025- 10:00 AM
Teillard de Chardin imagined a world of incredible life and vitality – and the church muzzled him for it. How does a living world make a difference in how we relate? Can we both grieve and celebrate beauty in the...Easter: The Cup is Already Broken
April 20, 2025- 10:00 AM
Based on a story by Jack Kornfield which looks at both impermanence and attachment.Heysanna, Hosanna
April 13, 2025- 10:00 AM
Sing out for yourselves for you are Blessed. If every tongue were still, the rocks and hills would sing for joy. Joy and Sorrow are woven fine.Good Without God
April 6, 2025- 10:00 AM
Humanists and Religious Naturalists have long argued that we do not need a parent in the sky to behave compassionately toward one another. UUs are on the frontlines of these arguments. What does keep us loving one another?Spiritual Journeys
March 30, 2025- 10:00 AM
Learn how two fellow church members have grown and become the people we now know. Gary LaBedz and Bev Leachman will share their spiritual journeys. Come be inspired.Hallelujah Anyhow
March 23, 2025- 10:00 AM
Enslaved and oppressed peoples have had to deal with uncertainty and the understanding that the government was not their friend for generations. Can we learn to celebrate the life we have no matter what may be going on in the...Taking Shifts for the Revolution
March 16, 2025- 12:00 AM
Dr. Emma Farrell returns to our pulpit. Dr. Farrell is a seminarian at Meadville Lombard Theological School. Prior to heeding the call to ministry, they worked in academia as a biochemistry researcher, taught at several universities, and worked in the...Giving Up Candy
March 2, 2025- 12:00 AM
The Christian season of Lent offers an opportunity to sit with discomfort and introspection. As kids we gave up candy, making Easter morning so very exciting. What might we pay attention to for the next six weeks? How can an...No Bad Parts
February 16, 2025- 12:00 AM
Each of us is made up of so many different parts, it’s a regular village in there some days. How can we welcome all our parts – and by doing so, become more welcoming of those around us? We look...Love is _ _ _ _
February 9, 2025- 12:00 AM
For our Youth's annual worship service, they're been discussing the idea of love and found many, many answers. They considered the phrase "Love is_____." They have thoughts to share with you and would LOVE to hear how you fill in...Groundhog Day - Again
February 2, 2025- 12:00 AM
In the movie Groundhog Day, Bill Murray wakes up and repeats the same day uncounted times. AND Feb 2nd will be the kickoff to the annual Stewardship Campaign. Coincidence? Cue Sonny & Cher. Let’s see what we can learn this...
Countryside Church Unitarian Universalist – Palatine, IL
Worship on Sundays at 10 am. Join us in person or online
