January 1, 2012 - one service only - 10:00 am

Intergenerational worship service – no Religious Ed classes

“We Begin Again”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

This New Years’ morning, bring all the family to let go of past hurts and sing in the New Year.

January 8, 2012

9:30 and 11:00 am

“A Passionate Core”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

Our church’s mission statement says we are ‘welcoming and inclusive,’ which is wonderful when we achieve it.  But if we go no deeper with one another, if we cannot share the stories that drive us, then we have nothing to fall back on when times get tough.

January 15, 2012 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

9:30 and 11:00 am

To Be Announced

“It’s YOUR Church: 

A Congregational Polity Primer”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

In our faith tradition, we govern ourselves through the democratic processes of congregational polity.  The power in our church resides in the Free Pew rather than in the Free Pulpit, but both sides of that equation need to understand the relationship between freedom and responsibility

Semi-Annual Congregational Meeting

12:15 pm

January 29, 2012

9:30 and 11:00 am

“Thinking Our Way Through”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

It’s easy to delude ourselves into believing that our human intellect is far superior to our animal nature and that we can think our way out of pain, grief, and periods of vulnerability.  Maybe it’s time to ask:  “How’s that workin’ fer ya?”

Jan 1 – NO ARE

Jan. 8 – 9:30 am – Dr. Ron Glossop.  Our topic will be the Scottish philosopher David Hume (1711 – 1776), the third of the British Empiricists.  Hume argued that is we are consistent empiricists; we also have no “reason” to believe in mental substances (souls) or God.  Our ideas about an independently existing material world and uniform causality and ongoing personhood are the causal result of natural “instinctive” beliefs, habits, and memory rather than “reasoning,” as is evidenced by the fact that even non-rational animals have such beliefs.

Jan. 8 – 11:00 am – Spirit of Life – Cheryle Tucker-Loewe.

Spirit of Life classes seek to bring meaning, beauty, inclusivity, and growth to Unitarian Universalist adults as they deepen their spiritual awareness and connections.

Jan. 15 – 9:30 am – Bible Study – Tracey Howe-Koch.

This is a time of discovery, discussion, and individual interpretation.  The class will be loosely based on the John Buehrens book Understanding the Bible, an Introduction for Skeptics, Seekers, and Religious Liberals. 

Jan. 15 – 11:00 am – Spirit in Life – Cheryle Tucker-Loewe.

Jan. 22 – 9:30 am – Introduction to Paganism – Michelle Bryant-Barbeau.

Jan. 22 – 11:00 am – Spirit in Practice – Cheryle Tucker-Loewe.

Jan. 29 – 9:30 am – To be announced

Jan. 29 – 11:00 am – Spirit in Life – Linda Van Zandt

A First Glance

Back in December, our congregation put on a luncheon for the family and friends of Mike Fischer, a beloved church member who died after many years of struggling with many medical issues, not least of all a heart transplant.  Mike’s wife, Pat, worked with her church to have a funeral mass said for Mike down the street and around the corner from us at St. Mary's Catholic Church.  Afterwards, family and friends and other funeral participants were invited to our place for a meal and fellowship in honor of Mike.

Lots of people came, many who'd never been in our building before, and it was great to see the warm hospitality offered to these visitors courtesy of our many volunteers who brought food, set up and decorated, served and then cleaned up.  Everyone I spoke to was appreciative and knew from our treatment of them and the stories we told that Mike had been well and truly loved by this congregation.

The next day, I received an anonymous phone call from someone who'd been at the luncheon.  This person had not approached me at the time for various reasons, but said they decided they had to call to let me - and us - know how important that luncheon had been for them personally.

The caller explained that they had transferred to another state many years ago and had developed a relationship there that turned into a loving partnership.  However, illness intervened;   the partner died.  When the person contacted their family and shared with their parents what had happened, the parents disowned them and told them that bad things had happened to the couple because of their 'choice of lifestyle.'

Some years after the death of the partner, the person had moved back here and had worked in a couple of professional positions in the community, though because of the relatively public nature of those jobs, was never able to express fully and outright who they were.  When they walked into our fellowship hall, looked at our literature, gazed at the photos on our new member board, and spoke to a few of our members, they said they felt welcome in the world for the first time in a long, long time.

It matters who we are. 

It matters what we do. 

It matters in ways we may never know and to people we may never hear from when we act out our aspirations to be welcoming and inclusive.

May you begin the New Year with a blessing on your lips and love in your heart.

See you in church,

Join the Party!

UN-Decorate the Church

on Sunday, January 8

right after church.

Stay and share the joy and excitement in seeing the church transformed.

We will order Subway sandwiches

chips, fruit and drinks for all the

Holiday Helpers.

Winter WomanSpirit 2012

Presented by the Womanspirit Committee and the Women and Religion committee of the Central Midwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association

Friday evening, Feb. 3 thru Sunday morning,
Feb. 5 at UU Church in Rockford, IL

“Sacred Journey Into Sound” with keynote presenter Ragani – a world renowned healer and practitioner of Kirtan, a melodic meditation for centering of the heart and spirit.   Numerous Saturday morning and afternoon workshops to choose from.

For further information about the weekend see flyers at church or go to www.womenandreligion.org and/or talk to Mary Johnson about riding with her to Rockford.

Deadline for early bird registration fee of $120 is Dec. 31.   Home hospitality is available as well a group rate for hotel accommodations.

Speaker to Share his Insights about
the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King

Wednesday

January 25^th – 7 to 9 pm

Sponsored by The Seekers Book Group

On Wednesday, January 25^th at 7 pm, The Rev. Bill Veith, a Dr. King scholar, will share his insights and findings about the life and work of Dr. King

Rev. Veith is the pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Alton and has given a series of lectures at our church before about Dr. King.

The Seekers decided to ask Rev. Veith to speak about Dr. King after reading Dr. King’s very compelling book “Strength to Love.”  There will be plenty of time for questions and discussion.

You are all invited to attend Wednesday evening’s presentation.  Childcare will be provided.

Chalice Circles

Parents Seeking Peace Chalice Circle

Every 3^rd Sunday.

Sunday, January 15 from 12:15 to 1:30 pm in Emerson Place at Church.  Contact: Diane Thompson or Sayer Johnson.

Belleville Chalice Circle

Every 3^rd Thursday.

Thursday, January 19 at 7 pm.  Contact Don or Jan Allen for the location.

Renegade Women’s Chalice Circle

Every 3rd Saturday.

Saturday, January 21 from 10 am to 2 pm.

The UUA " Cakes for the Queen of Heaven" workshop will resume this Saturday. Bring a lunch.
Contact Beth Bourland or Peg Flach.

Men's Chalice Circle

Every 4^th Tuesday.

Tuesday, January 24 at 7 pm at church.

Contact: Khleber Van Zandt.

The GLBT Chalice Circle

The last Sunday of each month.

Sunday, January 29 at 12:15

Look for them on facebook under “GBLT UU Chalice Circle - Alton, IL.”
Contact Layne A. Simpson for more information.

Meet our newest members and
add their names to your church Directory

Joining 11/27/11

Rachel Lappin

(daughter Makala)

ramielap@gmail.com

Staci Bratten

bpbrat10@gmail.com

Joining 12/4/11

Wendy Moore Hershen and Raymond Neil Hershen

(children: Catherine, Bennett, Madeline)

moorekisses2004@yahoo.com

Most people enjoy getting a card or email or phone call on their birthday.  Below is the list we have of church members and friends celebrating birthdays this month.  If you don’t think the church office has your birthday on file, please contact Becky Green at church@firstuualton.org) and give her that information.

11 January – Glenn Brunner

11 January – Juliette Crone-Willis

16 January – Alex Lewis (2010)

16 January – Jane Russo (1998)

19 January – Javion Herndon (2007)

21 January – Rowan Elizabeth Dothager (2002)

25 January – Caleb Tucker-Loewe (2000)

25 January – Erin Herndon (1992)

25 January – Tom Kinsella

25 January – Jennifer Timpe

26 January – Rachel Lappin

30 January – Deb McNaughton

30 January – Lily Dothager (2007)

30 January – Vivienne Dothager (2007)

31 January – Pat Blanton

FOOD  MINISTRIES

Coffee Hour:

Signup sheets are in the Kate Wuerker Room for you to sign up to bring refreshments, or to set-up for Coffee Hour, or to clean-up after Coffee Hour.

Throughout the year please volunteer at least once in each of these areas.   Taking part in helping to make Coffee Hour enjoyable for everyone is a great way to build community.

Pot Luck Lunches:

Our monthly lunches are held on the 4^th Sunday following the second worship service. In January that will be on January 22.   Everyone is asked to bring a dish to share This is an all-church event so we all participate in setting up and cleaning up , but Food Ministries members are the people who help others find serving spoons, use the microwave, and give general kitchen guidance.

4^th Saturday Lunch – JANUARY 28

Please consider coming to church to share a meal with our guests who may be in less fortunate situations. Helping at our 4^th Saturday lunches are a way you can contribute your time and talent and also share a meal with people you might not otherwise ever meet.

We will have a sign up sheet as usual and appreciate everyone’s contributions to this activity.

Mark Your Calendars

Campfest 2012  and the "Community through Camping Committee"  will be having our first meeting of 2012 on Sunday February 5 at 12:30 pm.

Come join us as we discuss camping opportunities for our second annual Campfest Congregation-Wide Campout!!

Crisis Food Center Donations Needed

The Alton Crisis Food Center has fed record numbers since June.  They are not able to provide extra holiday meal items this season but will continue to be able to provide the 5 day supply of nutritionally balanced food to their clients.  This year, on average, 75 new families come for help each month.

Please remember to buy “extra” when you do your grocery shopping this month and put those “extras” in the food donation boxes in the RE entrance foyer at church.

The following items are those that are needed the most by the Crisis food Center.

canned corn                       canned green beans

canned pork and beans      macaroni and cheese

chicken noodle soup          canned fruit

vegetable beef soup           instant mashed potatoes

peanut butter                     boxed breakfast cereal

tuna                                  grape jelly

The center purchases perishable items with cash donations.

New Times for Choir Rehearsals

To accommodate more people’s schedules and provide the opportunity for more people to sing with the choir, we will NORMALLY be rehearsing from 12:15 to 1:30 pm on the 1^st and 2^nd Sundays and from 7:00 to 8:30 pm on the Thursday evening following the 2^nd Sunday and on the following Thursday.  This will allow people who can only rehearse on Sunday to have two practices each month.

However, JANUARY’S schedule is different as there will be no rehearsal on the 1^st Sunday, as that is is New Years Day.

Sun., January 8 – 12:15 pm

Thurs., January 12 – 7 pm

Thurs., Jan. 19 – 7 pm

For further information contact Willis McCoy.

Making Communal Worship a Part of Your Spiritual Regimen – from the UUA’s Tapestry of Faith “Spirit in Practice”

1.       Try to get to worship services with the least amount of stress as possible.

2.       Use the prelude to center yourself and let go of whatever you don’t need for the next hour.

3.       Don’t overanalyze – open yourself to simply experiencing the service

4.       Appreciate your fellow congregants.  Look around and remember that each person in the sanctuary with you comes with their own joys/sorrows/concerns.

5.       Make an offering out of the largeness of your heart.

6.       When something “turns you off” say a silent “thank you.”  Wouldn’t it be boring to simply hear your own views and see your own preferences week after week?

7.       Use the coffee hour to engage with other people  … not for congregational business.

8.       Come back to the service during the week.  Reflect back on what was said or what you though or felt.

9.       Attend services as regularly as your circumstances allow to increase your sense of connection to other individuals and to the congregation as a whole.

Cakes for the Queen of Heaven

http://cakesforthequeenofheaven.org/

Plan to join us on Saturday, January 21 at 10 am in the Kate Wuerker Room for Cakes for the Queen of Heaven, sponsored by the Renegade Women's Chalice Circle.  Bring a sack lunch and perhaps an item to share!

Session 3: Womanpower

Please join us!

Questions?   More information?   Contact:   Peg Flach.

Community Outreach Offering

Dessert Auction     2012

What: Enjoy dessert and a silent auction.

When: 7:30 pm, Saturday, January 28, 2012

Where: First Unitarian Church, Wuerker Room

Rules: Each entrant should bring a dessert for auctioning off AND a copy of that dessert for tasting.  A silent auction will be held.

Coffee (both caffeinated and decaf) & Hot Tea will be provided.  Nursery care will be available.

Semi-Annual Meeting and

Vote on Proposed Changes to

Church Bylaws

The Board of Trustees would like to cordially invite all members of the congregation to our Semi-annual meeting to be held at 12 30 pm on Sunday January 22. We will review accomplishments and vote on the proposed updated and amended bylaws.

By late December the proposed changes will be made available to the congregation in print as well as electronic format.

On January 15, the Sunday before our Semi-annual meeting the Board of Trustees invites the congregation for a fireside chat to talk about the proposed changes to the Bylaws. Please use this opportunity to discuss and clarify the proposed updated Bylaws and bring questions to the Board of Trustees.

The congregation is saddened by the death of two of its members in December and our sympathy goes out to their families.

William C. Fischer (Bill) died on December 1^st.  Until the last year he was a regular attendee at the Men’s Lunch Group. He was a member of the Thomas Jefferson Fellowship in Florissant, and when they closed he joined our congregation here in Alton.  He served as Board President and in several other capacities over the years.  He was a husband to Lois, father, grand-father, and great-grandfather.  Rev. Van Zandt conducted a service for Bill on December 5.

R. Michael Fischer (Mike) died on December 8^th.  Mike was a member of our church for just a few years, but he made a lasting impression and impact on many. His desire to get to services every Sunday was evident in his determination to make, for him, the arduous trek up the walkway into the sanctuary. Mike left behind his wife, Pat, three sons and a daughter.  Rev. Van Zandt led a memorial prayer service at Staten-Fine funeral home on Dec. 12^th and the church hosted a luncheon for his family and friends on Dec. 13^th.

 

Nance Conniff

Nancy Copley

Marcia Custer

Melody Hardman

Sharon Johnson (Chair)

Pat Moore

Sabrina Trupia

Megan Wasoba

  
Khleber Van Zandt
314-223-0551 (MO cell);
618-520-0567 (IL cell)

 

Have you recently started attending the First Unitarian Church in Alton

(or are you someone who wants to brush up on UU history and theology?)

Then this introductory class is for you.

UU&You! 1.0

7 – 9 pm

Tuesdays, January 17, 24, 31

Here you will be introduced to the ideas, history and people that make up the First Unitarian Church of Alton and the Free Church tradition of which Unitarianism and Universalism are a part.

Please sign up in the Kate Wuerker Room if you are interested in attending or email the church office at church@firstuualton.org.

The ANNA Ds

Women’s Alliance Group

All women are invited to attend, whether or not they’re “official” members of the Anna Ds.

The Anna Ds will meet at 11:30 am on Thursday, January 5^th. at Bully’s Smokehouse in Edwardsville – 1035 Century Drive (intersection of Rt. 157 and Commerce Drive).   Please let Pat Colclasure know if you’ll be attending this first meeting of 2012.

Fifty-Plus (50+) Forum

The “Fifty Plusers” will meet on Saturday, January 7^th from 10:30 am to noon in the Kate Wuerker Room.   Our guest will be a woman specializing in physical fitness activities for seniors.

Afterwards, as always, those who can will continue the discussion over lunch. The Fifty-Plus Forum is coordinated by Sandy Shaner, Pat Murrell, and Mona Hebert.

Spiral Scouts

Sunday, January 8^th from 1-3 pm.

  The SpiralScouts youth program includes interpersonal skills, traditional woodland lore, camping, and outdoor living skills. To check on meeting times or for additional information you may contact Amy Eichen Primary Contact for RiverDragon Circle 254

Men’s Lunch Group

All Men in our Church Family are invited!

The Men’s Lunch Group will meet at 11:30 am on Thursday, January 12^th at the St. Louis Buffet, 672 Wesley Dr., Wood River, IL.  Contact Dick Blanton for futher details.

Want to give your congregation a voice at the United Nations?

By becoming an envoy for the Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office   (UU-UNO) you can make this possible! Since the UU-UNO was founded in 1962, UU envoys have been working to ensure that their congregation's voices are represented at the United Nations.

Through their work with the UU-UNO, UU envoys have been tremendously successful at influencing UN policy to promote global justice. UU-UNO envoy Elaine Harvey led the faith-based coalition to support establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC), an important institution for holding individuals accountable for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. Today the UU-UNO continues to make a difference by addressing gender-based violence, stopping violence and discrimination based on real or perceived Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, supporting school fees for 160 AIDS Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Ghana, and MORE.

It is important to our UU-UN office that we represent all the diverse voices of our faith.  We do not want our congregation to be left out. Both youth and adults can be envoys and hold equal authority. For more information about our programs and what being an envoy entails, please visit our website at www.uu-uno.org and/or e-mail our Envoy Outreach Coordinator, Holly Sarkissian, at envoycoordintor@uu-uno.org.

The First Unitarian Church of Alton now has two UU-UNO envoys, Ron Glossop and Edward Oldt, but we could use more, including a Youth Envoy. If you would like to become another UU-UNA Envoy for our congregation, contact Ron rglossop@mindspring.com.

Demon Java

“Waiter, waiter, percolator!
I love coffee, I love tea
I love the java jive and it loves me
Coffee and tea and the jiving and me
A cup, a cup, a cup, a cup, a cup”

 — Oakland & Drake

Remember, twice a month, the Youth Group is selling fair trade coffees and teas in the Kate Wuerker Room after both services on the second and fourth Sundays of the month.   All proceeds go the Youth Group fund.