Congregation established 1836

Newsletter of the

First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois

www.firstuualton.org

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt, Minister

February 3^rd

“A Question Box Sermon”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

You may have heard it said, “He who asks a question risks being a fool for five minutes, but he who doesn’t ask risks being a fool forever.”  Today the minister will invite you to write down questions to be answered during the sermon portion of worship.  It’s a risky proposition in both directions:  you asking, and the minister attempting to answer.  In the process, hopefully we’ll all learn something.

February 10^th – Heritage Day

“Prophets of the Living Tradition”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

As we celebrate the history of our congregation, we remember the voices of those who came before us and left us a legacy to uphold - using our voices in the public square, striving toward social justice, and caring for our world.

February 17^th

“eat, pray, love”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

In her book eat, pray, love, author Elizabeth Gilbert details her year of travel away from home in the U.S.:  eating in Italy, meditating in India, and seeking healing in Bali.  Given the self-absorption of all this navel-gazing, what tidbits can we learn when focusing our attentions inwardly?

February 24^TH

Annual Pledge Drive Kick-Off

“Building the Future Together”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

In 1836, Dr. William Emerson gathered a few friends and began what we now know as First Church.   We are the beneficiaries of his vision and are indebted to all those who’ve been here before us.   And now it’s time to make sure the vision continues so that all who come here after us will enjoy the comforts and the challenges of this amazing faith community.

February 3^rd -- Non-Theist Humanist Roundtable

What is the meaning of faith for humanists and non-theists; does it only relate to a belief in a God or can we have faith in the natural order and still be ethical beings?

We will explore this and other topics and probably continue our previous discussion on the NotGod.

Discussion leader: John Herndon

February 10^th – Guest speaker Bruce Bertolino, Site Coordinator of Alton’s Weed & Seed Strategy. 

Weed & Seed’s mission is to weed out violent crime, drug trafficking, drug related crime, prostitution-related crime, general disorder and derelict or substandard housing from the Hunterstown, Middletown (where the church is located) and Mexico neighborhoods in Alton and then seed these areas through social and economic revitalization.  Bruce Bertolino joined Weed & Seed in 2003.  Come and learn about programs going on in Alton and find out how our church might be able to help.

February 17^th – “What is it that gives something genuine value?”   

What things are really worth striving for? What is it that makes life worth living? Are there values that transcend cultural differences? Can we have ethical values without religion? If the universe operates in terms of deterministic laws, how can there be real choice? Is all value subjective? We can even ask if life is always worth living, or whether in some situations we would be better off dead.

Questions of Value is a DVD course for anyone who has ever felt the tug of such questions or who wants to fine-tune their ability to see how deeper questions of ethics and values apply to the choices that make up their lives.

Facilitator: Beth Nalick

February 24^th – A DVD Series: “From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity.” 

Facilitator:  Rev. Khleber Van Zandt.

A First Glance

              Way back in 1836, Alton was a growing frontier town, a real rough-and-tumble outpost that needed much in the way of amenities if it was to become a city of the future.  Dr. William Emerson had traveled west to become the town’s first physician, but he missed the intellectual stimulation he’d known back in his native Massachusetts - as the son of the Rev. William Emerson, minister of First Church in Boston, and older brother of Ralph Waldo Emerson, our famous Transcendentalist forebearer, Dr. Emerson was used to a high level of social intercourse indeed.

              To begin to build the future of Alton, Dr. Emerson gathered together a few local friends and invited the young Rev. William Greenleaf Eliot up from Saint Louis.   The group was so excited about the prospects for starting a new church that they called the Rev. Charles Farley from Harvard to come be their minister, and the First Unitarian Church of Alton was off to a great start.

              This month we have the opportunity to continue the almost-two-centuries-old tradition of keeping the flame of liberal religion burning brightly in the Riverbend region as we participate in “Building the Future Together,” our annual Pledge Drive in support of the operating budget of the church.  The plan as it stands right now is to facilitate a face-to-face canvass of each of our members and friends, hopefully making new acquaintances and building new friendships among our growing church community.

              Over the years, many notable preachers have served this congregation - the names of Farley, Reese, Robbins, Nagy, Kennedy, Falconer, Newman, and Wolff come immediately to mind.  The names of many prominent families are listed on the rolls of this church - Dittmann, Giberson, Hallett, Hawkins, Hull, Madison, and Russo to highlight but a few.

              This church’s past is one of social activism and participation in the life of the city.  Its present is lively and energetic, with a resurgence of the impulse to reach out beyond the hundred-year-old walls of our beautiful Sanctuary and touch the lives of those who need us in the wider community.

              But none of this can continue without the support of each of our members and friends.  We receive no funds from the Unitarian Universalist Association in Boston or from anywhere else.  This congregation is self-supporting.   That means it’s up to us; if we don’t support ourselves, no one else will.

           When you are contacted this month or next by a representative of our “Building the Future Together” Pledge Drive, I hope you will welcome the opportunity to get to know that person a little better, to talk about the church we all love so much, and to make a generous pledge to continue building a church Dr. Emerson and all the others who came before would be proud of.

See you in church,

    A Quick Guide to this Month’s Happenings

CHOIR   PRACTICE   SCHEDULE

You don’t have to be able to attend each choir practice to join the choir. Practice is held at 7 pm on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of each month and at 12 noon on the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays of each month.

February’s rehearsals:

Thurs., February 7^th

Sun., February 10^th

Thurs., February 21^st

Sun., February 24^th

Contact Willis McCoy for further information.

wbmccoy@charter.net

Chalice Circles

The GLBT Chalice Group will be meeting the 1^st and 3^rd Sundays after church at Eliot Chapel in Kirkwood, MO.  Lunch is at 12:15 pm at Kaldis on Lindbergh, near Eliot Chapel.  The Chalice Group meets at the Chapel from 1:15 to 3:15 pm.  Contact Layne Simpson layne3030@hotmail.com for more information.

Renegade Women

Saturday, February 16^th – 3 to 5 pm at Church

Contact:  Marcia Custer mcuster@siue.edu.

The Saturday afternoon Renegade Women’s Chalice Circle invites all who may seek lively fellowship to join us.  We rotate session leadership and topics have included general organization, two book discussions, an afternoon of poetry, exploring the development of deeper listening skills, and sharing favorite holiday memories; all within the context of getting to know each other more intimately.

Third Sunday Chalice Circle

Sunday, February 17^th – 11:45 am to 1 pm at

Church

Contact:  Sandy Shaner sarapolarbear@hotmail.com

This is a “general” chalice circle welcoming all.

Parents Seeking Peace Chalice Circle

Sunday, February 17^th – 12:00 to 1:30 pm in Emerson Place at Church

Contact: Diane Thompson at dianeelizabeththompson@gmail.com or

Cheryle Tucker-Loewe at chtucke@siue.edu.

Men's Chalice Circle

Tuesday, February 26^th – 7 pm at Church

Contact: Khleber Van Zandt kvanzandt@uuma.org.

Men’s Lunch Group

The men’s lunch group will meet on Thursday, February 7^th January 3^rd at 11:30 am at St. Louis Buffet – 672 Wesley Dr. in Wood River near the new Wal-Mart.   Contact Nelson Shaner for further details   nshaner@charter.net

CRISIS FOOD CENTER

Please remember to bring canned and / or non-perishable food and put it in the Crisis Food Center donation basket in the RE Foyer.

Jen Politsch

Anna Ds

Community Outreach Offering

The collection on the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays is given away to charitable causes. The money donated does not include pledge checks or monies otherwise earmarked by the giver.  The Outreach Offering only includes “cash offerings” or checks indicating that they are to be included in the donated funds. 

The February offerings will stay “in-house.”  On February 10^th the offering will go towards the Endowment Fund and on February 24^th the offering will go toward the church’s rainy-day fund.

^{4 th} Sunday

Sunday Potluck Lunch

February 24^th

Bring a dish to share and plan to stay after church to join in food and fellowship!  If possible please bring a dish that serves at least 6 to 8 people.  With an average attendance of almost 80 people on a Sunday we need to make sure there’s food for everyone.

A-Mc will do Clean Up

M-Z will do Table Set Up

Everyone will be responsible for setting food out on the buffet table.

Happy Birthday

Most people enjoy getting a card or email or phone call on their birthday.  Below is the list 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 (church@firstuualton.org) and give her that information.

  2 February – Mary Johnson

  3 February – William Loucks (1998)

  6 February – Nancy Brunner

  8 February – Patrick Kelley

11 February – Gene Eaton

11 February – Chris Sutton

13 February – Katherine Miller

14 February – Yvonne McCall

17 February – Ron Glossop

23 February – Beth Bourland

28 February - Tom Allred

28 February – Rachel Berg

28 February – Max Sutton (1996)

All God’s People – February 5th

This interfaith group meets regularly at our church on the first Tuesday evening of each month at 6:30 pm.   February’s guest will be Rev. Bill Veith from Trinity Lutheran Church in Alton.  Rev. Veith is an expert on the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

A meditation time, led by Mary Lu McManus, begins at 6:00 pm and is open to all … whether or not they stay for the 6:30 gathering.

In Our Church Family

We have learned of the death on December 11^th of Art Hoover at the age of 86.  Art attended our church for several years before moving to Madison Wisconsin to by nearer to his family. He joined the SIUE faculty in 1968 and retired as an Emeritus Management Professor.

As the newsletter went to print Ginny Allred was back in Alton Memorial Hospital and Tom was caring for Ginny’s hospitalized sister as well.  Cards would be welcomed.

UU WOMEN’S WEEKENDS

Winter WomanSpirit:

Dancing on the Threshold of Balance

Presented by the Women and Religion Committee of the Central Midwest District

February 22 – 23, 2008

North Shore Unitarian Church

Deerfield, Illinois

Keynote:  Rev. Shirley Ranck, author of the UU adult religious curriculum “Cakes for the Queen of Heaven.” 

Her talk will be titled “On the Threshold” as she takes a fresh look at feminist theology.

The complete brochure can be viewed at

http://www.womenandreligion.org/ WWS2008/brochure.htm
Online registration is at http://www.regonline.com/171631

Women’s Weekends continued next page

Eliot Unitarian Chapel

 Women’s Weekend

April 19 – 20, 2008 at the Pallottine Renewal Center in North St. Louis County. [the Renewal Center is about 10 miles from our church in Alton.]

We women pour ourselves out like water, giving ourselves to our families, partners, communities and careers. Now it`s time to drink deep from the eternal well where Spirit dwells and be renewed in body, mind and spirit. Join us for relaxation, socializing, learning, meditating, crafts, music and more.

You have a choice to spend one night or stay just for the day.  Women`s Weekend is a great time to relax, participate in exciting workshops, meet new people and more.

Please put Women`s Weekend on your calendar now. Registration forms and online registration will be available in early March.

Building and Grounds News

Mark your calendar now for our next workday on Saturday, March 8.  We will work from 9 - 3. You are welcome to come for all or part of the day.  Childcare can be provided if you let Pat Moore know ahead of time.  Jobs to be done include general cleaning, yard cleanup, and interior painting.

We are working toward the goal of new furniture for the Wuerker Room fireplace area.  $200 more dollars have been earned through soda sales.  Please continue to purchase soda from the refrigerator during potlucks and other events. A basket is in the refrigerator to collect your 50 cents cost.  Mary Weber has donated a brand new chair. If you would like to donate to our fund, contact Pat Moore.

Mary Johnson has taken care of getting our wrinkles in the sanctuary carpet re-stretched.  Hopefully this will look better and prevent accidental tripping.

Our trash service is working well.  The dumpster has been moved closer to the porch so you don’t have to walk in the mud to access it.  Please remember that if you are cleaning up from coffee hour, potlucks, or any event with food, you need to put out the trash before you leave.

Alex Hoeft has been hired to do our snow removal.  We have begun to use environmentally friendly ice-melt.

Bing Gibbs continues to take care of a multitude of small repair jobs around the church, including repair of the upstairs fountain, repair of Emerson place faucet, light fixture repairs, etc. etc.

A vacuum cleaner for use downstairs has been donated by Mary Weber.  If you clean up after an event, be sure a bag is in place before using the vacuum. (We had a small disaster recently.)

The leak in the ceiling of classroom 7 has been repaired and the ceiling has been replaced thanks to Bing Gibbs and David Birchmier.

We still need more old rugs in any condition to keep dust down in our cellar.  Bring them to the back hallway downstairs and let Pat know.

Please help with our recycling efforts by throwing all of the following items into the recycling bins rather than the trash:  clean office-type paper, newspaper, plastics, aluminum, metal, glass, cardboard boxes, etc.  Lucy Bouton takes them away for us. We are trying to purchase paper items which have been made from recycled materials.  Our potluck plates are composted, so wipe them off and put them in the bag provided for that purpose.

Our Board is looking into getting bids for improvements to the windows and façade of the RE wing.

Our beautiful 100 year old building needs lots of TLC.  Let Pat know if you have suggestions for repairs or improvements, and please do your part by participating in the work of the Building and Grounds Team.

Pat Moore

Building and Grounds Chairman

Greeter Training

Sunday, February 10, 2008

9:30 am

What is a Greeter?  What is an Usher?  What’s the difference?  Inquiring minds want to know . . . .

If these questions have crossed your mind, you are not alone!  In an effort to address these questions and help provide clarity for those inquiring minds, there will be a brief training and information session regarding the roles of Greeters and Ushers on Sunday, February 10 at 9:30.  If you have any questions, please contact Cheryle Tucker-Loewe.

Workshop to Focus on Congregations and the Environment

Caring for Creation by Going Green is the title of a Workshop sponsored by the United Congregations of Metro East (UCM) Alton Cluster, of which our church is an active member.

The workshop will examine the realities of global warming and consider appropriate individual, congregational, and community responses in advocating for environmental sustainability.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, February 9^th from 8:30 am to 1 pm at the National Great Rivers Museum located at the Melvin Price Locks and Dam off Highway 143.

Registration is at 8:30 am with an eco-justice worship service beginning at 9 am  Following will be a session entitled “Greening Our Congregations and Communities” where specific ways of becoming more environmentally friendly will be discussed.  The second session will focus on Cool Cities – an initiative to help communities like Alton commit to smart energy solutions to help reduce global warming.  Lunch will begin at noon with an opportunity for discussion and sharing of ideas.

Lunch is included in the $10 Workshop registration fee.  Advance tickets can be purchased from Mary Johnson, Wayne Politsch, or Mary Lu McManus.  Tickets will not be available at the door.  Seating is limited so if you’re interested in attending, get your ticket soon.

If you have questions about the Workshop please talk to Wayne, Mary, or Mary Lu.  Flyers will be posted in the Wuerker Room.  We hope that our church is well represented by attendees at the Workshop as its theme fits so well with our 7^th Principle – “. . . respect for the interdependent web of all existence of which we are a part.”

KNITTING GROUP

The knitting group will meet on Saturday, February 9^th from noon until 2:00 pm at the church.  Attendance has been very low so this will probably be the last meeting of the group.  Contact Sandy Shaner at e-mail sarapolarbear@hotmail.com if you have questions.

Five Resolutions for an Environmentally Friendly New Year (from the Sierra Club online)

Read one authoritative book on Global Warming. 

Some choices:  An Inconvenient Truth – Field Notes from a Catastrophe – The Weather Makers – The Discovery of Global Warming – What We Know About Climate Change.

Write a letter to the editor of your newspaper or send an email to your Senator or congressman.  Tell them what you think.

Conduct a home energy audit.  Find out how much power you use and where you can trim it down.  Extra insulation or more efficient lighting can make a world of difference.

Experiment with alternatives to driving. Maybe you can telecommute to work or carpool or ride your bike to the store for that gallon of milk.

Measure your carbon footprint and consider what it would take to become carbon-neutral. http://www.carbonfootprint.com/

CHURCH WORK TRIP TO

LOUISIANA

It has been more than 2 years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States.  Sadly there is still a great need in the region for help with the recovery effort. While we all know of the great need that exist in New Orleans, many of us may have forgotten the terrible toll that was taken on the rural portions of Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama.

The congregation will be sending a group of volunteers to rural Louisiana the week of February 17^th to work with Southern Mutual Help Association.  We will work along side the families affected by the storms, to bring them back into their homes.  You will meet the people of Louisiana, share their culture, eat their cuisine, and help the healing process to continue.

Please consider how you might reach out to the people of Louisiana:

• We can always use more able hands.  No previous experience in construction is needed, only a willingness to work hard.
• Bring the whole family!  Children are welcome.
• If you can not join us, consider making a contribution to defray the volunteers' expenses.  The collection on Sunday, January 27^th will go to support the trip. (Any funds left over will be donated to Southern Mutual Help association.)
• Consider lending or donating high quality power or hand tools.  Good tools make the job easier.
• Tell your friends and family.

The need continues to be overwhelming, but you can make a real difference by helping to put a family back in their home.

Please contact Kevin McCarthy with any questions at: dissimilator@gmail.com.  Those that would like to volunteer should fill out an online profile at SMHA's web site: http://southernmutualhelp.org/VolunteerProfileForm.cfm

RE NEWS

Dear Parents and Friends,

My letter to you last month talked a lot about how you are the primary Religious Educators of your children.  While this is true, it is up to all of us as a community to impart Unitarian Universalist values to the children of this congregation.  I want to share with you something that one of my Religious Educator colleagues wrote.  This is a way that we can work together to help the children, and really all members of the congregation better live out our religious values.

Religious Education Behavior Guidelines Based on Our Seven UU Principles:  From the First UU Church of Austin, TX, Andrea Lerner 

We believe that each and every person is important.

Safety is our first concern!

Children must remain in classrooms or supervised areas until picked up by parents.

Only gentle play is appropriate on Society grounds.

We believe that all people should be treated fairly and kindly.

Listen and follow directions.

Be polite.  Take turns.

Care about one another.

We believe that we should accept one another and keep on learning together.

Make a commitment to regular attendance.  Your friends and teachers depend upon you.

Include everyone in activities and planning.

Friends are welcome.  Let them know our rules.

Participate with enthusiasm.

We believe that each person must be free to search for what is true and right in life.

Share your ideas and respect the ideas of others.

We believe that all persons should have the right to speak out and have a vote about what concerns them.

Express your opinions constructively.

Respect the decision of the group.

We believe in working for a peaceful, fair and free world.

Ask for help when you need it.

Do your best to get along with others and to be helpful.

Be willing to listen to reminders about your behavior.

Participate in Society social action projects.

We believe in caring for our planet earth, the home we share with all living things.

Take good care of our church.  Help clean up.

Be careful with our space, furniture and materials.

Use only what you need.  Recycle.

Be gentle with the plants and animals.  Do not climb trees or walk in the gardens.

Thanks, Jamie Gross

All Member Canvass Planned for

 February and March

For the first time in many years, First Unitarian Church is planning an all member canvass as part of this year’s pledge campaign.  The theme for the pledge campaign is Building the Future Together.  The canvass will be held Feb. 24^th through March 16^th and will include face-to-face meetings between canvassers and each pledging household.  The face -to-face meetings provide an opportunity to talk about what we value in our church and in our community.  Collecting input about our members’ vision for the church is as important as collecting their pledge cards.  I encourage everyone to participate by finding time for the face-to-face meetings when asked.  In addition, if you are recruited as a canvasser, please give the request strong consideration, as we will need many canvassers to make the campaign a success.  Let’s build the future together!

Ted Loucks, Stewardship Chair