Congregation established 1836

Newsletter of the

First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois

www.firstuualton.org

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt, Minister

April 6^th

“The Gospel, For Better or Worse”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

The flap over Barack Obama’s former pastor has reached absurd proportions.  The pronouncements of retired UCC minister Rev. Jeremiah Wright, taken out of context, loop endlessly on the web and portray an out-of-control preacher with an anti-American bias.  But is Rev. Wright’s ministry as divisive as it appears?  Isn’t all ministry meant to push limits, speak truth to power, and open hearts?

April 13^th

“Our ‘Christian’ Nation?”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

Forrest Church’s new book, So Help Me God: The Founding Fathers and the First Great Battle Over Church and State , argues that religion was indeed important in the lives of the founders and therefore in the process of founding the United States.   Some modern commentators still make the mistake, however, of thinking the founders’ religion was exclusively Christianity.

April 20^th  -  Earth Day/Passover

-  an intergenerational service  -

“For All That Is Our Life”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

This Earth Day, we give thanks for the abundance and diversity of creation, for our ability to gather in community, and for the gifts we receive and share.

April 27^th

Speaker To Be Announced

[PLEASE NOTE:  Our minister, Rev. Khleber Van Zandt, will conduct worship services at the Central Midwest District Assembly, at the Hilton Frontenac Hotel in Frontenac, Missouri, this morning at 9:30 am.  You are invited and encouraged to attend.]

Mark Your Calendars:

       A Quick Guide to this Month’s Happenings

April 6 – DVD Series: “From Jesus to Constantine: A History of Early Christianity.”

Facilitator:   Khleber Van Zandt

April 13 – Social Justice Presentation.  Our guest speaker will be Joan Suarez with the Jobs for Justice Immigrant Rights Task Force and Missouri Immigrant Rights Advocates.  With degrees in political science and industrial relations she worked as a labor organizer and coalition builder in the 70s and 80s and as an organizer for voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts for working families throughout south Texas.  In the late 80s she served as the international union chairperson for nation-wide bargaining for Levi Strauss workers, with factories concentrated along the Texas-Mexico border and had oversite for numerous successful industrial and service industry organizing campaigns throughout the Southwest, bringing thousands of Latino workers into union membership.  After her retirement in 2001 she became a volunteer leader in Jobs With Justice, a coalition of some 85 unions, community, and faith-based organizations.  She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Peace Economy Projects, a Co-Convenor of Labor Against War, and a Board member of the Interfaith Legal Services for Immigrants. 

April 20 – Forum:  This will be a continuation of last month’s discussion of “The Parts of Philosophy” with an emphasis on the distinction between those inquiries which are descriptive (What is true?) and those which are evaluative (What is good and right?).

Leader:  Ron Glossop

April 27 – To be announced. 

A First Glance

On a morning this past February, as I ate breakfast with our traveling construction missionaries around a table in a church gymnasium in Abbeville, Louisiana, the questions started to fly:  Why do we do what we do on Sunday mornings?  Why do we sing hymns?  And why do we have to use that word ‘worship’?

I wasn’t awake enough at the time to do much more than chew my Kaschi, but since we returned from Louisiana I’ve given more thought to these questions.  So here’s what I think.

One reason we do what we do on Sunday mornings is because of time-tested historical precedent.  Jews and pagans alike developed many ritual activities in the centuries before the Common Era.  Then in the earliest churches, the local Christian community would gather, scripture would be read, Psalms would be sung, prayers and an edifying sermon offered, and then all present would share a meal.  (And you thought potlucks were our own idea …)

In our own Universalist and Unitarian traditions, we have for two centuries followed the lead of those early churches:  in our ritual activities, we read from important texts, sing hymns from many traditions (often with words changed to suit our delicate theological sensitivities), we listen to more-or-less edifying sermons, and participate in meditation or prayer.  Obviously we still share meals regularly as well.

Things do change.  Recently, in a book handed to me by Ruth Shaw, I ran across a notation by the Rev. Barry Andrews explaining that when Ralph Waldo Emerson preached in the first half of the nineteenth century, he used what Andrews calls a “simple” order of service:  prayer, scripture, hymn, prayer, hymn, sermon, prayer, hymn, and benediction.  For those of us who have trouble with one prayer, Emerson’s three might have been a real chore, as would have been his 1838 Divinity School Address, which at an hour-and-a-half in length might have sorely tested our abilities to pay attention.

But why call what we do ‘worship’?  Once considered more corporate (an act of the entire community or ‘body’), our individualistic culture has convinced us that we should do things mostly for ourselves.  In contrast, I believe what we do on Sunday morning should be a communal act we learn to participate in rather than a performance we attend.  I believe we should learn to lift our vision beyond the limits of our usual horizons.  I believe it is of ultimate importance that we learn to express gratitude and to teach our children to do the same. 

So I follow the old ways and call it worship, but I try to bring a new spirit and new understanding to the event and the process.  And I sincerely hope you’ll join me, bringing whatever you bring, and even if you call it something else entirely.

See you in church,

GREEN SANCTUARY PROGRAM

At its March meeting the church Board gave the “go ahead” to start the process involved in becoming a certified “Green Sanctuary.”

The Green Sanctuary program was developed by the UU Ministry for Earth (UUME) to help churches who wish to intentionally move towards being more environmentally friendly.  The basic idea is that our religious communities should commit to living in harmony with the Earth and our respect for the environment should be reflected in all our congregational and personal activities.

You will be hearing more about this program in the upcoming months, and if asked to serve on a “Green Team” committee please do so.

When: April 12, 6:00 pm

Where:  Kate Wuerker Room,

First Unitarian Church, Alton, IL

What: Fun, Food, Music

Bring the kids and we'll show them how to be cool, too
(snapping fingers, give me some skin).

Can ya dig it, man?

Sign ups for what to bring will be available on Sundays in the

Wuerker Room.

See Cathy Tade for more details.

Youth Group Happening

Members of the church’s Youth Group went together to see the movie “Juno” and discussed it over dinner at a Japanese restaurant.

The Youth Group has after-church meetings with Dr. Ron Glossop, divided between learning Esperanto and discussing Philosophy.

After the good time they had at their first Youth Conference at First Church, St. Louis they are looking forward to attending their second Youth Con the first weekend of April at the Allerton Park 4-H Camp in Monticello IL.  This Youth Con is sponsored by the UU Church of Urbana-Champaign.

The Youth Group selected Alex Hoeft to serve as the Youth Representative to the church Board.

The Youth Group Advisors are Beth Nalick, Meredith Nalick, and Isaac Nalick.

Please Note:  The Meditation Group and All God’s People will no longer be meeting.

Abbeville

Hard work and good friends

Spotting 'gators, hamm'ring nails

Crawfish Étouffée – Ted Loucks

The haiku by Ted reflects our February work week in Abbeville Louisiana coordinated by Kevin McCarthy in connection with the Southern Mutual Help Association (SMHA).  Our home for the week was the gymnasium of the Family Life Center of the First Baptist Church in Abbeville, LA.  We had a kitchen, shower rooms, a balcony loft for sleeping, and used the gym for eating and socializing.  We shared the facility with two other groups who had driven down from Minnesota.

Our group of twenty – including 4 kids ranging in age from 7 to 14 – were sent to several work sites during the week, but the largest crew made a daily 50 minute drive to the small community of Pecan Island, just a few miles from the Gulf, where they worked on homes belonging to Linda and Curtis.  The work at Linda’s home included removing and burning debris, installing sub-flooring, putting up siding, pulling out old electrical wires (a good job for kids who could get into small attic spaces) and rewiring.  At Curtis’ home the work crew did a lot of cutting and fitting of paneling on his ceiling and walls.  They also trimmed around the rafters and put in insulation and did minor electrical work.  Some painting was also done at Curtis’.

One crew also worked for an afternoon at Bobby’s in Abbeville clearing debris that had floated in with the floods and removing a dilapidated porch and crumbling concrete steps.  Another crew worked in Abbeville at the same time at another home applying polyurethane to cabinets that were being installed to replace the ones destroyed by the wind and water.

One crew worked for three days at Carl’s in the community of Delcambre doing a complete interior paint job to his new four room house.  Cheerful greens, blues and yellows made us call it the “Crayon House.”

At every work site we had opportunity for conversations with the home owners.  Each was sincerely appreciative of our work and we were told that God would bless us for our efforts.  Carl invited us to a Thursday evening church service.  Bobby wanted copies of photos we took at his place.  Linda provided cajun snacks, a lunch, and handmade Bible markers.  Curtis shared stories of his life before and after Katrina and Rita.  Each of the home owners were in some way disabled and at least two said that formaldehyde had been found in their FEMA trailers and they were experiencing physical symptoms resulting from that exposure.

But all was not work.  We were living in a gym … there were intergenerational “pick up” basketball games, chess games, and poker evenings.  We found the local restaurants and ate our fill of oysters, crawfish, alligator, frog legs … all the local delicacies.  One evening Khleber made bean soup and others made salad, biscuits, and brought in dessert.

On Thursday evening, after a very long drive from Abbeville to somewhere south of New Iberia (some of us got lost enroute), we were guests of Southern Mutual Help Association for a delicious Mardi Gras dinner prepared by two brothers from the Erath LA Knights of Columbus in gratitude for the work done by groups like ours.  Some 8^th graders from the Boston area were also at the dinner.  They had spent the week working with SMHA in the New Iberia area. 

Our work crew members were:  Kevin McCarthy, Diane Thompson, Dave Kraus, Maggie McCarthy, Amelia McCarthy, Lily Tade, Ted Loucks, Bing Gibbs, Phil Finley, Marcia Custer, Nancy and Tom Sakalauski, Pat, Jim and Jeff Moore, Khleber Van Zandt, Mary and Jerry Johnson, Mona Hebert, Alex Hoeft.

Tentative plans include our returning next year.  Maybe you can join us.

More photos are available from many of the work crew if you are interested in a more in-depth view of our week. 

Putting up siding at Linda’s         Cutting paneling at Curtis’

Painting at Carl’s                  Tearing down a porch at  Bobby’s

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, April 19^th – 3 to 5 pm at Church

The Renegade Women Chalice Circle meets at the church from 3-5 pm on the 3^rd Saturday of each month.  Members include women across adulthood and we invite you to explore with us.  Sessions include personal sharing of life experiences, discussion of a program focus, and light refreshments.  Program leadership is rotated among members and topics covered over the past year include such areas as: Mystery of Healing, Holidays, Deep Listening, Discussions from the “World” magazine, Enlightenment through travel, Book reviews, and Beginnings. For more information contact Marcia Custer; Circle Facilitator mcuster@siue.edu ).

Third Sunday Chalice Circle

Sunday, April 20^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, April 20^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, April 22^nd – 7 pm at Church

Contact: Khleber Van Zandt kvanzandt@uuma.org.

All Men in the Church Invited to the

Men’s Lunch Group

The men’s lunch group will meet on Thursday, April 3^rd at the St. Louis Buffet, 672 Wesley Dr., Wood River, IL.  Contact Nelson Shaner for further details nshaner@charter.net

CRISIS FOOD CENTER DONATIONS

The need for non-perishable foods is on-going.  Please remember to bring some canned goods each month.  In January the food center provided food to 1025 adults and 585 children living in our area.  David Blackburn, the Executive Director of the Crisis Food Center writes in a letter to our church, “We are dependent upon caring and compassionate people like you to provide food donations and financial assistance that we might continue our mission of “feeding people in need.”

Jen Politsch

^4th Sunday

Sunday Potluck Lunch

April 27th

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.

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 March 9^th offering of $492 was sent to the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New Orleans to help their rebuilding efforts after the devastations of Katrina.  See photos of their rebuilding efforts at http://www.firstuuno.org/mainwebsite_html/rebuilding.html

The March 23^rd offering will be sent to the local Salvation Army.  April’s offering will go to the church’s reserve fund.

Bird Walk – April 12 – 8 am

Jack and Ginger McCall will lead a family-oriented bird walk at the Watershed in Edwardsville to see what birds are back after a long winter.  Bring binoculars and field guides if you have them.  Registration is required and the fee is $3.00.   To register or for more information contact watershed@cityofedwardsville.com or 618-692-7578.

CARE AND CONCERN

Ginny Allred appreciates all the cards and phone calls she has received during her recent illness.  She thanks the members and friends of our church for their support.

Please contact your Pastoral Care Team Leader or Rev. Khleber Van Zandt if there are concerns that need to be brought to their attention.

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.

April Rehearsals:

Thurs., April 3^rd

Sun., April 13^th

Thurs., April 17^th

Sun., April 27^th

Contact Willis McCoy for further information.

wbmccoy@charter.net

Eliot Unitarian Chapel Women’s Weekend

All women from the area UU churches are invited to the annual Eliot Chapel Women’s Weekend which this year will be held April 19 – 20 at the Pallottine Renewal Center in North St. Louis County. The Renewal Center is about 10 miles from our church in Alton.  Registration information can be found online at http://www.eliotchapel.org/WW/

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.

Alton Symphony Wine and Cheese Fund Raiser

The Alton Symphony is holding a fundraiser in the Kate Wuerker Room on Sunday, April 13^th from 2 pm to 5 pm.   This fun and educational fund raiser helps to support the operating expenses of the symphony.

The church will be receiving 4 tickets to the event which will be raffled off with the proceeds going to the church.   Willis McCoy is the liaison between the church and Bev Carter, one of the event organizers.

The cost is $25 per person and includes sampling of 12 different wines and an educational presentation by “Dude” Jeff Jones of Southern Wine and Spirits of Illinois.   An assortment or hors d’oeuvers will also be provided.

Entertainment will be provided by Alton Symphony Orchestra members Deborah Fox and Suzanne Scott.

Paying by check is preferred although credit cards are accepted.  RSVP by April 7^th to:   Gayle Hill, stoneledge@charter.net) [contact her for mailing address for payment.]

Our next ADOPT A HIGHWAY clean-up day will be Saturday, April 12^th.   Meet at 9 am at the church parking lot.  We’ll plan to spend about 3 hours – but if you don’t have that much time to give on a Saturday – come for an hour.  If you need to come after 9 am you’ll find us somewhere on Highway 67 (in Missouri) between the Mississippi River Bridge and Highway 94.  Bags, orange safety vests and water will be provided.  This is a community service project as well as an opportunity for you to spend a few hours outside, get some exercise, and watch waterfowl in the estuaries near the roadside.  A sign up sheet will be available at church.  For further information please contact our Adopt A Highway coordinator, Mark Tade tademe@msn.com.

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.

4 April – Maggie McCarthy (2000)

5 April – David Wiseman

6 April – Cathy Tade

7 April – Martha Arnold

8 April – Ted Loucks

10 April – Corinne Hawkins

12 April – Lily Tarbell

12 April – Deanna Stacy

13 April – Dylan Stacy (2000)

14 April – Brynda McCoy

20 April – Ian Herndon (1995)

27 April – Ginger McCall

Back Home

Davona Paul has moved back to Methodist Village after spending several months at Rosewood Care Center.  She would welcome people keeping in touch with her.

A UU Elevator speech

UUA President William G. Sinkford writes, “I always encourage people to work on their elevator speech, what you'd say when you're going from the sixth floor to the lobby and somebody asks you, 'What's a Unitarian Universalist?'”

This space is available for you to share your elevator speech.  Send it to the newsletter editor for future publication.

The UU Central Midwest District’s Annual Assembly –
April 25^th - 27^th

Hilton Frontenac Hotel in St. Louis County

“Church for the 21^st Century: Shaping Our Religious Future”

The Church Board is making available four $50 scholarships to help four people finance attending the CMwD meeting in St. Louis.  The total registration fee is $155.  Contact John Herndon herndonj@wudosis.wustl.edu or Jerry Johnson jerrygjohnson@mindspring.com TODAY to apply for one of the scholarships or for further information.  The registration deadline is April 4^th and the registration fee will go up after that date.

For a copy of the Assembly Brochure:

http://www.cmwd-uua.org/content/images/pdfs/dabrochure08.pdf

To register online

https://www.regonline.com/builder/site/Default.aspx?eventid=131778

Mary Lu McManus is our representative to the UCM Board and has UCM contribution envelopes available at church for you to fill out and send in.

UCM is conducting its 2008 Sustainer Campaign to raise much needed funds to keep UCM operating and working for justice in our communities.  UCM will require these funds to continue to work on our issues:

·         Health Care, seeking improved health care for everyone.

·         Jobs, working with state and local officials to secure training and jobs for local and low income residents

·         Civil Rights of Immigrants, seeking justice for all residents in the US

·         Drug Free Communities, promoting Drug Courts and rehabilitation in Madison and St. Clair Counties

·         Education, seeking improved funding for all schools

·         Regional Equity, promoting smart growth rather than sprawl development

You can support UCM as a donor or ongoing sustainer by:  contacting the UCM office (618) 451-1458; going to the UCM web site at www.ucmetroeast.org or by sending in the envelope you can find at church.

Building and Grounds News

Our March 8^th workday was a great success thanks to Bing Gibbs, Brynda and Willis McCoy, Mary and Jerry Johnson, Alex Hoeft, Mona and Paul Hebert, Marcie Nagle, Dennie Lightle and son Dennie and Pat and Jim Moore.   We were able to complete or get started on some painting, carpet cleaning, kitchen cleaning, cleaning of walls, mold removal, light bulb installation, cleaning of light fixtures, electrical repairs, plant grooming, yard cleanup, and more.   Bing is continuing to work on other projects on his own time.   Mary and Pat have been working about once a week on painting and other projects.

Thanks to Corinne Hawkins for taking away all our aluminum cans.  They are being donated to a local man who makes his entire living from recycling cans.  Please remember that you can buy soda from the refrigerator for 50 cents.  Put your money in the basket and Lucy Bouton will continue to restock the soda for us.  Please continue to help us recycle plastic, glass, aluminum, paper and cardboard by putting those items in the bins next to the refrigerator.  Please rinse cans and bottles to avoid drawing insects.  Used dishes will be composted if you place them in the basket in the Wuerker Room.

Our entire chandelier and almost all the lights in the church have now been converted to energy saving fluorescents.  Thanks to the McCarthy family, Corrine Hawkins, Lucy Bouton, the Heberts, Dee Evans, the Moores, the Johnsons, Betty Korte, Nancee Maglison, Gerry Gilman, Mary Lu McManus, Mary McGowan, and Sandy Shaner for donations toward the chandelier bulbs.

Pat Moore

Building and Grounds Chair

RE NEWS

Dear Parents and Friends,

Last month I spoke to you about rituals that you and your families can do at home that may help you live out your values and pass them along at the same time.  Spring is here now, and there are many wonderful things we can do with our friends and families to celebrate this fact. 

Earth Day and Arbor Day both occur at the end of this month.  Earth Day on April 22, and Arbor Day on April 25.  Celebrations of these two days can really help us live out our seventh principle, “Respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part.” 

There are many things that you can do.  You can do a “Saving Energy Audit” of your family and household.  You can clean up your neighborhood remembering to recycle everything that you can.  You can plant a tree, or if you don’t have room for a tree, plant anything. 

When you are cleaning out all of the spring and summer clothing that your children have outgrown do not throw it away.  Give it to someone you know that can use it, donate it to a charity or thrift store, or keep it until this summer and give it to the church youth group when they have their annual rummage sale.

Whatever you do, the important part of this is to do it together as a family and to talk about why you are doing it.  This will let your children know what you think is important in life, and it will help them know what it feels like to do these kinds of activities and to help others and the Earth at the same time.

Thank you,

Jamie Gross, DRE

Opportunities for Summer Fun the UU Way

Midwest UU Summer Assembly for all ages at the YMCA of the Ozarks Trout Lodge near Potosi, MO June 30 – July 6.     There will be swimming, sports, worship services, workshops, dancing, music and much more.   Registration will open in April at http://www.muusa.org

UU Church of Niagara NY is conducting a four day UU Niagara Experience July 20 -23.  Encounter the Falls close up from every perspective.  Explore the rich history and natural beauty around the Falls.  http://www.uunex.net

Bayside Family Camp at the Wesley Woods Conference Center, Williams Bay, Wisconsin, July 13 – 19.  http://www.yahoodrummers.com/bayside

The UU Fellowship of North Bay is sponsoring Wine Country Excursions in Napa Valley, an hour north of San Francisco.  Two- day tours are offered May through October with two or three nights home hospitality included. Email Tom Wilson 2wilsons1dog@comcast.net

Summer vacation fun for SINGLE adults.  There are three camps sponsored by AMUUSE (Adult Midwest Singles Enrichment) this summer.  Two in Saugatuck Michigan (June 15-20; Aug. 10-16; and one at Williams Bay Wisconsin, July 13-19.  http://www.amuuse.org