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Congregation established 1836 |
Newsletter for
First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois
www.firstuualton.org
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FIRST UNITARIAN FOCUS
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Congregation established 1836 |
Newsletter for
First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois
www.firstuualton.org
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Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m. |
May 2005 |
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May 1st “Keeping the Moral
Books” The Rev. Krista Taves How
often we measure our worth as human beings by that moral account book we hold
before ourselves! How does this
practice hold us accountable for our choices, and how might it hold us back
from living as fully as we can? Rev.
Taves is the Interim Minister at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of New
Orleans. She has only recently come to
the United States. She completed her
ministerial preparation at the Toronto School of Theology. Past ministries include hospital chaplaincy,
parish ministry, and consulting ministry, all in Canada. May 8th “Mother’s Day Flower Communion” Khleber M. Van Zandt V It’s
time to bring a few of your flowers with you to church. This Mother’s Day we’ll recreate the Flower
Communion started in Czechoslovakia in 1923.
Come join in this old Unitarian ritual and share the bounty of
springtime with us! May 15th “Voices: The Tales that Guide
Us” Peg Flach and BJ Hotson This
service will blend selected monologues sensitive to the UU Principles -
especially acceptance of one another, encouragement to spiritual growth and
respect for the interdependent web of all existence. BJ was a
religious education participant at First Unitarian church of Alton and is
currently a theatre performance major at SIUE.
Peg is a longtime Alton UU/speech language pathologist/sometime actor,
and BJ’s mother. |
May 22nd “How Death Informs Life” The Rev. Susan Palmquist In
this sermon Rev. Palmquist will explore how a healthy openness to the realities
of death help us to live a more full and meaningful life. She will draw upon the book, Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom, the
movie, Antonia’s Line, and her own
work as a hospital chaplain. Rev.
Palmquist has worked as a hospital chaplain at BJC hospice for the past 8
years. Prior to doing her clinical work
at Barnes-Jewish she was a pastor in various United Methodist churches in
Ohio. She says that “My work with
hospice patients and families from many different religious traditions - as
well as non religious people has led me to a broader spirituality from my
Christian roots.” She has been
attending the First Unitarian Church in St. Louis for the past 7 years and she
is in the early stages of seeking ministerial fellowship in the Unitarian Universalist
Association. May 29th “Remembering Battlers for Peace” Dr. Ronald Glossop On
this Memorial Day weekend Ron will discuss the need to remember with gratitude
not only those who have fought for peace and justice in the military but also
those who have sought to advance peace
and justice in other ways. Who are
these other battlers for peace who deserve to be remembered?
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Additional
Sunday Morning Programming 9:30 a.m. May
1st - FORUM - “A Good Death” Led by Jim Elliott Come prepared to discuss your concept of a good death. Charles Lindbergh checked out of his hospital and spent his last days in Hawaii. What about the Oregon plan, physician assisted suicide? Or are you willing to let your hospital or government agency decide when it is time to die? May 8th - MEDITATION Led by Ted and Pam Loucks May 15th - ADULT RE Led by Gerry Gilman An ongoing study of the book
by Dr. John Buehrens entitled Understanding
the Bible. May 22 - FORUM - “A Good Death, Part Two” Led by Jim Elliott A discussion of Living Wills
and Durable Power of Atorney. May 29 - FORUM - “What do you say to Iraq?” Led by Marcia
Salisbury Marcia will share her views on
the second Iraq war and our attempts to install a friendly democratic
government
SUMMER SERVICES We
will be holding lay-led summer services at 10:30 a.m. starting on June 19th
and going through August 14th (excluding July 3rd). Services will be held in the Wuerker
Room. An interesting variety of
programs are being planned. Just
like for our regular church year services we will need volunteers, especially
to prepare coffee and bring refreshments.
Please help the summer services go smoothly by signing up to help on one
or more Sundays. |
The Congregation Calls Khleber M. Van Zandt V as its Minister On
April 3rd, at a special church business meeting, the members present
unanimously voted approval of the motion to call Khleber Van Zandt as our new
minister. He will begin his formal
ministry with us on July 1st, but will also be in our pulpit several
Sundays between now and July. We
welcome Khleber as our minister and look forward to his being with us. You
may check the church homepage (http://www.firstuualton.org)
for additional information about Khleber. Pledge Drive
Goal $72,000 If you
haven’t returned your pledge card, please do so today. Annual
Church Membership
Meeting Friday,
May 20th 7:30
p.m. Every member of the church is encouraged to
attend this annual meeting where the year’s activities will be recapped, new
board members elected, the new church year’s budget approved, and a bylaws
change voted on. An opportunity will be
available for members to discuss ideas and make suggestions for activities and
programs for the new church year. Childcare will be available and dessert
provided. |
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CHURCH
EVENTS May 5th - Anna Ds - 12 noon at Audrey Wiseman’s. May 10th - Men’s Lunch Group - 11:30 a.m. at the China Buffet. May 10th - Board Meeting - 7:00 p.m. May
20th - Annual Church Membership Meeting - 7:30 p.m. - At
church Changes Proposed to the Church Bylaws Two changes have been proposed for Article IX,
Section 3 of the church bylaws regarding standing committees. The proposed changes will be voted upon at
the Annual Meeting on May 20th. The
Church Board approved adding Stewardship as a standing committee. Stewardship is about taking care of
something we value and enabling it to grow. When we become stewards, we take
responsibility and contribute our time, talent and treasure. The Stewardship Committee would have, as one
of its responsibilities, the annual church canvass. The
second bylaw change is changing the name of the Ministerial Relations Committee
to the Committee on Ministry. This
change in name reflects the larger mission of the committee. Initially, the original members of the
Ministerial Search Committee will serve on this committee, gradually leaving
the committee to be replaced by other church members. If
approved, the changed part of Section 3 would then read: “… Standing committees include: Building and Grounds,
Finance, Growth, Members, Religious Education, Worship, Personnel, Stewardship,
and the Committee on Ministry…” |
Interested in a Book Discussion Group? If you’d be interested in being in
a book discussion group please email Mona Hebert hebertml@slu.edu With the following information: ·
the
kind of book(s) you’d be interested in reading/discussing or a specific title; ·
when
a good time to meet would be (e.g., Sundays after church, a mid-week evening, a
Friday or Saturday night); ·
if a
meal should be included ·
how
often you think a book discussion group should meet ·
any
other information about having a book discussion group that you’d like to
include.
Dr. John Hoad’s first book! Dr.
John Hoad, Leader Emeritus of the St. Louis Ethical Society, and regular Sunday
morning speaker at our church for several years, has published his first book. The
207 page book, entitled, “The Fire Dance of
Carnations - Lyrics of Love” - has just been published by AuthorHouse and
can be obtained through their website (authorhouse.com) or by phone
(800-839-8640) for $10.75 or from retail outlets like Amazon or Barnes &
Nobel for $13.50. Congratulations
John!! |
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RE News Dear Parents
and Friends,
I would also
like to remind parents and caregivers of a new policy that was started this
year. Any child in the preschool or
primary class needs to be picked up by an adult before coffee hour starts. This ensures that the teachers and I know
that the correct child went with the correct parent, and that the parent knows
where that child is. It is important to
come before coffee hour as our teachers are volunteers and we need to respect their
time and coffee needs. Within the next
few weeks, I will have information available about the Heifer International Read-To-Feed program that will be available to
our kids over the summer. This is a
read-a-thon where people pledge for the kids to read many books that relate to
our UU principles and purposes or the Heifer International program. The money raised will go to Heifer
International to purchase animals to give to people in need in developing
countries. As always I
welcome any questions or feedback that any of you, again not just parents, may
have. Thank you, Jamie Gross |
Men’s Lunch Group The
Men’s Lunch Group will meet at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, May 10th at
the Chinese Buffet at 2610 Homer Adams Parkway in Alton. This lunch meeting is planned as a regular
event on the 2nd Tuesday of each month.
Photographs to be in Church Directory Beginning in May, a famous “art photographer,” David Wiseman will be
photographing members and friends whose names appear, or will appear in our
next annual Church Directory. A sign-up
sheet will be available on the sign-up-table in the Wuerker Room. If possible, all photography will take place
on Sunday mornings during coffee hour.
Please help make this a 100% effort.
Children will not be photographed with their parents, but rather as a
group. Marcia Custer Member Services Committee Anna Ds The Anna D. Sparks Women's Alliance will meet
at noon at Audrey Wiseman’s home on May 5th for their monthly
luncheon. All women in the church are welcome.
For further information please call Lorli Nelson. |
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A
Quote to Remember This quote from Bob
Hawkins is still on the chalkboard at SIUE, although Bob died 6 ½ years ago. “In the
midst of the winter of my life, I find strength in knowing there is in me, an
eternal summer.”
Flower
Communion on May 8th Please
remember to bring flowers with you to church on May 8th to share
during the Sunday service.
More Remembrances of Dot Hull and Dudley Giberson Dorothy (Sissy) Milnor wrote in a recent note … “Dottie Hull was the dearest, sweetest, most worthwhile person I have
known.” She goes on, “Dudley and his father, his mother, his
entire family, have meant so much to our whole family. It has been a multigenerational friendship
and support; and the world was enriched by the works of Dottie and Dudley.” |
In
Our Church Family Our sympathy and
thoughts go out to Jim Elliott, whose older brother died in April. Also in our
thoughts is William Winter, whose wife Sona, a long-time member of the Anna Ds,
died in March. Sunday Pot Luck Lunch
May 22nd
- the 4th Sunday Bring a dish to share and plan
to stay after church to join in food and fellowship. A-L will do Table Set Up M-Z will
do Clean Up Everyone will be responsible
for setting food out on the buffet table. |
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Here are the names of church
members and friends who are celebrating birthdays this month. If this is ‘your month’ and your name didn’t
get included, we’re sorry. For future
months please let Mary Johnson know your birth month and day. (mejohnson@mindspring.com) 2 May - Bill Dittmann 7 May - Amy Murray 9 May - Andrea Gross (1999) 12 May - Marcia Salisbury 16 May - Rose Hoshiko 22 May - Carl Mugge 26 May - Audrey Wiseman 27 May - Diane White 31 May - Davona Paul Deadline: Send Newsletter items
by 15th of the month to the Church office AND to the Editor. First
Unitarian Church (618) 462-2462 PO Box 494, Alton, IL 62002 Email:
1stuualton@accessus.net Editor: Mary Johnson |
DIRECTORY UPDATES New Members RUSSO, ANDREW* and DHANAMITT, SUGANYA* (C: Benjamin, Guy, and Jane) russo246@charter.net NALICK, BETH* and DENNIS* (C: Emma Ray) bnalick@charter.net VAN ZANDT, KHLEBER M. and LINDA kvanzandt@uuma.org New Address JOINER, JANICE jjoin1776@charter.net New Email HOSHIKO, ROSE* and MICHAEL* - prdh4@juno.com JOINER, JANICE - jjoin1776@charter.net STURLEY, ERIC* and JEANNE - esturle@siue.edu KINNIKIN, DAWN - msdawnikin@charter.net New Phone Number MEYENBURG, CURTIS |
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