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Congregation established 1836 |
Newsletter of the First
Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois
www.firstuualton.org
Rev. Khleber Van Zandt, Minister |
FIRST UNITARIAN FOCUS
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Congregation established 1836 |
Newsletter of the First
Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois
www.firstuualton.org
Rev. Khleber Van Zandt, Minister |
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June 7 – Bridging
Ceremony for Youth – “The
Path of True Intention” Rev. Khleber Van Zandt When Joseph Campbell told people to “follow your bliss,” he didn’t mean for them to go on an endless search for instant gratification. Living truly takes more conscious intention than simply doing what feels good. If we stay awake, we might see clues that will lead us to being who we were truly intended to be. June 14 “For
The Birds” Rev. Khleber Van Zandt One story I’ve read about us UU’s goes like this: “A UU meeting must seem strange to outsiders: one person will speak and not say anything, nobody listens, and then everybody disagrees.” Are we “for the birds”? Or can we do better than that? June 21 “Mindfulness” Dr. Dee Evans You are on the phone, and at the same time typing on your laptop, giving the kids the evil eye to stop what they’re doing, and trying to get down a bite of your dinner before you’re off to a committee meeting. If this is your life, learning about mindfulness may be a “cure” for multitasking. Mindfulness is a concept Western psychology borrowed from Eastern philosophy and is a growing approach to life in the Western world. |
June 28 “Is
the Unitarian Universalist Denomination a Prophetic Church?” John Herndon As a denomination we are not compelled by an “Ultimate Reward” for doing good deeds, but I would say that we as Unitarian Universalists answer to a higher call and that is - to simply do what is right and speak truth to power. Adult Religious
Enrichment (ARE) Sunday mornings
@ 9:30 am in Childcare is
available. June 7th – Humanist / Non-Theist Discussion Group led by John Herndon. June 14th – TBA. June 21st – Environment Discussion – Leader TBA. June 28th – Unitarian Universalist General Assembly discussion. To Contact Rev. Khleber Van Zandt Email: kvanzandt@uuma.org Cell Phone: |
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A Quick Guide to this Month’s Happenings Wed., June 3
– Green Sky Sangha 7 pm Thurs., June 4 – Anna Ds book discussion 10:30 am and luncheon 11:30
Sun., June 7 - Fair trade coffee sale; Teacher appreciation luncheon. Mon., June 8 – Sierra Club 7:30 pm Tues., June 9 – Board meeting 7 pm Wed., June 10 – Green Sky Sangha 7 pm Thurs., June 11 – Men’s lunch at St. Louis Buffet 11:30 am Fri., June 12 – Pagan Chalice Circle 6 pm. Sun., June 14 – Growth Committee after church;
Picnic after church; Wed., June 17 – Green Sky Sangha – 7 pm. Thurs., June 18 – Care Team Leaders meeting 6 pm; Sat.,
June 20 – Renegade Women Chalice Circle 2 pm
Sun., June 21 – Parents Seeking Peace Chalice Circle after church. Mon., June 22 – Alton Area Cluster meeting – 7 pm – College Avenue Presbyterian Church. Tues., June 23 – Men’s Chalice Circle – 7 pm. Wed., June 24 – Green Sky Sangha – 7 pm. Sat., June 27 – 4th Saturday lunch – 12 noon. Sun.,
June 28 – Potluck after
church;
CARE AND CONCERN
Please contact your Pastoral Care Team Leader or Rev. Khleber Van Zandt if there are concerns
that need to be brought to their attention.
If you do not know if you are connected with a Pastoral Care Team,
please contact Marcia Custer mcuster@siue.edu |
For
my birthday, Linda and I drove over to the shrine of Our Lady of the Snows near
It
was a gently sunny day, rain the night before, temperatures down in the
bearable 70’s. Spring had sprung, the
grass was green, flowers blooming, trees in full leaf. With the nice weather, there were more people
out and about on the grounds of the shrine than I’d seen before. But there were not so many that we weren’t
alone when we drove up and parked north of the big amphitheater. Out
of the car, we started to hike uphill on a street named “ A
man’s recorded voice came on to tell us about Jesus being convicted and
sentenced by Pilate. I stood and listened
for a bit, arguing silently with the man’s non-biblical interpretation before
walking on to the next hut. There, I
pushed another ‘Message 1’ button and listened to a mishrash about Jesus
picking up his cross. Scattered about
were little twigs tied together in the shape of crosses, signs that some of the
faithful had been this way before. At
the next hut, seeking a bit of diversity, I chose Message 2, and a woman’s
voice spoke in Spanish about the third station, where Jesus falls under the
weight of the cross for the first time – another traditional rather than
biblical event. Linda
and I talked as we walked, enjoying the weather and the woods, wondering at the
recorded messages and about the multitudes walking this way on appointed
religious holy days. We didn’t expect
anything to happen, so when it did, we were shocked. As
Linda listened to one of the messages, she thought about a family issue she’s
been worrying over, and it occurred to her that letting go might be the best
approach to take. As we talked about
that, I had a flash of insight into an issue I’ve been thinking about: how to nurture the ability to remain
connected to one’s “source.” Somewhere
near Agony in the Garden, just off Not
necessarily seeking answers, we went to Our Lady of the Snows to relax, never
imagining the Stations of the Cross as a pathway to enlightenment. It’s easy enough to scoff at ritual, but it’s
quite another thing to remain open to the messages one can receive while
participating. Wishing you and yours a season of openness and relaxation,
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Peace and Love - Now and in the
Future, John Herndon
When: June 14, 2009 Immediately following church
services Where: On the lovely grounds next to the church What to bring:
A dish to share Games &
Prizes Family event
for all ages Soda, bottled
water, grilled hot dogs & hamburgers available for small donation. |
Growth Committee – Sunday, June 14 – after church. Pastoral Care Team Leaders – Thursday, June 18 at 6 pm.
Our April 18 workday started off with a little early rain, but it didn’t dampen the spirits of the 7 hardly souls who came out to get some work done. The last part of the day turned out to be sunny and perfect for outdoor work. Bob Larson, Gerry Gilman, and Melissa Prado reworked the front landscaping by removing some old dying plants, weeding, and adding new plantings. Pat Moore trimmed ivy, pulled weeds, picked up sticks, raked leaves, and mulched. Gerry cleaned the grass off the front walk while Bob repaired and seeded a spot where the city had been doing some digging. Jerry Johnson cleaned out all the window wells. Pat washed some windows (and got very wet in the process). Other workers were busy inside. Brynda McCoy cleaned walls, windows, doors, and more. She and Pat sanded the Wuerker Room closet door in preparation for refinishing. Melissa added a coat of Drylock to the wall of the girls’ restroom. Jerry repaired a door latch. Jim Moore hung some pieces of art. Thanks also to Mary Johnson for calling a repairman and donating his fee to check the dishwasher and let us know that it will run just fine if we run hot water first before starting it and keep regular dishwashing soap from getting inside. Soda is still for sale in the refrigerator, and I would really like a volunteer to take over the job of stocking the soda. Also needed are volunteers to do a few small plumbing jobs and some weeding and pruning this spring and summer. Let me know if you could help. SAVE
THE DATE FOR THE NEXT WORK
DAY – JULY 18. Pat Moore Building and Grounds Chairman |
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Interest Group Gatherings
Green Sky Sangha NOTE NEW DAY Green Sky Sangha Group now meets every Wednesday at 7 pm and invites anyone interested in meditation to join them. No prior knowledge of meditation is required. The group practices various forms of meditation and discusses ideas related to Buddhism. We will no longer meet on Sunday. Dee Evans
Anna Ds All women in the church are invited to the June meeting of the Anna D. Sparks Women’s Alliance on Thursday, June 4 at Lorna McElhone’s home. Please contact Lorna for directions and let her know by Monday, June 1 if you plan to attend. [We do not put addresses and phone numbers in the online version of the newsletter.] At 10:30 am there will be a group
discussion of the book A Mercy by
Tony Morrison, with lunch following
at 11:30 am. The donation for today’s lunch will be
$6.50 per person. |
All the men in the church are invited to attend. The Men’s Lunch Group will meet on Thursday, June 11 at the St. Louis Buffet, 672 Wesley Dr., Wood River, IL. Contact Nelson Shaner for further details.
Community Women’s Drum Circle NOTE CHANGE IN DATE FOR JUNE Sunday, June 14 from 6 to 8 pm. All women in the church are invited to come. You may bring any kind of drum (even children’s plastic drums, maracas, any percussion instrument will do.) No experience in drumming is necessary. For further information contact Layne Simpson.
Dinner Group Saturday, June
20 – 6:30 pm
Fourteen people attended the first gathering of this group at Mr. Curry’s in
Edwardsville.
The
next dinner will be at the St. Louis Buffet
672 Wesley Dr.,
Wood River, IL 62095
Everyone is invited!
Please let
Cathy Tade
know by Tuesday, June 16th
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Members
and friends of the church are invited to march in the Gay Pride Parade in Further
details and parade meeting place will be announced later. If you have
questions, or want to participate, contact me, Linda Van Zandt zandtl@msnotes.wustl.edu, your
faithful parade participation coordinator. A signup sheet will also be
available at church.
Treasury Note Total budgeted income for April 2009 was $10,234.41; this was 7.4% of our annual budget. Total budgeted expenses for April 2009 were $9,368.44; this was 6.8% of our annual budget. This month’s surplus of $865.97 was primarily due to the transfer of $2707 from the Ministerial Fund, money set aside many years ago to help support full-time ministry. The Ministerial Fund is now depleted; so we will have to make up this income source through other means in future budgets. Our budget surplus still appears adequate to see us through the rest of the fiscal year as long as previously-made pledge commitments are met. We have used up the money donated to support child care. There is about $1100 left in the Child Care budget line to last us through May and June. Jerry Johnson, Church Treasurer |
As you head off on vacation and plan on some summer fun, please remember that “hunger doesn’t take a vacation” and continue to bring donations for the Food Pantry during the summer months. Jen Politsch
THE CHOIR TAKES A SUMMER BREAK! The choir will rehearse at 7 pm
on Thursday, June 4th and then not meet again until August. Contact Willis McCoy for further information. New
Brochures in the Information Rack The brochures in the racks
in the Wuerker Room aren’t just for visitors.
There are several new ones that you might be interested in reading: ·
Along the Greener Path: a Personal Statement on nature ·
Science and Religion ·
Engagement with the World: A personal Perspective of Faith
in Action · Religious Hospitality: A spiritual Practice for Congregations
We postponed our scheduled painting day
due to inclement weather and will reschedule soon. |
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There were an
overabundance of hanging baskets and potted plants in the Wuerker Room. They have been moved to the front porch of
the RE wing and are being offered FOR
Friday, June 12th at church – 6 to 8 pm. Contact Kristen O’Steen. Renegade Women’s Chalice Circle Saturday, June 20th at church – 2 to 4 pm. Contact Marcia Custer. Parents Seeking Peace Chalice Circle
Sunday, June 21st – 12:00 to 1:30 pm in Emerson Place at church.
Men's Tuesday, June 23rd – 7 pm at church. Contact: Khleber Van Zandt. UPCOMING The
four area UU Churches will host a day long Small Group Ministry workshop on
September 26, 2009. It will be led by Patricia D’Auria from Central Midwest District.
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Coffee will be available for purchase on the first Sunday of each month. Whole bean, drip grind, regular, decaffeinated and flavored coffee will be available. Look for Linda Van Zandt at the Equal Exchange table in the Kate Wuerker Room.
June 28th 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.
When
at all possible, in an effort to be more conscious of the environment and to
reduce the trash that our church might add to the ever growing area landfills,
we are using the church’s china plates instead of disposable ones. A-Mc will do Clean Up M-Z will do Table Set Up Everyone needs to help. Please do your share in setting up and cleaning up. Kitchen camaraderie helps you know someone better.
RE-MINDERS Please remember to
bring in your empty ink jet printer cartridges for recycling and place them in
the bin in the church foyer. |
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A Social Justice Venture Saturday, June 27 is the date of our next 4th Saturday Lunch for those in need of a meal. A signup sheet will be available so you can decide what you would like to bring. Our lunch buffet line opens at 12 noon. We ask that if you are bringing food that you arrive at least by 11:45 am. Set-up help is welcome anytime after 10:30 am and cleanup help is always needed after lunch is over. If you have questions contact Mary Johnson
1 June – Sayer Johnson 3 June – Kris Tucker-Loewe 4 June – Marcia Custer 4 June – Mark Wolff 4 June – Jennifer Herndon 8 June – Ruth Shaw 9 June – Wayne Politsch 9 June – Eric Sturley 17 June – Jeanne Sturley 21 June – Joy Hoeft 23 June – Bailey Brunner (1991) 24 June – Devin Johnson (2000) 29 June – Beth Nalick 30 June – Ruth Maskow Newsletter
Deadline Send Newsletter items by 15th of the month to the Editor AND
to the Church office. Email: church@firstuualton.org Editor:
Mary
Johnson |
DIRECTORY
CHANGE Cheryle Tucker-Loewe has a new email address: If your personal information (phone, address, email) changes, please notify the church office so we can keep our records current.
General
Information: One-half of the cash collection and one-half of any undesignated checks put in the collection on the 2nd
and 4th Sundays are given away to charitable causes. The entire
amount of checks designated for a specific cause is donated to that cause. The money donated does not
include pledge checks or money otherwise earmarked by the giver. In April
$723 was given to the Metropolitan St. Louis Equal Housing Opportunity Council. We welcome your suggestions for future C.O.O. recipients. Please contact Mary Johnson with your ideas.
June’s Community Outreach Offering will go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Madison County http://madisoncty.nami.org/
Embracing Our Diversity, 17th annual summer gathering, organized by the Central Midwest District Women and Religion Committee. August 7 – 9 at Ronora Lodge, Watervliet, Michigan http://www.womenandreligion.org Registration due July 15. See the Kiosk in Wuerker Room for more info. |
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Dear Parents and Friends, Last
year we were able to have our very first Vacation Chalice Camp. We learned about Heifer International and
raised funds for this worthy cause.
Those in attendance had a good time and learned a lot. We
are planning on having another Vacation Chalice Camp this summer, but it will
be somewhat different than last year.
Last year was a five day, evening camp, and this year will be a four
day, daytime camp. It will be held from
Monday, July 20 - Thursday, July 23. We
will be using a day camp curriculum on diversity and multiculturalism called
“Alike and Different.” These
camps are a great way to extend the hours of Religious Education Community that
your children get to participate in. We
would love to see all of our families attend the entire week, but if that is
not possible, partial week attendance is also an option for families. You do not have to come to the entire week
for your kids to benefit from this community building experience.
Pre-registration is not required, but it will be helpful if you know what your attendance plans
will if you can share those with me.
This information is good so that we can have the appropriate numbers of
volunteers on hand to help out.
The camp is open to those children who were in our Spirit Play or Workshop Rotation
Classrooms this past year.
We also have workshop leader roles available for those who were in our
Way Cool Sunday School class or the YRUU youth group. Please watch for more announcements as to what time the camp will start every day, and what your children will need to bring with them. If you are interested in volunteering for this week, please see me to let me know what your availability is. Thank you, Jamie Gross |
Juneteenth
From the UUA Social
Justice Site http://www.uua.org/socialjustice/calendar/index.shtml Juneteenth
—
June 19 — celebrates the day in 1865 when Union soldiers landed at Resources
Juneteenth is
an excellent resource for learning about the history of Juneteenth and planning
a Juneteenth Day celebration. Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Anti-Racism, Anti-Oppression, Multicultural (ARAOMC) Resources Juneteenth is
a 2008 post from the UUA's Advocacy & Witness blog, Inspired
Faith, Effective Action. Action
Juneteenth can be celebrated with cookouts,
prayer services, informational displays in your fellowship hall, or concerts. Juneteenth provides
a list of celebrations happening in the Unitarian
Universalist Association History
The UUA's 2007 Responsive Resolution, Truth, Repair, & Reconciliation. |
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Return to First Unitarian Church of Alton - Newsletter Archive Page
This
will be my last column as Congregational President; it is a sad time and a
joyous time. I have enjoyed most of every minute that I have been able to serve
as President of this wonderful, vibrant congregation and I look forward to new
challenges and duties. 
Most people enjoy getting a card or email or phone call on their birthday.
