Congregation established 1836

Newsletter for
Members and Friends of

First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois

www.firstuualton.org

July 17^th - “The Health Benefits of Meditation and Yoga” - Ted Loucks.

July 24^th - “Coyotes and Other Tricksters: The Role of the Contrary in Society” - Chris Sutton will discuss how from Hermes and Old Man Coyote to Hunter S. Thompson and Michael Moore, the contrary have performed a vital role to their respective cultures. We’ll discuss how the actions and stories help keep a society healthy.

July 31^st - “An Ethical Response To Our Energy Addiction” - Wayne Politsch will discuss an article in the "UU World" (June 2005) dealing with energy consumption in the US and the impact on climate change.  It will revolve around a specific question ... should oil exploration and drilling begin in the Alaskan Arctic Wildlife Refuge?

August 7^th - “Translating Jesus” - a new sermon sent to us on audiotape and in print from Dr. John Hoad.

August 14^th - “The Entire History of the Unitarian Universalist Movement and Institution in Twenty Five Minutes Flat” - a sermon written by the Rev. Mark Belletini which will be read aloud by various members of the congregation.

August 21^st - Khleber M. Van Zandt

August 28^th - Khleber M. Van Zandt

Minister’s Musings

And now for something completely different:

If you’re new to First Church, you may not realize that we are now in the midst of Summer Services, which are different from the regular services. Instead of worshipping in the Sanctuary, we meet in the fellowship hall known as the Wuerker Room. Services are informative and informal, and are led by members of the church. A schedule of service topics can be found in this newsletter and on our webpage at http://www.firstuualton.org.

Something else completely different:

If you have been around the church for a while, you know we’ve never had worship services the last two weeks of August. This year, we begin a new tradition: we’ll move back into the Sanctuary on August 21^st and 28^th and provide a regular service for those of you who wish to attend. One of the main reasons for this is that August is known as “church-shopping month” - we should expect people to visit us all that month just to check out who we are and how we “do church.” Rather than offer them only a closed-up building, we’ll do a couple of the more popular services we did during the past year. If you have any suggestions, please let me know.

When other things may be completely different:

With several new members at church as well as a new minister, some things may seem quite different. If you notice things you particularly like or changes that disturb you, there is a new committee in place just for you. The Committee on Ministry was approved at the Annual Meeting in May and is now up and running. This committee is in place to solicit your comments and make sure the minister and other church leadership hears you. The Committee on Ministry is made up of Mary Johnson, Ted Loucks, Pat Moore, Nancy Brunner, Paul Hebert, and Dennis Nalick. Let them know you’re out there.

Faithfully, Khleber

THUMBNAIL SKETCH OF

SUMMER CHURCH EVENTS

July 3^rd - Sunday -- Lemonade & Brownie sale during the Alton fireworks - from 7:00 p.m.

July 10^th - Sunday - Meeting of all Committee Chairs following the service - 11:30 a.m. - Lunch provided.

July 12^th - Tuesday - Men’s Group Lunch - 11:30 a.m. - at the Chinese Buffet.

July 12^th - Tuesday -- Board Meeting - 7:00 p.m.

July 23^rd - Saturday - RE Picnic for kids and parents - at church - 12:30 p.m.

August 13^th - Saturday - All Church Picnic and Swim Party at the Belleville Y.

August 20^th - Saturday - Workday at church - 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

August 27^th - Saturday - “Radical Hospitality” workshop at Emerson Chapel.

Theatre Event

BJ Hotson will have his first professional gig with St. Louis Shakespeare Company in Henry V at the Grandel Theatre July 22^nd -31^st.  So, if you feel a Shakespearean urge coming on … here's your FIX! Here's a link for info if you are interested.

http://www.stlshakespeare.org/Season/Productions/ 2005/henryv.html

Exterior Painting to be done in June

At its June meeting, on the recommendation of Building and Grounds Chair Tom Allred, the Board of Trustees voted to award a contract to Jeremy Bollinger to paint the exterior of the church. This work should be completed by the end of June.

Lemonade, Brownies

& Fireworks

Starting at 7:00 p.m. on the evening of July 3^rd we will be selling lemonade and brownies to folks coming to watch the fireworks from the church lawn. Volunteers are needed to staff the food table as well as help in making lemonade and bringing brownies. If you can help, please let Nancy Brunner know.

Members attend the

Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA)

General Assembly (GA)

Near the end of June, Ruth Shaw and Khleber Van Zandt will be attending our denomination’s annual General Assembly, held this year in Fort Worth, Texas. This is an annual gathering where thousands of UUs come together to spend a very busy few days going to a wide variety of workshops, attending worship services, drama and musical performances, voting at plenary sessions on issues of denominational concern, attending evening social events, visiting vendor displays and exhibits, and networking. You will be able to see some of the events live at http://www.uua.org.

GA will be in St. Louis next year (2006) so hopefully many more of us will be able to attend.

RE News

Dear Parents and Friends,

As our summer session of church is now in full swing, it is not too late to begin participation in the Heifer International read-to-feed program either as a reader or as a sponsor of readers. As of press time, we have raised $75.00 for this cause. For information about what kinds of animals this amount of money can buy, please see the information table in the Wuerker Room at the church.

It is also not too early to plan for the next church year. We have several positions open for teachers at all grade levels. For those of you who love to read popular literature to children, our pre-school class may be the right place for your talents. For those of you with an interest in the Jewish and Christian roots of our faith and what those stories can teach our children today, the primary class may be right for you. Anyone who has an interest in the mythological origins of religion and what those stories can teach us today may find a fit with our middle school class. Anyone who has talents and interests that have not been mentioned here, please feel free to contact me or a member of the Religious Education committee so that I can help pair the interests that you may have with a position that needs to be filled.

In the interest of helping foster positive relationships within our church community the RE committee will be hosting a Religious Education barbeque. The event will take place at the church on Saturday July 23^rd at 12:30 in the afternoon. The RE committee will provide grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, both of the meat and veggie variety, others will be asked to bring side dishes to accompany these items. Equipment for outside play will also be available. It is my hope that this will be an enjoyable experience for both children and adults. Please feel free to bring guests.

I hope that everyone's summer is going well and that we will see you all when RE classes begin again in September.

Thank You, Jamie Gross

Church Pledge Drive Update

As of 6/15/05 we have received fifty-four pledges totaling $67,233 towards our goal of $72,000. Pledges received range from $60 to $6000. The median pledge is $710. This means that half the pledges are less than, and half the pledges are greater than, $710.

JULY BIRTHDAYS

IF YOU’RE NEW TO THE CHURCH, PLEASE

CONTACT MARY JOHNSON (mejohnson@mindspring.com) IF YOU WANT YOUR NAME INCLUDED ON OUR BIRTHDAY LIST.

1 July - Stacey Wolff

6 July - Brandon Harris (1995)

7 July - Lois Fischer

8 July - Kay Ott

9 July - Lucy McAneny

14 July - Brian Salisbury

15 July - Paul Berney

15 July - Chris Ilweski-Huelsmann

22 July - Hugh Hallett

24 July - Irene Mondhink

24 July - Midget Hallett

26 July - Cheryle Tucker-Loewe

28 July - Erkin Baker

29 July - Grace Madison

30 July - Alex Hoeft (1993)

Member News

Yvonne McCall fell at her home on June 14^th and was taken by ambulance to St. Louis University Hospital with a broken leg.

Men’s Lunch Group

The Men’s Lunch Group will meet at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 12^th at the Chinese Buffet at 2610 Homer Adams Parkway in Alton. This lunch meeting is planned as a regular event on the 2^nd Tuesday of each month.

Welcome to New Members

Within in the last month three new members have joined our church. Please make sure to give your personal welcome to:

Phil Finley

Linda Van Zandt

Khleber Van Zandt