Congregation established 1836

Newsletter of the

First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois

www.firstuualton.org

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt, Minister

September 7^th

Ingathering Sunday

~ an Intergenerational Worship Service ~

“Moments of Truth”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

Our culture has developed strange ideas about the nature of truth:  is it true that the truth is always better than a lie, regardless of how much and whom it might hurt?  Or are there some questions that simply don’t have to be answered?  A discussion of personal, familial, and cultural boundaries for all ages.

September 14^th

“Whence ‘Scripture’?”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

The people of the three Abrahamic religions - Jews, Christians, and Muslims - are often called “People of The Book,” and each religion has a special relationship to its “scripture,” whether the Torah, the Bible, or the Koran.  For ourselves, rather than claiming one book, we are “People of Many Books,” begging the question what is scriptural for us and what is not.

September 21^st

“Life Without Parole”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

Over the last decade and a half, the “truth in sentencing” movement has changed parole guidelines around the country and in the process has snatched hope out of the hands of many long-time prisoners.  As the prison population ages out of the crime-prone years of 18 to 32, can’t we find some way to safely and equitably release our less-dangerous inmates?

September 28^th

^{(Tentative speaker)}

Rev. Brian H. Covell

Third Unitarian Church, Chicago, IL

In his preaching, Reverend Covell relates the principles of liberal religion to both contemporary social and personal concerns. He believes that as Unitarian Universalism emphasizes the inherent worth and dignity of every living being, its congregations should take practical, tangible initiatives to make this principle real in our neighborhoods, cities, and world.

September  7^th – Non-Theist / Humanist Roundtable.

September 14^th – Environmental Discussion Group.

September 21^st – Speaking of Faith.

September 28^th – Peacemaking.

Mark Your Calendars:

       A Quick Guide to this Month’s Happenings

A First Glance

With the start of a new church year upon us, my mind is still mulling two events that occurred over the summer. 

Most recently, and geographically closest to home, the Alton City Council denied a request for zoning changes that would have permitted a food pantry to operate out of 12^th Street Presbyterian Church in Alton.  The local food pantry, associated with Operation Food Search of St. Louis and the St. Louis Area Food Bank, had relocated to the nicer digs of 12^th Street Presbyterian before running into opposition from the residents of the high-end neighborhood around the church.

In a blatant manifestation of the ol’ “not-in-my-backyard” syndrome, neighbors showed up in force at a Planning Commission meeting to say that crime would go up and property values would go down if “those people” were invited to come to the church.  With such a checkered history of race and class in Alton, it’s hard to believe that people still speak so, but I guess I have to honor their forthrightness in speaking the truth as they see it.

The pastor of 12^th Street Presbyterian, Rev. David Olsen, spoke a different truth when he said that feeding people was part of what the church was called to do.  It seems a travesty that the city could stop any church from fulfilling such an important part of its mission, but race and class are powerful dividers and the politics of division is still alive and well.

Geographically farther afield but within our UU family, in late July a man carried a shotgun into a Sunday morning children’s program at Tennessee Valley UU Church and opened fire, killing Greg McKendry and Linda Kraeger and injuring many more.  Law enforcement and the media said the shooter may have chosen the UU church at random because he was “mad at liberals.”  On closer inspection, however, he probably singled out TVUUC because his ex-wife had been welcomed there and cared for during their divorce years ago. 

Obviously, being welcoming and caring for others can be dangerous in ways we don’t often consider.

UUA President Bill Sinkford said after the TVUUC tragedy that “it is a simple and a profound act of presence for us to be together.”  The dangerous work of welcoming and caring must go on; our mission remains even when opposed by strong social, political, economic, and cultural forces.

Let’s not let the seeming simplicity of our gathering lull us into missing the profound importance of it.

See you in church,

The older model of Unitarian Universalist churches left the summer open from structured worship to gather again after Labor Day. First Unitarian in Alton has joyously moved to full time ministry and year-round church, where we have the opportunity to gather all year round. We still however, celebrate the beginning of the church year called “In-Gathering” and that gives me an opportunity to reflect on the past year and dream about the year to come. Unfortunately violence was again a major concern of most communities and now our own denomination. In a movement were we all strive to practice tolerance and love, it was heart breaking to hear of the deaths of two people who gave their lives practicing their faith- their liberal Unitarian Universalist faith. More were injured and will always bear the scars of that day, physically and emotionally, we all found ourselves wounded wondering why and how could this happen. Our church answered that particular hatred with love- gathering in the park next to our worship space to sing songs, light candles and listen to the words of prophetic people. We were called to action in the cause of absolute peace and unrestricted love. Our task for the coming year and beyond is to carry those prophetic words in to the community- we did not just gather on that one night for peace, but every time we gather our faith demands that peace is what we do now and forever. I look forward to the coming year with hope and joy, knowing our liberal faith will take us anywhere we need to go.

Peace and Love,

John Herndon,

President of the Board of Trustees

Ingathering Picnic

Who:  Everyone is Welcome! 

When: Sunday, September 7, immediately following Sunday Services.

Where: The lovely Park next door to the Church.

What to Bring:  A side dish because we will have hamburgers and hotdogs fresh off the grill.

What’s the cost:  $1.00 per person.

There will be Games and Prizes!

Bring your lawn chairs and relax because this will be a
Great Afternoon in the Park!

Highway Clean-Up Day

Saturday morning, September 20^th

Meet at church at 9:00 am

It’s time again to do our quarterly clean up of our four-mile stretch of Highway 67.  The more people who help, the less time it will take and the more enjoyable the work.  This is one of our community service projects.  The church’s name is on the sign approaching our stretch of the road, giving us added incentive to keep the area trash-free.  Mark Tade is the Clean-Up Coordinator and will have a sign-up sheet at church for volunteers. 

Community Women’s Drum Circle

Sunday, September 21^st from 6 to 8 pm will be the first gathering at our church of the Community Women’s Drum Circle.  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.  Drum whatever comes through you, carefree, easy going.  For further information contact Layne Simpson layne3030@hotmail.com.

   Cats Needing a Permanent Home

Several weeks ago three cats were found in cages on the church porch.  They were taken to the Wiseman’s who offered to keep them until either a home could be found, or the 5A’s shelter had room for them.  A place was found for two of the cats, but Audrey still has one that needs a home.  Contact Audrey at audreywiseman@gmail.com

In addition, Layne Simpson took in a mother cat and three kittens and is looking for a home for one or more of the kittens. Contact Layne at layne3030@hotmail.com

Treasury Note

The total budgeted income for July 2008 was $5,748.54.   The total budgeted expenses for July 2008 were $16,169.99.

Since about half of the prepaid-pledge amount was transferred from our checking account to our money market account a few months ago, we have been receiving almost $20 a month in interest. This may not seem like much, but it will probably allow us to exceed our budgeted interest income for the year in a few months. Eventually, most of the transferred money will have to be moved back to checking in order to meet expenses later on in the year, and interest income will drop off.

The church ended the last fiscal year with a deficit of $7,259.83. Since we cannot spend money that we do not have, this amount was deducted from our “unrestricted reserves.” This leaves them with a negative balance. However, a few late 2007-2008 pledge payments arrived and “softened” this deficit by several hundred dollars. Hopefully, some sort of fund-raising activity can be done to help alleviate this ‘hole’ in our finances.

Jerry Johnson, Treasurer

Join the Choir!  All voices are welcome.  Rehearsals begin at 7 pm on the 1^st and 3^rd Thursdays of each month and around noon on the 2^nd and 4^th Sundays.

September’s schedule is as follows:

Thurs., Sept. 4^th

Sun., Sept. 14^th

Thurs., Sept. 18^th

Sun., Sept. 28^th

Contact Willis McCoy for further information.

mccoy.willis@yahoo.com

FUNDRAISING PROGRAM

The Church Needs You! Looking for a Few Good Women and Men Willing to Work on Developing a Fundraising Program for the Church.  Mark your calendars for September 14^th.

Thanks to a large and widespread increase in pledging and some generous one-time donations, the church was able to pass a balanced budget for fiscal year 2008-09. In order to meet the goals for that budget, even after the generous giving by members and friends, the church needs to identify other sources of funds outside of regular pledges and donations from members and friends.  The need to work towards fundraising is made more urgent because we ended the previous fiscal year 2007-08 with a deficit of over $7,000.  The Board, acting through the Stewardship Committee, is constituting a group of interested church members and friends to work on developing a fundraising program for the church.  There will be a meeting after church on Sunday, September 14, for all interested persons.

Diane E. Thompson
dianeelizabeththompson@gmail.com

Do you have “Treasures” to sell, or are you looking for

some cool “Treasures?”

Come to the Cool City Treasures Community-wide Sale.

This is a benefit sponsored by the Alton Cluster of the United Congregations of Metro East (UCM) to support UCM – a peace and justice institution working for lasting social change to benefit all citizens.

When/Where:  Oct. 11 – 9 am to 3 pm at Old St. Patrick’s School – 5^th and Central in Alton.

There is table space available for individuals, groups, or product vendors.  Items sold might include artwork, handicrafts, books, retail products, plants, gently used “new to you” and other miscellaneous items.  Table space rental is $25.

To reserve a space, or for more information, contact Mary Lu McManus or Jan Hines before September 20^th.  Vendor registration forms will also be available at church.

WORKDAY

Saturday, September 13 from 9 am until 3 pm

Join us on Sept. 13 to help get things spruced up for the new church year.  We need people for cleaning, painting, yardwork, window washing, and repairs.  Come and join us, get to know each other better, and feel and real sense of accomplishment.  Our building needs you!

Mary Johnson, Nancy Sakalauski, and Pat Moore have recently been painting the nursery.

We now have new furniture around our fireplace conversation area, thanks to donations and funds from purchase of sodas.  We also have a new storage cart for our tables.  Did you notice the new light fixture on the front porch?  The electrical work was done by David Weber.

Donations are always welcome for hiring professionals as needed and for purchase of things like our new furniture and table cart.        

On July 12, the Parents Chalice Group held its own workday to get some painting done.  We painted the Wuerker Room ceiling, started work on the nursery, and started work on the front doors.

Perhaps another Chalice group would like to take on a project. Here’s a small list of some projects that need doing:

Volunteer to purchase and restock soda in the fridge

                        Wash windows

                        Trimming and weeding outdoors

                        Painting projects inside and out

                        Plumbing repairs

                        Electrical repairs

                        Kitchen maintenance

Let me know what YOU would like to do, and please continue to keep me informed of things you see that need attention or of your ideas for improving our surroundings. My goal is to keep our building a safe and beautiful place in which to meet and worship.

Pat Moore

Chairman

Coffee Hour Revised

Beginning Oct 1^st, on a trial basis, coffee hosts will no longer be responsible for providing refreshments. Simple snack foods provided by the church will be available in the pantry or freezer. However, donations of cookies, pretzels, snack crackers etc. are welcome and can be left on the kitchen chopping block. Alternatively, to defray mounting coffee hour expense, members may make a monetary donation in the basket provided in the Wuerker Room during coffee hour.

Marcia Custer

Vigil Against Violence

On Thursday evening, July 31^st, a candlelight vigil was held in the park next to the church in response to the shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville on the previous Sunday.

Fifty people attended the service, led by Rev. Van Zandt, who asked the Rev. Bill Veith from Trinity Lutheran Church and the Rev. George Humbert from College Avenue Presbyterian Church to join him in adding to the message sung by the choir that we are “standing on the side of love.”

CHALICE CIRCLES

Renegade Women Chalice Circle

Saturday, Sept. 20^th – 2 to 4 pm. 

Contact Marcia Custer mcuster@siue.edu for more information.

Third Sunday Chalice Circle

September 21^st – 11:45 am to 1 pm at church.

Beginning with the September 21 meeting, the Third Sunday Chalice Circle will begin a focus on the seven principles which Unitarian Universalist congregations affirm and promote.  If you would like to learn more about the principles, take some time to think and talk about them, or just join a Chalice Circle group to get know some of us better, please join us.  We meet in the sanctuary at 11:45 am (or about 15 minutes after the end of service) on the third Sunday of each month.

Contact Sandy Shaner sarapolarbear@hotmail.com

This is a “general” chalice circle welcoming all.

Parents Seeking Peace Chalice Circle

Sunday, September 21^st – 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, September 23^rd  – 7 pm at church.

Contact: Khleber Van Zandt kvanzandt@uuma.org.

CRISIS FOOD CENTER DONATIONS

As we head into the autumn harvest season please bring your donations of non-perishable food to church and they will be delivered to the Alton Food Pantry.

Jen Politsch

4 ^th Sunday

Potluck Lunch

September 28^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. 

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, it has been suggested that we try a 6 month trial of using the church’s china plates instead of disposable ones.

A-Mc will do Table Set Up

M-Z will do Clean Up

Everyone helps put food out.

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

Community

Outreach Offering

One-half of 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 money 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.  September’s collection will go to the Oasis Women’s Shelter in Alton.

Suggestions for offering recipients are welcome.  Please email Mary Johnson with your suggestions.  mejohnson@mindspring.com. Members of the Community Outreach Committee are Khleber Van Zandt, Willis McCoy and Mary Johnson.

MADISON COUNTY HOUSEHOLD
  HAZARDOUS WASTE DAY 2008
FREE to all Madison County Residents

WHEN:  Saturday, September 27th, 2008, 8 am- 3pm

WHERE:  Madison County Wood River Facility
(formerly Wood River Hospital)
101 East Edwardsville, Rd., Wood River

ONLY Madison County residents are welcome. Residency identification required.
Business/Contractor waste is NOT accepted.

QUESTIONS?

Call Madison County Recycling Hotline at:

(618) 296-6647 or www.madisoncountyrecycles.com

Anna Ds

The September meeting

of the Anna D. Sparks Women’s Alliance

will be held on Thursday, September4^th at

 11:30 am

in the Riverbend Room

at

United Methodist Village

5201 Asbury Ave., Godfrey, IL

All women of the church are invited.

A selection of soups, salads, and sandwiches can be ordered from the menu
for under $10 including tip.

Please contact Liz Leavell

before September 2^nd  if you plan to attend.

lleavell@charter.net.

Membership in Anna Ds is open to all women of the church.  Dues of $10 per year will be collected during the month of September.  Dues may be brought to the September meeting or mailed to Anna Ds treasurer, Liz Leavell.

Most people enjoy getting a card or email or phone call on their birthday.  Below is the list we have 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.

  1 September - Bill Fischer

  1 September - David Birchmier

  1 September - Dee Evans

  3 September - Jim Moore

  4 September - Elizabeth Leavell

10 September - Denise Maxwell

10 September - Mary Lu McManus

10 September - Roger Thorogood

13 September - Phil Finley

13 September - Betty Yakubian

14 September - Mona Hebert

14 September - Teri Brickey

16 September - Janice Joiner

19 September - Jen Politsch

20 September - David Kraus

20 September - David Stacy

23 September - Matt Hallett

26 September - Jennifer Nolan O’Dell

29 September - Camille Alton (1997)

All Men in the Church Invited to the

Men’s Lunch Group

The Men’s Group will meet on Thursday, September 11^th at the St. Louis Buffet, 672 Wesley Dr., Wood River, IL.  Contact Nelson Shaner for further details nshaner@charter.net.

UU 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?

Unitarian Universalism is a fellowship open to discussion and thought on established religious, scientific, and spiritual principles.  The development of personal religious convictions and spiritual growth lies with each individual and many bring customs and beliefs of many faiths together. Unitarian Universalists acknowledge the uniqueness and worth of all persons and all peoples and believe we all share an interconnectedness.  We work together to promote a fair and just society.  We celebrate all our planet and our time on Earth as we seek knowledge on how to live our lives with integrity and compassion.

From the Renegade Women’s Chalice Circle

Travel to Egypt

in 2010

http://www.oattravel.com/gcc/general/default.aspx?oid=175422&linklocation=search

OAT tours are limited to 16 persons so if think you might be interested please get in touch with Pat Moore patjimmoore@charter.net

RE NEWS

Dear Parents and Friends,

This year is our World Religions year of our three-year rotation which is World Religions, UU Identity, and Social Justice. We have nursery care and classrooms for children from birth through high school.

The pre-school/Kindergarten class will be using the “Spirit Play” approach to Religious Education.  This is a method based on Montessori schools that uses manipulatives to tell stories every week. The children are then able to choose activities based on their own interests.

The 1^st -5^th grade students will be participating in the “Workshop Rotation Model” (WoRM).  They will be able to choose one of two different workshops that fits our monthly theme, which will be presented during the Children‘s Chapel.  There will be two separate classrooms for this age group.

The middle-school class will be using the model of “Way Cool Sunday School.”  Every month the students will have:  a Worship Sunday, a Classroom Sunday, a Fine Arts Sunday and a Social Action Sunday that correspond with our monthly theme.  

The Workshop Rotation classes and the Way Cool Sunday School class will be using the same theme for the year, The Golden Rule in different religions.

• Sept. Unitarian Universalism
• Oct. Sacred Earth Traditions
• Nov. Native American Spirituality
• Dec. Holiday Activity Month
• Jan. Hinduism
• Feb. Judaism
• Mar. Buddhism
• Apr. Christianity
• May Islam

The YRUU Sr. High group will meet at varying times instead of the 10:30 time of the other classes. The meeting times will depend on the activity they are engaged in at the time, but are typically on Sunday afternoons.  During the regular RE time on Sundays the youth have the option of assisting with younger classes or attending the service.

On the first Sunday of each month, the children will be having a special worship service separate from that of the adults. On the remaining Sundays the children are expected to attend the regular worship service with their parents until the time in the service when the children are sung to their activities. Children are asked not to bring any toys or personal items to RE.

Safety is very important. All parents need to register each child as soon as possible at the beginning of each year and whenever a new child starts mid-year. Each floor is equipped with a first aid kit and a fire extinguisher, and fire exits are available and labeled on

each floor.

The most important thing that parents can do for their children's religious education is to make it a priority; the best way to ensure that your children are learning the religious principles that you would like them to learn is to make sure that they attend RE classes regularly.

In order to make this type of programming possible for our children, volunteers are needed. Volunteer positions can range from the one-time job to a semester or year-long position. All members and friends are encouraged to volunteer for any position. Please see me for the types of jobs that need to be done.

Thank You, Jamie Gross

SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVITY

What:  “Walk for Mental Health” – fundraiser sponsored by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Madison County

When: Saturday, September 27^th

Where: Tri-Township Park in Troy Illinois –

Pavilion #1

What time:  Check-in begins at 9 am –

Walk begins at 10 am

Walk route:  The trail is approximately 2

miles long – walk as far or as little as you’d like.

Contact:  Ruth Maskow – atruemiracle@yahoo.com

A signup sheet with further information and a donation container will be available at church.  NAMI will provide a free tee-shirt to those who sign up before September 15^th and a picnic lunch will be provided for all registered walkers. Car-pooling to Troy can be arranged if desired.

Statistics indicate that one out of four people in America will suffer some form of mental illness in their lifetime.  You or a family member or a friend may know what it means to be in that 25% of the population.  Families may first turn to their church congregations and clergy for support when struggling with mental health issues, but often the stigma of being labeled makes people reluctant to ask for help.  The annual NAMI walk is to raise both money and awareness regarding the need for treatment and to rid the stigma that goes with brain disorders.

Directory updates:

Please make these changes in your directory:

Willis and Brynda McCoy’s new email address:

mccoy.willis@yahoo.com

New members who joined Sunday, Aug. 17^th

Kristen Bradley and Chris O'Steen

Belleville , IL  

Osteen.family@gmail.com