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Congregation established 1836 |
A Newsletter for
First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois
www.firstuualton.org
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FIRST UNITARIAN FOCUS
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Congregation established 1836 |
A Newsletter for
First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois
www.firstuualton.org
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Sunday Worship 10:30 a.m. |
March 2005 |
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March 6th
“From Internationalism to
Globalism” Dr. Ronald Glossop Ron will discuss
the transition now occurring from the internationalist perspective of the 19th
and 20th centuries to the globalist perspective of the 21st century and its
significance for our personal identity, political institutions, and language
use. March 13th “Going Purple: Rebuilding Internationalism Out of the Red-State/Blue-State
Divide” Charles J. Brown See page 2 in the
newsletter for further information about Mr. Brown. Charles Brown
will discuss how U.S. citizens interested in international issues should deal
with the red-blue political polarization in our country. March 20th
Palm Sunday “Dancing Into Jerusalem” Khleber M. Van Zandt Some of us learned to counter the common injunction,
Don't go there!" with a flippant "I'm going there, and I'm
dancing!" One measure of our faith
may be how easily we dance and celebrate in the face of certain death. |
March 27th
- Easter Sunday “Rolling Stones” Khleber M. Van Zandt In the Christian story, it's unclear who opened the tomb on the first Easter. This Easter, we'll see if we can roll away some of the stones keeping us from living anew. Additional
Sunday Morning Programming 9:30
a.m. March 6 - Forum
- “Native American Spirituality” - By Scott Mandrell March
13th - Meditation - Led by Pam and Ted Loucks March 20th - Forum
- “Our Treatment of the American Indians - Led by Jim Elliott March 27th - Adult RE -
Led by Gerry Gilman. The topic will be, "Liberations: The Exodus and the Wandering in the
Wilderness," part of the ongoing study
and discussion on the book “Understanding
the Bible” by Dr. John Buehrens. |
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CHURCH
EVENTS March 3rd - Anna Ds at Pat
Moore’s home - 12:00 noon. March 5th - Work Day - 9:30 a.m. March 8th - Men’s Lunch Group -
11:30 a.m. March 8th - Board meeting - 7:00
p.m. March 19th - St. Patrick’s Day
Celebration - 6:30 p.m.
Charles Brown - Sunday Guest Speaker Mr. Charles Brown, our March 13th guest
speaker from Washington DC. is President and CEO of the recently formed
organization Citizens for Global
Solutions (the result of combining the World Federalist Association with
the Campaign for U.N. Reform). From 2001 to 2004 he was Deputy Executive
Director of Amnesty International USA (whose Executive Director is former UUA
President William Schulz). From 1999 to
2001 Brown was Chief of Staff for Assistant Secretary Harold Hongju Koh in the
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) of the U.S. State Department
as well as Director of DRL's Office of Strategic Planning and External
Affairs. Prior to that he was Senior
Advisor on Public Affairs for the DRL in the State Department. From 1988 to 1998 he worked at Freedom House
in a variety of positions, ultimately as Director of Development. He is author of “The Politics of Psychiatry
in Revolutionary Cuba” and co-editor of “Judges and Journalists in Transitional
Democracies.” |
Heritage Day Contributions The Endowment Committee would
like to thank all who helped make Heritage Day a success, especially: Midge (and Matt) Hallett, Audrey Wiseman,
Pat Moore, Rose Hoshiko and Cheryl Tucker-Loewe. Your help was much appreciated.
The Offering total for the Endowment Fund was $572.00. A
Memorial Service for Dot Hull will
be held at the church on Saturday afternoon, April 16th In Our Church Family Some joyful news - Pam and Ted Loucks have a
new granddaughter. Faith Marie was born
on Valentine’s Day, weighing 6 lb., 10 oz.
Mother Lara and baby are both doing fine. We are saddened by the death of long-time
member, Dudley Giberson. Dudley joined
the church in 1928 and was actively involved until the last few years. A memorial service was held at the church on
February 26th. His photograph, and that of his late wife Barbara,
can be found on our “Wall of Fame” above the fireplace in the Wuerker
Room. If you have memories to share of
Dudley please send them to the church via email or mail. |
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Do You Have an Old Cell Phone? If
so, talk to Rosemary Mullikin at church or email her at ellobo1124@hotmail.com. She is collecting non-working cell phones for
an organization that sends the phones to one of the big cell phone companies
that reprogram them to just dial 911.
The former number is removed.
These phones are then given to people who have no phones and could have
a medical emergency. Many elderly
people do not have a phone. Also, these
phones are given to those who may be in a situation of domestic violence.
Contributions Needed for
Medical Mission to Haiti Mona
Hebert will once again be going to Haiti later this spring and will have a
collection basket at church for donations of hygiene products. Items desperately needed are soap, shampoo,
toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc. Samples
from hotel rooms and dental offices are gladly accepted. The various “dollar stores” are also good
places to purchase such items. Anything
and everything is so needed by the people of Haiti, especially after the hurricanes and
floods.
Men’s Lunch Group The Men’s Lunch Group will meet at 11:30 a.m.
on Tuesday, March 8th 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. |
CHECK
OUT THE CHURCH’S NEW WEBSITE AT Redesigned
by Jerry Johnson, the website will continued be maintained by Jim Elliott. Your comments about or suggestions for the
new website should be sent to Jerry at jerrygjohnson@mindspring.com Work Day Scheduled
9:30 to whenever Bring a lunch and enjoy fellowship while getting work
done around the church. The tasks that
need doing include: Turn the AEU office (room next to the Minister’s
study) into a Sunday morning gathering spot for the older kids. Paint the upstairs hallway. Review items in the nursery to see what games, etc.
could be used in the older kids’ new room. Spruce up the Youth Room downstairs to use as
middle school classroom. Install thermostat in Nursery/RE wing. Paint the new doors. Plant patrol (inside and out). Light bulb patrol. Other tasks as needed. Jamie Gross
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St. Patrick’s Day
Party
Sure and Begorra, we’re having a
St. Patrick’s Day Celebration! Date: Saturday, March 19, 6:30
p.m. Place: Wuerker Room at the Church Dinner: Irish stew, soda bread, salad, and dessert served by the Members
Committee. Cost: $5.00 per person / BYOB Childcare will be provided. Entertainment: Irish trivia, Irish music, Irish humor, and
more. Join the fun!!!! Wear green!!!! R.S.V.P. by March 15 on the
sign-up sheet in the Wuerker Room or to Pat Moore moore3pm@aol.com
Women's
Weekend Every April, Eliot Unitarian Chapel sponsors a Women's Weekend April 22-24 at Camp Wyman in Eureka, MO. It's a time to retreat, relax, and find community among UU women. Enjoy a variety of workshops, meals, and good conversation. Stay for the day or overnight in heated cabins. Space is limited and reservations are required.
Early Registration is available until March 20th - save $10 on fees. For more information, www.eliotchapel.org/WW/ |
The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee This year our church members and
friends donated $1525 to the UUSC’s “Guest at Your Table” campaign. In addition
to the names listed in last month’s newsletter the following people also
contributed Paul and Mona Hebert Michael and Rose Hoshiko.
Sunday Pot
Luck Lunch
March 27th - 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. Anna Ds The Anna D. Sparks
Women's Alliance will meet at noon on March 3rd for their monthly
luncheon at Pat Moore’s home in North County.
All women in the church are welcome. For further information please call
Lorli Nelson. |
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Board Meeting February 8, 2005 Summary The Annual Member Meeting at First Unitarian Church will be on Friday, May 20, 2005 starting at 7:30 p.m. RE Director: Attendance in children’s RE is growing rapidly. Due to presence of 9 children, the primary class was split last Sunday into two sections, K - 4th and 5th -8th grades. Need teachers for pre-school and middle grade classes. In primary class, we are using UU curriculum book “What Do You Stand For?” to present social justice theme. Due to supervision and safety issues, it was decided not to pursue the idea of an outdoor playground at this time. Was decided to convert the AEU’s old office upstairs into an activity room for the older children. Office Manager: Top Secret Designs has been contacted to repair and remodel the Wayside Pulpit Sign. The sign will have new doors, a new interior signboard, new letters, and will be repainted. There will be a permanent sign attached to the frame with the phone number and website of the church. Kevin’s Kleen Lawn has been contacted to take care of snow removal at the church if the snow reaches 3 inches, one hour before church starts. The charge for this is $175.00. Jerika Bateman, who owns the Mineral Springs Mall, is starting her own history tours, “Alton Haunted Tours,” and has requested that the church be a part of her tour. She will donate $30.00 per tour. Tony Taylor will also continue tours. The American Ethical Society came on Friday, February 4th, to pack up and move their library from the upstairs office. |
Treasurer: 67% of this year’s pledges have been
received. - Utilities bill was $870.00 for the month, so hopefully it has
peaked for this winter. - Memorial Fund increased by $280.00 from contributions
by Joe Russo’s and Dot Hull’s families and friends. Web Site Update: Jerry Johnson has re-designed the
website. Jim Elliott will continue to
do updates. The web site address is now
www.firstuualton.org. Member Committee: The Member Services Committee has purchased a
bulletin board and will post information regarding committees and their
responsibilities. Memorial Services: Area UU ministers charge from $175 to $300 to
prepare for and conduct Memorial Services.
The motion was made and passed that until we have a minister in place
the church will pay the fees charged by guest UU minister who perform a
Memorial Service for a member of this church. Submitted by: Mona Hebert, Board Secretary
MARCH BIRTHDAYS 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). 3 March - Jerry Johnson 5 March - Eowyn Wolff (2004) 14 March - Emily Sutton (1992) 15 March - Pam Loucks 16 March - Avery Myers (1996) 17 March - Megan Gross (2003) 25 March - Gerry Gilman 31 March - Gail White (1989) |
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Dear Parents and Friends, Things are going great in our RE department right
now. We have had an influx of new
children since the first of the year, and it has been great. We are happy to have all of these new people
among us. This influx of people has
prompted a change in the way that our classrooms are arranged. We now have a middle school class that will
serve our 5-8 graders. This is in
addition to our primary class that will continue to serve our children in
grades K-4 and our pre-school class for those ages 2-5. We have also made a change in curriculum from the
originally published schedule in the RE brochure. The pre-school class has remained unchanged using "Story
Time." The primary class is now
using "Keepers of the Earth," and the new middle school class is
using "What Do I Stand For?"
These changes were also necessitated by increased weekly
attendance. On Valentine's Day weekend, the primary and middle
school classes worked together on a special project. They made valentines to be delivered to people in nursing
homes. These were given to Nelson
Shaner, who regularly visits area nursing homes to help out, and to Joy Hoeft,
who works at a senior center in Missouri.
Hopefully, these will be well received by those residents. I also have some out-of-the-area news to
report. The DRE from the Berrin, MI UU
Fellowship (BUUF) is currently on a relief aid trip to India. Her congregation is currently raising money
to help fund her trip, which has an estimated cost of $10,000. We have a children's fund as part of our
restricted budget session, and I will be speaking to the children about this
trip to see if they are interested in using some or all of this money for this
cause. If anyone else is interested in
helping out, I have information on how to do this. Just a reminder that I always welcome any feedback
or questions that anyone has, not just parents. |
Central Midwest District Assembly April 15-17, 2005 Sheraton Hotel & Conference Center Arlington Heights, IL “Creating Beloved Community: The Challenge and the
Promise” Keynote presenter: Rev. Rosemary Bray McNatt This annual assembly will have an array of interesting
workshops and activities. There will be more information and registration forms
at church. UU Bed and Breakfast Directory Do
you dream of inexpensive vacation travel to interesting destinations where you
can stay in the homes of friendly people who share your ideals and are happy to
provide directions and advice for their area?
The
UU bed and breakfast directory UU’re Home
(formerly Homecomings) can help you
fulfill your dream. For 25 years, we’ve provided a network of hosts in the
United States (and a few abroad) who enjoy meeting new friends and who are
happy to open their home to like-minded people. The
directory is published every year in April.
For a copy of the 2005 directory, please send a check for $18 to UU’re
Home, 43 Vermont Court, Asheville, NC 28806. UU’re Home has just launched a new web site at www.UUreHome.com, which includes about half
of the listings. Entries are updated whenever changes are made or new hosts are
added. |
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Joseph
A. Russo Joe Russo died
Wednesday, January 19, 2005. He has
been a member of our church since February 20, 1955. A memorial service will be held at a later date. Here are some
memories of Joe that have been received. From Grace
Madison. Joe was a good story teller. Soon after our
family moved to Alton, we attended a semi-annual meeting of the church. Joe
gave the treasurer's report and it was so entertaining that we hardly noticed
he was talking about money. He was multi-talented; an excellent photographer
who took many pictures that are treasured by our church, a ham radio
enthusiast, an interesting conversationalist and a good Italian bread baker. We
will miss you, Joe. From Peg Flach. I
have 3 Joe Russo stories to share. They
sorta fit into a Clint Eastwood format -- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The Good I
remember the year that we had a series of art shows in the Wuerker Room. Joe offered a plethora of amazing
photographs that he had taken over the years.
One in particular was a lovely nude of a woman stepping over a huge
ornate driftwood on the shore of Lake Michigan. It was a popular piece and a copy of that photograph was won by a
lucky UU at an art raffle at the end of the exhibits. I would give anything to have the negative of that picture. The Bad One
of my fondest memories was of Joe scooting up to me and saying something to the
effect of “Doll, how about a hug?” Just
who could deny such a request?!? It was
fun to turn to Virginia and say “Virginia, your husband is such a flirt!”
To which she would respond “Yes, I know!” |
The Ugly One
Sunday as I was pulling up to the front of the church - a tad bit late - I
watched in horror as Joe took a spill on the top stone step and fell. It all seemed to happen in slow motion as he
fell and I tried to hurry over to him. It
was cold and I made him sit there while an ambulance was called to attend to
the gash on his forehead. He declined
treatment and, luckily, healed up nicely. I
couldn’t help but to look for him in church last Sunday. He just seems like such a fixture at First
Unitarian of Alton - Joe in a plaid tweed jacket, wearing a jaunty hat and with
camera in hand. Joe Russo was a charming, nice nice man … and I’m so grateful that our paths crossed. From Midge Hallett. It’s hard to
think of Joe as just a member of our church - he seems to me to be the essence
of all the good and humane things that we strive for within the Unitarian
concept of theology. One shining memory
that I hold dear is throughout the l960's and l970's when my kids were involved
in R.E, Joe would do a Christmas reading at the Christmas Eve program, about a
pair of mittens that were inside-out and outside-in. This reading year after
year brought down paroxysms of laughter and was almost as anticipated as was
Santa. Joe's many roles in the church
are too numerous to be enumerated, but his outstanding photography and
photographic services he gave to this church were truly an art form. Also, Joe was serving on the church Board of
Trustees relatively recently, and still always could be counted on for honest,
cogent, and fair input and exchange. I'm eternally grateful that I had the
privilege of knowing both Joe and Virginia for some forty years and constantly
was learning from them about literature, music, ethics and especially a zest
for life. From Jim Elliott. Joe was a great
man. He was attending Harvard when I
was a baby. He carved out a successful
practice in insurance. It must have
been difficult going in the depression years.
I knew him best as one of the members of our Tuesday lunch group. He maintained an interest in life in all its
complexity even though he was in his 90s.
I appreciated his artistry with his camera. And he continued to serve our church, being on the board in
recent years. I miss him. |
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From
Mike Hoshiko (W9CJW). Joseph A. Russo, Amateur Radio Operator. When
Joe was an active amateur radio operator, he held the call: (N9TC).
He served as an Army pay master in India in World War II. He was a
welcome sight, because he brought the soldiers their paychecks. After the war he used to be very active in
MARS, which was a network of ham radio operators who would send and receive
messages from fellows in the armed services to their families and loved
ones. I first met Joe when I joined the
church. He was down-sizing, and I
bought his Heathkit amplifier, which he had built from a kit. It was better than the factory-built one. He even used to climb high up on his radio
tower to adjust his antenna to make sure that the messages got sent out and
received. Joe Russo was a real ham
radio operator, not just a store-bought appliance operator. He was a public servant, radio technician,
and above all, a wonderful friend. From Rose
Hoshiko. Joe Russo was already in
his mid-80s when we moved to this area and joined the church. By 1999 we were well aware that Joe was a
very special, delightful, and dear person.
On Oct. 17, 1999, we arranged for a lovely decorated cake during the
coffee hour to surprise him on his 90th birthday. He just glowed! -- And so did everyone else! Coming to church each Sunday was important
to him, and seeing him there each Sunday was heart-warming for all the rest of us!
Welcome to New
Members Biographies of these new members will be
forthcoming in upcoming newsletters. Lisa Alton joined the
church on 1/2/05. Andy Russo and Suganya
Dhanamitt joined the church on 2/6/05. Beth and Dennis Nalick
joined the church on 2/20/05. |
First
Unitarian Church, St. Louis Women’s Alliance Annual
Scholarship for 2005-2006 Academic Year QUALIFICATIONS
HAVE BEEN CHANGED - No longer does the applicant need to be a member of
one of the SLAUUC churches - just affiliated with one. The scholarship
will be given to a woman who is responsible financially for continuing her
education, who is affiliated with a St. Louis Area Unitarian
Universalist church or fellowship (SLAUUC) [this included Alton] and a
registered student. The award will
be made on the basis of scholarship, character, and need. Application
packets are now available. Please
request them from the Women’s Alliance Scholarship Committee - 5700 Waterman
Blvd., St. Louis MO 63108 or email Mary O’Neal Broida - mbroider@sbcglobal.net The deadline
for completed applications is March 31, 2005. 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 |
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