Congregation established 1836

Newsletter of the

First Unitarian Church, Alton, Illinois

www.firstuualton.org

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt, Minister

June 3^rd

“Millstones and Milestones” – Milestone Recognition Sunday - an Intergenerational Service

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

As some journeys end, others begin.  And when we reach an important milestone, we may be handed more responsibility than we recognize.  This Sunday, the 4^th -6^th Graders will provide a skit, we’ll thank our teachers and our leadership, and we’ll recognize the accomplishments of our children and youth.

June 10^th

“Looking Back, Looking Forward”

Rev. Khleber Van Zandt

It was the Dalai Lama who said, “Time is always moving. The important thing is to learn from the past and then look forward to the future”   As we enter the summer season, we’ll look back on the church year just completed and see what we can learn that will help us with the challenges of the year to come.

June 17^th

“Fathers’ Day”

Rev. Dick Haynes

This culture celebrates the irreplaceable role of parents with a day in their honor.  In this sermon, we’ll review the limits of a father’s role and explore the role model tasks placed before every adult - parent or not.  (Hint: someone else’s child may want to be like you!)

Rev. Haynes is a 1995 graduate of Eden Seminary in Webster Groves, Missouri.  He is a Unitarian Universalist community minister who works in association with Eliot Chapel in Kirkwood.  He was the first non-Catholic chaplain hired by St. Joseph’s hospital in Kirkwood in 1996 and is currently employed at that institution.  He also performs weddings and does marriage and grief counseling in the St. Louis area.

June 24^th

“Pride Day”

Lynn Bohlmann

Lynn will be starting her fourth and final year at Eden Theological Seminary in the fall.  She describes herself as a religious progressive who journeys within the liberal tradition of the United Church of Christ.  Lynn has been partnered with Kate for 12 years.  They have two sons, Lucas and Jesse.

June   3^rd – 9:00 a.m. – COMMITTEE SUNDAY   This is an opportunity for all church members (and friends) to find their “niche" in volunteering to support some needed activity in the church.   The Social Justice Committee will meet in the Emerson Place.  Other Committees will meet in the Kate Wuerker Room.

June 10^th – 9:00 a.m. – Welcoming Congregation.   This is open to everyone and you need not have attended previous sessions to start attending now.   This program is designed to help congregations develop individual and institutional strategies in order to become more welcoming to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and their families.

June 17^th – To Be Announced

June 24^th – 9:30 a.m. – “In Search of the Historical Jesus”–
                   Facilitator:   Beth Nalick.

UPDATE Your CHURCH DIRECTORY

Phil Finley & Evelyn Cottner

See printed newsletter for address and phone.

If you have any updates for the Church Directory of Members & Friends, a new address, phone number, cell phone, email address, or additions to your family, please let the office know. Email church@firstuualton.org.

A First Glance

I believe church should be a place where the doors are open to all, where the welcome mat is always out whatever the circumstance.  But two situations back in May give me pause.

The first happened on Mothers’ Day morning after worship had begun.  A well-known local street-person came in and began asking for money.  She was told to come back in an hour and someone would help her. 

The doors of the church were all open.  Luckily, the kids were in worship with us.  Who knows if there were purses or other valuables in the Fellowship Hall or elsewhere?

This street-person is a master manipulator, an accomplished actress who has talked people into putting her up in area hotels where it is alleged she has drug parties and who knows what else.  When worship ended, she was standing in the kitchen waiting for help.  Two of our good Samaritans - no, our two best Samaritans - offered to help her out and take her to East Alton to a relative’s house.  But I was left wondering:  is it really helpful to this woman that she knows our doors are open and that she can wander in and out without challenge looking for whatever is left lying about?

Situation numero dos happened the next evening.  Some of us were in the building for a UU&You! class while a Sierra Club meeting went on in the Kate Wuerker Room.  When we left UU&You!, someone had opened all the doors and windows - even though the air conditioning had been on for hours - because they thought it was stuffy inside.  It hadn’t taken long for clouds of flying insects to find the light fixtures in the foyer, and I was called to do something about it.

I found a can of Raid in the maintenance closet, but before I pulled the trigger on the spray nozzle, I thought:  I’m about to kill some of God’s creatures.  In a Unitarian Universalist church.  During a Sierra Club meeting.  With insecticide.

I don’t think so!

I left the meeting with the doors open and the lights on and the bugs flying all around. 

If we are to be the church of open hearts and open minds, we must work at being open to all, at the same time we work at being a safe place for all.  Sometimes the choices are tough and we have to turn people away who need more than we can give them.  Most of the time the doors will remain open, though - as surely they will be when you next join us.

See you in church,

ST. LOUIS GAY PRIDE PARADE

If you are interested in marching with church members and friends in the St. Louis Pride Parade at noon on Sunday, June 24^th, please register on the sign-up sheet at church.  The parade will be on Grand Ave. and end at Tower Grove Park.  Car pooling may be available.  For further information please contact Layne Simpson layne3030@hotmail.com

 The Vote on Becoming a

“Welcoming Congregation”

At the church’s annual meeting on Friday, May 18^th the members voted on whether or not to become a “Welcoming Congregation.” The written motion read:

“That First Unitarian Church of Alton become an officially recognized Welcoming Congregation, working to dismantle the oppression of and to become a safe place for bisexual, gay, lesbian, and/or transgendered persons.”

There were a total of 44 votes cast (5 from absentee ballots).   The vote was 43 in favor of the motion with 1 abstention.

Elections at the Annual Meeting

At the annual meeting on May 18^th the following were elected to serve on the Board of Trustees.

John Herndon – President Elect

(term 2007 – 2010)

Deanna Stacy – Trustee

(term 2007 – 2010)

Suganya Dhanamitt – Trustee

(term 2007 – 2010)

Diane Thompson – Trustee

(term 2007 – 2008)

The following were elected as members of the Nominating Committee

            Mona Hebert (2007 – 2008)

            Mary Johnson (2007 – 2008)

Budget Approval

A budget for the 2007 – 2008 church year of $142,400 was approved by the membership at the May 18^th annual meeting.

Chalice Circles

Second Sunday Chalice Circle

Sunday, June 10 – 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. in Emerson Place

Contact:  Jackie McDonough
jmcdonough2019@aol.com

Parents Seeking Peace Chalice Circle

Sunday, June 17 – 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. in Emerson Place.

Contact: Cheryle Tucker-Loewe chtucke@siue.edu
              or Diane Thompson dthompson@lollaf.org

Women’s Chalice Circle

Saturday, June 23 – 3 to 5 p.m. in Emerson Place

Contact:  Marcia Custer mcuster@siue.edu

Book to be read for next Chalice Circle meeting:
"I Feel Bad About My Neck, and Other Thoughts about Being a Woman" by Nora Ephron.

Men's Chalice Circle

Tuesday, June 26 – 7 to 8:30 p.m. in Emerson Place

Contact:  Khleber Van Zandt kvanzandt@uuma.org

Watch for announcements in the church bulletin and online for meeting times for the Pagan Group Chalice Circle.

Social Justice Activities

Believing in the inherent worth of each person, our mutual interdependency, and the need to create a world in which each person has the opportunity to flourish, Unitarian Universalism is deeply rooted in social justice as a direct expression of our faith.

Members of our church, including Marcia Custer, Khleber Van Zandt, Wayne Politsch, John Crawford and Mary Johnson are becoming involved in the United Congregations of Metro – East activities and issues.  These issues include health care, Ameren UE rates, and environmental concerns.  As programs are developed through UCM and the local Alton UCM Cluster, members of our church will have the opportunity to work to effect change through volunteer efforts.

Another area of possible social justice involvement is in the Alton “Weed and Seed” program. http://www.altonweedandseed.com/ This is a neighborhood development program helping to “weed out” negative influences such as prostitution, drug dealing, and derelict housing and “seed” these areas through social and economic revitalization.  Beth Nalick will be bringing information to us about opportunities for our further involvement in this ongoing program.

Anna D. Sparks

Women’s Alliance

Thursday, June 7^th at

Pat Moore’s home

11:30 a.m.

Pat will make lunch and Lorna McElhone will bring dessert.  Please call or email Pat to let her know you are coming and to get directions to her home – 12690 Verwood Drive, Florissant MO.  There is a significant amount of road work near the entrance to her subdivision now but traffic and construction patterns change often.  Pat’s email is patjimmoore@charter.net.

Building and Grounds News

We had a very successful winter workday, with a small but dedicated group showing up to help with the work. Thanks to the following people who helped either on workday or some other day on your own, and also to those of you who didn’t get your name on the list:   Britney Brunner; John Crawford; Marcia Custer and Gerry Gilman; Peg Flack and son B. J.; Bing Gibbs; Alex and Jamie Gross; Mary and Jerry Johnson; Kevin McCarthy and Diane Thompson with daughters Amelia, and Maggie; Jackie McDonough; Jim and Pat Moore; Khleber Van Zandt; and Gary Vondrasek.

Special thanks to our church administrator Becky Green, our RE director Jamie Gross, and our minister Rev. Van Zandt for going above and beyond the call of duty to help with keeping our beautiful old building in good shape.   Becky takes care of a million details every week, Jamie is always going the extra mile to make our classroom environment inviting, and Khleber – well, he has skills beyond those required of a minister, and he’s not afraid to get a little dirty to accomplish a job!

Some of the work accomplished included:  window washing, cleaning of porches, painting of some doors and railings, drywall repairs, painting of the children’s playroom to prepare it for use as a classroom, hanging of new curtains in nursery, repairing the sofa, work on installation of lighting fixtures, general cleaning of kitchen and other areas, and outdoor cleanup.

Our new lawn maintenance person Kenny Stewart  has been doing a great job for us in spite of the many days of rain lately. 

A new faucet has been installed at the deep sink in the kitchen to replace the old noisy one.

Jerry Johnson has found some attractive fluorescent bulbs for chandeliers, and we will be gradually replacing incandescent bulbs in the sanctuary and Wuerker Room. This is part of our plan to change over to all fluorescent lighting to save energy.  Have you done that yet at home?          

Profits from sale of soda and recycling of aluminum were used to purchase a microwave for the office and RE department. 

I’m still seeking volunteers to take over the jobs of recycling and restocking the soda supply.  Anyone interested?  Both jobs require doing about twice a month, as you have the time.            

Another workday will be scheduled later this summer.  Watch your newsletter and emails for the date.  If you have any other time you are willing to donate to work at the church to do some installation of new lighting, painting, cleaning, or anything you see that needs doing, please contact me and I’ll be glad to put you to work.

Pat Moore

Building and Grounds Chairperson

Here are the names of church members and friends who are celebrating birthdays this month. We have many new members and friends whose names possibly didn’t get on the birthday list. If this is ‘your month’ and your name didn’t get included, we’re sorry.  For future months please let Mary Johnson (mejohnson@mindspring.com) know the day and month of your birth.

  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

  9 June – Gary Vondrasek

17 June – Jeanne Sturley

21 June – Joy Hoeft

23 June – Bailey Brunner (1991)

23 June – Jackie McDonough

28 June – Darin Dunphy

29 June – Beth Nalick

30 June – Ruth Maskow

RECYCLING EFFORTS

For quite a while there have been bins in the church kitchen for recycling aluminum, clean paper, and glass from items used at church.  In addition, in an effort to encourage all our members and friends to recycle at home, last month the Social Justice Committee provided bins for people to take home as well as information on how to get more bins and whom to contact in various communities to get more information about recycling. 

All of Madison County has curbside recycling pickup available. In some communities (such as Alton and Edwardsville) it is free, in others there may be a charge. Contact your trash hauler for further information or email recycle@co.madison.il.us. There are also drop-off recycling stations in Alton, Collinsville, Edwardsville, and Granite City.

In Madison County you can recycle: newspapers, magazines and catalogs, junk mail, corrugated cardboard and phone books as well as aluminum cans, tin/steel cans, glass bottles and jars and #1 and #2 plastics.

In the north county part of Missouri please contact your trash hauler to find out if there is a fee charged for picking up recycling and how you go about signing up to get recycling pickup services.  There is also a drop-off center at the Florissant Recycling Center in St. Ferdinand Park.  They also take the same items as listed above.

Why recycle?

1. Reprocessing used material reduces the consumption of our natural resources.  Recycling 2,000 pounds of steel saves 1.3 million tons of iron ore and 62,000 tons of limestone.  Annually over 8.2 million trees are saved through recycling paper.
2. Recycling saves energy because the steps in recycling use significantly less energy that the production of new materials because recycled materials have already undergone the highly energy intensive process of converting new materials to finished goods.
3. Recycling saves our environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowers the destruction of environmentally destructive natural resources.

4. Recycling creates local jobs through the collection and processing of recycled materials.
5. Recycling reduces the need of land for landfills (trash dumps).  The average household generates 2,000 pounds of garbage each year.  If 10 families cut garbage waste by 10%, these ten families would prevent 2,000 pounds of garbage from ending up in a landfill.

CHOIR NOTES

The Choir rehearses every Thursday evening at 7:00 p.m.
at church in the Emerson Place room.
Everyone is invited to come to rehearsals as their schedules allow.

Rehearsals are also held following the Pot Luck Lunch every 4^th Sunday.

Contact Willis McCoy for further information.

wbmccoy@charter.net

Would you like some cats for the summer?

Jackie McDonough is moving back to D.C. for the summer and is hoping that someone would take her two cats for three months.  Their names are Plato and Socrates and they are affectionate, de-clawed, and neutered.   If you are interested, please get in touch with Jackie jmcdonough2019@aol.com .

RE NEWS

Dear Parents and Friends,

This poem was written by Patty French of the UU Fellowship of Elkhart, IN.
I thought that it would be appropriate to share it with you at this time of year.
I hope that you enjoy it .

THE YEWYEWS AND THE AHREES

There once was a land, south of Kalamazoo

Where a group of odd birds appeared out of the blue.

They called themselves the Yewyews, though no one knows why,
And these Yewyews were found over land, sea, and sky.

Each week, they all came to a Yewyewish caucus

Where, once in a while, things became rather raucous.

They came in a wide range of sizes and shapes.

(Although most of them claimed they descended from apes!)

Yes, they all were quite different. So different, in fact,

That each Yewyew had some skill the other ones lacked.

There were plumbers and doctors and students and teachers,
And writers, musicians, and a few would-be preachers.

There were mothers and fathers and whole Yewyew clans,
With the range of relationships every group spans.

Besides this, each Yewyew displayed in succession,

Unique ways of thinking and modes of expression.

In matters of taste, each was one of a kind.

(I’ve been told that some Yewyews wrote poems that rhymed!)

Now these Yewyews had youngsters, just like birds and bees,
Whom they called by the nickname, "The Little Ahrees."

By and by, to the Yewyews this question was brought:

Should the Little Ahrees come to caucus, or not?

Oh, these Little Ahrees were cute. They were smart. They were quick.
But the caucus itself didn’t quite do the trick.

For the Little Ahrees needed more room to grow,

And to move, and do artwork, and sing songs they know.

So the Yewyews decided they’d better get busy

And choose who should teach. Now, each Yewyew got dizzy,

With thinking up reasons why somebody else

Would be better at teaching than him or herself.

But the best way, they found, for the Ahrees to learn

Was if each of the Yewyews took his or her turn.

Now not every Yewyew could teach class, that’s true.

But each one could contribute a talent or two.

There was work to be done on the buildings and grounds,
Supplies to be gathered, and books to be found.

They could work on curricula. Some could type names,

Bring teachers coffee, or supervise games.

Oh yes, there were many small jobs to be done

And most of them turned out to be rather fun.

But the Yewyews who taught classes learned this, I’m told:
That whatever they gave, they got back – many fold!

There’s a moral to this story as I’m sure you can guess:

When Jamie asks for volunteers -- just say yes!

Jamie Gross

Director of Religious Education

RE IS HAVING A

The RE Department will be holding a Rummage Sale on Saturday, July 14^th.   If you have items you would like to donate to help them out you may start bringing them to church during June.   If you have any questions contact Jamie Gross.

4 ^th Sunday

Sunday Pot Luck Lunch

June 24^th

Bring a dish to share and plan to stay after church to join in food and fellowship!

– PLEASE PLAN TO HELP –

A-Mc will do Clean Up

M-Z will do Table Set Up

Everyone will be responsible for setting food
out on the buffet table.

(Note: when doing clean up please do not fold up
all the long tables.  We want two left up
with chairs around them.)  

FALL SPLENDOR WEEKEND

The leaves will be changing color; the days will be warm and the nights cool.  Come to the Wisconsin Northwoods, the land of beautiful woods and water; come see the loons and the eagles!  The Northwoods UU Fellowship in Woodruff, Wisconsin (www.nuuf.com) invites you to join us the weekend of September 28-30, 2007 to experience the most glorious time of year.  You will stay with a UU family for two nights; enjoy breakfasts and Friday dinner with your hosts and join the congregation for a special dinner with entertainment on Saturday night.  On Saturday, you can participate in any of our planned activities, such as hiking, fishing, birding, antiquing and more, or you can go exploring on your own.  On Sunday, join us for our worship service before you head home. 

The cost of $300 per couple (singles and families are welcome at special rates, as well!) will help support the new expansion of our building.
For more information or to make reservations, contact Joan Hauer at hauerj@verizon.net or call 715-356-6540.

NEWSLETTER MAILING UPDATE

As the cost of postage goes up and the need to become more “green” environmentally becomes apparent, we hope to reduce the number of newsletters that are mailed out.  Starting with the August issue, newsletters will be mailed only to those who do not have email or to those who have expressly requested to receive the newsletter by mail.

Additional copies of the newsletter and church calendar will be available at church and an email message will be sent out monthly to let people know when the current issue of the newsletter is up on the website from which you may print your own copy or simply go to the website and refer to the newsletter as needed.  

If you do wish to continue receiving the newsletter by mail and have not contacted the church office please do so now.

You may go to the Church Website at

www.firstuualton.org

to view the current newsletter anytime.

If you would like to remain on the mailing list to receive printed copies of the monthly newsletter please fill out the form below and place it in the designated box at church or mail it to the church office at:

First Unitarian Church mail list
P.O. Box 494
Alton, IL   62002