150-year old Elm tree

in newly trimmed RE yard.

Congregation established 1836

October 4^th

October 18^th

Presented by Jerry Johnson

Worship Associate:   Mary Johnson

October 25^th

Presented by Paula Moore

If people need help with doing their worship service videos for YouTube please get in touch with Alex J. Hoeft.   He would like to have the videos at least by the Friday before your service.

ZOOM COFFEE HOUR

Every Sunday at 11:00 a.m.

Contact Robyn Berkley for zoom login information.

"Robyn’s Remarks" –

From the Church Board President

Greetings everyone! I want to say thank you to everyone who participated in the Congregational Meeting that was scheduled on 9/27/2020.   We were able to give everyone an update on the financial position of the church, details on the embezzlement case, and an outline of what we have accomplished and what our goals are over the next few months.   The meeting minutes will be available for all to review soon.   For those of you who missed the meeting, here are a few highlights about our upcoming plans:

1)  We want to engage congregants more in our service.   Along with asking people to share their UU CREDO, you may be called upon to do a reading, or if you play an instrument or sing, perhaps play/sing a song for our service.  We will have a live service on Zoom on Sunday October 11^th, and we plan to find a way to have a bread communion at the end of November! Kayci had an awesome idea and I must run it by the Worship Associates!  Please let me or any of the Worship Associates what you'd like to see more or less of in our Sunday services.   We are here to support you.

2)  The Board met with a congregational consultant, the Rev. Dr. Claudia Hall, and she summed up our congregation as such: First Unitarian Church of Alton Includes the Excluded in all we do.   Our goal is to try to do this, even though we must work remotely during the pandemic.   For example, we are looking for ways to safely continue our Fourth Saturday Personal Care Items distribution.   The goal of including the excluded will drive all that we try to accomplish over the upcoming months.   This aligns well with our Mission of being Outward Reaching and Inward Seeking .   Claudia provided us with several important strategies over the next few months.   Of utmost importance we must strengthen, nurture, and maintain our church culture during this time.   She suggested two important tasks.   First, we need to schedule healing circles for current and past congregants to address the hurts and pains we've experienced over the last few years.   Second, she suggests we develop a Right Relationship Covenant for the church to guide how we have difficult conversations and handle conflicts.   At our next Board meeting in October, we will work together as a Board to begin our plan for how to accomplish these goals and strategies!

3)  We will be developing a COVID policy for the congregation to guide how and when people can use our building.   More information on this will follow.

4)  We can only do this work if we can get support from congregants.   Are you interested in social justice issues, buildings and grounds work, calling and connecting with home bound congregants?  Let us know ... we'd love to have you help ... even if it's an hour or two here or there!

5)  We will be working with the UU Eden Seminarians on a few projects ... most importantly some Adult RE opportunities.  Look for information on this in the coming weeks!

6)  In terms of financials, we are in a solid but stagnant position.   Our pledges are sitting at 50% of what they were a few years ago.   Because pledges are down, we are not able to commit to having a minister for the time being.   Instead, we will focus on keeping our building in good shape.   Buildings and Grounds have worked on many repair and maintenance issues.   Along with this, we have budgeted for pastoral support as well as congregational consulting to help us stay connected and thrive despite our distance from each other.   Our hope is to spend UNDER our current projected budget and if possible, to put money back into the endowment principle to bring us back to a better financial place slowly but surely.   We have a solid team and system in place to ensure we do not have the financial vulnerabilities we had in the past, making us susceptible to embezzlement again.   At the end of the day, the Board is responsible for the financial health of the church and we will continue to keep you abreast of issues with full transparency.

I am grateful to work with an amazing Board of Directors.   They have great ideas and are willing to do the hard work.   If you have ideas or feedback, do not hesitate to contact me or anyone on the Board.   We are here for you ... and we want to hear from you!

Cheers, Robyn

“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season.  It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year.   It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow.   Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the play time.

(W.E.B. Du Bois 1868-1963)

2020-2021 Church Budget Approved at the Congregational Meeting 9-27-2020

A line-by-line breakdown of income and expenses is available if you are interested.

JOYS

Stacey Wolff and Charles Miphoro have announced their engagement.   Best wishes to the happy couple.

Robyn Berkley has bought a new home in Troy, Illinois.   She hopes to move in before Christmas.

Aiden Crist, Hedda Kirk, and their family moved into a new home in Caseyville, Illinois.

SORROWS

Long-time church member Midge Hallett died on September 4^th.  She had asked there be no visitation or memorial service.   A private service was held at Valhalla Memorial Park in Alton.   Midge joined the church in 1965.   The family suggested memorial donations to be given to either the First Unitarian Church of Alton or the Alton Little Theatre.   Our condolences to her sons Matt, Mark, and Hugh.

The sympathy of the congregation is extended to Claudia Harju and Phil Embree on the death of their daughter-in-law, Suzanne Harju on September 7^th, 2020 in Carbondale, IL

“Inspire Love Seek Justice”

CREDOS

“a statement of the beliefs or aims
which guide someone's actions”

Several years ago, we invited members of our faith community to share personal credos … their “elevator speech,” so to speak.   The members of the Worship Committee would like to revisit this and invite members of the current congregation to share how they choose to answer the questions “What is a Unitarian?”  … or …. “What do you believe?” … or ….  simply tell us how you came to find a home in our church family.

We’d like this to be part of upcoming Sunday Services and we want to hear from YOU!    Please contact Peg Flach  (be forewarned: she may already have you on her radar and will be contacting … you!).

Next newsletter deadline – October 28^th.

Send your news to Mary Johnson.

Pandemic

 (A poem by UU Minister the Rev. Dr. Lynn Ungar and used with permission.)

What if you thought of it
as the Jews consider the Sabbath—
the most sacred of times?
Cease from travel.
Cease from buying and selling.
Give up, just for now,
on trying to make the world
different than it is.
Sing.   Pray.   Touch only those
to whom you commit your life.
Center down.
 
And when your body has become still,
reach out with your heart.
Know that we are connected
in ways that are terrifying and beautiful.
(You could hardly deny it now.)
Know that our lives
are in one another’s hands.
(Surely, that has come clear.)
Do not reach out your hands.
Reach out your heart.
Reach out your words.
Reach out all the tendrils
of compassion that move, invisibly,
where we cannot touch.
 
Promise this world your love–
for better or for worse,
in sickness and in health,
so long as we all shall live.
 
–Lynn Ungar 3/11/20

CHURCH BOARD MEETING

The Board will have its regular monthly meeting via zoom on Tuesday, October 13^th from 6 to 8 p.m.   If there is an item you would like the Board to address, please contact Robyn Berkley.

Save the Date - "Our Goal of World Community:  The UN at 75"
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | 6:00 PM Eastern

The UN is our greatest hope for achieving our UU Sixth Principle "goal of world community with peace, liberty, and justice for all." As Unitarian Universalists we must do all we can to support the UN and work to achieve its priorities of human rights, peace, sustainable development, and humanitarian action.  This year, the United Nations is celebrating its 75th birthday, and the Unitarian Universalist Association Office at the UN, in collaboration with the Canadian Unitarian Council, will be commemorating that anniversary with a special virtual event co-sponsored by the NGO Committee on Human Rights: "Our Goal of World Community: the United Nations at 75." In our current political-, social-, economic-, health-, climate moment, continued involvement with and investment in global cooperation could not be more critical.  During this event we'll talk about how Unitarian Universalists can make our mark for global justice.   Mark your calendar for 6:00 PM Eastern on Thursday, October 22, 2020.   We look forward to sharing more details and how to register in the coming weeks.

Featured speakers will include:

·        Rev. Dr. Susan Frederick-Gray, President, Unitarian Universalist Association

·        Rev. Alicia R. Forde, Director, Unitarian Universalist Association International Office

·        Hawa Diallo, United Nations Department of Global Communications (invited)

·        Chris King, United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs (invited)

·        Bruce Knotts, Director, Unitarian Universalist Association Office at the United Nations

·        Craig Mokhiber, Director, New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

·        Bobbi Nassar, Co-chair, Nongovernmental Organization Committee on Human Rights at the United Nations

·        Vyda Ng, Executive Director, Canadian Unitarian Council

·        Gillian Sorenson, International Rescue Committee, formerly Assistant Secretary General at the UN, then with the UN Foundation.   She is a lifelong UU.

4^th Saturday Distribution Planning

Currently we are distributing $10.00 Dollar Tree gift cards one Saturday a month at the curbside bag lunch provided at First Presbyterian Church down the street.

We would really like to start distributing personal care and household products again.   But we need a startup plan and we need people to help develop this plan.   We must consider safe distancing, mask wearing, and not allowing people to come into the building as they are used to doing.

If you have some ideas to share on how we can keep everyone safe and still distribute products, please get in touch with Mary Johnson.   Due to the current rise of covid-19 in Madison county we don’t know if we’ll be able to distribute in October.   However, it would be nice to have a plan in place once we can start some sort of distribution.

Building and Grounds

Report

A workday was held on September 4^th.   The plantings along the park-side sidewalk were trimmed and cleaned out by Pat and Mary.  The honeysuckle was pulled up from the RE yard and other trimming done there by Wayne and Michael.

.                                           Wayne

                               Michael                                Pat

ANOTHER WORKDAY IS SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10^th.   Y’ALL COME!   OUTSIDE AND INSIDE WORK IS AVAILABLE.

The Board hired Vail Landscaping to trim back the evergreen shrubbery along Alby St. and 3^rd St. as well as clean up part of the overgrowth in the RE yard.

As a “temporary fix” for safety, Nathan Brown has chained off the crumbling and uneven long stone steps leading up from the corner.   Plans are also in place to install security cameras at least two doors leading into the building.

The Board hired RSP Construction to re-shingle the roof over the church’s front porch with dark charcoal grey shingles.

The Men’s Lunch group will meet at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 8th 10^th via Zoom.   If you’re not already on the Men’s Lunch email list contact Nick Pendergrass for the Zoom meeting ID.

MORE ABOUT WORKDAY – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10^th –
9:00 a.m. to 2 p.m. – COME WHEN YOU CAN.
BRING GARDENING TYPE TOOLS
IF YOU PLAN TO WORK OUTSIDE.

TASKS:

Cleaning out the flower beds in the front of the church.

Cleaning out the flower beds against the RE wall and against the sanctuary wall in the RE yard.

Painting the trim around the RE porch windows (paint and brushes will be provided).

Painting the Alby Street door (paint and brushes will be provided).

Inside work:   straightening up the shelves in the buffet and the closet – straightening up the cabinets in the Wuerker Room and the Kitchen.

Cleaning out window wells.   Plus, other tasks to be determined.

Let Pat Moore know if you plan to come on Oct. 10 –

_________________________________________

Who’s Doing Church Office Tasks?

Since we have no office administrator now, and no immediate plans to hire someone, Board members are taking on several office-related jobs.

Nathan Brown picks up the mail several days a week, makes bank deposits of checks that come in, pays some of the bills (others come through electronically to our CPA Katherine Valley), and Nathan also focuses on building safety and security by making several walks weekly through the building and grounds.

Whichever Board member is available meets Garella Pest Control for the scheduled monthly spraying for insects in the building and whoever is available reads and sends in the Copier meter reading at the appropriate time.

Mary Johnson daily logs into the church’s two email addresses and forwards any relevant emails to the appropriate person.   She also remotely checks the church’s answering machine each day.

Electronic Financial Donations

You can now make a financial donation to the church through PayPal.

The blue logo icon is   in the upper right hand corner of the church’s homepage http://www.firstuualton.org/.

You may also donate using Givelify.   Click on the large green square on the church’s homepage http://www.firstuualton.org/.

Nathan Brown, one of our media gurus, has also put an envelope icon up in the upper right-hand corner of the homepage.   By clicking on the envelop you can send an email directly to the church.

CHURCH LEADERSHIP as of September 2020

2020 - 2021

Board Members

  President:   Robyn Berkley  robynberkley@yahoo.com
  Secretary:   Mary Johnson    mejohnson@mindspring.com
  Treasurer:  Nathan Brown  nathan.brown0621@outlook.com
  Member at Large:   Aiden Crist    arexboi@gmail.com
  Member at Large:  Alex Hoeft    alex.j.hoeft@gmail.com
  Member at Large:  Carol McGrew  carol_mcgrew@yahoo.com
  Member at Large:  Pat Moore  patjimmoore@charter.net
  President Elect:  To be Determined
  Youth Representatives:  To be Determined

COMMITTEES

Building & Grounds

  Co-Chair - Tom Cochran

  Co-Chair - Michael Tarabulski

  Grounds  - TBD

Endowment Fund

  Jerry Johnson

  Tracey Howe-Koch

Fund Raising

  Co-Chair - Peg Flach

  Co-Chair - TBD

Membership

  Co-Chair - Mary Weber

  Co-Chair - TBD

Newsletter

  Mary Johnson

Pastoral Care Associates

  Carol McGrew - Chair

  Ruth Maskow

  Pat Murrell

  Sandy Shaner

  Mary Weber

Pledge Drive

  TBD

RE Council

  Joy Hoeft

  Jennifer Lewis

  Kayci Combs-Lueker

Social Events Coordinator

  Co-Chair - Pat Moore

  Co-Chair - TBD

Social Justice

  Co-Chair - John Herndon

  Co-Chair - Ed Navarre

Social Media

  Nathan Brown

  Alex Hoeft

Sunday Support Services

  Paula Moore

  Carol McGrew

Worship Associates

  Robyn Berkley

  Peg Flach

  John Herndon

  Joy Hoeft

  Tracey Howe-Koch

  Eric Johnson

  Jerry Johnson

The Church Has Left the Building

By Margaret Weis   (UUA WorshipWeb)

The church is not a place; it is a people.

The church is not only a steeple above the treelined streets, and cars.
Rather, it is a people proclaiming to the world that
we are here for the work of healing and of justice.

The church is not walls built stone upon stone, held together by mortar
but rather person, linked with person, linked with person:
all ages and genders and abilities—
a community built on the foundation of reason, faith, and love.

The church is not just a set of doors open on Sunday morning,
but the commitment day after day, and moment after moment,
of our hearts creaking open the doors of welcome to the possibility of new experience and radical welcome.

The church is not simply a building, a steeple, a pew.

The church is the gathering together of all the people, and experiences, and fear, and love, and hope in our resilient hearts;
gathering, however we can, to say to the world:
welcome, come in, lay down your heartache, and pick up hope and love.

For the church is us—each and every one of us—together, a beacon of hope to this world that so sorely needs it.