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Inside This Issue

Transitions
-- Rev. Bonnie Vegiard, Program Minister

While many people at Eliot have expressed the sense that things have "calmed down" and gotten "back on track" in the last couple of years, there are still those who are keenly aware that the congregation has undergone a huge change with the departure of two long-standing ministers and the arrival of two new ones. And, of course, transitions are always happening in our personal lives, no matter what is going on in the congregation. Everyone faces huge transitions from time to time, and the experience can be disorienting. Roz Marx, a member of the Constructive Engagement Team, is a social worker who has done much work on the transition process. We invite you to a workshop she will present on her understanding of the transition process. Her description of the workshop is below. No matter what the transition you have experienced may be, this workshop can help you gain perspective on the process. Join Roz on Sun., Jun. 6 at 1:00 p.m. Please RSVP with the office at (314) 821-0911.

Transitions Workshop
-- Roz Marx

As I have seen the changes our congregation has gone through, I consider the principles of transitions: Endings, Neutral Zone, and New Beginnings.

The Ending: Our transition starts by completing an Ending - leaving behind something familiar, routine, certain, or predictable. We can experience anger, bargaining, anxiety, sadness, withdrawal, disorientation, and a resurgence of loss issues.

The Neutral Zone: It's a time when we have parted with the old, but are not yet invested, or comfortable, or clear about the new. While it can be a confusing, difficult time, the neutral zone is also ripe for creative opportunities, for discovery, and innovation. This is the time for creative thinking, for innovation, for generating solutions.

New Beginnings: "The beginnings take place only after they have come through the wilderness and were ready to make the emotional commitment to do things the new way and see themselves as new people. Starts involve new situations. Beginnings involve new understandings, new values, new attitudes, and - most of all - new identities." W. Bridges.

Even as we welcome the opportunities of the Neutral Zone, and Create our New Beginnings, we want to acknowledge our Endings openly and sympathetically. Come find out more about transitions.

Call and Response
-- Susan Maginn, Intern Minister

It is said that every minister has received a calling to ministry. In retrospect I can see that I first heard this call to service when I was 22. If I had been steeped in congregational life at that time, I would have understood it to be a call to ministry, but instead it was understood as a call to social work. For years, I loved working in psychiatric social work, but never felt it was a perfect match for me. A few years ago my minister, Charlie Ortman, recommended that I consider seminary. He told me I would be a great parish minister; I just didn't know it yet. My great respect for Charlie led me to apply to seminary and begin my studies, but truth be told, I did not feel this calling I heard so much about.

I started this internship not quite knowing where it would lead. With my background in social work, I figured community ministry would be a good match. However, in the past year my call to parish ministry has been loud and clear. And it makes sense that I did not hear a call until now. A call is to be found in relationship - speaking and listening, calling and responding. Before this year, no congregation of people had ever seen me as their minister.

I will be forever indebted to Eliot Chapel for offering your praise and your criticism. But I am especially honored that regardless of whether it was praise or criticism, your vision of me has been one of parish minister and that vision has changed the course of my life.

I thank you for that respect and generosity, for seeing something in me that I could not immediately see in myself.

Buying a House?

At a special meeting on Apr. 18, the congregation voted to authorize the Board to bid on property located at 1528 Highway 100 at a Sheriff's Auction in Hermann on May 6. Suzanne LeLaurin, next year's Board Chair, will do the bidding; Gene Hutchins and David Roundy will accompany her. This piece of land, about 7/8 of an acre with an aging and unoccupied house, is adjacent to the Chapel's Bergfried property and might provide a driveway that is much safer than the existing entrance/exit. If the bidding is successful, a task force of two Board members, two Bergfried Committee members, and three other members will be formed, to determine, within 60 days, whether to maintain or raze the existing house, which has a number of known code violations.

By-Law Changes

The Governance Task Force has recommended revisions to the current By-Laws of Eliot Chapel. Copies of the current By-Laws, with suggested changes noted, will be distributed at the Annual Meeting. For those of you wishing to have a copy prior to the meeting, there are copies available outside the library on the book return box.

Lay Leadership

Donna Coble is completing her third year on the Board of Trustees; this year, she has been Vice Chair. Previously, she served on the Personnel Committee. She and her husband, Richard Jarrett, live in Olivette. They and their two children participate in RE and Summer Camp.

Karen Gender was Chair of Program Council this year. She and her husband, Jim, have taught regularly in the RE program; Jim is on the Music Committee. Their two children are active in RE. The family lives in Kirkwood.

Tom Saunders and his wife, Jill, live in Webster Groves. Tom currently is a member of the People Committee, where he has responsibility for the Greeters/Ushers. Previously he served on the Aesthetics Committee and Building & Grounds.

Michael Pelot-Hobbs and his wife, Vickie, have been attending Eliot Chapel for over six years. Michael co-chairs the Youth-Adult Committee, helped with the annual book fair, worked on Madrigal Dinner clean up, and has spent the last 5 years teaching junior high RE. He has a 30+ year career in information technology, the most recent 25 with May Dept Stores, which included management posts at data centers in Washington, DC and Los Angeles. Michael has three daughters. Sarah is completing her junior year at Kirkwood High, Lydia is a freshman at Oberlin College, and Dana graduated from the U of Kansas, got married and has 2 beautiful daughters. Hobbies include theatre, studying history, exercising, and gardening.

Jan Erdman and her husband, Bill, have been members of Eliot Chapel for five years. Jan has worked on the Ushering Committee, been a 5-year member of the Seder Dinner Committee, and recently participated in Room at the Inn with her Covenant Group. Jan is an administrator at the Eden Lab Preschool, and serves as Chairperson of the Webster Groves School District "Achievement Gap/Success for All Students" Committee. Jan and Bill have two children. In her spare time, Jan enjoys gardening; reading; her Golden Retriever, Carolina; and her Covenant Group.

Mary Quinn has been a member of Eliot since 1999. Her first committee work was with the Aesthetics Committee where she served for two years. As Chair of the Transition Committee, she led a group in supporting the arrival of Bonnie and Daniel to Eliot. She is currently a member of the Third Monday Covenant group, the Strategic Planning Committee, and is a greeter at the early service. Her career has been spent in the corporate world where her focus has been on employee training and leadership development. Mary and her husband share their home with two well-loved Airedales. In her spare time, she is a weaver.

Larry Ross and his wife Debbie have been members of Eliot for over 20 years. During that time they've both taught RE. Debbie has been active in Social Concerns. Larry has been involved in Program Council, Choir, and the Finance Committee. He has spent many hours at Bergfried, serving wine at the Madrigal Dinner, and participating in the Seder Dinner. The Rosses have two children and a cat.

Welcome!
-- Dave Storer - February 1, 2004

Each Sunday, a member of the Eliot community delivers the Sunday Morning Welcome. They share a personal story about how they came to be at Eliot Chapel, or what is meaningful here for them, or how they are living their faith.

My name is Dave Storer. My wife Dotty and I have been members here for a little over four years.

I was raised in a Congregational Church in Lawrence, Kansas. Even at a very young age, I felt uncomfortable with some of the teachings. Once I was old enough to stay by myself for a few hours on Sunday morning, I stopped going.

Then when I was fifteen, my parents and about 10 other couples founded the Lawrence Unitarian Fellowship. For a while they met in people's homes on Sunday evening. I found that my best friend's parents were also founding members, so Jim and I started attending Sunday evenings. I found right away that what they were saying made a lot more sense to me.

Several years later I found out that my father had been raised in a Unitarian church in Pittburgh, Pennsylvania. My grandfather was one of the mainstays of that church.

My father was very interested in genealogy. After he died, my uncle took over the project and published most of what Dad had gathered, in three volumes. When I recieved my copy in the early 80's, I found that my father's maternal grandmother had attended a Unitarian church for a while

I guess that makes me a fourth generation UU, but I had to discover it one generation at a time.

Congratulations

To Brett Drake, Melissa Jonson-Reid, and big brother Harrison on the birth of Thomas Peter Drake on Feb. 8, 2004.

Meacham Park Workdays
-- Susan Maginn, Intern Minister

Workdays are scheduled the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of May and June. If anyone wants to sign up for the workdays, they should contact Lee Streett.

Homelessness is Year 'Round
-- Joan Clarke

We think of the nice weather as being better for the homeless. Well, that's true if you are sleeping on the sidewalk, but frankly, I wouldn't want to be sleeping in a doorway, especially with young children, in any kind of weather. By participating in Room at the Inn, Eliot offers a good meal and a safe place to sleep once a week all year long.

In order to make sure we have enough volunteers through the summer months, we will have a sign-up table in Adams Hall on Sun., May 16. Please check your schedule and see how you can help.

Want to Preach?
-- Jane Larson

Both presenters and musicians are needed for this year's summer services. If you have never presented a Summer Service before but are thinking about it, please give me a call and we'll talk about the service guidelines so you will know what to expect. There are separate blue sign up sheets, one for presenters and one for musicians, on the bulletin board outside Adams Hall. No procrastinating allowed! Please contact me if you have any questions.

Are There Any Young Musicians Out There?
-- Judy Lindquist

The Eliot Youth Orchestra will begin rehearsals in a couple of weeks (that information will follow when we know how many will be part of the group). If you are planning to participate, please contact me as soon as possible. Our performance is May 30 at Emerson Chapel. So far, there is one violinist who has expressed an interest in playing.

Religious Education News
-- Joan Casey, RE Director, , and the RE Committee

Thanks to all of you who've signed up to teach for 2004 - 2005. I can tell that you've been enjoying our Recruitment Choir and want to join the fun that we have in RE. For 9:15, we're two thirds of the way to our goal, with only 17 more slots to fill. We've already filled the nursery and 4th/5th grade positions. But, we still have lots of openings for the younger (Intermediate & PreK) classes as well as a few spring slots for the older children. At 10:45, we need 35 more teachers. We've filled the nursery, but everything else is still available. Stop by our sign up table in Adams Hall from now until May 23 and become part of our team. I also want to remind families who plan on coming to summer services to register your children now. It's important for us to know how many children are coming so that we can plan for the activities. In our multiage class for children K - 5, the theme is World Travelers. Our kids will "travel" to many different countries this summer, including India, China, Italy, and Mexico.

Finally, registration for Summer Camp needs to be in by Jun. 30. Our focus is on Islam. We're looking forward to learning about this faith and having lots of fun in the process. Forms for both the Summer RE (yellow) and Summer Camp (blue) are available in my office or at the table in visitors' corner.

Welcoming Congregation Forum
-- Susan Maginn, Intern Minister

Welcoming Congregation Forum will be an introspective and interactive journey exploring our thoughts, feelings, and current knowledge about sexual orientation. We will have monthly workshops starting in the fall. If you are interested in co-leading one of these workshops, please come to our next meeting on May 13 in the Bergfried Room or contact me for more information.

Join in the FUN
-- Lydia Hopkins, FUN Chair

The FUN Committee has scheduled their Annual Meeting on Sun., May 16 at 12:00 noon in Room 004. Everyone is invited to join in the planning of FUN for the 2004-05 season.

If You Don't Vote, You Don't Count!
-- Lori Allen

Are you registered to vote? Is your voter registration up to date? Are you sure? Make sure your voice is heard in this important election year. Stop by Adams Hall on Sun., May 16 between 9:00 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to register to vote or update your registration. The Social Action Committee will be there to register all voters - new and otherwise - and will even mail the voter registration card for you! Bring a photo i.d., such as a driver's license or state i.d.

Raising a UU Child

New Date: we will be meeting Sun. May 23, at 7.00 p.m. at the home of Hilary Babcock. We will be discussing how to incorporate UU rituals at home: finding table graces, bedtime prayers, and chalice images for your family. Please contact Hilary Babcock for directions. See you there!

Bergfried Family Weekend
-- Mark Nissen, Kate Magrath

Family camping at Bergfried is Memorial Day weekend, May 28 through 31. Come out for all or any part of the event. We will have worship services with children's activities on Sunday at 11:00 a.m., followed by a potluck picnic.

There are special events in Hermann Thursday, Friday and Saturday as the Corps of Discovery II makes its way up the Missouri River commemorating the 1804 Lewis and Clark exploration. The reenactment camp is in Jefferson City. There is a boat launch ramp in Gasconade, so bring your boat and join the river trip. More information about Bergfried is available on the website, including driving directions.

The committee holds open meetings in the Bergfried Room the third Sunday of the month.

Attention Eliot Leaders!

We will have a Leadership Seminar on Jun. 5, from 9:00 - noon, at Eliot Chapel. All are welcome. Chairpersons of committees, Board members, and members of special task forces are particularly encouraged to attend. We will look at what's coming up for Eliot next year, and will hear from the Strategic Planning Committee.

Women's Alliance

The Women's Alliance meets on the first, third, and fourth Tuesdays of the month at 9:30 to 11:45 a.m.

Tues., May 18 - Planting spring flower baskets. Ronnie Henderson. If it is raining, wear your poncho. If sun is shining, wear your wide-brimmed hat.

Music Notes
-- Jan Chamberlin, Music Director,
Organ Dedication

It's been five years since the little pipe organ was offered to us. It was two and a half years before it was ready to use. In that time our congregation worked very hard and carefully to discuss all aspects of how it would be used and where it would be placed. Many people were involved in mediations, decisions, and actually refinishing the woodwork. Then it was completely rebuilt and assembled. This was a salvage operation of love. Although it is too small for hymn singing, for three years it has successfully been used for weddings, recitals, choir, and Sunday preludes. It's time to pat ourselves on the backs for patiently working through this long process of compromise. On Music Sunday, Apr. 25th, 2004, we dedicated the organ in the service with words of welcome and thanks to all who volunteered their time and energy. If you'd like to know more, look on the Eliot web site [The story of the Eliot Pipe Organ] or on the bulletin board in the hall.

Congratulations to us!

Coming up:

May 9	Prelude: cello solo by Catherine Meihaus. 9:15 choir: Everything Possible by Fred Small, 10:45 choir: 23rd Psalm by Bobby McFerrin.
May 16	All music by the Eliot Handbell choirs.

Personal "PAs"

The hearing assistance system, which was installed in the sanctuary, had to be returned to the manufacturer for repairs. We'll have it back in service just as quickly as possible.

Stay Safe

As you know, some of our members use the facility at Bergfried for hunting. Before you venture out, on your own, to enjoy some time in the country, make sure you won't be visiting during peak hunting seasons. Visit the Missouri Department of Conservation web site for hunting seasons information.

Time to Reserve Your Space

It's not too early to complete room requests to make reservations for next year's meetings and events. Please check with your chair, facilitator, or leader about next year's meetings and events. Please reserve space even if you "always" have had meetings or events at a particular time. We will accept reservations from outside groups beginning July 1. Make sure you're able to reserve the time and space you want…do it now!

Committees

If your committee or group will continue to meet throughout the summer, please ensure that a your room request form indicates that your meetings are "starting" in July (or August.)

Eliot Parking Lots

If you are an able-bodied individual, please consider parking on the street rather than in Eliot's parking lots for Sunday services. There are a number of members, who while not handicapped, have difficulty walking, are bringing items into the building, or have several small children. If you need the parking space, use it; if you don't, consider another who might. Thanks.

Late Arrivals

If you arrive late or must leave during a service, please use the rear doors to the sanctuary. The south transept doors (the doors at the side leading to Adams Hall) may only be used before and after services. Thank you.

What Year Is It?

We are now at the time of year when some people are paying this year's pledge and others are starting to pay next year's pledge. Eliot's current fiscal year (2003-2004) runs from July to June. On July 1, 2004 we begin the 2004-2005 fiscal year.

In order that we may apply pledge payments correctly, please indicate in the memo line of your check whether your payment should be applied to the (current) 03-04 year or the (next) 04-05 year - or to the remaining year of the three-year capital campaign. Or, if the fiscal year is too confusing or you have more important things to remember, please simply note in the memo line the month(s) covered by your pledge payment, and we'll figure it out. Thanks.

Newsletter Deadlines

Don't forget that during the summer we only publish two newsletters. If you have summer events you want to publicize, make sure to get the articles in by the (noon) deadline.

Deadline: For Issue Dated

May 12: May 22 - June 4

May 26: June 5 - June 18

June 9: June 19 - July 30

July 21: July 31 - Sep. 3

Services

Summer services begin on June 20, Father's Day, with one service at 10:00 a.m.

Office Hours

During the months of June, July, and August, the chapel office will close at noon on Fridays. Other days will remain unchanged with the office open from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

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