HOME
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
NEWSLETTER
CALENDAR
DIRECTIONS
LEADERSHIP
PROGRAMS
OUR BELIEFS
SERMONS
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
SOCIAL ACTION
ABOUT US
CONTACT US


Previous Newsletters

Inside This Issue

Asking for Help
-- Rev. Dr. Daniel Ó Connell, Lead Minister

At the annual meeting, you may have wondered why the Board of Trustees was asking for money to bring in an outside fund-raising consultant. The congregational response was overwhelmingly negative.

The thinking was that with an outside expert, we could glean new insights into our financial situation and move us into more successful fund raising. No one on the board thought: hey, let's give everyone at Eliot a bad experience.

I suspect that even if the reasoning had been better explained, the idea would have been rejected. That's okay; it was only an idea. Hopefully we can separate the worth of ideas from the worth of the people who present them.

The leadership has to deal with the idea of mutually exclusive expectations. For example: (1) we pledged enough, don't ask us for more money; (2) we have a revenue, not an expense problem, so we need a stewardship team, (3) but the board has been unable to recruit anyone for chair or even to be on a committee for stewardship; (4) we've been running a deficit that has to stop; (5) don't make budget cuts in things we like ... . Hmmm.

There are a variety of issues affecting our fund-raising: our membership has dropped while Sunday attendance has increased; folks want more or status quo services while the pledge base has dipped; we are in desperate need of volunteers to help with fund-raising and no one has been willing to volunteer to lead stewardship efforts; and remember - no outside help either. Quite a quandary.

I have some ideas, but I have also learned (the hard way, and repeatedly) that it is often best to wait to be asked or simply to cheer on someone else when they come up with the same idea. I also have to re-learn (again and again) that the "to chat with" list is more impor-tant than the "to do" list.

In the meantime, we will muddle through, but if you're willing to help, please contact the new board president, Suzanne LeLaurin at .

Prayer for All
-- Susan Maginn, Intern Minister

So many of us have been taught that prayer must sound and look a certain way. I want to discuss the options, because I believe prayer could benefit all of us. For those who believe in God, an omniscient force that unifies, purifies, and challenges the world, prayer can be pretty straightforward. A reverent conversation can begin in the moment of prayer, lifting the intentions of the one who prays, offering humility, harmony, and devotion to that force.

How could prayer be realized for those who do not have a theology or cosmology that includes God? This can be a lonely place in Western religious circles, but not unexplored territory. If we look at the Buddhism, we see thousands of years of prayer and the word God has yet to make an appearance.

The Buddhist prayer calls forth something, not from outside yourself but rather from inside yourself.

Buddhism says that we are all enlightened, we just have inner obstacles to experiencing that enlightenment. Prayer is one of ways to understand our obstacles so we can see beyond them and eventually have mastery over them. Prayer can be done throughout the day: a prayer for peace and safety when you start the car, a prayer for compassion when you begin a conversation on the phone, a prayer for love as you cook a meal or even wash dishes.

Through the practice of prayer, we can cultivate peace, reverence, humility, compassion, and love in our lives and then these qualities are being cultivated in our world.

Annual Meeting
-- Suzanne LeLaurin; Chair, Board of Trustees

At our Annual Meeting on May 23, we passed By-Law revisions that make some changes in Eliot's structure. (See the Leadership Memos on the proposed changes.) Generally, those at the meeting seemed comfort-able with the changes, with one exception. They did not support having the Treasurer elected by the Board from among its members. Instead, they felt they would like to keep the Treasurer as a position elected by the membership, as a means of maintaining a level of independence, especially since we do not get an outside audit. However, changes in the job description of the Treasurer did make sense - this person no longer collects and disperses Eliot's monies, but rather provides financial oversight to our Business Administrator, who does the actual deposits and dispersals.

The other major issue on the agenda was the 2004-05 budget. The Board had reluctantly presented a budget with program cuts (Youth Director and Publications Assistant hours reduced, no summer Sunday office hours, dropping to monthly newsletter). Even with these cuts, we still have a $16,000 deficit, to be met by monies from the Bergfried Fund (with support from the Bergfried Committee) and a transfer from our Supplemental Operations Support Fund.

The Board feels strongly that Eliot needs to address the deficit budget situation. For the last several years, the Board's efforts to build a strong Stewardship Committee have been stymied by lack of interest - we simply haven't been able to find people to serve. Therefore, we had thought to hire a consultant to help us with fundraising.

However, members at the meeting felt strongly that a consultant was not a good idea. And they also expressed strong concern about cutting the newsletter to monthly. We heard you loud and clear on these points, and so will revisit the budget at our June Board meeting.

We still believe that we need to do something proactive to stop the two-year "trend" of deficit budgets. Therefore, here's a bit of a challenge for you. We need dedicated Eliot members to serve on our Stewardship Committee. We need you to volunteer to run the canvass, help with the canvass, work to make a difference.

We believe we have good tools to help make our canvasses more successful. We need the people. Will the members of Eliot Chapel please come forward? Please contact me directly if you're willing to be involved.

Father's Day Request

For the intergenerational Father's Day service on Jun. 20, the RE Committee invites everyone young, old, and in between, to bring something that represents your father (a picture, a medal, a baseball - whatever.) The item will be returned at the end of the service.) There will be a special time to honor our fathers or other significant male influences in our lives during the service. We hope to see you there.

Welcome!
-- Janet Gleason, May 9, 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.

I have been coming to Eliot Chapel since my husband Ben and I moved to Kirkwood four years ago.

I was asked to do this welcome on Mother's Day because I am a relatively new mom. My daughter Maia just turned one this past week. In reflecting on my experiences with Unitarian Universalism and in thinking about Mother's Day, I have learned a lot about being a Unitarian from my daughter. After all, she has been a Unitarian her whole life and I have not. So this is what Maia has taught me:

When Maia becomes just as excited about a dog as she is about a blade of grass or a flower, she is saying that one should live life with a wonder and awe about the world. There are too many amazing things to experience to only worship one thing or in one way.

When Maia waves to everyone in the grocery store or blows kisses to random strangers on the street, she is saying that everyone has worth and that one shouldn't discriminate based on the color of someone's skin, religious beliefs, or sexual orientation.

When Maia shakes her head "no" to almost everything that I say, I think she is saying that one should decide for oneself what the truth is.

And when Maia can still look at me lovingly and give great big slobbery kisses after I have done horrible things to her like washing her face, not letting her eat magazines, or not letting her play with plastic bags, I think she is saying that there is nothing better than love and that love can help us be in right relationship with one another.

In the past year, I have learned that everyone is born a Unitarian Universalist. For some of us, it takes us a while to find our UU "Inner Child", but it is in all of us.

Congratulations

To Susan and Greg Duncan, and big sister Alina, on the birth of Sarina Noelle, on Apr. 16, 2004.

Our Sympathy

To Susan and Allan Heller, and their family, on the death of Susan's mother.

To Ron and Claire Robertson and their family on the death of Ron's mother.

--From the Seattle Times:
Reverend Dr. Peter Raible, Eliot's Interim Minister during the 2001/2002 year, died May 17 of congestive heart failure. He was 74. A memorial service will be held on Jun. 6, at 6:00 p.m. at University Unitarian Church in Seattle. In a career spanning five decades, the Rev. Peter Spilman Raible embodied the motto that one should practice what one preaches.

From the pulpit of Seattle's University Unitarian Church, in his 37 years as the senior minister, the Rev. Raible delivered impassioned and erudite sermons ranging from matters of social justice and individual conscience to religious traditions and historical figures.

Away from the pulpit, the Rev. Raible traveled to Selma, Ala., in 1965 to join civil-rights marchers. He spoke out against the Vietnam War. He guided the church to defy the U.S. government and offer sanctuary to people fleeing Central American civil wars in the 1980s. He spoke out for gay rights, helped found the Interfaith Council of Washington, and worked to build the institutional strength of the Unitarian Church. "There was a continuing theme that you should take this and apply it in your life and act on it," his daughter, the Rev. Deborah Raible, said of her father's sermons.

Scrip Soiree

If you have been or are a volunteer in the scrip program, or if you think you might like to be one, please mark your calendars now for Sunday evening, Aug. 15. Details to follow, but we promise you delightful desserts, a tiny bit of training, delicious desserts, and the unveiling of our new mail order scrip program, which will debut in the fall. Did we mention dessert?

Interested in Leading a Summer Service?

There are only three Sundays open. A sign up sheet is on the bulletin board outside Adams hall. Contact Jane Larson with any questions.

Musicians, Singers ...

Any musicians or singers interested in performing for a summer service, please sign up on the sheet on the bulletin board outside Adams hall, or contact Jane Larson.

Casting Call

The Not Ready for Reformation Players are preparing for the 2004 Madrigal, scheduled for Dec. 2, 3 and 4. This year's play will take place in the court of Queen Elizabeth I and will feature 10 speaking roles, and will require crew members to help with stage management, lighting, sound and other non-performance duties. If you are interested in a performance role, you are invited to attend a script reading tryout to be held in September. More details will follow.

Interested in any of the above and have any questions? Please contact Denise Maue Dreyfus.

Madrigal 2004
-- Lydia Hopkins, Chair

Madrigal 2004 is looking for interested participants to join the committee. Many hands make light work and we need your ideas and energy. Please come to our first meeting on Sun., Jun. 6 at noon to see if this committee is for you. For almost 30 years, the Madrigal has been a valuable fund-raiser for Eliot and an excellent opportunity to serve the church by volunteering at the event. This year's Madrigal is scheduled for Dec. 2, 3, 4.

No Room At The Inn - Almost
-- Joan Clarke

Thank you to all of you who have signed up to volunteer for Room At The Inn. We are making progress filling the slots for the summer months, but we still have openings for you. On Sun., Jun. 6, we will have a sign up table again after both services.

A few weeks ago, I got a call at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday saying we didn't have a host for the evening and we would have to cancel Room At The Inn. This is a real problem at the shelter because they had to figure out where 10 guests would sleep that night and staff who had worked all day would have to work overtime. Fortunately, at the last minute, Judy Evans and Alice Partain were able to rearrange their schedules so they could be available to host.

We seem to have the most trouble finding volunteers to host. I know it is easier to cook or do the laundry, because these are things we do every day, but being a host is not that difficult.

First of all, you have dinner served to you. Secondly, our guests usually settle in early, so by nine o'clock you are free to catch up on your reading or go to bed early. Morning comes early when you set out the breakfast food and help the guests get ready to leave. The drivers come for them at 6:30 a.m., and after cleaning up, you can be ready to go at 7:00 or 7:15 a.m. This should give you time at home to get ready for the day. You can host as a family or sign up as an individual. Tim Nicholson, our host coordinator, will give you all the training you need. Give it a try.

Library Committee Meeting

An extremely important meeting is scheduled for Jun. 6 after second service. All present and prospective members are urged to attend. Next year's calendar, duties and responsibilities all need to be planned and "manned". If you need more information, call Irmgard Voss.

Dining Out for Meacham Park

Support Eliot Chapel's fundraiser for the Meacham Park Ministry. Take your friends and family to Kirkwood's Blue Water Grill on the last Wednesday of the month this summer - Jun. 30, Jul. 28, and Aug. 25 - and mention that you are "Dining out for Eliot." The Blue Water Grill will donate 20% of your bill to Eliot Chapel for this very important cause. For reservations please call (314) 821-5757.

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., June 15 - Lunch at the Blue Owl in Kimmswick. Call Sue Stivers for reservations. Meet at 9:45 a.m. at church.

Don't Go Away Hungry!

Our thanks to someone (who will remain nameless here) who bought $1,800 worth of scrip a couple of weeks ago. Possibly a gourmand, this individual doesn't attend services in the summer and wanted to stock up on scrip. If you will be on hiatus during the warmer months, please consider buying some extra scrip by June 13.

 Home   Sunday Schedule   Newsletter   Calendar   Directions   Leadership   Programs   Our Beliefs   Sermons   About Us   Contact Us