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Inside This Issue

Annual Meeting

This year's Annual Meeting is on May 21. There will be a single service at 10:00 a.m. The Annual Meeting will be part of the service.

Several important proposals are on the ballot. Please plan to attend, but if you are a member and cannot attend the Annual Meeting, ballots are available in Visitors' Corner. Please complete a ballot and deposit in the ballot box in the office. Information about the proposals and a list of Members as of May 11 are on the bulletin board. [See alsoLay Leadership article for biographies of nominees for the Board of Trustees.]

Intern(al) Musings
- Jennifer DeBusk, Intern Minister

Gertrude Stein had her art salon in Paris. Mine is here in St. Louis. Well, it's more of a coffee shop than a salon and the name is Kaldi's rather than Rue de Fleurus. But it serves the same purpose. Let me explain.

I was recently at Kaldi's relaxing in a big, comfortable chair sipping my favorite drink. In comes a guy wearing black leather motorcycle pants and a Grateful Dead tie dyed t-shirt - a typical scene in Berkeley or San Francisco, but not so typical in St. Louis (let's hear it for diversity.)

He pulls up a chair and starts chatting with me. He's an art dealer music lover; I'm an intern minister with a love for the arts. This launches us on a lively discussion of art and religion. He's a secular humanist; I'm a theist. We wrangle back and forth on religious terminology.

I finally say, "Look, take the performing arts - music, theater, dance - now THAT is spirituality in motion. Consider the dynamic elements at play. The lights dim. The curtain goes up. A hush falls upon the audience. The air is thick with anticipation. The artist is poised to perform. Then the artist abandons himself to the creative process. There is a release of the human spirit. The audience is engaged. The atmosphere is charged. Both artist and audience co-create the live performance. Together a third element is made manifest. It is the sacred space that exists between artist and audience, creator and creation."

After a long pause, the Grateful Dead/motorcycle/art dealer/secular humanist asks, "But what do you NAME that third element?"

"Ah ha!" I respond. That is for YOU to decide. I don't think a movement so vibrant and alive can be pinned down to one particular name.

May the artistic spirit move us with the same breath of freedom and vitality that gives voice to our own life-giving faith.

Welcome New Members

We welcome to membership in Eliot Chapel Donna Bossow, Linda Korinek, Nancy Spargo, and Shelley and Mike Teepe, all of whom signed the Membership Book on May 7. We're so glad to have your energy, enthusiasm, talents and your presence as a part of the Eliot Chapel community.

Welcome!
- Jeanne Wilke, April 30, 2006

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've been a member of Eliot Chapel since 1988. In the Midwest, it seems that many UUs grew up in other religions and found Unitarian Universalism through various paths, many of which we hear about as Eliot folks share a bit of their stories on Sunday mornings. I grew up Southern Baptist in a Mississippi town about the size of Kirkwood, and church was a very important part of my childhood. A sequence of events beginning in the mid-80s led me to Eliot. At about the same time that the religion I grew up in was taking a hard conservative turn, I was returning to college and broadening my horizons. I happened to take an Asian philosophy course and quickly learned how ignorant I was about Eastern religions, some of which predated Christianity by many centuries. As I learned more, I began to realize that the belief that Christianity was superior to all other religions was unwarranted, at least for me, given that some of these religions held the same important tenets as Christianity.

During the same time frame, I happened to catch a feature story on a local TV newscast about the Religious Education Program at First Unitarian Church in the city. Middle school children were studying world religions and were going as a group to Jewish, Hindu, and Islamic services in the area. I was intrigued and surprised to discover that this denomination, Unitarian Universalism, made learning about world religions an important part of children's religious education - something I then knew was missing in my own experience as I was growing up.

Within a few weeks, I had followed up to find UU churches in the area and visited Eliot for the first time. Over the years, this community has become home for me. When I'm in the pew on Sunday mornings, I'm aware that for me the chapel itself is a sacred, physical space where I and many others have been inspired, challenged, and comforted by sermons, music, and the sense of community. Those who have gathered here have made this space sacred by participating in thousands of services and celebrations over many years, including my own wedding in 1999 and my husband's memorial service in 2004. Our participation and our commitment to Eliot ensures that it continues to be a nurturing, stimulating, and supportive community for those who are now members and friends and for those who continue to come through our doors, I did 18 years ago, looking for a community that fosters free religious thought, nurtures spiritual growth, and acts for social justice.

Sympathy

To Jan and Bill Erdman and their family on the death of Jan's father.

Lay Leadership

At the Annual Meeting on May 21, Members of Eliot Unitarian Chapel will vote on the following individuals the Nominating Committee has proposed as members of the Board of Trustees.

Chris Bowland and his family have been members of Eliot Chapel for 3-1/2 years. Originally looking for an RE program that was less Religious and more Educational, Chris has since developed an appreciation for some of the additional offerings at Eliot. Room At The Inn is one of his steady commitments, as are the bi-annual work days and teaching RE. Chris has participated in the last two canvas campaigns and wonders why we can't fund the entire church budget through the Scrip program. (Do the math!) Chris is an IT Analyst with Panera Bread after having spent five years as a Software Engineer with a local consulting company. He has a BA in English Literature and a BS in Information Management (both from Washington University). Interests include cycling, theater/dance concerts, and gardening. He looks forward to the challenges of being an Eliot Board member and promises no excommunications during his tenure.

Rich Wagner is a native of St Louis employed as an engineer at Boeing, and has been a member at Eliot Chapel since 1995. He and his wife, Dianne, were married at Eliot by Rev. Janet Pillman and have two children attending RE - Natalie (7) and Anika (3). After Natalie was born, he became involved with the RE program, like many parents, by volunteering in the Nursery. Since then he's taught numerous grades from Nursery through 2nd/3rd grade and currently serves on the RE Curriculum Committee.

Jeanne Wilke is a native of Mississippi, who moved to St. Louis is 1978, so that her son, Christopher, could attend St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf. She joined Eliot Chapel in 1988. In her early days at Eliot, she worked in RE and ushered for Sunday services. For several years, she coordinated volunteers for Visitors Corner, and she also served on the Adult Education and Enrichment Committee. Jeanne managed Madrigal Reservations from 1999-2004, and is still handling the Madrigal mailing list and hosting for the performances. Other recent activities at Eliot include greeting visitors in Visitors Corner, leading tours as an Eliot docent, doing laundry for Room at the Inn, and arranging flowers for Sunday morning services. Jeanne shares her house in Kirkwood with her son and two cats, who run the place. She has worked for the last 18 years for Mosby/Elsevier, health sciences publisher, as an acquisitions editor. Her interests include her reading group, birding, and dabbling in photography.

Steve Lawrence and his wife, Carol Moreland, have been members of Eliot Chapel for 11 years. He has worked on the Music Committee, been a member of the Chamber Choir for several years, and Eliot's Treasurer since 2005. Steve is Chief Financial Officer of Touchette Regional Hospital in Illinois. Steve and Carol have two sons, Blake (18) a senior, and Ross (15) finishing his freshman year. In his spare time, Steve enjoys working out, playing baseball, and his Covenant Group.

Thank You

Thanks to all the wonderful flower arrangers who provided Eliot with fresh flowers inn creative ways each Sunday this year. New volunteers are always needed. If you are interested, please contact Maryann Mace.

Help Welcome the GA Youth Choir

Clint and Sue Blandford have volunteered to coordinate the transportation of over 70 GA Youth Choir members (middle-school aged) from the airport to SLU campus, where they will be staying during GA. We will need volunteers to meet, organize, and chaperone the kids at the airport, as well as (we believe) drivers to transport them in vans to SLU. We are still looking into various options. If you are available on Wed., Jun. 21, and are interested in helping, please contact the Blandfords.

Room At The Inn
- Joan and Bill Clarke

Homelessness and the Room At The Inn continue all summer, so before we scatter for our various destinations, please consult your calendars to see when you can volunteer to help keep our program running. We need hosts to spend the night, cooks to provide dinner, launderers to clean sheets and towels, and we could use a few more drivers to transport our guests to and from the day site. This is a good family activity, so bring along your children.

Sign-up sheets are on the bulletin board in the hallway. We would like to fill all the slots for June, July, August and the beginning of September before the regular church year ends for the summer.

Seeking Brave Jedis
- Lynn Murphy

Yoda of Star Wars is assisting me in seeking volunteers to sign up to be welcomers and readers for the coming fall church year. We are looking for brave Jedis who are able to stand up at the podium to complete these tasks.

If you are brave and willing to help with this, please come to the sign-up table in Adams Hall or contact me. Thank you and "may the force be with you."

Bridge

The next game will be Sat., May 27, in Adams Hall beginning at 7:00 p.m. Couples and singles welcome. For reservations, please contact Sue Webster by Sun., May 21.

Bergfried Weekend Is Coming

If you've never been there, the time to go is Memorial Day weekend. Eliot's Bergfried property is in the heart of wine country, just outside of Hermann, at the confluence of the Gasconade and the Missouri rivers.

Hike up the bluffs and look down where Lewis and Clark stopped to rest. Explore the Native American site. Camp if you wish, in camper, or trailer, (tents can be borrowed) or stay in a B&B. Bring your instruments for sing-a-longs. Toast marshmallows over the campfire. Remember going away to camp? Now you can create a new memory with your own kids.

Or make it a day trip. An early Sunday drive over the rolling green hills; worship Mother Nature with your Eliot Family at 10:00 a.m.; then join in the pot-luck picnic lunch. Make some young friends over nature art projects or games, or take a hike, or a bike ride, or just enjoy the clean air. You can be home in time for dinner.

Bring coolers, ice, food, drinks, lawn chair, water jugs, sturdy shoes, and meat to grill. Pick up a map in Visitors' Corner.

For more information, contact Gene Hutchins at

Art 4 U Reception

The Art 4 U Committee will host a reception for all artists who have shown work in Adams Hall during 2005 - 2006 on Jun. 4 at 11:45 a.m. in Adams Hall. There will be wine and refreshments. Everyone is welcome.

Playgroup

The Eliot Playgroup will meet on Fri., Jun. 9 from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. in the church nursery. Please join us with your preschooler for playtime and conversation. Newcomers are welcome. Contact Wendy Cutshaw for information.

Partner Church Potluck

Mark your calendars for Mon., Jun. 19, at 6:30 p.m. in Adams Hall for a Partner Church Potluck. For you who may have a possible interest in joining the Partner Church Committee, or for anyone who just wants to learn more about it, you will hear firsthand from a young, energetic, engaging Transylvanian Unitarian minister, Rev. Solymosi Zsolt (last name first, in the Hungarian way) about the important and meaningful partnerships between American UU churches and those in the villages of this ethnic Hungarian area of Romania. Don't miss it! Please RSVP to Beth Rossow at with the number attending and what you'll be bringing.

Women's Alliance

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

Tues., May 16 - Stem Cell Research presented by Bernie Frank. Coordinator - Julie Triplett.

Tues., May 23 - Spring Luncheon at Ronnie Henderson's home in Kirkwood. Arrive at 11:30 a.m.; lunch at noon. (Directions are in the print edition of the newsletter.)

Men's Advance

We enjoyed excellent weather all three days. Three dozen men from age 9 to 67 attended the event and participated in the workshops. The group is smaller for the permanent loss of a few and several regulars who were unable to attend this year.

Many were remembered by name, such as Larry, Kurt, Bruce, Mike, Dave, Tim, Steve, Dick, Bill, Bob, Jim, Charles, George, and Sears. Retirement is a life concern for many and the resignations of both Norm D. Ploom, Registration Writer, and Bill Bourd, who has done advertising, were accepted by secret ballot. We will need new staff next year to plan either real or imagined events. An "unstructured" time was had by all. Plan to attend next year - April 29 through May 1.

RE News
- Joan Casey, RE Director,

The RE Department would like to thank the members of the Teacher Support Committee (Lisa Beck, Debbie Fechter, Carol Moreland, and Susan Pritchett) for gamely performing the songs that Jim Hunstein wrote, and also the many kind volunteers who helped out on Mother's Day. A special thanks goes to all of the wonderful folk who have already signed up to teach next year. We've made a good start, but we still have many, many slots to fill before RE can become a reality next year.

Please consider signing up right now to teach one of these fall classes: at the earlier service - Nursery (year-long), Intermediate 2 (3 and 4 year olds), Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten, and at the later service - Pre-kindergarten, and 1st or 2nd grade. If fall simply won't work for you, we have lots of spring slots available at both hours. To sign up or get more information, please contact me.

Parents should be aware that the next several Sundays will be a bit different. On May 21, there will be one service at 10:00 a.m. You will want to read the signs posted around the building to find out where your children should go. On May 28, we will have the Intergenerational Animal Blessing at 10:00 a.m. only. Kids Kindergarten and up should attend the service with their families. The nursery will be open as usual and there will be childcare available for preschool children. Our last two Sundays are on Jun. 4 and Jun. 11 at 9:15 and 10:45 a.m. Summer services begin on Jun. 18 with an Intergenerational Father's Day service (although the kids will come out of the sanctuary for some activities during the service). For more information about Summer Religious Education, please pick up the May issue of REjuvenation!, the RE newsletter.

Finally, don't forget that Summer Camp is scheduled from Aug. 7 - 11. We'll be talking about Buddha this summer. Registration forms are available now. We hope to see lots of our kids there!

Music Notes
-- Jan Chamberlin, Music Director,

Coming up:
May 21 - one service at 10:00 a.m. The combined choirs sing You Are the New Day by John David.
May 28 - David Henry will provide the music at the 10:00 a.m. Animal Blessing service in the Sanctuary. There will also be a service at Bergfried at 10:00 a.m. where Inner Voices will sing.

Pet Etiquette

Our annual Memorial Day Animal Blessing Service will be held on May 28, at 10:00 a.m. (one service only.)

Please do not assume that all animals enjoy one another's company or that all people want your pet near them. The balcony will be reserved for people who want to enjoy the service, but do not want to sit with the animals.

The following guidelines have been established to make this an enjoyable experience for all.

• Be in control of your pet at all times.
• Dogs must be leashed and all other animals must be in appropriate carriers.
• Walk your dog outdoors before entering the sanctuary.
• Inside the sanctuary, sit with dogs on the south side, cats on the north side, other animals center.
• Please clean up after your pet both inside and outside the sanctuary.

Newsletter Deadlines

The end of the church year is approaching. Don't forget that during the summer we publish two newsletters. If you have summer events you want to publicize, make sure to get the articles in by the (noon) deadline.

• May 10 - for issue dated - May 20 - June 2
• May 24 - for issue dated - June 3 - June 16
• June 7 - for issue dated - June 17 - July 28
• July 19 - for issue dated - July 29 - Sept. 1

Summer Services

Summer services begin on Jun. 18, Father's Day, with one service at 10:00 a.m. The list of topics will appear in an upcoming issue of the newsletter.

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