My Marriage Doesn't Need Protection from the Federal Government
- Rev. Dr. Daniel Ó Connell, Lead Minister
Hopefully by the time you read this, the bill will be dead for another year or two, but the "Marriage Protection Amendment" to be voted on by the U.S. Senate early this month is a disgrace to democracy. It would mark the first time in history that an amendment to the Constitution would restrict the civil rights of an entire group of Americans.
There is also the issue of infringing on religious liberty.
Thoughtful people of faith can and do disagree on the issue of marriage. But in America, it is the right of each religious group to decide, based on their own religious teachings, whether or not to sanction marriage of same-sex couples.
It is certainly not the federal government's role to prefer one religious definition of marriage over another, much less to codify such a preference in the Constitution. To the contrary: the great contribution of our Constitution is to ensure religious liberty for all.
Our nation's founders adopted the First Amendment precisely because they understood the dangers of allowing government control over religious doctrine and decisions. It is this commitment to religious freedom that has allowed religious practice and pluralism to flourish in America as nowhere else in the world.
If this freedom is to be maintained, we must respect the rights of faith communities to apply their own religious teachings and values to the issue of same-sex relationships. It is not the business of politicians to assert control over the doctrine and practice of our faith communities.
The "Marriage Protection Amendment" would dignify discrimination and undermine religious liberty. Many of America's religious communities do not support this amendment, including (I believe) ours.
About Us
Thanks
The Welcoming Congregation Committee thanks the Eliot Chapel family for supporting the designation of our Chapel as a "Welcoming Congregation".
We are looking forward to continuing our dedication to making Eliot a community open to all people!
Welcome, New Members
- The Membership Committee
We welcome to membership in Eliot Chapel the following people who recently signed the Membership Book: Karen Fuchs on May 14, and Cindy Duhigg on Jun. 4. We're delighted to have you as members of the Eliot Chapel community!
Our Sympathy
To Marilyn Fallert on the death of her mother.
Welcome!
- Dave Seidensticker, April 9, 2006
The standard topic for these welcomes is, "Why do I come to Eliot?"
I'm not feeling like breaking any new ground this morning, so I'll stick to that subject
I feel like I'm a bit of a minority here, I grew up in the Unitarian Church (in Pittsburgh, PA), so my attachment is slightly different - I haven't come here after a searching process.
I grew up thinking that all churches were like this and I probably still don't have a full appreciation of the UU faith. And there's a tendency to be more attached to something that you discover yourself
The more I learn about other churches, the more I realize that I couldn't really be comfortable in a church that doesn't give me room to explore spirituality
I didn't go to church during college and grad school: I couldn't tell you where Penn State's Unitarian church is.
So what brought me here, and keeps me coming back?
I moved to St. Louis in 1989 to work at McDonnell Douglas and began looking for a place to meet new people who shared my values in this relatively conservative midwest city. I quickly discovered that, in St. Louis, if someone said they were a fan of Rush, that didn't mean that they shared my appreciation for the Canadian rock band
My father had met Earl Holt (minister of First Unitarian in St Louis) at the funeral for Earl's friend (my minister) Paul Beatty, and had suggested that I seek out his church in St Louis. And my mom said, "Good place to meet people (girls)."
I met my wife-to-be that fall at church (sometimes moms know what they are talking about.)
We were active there for a number of years. But after being married by Sue Videen and moving to Glendale, we started going to Eliot.
We've felt comfortable coming here. The community is welcoming and comfortable and we were participating in church activities here even before we had a child. But, the birth of our daughter has brought new motivation for attendance and activity
There are numerous reasons continuing to attend Eliot: thoughtful sermons, wonderful music, good friends, and most of all wanting our daughter to grow up here.
The RE program is wonderful - better organized than what either Amy or I experienced growing up. It will teach her to think for herself and appreciate other religions
Perhaps through her and her teachers, we'll finally figure out how to answer that question that so many of us struggle with: "Exactly what does it mean to be a Unitarian, anyway?"
Off to Camp
The Eliot Library Committee is happy to announce that all six young applicants will be granted summer camp scholarships. The total amount of the scholarships provided this year is $1,035.00. The applicants have volunteered to help out with the Barbara Nutt library. We appreciate their willingness to help and wish them a fun and successful time at camp.
Women's Alliance Report
Eliot Chapel Women's Alliance had two major sources of income during the year: annual dues of $15.00 and one half of the proceeds of the Book Fair for their assistance in staging this event. This year, the Alliance pledged $1,000 to Eliot, and made the following contributions:
Organization
Amount
Partner Church Women's Group
$300.00
Meramec Scholarship
$500.00
Planned Parenthood
$150.00
Circle of Concern
$170.00
Citizens for MO Children
$170.00
Alliance for Mental Health
$170.00
Women's Voices (books for St. Louis Schools)
$170.00
Membership in CMD
$500.00
This totals $3,130.00 in charitable giving from the Alliance.
Making a Difference
Kirk Care Needs Your Help
Kirk Care, the local food bank, needs volunteers to deliver food to clients in the Kirkwood area. You will need to have a car and at least one workday a month when you can help for a few hours. Please contact Jim Lyon or email
. Their web site is www.kirkcare.org .
Room at the Inn Needs YOU Now!
- Bill and Joan Clarke
Summers are hard on homeless families. School is out so children have no place to be all day and they no longer receive lunch. While we are busy traveling on our vacations, mothers are still trying to find shelter for themselves and their children. In St. Louis County, there is a waiting list of about 15,000 families for Section 8 and Public Housing. The opportunities we offer on Thursday nights mean a few more people will have a safe, clean shelter for the night.
Eliot's Room At The Inn program is at a critical stage. If we are going to continue this summer, we need YOU to volunteer, today. There still remain many openings in June, July, August, and September for volunteers. The most critical area is hosting our guests on Thursday nights (except the 4th Thursday of the month.) Cooks are also needed.
With your help, we can do our part to help the homeless by providing dinner and a safe place to sleep. If you have not helped before because of time constraints during the school year, maybe you can find some time this summer. Children are welcome to participate with adults. Sign up sheets are on the bulletin board.
If you are unable to get to Eliot to sign up, please call us or contact the church office and ask them to place your name on the signup sheets. We truly need you NOW!
Help Manage the Forest
- Jim Lyon
If you are interested in doing some forestry work and/or a controlled burn at Bergfried this summer, please email
. Unlike the spring meadow burns, this will be hard work on steep slopes in hot weather. The plan is to rehabilitate unit 7, which is north of MO-100 and between Dan's property and Coles Ck. road. Here are the tasks:
Mark all seed trees, favoring oaks, then hickory, then ash/basswood/sycamore,
Kill other trees (mainly sugar maple) to reduce shade from 95% to 55%.
Burn the unit before nut-fall to kill paw-paw and small maples.
Kids over the age of 15 are welcome with a parent.
Events
Bridge
Eliot's June bridge game will take place on Sat., Jun. 24, at 7:00 p.m. in Adams Hall. Tony Ponzar will be hosting this month's game. Contact Tony no later than the Sunday before the game for reservations. Couples and singles welcome.
Last Call: Partner Church Potluck
- The Partner Church Committee
The Partner Church Committee will host a potluck on Mon., Jun. 19, at 6:30 p.m. in Adams Hall. Our featured guest will be Transylvanian Unitarian minister Rev. Solymosi Zsolt (last name first, in the Hungarian way), here for GA to speak about the important and meaningful partnerships between American UU churches and those in the villages of Zsolt's own ethnic Hungarian area of Romania. Eliot Chapel's partner church is St. Marton. Everyone is welcome to come eat, socialize and listen. Contact Beth Rossow at
to let her know the number attending, what you're bringing, or just show up.
Join the Playgroup
The Eliot Playgroup will meet Fri., Jul. 14 from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. in the church nursery. Please bring yourself and your little ones for playtime and conversation. Contact Wendy Cutshaw for information.
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., Jul. 11 - Life of Pi by Yann Martell. Leader - Peggy Lashley.
Tues., Jul. 18 - Book Selection for 2006-07. Bring your proposed list. Coordinators - Sue Webster and Peggy Lashley
Tues., Jul. 25 - The Known World by Edward P. Jones. Leader - Doris Yohe
We want to thank everyone who helped to make the 2005 - 2006 Religious Education program possible - you know who you are! Pat yourself on the back for a job well done.
We played (for example, 56 kids and adults became Pals through the Secret Pals program); we learned (about learning differences during our annual Abilities Awareness Sunday and about Stories Jesus Told during last summer's camp - and so much more); we celebrated (Chinese New Year was fun!); and we worshiped together. We also did a lot of good works: we collected over 100 Christmas gifts for needy area children; we collected canned goods for hungry families at Easter; GATE partners donated $750 to the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation and $232.26 to the APA; we collected over $1,000 for hurricane relief efforts in Children's Chapel - and that's just to name a few of the causes we supported this year. So much can be done when we act in community together. We have much to celebrate!
We still need to fill one, year-long nursery slot for the later service next year. If you'd like to help out with our littlest ones, please contact me as soon as possible; we need to fill this before we begin fall classes. We also have several spring slots at both hours if you'd like to help out later in the year. I'm waiting to hear from you!
Finally, don't forget to register your children for Summer Religious Education classes if you plan to attend any of the summer services.
We also hope to see a lot of our friends who are entering Kindergarten through 5th grade at Summer Camp (Aug. 7-11). We'll accept registrations through Jun. 25. Registration forms for both camp and RE are available outside of 's office. For those of you taking the summer off, we look forward to seeing you all again in the fall.
Coming up: Jun. 18 - Music will be sung by Kate Magrath and Jan Chamberlin. Jun. 25, at Eliot Chapel, 10:00 a.m. service will be led by and music will be sung by Kathie Price and Rich Heuermann.
At the America's Center, the GA Sunday service on Jun. 25 is from 9:30 - 11:00 a.m. Music by the GA band and choir. Many of our Eliot choir will be singing. Ric Vice will be playing bass.
Mark your calendars for Sat., Jun. 24, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Come hear the UU Children's Choir in a free concert at Christ Church Cathedral at 13th and Locust. We have 2 young singers in this group: Emily Klein, daughter of Barb Bleisch, and Cori Compton, daughter of Rob and Doris Kutz-Compton. This choir only performs at GA every 3 years. The children will be living at St. Louis University in a music camp setting, working with internationally-known choral clinician, Sandra Snow. They will spend the week learning music, sightseeing, and will sing at the GA closing ceremony. This opportunity brings children from all over the country together for an unforgettable UU experience. Donations to underwrite the choir are being matched by a donor, up to $6,000. If you would like to contribute, checks can be made out to the UU Musician's Network and given to Jan Chamberlin or Leon Burke.
Music at GA: The opening ceremony on Wed., Jun. 21, at 8:00 p.m. will feature the Jazz Edge Orchestra, a 17-piece big band. Every "plenary" or business session will include song breaks. Please join in this national celebration while it's conveniently happening here in our home town!
Housekeeping & Summer Reminders
Summer Services 2006
Summer Services begin on Jun. 18 with one service at 10:00 a.m. The schedule will be updated as more information becomes available.
Newsletter Deadlines
Don't forget that during the summer we publish just two newsletters. If you have late summer events you want to publicize, make sure to get the articles in by the (noon) deadline on July 19 for the issue dated July 29 - Sept. 1.
We go back to the bi-weekly schedule with the deadline Aug. 23 for the issue dated Sep. 2 - Sep. 15.
Reverends' Summer Calendar
Rev. Dr. Daniel Ó Connell will be out of the office, on vacation and study leave, from Sat., Jul.1 through Mon., Aug. 14. He will be back in the office and on a regular schedule Tues., Aug. 15.
Rev. Bonnie Vegiard will be on vacation the month of July and study leave from Aug. 14 through the 27th. She will resume her regular schedule on August 28th.
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 (2005-2006) runs from July to June. On July 1, 2006 we begin the 2006-2007 fiscal year.
In order that we may apply pledge payments correctly, please note in the memo line the month(s) covered by your pledge payment. Thanks.
Summer Office Hours
The office will close at noon on Fridays for the months of June, July, and August. Sunday summer office hours are from 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Committee Reservations
If your committee or group will continue to meet throughout the summer, please ensure that the office is aware of this. Otherwise, we assume meetings are suspended.
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!
Where are You?
We will be preparing a new Member/Friend directory this summer. Please make sure that the office has your current address and phone number. Information change slips are available in Visitors' Corner, or email changes to
.
Who Are You?
In addition to preparing a new member/friend directory this summer, we will be updating the Program Guide.
If you are a committee chair, please make sure that the office knows you will be chair for the coming year. Also, please take a minute to look over the description of your committee that appears in the guide and send any changes to Nancy at
.
Copies of the Program Guide are available in Visitors' Corner.
Summer Scrip and Fair Trade Coffee Sales
During the summer, Scrip and Fair Trade coffee will only be sold after the service on Jul. 9 and Aug.13. Regular weekly sales will resume Sep. 10. Make sure to stock up -- don't be caught short!
And don't forget to order your FT coffee one week in advance. Email your order to
.
