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Inside This Issue

A Haven and a Beacon
- Rev. Dr. Daniel , Lead Minister

We try to be both: a haven for religious liberals and a beacon for liberal religion.

I think most members and friends of Eliot don't stop and think of Eliot as a charity. I mean if I'm a member, I'm not a charity case, and neither are my friends, so how can Eliot be a charity? To think that way is to focus exclusively on the haven aspect of Eliot.

But there is also the beacon part; that's the charity part. We give direct aid to the poor, via money of course - last year we gave away over $30,000. But also through social action- our Room at the Inn program is but one example. Your financial gifts support that effort.

But we also give indirect aid to our communities and the larger world. We do this by inculcating our values to children and adults who are: morally responsible, spiritually curious, and active for social justice. That's the kind of charity we ask you to invest in.

So when you think about your pledge this year - remember - it may feel like a spiritual country club to you sometimes, but we are a charity giving direct and indirect aid to our community. That's why you get the tax deduction!

Remember, Eliot is committed to getting all our staff to Fair Compensation Congregation status - to the "minimum" level. Four of our staff are not being paid at the UUA "minimum" level. We need another $22,000 a year to make this happen.

Eliot is committed to becoming Fair Share - to pay our fair share of national and district dues. That means another $16,000 per year.

We also have increased health care and utility costs from previous years. Is this financial divide simply too big?

No! Remember the 80-10-10 rule. Spend 80% of your income, save 10%, and give to charity the other 10%. We ask you to consider 3-5% specifically to Eliot. It may take you a couple years to get there, but if you plan for it, you'll make it happen.

And I wouldn't ask you to do something I wouldn't do, so Bonnie and I are committed to getting to that 3-5% this year.

Spiritual depth requires generosity. Help make Eliot live up to its potential, and THANK YOU for your consideration.

Kirkwood Town Hall Meeting on Iraq

On Thu., Mar. 29 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Eliot Chapel, Americans Against the Escalation in Iraq will hold a meeting with Missouri legislators to discuss the alternatives of escalation of the war and establishing a timeline for troop withdrawal. Invited legislators are State Senators Michael Gibbons (president pro tem of the Missouri Senate) and Jeff Smith; State Representatives Kathlyn Fares, Jeanette Mott Oxford, and Rick Stream; and U.S. Representative Todd Akin. These legislators represent a variety of opinions on the war. Admission is free and the meeting is open to all members of the community.

Canned Foods Needed

The RE Department needs canned foods for our annual Easter Day canned food hunt. Donations (no glass, please) may be dropped off in Joan Casey's office by Apr. 1. The cans will be donated to a local food pantry after the Easter service. Thank you!

Be Generous With Your Talent

Our annual Women's Weekend Retreat will be held Sat., Apr. 28. We are excited to include our second coffeehouse to the evening's festivities!

If you have a reading, song, poem, drama piece, instrument to play, dance, etc., share it with us at the coffeehouse. A piano will be available and Jane Larson has volunteered to be an accompanist if you need one.

As a favorite fortune cookie saying goes, "Be generous with your talent; your friends will become richer from it." Please contact Lynn Murphy l if you'd like to be part of this star-studded evening.

Room at the Inn
- Sue Blandford

Please check the bulletin board and volunteer to host a night at Room At The Inn. Two hosts arrive at 5:30 p.m. on a Thursday evening and help the guests get settled on the lower level. After a dinner, prepared by other Eliot volunteers, guests begin to settle in for the evening, usually going to sleep early. Hosts arise at 5:30 a.m., waking the guests and helping prepare a simple breakfast of coffee and cereal. Drivers arrive at 6:30 a.m. to take the guests back to the shelter. Hosts are free to leave after cleaning up, about 7:00 a.m.

Many volunteers are needed to carry on this outreach program. Thanks for your help.

Support Fair Trade

The Easter Bunny does. We have lots of chocolate selections to fill Easter Baskets.

And don't forget Fair Trade coffee. Our Coffee of the Month for April is Mexican Pluma, described as having a light roast with delicate, sweet tones. Instead of the usual $11 for a specialty coffee, Mexican Pluma will sell for $10 during April. As always, we will have the Eliot Blend in beans and ground, regular and decaf.

Remember Bergfried?

Bergfried is a rich and wonderful tract of land belonging to Eliot Chapel, available to all of us to enjoy each in our own way. But Bergfried needs you. Bergfried needs planners to help guide its future and financial people who know what's up with money issues, and there's always room for outdoor care-giver types as well. The Bergfried Committee meets on the third Sunday of each month at 12:15 p.m. in the Bergfried room (appropriately enough) and we'd love to have more dedicated souls join us to help shepherd this unique asset through the current century. For more information, contact Gene Hutchins, chair, or Kate Magrath, chair wannabe.

Keeping Eliot Green

As a reminder, Eliot Chapel recycles aluminum cans (container next to the soda machine), paper (blue bags in the copy room), cardboard (large blue container in the copy room), and plastic bottles (container near the outside kitchen door).

We do not recycle magazines, grocery bags, etc. - we really don't have any of them. It almost goes without saying, but please use the recycling containers at Eliot only for material from Eliot. If you have any material at your home(s) to recycle, please take it two blocks up the street to the Kirkwood recycling center (350 S Taylor Ave) - which will actually be easier for you as you can back your car to the receptacles and just toss things.

Also, we are looking for a volunteer or volunteers to periodically take recyclables from Eliot up to the recycling center on Jefferson. Interested in a feel-good volunteer effort with minimal time commitment? Please see Joy in the office on Sunday or call her during the week.

We thank you, and Al Gore would thank you.

Clear Your Mind

Time for another Meditation Retreat at Eliot Chapel, Sat., Mar. 24. We'll enjoy the usual quietude of sitting in the sanctuary listening to words of wisdom from around the world. Then we'll experience some new spiritual disciplines; we hope to include pilates, drumming, and maybe a "right brain" drawing class. +Hope to see you there! Questions? Email Judy Highfill at for more info. [The schedule and description of workshops are now available online.]

Bridge

Eliot Bridge will be Sat., Mar. 31, at 7:00 p.m. in Adams Hall. Please make your reservation with Sue Webster the Sunday before the game. Couples and singles are welcome. Come and enjoy a friendly bridge game!

Drumbeat for Darfur
- Matt Koch

The UUSC thanks everyone who fasted for Darfur. We hope this event raised awareness of the struggles that the people of Darfur encounter everyday.

Apr. 1st will be UUSC Sunday at Eliot Chapel, called Drumbeat for Darfur. Our speaker will focus on the origins and effects of the conflict in Darfur, and current relief efforts.

Your support of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee makes relief efforts around the world, and here at home possible. At the Apr. 1 service, you will be given an opportunity to become a member of UUSC. Currently 15.7% of Eliot members are UUSC members, down from 2004. I hope that we as a congregation can raise this percentage in support of their valuable work.

Thank you for support of Social Justice.

Eliot Bible Study

Join us Mon., Apr. 2 at 7:00 p.m. in Adams Hall for Eliot Bible Study. We will be exploring Paul's Letter to the Romans. Eliot Bible Study is an open, non-dogmatic, historical-critical study of Bible texts led by Rev. Bonnie Vegiard. We meet the first Monday of each month. All are welcome.

UU Book of the Month

Join us Tues. Apr. 10 at 7:00 p.m. in Adams Hall for a discussion of The Larger Faith, an historical overview of Universalism in America. Copies of the book are available from Rev. Bonnie Vegiard for $16.00, or on-line at www.uua.org/bookstore. This book group meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month to discuss a book written by a Unitarian Universalist on UU history, theology, or practices. All are welcome.

Spring Work Party

April showers bring May flowers and a list of mostly-fun-to-do chores at Eliot Chapel. Save the date: spring work party, Apr. 14, 8:30 or 9:00ish to 12:00 noonish. Be there or be a T-square!

Liberal Religion and Fundamentalism

Although the twenty-first century has arrived, many issues in American politics and religion derive from unresolved issues that arose in the nineteenth century. Come hear about the rise of American fundamentalism and its separation from both the modern secular world and from liberal Protestantism when John Riggs, from Eden Seminary, is our guest at 7:00 p.m. on Apr. 15 in the sanctuary. (This is a date change from the 22nd.)

This program is brought to you by Adult E & E.

Meditation

The meditation group meets on Tues. from 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. in Children's Chapel. The dates of the next three meetings are: Apr. 17, May 8, and Jun. 19.

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.

Tue., Mar. 27 - Art Museum Tour. Coordinator - Barb Crowley

Tue., Apr. 3 - The Sacred Depths of Nature by Ursula Goodenough. Leader - Irmgard Voss

Religious Education (RE) News
- Joan Casey, RE Director,

Think global, act local. I know you've heard it before. We all want to make our world a better place, but sometimes it's hard to figure out how to get started.

If service is our prayer, then I have a challenge for you. Very soon, the RE Department will begin its annual drive for teachers for fall and spring semesters of the 2007-2008 church year. Please consider teaching a class next year. This is your opportunity to really make a difference in our church community, and our larger community as well. Because truly,

When you educate a child,
you can change the world.

We try to make teaching as simple as possible. Volunteers teach in teams of three; teachers alternate lead teaching, assisting, and having the Sunday off all semester. Audiotapes of the service are available on request for any Sunday that is missed because of teaching commitments. Teachers attend an orientation session before the start of the semester and are given a complete curriculum. The Teacher Support Committee and I are available to help with any problems or concerns. Each week the lead teacher receives comprehensive instructions and help with locating supplies. And, you'll be recognized at a special service devoted to our volunteers.

Recruitment begins on Apr. 1, but feel free to contact me in advance for more information before then. Help make the world a better place - connect with our children. See you at the recruitment table.

Music Notes
-- Jan Chamberlin, Music Director,

Coming up:
Mar. 25 - Dennis Woracheck will sing I Loved Her First and Watching You. The 9:30 choir will sing Concord by Britten; the 11:00 choir will sing Harmony in Marriage by Handel.
Apr. 1 - The 9:30 choir will sing I Call to the Lord by Mendelssohn.

Opportunities:
When Eliot's year begins in September, we have a full contingent of singers in choir: New singers join, loyal singers return, and we plunge into the church year. After the Christmas holidays, many take a well-deserved break, and we don't quite return to the level of participation we enjoyed in September. Our ranks are reduced by retirees flying south, by shifting time commitments to RE, and by seasonal illnesses.

But the need for choir singers continues. The dedicated singers who show up every week no longer have the safety of numbers or the fun that singing in a large group brings.

I don't intend to make choir singers feel guilty. This is to point out the need for new singers to volunteer; at any time of the year. I invite anyone who has considered joining the choir to do so NOW.

Serve the congregation in worship and have fun while doing it. All voice parts are needed!

Participation in choir means a time commitment of 2 - 3 hours on Sunday morning. Eliot's music program is only as good as its volunteers. If you're willing to volunteer, or would like to try it for just a few weeks, please contact me.

Keeping Up With the Joneses
Scrip Survey Results

Thanks to those who filled out the Mar. 11 survey on the scrip program.

And special thanks to the Joneses, who have switched their shopping from Schnucks to Dierberg's to earn the higher percentage for Eliot!

Here's the bottom line: We don't expect people to spend a lot more on food, or to drive 50 miles out of their way, to earn 4% more for Eliot on their grocery shopping. But with the current price wars and competitiveness in the grocery business, you might find that Dierberg's (5% for Eliot) is not as expensive as you think, or you might be enchanted by the "new age beverage" aisle at Shop & Save (6%). Or you may just love Whole Foods (5%).

If you are shopping at Schnucks (0-3% for Eliot), please do use an E-scrip card. If you don't have one, they are available at the scrip table in Adams Hall every Sunday. We will register the card for you the next day.

On the scrip sales side, we'd like to accommodate everyone, but Trader Joe's doesn't sell scrip, and with the minimum quantities of scrip that the stores require us to buy, we can't justify buying $2,500 or $6,000 of a particular denomination of scrip if we'll only sell $100 of it in a month. If you have other suggestions about the scrip program, please let us know.

Eliot earned $14,000 on scrip last year - half of that was from Schnucks. Schnucks income this year is about half what it was last year - not good for the budget's bottom line.

Eliot Singles - Want An Alternative?

Sure, reading a good book is a nice way to spend a Friday evening, but sometimes you want something a little more social. Eliot (Adult) Singles offers fun and friendship. Activities suggested so far range from the enlightening and cultural to the physical and purely escapist.

The group is just starting out and is still structuring itself; come be a part of the process. Here's how to find out more:
· Check the bulletin board outside Adams Hall.
· Email Cara Sanning at or call Kelly Birmes
· Join our lunch meeting the second Sunday of each month at 12:30 p.m. at Culpepper's in Kirkwood
· Attend a quarterly meeting in Adams Hall the last Sunday of each quarter (Mar., Jun., Sep. Dec.) The next one will be Mar. 25 at 1:00 p.m. in Adams Hall.

Got Pens?

Office Depot has a rewards program - they will give back 5% if you spend $200 there in a three-month period. If you're not in a position to take advantage of this personally, but occasionally need the odd package of sticky notes or a typewriter ribbon … at checkout you may ask that your purchases accrue to Eliot's rewards account. You don't need the account number, just Eliot's phone number - or they will look it up for you. Thanks!

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