The worship theme for October is Courage.

Sunday, October 1, 2017 - 9:30 and 11:00 am 
"The Courage Of These Times, Part I" -    Rev. Barbara H. Gadon
This Sunday, we re-launch our all-church initiative, Living the Pledge to End Racism. With the ongoing protests for justice, a militarized police response and no clear solution in sight, many of us are discouraged. But we have the capacity as a community to equip and encourage one another for the long haul. Rev. Barbara will explore some of the inspiring ideas of Bryan Stevenson, an Alabama attorney for death row inmates and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative: to get 'proximate' and change the narrative. Featured musician: Shannon & Greg Davis, Guitar and vocals; Eliot Choir.

 
Sharing the Offering
In October we will share our offering with Immigrant & Refugee Women's Program.

Since 1995, IRWP has worked to increase the independence and reduce the isolation of immigrants and refugees by teaching them basic English and practical living skills in the security of their own homes. In 2016, IRWP volunteers worked with 211 students from 42 countries.
Through the power of language and the support of friendship, immigrants and refugees gain self-confidence and the ability to communicate in emergency and medical situations, with their children's teachers, in the workplace, and to prepare for citizenship. They are also helped to develop financial literacy and to connect with other agencies for assistance with a variety of family needs.
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Religious Education
At 9:30, children in kindergarten and older attend the first 15 minutes of the worship service. Preschool children (ages 3-5) and nursery children (2 and younger) go directly to their class.

At 11:00, children who are age 4 (by Aug. 1, 2017) through 6th grade attend the first 15 minutes of the worship service. Children 3 and younger and youth in 7th-12th grade go directly to their class.

Note: The Junior High Youth Group (grades 7-8) is on a field trip this morning at St. Nicholas Catholic Church.

 
Sunday at a Glance:
Eliot Choir meets at 8:30 am in music room.
Children's Chalice Choir meets at 10:35 am in the music room.
LeLaurin Covenant Group meets at 12:30 pm in the Triplett Room.
Positive Psychology Covenant Group meets at 12:50 pm in Room 005.
Lemon Covenant Group meets at 1:00 pm in the Jr. High Room.

Church News


SUPPLEMENTAL CANVASS
"Houston, 
we have a problem."

We need you.
 
Last spring, we saw that we were going to come up short in our pledges.  Way short. So short that we would have to make drastic cuts in every area of church life - music and worship, children and youth, pastoral care, social justice, and management.  We would have to reduce hours and pay for almost all of our staff, and eliminate some jobs altogether. If we were a shrinking, inactive congregation, that might make sense. But we're not! We are a warm, thriving, vibrant church - a leader in the UUA in serving and empowering our youth, and in social justice. We are a beacon for racial justice in Kirkwood. Our music is exciting and touches the soul. We care deeply for one another and the world. Last fall, we bet on our future and bought the property next door, because we are that excited about what we have to offer.
 
But we have to get serious about money. So we are betting on the future again and asking you to increase the pledge you made for this church year, 2017-18. We need $80,000 in the fall supplemental campaign.  (We plan to raise another $8,000 in the winter service auction.)
 
How will we get there? We will have gatherings in people's homes. We will meet one-to-one. We will connect by phone and by personal letter. It's time to experiment, so that's what we're going to do!
 
Here's what we're asking. First, find yourself on the chart below. Then consider what a meaningful gift in that range might be.
 

In the month of October and early into November, someone will contact you with an invitation to...  Answer the call!
 


2017 Fall season All-Read Groups are forming NOW!
Choose a book and get started!

"All Read" groups are designed for people interested in enhancing their spirituality around social justice issues of race and privilege. We do this by reading the same book and discussing it with 4-8 people from Eliot Chapel. Participants can sign up for 4 sessions to explore, discuss, and internalize the issues surrounding social justice and racism facilitated in a book discussion format.

There will be two choices for Fall '17 All Read groups:


For those beginning their journey the book, Waking Up White by Debbie Irving, is suggested.


For those who have participated in other All Read sessions, the SJA committee has selected William Barber's The Third Reconstruction as the 'advanced' All Read book. It was the UUA's Common Read last year and is available in inexpensive paperback and Kindle formats. (It also supports the UUA's Beacon Press).


The facilitators will meet with their groups 4 times between October and mid-December. Look for the sign-up sheets at the All Read table in Adams Hall or download a signup form for All Read from the Eliot Chapel website. Decide which book and group is "just right" for you and get started!



Kirk Care Needs Us!
KirkCare is the food pantry serving those living in the Kirkwood School District
attendance area, and the pantry is in NEED! There have been some school food
drives, but the food has not yet arrived at the pantry and the shelves are BARE.
Currently, there is a need for stew, chili, canned chicken, fruit, peanut butter,
canned pasta and cereal. These protein sources are particularly important-think
"meal." No one has to do everything, but you can do something. Consider putting a
bag in your car that will spark a memory to buy one or more of these items that next
time you grocery shop. Then, the next time you come to Eliot, just drop off your
groceries in the small cart outside of Adam's Hall.

Might you be interested in volunteering for KirkCare? Currently, we need people to
deliver food to those in need in and near Kirkwood. This involves filling a couple of
bags of groceries from the pantry at Webster Hills United Methodist and taking the
food to families. Training is provided for this job and you can work around your
schedule and availability. E-mail us for more information at [email protected].


Living the Pledge to End Racism in St. Louis (LTP) is a multi-year initiative begun by Eliot in 2016-17 to directly address our fifth end statement to dismantle racism. LTP is being relaunched  to build on our work "to become an effective, joyful and courageous partner in the struggle for racial justice and healing." LTP is designed to deepen our understanding of systemic and structural racism in St. Louis, and will help each of us to deepen our personal commitment to and involvement with ending racism on a daily basis.

Eliot's initiative will include the following programs on a continuing basis:
Living the Pledge Workshops
Accountability Groups to support ongoing daily work
SPEAK UP Workshops
Facilitator Training Workshops 

Sign up in Adams Hall on Sunday, October 1 or on the LTP page on Eliot's website next week. For more information, contact [email protected].



Kirkwood Together with Kim Massie Concert a Success
Eliot Chapel's goal of gathering a diverse audience to promote belonging and friendship while enjoying the music of Kim Massie and her band has been achieved! In addition, donations of over $2,500 were given to be shared equally between Moms of Meacham and Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association. Seven churches co-sponsored this event with Eliot Chapel, three with predominantly African-American congregations. Appreciation is extended to the countless Eliot Chapel people who volunteered in many ways to make this concert a reality.



Support the ECNS October Fundraiser!
Shop at the Kirkwood Schnucks location (10233 Manchester Road) and buy a reusable, red "Giving" bag. For every "Giving" bag sold during the month of October at this location, ECNS will receive a $1 donation from Schnucks!

Reminder: New Office Hours
Our front office will be open 10:00 am to 3:00 pm on weekdays and 9:00 am to 1:00 pm on Sundays. You can contact the front office by phone at 314-821-0911 or by email at [email protected].

 
Monday, October 2:
Kwentus Covenant Group - 10:00 am in the Jr. High Room
We Can Assist meeting - 6:30 pm in Room 006
A Course in Miracles - 7:00 pm in Adams Hall

Tuesday, October 3:
Women's Alliance Book Discussion - 9:30 am in Adams Hall
Vigil for Hope & Healing - 6:00 pm at Eliot
Social Justice Forum - 6:30 pm in Adams Hall
Attitudinal Healing - 7:00 pm in the Jr. High Room
Avant Covenant Group - 7:00 pm in Room 006
Attitudinal Healing - 7:00 pm in Room 005

Wednesday, October 4:
Women's Chorale - 7:30 pm in the Music Room

Thursday, October 5:
Attitudinal Healing - 10:30 am in the Jr. High Room
Grief Group Meetings - 3:00 pm in the Sanctuary
Room at the Inn - 5:30 pm in Adams Hall and Rooms 001-006
Secular Organization for Sobriety - 6:30 pm in the Sr. High Room
Maryann Mace Covenant Group - 6:30 pm offsite
UU Christian Group - 7:30 pm in the Triplett Room

Friday, October 6:
Eliot Autumn Campout - All day through Sunday at Bergfried
Friday Freethinkers - 10:00 am in Adams Hall



 
Covenant Group Recruitment
Find out more about covenant groups here at Eliot Chapel! Drop by our tables after both services Sunday, October 1. A friendly member of our Covenant Group Development Team will be happy to answer your questions and provide information about this wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth. Also, please contact us anytime via email at [email protected].



Grief Group Meetings
Please know that our grief group continues to meet on alternating Thursday afternoons in the Sanctuary and everyone is welcome. Our next meeting is scheduled for  Thursday, October 5 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm.




   







Come be part of
Vigil for Hope and Healing #151 
Tuesday, October 3 at 6:00 pm
outside Eliot.





 
Social Justice Assembly: 
Helping Former Prisoners 
Gain Productive Lives
Tuesday, October 3, 7:15-9:00 pm in Adams Hall

Our speaker, Jeff Smith, is Executive Vice President of Concordance Academy, an organization offering integrated and holistic services to those returning to the St. Louis area from prison. The program recruits prisoners in Missouri who are within six months of their release and then provides counseling to them while they are still in prison. After release, clients receive an entire year of wrap-around services in education and job readiness, employment, substance abuse and mental health cognitive and relationship skills, housing, and community life.

Smith, a former Missouri state senator, is the author of Mr. Smith Goes to Prison: What My Year Behind Bars Taught Me About America's Prison Crisis. He is now back in St. Louis, devoting his life to helping former prisoners gain productive lives.

There will be an opportunity for attendees to learn from community volunteers who are working with Concordance Academy clients as they strive to become productive members of the community, and to consider forming an Eliot volunteer team. For more information, contact  [email protected].

As many of us learned in our reading of The New Jim Crow and Just Mercy, skyrocketing incarceration rates in the US are higher than in any other country in the world and are disproportionately higher among blacks and Hispanics, the result of long-standing systemic bias. Prison itself is a crime-producing environment, with little or no mental health care, substance abuse treatment, or job training.

Once released, former inmates often find no support to help them re-enter their communities. Of the more than 10,000 prisoners released each week in the US, 77% are re-arrested within five years.



 




Annual Fall Family Campout
October 6-9
All Eliot members and friends are welcome to come out for any part of this weekend whether you plan to camp or not. The days will be wide open for hiking, camping, relaxation, and connection. The weekend includes these optional events (diverging a bit from our traditional schedule):

Sunset Worship Service - 6:00 pm, Saturday
Service led by Reverend Barbara with music provided by Eliot musicians. If you don't choose to camp, this is a great time to come out and connect afterwards, Adams Hall style.

Saturday Evening Potluck
Directly after the service enjoy food and connection with the Eliot camping community. The Bergfried Team will provide hotdogs. Campers and day-trippers are encouraged to bring a dessert or side dish to share. Please let us know if you plan to attend by emailing [email protected] and let us know how many will be joining you.

Sunday Lay-led Worship Service - 11:00 am 
Led by Rich Heuermann

Music Circles
These spontaneous events occur most evenings after the dinner dishes are put away. Bring your instruments!

Most choose to camp in tents or trailers; spaces in the cottage (with running water and electricity) are available by reservation and with priority given to those with medical needs or physical limitations. Eight beds are also available in the new rustic bunkhouses. To sign up for the weekend, to reserve a cottage or bunkhouse space, or for any information contact [email protected].







Hands on Kirkwood
October 7

Join Eliot Chapel's Social Justice in Action folks in a morning of service to the Kirkwood community. Originated by Kirkwood Baptist Church, this effort covers a variety of service options for a "mission blitz" of the community. We have chosen three projects where Eliot members can work together, but you are free to choose your own!

Father Dickson Cemetery Clean-Up: Volunteers will repair, restore, and preserve the cemetery. Must be willing to get dirty and be on your feet.

Kirkwood Park Honeysuckle Removal: Volunteers will cut down overgrown honeysuckle. Tools and eye protection are provided by the park. Must be willing to get dirty and be on your feet.

Donation Distribution: Volunteers will sort and box donated items for delivery to local resource centers. May be able to sit and sort.

Volunteers gather at Kirkwood Baptist Church, 211 North Woodlawn, at 8:00 am for coffee and bagels and to pick up an event t-shirt. Work groups head out to projects at 9:00 and return to Grace Episcopal Church, 514 E. Argonne for food and entertainment around 12:30 pm.

To Register, go to www.kirkwoodbaptist.org/community/hands-on-kirkwood and click on Projects. Also, please email your names and chosen project to [email protected] so that we will know how many Eliot members participate in this service. Let's see what Eliot Chapel can do!

 

Tour EarthDance Farms 
The Environmental Justice Team invites you to join us on Saturday, October 7 for a tour of EarthDance Farms. EarthDance Farms is an organic farm and teaching facility located in Ferguson. Meet at the Ferguson Farmers Market at 10:30 am. We'll ride the free trolley to EarthDance Farms and take a tour of the garden. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 


The Environmental Justice Team will meet at Eliot on Monday, October 16 at 7:00 pm in room 005. We welcome new members.


Come join us in Fillmore Park!
Come join us as Eliot Chapel volunteers spend a hour or so in our "adopted" Fillmore Park, 410 S. Fillmore, Kirkwood, a pocket park in a racially diverse neighborhood about half a mile south of Eliot. We weed, pick up any trash, and help maintain the park. Upcoming dates to share the company of others from Eliot in this community service effort are Thursday, October 19; and Saturday, October 28, both at 9:00 a.m., after which our Fillmore Park season will close. Newcomers are welcome at any point. To sign up or learn more, email Claire Robertson at [email protected].





New to Eliot or to Unitarian Universalism?
We invite you to attend



Saturday, October 14
9:00 am - 12:00 pm in Adams Hall. Led by Rev. Barbara Gadon.

If you are a newcomer to Eliot Chapel, are considering membership, or would just like to get to know us better, we highly recommend this workshop! You will get an introduction to UU and Eliot Chapel, or a refresher if you are looking for a new UU home. We will explore with you what membership at Eliot could mean for you. Lunch will be provided.

Sign up on the bulletin board in the hallway between the Sanctuary and Adams Hall or on the Eliot website at www.eliotchapel.org/adultre.

Registration closes on October 12
Childcare is available if requested by October 8.



ELIOT UNITARIAN CHAPEL CELEBRATES
450TH ANNIVERSARY OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM MILESTONE

Rev. Koppándi-Benczédi Zoltán, "Rev. Zoli," leads a tour of Deva.
On January 13, 2018, we will honor the 450th anniversary of one of the world's first statements of religious tolerance. In 1568, in the city of Torda, in what is now Romania, a religious gathering presided over by Unitarian King John Sigismund proclaimed:

"...in every place the preachers shall preach and explain the Gospel each according to his understanding of it, and if the congregation like it, well. If not, no one shall compel them for their souls would not be satisfied, but they shall be permitted to keep a preacher whose teaching they approve...no one shall be reviled for his religion by anyone...and it is not permitted that anyone should threaten anyone else by imprisonment... For faith is the gift of God..."

From this "Edict of Torda", Unitarianism was officially recognized for the first time in the history of the world!

Eliot Chapel will celebrate this legacy milestone at two special Sunday services on October 15. Special guest minister Rev. Koppándi-Benczédi Zoltán of the Unitarian Church in Deva, Romania, will preach on "Church Work in the Diaspora" at 9:30 and 11:00 am. His hometown of Deva is where the founder of Unitarianism, Francis David, died in prison after King John Sigismund's successor rolled back some of the religious freedom guaranteed by the Edict of Torda. Some may remember 'Rev. Zoli' as he often accompanies UUPCC pilgrimage groups to the Citadel in Deva, followed by a visit to his church. After second service, the Partner Church Committee is hosting a 12:30 pm American potluck and an informal talk with Reverend Zoli . Please sign up at Eliot or email [email protected].




Bergfried Day Trip
Saturday, October 28 (during peak fall color)
Meet at Eliot's parking lot at 9:00 am to caravan/carpool or come out on your own. A Bergfried team member will be there to show you the cottage, lead you on a hike or two, and provide a bit of Bergfried history. Bring sturdy shoes and provisions for the day. All are welcome and those new to Bergfried are especially encouraged. RSVP at [email protected].

We hope to see you at Bergfried in October!



 
JOIN YOUR ELIOT FRIENDS FOR
Saturday, November 4
5:00 to 7:30 pm in Adams Hall

Please join us as the Board hosts a fun evening of family, friends, food, and good conversation for all ages! Sign up with a Board member in Adams Hall on Sunday or on a bulletin board between the Sanctuary and Adams Hall. 





ECNS Trivia Night
The Eliot Chapel Nursery School will host its annual Trivia Night Fundraiser on November 10. Money raised from the trivia and silent auction goes to the Durbin-Schoenecker Fund to defray tuition costs and to assist families in unexpected emergencies. The event will take place at the Kirkwood Community Center at 111 S. Geyer Road. Doors open at 6:30 pm and trivia begins promptly at 7:00 pm. Round up your team now and plan to attend! Deadline to enter is October 25. See Anne Marie in the ECNS office. 

Recognizing 
Eliot's Superheroes
Each month Eliot recognizes individuals who have done something to inspire us with their faithfulness, hard work, and committed joyful spirits! If you have someone to nominate for Volunteer of the Month,
let us know at [email protected].

Unitarian Universalist leader. Ministry partner. UU musician. Peer advocate. Congregational leadership. These are just SOME of the adjectives which describe the qualities and gifts which Eliot's October Volunteer of the Month shares with the Eliot congregation and wider Unitarian Universalist community.

Ian Pallares has been an active participant in Eliot life for over a decade. While growing up at Eliot, Ian actively participated in the Religious Education (RE) program, Chalice Choir and, in 2010, was a member of the national UU Children's Choir and attended his first General Assembly (GA) in Minneapolis. Since joining the Senior High Youth Group in 2014, Ian has served as a UU leader at Eliot in numerous capacities. He is an active participant in worship services, frequently shares his gift of music with the congregation, is a trained sound system technician, leads youth group activities for his peers, served as a facilitator for the Eliot 2020 Mission & Vision Values Discovery Process in 2015, and enjoys participating in youth activities at Eliot, Bergfried, and in the larger UU community.

Ian is a graduate of the 2016 UU Youth Midwest Leadership School and represented Eliot at the 2017 UU General Assembly in New Orleans. In addition, he's been recognized by the UUA as a Luminary Leader for outstanding UU leadership in his congregation and beyond.

Thank you, Ian, for all of the ways you enrich the Eliot and wider UU community through your presence, gifts, and service to others.




Sunday, October 8 - 9:30 and 11:00 am
"The Courage to Live Joyfully" - Rev. Jim Crawford

Courage is demanded of us in these uncertain times. In the midst of fear, there is an opportunity to embrace joy. On this Sunday, come and take time to reflect on what it means to choose joy and courage. Featured musician: Klezundheit! Klezmer Band; Women's Chorale.


The ourEliot team promotes and enables healthy communications as promised to one another through the Congregational Covenant. If you have a compliment, suggestion, or concern that is important to communicate to a responsible party, look for an on-duty member of the team in Adams Hall wearing an ourEliot badge or contact them via email at  [email protected] .

Eliot Unitarian Chapel | Kirkwood, MO | 314.821.0911
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