To enter Eliot Unitarian Chapel's building at any time, any day of the week, everyone is expected to be vaccinated and to wear a mask. 

Reminder: Our policy is to provide additional protection for those on our staff and in our preschool and our congregation who are immune- and/or age-compromised. This policy shows our concern and care for each other. Please keep wearing your mask to church and any time you are in our building. Masks are available in Founders Hall and in the Sanctuary vestibule if you have forgotten yours.

In the Biblical story of Jacob, he must wrestle with an angel to be spiritually blessed and transformed. In this era of so much uncertainty and grief, it seems we are wrestling to understand, wrestling for hope and purpose. Join us to wrestle together and ground ourselves in the blessings of our UU principles.

Masks are required at the service for anyone over two years of age. Masks should cover both nose and mouth. We strongly recommend an N95 or KN95 mask. We will have masks available if you have forgotten yours.

We will livestream our service on Sunday. Find it at eliotchapel.org. After the stream, a recording will be available all week. You can also find it directly on our YouTube channel.

Every Sunday, Eliot Chapel shares half of the offertory with an organization in the community whose work reflects our shared values. This is one way that we care for our community and our neighbors. We are very pleased that June's recipient is the Migrant and Immigrant Community Action Project (MICA Project). MICA is a community organization committed to working with low-income immigrants to overcome barriers to justice.

Let us be good neighbors. Let us be a generous people. Here's how you can give:

Children in kindergarten and older should attend the 10:00 am worship service with their family. Activity bags with crayons and UU coloring pages are available.

The nursery & preschool activity space is open during the 10:00 service for our youngest UUs who need freedom of movement (nursery & preschool-aged children aged 5 and younger). The nursery and preschool room will remain open during summer services through Sunday, June 26. Tim Bubb and Anna Beck are the staff members on duty.

Looking Ahead: The nursery & preschool activity space will be closed during July and is expected to reopen in August. The specific reopening date will be announced soon.

Zoom Coffee Hour takes place at 12:30 pm on Sunday. You are invited to "walk down the hall" and come to our Zoom Coffee Hour! We'll take a few minutes to say hello and let people settle in, then we'll say a few words of welcome and briefly review the service that day. We typically really enjoy the wisdom story and discuss how that story reflects on the theme of the sermon. Then we'll create break-out rooms of 5-6 people for conversation and sharing. We love making new friends and the small groups are great for that! In approximately 45 minutes, everyone will return to the big group and we'll say our goodbyes for the week. We usually end shortly after 1:30 pm, but those who wish to can stay a few minutes longer. Please watch your email for "Eliot on Zoom" on Sunday morning which will include a link to join the Zoom Coffee Hour. If you're not on our mailing list, sign up here. We look forward to seeing you!

Sunday Worship – 10:00 am in the Sanctuary

Coffee Hour – 12:30 pm via Zoom

Vigil for Hope & Healing – 5:00 pm in front of Eliot

Immigration Justice Team – 7:00 pm on Zoom

Group leaders, have you set up an area for your group in Realm? You have a secure place to chat and share documents and photos. Contact Christie Lee to set up your group.

The temperature in the Sanctuary (and all areas of Eliot) is set for the same two-degree range year-round. The humidity levels in the Sanctuary (and all areas of Eliot) must be maintained at a specific range percentage in order to maintain a healthy building. If the humidity is too low, it lengthens the lifespan of airborne microorganisms, increasing viral illnesses and allergies. Too high, and it becomes an environment for mold, mildew, and rot. Our building leans to high humidity levels throughout the year. Maintaining humidity levels in the optimum range requires that the building be kept at certain temperatures that can only be increased or decreased by a single degree. Depending upon the time of the year this same temperature will seem comfortable and at other times, chilly.

After Eliot restored the Sanctuary exterior tuckpointing, we learned that to prevent further and future destruction of the building, the humidity levels must be maintained evenly. This protects the limestone walls, timbers, and tuckpointing, as well as prevents mold and mildew growth.  

We will be investigating whether installing dehumidifiers onto our seven HVAC systems will help maintain the humidity levels in the optimum range and permit the temperatures at Eliot to be more moderate.

Until then, please keep in mind that in the winter and summer months, the temperature may be chilly to you, and a sweater, wrap, or jacket may make your worship and service at Eliot more comfortable.

Did you see the Service of the Living Thursday at General Assembly? If not, it's available to view on the UUA website. You can see Rev. Barbara at about the 48-minute mark on YouTube but watch this whole powerful service!

We extend our best wishes to Rev. Barbara as she leaves Eliot Chapel and this chapter of her life. Congratulations! We will remember you with warm thoughts and memories and hope you flourish in retirement!

After talking with the board, other members, and incoming interim minister Rev. Doug Wadkins, your staff is now planning for one hour of Sunday worship/religious education this fall at 10:00 am.

Interim is a time for experimenting and learning together. We hope that this experiment will help foster more energy, spirit, and closeness as a community. What does this mean for things like choir, small groups, etc? We’re still working that out!

– Amy Carre

UU Wellspring groups offer an opportunity to discuss assigned readings, explore spiritual practices, and reflect on how we want to transform ourselves and our world. Groups meet twice a month for ten months starting this fall.

Learn more from the UU Wellspring brochure on our website. To sign up, email us at uuwellspring@eliotchapel.org. 

Let's walk together in the St. Louis Pridefest Parade on Sunday, June 26. As Unitarian Universalists, we support LGBT+ people through our First Principle, the inherent worth and dignity of every person. Walking in the Pride Parade is a way we show our support. If you're interested in participating, please give your name and contact information to Lynn Murphy through contactme@eliotchapel.org.

The Eliot Social Justice in Action Steering Committee welcomes nominations before June 30 for Shared Plate for the 2022-2023 church year. Shared Plate is Eliot’s program to divide Sunday offering and designated online gifts with community organizations that align with our mission. Additional criteria for nominees can be found on the nomination form here. 

In an email letter to members and friends, Rev. Barbara outlined "How We Do Church Now" as Eliot Chapel suspended face-to-face meetings. As a guiding document, it was always open to changes as we found out what worked and what didn't in our response to this extraordinary situation. You can find this document on our website now. We will keep it updated as things change. We'll also try to let you know here of any changes.

If you need assistance or have any questions, please email the appropriate staff person.

The Eliot Ride Team provides rides to church and to medical appointments for Eliot members and friends who cannot drive themselves. If you need a ride, email ineedaride@eliotchapel.org with your name, your address, where you need to go, and the date and time needed. We will be in touch to make arrangements. 

The Eliot Meal Train provides meals to Eliot members and friends who need some love and care. For example, we will provide meals for those who have recently lost a loved one or are recovering from medical care. If you would like to request meals or offer to provide meals, please email mealtrain@eliotchapel.org with your contact information and someone will be in touch with you.

Our COVID team is here for you. If you are quarantining and need support having groceries and prescriptions picked up, please email pastoralcare@eliotchapel.org with your contact information. 

Note that masks are optional

for outdoor activities.

In July, we remember how precious democracy is and how hard we must work to preserve it. In that remembrance, however, we must acknowledge that many in our own country are not free. All our brothers and sisters living here should be able to walk free of fear from governmental interference. That knowledge will not come until we create and implement humane immigration.

The Eliot Immigration Justice Team supports all such efforts. Recently, we hosted tables and donated baskets to IFCLA's annual fundraiser. We fed undocumented persons trekking to DC to lobby. And we welcomed home our friend Areli Reyes, a DACA holder who has graduated from Eastern Connecticut University and will pursue a master’s degree at Washington University. Our friend Rev. Gloria Kawang is living with an Eliot member while awaiting her religious worker visa. Come to the Zoom Immigration Justice Team meeting on Tuesday, June 28 at 7:00 pm to learn about these and many other opportunities to fight the good fight. We need YOU!

See the Eliot on Zoom email (arriving in your inbox on Sunday morning) or contact immigration@eliotchapel.org to link to the meeting.

The last few years have not been easy, including in our local congregations. Whole swaths of members have simply stopped coming; COVID is confusing, and polarizing; many ministers have joined the great resignation; and Pew studies and friends alike have pronounced the end of the local church. In this moment, when so many of us might be wondering if we should just give up, and relent, now’s the time instead to double down on our commitment to the local church – this unique community that saves us and also breaks our hearts – often much more of the latter than we’d like to admit.