Your offerings this Sunday go to the Minister's Discretionary Fund to assist our ministers in responding to requests for emergency aid throughout the year.  

You can give in one of three ways:

Online gatherings for children and youth will resume on Sunday, April 11. Families are encouraged to explore the at-home Easter resources and Chalice Home material, and to join the live Easter worship service via Zoom at 10:00 am.

For more information about activities for children and youth, please contact Scott Stewart at scott@eliotchapel.org or Christie Lee at christie@eliotchapel.org.

At 11:30 am, you are invited to “walk down the hall” and come to our Zoom Coffee Hour! We’ll take about 10 minutes or so to gather and let people settle in. We'll say a few words of welcome and then create break-out rooms – random groupings of 5 or 6 people. Everyone will likely make a new friend at Eliot from this exercise! You’ll have the chance to introduce yourself and then share your answers to a few questions, like “How has this week been for you?” and “What feelings has it brought up for you?” Each person has about 5 minutes to speak; you are welcome to pass if you like. In half an hour, everyone will return to the big group and we’ll say our goodbyes for the week. Please watch your email for "Eliot on Zoom" which will include a link to join the Zoom coffee hour. If you're not on our mailing list, sign up here.

Many groups at Eliot are meeting despite the distance between us all. Check with your group leader or get involved with a new group! Find contact information in our Getting Involved booklet.

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.

Please remember LaTosha Crayton and her family. Her grandmother, Blondell Joan Wade, passed away on Sunday, March 28.

Please remember Barb Jones who broke her shoulder this week.

Please Remember Georgie Herz who had right hand surgery this week.

The most important part of this process is listening to you. That’s why I encourage you to participate in one of the listening sessions we’re offering via Zoom starting April 11. You can sign up on Realm or see Eliot Chapel's website for each session date. Your perspective on the long-term direction of the church is important and you'll find the session rewarding and interesting. I look forward to seeing you in one of them. 

Would a transgender/non-binary support group be helpful to you? We are in tender times. There is more awareness of transgender and non-binary issues and more support for transgender and non-binary people. But the greater openness and acceptance has led to a backlash which is causing harm. Eliot Chapel is a welcoming congregation and we affirm the worth, value, and dignity of transgender and non-binary people. This congregation advocates for full inclusion and affirmation of all LGBTQ people and is also an oasis, a place of renewal and hope. If a transgender/non-binary group would be helpful to you, please let us know as we are determining if there is a desire/will to create one. Please contact either Rev. Krista Taves at ktaves@eliotchapel.org or Director of Religious Education Scott Stewart at eliotchapelre@gmail.com. 

As we contemplate all that we need to do to reopen our church, we are forming an advisory team to the minister and staff. Lots of planning, research, and policy-making still needs to be done. Especially helpful are people with medical or public health backgrounds, but I appreciate thoughtful folks who can help us plan with our whole community in mind. If you’re interested, please write to me at bgadon@eliotchapel.org. 

While you're on the Open Doors web page, take the opportunity to read the four testimonials written by Eliot members. You can also watch some video testimonials on the Open Doors web page.

See you next Saturday!

Looking for a nice restaurant to celebrate Earth Day, or just for a change of pace? Look at some of the options at the Green Dining Alliance. The Green Dining Alliance (GDA) is a restaurant sustainability certification program of earthday365, a 501c3 non-profit organization. The GDA works with restaurants to reduce their environmental impact by completing an on-site audit that evaluates all areas of operations, and setting personalized goals with each Member. Now you can celebrate sustainability in a sustainable manner! 

Prefer to eat at home and want to use locally grown ingredients? Try Known and Grown STL. There you can find stores and Farmers Markets that sell locally grown products plus farms that have CSA options.  

If you are ready to make this commitment, please email membership@eliotchapel.org and we will connect with you about next steps. If you wish to be recognized on April 11, please be in touch by April 5. 

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. 

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. Changes to RE information were made this week.

All staff are working from home. The building and grounds are closed for general use. A staff person is checking on the building and grounds periodically throughout the week for any facilities or maintenance issues. If you need assistance or have any questions, please email the appropriate staff person.

I know everyone has been eager to hear about Eliot reopening. We still don’t have a time frame, but as I said in my sermon on March 21, we have developed some guiding principles and metrics. We continue to value human life over immediate desires to be together, and following science over emotion. We want to allow the most vulnerable people among us to participate. To determine safety, we are watching the website, CovidActNow.org, which includes current risk levels for the St. Louis region. Right now, we are in the “orange” or high risk zone, shown here from April 1, 2021. Our metric for fully reopening is to be in the green zone, low risk, for 30 days.

And finally, we need help with this process! Lots of planning, research, and policy-making still need to be done. If you would like to be part of this advisory team, let me know. Especially helpful are people with medical or public health backgrounds, but I appreciate thoughtful folks who can keep us plan with our whole community in mind. If you’re interested, please write to me at bgadon@eliotchapel.org. 

The Environmental Justice team meeting will take place on Monday, April 5 at 7:00 pm via Zoom. See the Eliot on Zoom email for a link or send an email to environmentjustice@eliotchapel.org for the Zoom login or with questions. Please join us as we discuss Earth Day.

Eliot Chapel’s Women’s Alliance will meet on Tuesday, April 6 via Zoom. The meeting starts at 9:30 am with informal conversation and a brief business meeting, after which Claire Robertson will lead a book discussion on The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea. All Eliot women are welcome. Contact womensalliance@eliotchapel.org for information.

If you are unable to join in on Zoom, head over to the Eliot Unitarian Chapel Facebook page and you’ll be able to join us there. See you then!

Revs. Barbara and Krista invite you to a weekly Lunch with the Minister every Thursday at 12:30 pm. Bring your lunch or just bring yourself! Depending on the size of the group, we will hang out together in the main room or go into breakout groups. The link to join this Zoom meeting will be in the weekly Eliot on Zoom email. Check it out and get together!