In a recent TV series called The Bear, about chefs and a Chicago family, a character finds himself at a crossroads. When his life seems to have hit a low point and there is much chaos around him, he is given an unexpected opportunity to transform. How might we, in an era of stalemates and chaos, find courage to meet our crossroad? Join us.

Large-print orders of service and hearing assistance devices are available from the greeters on Sunday. We livestream our service; find it at eliotchapel.org. After the stream, a recording will be available there all week. You can also find it directly on our YouTube channel.

If you're worshipping with us on livestream, you can always find a digital order of service, including lyrics to the hymns, on our website. 

At Eliot Chapel, we follow CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19. When St. Louis County is at a Yellow or Medium Level, we will:

Read the letter about the review of our policy and the change in measures in response to a change in levels. You may access the policy document on Eliot Chapel's website for more of the details. 

In August, we will share the offering with Home Sweet Home, an organization that provides donated furniture and household items to clients transitioning out of homelessness. Home Sweet Home believes that establishing a first home stocked with the necessities for everyday life provides a sense of ownership and a source of stability at this crucial time.

Home Sweet Home serves clients who are referred by partner non-profits throughout the St. Louis region, including the Veterans Administration, St. Patrick Center, Women’s Safe House, Criminal Justice Ministry and St. Louis Crisis Nursery, among others. These people come with desperate needs for different reasons and from a variety of backgrounds. Our services are needed most by children, survivors of domestic abuse, veterans, people who are homeless, and ex-offenders looking for a new start. Working with our partners, Home Sweet Home picks up donations of new and gently used furniture and household items and delivers them to clients’ apartments or homes. Learn more at homesweethomestl.org.

Let us be good neighbors. Let us be a generous people. You can give in one of three ways:

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

The nursery & preschool activity space is OPEN during the 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 September 3. Tim Bubb, LaTosha Crayton, and Anna Beck are the staff members on duty.

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

We keep this tradition of hospitality alive by taking turns hosting. This is a simple task (instructions are available in a binder in the kitchen) and a great way to serve and connect. Please check the SignUpGenius for coffee hour volunteers to sign up to host Coffee Hour on a Sunday morning after the service. If you need help using SignUpGenius, please contact Rebecca Schuder at hospitality@eliotchapel.org and she will help you get signed up.

If there is no host by 3:00 pm on Thursday afternoon, there will be no coffee served on Sunday though we will still gather for social time. Please be respectful of Sunday staff as they have other responsibilities. Thank you to all the volunteers who keep this tradition alive!

Coffee, Conversation and Connections on Zoom! We've changed our name, but we're still there on Zoom at 12:30 pm every Sunday. You are invited to join us online for conversation after the service! We'll take a few minutes to say hello and let people settle in, then we'll go around the room to check in and welcome newcomers. Look for "Eliot on Zoom" in your email on Sunday morning; it will include a link to join us for Coffee, Conversation and Connection. 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 – 11:00 am in Adams Hall

Youth Group Team – 11:00 am in Room 006

Eliot Summer Meetup #3 – 11:30 am at Kirkwood Park

Women's Weekend Wrap-up – 11:30 am in Room 001

Young Adult Group – 11:45 am in the Triplett Room

Coffee, Conversation, and Connections – 12:30 pm via Zoom

Women's Alliance – 9:30 am off-site

Vigil for Hope & Healing – 5:00 pm on the front lawn

Immigration Justice – 7:00 pm in Adams Hall

Friday Freethinkers – 10:00 am in Room 001

As we have new staff in the front office scheduling your events and meetings, it is more important than ever to make contact to get on the calendar and then to check your entry for accuracy!

Planning a meeting or event? Start with our Room & Event Request Form! 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 Debby Lovell to set up your group.

This four-part series offers those considering Unitarian Universalism as a spiritual path the opportunity to experience UUism through a small group experience. You will learn about our faith tradition, explore your own spiritual journey, and connect with others who are also seeking a spiritual home or faith. Amy Stark and Gail Rock will facilitate the series. Longtime members and friends seeking a small group experience are also welcome.

Session 1: Your Journey – Sharing Our Stories and Spiritual Roadmaps

Session 2: The Unitarian Universalist Journey and the Journey of our Congregation

Session 3: Our Journey Together – The Three Paths of Unitarian Universalism Part 1

Session 4: The Three Paths, Part 2 and Finding Your Journey Group

Registration can be completed online at the Religious Education Registration page.

If you have any questions about registration, please contact Scott Stewart at scott@eliotchapel.org.

What are our developmental tasks in our later years? How do we allow our own mortality to become our teacher and deepen our spiritual life? This course will explore our experiences of older age and help us do the work needed to become an Elder. In letting go of past life roles and embracing the wisdom of old age, we can then embrace the messages we receive at this time of our lives, be fully present in the now, and continue along the twilight of our spiritual journey. We’ll use the book The Inner Work of Age: Shifting From Role to Soul, by Connie Zweig, Ph.D., as our guide. The course will run for 13 sessions (covering one chapter per session). Meetings will be held on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month beginning October 5, 2023 and concluding April 4, 2024 from 10:30 am to noon, at Eliot Chapel. Your facilitator will be Suzanne LeLaurin.

The class is limited to 12. For more information about the course, Suzanne’s information is in the directory or email role2soul@eliotchapel.org. 

Join the Immigration Justice Team for a workshop presented by IFCLA (Interfaith Committee on Latin America) on Wednesday, August 30 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm in Adams Hall. The workshop will explore how local immigration policy affects women/gender minorities and propose potential pathways for transformation. This is a hybrid event. We are looking forward to seeing you in person, but if you're unable to attend in person, a Zoom link will be sent to the registrants. Register here.

The Meacham Park backpack and school supply giveaway was a huge success. It was a day of fun, games, and fellowship with our neighbors at Meacham Park. Thank you Meacham Park Neighborhood Association for organizing this wonderful event.

Thank you also to all the people who came out to support this giveaway: Bob Becker and Carl Serbell for setting up and taking down Eliot’s games and booth; an extra thank you to Bob Becker for running the entire day in my stead; and thank you to Nancy Shepard, Hannah Stites, Rebecca Schuder, Lanette Tanaka, Nancy Spargo, Klara Weis, Ann Marie Hutson, Lisa Vitetta, and Teri Nicely for helping with the games.

I also want to thank Yvonne Serbell who helped me organize the school supplies and deliver them to The Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association as well as being part of the day. It was a successful day because of the help from all our Eliot volunteers! Thank you all so much for your help!!

Realm Is EliotConnects on the Website

We've had a few questions about where to find a link to Realm on the website. In fact, if you wish to visit Realm, you can find a link on every page! In the footer of any page on the Eliot website, you'll find a list of Useful Links. Click on EliotConnects and you will be taken to the Realm interface where you can check your giving, look for events, search the directory, and more!

We are delighted to announce that Eliot Chapel is participating in Kirkwood’s 62nd year of the Greentree Festival in September! We will have a booth to promote Eliot’s vision and mission, activities and offerings, and liberal faith community. We need volunteers to sign up to help on the planning team, with set up and take down, and to work shifts at the booth throughout the three-day festival. We want people and families to know we UUs do church a bit differently – in a good way – and they should come find out how!

The festival will be held from Friday, September 15 to Sunday, September 17, and attracts more than 30,000 visitors. It is a family-friendly festival featuring a parade, food vendors, live entertainment, arts & crafts booths, contests, and so much more.

Have some fun and help us promote our Eliot community to the larger Kirkwood community . . . and beyond! Please contact Ann Marie Hutson or Carole Glauser at greentree@eliotchapel.org if you want in on the fun.

Sign up as a family and serve Eliot while having fun together. Encourage your covenant group to sign up together. Sign up with a friend. Sign up yourself and meet and work with someone you don't know. Sign up today – we need you!

The front office will be closed for most of August to give time for the staffing transition. We are still here to help! Please communicate by phone or email. Thank you!

If you'd like to help on the volunteer team for the front office or inother areas that support the staff, you can sign up on SignUpGenius!

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.

At Eliot Chapel, we care for our earth and our building! One way you can express this is by joining the Eliot Recycling Team! This committee is responsible for taking the recycling from Eliot to the Kirkwood Recycling Depository at 350 S. Taylor Avenue each week. Sign up for a week that works for you and plan to grab the recycling after service to drop it off. Thanks for being part of the team!

Providing receptions after a Celebration of Life is another way we care for each other at Eliot Chapel. The Reception Team sets up, serves, and cleans up after these receptions. If you can be available once in a while to help, please email receptions@eliotchapel.org. Your efforts will be appreciated!

Sign-ups are open for Eliot Summer Adventure #3, the third in a series of informal opportunities for Eliot families and children to gather for fellowship and connection during the summer months. These gatherings are planned and hosted by Debbie Eldarrat, Susan van Alstyne, and Kalen Ponche. Debbie is the point-of-contact for this event.

The gathering is at Kirkwood Park on Sunday, August 20 from 11:30-1:30. We will meet by the playground area. The nearest parking lot is off Playground Dr. near the ballfields off of West Adams Ave. Bring a picnic lunch, blanket, and clothes/swimwear for a water battle, if so desired (this is optional). Kids may bring water guns or other “water devices” for this optional activity.

Advance RSVPs are helpful but by no means required.  Please contact Debbie Eldarrat directly to sign up, or if you have any questions, at eliotadventure@eliotchapel.org.

HUGE thanks to Susan van Alstyne, Kalen Ponche, and Deb Eldarrat for initiating and hosting these gatherings.

Women’s Alliance members will gather on Tuesday, August 22 for a field trip to the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park. Members requesting more information about this outing may contact womensalliance@eliotchapel.org.

Boy, are you in luck! You have the opportunity to attend the August Immigration Justice Team meeting in-person on Tuesday, August 22 at 7:00 pm in Adams Hall. If you do, you will see the exciting calendar of events the IJT has in store for our church! Movies, dinners, handicrafts, books, and even an opportunity to travel await those who come and volunteer a bit of time to make them happen. We are excited to see you – and you should be, too!