A Unitarian Universalist Church | 1800 Bell Ave. Des Moines, IA 50315

P: 515-244-8603

Fragile & Strong

with YRUU & Rev. Victoria Safford

Pianist: Bruce Martin

Director of Choirs: Karen Kraemer

Music: U.U. Singers

Alto saxophone: Sawyer Evans

Song Leader: Sarah Chang

A/V volunteer: Bill Allen

Pastoral Care: Laura Berardi, Jim Carty

Hospitality Coord.: Terry Meek

Join the live service on Zoom!

Zoom Passcode: Safford

(Please mute your mic before the service begins!)

Joys & Concerns for Sunday should be submitted by noon on Friday.

Click on the Caring Community webpage for the following options:

• Caring Ministry – for temporary assistance, such as meals or rides, or to volunteer 
• Please note: the Caring Ministry phone number is now
• 515-244-8603 ext. 108
• Pastoral Care – for support through a difficult time 

Laura Berardi and Jim Carty are the Pastoral Care Associates available for this service time. Please email pastoralcareteam@ucdsm.org for assistance during the week.

NEWS THIS WEEK

This section holds events happening this week, as well as articles submitted in the past 7 days. Be sure to continue scrolling to read about other upcoming events, church news, and social justice efforts!g

In Memoriam

A memorial service for Bill Leonard will be held on Saturday, April 15: visitation at 2:00 p.m; memorial service at 3 p.m.

A memorial service for Mary Kelly will be held on Saturday, April 22 at 2:00 p.m.

A memorial service for Susan Gross will be held on Saturday, May 6, at 2:00 p.m.

PLEASE PLEDGE RIGHT NOW!

This past Sunday, Stewardship chair Mike Merritt told us that about 1/3 of members have made a pledge to support the operating budget for the coming year. THAT’S GREAT! ... and also not quite great enough. We’re hoping to wrap up the Stewardship Drive this coming Sunday, April 15, and we need your help right now.

This church is so strong:



It’s a house of hope, with an unshakable vision for equality and justice.

It’s a house of deep friendships, some decades old and some just starting to blossom.

It’s a house of wise elders and wise youth, tall trees and young saplings,

and everybody in between.

It’s built on a solid foundation. You’ve come through turbulent times, emerging this spring as strong and sturdy as ever. In a few weeks you’ll welcome a new minister to companion you through the next exciting steps of your journey. Let’s show them what’s possible.

On Monday, April 16, the Board will review all your program requests against pledges actually received, from Family Promise to Sunday coffee, from adult classes to the Trans Lives Festival, from building maintenance and fair wages to transforming faith formation for children and youth. We want to bring a balanced budget to the Annual Meeting in June. Please make your pledge now to fund the year that runs from July 2023-June 2024. Your payments won’t start till July 1.

You can make your pledge by filling out the card that came in the mail, or do it easily online. Be sure you are making a NEW PLEDGE for NEXT YEAR (July 1, 2023 - June 30, 2024)! Our system requires you to make a new commitment every year. To make your pledge, click here.

With any questions, contact Alice in the church office: director@ucdsm.org.

Thank you.

– Victoria Safford

Looking Forward Together –

Budget Planning for FY24

You’re invited to join members of your Board of Trustees and your Minister for one of two conversations about the FY 2023-2024 budget to be presented at this year’s Annual Meeting in June. We’ll share an update on the current draft budget, and look forward to hearing your ideas, input, and suggestions. This draft budget will have been revised since our last gatherings (in January) to reflect the results of this year’s Stewardship Campaign, which ends on April 15. Conversations will be held in Griffin Hall on Saturday, April 22 at 10:30 a.m. and Sunday, April 23 at 11:00 a.m. in place of the Sunday Forum. Participants may join the Sunday gathering on Zoom. With questions, contact Reba Eagles, President at boardoftrustees@ucdsm.org or Victoria Safford, Minister vsafford@ucdsm.org.

Unity Circle April 2023

Unity Circle will meet Thursday, April 20 , at noon, first with a potluck, then with speaker Rev. Victoria Safford. She says:



"I'd like to speak with the group about generational change, in Unitarian Universalism generally, and specifically at First Unitarian. So much has shifted, even in the last 5 years, in congregational life and in our movement. What losses are we mourning, what challenges are we facing, and what possibilities are opening before us in new and exciting ways?  I'm particularly interested in how (and whether) Unitarian Universalism can be relevant and life-giving to younger members, families and children."

Please come with questions so we can have a conversation. 

Please bring a dish to share, and your own table service and beverage.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Humanist Update

Book Group

The Humanist book group meets at noon on the first and third Sunday of each month, both in person at the church (right after the forum) and via Zoom at.  The next meeting will be on April 16, when we will discuss chapters 6 and 7 of Finding Darwin's God: A Scientist's Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution. 

Watch Party

The Watch Party format will resume on Sunday, April 23. Join us at 1:00 PM at the Stine Barn in West Des Moines to watch and discuss the Bill Maher 2008 documentary film Religulous. Email humanistsocietyofiowa.org if you have any questions or suggestions for future programs.

Women's Wednesdays – April 26

Topics chosen by women, about women, discussed by women.

Meets the last Wednesday of every month from 1:30 – 3:00 p.m. in the Peace Library.

1:30-2 p.m: General meet and greet, catch-up.

2 p.m. – 3 p.m: Discussion

This month's topics (choose one or both!): "Red Lights: Fresh Starts"

& "Bumper Stickers: Describe your life in 10 words or fewer."

Fellowship, Food, & FUNds #23

List Now Available!

The list is up and it’s time to prepare for our biggest fundraiser of the year, FFF 23!

Mark your calendar for the FFF 23 Sale Kickoff and Potluck, Saturday, April 29, 5-7:30 p.m. Sale continues Sunday, April 30, 10:30 a.m. – noon. Check the list for events centered around meals scheduled throughout the year and auction food items all offered by UU members and friends. Choose your purchases early to be ready for the sale. Sales are in-person only. 

Out of town at the end of the month? Designate a friend to purchase and bid for you. All events must be paid for before leaving the room. Highest bids will be paid on Sunday at end of the sale.

Would you like to help with the sale? Sign up here!

Big Tent II

from the Ministry of Fun

It's happening!! BIG TENT II!!! May 21 after church in Pete Crivaro Park.

This will be a potluck event because nobody does a potluck better than we do! The main course will be provided. We will also have drinks on hand.  

If you have a lawn game to share, please email the Ministry of Fun and let me know!

Grab your Frisbee and come join us in the park!!

Ceremony of Dedication

for Older Children

& Those with New Names

Our service on Sunday, June 4, will include a Child Dedication Ceremony. Most often we hold Dedications for families with infants and toddlers, but this time we’re extending the invitation to children of all ages, right up through high school. Some families arrive at the congregation long after their children are little; others, for lots of reasons, choose not to have a dedication when their kids are small, or didn’t get around to it in the bustle of those early years. For others, this can be a welcome opportunity to mark and celebrate a new name for their child (perhaps one the child has chosen for themself as they’ve come into new and truer identity). If you’d like your family to be included in this special dedication, or just want to know more, send me a note at vsafford@ucdsm.org. (And of course: if your child is an infant and you’d like to take part, we’ll welcome them too, with joy, on this day!

Victoria's Spring Calendar

Friends, you may always reach me at vsafford@ucdsm.org or at 612-405-3318 (a cell number dedicated to church work). We can schedule a Zoom appointment when I am working remotely from St. Paul, or we can meet at church or in your home when I’m here in Des Moines, or simply talk by phone. If you’d like to meet in person during an upcoming visit, please reach out to schedule an appointment! You can view my calendar here.

Submissions to the Intercom Weekly are due on Wednesday at 12 noon. Submissions after the deadline cannot be guaranteed a spot in that week's newsletter.

Want to publicize your church event? We have a form for that!

Visit our "Our Events" page to fill out the form.

Email communications@ucdsm.org with any questions.

UU Board Game Night

Friday, April 14, 6 – 10 p.m. in Griffin Hall

Welcome: All

Please join fellow UU friends for a fun night of board games in Griffin Hall. Bring your favorite game as well as any beverages or snacks you might want to share.

Contact gamenight@ucdsm.org with any questions!

Transforming Hearts Workshop

Date change, class still open!

The UU movement has come a long way in LGBTQ+ inclusion, but there’s still a long way to go. Meanwhile, trans and non-binary people are under attack in our country in wildly escalating ways.

We need to dig deeper. This program goes beyond “trans 101”— it’s a six-session course that explores the theological grounding of radical welcome; your own gender journey; trans identity, experiences, and spirituality; the role of culture in inclusion; and how to engage in culture shift.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the class dates have been shifted a week later than originally announced. The class will be held in the Peace Conference Room at the church on Tuesdays, April 11 – May 16, 7 – 8:30 p.m.



Join us! Please email tag@ucdsm.org to sign up by this Sunday, April 9.

What to expect: Each week we will watch a 45- to 55-minute lecture by Rev. Mykal Slack and Zr. Alex Kapitan, two trans/non-binary UU leaders, and discuss the content together. In between sessions there are supplemental resources we can engage with on our own.

Amilia K. Spicer In Concert!

April 22, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.

Join the Progressive Voices Concerts Team on April 22 and 7 p.m. in the Auditorium to hear this amazing artist! More information here!

Tickets: $22 Advance /$27 Door

Ticket Link: www.brownpapertickets.com/producer/54589

Tickets also for sale in the gathering area after Sunday services.

A limited number of complimentary tickets for the Joe Jencks concert are available for those otherwise unable to afford to attend. Please speak confidentially with our minister, Victoria Safford, to obtain them.

Come to the May 6 Covenant Workshop!

Covenant is at the heart of Unitarian Universalism from the beginning—what are the promises we make to each other as we journey together in religious community. It is the third of the key documents that congregations need: to understand their mission, create their vision, and articulate a covenant on how you will be while you’re working your mission and toward your vision. 

In 2019, First Unitarian created both our mission and vision, but we haven’t clearly articulated our covenant. It’s time for us to articulate explicitly how we want to be with each other, to unearth what is implicit in our community, and to create

the culture that we want to have in our congregation.

Rev. Dr. Lisa Presley, one of the MidAmerica Congregational Life Consultants, has worked with our leadership before, and now she will be here to engage the whole congregation in delving-in to our covenant. She specializes in covenant and safe congregations issues, as well as working with the UUA’s Hope For Us conflict resolution team. She has worked for the UUA for 16 years, and brings her skills and gifts to help us understand what’s important to us in how we are together.

The Covenant Workshop will be Saturday, May 6, from 9:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.  Please come and be part of building our Covenant. We promise the coffee, donuts and bagels will be good!  

-Rev. Safford and the Right Relations Team (Bill Brauch, Scott Clair, Linda Lemons, Jean Rommes and Katherine Vance)

Unsung UU Nominations for 2023

Now Open!

Deadline: May 12, 2023

The Board of Trustees is currently accepting nominations for the 2023 Unsung UU Award to be presented at the annual meeting in June. Each year the Board of Trustees presents this award to a member or friend of our church who works tirelessly behind the scenes, is someone we can always count on, and is always willing to assist when needed.

Please help us identify the Unsung UU for 2023 by completing this form and emailing it to unsunguu@ucdsm.org by May 12, 2023.

You're Invited!

from the Memorial Reception Committee

This is a special committee that functions at the time of the passing of a member or friend of our church community. It is a time that we help and support families as they honor & celebrate the life of their loved one. Our next memorial reception will be for Mary Kelly’s service on April 22, 2023. 

The functions of this committee include helping with set up, providing baked items for the reception, ushering, serving at the reception, helping with clean up/ re-setting and anything else as needed. 

If you would like to be part of this special ministry team, let me know. 

Thank you, Lynne George.

Griffin Gallery Artist April

Tanya Lichinsky received her education in painting, life drawing, still life, sculpture, and art history from Repin's School of Fine Art in Moldova. Oppressive political conditions in the former Soviet Union pushed her to make the decision to look for a stable life in the United States. She has been drawing and painting since early childhood and has developed unprecedented taste and vision through years of industry and freelance experience. Creation has become a necessity where any medium, be it watercolors, acrylic, oil, or pencil, is utilized. Her muse can be exotic, but it can also be anything from everyday life or even something out of a negative space that looks interesting.

This piece was inspired by Barbados, 40x40 acrylic on canvas.

Our current partnerships run from September 2022 through August 2023. They were selected by our members at our June 2022 annual meeting. The organizations are:

Hawthorn Hill

Our Champion is Sally Boeckholt

Let's Talk

Our Champion is Ellen Taylor

Faith In Action: It's Time to Nominate Partners for 2023-24!

Led by our Faith in Action (FIA) Coordinating Team, our congregation selects two nonprofit organizations each to receive financial support with proceeds from our Sunday service collection. Recipients are nominated by church members and chosen at our annual church meeting in early June. We have proudly worked with more than 20 organizations, including Al Exito, Candeo, Central Iowa Shelter and Services, and more. Our current partners are Let's Talk and Hawthorn Hill, who began receiving contributions in September, and have each received over $4,500.00 so far this fiscal year.

Each spring, the FIA Coordinating Team solicits applications from congregation members for outside organizations to become one of our two annual Faith in Action partners. Now is the time to make your nominations!

Each nominated organization needs to be nominated by a church member, and must have a "champion" who will work with the FIA team to promote the organization throughout the year. The links below explain the program in more detail, and will guide you to the nomination form on our website.

Nominations must be received by 4/30/23, and the FIA team will be sharing more about our nominees during May.

Thanks to ALL of the congregation for expanding our reach in Central Iowa through Faith in Action

https://www.ucdsm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/FIA-Partnership-Responsibilities.pdf

https://www.ucdsm.org/faith-in-action/

Tell Congress to Advance

a Climate-Smart Farm Bill in 2023!

from Write Here, Write Now!

This month we’ll write our Senators and Representatives to advocate for a Farm Bill that brings about fairness, especially to farmers and farm workers of color who have been left out of earlier bills, and that encourages production of sustainably grown, healthful food rather than commodity crops grown in ways that deplete soil and pollute our waterways.

The current Farm Bill expires on September 30, 2023, so both the House and Senate are actively working on drafting a new five-year Farm Bill. Our Representatives and Senators need to hear from us now so that the Farm Bill, as enacted, reflects our UU values.

Join in urging Senators Grassley and Ernst, and Representative Nunn, to redirect Farm Bill funding to reduce hunger, promote sustainable farming practices, fight climate change, and make our agricultural sector more equitable.

The deadline to mail letters is April 17.  You can send your letters by US Mail, by e-mail, or by direct online submission. Those sending by e-mail or direct online submission have a few more days beyond the 17. The details, including a model letter, are available via the link below or on request via e-mail: writenow@ucdsm.org.

Link to model letter and information, including a link to send your letters online:   

UUSJ Model Letter

AMOS Makes Big Wins,

and First U's Are Leading!

AMOS is powering ahead with lots of wins for the people's priorities! In the last year we:

• Removed police as the first responder to individuals in mental health crisis! The city added a mental health professional on the 911 line to send a Mobile Crisis Team (with extended hours!) to answer the needs of children with mental health crises--saving them from encounters with police.
• Started negotiations with the City of Des Moines leaders to bring permanent affordable housing to the metro in the form of a community land trust.
• Convinced the Polk County Board of Supervisors to adopt our plan to devote $1.8 million in county American Rescue Plan funds to recruit and retain 90 mental health therapists in Polk County over the next 5 years.
• Initiated a Public Schools research team to address pressures on public educators both locally and at the state level.

Want to learn more about the First U AMOS team? Email amosevents@ucdsm.org

Want to learn more about how AMOS operates and engage other AMOS leaders? Come to AMOS Training on April 28-29 here in DSM. More info coming soon.

IUUWAN's New Website is Live!

The Iowa UU Witness Advocacy Network (IUUWAN) is your statewide UU social justice network! You are invited to visit their new website at www.iuuwan.com to explore ways that Iowa's UUs can collaborate on LGBTQ+, equality, racial, and environmental justice issues and solutions.

Rev. Victoria Safford, Transitional Contract Minister

vsafford@ucdsm.org

Office phone: 515-244-8603 ext. 102

Cell: 612- 405-3318

Alice J. Stewart, Director of Finance and Administration

director@ucdsm.org

515-244-8603 ext. 101

Mondays: by appointment

Tuesdays – Thursdays: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Fridays: by appointment

Zoom meetings available upon request

Birch Spick, Faith Formation Coordinator

& Congregational Life Coordinator

FFOffice@ucdsm.org

CLOffice@ucdsm.org

515-244-8603 ext. 106

Off Mondays

Tuesday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Emily Petty, Communications Coordinator

communications@ucdsm.org

515-244-8603 ext. 103

Off Mondays

Tuesday-Friday: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

To submit an item for the Intercom, email communications@ucdsm.org by Wednesday at noon.

Hannah Notch, Social Media and Executive Support Specialist

hnotch@ucdsm.org

Tuesday - Friday: 1:00 - 5:00 pm

To have an event or meeting added to the church calendar, email Hannah at calendar@ucdsm.org