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

P: 515-244-8603

Proud Flesh

with Rev. Victoria Safford

Celebrant: Bill Brauch

Chalie Lighter: Laila Evans

Pianist: Bruce Martin

Director of Choirs: Karen Kraemer

Music: Tom McGiverin & Clarissa Nagel

Song Leader: Sarah Guenther

A/V volunteer: Kent Newman

Pastoral Care: Gene McCracken, Barb Glass

Hospitality Coordinator: 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 

Gene McCracken and Barb Glass are the Pastoral Care Associates available for this service time. Please email pastoralcareteam@ucdsm.org for assistance during the week.

Please note: The Des Moines Women's Half Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, May 7, at 8:00 a.m. Due to construction, the route this year utilizes Bell Ave. and Thomas Beck Rd. with possible police detours in place. Please plan your commute to church accordingly!

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 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.

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.  The next meeting will be on May 7, when we will discuss chapters 8 and 9 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.

Secular Summit

Mark your calendar for Saturday, June 10, when you can join the Humanist Society of Iowa and the Iowa Atheists and Freethinkers for an afternoon program that will feature several excellent speakers and stimulating discussion. More details will follow as the plans are finalized.

Amilia K. Spicer In Concert!

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

Join the Progressive Voices Concerts Team on April 22 and 7:30 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 this concert are available for those otherwise unable to afford to attend. Please speak confidentially with our minister, Victoria Safford, to obtain them.

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!

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

Don’t miss our annual food fair event Fellowship, Food and FUNds (FFF #23) Sale Kickoff and Potluck, Saturday, April 29, 5-7:30pm! Bring a dish to share and your cash, check or credit card for purchases. Plates, silverware, lemonade and iced tea provided. Sale continues Sunday, April 30, 10:30am-noon. Bidding closes at noon.

Purchases are in person only! Can’t make it? Designate a friend to shop for you. Check this list for events and food items offered. Events are set prices, items are silent auction bidding.

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!

Want to Dip Your Toes in AMOS?

Then join us on a neighborhood walk to see what residents on the southside would like to see in affordable housing in their neighborhood. You'll be paired with one or more AMOS folks knowledgeable about the Community Land Trust that AMOS proposed to the city--and now has planning in full swing.

May 6, 9 a.m. – Noon

For more information or to sign up contact Cheryl Long.

Save The Date: Come Celebrate May 7!

from the Kitchen Project Committee

Our Sunday, May 7th, service will be a Commemoration of the renovated church kitchen with a Dedication ceremony by Reverend Victoria. We will acknowledge the project team members that are managing this project into fruition plus all the wonderful donors that made it possible. After the 9:30 am service, a catered brunch will be served in Griffin Hall. All First Unitarian Church members and friends are invited to attend and share in our celebration of the modernization of our 64-year-old kitchen.

Our new dish machine has been moved out of Griffin Hall to its final resting place in the kitchen where it awaits the hookup of water and electricity that will enable it to function. And function it will! This GMA Ventless Model will clean the toughest stains and sterilize the cups, pots and pans, etc. to boot. The dish machine has a number of practical and environmental advantages, because it condenses the steam and recycles the hot water, saving water, energy, the amount of chemicals needed, and not requiring a vent out the roof.

This new and wonderful addition to our new kitchen will allow for much more efficient, hygienic, and timely cleaning of our dishes. Here are a few additional advantages of this high temp machine based on its faster wash cycles; usually 90 seconds per load. The hotter water also helps dishes dry faster, making them readily available for reuse or reshelving.

See more information on the Kitchen Project Webpage!

It's Time for NoMowMay in Des Moines!

Here’s your invitation to join this experience! Carolyn Uhlenhake Walker, Joann Muldoon, and myself, Janice Hawkins, want you to join us in inviting our pollinators back to our yards, our cities, and the state. Since the 1970s, the number of pollinators has dropped by 50%, which is a threat to the survival of life on Earth, including human life. Increasing their habitat is one way to bring back these pollinators, which include: butterflies, bees (honey bees & about 350 native Iowa species!), moths & hummingbirds.



How can you participate? Allow pollinators to enjoy the low-growing plants that are an important source of pollen & nectar in April & May before other plants have bloomed. Mow less, mow higher. Use fewer herbicides, insecticides, & fertilizers. Seriously focus on replacing non-native turf with native plantings that will bring visual interest & color to your yard.

We invite you to come to the Gathering Area between Service & Forum (10:30-11:00) on Sunday, Apr 23, and/or Sunday, Apr 30. We’ll ask you to complete a form & provide you with a sign. Or you can save time by completing the form here! That way, yours will be ready to go when you come to church. One sign will be given for each Des Moines address. If you wish for another, a freewill cash offer of up to $5 would be appreciated. If you live outside of Des Moines, a freewill cash donation of up to $10 would be appreciated. If you live out of the area, we’d ask you to honor whatever the weed ordinance has listed for maximum height of your grass. Email NMMDesMoines2023@gmail.com with any questions.

See ucdsm.org for further details!

General Assembly (GA) 2023

from Linda Lemons

General Assembly (GA) 2023 "Faithfully Becoming" will be held in Pittsburgh, PA, from June 21-25, 2023 in-person or virtually as best meets your needs. Delegates will be voting on Article II, and deciding whether it is time to add values and new covenants. The UUA Board of Trustees is receiving feedback from all UUs, regarding Article II through the end of the month. Please click here  to share your thoughts. A presentation of the Article II Study Commission submitting their Proposed Article II to the UUA Board can be found here.  

Please click here to register to hear Sofice Betancourt, candidate for UUA President.  I think you will be impressed.

Rev. 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.

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)

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!

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/

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