July 18, 2021
Tootsie: "Makeover and Transformation”
Rev. Linda Barnes and Sarah Dan Jones, Starr King UU Fellowship, Plymouth, NH
Stories can tell our hearts what our heads fail to comprehend. Tootsie, a romantic comedy from 1982, does just that. It offers an opportunity to understand the cost of gender roles and expectations and how these truths get complicated by attraction, identity, and agency. Join us as we explore, in conversation, how this movie spoke to who we were and who we are.
|
|
Our service video will be available at 10:00 am at eliotchapel.org and will remain there all week. You can also find it directly on Eliot Chapel's YouTube channel.
|
|
Sharing the Offering
In July, Eliot Chapel will share its bounty with the St. Louis Area Diaper Bank. The Diaper Bank exists to help strengthen low-income families in the St. Louis region by ensuring access to an adequate supply of diapers and by raising awareness about the causes and consequences of diaper need in our community.
There are NO public benefit programs (food stamps, WIC program) that allow for the purchase of diapers. The Diaper Bank distributed 3,285,354 Diapers in 2020, serving 65,707 children. Volunteers are welcome to help count, wrap and distribute diapers at the diaper bank year-round.
Bottoms up!
|
|
Here’s how you can give:
-
Online: Click here. Make sure “Shared Plate” is your chosen fund.
-
By Mail: Please write “Diaper Bank” in the memo line of your check and mail it to Eliot Unitarian Chapel, 100 South Taylor Ave., Kirkwood, MO 63122.
-
By Text: Text "Eliot SharedPlate $(enter the amount)" to 73256. A link in the reply text will take you to our secure database webpage where you can complete your transaction. Please note, "SharedPlate" must be entered as one word to reach that preferred option.
|
|
Religious Education
Online Religious Education (RE) and youth group gatherings have concluded for 2020-21. Information about the 2021-22 program will be shared over the upcoming months as plans are made and details fall into place.
UU Resources for at-home exploration: Families are encouraged to explore the online Religious Education Resources on the church website, found here, for at-home UU exploration. Resources include a Social Justice Summer Reading List for children, UU coloring pages, YouTube videos, parent resources, and more.
|
|
Zoom Coffee Hour
At 11:30 am on Sunday, 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.
Sunday at a Glance
Summer Sunday Walking Series – 8:00 am at Queeny Park
Online Church Service – 10:00 am on Eliot Chapel website
Coffee Hour – 11:30 am via Zoom
Young Adult Group – 12:30 pm on Discord
|
|
Tuesday, July 20
Women's Alliance – 9:30 am via Zoom
Vigil for Hope & Healing – 6:00 pm in front of Eliot
Thursday, July 22
Grief Group – 6:30 pm via Zoom
Contact your group leader if you need login information for your meeting.
|
|
Reminder: Getting Involved with Groups
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
The family of long-time beloved member, Bruce Williams, invites all from our congregation to attend a memorial and celebration of life for Bruce, who passed away December 26, 2020 with Alzheimer's Disease.
10:00 am
Thursday, August 12, 2021
Chapel Hill Mortuary
10301 Big Bend Road
Kirkwood, MO 63122
|
|
When we shared the news of Anne Marie Grassmann last week, her name was misspelled. We apologize for the error.
|
|
BOARD BITS
New Ends for Eliot Chapel
The Board sends an enormous THANK YOU to everyone who contributed at the listening sessions with all their creative thinking and "heart-work" during Project Renew. Project Renew was the process to develop the new Ends for Eliot Chapel. The Ends are the ultimate goals and priorities for Eliot Chapel. Eliot undergoes this refreshing of the Ends once every few years. These Ends are meant to – among other things – serve as a steady beacon to help guide the whole of Eliot Chapel in the direction of its ideal future. The final version of the new Ends was approved by the Board on June 15th.
These new Ends are important and can be found on the Board of Trustees section of the Eliot Chapel website. You can expect to hear more about the Ends throughout the church year. The new statement of Eliot's Ends is as follows:
We the people of Eliot Unitarian Chapel:
- Explore our Unitarian Universalist faith with each other and our children.
- Ground ourselves in individual and communal practice to deepen our spiritual lives.
- Engage in anti-racism and all justice work as a spiritual practice.
- Grow a community of joyous and radical belonging, engaged in courageous dialogue.
- Generously give and receive care in times of joy, transition, and sorrow.
- Sustain and steward our church financially and spiritually toward a joyous and dynamic future.
|
|
Eliot Supports the Meacham Park Back to School Rally
Every August the Meacham Park Neighborhood Association holds a Back to School Rally for their children. Let’s help this year’s event be a resounding success! There are two ways to support the Rally:
1. Donate School Supplies. These are the supplies needed:
- new spiral notebooks
- glue sticks
- crayons
- scissors
- rulers
- erasers
- watercolor markers (both fat and thin)
- pens
- pencils
- backpacks
Donations can be placed in the large box located at the outside entrance to Adams Hall by Monday, August 9. Parents, this is a great opportunity to help your children experience service. Ask them to choose items to donate while shopping for their own school supplies.
2. Volunteer at Eliot Chapel’s Carnival-Style Booth at the Rally on August 14. There will be a cornhole toss, bead-stringing, play dough, balloon fun, and more. Masking and social distancing will be observed at our booth, in addition to the COVID protocol set out by the Meacham Park Neighborhood Association. To volunteer, email socialjustice@eliotchapel.org and Janet Solecki, our representative on the Meacham Park Neighborhood Association, will be in touch with you.
|
|
Eliot Celebrates Staff Anniversaries
Please join us in celebrating these recent staff anniversaries:
- Rev. Krista Taves celebrated her first anniversary as Minister of Congregational Life on April 16.
- Noel Burke celebrated her fourth anniversary as a member of the RE Staff on June 1.
- Sarah Price celebrated her first anniversary as our Music Director on July 1.
- Myron Simms celebrated his 11th anniversary with Eliot Chapel and his fourth anniversary as Facilities Manager on July 1.
Thank you! We appreciate all you do to enrich our Eliot community!
|
|
REMINDER: NEW FISCAL/PLEDGE YEAR BEGAN JULY 1, 2021
Your Online Pledge Payments Need Your Attention
July 1, 2021 was the first day of the new Eliot Chapel Fiscal/Pledge Year of 2021-2022.
We realize Eliot Chapel's fiscal and pledge year are confusing. Everyone thinks of "year" as the calendar year of January to December. However, a corporation like Eliot Chapel (EUC was incorporated in 1959), follows a different calendar year for its fiscal year. Eliot Chapel's fiscal calendar year is July 1 to June 30. This means that the pledge card members and friends were asked to fill out and return to Eliot Chapel back in March became effective July 1, 2021.
Because we have just ended one fiscal/pledge year and started a new one, there are several things pledgers who pay via online giving need to do now that we are in a new fiscal/pledge year.
If the following directions confuse you, please contact the Front Office at frontoffice@eliotchapel.org or admin@eliotchapel.org and we will help you delete your 2020-2021 pledge payment and/or set up a new online giving pledge payment for 2021-2022.
- If you still need/want to fulfill your 2020-2021 pledge, you can continue to do so. Leave your current Online Pledge for 2020-2021 as it is.
- If you have fulfilled your 2020-2021 Pledge, or have a balance on your 2020-2021 Pledge and do not wish to fulfill it but want to start fulfilling your 2021-2022 Pledge you need to do the following:
- Delete the 2020-2021 Online Giving Pledge.
- Create a NEW Online Giving Pledge payment and select 2021-2022 Fiscal Year as the Fund.
- Follow the rest of the Online Giving directions, selecting your choice of payment options (bank withdrawal, credit card, etc.), and your date of withdrawal.
- You're all set for your future donations to be applied to the Current Fiscal/Pledge Year of 2021-2022.
- If you still need/want to fulfill your 2020-2021 Pledge AND start fulfilling your 2021-2022 Pledge at the same time, please do the following:
- Leave your 2020-2021 Online Giving Pledge payment as it is. We will notify you when you have fulfilled your pledge.
- Create a NEW Online Giving Pledge payment and select 2021-2022 Fiscal Year as the Fund.
- Follow the rest of the Online Giving directions, selecting your choice of payment options (bank withdrawal, credit card, etc.), and your date of withdrawal.
- Your bank or credit card will withdraw twice – once for the 2020-2021 Fiscal/Pledge and once for the 2021-2022 Fiscal/Pledge.
If you have not yet submitted your pledge card for 2021-2022, please use this link to the Online Pledge Card.
Even if you are a Sustaining Member or Sustaining Friend, the Front Office still needs a "physical" pledge card so a pledge can be entered into Eliot's database by which to track your pledge contributions. You can fill out the Online Pledge Card, or simply email frontoffice@eliotchapel.org or admin@eliotchapel.org and state the amount you wish to pledge for the Fiscal/Pledge Year of 2021-2022.
Thank you for your support of Eliot Chapel!
|
|
COVID Support Team
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.
|
|
Reminder: Staying Up to Date
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. No changes 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.
|
|
Summer Sunday Walking Series with Rev. Krista Taves
July 18 at Queeny Park
8:00 – 9:30am
Enjoy cool mornings, good exercise, and great company! We'll visit a different park each Sunday morning, meeting at 8:00 am for coffee and conversation and then heading off for our walk at 8:30 am, finishing by 9:30 am just in time for our online Sunday Service and Coffee Hour! This week, we'll be at Queeny Park. See registration links for this week and future Sundays at the end of the article.
Please remember:
- Bring your own beverages and lawn chair.
- Families are welcome!
- Each park has a playground and bathrooms near the meeting area.
- The walks range from 1–3.5 miles, with turnaround points built into the longer walks to allow for different abilities and ages. The shorter routes are paved.
- You will need to register for each walk separately. Attendance is capped at 25 for each walk.
- When you register you will receive a trail map showing the routes and the arrival location. Please print the map and bring it with you.
COVID PROTOCOLS
- All participants must sign a waiver and our COVID covenant for each walk.
- There are no shared items between households. Bring your own beverages, drinking containers, and lawn chairs.
- Please refrain from hugging or shaking hands.
- If you are showing COVID symptoms please do not attend. If you have registered, please cancel your registration to allow room for someone else.
- Individuals and pods must maintain six feet of distance from each other and wear a mask when that is not possible.
- Bring your own hand sanitizer.
July 25 - Tower Grove Park, 4257 Northeast Drive, St. Louis. Register here.
|
|
Women’s Alliance
Women’s Alliance will meet via Zoom Tuesday, July 20, at 9:30 am for conversation, followed by a presentation around 10:00 am by Scott Wolfe, Visitor’s Experience Specialist, St. Louis Public Libraries, on the large and fascinating Central Library Headquarters in downtown St. Louis. For further information, contact womensalliance@eliotchapel.org.
|
|
Vigil for Hope & Healing
Tuesday, July 20
6:00 – 7:00 pm in front of Eliot Chapel
All are welcome; wearing a mask is required as is maintaining the 6-foot social distancing guideline. Please remember that the building is not open so there are no available restrooms.
|
|
Grief Group
Eliot Chapel's grief group meets every other Thursday from 6:30 to 8:00 pm via Zoom. This support group is open to all members and friends. The next meeting is Thursday, July 22. If you wish to join the group, please email Rev. Krista Taves for connection information.
|
|
July 25, 2021
Adventures in Misunderstanding:
Lessons from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
Rev. Christina Leone-Tracy and the worship staff at the Fox Valley UU Fellowship in Appleton, WI
This classic Tim Burton stop-motion animation movie tells the story of Halloween Town and one resident's desire for something more in life. But ultimately he discovers he needs to be true to himself and his community! Join us for an exploration of the themes of this family-friendly story of holidays, culture, communication, self-exploration, and striving for more.
|
|
|
|
ourEliot promotes and enables healthy communications as promised to one another through the Congregational Covenant. If you have a compliment, suggestion, or concern that is important to communicate to a responsible party, please email ourEliot@eliotchapel.org. |
|
Connect with Eliot Chapel |
|
|
|
|
|
|
