Sunday, September 17 – 10:00 am

“Welcome: Opening the Door Wider” – Rev. Krista Taves  

Let’s explore how we embrace welcoming in a time of polarization. When do we protect ourselves, when do we open the door even wider?

Religious Education & Youth Group

The 2023-24 Religious Education and Youth Program continues this Sunday, September 17 during the 10:00 service. Children and youth aged four and older should attend the first 15 minutes of the worship service with their family. The nursery opens at 9:30 for children aged three and younger and those who need freedom of movement. Religious Education (RE) classes and youth gatherings will begin at 10:15.

Specific plans for each age group are shared with registered families via email each week. To learn more about this fall’s Religious Education (RE) program, please contact Scott Stewart at scott@eliotchapel.org.

Reminder: There is an Our Whole Lives (OWL) Information Session from 11:15-11:45 in the Youth Room for parents & caregivers of 4th & 5th grade children.

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

Coffee Hour

Coffee Hour is an important tradition of fellowship at Eliot Chapel, taking place in Adams Hall immediately after the worship service on Sunday. It's a time to catch up with fellow members and friends and to greet newcomers. Please join us!

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.

Coffee, Conversation, and Connections

Coffee, Conversation, and Connections 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 Connections. If you're not on our mailing list, sign up here. We look forward to seeing you!

Sunday at a Glance

Sunday Worship – 10:00 am in the Sanctuary

Coffee Hour – 11:00 am in Adams Hall

Bergfried Women's Weekend – All Day at Bergfried

Exploring Spirituality Covenant Group – 11:15 am in the Susan Frederick-Gray Room

Our Whole Lives (OWL) Information Session – 11:15 am in the Youth Room

Role to Soul Orientation – 11:20 am in Room 001

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

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

In This Week at Eliot

This Week's Events & Meetings

Church News

Classes at Eliot Chapel

Helping Each Other

The Week Ahead

Next Week's Service

Down the Road

Sharing the Offering

ourEliot

Monday, September 18 

Bergfried Women’s Weekend – All Day at Bergfried

A Course in Miracles – 7:00 pm via Zoom

Tuesday, September 19 

Women’s Alliance – 9:45 am in Adams Hall

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

Earth-Based Spirituality Covenant Group – 7:00 pm via Zoom

Wednesday, September 20 

Wellspring – 7:00 pm via Zoom

Nominating Committee – 7:00 pm via Zoom

Solecki/Boettcher Covenant Group – 7:15 pm in Room 006

Thursday, September 21

Wellspring – 9:30 am in the Susan Frederick-Gray Room

Stein Covenant Group – 7:00 pm in the Susan Frederick-Gray Room

Transitions Support Group – 7:00 pm in the DuBois Library

Friday, September 22 

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.

Our Unitarian Universalist Agreement and Foundations  

Introducing St. Louis Area Unitarian Universalist online classes! This year, the ministers from First Unitarian Church of Alton IL, First Unitarian Church of St. Louis, and Eliot Unitarian Chapel are offering online classes that are open to all UU congregations in the St. Louis area. Here is the first class, offered by Rev. Kim Mason of First St. Louis.

Article II of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Bylaws, Principles and Purposes, is the foundation for all the work of our UUA and its member congregations and covenanted communities. Most remember Article II as our 7 Principles and 6 Sources which articulate our denominational agreements and name our spiritual and religious foundations. UUA Bylaws require that we revise Article II on a regular schedule. The 2023 proposed revision of Article II is a radical re-visioning that invites us into dialogue with one another about the values of our shared faith community.

We are in a one-year discernment period, after which delegates to General Assembly 2024 will vote to accept or reject the proposed Article II revision. Want to learn more? Interested in being a 2024 GA delegate? Wrestling with how this will shape the future of our faith communities? Join Rev. Kim Mason for a four-session small group exploration of the proposed Article II.

This four-session program engages you in the Purposes, Values, and Covenant, Inspiration, Inclusion, and Freedom of belief of the proposed Article II which will be voted on at General Assembly 2024. Sessions are 90-minutes every other Thursday at 6:30 pm on September 28, October 12 and 26, and November 9, online AND in-person. This is a covenant-based program that requires participants attend all four sessions. In-person class will be held at First Unitarian Church of St. Louis. The Zoom link for the sessions will be emailed the week before Session 1. 

Welcome to the Eliot Chapel Volunteer Village!

“What village?” you ask. The village it takes to raise a church!  

We all want our beloved church to continue to thrive and grow. To do so, we need many villagers who will share the work. Maybe you prefer the geese analogy suggested at the worship service on Ingathering Sunday: “Sharing leadership, taking care of the fallen, and honking from behind.” Regardless, it is imperative that everyone steps up to bring Eliot Chapel forward. Sign up in Adams Hall on Sunday or online here. Grab a gold volunteer sticker for your name tag if you already volunteer or if you sign up now!

Mary Meihaus & Dotty Storer, volunteer coordinators

Be a Part of the 2023 Madrigal Cast! 

Come to the Sanctuary on Sunday, September 24 at 11:30 am for auditions.

Can't make it at that time?  Please email madrigal@eliotchapel.org before that date.

Huzzah!

Caring about Immigration and the Environment

Did you miss Eliot's screening of "The Letter," the social justice film?  If you would like to watch it at home, it is available on YouTube, or on its own website.  After watching the film, if you would like to discuss it, come to the Environmental Justice meeting on Monday, October 9 at 7:00 pm in Adams Hall.  

Eliot's All Ages Game Night Potluck

Saturday, October 14, 6:00 – 9:00 pm in Adams Hall

The Fun

Come one, come all, to a night of games of all kinds sure to delight the inner and outer child! Bring a favorite game or two or three to the event, and be ready to make merry with Eliot members, old pals and soon-to-be-friends across the age spectrum. We'll have quick card games as well as in-depth strategy games, old classics and new challenges – something for everyone!

The Food

This event will be a potluck affair. Bring a dish to share, but be sure to label it with ingredients for those with food allergies. A food sign-up sheet will be on the bulletin board outside of Adams Hall.

For more information, please call Kathy Becker. You can find her mobile number in the directory. 

Winter Clothing and Toy Drive

Eliot Chapel will host a donation box through September 24 in conjunction with Hands on Kirkwood. Bring your new and gently used items and place them in the box in Adams Hall.

• coats, gloves, scarves, hats
• boots, socks
• shirts, sweaters
• pants, jeans, suits, dresses
• bicycles, toys, diapers, children's books
• NEW pillows

Community members in need will be able to pick up much needed items on October 7 during Hands on Kirkwood. Have you joined the Eliot Chapel team for HOK, the one-day community service blitz around Kirkwood? Get the details below in "Down the Road."

Eliot Chapel 2023 Congregational Survey

TAKE THE SURVEY TODAY

Help shape the future of Eliot Chapel by filling out our 2023 Congregational Survey. The total time to complete the survey is approximately fifteen to twenty minutes. Your responses will be very helpful in guiding the Search Team in the coming months by helping us gain more insight into the thoughts and needs of the congregation. Click here to fill out the survey and make your voice heard.

Women's Alliance

Please join the Women’s Alliance meeting next Tuesday, September 19, at 9:45 am (new time)  in Adams Hall or on Zoom. After coffee and treats, we will be joined by Arica Brown, founder and director of Consuming Kinetics Dance Studio.  

Join us for

Vigil for Hope & Healing

Tuesday, September 19

at 5:00 pm in front of Eliot Chapel.

Faithful Sustainer Update Call with

the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt, UUA President

Thursday, September 21

12:00 pm to 1:00 pm

This video call is a great opportunity for you to meet our new UUA President the Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt and hear directly about her vision for Unitarian Universalism. She'll be joined by the Rev. Lauren Smith, UUA Director of Stewardship and Development. 

Transitions Support Group

The Transitions Support Group is for anyone who is experiencing a significant life transition, such as death of a loved one, transitioning relationships, children leaving home, having children, getting married, transitioning gender, changes in career/employment to name a few. This is a place to share your story and give and receive support for the journey we are on. The meetings are facilitated by Carl Serbell and Lou Salvin. There is a short reading with focusing questions sent out a few days before the meeting, which is on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month, 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the DuBois Library. Please email transitions@eliotchapel.org if you want to learn more or receive the reminder emails. The next meeting is Thursday, September 21. 

Sunday, September 24 – 10:00 am

“Welcome: How We Take Care of Each Other” 

Rev. Krista Taves and the Pastoral Care Team 

Join Rev. Krista and the Pastoral Care Team to experience how we care for each other as a congregation in the moments where we need companionship and support. We’ll talk about when to reach out, how to ask for help, what pastoral care can offer you and your family, and how to let someone know if you are interested in being a pastoral care associate.  

St. Louis Area TrUUnk or Treat!

Get on your costumes, decorate your vehicle, fill the trunk with PEANUT-FREE goodies, and head over to First Unitarian Church of St. Louis for our first ever ALL Congregation TrUUnk or Treat! See you on Saturday, October 21 from 4:30 to 6:00 pm at 5007 Waterman Blvd., St. Louis MO 63108.

Eliot Life Quest

Used by many cultures and given shape in many ways, Vision Quest is a time of deep reflection, transformation, healing, and a method to experience authentic and profound encounters with Spirit. There are three core elements of a Vision Quest – Solitude, Fasting, and Nature. When these core elements are coupled with preparation and integration, dormant states of creativity and connections come to the surface creating possibilities for deep change and transformation in participants.

Eliot Life Quest brings a Vision Quest into the Eliot community. This spiritual offering will lead you through the preparation phase, support your journey during your solo, and help you start your path in consolidating what you have gained during this process. People in any life stage and with any personal/spiritual growth goal can find meaning in the powerful process of a Solo Fasting Quest.

Some transformative goals that people bring to Solo Fasting Quest are: stepping away from past trauma, solidifying sobriety, developing a deeper relationship with themselves, nature, and Spirit, marking transitions such as becoming a parent, moving to elder status, and for life events that typically do not have a culturally established way of being acknowledged such as releasing a dead name, loss of an affair, committing to a life without children . . . and more.

Come to the Life Quest Informational Meeting on Sunday, October 22 at 11:30 am in Room 001 to meet facilitator Lisa Dahlgren and hear more about this unique opportunity.