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

P: 515-244-8603

What is Ethical Growth?

with Rev. Garmon

However ethical you may be (or think you are), what can you do to become more ethical?





Zoom may not be available for this event. Please consider forming a volunteer Team.

Join the live service on Zoom!

Zoom Passcode: Safford

(Please mute your mic before the service begins!)

Joys & Sorrows for Sunday should be submitted by noon on Wednesday.

Visit the Caring Community Webpage for the following options:

• Caring Ministry – for temporary assistance, such as meals or rides, or to volunteer (515-244-8603 ext. 108)
• Pastoral care - for support through a difficult time

Jim Carty is the Pastoral Care Associate available for this service time. Please email pastoralcareteam@ucdsm.org for assistance during the week.

Go in Joy

K-4th Faith Formation

The One Room SchUUlehouse begins again this Sunday for Kindergarten through 4th Grade - during the service!

Your children can stay with you until the Time for All Ages, and then go to their classroom (Room 111 downstairs). Please go there to pick up your child after the service ends at 10:30 a.m.

NEWS THIS WEEK

Sacred Bridges CUUPS: Quarterly Bake Sale Fundraiser

Sunday, September 24th at 10:30 a.m.

Indulge in the goodness of our upcoming event! Join us for a quarterly bake sale fundraiser hosted by Sacred Bridges CUUPS.

Let's unite to gather funds for rituals, classes, and thrilling events. Mark your calendar: September 24th, 2023, at the First Unitarian Church of Des Moines. Catch us during the post-service coffee hour from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. To contribute a delectable baked item, simply complete the Google form. Your incredible support truly makes a difference!

Google Form: https://forms.gle/KjLXScWxdZTJ1pXE9

Facebook Event: https://fb.me/e/aJ8npI1zh

Family Promise

Help us feed, entertain, transport, and house 3 families on-site in our church for two weeks as they secure housing, September 24-October 8.

A variety of positions are available, including providing meals, evening host, overnight host, van driver, setup, takedown, and laundry. First-time hosts and drivers must complete a background check process. Sign up early if you are new and prefer either of those positions.

Sign up here!

Unable to volunteer, but want to support the program? Funds are always welcome to cover background check costs, purchase of special supplies and miscellaneous needs of the families. Use the Giving link on the website or send a check to the church designated for Family Promise. Thanks!

Also, I am happy to announce that Lori Emison Clair has joined me as a co-coordinator for Family Promise! Thanks, Lori!

Contact Elaine Imlau or Lori Emison Clair at familypromise@ucdsm.org.

Thank you for your consideration!

First Unitarian Humanist Update

** Book Group **

The Humanist book group will return to our fall schedule at 12:00 noon on October 1st, right after the forum. You can join in person at the church or via Zoom at https://humanistsocietyofiowa.org/bookclubzoom/. We will be discussing chapters 16 and 17 of The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself by Sean Carroll.

** Game Day **

You're invited to the Humanist Society Game Day at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday September 23rd. Meet in the food court at Jordan Creek Town Center, near the fireplace. We will be playing several Science based board games, and you can snack from the food court. We will have a "round robin" where you can earn the title of "Best Player" and some free food! Games will include Nerd Words (Science), In the Footsteps of Darwin, and Labyrinth.

Women's Wednesday

Wednesday, September 27, 1:30-3:00 p.m.

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

Join us on the last Wednesday of every month from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. in the Peace Library.

• 1:30 - 2:00 p.m.: General meet and greet, catch-up.
• 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.: Discussion

This month's topic: The Second Agreement

Paganism 101 Course

Begins Thursday, September 28 at 7:00 p.m.

Join Sacred Bridges CUUPS for our next class series, "Paganism 101"!

Discover the ancient wisdom and modern practices of Paganism in this immersive five-week journey.

Class Schedule:

• September 28
• October 5th
• October 12th
• SKIP - October 19th (UCDSM Board Meeting)
• October 26th
• November 2nd

Meet in person at 7:00 p.m. in Stonewall Conference Room at First Unitarian Church of Des Moines 1800 Bell Ave. Des Moines, IA 50315

Read on for details!

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.

AMOS Accountability Action

Sunday, October 1 from 3:00-4:30 p.m.

AMOS ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION

DMPS Superintendent Dr. Ian Roberts

DMPS School Board Candidates 

Sunday, October 1, 2023 3-430pm

St. Paul AME Church in DSM

All are Welcome!

What's an accountability action? It's an AMOS action to get commitments from leaders around topics lifted up out of the community. Hear from AMOS leaders on the issues and learn where the candidates fall on expanding restorative justice practices and teacher retention. 

*Curious? - talk to Crystal Loving or Sally Boeckholt

Upcoming Forum

Sunday, October 1

Do you have a question for the next Des Moines Mayor?

Our October 1st Forum will have Des Moines mayoral candidates. Join us at 11:00 a.m. in the Auditorium

If you have a question for the candidates, please use this form by Wednesday, September 28.

Thank you!

Adult Programming Team

Ecochallenge

Sunday, October 1st - Tuesday, October 31st

Green Sanctuary is encouraging participation in Drawdown Ecochallenge. Presented by Ecochallenge.org, Drawdown Ecochallenge is a 31-day challenge to take action for a better shared future. It has a game-like format involving accumulating points for your environmental actions. Fun actions encourage new habits. Small steps lead to big change. Together, we build a sustainable world and a healthy planet. It starts October 1. Sally Hartman from Iowa City has created a team for all Iowa UUs which you can join now. The team is called Swine Republic UUs. You can start your own team individually, organize a team for First Unitarian, or join this one and get others to join too. We can go hog wild! Yeah team!

The challenge runs from Sunday, October 1st to Tuesday, October 31st. Let's make a difference!

Join me to see how 31 days of action add up to a lifetime of positive change for you, our community, and the planet.

REGISTER NOW

Coffee with the Board

Sunday, October 1 at 8:30 a.m.

Join the Board for a casual pre-service coffee and conversation.

Stonewall Conference Center

Sunday, September 3rd at 8:30 a.m.

Can't make it in? There's a Zoom for that! Connect here.

(Passcode = 517986, Meeting ID = 870 8033 6863)

Building Work Day

Saturday, October 7 from 8:30-4:00 p.m.

Join us for a Building Work Day on October 7th when we'll tidy up the church.

There are several little jobs that need doing - something for every skill level!

Join the fun!

Photo by RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist on Unsplash

Progressive Voices Concerts

NEW SEASON

Starting October 14, 2023

The Progressive Voices Concert Series is returning for its 13th season at First Unitarian Church!

This season's lineup of nationally and internationally-touring singer-songwriters includes both some past favorites and new faces to our stage:

Jack Williams -- October 14, 2023  http://www.jackwilliamsmusic.com/

Mean Mary -- November 11, 2023,  http://www.meanmary.com/

Rupert Wates -- December 16, 2023,  http://rupertwatesmusic.com/

Triflemore -- February 17, 2024, http://www.triflemore.com/

The Honey Dewdrops -- April 13, 2024, http://www.thehoneydewdrops.com/

Annie Mack -- May 18, 2024, https://anniemackmusic.com/home

Where/When: All shows start at 7:30 p.m. in the First Unitarian Church auditorium. 

Tickets:

• Single Tickets: $22 Advance /$27 Door
• Season Tickets:4 Shows: $78, 6 Shows $117

Tickets available soon online at www.eventbrite.com . Tickets are also available in person at church after services the four Sundays before each concert.

More information is also available online at www.ucdsm.org/concerts.

Email questions to concerts@ucdsm.org.

 For a full list of upcoming meetings and events, please visit our church calendar.

From The Minister

What Religion Is About

It’s not about belief

When I’m asked, "What do Unitarian Universalists believe?" I usually answer: “What Unitarian Universalists believe is that your religion isn’t about what you believe.”

So what is religion about? Three things:

1. It’s about how you live – that is, the ethics and values that guide your life.
2. It’s about community – the people you come together with to share in rituals that affirm your community bond.
3. It’s about a certain kind of experience – the experiences we call “religious experience,” or spiritual experience: moments of transcendence and awe, of apprehending the deep beauty, wonder, and oneness of all things.

Those are three rather different things. Yet a faith institution exists to weave them together so that each one supports and reinforces the other two.

• The ethics and values that guide your life facilitate your community belonging, and prepare you to be open to transcendent experience.
• Your faith community helps reinforce certain ethics and values, and also helps lay the ground for you to have transcendent experiences.
• Transcendent experiences expose you to a oneness that awakens compassion, which becomes part of your ethics and values, and also draws you closer to your community.

In faith community, each strand of the braid is shaped and directed so that it can reinforce the other two.

For the full text of the September 24, 2023 sermon, visit here.

How do I...?

How do I communicate my...?

By using these three methods, we ensure that your message gets to the right people at the right time... every time.

• Intercom = communications@ucdsm.org
• Intercom and More = https://www.ucdsm.org/our-events/
• When in doubt = officestaff@ucdsm.org 

Send your picture, paragraph, and where you want communications posted by noon on Wednesdays.

What happens when I miss a deadline?

Deadlines get missed. It's a fact of life. But when a deadline is missed our staff must work additional hours. Staff hours are VERY limited and we want to stay within budget.

Our Faith In Action partners are Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund and The Freestore. If you would like to donate to Faith in Action partners, please donate directly to them through the links provided.

If you would like to donate to the Freestore, click here.

If you would like to donate to the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund, click here. 

In addition to providing monetary donations for our Faith in Action partners, one of the goals of this committee is to improve relationships through volunteer events that support the organizations. We will announce events that church members can be involved with in the coming months.

Freestore

Our Champion is Mike Smith

Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund

Our Champion is Doug Aupperle

Rev. Meredith Garmon, Interim Minister

mgarmon@ucdsm.org

515-244-8603 ext. 102

cell: 352-682-8492

Alice J. Stewart, Director of Finance & 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. 103

Off Mondays

Tuesday - Friday: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Hannah Notch, Office Manager & Childcare Coordinator

hnotch@ucdsm.org

515-244-8603 ext. 107

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

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

Faithyna Leonard, Communications & Rental Coordinator

fleonard@ucdsm.org

515-244-8603 ext. 106

Available by appointment only.

Intercom Weekly Submissions

Deadline: Wednesday @ 12 noon

• In the body of an email, please include a title, relevant dates and times, contact information, and a brief description of your event or announcement.

• Please proofread your article before submitting (or ask a trusted friend to proofread if you need help!) We try to check every article, but we still miss things.

• An image can help make your article stand out! Please feel free to attach an image to your email. (JPG or PNG files are preferred.) Note: images that violate copyright laws will be rejected.

• The Intercom Weekly is sent out to our mailing list on Friday at 12:00 p.m.

• We run announcements for no more than three consecutive weeks, so please plan accordingly.

• Per church policy, we do not share private email addresses or phone numbers in our communications. We will set up an @ucdsm.org email address for you as the contact person for your group which will automatically forward to your private email, so you won't have to do anything special to view it. (Please allow a few extra days for us to set up the email when you submit your announcement.)

Please email communications@ucdsm.org to submit your information.