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

P: 515-244-8603

Justice and Faith

with Heidi Levine, Bill Brauch, and Elliott Nassif



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

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

The Celebrant Team created a Google Form to streamline the process of getting Spotlight requests scheduled. Check it out!

NEWS THIS WEEK

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! We will be primarily working on refinishing the wooden shelves in Griffin.

Join the fun!

Photo by RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist on Unsplash

From The Building Team

Sunday, October 8 following Forum

The Building Team and the Building Storage Committee will host a short discussion about where to store our “outdoor” supplies, such as the Sunday morning traffic cones and signs, brooms, snow shovels, ice melt, etc. Join us this Sunday right after the forum to learn about the options that have been considered and a plan to create a new storage area in the back corner of the old Mary Safford kitchenette (behind the audio closet). If you can’t be there on Sunday you can contact Al Powers for more information or send a note to the Building Team at buildingteam@ucdsm.org.

First Unitarian Humanist Update

** Book Group ** 

The Humanist book group will meet at 12:00 noon on Oct. 15, 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 18 and 19 of The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself by Sean Carroll. 

**Life Beyond Earth? Inside the Europa Clipper Mission** 

The Secular Student Alliance is offering a Webinar at 7:00 p.m. on October 11 to discuss NASA’s Europa Clipper Mission, live from JPL headquarters!  This Webinar will take you through the building of Earth’s first probe to Jupiter’s moon, where we hope to find out if life as we know it exists on other worlds. Click here for more details and registration. 

**Watch Party**

Our watch party series will continue on Saturday, October 7th; starting at 2:00 PM at the Stine Barn, 4000 Turnberry in West Des Moines. We will be watching a 3 part series on Steven Hawking’s favorite places in the Universe (or Multiverse). Send a note to bookclub@humanistsocietyofiowa.org for more information. A few snacks, along with water and soft drinks will be provided, but feel free to bring something to share with the group.

**Cemetery Tour**

We are planning a guided tour of Glendale Cemetery for Saturday, October 21 at 2:00 PM, with a group dinner after the tour. Watch for more details next week.

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.

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

Church Cleaning

Do you appreciate having a clean church?

If so, your help is needed in keeping the building clean. Every Saturday a crew of volunteers cleans the church. We will continue to clean the church until funds are available to hire cleaning staff.

Please sign up to help!

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.

Family Promise Report

Our first two week family hosting is soon coming to a close. It has gone very well with three families who interact harmoniously and seem like one big happy family. Special thanks to the 81 volunteers who gave 600 hours of their time to make it all happen. 24 of the 81 are new to our program, 3 of which were recruited from 2 other churches and 4 others are family, friends or neighbors of current volunteers.

Sunday classes in the middle of the two weeks went without a hitch with 7th/8th grade OWL meeting in the large activity room surrounded by Family Promise setup and host beds were easily pulled out of room 111 for K-5 RE.

Moms enjoyed cooking dinner in our new kitchen, also enjoyed by dinner hosts! And thanks to Al Powers and Walt Pearson for the new shower platform so the shower can drain into the maintenance sink instead of the floor drain. The floor has remained dry the whole time!

Thanks all for your flexibility, generosity with your time and treasure, and warm hospitality. The families notice!

Jack Williams: Progressive Voices Concert Series

Saturday, October 14 at 7:30 p.m.

JACK WILLIAMS AT PROGRESSIVE VOICES CONCERT SERIES

Saturday, October 14, 2023, at 7:30 p.m.

Location: First Unitarian Church Auditorium

Music Video: "Where the Light Has Gone"

• Single Tickets: $22 Advance, $27 Door
• Season Tickets: 4 Shows for $78, 6 Shows for $117
• Available online at Eventbrite or Sunday at church after services the 4 Sundays before each show.

Veteran singer-songwriter, Jack Williams, opens the 13th season of the Progressive Voices Concert Series with his colorful, storytelling songs and masterful guitar playing. More information about him at: https://www.jackwilliamsmusic.com/

Unity Circle

Thursday, October 19 at 12:00 p.m.

We will be meeting at noon on Thursday, October 19th for lunch and program. Our own Rev. Meredith Garmon will be speaking to us and with us! His topic is...

Who I Am

and

Where We Will Be Going

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

Look forward to seeing you there!

First Unitarian Music & Art Festival

Saturday, November 4th from 5:00-7:30 p.m.

Save the Date for a Fun Fall Festival

Saturday, November 4th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Church

Plan now to attend the First Unitarian Music & Art Festival (FUMAF)

This year's event will include:

• Potluck meal
• Music throughout the evening
• Art Items available for silent and live auction
• Activities for children

We will have a variety of artwork and creative pieces. You are welcome to donate up to three items - paintings, photographs, mixed media, ceramic sculpture, handmade jewelry, weavings, embroidery and other handwork, knit items, woodworking, and everything else you do creatively! The more items we have, the more fun everyone will have. Proceeds support our church!

New this year!

We plan to include children's and youth's artwork in the auction. If you have children or know children in the church, please encourage their parents to consider participating.

We could love to have you join us in planning & hosting this fun evening. Please email fumaf@ucdsm.org with questions and offers to assist! You may also reach out to Liz Bredeson or Heidi Lackmann directly.

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

A Big Thank You

For all the volunteers cleaning the church - THANK YOU!

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.