Sunday, January 17
Winning with a Tough Mind and Tender Heart – Amy Hunter
In a time when we are asked to reimagine our lives, examine the work of a servant leader, explore what faithful activism looks like we will need both a tough mind and a tender heart.
Amy Hunter is a native St. Louisan and a compelling and hopeful voice for racial justice. As director of racial justice for the YWCA, she created Witnessing Whiteness, a program bringing hundreds of people together to learn and grow. She currently serves as director of diversity and inclusion for Caleres.
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. |
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Sharing the Offering
We have a longstanding tradition at Eliot Chapel of sharing our Sunday offering with an organization in our community. In January, we are sharing our plate with the Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association. Meacham Park is a predominantly African American community in Kirkwood. Even before Meacham Park was annexed to Kirkwood, an intentionally diverse group of Meacham Park and Kirkwood residents formed to advocate for Meacham Park. Eliot Chapel has long ensured that we have one of our members at the table so that we are always ready to lend a hand and to be part of the solution. Our representative for the last seven years has been Janet Solecki. When asked what it has meant for our church to make this longstanding commitment, President Harriet Patton shared that it was simply a blessing, that we are the only church in Kirkwood to have made such a commitment to the Association.
The Neighborhood Improvement Association offers college scholarships and many programs for students, including a STEM workshop in the spring, Pride in the Park in the summer, school supplies in the fall, and they sponsor 20 families at Christmas.
But this has been a difficult year for Meacham Park. COVID-19 has hit the Black community harder than anyone else, and so has the resulting economic hardship. Their well-loved Martin Luther King Jr. Day Musical Celebration usually pays for most of their programs, and it has been cancelled due the pandemic. So we’ve decided to step up our game. Our goal is to raise $3000 through our Shared Plate this month for the Meacham Park Neighborhood Improvement Association. This will help them continue to serve Meacham Park families as it always has.
We will let you know each week how close we are to meeting our goal. You can give in one of three ways:
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Online: Click here. Make sure “Shared Plate” is your chosen fund.
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By Mail: Please write “Meacham Park” in the memo line of your check and mail it to Eliot Unitarian Chapel, 100 South Taylor Ave., Kirkwood, MO 63122.
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By Text: Text "Eliot $(enter the amount) SharedPlate" 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.
The motto of the Association is Come Together. Work Together. Stay Together. Let’s show up strong for our beloved neighbors.
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Shared Plate Update: $885.15 out of the $3000 goal, as of 1/7/21.
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Religious Education
Religious Education for Children (Kindergarten-6th grade): January 17 @ 9:15 via Zoom
Eliot children and families (K-6th grade) are invited to gather at 9:15 am via Zoom for connection and community. Parents & families are encouraged to join their children. This week’s session is co-hosted by Christie Lee, Noel Burke, Heather Flick and adult lay leaders. We will explore racial justice and have a special visit from Rev. Krista Taves. Zoom links will be distributed to registered families by email.
Junior High & Senior High Youth Group: January 17 @ 10:45 via Zoom
Youth in 7th-12th grade are invited to gather for community, connection, and FUN this Sunday. The room opens at 10:45 am for informal fellowship with activities beginning at 11:00. A Zoom link and more specific details about this week’s activities will be sent to registered Eliot youth and families via email on Friday, January 15.
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Zoom Coffee Hour
At 11:30 am, 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
RE for Children – 9:15 am via Zoom
Online Church Service – 10:00 am on Eliot Chapel website
Junior High & Senior High Youth Group – 10:45 am via Zoom
Coffee Hour – 11:30 am via Zoom
Young Adult Group – 12:30 pm on Discord
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Monday, January 18
Eliot Chapel offices are closed today for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Inquirer Series – 7:00 pm via Zoom
Tuesday, January 19
Women's Alliance – 9:30 am via Zoom
Vigil for Hope & Healing – 5:00 pm online
Earth-Based Spirituality Covenant Group – 7:00 pm via Zoom
Community of Hope video series – 7:00 pm via Zoom
Wednesday, January 20
Joys & Sorrows evening service – 7:00 pm via Zoom
Thursday, January 21
Eliot Connects: You've Got a Friend – 11:00 am via Zoom
Lunch with the Minister – 12:30 pm via Zoom
Grief Group – 3:00 pm via Zoom
Eliot Connects: Setting Ourselves Up to Flourish – 7:00 pm via Zoom
Contact your group leader if you need login information for your meeting.
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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. |
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Please Remember
We extend our condolences to the Stark family — Amy, Todd, Casey and Will. Amy's mother passed away on Wednesday, January 13.
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Amy A. Hunter:
Global Diversity and Inclusion Leader
We have the honor of hosting Amy A. Hunter in our pulpit this Sunday. Hunter is currently the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the publicly traded Caleres. She recently joined the Caleres team after serving as the Senior Global Equity Diversity and Inclusion leader at Boeing. At Boeing, she led strategies for Boeing Corporate and Defense. Prior to joining Boeing, Hunter was the senior manager of Diversity and Inclusion for St. Louis Children’s Hospital. In this role, she led their diversity and inclusion strategies, implementation and measurement while developing educational training that impacted retention as well as equitable patient care.
Hunter is also the Principal of Lotus Roots Consulting LLC. She has spoken and presented diversity training, keynotes, seminars and strategy sessions around the world. She is well respected globally and has received numerous awards for her achievements as a diversity resource.
Hunter has more than 20 years of experience in human resources, organizational development, project management and leadership within the corporate and nonprofit arenas. Her responsibilities have included creating and implementing return on investment strategies for recruitment, and curriculums for training and retention strategies.
Her community engagements have included serving on a number of boards for local organizations including Cultural Leadership, We Stories, and the United Way. She has also led the Missouri Business Leaders Network’s Governor’s Council on Disability and been an active member of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Corporate Advisory.
Her popular speech “The Talk” was incorporated into a TEDx presentation called “Lucky Zip Codes.” She has been a TEDx Presenter in 2018, 2015, and 2014.
Hunter has an earned undergraduate degree and is currently pursuing a doctorate in critical race theory from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
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Project Renew
The Board is planning for the launch of Project Renew early this year. Project Renew is Eliot's endeavor to renew and refresh the central goals (Ends) of Eliot Chapel. This reexamination of our goals and priorities is something that Eliot engages in periodically. Be on the lookout for more information and for opportunities to participate.
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Be a Slack-tivist!
Would you like to be an activist but health/family/work issues are preventing you? Become a Slack-tivist!
No meetings, no marches, no time commitments. Just suggestions for taking simple actions from home.
- Step 1: Choose your issue/issues, then unsubscribe from emails from other issues.
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Step 2: Follow social media accounts from your chosen organizations. To follow Eliot Chapel Social Justice in Action, go to your Realm account and add your name to the groups you want to follow, or email socialjustice@eliotchapel.org. Your chosen organizations will provide updated information about your issues and suggestions of actions to take.
- Step 3: Comment and share the actions you like on social media. This will bring your friends in on the action, and the more the merrier.
- Step 4: Be careful when confronting trolls on social media. The confrontation may drain your energy and time, which could be more useful in other activities.
- Step 5: Follow your elected leaders on social media and comment on their posts. The Congress Foundation has shown that politicians pay attention to these comments and they have an impact on their actions. We have a new Congress and the Missouri Legislature is starting up. Now is a good time to start sending letters, postcards, emails, and Facebook posts to your newly-elected officials. Yes, even the ones with whom you disagree. If you don’t tell them you disagree, they will never know.
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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.
Donations to the Minister's Discretionary Fund are also welcome should we face an increased need because of the shutdown in our region. Please indicate “Minister's Discretionary Fund” in the memo line of your gift. You may also text ELIOT MDF to 73256 to give using your mobile device.
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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. Changes to RE information 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.
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A Message from Rev. Barbara
We have things on our minds and hearts this week. One of our staff called it brain fuzz – stemming from low-grade, and sometimes high-grade, tension.
In addition to the virus, which is plague enough for several generations, we are still reeling from last week’s attack on the Capitol building in Washington, DC, and in states with Democratic governors. The FBI reports attacks are planned for this Sunday and on inauguration day in the nation’s capital and in the capitals of all 50 states (including Jefferson City though fears are somewhat less because of our red state status). Whether these threats and plans actually materialize remains to be seen. But after last Wednesday, we would be foolish not to take this seriously.
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In her sermon last week, I heard my colleague Julia Hamilton say that America has always been based on not one principle, but two, and they are opposing. There’s democracy “of the people, by the people, and for the people” and there’s white supremacy – that white people actually control things. Up until now, white people have been able to have both and to tell ourselves that white supremacy did not exist or, at any rate, had no actual power. “This is not who we are.” Well, yes it is. Now, we are being forced to choose.
The mob that stormed the Capitol last week under the banner of the Confederate flag underlined this choice. There is a price to pay to choose democracy. A big price for some. Looking at those who voted against impeaching a president who incited a violent insurrection by poisoning a huge swath of Americans’ minds about the election results, I might have ascribed it to political selfishness. We now know that they have received death threats to themselves and their families to “vote the right way.” Choosing democracy is going to cost a lot.
In the Gettysburg Address, Lincoln told people they must resolve:
“that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”
I’ve always heard this as a flat description – this is simply what America is – “who we are.” But in speaking after the formal end of the Civil War, he was telling us that we must work for it – it’s not a given. We must choose democracy, and the choice for democracy is going to cost something. It will take some time. It will take diligence on our part.
So how can we “stay well-informed and stay sane”? There are some small things. Lately I have been doubling down on my meditation practice. It’s hard, but worthwhile. I make art. I connect with my church, which shares my values and makes me feel less alone in this work. I am grateful every day for my husband, who cares for me in myriad ways, and is an excellent conversation partner in the midst of this. I look for joy wherever I can find it. What do you do? How can Eliot Chapel support you?
Please know that we are here for you. As it happens, we are starting our first monthly “Joys and Sorrows” service next Wednesday at 7:00 pm. You will get Zoom info with your weekly "Eliot on Zoom" email. Whatever happens over the course of next week, please know that your UU community is going to gather Wednesday night.
There’s Lunch with the Minister(s) – one or both of us – at 12:30 pm every Thursday. And there’s telephone and email. We hope you will reach out – to us and to your Eliot friends.
In Faith,
Rev. Barbara
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Offices Closed
Eliot Chapel offices will be closed on Monday, January 18 for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The offices will re-open the following day.
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Inquirer Series
Monday, January 18
7:00 – 8:00 pm via Zoom
If you are new to Eliot Chapel, new to Unitarian Universalism, or wanting to deepen your understanding of Unitarian Universalism, this is the class for you. The session will be held on Zoom. Sign up here or on Realm now!
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Women's Alliance
The Eliot Chapel Women's Alliance will meet on Tuesday, January 19 on Zoom. Conversation begins at 9:30 am with more formal activities beginning at 10:00. T he meeting will include a presentation of the Blandfords' trip to the Galapagos Islands. All Eliot women are welcome. Contact womensalliance@eliotchapel.org to get involved. |
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Vigil for Hope & Healing
Tuesday, January 19
5:00 pm via Zoom
The Black Lives Matter vigil has gone digital! Our Black Lives Matter in-person vigil has been suspended for the duration of the stay-at-home order in St. Louis County. This doesn’t mean that we are going to stop witnessing for Black lives!
Join us for our weekly online vigil Tuesdays at 5:00 pm. We will meet on Zoom and livestream our vigil onto Facebook.
How to prepare for our online vigil:
- Write “Black Lives Matter” in dark lettering on a small piece of paper, no bigger than a standard letter envelope.
- Check your background to be sure nothing is visible that you don’t want broadcast in public!
- Connect to the vigil using the Zoom link provided in the weekly Eliot On Zoom email that comes Sunday morning. Make sure you are muted.
- Sit silently with your BLM sign for the duration of the vigil.
- Help expand our witness! During the vigil, go to the Eliot Unitarian Chapel facebook page and share the vigil to your facebook page, twitter feed, or any social media platform you use so that it can be shared further!
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Eliot Chapel Community of Hope Video Series
This month, Eliot Chapel’s Social Justice in Action Committee is launching a Community of Hope video series exploring social justice issues central to our core mission and values. The series will kick off on Tuesday, January 19 from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. During this time we will watch and then discuss “Revolutionary Love,” a TED Talk led by Valarie Kaur, activist, filmmaker, faith leader, and founder of the Revolutionary Love Project. Four additional video “get-togethers” via Zoom will be held the third Tuesday of each month through May (details forthcoming). Each will center on an issue related to social justice, including racial equity and inclusion, voting rights, environmental justice, and immigration reform. Register here. We hope to see you!
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Joys and Sorrows Evening Service
Beginning January 20, 7:00 pm
As the pandemic drags on, our spiritual need to stay connected and present to each other grows. Beginning on January 20 and continuing the 3rd Wednesday of the month, Rev. Barbara Gadon and Rev. Krista Taves will be hosting a monthly evening service focused on sharing and connection. There will be centering readings, prayer, silence, and a time for deep sharing of our joys and sorrows. The service will be live on Zoom. It will not be recorded or livestreamed because of the invitation for personal sharing. Families are welcome. The Zoom connection information will be shared via the weekly Eliot on Zoom email that is sent out the weekend prior.
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Eliot Connects: You’ve Got A Friend with Mary Meihaus
On Thursday, January 21, this drop-in session will promote the premise of Carole King’s song, “You’ve Got A Friend.” Mary has chosen a centering topic each week that will purpose our discussion and help us get through these troubled times. Together, we will come out of the other end of this better for the journey. Drop in and join Eliot friends for an uplifting discussion on Zoom at 11:00 am. Sign up to receive the group login information. |
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Lunch with the Minister
Revs. Barbara and Krista invite you to a weekly Lunch with the Minister every Thursday at 12:30 pm. Bring your lunch or just bring yourself! Depending on the size of the group, we will hang out together in the main room or go into breakout groups. The link to join this Zoom meeting will be in the weekly "Eliot on Zoom" email. Check it out and get together!
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Grief Group
The Eliot Chapel Grief Group is held every two weeks and is facilitated by Rev. Krista Taves. The next meeting will take place on Thursday, January 21 at 3:00 pm on Zoom. This support group is open to all members and friends. Please email ktaves@eliotchapel.org to receive the Zoom invitation. |
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January 24
The Friends of Imagination – Rev. Barbara H. Gadon
Imagination is necessary to move our collective life forward and to give our individual lives flavor. Some say it is needed to experience the divine. But there are headwinds to the imagination in an age of social media which curates the world for us and manipulates our attention. In this service, we will examine what hinders and what helps our most creative impulses.
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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. |
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