IN THE NEWS AT ALL SOULS

The roster of activities at All Souls during the Winter quarter was long. Here are just some highlights of the things that happened:

WOMEN’S ALLIANCE
On January 19, the Women's Alliance sponsored a Saturday morning visit to the Whitney Museum to see the work of the painter Jacob Lawrence. The guided tour was a gift to the Alliance from Meg Raftis who had bid on the private visit at the Heart and Soul Auction. A video of the work of this prolific African-American artist was shown at the regular Alliance meeting the Wednesday before the visit.

A talk to the Alliance by filmmaker Nancy Savoca about Women in Film was presented as the first Angie Utt Lecture—sponsored by a newly formed fund designed to feature speakers on topics of special interest to women. Ms. Savoca's talk was accompanied by video clips illustrating her work, some of which showed brief glimpses of Angie as an extra in some of her husband's films.

THE FOOD OF THE MONTH
The Food of the Month program to help alleviate hunger through the Yorkville Common Pantry got off to a good start in February. So far, tuna fish, hot or cold cereals and peanut butter and jellies have been collected. The May food will be pancake mixes and syrup and in June, rice and beans will be featured. The food donations will be collected on the SECOND Sunday of each month.

Heart and Soul Auction silent auction.

HEART AND SOUL AUCTION: A SUCCESS
The 2002 Heart and Soul Auction earned $265,000, an increase of $58,000 over last year, according to Ann Bradley, the Auction Chair. The Pre-Auction party on February 14, made $10,000. "Corporate and foundation funding reached $28,000. We had a profit of $12,000 from the dinner following the Auction at the Russian Tea Room," Ms. Bradley reported. More than 200 people attended the auction held in one of the restaurant's newly created, lavish private rooms where good food and wines were served. The offerings, or "lots," ranged from theater tickets to time at donors' vacation homes and enticing trips abroad.

The auctioneer from Christie's generated good-spirited fun and a handsome profit for All Souls' social-outreach programs. "With City budget cuts, social programs will suffer. Therefore, success of the Heart and Soul Auction in the future is more important than ever," Ms. Bradley said.

HISTORICAL SOCIETY The Historical Society's annual Henry Whitney Bellows Lecture was presented during an Adult Education time slot this year, on March 3. The speaker was Dr. Phoebe Spain, Professor of Urban and Environmental Planning at the University of Virginia's School of Architecture. The title of her talk was "Friendly Aid to New Americans: Religious Origins of the Settlement House Movement," which was partly based on her recent book How Women Saved the City. She placed particular emphasis on Goddard House, founded by All Souls member Warren Goddard. Women from this church were active in this early social service outreach movement.

UUSC BENEFIT PERFORMANCE The UUSC sponsored a benefit performance of the award-winning play Underneath the Lintel, starring David Chandler, at the Soho Playhouse. David Chandler (Suehsdorf) is a member of All Souls. His impressive monologue performance in the play written by Glen Berger (who also attends All Souls) was both funny and deeply thought provoking. Costume Designer Miranda Hoffman is also a member. At a wine and cheese reception after the performance, star and author welcomed the UUSC audience. Valora Washington of the UUSC received the proceeds of the benefit with words of appreciation.

ACCESSABILITY On January 24, Bill Bechman accepted an Excellence in Accessibility Award on behalf of our church from the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic Districts. In his acceptance speech, Bill stressed the fact that "by our mission, we strive to be welcoming and accessible to every individual who might want to come through our doors." He praised John Ellis, the architect who translated what we needed into an aesthetic design. "I am particularly proud that the architectural term 'Universal Design' matches our denominational intention of 'Universalism'," Bill said at the end of his speech. "When one enters our garden, the visitor notices a welcoming brass plaque: 'All Souls Church—An Accessible Congregation.' The meaning of those words carries great significance for us."

	Bill Bechman receives the Excellence in Accessability Award on behalf of our church from the Friends of the Upper East Side Historic District.