Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column
 
This past weekend I traveled to Wisconsin for my mother’s memorial service. It was presided over by Pastor Kathleen Remund at the First Congregational United Church of Christ on Saturday afternoon. The next morning I also attended Sunday worship with Pastor Kathleen, where one moment stood out for me.
 
Before the service I was chatting with a friend in the sanctuary and a young school-aged child came up, someone familiar to my friend. She introduced me to the child and we both gave him the gift of our full attention for a few minutes—as we should. Later, during the time of special music in the worship service, the pianist was playing a moving piece by Rachmaninoff and I looked over to see this child seated in the front pew next to Pastor Kathleen. No one else was in their pew; the child’s parent was one or two rows behind. The sight of the two of them sitting together—Kathleen absorbed in the music, the child with a toy or book in their hand—spoke of warmth and connection and trust and love. I knew with certainty that this was the most important connection in the whole sanctuary at that moment. And I realize now that I was witnessing an embodiment of the Universal Mother.
 
Having memorialized my own mother the day before—with stories and tributes, with tears and music, with the interment of her ashes in the church’s memorial garden—I reflect that my mother’s loving energy toward me is the same as Pastor Kathleen’s energy with the child in church, and the same energy that lives in me as I try to be loving to those in my circle. It is a beautiful, divine, eternal thing. It is a life-giving and healing thing: Mother’s Love. It is something that we all have within us, sometimes dormant and sometimes finding expression in acts of love and kindness and nurturing. May that love be celebrated today and always.
 
PRAYER:
Spirit of Life and Love, Mother-Father God, shine on me and bless me with love like the sun blesses the world with sunshine. May I remember that I loved and loving.
 
May universal Mother’s Love, the healing and nurturing energy within us, find its expression in how we treat one another in this lifetime. May we show unconditional love to every child with never any exceptions. May we find the love in our hearts to share with one another: neighbors, friends, and all the ones we encounter in our daily routines.
 
May love bless us all. Amen.
 
Rev. Drew Frantz
March 19, 2024

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column
 
On Saturday I travelled to the capitol in Lansing for a rally of the Poor People’s Campaign. Founded by Rev. Martin Luther King before his death, and carried forward today by Rev. William Barber, this movement is marked by its inclusiveness. Its demands include voting rights, Veterans’ rights, LGBTQ rights, a fair living wage for all, universal health care, and more.
 
Nine of us from the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship carpooled down together, joining a crowd of hundreds of others. We gathered in a church parking lot, processed to the capitol building, and listened to a series of speakers from the steps of the capitol. The Poor People’s Campaign always centers the voices of people directly affected by the injustices we are there to protest: low wage earners; victims of domestic violence; union workers; community organizers. This commitment to the grassroots is the strength of the campaign.
 
The variety of speakers sharing their life experience and their passion for change was inspiring. What I realized reflecting on the day, however, was that my favorite part was mingling with strangers in the crowd. I had conversations with a white man who runs a teen center in Ann Arbor; a couple from a Presbyterian church in Detroit; the Asian American pastor of a Lansing church that runs a huge day program for the homeless; and the African American pastor who hosted the event—joined by his mother who led the singing and his brother who testified about the need for better health care for veterans. Every one of these informal conversations made me feel connected with my fellow activists in shared purpose and shared humanity. Thinking of my mother who recently passed away, I felt the connection to ancestors who protested in their time. And I was reminded that the struggle for social justice is life-long work: it is a road that we travel deliberately, and we must connect with and support one another on the journey. I was inspired by the event and proud to be part of a Fellowship that had so many of us participating.
 
PRAYER:
May God bless the Poor People’s Campaign.
May the spirit of the ancestors, including Dr. King who leads us still, give strength to us.
May we continue to advocate for peace and equity for our children and our children’s children. May the movement grow in power and conviction for the benefit of all.
Amen.
 
Rev. Drew Frantz
March 5, 2024