Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column
 
It is not often that I come to our worship service on one of my Sundays off. Usually that is personal time. On this past Sunday, however, the topic of “Transgender: Stories of Our Lives” compelled me to be there.
 
Lay leader Norma Bailey, a member of the worship team, came up with this idea and asked a few members of the congregation to speak from their own experience. Norma’s invitation was for each of the speakers to address the question, What would you like the congregation to know about being transgender?
 
I wanted to be there for three reasons. First, to support the speakers who had agreed to speak on such a personal topic. Public speaking is never easy, and sharing something personal can be especially difficult. Second, I wanted to be there as the congregation heard these messages. My sense is that our mostly cisgender congregation is well-meaning but not totally well-informed when it comes to gender, and I was curious to see how these messages – from people who share the sanctuary with us regularly – would be received. Finally, I had some safety concerns. Thankfully our congregation has not been a target of attacks or protests from intolerant people as some UU congregations have been. Yet advertising this transgender service, I imagined, could possibly attract someone wanting to disrupt or harm our worship service—and I wanted to be there in case any problem occurred.
 
There were no disruptions, and the messages were amazing. We heard from the parent of a transgender teenager; from a gender-fluid teenager; and from a transgender adult. I was reminded that the idea of gender binary (people fitting into either a male or female box) is a social construct reinforced by our medical system—and that humans born as biologically intersex are more common than identical twins. The stories and experiences shared by the three members of the congregation were, of course, varied. The term “transgender” is a broad category that includes many identities and experiences. And my biggest take-away from the service was that each person is unique…and that gender expression / gender identity is only one part of who a person is in their complete wholeness.
 
Like many cisgender people in this congregation, I want to be an ally to my transgender siblings. Attending this worship service and hearing these testimonials helps me to be more informed and compassionate. It allows me a glimpse into someone else’s life experience that is different from my own, and reminds me that we all are beautiful, complex, and fluid. I am grateful to the speakers for sharing and for trusting the congregation with their stories.
 
PRAYER:
Mother-Father God, Divine energy that has no gender and contains all genders: be here now.
 
Bless today the ones in this city and everywhere around the world who are discovering their gender identity and courageously claiming it.
 
May we all build a world in which all are welcome; may we all expand our awareness of the incredible rainbow of humanity.
 
May each person find their place in that rainbow, knowing safety and love.
 
Blessed be.
 
Rev. Drew Frantz
May 28, 2024

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column
 
In gardens, lawns, and parks at this time of year, flowers are blooming everywhere. The days lengthen with early dawns and late sunsets. I love the season of Beltane.
 
In the flow of the Fellowship’s year, this is a time for reflection and planning. The Board of Trustees leads the way in this process by organizing the annual meeting, held last Sunday. The written annual report, for anyone who wishes to read it, contains summaries from the many committees and groups of the Fellowship. And it contains the budget.
 
Two Sundays ago, I was present for the Board meeting when we confronted the fact that pledged donations for the coming year (beginning July 1) were short of the proposed budget by about $12,000. The Board went to work, cutting about $4,300 from the budget—still leaving about $7,700 to be made up by increasing revenue. The Board and the Stewardship Team are brainstorming about this now. During the budget-cutting session, I said out loud to the Board: This is stressful. Yes, and we can figure out a way forward.
 
Also, it is the time to reflect on other aspects of the Fellowship year: what went well this year, what can be improved…how we can grow into our mission to create a loving community of liberal religion here in central Michigan. Approaching the end of my fifth year serving this congregation, I sit alongside the Board of Trustees holding those questions. Like the Board, I am striving to be a good leader of the congregation and to nudge us toward being an even better version of ourselves. Perhaps a pair of guiding questions for May and June, the end of the Fellowship year, would be: What is UUFCM doing well that shouldn’t be changed at all? Where can UUFCM improve and grow?
 
Those two questions mirror the questions that I asked at my men’s group meeting last week—in that case, it was about my own personal growth. In that men’s circle and elsewhere, my guiding questions toward self-growth are often centered around problems or challenges in my life--what is problematic in my life that is within my power to change? And I remind myself to balance that approach with also asking: what is great about who I am and how I am showing up in the world—that I should not change at all?
 
May each of us who loves the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan and believes in its life-saving mission find ways to keep supporting it with our ideas and our energy and our commitment. May we hold onto the good while improving the imperfect. Likewise, may each of us look in the mirror and see what is beautiful there that doesn’t need to change—while courageously working on doing better and being better day by day.
 
PRAYER:
May the flowers of May remind us of the gentle goodness of life. Long summer days are ahead. Mother Nature has gifts for us at every turn.
 
May we find the rest that we need. May we find the energy that we need to fulfill our life’s mission. Like a refreshing rain shower, may contentment and love bless our hearts and minds.
 
May it be so, for all living beings. Amen.
 
Rev. Drew Frantz
May 21, 2024

Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column
 
In the coming weeks, this congregation will be invited to discuss (and vote upon) two foundational documents: the UUFCM covenant will be discussed on May 19, at the annual meeting; the UUA statement of principles and values will be discussed on June 2.
 
The covenant is specific to this congregation, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan. In January, we spent our annual congregation retreat contemplating what a covenant should be and brainstorming what we want to be included. Since then, the Shared Ministry Team took the notes and compiled them into a draft covenant:
 
Granting each other freedom of mind and spirit, we covenant with each other to:

• Be respectful and welcoming to all members, visitors, and staff;
• Listen to and be respectful of and to one another;
• Resolve conflicts in a positive way:
  • speak directly to members, friends, visitors, and staff about concerns
  • speak to Minister with any concerns about job performance of staff (minister supervises all paid staff)
  • speak to Shared Ministry Team regarding conflict that is ongoing or can’t be resolved directly
• Commit to a community of mutual care, taking what we need and giving what we can;
• Search for truth and meaning, while supporting others in their journey;
• Strive to embody the values of forgiveness, honesty, patience, gratitude, and kindness;
• Dedicate ourselves to the work of justice and peace, seeking always to ease suffering and inspire joy.

 
On May 19, everyone is invited to discuss this draft and to offer suggestions. A vote will be taken on whether to continue this process. This will not be a final vote, but will continue a process of revisions and amendments for the next year. This covenant is an expression of how we promise to treat one another in this religious community, and it applies only to UUFCM.
 
By contrast, the vote about Article II relates to a nationwide process that includes all Unitarian Universalist congregations. It is referred to as Article II because the statement of UU principles and values is part of the UUA bylaws, and comprises Article II of those bylaws. Most importantly, the revision of Article II would replace the Seven Principles that have been in place for decades with new language articulating UU values of Justice, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, and Generosity--all centered around Love.
 
This revision of Article II has been ongoing for a few years. Last year a vote was taken at General Assembly to approve the new language, but a second vote at this year’s GA is necessary for final approval. And, there have been four new amendments since the last GA that will be up for debate and approval this year. Two of these amendments are wording changes to the “Equity” section of UU values. The other two amendments propose adding additional values to the list: “Reason,” and “Peace.” All the amendments can be found here: https://discuss.uua.org/c/ga24/2024-a2-amendments/28.
 
At our special meeting after worship on June 2, everyone is invited to discuss Article II. Members will be invited to vote on each of the four amendments separately and on the revised language as a whole. This vote will inform our delegates to General Assembly how to vote in the national voting process.
 
Each of these documents is an important statement about life in a UU community. The covenant, specific to UUFCM, guides us in how we interact with one another and encourages us to be our best. The statement of principles and values is a grounding document that joins together UU’s everywhere in saying what unites us. May we be thoughtful in considering each of these documents and the truth and meaning they represent.
 
PRAYER:
Great spirit of the whole, may there be a path forward for Unitarian Universalists.
May we come to our discussions with humility and passion; may we discern our own truth deeply and may we be open to hearing the truths of others.
May we find a way forward that is good, not expecting perfection.
Blessed be.
 
Rev. Drew Frantz
May 14, 2024

​Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan
Minister’s Column
 
On Friday I went to a concert: performing at the Soaring Eagle Casino was a band called Styx that I had listened to all through my teenage years. This band was popular in the 70’s and 80’s, and almost all of the music they played in concert was from that era. Only one song was a more recent one, that singer Tommy Shaw explained was composed during the pandemic. The song is “Our Wonderful Lives” and the chorus says:

I like the message here, that the cloud of mortality (as I interpret the metaphor) is always present as we live our daily lives, and that we should be grateful for what we have and seize the day. This song was one of my favorite moments in the concert, because the way they sang the chorus in harmony was so beautiful. I don’t know how else to say this: it felt a little bit church-y in a good way.
 
I learned something about myself by attending this concert. The moments that moved me and touched me were the beautiful harmonies and the poignant lyrics that many of the songs contained, and my favorite moments of all were the times when the band invited the crowd to sing along. I appreciate those moments at a rock concert – and I love those moments in worship services. Singing together. Beautiful music with meaningful lyrics. Feeling like I’m part of something larger than myself—a communal experience.
 
My belief is that a lot of people who go to a concert are seeking those moments, and that they give themselves permission to feel those feelings (connection to music, meaningful thoughts about life, connection to a collective group event) only in settings like that. I think these are universal human longings. Some people respond to those longings by going to a concert, some by going to a religious service…and some enjoy both. I have come a long way from being the teenager who would listen to Styx albums on my headphones plugged into the family stereo. I was searching for truth and meaning then, just as I am now. These days I have learned to find truth, meaning, and community in a Unitarian Universalist congregation. And I still find moments of it at a rock concert. 
 
PRAYER:
May God bless Tommy Shaw, Dennis DeYoung, and their music that helped me through my teenage years. May their music continue to bring joy and inspiration.
May all people find what they are looking for, whether it be at a concert; in a worship service; spending time with family; going on a solo hiking adventure.
May we all embrace moments of human connection wherever we may find them.
Blessed be.
 
Rev. Drew Frantz
May 7, 2024