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Spring Forward

3/16/2021

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At our January retreat, we saw an upsurge in interest in learning about diverse spiritualities. In response, the eNews posted a call for folks interested in working on new Adult Religious Education programs. Joyce Henricks, Hal Downs, Stacey Pattison, and Jodi Fisher stepped up and formed a committee! 

Let any one of them know if you are interested in joining that committee. And if you have an idea for an adult RE program, pitch it to them! Later this spring, following our current “Building Your Own Theology” class, Hal Downs will lead a course exploring the notion of covenant in Judaism and Islam. 

Nowadays, lots of the fellowship’s real work gets done in committees. Let’s work together. Spring forward and join a team! If you’re interested in social justice, contact Norma Bailey to participate in the Social Justice Coordinating Team. Interested in RE (for kids)—then let Mel Bailey know. Want to get involved in communication and public relations? Contact Sally Armstrong, chair of the Communications Committee. And there are other committees that would welcome your participation. 

Some of us will be getting (again) stimulus checks that we do not, in fact, really and truly need. And so many others are struggling. It’s an ethical quandary. One possibility is to donate these funds to the Minister’s Discretionary Fund. Drew uses this money to help anyone who needs emergency support—members, friends, and others who ask. Click the “donate” button on our website and you will see this listed as an option.

Another possibility is to donate your stimulus cash to UUFCM for the purpose of growing our endowment. Email Treasurer Terrie Robbie ([email protected]) for ways to do this. 
Or donate to one of the many local charitable agencies that could really use the help. The Soup Kitchen, for example, is staying very busy during the pandemic, working to ward off hunger in Isabella County. There is also the Food Pantry, the homeless shelter (ICRH), domestic violence and sexual assault support services (R.I.S.E.), and others including the Care Store (health and cleaning supplies) and Clothing, INC.
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President’s Comments: Science, Joy, and Church Size

1/13/2021

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We believe in science. And there are scientific studies of how churches change as they grow or shrink. The work of Arlin Rothauge and Alice Mann (both Episcopalian) gives us a framework for understanding these dynamics in UUFCM. This is something Drew and the Board began discussing this week.  
 
Churches are classified into four types according to size: family congregations, pastoral congregations, large program congregations, and very large corporate congregations. When average service attendance is 50 or less, churches function as extended family systems. Almost everyone knows almost everyone else’s name. There may be no full-time clergy. Instead, family church life depends on key persons, matriarchs and patriarchs, to undertake and to persist in leadership roles.  
 
In a pastoral church, a single full-time minister serves a congregation where attendance averages between 50 and 150. It is no longer the case that everyone knows everyone, but most people recognize the faces of other regulars and the names of many. There may be two or three distinct family-style networks. The minister knows everyone and, along with the elected board, becomes the center. Pastoral churches move away from dependence on extended periods of service by critical individuals, the matriarchs and patriarchs.  
 
Our fellowship is in transition from family congregation to pastoral congregation. This brings strain: we lose some of the intimacy of a family-like group, we need to identify and develop leaders beyond the matriarchs and patriarchs, and we must adjust to the central role of a clerical professional.  
 
Resistance to change explains why churches tend to plateau around the upper limit of each church size. It is not easy to break through; we were stable for quite a while. But we know—we have seen–– that UU has been, for many, a saving faith. So our new growth spurt, even with the growing pains, is cause for deep joy and celebration.  
 
I feel this joy. It brings tears to my eyes.

Guy Newland
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Board President’s Report

12/17/2020

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  1. Drew will be on vacation from December 28-January 3. During that time, the contact person (in lieu of Drew) will be Guy Newland ([email protected], 989.944.0534).

  2. Don't forget the vitally important all-congregation meeting on the morning of January 23. We will discuss what our fellowship needs going forward, and whether a person recommended by the Search Committee is a good fit for our needs. This will be followed by a secret, members-only email ballot, similar to what we did for the general business meeting in May.

  3. Small group meetings in the fellowship building are suspended for now. The board made this decision based on the recommendation of our coronavirus task force in response to the current surge.

  4. In early January, expect an email from Treasurer Terrie Robbie with tax-relevant information.

  5. Any proposed modifications of the bylaws should be submitted to Guy Newland ([email protected]) by 12/31.
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President’s Report

9/16/2020

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  • At the Board’s meeting on September 13, there was discussion about how to pursue Board Goal #5, taking antiracist action. It was agreed that, for now, all such energy should be focused on our existing voting rights initiative.
  • The Board reviewed a draft policy on how to handle disruptive behavior which had been proposed by the Committee on Shared Ministry. It will be revised and resubmitted in October.
  • The Board agreed upon an emergency plan whereby, if there is any sort of emergency while the minister is on vacation, the UUFCM President is the person to contact.
  • We approved a charge to our new Communications Committee, chaired by Sally Armstrong.
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President’s Report

8/19/2020

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Guy Newland, Board President
At its annual retreat on August 15, held at Fussman Pavilion in Deerfield Park, the Board agreed on five goals for this year: (1) to call a minister (instead of having a contract minister); (2) to establish an effective communications team; (3) to monitor and deal with the impact of the pandemic on our community; (4) to work to improve our shared ministry to one another in a number of diverse ways, including the work of the Committee on Shared Ministry and a variety of small steps to improve inclusion and transparency; and (5) to undertake antiracist initiatives.
 
A search committee—a revival of last year’s “transition team”—will work on the first goal. Sally Armstrong is organizing and will lead the communications team. We have a task force (Drew, Deb Allore, Kris Los, and Laura McBride) advising on the pandemic. The Committee on Shared Ministry (Drew, Guy, Carolyn Hancock, and Chris Bailey) assesses and advises the Board on how to improve our ministry to one another. There is no official group focusing on the question of what our next step will be as an antiracist community. Several people have a strong interest; we are brainstorming. If you have an idea, shoot it to me! How do we as a gentle, angry people confront the daily outrages of American racism?
 
At the regular board meeting (Zoom, afternoon of August 15), the Board approved a new contract for Director of Religious Education Kendra Peffers, running through January 10, 2021. We accepted a donation of a beautiful, black metal chalice from Kris Los, and this will soon adorn our Wisconsin door. We also made slight modifications to the existing policy establishing the Committee on Shared Ministry (so as to keep its membership distinct from that of the Board), and we had a “first reading” and discussion of a draft Board Policy on Disruptive Behavior.
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President’s Report

8/12/2020

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Guy Newland, Board President
At its July 12 meeting, the Board asked me to support Drew in seeking a waiver of a Ministerial Fellowship Committee rule that, for practical purposes, would prevent him from accepting a call to become our settled minister. Because of that committee’s schedule, we cannot expect a response until late in September.  

The Board also voted that UUFCM accept the invitation to join the UU Fellowship of Oberlin in ordaining Drew on July 25. That was an incredibly beautiful Zoom ceremony. Congratulations to Reverend Frantz!

The Board voted to establish a new committee, the Communications Team. Sally Armstrong–who has past experience in this role with another UU church–has agreed to serve as chair. Details will be worked out at the Board’s upcoming retreat, on August 15.  

No one applied for our advertised Director of Religious Education position, but Kendra Peffers will stay on through January 10, 2021.
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    The Board President’s report of the highlights from the monthly Board meeting.

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