Donations for the Infant Pantry are collected on the first Sunday of each month. Most needed items are  things for baby care - diapers (especially sizes 5 and 6), creams, shampoos,and  lotions. Baby food and formula are not needed a this time. Please contact Tom Moffit (moffi1tc@cmich.edu or 772-1602) with any questions. Thank you in advance for your generous donations!

It's Pride season! The annual Pride Parade, part of the 26th Celebration of Pride in Michigan’s Capitol, steps off on Saturday, August 29, 2015 at 12:00 p.m. from Adado Riverfront Park. The parade travels through downtown Lansing and ends in front of the state Capitol Building. We have so much to celebrate this year! Meet in front of Adado Riverfront Park (300 N. Grand Ave.) with fun rainbow decorations and/or your Standing on the Side of Love t-shirt for the parade. The Pride Festival is in Adado Park from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.

The Mt. Pleasant Area Diversity Group is sponsoring a community forum on Black Lives Matter on Tuesday, September 15 in the Veteran's Memorial Library Annex. Look for more information as we get closer to the date.

We have formed a new coalition made up of representatives of the League of Women Voters, the Mid-Michigan Interfaith Coalition, and CMU faculty and students to work on voter registration and voter education from a non-partisan stance. Our first effort is voter registration, and there are three events where volunteers are needed to register students (listed below). The task is simple – carry a clipboard and help students fill out a voter registration form accurately – and there will be a brief training to help you feel confident about the task. Sign up with Norma Bailey at church the next two Sundays or contact her at baile1nj@cmich.edu or at 989-560-3952. Please join us as we UUFCMers work to make the world a better place!

Saturday, August 29, 5-9 pm at MainStage at CMU (most needed)
Sunday, August 30, 1-5 pm at Wesley Foundation (corner of Washington and Preston)
Wednesday, September 2, 4-7 at CMU’s Warriner Mall (MASS Get Acquainted Day)

On July 12-13, Norma Bailey and Susan Powers participated in the Mass Moral Monday March and Rally for Voting Rights in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. With 1,200 people, we attended the Voting Rights Ecumenical Service at the Union Baptist Church on Sunday evening; participated in the all-day teach-ins on Monday addressing voting rights, racial violence, economic justice, and building coalitions; and marched with 3500 people to protest the draconian voter suppression laws legislated by North Carolina. UUA President Rev. Peter Morales was also a speaker at the rally and march.

While there were many Unitarian Universalists present, both of us were moved by the ecumenical nature of the days’ events, with Christians, Jews, Muslims, UUs, and atheists; blacks and whites; gays and straights; young and old, speaking as one voice in protest of the voter suppression laws. As well, we came back with a number of ideas to share with UUFCM regarding voter registration and voter suppression. Stay tuned for ways in which we can help make a difference in this arena.