Wheelchair Update
We want to thank Christopher Harvey for responding to our call for a used wheel chair. Now we will have one on our premises for anyone to use. Thank you for your generous donation.

In Worship
This Sunday, February 14, we bring to a close our month-long focus in worship on the theme of racial justice (our work, however, goes on!). In concert with the UUA’s Standing on the Side of Love campaign’s “Share the Love Sunday - which is celebrated annually on Valentine’s Day – our minister will share a message titled “The Small Work in the Great Work”…and asks the question: what does love call us to do in standing up for racial justice? We hope you will join us!

“Matthew Fox writes of “the small work in the Great Work,” the place of your little life and love, daily days and earnest effort as a solitary person within the larger Life and larger Love that some call Holy, some call God, some call History, and others call simply larger than themselves. Like everybody else, we are doing small work within the Great Work of creation, and thus do we aid it and abet it in unfolding.” ~ Victoria Safford.” 

Looking ahead…
February 21: “The Common Heart”
February 28: “Why I'm a Unitarian Universalist”

Path to Membership Workshop - This Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
The Path to Membership Workshop is designed for those who are ready to make the membership commitment. This interactive workshop explores the deeper meanings and expectations of membership and shared ministry. Our next Path to Membership Workshop is scheduled for Saturday, February 13 from 1-4 p.m. If you have questions or are interested in the workshop, please contact Dawn Daniels ([email protected] or 989-763-6315).

Change to RE Winter Retreat
Due to the forecast of bitter cold temperatures and the high risk of frostbite, we are following educational guidelines for children's outdoor safety and are no longer sponsoring a camping trip this weekend, February 12-14. While we are not running a UUFCM sponsored retreat, Liz and Bob Busch still plan to camp at Mystic Lake YMCA Campground with their family. Anyone who is up for the adventure is invited to join them. Although there is an outdoor frostbite risk, the yurts are heated and the Busch family reports that they have had successful campouts in similar weather. For more information they can be reached at (989) 817-3168 or [email protected].

UU Cabaret Performers Needed!
As the Stewardship Team prepares for the 2016 Stewardship Campaign, the kick off event is being planned…drum roll please…the UU Cabaret! This highly anticipated event will be Saturday, February 20, 2016 at 7 pm in our sanctuary. Sign up sheets are available in the Social Hall. If you play an instrument, sing, dance, act, perform UU tricks, recite poetry/stories, etc., then we need you.
Thank you for your consideration!
In appreciation and admiration, Laura McBride, 2016 UUFCM Stewardship Chairperson

UUFCM Common Read – Stage II Begins
It’s time to dive into our second book selection of the UUFCM Common Read series for this year, The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander. Discussion group opportunities will be planned for later this month. 

“Once in a great while a book comes along that changes the way we see the world and helps to fuel a nationwide social movement. The New Jim Crow is such a book. Praised by Harvard Law professor Lani Guinier as "brave and bold," this book directly challenges the notion that the election of Barack Obama signals a new era of colorblindness. With dazzling candor, legal scholar Michelle Alexander argues that "we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it." By targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color, the U.S. criminal justice system functions as a contemporary system of racial control—relegating millions to a permanent second-class status—even as it formally adheres to the principle of colorblindness. In the words of Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the NAACP, this book is a "call to action."

First Friday Potluck - Hosts Needed!
We are still in need of hosts for upcoming potlucks. If you are willing to host a potluck, please use this form to sign up to sign-up or email/phone Chris Bauerle directly at [email protected] or 989-330-8457. The upcoming dates include: March 4, April 1 (really!), May 6, June 3 and August 5. If you enjoy the potlucks, please consider hosting - it is fun and easy!

Restoration House News
Volunteers are still needed. If you are willing to serve as an intake volunteer from 4:15 to 6:00 any day of the weeks ahead (until the program ends on April 6), please contact Joyce Henricks at 773-4709, or [email protected]. Thank you!
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••• Community News •••
Are You Going to Miss the Pool?
If you are interested in having a community pool in Mt. Pleasant, please consider filling out this short survey. This information is vital to the progression of creating and building a facility with the best interests of the community in mind.

Black History Month at CMU
Here is a listing of events for this month!