eNews For Thursday, December 28

12/28/2023

eNews for Thursday, December 28

Worship Matters

We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, December 31, to worship together with Ricky Courlander, who will present "Burning Bowl." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.

"What do you want to get rid of from the year 2023? Turning towards the new year and letting go of the old, we will feature a ritual of releasing the things which no longer serve us through fire. This service is multigenerational, children of all ages are invited to participate (safely!)"

Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 402489218

One tap mobile
+16468769923,,402489218#

Phone - audio only
+1 646 876 9923

Religious Education - December 31

Kwanzaa! - The children will be reading "Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa," by Donna L. Washington. We will be learning about each day of Kwanzaa, making a mkeka and a chalice of unity! Please feel free to join us in learning about this fantastic holiday!

Upcoming Services
January 7
January 14
January 21
January 28

If you happen to miss being in worship, please check out our website sermon archive for sermon video and/or text.

Minister’s Column

There is no minister’s column this week because Rev. Drew is away on vacation. He will be back in the office on Tuesday, January 2.

Read previous columns here.

Upcoming Events

Most meetings and events are hybrid (in-person/Zoom). Please contact the event or meeting leader if you are not sure. Event and meeting details and links can be found on the UUFCM Calendar.

- Welcome to UU Orientation - Last Sundays at 12:30pm (resumes January 2024)
- UUFCM Men’s Group - 1st Mondays at 7pm on Zoom
- Game Night - 3rd Mondays at 7pm
- Central Michigan Sangha - Tuesdays at 6:45pm
- UU Discussion Group - Wednesdays at 10am
- Choir Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 7pm
- Drawing Workshop - 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 10am
- First Friday Potluck - First Fridays at 6:30pm
- Movie Night - 4th Saturdays at 7pm
- Monthly Soul Matters Small Group Discussion - January 4 at 6:30pm

All members and friends are welcome to attend our UUFCM Board meeting as well as the various team meetings that occur monthly. If you are interested in attending any specific team meeting, please contact the team leader for information.

Team Meetings
None this week!

If you are interested in helping any of these teams or committees, please fill out the Volunteer Opportunity Form if you haven’t already.

Rev. Drew on Vacation - December 25 – January 1

Our minister Drew will be on vacation for the last week of December, returning on Tuesday January 2. During this time he will be off-duty from all regular Fellowship business, and can be reached by text / cell phone for any urgent business.

Soul Matters Small Group Discussion: "Mystery" - January 4

Thursday, January 4, at 6:30 pm
Our monthly small group continues with the December topic of Mystery. We will discuss questions like the ones below...these along with many more suggested spiritual practices related to Mystery are contained in the Soul Matters packet you can access here.
Click here for Discussion Questions.

First Friday Potluck – January 5

Please join us in the UUFCM Fellowship Hall at 6:30pm (doors open at 6:15) for food, conversation, and games! Coffee, hot tea, and water will be provided. If you are able, please bring a dish to pass.

Save the Date! - January 15

The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace March will be held on Monday, January 15. Let’s get a large number of us to march together behind our UUFCM banner! Put the date on your calendar if you can!

UUFCM Retreat - January 20

Saturday, January 20
8:00am - Breakfast
9:00am - 12:00pm Retreat
Please plan to join us for our annual congregational retreat. This year the topic will be covenant. What are the sacred agreements that define how we treat each other in this UUFCM community? Join us to reflect, discuss, and draft our covenant.

Happy Birthday!

In January, we celebrate the birthdays of Beth Armstrong, Jubilee Daum, Janis Shinn, Mel Bailey, Andi Christopher, Abiona Bailey, Monica Jean, Jim Moreno, Stacey Pattison, Doris Hall, and Jennifer Davis. For the year to come, we wish them much joy, good health for body and mind, and new (ad)ventures. May it be so.

Changes in the City of Mt. Pleasant Voting Precincts

Because of the passage of Prop 2-22, the voting precincts in Mt. Pleasant have been reduced from five to three. You should receive a new Voter ID Card with your new information. Click here for more information.

Directory Update

Every February we publish a hard copy of ourFellowship Directory, and we need your help to make sure that the information is accurate. Please go online and see if your information in the directory is current. If you forgot the password or never had it, contact Gisela Moffit as the directory is password-protected. Did you move, did you have another child, did you change your phone, email or text number? We need to know by January 21.

Tribal Lands, Maps and Other Information

This document includes information about the 12 federally-acknowledged Indian tribes in Michigan, along with maps and their governmental structure, that is helpful in understanding our Native neighbors.

Name Tags and Birthdays

As you know, we have started to add pronouns to our name tags if people request them. You can also add them to the Fellowship Directory. Please let David Allan know your preferred pronouns.

If we don't have your birthday (just month and day, not year,), let David know as well so that we can include you in the monthly celebration at the First Friday potlucks.

Religious Education Recap
December 17

Children learned about the history behind the Jewish tradition Hanukkah. We read "The Story of Hanukkah," by David A. Adler during the Time For All Ages. Afterwards the children gathered to play the Dreidel Game and wrote the sacred text of the Hebrew language. Everyone had so much fun spinning the dreidel and playing for chocolate golden coins. Everyone went home with instructions of how to play the game to share their knowledge with friends and family.

Religious Education Recap
December 24

The children learned about the celebration of the Winter Solstice during the reading of "Winter: A Solstice Story," by Kelsey E. Gross. Popcorn garland, orange slice ornaments, and peanut butter birdseed ornaments were made for our animal friends! We are learning to live in harmony with nature by using environmentally friendly materials!

Twelve Months to a More Climate Conscious YOU!

Upcoming Book Discussion Group

• • • Community News • • •

Election/Poll Workers Needed

Many communities throughout Michigan, including Mt. Pleasant and Union Township, still need more poll workers to help run the February 2024 election. Hiring and training of poll workers is happening now! Visit Michigan.gov/PollWorker to learn more and complete the Election Worker Interest Form.

Free COVID Tests

Get free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests this fall on COVIDTests.gov

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order an additional 4 free at-⁠home tests beginning November 20. If you did not order tests this fall, you may place two orders for a total of 8 tests.

Your order of COVID tests is completely free – you won’t even pay for shipping. You can order your test kits HERE.

Donate Now!

The Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan is funded solely by its members and friends.

For your convenience, you can make a donation electronically with the button below, or via the GivePlus Church App. Please consider the option of offsetting the cost to the Fellowship for providing the convenience of making an online donation.

If you prefer not to donate electronically, you may also write a check payable to UUFCM and send it to: UUFCM, P.O. Box 41, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48804-0041

Got News?
The deadline for submissions to
the Order of Service Insert and the UUFCM weekly eNews
is Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
Please send all submissions to [email protected].

Drew’s Contact Information

Please contact Drew via email, phone, or text.
[email protected]
Phone/text: 440-935-0129
Office Hours (in person and/or Zoom):
Tuesdays 10am-noon
Wednesdays 1-3pm and 8-9pm
Office Hours Zoom Link

UUFCM Board of Trustees for 2023-2024
President: Cynthia Damer (989.506.5750; [email protected])
President Elect: Aaron Jones (989.501.0672; [email protected])
Treasurer: Terrie Robbie (989.400.2495; [email protected])
Secretary: Laurie Meadows (989.317.8299; [email protected])
Trustee: Victoria Sladek (989.506.7039; [email protected])
Trustee: Monica Jean (616.443.8782; [email protected])
Trustee: Kevin Daum (989.546.7701; [email protected])

Team and Committee Leaders

Adult Religious Education Team - Jodi Fisher
Building, Grounds & Safety Team - Norma Bailey
Communications Coordinating Team
Fellowship Life Coordinating Team - Gisela Moffit
Membership - Laura McBride
Arms Around - Laura McBride
Welcome & Hospitality - Gisela Moffit
Social Fun - Jen Prout
Social Justice Coordinating Team - Norma Bailey
Worship Team - Drew Frantz
Youth Religious Education (RE) Team - Norma Bailey

We are a religious community guided by love, transforming our lives and our world.

Copyright © 2023 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan. All rights reserved.

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eNews for Thursday, December 21

12/21/2023

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eNews for Thursday, December 21

Christmas Caroling!

UUFCM carolers visited two congregants’ homes to spread some holiday cheer.

Worship Matters

Sunday Service

We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, December 24, to worship together with Rev. Drew Frantz, who will present "Yule: Celebrating Winter Solstice." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.

"The Pagan holiday of Yule pre-dates the Christian holiday of Christmas, including traditions such as the burning of the Yule-Log. As practiced by many modern-day Pagans, Yule is a celebration of the winter solstice (December 21, the shortest day of the year). This holiday offers a chance to reflect on the darkness and the gifts it offers, as well as the importance of welcoming in the light."

Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 402489218

One tap mobile
+16468769923,,402489218#

Phone - audio only
+1 646 876 9923

Christmas Eve Service

Sunday, December 24 at 7pm

We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, December 24, at 7:00pm to worship together with Rev. Drew Frantz, who will present "Christmas Eve Stories and Carols."

All are welcome for this family-friendly service of traditional Christmas carols and readings. As Christian believers celebrate the birth of the Messiah, non-Christians may embrace baby Jesus as a symbol of hope and innocence. We conclude the ceremony with the candle-lit singing of Silent Night.

Zoom Invitation for Christmas Eve Service:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 402489218

One tap mobile
+16468769923,,402489218#

Phone - audio only
+1 646 876 9923

Upcoming Services
December 24: Yule: Celebrating Winter Solstice
December 24 at 7:00pm: Christmas Eve Stories and Carols
December 31: The Burning Bowl

If you happen to miss being in worship, please check out our website sermon archive for sermon video and/or text.

Minister’s Column

On Monday morning, out of nowhere, I got a shooting pain in my lower back. I tried to move through it and go out to do what I had planned for my day, but it got worse instead of better. By the afternoon I was afraid to stand up after sitting down, because as soon as I was upright the pain was staggering. A day later, thanks to rest and pain medicine, I was fine: most of the pain was gone and I was able to go for a walk and do all of my normal activities.

Read more here.

Upcoming Events

Most meetings and events are hybrid (in-person/Zoom). Please contact the event or meeting leader if you are not sure. Event and meeting details and links can be found on the UUFCM Calendar.

- Welcome to UU Orientation - Last Sundays at 12:30pm (resumes January 2024)
- UUFCM Men’s Group - 1st Mondays at 7pm on Zoom
- Game Night - 3rd Mondays at 7pm
- Central Michigan Sangha - Tuesdays at 6:45pm
- UU Discussion Group - Wednesdays at 10am
- Choir Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 7pm
- Drawing Workshop - 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 10am (resumes January 9)
- First Friday Potluck - First Fridays at 6:30pm
- Movie Night - 4th Saturdays at 7pm
- Monthly Soul Matters Small Group Discussion - January 4 at 6:30pm

All members and friends are welcome to attend our UUFCM Board meeting as well as the various team meetings that occur monthly. If you are interested in attending any specific team meeting, please contact the team leader for information.

Team Meetings
None scheduled!

If you are interested in helping any of these teams or committees, please fill out the Volunteer Opportunity Form if you haven’t already.

Rev. Drew on Vacation December 25 – January 1

Save the Date: January 20

UUFCM Retreat
Saturday, January 20
8:00am - Breakfast
9:00am - 12:00pm Retreat

Please plan to join us for our annual congregational retreat. This year the topic will be covenant. What are the sacred agreements that define how we treat each other in this UUFCM community? Join us to reflect, discuss, and draft our covenant.

Soul Matters Small Group Discussion: "Mystery" - January 4

Do you spend more time treating life like a problem to be solved, a game to be won, a struggle to be survived or a mystery to be lived?
What’s one thing you could do this month to more deeply encounter mystery?
If there was one mystery you could have answered/solved before you die, what would it be?
As you’ve grown older, has life seemed to have more or less mystery in it?
What was the first mystery to capture your imagination? How does that still shape you today?
What has been your most successful means of encountering or staying open to mystery?

Updated: Twelve Months to a More Climate Conscious YOU!

Upcoming Book Discussion Group

In our culture, we really do not like to think about end of life, however inevitable it is. But like so many other stages of life, understanding and preparation can make a real difference. In Being Mortal, Atul Gawunde offers us a series of examples of real peoples' experiences - a series of cautionary tales - that lay out the challenges and pitfalls, but also provides some profoundly helpful suggestions. While we can't hope to "fix" old age, we can hope to manage it in order to maximize autonomy and meaningful satisfactions.

This advice is obviously meaningful to those of us in our later years, but is also potentially of great value to younger people who may be in a position of caring for aging parents.

Nancy Roeder and Jim Dealing are proposing a four-session discussion during January and February (probably after Sunday services.) They need to know how much interest there is and how many books to order. Please contact either of them directly.

Chalice Lighter Donation Call

The Wheelchair Accessibility Task Force is working on a project to make our sanctuary welcoming to persons in all types of wheelchairs. To help fund this project, we are planning to apply for a Chalice Lighter grant in February and we need your help. Chalice Lighter grants help congregations across the MidAmerica Region of the UUA with specific growth projects and are funded by small donations from individuals that are pooled together. To be eligible to apply for the grant, we need members of our congregation to become Chalice Lighters. To become a member, you have to commit to donating at least $20 three times a year ($60 for the year). You can donate online here: https://www.uua.org/midamerica/giving/chalice-lighters

Please make sure to write in the name of our fellowship in the online comment field.

You can also give a check or cash to Cynthia Damer and she will mail in the donations. Brochures about the Chalice Lighter Program are available in the hallway outside the sanctuary and online here: https://www.uua.org/files/2022-01/MidAmerica%20Region%20Chalice-Lighters-brochure-2022.pdf

• • • Community News • • •

Election/Poll Workers Needed

Free COVID Tests

Get free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests this fall on COVIDTests.gov

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order an additional 4 free at-⁠home tests beginning November 20. If you did not order tests this fall, you may place two orders for a total of 8 tests.

Your order of COVID tests is completely free – you won’t even pay for shipping. You can order your test kits HERE.

UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary Monthly Gathering Space

Fourth Tuesdays, December through June

Register here for the Zoom link.
Join UPLIFT monthly gatherings for trans, nonbinary, and other not-entirely-or-at-all-cis UUs and friends of UUism. Join us to connect with other trans/nonbinary+ UUs and co-create support and community across our faith. All you need to bring is yourself (and other trans/nonbinary friends, if you’d like)! Non-UUs are welcome if they are OK with being in a UU-focused community that won't proselytize. If you are interested in this space, and you aren’t (entirely or at all) cisgender, it is a space for you.

What do we do? Gatherings are a cozy community space where we connect with each other with games and breakout groups, share ideas and stories on all kinds of topics, listen to music and poetry (often by trans/nonbinary+ creators), and much more!

This is a drop-in space, where folks can come and go as works best for them, and where people can join us at any time. You can be a regular or someone new, someone who's been curious for a while but hasn't yet checked us out, somebody who is rejoining after time away, and all other ways of relating to this space! You are welcome here, and you are loved.

All-Ages Community
This space is multi-generational. It is open to and welcoming of trans/nonbinary elders as well as children, youth, and young adults. Standard UUA online safety measures apply to ensure all people under 18 are able to attend. We're glad to have you here!

Accessibility Information
Closed captioning is available, and any common chat content will also be spoken aloud. Please be mindful of both processing and communication access. Speak one at a time. Meeting will not be recorded. Participation, as well as what is shared, is confidential. There is no requirement to appear on video or to maintain “conventional” appearances. Additional accessibility needs? Please email [email protected] or [email protected]! We will do our best to ensure you can fully access the space.

Donate Now!

If you prefer not to donate electronically, you may also write a check payable to UUFCM and send it to: UUFCM, P.O. Box 41, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48804-0041

Got News?
The deadline for submissions to
the Order of Service Insert and the UUFCM weekly eNews
is Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
Please send all submissions to [email protected].

Drew’s Contact Information

Team and Committee Leaders

We are a religious community guided by love, transforming our lives and our world.

eNews for Thursday, December 14

12/14/2023

View this email in your browser

eNews for Thursday, December 14

NEW: Cookie Decorating

On Sunday, December 10, the children in the Youth RE program decorated holiday cookies and shared them with the congregation.

NEW: Farewell to Katherine!

Thank you for all of your contributions to the UUFCM RE program. You will be missed! On December 10, during coffee hour we had a cake in honor of Katherine Stillson who has served as our nursery and childcare provider for the past year and who is now moving to do her student teaching.

Worship Matters

Blue Holidays Service

Saturday, December 16 at 4pm

Popular culture tells us that the winter holiday season is joyful and fun. It can also be stressful and sad. The expectation to be joyful can be stressful in itself, while family gatherings can also bring up challenges and traumas large and small. Please join us for a special service that allows time to acknowledge the difficult feelings that are present in the holiday season. You may find serenity and acceptance here; you may find comfort in the companionship of others. All are welcome.

We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Saturday, December 16, at 4:00pm.

Zoom Invitation for Blue Holidays Service:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 402489218

One tap mobile
+16468769923,,402489218#

Phone - audio only
+1 646 876 9923

Sunday Service

We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, December 17, to worship together with Rev. Drew Frantz, who will present "Mystery." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.

"We are invited to contemplate mysteries including human nature (our capacity for healing and harming); the purpose of this life; the mystery of aging and evolving through decades of life experience; what makes children behave as they do. Definitive answers to these big questions are unlikely--maybe the trick is to embrace the mystery and to pursue that mind-set as a way of living. All are welcome. Bring your curiosity."

Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 402489218

One tap mobile
+16468769923,,402489218#

Phone - audio only
+1 646 876 9923

Upcoming Services
December 16 at 4:00pm: Blue Holidays
December 17: Mystery
December 24: Yule
December 24 at 7:00pm: Christmas Eve
December 31: The Burning Bowl

If you happen to miss being in worship, please check out our website sermon archive for sermon video and/or text.

Minister’s Column

This week is the celebration of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, commemorating the ancient time when Jews were in a war-time siege and the little oil they had for their lamps miraculously lasted for eight days instead of one. A minor religious holiday in Israel, Hanukkah has great prominence in the U.S. because of its proximity to Christmas on the calendar. Including both Christmas and Hanukkah in public recognitions of December holidays is a symbolic gesture of honoring religious diversity. Often it feels to me like religious diversity in mainstream America is limited to Jewish and Christian religion—and that the recognition of Judaism is limited to Hanukkah. Little by little, a few other (non-Christian) holidays are finding their way into American consciousness. Ramadan is one that more Americans are becoming aware of—certainly more than a few decades ago.

Read more here.

Upcoming Events

Most meetings and events are hybrid (in-person/Zoom). Please contact the event or meeting leader if you are not sure. Event and meeting details and links can be found on the UUFCM Calendar.

- Welcome to UU Orientation - Last Sundays at 12:30pm (resumes January 2024)
- UUFCM Men’s Group - 1st Mondays at 7pm on Zoom
- Game Night - 3rd Mondays at 7pm
- Central Michigan Sangha - Tuesdays at 6:45pm
- UU Discussion Group - Wednesdays at 10am
- Choir Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 7pm
- Drawing Workshop - 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 10am (resumes January 9)
- First Friday Potluck - First Fridays at 6:30pm
- Movie Night - 4th Saturdays at 7pm (3rd Saturday at 7pm in December)
- Monthly Soul Matters Small Group Discussion - January 4 at 6:30pm

All members and friends are welcome to attend our UUFCM Board meeting as well as the various team meetings that occur monthly. If you are interested in attending any specific team meeting, please contact the team leader for information.

Team Meetings
Fellowship Life - Sunday, December 17, at 11:45am
Youth RE - Sunday, December 17 at 3:30pm

If you are interested in helping any of these teams or committees, please fill out the Volunteer Opportunity Form if you haven’t already.

Movie Night - This Saturday!

December 16
There have been over sixteen movie versions of Charles Dickens' beloved tale, A Christmas Carol. One of the highly rated ones is the 1984 movie starring George C Scott as Scrooge. It is a classic. Join us December 16 at 7:00pm in the Fellowship Hall

NEW: Holiday Gift for a Homeless Guest - This Sunday!

We (UUFCM) were asked by ICRH, the homeless shelter, if we would like to provide holiday gifts for one of their guests this year. The Social Justice Coordinating Team (SJCT) selected a name and has purchased several items for the maximum of $75.00 (as indicated by ICRH). We are hoping that a number of you will contribute $5.00 toward the gift.

Kelly Lawson will be glad to receive your $5.00 this Sunday, December 17 at the worship service.

NEW: Special Offering Collection – December 17 - This Sunday!

This Sunday a collection will be taken to supplement the minister’s discretionary fund which is used to respond to requests from congregants and/or people in the community who might need gas money, money to pay an electric bill, a night in a hotel, etc. You can donate online to this fund at our website or checks can be made out to UUFCM with “Discretionary Fund” indicated in the memo line, and sent to UUFCM Treasurer, P.O. Box 41, Mt. Pleasant, MI, 48804-0041.

RE Christmas Caroling - This Sunday!

December 17
On December 17, the Youth RE Team will be caroling to local congregants. We will gather at the Fellowship on Sunday at 1:00pm to go caroling and then return to the church to have some hot chocolate. Families are encouraged to come along and bring their youth and their friends!

CUUPs Yule Ritual - This Sunday!

December 17
Yule, the winter solstice, is a time of great symbolism and power. It marks the return of the sun, when the days finally begin to get a little longer. It’s also a time to celebrate with family and friends and share the spirit of giving. We will hold the ritual promptly at 6pm.

Game Night - December 18

Monday, December 18 - 7:00pm
We meet on 3rd Mondays from 7-9pm in the UUFCM social hall and have fun with a variety of games decided by consensus. It is a great opportunity to learn new games and meet people with similar interests! Questions? Contact James Scott at 989.854.0044.

NEW: Soul Matters Small Group Discussion: "Mystery" - January 4

Do you spend more time treating life like a problem to be solved, a game to be won, a struggle to be survived or a mystery to be lived?
What’s one thing you could do this month to more deeply encounter mystery?
If there was one mystery you could have answered/solved before you die, what would it be?
As you’ve grown older, has life seemed to have more or less mystery in it?
What was the first mystery to capture your imagination? How does that still shape you today?
What has been your most successful means of encountering or staying open to mystery?

NEW: New Windows!

As a significant step to improve our building’s heating proficiency, new windows have been installed in the Fellowship Hall, the nursery and in Drew’s office. Take a look and admire! This was achieved utilizing funds from the Building and Grounds budget as well as the money earned in our biannual garage sale this past June. Thanks to all of you who contributed to both!

NEW: Potted Winter Decorations

Thanks to Darlene Ritchie for providing us with the potted winter decorations outside the Wisconsin Street side door and on the steps on the University Street entrance. They add to the beauty of the season!

NEW: Twelve Months to a More Climate Conscious YOU!

Adult RE Initiative
Climate Change is real and present and is affecting our Mother Earth - including insects, animals, trees, soil, weather, infrastructure, and human beings. It will cause major negative changes for our children and grandchildren and beyond (the 7th Generation). Climate change is currently impacting millions of people, especially those in the bottom 98% of income.

Why is this important to our UUFCM community? Rev. William Sinkford, former President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, spoke at the UU Witness for the Earth Rally in Portland, OR, organized by the UU Ministry of the Earth. (2007). He said:

"Earth is our home. We are part of this world and its destiny is our own. Life on this planet will be gravely affected unless we embrace new practices, ethics, and values to guide our lives on a warming planet. As Unitarian Universalists, how can our faith inform our actions to remedy and mitigate global warming/climate change? We declare by this Statement of Conscience that we will not acquiesce to the ongoing degradation and destruction of life that human actions are leaving to our children and grandchildren. We as Unitarian Universalists are called to join with others to halt practices that fuel global warming/climate change, to instigate sustainable alternatives, and to mitigate the impending effects of global warming/climate change with just and ethical responses. As a people of faith, we commit to a renewed reverence for life and respect for the interdependent web of all existence."

We are emboldened to embrace new practices in our lives. Habits we've had for years are difficult to change, but with community support we can do this!

Thus, we ask that you participate in changing your daily practices that are counterproductive to Mother Earth, and replace them with habits that are more conducive for the future. There are hundreds to choose from, but we are targeting specific tasks that are important culturally and politically here in mid-Michigan.

WE challenge you join us on this journey addressing the themes of:

Packaging and Plastic Reduction PP
Water Protection WP
Ethical Food and Gardens FG
Energy - Reduce Fossil Fuels FF

For this 12-month challenge, you will sign up at the last UUFCM Sunday service of the month. Because of the holidays, the first one will be on Sunday, December 17th. You will receive a TOOL KIT of the month electronically after you sign up. The Tool Kit will:

Provide information on the background of this topic and why it is critical in our community
Include ways to advocate for policy changes (letters to legislators, stores, etc.) and educate others
Assist with YOUR ACTION - Changing a practice in your everyday life permanently

At the end of every month (when you get the next Tool Kit) we will collect what you’ve accomplished and give you points for each completed task. You can also pick a THEME to tackle for the 2024 year.

In December of 2024, you will get a list of everything you’ve done to increase your climate consciousness, with total points, goals for the future, and some prizes!

As we progress, we welcome your input of ideas and information to share with us before the next topic comes out at the end of the month. We wish to make this an inclusive activity and that you create stories of successes and roadblocks as we create a positive difference in our UUFCM and mid-Michigan community.

Topics and Themes
Jan: Reduce plastic when shopping and eating out - PP
Feb: Water from home to Great Lakes (septic/composting/medications) - WP
Mar: Electrification of our homes - FF
Apr: Reducing plastic in our food, water, and products - PP
May: Native plants- for lawns and gardens - FG
Jun: Fossil fuels- electric batteries, bikes, blowers, lawnmowers, etc. - FF
Jul: Ethical eating - use of wheat, sugar, meat - FG
Aug: Solar energy and Green Sanctuary - FF
Sep: Water quality- test wells/city water (PFAS, PBB, etc.) - WP
Oct: Top water protection issues in mid-Michigan (plastic water bottles) - WP/PP
Nov: Revisit composting and yard waste - FG
Dec: Divestment of fossil fuel funds - FF

Just think of what we’ll accomplish!

Please contact either Karen Turnbull at [email protected] or Jodi Fisher at [email protected] or (989) 560-5135 for more information and to share your ideas.

Upcoming Book Discussion Group

Chalice Lighter Donation Call

• • • Community News • • •

NEW: Free COVID Tests

Get free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests this fall on COVIDTests.gov

Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order an additional 4 free at-⁠home tests beginning November 20. If you did not order tests this fall, you may place two orders for a total of 8 tests.

Your order of COVID tests is completely free – you won’t even pay for shipping. You can order your test kits HERE.

UPLIFT Trans/Nonbinary Monthly Gathering Space

Fourth Tuesdays, December through June

Donate Now!

If you prefer not to donate electronically, you may also write a check payable to UUFCM and send it to: UUFCM, P.O. Box 41, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48804-0041

Got News?
The deadline for submissions to
the Order of Service Insert and the UUFCM weekly eNews
is Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
Please send all submissions to [email protected].

Drew’s Contact Information

Team and Committee Leaders

We are a religious community guided by love, transforming our lives and our world.

eNews for Thursday, December 7

12/8/2023

View this email in your browser

eNews for Thursday, December 7

Worship Matters

We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, December 10, to worship together with Rev. Drew Frantz, who will present "Hope for Our Children in a World of Climate Change." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.

"All of us are responsible for the children of the community, whether biologically related or not. Therefore we all feel the fear and sadness that comes with knowing that they are inheriting a world of climate disaster (among other calamities.) Despair is possible, but hope must always return. Finding hope by ourselves and in our communities of care is a spiritual practice, as simple as breathing and as profound as trusting the invisible force of life and love within us."

Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service:
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 402489218

One tap mobile
+16468769923,,402489218#

Phone - audio only
+1 646 876 9923

Upcoming Services
December 10: Hope for Our Children (In a World of Climate Change)
December 16 at 4:00pm: Blue Holidays
December 17: Mystery
December 24: Yule
December 24 at 7:00pm: Christmas Eve
December 31: The Burning Bowl

If you happen to miss being in worship, please check out our website sermon archive for sermon video and/or text.

Minister’s Column

I was in a store yesterday and the cashier remarked on how it felt super late even though it was just after 7:00 p.m. “Yeah, the sun goes down a lot earlier this time of year,” I said.

Read more here.

Upcoming Events

Most meetings and events are hybrid (in-person/Zoom). Please contact the event or meeting leader if you are not sure. Event and meeting details and links can be found on the UUFCM Calendar.

- Welcome to UU Orientation - Last Sundays at 12:30pm (resumes January 2024)
- UUFCM Men’s Group - 1st Mondays at 7pm on Zoom
- Game Night - 3rd Mondays at 7pm
- Central Michigan Sangha - Tuesdays at 6:45pm
- UU Discussion Group - Wednesdays at 10am
- Choir Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 7pm
- Drawing Workshop - 2nd and 4th Tuesdays at 10am (2nd Tuesday ONLY in December)
- First Friday Potluck - First Fridays at 6:30pm
- Movie Night - 4th Saturdays at 7pm (3rd Saturday at 7pm in December)
- Monthly Soul Matters Small Group Discussion - January 4 at 6:30pm

All members and friends are welcome to attend our UUFCM Board meeting as well as the various team meetings that occur monthly. If you are interested in attending any specific team meeting, please contact the team leader for information.

Team Meetings
UUFCM Board - Sunday, December 10, at 1:00pm
Social Justice - Monday, December 11, at 7:00pm
Worship Team - Tuesday, December 12, at 7:00pm

If you are interested in helping any of these teams or committees, please fill out the Volunteer Opportunity Form if you haven’t already.

Farewell Katherine Stillson, Nursery Teacher!

This Sunday will be Katherine’s last day of working with the children of the religious education program. Please join us in thanking her and wishing her well.

We will celebrate our time with her during coffee hour after the service on Sunday, December 10.

Youth Religious Education Events for December - This Sunday!

Youth RE Cookie Decorating Party - This Sunday, December 10
On Sunday, December 10, the Youth RE Team will be hosting a cookie decorating party for youth of all ages during their RE class during service and continue into the coffee hour with a cake to celebrate and say goodbye to Katherine Stillson as she moves on in her studies to do her student teaching.

Christmas Caroling -
Sunday, December 17
On December 17, the Youth RE Team will be caroling to local congregants. We will gather at the Fellowship on Sunday at 1pm to go caroling and then return to the church to have some hot chocolate. Families are encouraged to come along and bring their youth and their friends!

CMU Public Media Annual Drive - This Sunday!

It's time to once again consider donating to CMU Public Media. We gather our funds, writing checks to UUFCM, and then purchase air time on WCMU. We typically amass $1,000 to $1,500 and purchase all the air time we can. Please write "WCMU" on the memo line of your check. Mary Alsager will deliver the combined check. Let's wrap this up by Sunday, December 10, please.

Movie Night - Saturday, December 16

There have been over sixteen movie versions of Charles Dickens' beloved tale, A Christmas Carol. One of the highly rated ones is the 1984 movie starring George C Scott as Scrooge. It is a classic. Join us December 16 at 7:00pm in the Fellowship Hall

Upcoming Book Discussion Group

Chalice Lighter Donation Call

• • • Community News • • •

Free COVID Tests Available Again

The US government is making four free COVID home tests available again upon the asking. Log onto COVID.gov/tests to order the tests. Also check on the same website to find if there are extended expiration dates for the test kits you already have.

Donate Now!

If you prefer not to donate electronically, you may also write a check payable to UUFCM and send it to: UUFCM, P.O. Box 41, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48804-0041

Got News?
The deadline for submissions to
the Order of Service Insert and the UUFCM weekly eNews
is Tuesday at 5:00 p.m.
Please send all submissions to [email protected].

Drew’s Contact Information

Team and Committee Leaders

We are a religious community guided by love, transforming our lives and our world.