eNews December 18, 2025

Keep up with what's happening at UUFCM!

View this email in your browser eNews for Thursday, December 18, 2025 Worship Matters We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, December 21, to worship with Rev. Drew on "Ritual and Tradition." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.     "We use rituals in many contexts, including in our religious gatherings. Many of us have traditions connected with the winter holidays. What is the role of ritual and tradition for us, individually and collectively? When do they help us to make meaning…and when is it good to abandon long-practiced rituals and to break tradition?" 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 21: Ritual and Tradition December 24: 7:00pm - Christmas Eve Service December 28: Hope, JOY and Resistance January 4: Hope, JOY and Resistance In Case You Missed It... Many past sermons are available on our website under Sermon Videos and Archives.  In order to access any services 2024 on, go to the website and click on Worship, then Sunday Services.  Minister’s Column: "Lighting the Menorah"   In one of my first year seminary classes, the professor gave us this advice: take a minute to check the news on Sunday morning before going to lead worship, lest you be surprised by some major world event. Last Sunday I checked NPR before breakfast, and the shocking news about the mass shooting at a Hannukah celebration in Australia left me weeping in the winter morning, overwhelmed by the tragedy--and feeling strangely connected in spirit to those at Bondi Beach because I was preparing to lead a Hannukah celebration myself.   As I said on Sunday morning, this anti-Semitic terrorism is surely intended to make Jews (and their allies) around the world afraid—afraid to gather for Hannukah services and parties, afraid to be visible in their faith. And the response to that terrorism must be defiant joy. More... 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. A Joyful Noise Choir Rehearsal - Wednesdays at 7:00pm Central Michigan Sangha - Tuesdays at 6:45pm Crafty U - 3rd Tuesdays at 10:30am First Friday Potluck - First Fridays at 6:30pm Sleepy Time Yoga - 3rd Mondays at 6pm  Game Night - 3rd Mondays at 7pm Movie Night - 4th Saturdays at 7pm - resuming in January Readers Theater - 2nd Tuesdays at 7pm  Soul Matters Discussion Group - next meeting to be announced UU Discussion Group - Wednesdays at 10am UUFCM Men’s Group - 1st Mondays at 7pm on Zoom Welcome to UU Orientation - last Sunday of the month at 12:00pm unless otherwise indicated -  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 Worship Team Meeting: Thursday December 18th at 4:30pm   Fellowship News Special Plate Collection - THIS Sunday, December 21  This Sunday, a collection will be taken to support the CCN Food Pantry as the need for food continues to be great for some of our neighbors in our community You can put a donation into the passed plate on Sunday, donate online to the Social Justice Special Plate Collections Fund at our website, or checks can be sent to our treasurer made out to UUFCM with CCN Food Pantry in the memo.    CUUPs Yule Ritual - Sunday, December 21 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. There will be a Welcome to UU class offered on Sunday, December 28th at noon in the sanctuary. Any interested persons may attend! This is one of two parts to considering becoming a member of UUFCM or at the very least learning more about our fellowship's history and Unitarian Universalism! Please let Laura McBride know if you plan to stay for the 70 minute class. Her contact information is: 989.772.5512 or [email protected]  All are welcome! Suggestions for Bylaws Changes - Due January 1  Any individual UUFCM members who wish to propose changes to the bylaws for consideration at the annual meeting in May may submit written suggestions to Board president Norma Bailey (989.560.3952; [email protected]) by January 1, 2026. Give to CMU Public Media, Help the UUFCM! We are once again collecting for CMU Public Media. In the late fall, we pool our resources together in order to purchase airtime on CMU Public Radio. Depending on the amount gathered, we get 1-2 ads per week for a good part of the year. Please make your check to “UUFCM,” include in the memo line “for CMU Public Media” and give it to Mary Alsager at church by January 11. If you have any questions, contact Mary Alsager at 989-330-2226. A single check for the total collected will be sent to CMU Public Media. Thank you in advance for contributing to this worthy effort – you are appreciated! Save the Date: Saturday, January 24 - UUFCM Retreat Stay Informed for UUFCM Cancellations   When we decide to cancel or postpone a UUFCM event due to weather--as we did due to last Sunday's snowstorm--we use a cell phone app called Remind to make these announcements. In the case of Sunday morning worship, we make our decision by 8:30 am.  Downloading the Remind app to your phone and signing up just takes a few minutes. Stay informed and prepared this winter! View our full cancellation policy along with instructions for signing up on the Remind app here. Although the Remind app is the best way to stay informed, we also try to send an email and post an announcement on the website and social media. Choosing Where to Give: End-of-Year Donations 2025     What can each of us do in response to the injustices that the Trump administration is perpetrating?  Your Social Justice Coordinating Team would like to suggest that your donations in the holiday and end-of-year giving season this year support the efforts of state and national organizations which are responding to the many challenges that we are facing. As a result of the administration’s actions, many of the organizations working for justice will continue to need additional support to combat the efforts that have been made to undo some of the protections that have been in place for many years.   If you are interested in supporting any of these organizations, a list from your Social Justice Coordinating Team of organizations that support justice can be found here. Path to Membership - Coming in January A Path to Membership opportunity will be held in January on a Saturday afternoon; more to come in a few weeks. If you are interested in learning more about how UUFCM is organized, volunteer opportunities, benefits and responsibilities of membership, and more, please contact Laura McBride or Rev. Drew Frantz.  Contacts: Laura McBride 989.772.5512 [email protected] Rev. Drew 440.935.0129  [email protected] Save the Date for our Community Justice Party on February 21     You are all invited to our fifth bi-annual Community Justice Party on Saturday, February 21, 7-9 pm.  There will be a program in the sanctuary of music, skits, poetry, and a “Guess the Activist” contest highlighting several social justice issues, and then we will meet in the Fellowship Hall for light refreshments and a rousing cake walk! If you have a song or reading or anything else that you would like to contribute to the program, contact any member of the Social Justice Coordinating Team – Norma Bailey, Joyce Henricks, Kelly Lawson, Gisela Moffit, Lou Ann Ashley, Jim Moreno, or Katie Zapoluch.  This was a highlight event in 2024, so be sure to have it on your calendar!  Community News Feed the Need      Our local food pantries are navigating an unexpected challenge: eggs and bread.  These most basic staples have become difficult to source through their usual channels. United Way has a Feed the Need fund program that is raising money to cover the cost of eggs and bread until the pantries can regain a reliable supply.  If you wish to support this ongoing effort, you can donate directly through United Way’s Feed the Need fund by using the QR code in the flyer or on the poster in the Fellowship Hall, or you can send money directly to the United Way Isabella Office at 524 E. Mosher Street, Mt. Pleasant, MI  48858. Flyer!   Save the Date! - January 19 The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace March will be held on Monday, January 19. Let’s get a large number of us to march together behind our UUFCM banner!  Put the date on your calendar if you can!  Indivisible Protests Continue! Indivisible Central Michigan plans on continuing their weekly Saturday protests at the usual location (corner of Mission and Broadway). The time is 11:00-1:00.  In case of extreme weather, a cancellation email will be sent out by 10:00.  Email [email protected] to get on the email list. Facts on Petitions 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. 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    Tuesdays 10am-noon   Wednesdays 1-3pm and 8-9pm   UUFCM Board of Trustees for 2025-2026 President: Norma Bailey (989.560.3952; [email protected]) President-Elect: Guy Newland (989.944.0534; newla1g[email protected]) Treasurer: David Allan (989.941.7349; [email protected]) Secretary: Jennifer Davis (989.280.7010; [email protected]) Trustee: Annette Pratt (989.400.0173; [email protected]) Trustee: Jennifer Prout (989.400.3130; [email protected]) Trustee:  Matt Collins (616-617-2274; colli2mr@gmail.com) Team and Committee Leaders Adult Religious Education Team - Joyce Henricks Building, Grounds & Safety Team - Norma Bailey Caring Team - Laura McBride Communications Coordinating Team Annie Peters  Fellowship Life Coordinating Team - Laura McBride   Membership - 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 © 2025 Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan. All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.