Against the darkness nature brings
We bring our light,
Our tallest candles burn to guard
The longest night.
We greet the shortest day with song,
And friends with cheer,
We light a wish for peace to serve
The coming year.
~ Ernest Sommerfeld
Christmas Eve – We will gather for a special holiday candlelight service tonight at 7:00 p.m. This service for all ages will be a celebration woven with spoken word, sacred music and carols. We hope you will join us!
January 28: The Burning Bowl: Welcoming the New Year
OWL for 8th-High School Students
Our Whole Lives (OWL) is a series of sexuality education curricula for six age groups that helps participants make informed and responsible decisions about their sexual health and behavior. It equips participants with accurate, age-appropriate information in six subject areas: human development, relationships, personal skills, sexual behavior, sexual health, and society and culture. Grounded in a holistic view of sexuality, Our Whole Lives not only provides facts about anatomy and human development, but also helps participants clarify their values, build interpersonal skills, and understand the spiritual, emotional, and social aspects of sexuality.
We are offering the curriculum for grades 8 through high school this winter. The required parent meeting will be on Sunday, January 4, from 2-4 p.m. at the Fellowship. Sessions will be led by Guy Newland and Niki Henry or Justin Henry and Roze Bentley Classes will take place from 2-6 p.m. on Sundays from January 11-March 1.
Much more information will be provided at the required parent meeting. However, if you are interested and/or wish more information, please contact Norma Bailey (989-560-3952 or [email protected]) or Roze Bentley (989-317-0072 or [email protected]).
Infant Pantry Collection - January 4th
Donations for the Infant Pantry are collected on the first Sunday of each month. Most needed items are diapers, creams, shampoos, lotions, and tissues. Baby food and formula are not needed a this time. Please contact Tom Moffit ([email protected] or 772-1602) with any questions you might have. Thank you in advance for your generous donations.
A Friend in Need...
As many of you heard this past Sunday, Dana Aspinall has recently been diagnosed with leukemia and is currently hospitalized at the University of Michigan Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. His course of treatment is intensive and he will be hospitalized for at least a month. He welcomes contact and caring support from his UUFCM friends. He can be reached by phone at (734) 936-8410. The mailing address is:
Dana Aspinall
Room 88a UH Room 8410
University of Michigan Hospital
1500 East Medical Center Drive
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Craft Supplies for RE
RE needs collage materials. We could use magazines, colored paper, scraps of bulletin board edging, colored and/or double-sided tape, glitter glue. We are looking to stock up on paper craft supplies to keep young hands busy during the cold weather ahead. Thanks, and try to stay warm!
Ladies Who Lunch
We will not meet in December. See you in January!
Sewing Circle
Sewing Circle will not meet on January 5th, but will resume on Monday, January 19 (which is Martin Luther King Day).
Service Cancellation Policy
In case of inclement weather, a decision to cancel the service will be made by 9 a.m. An announcement will be posted on our web site (uufcm.org) and on Facebook as well as sent directly via email. Those who are not online will be phoned. If you have questions, call Dawn Daniels (989-763-6315) or Laura McBride (989-772-5512). We hope we won't have to resort to this very often, but we live in Michigan after all, so we need to be prepared!
CLF Offers Online Poetry and Therapy Course
The Church of the Larger Fellowship (UU) is offering Whispering Winds, a twice-monthly writing course over 3 months with a professional poetry therapist, Nessa McCasey (who is also a Unitarian Universalist). Nessa gently coaxes our writing selves to reveal the wisdom we each inherently harbor within. Because she builds community through positive feedback of each person’s writing, the group feels comfortable sharing meaningful and often insightful comments with each other. We do not analyze writings as one might do in a college course. Instead, we explore, ponder, play with words, and spiritually wander through wonder. Any level of writer is welcome to join this creative exploration that nurtures the soul. Poetic prompts and creative starters will be offered to help face the blank page each session and writers are able to veer in their own direction as desired.
Two course sessions are being offered:
- Sunday sessions, starting January 4; or,
- Wednesday sessions, starting January 7
• • • Community News • • •
Woodland Hospice Adult Grief Group
Meets first Tuesday of each month from 5:30-7:00 p.m. in the Meditation Room at the Woodland Hospice House. Call Valerie at 989-773-6137 for information on how to join the group. See flyer for dates/topics.
“As light can drive out darkness, so can love drive out hatred.”
~ Gurmeet Kaur
Sunday at 10:00 p.m. Please send all submissions to [email protected]
UUFCM Board of Trustees for 2014-2015
President: Laura McBride (989.772.5512; [email protected])
President Elect: Annette Pratt (989.400.0173; [email protected])
Past-President: Gisela Moffit (989.772.1602; [email protected])
Treasurer: David Macleod (989.772.0595; [email protected])
Secretary: Vicki Chessin (989.463.3076; [email protected])
Trustee: Scott Daigle (989.506.5750; [email protected])
Trustee: Capalene Howse (989.488.8714; [email protected])
Trustee: Jennifer Prout (989.400.3130; [email protected])