You cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad.
~ C.S. Lewis
Please join us this Sunday, March 27, for a worship service that celebrates the the coming (hmmm, resurrection?) of Spring in song, in story, and with an exploration – in true UU fashion – of the underbelly of transformation…the necessity of discomfort.
“I think most of us can name a time when where we were, what we were doing, how we were being, was so uncomfortable, so constraining, that there was nothing to be done but peck a way into whatever was on the other side of the egg we have relied on, whatever was on the other side of safety, because there was no other way we were going to survive. It might have felt like death, but instead, each of us fell into a new world. Whether we like it or not, discomfort—feeling cramped, feeling soul-hungry—is the seed of transformation.” ~ Ruth Mackenzie
Welcome to UU Class Cancelled
Due to the holiday, Welcome to UU will not be held this Sunday. The next class is on Sunday, April 24.
RE Announcement:
Until further notice, UUth Ensemble and Sunday Night RE are both on hiatus due to low participation. There will be no meetings this week.
Infant Pantry Collection - Sunday, April 3
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. If you want to donate money, then the check should be made out to CCN (Community Compassionate Network) with memo “Infant Pantry.” Please contact Tom Moffit ([email protected] or 772-1602) with any questions.
Our Next “Common Read”
The third installment of our year-long “Common Read” series on racial justice is set to begin. The Selma Awakening by Mark Morrison-Reed is the book that is most personal to us as UUs for it poignantly articulates our own history with the civil rights movement – our triumphs and our shortcomings – and how it continues to shape us as a faith community. Copies of the book will be available for purchase at the fellowship starting this Sunday – cost is $18.00 per copy. Discussion groups will be scheduled for later in April.
“In this book, Morrison-Reed places the iconic moment of Selma in the larger context of Unitarian Universalism. Within this larger frame, he both accentuates the importance of participation in Selma, highlights all that could have happened and delineates what did not. By showing how UU participation was NOT inevitable, he underscores the significance of that participation while placing it in a proper scale with the other commitments and non-commitments made in the arena of race relations. An essential read for anyone continuing the struggle to embrace the need for continued racial justice work today.”
~ Rev. Leslie Takahashi-Morris, co-author,
The Arc of the Universe Is Long: Unitarian Universalists, Anti-Racism, and the Journey from Calgary
“As I read Mark Morrison-Reed's The Selma Awakening I found myself shedding tears as I relived the events of 1965. Unitarian Universalists, civil rights activists, anyone alive in those turbulent times, and those yet to be born will find themselves caught up in these vivid recollections of those critical days. The book includes insights, anecdotes, and personal stories and it acknowledges for the first time key contributors to the success of the march from Selma to Montgomery. In particular, the section on women and the march elaborates on the under-reported story of women in the struggle for civil rights, and the broader ongoing struggle for women's liberation. Perhaps this book has been waiting for a scholar who identifies as both African American and Unitarian Universalist to do the diligent research required and bring the story of Selma to light.”
~ Rev. Orloff Miller, witness to the attack that killed Rev. James Reeb in Selma in 1965
“Selma changed the United States, and Selma changed Unitarian Universalism. Mark Morrison-Reed tells the story in exquisite detail, tracing the hundred-year history and the interdependent web of relationships that led hundreds of Unitarian Universalists to march for justice in Selma. In a work of scholarly depth and heartfelt passion, Morrison-Reed gives voice to both his admiration for the achievements of Unitarian Universalists and his anguish at our shortcomings, inviting all of us align our values in practice with our espoused values.”
~ Dan McKanan,
Ralph Waldo Emerson Unitarian Universalist Association Senior Lecturer in Divinity, Harvard Divinity School
About the Author
Retired from Unitarian Universalist parish ministry, Mark Morrison-Reed is an affiliated faculty member at Meadville Lombard Theological School and the coordinator of the Sankofa Archive there. He is the author or editor of several other books from Skinner House Books.
Selma Screening Planned
In support of our current Common Read, we have scheduled a viewing of the movie Selma for Saturday, April 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the UUFCM. We hope you will join us.
Shocking News at UUFCM
In the interest of congregational safety and preparedness, there will be an introduction to our external defibrillator use and basic life support after worship on Sunday, April 10 at 11:50 in the Sanctuary.
Save the Date
MUUSJN is co-sponsoring a full-day Interfaith Reproductive Justice Conference to be held Friday, May 20, 2016 at Woodside Church in Flint. Further information will be coming soon, but please put the date on your calendar now.
What’s That Little Book on the Table All About?
As you all are aware, we include a ritual of “joys and sorrows” within our worship services – it is very much the symbolic representation of our “ministry of care” as a religious community. What some of you who are new to us may not know (and some of us “regulars” have perhaps forgotten about) is that there is always a book and pen to the left of the stones and bowl on the joys and sorrows table. This book is there for anyone to use who wishes to make known a joy, sorrow or concern to the gathered community, but they don’t wish to share it aloud themselves during the service. The book can also be used to let the minister know that you wish to make an appointment to speak with her or simply wish to let her know you’re struggling with something and request remembrance in thought and prayer.
UUFCM Care Ministry Team: Dawn Daniels, Gisela Moffit, and Mary Alsager.
Women's History Month at CMU
Events now through April 11. For complete information, visit CMU's College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences page or download the calendar of events.
Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Events now through April 14. For complete information, visit this calendar of events.
That is what learning is. You suddenly understand something you've understood all your life,
but in a new way.
~ Doris Lessing
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 Annette Pratt (989-400-0173). 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!
Got News?
The deadline for submissions to the Order of Service Insert and the UUFCM weekly e-News is
Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. Please send all submissions to [email protected].
UUFCM Board of Trustees for 2015-2016
President: Annette Pratt (989.400.0173; [email protected])
President Elect/Past-President: Laura McBride (989.772.5512; [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: Carol Rard (989.561.2969; [email protected])
Trustee: Janis Shinn (989.400.3724; [email protected])