A good poem takes something you already know as a human being
and raises your ability to feel that to a higher degree.
~ Jane Hirshfield
An Invitation: Neighbor Understanding Neighbor
Tonight you are invited to a potluck dinner from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 1250 Watson Rd. Mt. Pleasant as we have a time of getting to know our interfaith neighbors as we share dinner, fellowship and have conversation. We will be spending the evening with members of the Islamic Center of Mount Pleasant, sharing together about faith traditions and learning about each other and our beliefs. Join us as we get to know our neighbors through face to face conversation. If you have questions, please contact Andrew Miller, [email protected] or 773-9609.
In Worship
Please join us for worship this Sunday, April 24 as Guy Newland and Carolina Gutierrez share a sermon dialogue that addresses the question “Does Reflection on Death Enhance Life?” This service will also include the honoring of our 2015-16 Religious Education staff and volunteer leadership.
Upcoming Services:
May 1 - “The Work of Transformation”
“This is the work of congregational life – to create and provide a real time and place in this world that opens our awareness of the world as it might be. It awakens us to the transformation already taking place within us and around us and strengthens our patience and determination to bring that transformation to fruition in the larger world.” ~ Karen Hering
May 8 - “Peace, Salaam, Shalom”
Julia Ward Howe tirelessly pushed for a holiday that promoted peace for the nation. She thought it had the best chance of catching on if she connected it to a celebration of mothers. Dawn will explore the meaning and relevance of Howe’s efforts within our current turbulent context and address the question of where and how do we define and find peace in the midst of the rough seas of today’s world.
May 15 - “Our Sure Blossoming – The Annual Communion of Flowers”
Come celebrate the affirming, uniquely Unitarian Universalist ritual of Flower Communion. Developed by Czech Unitarian minister Norbert Capek who died a martyr at Dachau, the ritual celebrates the unity within our diversity and the intrinsic beauty of each and every soul. Please remember to bring a flower with you to service – preferably a flower you really love – to place in the communal vase in front of the sanctuary.
This service will be followed by the UUFCM Annual Meeting – please plan to attend!
Our “Common Read” Discussion Groups
Discussion group opportunities have been scheduled for the third installment of our year-long “Common Read” series on racial justice: this Sunday, April 24 and the following Sunday, May 1 – both sessions will begin at 12:00 p.m. following worship.
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. A few copies of the book are still available for purchase at the fellowship – cost is $18.00 per copy.
“Effects of Climate Change on Coffee Growers”- Monday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the UUFCM
Jose Vasquez from Chiapas, Mexico, will present a program. Vasquez is a Mayan, a small-scale coffee farmer, and an activist. Our coffee sources (Higher Ground Coffee) and his livelihood are being threatened by a coffee fungus which is the result of climate change. The program is sponsored by the Mt. Pleasant Citizen’s Climate Lobby and Greentree Cooperative.
April 30 All-Congregation Retreat – “With Love as Our Guide”
The UUFCM Board of Trustees has scheduled an all congregation retreat for Saturday, April 30, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the UU Center…and yes, a tasty lunch will be provided, as well as coffee/tea and nosh to get our engines going in the morning!
The theme for this year’s retreat will be “With Love as Our Guide”. For those of you new to us, our congregation gathers for an all-day (or partial-day, as in this case) retreat once a year to collectively engage deeply with a particular issue(s) of importance to the community. This year we will be engaging with the first part of our congregational mission: To be a religious community guided by love… What does it mean to let love be our guide? What does it cost us? The deep discussions and reflection done in this retreat will assist board leadership in crafting ends statements that more fully flesh out our mission.
And if you are perchance new to this congregation, the annual retreat is a wonderful time and space to become more deeply acquainted. All are encouraged to attend!
Infant Pantry Collection - Sunday, May 1
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.
UU Young Adult Conference – May 6-8 in Kalamazoo
This year’s UUA Mid-America Region Young Adult Conference will be at People's Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan from May 6-8, and it is open to young adults aged 18-35. The conference is called CONtinUUing EdUUcation, and it will be focused on issues related to education in the United States. There will be contemporary worship, as well as opportunity to play, learn, eat, and enjoy fellowship together, interspersed with engaging workshops and social justice activities.
Meals are provided, and participants may sleep at the church or make other arrangements for overnight lodging.
Registration link
Scholarship application
There is a sliding scale registration, to be paid at the door, is $25-$75 for the weekend.
Interfaith Reproductive Justice Conference
The Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network (MUUSJN) and the Interfaith Reproductive Justice Coalition are sponsoring an Interfaith Reproductive Justice Conference at the Woodside Church, United Church of Christ, in Flint on Friday, May 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be updates on legislation, skills training workshops, issues workshops, and speakers from three national organizations. Registration is $20 (early bird) and is done individually (download the form here). Norma Bailey is attending, so please contact her if you would like to share rides (989-560-3952 or [email protected]).
Marching in the Alma Highland Festival Parade
We are again going to march in the Alma Highland Festival Parade on Saturday, May 28 (Memorial Day weekend). While the parade starts at 10:30 and is completed by about 11:30, we would need to be there to line up no later than 10:00. Vicki Chessin is organizing us and getting our parade banner ready, so please contact her ([email protected]) or Norma Bailey ([email protected]) to join us. We would love to have a large contingent of Mt. Pleasant UUs!
Shocking News!
UUFCM has an AED! This is an Automatic External Defibrillator that can be used in the event of a cardiac arrest anyone – yes, you –can use this to save a life. It is located in its own box on the wall to the left as you start down the stairs to the restrooms. Please view this video and spend 6-7 minutes becoming familiar with our HeartSmart AED and its use.
Tonight you are invited to a potluck dinner from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 1250 Watson Rd. Mt. Pleasant as we have a time of getting to know our interfaith neighbors as we share dinner, fellowship and have conversation. We will be spending the evening with members of the Islamic Center of Mount Pleasant, sharing together about faith traditions and learning about each other and our beliefs. Join us as we get to know our neighbors through face to face conversation. If you have questions, please contact Andrew Miller, [email protected] or 773-9609.
In Worship
Please join us for worship this Sunday, April 24 as Guy Newland and Carolina Gutierrez share a sermon dialogue that addresses the question “Does Reflection on Death Enhance Life?” This service will also include the honoring of our 2015-16 Religious Education staff and volunteer leadership.
Upcoming Services:
May 1 - “The Work of Transformation”
“This is the work of congregational life – to create and provide a real time and place in this world that opens our awareness of the world as it might be. It awakens us to the transformation already taking place within us and around us and strengthens our patience and determination to bring that transformation to fruition in the larger world.” ~ Karen Hering
May 8 - “Peace, Salaam, Shalom”
Julia Ward Howe tirelessly pushed for a holiday that promoted peace for the nation. She thought it had the best chance of catching on if she connected it to a celebration of mothers. Dawn will explore the meaning and relevance of Howe’s efforts within our current turbulent context and address the question of where and how do we define and find peace in the midst of the rough seas of today’s world.
May 15 - “Our Sure Blossoming – The Annual Communion of Flowers”
Come celebrate the affirming, uniquely Unitarian Universalist ritual of Flower Communion. Developed by Czech Unitarian minister Norbert Capek who died a martyr at Dachau, the ritual celebrates the unity within our diversity and the intrinsic beauty of each and every soul. Please remember to bring a flower with you to service – preferably a flower you really love – to place in the communal vase in front of the sanctuary.
This service will be followed by the UUFCM Annual Meeting – please plan to attend!
Our “Common Read” Discussion Groups
Discussion group opportunities have been scheduled for the third installment of our year-long “Common Read” series on racial justice: this Sunday, April 24 and the following Sunday, May 1 – both sessions will begin at 12:00 p.m. following worship.
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. A few copies of the book are still available for purchase at the fellowship – cost is $18.00 per copy.
“Effects of Climate Change on Coffee Growers”- Monday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the UUFCM
Jose Vasquez from Chiapas, Mexico, will present a program. Vasquez is a Mayan, a small-scale coffee farmer, and an activist. Our coffee sources (Higher Ground Coffee) and his livelihood are being threatened by a coffee fungus which is the result of climate change. The program is sponsored by the Mt. Pleasant Citizen’s Climate Lobby and Greentree Cooperative.
April 30 All-Congregation Retreat – “With Love as Our Guide”
The UUFCM Board of Trustees has scheduled an all congregation retreat for Saturday, April 30, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the UU Center…and yes, a tasty lunch will be provided, as well as coffee/tea and nosh to get our engines going in the morning!
The theme for this year’s retreat will be “With Love as Our Guide”. For those of you new to us, our congregation gathers for an all-day (or partial-day, as in this case) retreat once a year to collectively engage deeply with a particular issue(s) of importance to the community. This year we will be engaging with the first part of our congregational mission: To be a religious community guided by love… What does it mean to let love be our guide? What does it cost us? The deep discussions and reflection done in this retreat will assist board leadership in crafting ends statements that more fully flesh out our mission.
And if you are perchance new to this congregation, the annual retreat is a wonderful time and space to become more deeply acquainted. All are encouraged to attend!
Infant Pantry Collection - Sunday, May 1
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.
UU Young Adult Conference – May 6-8 in Kalamazoo
This year’s UUA Mid-America Region Young Adult Conference will be at People's Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan from May 6-8, and it is open to young adults aged 18-35. The conference is called CONtinUUing EdUUcation, and it will be focused on issues related to education in the United States. There will be contemporary worship, as well as opportunity to play, learn, eat, and enjoy fellowship together, interspersed with engaging workshops and social justice activities.
Meals are provided, and participants may sleep at the church or make other arrangements for overnight lodging.
Registration link
Scholarship application
There is a sliding scale registration, to be paid at the door, is $25-$75 for the weekend.
Interfaith Reproductive Justice Conference
The Michigan Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Network (MUUSJN) and the Interfaith Reproductive Justice Coalition are sponsoring an Interfaith Reproductive Justice Conference at the Woodside Church, United Church of Christ, in Flint on Friday, May 20, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be updates on legislation, skills training workshops, issues workshops, and speakers from three national organizations. Registration is $20 (early bird) and is done individually (download the form here). Norma Bailey is attending, so please contact her if you would like to share rides (989-560-3952 or [email protected]).
Marching in the Alma Highland Festival Parade
We are again going to march in the Alma Highland Festival Parade on Saturday, May 28 (Memorial Day weekend). While the parade starts at 10:30 and is completed by about 11:30, we would need to be there to line up no later than 10:00. Vicki Chessin is organizing us and getting our parade banner ready, so please contact her ([email protected]) or Norma Bailey ([email protected]) to join us. We would love to have a large contingent of Mt. Pleasant UUs!
Shocking News!
UUFCM has an AED! This is an Automatic External Defibrillator that can be used in the event of a cardiac arrest anyone – yes, you –can use this to save a life. It is located in its own box on the wall to the left as you start down the stairs to the restrooms. Please view this video and spend 6-7 minutes becoming familiar with our HeartSmart AED and its use.
••• Community News •••
Save the dates and attend these important social justice events!
Walking with Our Sisters Memorial Coming to the Ziibiwing
April 23 through May 7 at the Ziibiwing Centre. For more info:
Walking with Our Sisters is a commemorative art installation to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous Women of Canada and the United States; to acknowledge the grief and torment families of these women continue to suffer; and to raise awareness of this issue and create opportunity for broad community-based dialogue on the issue.
“Our Changing Climate: Through Artists’ Eyes”, April 18-23 at Art Reach on Broadway
Artists can evoke not the only urgency and dangers of climate change but, just as importantly, the power of hope and vision for a livable world. The goal of this juried exhibit is to bring climate change to the forefront of public awareness with evocative art that fosters productive public discourse on climate solutions.
Save the dates and attend these important social justice events!
Walking with Our Sisters Memorial Coming to the Ziibiwing
April 23 through May 7 at the Ziibiwing Centre. For more info:
Walking with Our Sisters is a commemorative art installation to honour the lives of missing and murdered Indigenous Women of Canada and the United States; to acknowledge the grief and torment families of these women continue to suffer; and to raise awareness of this issue and create opportunity for broad community-based dialogue on the issue.
“Our Changing Climate: Through Artists’ Eyes”, April 18-23 at Art Reach on Broadway
Artists can evoke not the only urgency and dangers of climate change but, just as importantly, the power of hope and vision for a livable world. The goal of this juried exhibit is to bring climate change to the forefront of public awareness with evocative art that fosters productive public discourse on climate solutions.
Religion and poetry do the same thing.
They connect little things to big things.
~ Lynn Adair Ungar
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])
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])
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