eNews for August 10

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View this email in your browser eNews for Thursday, August 10 Third Annual UUFCM Picnic a Great Success!  Despite the all-day rain, our third annual UUFCM picnic was a great success! The pavilion offered protection from the rain (although our dedicated cooks got drenched cooking the dogs and burgers!), and the food and conversation were wonderful! Thanks so very much to Kris Los, Annette Pratt and Jen Prout for planning and providing the basics! It was a special treat that several people from the Midland church joined us; it was good to get to know one another! Worship Matters We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, August 13, to worship together with Rev. Drew Frantz, who will present “Worship and Tie-Dye: Lessons from a UU Summer Camp." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am. "What happens when hundreds of Unitarian Universalists gather for an all-ages summer camp? Wisdom, joy, challenging new ideas, abundant love, and lots of tie-dye. Summer Institute last month in Pennsylvania offered all of these gifts, and a strong experience of community-building and community-strengthening." 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 August 13: Worship and Tie-Dye: Lessons from a UU Summer Camp August 20: TBD August 27: Water Ingathering 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 returned yesterday from summer vacation. In addition to family visits, gardening, and trips to the beach, I made time for a weekend men’s retreat. This retreat is called Path to Spirit Warrior and this year I was one of the guides. 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 - 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 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 Board of Trustees - Sunday, August 13 at 1pm Social Justice Coordinating Team - August 14 at 7pm If you are interested in helping any of these teams or committees, please fill out the Volunteer Opportunity Form if you haven’t already. Summer Schedule Ends This Weekend! Final Simplified Worship This Sunday is our final simplified worship led by Rev. Drew Frantz. Childcare and activities will be provided.  Water Ingathering - August 27 The Water Ingathering is a special ritual that marks the beginning of the Fellowship’s year as summer turns towards autumn. Everyone is invited to bring water from a place that’s special to you – either at home or far away – and we pour our water into a common bowl. All are welcome: bring your water if you can. Picking Vegetables at George's "Farm!" This Saturday! The Youth RE program is inviting all young people to pick vegetables for the Soup Kitchen at the “farm” of George Lentz on Saturday, August 12.  We’ll meet at the church at 9:00am, car pool out together, pick veggies, and have lemonade and snacks together.  Please let any member of the Youth RE team know if you plan to join us – Norma Bailey, Carla Jensen, Jennifer Davis and Monica Jean. Movie Night - August 26 Some movies are so timeless many argue a remake could never do it justice. The iconic movie, The Princess Bride, is one such movie. It has a Rotten Tomatoes score of almost 100%. The all-star cast includes Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Billy Crystal, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Fred Savage, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Andre the Giant, Carol Kane and many more! Join us August 26 at 7:00 in the Fellowship Hall and decide if this hype is deserved. Chris Bailey's Memorial Service Chris Bailey's Memorial Service will be Saturday, September 23 at 2pm at the Fellowship. After the service, everyone is invited to Cops and Donuts in Mt. Pleasant for snacks and sandwiches.  We hold his wife, Nancy, and everyone who loves Chris in support and love. His full obituary can be found at Clark Funeral Home. Our Building Is Looking Good! A tremendous thanks to Darlene Ritchie for all the work she has done to make the Wisconsin Street side of our building so beautiful!  The flowers are gorgeous!  As an aside, the youth garden with its potato plants is looking good, too.  What fun for the children this fall when the potatoes will be ready to be dug up! Adult RE Fall Classes The Adult RE Team is thinking about hosting another "Building Your Own Theology" class series if there is enough interest. Would you like to attend this series, possibly offered in the fall? If so, please email Jim Dealing at jdealing@gmail.com or Jodi Fisher at jbfisher121@gmail.com. UUFCM is Hiring! UUFCM is looking to hire a new Director of Religious Education. If you know anyone interested and qualified, please encourage them to apply, as the best employees sometimes are recruited by word of mouth. UUFCM policy states that we usually do not hire members of the congregation to be employees. Applications and inquiries should go to Rev. Drew. The job posting is here and on our website: Job posting for Director of Religious Education (6-10 hours per week starting August 15) • • • Community News • • • "Beyond the Binary: The Genders of God” Inclusive Justice of Michigan invites everyone to its next webinar “Beyond the Binary: The Genders of God” on Thursday, August 24 at 3:00 pm. The Rev. Lawrence T. Richardson, a social justice advocate, writer, and pastor at Salem United Church of Christ, will present a fascinating discussion on using gender-expansive language for the Divine. For further information and to register: register for the webinar today! MI Response To Hate (MIR2H) Conference The MI Response to Hate Conference, presented by the Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes MIAAHC, is an annual statewide conference focused on anti-hate and anti-bias programming. The all-day conference will be held in East Lansing on Thursday, September 14.  For further information:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mi-response-to-hate-mir2h-conference-tickets-639420833927 "Sound of Freedom" - Recommended Movie Jennifer Davis and Norma Bailey highly recommend the movie “Sound of Freedom,” now showing at Celebration Cinema. “Sound of Freedom” is the amazing true story of Tim Ballard, a former U.S. government agent, who quit his job in order to devote his life to rescuing children from global sex traffickers. The link to the trailer is below.           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rt0kp4VW1cI 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. “Deepening Connections” 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 admin@uufcm.org. Drew’s Contact Information Please contact Drew via email, phone, or text. minister@uufcm.org  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; ckdamer@gmail.com) President Elect: Aaron Jones (989.501.0672; jones3aj@cmich.edu) Treasurer: Terrie Robbie (989.400.2495; tlrobbie1@gmail.com) Secretary: Laurie Meadows (989.317.8299; Laurieartlvr@aol.com) Trustee: Victoria Sladek (989.506.7039; victoriasladek@gmail.com) Trustee: Monica Jean (616.443.8782; atkin2mj@gmail.com) Trustee: Kevin Daum (989.546.7701; kevin.daum@gmail.com) Team and Committee Leaders Adult Religious Education Team - Jodi Fisher Building, Grounds & Safety Team - Norma Bailey Communications Coordinating Team - Amy Voege Fellowship Life Coordinating Team - Gisela Moffit   Membership - Laura McBride   Arms Around - Gisela Moffit   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 Anti-Racism Task Force - Norma Bailey   We are a religious community guided by love, transforming our lives and our world. 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