eNews For Thursday, December 28

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View this email in your browser eNews for Thursday, December 28 Worship Matters We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, December 31, to worship together with Ricky Courlander, who will present "Burning Bowl." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.   "What do you want to get rid of from the year 2023? Turning towards the new year and letting go of the old, we will feature a ritual of releasing the things which no longer serve us through fire. This service is multigenerational, children of all ages are invited to participate (safely!)" Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 402489218 One tap mobile +16468769923,,402489218# Phone - audio only +1 646 876 9923 Religious Education - December 31 Kwanzaa! - The children will be reading "Li'l Rabbit's Kwanzaa," by Donna L. Washington. We will be learning about each day of Kwanzaa, making a mkeka and a chalice of unity! Please feel free to join us in learning about this fantastic holiday!  Upcoming Services January 7 January 14 January 21 January 28 If you happen to miss being in worship, please check out our website sermon archive for sermon video and/or text. Minister’s Column There is no minister’s column this week because Rev. Drew is away on vacation. He will be back in the office on Tuesday, January 2. Read previous columns 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 (resumes January 2024) - 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 - Monthly Soul Matters Small Group Discussion - January 4 at 6:30pm 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 None this week! If you are interested in helping any of these teams or committees, please fill out the Volunteer Opportunity Form if you haven’t already. Rev. Drew on Vacation - December 25 – January 1 Our minister Drew will be on vacation for the last week of December, returning on Tuesday January 2. During this time he will be off-duty from all regular Fellowship business, and can be reached by text / cell phone for any urgent business. Soul Matters Small Group  Discussion: "Mystery" - January 4 Thursday, January 4, at 6:30 pm Our monthly small group continues with the December topic of Mystery. We will discuss questions like the ones below...these along with many more suggested spiritual practices related to Mystery are contained in the Soul Matters packet you can access here. Click here for Discussion Questions. First Friday Potluck – January 5 Please join us in the UUFCM Fellowship Hall at 6:30pm (doors open at 6:15) for food, conversation, and games! Coffee, hot tea, and water will be provided. If you are able, please bring a dish to pass. Save the Date! - January 15 The annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace March will be held on Monday, January 15.  Let’s get a large number of us to march together behind our UUFCM banner!  Put the date on your calendar if you can! UUFCM Retreat - January 20 Saturday, January 20 8:00am - Breakfast 9:00am - 12:00pm Retreat Please plan to join us for our annual congregational retreat. This year the topic will be covenant. What are the sacred agreements that define how we treat each other in this UUFCM community? Join us to reflect, discuss, and draft our covenant. Happy Birthday! In January, we celebrate the birthdays of Beth Armstrong, Jubilee Daum, Janis Shinn, Mel Bailey, Andi Christopher, Abiona Bailey, Monica Jean, Jim Moreno, Stacey Pattison, Doris Hall, and Jennifer Davis. For the year to come, we wish them much joy, good health for body and mind, and new (ad)ventures. May it be so. Changes in the City of Mt. Pleasant Voting Precincts Because of the passage of Prop 2-22, the voting precincts in Mt. Pleasant have been reduced from five to three.  You should receive a new Voter ID Card with your new information. Click here for more information. Directory Update Every February we publish a hard copy of ourFellowship Directory, and we need your help to make sure that the information is accurate. Please go online and see if your information in the directory is current. If you forgot the password or never had it, contact Gisela Moffit as the directory is password-protected. Did you move, did you have another child, did you change your phone, email or text number?  We need to know by January 21. Tribal Lands, Maps and Other Information This document includes information about the 12 federally-acknowledged Indian tribes in Michigan, along with maps and their governmental structure, that is helpful in understanding our Native neighbors. Name Tags and Birthdays As you know, we have started to add pronouns to our name tags if people request them. You can also add them to the Fellowship Directory. Please let David Allan know your preferred pronouns. If we don't have your birthday (just month and day, not year,), let David know as well so that we can include you in the monthly celebration at the First Friday potlucks. Religious Education Recap December 17 Children learned about the history behind the Jewish tradition Hanukkah. We read "The Story of Hanukkah," by David A. Adler during the Time For All Ages. Afterwards the children gathered to play the Dreidel Game and wrote the sacred text of the Hebrew language. Everyone had so much fun spinning the dreidel and playing for chocolate golden coins. Everyone went home with instructions of how to play the game to share their knowledge with friends and family.  Religious Education Recap December 24 The children learned about the celebration of the Winter Solstice during the reading of "Winter: A Solstice Story," by Kelsey E. Gross. Popcorn garland, orange slice ornaments, and peanut butter birdseed ornaments were made for our animal friends! We are learning to live in harmony with nature by using environmentally friendly materials! Twelve Months to a More Climate Conscious YOU! Adult RE Initiative Climate Change is real and present and is affecting our Mother Earth - including insects, animals, trees, soil, weather, infrastructure, and human beings. It will cause major negative changes for our children and grandchildren and beyond (the 7th Generation). Climate change is currently impacting millions of people, especially those in the bottom 98% of income. Adult RE has designed a twelve-month challenge to us to change our daily practices that are counter-productive to Mother Earth and replace them with habits that are more conducive to the future.  Read more about the initiative here... Click here to download January's Tool Kit. Upcoming Book Discussion Group In our culture, we really do not like to think about end of life, however inevitable it is. But like so many other stages of life, understanding and preparation can make a real difference. In Being Mortal, Atul Gawunde offers us a series of examples of real peoples' experiences - a series of cautionary tales - that lay out the challenges and pitfalls, but also provides some profoundly helpful  suggestions. Click here for more information. • • • Community News • • • Election/Poll Workers Needed Many communities throughout Michigan, including Mt. Pleasant and Union Township, still need more poll workers to help run the February 2024 election. Hiring and training of poll workers is happening now! Visit Michigan.gov/PollWorker to learn more and complete the Election Worker Interest Form. Free COVID Tests  Get free at-⁠home COVID-⁠19 tests this fall on COVIDTests.gov Every home in the U.S. is eligible to order an additional 4 free at-⁠home tests beginning November 20. If you did not order tests this fall, you may place two orders for a total of 8 tests. Your order of COVID tests is completely free – you won’t even pay for shipping. You can order your test kits HERE. 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. 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 (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; [email protected]) President Elect: Aaron Jones (989.501.0672; [email protected]) Treasurer: Terrie Robbie (989.400.2495; [email protected]) Secretary: Laurie Meadows (989.317.8299; [email protected]) Trustee: Victoria Sladek (989.506.7039; [email protected]) Trustee: Monica Jean (616.443.8782; [email protected]) Trustee: Kevin Daum (989.546.7701; [email protected]) Team and Committee Leaders Adult Religious Education Team - Jodi Fisher Building, Grounds & Safety Team - Norma Bailey Communications Coordinating Team Fellowship Life Coordinating Team - Gisela Moffit   Membership - Laura McBride   Arms Around - 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 © 2023 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.