eNews For Thursday, January 25

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View this email in your browser eNews for Thursday, January 25 A Delightful Version of Stone Soup! Our Religious Education Youth Coordinator Marhea, plus some children and volunteers and the congregation, participated in an interactive version of  “Stone Soup” as the Story for All Ages on Sunday. Worship Matters We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, January 28, to worship together with Rev. Drew Frantz, who will present "Liberating Love." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.   "The new expression of Unitarian Universalist values is depicted as a series of ideas (Transformation, Equity, Interdependence, Pluralism, Generosity, Justice) around a central core value: Love. Why does Love belong at the center of our faith? How is love “liberating”? In this season when we celebrate Martin Luther King’s radical love and consider the mainstream Valentine’s Day celebration of love, it is good to explore how love fits into Unitarian Universalism." Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service: Join Zoom Meeting Meeting ID: 402489218 One tap mobile +16468769923,,402489218# Phone - audio only +1 646 876 9923 Youth Religious Education - January 28 Languages of Love "Hello! Bonjour! ¡Hola! Come join us this week as the UU kids learn the languages of love: words of affirmation, acts of service, receiving gifts, quality time, and physical touch. This will be a run-around high-energy activity." Upcoming Youth RE Activities February 4 - Mask Making  February 11 - Valentines Day "Red Light/ Green Light"  Upcoming Services January 28 - Liberating Love February 4 - Homelessness & UUFCM February 11 - TBD February 18 - TBD February 25 - TBD If you happen to miss being in worship, please check out our website sermon archive for sermon video and/or text. Minister’s Column It was about 12:30 on Sunday afternoon–the time when coffee hour is winding down and my tiredness starts to hit me. In the back of my mind I begin to think about packing up and cleaning up what I need to and heading home. I remark to one of the people who is still enjoying the coffee hour about the lovely sunshine. It’s been super cold for a week straight and the sun is a nice change. “Are you planning to go out and enjoy the outdoors today?” she asks. Read the column 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 1:00pm - 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 - Thursday, January 25 at 6:30pm - Tonight! 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 No upcoming meetings! If you are interested in helping any of these teams or committees, please fill out the Volunteer Opportunity Form if you haven’t already. NEW: Help With Bathroom Issues at UUFCM Over the last several months, we have had significant backup issues with the toilets in the small bathrooms on the lower level.  We have had to have a plumber in three times to try to resolve the issue (at a significant expense to the congregation), and while they have now cleaned out the lines all the way to University Street, including removing roots, they said that they have also found paper towel in the lines. Therefore, please make sure to not throw paper towels, Kleenex, nor female sanitary items into our toilets!   Movie Night – This Saturday! Saturday, January 27, at 7:00pm Denzel Washington directs and stars with Forest Whitaker in “The Great Debaters,” inspired by a true story from 1935 Texas when a group of underdog Black college students took on the elite Harvard debate team. This story is an “important and deeply inspiring page from the not-so-distant past.”  Welcome to UU Orientation – January 28 - This Sunday! January 28, at 1:00pm This orientation is geared to newcomers, visitors, and those seeking to learn more about Unitarian Universalism and this UU fellowship. It is offered every month both in person in the fellowship hall and via Zoom, typically on the last Sunday of the month. Sessions run approximately an hour and a half. For more info or to register for Welcome to UU, contact: Laura McBride: 989.772.5512 [email protected] Please let Laura know whether you will be attending via Zoom or in person by the Friday prior to the orientation. Facilitated Book Discussion Group - This Sunday! A facilitated discussion of "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End," by Atul Gawunde is being held from 12:00pm to 1:00pm in the Sanctuary after Sunday services until February 11.  Click here for detailed information. UPDATED:  Community Justice Party - February 17 You are all invited to our fourth bi-annual Community Justice Party on Saturday, February 17, 700-9:00 pm. There will be a program in the sanctuary of music, skits, poetry, and a “Guess the Activist” contest highlighting several social justice issues, and then we will meet in the Fellowship Hall for light refreshments and a rousing cake walk! This was a highlight event in 2019, so be sure to have it on your calendar! Cakes and Pies Requested for Community Justice Party! Joyce Henricks is asking for volunteers who would be willing to prepare a cake or pie for the popular Cake Walk at our Community Justice Party on February 17. Please contact Joyce ([email protected]) if you are interested in providing a cake or pie for the event.   NEW: 2024 UUFCM Retreat: Covenant Twenty-seven members and friends of the Fellowship gathered on Sunday, January 20, for a half-day retreat on the topic of covenant: the promises we make to one another about how we will treat each other. In case you missed it, in our small groups we discussed these questions: Where in life have you been treated well? What did it look like? Where in life have you not been treated well? How do you want to be treated at UUFCM? What are you willing to do in order to treat others how they want to be treated at UUFCM? From the existing UUFCM covenant statements and the covenant statements shared from other UU congregations, what parts do you like? What are some ideas or statements that should be included in our UUFCM covenant? The end result was a collection of ideas from the various small groups and a lot of good discussion. The Board of Trustees and Shared Ministry Team will now consider next steps. Please contact them if you are interested in working more on this. Thanks to members of the Shared Ministry Team (Jennifer Davis, Joyce Henricks, Stacey Pattison and Mary Alsager) and to Board President Cynthia Damer who worked with Rev. Drew to facilitate the retreat, and thanks to all who shared their time and ideas. NEW: Circle Suppers Postponed The circle dinners have been postponed until the weather is more accommodating to venturing out in the evenings. We will let you know when they will occur.  UPDATED: 12 Months to a More Climate Conscious You Thanks to everyone who participated in January's plastic reduction tasks!!! Remember to get your point totals to Jodi Fisher at [email protected]. There is still time to finish up, so keep up the good work FOREVER!!! We will be announcing the February tool kit on Sunday. Think water protection..... To get signed up, see program instructions, ask questions, contact Jodi or use this link to view more about the initiative. Click here to access January's toolbox.   Setting Intentions - January/February 2024 This year, your Social Justice Coordinating Team (SJCT) is asking each of us individually to set an intention – and follow through! – to involve ourselves more and/or to learn more about our neighbors and issues.  Read more about Setting Intentions here. Youth RE Recap: January 21 Our UU youth took time to learn about the "Recipes of Me." They wrote and decorated the "ingredients" that make up who they are as a person. We also took some time to finish writing our letters of appreciation to our community! The kids chose to write to nursing homes, police officers, Karma Cat Cafe, and the animal shelter. This week our letters will be making their way out.  • • • Community News • • • Decolonize Your Mind - January 30 Presented by MUUSJN, on Tuesday January 30, 7:00-8:30pm, Jaike Spotted Wolf and Bronson Herman will share personal and historical stories of how white settler colonialism has impacted Native Americans and continues to impact us all today. Part of the intention of this event is to provide information to non-Natives who are interested in going beyond Land Acknowledgement statements and begin to touch on Truth and Reconciliation. Register at bit.ly/decolyourmind. 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]) Team and Committee Leaders Adult Religious Education Team - Jodi Fisher Building, Grounds & Safety Team - Norma Bailey Caring Committee - Laura McBride Communications Coordinating Team  Fellowship Life Coordinating Team - Gisela Moffit   Membership - 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. 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