July 24th, 2025

Keep up with what's happening at UUFCM!

View this email in your browser eNews for Thursday, July 24  Worship Matters We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, July 27, to worship with Mary Alsager as worship leader and Jacq Roberge who will present a "Reflection." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am. "Welcome to summer! Summer worship will be different and somewhat shorter; we will still have a hymn, chalice lighting and extinguishing, sharing of joys and sorrows, and an offertory but no Story for All Ages, the children going directly with the child care workers at 10:30. Each Sunday a different member of the congregation will briefly reflect on one of the following prompts: How are you coping with national/world events? What is your perspective with what is happening in the world and what does it mean to you? Then we will open up discussion in response to their reflection.  We hope you will join us each Sunday for our summer worship series, which runs through August 3." 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   July 27 - Summer Worship Series (with Jacq Roberge) August 3 - Summer Worship Series (with Bob Busch) August 10 - Resume Regular Worship (with Rev. Drew) In Case You Missed It... Many past sermons are available on our website under Sermon Videos and Archives.  In order to access any services 2024 on, go to the website and click on Worship, then Sunday Services.  Minister’s Column:  Minister's Column will return in August. Read the previous columns here. Summer Schedule Minister’s Time Off The Summer Worship Series goes from June 29 - August 3, while our minister Rev. Drew is off for the summer. You are still welcome to contact Drew for urgent matters, and he will be available for some scheduled meetings and Fellowship business. As always, texting his cell phone (440-935-0129) is the best way to reach him.  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. A Joyful Noise Choir Rehearsal - On summer hiatus; resumes August 6 Central Michigan Sangha - Tuesdays at 6:45pm Crafty U - 3rd Tuesdays at 10:30am  First Friday Potluck - First Fridays at 6:30pm  Game Night - 3rd Mondays at 7pm  Movie Night - 4th Saturdays at 7pm - This Saturday! Readers Theater - 2nd Tuesdays at 7pm  Soul Matters Discussion Group - next meeting to be announced UU Discussion Group - Wednesdays at 10am UUFCM Men’s Group - 1st Mondays at 7pm on Zoom UUFCM Women's Circle - On hiatus until further notice Welcome to UU Orientation - 4th Sunday at 12:00pm  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 Communications Team: Thursday, July 24th, at 7:00 pm Adult RE: Monday, July 28th, at 7:00 pm Adult RE:  Monday, July 28th, at 7:00 pm in the Fellowship Hall. All are welcome! Please come with your ideas for programming and events. We will be electing a new chair and secretary at this time. For questions, please contact Jodi Fisher at (989) 560-5135.  School Shoe Drive  The Social Justice Coordinating Team (SJCT) is leading a School Shoe Drive to collect new and very gently used tennis shoes and casual shoes, any size, for school children.  The drive goes from now until August 24, and the shoes will be donated to Clothing, INC, in time for parents to get shoes for the new school year.  Please place them in the box provided in the Fellowship Hall by August 24.  If you’re not a shopper, any member of the SJCT will be glad to shop for you! Movie Night Featuring: Phenomenon July 26th at 7:00 pm This 1996 movie features actors John Travolta, Robert Duvall, and Kyra Sedgwick.  An ordinary man suddenly exhibits mental abilities on the genius spectrum. The government takes notice. Will George become a government guinea pig or stay among his friends? Join us on the 26th at 7 in the Fellowship Hall to find out. Coming Soon: Potluck August 1st at 6:30 pm Learn about the Petitions This Summer: What to Know before You Sign    At least six petition drives are underway or could be soon by groups seeking a spot on Michigan’s 2026 ballot for proposals to change laws or the state Constitution. Each will have a title and a summary approved by the Board of State Canvassers. Be sure to read any petition put in front of you before you sign as Michigan law does not require circulators to provide an accurate verbal description of the petitions they're asking you to sign.  Bridge Magazine, an independent non-profit daily newsletter covering Michigan news, has provided an article which highlights the current petitions being circulated in Michigan this summer.  Click HERE to read the complete article.  As well, a copy is posted on the bulletin board in the Fellowship Hall. Calls to Action RANKED CHOICE VOTING INFORMATION SESSION        Indivisible is having a speaker from Michigan Ranked Choice Voting come to explain in detail just what Ranked Choice Voting is.  This is open to the public and will be at the Isabella County Commission on Aging @ 6:30 pm on Thursday, July 24.  Petitions are already circulating, so it will be good to get some accurate information and ask questions.  Community News There are two petitions being circulated concerning rules about voting in Michigan, both of which are trying to make it harder for eligible citizens to register to vote, vote at a precinct, and/or vote absentee. In essence, these petitions, if they garner enough signatures, will go on the ballot in the 2026 midterm election requiring people to prove that they are citizens with documents such as birth certificates or passports. Unfortunately, if on the ballot, they will probably pass because many people will not read the complete language but simply vote “yes” because, of course, we want to make sure that only citizens can vote (already a requirement to vote). The action needed by all of us to keep these two issues off the ballot in November 2026 is to educate everyone we know – family, friends, neighbors – to NOT sign these two petitions. If you are asked to sign a petition having anything to do with voting, we urge you to NOT sign. If you would like to do more, please contact Norma Bailey ([email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) ) who can share more information with you and/or give you “decline to sign” flyers to hand out to people. Click HERE for flyer. 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    Tuesdays 10am-noon   Wednesdays 1-3pm and 8-9pm   UUFCM Board of Trustees for 2025-2026 President: Norma Bailey (989.560.3952; [email protected]) President-Elect: Guy Newland (989.944.0534; newla1g[email protected]) Treasurer: David Allan (989.941.7349; [email protected]) Secretary: Jennifer Davis (989.280.7010; [email protected]) Trustee: Annette Pratt (989.400.0173; [email protected]) Trustee: Jennifer Prout (989.400.3130; [email protected]) Trustee: Marco Muñoz-Fortino (989-600-6738; [email protected]) Team and Committee Leaders Adult Religious Education Team - Jodi Fisher Building, Grounds & Safety Team - Norma Bailey Caring Team - 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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