On Saturday, February 16, from 6-10 p.m. at Jameson Hall (just east of Isabella Road off Pickard on Bud Street), all members, friends and guests of UUFCM are invited to a family dance. There is no cost other than there will be a basket at the door to accept donations to cover the rental of the building. Bring your own snacks and non-alcoholic beverage if you would like. The DJ would like to set up the play list ahead of time, so if you have any requests of music that you would like to dance to, please send or give your list to Norma Bailey (baile1nj@cmich.edu) or Jen Prout (poutyprouty66@yahoo.com). Polish up those dancing shoes!

A hearty thank you to all for making Dawn’s Farewell Party such a success – an excellent send-off to someone who has been such an important part of us for many years. Thanks to the Coordinating Team for organizing all the activities - the Ode to Dawn song, the testimonials, the presents, the Messages in the Bottle, the questions for the pastor (lots from the kids!) and all the delicious food and drink. A special thank you to Kris Los who single-handedly set up the foods/drinks and made them look pretty! 

At our all-congregation retreat held on Saturday, January 26, an excellent turn-out of members and friends helped us begin the process of moving forward into our new future without Dawn Daniels as our minister. After explanations of various ministerial options, the membership voted to have the Transition Team apply to the UUA for a full-time, one-year renewable contract minister. Once that decision was made, the Team then led several interactive small-group activities which addressed questions that will need to be answered in the application process: How do we describe ourselves? How do we live our values? Who do we want to be in five years? What roles would we want our minister to play? How do we define good preaching and worship? While there were lots of variations in the responses to these questions, a number of themes emerged which will guide the Team in writing our application. Should you have any questions, feel free to contact any member of the Transition Team (Norma Bailey, Jim Dealing, Laura McBride, Guy Newland, and Katie Zapoluch).
 
We would like to thank all those people who made the retreat such a success. The hot breakfast provided by the UU Board was an excellent start to the morning! The Transition Team did a great job presenting information and leading us in the small-group activities while several members were invaluable facilitators of the small-group discussions. And everyone who attended the retreat contributed so much – their questions, their ideas, their support, and their help with all the clean-up! The heart and soul of UUFCM is alive and well!

Sunday, January 27 will be our last worship service with our minister, and we are having a party to celebrate her time with us immediately after the service. Could you help us with refreshments? We are thinking of an assortment of finger foods (sweet or savory). Please bring them ready to serve. There will be a sign up sheet in the social hall this Sunday. Thanks for your assistance.

Following her final worship service with us on Sunday, January 27, Dawn plans to spend her remaining days with us doing the necessary work of cleaning out her office and expressing any yet unconveyed messages of gratitude and goodbyes. If you would like to schedule time to meet with Dawn during her last week here, please contact her to make an appointment (to ensure private time with her) or you can drop by the church during any of the following hours and chat with her as she packs:
Tuesday 10am-2pm
Wednesday 1pm-4pm