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Sunday Morning Online Service at 10:30am
October 18
"Funeral for Shame" One of the biggest obstacles for us to find inner peace is the shame that we carry. Join Matthew Pargeter-Villarreal on a journey and a discussion of shame... and how we can finally work to say goodbye to it in our lives once and for all to become the beautiful and creative beings that we are destined to be. Led by guest speaker, Matthew Pargeter-Villarreal.
ZOOM LINK https://zoom.us/j/943984845?pwd=eWxsYWxqakJpOEhrZkxKE1ab2JYdz09
Meeting ID: 943 984 845
Password: uufom
Dial In Phone Number: (312) 626-6799
For upcoming Sunday Services, click here.
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Eric’s Ordination is Back On!
Saturday, Oct. 17, 2020
2:00 p.m. ET
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82086938189?pwd=Q1BnVjhpdFowTm1qV3FZZmpRTk1mdz09
The pandemic delayed Eric Severson’s ordination/installation for six months, but it’s back on -- online! Family, friends, colleagues, please join us on Saturday, October 17, at 2:00 p.m. ET, at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82086938189?pwd=Q1BnVjhpdFowTm1qV3FZZmpRTk1mdz09! The Rev. Dr. Michael A. Schuler will provide the sermon. We’ll plan an in-person party once the pandemic is controlled.
Clergy: You are invited to join us at 1:30 p.m.
Meeting ID: 820 8693 8189
Passcode: uufom
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UUFoM YouTube Channel
Did you miss our previous services? You can see a replay (minus Joys and Sorrows) below and on our YouTube Channel. We invite you to subscribe to our channel to stay up-to-date with all videos.
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10/11/2020 - Deep Listening
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This Week at the Fellowship
All teams and groups have decided to meet via Zoom instead of face to face during this time. Please contact your team/group leader if you need further guidance. If you have any questions about upcoming events, please email the office or call 989-631-1162.
All meetings listed below are via Zoom unless noted otherwise.
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NEW: UUFoM Social Justice Fellowship Read
From Denise Reiling
Hello,
To recognize Indigenous People's month of awareness, as leader of the Racial Justice section of the LOVE Team, I would like to begin a "fellowship read." My idea is that every month (perhaps every six weeks), interested parties would all read the same book, then gather together via Zoom to discuss the book. Eventually, I would like to see this initiative grow into a larger, community read.
To start us off, I would like to suggest that we read a novel, written by Leslie Marmon Silko: Ceremony. You will see that the novel interweaves many racial complexities. Silko considers herself to be multi-racial, of Laguna Pueblo Indian, Anglo-American, and Mexican-American lineage.
The book sells through Barnes & Noble for $15.99, but certainly can be purchased from other sources, too. You might also be able to obtain the book through the library (note that libraries are requiring a seven-day quarantine of books from interlibrary loan). Sharing books can be arranged, too. Please let me know if financial support would be welcome.
I envision these opportunities as events, not necessarily as a commitment to group membership. It's not intended to be a book "club," as such. Participants should feel free to come and go, according to their interest in the book being offered. We'll read both fiction and non-fiction. All books will be authored by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). At the end of each meeting, we'll discuss options for the next read. I will send out a similar email announcing each new read. We will meet via Zoom. The date/time will be arranged after each reading group has been organized.
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. If you are interested in participating in this first fellowship read, please reply to me via email at [email protected]. If you have already replied to me via Facebook (posted to Friends of UU Facebook Group on September 12), there is no need to reply. Thank you!
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NEW: Fall Clean-Up Update
Attendees: Tim Wagner, Janelle Dombeck, Jim Falender, Vicki Reidelberger, Tom Bailey, Dan Sealey and Luis Mulford
Jobs Done
- Moved 2 old brush piles from the north side of the property to the grounds near the driveway to make them accessible to chipping crew at a later date.
- Trimmed back the hawthorn trees that were getting in the way of the mowing crew.
- Weeded the playground.
- Removed large grape vines from the hedges on the north side of the driveway.
- Cut down three large pine trees, cut them into smaller pieces and then used the dumpster from the city to remove most of the pine tree parts from the property.
- Removed a 5-foot tall pine stump from the playground.
- Miscellaneous other trimming tasks.
Notes
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We did not have trailers available, so it was very helpful to have Dan’s truck to move the pine tree and other trimmed brush to the west side of the property near where the dumpster was located. The truck could haul several wheelbarrow loads at a time and was a great labor saver.
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Hawthorn trees have very large thorns and the mowing crew has been complaining about low hanging branches being in the way of getting the mowing done. We made a separate pile of these thorny branches.
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A paid work crew will be chipping the piles of debris in the coming weeks. There is a lot of brush to be disposed of, so we hope that they can handle all of it.
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NEW: Stewardship 2021 Update
As of 10/16/2020
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NEW: Donations for Food Pantry Network
Thanksgiving Baskets
The Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network and Aldersgate United Methodist Church will be coordinating the Community Thanksgiving Food Basket program again this year. The Thanksgiving Basket program supplies approximately 350 families with turkey and other fresh food items.
This year a semi-truck full of fresh food will be ordered from the Eastern Food Bank instead of collecting food items locally. This will allow the preparation of the items to be cut from multiple days to one day and drastically reduce the number of volunteers, reducing the danger of COVID transmission. The purchasing of the food truck / gift certificates will require over $15,000 in monetary donations. Please help the UUFoM continue support of this Midland County Emergency Food Pantry yearly project.
Monetary donations for the Thanksgiving Baskets may be made directly with checks payable to Midland County EFPN and mailed to: Midland County EFPN, PO Box 2521, Midland, MI 48641-2521 or online by credit card to https://midlandcountyefpn.org/ . Please note on check or online that you are giving to Thanksgiving Baskets on behalf of UUFoM. The Food Pantry is a non-profit 501c(3) organization with all monetary gifts being tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
There are a couple of options for making food item donations to the normal operations of the Food Pantry.
• Drop off donations in the box outside of EFPN SAMS Pantry, 503 S Saginaw Rd (enter off Cambridge). The box is on the side of the building facing Cambridge.
• We can pick up food donations from your house. Email your pickup address and date of pick up to Vicki Reidelberger.
Thank you for helping those in need in Midland County (including Midland, Bullock Creek, North Midland County, West Midland County, Sanford, Coleman food pantry locations).
The Fellowship LOVE Team.
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Stewardship Package
Stewardship is love in action.
With fall comes our annual stewardship campaign and this year - as with many things - we are doing things a little differently. We look forward to sharing testimonials and celebrating all the reasons why we support this wonderful community.
We ask that you download our 2021 Pledge Packet and take a look at the letters from Eric and Shannon, 2021 budget and pledge goal. You can also download a fillable pledge form and pledge online via a Google form at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSecxpvkVbNcJ7SKu2nsATlvSnpLTCIvwA7HG4qltJL8DiCa1w/viewform
 
Click images to download documents.
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UPDATED: 2020 Unsung Hero Nominations
 Please nominate a UUFoM member(s) whom you feel has made and continues to make a significant contribution to UUFoM. The contributions may not be generally well-known by members and friends of the congregation. You may nominate more than one person. Please use a separate form for each nominee. Please click here to nominate your Unsung Hero online or email Wendy Altmeier for other alternatives.
Please submit your nomination before October 25, 2020. Our Unsung Hero will be announced at our Annual Meeting on Sunday, November 8.
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Annual Meeting Date Change
We have a jam-packed calendar in October and we have decided to move our Virtual Annual Meeting to Sunday, November 8, 2020 at 12:15pm! We hope you all can make it! More information regarding the Annual Meeting will be shared soon.
Currently the Nominating Committee is looking to fill
- Treasurer (2 year)
- Nominating Committee Member (2 year)
- Nominating Committee Member (1 year)*
Please contact the Nominating Committee (Donna King, Linda Rector, Sasha King) if you are interested or have anyone to recommend.
*The Nominating Committee Member serving one year will be completing the second year of a two-year term for a member unable to fulfill it.
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Jon Lipowitz - Celebration of Life
Jon Lipowitz passed away due to cardiac-related complications on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, at Mid-Michigan Medical Center.
Jon was born in Paterson, New Jersey on April 25, 1937. He graduated from Eastside High School in 1954 and attended Rutgers University. He received a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Pittsburgh and continued post-doctoral studies at Penn State University. In his career at Dow Corning Corporation, he received the designation of Scientist.
He was an active member in the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland.
Jon enjoyed classical music and travel as well as skiing, and was an avid sailor throughout the Saginaw Bay and Great Lakes.
Surviving family are his wife of 59 years, Evelyn, his son Robert, his daughter Suzanne Feldschmied (Georg Feldschmied) and his sister Harriet Lipowitz. He was preceded in death by his brother Isaac and parents Alex and Esther Knoble Lipowitz.
A virtual memorial event is planned for Saturday, October 24, 2020 at 3:00 pm. RSVP to [email protected].
Those wishing to honor Jon’s memory are asked to consider a donation to the political candidate of their choice or to WCMU Public Radio, 199 E. Campus Drive, Mt. Pleasant, MI 48859, or online at
https://www.wcmu.org/donate.
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October 2020 Theme - "Deep Listening"
October 18
"Funeral for Shame" One of the biggest obstacles for us to find inner peace is the shame that we carry. Join Matthew Pargeter-Villarreal on a journey and a discussion of shame... and how we can finally work to say goodbye to it in our lives once and for all to become the beautiful and creative beings that we are destined to be. Led by guest speaker, Matthew Pargeter-Villarreal.
October 25
"Vote Love, Defeat Hate: Organizing for the Long Haul" In the midst of global pandemic, rising authoritarianism, and uprising, lives hang in the balance and the future of democracy is on the line. In response, Unitarian Universalists are answering the call of our faith, building powerful partnerships to mobilize our communities to #VoteLove and #DefeatHate in the 2020 elections. Join UUA President Susan Frederick-Gray, the UU the Vote team, and a lineup of powerful, prophetic UU voices as we explore the intersections of faith, justice, and democracy in this collective virtual service.
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Our Mission
We are a multigenerational, liberal religious community in the Tri-City region. We offer a beacon to the religious seeker, supporting and nurturing the individual and collective pursuit of spiritual fulfillment.To achieve this mission, we:
- Empower members, friends, and the surrounding community to think freely, live ethically, and grow spiritually through lifelong learning, as we explore our values, live the principles of Unitarian Universalism, and search for truth and meaning.
- Assemble in supportive and beloved community, sharing life’s joys and sorrows, and embracing all of our wondrous diversity.
- Gather for stimulating worship experiences and rites of passage that inspire and provide opportunities to examine, clarify, and strengthen our personal value systems.
- Create a more just, peaceful and sustainable world through our words of influence, constructive deeds, and engaging love.
We focus on these four social issues in order to improve the community and demonstrate our commitment to the inherent worth and dignity of all people.
- Global Climate Change
- Racial Justice
- Homelessness
- LGBT Rights
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copyright Unitarian Universalist Association
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The Weekly Candle Flame Fall/Winter Editions
During the fall and winter months, the weekly Candle Flame will be circulated on Fridays. If you wish to submit an article, please email it to Wendy Altmeier by Wednesday at 5:00pm to have it included in the upcoming issue.
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Previous Newsletter Articles
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Fellowship Building
For everyone's safety, the Fellowship Building is closed to everyone except: staff, Sunday musicians, Vicki Rothhhaar, and Pete Carlson.
To ensure that the most vulnerable are not put at risk, new locks were placed on the entrance door. Sandy will communicate to those who will need a key when one will be available. Please contact Sandy Hay if you have any questions.
Thank you!
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Shannon Sonoras, President
Beth Sperry, President-Elect
Marsha McDonald, Secretary
Vicki Rothhaar, Treasurer
Chris Nakamura, Member-At-Large
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Pastoral Care Ministry Team
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October Contact
Mary Johnson 989-859-1490
Our Pastoral Care Ministry Team is here for you. We can provide a meal, a ride, some respite or a supportive ear and a cup of coffee.
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Fellowship Office Hours
Fellowship Office is currently closed due to Governor's Whitmer executive order.
Eric Severson - Minister
[email protected]
(608) 738-2694
Heather Cleland-Host - Director of Lifespan Religious Education
Office Hours by appointment only
[email protected]
Wendy Altmeier - Office Assistant
[email protected]
(989) 631-1162
Sandy Hay - Sexton
[email protected]
(918) 698-0311
In case of building emergency, call anytime
Melanie Willison - Accompanist
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October 16, 2020 
