First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit

Committee News

Development

Garage sales have earned almost $1700.00 for our church budget.  Thanks to Ruth Seifert, Sharlene Gage and Janet Thompson for helping.  Also thank you to Ivan Cotman for picking up items and thanks to Ellen Sibley, Nancy and Larry Hutchison, John O'Connor, Nicole Kosab (our nursery school teacher) and my friend, Kathy Tasich for their help.  Thank you, also, to the Women's Peace Group and UNISEF for donating items when they closed their offices.  Entertainment Books will soon be for sale at $20.00 each, with $4.00 of the 20 going to the church.  There are very nice money saving coupons in them.  We also get free bonus books depending on how many we sell.  Margaret Beck

 

Membership

First Friday - September First Friday will actually be the second Friday because of the Labor Day holiday.  Please join us for the Summer Isn’t Over Yet First Friday on September 10^th at 6:30 P.M.  Reservations MUST be made by Wednesday, September 8^th before 6:00 P.M.  There are several ways of making reservations, one is to call the church office at 313-833-9107 or e-mailing Irene at the address on the front page of the Newsletter or calling Peggy Wilkie. One of the many activities will be making peace cranes with Sharlene Gage. We will also have several games and perhaps a movie or two.  Barbara Stevenson will also have a survey of adult education ideas including, but not limited to, Cakes for the Queen of Heaven; Sustainable Living – Values for Preserving the Environment and Rise Up and Call Her Name.

 

 

 

 

Women's Alliance

Start saving your booty for the Women's Alliance rummage sale - our main fund-raiser.  The sale is being held on Friday and Saturday September 17th and 18^th.  Bring your donations of clean, usable kitchen utensils, household items, clothing, etc. to the Red Door entrance of the church on Monday, September 13 through Thursday, September 16 from 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M.

Items may also be brought to church on Sunday, September 12, prior to the Sunday Service. Helpers are also needed from Monday through Thursday at the above times to sort and prepare for the sale.

 

NOTE The first Women's Alliance monthly luncheon and meeting will be on September 22 at noon.

 

Women's Book Club

The next meeting of the Women's Book Club will be on Sunday, September 12, 2004 from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM in Memorial Hall.  Our selection will be Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

 

In honor of Banned Book Week (last week of September) we will be discussing banned books during our October meeting which will be held on Sunday October 3, 2004 from 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM. Each participant is asked to have read a banned book, any banned book.  You will be given 5-10 minutes to summarize the book, explain why you chose that particular book and explain the circumstance under which the book was banned.  

 

Our November selection will be Brown Girls, Brown Stones by Pauline Marshall. In December we will discuss children's literature. All are welcome. Contact Maria Majer at 313-899-1694 or maria_majer@yahoo.com for more information.

Banned Book Group

This is a spin-off group from the Women's Book Group and will be meeting on the 4^th Sunday of each month beginning on September 26 at 1:00 in Memorial Hall.  All are welcome to join. We won't have a book to discuss at that meeting but will be choosing one at that time for the October meeting.  For more information contact Irene at the email address on the cover of the Newsletter.

 

Choir

Our choir is open to all who enjoy singing and being with some really nice people. Rehearsals are in Memorial Hall, unless otherwise noted, and begin at 9:30 A.M.  The schedule for Fall follows:

September - 5, 12, 19 with performance on the 19^th

October - 3, 10, 17 with performance on the 17^th

November - 7, 14, 21 with performance on the 21^st

December 5, 12, 19 with performances on the 19^th and 24^th (Christmas Eve)

 

September Birthdays

3. Steve Walker, Lance Halsted

4. Sally Moir

16. Art Gabhart, Carter Stevenson

17. Cheaber Farmer

22. Edna Koss

26. Arlene Teed

29. Irene Schultz

Ed. note…If you haven’t seen your name on our birthday list, it’s because we don’t have it.  Please jot down your name and birthday (year not needed) and leave it in the Newsletter box outside the church office.

 

A Ministry of Money

Come and join members and friends as we explore our own personal relationship with money, beginning Thursday, September 23 at 6:30 P.M.  Using books, articles, the Bible and speakers, we will look at prosperity, fundraising and money at First UU Church and UU’s in general. We will even consider our values as they relate to wealth.  The intent is to become a study group and meet at least monthly.  We encourage you to bring a dish to pass.  Coffee, tea and water will be available.  The other request is to bring $10.00 to cover copying costs, coffee, tea and snacks over a 10 meeting time span. For more information contact Barbara Stevenson at 313-863-6891 or Gwen Winston at 313-832-2928.  Please let us know if you plan to attend.

 

 

 

In Memory of Al King

In memory of Al King, longtime church member, labor activist, father to Alma King and grandfather to Dan Kosmowski, Dan and Alma have donated the cost of labor and supplies for several projects around the building before Labor Day.  For the building Al loved so much, a special light was erected to light the front of the Church House and the historic designation plaque.  This light is cleverly hidden in the shrubs in front of the porch.  A second light was donated along with labor to light the corner playground of Cass and Prentis where it was usually dark due to a lack of streetlights.  The sidewalk along Prentis, Cass, and Forest was completely edged and swept.  New custom parking signage was procured to post around the grounds to indicate additional parking is available at our Hess/Sommerville Lot for special events and Sunday Service.  And the banner welcoming Rev. Parke was donated to help gain new members and to support the vitality of our congregation that Al cared so much for.

 

Student Leaders Invited to Apply for Senate Youth Program

This is a good opportunity for our young people. Please share this information with others that may have an interest!   Deadline: Various

 Administered and funded by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, the United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) brings two high school students from each state to Washington, D.C. for one week to observe the

Federal government in action and meet key officials. The 2005 USSYP will be held in Washington, D.C., from February 26-March 5, 2005. Students visit Capitol Hill, the White House, State Department, Supreme Court, Pentagon, and tour Washington landmarks. The Hearst Foundation will pay all expenses for the week, including transportation, hotel, and meals. Selection will be based solely on the outstanding ability and demonstrated qualities of leadership as elected or selected among high school student officers of the 2004-2005 school year. Any high school junior or senior student is eligible for the program provided he or she has not previously been a delegate to the program. She or he must be currently serving in an elected or selected capacity in any one of the following student government, civic, or educational organizations: student body president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer; class president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer; student council representative; student representative elected or selected (selected by a panel, commission, or board) to district, regional, or state level civic or educational organization. Applications may be obtained through the State-level Selection Administrators (listed by state on the USSYP Web site). Deadline dates vary by state. Visit the USSYP Web site for complete eligibility, state deadlines, and state contact information. RFP Link: http://ussenateyouth.org/ For additional RFPs in Education, visit: http://fdncenter.org/pnd/rfp/cat_education.jhtml Kathy Mitten Senior Development Specialist and Project Manager Neighborhood Support Services Division  313-224-9222  main #

313-324-9222  alternate phone # 65 Cadillac Square, #1400 Detroit, MI  48226

Church Clean-up

 

Our Building & Grounds Super Cleanup/Fix-Up was a great success! For all of the events in recent memory, this drew the most volunteers.  So much was accomplished that both Building & Grounds members and our volunteers felt re-energized going into this season's new church year.  When you see one of the following people, you may thank them for a job well done.  Those volunteering included:

·        Window washing (church house windows, doors and McCollister Hall) - Dan Wiest, Hillard Williams

·        Office scrubbing: Mark Schwing, Dan Kosmowski

·        Sanctuary cleaning, dusting, polishing: Linda Barton, Carolyn Ludwig, Marianna Snyder, Sharlene Gage, Mike Kelly (Blue Triangle Network)

·        Kitchen cabinet, appliance, and wall scrubbing: Soh (Detroit Summer)

·        Memorial Hall dusting, wood trim polishing, light fixture shade cleaning: Alma King, Heather Colunga, William Sefcovic, Stuart Smith

·        Church house foyer wood trim polishing: Jerry Williams, Charlotte Allen

·        McCollister Hall bathroom scrubbing: Danielle

·        McCollister Hall hallway and doors scrubbing: Chris McNaughton & Kids, Dan Kosmowski

·        Organize Women’s Alliance closet: Eiko Takemoto

·        Tree trimming: Stuart Smith, Earl Harvey, Jim Harvey

·        Planting along ramp and weeding flower beds: Alma King, Heather Colunga, Peggy Wilkie-Adcock

 

Of course, all this cleaning must be done periodically to stay ahead.  Building and Grounds would hope future turnout to these events is as spectacular as this one.

 

 

 

 

Items from the Internet

The year was 1904.

Maybe this will boggle your mind, I know it did mine!  The year is 1904...one hundred years ago. What a difference a century makes! Here are some of the U.S. statistics for 1904.

* Canada passed a law prohibiting poor people from entering the country for any reason.

* The five leading causes of death in the U.S. were:

1. Pneumonia and influenza

2. Tuberculosis

3. Diarrhea

4. Heart disease

5. Stroke

* The American flag had 45 stars. Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Alaska hadn't been admitted to the Union yet.

* The population of Las Vegas, Nevada, was 30.

* Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented.

 

* There was no Mother's Day or Father's Day.

* Two of 10 U.S. adults couldn't read or write. Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated high school.

* Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at corner drugstores. According to one pharmacist, "

* Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach and bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health."

* Eighteen percent of households in the U.S. had at least one full-time servant or domestic.

* There were only about 230 reported murders in the entire U.S.

... And I forwarded this from someone else without typing it myself, and sent it to all of you in a matter of seconds! Try to imagine what it may be like in another 100 years ... it staggers the mind.