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First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit

4605 Cass Avenue

Detroit, MI 48201

Phone 313-833-9107

Fax 313-833-0127


October 3, 2004
First Unitarian Universalist Church
Organizational Chart 2003 - 2004
Officers
Moderator
Colleen Dolan-Greene
Vice Moderator & Strategic Planning
Jim Harvey
Immediate Past Moderator
Lynda Smith
Board Secretary
Kathe Stevens
Treasurer
Bob Lauer

Staff
Interim Minister
Rev. David B. Park
Minister Emeritus
Rev. Larry Hutchison
Director of Religious Education
Jennifer Teed
Music Director
Todd Ballou
Choir Director
Lyle Brown
Church Secretary
Wendi Winston
Building and Grounds
Joe Brimmer

Trustees
Charlotte Allen
Mark Bendure
Linda Darga
Carolyn Ludwig
Kathleen Rock
Irene Schultz
Dan Secrest
Ruth Seifert
Dan Wiest

Newsletter
Irene Schultz

Upcoming Services

Services begin promptly at 11:00 A.M.
October 17, 20044 Worship Committee Sunday and Potluck
October 24, 2004 "Are you lonely?"
Rev. David Parke
Loneliness is a killer, as I have discovered in the course of my own life. I live alone by choice, but I am not lonely. How are you doing?
October 31, 2004 Community Ministry Sunday
Our theme is the Day of the Dead, which this year (ironically?) falls on November second. Note: Daylight Saving Time ends this Sunday. Be sure to reset your clocks on Saturday night. Remember the formula: Spring forward, Fall back. I look forward to seeing you! David.
November 7, 2004 "The Human Condition"
Rev. David B. Parke
This is a sermon on what it means to be human. The American people are learning a lot about this theme in the presidential campaign. This sermon was requested not by a church member but by my son Ted, 41, who lives in Brewster on Cape Cod.
November 14, 2004 "Three Parables"
Rev. David B. Parke
In my scripture-reading and in my life I keep returning to three great stories in the gospels, the parable of the lost sheep, the parable of the good Samaritan, and the parable of the prodigal son. If Jesus was not the greatest story-teller in world history, I'd like to know who was.
November 21, 2004 "Why worship?"
Rev. David B. Parke
This is my fiftieth year of full-time ministry. I have preached approximately 900 sermons to congregations in New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Massachusetts, and many other states and provinces as an interim minister. Maybe now I am ready to answer the question, Why worship?

Newsletter Deadline
The next deadline is Sunday, October 17, 2004, no later than 12:30 P.M.

Newsletter Articles
Please leave legible contributions in the Newsletter box located outside the church office. Please include your name and a contact number should there be any questions.Articles may also be emailed to me, by the deadline date and time, at ieschultz1945@yahoo.com If you email items, please specify they are for the Newsletter.
Please do not write articles on little pieces of paper or contribution envelopes, the ones that don't get lost are very hard to read.

 From the Interim Minister

Why am I so preoccupied with the city?  I will tell you.  The city is both a problem and the solution to a problem.  Civilization as we know it could never have evolved into its present form if the city had not existed.  The city encompasses both compression and expansion--the compression of thought, law, experience, the expansion of mind, commerce, human  potential.  The city is dirty, chaotic, and prone to corruption.  These, to me, are the price we pay for the gifts the city gives us just by being itself.

Detroit is a marvelous laboratory of urban reflection and action.  From my apartment window I can see the two stadia, Ford Field and Comerica Park.  They are wonderful symbols of this particular city.  As in so many major league cities the stadia are placed side by side.  This anchors the sports culture in one neighborhood and makes it easier for fans to get to the games.  But the sports culture is not the beating heart of the city.  That is found on the street, as Jane Jacobs wrote in 1961.  The street is the essence of the urban experience.  Compare any downtown Detroit street to a winding rural lane on the Maine coast, in upper Michigan, or on the Olympic peninsula.  The inner city street is the city in microcosm--dirty, chaotic, prone to corruption, yes, but in its singularity and interactions a glorious epiphany of the human spirit. 

First UU Church occupies the intersection of Cass and Forest.  If we searched the world over to find the best spot on which to plant an inner-city Unitarian Universalist congregation, we could not improve on our present location.  Readily accessible by car from every point in the city, adjacent to Wayne State University, two blocks from the Detroit Public Library and major museums, two blocks from a world-class medical complex,  surrounded by residential, commercial, industrial, and mixed use neighborhoods, linked by air, rail, and water transportation to the Great Lakes basin, North America, and the world, we've got it all in these four corners.

I want us, this year, to think together about what it means to live in the city and what responsibilities our inner city location lays upon us as a people. I mentioned professional sports.  The deepest, the toughest, the most inarticulable moments in our lives do not occur at Comerica Park, Ford Field, or the Joe Louis Arena.  They occur in the human soul while we are walking, working, wandering alone with our thoughts, in the delicious communion of family life, in exploring new continents of the mind and heart, in spiritual adventure.  The deepest moments happen to us at First UU, with people we have known most of our lives, and with people we only met this morning.

Hold on to the city.  It is your larger self.  It is beautiful and ugly, inspiring and depressing, violent and peaceful, static and growing.  It is ours.  It is the cutting edge of culture, the gateway to this and to every new world.  And although we are only 200 out of one million, it can truly be said that apart from us it is nothing.       David B. Parke

 

UUSC is Accepting Donations to aid Hurricane Victims in Haiti

Floods and winds from the latest hurricane, Jeanne, have so far taken the lives of more than 1,000 people in Haiti. Another 1,000 are missing and are presumed dead. The flooding has wreaked havoc, leaving more than 250,000 people homeless.

The island of Hispaniola, consisting of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, has already suffered devastation from floods in May of this year that killed 2,000 people and displaced several thousand.

What you can do:

If you wish to contribute to the relief effort in Haiti, please make your check payable to the Haiti Relief Fund and mail to:

Haiti Relief Fund

Unitarian Universalist Service Committee

P.O. Box 845259

Boston, MA 02284-5259

Or donate online. UUSC will channel donations through the Lambi Fund of Haiti, an organization already operating in Haiti on programs of social and economic empowerment. The Lambi Fund is actively involved in providing for immediate needs such as medicine, food, potable water, tents and blankets, and for building materials to help families start the rebuilding process for the thousands of homes that have been destroyed or damaged by the hurricane. They are also equally committed to supporting the democratic movement in Haiti.

 

Women's Alliance

The Women's Alliance will meet on Wednesday at noon on October 20, 2004, in Memorial Hall.  Please make reservations by noon on Monday, October 18 for the luncheon by phoning the church office at 313-833-9107 or Eiko Takemoto.  The luncheon is $6.00.  Our speaker after the luncheon is Jerry Mitchell, who will tell us about Henry Ford's Piquettte Street Auto Assembly Plant, a historic venture.

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Printer Needed

Contact Len Zettel zettel@acm.org, (313) 277-3711 if you can help us out.


 

Women's Book Club

 Our November selection will be Brown Girls, Brown Stones by Pauline Marshall. In December we will discuss children's Maria Majer for more information.

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 follows:

October - 17 with performance  

October 24 & 31 - off

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

November 28 - off

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

December 26 - off

November First Friday

November First Friday will be November 5th.  Join us for an evening of fun and frivolity.  PLEASE make reservations by November 3.  Call or email Irene at 313-838-3348 or the church office.

 

Upcoming First UU Events

Circle Suppers - What is a Circle Supper you ask?  Well, a Circle Supper is a group of 6 - 8 people getting together at someone's home.  The host provides hors d'oeuvres and beverages while the other participants bring the rest of the dinner.  If you would like to be a part of this fun time on October 22, 23 or 24, see or call Arlene Teed by October 17 or sign up during coffee hour.

 

Calling All Chili Chefs

The Adult RE Team is hosting an exciting event on November 19th to raise money for our budget and classes.  Please join us for a "hot" evening of fellowship and good food from 6:30 – 9:30 P.M. in McCollester Hall.  The cost is $5.00 - $10.00 sliding scale per person to include chili, salad, dessert and beverages.  We will offer prizes for the best chili as decided by the participants.  Call Irene at 313-838-3348 or Barbara Stevenson at 313-863-6891 to volunteer your best pot of chili - vegetarian or non-vegetarian.

Notice

The resolution First UU Church voted on supporting legal recognition of marriage between members of the same sex passed.                 

 

Summer Garage Sales

Thanks to Mildred Robinson, Ruth Seifert and John O'Connor, we raised $90.00 Saturday at the last garage sale for the year. The total donated to the church budget was $1,976.00 although some of the dollars were turned in before July so was included in last year's budget.

 

Entertainment Books have earned $200.00 for the church. They will be sold at coffee hour or you can call Margaret Beck at 313-882-7775. There are wonderful savings to Mario's, Hilberry and Bonstelle Theaters, as well as Buddy's Pizza, etc.  You can browse through a book during coffee hour if you care to.  Thanks to all who bought and special thanks to Janet Thompson, Lance Halsted and my niece Nicole Ludwig for selling extra books.   Margaret Beck

 

Rides Needed

Would you be willing to give a fellow church member or friend a ride to church occasionally?  We have a few longtime members who are dependent upon public transportation, which is not very reliable, who would appreciate an occasional ride to church, Women’s Alliance meetings and other church events.  If you can be of help, or if you need a ride, call Arlene Teed.  We particularly need east-siders.

 

Car for Sale

I have a 1992, 4 door Toyota Corolla for sale.  It's red, and runs great but I must sell it.  I'm asking $1000.00 or best offer.  If sold through this ad, 20% will be donated to the church.  Contact Mark Schwing at 313-300-2750 for more information.

 

Art Fair at BUC

Birmingham Unitarian Church is interested in putting up an art show with First UU artists in February 2005.  If interested please contact Marge Matheson or Mark Schwing.

 

Newsletter Volunteer Needed

The Heartland District Unitarian Universalist Association is looking for a volunteer newsletter editor with desktop publishing skills and experience in MS Publisher or comparable software. Someone is needed NOW to step up and begin the winter issue (deadline, November 1). Contact Mary Andrus-Overley, District Executive at 1-888-948-4883 toll free, or 1-317-634-5385 fax.

 

Noel Night

Noel Night is rapidly approaching, December 4th this year, so we are looking for cookie makers, cider spicers, entertainers and vendors.  If you are interested in the vendor part of it, give Irene a call at 313-838-3348 for more information.

                                                                                                        Thank you,Charlotte Allen

U.U.University
Are you interested in adult RE?  Please remember to turn in your interest survey. Our DaVinci Code book discussion will take place in early November.  Please sign up at the visitor table if you are interested.
Growth Task Force News
WSU Event
Thank you to David Parke, Janet Thompson, Colleen Dolan-Greene, Rick Jones, Alicia Biggers, Dan Wiest, Nora Holt, Irene & Jon Schultz, Lynda Smith, Hillard Williams, Dan Kosmowski and Andee Seeger for all your help.  We brought some new folks into our building for good discussion, and historic building tours 		Leadership Conference
Thanks to the Women's Alliance and personal donations from Rev. David Parke and Bob Lauer, 1st UU will be sending a team to the Heartland Leadership Conference "Planning for Growth and Vitality" workshop.  At our last board meeting our moderator Colleen Dolan-Greene pushed the importance of taking this issue very seriously and supporting it in every way we can.  Thanks also to those church members who are willing to give up their weekend for this intensive training.  We will be sending Jessica Gant, Charlotte Allen, Dan Wiest and Barbara Stevenson.  We can’t wait to hear the ideas they come back with!
The Next Growth Task Force Meeting is October 18 at 5:30 We could use more energy.  If you can’t make the meeting and would still like to help, please fill out the "Growth- How you can help" sheet in the church house.  Thanks.

Coming November 7th at 1:00 - Elevator Speech- Do you have yours?

Social Justice

MOSES

Seven church members returned from the MOSES rally on September 26 very excited about the opportunity to join MOSES! MOSES is a multi-faith network of churches in the metro area that focus on areas of social justice concern.  Jennifer Granholm, and Dennis Archer were among those in attendance at the event!  The Worship and Ministry Task force are recommending to the Board that our Church become a member, and we will be sharing more about MOSES with you at an upcoming church service.

 

Social Justice Film

Please join us on October 24 to view Unprecedented

This film explains the battle for the 2000 Presidency in Florida and the Undermining of democracy in America.

Check your closets... Supplies Needed

The high school group is hoping you donate supplies for their Haunted House.  We need typical Halloween decorations, as well as large pieces of cardboard and plastic milk cartons. Thank you in advance for your support.

 

2nd Story Church

Halfway Up the Stairs

I don't know if you remember why I named my article "Halfway Up the Stairs" last fall, and if you're new, you probably haven't heard the story. In brief, this A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh) poem reminds me of my relationship with the church. Not only have I always loved to sit on the landing (halfway up/down) of the church house stairway. I also feel that I am the bridge between what is going on downstairs with the adult congregation, and upstairs with the children. This year our theme in 2nd Story is Social Justice. The elementary children are focusing on hunger and homelessness on both a local and global level. This morning we had a great discussion on some words that were new to some of our children: "racism", "discrimination" and "inequality". Although the words may have been new, the children all understood what they meant and agreed that these things exist. Our children are interested in working to change these things. These children are in the right place! Our church has always drawn people who want to work for change. This afternoon I had the wonderful opportunity of sitting and chatting with the children of Viola Liuzzo after viewing the movie about their mother, a member of this church who was the only white woman murdered in the civil rights movement. This was such a meaningful moment for me. From the time I was a child I have often felt as though I should have been a young adult in the 1960s. I believe I would have been one of the white women who went down to Selma to march for voting rights for African-Americans. Today my title “Halfway Up the Stairs” has a different meaning to me. After my discussion with the children this morning and seeing this film this afternoon- I am feeling like we may be halfway there. We have definitely made civil rights progress since the 1960s; however; we still have a long way to go, and it is our children who will walk the next few miles. Before this film, most people had never heard of Viola Liuzzo. I feel lucky that growing up in this church, I have heard stories of Viola since I was quite young, I was told her story along with those of such people such as Elizabeth Weideman, Alice Herz and Wade McCree. I was lucky to have known people like Vic Schumacher, John Strauther, Kay Sutton, and Millie Jeffrey. I am committed to making sure our children hear their stories too, so they will be ready to carry on!In Peace, Jennifer A. Teed, DRE

Halfway Down

Halfway down the stairs is a stair where I sit.
There isn't any other stair
quite like it.
I'm not at the bottom, I'm not at the top;
So this is the stair where I always stop.
Halfway up the stairs isn't up, and it isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery, it isn't in the town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts run round my head:
"It isn't really anywhere!
It's somewnere else instead!"
- A. A. Milne

Souper Sunday

Thank you to Lynda Barton, Jan Thomspon, Irene Schultz and Joanna Hubbard for providing the delicious souuup for our RE fundraiser. We will continue to have Souper Sundays on the first Sunday of each month.
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