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First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit4605 Cass AvenueDetroit, MI 48201Phone 313-833-9107Fax 313-833-0127January 1, 2006 |
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First Unitarian Universalist Church
Organizational Chart 2005 - 2006 Officers Moderator Jim Harvey Vice Moderator Dan Weist Immediate Past Moderator Colleen Dolan-Greene Board Secretary Leonard Zettel Treasurer Dan Secrest Staff Interim Minister Rev. Diana Heath 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 Lencha Acker Alicia Biggers Jim Brown Linda Darga Carolyn Ludwig Mary Lou Malone Jackie McNaughtonM/I> Irene Schultz Newsletter Irene Schultz |
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Before church services: January 29th at 9:30 in Memorial Hall; Rev. Diana Heath – continuing conversation on introduction to Unitarian Universalism.
Planned evening workshops: Finding and Following a Spiritual Path (Rev. Heath) “Ethical Living” TBA” to be followed by “Simplicity Living”.
Mark your calendar:“UU Originals” Sunday is January 29th. Bring items you have made, brought into being by thought and a passion for inventing; creating; a painting, a poem, a framed patent; a quilt or weaving; decorative foods, pottery, photography, your children. There are many things that this gifted and talented congregation can bring to share. An exhibit in McCollester Hall will be held following the service. All invited.
In the last newsletter there was an article describing the current status of UUCP and the church members and friends who have been active in the organization. The name of Barbara Stevenson should have been included. Barbara assisted in the development of the program, was a program consultant, and continued to assist in grant writing. Thank you all for your efforts on behalf of UUCP and, derivatively, on behalf of the Church. We thank the many others whose names may not have appeared in the earlier article, but who helped to create the UUCP story.
We will be meeting on February 5, 2006 at 1:00 p.m. in Memorial Hall and will be discussing Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri. Please come prepared to discuss the book selection and bring a snack to share.
Your help is needed at the next Building & Grounds Clean-up Fix-up Day on Saturday, January 14th at 9:30 am! Volunteers are needed to install window-insulating plastic, organize the paint storage room, and dust the sanctuary. All supplies will be furnished. Thanks, Dan K
The following is the rehearsal schedule for the rest of 2005. All rehearsals begin at 9:30 and are in McCollester Hall unless otherwise noted. All are welcome.
Following are TENTATIVE choir rehearsal dates:
I have tickets for the Detroit Repertory Theatre to see Going to St. Ives by Lee Blessing on January 14th at 3 p.m. Doors will open at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 each with $5 going to the church budget. Tickets will be sold at coffee hour or call Margaret Beck. We will also be going to the Traffic Jam for dinner. To whet your appetite while at the theater, homemade soup and warm cookies are available for a nominal fee along with a glass of wine for an additional cost. Hope you will join us for this church fun(d)raiser.
Our next meeting will be January 18, 2006. Lunch will be served at noon, to be followed by a talk on Community Services for Young Parents. The cost of the lunch is $6.00. Please make reservations by calling the church at 313-833-9107 or Eiko Takemoto. The deadline for reservations is noon on Monday, January 16.
Ten women gathered on Saturday, November 19, 2005 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at Janet Thompson’s home in Grosse Pointe to reconvene the Center for Women’s Culture – Alicia Biggers, Benita Mullins, Mildred Robinson, Andee Seeger, Sumarah Karen Smith, Arlene Teed, Janet Thompson, Margaret Wilkie, Gwendolyn Winston, and Ruby Woods. I developed questions and exercises that were explored and facilitated the experience. The intent of the day was to design a foundation to meet our personal needs and that of our UU women-community. The morning was opened with the statement that “the possibilities are huge as we bring our gifts and talents to the circle. Most of you have expressed particular interests. Together, we will break bread, pay attention to how we be with one another, explore meaning making, discover common ground, and decide our next steps”.
We reflected and dialogued on these things: What do we personally want to get out of the day’s gathering; Why we were there; Our vision for 2007; Review of the 1999 mission and vision statements of the Center for Women’s Culture; Meaning making around words such as spirituality, UUism, spiritual practice, women’s ways, community, belonging, love; If we want to create a covenant; Goals and strategies. It was an exceptional, heartfelt, delicious experience. Our next gathering is Saturday, January 7, 2006, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. and commitments were made to widen our circle.
In our effort to align the strategic efforts of the Church and its members, the current UUCP Board has decided to close the UUCP organization and its 501(c)3 status. After 7 years, UUCP has achieved its purpose supporting over 10 community organizations, offering $21,000 to the Church in funds, remodeling several rooms and offering non-profit Board experience to numerous church members. As we grow and transition as a congregation, UUCP believes its time has come and will support the Church in its strategic long-term efforts.
What does this mean to you? Other than the Church's non-profit status, you can no longer use UUCP's 501(c)3 status for grants for any organizations related to the Church or as an "umbrella" to the UUCP group. Please be aware the current UUCP members are closing all grants and will not be applying for any new grants as UUCP.
If you have any questions, please contact Alicia Biggers or Jan Thompson. We thank you for your continuous support of a most difficult decision and look forward to support the Church's strategic efforts".
15.
Eiko Takemoto
Note: Eiko’s birthday is the 15th, not the 13th as previously noted.
Community Ministry Movies will be shown on January 22, 2006 from 1-3 P.M. The featured movie(s) for this date will be The Open Road (The Boomers Retire) – America Looks at Aging. In honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday there will also be a civil rights related movie. For information call Barbara Stevenson.
THE POSITIVE
OF LIFE:
- Living on Earth is expensive, but it does include a
free trip around the sun every year.
- How long a minute is depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on.
- Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live.
- Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open.
-
Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than
the people who have to wait for them?
- Most of us go to our grave with our music still inside of us.
- You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
- Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once.
- Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.
-We could learn a lot from crayons: some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have
weird names, and all are different colors....but they all exist very
nicely in the same box.
- A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.
- Have an awesome day, and know that someone who thinks you're great has thought about you today!
In the last newsletter Rev. Heath and Jim Harvey both spoke of this interim ministerial period we are in the midst of. As this period is also greatly affecting our Religious Education program, I'd also like to share my perspective of this time.
I've been observing and participating in this church family for over 30 years. This place and all of you are a deep part of who I am. Just as many of you, Here I feel comfortable and safe.
"Disturb the comfortable, comfort the disturbed.” One of my professors at UDM use to say this, and as both a social work student and social activist, I immediately agreed with it... Yes let's get out there and disturb the comfortable! Hey wait... I'm one of the comfortable...
I was surprised at the December Board meeting when Heartland Interim District Executive, Lisa Presley, asked how many people like change and nearly everyone raised their hand. Well, certainly, I like change as well. I think being change agents is something many U.U.s would feel is part of our responsibility in demonstrating our faith in action. However, the type of change that I'm drawn to is when I see something that needs to be changed, and I begin to organize and transition into something new and different. It is totally different when someone or something else wants me to change, especially if it comes unexpectedly, and even more difficult when I don't think the change is necessary. Some of you may have recognized this about me. It is kind of embarrassing to admit ;however, I think it is something we are all faced with. The old adage, “When one door closes, another opens”, is hard to appreciate when the change happening is due to unexpected and/or negative circumstances, such as death, broken relationships, job loss etc. Some of the negative church issues that I see causing 1st UU to change are poor economy, suburban flight, change of lifestyle, priority setting, lack of settled minister and confusion of church's mission. None of these are issues we would have asked for, and therefore I see this as the kind of change we may not think we want or need. We are comfortable and do not want to be disturbed.
It is time for 1st UU to change. This is something that is easy to recognize and yet hard to act on. We know we need to change, our congregation is growing smaller and smaller, and some people around are really on the edge regarding their future here. I'm looking forward to this new year. Our youth will continue their world religion curriculum, and adults we will begin our, oh so needed, Holy Conversations.
Although being disturbed is not a good feeling, just think in the end, we'll all get to comfort each other (at least until it's time to be disturbed again).
In Peace, Jennifer A. Teed, Director of Religious Education
On Saturday, December 17th our families joined with the Women ARISE families for a holiday party-Simplicity and Self Care at the Holidays. We made gifts for each other, decorated cookies, Ruby Woods told stories to the group and Fran Dent provided a short comedy routine. In total about 100 people participated! Santa Claus and his elves even showed up for this party!
Thank you one and all that helped in any way to make this party a success! If you missed seeing the smiles on the families faces check out the pictures on the bulletin board outside the sanctuary!
