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First Unitarian Universalist
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First Unitarian Universalist
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Drew's News
Congregational Meeting
Membership
Religious Education
Women's Alliance
Worship Committee
Juneteenth Celebration
Congratulations to Anthony Wahl
Ruth Crawford's Birthday
Interfaith Dialog
Items from the Internet
Social Action, MOSES, and First UU
Partners for Sacred Places
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we evolve. Personal evolution is fascinating, and our collective evolution is even more so. In both realms we can often anticipate what is coming next (although that is simpler with an individual than it is with an institution). At this church, this institution, we are staging ourselves for some evolution that we may want to try to anticipate.
After the Annual Meeting on June 10th we expect to have a new Mission Statement to help guide us, and that is one part of the work we need to complete in the near future. The Mission answers the question of “what do you do here?” There are other documents we can create that are also important in guiding our evolution.
A vision statement answers the question, “how do you see yourselves?” Both the Mission and Vision apply to the future – what we do from this time forward, and what we look like in the future.
A behavioral covenant answers the question of how we treat each other and applies in this moment as well as in the future.
There are also a couple of larger documents that will help us. A long range plan will describe the path from where we are to where we hope to go, and a strategic plan describes detailed steps that we will need to take.
The Mission Statement is a result of dozens of you contributing through the Appreciative Inquiry interviews we conducted, then the hard work of a team of folks who worked with those results for many weeks. All along the way they have been publishing their progress and soliciting further comments from you. This was a fun process!
The next documents will take considerable effort as well, and I am looking for people interested in helping. As we move through the summer and into the new church year we will need to begin focusing on these other plans. And they will become a crucial part of how we are able to continue evolving. At a practical level, raising and spending money are both clearer tasks when you know where you are along the plan. Describing and defining steps to move forward is also a great way to be deeply involved in the life of the church, both practical and visionary!
As you think about
our evolution, think about your part in the process. And quickly let me know
what you feel like doing. Together we will find ways to help each other evolve,
and that is a great reason to be at church! See you there.
–Reverend Drew
The Annual Congregational Meeting of the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit will be on June 10, 2007 at 12:30 P.M. The purpose of the meeting is to approve the 2007-2008 budget, approve the Mission Statement and to vote for officers. The slate is:
Eleven of us enjoyed the play LAPSES at the Detroit Reparatory Theater on June 2 followed by dinner at the Traffic Jam. Our church budget is $90.00 richer. The play was excellent and we had the opportunity to meet the author afterward. Thank you to all who purchased tickets.
I will be having garage sales on some Fridays during the summer and would appreciate some help. Please call me at 313-822-7775 to let me know when you are available.
Contributed by Margaret Beck
Wanted- Your Refundable Bottles
and Cans!
The Religious Education students of First UU are holding a Bottle-Can Drive
to raise money for the “Pilgrimage to Boston”. If you have any
refundable bottles or cans laying about taking up space in your house, garage
or storage shed, please consider donating them to the RE youths. RE students
will be happy to return them to the store for the deposit money and will use
the proceeds to help fund their trip to Boston in June. RE will be collecting
refundable bottles and cans every Sunday through June 17th.
The Women’s Alliance will be meeting June 13 – the second Wednesday of the month. The featured speaker will be Michael Hauser, Marketing Manager of the Detroit Opera House. The cost for the luncheon is $6.00 and reservations must be made by Monday, June 11th before noon by calling the church office at 313-833-9107 or Eiko Takemoto at 313-869-6389.
Thank you to all who have helped with coffee hour during the church year. For the month of May we have the Search Committee to thank: Dr. James Robinson, Marilyn Mitchell, Sharlene Gage, Ivan Cotman and Kathe Stevens. The Governing Board will be doing the honors for the month of June. A special thank you to Helen True and Rose LaBolle who offer their assistance every Sunday.
Contributed by Faye Colling
Sunday, June 17th - 11:00
A.M.
The special guest speaker will be Dr. James Robinson who will be speaking
about Ella Baker, Civil Rights Warrior. Our annual Juneteenth Emancipation
Celebration picnic will be held after the service in the churchyard at 1:00
P.M. Sport your ethnic dress and bring a picnic lunch and a dish to share.
Watermelon and lemonade will be provided.
Long-time First Church member Ruth Crawford will celebrate her 95th birthday on June 26. Mary Lou Malone, Lynda Smith and Kathe Stevens are going to take a side trip after GA to Santa Rosa, California to visit Ruth and help her celebrate. Here is Ruth’s address in case you want to send your own birthday wishes:
Ruth Crawford
1333 W. Steele Lane, Apt. 668
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
The Interfaith Dialog group will be meeting June 17th at 2:00 P.M.
Actual questions/answers from grade school tests:
Metropolitan Organizing Strategy Enabling Strength (M.O.S.E.S) is an organization that complements our 7 UU principles and our congregation's own efforts in the realm of social justice.
Now review the goals (principles) of the M.O.S.E.S. organization listed below and you will discover the natural complements and why our membership with M.O.S.E.S. will enable 1st UU of Detroit to continue its heritage of community service and social justice actions.
Because faith must be accompanied with action, our faith mandates that we strive together to pursue the goals we believe are keeping with the design of God. These goals include:
- Justice - for all, without regard to race, gender, social status or religion
- Respect for the Dignity of each person - more than a mere respect for life, it is the acknowledgment that each one of us bears the image of God.
- Mercy - understanding that there are times and circumstances when laws and guidelines have both a letter and a "spirit".
- Fairness - the expectation that society's laws, policies and procedures will be administered in an equitable fashion. " Civility - our desire is a society where each of us respects the rights and humanity of others, and behaves in a fashion worthy of respect.
- Kindness - we participate in the building of a true "community" marked by friendliness, generosity, sympathy and tolerance.
Thus, we actively involve ourselves in social and community issues such as:
- Equitable allocation and distribution of public funds
- Equal opportunities for quality public education
- Equal access to public transportation
- Equal opportunity for full and meaningful employment
- Safe and healthy neighborhoods in which to live
MOSES' goal is to build and strengthen the member congregations and to empower these congregations to strengthen local communities to bring about beneficial systemic change. As we develop our social justice activities to honor our past and build our future, we invite you to participate in our conversations to build our own relationships with each to understand what our core values are and what we will support in the public arena.
Your Social Justice Committee will be working closely with MOSES to bring the benefits of resources and training to our congregation for our congregation's use, however, we need to know what your issues and passions are regarding social justice? Over the next few months, we invite you to participate with the one-on-one conversations, similar to the Appreciative Inquiry process, to gather your input. From this input, we will build the future actions and direction of your Social Justice Committee.
You might have noticed a few items new from this Committee:
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
April 11, 2007, revised by Colleen Dolan-Greene June 4, 2007
Contacts:
Colleen Dolan-Greene
313-867-4890
dolangreenegroup@hotmail.com
Nancy Finegood, Executive Director
Michigan Historic Preservation Network
517-371-8080
Finegood@mhpn.org
The Michigan Historic Preservation Network
and
Partners for Sacred Places
Bring Fund-Raising Training to Michigan
For the second year in Michigan, the Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN) and Partners for Sacred Places have collaborated in a venture to assist religious congregations with their older and historic buildings. First UU Church Detroit has been selected to participate in this program. It is as New Dollars/New Partners, the nation’s only preservation effort that provides practical tools to help congregations with their aging edifices.
The MHPN’s sponsorship of New Dollars/New Partners has been funded by the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs and the Kellogg Foundation. A primary purpose of the New Dollars/New Partners program is to broaden and diversify the pool of donors and partners that support the management and community use of local sacred places.
Michigan’s fund-raising training program is unique in the nation in that it is the first New Dollars/New Partners initiative with a statewide focus, and involves seven religious structures in addition to First UU Church Detroit in seven communities, including Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Newaygo, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Lansing, and Manistee.
Partners for Sacred Places previously has offered this training through the sponsorship of historic preservation organizations and denominational ofices at single sites in California, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. Congregations that participated in the program have enjoyed amplified levels of motivation, improved leadership, and increased knowledge and effectiveness for their fund-raising teams.
According to one participant from Washington D.C: “I am very grateful for this learning opportunity. Sacred Places is helping our congregation think not just about its building, but its mission in every respect.”
This training is designed for congregations that:
During the year-long workshop series, congregations will learn:
The first two sessions for the program will take place at First United Methodist Church, 227 E, Fulton Street in Grand Rapids on June 8 and 9. Representing First UU Church Detroit at these sessions will be Rev. Drew Johnston, Alicia Biggers, Colleen Dolan-Greene and Bill McKnight.
About the Michigan Historic Preservation Network
The Michigan Historic Preservation Network (MHPN) is the largest
membership organization in the state dedicated to recognizing and preserving
Michigan's rich cultural and architectural heritage. Founded in 1981, the
MHPN fosters the protection of the state's irreplaceable historic buildings,
structures, sites, objects, features and open spaces. The membership of over
1,500 includes owners of residential, commercial, industrial, institutional
and agricultural property; students and educators; governmental officials
and appointees; archaeologists, architects and designers; landscape architects
and landscapers; interior designers, contractors, developers, realtors, bankers
and insurance agents; and preservation volunteers and professionals. The volunteer
board of directors and the staff help Network members maintain the neighborhoods
where they live and the downtowns where they work, build new ways to respect
and reinforce local character, revitalize some of Michigan's oldest urban
centers, adapt all types of buildings for current uses, and use to best advantage
the rich rural, agricultural, and maritime heritage of Michigan.
For more information on the New Dollars/New Partners program and how MHPN is supporting your community, please contact Nancy Finegood, Executive Director at 517-371-8080 or via e-mail at Finegood@mhpn.org. Or visit MHPN’s web site at: www.mhpn.org.
About Partners for Sacred Places
Since 1989, Partners for Sacred Places has helped congregations across the
country sustain and actively use their historic sacred places. Partners’
expertise is in promoting and developing community-wide funding for historic
religious properties. Partners publishes The Complete Guide to Capital
Campaigns for Historic Churches and Synagogues and maintains the nation’s
larest clearinghouse of practical information on the development of capital
funding for houses of worship. With main offices in Philadelphia, more information
about Partners for Sacred Places is available at www.sacredplaces.org.