You, Me &

No Column

 

Dear First Unitarian Universalist Church of Detroit Community:

On Monday, November 10, 2003, your Board was surprised to receive the resignation of Rev. Larry Hutchison from our Church effective in August 2004, the end of the Church year. We had known that Larry was thinking about retiring some time in the next several years, but were not expecting him to do it so soon. Larry told us he will pursue his career as an artist in wood on a full-time basis. The Heartland District of the Unitarian Universalist Association will be assisting us in our transition to a new minister. The UUA will assist us in finding an interim minister. We are reassured that Larry has provided us adequate notice so we have enough time to prepare to enter the search process season that begins in September. This will include conducting a congregational survey and preparing a packet for ministerial candidates that describes our congregation and Church.  

        There are many times and places where you can help. I will be appointing a group to work with me to help us decide how to handle the transition, a Next Steps Committee. It will have several board members and several members from the congregation. An example of one of the duties of the Next Steps Committee is to recommend whether to have an interim minister for one year (2004-05) or two (2004-06). Please let me know if you are interest in serving.

An additional way you can help is by sharing your thoughts, reactions and ideas with the Next Steps Committee and me. Feel free to talk with me during coffee hour, or call me (313.867.4890) or arrange a face-to-face meeting if you would prefer.

During this transitional period, I will do my best to keep you informed about what I learn from the Heartland District and from the UUA about this process, as well as about the steps that First UU-Detroit will be taking.   Sincerely, Colleen Dolan-Greene

Moderator, First UU Church, Detroit

 

All in the Family

  Bob and Arlene Teed and Aunt Jennifer proudly announce the arrival of Joshua Robert Ording on November 1st.  He joins parents Betsy (Teed) and Gabe  and sister Abby in East Lansing.

 

Committee News

Choir

If you enjoy singing and want to have a good time, the choir is the place for you. There is no need to audition, just show up at the dates and time listed below.  All rehearsals begin at 9:30 A.M. and are usually held in Memorial Hall.  The rehearsal and performance schedule for the next three months is as follows:

November 30 - no rehearsal

December 7, 14, 21 rehearsal with performance on the 21

December 24 Christmas Eve Service performance – time to be announced.

December 28  no rehearsal

January 4, 11, 18 rehearsal with performance on the 18.

January 25 no rehearsal

 

Development Committee

            Entertainment Books are for sale during Coffee Hour at the low cost of only $30.00.  Buy several-the sale not only benefits the church but they make great gifts.

           

Membership & Growth

It is time to start preparing for Noel Nite again (Saturday, December 6). There are several ways you can help - one is by bringing in clean glass jars (about the size of 20 oz. spaghetti sauce jars). You may also replenish decorations with your donations, and think about volunteering for such duties as greeter, story telling, publicity, children's make'n'take crafts, church tours or performing in Memorial Hall. Of course there is the never-ending need for cookies.  Stay tuned for more details.

 

 

First Friday

We will again use the First Friday in December to prepare the Church House for Noel Nite the following day.  Activities will include decorating the Church House interior, preparing the luminary candles, a meal, and a film (not necessarily in that order).  The Humanist Forum is also taking place for those up for the usual spirited discussion.  Make your reservation by calling the church office at 313-833-9107 or Peggy Wilkie (313-255-5048) or Irene Schultz (313-838-3348) or another option is e-mailing Irene at the address on the front of this Newsletter. The deadline is December 3.

Chefs note-It seems I can't stress enough the need for reservations. In November we had several people wanting to dine with us who did not have reservations. Unfortunately we had to turn them away as we ran out of food.  There are several ways of making reservations (see above) so PLEASE pick up that phone and make that call, or e-mail me - what could be simpler? That's a rhetorical question - no answer necessary! A reminder - only make reservations to those listed above. Thank you

 

Women's Alliance

Music with Jon Schultz and friends will be enjoyed by the Women's Alliance as these talented musicians lead singing after noon luncheon on December 17, 2003, in Memorial Hall.  You are invited to join us. For Luncheon reservations phone Eiko Takemoto at 313-869-6389 or the church office at 313-833-9107 by noon on Monday, December 15.  The cost is $6.00.  Come, sing, and bring your musical instrument!

 

Guest at Your Table

This month is Guest at Your Table month. Each year at this time we distribute little boxes from the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. We place these Guest at Your Table boxes on our dining tables to invite the world into our kitchens and dining rooms. Look for the faces depicted there; through the work of the UUSC we truly invite people from around the world into our homes. For more than twenty-five years, UUs have provided funding to life-changing initiatives of UUSC through Guest at Your Table.

We will kick off the program on November 23. Don't forget to pick up your box after the service. Place it on your dining table and look into the eyes on these faces from around the world. The Unitarian Universalist Service Committee and its partners invite us to join around the table, to develop relationships, to share pain, work, HOPE! The boxes will be collected Jan. 4 and 11.

 

Church Directory

First Church is going to publish a new pictorial directory using the Olan Mills Video Image Proofing System.  This will take place Friday, December 12 from 3-9:30 and Saturday, December 13 from 10-5.  Reserve an appointment at one of the sign-up locations during Coffee Hour.  Each family photographed will receive a complimentary directory and a free 8x10 Custom Color Portrait from Olan Mills.  Because of the Video Image Proofing System you will make only one trip to the church. Plan forty-five minutes to one hour for the entire process.  All pose selections for the directory, your free 8x10 portrait, and any additional portrait purchases you may wish to make will be completed at this time.  It is also possible to have your photo taken with something that has special meaning to you.  The most obvious choice might be your pet.  Contact Dan Wiest for more details.

Women's Book Club

The next meeting of the Women's Book Club will be Sunday December 7, 2003 from 1:00PM - 3: 00 PM in Memorial Hall.

We will be discussing children's books.  Each participant will have read a children’s book of her choosing and will have 5-10 minutes to discuss the book.  The book can be a contemporary book or perhaps one   you read as a child. Contact Maria Majer at 313-899-1694 for more information.

December Birthdays

         Bob Neale, Joe Samples

9. Bob Neale, Joe Samples

11. Marilyn Mitchell

12. Florence Baskerville

13. Barbara Stevenson

17. Ken Meyer

20. Mike Simowski

21. Lee Thume, Gail Twitty,

23. Ardith Dickason, Geraldine Gunter, Margaret Paschall

24. Nick Greene

26. Charlotte Allen

28. Dorothy Allen, Evelyn Scheyer

29. Jerry Gochnour

30. Adelia Minor

Ed. Note-If you haven't seen your name on the birthday list and you would like it to be included  - just jot down the month and date, no years please, along with your name and leave the information in the Newsletter box outside the church office.

 

Help Wanted

I will do any odd jobs that you may need to have done. Indoor/outdoor clean up jobs are my specialty and, yes, I do windows.

Church member references available

Call T.C. Latham

C/O Benita Mullins

313-331-6448

 

Out and About

Simply Delicious

Church members and friends, you are invited to an elegant and inexpensive brunch in McCollester Hall after the church services on Nov. 23 and Dec. 14.  Churchgoers will receive a generous discount on their meal.  Chefs BJ, Ameer and Tone , combined, offer 50 years experience in hospitality cuisine and culinary arts.

We were greatly impressed by the meal they served on Nov. 9 and encourage everyone to support their efforts.  We're confident you will be pleased if you are willing to try something new!  Bob and Arlene Teed

 

 

 

Movies at First

The Community Ministry will be hosting movies once a month related to social justice, or our community.  Join us at 1:00 on Sunday, November 30^th to see Once Upon a Time When Welfare Made a Difference, the stories of four women who were able to change their lives.  A discussion will follow.  In December we plan to show In a Heartbeat, the story of the Mosiac Youth Theatre - a Detroit Theatre program that has won numerous awards and changed the lives of Detroit children and youth.  The tentative date is December 21 at 1:00.  The showing will be in Memorial Hall.  Contact Barbara Stevenson or Gwen Winston at 313-832-2928 for more information. Films will be shown once a month through May, 2004.

 

 

An Invitation to Brunch

The Community Outreach Ministry of the Cathedral of St. Paul will host a brunch at noon on Sunday, December 7 at Barth Hall (Woodward and Warren) the cost is a $5.00 donation.  The monies raised will help to support the community outreach which includes a Sunday breakfast program for homeless and others that feeds over 150 people each Sunday.  While you are considering brunch, they will also be selling poinsettias at a cost of $5.00 each.  Pick up several for the holidays.  Call Sarah Newton at 313-831-5000 for more information.  Brunch will continue on the first Sunday of each month. Our youth will be volunteering this month to help serve the breakfast on November 23 along the Jennifer Teed and Carter Stevenson.

 

 

General Assembly - 2004

General Assembly will take place June 24 - 28, 2004 at the Long Beach CA Convention Center.  For more information    call 617-948-4209

 

 

 

Church of the Larger Fellowship

Your Church at Home Anywhere in the World

You may know someone who would enjoy the Church of the Larger Fellowship, a congregation that provides a ministry to isolated religious liberals around the world. CLF, the congregation by mail and cyberspace, offers a spiritual home within the Unitarian Universalist movement for all kinds of people. We also offer religious education materials and consultation, a loan library of books, audio and videotapes, as well as email lists and a cyber community. The CLF also supports many small congregations with worship and programming resources through the Church-on - Loan program.  For more information, contact the Church of the Larger Fellowship, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108; 617-948-6166; clf@uua.org or visit the CLF homepage:

 

Thanksgiving Potluck

Don't feel like cooking a big meal?

Would like to spend time with some very interesting people?

Join us for our annual Potluck at the Church

November 27 at 2:00 P.M.

Give Linda Darga a call at 313-833-3197 to let her know if you are coming and what you will bring to share.

TOUR CIVIL RIGHTS SITES

 Have you ever wanted to see some of the sites of the civil rights movement: the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, the store in Money, Mississippi where Emmett Till allegedly "talked fresh" to a white woman? These and many more are included in a tour being offered this spring by the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Elkhart, IN. The March 27-April 4, 2004, tour has been planned and will be led by the Rev. Dr. Gordon Gibson, Minister of the Elkhart UU Fellowship, who was involved in the early stages of the 1965 Selma voting rights campaign and was the Unitarian Universalist

Minister in Mississippi 1969-84. The tour, by luxury motor coach, will include all admission charges, overnight accommodations, and most meals.  Videos on the bus and visits with 1960s activists will supplement the site visits.  The tour will begin and end in Nashville, Tennessee. For full details on cost and schedule, you can go to the Elkhart Fellowship's website at . You can also request a printed version by writing UUFE, P.O. Box 584, Elkhart, IN 46515 or e-mailing Judy Gibson.  Registration is on a first- come basis with less than 25 seats still available, and registration closes soon.