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Congregational
Mission
Statement
We are a Congregation creating a better world by nurturing the heart and expanding the mind.
We provide a safe, caring community where all can freely explore diverse religious thought.
We work for justice and equality with the power of compassion and compassionate power.
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UUCGT Quicklinks
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If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter
the Beacon
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ANOTHER VERY IMPORTANT FLASH!
Dear Friends -
Here is a special-edition Flash which both introduces you to the newly announced Candidate for Settled Minister and shares Rev. Cathy's customary Tuesday "Minister's Message" (which, in turn, and perhaps not surprisingly, addresses the new Candidate!)
What may now seem a long while ago, the completion and sending of your Congregational Survey - one of the first steps in this important and painstaking process - was heralded with fireworks, and I thought today a very good day to bring them back. Many thanks and sincere congratulations to the Ministerial Search Team, each member of which has given countless hours of his or her time along with extraordinary effort.
Perhaps it will say a lot about them, individually and as a Team, if I share with you now that I was asked never to sign any message from the Team or its various members with one person's name, even if he or she was the author of what I was sharing. The message was always to be that this always was and always would be a team effort. I tell you this to honor their humility as well as their generosity: don't forget to thank them when you see them, via Zoom or otherwise!
And, as Rev. Cathy says: you all deserve a pat on the back.
And Alex (yes, folks, I'm including him in this Flash mailing list): you should have received my e-mail by now regarding looking for housing in Traverse City. With the entire Congregation assisting and on the lookout, you shouldn't have too much trouble!
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Introducing the Soon-to-be-Rev. Alex Jensen
Alex Jensen...
...is our candidate for full time ministry! He was kind enough to share his email and website with us. He is anxious to hear from us, so he might begin to know us more. His announcement video is here:
https://youtu.be/rvgOvv9k3eo
We hope to have Candidating Week with Alex beginning with the Service on Mother's Day, May 9th.We are uncertain at this time on whether Alex will come in person, or if we will proceed remotely. The week will allow Alex to meet with the Board, the staff, committees, and hopefully some outdoor, appropriately-distanced socializing with us (or Zoom gatherings that will be social in nature). The week will end on the following Sunday, May 16th. After the service with Alex, the Congregation will vote on whether to call Alex for full time ministry with us. More information on Candidating Week will be coming soon.
With housing so tight in our area, we are beginning to look for possibilities. Alex said he would like to buy a house, but says he would probably need to rent something while he looked. He will come in August. Anyone with ideas for housing, please contact Mary Van Valin, or other MST members. He says he'd like something within a 15 minute drive to the Congregation, if possible.
Thank you all for the faith you have put in the Ministerial Search Team, as we begin, again, with a new possibility for a Called Minister.
From the team:
Geoff, Dusty, Charles, Jan, Jim, Chris, and Mary
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TUESDAY MINISTER'S MESSAGE
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Dear Ones, 
Congratulations on finding a ministerial candidate! Your Ministerial Search Team labored for months to achieve this successful outcome, and they deserve our praise. You, too, deserve a pat on the back for choosing them to represent you in this process. Hooray!
I will officially be your Minister until August 1st but will be in the process of moving in July. I won't know where until sometime in the middle of May. One of the hardest parts of doing Interim Ministry is saying goodbye to folks I have grown to care about so deeply, but as you are welcoming your new Minister, I will be welcomed by a new Congregation who will be beginning their transition process.
In the meantime, we have plenty of work left to do before out time together comes to a close. The Harvest the Power workshop begins on Thursday, April 8, and if you have not received an email from me with pre-reading and have signed up, let me know ASAP; [email protected].
A new workshop on White Fragility; Reading & Writing Whiteness begins on April 21. This is open to non-members, so invite your friends and neighbors. Let Alison know if you are interested; [email protected].
The Healthy Congregations Team and I have three Sunday services planned to help you prepare for your new settled ministry in April, May and June. Notice that I said, ministry and not minister. This is because successful ministry requires a healthy relationship between the Congregation and the Minister. The ideal ministry is where the Minister helps the Congregation become a better Congregation and the Congregation helps the Minister be a better Minister. It is a committed relationship of shared ministry and mutual respect.
This Sunday's sermon is dedicated to "The Care and Feeding of a Minister." I will share some dos and don'ts when it comes to setting healthy boundaries and realistic expectations.
L, Cathy
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End Note:
"To slow down
is to be taken into
the soul of things." 
Terry Tempest Williams - author, activist, and Writer-in-Residence at
Harvard Divinity School, and how's that for a
lovely, it's-a-small-world-after-all
coincidence?
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The UUCGT building is closed until further notice;
however the office is again staffed (at least) Tuesday-Friday, 9am-3pm.
Stay up to date on the UUCGT website
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