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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
please contact
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THIS SUNDAY:
For the Service, the Zoom link is here.
The Service begins at 10:30am; you can sign in at 10:00 AM to visit!
Sunday's Service
3.21.2021
"Reaching"
Dear Ones,
Join us on Celebration Sunday to pause in gratitude and joy for the gifts we have given and received from this beloved community. It is a time to look forward to a future filled with possibility, and to welcome new members. The Sunday Services team has prepared a joyful surprise and inspiring music.
- Rev. Cathy
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Again, the Zoom link for SUNDAY SERVICE is
Last Sunday's service was not recorded by our Zoom account.
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AN INVITATION FROM REV. CATHY
If you are interested in joining a group of people who are reading the novel, There There by Tommy Orange, let Cathy know  at [email protected]. We will meet via Zoom on March 30th at 10:00 am to discuss the book.
Here's what one reviewer had to say about this novel: "There There is a miraculous achievement, a book that wields ferocious honesty and originality in service of telling a story that needs to be told. This is a novel about what it means to inhabit a land both yours and stolen from you, to simultaneously contend with the weight of belonging and unbelonging. There is an organic power to this book - a revelatory, controlled chaos. Tommy Orange writes the way a storm makes landfall." One of The New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year and winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award, Tommy Orange's wondrous and shattering bestselling novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle's death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American-grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable.
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 MINISTERIAL SEARCH TEAM REPORT
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In this week of St. Patrick's Day many of us enjoy getting all decked out in green. It is a way to demonstrate one's connection, real or pretend, to a certain "tribe" (kiss me, I'm Irish) or just to have fun with some traditions of the day... green beer, corned beef and cabbage, shamrocks and leprechauns.
Kermit the frog famously reminds us that it's not always easy being green. Eating too much corned beef and cabbage or drinking too much green beer might leave one feeling uncomfortably green around the gills. Being green with envy can be a negative feeling if it is elevated to the point of being a green-eyed monster.
On the other hand, having a green thumb is considered a good thing, especially if it belongs to a member of the landscape committee! And greenbacks are always welcome, especially by the stewardship committee! And giving someone the green light is usually a positive action, especially when it is extended to someone who comes into a situation being a little green.
When the time comes that we have the good luck (of the Irish?) to call a new Settled Minister, that person will be a little green to our ways. It will be the job of all of us to pay heed to some of Kermit's concluding words:
"But green's the color of Spring.
And green can be cool and friendly-like.
And green can be big like an ocean, or important
like a mountain, or tall like a tree."
Your Team,
Mary, Geoff, Charles, Dusty, Jim, Chris, Jan
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The 2021 - 2022 Pledge Drive is now in its fifth week and progressing slowly toward our New Beginnings goal of $300,000. This is the estimate our Finance Committee expects we will need to achieve to support our new Minister and all the wonderful programs that have been either on-going for many years or recently developed as interest in expanding our Music, Social Justice and Adult RE programs was expressed. Thank you to the eighty-two pledging units who have returned their pledge forms as of March 17 for a total of $161,484 or 54% of our goal.
Our planned Celebration Sunday (March 21, 2021), the official end of our pledge drive is this weekend. Unfortunately we still have a long way to go to meet the needs of fully supporting UUCGT and all the various programs that have been developed to Nurture our Hearts and Expand our Minds. Those who have pledged in the past and have not returned your forms will begin getting friendly reminder calls from members of the Stewardship Team.
If you have any questions, please contact anyone on the Stewardship Team.
John Hoffmann, Alison Kadlec, Karl Keinath, Jon Luoma,
Mary Anne Rivers, and Rick Walter
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RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
from Claire Crandell
From Sunday March 14th:
This month we're exploring the four UU C's: Curiosity, Change, Conscience & The Value of Each Person, and Compassion.
We talked about Changes and Curiosity- if we liked changes and where do we learn or see changes? We talked about the changes in Nature we see in the Spring and what kind of changes make us each happy. We then watched a brief 5 minute video on WONDER. Click on the link:
We asked ourselves if we ever wondered the same things as the little girl in the story? Where do we think gravity comes from? What do you think was here before the beginning of everything? What mysteries do you wonder about the most? One child shared her wonder about if cats go to heaven.
We also mentioned this month is Women in History month. And in reply to the question of who is the most important woman or women in your life children said: their Mother, Grandmother, Aunts, and others. We also asked who are some important women in history and one child said, "our Vice President ''.
We closed with happiness that it feels like Spring is here. We look forward to spending more time in our WONDER- FULL outdoors of Northern Michigan!!
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You can access the entire calendar online HERE;
here again is the link for Sunday's Service:
Sun 03.21.21
10:30 AM Regular Sunday Service. Begin signing in at 10:00 for
breakout rooms BEFORE the Service!
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Please continue to give to For Those in Need
in our virtual "collection baskets".
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End "Note" (because no words needed):
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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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