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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
3.28.2021
Poverty & Human Needs
in
Northwest Michigan
A lay-led service with a message on poverty in our region from guest Kerry Baughman, Executive Director of the Northwest Michigan Community Action Council.
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Again, the Zoom link for SUNDAY SERVICE is
We've had many requests for the recording of last Sunday's service! You can click here to access that recording online. You will need the passcode vu3=m8+q
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 MINISTERIAL SEARCH TEAM REPORT
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Mary, Geoff, Charles, Dusty, Jim, Chris, Jan
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"A dark night in a city that knows how to keep its secrets. . . .
On the 12th Floor of the Acme Building, one man is still trying to find the answers to life's persistent questions: Guy Noir, Private Eye."
It was recently revealed, to our amazement, that Guy Noir is Also Known As our own Guy, Office Administrator and Bookkeeper, working in the office on the 1st floor of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Grand Traverse. He is not alone in his interest in finding the answers to UUCGT's persistent questions: Will we have a new Settled Minister? When? Who will it be? When will we find out?
With the help of the MST, answers will be revealed very soon. Stay tuned!
Your Team
Mary, Geoff, Charles, Dusty, Jim, Chris, Jan
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Vespers for Peace
Join us on Friday evenings for a calming time of
music, contemplation, poetry, and inspiration. In Rev. Cathy's absence Tom Darnton is hosting Vespers tomorrow, March 26, 2021 at 8:00 PM
Begin signing in at 7:30 to visit.
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We are still very short of our goal of $300,000 for our Pledge Drive this year. As of Tuesday 3/23, we have received pledges of $175,464 (58.5% of our goal) from 89 pledging units. The Stewardship Committee is very appreciative of the financial support that the Congregation has pledged to date and looking forward to our many New Beginnings this year. As we said on Sunday, if you haven't yet pledged we would love to hear from you.
We know that the pandemic has affected people very differently, with many experiencing great financial hardship, and others finding themselves with additional resources because of money saved that would have otherwise been spent on travel, eating out, etc -- all those social things we have been deprived of over the last year. If you find yourself with a little more to give this year, this is a year when that little more would make a very big difference to your congregation.
If you're in a position to give your pledge that extra bump just for this year, please consider, EVEN IF you're unsure you can do as much in future years.
If you have already pledged, find you have additional funds available and want to increase your pledge, you can do that by sending a note to Guy at the office. If you prefer to not imply a long term commitment at a higher pledge level, you could also make a donation to UUCGGT to the congregation side of our virtual basket to give our general fund that needed boost as we head into a new fiscal year of exciting New Beginnings.
The Stewardship Team
John Hoffmann, Alison Kadlec, Karl Keinath, Jon Luoma,
Mary Anne Rivers, and Rick Walter
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A FEW NOTES
from Renée Russell
In this week's service we will explore poverty and human needs in our region. Before coming to UUCGT, I worked for several area non-profits that addressed aspects of these issues (SEEDS after-school programming, United Way, CentraWellness, Benzie Shores District Library). There are so many wonderful organizations working to do a lot of good in our community, sometimes it can be hard to know where best to offer your own resources and talents. I am excited to have Kerry Baughman of NMCAA explain to us the overall arc of their work.
It was difficult for me to figure out how to find the right balance between my passion for music and my passion for social work. I always felt half alive when I attempted to work only in one field. Yet we know, as with any great piece of music, it is all the facets of a composition - the melody, the rhythm, the harmony, the words - that make it beautiful. We must honor all of who we are in order to be of real help to others.
And, as with any good choir, it is better to blend into the voices of others than to insist your voice stand out on it's own. If you see a need in our community, it is highly likely there is already an established organization addressing that issue. We can make beautiful music when we add our voice and efforts to the symphony of support already in play. (Click on the link, OR: just click on the image below!)
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You can access the entire calendar online HERE;
Commitee, small group, and other meetings on the calendar include Zoom links if the meeting is open! If you can't find a link, please call the office, 947-3117.Here again is the link for the week's Services:
Fri 03.26.21 - 8:00PM: VESPERS - Sign in here! Sun 03.28.21 - 10:30AM: SUNDAY SERVICE - Sign in here!
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Please continue to give to For Those in Need
in our virtual "collection baskets".
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UUCGT BULLETIN
What's happenin'?
SIMPLE WAYS TO FIGHT FOR FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE
There will be a meeting of the
Social Justice Action Team on Sunday, April 11, immediately following the service, and all are welcome! (Look for more news from Emmy Lou in the coming Beacon.) The Zoom link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81124348986.
Meanwhile, it only takes a minute to sign any or all of these petitions. The first two address voter access and eligibility on the local and national levels, and the third demands reasonable action for sensible gun law change now. The murders in Atlanta and Boulder have triggered, so to speak, the same talking points we always here from those who oppose any reform: "it's not the time," "you're politicizing a tragedy," "what we need is more guns, not fewer," "this is just the beginning of your plan to take guns away from law-abiding citizens." None of these is true, and none of them is remotely helpful.
and
Start creating national change by working locally:
Join the Michigan Coalition to Prevent Gun Violence in
DON'T FORGET REV. CATHY'S INVITATION!
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.
"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. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable.
AND THERE ARE ALWAYS NEW CHANCES BEING CREATED TO JOIN IN SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS, BOOK GROUPS, ADULT RE & WRITING CLASSES, AND SOUL MATTERS EXPLORATIONS!
Contact
AND A FOND FAREWELL...
13 of us gathered in the UUCGT parking lot last Wednesday, March 17 - in the snow, sleet, then rain - to bid adieu to our friend Erin Nolan and give her some gifts from Cherry Republic and UUA with which to remember us. Erin has been a faithful participant in these get-togethers, which are all about building relationships with each other, as we continue to build our Beloved Community. Erin also attended Sunday Services as her schedule allowed.
Erin is a helicopter pilot with US Coast Guard Station here in Traverse City, and she is flying off to serve in Puerto Rico next., where with decent internet connections, she will still be able to join us, maybe even from a warm, breezy beach! We wish you all the Very Best Erin, and we thank you for your friendship and your Stewardship Testimonial at Sunday Service on March 14!
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End Note:
"Thaw with her gentle persuasion is more
powerful than Thor with his hammer.
The one melts,
the other breaks into pieces."
- Henry David Thoreau -
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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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