|
____________________
Congregational Vision
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.
|
|
____________________
UUCGT Quicklinks
|
If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter
the
Beacon
please contact
____________________
|
|
| |
|
Sunday Service
Sunday, September 23
10:30 AM:
"Seeking Community" -
All Congregation Service
Andi Kramer and Kat Norman, Coordinators
Seeking community will mean different things to many people.
At the heart of community are the connections we make with those around us that help to intensify the ways in which we engage, enrich our learning, and validate what we find.
As we continue to engage and learn together, we will undoubtedly find what we are looking for.
A reminder - this Sunday is the fourth Sunday in September and our children and youth will remain in the service. As part of the celebration of the this week's Story Wisdom (Roxaboxen by Alice McLerran), we invite children and adults to bring flowers from your gardens, small stones, shells, twigs, driftwood, fall leaves, and other natural items for a creative, hands-on multigenerational Roxaboxen activity that will be ongoing throughout the morning's service.
|
Religious Experience
September 2018
Sundays in September for Pre-K - 5th grade
* * * * * * * * * *
This registration form needs to be completed for
all children - nursery through high school
EVERY year.
This year, we are trying something new in moving to a Family Ministry model where members of all ages worship more regularly together in the sanctuary - things will look a little different.
1st and 3rd
Sundays (and 5
th
if there is one)
will be Religious Education Sundays with
curriculum-based classes for children preschool - 5
th
grade during the service (following the Story Wisdom).
The curriculum we are using this year is Katie Covey's "Picture Book UU".
2nd and 4th
Sundays will be All Congregation Sundays when all ages are invited to remain in the sanctuary for the duration of the service. Childcare will be available on these Sundays for children preschool age - 5
th
grade who need it (please note - this will be childcare - not Religious Education).
Middle - high school youth will remain in the service every Sunday.
The Sunday Services Committee is seeking fun ways for the children to be involved in our All Congregation Services. If you have ideas, or are interested in having your child light the chalice, ring the bell, read, etc., please let Amanda Sparks, Amanda Mangiardi or Hal Gurian know! We are looking forward to co-creating this model together and better connecting the generations in our congregation.
Suggested reading for families/parents this month
This month is a purely silly and fun book!
"Pete The Cat: Rocking in My School Shoes"
by James Dean and Eric Litwin
"Pete the Cat is rocking in his school shoes. Pete discovers the library, the lunch room, the playground, and lots of other cool places at school. And no matter where he goes, Pete never stops moving and grooving and singing his song...because it's all good".
https://goo.gl/ipmkdB
|
|
Decorate the Sukkah
Sunday, September 23 @ noon
Congregation Beth Shalom and UUCGT invite everyone to help decorate the Sukkah on Sunday, September 23 after the service!
Bring corn stalks, flowers, veggies, gourds, Indian corn, pumpkins, paper chains, or fall decorations. This is really fun for children and adults alike!
A Sukkah is a temporary structure constructed for the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. The original source for this tradition is Leviticus 23:42-43, where it is described as a reminder of the booths in which the children of Israel dwelt during their journey through the desert, from slavery in Egypt to freedom.
Jewish tradition commands dwelling in these freestanding booths for the seven-day period marking this harvest festival. These outdoor structures range from simple huts to elaborate retreats. In modern times, the Sukkah is a symbol of shelter, and the frailty and transience of life, and Jewish
families honor this tradition by taking meals and entertaining in Sukkahs that they erect in their back yards, terraces and rooftops.
The Sukkot festival highlights the importance of a safe refuge
against the elements and reminds us of others in Traverse City and beyond who are homeless or under housed, dislocated or estranged and their need to establish a home of their own.
|
|
UUCGT Calendar of Events
Peaceworkers Needleworkers: Thursdays, 1:30pm, social hall
Vocal Ensemble: Thursdays, 7:00pm, sanctuary
Decorate the Sukkah: Sunday, September 23, 12 noon - All Are Welcome!
Indivisible GT: Tuesday, September 25, 11:30am, sanctuary
Bridge Group: Tuesdays, 1:00pm, social hall
Wednesday Pizza Supper: September 26, 5:30pm @ UUCGT - salad, pizza, dessert - shared cost
Social Justice Committee: Sunday, September 30, 12:00 noon, classroom
UUCGT Men's Group: Monday, October 1, 5:30pm @ Minerva's - "The Death and Life of the Great Lakes" articles in front entryway (a repeat from September meeting)
|
|
Sign Up for UUCGT Visioning / Objective Setting
Saturday, October 20 - 9:00 am to 3:00 pm @ UUCGT
Please consider signing up for a day of Visioning and Objective Setting!
We will develop a Vision of where we should be going for the next three to five years and set some Objectives for the next year to move us towards that Vision.
Our session will be facilitated by UUA Consultant, Dori Davenport Thexton. Dori has served UU congregations for fifteen years and has been on the UUA Field Staff for nineteen years.
The session will be open to any congregant who wishes to participate. Board members will be attending and would like Committee Chairs to be present or represented by someone from their committee.
Sign up by calling the church office 947-3117, or stop in.
Lunch will be provided with vegetarian options available.
Mike McDonald
President, Board of Trustees
|
|
Join Us!
All Congregation Potluck Brunch
Sunday, October 21 after Sunday Service
Everyone is Welcome!
Many thanks to these UUCGT committees for organizing this community event!
Hospitality, Sunday Services, Membership, Religious Experience
|
|
UUCGT Bulletin Board
Social Justice Committee meeting: Sunday, September 30, 9:00am, social hall. Discussion of fall activities and current business.
All are invited!
* * * * * * * *
Prospective UUCGT Member Orientation!
Sunday, October 14 @ 12 Noon
You've been attending for a while...Or you've been a UU member elsewhere...
We can explore your questions about membership at UUCGT
* * * * * * * *
Law of Attraction Meet-up Group:
Second Tuesdays, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm.
Next Meet-up is
Tuesday, October 9. Sherry Davis facilitates this monthly group based on the natural law of "like attracts like" with a focus on "Your Thoughts Create Your Reality".
This is a fit for anyone interested in this exciting life practice! Come have some fun as we learn this empowering approach to life! Freewill donation.
UUCGT Book Club meets Sunday, October 14, 2:00pm @ H.G. and Autumn Smith's. "To Capture What We Cannot Keep" by Beatrice Colin Bring book suggestions for 2019!
Photography Exhibit by Cal Boulter
This exhibit echoes two of the 7 UU Principles:
Principle 1: The inherent worth and dignity of every person.
Principle 4: A free and responsible search for truth and meaning.
"Perhaps it is only I, the photographer, who experiences these images as portals, as windows through which I go beyond the stone facts of their 2 dimension representational clarity. I enter them again and again to engage another dimension...not one confined to space/time, but to a transcendent place and an accompanying feeling of peace, even joy.
You come too?" - Cal Boulter
Holly Near Concert at Midland UCC! Sunday, September 30 @ 3:00 PM 4100 Chestnut Hill Drive, Midland, MI. For more information, see
https://www.hollynear.com/. Questions? Check-in with Chris & Rick Walter who plan to go!
Community Needs Committee...requests donations on behalf of Jubilee House for lightly used boots and shoes (including tennis shoes), especially
large sizes. Jubilee House would be grateful for help in meeting this special need. A donation tub is in the hallway near the kitchen.
|
|
A note from Dave Christenson, UUCGT Accountant
As some of you may know, our current accounting and church management (ChMS) software provider has decided to discontinue support at the end of the year. This is an old DOS based system that is not at all user friendly. After an extensive search into other options we have settled on a package of programs from CDM+ (Church Data Management), and will be installing these programs early in October.
As with anything new like this, we will be going through a learning curve, so please bear with us. I'm sure there will be some errors, but we will attempt to limit and minimize the effects of these things as best we can.
One area that may present some new challenges and opportunities is the ACH (Automated Clearing House) payments some of you have opted for in making your pledge contributions. These payments are automatically deducted from your checking accounts and deposited into the UUCGT checking account on the first and 15th of each month. The payments on 10/1/2018 will occur as normal, but by the 15th we hope to be operating with the new CDM+ system. I do know that each member of the congregation will be able to use their remote devices (computers, iPads, cell phones, etc.) to access their account and this may be the way to set up these ACH transactions. As we learn more about the system, I'll be working with each of you to insure a smooth transition to the new system.
We are very excited about some of the new opportunities these programs will provide, so stay tuned for further developments.
Dave Christenson
|
|
* * *
Save the Date!
* * *
Saturday, October 6
9:00-noon and/or 1:00-4:00 pm
Hauling Brush
Washing Windows Inside & Out
Raking
Leaves
|
CROP HUNGER WALK
GT Civic Center
Walk starts @ 2:00 pm
|
End Note...
Autumnal Equinox
...a time for sharing our gratitude,
abundant bounty &
blessings
|
|
UUCGT office hours
Mon
day - Thursday
9:00 am - 4:00 pm
|
|
|
