UUCGT FLASH

Please bring some water that is a significant reminder of your summer activities. We will pour these waters into a common vessel - joining our experiences as we join our lives, and later sprinkle these combined waters on our congregational gardens. Together, we will celebrate water - its necessity, its physical properties and its healing, soothing qualities.

Let us equate these qualities of water with the life of our Congregation.

Religious Experience

September 2018

Sundays in September for Pre-K - 5th grade

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Link here for 2018-2019 Registration forms! This registration form needs to be completed for all children - nursery through high school EVERY year.

Th is year, in our efforts to move to a Family Ministry model - in which members of all ages worship more regularly together in the sanctuary - things will look a little different.

The 1 st and 3 rd Sundays (and 5 th if there is one) will be Religious Education Sundays. We will start the new curriculum AFTER Labor Day. Our first Religious Education Sunday will be September 16.

On these Sundays there will be 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". The 2 nd and 4 th 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 those children preschool-5 th grade who need it (please note - this will be childcare - NOT Religious Education). At this time, given the number of middle - high school youth, we will have the youth remain in the service every Sunday. We can reevaluate this based on the registration forms we receive this fall .

I am working with the Sunday Services Committee to find fun ways to get the children involved in these All Congregation Services. If you have ideas, or are interested in having your child light the chalice, ring the bell, read, etc., please let me know! I'm really looking forward to co-creating this model with you, and am looking forward to better connecting the generations in our congregation.

Suggested reading for families/parents this month

This month I am suggesting a purely silly, fun book as many of our children head back to school with this bestselling groovy Pete the Cat 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

The Future of Faith Formation

As I mentioned last month, one way that we are working to support families as the primary providers of their children's faith formation is to provide them with a bi-monthly e-blast of resources, readings and ideas. If you are not currently signed up for this and are interested in getting on the email list,

please contact Sarah .

Friday Night Out!

September 14, 5:30-9:00 pm

Contact Sarah ASAP to reserve a spot!

Our Director of Religious Experience

is Embracing New Opportunities

Our Director of Religious Experience, Sarah Montgomery-Richards, has accepted two new positions. One is on the faculty for Claremont Lincoln University and the other is Project Manager for the Young Peacebuilders organization. She is also continuing on the faculty at Northwestern Michigan College. With these new opportunities, Sarah will be leaving her position at UUCGT effective Sunday, September 16.

Sarah has served UUCGT well for the past seven years as our Director of both Lifespan Experience and Religious Experience. She has shared her experience with and ministered to many of us during that time. We wish her well professionally as she pursues her new endeavors.

We will all miss Sarah and her contributions in her professional role, but look forward to continuing to have her and her family as fellow congregants.

Mike McDonald

President of Board of Trustees

What is a Sukkah?

"Congregation Beth Shalom contacted UUCGT to collaborate in building a Sukkah to celebrate the Jewish festival of Sukkot. Since Congregation Beth Shalom rents our building for the Jewish Holidays and joins with us to help with Safe Harbor, I thought this would be a good idea." - Hal Gurian

A Sukkah is a temporary structure constructed for annual use during 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 other cities who are homeless or under housed, dislocated or estranged and their need to establish a home of their own.

Congregation Beth Shalom and UUCGT invite everyone to help build the the Sukkah on Sunday, September 16 and decorate it on Sunday, September 23. This is really fun for children and adults alike!

Build Sukkah on September 16 @ noon

Decorate Sukkah on September 23 @ noon

If you'd like to join in or have any questions, please contact Hal Gurian

UUCGT Bulletin Board

September Beacon - Click Here

Sunday Services - Congregants are invited... to bring items for our September altar setting. September's theme is "Seekers Together - We Are All Seeking Something."

Items can reflect on these questions:

- What are you seeking now?

- What past journey still influences your life today?

- What should ou r congregation be seeking in the next five years?

Please continue bringing items throughout the month of September.

Stretch & Strengthen: Classes resume Wednesday, September 12. Join in for the fall session! All are welcome!

New Fall Group! Law of Attraction Meet-up

Start date is Tuesday, September 11, 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm. Sherry Davis will facilitate 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 fun with us as we learn this empowering approach to life! Freewill donation.

For more information see September Beacon or to sign up, go to:

Meetup.com/Law of Attraction TC

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 with Chris & Rick Walter who are planning to go!

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Local Community Needs

Request Form

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.

* * * * * * Save these Dates! * * * * * *

Saturday, October 6

9:00-noon or 1:00-4:00

UUCGT Fall Clean-Up!

Hauling Brush

Washing Windows In & Out

Raking Leaves

(rain date:

Saturday

, November 3)

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Sunday, October 14

CROP Hunger Walk

GT Civic Center

Registration @
1:30 pm

Walk starts @ 2:00 pm

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Saturday, October 20

9:00 am - 3:00 pm

UUCGT Visioning / Objective Setting

Your Board of Trustees is planning a day of Visioning and Objective Setting for Saturday, October 20 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at UUCGT. We plan to 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 we would like Committee Chairs to be present or represented by someone else from their committee.

Sign-ups for the session will begin in mid-September. Watch the Flash, Beacon and Order of Service for more information in September. In the meantime, please save the date!

Mike McDonald, President, Board of Trustees

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Sunday, October 21

after Sunday Service

All Congregation Potluck
Brunch