Weekly Communicator September 28, 2023

Weekly Communicator

September 28, 2023

Sunday Service

Join us this Sunday at 10:30am in the Sanctuary or via Zoom

https://zoom.us/j/5264858673

Minister's Musings

The need to leave a legacy is our spiritual need to have a sense of meaning, purpose, personal congruence, and contribution. – Stephen Covey

This Sunday we will be focusing generally on the Soul Matter's theme of Heritage. Here at UUCFM, we will also be exploring many aspects of death. Please look for the very informative workshops that are being put together by programming and will take place on Sundays.

This week someone asked if we could add a preview of upcoming services in each newsletter. SO, beginning this week, we will list the next 4 upcoming themes for Sunday services.

October 1st: Legacy, What We Leave Behind (Rev. Sue and Jennifer Grant)

October 8: Honoring Indigenous People's Day (Gary Robbins and Leslie Gatto)

October 15th: Turn the World Around (Rev. Sue and The Respectful Relations Team)

October 22: Being Mortal (Rev. Sue and Mary Cline Golbitz)

October 29: Samhein/Day of the Dead (Rev. Sue, Lesley Peterson and CUUPS)

Also, Don't forget to buy your tickets for the Masquerade at the Mac. If the price is a burden and you would like to attend, please ask Rev. Sue about complimentary or reduced cost tickets.

revsue@uucfm.org

WhatsApp call or message: +506 8891 2847

US phone number: 603-395-7559

Facebook Messenger: Sue Gabrielson

Skype: suegabes

Neil A. Yesu

January 4, 1935 - August 21, 2023

“When he shall die, Take him and cut him out in little stars, and he will make the face of heaven so fine That all the world will be in love with night.” (Shakespeare-Romeo and Juliet)

Please join Neil's wife of 38 years, Diane Buckley, Rev. Sue, Mary Cline Golbitz , Peter Golbitz, Jon Dalton and the choir as we pay tribute and celebrate Neil's life. We will gather for a Celebration of Life service on Saturday, October 21st at 11:00am in the Sanctuary. A reception with light refreshments will follow in the Narthex and for those of you who want to continue the conversations, there will be a luncheon at the restaurant Two Meatballs in the Kitchen.

Mark your Calendars: October 21, 2023

Masquerade at the MACC

For reservations, donations, and details please visit:

https://gulfcoastsymphony.org/concert/masquerade-macc/

5:30pm Cocktail Hour (Cash Bar)

6:00pm Dinner & Auctions & Raffles

7:30pm Concert

The Gulf Coast Symphony and UUCFM combine forces for an evening of fun, food, and music!

Auction Items and a Raffle will be a part of the evening. Come fully decked out in a costume or wear a mask for a fun evening.

Single Tickets are $50 per person or $75 for two.

Become a Table Sponsor for $500

(Include 8 seats and $100 tax-deductible donation).

Table Sponsors may donate their unused seats to Rev. Sue for Congregation members who could use some financial assistance to buy tickets.

Event Sponsorships are available for a $1000 tax-deductible donation.

All monies raised will be used to fund physical improvements on the UUCFM campus and benefit the Gulf Coast Symphony’s youth education programs at the MACC.

Melyssa Caballero will head-up the UUCFM efforts. We’re looking for a couple more UUCFM volunteers to help with preparations. To help, call Sarah, our new Office Administrator, at 239-561-2700 or let Rev. Sue know at RevSue@UUCFM.org

See you there!

Bill Petrarca

Community Gardens

"A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows" - Doug Larson

We are finishing up harvesting our beautiful summer crop of weeds. They have gently been laid to rest in our compost pile.

They had a nice life, we will see them again very soon.

Since the last article we gained interest from members regarding donating or sponsoring a bed. Some want to split the fee for a donation bed with another member.

Please inquire if you're interested in sharing a bed.

Growing organic vegetables has always been the main attraction.

We still want veggie growers but we can't forget our pollinator friends.

An area is being created with abundance of flowers for a botanical look. Let's see how many beautiful butterflies and bees we can attract.

Flowers can be donated to Pastoral Care for a member who could use some cheering up. They can be freshly clipped and placed in the Sanctuary for Sunday Service. We may even sell bundles as a fundraiser and donate the proceeds to a local charity.

You can do all of your own gardening or request to have it done for you.

Please contact Brooke, familygardens@uucfm.org

UU and You

October 8 & 15

After Sunday services - Room 2

All seekers are welcome!

Newcomers, recent visitors are cordially invited to an informative discussion group, meeting for an hour following Sunday services for two consecutive Sundays. Please plan to attend both dates if possible.

After the service, if you’d like to stop by Hobart Hall and grab a beverage and/or nibbles, bring it with you. Then make your way to Classroom 2, it’s directly across from the Sanctuary.

We look forward to becoming better acquainted!

October 8: discussion will be focused on YOU—What you might be looking for in this Community of faith, where you’re coming from?

October 15: will focus on our beliefs and values—

The Seven Principles of Unitarian Universalism & Sources

How to take our values out into the world!

Guided discussion with Marge Gonzalez, V.P. Membership

~ judyburget@gmail.com

Being Mortal

You Can’t Take It with You

During October, there will be a series of programs before worship services acknowledging the elephant in the room, our own mortality.

Join the first meeting Sunday, Oct. 1 at 9:15 am in Hobart Hall to learn more about estate planning and/or review your own. We’ll also address how to prepare for the time when aging in place is no longer an option and how it affects you financially. Mary Studer has more information.

Please send all newsletter articles by

12pm Wednesday for publication in Thursday's newsletter.

Send articles to newsletter@uucfm.org

Newsletter articles should be limited to 250 words. Send artwork or photos in jpg format. If multiple posting dates are desired, please include that in your request.

**Please do not send requests to the office manager email**

Volunteer of the Month

This month we have three members of a family as our Volunteers of the Month. Joyce Jaecques is a faithful and friendly presence at our Welcome Table in the narthex, helping to create a sense of belonging for both newcomers and and long-time members. Her two sons, Isaac and John Jaecques, are invaluable members for our tech team.

Community Sharing for October

Our Community Sharing partner in October is Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. The mission of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, an affiliate of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., is to provide affordable access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care and accurate health information through patient care, education and advocacy. This affiliate began operations in 1966 and presently provides vital sexual and reproductive health services, as well as comprehensive sexuality education to women, men and teens throughout southwest and central Florida.

Board of Trustees Meeting

The Board of Trustees meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 5pm.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://zoom.us/j/91338742461

No password required.

There will be time for questions and concerns at the beginning of the meeting.

News from SWFL RESET Center:

This event is part of our UUSC/UUJF Good Neighbor Grant. We will be offering the 4 part online series called Being a Good Neighbor to UUs across the state on Monday nights in March.

Meanwhile, join us for this important conversation on Tuesday evening, October 3rd.

A panel discussion with FL Indigenous tribal members and activists. Join Seminole artist, videographer, and environmental activist Samuel Tommie, plus Robert Rosa, chairman of the Florida Indigenous Alliance (FIA) and member of the central Florida division of the American Indian Movement (AIM), and William Osceola, Secretary of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, and other Florida Tribal members and allies. Let’s talk about how to be in right relationship and community.

FREE tickets on Eventbrite: http://bit.ly/3OSCYtn

Social Justice Book Group!

Do you want to know more about people who are not like you? Do you want to know how to raise children who are comfortable with inclusion and diversity? Do you want to protect the climate? Do you want to protect people who are being oppressed?

Are you upset about the banning of books? About teachers, doctors, and university professors leaving Florida? About the language of hate aimed at Transgender and Queer People? About Trans and Queer children being bullied at school? About whole families with nowhere to live? Do you wonder how it got to be so bad, so fast?

Let's find out!

Take a look!

It's in a Social Justice book!

The new Social Justice Book Group is planning to meet on Wednesday afternoons on Zoom, from 2:30-4:00 pm, beginning October 18. What book? You can have a voice in the choice! Eli Clare's book Exile and Pride, which is recommended by our Welcoming Congregation/Equal Rights Committee? Sarah Winnemucca Hopkins' Life Among the Paiutes? Borderlands: La Frontera by Gloria Anzaldua? Hate in the Homeland: The New Global Far Right by Cynthia Miller-Idriss? Bi Any Other Name by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka'ahumanu? Come make your voice heard about this choice, and then join us as we learn more about how to make our voices heard.

To learn more, contact Cat Pivetti (equalrightscommittee@uucfm.org)

LGBTQIA+ History Month

and

Hispanic Heritage Month

and

Indigenous Peoples Day

and

National Coming Out Day

Wow! That's a lot of months and days! Not to mention that the first week of October is Banned Books Week and that it's also National Book Month! How cool is that?

The point of all this is that some Latinx people are LGBTQIA+, some LGBTQIA+ (and all Two-Spirit and most Latinx) people are Indigenous, and that books about all their identities are BANNED! Banned in Florida, banned in Texas, banned in other states as well. It's hard for any Queer or Trans child or youth to see themselves reflected in the eyes of others.Taking away their chance to see someone like themself in a book is cruel, especially for these kids, who are more likely than any other demographic to be bullied.

When we look at LGBTQIA+ history, we always look at the Stonewall Inn Uprising. What is often overlooked is that the heroines of Stonewall Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera were respectively Black and Latina, as were many of the other warriors of Stonewall. Johnson's Blackness does not disappear for LGBTQIA+ History Month and magically reappear in February for Black History Month, nor does Rivera stop being Hispanic at the end of Hispanic Heritage Month and transform into a woman who was only LGBTQIA+. We all live in all our identities all the time. For these women of color, the rights for which they fought accrued far more to the white Queer and Trans people who were not there than those rights benefited Q/T BIPOC. This is the intersectionality of oppressions.

Coming Out Day is October 11, two days after Indigenous Peoples Day on October 9 this year. Some of us are both Q/T and Indigenous on both these days, but our history is multiple all month and all year.

“This is a dangerous time for readers and the public servants who provide access to reading materials. Readers, particularly students, are losing access to critical information, and librarians and teachers are under attack for doing their jobs.”

- Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom

This year's banned book list is making history. For three years the number of book challenges has risen faster than ever before. Why? Why should we worry about it?

Which books get banned? Overwhelmingly, the books that are drawing challenges have themes sympathetic to People of Color or to LGBQIA+ people or to both. These are the same groups of people who have been targeted by right-wing and authoritarian political rhetoric. They are also members of the communities likely to be victims of attempts at voter suppression.

Authoritarian politicians often talk about "protecting children." Why would they want to "protect" children from true history? Why "protect" children from knowing that some children have two mommies, or that some people realized they had been assigned the wrong gender? Why "protect" them from learning critical thinking skills

Why demonize people with university educations? Why are people with graduate degrees even more dangerous? Teachers, psychologists, counselors, professors, and doctors are leaving Florida and some other Southern states. How does this help authoritarian politicians?

We don't buy the rhetoric of the right. Unitarian Universalists are stubborn. We fight back. We arm ourselves with knowledge. We shield ourselves and our children with education. We read books!

Our UUCFM Library has a growing collection of DEI books. And lots of BANNED books! Books banned in elementary schools! Books banned in high schools! Even books that adult students are not allowed to read! Check them out!

We read Banned Books!

Janice Gould

Craig Santos Perez

Layli Longsoilder

Indigenous Peoples Day

and Indigenous Poets

The Poetry Group expects to meet on Saturday, September 30, on Zoom at 6:30 pm. As Indigenous Peoples Day approaches, we will read poetry by Indigenous poets who wrote about the impact of colonization on the inhabitants of the Americas, Polynesia, and Micronesia. Their poetry is powerful, often angry, sometimes drenched in grief. Their poetry, from over a century ago through very recent times, tells stories and evokes emotion that prose cannot always convey.

Please join us in our exploration of this work, which is increasingly relevant as both immigrant and native Indigenous people struggle to survive in the United States and its possessions, and as we try to support Indigenous neighbors' efforts to protect the world we all inhabit.

Contact Cat Pivetti (equalrightscommittee@uucfm.org) for information, this week's poetry, and Zoom link.