Weekly Communicator

April 21, 2022

Sunday Service

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

https://zoom.us/j/5264858673

or listen to audio only at UUCFM.org

*Please remember that masking and social distancing indoors remains in effect

Join us for Earth Day Sunday, as we explore Mother Earth in the goddess archetype of Gaia and her seeds of peace. We welcome the Womyn's Singing Circle and vocalist Shelley Graff as they lead us in chants celebrating Mother Earth, our home.

Please send all newsletter articles by

12pm Wednesday for publication in Thursday's newsletter.

Send articles to newsletter@uucfm.org

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

WELCOME NEW MEMBER

CATHERINE "CAT" PIVETTI

"Cat" joined March 1, 2021 and is a 3rd generation UU. She says this was excellent preparation for years at UC Berkeley where she was an undergrad & graduate student and where her son and family now live. She was an elementary teacher and administrator in CA until she moved to the Oregon coast, where she changed her vocation to therapy for victims of extreme trauma, which she continues here in Ft. Myers. Cat

says, "Many of my closest friendships are with indigenous people from here and Honduras. They help me seek beauty, balance, and to live in the real world. I love birds, sharks, cats, diving and art." Cat leads our Poetry Group with her friend, Judi.

Community Sharing

Our Community Sharing partner this month 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 Update

We know you know the Board of Trustees is working hard for you, but we decided to update the congregation after each monthly meeting. Remember all the Board VP reports and minutes are available, just ask Denise or your new Secretary; and you are always welcome to Zoom into our meetings the second Tuesday of every month at 5pm. April's meeting addressed some procedural matters including our Board Covenant, Board Calendar, a Process Observer schedule, and approval of the previous meeting minutes. We talked about a potential Music Survey and a Diversity Committee (details later) and the Ministerial Search Committee. We examined our organizational structure and passed a motion to give our Lay Ministers more authority over the Sunday worship services. We are looking at our COVID protocols and how they compare to other congregations in Florida. And most fun of all, we chose our Volunteer of the Month!

Volunteers of the Month

Carrying on the tradition of heaping attention on our newer members by highlighting them in many ways, the Board has selected Len Cohen, Chair of the Stewardship Committee, with the able assistance of his wife Sue Roth, as the Volunteer of the month. Len stepped into the role to support the existing committee and was a great addition. Len has led the Stewardship meetings, stayed hopeful and practical, and provided leadership to the Committee responsible for raising the funds to keep UUCFM operating and to bring in extra funds for a minister through the REACH Campaign. Len and Sue were very enthusiastic about our in-person events, and Len served as a relaxed and able Master of Ceremonies for them. Thank you, Len and Sue, for bringing your enthusiasm to this work at UUCFM.

CUUPS

CUUPS will be meeting Sunday April 24 at Noon in the screened room.

Mark the date! RESET Center, UUCFM Ministry for Earth, and The GCS are partnering for this Celebration!

Friday, April 22

5:00 Pm-7:00pm Concert starts at 7:30pm

Celebrate Earth Day and Care of Creation with music, art, poetry, great food, and community. Free Celebration! Join us for an SWFL RESET Board Members reception, a conversation with Joe Bonasia about the Right to Clean Water Constitutional Amendment. The Gulf Coast Chamber Orchestra will be presenting an Earth Day evening celebration, and those who attend the RESET event earlier in the evening will receive a discount on performance tickets.

LEE COUNTY RECYCLES!

And you are invited to tour the Resource Recovery Facility in Buckingham.

UUCFM Ministry for Earth will be visiting the facility on Monday, April 25, 9:30 a.m. for a 2 hour tour. What a great activity to wind down our Earth Day.

The tour is free and will cover both the recycling plant (MRF) and the waste to energy plant (WTE). Details will be sent to you when you sign up.

Contact Patricia Linhoff for information and reservations freckles345@comcast.net

Self Compassion Workshop

The Pastoral Care Team invites you to join us for a self-care workshop offered by Mary Tracy Sigman via zoom on 4/29 from 1-2:30 pm. Please contact Mary Tracy at marytracysigman115@gmail.com for more information including the zoom link.

The workshop will include gentle seated movement, meditation and the opportunity for group sharing. We hope to offer these workshops on a monthly basis.

Mary Tracy Sigman is Dharma Teacher/Leader of Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Group of Fort Myers. She and her group have been with UUCFM since September 2010. Mary Tracy also has been serving on the Pastoral Care Committee since its inception, and she volunteers with local organizations, such as HOPE Hospice, United Way, Calusa Waterkeepers, Citizens Climate Lobby, and RTCW. She believes we cannot heal others unless we first heal ourselves, so Self Compassion is important for us all.

SMALL GROUP MINISTRY

beginning May 5

UUCFM has a long history of Small Group Ministries. One of these is the Connection Circle. It's a way for newer and long-term members, those thinking of membership and guests to get to know each other and themselves in deep and meaningful ways. Participants are provided with Quotes and Questions prior to each session, then led in discussion of the topic by co-facilitators, Mary Cline Golbitz and Leslie Gatto.

The next 6 week session will be held on the first and third Thursdays of May, June and July from 1:30-3:00 by Zoom. The dates are May 5, 19, June 2, 16, July 7, 21. Participants are asked to make a commitment to attend each session.

Please contact Leslie Gatto to secure your place in the group or if you have questions gatto.leslie@gmail.com or 239.850.9664.

We look forward to our time together. Leslie & Mary

Monday Book Group

The Monday book group meets from 1-2:30pm each weeek. For more info, click here to contact Mary Studer.

Mindfulness Opportunities

We have two online sitting practices each week for you. We practice mindfulness and discuss a reading. If you don’t have the books, you're still welcome to sit with us.

The Monday Sangha meets at 6:30-7:45 p.m. Contact mstuder929@gmail.com for details.

The Wednesday sangha meets between 10:00-11:30 a.m. in coordination with Caloosahatchee Mindfulness. Contact Helen Leddy for more information: helen.leddy@gmail.com.

Social Issues Book Group

NEW DATE AND TIME: MEETING EVERY OTHER WEEK STARTING FRIDAY 3/25 FROM 3-4:30 P.M.

Contact Helen Leddy helen.leddy@gmail.com or Helen Dixon helendixon9@gmail.com for more information.

Poetry Circle

We read and discuss in detail a variety of poems, often related to our UU experience, usually centered around a weekly theme. Members share their own work for discussion as well, if they want to, but you do not need to be a writer to join. We offer weekly prompts, although there is no obligation to follow them.

This is an ongoing Zoom group. New members can join at any time, and we really hope you will. Contact Judi Dettorre judidet84@gmail.com or Cat Pivetti joypivet@aol.com for more information.

We meet every other Tuesday. We will meet from 1pm to 3pm. This a change from the original time.

60th Anniversary Pave the Way Fundraiser Update

Enjoy reading the 100+ donated commemorative bricks from the 50th and 60th Anniversary campaigns that line the walkways into our Sanctuary. A theater goer was overheard to remark, "These tell such a story!" Look for a form to give your personalized brick at the Sunday Information Table or Read More for more information.

The Bill Brewer Family Gardens

UPDATE

We hope to see you at the Earth Day Celebration Friday from 5-7. The gardens will be giving away dill seeds and talking about what a community garden is.

As people leave to go back north, or just to avoid the summer heat, we will be planting available beds with cover crops to enrich the soils as well as some red amaranth, a high protein green, and sweet potatoes. We welcome any volunteer that would like to help with a summer project, which includes a chance to learn about vegetable gardening, cover crops, composting and soils, and also an opportunity to grow some of your own summer vegetables. Contact familygardens@uucfm.org

60 Years - Holding Strong

Writing is underway for our 60th anniversary play, "Over 60 Years Holding Strong". It's been 60 years since June 20, 1961 when UUCFM received its Charter from the UUA. Your reflections and ideas are needed to make this updated play as complete as possible. The more ideas and reflections the better. We are building on the 40th Anniversary Play produced in 2002. To be part of this effort, contact 60th Play Coordinator, Suzanne Ziemer, suzanneziemer@gmail.com, 239-463-9020.