Weekly Communicator

Weekly Communicator

February 23, 2022

Sunday Service

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

https://zoom.us/j/5264858673

Minister's Musings

"The art of life is a constant readjustment to our surroundings." -Kakuzo Okakaura.

This week we will explore the proposed change to the bylaws of the UUA. These changes would eliminate the "principles" as we know them and replace them with new language. It is controversial! It is change! It is evolution! Come learn together on Sunday.

revsue@uucfm.org

WhatsApp call or message: +506 8891 2847

Facebook Messenger: Sue Gabrielson

Skype: suegabes

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**

Community Sharing for February

The SWFL RESET Center was founded in 2020 by UUCFM members and committed community activists seeking to be a positive force for change in SWFL. The RESET office is located on the UUCFM Campus. RESET contributes to the Community Gardens and will continue to partner with other organizations seeking to teach and practice regenerative agriculture, permaculture, and community leadership.

SWFL RESET Center offers ongoing free programs and online RESET Conversations educating the public about real solutions for Clean Water, and Environmental Justice in our bioregion. Check out our positive daily messaging called Earth Moments and help us spread the word by sharing, reflecting, and commenting on social media. Stay tuned for our upcoming programming called Being a Good Relative, a UUSC, UUFJ, RESET partnership about working with our Indigenous neighbors in the Everglades on Climate Justice.

If you cannot attend in person, you can still donate by mailing a check to the office with "community sharing" in the subject line, or by using the "donate" button on the website and marking it "community sharing".

Being a Good Neighbor

Many thanks from SWFL RESET Center to all who attended our Being a Good Neighbor 5 session curriculum. A group of 35 Floridians, from 5 different UU Congregations, came together to explore issues of indigenous sovereignty, justice, and U.S. history from the perspective of indigenous peoples. Rev. Houston Cypress, Miccosukee Tribe of Indians, and co-founder of Love the Everglades Movement joined us for each of 5 Sessions. Our intention is to stay in touch and become more engaged with how to be good allies in the struggle to Protect The Sacred. Check out our Webpage to access the materials we have been studying. We also thank you all for donating generously to us this month. Your support keeps us going!

https://www.swflreset.org/being-a-good-neighbor

Did you know that we're on Facebook and Instagram?

Be sure to follow us on Facebook or Instagram for inspirational quotes, and to see more about what is happening in the Congregation. Just click on the icons above. You can also share our posts with your family and friends.

Scout Improvements

Here are some of the projects that the Scouts have done here on campus. We look forward to seeing what they do next!

New Member Celebration

Last Sunday, we recognized the new members who have joined in the past year. A potluck lunch was served after service.

ROOTS AND WINGS

OUR ANNUAL GENEROSITY CAMPAIGN

We are encouraged by the number of you who have pledged support to our Congregation for this upcoming year—April 1 2023 – March 31, 2024. We would announce a final campaign total, but we are still contacting and hearing from people. We are doing well and looking forward to hearing from a few other committed members.

UUCFM appreciates all donations of time, talent, and treasure, but making a pledge makes it possible for us to create a budget for the upcoming year. It is immensely helpful if you take a minute and pledge even if you already give consistently.

If you have not yet let us know your intentions for supporting UUCFM for the coming fiscal year, here is a link you can use for a digital pledge card. If you prefer a paper commitment card, you can pick one up at the Welcome Table on Sunday. All pledges are confidential. You can also call or email Denise at the UUCFM office for help in making a pledge or to learn the status of your present commitment. Thank you.

Come lift your voices…

At this moment, our congregation is without a Director of Music. The Board of Trustees has appointed an ad hoc committee to search for a new individual to take on this role. In the meantime, we are blessed to have Jeff Letts on organ and Peter Golbitz on guitar. While their efforts are appreciated, it is not reasonable to rely upon them every Sunday. We will be looking at bringing in guest piano accompanists to play on a rotating basis.

In order to keep our music program moving forward, I have accepted the role of Music Team Coordinator. But our congregation members can help our music program, as well… I invite anyone who is interested in leading our Sunday hymns to participate in a “pick-up” choir. Simply come to the Sanctuary before the service begins – between 9:30 and 9:45 – grab a hymnal, and we’ll run through the hymns together. During the service, we’ll sing together as a choir and lead the rest of the congregation.

Also, if anyone wishes to get together in small groups – duets, trios, or more – and offer a song for the service, please let me know. The theme for the month is posted on the homepage of our uucfm.org website, so please think about what you and your singing buddies might be able to offer that would help to support the theme. We would love to have our congregation members come forward and offer their talents!

In service,

Lesley Peterson

VP for Worship and Music Team Coordinator

TUUSDAYS Together

PLAY READING, Feb. 28th

Readers are needed and welcomed for fun and fellowship. Our UUCFM celebratory play, VOICES FROM OUR PAST, presented for our 40th year, February 22, 2002, is being reread on Tuesday, February 28th to celebrate our over 60 years. Play readers will gather in Hobart Hall from 10am-2pm with a break for lunch. Bring your own lunch and beverage. This 26 page play has a large cast, written by members Bill and Dee West. It has 2 Acts, a Prologue and Musical Finale. You will find it heartwarming and a tribute to our first 40 years when we built our present Shire Lane. Contact Suzanne Ziemer.

POETRY: Indigenous Two-Spirit Poets

The UUCFM Poetry Circle will meet next on Tuesday, February 28, from 1:00-3:00pm, via Zoom. We will continue discussions of poetry by Queer/Two-Spirit Indigenous poets, especially in relationship to oppression, racism, faith, and politics. Deborah Miranda, a professor at Washington and Lee University in Virginia, and Qwo-Li Driskill, a professor at Oregon State University, were two of the co- editors of Sovereign Erotics. Deborah is the author of Bad Indians, and Qwo-Li is the author of Asegi Stories. This month our readings include poems each of

them, from their Indigenous perspectives, wrote about the 2018 conflicts, murder, and white supremacist displays during the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, as well as some of their other work. We’ll read some of Qwo-Li’s unpublished poems, including “Charlottesville.” Please join us as we honor Black History Month and discuss work by these activist writers and teachers, and maybe some of our own poetry as well, remembering that our struggles are not separate.

Newcomers are always welcome. Contact Cat Pivetti or Judi Dettore for more information and links.

A Voice for True Freedom

Dr. Marvin Dunn

Dr. Marvin Dunn - author, historian, professor, psychologist, retired Navy commander, and much more – will be our guest speaker for the March 2, Voices Zoom Discussion, from 7-8:30pm. This is a wonderful opportunity to hear from a leader on the front lines willing to use his Voice and speak out against the actions and policies in Florida and beyond that are impacting education and racial justice. Dr. Dunn has been a strong voice against new and proposed policies impacting our true freedom. There will be time for Q&A. Learn more about Dr. Dunn here and his books here.

PLEASE DON’T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY!

Link to Zoom discussion

Guardians of the Garden

Guardians of the Garden worked in courtyard last Wednesday. We garden together the first Saturday and the third Wednesday of the month. Many thanks to Liz, Leslie, Lane, Holley and Brooke.

The Southwest Florida 2023 Solar Co-op is open!

Dear Friends,

Have you ever thought about putting solar panels on your roof?

This is a great time to do it! Together with other local organizations, All Faiths is teaming up with nonprofit group Solar United Neighbors (SUN) to bring you the Southwest Florida 2023 Solar Co-op — a free group to help you go solar. The solar co-op will help area homeowners and small business owners learn about solar together and purchase solar panels at a group rate from a single installer.

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Attend a Free Information Session

March 14 th 6:00-7:30 p.m.

All Faiths Unitarian Congregation

2756 McGregor Blvd.

Ft. Myers, FL 33901

FLORIDA VOTERS: Renew your Vote By Mail Status

Under Florida law, all Vote-by-Mail requests expired at the end of 2022. That means everyone who wants to Vote by Mail must update their Vote by Mail status. (Your request will be effective until after the Nov. 2024 elections, then must again be requested.) You can do this by phone! People who have tried this report that it was VERY EASY and VERY QUICK; and, the clerk who answered the phone at the Supervisor of Elections' (SOE) Office was VERY NICE. Do it ASAP and beat the rush!!! Call 239-LEE-VOTE (533-8683).

Allergic to the telephone? You can also re-up on-line at the Supervisor of Elections' (SOE) website.