Weekly E-News, February 25, 2021

Weekly E-News

February 25, 2021

Join us this Sunday!

Please join us on Zoom this Sunday, February 28th at 10:30 AM for our service titled Roots of Beloved Community with Lay Minister, Mary Cline Golbitz.

The concept of the Beloved Community goes beyond our virtual walls to extend open-hearted and extravagant welcoming to all. The proposed 8th principle of Unitarian Universalism supports this radical hospitality, inclusion. and work against all oppression.

Mary Cline Golbitz has been a member of this Congregation for 10 years. Currently, she serves UUCFM as co-lay minister and is an Aspirant enrolled in the UU Commissioned Lay Minister program. Mary lives most of the year in Estero, Florida, with her husband, Peter, and their dog and cat. They spend time in the summer in Penobscot, Maine, and enjoy being with their adult sons as often as possible.

Join Zoom Meeting Sunday at 10:30am

https://zoom.us/j/98733916229

No password needed

Or, follow the link on our webpage for audio only: uucfm.org

Thank you to Sunday's Participants:

Mary Cline Golbitz, Lay Minister

Suellen Kipp, Director of Music

Karen Brown, Worship Associate

Peter Golbitz, Musician

Lesley Peterson, Musician and Tech Team Member

Mark Brandon, Tech Team Member

Walter Peterson, Tech Team Member

Holley Rauen, Tech Team Member

Jill Carville, Tech Team Coordinator

Carole Latino, UU Dialogues Host

Judy Burget, UU Dialogues Host

UU Dialogues & Breakout Rooms

~ After the Service

To participate in UU Dialogues, stay in the main zoom meeting after the service ends and do not accept the breakout room invitation that pops up. All are welcome to attend this intentional dialogue session, especially newcomers.

If you'd rather join a breakout room for casual conversation, please accept the pop-up invitation.

Community Sharing in February- ACT

ACT (Abuse Counseling Treatment) is a private, not-for-profit agency committed to serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking. ACT provides services to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, citizenship, marital status, gender identity (or expression), language spoken, immigration status and any other protected class. Services are free and provided to everyone. After several years of working out of their own homes to help provide services for women and children in trauma situations, they incorporated as a non-profit in 1978. More info can be found at actabuse.com.

Vespers Service This Evening

Join Albie and Mary via Zoom bi-weekly Thursdays from 6:30PM-7:00PM. The next Vespers Service will be this evening, February 25th. We will focus on the Beauty of Community and feature Lesley Peterson and Suellen Kipp's musical talents on piano, violin and recorder.

Join Zoom Meeting

https://zoom.us/j/91800250314?pwd=MmRRenNOUjNUdjcvU1Y3VTIxNFBTQT09

Meeting ID: 918 0025 0314

Passcode: 743236

Starting Point, A Journey Group of Who We Are

Mary and Albie will begin offering Starting Point, a Journey Group of Who We Are as UUs and members of UUCFM. We will be offering weekly classes effective Monday, March 22, 2021, 6PM-7PM, via Zoom. it is 6 weeks. All are welcome, however we encourage new members and those new to UUism to come. [email protected] or [email protected].

AED & First Aid Kits Installation

On March 15th, Operations will be installing 2 new AED units with signs and cabinets, 2 shelf First Aid Cabinets with signs, and 2 Waterjet Bleeding Control Kits. This also includes monthly inspections performed on the AED defibrillators and first aid supply check.

Congregation Zoom Forums for Bylaws Amendments

In late March at our Annual Meeting (3/28), members will be asked to approve a set of Bylaws amendments. The Board of Trustees has scheduled two more congregational Zoom Forums to discuss the

proposed changes:

Friday, Feb. 26, 2:00 p.m.

https://zoom.us/j/92618583170

Passcode: 036768

Sunday, Mar. 7, 2:00 p.m.

https://zoom.us/j/99576308982

Passcode: 739770

The goals of these proposed Bylaws amendments are (1) to provide for an organization that reflects our current realities and vision, (2) to more clearly describe our committee structure with well-defined

chains of authority and reflective of our vision and volunteer expectations, and (3) to provide for enhanced governance responsive to current strategic focus areas and relative technologies of today.

The need for clearly defined leadership roles and responsibilities and the communication thereof has been a critical concern, especially during this transition period. Our current governance structure, with a confusing network of 30+ committees as defined by our existing Bylaws, has grown to become unwieldly and confusing. Many committees/subcommittees have unclear or overlapping responsibilities and whose original purposes may no longer be aligned with our current Vision and Mission.

One third of these committees have no volunteers, a result of years of “good ideas” and “good intentions” that have no longer drawn the attention and engagement of our members. The proposed Bylaws changes codify an organizational re-alignment with our four strategic focus areas – Vision, Sustainability, Congregation Cohesion, and Faith. They represent a leaner organizational structure with clear and focused purposes.

Come to one of the Zoom Forums to understand the proposed changes, provide your feedback, and be informed in preparation for your Annual Meeting member vote. Although not a Bylaws amendment, we will also be discussing the vote to change the “C” in UUCFM from “Church” to “Congregation” or “Community” or not. Your voice is needed.

For your information, here are links to 2 PDF documents that discuss the proposed Bylaws changes:

www.tinyurl.com/bylawsbackground

www.tinyurl.com/bylawscompare

See you on Zoom!

Transition Team and Board of Trustees

Results from our Generosity + Pledge Drive

The Numbers as of February 23rd

UUCFM has received 63 pledges of support for a total of $135,180. Many

thanks to the generous members and contributing friends who have agreed to

support this congregation. The commitment of pledgers is impressive with an

increase in the amount of the average pledge.

Next Steps

Members of the Stewardship Committee will be contacting members and

friends from whom we have not heard. It is important to realize that a pledge

represents your best intentions, and it can always be adjusted up or down if your

circumstances change.

Please Answer Our Call or Email

Members of the Stewardship Committee are Judy Burget, David Hutchins,

Nancy Hutchins, Don Maron, Bill Petrarca, and Suzanne Ziemer. We need to hear

from all our members and contributing friends. Whatever level of support you can

offer is appreciated. Please know that every member is valued and your donations of your time and talent much appreciated. The Stewardship Committee’s job, however, is to get a realistic assessment of what “treasure” we can expect in order for the Finance Council to plan a budget.

Appreciations

We are thankful for the support of Treasurer, Pati Maier and the Finance

Council members, our office manager Jill Carville, Board members who Zoomed

with us, and our Worship Associates who worked with us to help get the message

out. And, of course, THANK YOU to our generous pledgers who have already

committed.

Dave & Nancy Hutchins,

Generosity + Campaign Leaders

Charitable Contributions

If you would like a receipt for donations made to UUCFM in calendar year 2020, please email your name(s) to: [email protected]

The UUCFM Book Group

The Monday Book Group will meet at 1 pm on March 1 to complete our consideration of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson and determine which book we’ll read next. If you’re joining for the first time, please email Mary Studer. She will send you the link. [email protected]

UUCFM/Caloosahatchee Mindfulness

The Caloosahatchee Mindfulness and UUCFM Meditation Book Group will be starting a new book in February- The Inner Work of Racial Justice: Healing Ourselves and Transforming Our Communities Through Mindfulness by Rhonda V. Magee.

The author "reveals that the work of racial justice begins with ourselves. The practice of embodied mindfulness--paying attention through our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations in an open, nonjudgmental way--increases our emotional resilience, helps us to recognize our unconscious bias, and give us the space to become less reactive and to choose how we respond to injustice."

The group meets from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesdays. Contact Helen Leddy at [email protected] or Mary Robinson at [email protected] for more information.

Birthdays in February

February 24 Mary Alice Pierce

February 26 Don Ehat

Amazon Smile donates to UUCFM when you do your online shopping by following this special link

smile.amazon.com/ch/59-1160337

Want to Become a Member?

If you are interested in becoming a new member of UUCFM, please email

[email protected].

Memorial Garden Tiles

Plan Ahead! Join many other members who have reserved their names for a memorial tile to be placed in our Memorial Garden. You just need to fill out a form, pay $100., and choose your preferred location for your tile to be placed on one of the walls. (Of course, it will be placed upon your demise!) The $100. includes all costs of any lettering, installation and replacement over the years if needed, as well as upkeep of the garden and new plants and trees. To obtain a form, contact the church office or call or email Chair of Ways and Means, Suzanne Ziemer, 239-463-9020, [email protected]

Our Greater Community

Greetings from The South Fort Myers Food Pantry! Our pantry continues to evolve to provide food for those in need in the safest possible environment for patrons and volunteers. As the pandemic continues and food insecurity increases, we are exploring different ways to expand our reach and help feed even more of our neighbors.

First, we want to remind you of a benefit we extend to all our Coalition Members and Supporting Partners. Our Pantry’s current service area includes certain zip codes in South Fort Myers. However, for those in your congregation in need of food, we waive the residence requirement so they can access the Pantry regardless of where they reside in the local area. We would just ask you to provide these folks with a note on your letterhead confirming they are members of your church. They can present that note on their first visit to the Pantry. Another way we are considering expanding our services is through outreach to provide food for seniors who are homebound and/or reluctant to visit the Pantry because they concerned about possible exposure to COVID. We plan to develop a program that would allow volunteers from your church to pick up food at the Pantry for those senior members that you have identified. Food pickup would be available during our normal service hours or could be arranged at a different time by appointment. If you have an interest in this program, please let us know and we will provide you with information needed to get started. Call us at 239-628-3191.