January 28th, 2021 E-News |
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Please join us on Zoom this Sunday, January 31st at 10:30 AM for our service titled When 'Spiritual But Not Religious' is Not Enough with special guest speaker, the Reverend Lisa Romantum Schwartz.
Join Zoom Meeting Sunday at 10:30am
No password needed
Or, follow the link on our webpage for audio only: uucfm.org
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Thank you to Sunday's Participants:
The Reverend Lisa Romantum Schwartz, Guest Minister
Alberita Johnson, Lay Minister
Suellen Kipp, Director of Music
Allie Carville, Worship Associate
Peter Golbitz, Musician
Lesley Peterson, Tech Team Member
Mark Brandon, Tech Team Member
Walter Peterson, Tech Team Member
Holley Rauen, Tech Team Member
Suzanne Ziemer, UU Dialogues Host
Kathy Ford, UU Dialogues Host
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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.
We will greet newcomers, obtain contact information from guests and visitors, have a general Q&A session with guest speakers and musicians from the service, and most importantly, participate in intentional dialogue. All are welcome to attend this session.
If you'd rather join a breakout room for casual conversation, please accept the pop up invitation after the service. Thank you!
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Community Sharing Partner for January: The GRACE Project
(The Guatemalan Rural Adult and Children's Education Project)
During the pandemic, GRACE volunteers continued to sew menstrual management kits and make fertility bracelets. GRACE sent six large boxes to rural Guatemalan teachers and midwives, who distribute the kits and bracelets with the education necessary for successful use.
Several groups and individuals have been incredibly generous in their donations, which are even more valuable to women in these times of isolation.
Ellen Erickson and Deloris Donnelly of the Inner Wheel group have made thousands of the bracelets and hundreds of kit components. Many women in the Pelican Preserve community in Fort Myers have been sewing and creating the kits for women and girls in rural Guatemala. Patricia Linhoff donated a sewing machine, and Diedre in Punta Gorda sewed 100 kits herself! So many volunteers have donated supplies, panties, lots of fabric, and a huge amount of time to help make this ongoing project a success!
In July, the GRACE Project will sponsor a Cosmovision Maya camp for local Maya youth and a public presentation on the Maya culture with art, dance and music.
The UUCFM has supported the GRACE Project for over twenty years. Un millón de gracias for everything!
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Vespers Service
Join Albie and Mary via Zoom bi-weekly Thursdays starting January 28, from 6:30PM-7:00PM. Join Zoom Meeting:
Meeting ID: 918 0025 0314
Passcode: 743236
Vespers Service: a time of prayer, meditation, and contemplation. Have your soft lighting (candles) ready.
What to expect:
We may experience crystal/Tibetan bowls, flute, violin, lite drumming, poetry, short quotes, and testimonials. In addition to a time for prayer, meditation, and chanting, maybe short story telling, and dance. Each service is different but will always include prayer, meditation and contemplation. During Vespers, many will desire to share. At times we may experience story telling, and movement.
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Stewardship Campaign for 2021-22 Celebrates UUCFM as a Place to Love, Grow, and Share.
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GENEROSITY +
STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN for Fiscal Year Beginning
April 1, 2021
WHY PLUS?
This next year has the potential to be the “bridge to the future” that we envision for UUCFM. Our campus sharing partners, Gulf Coast Symphony and the RESET Center, offer wonderful possibilities for our congregation and the Fort Myers community. The chance to get together in person during this year looks hopeful. The chance to grow is before us.
Please, if it is within your means, help us bridge the financial gap by adding to your pledge an extra gift for this year of opportunity. That extra gift is the PLUS. Consider what you would normally have contributed to the offering basket, to the Service Auction and other fundraisers. But more importantly, consider our goals for the future.
If anyone would like more information or needs a paper pledge card, please feel free to contact co-chairs David and Nancy Hutchins. dhutchins471@comcast.net
LEADING THE WAY
Nine congregational leaders drawn from the Board, the Finance Council and the Stewardship Committee pledged as a group 23% more for this next pledge year. Many THANKS to them for these inspiring leadership pledges. And THANK YOU to those of you who have already responded to our earlier announcements.
AND THERE ARE PRIZES!
If you turn in your pledge by February 15, you will be eligible for winning a free pass for two people to a Gulf Coast Symphony performance. Four passes will be awarded by lottery.
LEARN MORE
Join us for one of two forums where we will all have more time to discuss our future together. Keep the information below handy so you can participate either Sunday, Jan. 31, or Friday, Feb. 5 at 2 pm.
Generosity Campaign 2021 Forum #1
Time: Jan 31, 2021 02:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 928 0815 1199
Passcode: 033622
Generosity Campaign 2021 Forum #2
Time: Feb 5, 2021 02:00 PM
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 938 4882 8986
Passcode: 160534
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Message from the Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees would like to share this quarterly report on our current financial status. The “Actual” column shows revenue and expenses from April 1 through December 31, which is 75% of our fiscal year; the “Budget” column shows 75% of the budget adopted by our congregation at our May annual meeting; and the “% of Budget” column compares the other two columns.
As you can see, our operating budget is about $155,000 overspent. However, the Reserves Transfers and Endowment Grant and Loan, plus the Paycheck Protection Program grant we received, will offset much of that deficit. The Board of Trustees is confident that, with your continued support and generosity, UUCFM will be able to complete the fiscal year within the parameters of the adopted budget.
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Charitable Contributions
If you would like a receipt for donations made to UUCFM in calendar year 2020, please email your name(s) to: uuchurch@uucfm.org
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The UUCFM Book Group
The Monday Book Group will meet at 1 pm on Feb. 1 to continue our consideration of Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson with a discussion of Ch. 11-18. If you’re joining for the first time, please email Mary Studer. She will send you the link to zoom. mstuder929@gmail.com
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UUCFM, Caloosahatchee Book Study
The title of our current book is Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World.
"A guidebook for how to use mindfulness to build our inner strength, find balance, and help create a better world."
We meet Wednesdays from 10-11:30 AM on Zoom. For more info and to join, contact Helen Leddy helen.leddy@gmail.com.
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Dear Beloved Community,
Thank you so much for who you are and all you do in the World.
We wanted to be sure that you had seen the language of the proposed 8th principle. It is:
"We, the member congregations of the Unitarian Universalist Association, covenant to affirm and promote: journeying toward spiritual wholeness by working to build a diverse multicultural Beloved Community by our actions that accountably dismantle racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions.”
If any of you are interested in discussing this principle and whether it should be adopted by UUCFM please contact Lay Minister, Mary Cline Golbitz at mary@uucfm.org or by phone or text at 207 479-4082. Thank you so much.
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Member to Member Fundraiser
Let's buy and sell from Church Members! Free listings for your car, boat, sports equipment, or any household item. Percentage goes to UUCFM! See All Items...
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January Birthdays
January 2 Roy Green
January 3 Marshall Hoffman is 9!
January 3 Julie Clark Ireland
January 4 Bruce Leddy
January 4 Neil Yesu
January 6 Elyana Hutson is 18!
January 8 Margie Kolde
January 10 Ellen Erickson
January 10 James Kolde
January 15 Torben Snow is 15!
January 19 Declan Ireland is 16!
January 26 Emily Hutchinson
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Gulf Coast Symphony
"I Do! I Do!" is a charming 2 person show that chronicles a marriage through the years. Performances are January 28, 29, 30 in our Sanctuary. Coming soon will be a recital by Reiko Niiya and Friends- Reiko was the longtime concertmaster of Southwest Florida Symphony. All performances will have extremely limited audiences in a socially distanced seating map. Performers will follow strict testing protocols as we continue to make safety our top priority. UUCFM Members receive a discount!
On January 26 visual art classes began in person in Hobart Hall. Class size is limited and accommodations are made for all students and teachers to remain socially distanced. gulfcoastsymphony.org
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From the UUA Southern Region
Save the Date: New Day Rising Conference
February 27
Is your congregation ready to take a new step in racial justice work? Read more
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Board of Trustees
President Lesley Peterson
President Elect Lane Cook
Secretary Ruth King Fotovat
Treasurer Pati Maier
VP Ministerial Services Keith Hamlin
VP Operations Dorothy Van Howe
VP Programming Toni Latino
Member at Large Genelle Grant
Staff
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Please send all newsletter articles by Wednesday at noon for publication in Thursday's newsletter. Send articles to newsletter@uucfm.org.
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UUCFM
13411 Shire Lane
Fort Myers, FL 33912
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