Weekly E-News
May 28, 2020
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Inspired by love, we transform ourselves and serve others.
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This Sunday, May 31st
Please join us online this Sunday at 10:30 AM! Our sermon this Sunday, May 31st, is titled,
What is in Your "First Aid Kit?”
The Worship Service is made possible by:
Joanne Halt,
M.A
., Guest Speaker
Suellen Kipp
, Director of Music
Holley Rauen,
Worship Associate
Mary Cline-Golbitz,
Pastoral Prayer Worship Associate
Jennifer Grant,
Chalice Lighter
Peter Golbitz
, Musician
Lesley Peterson,
Tech Team Member
Mark Brandon,
Tech Team Member
Walter Peterson,
Tech Team Member
Krista Hopper,
Tech Team Member
And YOU!
Joanne Halt,
M.A
. is the FaithNet representative for the local affiliate of
National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Her husband of 53 years, Tom, is a retired deacon in the Catholic tradition. She is a former professional counselor, and is a family member of loved ones with mental health issues. During the past 5 years of her 25 years as a NAMI volunteer, Joanne has networked with faith communities on behalf of our local NAMI affiliate to build bridges of hope for individuals and families experiencing the impact of a brain disorder. Because faith communities are more numerous than mental health clinics and are set up for hope and healing, she believes each congregation holds the power to facilitate recovery of individuals. She is also a yoga instructor. She will present thoughts about what spiritual lessons she has learned in her work with NAMI.
Please go to our website for the Zoom meeting link and the audio only link for Sunday's Service:
uucfm.org
If you join Zoom before 10:30 AM, you will be placed in an online "Waiting Room," and will manually be added when the worship team is ready to begin the service.
If you would like to make a pledge or donation to UUCFM at any time,
you may mail a check to UUCFM, 13411 Shire Lane, Fort Myers, FL 33912 or visit our
PayPal
Type in your donation and in the notes section, please add either
for UUCFM
or
Community Sharing
or how much to split between both.
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Community Sharing
Our Community Sharing partner
this week only
is the
Harry Chapin Food Bank
. We are a generous congregation. Our
Minister’s Discretionary Fund
received many contributions this past March. That fund is in good shape. Because of that, the minister recommended to our Board (and they approved) that we have as a community sharing partner the
Harry Chapin Food Bank
for this 5th Sunday. The
Harry Chapin Food Bank
opened its doors in 1938 as Lee County Food Cooperative distributing government-provided surpluses of cheese and other dairy products. Over time, it began to recover food from other retailers and growers. In 1985, the name was changed to
Southwest Florida Food Bank
to reflect its regional services to five counties. The name was changed again in 1994 to honor the late singer, Harry Chapin who fought hunger. The mission of the food bank is to lead our community in the fight to end hunger. To meet its mission, the food bank services approximately 151,600 (2800 individuals per week) people in its service area who do not have consistent access to nutritious food. 26% or one-third of the recipients are children. The food bank rescues, imports, transports, and distributes food and other grocery products to more than 150 partner agencies and programs that provide direct services to those in need.
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Office Manager Out Friday
The Office Manager will be out of the office on Friday, May 29th.
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Upcoming Events
School of Wizardry!
Enrollment for the 2020 term of the School of Wizardry is open. The term begins on Monday, June 29th, and ends Friday July 3rd. Our team of dedicated volunteers are working to bring the School of Wizardry to their campers digitally!
Krista Hopper, Camp Director
Phone - (239) 464-1333
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Pachamama Alliance
UUCFM and All Faiths Unitarian Congregation announce a joint endeavor to learn about solutions to the climate crisis in an online course called Introduction to Drawdown.
We encourage all of you to take the time during the first two weeks of June to
experience this ninety minute overview of the extraordinary scientific analysis of what we can do to reverse global warming. Our two congregations will then join together in a discussion on Zoom of what we have learned, and how we can help implement these scientific solutions. Here is the website where you can access this course:
https://connect.pachamama.org/drawdown
.
To register, click
here
.
Instructions for participating in the Zoom call will be sent out to you shortly as an EventBrite registration with the ZOOM information.
Be a part of the extraordinary global climate change movement which is bringing together people and environmental organizations in every community and nation around the world. Together we have the power to shape our future. For those interested, we have just reserved the date of June 23rd at 1:00PM for a ZOOM with participants from both congregations. This uplifting and solution oriented conversation will be facilitated by Joan Marshall, Holley Rauen, and the Pachamama SWFL Core group. We hope many of you will join us!
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Classes & Groups
The Book Club
The UUCFM Book Club now meets online. Our current book is
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
, by David Eagleman.
Clicking this link will take you to the next meeting, Wednesday, May 27 at 1:00 PM.
If you prefer to access the meeting without the link, use this information to log on:
Meeting ID: 784 376 873
Password: 329478
You'll be able to join the meeting as early as 12:45 PM Wednesday and we'll begin our usual check-in at 1 o'clock. If you’re joining for the first time via Zoom, please sign in closer to 12:45 pm to allow for any extra time you may need. Mary Studer is hosting the Zoom meetings, so if you have any questions, call or text her at 269-449-2488.
The discussion schedule is as follows:
June 3: Completion of Chapter 6. The next book selection will be chosen at this meeting.
June 10: Chapter 7, L
ife After the Monarchy
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New Connection Circle Forming by Zoom
Whether you are new to UU or a long-term member, whether you are in Florida or far away, you are invited to participate in a Connection Circle by Zoom. Now is your chance to experience this way to connect with others on a deep and meaningful level. Trained facilitators, Mary Cline Golbitz and Leslie Gatto, will choose timely topics for discussion. This is a covenanted group, where group rules protect confidentiality and promote compassionate dialogue. Participants are expected to attend all sessions. The Zoom circles will be held weekly on Thursdays from 1:00 to 2:30 pm from June 4 through July 9
Please contact Leslie by phone or text at 239-850-9664 or email
gatto.leslie@gmail.com
to join this circle. Let her know if you need help setting up Zoom. Looking forward to connecting with you. Stay well, stay home, stay connected!
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From Our Caring Network
If you or another member of the Congregation needs some extra attention during this time, your Pastoral Care Committee is here to help as much as we can while keeping us all safe and protected.
Our Committee members include Mary Faegre, Joan Hickok, Deborah Lewis, Mary Alice Pierce, Mary Tracy-Sigman, Patricia Vivier-Naidl, Holley Rauen and Suzanne Ziemer. If any members of the Congregation are available to help during this crisis, please contact Mary Golbitz
We have been holding weekly calls as a check in at the beginning of this crisis. Since the need for these calls seems to have dwindled, we will
not
be holding these calls any longer. If you feel strongly that you would like these calls to continue please contact Mary Golbitz. Thanks to all who participated and supported one another.
There is an on-going Connection Circle on Zoom right now and another Connection Circle beginning June 4. If you would like to join in connecting with other Congregation members, please contact Leslie Gatto by phone or text at 239-850-9664 or email at
gatto.leslie@gmail.com
We can connect with you individually by phone if you are feeling isolated and offer other assistance. Please contact Mary Golbitz for information or assistance at
marygcline@gmail.com
207 479-4082 (phone or text) or Holley Rauen at
holleyrauen@gmail.com
or 239 464-6556.
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Email/Phone Scams
Please be aware that scammers are still targeting UUCFM members and leadership. If you receive an email that claims to be from one or our Board Members or Minister, and asks for gift cards or a wire transfer of money, it is a scam. Our leadership will never contact you asking for money or gift cards in this way. If you are in doubt, please telephone the church at 561-2700 or contact any church leader.
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Social Justice
South Fort Myers Food Pantry
Hi everyone! We would like to provide you with an update on how things are going at the food pantry.
Clients continue to drive through to pick up pre-bagged items. This is going well and allows our clients and our volunteers to be safe by socially distancing. Just this past Monday, we served 175 clients and we anticipate this number to increase.
Each week we are going to grocers, warehouse stores and places such as dollar stores and big box stores to shop for much needed items to stock our shelves. We are receiving ample meat and fresh vegetable supplies from Harry Chapin, however canned goods are somewhat sporadic. The 28th Annual Mail Carriers Food Drive scheduled for May 9 has been postponed to a yet to be determined date. This food drive normally supplies Harry Chapin with many of the canned goods that we would receive during the summer months.
As restrictions loosen, would you consider having a food drive to help stock our shelves? The items we are finding hard to obtain in large quantities are peanut butter and jelly (please no glass containers), cereal and breakfast bars. We are always happy to receive canned fruit and vegetables, tomato sauce products, protein-rich soups and beans.
For questions, call Fran Rose at 617-750-0470. Leave a message and she will get back to you. There are still a lot of hungry people out there. If you want to drop food off at the pantry, the address is 8260 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers. The best time is Monday at 9 AM or 4 PM.
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May 29 Stephanie Moreland
May 30 Diane Buckley
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UUCFM Staff & 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
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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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