Weekly E-News April 18, 2019

Sundays in April

Interim Minister Town Hall April 28th

There will be a Town Hall on Sunday, April 28th, at noon in the Sanctuary. We want as many people as possible to attend and have set the date for that Sunday so that our seasonal folks may be present. We will be providing information about the ministerial transition, including outlining the search process and gathering congregational feedback.

We are aware this meeting is at the same time as the youth teacher training. We are able to provide childcare for children 4 years and younger until 2 p.m. in the nursery and are looking to provide a quiet "busy hands" activity for any child who accompanies their parent/guardian at the town hall.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts at this important event for our congregation.

Community Sharing in April- Pachamama Alliance of SW Florida

Imagine all the p eople in Southwest Florida living a new dream--one that fosters environmental sustainability, social justice, and spiritual fulfillment. That’s what we’re all about: making that dream a reality by informing, inspiring and motivating people to help create the more beautiful world we know is possible. And we’re succeeding… collaborating with numerous organizations, leading a host of symposiums, facilitating programs throughout Lee, Collier, and Charlotte Counties, all of which reach out to the community in a way that has spurred hundreds of people to engage in the transformation we need to ensure a thriving, just, and sustainable human presence on this planet. As part of the Social Justice and Outreach Ministry, we ask you to become a Pachamama Person by supporting our efforts by giving generously to this month’s Community Sharing offering.

The Humanist Forum

The Humanist Forum meets every Sunday at 9:15 am in Hobart Hall. All are welcome to attend.

Sunday Social Hour

Sunday's Social Hour happens after the service every week. It is volunteer run- by the Women's Circle on the first Sunday, Humanist Forum on the second, CUUPs on the third, Men's Group on the fourth, and if there is a fifth Sunday, it is All Church. Any donations of food, snacks or cash are welcome.

Music News

The UUCFM Choir rehearses most Wednesday nights from 6:45-8:15 pm, and on Sunday mornings from 9-10 am in the sanctuary. It's free and there are no auditions. Come join us in singing!

The UUCFM Band rehearses most Wednesday nights from 6:00-6:45 pm, and on Sunday mornings from 9-10 am in the Sanctuary. If you would like to play your instrument during a Sunday service, please email me to coordinate the details.

Come join us in making music together!

Suellen Kipp, Director of Music

email Suellen

Easter:

Join us this Easter Sunday for our first annual Canned Food Hunt! Youth are invited to help hide all the donated canned food in the courtyard during service and then our younger congregants can emerge from worship to hunt for them all. We will celebrate the generosity of the congregation and the hiding / hunting success of our kids with cake and other sweet treats!

If you have questions about our youth groups or Children's Religious Education program, please contact Jenn Blosser [email protected] .

Wizard Camp

Have you registered for the School of Wizardry summer camp yet? The camp runs from June 24th to June 28th and is held here on the UUCFM campus. We're filling up fast, so register today! We need youth 14+ to register as camp ghosts (volunteers) as well - click here to apply!

Teacher Training

Our Chalice Faith Formation teacher training is Sunday, April 28 from noon till 2:00 PM in Room 7. All attendees are asked to fill out this form beforehand . Since the training overlaps with the Town Hall about the interim minister, absentee feedback forms will be supplied to all participants so their input is not omitted.

Membership

If you or a friend has been thinking about joining our faith community, you are cordially invited to pick up a Membership Enrollment Kit at our “Welcome Tables” in the Narthex and Hobart Hall on Sunday, or come by the Office and grab a Kit. (Or I can email you an Enrollment Kit [email protected] .) Complete the forms in the kit and drop in the mail or bring the completed forms with you Sunday morning. It’s that simple! Wherever you are on your journey, we bid you Welcome!

Meet Our Members!

Cathy Snow: Hi everyone! I'm Cathy Snow, VP of Programming/Liaison to the Social Justice and Outreach Ministry. I've been a member of UUCFM for a total of 4.5 years. I've volunteered throughout my time here as a teacher for the RE program, secretary to the Social Justice Committee, member of the Community Sharing Sundays Committee, team member for LIFE, and now in my current position on the board. Being almost a native to SWFL (moved here when I was four years old), I love that I can raise my son in a liberal spiritual community that was not available when I was growing up here. UUCFM has been a true sanctuary for me and I have made many wonderful friends here that I cherish.

What are Gratitude Gatherings?

Last year, the Board of Trustees, at the recommendation of the Finance Council, chose to re-invent the way we manage our traditional pledge campaigns. Recent years’ experiences, although successful in terms of contributions pledged, became overburdensome on just a few volunteers and somewhat intrusive for many members, cramming all solicitation meetings within a short amount of time in order to complete the grueling budgeting process for the church. Furthermore, the weeks-long, energy-

draining effort necessarily put an unbalanced focus and stress on financial expectations with very little focus on the overall sense of the mutual appreciation for the connectedness between the church and each member. Furthermore, we understand that many of our members have busy lives, filled with urgent demands on their time.

Our new stewardship approach is a year-round series of hour-long Gratitude Gatherings where a twelfth of our members voluntarily come together each month in small groups with the minister and church leaders. In these sessions, members learn about the “state of the Church,” share our proudest moments of being a member of UUCFM, express concerns and satisfactions about our progress toward our Vision,

and celebrate our commitments to our faith community. The goal is that members will leave feeling uplifted and more engaged as a member of our congregation!

So, when you receive an invitation to attend a future Gratitude Gathering, you now know a little bit more about why you are being invited and what you can expect.

Photo Session Moved to May- UUCFM Online Photo Directory

The last photo taking session for the UUCFM Photo Directory has been rescheduled to May 5th. This is for old and new members who do not yet have their photos in the UUCFM Photo Directory (The Photo Directory can be accessed through the UUCFM website). Photos will be taken after church on the lawn in back of the screened in porch at Hobart Hall---If the weather is bad, photo taking will move to the screened in porch. Many of you whose photos are not in the Directory will receive an advance Email about this session. Be sure to come if your photo is not currently in the UUCFM Photo Directory.

Social Justice

South Fort Myers Food Pantry

The support that UUCFM has shown to our pantry over the years is appreciated. Along with other coalition members, the combined effort fed 26,646 people from the South Fort Myers area in 2018. There is still a tremendous need in Southwest Florida and consequently the Harry Chapin Food Bank sometimes runs low on food. When this happens, your donations of food each Sunday become so important, even if it’s just one item. Remember “Fran’s plan, just one can”? Look around church this Sunday and just imagine the amount of food, if everyone brought just one can. Protein items are always a good choice, canned ham, chicken , tuna or hearty prepared meals or soups.

Prefer to donate money? You can make out checks and send to the South Fort Myers Food Pantry. 8260 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers, FL. 33919. Be sure to write Food Pantry in the memo line. Looking for a satisfying volunteer experience? See Fran Rose or email [email protected] .

Special Events at UUCFM

Community Conference at UUCFM

Last year, UUCFM, in collaboration with the United Way of Lee County, launched an initiative to award grant funds to youth-centric groups in SWFL who could identify youth-led projects to evaluate ways to reduce youth violence in SWFL. (The project follows the CDC STRYVE model.) Seven grants were awarded in February (Girl Scouts Troop, Human Trafficking Awareness Partnership, I WILL Mentorship Foundation, Quality Life Center South Fort Myers High School, WellFit Girls, and Young Life). On Friday May 24th, these youth groups will be presenting their study results at a Community Conference at 5:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary. Dr. Mike Martin, President of FGCU, will be our guest speaker. We’ll be welcoming many members of the community, including local press. Hoping many of our members can attend. Please mark your calendars. More information to follow. If you’re interested in helping with the event, please let us know at [email protected]

JOIN US FOR

THE FUUN BUUNCH

MIMI’S CAFÉ

Bell Tower Mall

5070 BELL TOWER SHOP AVE

FORT MYERS, FL 33907

Located on the northeast corner of Daniels Parkway and Rt. 41

Saturday, April 27th at 6:30 p.m.

Please RSVP to John E. Fischer, [email protected] or 267 992 6566 by April 23, 2019. The restaurant needs exact numbers. If you need transportation, please let us know with your full name, address and phone number when making your reservation with John. We will make every effort to provide transportation. Our next FUUN BUUNCH DINNER will be at Bianca’s Italian Restaurant in N. Fort Myers, May 25, 2019.

UUCFM Classes & Groups

Yoga!

Join Mary Cline Golbitz for a month of yoga at UUCFM from 5-6pm on Wednesdays from April 24-May 29 in Room 1. All welcome. No Charge.

15+ Group

The UUCFM 15+ Group is comprised of UUCFM members who have belonged to UUCFM for at least 15 years. Some churches call this type of group Church Elders -- but this group of "elders" chose to be called the 15+ Group! We will be meeting at noon in the Conference Room on Sunday, April 28th. If you would like to have an item put on the agenda, please contact Ellen Erickson [email protected] or 239-694-6833.

CUUPs Healing Drum Circle

Cuups is now hosting a monthly healing drumming circle. We'll meet by the fire circle at 6:30pm every 2nd Saturday. It is open to all. We will have a facilitator who is accomplished in healing sound and drumming. We welcome our larger community as well as our diverse church community. May healing begin with drums of passion. Love and blessings, Joy Purcell

Women's Sharing Circle

Every 4th Tuesday there will be a noon potluck in Hobart Hall. Bring a dish to share and your own beverage.

April Meeting:

Tuesday, April 23rd, noon Potluck in Hobart Hall

Program: Story of your Ancestry, your roots, bring photos, heirlooms, memories. LADIES HAT DAY, wear a Spring bonnet for all to admire & enjoy.

Tuesday, May 28th meeting

Same noon schedule of potluck. "Stories of Travel Times, in the World and United States" featuring Mary Nies & Deb Lewis in their Thailand Adventure. We'll chart where

we all have been in the world.

For contact information: Dorothy Van Howe, 239-560-7238,

[email protected]

Men's Social Group

We want you to join the UUCFM Men's Social Group. We meet on the 2nd Tuesday of every month at 11:45 am at the Cross Creek Country Club Clubhouse/Restaurant off Daniel's Parkway. For 2019, we are planning fun social activities as well as action sessions on what the Men's Group can do to help UUCFM. For information, contact Denis Jensen at 215-436-5748 or email Denis .

Spirituality Discussion Group

The Spirituality Discussion Group meets Wednesdays at 6:45 pm in Room 2 after the Community Dinner. Our Spirituality has to do with the way one connects to ourselves, others, nature, and the unknowns. Our last meeting will be April 24th. Contact Suzanne Ziemer at [email protected] with any questions.

Book Club

On Wednesdays the Book Group will meet and continue reading our book, Michael Pollan's How to Change your Mind - What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying , Addiction, Depression and Transcendence.

Mindfulness Meditation

Join us on Monday evenings to explore the simple and satisfying practices of mindfulness and meditation. You don’t need experience with meditation, nor do you have to be a Buddhist. Please bring intention to quiet the mind and body in a supportive group of UU members and friends with a similar intention - people who want to carry mindfulness into their daily lives. We meet Mondays from 6:30-8:00p in the Sanctuary. If you have any questions, please call or text Gary Robbins at 302-540-5899.

UUCFM Weekly Activities

Community Wednesday

Please join us for Chef Joy's Community Wednesday Dinners at 6:00 pm each Wednesday. She will be serving salad, soup and entree. The price is $5.00. The meal is vegetarian, but every other week will feature a meat item alternate. April will be the last month of Wednesday Dinners until the Fall.

Community Activities for April:

6:00-6:45 Band Rehearsal in Sanctuary

6:45-8:00 Choir Rehearsal in Sanctuary

6:45-8:00 Spiritual Discussion group thru April 24th in Room 2.

Caring News

Caring Network

If you have any caring concerns, please contact our Caring Network coordinator, Neil Yesu at [email protected]

Safety Tips

These tips are brought to you by our Operations Team.

Shop and Help UUCFM!

Did you know your purchases can make a difference? AmazonSmile donates to the Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers when you do your online shopping. Follow this link: smile.amazon.com/ch/59-1160337

Member to Member

Do you have something to offer, trade, or sell? Are you looking for something? Free ad space here for personal items only. Will run ad for 4 weeks. Email [email protected] .