Worship in June: Community
Service at 10:30 am Sundays in Miller Sanctuary
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Summer Solstice Food!
This Sunday, June 17th please bring foods to share after the service in Hobart Hall; please bring foods that celebrate the sun- ring shapes, circle shapes, bright yellows, fiery reds, audacious orange! The healthier, the better!
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Community Sharing in June: SalusCare
SalusCare, Inc. is a Fort Myers, Florida based not-for-profit mental health and substance abuse service provider incorporated in 2013 after the merger of Lee Mental Health Center and Southwest Florida Addiction Services (SWFAS). SalusCare, Inc. is the largest comprehensive provider in Southwest Florida for individuals with mental health and/or substance use issues. For more information about their services, visit
www.saluscareflorida.org
.
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Humanist Forum
The Humanist Forum meets every Sunday at 9:15 am in Hobart Hall. All are welcome to attend.
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Coffee Hour
Sunday's Coffee Hour happens after church every week and is provided by volunteers from the Women's Circle on the first Sunday, CUUPS on the second Sunday, Humanist Forum on the third Sunday, Men's Group on the fourth Sunday and if there is a fifth Sunday, it is All Church. Any donations of food, snacks or cash are welcome.
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BURN Youth Group
We meet on Sundays at Noon, usually in Room 4! All youth ages 14-18 are welcome!
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From the Minister
This Sunday we acknowledge the upcoming Summer Solstice and the power of community to move us towards a collective vision of liberation as an interconnected web of Life. I invite you to bring foods to share after service in Hobart Hall; please bring foods that celebrate the sun- ring shapes, circle shapes, bright yellows, fiery reds, audacious orange! The healthier, the better! Celebrate the fiery nature of summer as we set fire to our hearts and give thanks for this community at UUCFM!
Rev. Allison Farnum
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Music Notes
We will start Sunday rehearsals starting on Sunday, June 17th. Feel free to join us if you have a love of music and service!
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, Acting Director of Music
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UU Legacy
Our UU legacy is created by the aspirations of thousands of people across centuries who dreamed of a world built on the foundations of love, inclusion, and justice. Today, our institutions and congregations are honoring this legacy and working together to bring our values into the world to educate, support, learn, lead, nurture, speak out, partner, and love even when it’s difficult. Now, more than ever, we are called to lift up the gifts we bring and the wisdom we have gained and share them in new ways.
Now, more than ever, we recognize the need to strengthen the institutions that amplify the value of our shared faith both within our congregations and within our communities and ensure that these institutions will be here to serve future generations.
The world is asking us what will our UU legacy be? Justice-seeking, fiercely loving, welcoming communities. Transformative collaboration with partners around the world. Vibrant worship, Dynamic leaders equipped to meet the challenges of tomorrow congregations of lifelong learners. Healing and nourishing spiritual communities. Prophetic witness and leadership. Creative, hopeful, life-learning faith. Beloved community. Activism grounded in sacred values. Resources to dream and to do more. Join us in a collaborative movement where our strengths and collective wisdom are shared throughout our communities and the world.
Make a legacy gift and be part of a vision that bolsters our present and celebrates our future. We are UUs. Together we can change the world.
Bill Petrarca
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Worship & Music Ministry!
The time to collaborate and build is now! The first Worship and Music Ministry meeting is
June 17
th
in The Sanctuary
at 12:15
pm
. Please bring a lunch!
Our regular meetings will be held on the third Sunday of each month
from 12:15PM-1:45PM
. Join us if you are already or wish to be involved in this ministry that includes all things service related including the following:
-Choir and Music Team
-Worship Associates
-Audio Visual
-Décor
This first meeting will focus on creating our Mission Statement, clarifying goals and outputs, structuring future meetings and building this unique ministry’s organizational structure. We hope to see you there!
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Village News
1. OWL is returning to UUCFM! OWL (Our Whole Lives: Lifespan Sexuality Education) is a program that teaches comprehensive human sexuality, developed in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Association and United Church of Christ. More information can be found here
https://www.uua.org/re/owl
. We are organizing a group to be trained at UU Tampa for Middle - High School and Young Adult - Adult. The training is taking place
Friday, August 24 at 5:00 through Sunday, August 26.
Contact Stephanie Hoffman at
stephgator7@yahoo.com
if you are interested in training to become a facilitator (teacher). They anticipate the classes will sell out, so don’t wait too long.
2. We are in immediate need of volunteers to staff the Intention Table during service. Volunteers get a front row seat to all of the action. We are also in need of youth group advisors, specifically for Ignite and Spark. Per our UUCFM safety policy, all adults working directly with children will be subject to a background check. Please see Jenn Blosser or email Stephanie Hoffman with any questions or concerns.
3. You likely have already noticed changes in the service on Sunday. Our children are present through the service. There are crafts or projects available at the Intention Table at the front of the Sanctuary. People are moving around. We are working with the Worship Associates, individually and as a committee, to consider the needs of the entire congregation during our worship time. Change is not easy. It is occasionally irritating and uncomfortable. Your patience is appreciated as we work through reintegrating our youngest congregants.
4. The church doesn't close after service is over! The Village is now offering expanded youth groups; Burn for ages 14-18, Ignite for ages 10-13, and coming soon Spark for under 10. Projects are already in the planning stages. But the Village isn't just for children. Just like our congregation, our Village is multi-generational. We hope to offer classes and workshops in our second hour; the time reflection and implementation of our mission to Love, Grow, and Serve.
5. Greetings from the new and evolving Village Council. I'm Stephanie Hoffman, your new communications guru. At our meeting and summit, held on May 12th, the committee formerly known as Religious Education or Children's Religious Education elected the following positions:
Paloma Blanca-Siebert - Chair
Jersey Blosser - Youth Co-chair
Krista Huston - Secretary
Stephanie Hoffman - Communications
Gini Gottman - Curriculum
Holley Rauen - Outreach
Stephanie Hoffman, Communications
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Community Sharing
Here are the ways the congregation can volunteer or support our Community Sharing Sunday (CSS) partners:
If you would like to volunteer or participate in anyway, please contact Dr. Genelle Grant-
grantgenelle@gmail.com
1.This coming week is the second week of the Happe Summer EcoCamp for farmworker children at the Happehatchee Center, of which GRACE is a sponsor. There are 30 Guatemalan children learning about the environment, canoe safety and stewardship of the Earth. If anyone would like to visit the camp this week, please let me know.
2. The Women’s Health Class at the New Image Tabernacle in North Fort Myers is on summer break. It will begin again in September.
3. We always need people to make Fertility Bracelets. Helen Dixon puts Kits of the beads together, or people could purchase the beads on their own (very helpful). Beads are red, purple, and green pony beads.
4.In July, we will begin meeting on Wednesdays to sew and assemble the menstrual Kits. People can contact Dr. Grant if they want to participate.
5. There is a Trip planned for Guatemala for the first week in December, if anyone wants to volunteer and contribute to the workshops in Guatemala.
South Fort Myers Food Pantry:
Volunteers are needed during the summer season as snowbirds have gone home. There is still a great need during the summer for local families when children are not being fed in school. Please contact the food pantry at (239) 628-3191 if you would like to participate on Mondays for food distribution. Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church
8260 C
y
press Lake
Dr
Fort Myers, FL
sfmfoodpantry@yahoo.com
Planned Parenthood:
If you know anyone in need of services offered by Planned Parenthood, please direct them to a local center.
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The FUUn BUUnch
Join us for dinner at Mimi's Cafe Saturday, June 30th at 6:30 pm.
Mimi's
5070 BELL TOWER SHOP AVE
FORT MYERS, FL 33907
1-239-561-0073
LOCATED ON THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF DANIELS Parkway and ROUTE 41
6:30 p.m.
Saturday
June 30, 2018
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Dream Work Group
A new Dream work group is forming. We will meet the five Sundays in July (July 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29). We meet in Room 2 from 12:00-2:00 pm. Bring a snack or lunch. This dream work group follows Jeremy Taylor's "Projective dream work" techniques and philosophy, which is mainly Jungian, and is open to other schools of interpretation.
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Mindfulness Meditation
Join us on Monday evenings to explore the very simple and satisfying practices of mindfulness and meditation. You don’t need experience with meditation, nor do you have to be a Buddhist. Do please bring an intention to quiet the mind and the 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 contact Gary Robbins at
pachamamaelder@gmail.com
.
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Optimal Living Group
The Optimal Living Group is open to all and does not require attending every session. We meet in the Sanctuary on the first and third Wednesdays of each month from 4:00-5:30 pm. We discuss how to live optimally, including practical ways to cope with life's challenges and issues. Helping others and developing maturity in ourselves is part of our quest. We explore many paths and techniques for enriching our lives and making a difference for others. For more information, fill out a blue card found in the pews or email Neil Yesu:
dbny79@aol.com
.
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UUCFM Gaming Group
The UUCFM Gaming Group is the club for you. We do our best to meet in Room 7 on Sundays after church from 1:00-4:00 pm. Those of us with children can't always make it so please check the Facebook group page (
UUCFM Gaming Group
) to see if games are scheduled.
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Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Group
The Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist group meets Sundays at 1:45p in Room 1. All are welcome to join us.
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Community Wednesday
Community Wednesday Activities for June:
4:00-5:30
Optimal Living Group (1st & 3rd Wed)
6:00-6:45
Band Rehearsal in Sanctuary (off 1st two weeks in June)
6:45-8:00
Choir Rehearsal in Sanctuary (off 1st two weeks in June)
Community Dinners are on hiatus until September. Enjoy your summer! Rehearsals and Events will continue through summer.
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Pachamama Alliance of Southwest Florida
The Pachamama Alliance of Southwest Florida continues to work to nurture a community of conscious pro-activists and Game Changers working for a socially just, environmentally sustainable and spiritually fulfilling world. Our Diving into Drawdown Series was very successful and participants have committed to one of the 100 Drawdown Solutions to global warming we have explored, and are collaborating with individuals and organizations in SWFL that are working on Solutions in SWFL. We will continue to meet on the first Thursday of each month in Hobart Hall to keep the momentum going. We will be offering two Awakening the Dreamer Symposiums in the fall. One at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples and at Florida Gulf Coast University in October.
We are also delighted to host
John Cassani, Director of Calusa Waterkeeper on Thursday, July 5th.
Please mark your calendars now. This will be a great discussion about how we can help keep our waterways and drinking water protected.
Many thanks and appreciation,
Holley Rauen
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South Fort Myers Food Pantry
The response for food donations has been consistently good over the last year. The need is still there and UUCFM has been a strong supporter of the pantry. I have not been able to post the pantry newsletter but there is one at the Social Justice table listing the number of people fed by the pantry for the last year. Easter is early this year which means many people will be heading north earlier too. Consequently, many people will lose seasonal jobs and the need for food donations and volunteers will be just as great as it is now. Keep that in mind. Remember to bring at least one can each week and consider volunteering during the summer months.
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Art in the Narthex
This month several members have artworks in the Narthex. Included are watercolors, Sumi painting on handmade paper and mixed media. If you are interested in purchasing the art contact the individual artist.
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Radio Link for GRACE Project
There’s a village in rural Guatemala where women hand-sew reusable menstrual pads to sell. It’s a product that medical experts say is necessary in some impoverished areas because women and girls cannot afford disposable pads. They end up either overusing the few temporary pads they have, or sitting on rags at home, isolating themselves. Those practices lead to health issues, and young girls missing school. The women’s business out of San Lucas Toliman (toe-lee-mahn) is being funded by a Fort Myers nonprofit, and is staffed mostly by single mothers escaping violence. WGCU’s Jessica Meszaros reports, the women hope this startup will give them income and independence. Here is the link to the broadcast:
https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/163f469e7a7bf6a7?projector=1&messagePartId=0.1
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Looking Back: Hey, where's the Sanctuary? This photo was taken in 1995. Shown are the courtyard, the office building, and the RE classrooms.
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Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers.
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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
uuchurch@uucfm.org
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If you are a UUCFM Community Sharing Partner, a regular Facility User, or have UU related news to share, you are welcome to submit announcements for publication in our Greater Community section of the newsletter. Please send announcements in by Wednesday for publication in the Thursday E-news.
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Note:
The following camp is for Home School Rocks, a renter of UUCFM. This camp is not run by or sponsored by UUCFM.
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From the Scouts
Hello my name is Zakarie Wisniewski and I am with Boy Scout Troop 3300. I have started fundraising for my Eagle Scout project to replace the seating in the amphitheater near the lake with composite board making them stronger and longer lasting. I plan to fundraise about $2,000 and want to meet this goal by the end of June. If you wish to donate please visit the table outside the sanctuary or contact me at
zakariewisniewski@gmail.com
. Thank you for your help and consideration.
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June 16 Rose Klein
June 16 Betty Tobin
June 17 Phyllis Brewer
June 19 Suzanne Ziemer
June 21 Chet Beemer
June 23 Karen Brown
June 23 Roman Carr is 4!
June 24 Helen Krieger
June 25 Rosalie Kuehn
June 28 Charlotte Crossen is 4!
June 28 Kim Kain
June 28 Chris Rosa
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Newsletter Editor: Jill Carville
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Board of Trustees
President
Matt Hoffman 239-222-4836
mwaters106@yahoo.com
President Elect
Secretary
Alison Carville 239-634-0487
alisoncarville@gmail.com
Treasurer
VP Finance
VP Programming
Cathy Snow 239-896-3693 cm
snow23@gmail.com
VP Ministerial Services
Lesley Peterson 239-839-4434
unicorn@cyberstreet.com
VP Operations
Mary Alice Pierce 239-267-4429
piercemaryalice@gmail.com
Member at Large
Don Ehat 239-947-8143
don.ehat@gmail.com
Staff
Minister
Acting Director of Music
Director of RE
Office Manager
Building Supervisor
Nursery Supervisor
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