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Congregational
Mission
Statement
We are a Congregation creating a better world by nurturing the heart and expanding the mind.
We provide a safe, caring community where all can freely explore diverse religious thought.
We work for justice and equality with the power of compassion and compassionate power.
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UUCGT Quicklinks
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If you would like to receive our monthly newsletter
the Beacon
please contact
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This Sunday, December 6, 2020 at 10:30 AM*
(Begin signing in at 10:00 to visit!)
*Judy Myers was the first (but will, I've no doubt) hardly be the last to point out that I left November 22nd in this spot as if it were this coming Sunday. SO sorry! And I left the link to last week's OoS in as well... Sorry, folks, I seem to be battling a HUGE mist of post-Covid fog today.
HOWEVER:
I think that fate ordained this, because I just got a tearfully joyful phone call from Emmy Lou Cholak, and I am now able to tell you that I'll be EDITING HER NOTE IN THE BILLBOARD with some VERY HAPPY NEWS!
Sign in to the Zoom Service:
enter Meeting ID 879 9782 0177
into your browser window
Our Service this coming Sunday is led be Rev. Cathy Harrington and has been coordinated by Pam Pendrick.
"As we hunker down for a long winter and find ways to keep ourselves busy in- doors, what if we look at this time of waiting for Spring as a gift?"
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Grand Traverse
Rev. Cathy Harrington, Interim Minister
The Order of Service will be in Sunday morning's "Reminder" Flash
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW to join the Service:
The Meeting ID is 879 9782 0177
Sunday Services are automatically recorded and posted to our Zoom account. Click here to view the Service of November 29 if you missed it and/or would like to re-view! A passcode is required, that code is $S27uuB. - the PERIOD IS PART OF THE PASSCODE, not punctuation for this sentence!
The December Soul Matters theme is
stillness.
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ORIGINAL VOICES, VOLUMES I & II, TAKE 'TWO' -
It has been brought to my attention that links in the December Beacon to the lovely work of our "Original Voices" group of writers connected to only the first page of each volume. Sometimes the internet - or our online composing software? - makes a decision to change something even after I've double-checked it. My apologies to our writers! Below are links to (I sure hope) the collections in their entirety:
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ANNOUNCING: STEWARDSHIP 2021-2022
Members of your new Stewardship Team for the UUCGT 2021-22 Fiscal Year include: John Hoffman, Alison Kadlec, Karl Keinath, Jon Luoma, Mary Anne Rivers, and Rick Walter, Chair. We met November 19, 2020 via Zoom to discuss the overall concept of Stewardship and to initiate planning for the Pledge Drive that will start on February 14, 2021.
Stewardship is the ongoing care of our congregation as it focuses on accomplishing our overall Mission. In addition, stewardship includes an annual pledge drive that is focused on obtaining the necessary funds to fully enable that the mission is accomplished.
This last year the Pledge Drive fell short of its goal. The COVID pandemic has eliminated our in-person services resulting in decreased levels of income from the weekly baskets, as well as no income from rental of our facility.
Your Stewardship Team will be sending out a request for special end-of-year donations. Your donations can be designated for the "Congregation" or "For Those in Need" sides of the basket. Your additional donations will help ensure that we have the necessary funds available as we continue supporting our Mission and our Search for a new minister.
Feel free to contact any of us on the Stewardship Team with your ideas and support.
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MINISTERIAL SEARCH TEAM REPORT
Happy December to all, from your Ministerial Search Team! How did we get here so fast? Even though the days can seem long during the pandemic, it is encouraging to see how far we have come and how quickly we got here. Calendar pages have flipped with surprising speed and our progress in the search process has surpassed expectations. Before we know it, Christmas lists will be behind us and a new list will have our eager attention, the list of ministerial candidates!
We hope you are reassured by our report, "Ministerial Search During a Pandemic", in the December Beacon. Please read below the ending of the report that was somehow omitted.
"Further reassurance comes from a UUA report that every candidating week was virtual in 2020 and all had successful calls!
"We could choose to see this time of COVID-19 as an unsurmountable roadblock to meeting our goals for the future of UUCGT... or... we can breathe and adopt the mantra from A Course in Miracles: I am willing to see this differently."
Your Team: Mary, Geoff, Charles, Dusty, Jim, Chris, Jan
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Remember that you can view the final Survey Report online
and/or download it for printing by going HERE.
The "Roles, Goals, & Successes" and "Cottage Conversations" summaries
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- from Renée Russell -
I'm excited for the month of December to kick off as we have lots of wonderful music being shared by our own UU musicians. This week we'll enjoy fun pieces shared by Amanda Mangiardi, Bob Hicks and Shelley Burnes, and our own UUCGT Virtual Ensemble. While this season may look different than we would like, we can indulge in the music that represents fond memories shared and still alive within our hearts. Do you have some favorite music you bring out this time of year? A few of my very favorites include the moody, lilting jazz of the Vince Guaraldi Trio, the haunting peace of George Winston's album December, and the back-alley swing of Harry Connick Jr.'s big band.
Here are the lovely videos about faith and hope shared in last week's service:
- from Claire Crandell -
We all shared what we did on our Thanksgiving Day. We talked briefly about being "Thankful" and how many humans, who recognize a greater spirit than themselves, say "Thank you" in some formal way or tradition. We made sure we had our supplies ready to make our little "Gratitude Journal" at the end of our lesson. We read the following poem to begin:
Whatever befalls the earth
befalls the sons and daughters of
the earth.
We did not weave the web of life.
We are merely a strand in it.
Whatever we do to the web,
we do to ourselves.
- Chief Seattle (1788-1866)
We talked about how everything we do or say may have an impact on others and our earth. We reminded one another that all faiths teach us to be truthful, loving, compassionate, help others, be non-violent and to lead a peaceful existence. We talked about helping others (first ask how can I help?). We talked about how important it is to listen and how good it feels to be listened to.
Then instead of doing our 5 minute meditation we learned a new way to "help ourselves"...TAPPING. It is sort of acupuncture without the needles! It is a Way of calming our minds and "recording" positive things into our system. It is a small way to "re circuit" ourselves. We were asked to choose one of these statements (or create our own): I am kind, I am loving, I am a good person, I am smart, I am talented OR make up our own POSITIVE thing. Then we were shown the tapping points on the top of our head, above the eyebrows, beneath the eyes, in the middle of our top lip, in the center of our chest on each side of the sternum and then crossing our arms for one final tap. This was fun and we all giggled a little.
The second thing of ways to "heal ourselves"we learned is the healing power of gratitude. How wonderful it is to share our gratitude and love for each other and how our hearts begin to grow and blossom when we are grateful for something. Each of us made a small Thank You Notebook and we all said we would write 5 things we were thankful for in it every day. Next week we will share these things with one another. Also we will decorate the cover during the week and share our designs.
Each Sunday it is a Blessing to be together and we MISS seeing many of you wonderful youth!! Please come share a little time and fun with all of us during Sunday RE! Thank you and see you then!
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UUCGT Calendar - Stay Up to Date!
Sunday Services, meetings and classes are hosted on Zoom until further notice. Note that as of September 30 2020 Zoom requires a passcode and/or an enabled "Waiting Room" for ALL newly scheduled meetings.
To request a Zoom meeting setup and link for your group or committee meeting, please e-mail Guy or call his cell, 231-735-0180
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The UUCGT.ORG calendar is HERE.
Thursday, December 3
1:30 PM
5:00 PM
Friday, December 4
1:00 PM
Zoom rehearsal for Sunday Service
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SERVICE INFORMATION!
I hope this is easier to read - if not, please let me know and I'll adjust as necessary!
Friday, December 4
8:00 PM (sign in beginning at 7:30 to visit!)
Sunday, December 6
10:30 AM (sign in beginning at 10:00)
Zoom link for Sunday Service
Monday, December 7
11:15 AM
2:30 PM
Ministerial Search Team
Tuesday, December 8
5:30 PM
Creative Writing
Wednesday, December 9
11:15 AM
Stretch & Strengthen
12:00 PM
3:30 pm
Finance Committee
5:30 PM
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From Guy...
as per new stay-at-home directives, Guy will be working remotely until further notice. The building will not be available or unlocked except for the front vestibule where you can still leave a donation and pick up a new mask - our holiday looks are now available! - or leave food on the SAFE HARBOR table. If you need access inside the building and do not have a code for the touchpad inside the vestible, please contact Guy. E-mail as always to office@uucgt.org or call his cell, 231-735-0180. Thank you!
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While we're on the subject of Covid-9 notices, directives, and guidelines...
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta
- the CDC -
Announces Shorter Quarantine Guidelines After COVID-19 Exposure"
During a recent media briefing, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced an update to quarantine guidelines, offering options for shorter quarantine periods.
The CDC's updated guidance allows for the following quarantine periods for those who may have been exposed to COVID-19 but are without symptoms:
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Ten-day quarantine period-An individual may end quarantine 10 days after exposure if the individual does not take a COVID-19 test.
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Seven-day quarantine period-An individual may end quarantine seven days after exposure if the individual tests negative for COVID-19.
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While offering these shorter alternatives, the CDC still recommends a 14-day quarantine as the safest option.
Last year the UUCGT, thru Social Justice Action, bought the waiver necessary for Miguel to re-apply for his Visa to the US. If we had not done that he would have had to wait 8 years to re-apply. His situation came to our attention through Justice For Our Neighbors (JFON). His wife is a Traverse City native and they have a 7-year-old son. Miguel came here as a child and has lived more than half his life in TC. He had a chef job here in TC but wanted to obtain a legal entry into the US and citizenship. JFON helped him obtain all the papers necessary for legal entry. He was told that if he returned to Mexico and showed his papers at the Consulate he would get a legal Visa.
At the Office, they tore up his papers and sent him away. With the waiver we paid for him to apply again. He had all the papers re-written and more. Then the pandemic. His wife and child are with him in Mexico. They have to fly to the Consulate office at the border to re-apply, pay for a required physical, pay for the Green card, pay for the Visa, and hopefully granted, pay for his flight back home to TC!
Any money donated will help him and his family again and is very much appreciated! If any extra donations, it will go to support Safe Harbor and homelessness. Thank you very much!!!
Make your check out to UUCGT, please, but in the memo line designate your gift for "Immigrant Visa." Thank you!
UPDATED AT 12:26 PM:
We have just learned that A VISA HAS BEEN GRANTED and this family will soon be returning HOME! Thanks to all who are making this possible!
From Chris Lautz...
Remember that Chris Lautz is offering Zoom HELP!
Given up trying to attend Friday Vespers or Sunday Services because of that blasted ZOOM program, your computer or both? We have UU members who would be willing to come to your home and help you get set up, so you can attend and participate with our UU community.
WEDNESDAY DINNER MEETINGS
The Wednesday dinner group has tried to stay connected these past months, socially distanced picnicking in the UU parking lot when we could, on ZOOM when it was rainy. We are going to weekly ZOOM now, 5:30 every Wednesday. If you would like to join us, contact Mike and Sandra McDonald for the ZOOM invite. You may bring your glass of wine.
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"Be humble for you are made of earth. Be noble for you are made of stars."
- Serbian Proverb
"We are stardust
We are golden
We are billion-years-old carbon
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden
Then can i walk beside you...."
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The UUCGT building is closed until further notice;
however Guy is still working (remotely) Tuesday-Friday, 9am-3pm.
with any questions or concerns.
Stay up to date on the UUCGT website
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