September 2020 Communicator

Volume 37, Issue 9

This Week's Service

Sunday, September 6, 10:30 AM

Water Communion

During the ritual in our September 6th Water Communion Service, water will be poured into a communal bowl as we open the service. Please have a glass of drinking water on hand when the service begins in order to join in a special toast as part of our Water Ceremony. We also encourage you to have a small stone that may be special to you to hold in your hand during the Centering and Stones of Intention Ritual.

Join Zoom Meeting Sunday at 10:30am

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89150482747

Meeting ID: 891 5048 2747

Password: chalice

Or, follow the link on our webpage for audio only: uucfm.org

This service brought to you by:

Suellen Kipp, Director of Music

Holley Rauen, Worship Associate

Mary Cline Golbitz, Worship Associate

Nancy Letts, Story Teller

Lesley Peterson, Musician

Peter Golbitz, Musician

Walter Peterson, Lead Tech

Lesley Peterson, Tech Team Member

Mark Brandon, Tech Team Member

Jill Carville, Tech Team Coordinator

September Community Sharing

LIFE (Lee Interfaith for Empowerment) is a group of Lee County, Florida congregations coming together based upon our shared value of justice. Their welcoming statement reads in part, "We celebrate today and every day our differences- we speak, pray, and think differently and we welcome each other’s authentic expressions of faith. We do this because we know that bringing diverse congregations together allows us to collectively and more effectively address the issues that face our community. LIFE for justice, justice for life." Current issues include establishing an Affordable Housing Trust Fund to create $3 million of revenue to use each year for housing for those making less than 60% of Area Median Income; addressing the over 200 babies on a waitlist for childcare vouchers; and following up after our state bill was passed requiring law enforcement to document why certain children are arrested, rather than issued a civil citation. LIFE is funded by member congregations and by individual members who make this work possible.

From the Board

The Board of Trustees would like to thank the following people for their ongoing valuable contributions to UUCFM:

Jennifer Grant- for expertly facilitating two Board Retreats for the Board of Trustees. She did a splendid job, and the Board members have become a mutual admiration society, determined to work well and hard for the congregation.

Helen Dixon- for providing trustworthy office and banking work every week!

The Transition Team, including Karen J. Brown, Lane Cook, Karen Feinen, Roy Green, Bill Petrarca, and Patricia Vivier-Naidl - for continuing to research and realign recommendations and policies to guide this UUCFM transition.

We are sailing through turbulent waters, and it is comforting and inspiring that we have such excellent members to help navigate these storms. Thank you so much!

UUCFM Members and Friends,

We want YOU to submit your thoughts, memories, and words of wisdom from your time in the military serving your country. Or, you might speak about one of your favorite veterans in your family. You can shoot the video from your phone and submit to the church office at [email protected]. The fabulous UUCFM Tech Team will be creating a tribute to our veterans for a November service.

Please submit your Veteran Videos from now up and until October 15th.

Please title your email video submission "Veteran Video" to help us keep track of all submissions.

Thank you for your help!

Suellen Kipp

Director of Music

UUCFM Online Classes & Groups

Caloosahatchee Mindfulness

The book group is reading White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People to Talk About Racism.

“A valuable guide . . . While especially helpful for those new to the critical analysis of whiteness, this work also offers a useful refresher to anyone committed to the ongoing process of self-assessment and anti-oppression work.”

—Library Journal

We are now meeting on Wednesday from 1-2:30 p.m. on Zoom (of course). For more information and to join, contact Helen Leddy at [email protected].

The UUCFM Book Club

The Wednesday Book Group will be concluding its consideration of Jacob Soboroff’s book, Separated: Inside an American Tragedy, with a discussion of Part Three and the Epilogue next week. We’ll also be selecting our next title then. We meet on Zoom Wednesdays at 1:00 PM. If you’re joining for the first time, please email Mary Studer at [email protected] and she will send you the link to Zoom.

Social Justice

GRACE Project Request

The GRACE Project will be shipping several boxes to four schools and a women’s shelter in Guatemala, where COVID is further challenging rural families. If you have extras at home, Maya women and children could use: children’s and small women’s shoes, sweaters, pens, pencils and sharpeners, sewing supplies, scissors, children’s educational toys and puzzles, and office supplies. Please leave items for Helen Dixon in the UUCFM Office until September 15, or contact Genelle at [email protected] to arrange a pick up. Muchísimas gracias.

South Fort Myers Food Pantry

The board and volunteers at the Food Pantry say thank you for the food that you have dropped off during these very difficult months.

The best times to drop off food are 9 AM or 4 PM on Monday at the pantry itself, located at 8260 Cypress Lake Drive, Fort Myers in the back of the Cypress Lake Presbyterian Church. Any size donation will be accepted. Most needed foods are peanut butter & jelly, cereal, breakfast bars, canned fruits and vegetables, pasta and tomato sauce, protein-rich soups and beans. Please, no glass containers.

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, 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 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 [email protected] 207 479-4082 (phone or text) or Holley Rauen at [email protected] or 239 464-6556.

In Memory

Member Paula Copestick died peacefully last Sunday. We are told she was enjoying a favorite pastime of hers, reading a book, as she passed. She was in hospice for one week.

In her life, she joined the Women’s Army Corps for three years after she graduated from high school, playing trombone in their marching band. She marched in President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration parade. From there, she went to college, worked for Ohio’s Bureau of Worker’s Compensation and Vocational Rehabilitation, respectively.

As she was an active member of our community, she enjoyed researching women’s history and her own family history. Her family would appreciate if you gave to our community here at UUCFM, an animal shelter or any U.S. Veterans charity.

Arrangements for a memorial service are being made by the family to be held later in fall. Virtual connections will be announced as they become available.

https://www.shikanyfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Paula-Copestick/

New Member Spotlight- Henry Joseph Flandsz!

I am an agnostic and "recovering Catholic" but I do not look back in anger at all for that Catholic Education. I'm just glad I discovered UUs in 1980. I wish it would have happened earlier. I'm a retired high school teacher from Michigan. I'm really excited about UUCFM partnering with the Gulf Coast Symphony. It should be a wonderful experience for all concerned. Also, I'm really looking forward to saying, "President Joe Biden!"

Our UU Story

Labor Day and Economic Justice

Labor Day is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City, by the Central Labor Union. By 1894, 23 more states had adopted the holiday. On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a law making the first Monday in September of each year a national holiday.

Across our country Americans celebrate Labor Day with barbeques and picnics. The Unitarian Universalists Assn. suggests that we also should consider what can be done to improve economic justice. Discrimination may be based on status in one or more minority groups.

Gender

Women face many of the same issues as those who are part of race minorities. While there have been several waves of feminism, and steps have been taken to improve equality between men and women, sexism still exists-whether in terms of large issues, such as sexual harassment or unequal pay. Women are paid less than men-- roughly 20%.

Race

Despite the fact that slavery has been abolished in the United States for the past 150 years, racist sentiments still pervade in individuals and institutions. Minorities also earn less money than white people and are prone to discrimination in the workplace.

Disability

People with disabilities oftentimes face restrictions in our society. If you face issues with places that are not accessible, you have a right to seek justice. Issues in the workplace or other parts of life also need to be rectified.

Religion

Oftentimes, those who are heavily religious look and act differently than the average citizen. A misunderstanding of many religions leads to religious persecution that should be rectified in our society.

Age

Ageism is a significant issue in our society. While some cultures revere their elderly, Americans tend to view the elderly as insignificant. The elderly can face discrimination in the workplace if they still work, in nursing homes, in hospitals, and more.

Laws

The laws that protect workers in the United States from wage discrimination are the Equal Pay Act, Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA).

~ Edited by Joy F. Sokeitous