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Weekly Communicator
March 24, 2022
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Join us Sunday Mar. 27 as we celebrate Women's History Month honoring two world renown female figures that embody Liberty and Justice. | |
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Dear UUCFM Congregation,
With great rejoicing, we are pleased to report that Lee County’s COVID risk level has continued to improve, and we’re now ready to return to worship services in our Sanctuary on March 13! In-person attendees will be required to wear masks and remain socially distant, in compliance with our re-opening guidance, found by clicking here. We’ll maintain our Zoom broadcast for those who aren’t able to join in-person.
As always, reach out to me with any questions at UUCFMPresident@UUCFM.org or 239-222-9406.
Yours in Growth,
Lane Cook
President, UUCFM Board of Trustees
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Please send all newsletter articles by
12pm Wednesday for publication in Thursday's newsletter.
Send articles to newsletter@uucfm.org
**Please do not send requests to the office manager email**
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WELCOME NEW MEMBER
CARSLEY MERRELL
Carsley joined us July 7, 2019 but because of our COVID shut down since then, we have not been able to see her in person until now. She writes, "I was raised overseas and traveled with my parents, returning to the USA when I was 13. After my college years I began my over 32 years as an International Educator teaching art classes and being a guidance counselor. I'm currently writing and illustrating a published children's book series about a handicapped fairy who is learning to fly. My pen name is Meryl Leigh."
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Annual Members Meeting
Please plan on meeting in the Sanctuary at noon on Sunday, March 27 for this year’s meeting. Your votes are needed to confirm candidates for next year’s Board of Trustees, as well as those who wish to serve on the Nominating Committee. Details will be emailed to you shortly.
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LIFE NEHEMIAH ACTION
On March 15 I attended the LIFE Nehemiah Action. Lots of people showed up at Mt. Hermon Ministries including some of our Council Members. LIFE put their feet to the fire! Lots of people showed up on online streaming sites. I attended in person with Marge Gonzalez. First on the agenda were the calling out of the names of congregations who are members of LIFE. UUCFM and All Faith’s were among them. Rev. CJ McGregor from all Faiths gave the opening prayer. Following is a short synopsis of the Affordable Housing Position Statement:
There is not enough low-cost rental housing in Fort Myers. People who serve all of us can’t find housing. This is a travesty.
LIFE’s solution is to increase the supply of low-cost housing using a local Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The City Council in January of 2022 unanimously approved an ordinance, now we have to keep fighting for the promised 1.5 million to put into the fund - without delay.
LIFE is asking for a revenue source of $3 million a year.
Money will go to creating affordable housing and also to help families pay their rent.
Let’s show up for LIFE. You can contact Helen Leddy and Marge Gonzalez for more information. You can contact me - Karen Brown. We are all needed at the Justice Table. To invest in LIFE text lifejustice to 4-4-3-2-1 to invest via credit card or bank account or mail your check to LIFE PO Box 62692, Fort Myers, FL 33906. LIFE for Justice! Justice for LIFE!
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Our Memorial Garden
What does this space mean to you? It is a place to go sit, meditate, and remember all those people who have gone before and helped make our campus and congregation what it is today. The plaques on the stone walls tell the story. Perhaps you want to be part of this story when you leave this life?
Many plaques have been preordered, engraved, and stored in the office ready to place on the stone walls.
For your name plate or a loved member's name plate to be engraved and added, please look for a form at the Information Table each Sunday or call the office to have a form sent to you, 239-561-2700.
The Garden Guardians are taking loving care of this special place.
They are proud to have a part in this ongoing history of UUCFM. Do visit it and even pull a weed or two.
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Maya Lunar New Year Ceremony at the UUCFM
To celebrate the Maya Lunar New Year on March 15, 2022, two Maya Timekeepers led a pre-dawn ceremony around the UUCFM fire circle. Marta Matías, a GRACE Project director, and Rosa Etelvina Garcia, a lawyer and Maya Spirit Guide from Guatemala, built the sacred altar, honored the Four Corners (East, South, West, North) and Heaven and Earth, and then called in the 20 Maya Energies or Nahuales. In the Maya Cosmovision, the Lunar Year lasts 260 days and the Solar Year lasts 365 days, and the Nahuales represent all aspects of Life.
All of the photographs below are generously provided by Lisette Morales McCabe.
| Figure 1: Rosa and Marta guide the Lunar New year Ceremony at the UUCFM on March 15. Photo by Lisette Morales McCabe. | Figure 2: The Maya sacred Altar made of offerings to Mother Earth, the Creator, and the 20 Nahuales. Photo by Lisette Morales McCabe. | |
Figure 1: Rosa and Marta guide the Lunar New year Ceremony at the UUCFM on March 15. Photo by Lisette Morales McCabe. | |
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Volunteer of the Month from the Board of Trustees
Bill Petrarca - THANK YOU BILL
UUCFM could not survive without Bill's leadership and dedication. The words come from Jen Smith and Karen J. Brown.
Jen writes: He was the inspiration and designer of the gardens, served on the BOT as VP of Ops, has served on the Finance Council for 8 years. He has been involved with training and teaching and stewardship. He was instrumental in bringing the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra and RESET center to our campus which has enabled us to survive the pandemic. He has been the driver behind a lot of the energy saving projects around campus and is always looking for ways to live our UU values at UUCFM.
Karen writes: I have been attending this congregation for approximately 3+ years now. I worked with Bill on the Transition Team 2 years ago and found out how dedicated he was. I also agree with Jen that we may not have survived without Bill’s leadership and dedication to our congregation these past 2 years. He is a leader in the true sense of the word. Leadership is defined as the ability of an individual or group of individuals to influence and guide followers or other members of an organization. The Board of Trustees for the Congregation honors Bill Petrarca wholeheartedly and we thank him for all his expertise in many, many avenues of congregational life.
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On March 30, join the UUA Commission on Social Witness for their Spring Social Witness Convening to organize, collaborate, and find support for your congregation's work on recent social justice statements as well as plan for justice-making in 2022. | |
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Awakening the Dreamer Symposium
All Faiths Unitarian Congregation.
Saturday, April 2nd, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Facilitated by Gary Robbins and Joseph Bonasia
The program includes lunch.
2756 McGregor Blvd., Fort Myers FL 33901.
Masks optional.
Awakening the Dreamer is a transformative educational program that explores the challenges facing humanity at this critical moment in time and the opportunities we as a human family have to create a new future.
This experience is about waking up from the “dream of the modern world” that is destroying our planet and way of life. Through videos, slides, presentations, and discussions, we aim to create an environmentally sustainable, socially just, and spiritually fulfilling human presence on Earth. While we initially deal with some disturbing facts, we promise that you will leave feeling optimistic, empowered, and inspired to help create our new future.
For more information and to register click here.
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UUCFM 15+ GROUP MEETING
There will be a gathering of the UUCFM 15+ Group on Sunday, April 3, at noon, in the screened room. If you joined UUCFM in 2007 or earlier, you can be a member of this group. Many churches call a group like this The Elders! If you have any questions, contact Ellen Erickson, andy.ellen.erickson@gmail.com, 239-218-4789 or Suzanne Ziemer at suzanneziemer@gmail.com or 239-463-9020.
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Mark the date!
SWFL RESET Center and the Gulf Coast Chamber Orchestra Present:
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Friday, April 22
5:00 Pm
Celebrate Earth Day and Care of Creation with music, art, poetry, food trucks, and community. Join us for an SWFL RESET Board Members reception, a conversation with Joe Bonasia about the Right to Clean Water Constitutional Amendment. The Gulf Coast Chamber Orchestra will be presenting an Earth Day evening celebration, and those who attend the RESET event earlier in the evening will receive a discount on performance tickets.
Register here: https://resetearthdayceleb.eventbrite.com.
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Monday Book Group
On March 28, we’ll discuss Ch. 10 & 11 of Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by C.C. Perez. For more info, click here to contact Mary Studer.
Mindfulness Opportunities
We have two online sitting practices each week for you. We practice mindfulness and discuss a reading. If you don’t have the books, you're still welcome to sit with us.
The Monday Sangha meets at 6:30-7:45 p.m. and begins discussing Thich Nhat Hanh’s Happiness: Essential Practices. Contact mstuder929@gmail.com for details.
The Wednesday sangha meets between 10:00-11:30 a.m. in coordination with Caloosahatchee Mindfulness. Starting on 3/30, we will begin reading After the Ecstasy, the Laundry: How the Heart Grows Wise on the Spiritual Path by Jack Kornfield.
"Drawing on the experiences and insights of leaders and practitioners with Buddhism, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Sufi traditions, this book offers a uniquely intimate and honest understanding of how the modern spiritual journey unfolds--and how we can prepare hour hearts for awakening."
Contact Helen Leddy helen.leddy@gmail.com for more information.
Social Issues Book Group
NEW DATE AND TIME: MEETING EVERY OTHER WEEK STARTING FRIDAY 3/25 FROM 3-4:30 P.M. Book is Our Time is Now by Stacey Abrams.
"Draws from extensive research from national organizations and renowned scholars, as well as from anecdotes from the author's life and those of others who have fought throughout our country's history to be heard."
Contact Helen Leddy helen.leddy@gmail.com or Helen Dixon helendixon9@gmail.com for more information.
Poetry Circle
We read and discuss in detail a variety of poems, often related to our UU experience, usually centered around a weekly theme. Members share their own work for discussion as well, if they want to, but you do not need to be a writer to join. We offer weekly prompts, although there is no obligation to follow them.
This is an ongoing Zoom group. New members can join at any time, and we really hope you will. Contact Judi Dettorre judidet84@gmail.com or Cat Pivetti joypivet@aol.com for more information.
The Poetry Circle will meet next, on Zoom, on March 29, when we will look at poetry of prayer and spirit written from different perspectives, the emotions they evoke, and how they are crafted. If you have a poem you’ve written that you would like to share, it doesn’t need to address this theme.
We meet every other Tuesday. We will meet from 1pm to 3pm on the 29th. This a change from the original time.
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Community Sharing in March:
Early Learning Coalition of SW Florida
Our mission is to enhance the quality of children’s lives by providing families, early childhood educators, care-givers and community partners in Collier, Glades, Hendry and Lee Counties, with opportunities to positively impact the future.
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60th Anniversary Pave the Way Fundraiser Update | Two recent brick donations have come in, making our total bricks at 85. Mary Studer's brick reads REALIZE THE 8TH PRINCIPLE and Dawn Lienhardt's brick reads FRIENDSHIPS GROW HERE. Now that we are reopening on March 13th, you will be able to view the bricks on the walkways along the Sanctuary entrances. | | | |
The Bill Brewer Family Gardens | |
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UPDATE
In the interest of Social Justice, our gardens are reporting a total of 641 pounds of produce donated to St. Martin de Porres Outreach and the Cypress Lake Food Bank so far this season, to address local food insecurity. We have also dedicated three beds to Cultivate Abundance, a non profit devoted to helping farm workers in Immokalee. Sadly those who harvest our food do not have enough to put food on their own tables.
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60 Years - Holding Strong
Writing is underway for our 60th anniversary play, "Over 60 Years Holding Strong". It's been 60 years since June 20, 1961 when UUCFM received its Charter from the UUA. Reflection interviews are being collected by Hank Nash and Margaret Ramus. The more ideas and reflections the better. We are building on the 40th Anniversary Play produced in 2002. To be part of this effort, contact 60th Play Coordinator, Suzanne Ziemer, suzanneziemer@gmail.com, 239-463-9020.
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The MACC
The Music and Arts Community Center
2021 - 2022
Season Tickets
The GCS comprises the Gulf Coast Symphony, the Gulf Coast Chamber Orchestra, the Gulf Coast Jazz Collective, and the Music & Arts Community Center (MACC). This year over 100 programs will be offered that present the best in classical music, jazz, world music, dance, opera, film and musical theater.
Ticket prices range from $24 - $44
As you know, there's not a bad seat in the house!
Tickets and seat choice can be purchased online or at the door.
For more info visit
gulfcoastsymphony.org
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