Weekly Communicator

April 7, 2022

Sunday Service

Join us Sunday, April 10, at 10:30am in the Sanctuary* or via Zoom at

https://zoom.us/j/5264858673

or listen to audio only at UUCFM.org

*Please remember that masking and social distancing indoors remains in effect

Join us this Sunday as we Awaken to Hope and celebrate Spring and Easter. The Service will be led by Lay Minister Mary Cline Golbitz and Worship Associate Gary Robbins. Come and join us as we awaken to hope and renew our Spirits.

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**

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS

SUE ROTH & LEN COHEN

Sue and Len are snowbirds from Maryland where they are also active members of the UU Congregation of Rockville. In fact, they met through this congregation. Sue was referred to Len by another member who was a mutual friend and had heard Len give a presentation on environmentally sustainable investing. She was a client before they became a couple.

Sue has a long UU history going back to her teens. She regularly

attended UUCR with her father who died four years ago at 104. Sue retired 2 years ago after 35 years as a psychiatric nurse, a career which prepared her for a relationship with Len.

Len joined UUCR more than 15 years ago. He served on the Social

Justice Steering Committee and chaired the environmental action group. At UUCFM, he currently chairs the Stewardship Committee and is on the Finance Council. You can blame him for the fundraising harassment. He is now opening the Florida office of the financial planning firm which he founded over 40 years ago.

Sue and Len joined us in 2020 and are looking forward to a long

membership and chance to serve at UUCFM.

Community Sharing

Our Community Sharing partner this month is Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida. The mission of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida, an affiliate of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc., is to provide affordable access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care and accurate health information through patient care, education and advocacy. This affiliate began operations in 1966 and presently provides vital sexual and reproductive health services, as well as comprehensive sexuality education to women, men and teens throughout southwest and central Florida.

CUUPS

Saturday Night Under the Light of the Full Moon

We will gather at 7:00 PM at the amphitheater. Then head out to our Labyrinth where we will slowly walk with our best intentions for the coming month; then have your chair handy (and bug spray) to sit around the 9-point fire pit as the Pink Full Moon rises in the East and we sing songs to welcome Spring, the Moon, and Mother Earth.

All are Welcome!

Hosted by CUUPS

CUUPS Meeting Sunday April 17 at Noon in the screened room.

Ministry for Earth

Reminders:

We will be touring the Lee County Recycling Facility as a group on Monday, April 25, 9:30. You are welcome to join! Contact Patricia Linhoff freckles345@comcast.net for info and to sign up. The tour has been described as "a fascinating and impressive operation that is one of our nation’s leading examples of environmentally friendly waste management.” Joan Marshall, All Faiths

The Garden Guardians are meeting this Saturday, 4/16, 9-11a.m. for another social work session in the Memorial and Sculpture gardens. This will be the last scheduled working meeting for the season, but yes, we will regroup in the fall… when the weather begins to moderate! It’s been fun and rewarding to be part of the caretaking of this peaceful environment.

Mark the date! RESET Center, UUCFM Ministry for Earth, and The GCS are partnering for this Celebration!

Friday, April 22

5:00 Pm-7:00pm Concert starts at 7:30pm

Celebrate Earth Day and Care of Creation with music, art, poetry, great food, and community. Free Celebration! 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.

LEE COUNTY RECYCLES!

And you are invited to tour the Resource Recovery Facility in Buckingham.

UUCFM Ministry for Earth will be visiting the facility on Monday, April 25, 9:30 a.m. for a 2 hour tour. What a great activity to wind down our Earth Day.

The tour is free and will cover both the recycling plant (MRF) and the waste to energy plant (WTE). Details will be sent to you when you sign up.

Contact Patricia Linhoff for information and reservations freckles345@comcast.net

Self Compassion Workshop

The Pastoral Care Team invites you to join us for a self-care workshop offered by Mary Tracy Sigman via zoom on 4/29 from 1-2:30 pm. Please contact Mary Tracy at marytracysigman115@gmail.com for more information including the zoom link.

The workshop will include gentle seated movement, meditation and the opportunity for group sharing. We hope to offer these workshops on a monthly basis.

Mary Tracy Sigman is Dharma Teacher/Leader of Rissho Kosei-kai Buddhist Group of Fort Myers. She and her group have been with UUCFM since September 2010. Mary Tracy also has been serving on the Pastoral Care Committee since its inception, and she volunteers with local organizations, such as HOPE Hospice, United Way, Calusa Waterkeepers, Citizens Climate Lobby, and RTCW. She believes we cannot heal others unless we first heal ourselves, so Self Compassion is important for us all.

Monday Book Group

On April 18, we’ll complete our discussion of Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by C.C. Perez, before selecting our next title. 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. It’s discussing Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication by Oren Jay Sofer. Contact Helen Leddy for more information: helen.leddy@gmail.com.

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.

We meet every other Tuesday. We will meet from 1pm to 3pm. This a change from the original time.

60th Anniversary Pave the Way Fundraiser Update

Enjoy reading the 100+ donated commemorative bricks from the 50th and 60th Anniversary campaigns that line the walkways into our Sanctuary. A theater goer was overheard to remark, "These tell such a story!" Look for a form to give your personalized brick at the Sunday Information Table or Read More for more information.

The Bill Brewer Family Gardens

UPDATE

Spring is here and summer will be arriving soon. Hotter and wetter weather means different produce is grown and many of our snowbirds will take flight.

The picture is folks from Cultivate Abundance, a group started in 2017 to serve the farm workers of Immokalee who often do not earn enough money to put the food they harvest in their own tables. They are using three beds in the gardens to grow beans and Puerto Rican Sweet Potatoes. They will also be helping us plant unused beds and retired beds with field peas, a cover crop that nourishes the soil and also produces edible peas. We are so lucky to have such a partner!

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.

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.

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