August 4
Eternity in an Hour: The Long and Short of Enlightenment and Related Ideas
This message is inspired by contrasting views on enlightenment in Buddhism that highlight a more general contrast in religion, education and society.  The historical Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment through an extended meditation during which he realized the truths of existence.  In the community that emerged from his teachings, enlightenment was viewed as taking considerable time and effort, over multiple lifetimes.  Later, Shin Buddhism took a different view of enlightenment, that it could be attained in an instant, that we were already enlightened, we just needed a moment to recognize it.  We can see a similar contrast in timescale in Christianity, looking at whether salvation is earned through a lifetime of faith and living Christian values, or an instantaneous recognition of Christ as savior.   The contrast between fast critical moments and long, effortful journeys is seen more generally: in the popular conception of scientists we have both the image of the eureka moment of breakthrough and the lifetime of arduous, committed labor.  In education, we have the “Ah Ha moment” and deliberate practice.   What role does each type of experience play in our own journeys through life?  What aspects of each are true and what are likely fictitious?  How can we use the recognition of these two types of experiences to better live fulfilling meaningful lives?  These sorts of questions will be addressed, explored, and final ultimate answers will likely not be obtained.  Chris Nakamura, speaker.
 
Chris Nakamura has been a UU since around 2006 when he joined the Unitarian Universalist fellowship of Manhattan in Kansas.  He has been a member of UUFoM since 2017.  In 2012 he joined Saginaw Valley State University where he teaches and does research in the physics department.  He likes to think about things and to talk about them.
 

For upcoming Sunday Services, click here.

August 1 at 7:00pm in UL301
August 22 at 7:00pm in UL301

The Lifespan Religious Education Team will be meeting to plan the 2019-2020 Religious Education Programming.  If you are interested in helping the team with planning or are just curious what we do, feel free to join us!  (Please email the Director of Religious Education Heather Cleland-Host ([email protected]), if you are coming, so she can send you an agenda).

August 25, 2019 at 12:00pm

Join us for a BBQ, roasting marshmallows, water fun and activities for all ages!  Bring a lounge chair and your families!  We will have hot dogs, s'mores, drinks and chips.  Feel free to bring your favorite summer food to share, or other items to grill.  If you are a kid or an adult, volunteer or staff, a member or friend, you are welcome to join the fun! 

This event is hosted by the Lifespan Religious Education Team.  We will also have enrollment forms and other materials about the coming year at this celebration of summer.

**Please note:  This is the same day as some team meetings.  If you are attending any of these meetings, be sure to grab a bite of food on your way and come have fun afterwards.  Also, if you are a team member AND parent, we got you covered!  Email the Director of Religious Education Heather Cleland-Host ([email protected]), so we know to expect your kids.

September 27-29

Elementary (K-1/4-6) with Christina Fairman and Hudson Nummerdor
Secondary (7-9/10-12) with Deborah Dean-Ware and Carolyn Meagher

Honest, accurate information about sexuality changes lives. It dismantles stereotypes and assumptions, builds self-acceptance and self-esteem, fosters healthy relationships, improves decision making, and has the potential to save lives. For these reasons and more, we are proud to offer Our Whole Lives (OWL) Facilitator Training. This is a comprehensive, lifespan sexuality education training for those who would like to teach this curriculum to children and youth.

Training will be offered for Elementary and Secondary Our Whole Lives Facilitation at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland & Creative 360 through a joint venture between the United Church of Christ, Midland, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland.

Participants must attend all sessions of the program to be certified as OWL facilitators.

The training schedule for each age level is:

- Friday 9/27 1:00 - 8:00pm at UUFoM (dinner and snacks provided)
- Saturday 9/28 9:00am - 8:00pm at UUFoM (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and       snacks provided)
- Sunday 9/29 12:00 - 3:00pm at Creative 360 (lunch provided)

(worship opportunities available at both UCC and UUFoM on Sunday morning)

Cost: $250 per person. Registration fee includes training sessions and all meals and snacks as indicated.  Participants are responsible for the required materials, travel, and hotel accommodations. Inexpensive lodging options and home hospitality options available.

Please fill out registration form and complete payment to guarantee a spot at the training by September 6. Register online at https://www.uccmidland.org/our-whole-lives

A special note to members of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Midland who are interested in supporting this training (even if you are not able to attend training yourself):

You too can help support this ministry and the upcoming local training in September!!

* Offer in-home hospitality for out-of-town participants. If you are willing to open space in your home to provide an accessible place to stay contact [email protected]. Participants choosing in-home stay over the cost of a hotel will make a donation of $50 to support OWL programming.

* Donate food, beverage, and snack items to help feed participants while they train.  Sign up for needed items at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1cDqQgU5fWCTHwqkDzMMh2-cekr2lsq_ddU1F4viA248/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you so much for your continued support of this life-changing program!!!

Jenn Ringgold, Director of Educational Ministries, UCC [email protected]

Heather Cleland-Host, Director of Religious Education, UUFoM [email protected]

August 11
A Plea for Intolerance
Sometimes people are so convinced of the righteousness of tolerance, that they are prepared to be intolerant of anyone who thinks otherwise.  Is this a coherent position?  Judith Hill, speaker.
 
Judith Hill has been a member of the Fellowship since 1989. She is a retired Philosophy professor who lives in the woods with her partner, Sara, their three dogs, and her scroll saw.
 
August 18
Lessons on Leaving
Having left his home of 21 years in Wisconsin, our new minister, Eric Severson, will reflect on lessons to be learned about letting go, detachment, and saying goodbye.  Eric Severson leading.

August 25
Lessons on Arriving
Our new minister, Eric Severson, will reflect on lessons to be learned about welcoming the unknown, adapting to new conditions, adjusting expectations, and saying hello.  Eric Severson leading.

Greetings! I am thrilled to begin my ministry with you!

As you may be aware, my wife, Ellen, and I are moving to Midland from La Crosse, WI, where we have lived for 21 years. Months of purging or packing, fixing or disposing, buying and selling have been both grueling and very exciting. In many ways, we are ending one long chapter and beginning another. 

This process has reminded me of how blessed my family has been for so long with stability and -- if not contentment -- deep connection, relief, and joy. I am aware of the many choices and sacrifices, the generosity of friends and family members, and the privileges that make this transition possible. It is a bittersweet time of both loss and of tremendous hope and joy. It is exciting because it is a change of our own choosing. Not all changes in our lives are like that.

I deeply appreciate your decision to call me as your minister last May. As I shared then, my vision of ministry is one of affirmation, connection, and empowerment. I invited you to reach out in love, to heal divisions and pursue greater unity, even as we acknowledge our and others’ diversity. 

I hope to nurture, strengthen, and empower you so that we all might live more fully, and bring to reality a shared vision, embody a shared mission, and remain true to a shared covenant. For me, ministry is about being present to you, to repeatedly invite you back into covenant and mutual responsibility -- to acknowledge our fallibility and our aspirations. To paraphrase Rumi, “though you’ve broken your vows a thousand times, come, yet again come.”

I’ll begin my ministry and end this column by repeating the question I left you with in May: To what things, great or small, might we be called together? By honoring our connections, reaching out in love, and building together, let’s find out. I can’t wait! Let’s get started.

Blessings,

Eric

P.S.: Several people have called me “Rev. Eric” in recent months. While I’ll answer to many things, I will hold off using the title “Reverend” until my ordination sometime next year.

               

Many Paths, One Community
Next year’s religious education program will be an exploration of the world religions and how Unitarian Universalism relates to the myriad of religions and philosophies that we draw upon.  We will be focusing on five main world religions:  Hinduism, Buddhism, Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Humanism, and Earth-Based Traditions (Paganism, Native American traditions, etc).

Lower Elementary - More than one way to answer a question: The youngest children will focus on the different ways that religions of the world answer the questions of how to live our lives and behave toward one another.

Upper Elementary - Stories of what is sacred: Older children will explore the core stories told by different religions and the basic beliefs of each religion.

Teens and adults - Sharing a community that has different beliefs: Teens (and adults) will learn about each of these religions and reach out to religious communities to learn more about each other.

The curricula we will be drawing on will include:

Moral Tales (Tapestry of Faith)
Love will Guide Us (Tapestry of Faith)
Sacred Stories & Picture Book – World Religions
Crossing Paths (Middle school and up)

Some of the possible communities we will reach out to:

Temple Bethel (Jewish)
Islamic Center of Midland
Christian churches (teen choice)
Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways

* For Buddhism and Hinduism, we may have to reach outside of our area.

The L.O.V.E. Racial Justice Group invites those interested in discussing issues related to racial identity, race relations, and racial justice to meet with us on the 4th Sunday of every month, from 2:00 until 3:00pm, in UL302.  Please contact Denise Reiling for further information. We will meet on the following days: 

August 25
September 22
October 27
November 24
December 22

The Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network is a cooperative effort of area churches and other organizations to provide food and supplies to people in Midland County who have emergency needs and are living near or below the Federal poverty level income guidelines. 

At UUFoM, we collect donations on an ongoing basis.  Bring your donations with you when you come to the Fellowship and place them in one of the bins in the UUFoM Donation Center outside the sanctuary, and we will transport them to the Food Pantry. Non-perishable foods, self-care items, paper products and cleaning supplies are accepted.  The Food Pantry is unable to accept any types of medication, including vitamins and over the counter medications. 
 

UUFoM can receive $1.00 each for recyclable empty ink cartridges. Not all cartridge types are eligible, but please bring to the Fellowship any empty cartridges you have and they will be turned in, with a credit then being issued to the UUFoM for eligible cartridges. Ineligible cartridges will be properly disposed of. This is an on-going collection effort that in the past was facilitated by RG Converse. Please bring in empty cartridges and deposit them in the labeled collection bin in the UUFoM Donation Center outside the sanctuary. If you are allowed to collect empty ink cartridges from your workplace this can greatly increase our return.

For our Summer Retreat, we will gather in Trilogy Lodge, a dorm-style lodge that sleeps up to 25. Catered gourmet Vegan meals, nourishing workshops, wildflower walks and worship circles make up this weekend "back to the land" on the 400+ acres of woodland and lake within the spirit-filled place called Ronora. A few workshops, plus time to explore, relax, drum, sing and commune with nature and each other.

Ronora Lodge and Retreat Center is located 45 miles from the Indiana/Michigan border, just a few miles off of I-94 at Exit 41.

Workshops will feature creating your own portable sacred space using matchboxes and a variety of art supplies; and creating your own patterned fabric – faux batik.

Remember to bring drums (and musical instruments if you like), perhaps an item to place on one of the 5 altars, and a small item of personal significance to pass along via the Giveaway Blanket.

See you at Ronora! Contact [email protected] if you have questions.

Register here!

Pests are trying to invade the Fellowship!  Please do not leave any open food packages or containers on the kitchen counters or anywhere else in the Fellowship building.  Before you leave the building, please take any trash containing food waste to the large trash bin outside the back door.