November 24
"Thanks for Simple Gifts" As we approach the Thanksgiving Day holiday, let's prepare ourselves for gatherings of people, overconsumption, and the winter holiday countdown by focusing on small, more immediate sources of joy. Eric Severson speaking..

Lower Elementary
Footprints Treading Softly on the Earth (Moral Tales, Lesson 10)
Story: Parachuting Cats to the Rescue – This modern-day story explores what happens when a new species is introduced into an ecosystem and then humans attempt to fix it.

Upper Elementary
Light into Darkness (Sacred Stories)
Story: Grandmother Spider Brings the Sun – This story tells how the animals brought light into the world.  The legend is from the Cherokee and Muscogee people.  It is also similar to a Kiowa tale. 
  
For upcoming Sunday Services, click here.

Please remember to silence your phones and that only covered drinks are allowed in the sanctuary.  

Sunday, November 24 
Eastman Road

Last spring, UUFoM adopted a stretch of Eastman Road, the west side from Monroe to the north fairgrounds entrance. We did the heavy work with the first pick-up this spring.

Let's live our values by continuing to keep Midland beautiful!  Our fall Adopt-a-Road Pick-Up will take place on Sunday, November 24, at 12:30pm. We'll gather in the foyer after the service to divide into teams, discuss safety, and distribute tools.  We'll be working near a busy road, so no young children, please.  You'll want to dress weather-appropriate and keep in mind the area we will be working in includes brushy terrain, and possibly water in ditches.  Rubber boots, gloves, rugged clothing, and eye protection are highly recommended. The City of Midland will supply safety vests and trash bags.

Sign Up Here!

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 this Sunday, November 24, at 12:30pm.  Please contact Denise Reiling for further information. 

• 11/27/2019 Community Thanksgiving Dinner (Salvation Army)
• 12/14/2019 Toys for Tots (Midland Mall) Sign-up online.  Must pre-register.
• 12/14/2019 Jayden's Toy Store (Messiah Lutheran)
• 12/18/2019 Christmas Toy Shop (Salvation Army) - Register at the Salvation Army (989) 496-2787(income guidelines apply.)
• Adopt-A-Family (Salvation Army) Contact Salvation Army at (989) 496-2787. 

Sundays are busy and exciting at our Fellowship! Sunday worship activities, religious education classes and coffee hour run from 9:30am until 12:30pm in the building.  In addition, many groups are meeting after the service.

Please use the following guidelines when scheduling your meetings to better facilitate transitioning throughout the building: 

All rooms may be reserved beginning at 12:30pm. UL301 (food permitted) or the sanctuary (food not permitted) may be reserved beginning at 12:00pm.  

Please do not disturb worship and religious education programming in order to set up. Please store any supplies for Sunday meetings in UL305 or the kitchen, not in the classrooms. If childcare is requested, please communicate with your participants where and when childcare will take place. 

If you have any questions, please contact Wendy Altmeier, Office Administrator.

We need one to four volunteers to record sermons and upload them to a shared Google Drive so people who miss the Sunday service can listen to them.  There is a recorder available for this purpose.  The idea would be to rotate through the volunteers so no one has to do it every week.  Training on the use of the device and uploading the file will be provided. If you are interested, please fill out this form or contact Sarah Nuss-Warren. 

The Worship Team would like to prepare for 2020 by compiling a list of speakers we might call on when Eric is not in the pulpit.  If you have a suggestion for an outside speaker, or a lay-led service, please fill out this form or contact Sarah Nuss-Warren.  

There are two hearing aid headphones available for use during Sunday services. If you would like to use one, please let an usher know at least five minutes before the service.

The Pastoral Care Team and our minister, Eric Severson, have been contacted by a UU who recently moved to the south side of Saginaw.  She would like to attend services, but has no transportation.  If you are able to provide a ride occasionally, or have an idea how she could connect with someone using public transport or another resource, please contact a member of the Pastoral Care Team (Beth Sperry is the November contact) or our minister, Eric Severson.

The idea behind Guest at Your Table is to take a box home and place an amount of money in the box each day over the winter holidays, an amount that we might spend to host a guest in our homes.  Guest at Your Table donations support the work of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, protecting and promoting basic human rights.

This year’s Guest at Your Table theme is Women Leaders, Strong Communities.  UUSC is highlighting the following women leaders from UUSC partner organizations:

 

Please pick up a Guest at Your Table box or envelope. If you have any questions, please contact Amanda Clifton at [email protected].

It's time for the Sharing Tree! The tree has 2 different tags. The green tags represent a request for this Christmas. The red tags represent a need to be filled throughout the year. Please return gifts, either wrapped (in a way that they can be inspected before distribution) or in a gift bag to the fellowship by December 2. You may also return them to another Sharing Tree location or directly to the Salvation Army location on Waldo Road. Thank you for your generosity to others in our community, during this holiday season.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Maxine Guettler.

We collect donations on an ongoing basis for the Midland County Emergency Food Pantry Network.  Place your donations in one of the bins 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.  Thank you!

We recently donated 42 items to the pantry!