Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Michigan

06/04/2026

Minister's Column: June 3, 2026 - “Gratitude for Leaders”
6/3/20260 Comments

In the annual life-cycle of this Fellowship, June is a time of transition. We have recently had our annual business meeting, summarizing the accomplishments of last year and looking ahead to the next; this week we celebrate the Flower Communion which bookends the year. During the summer months, the minister takes several weeks off and we have a slightly different routine for our summer worship. And in terms of governance, key leadership committees such as the Board of Trustees and the Shared Ministry Team also end their terms on June 30.

This year was especially challenging for the dedicated lay leaders of UUFCM. We are trying to hold together a Fellowship that serves as a sanctuary from a rising tide of authoritarian oppression and inspires us to defend our freedoms. We worked endless hours, with tears and heartbreak, to enact a s*x offender policy that tests the limits of our value of radical inclusion—holding in love those who support the policy and those who feel unsafe because of it. I’ve worked with these leaders through regular meetings, emergency meetings, heartfelt one-on-one conversations, and deep faithful discernment about what is right for this congregation. They have given their time and energy to this work out of profound love for this congregation and this UU faith.

One more milestone of the transitional month of June is a meeting of the old and new Board along with the old and new Shared Ministry Team. All together – 15 UUFCM leaders strong – we look at the annual evaluation of shared ministry that looks at four key areas of UUFCM and asks: What is the minister doing well in this area? What could he do even better? What is the congregation doing well in this area? What could we do even better?

These are the people I’m talking about:

2025-26 Board of Trustees 2026-27 Board of Trustees
Dave Allan Dave Allan
Jennifer Davis Jennifer Davis
Guy Newland Guy Newland
Jennifer Prout Jennifer Prout
Norma Bailey Laura McBride
Matt Collins Kurt Roeder
Annette Pratt Katie Zapoluch

2025-26 Shared Ministry Team 2026-27 Shared Ministry Team
Mel Bailey Mel Bailey
Kirsten King Kirsten King
Sierra Burke Kelly Green
Katie Zapoluch Victoria Sladek

I will end with these words from Rev. Kendyl Gibbons—written as a dedication to a new Board, but it serves well to honor all the leaders named above:

DEDICATION:
We, the members of this congregation
express to this congregation’s Board of Trustees
our gratitude for your investment in our community,
our trust in your integrity and wisdom,
our support of your leadership,
and our enduring loyalty to the mission and vision of this church.

We pledge to do what is within our power
to make your stewardship or our shared future
an experience of discovery, accomplishment, and growth.

Together may we make this community a beacon of reason, compassion, and freedom,
and a witness to the power of love and aspiration to make a better world.

May it be so.

Rev. Drew Frantz
June 2, 2026

06/04/2026

Worship Matters
We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, June 7, to worship with a message from Rev. Drew on "Flower Communion." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.
"The special ritual of Flower Communion is celebrated by Unitarian Universalists everywhere. All are invited to bring a flower to the service if you can (we will have extras to share). Each person places a flower in the common vase to represent what you bring to the congregation; at the end, each person takes home a different flower to represent what you receive from the congregation. Please join us!"

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Upcoming Services

June 7: Flower Communion
June 14: Celebrating Pride Month
_______________________________
June 21: General Assembly worship service (virtual only - 11:00 am) - no in-person service this day, the building will be closed in the morning. Look for link to Sunday Service in the calendar
In Case You Missed It...
Many past sermons are available on our website under Sermon Videos and Archives.

In order to access any services 2024 on, go to the website and click on Worship, then Sunday Services.

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05/30/2026

Worship Matters
We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, May 31, to worship with a message from Rev. Drew on "Child Dedication." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.
"This Sunday we honor the children in our congregation with a dedication ceremony. In Unitarian Universalist tradition, this is usually done with the gift of a rose with the thorns removed–representing the way we protect young children from harm to the best of our ability. At a coming of age ceremony for teenagers, the rose is presented intact with the thorns–representing the mixture of beauty and challenge in life that we try to prepare our children for. Recognizing that children are vital to the flourishing of our congregation, we dedicate ourselves to the children of the congregation, for whom all of us share love and responsibility."

Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service:
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Meeting ID: 402489218

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Phone - audio only
+1 646 876 9923
Upcoming Services

May 31: Child Dedication
June 7: Flower Communion
June 14: Flourishing Together
June 21: National broadcast: worship from General Assembly
In Case You Missed It...
Many past sermons are available on our website under Sermon Videos and Archives.

In order to access any services 2024 on, go to the website and click on Worship, then Sunday Services.

Send a message to learn more

05/30/2026

Minister's Column: May 27, 2026 - “Old Man’s Cave”
5/27/20260 Comments

On Saturday I found myself with a crowd of humanity in a narrow gorge in Ohio. It was Memorial Day weekend and I was in Hocking Hills, Ohio. Just southeast of Columbus, this is the most popular natural area in the state. it is all winding roads and green rolling wooded hills. Limestone rock formations, carved by glaciers and aeons of flowing water, give the area its distinctive beauty—cliffs of rock with small streams forming waterfalls. And the heart of the Hocking Hills area is a series of short trails at Old Man’s Cave.

So I was in the most popular spot, in the most popular tourist region of Ohio, on the busiest weekend of the year. I was there for a weekend getaway with my son who lives in Columbus. The whole weekend turned out to be rainy—except for a window of a few hours on Saturday. Naturally, Dalin and I decided to head out to Old Man’s Cave during the break in the weather—and so did everyone else.

The trail descends into the rocky gorge and then winds along the stream bed, crossing back and forth on several small footbridges. At a few places the trail passes through short tunnels in the rock. On this day, the trail was so crowded that there were several traffic jams: we were literally at a standstill for several minutes at a time, waiting for the foot traffic to cross single-file across bridges and through tunnels.

It felt ironic to be in the wide-open beauty of nature and to be crowded shoulder to shoulder with strangers like a subway platform at rush hour. For a moment I was grouchy about the crowd ruining my hiking time, but I quickly decided to make the most of it. I became more friendly to my fellow hikers, greeting people and making friendly small talk. I have both an introvert and an extrovert aspect to my personality, and at times I can activate the extrovert.

What I reflected on after the hike was the common humanity of the moment on the trail and the shared sense of civility. In my normal life I’m not around crowds that much, but if I am it is likely to be for a common purpose, with a shared identity: a UU congregation; a crowd of protesters on Mission Street on a Saturday morning. In this case it was a broad mixture of people on the trail at Old Man’s Cave. We often proclaim our affiliations by our clothing choices: a hat representing a sports team (and a city or region, by extension); a rainbow or other pride symbol; an upside-down American flag. I am quick to interpret these symbols and to label my fellow humans as friend or foe accordingly. But being shoulder to shoulder in a crowded place, waiting for the line to move forward, it suddenly matters less what colors we are wearing on our hats. Everyone is having a common experience—in this case, enjoying nature and being just a bit impatient with the crowds—and a civility takes hold that transcends divisive categories. I find that I enjoy moments like that, trying consciously to greet each person as a worthy being who is—in their essence--very similar to myself.

PRAYER:
May we all have moments this summer to remember what is most important…that which transcends politics, region, and more.
May everyone in society remember civility and humility: that we have our different perspectives and experiences and would do well to try and understand one another.
And may life bring us opportunities to connect with nature and our fellow human beings.
In the name and faith of all people of good will, may it be so.

Rev. Drew Frantz
May 27, 2026

05/21/2026

Minister's Column : May 20, 2026 - “Michigan LGBTQ+ Capitol Day”
5/20/20260 Comments

Last week I went to my first Michigan LGBTQ+ Capitol Day, along with Kim Joki, Al Heise and Norma Bailey. More than 400 people attended. Our intention was to speak with lawmakers about issues affecting the q***r community. The organizers equipped us with a page of talking points about each of two issues: gender affirming care and HIV. We got some training, both ahead of time and at the event, about how to engage with the lawmakers: introduce ourselves; tell a personal story about how LGBTQ rights/freedoms/safety affects our lives; ask the lawmaker if they have any questions about the issues; and ask them to commit to voting with us. The organizers had scheduled everything before we got there, and we were assigned to 30-minute meetings with a small group of lobbyists for each lawmaker.

The House and Senate lawmakers who represent Mount Pleasant are both Republicans, and both declined to meet with our lobbying delegation. Instead, I wound up attending two meetings with Democratic House representatives: Jason Morgan from Ann Arbor and Jimmie Wilson from Ypsilanti. Jason Morgan turned out to be a gay man, so he was already on our side and well-informed. When I asked Jimmie Wilson, a black man, if he had any questions about LGBTQ legislation, he basically said that he trusts his LGBTQ colleagues to inform him and guide him in those votes, while he informs them about issues that affect the Black community. This is coalition politics.

It was eye-opening to be in the offices of these State Representatives having small-group conversations. I glimpsed the mundane reality of government work: lawmakers and their staffs going about their business; other lobbying groups in the hallways with their clipboards and their nametags, also taking meetings in conference rooms with their elected officials. And, walking by the offices of Republican lawmakers I noticed the same signs all of them were displaying: “Save Women’s Sports.”

I went to the Michigan LGBTQ+ Capitol Day for the rights, safety and freedom of all q***r people. Especially in my heart were members of my family: my gay step-son, my le***an ex-wife,
and my transgender daughter. If there is one message I want Jason Morgan, Jimmie Wilson, Jerry Neyer, Roger Hauck and all the other elected leaders to hear it is this: transgender people are not a threat to others—others are threatening them. The “save women’s sports” slogans and legislation are part of a coordinated attack on trans people by the political and religious right. The truth is that trans people aren’t ruining sports and they aren’t making bathrooms unsafe—but they are harassed and bullied, mistreated and attacked, far more than cisgender people. I am grateful that I had the chance to go to Lansing with 400 LGBTQ-friendly Michiganders to deliver this message.

PRAYER:
May this be the age of dawning awareness—in churches, classrooms, homes and especially in the halls of power—that gay rights are human rights. That transgender people belong here, that they are sacred and holy just like every person on Earth.
May God bless Emme Zanotti and the other leaders of Equality Michigan.
May Love bless all who struggle for freedom, equality and safety.
Blessed be.

Rev. Drew Frantz
May 19, 2026

05/21/2026

Worship Matters
We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, May 24, to worship with a message from Norma Bailey on "Reflections on Memorial Day." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.
Considered by many Americans to simply provide a three-day weekend kicking off the unofficial start of summer, Memorial Day, a federal holiday celebrated on the last Monday of May, has a rich history. Norma Bailey will provide that history as well as several brief readings to help us reflect on its true meaning.

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May 24: Reflections on Memorial Day
In Case You Missed It...
Many past sermons are available on our website under Sermon Videos and Archives.

In order to access any services 2024 on, go to the website and click on Worship, then Sunday Services.

05/08/2026

Minister’s Column: "Mother's Day"

On Mother’s Day I honor and celebrate all the mothers in my life, beginning with my immediate family. It’s also a day of great personal significance for me because my first child was born on Mother’s Day 1996. And, the way we think of and celebrate this holiday today is far from its original intention. When Julia Ward Howe proposed this holiday, it was a Women’s Peace Day dedicated to the eradication of war. These are her words, written in 1870:

Arise, all women who have hearts, whether your baptism be that of water or of tears! Say firmly: “We will not have great questions decided by irrelevant agencies, our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause.

“Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience. We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs.”

From the bosom of the devastated earth a voice goes up with our own. It says, “Disarm, disarm! The sword is not the balance of justice.” Blood does not wipe out dishonor nor violence indicate possession.

As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead. Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace, each learning after his own time, the sacred impress, not of Caesar, but of God.

In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interests of peace.

Julia Ward Howe was a Unitarian, and thus we claim her as an ancestor. Her words are in our hymnal. I find this particularly appropriate today, as once again our nation is at war. And all the political and military leaders I can see are men. A general congress of women promoting the great and general interests of peace seems like a good idea today, as it did in 1870.

PRAYER:
Spirit of Life and Love, may this Mother’s Day bring joy to families across this nation. May those who are mothers be honored and appreciated. May all of us celebrate mothers, aunts, mentors—anyone who has played a nurturing and supportive and loving role in our lives.
May this be the moment when we agree, across all nations, that we will not send our sons to injure and kill one another over oil, land, or ideology.
May peace and love prevail on Mother’s Day and every day.
Amen.

Rev. Drew Frantz
May 5, 2026

05/08/2026

Worship Matters
We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, May 10, to worship with a message from Rev. Drew on "It's All Right to Cry." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.

Humans are the only species that cries tears to express emotion. Unfortunately, we often suppress this natural bodily function because crying has a negative connotation in our society. Crying has great benefits that are emotional, spiritual, social and physical. It is time that we reclaim the power of crying and re-set the cultural norms around it.

Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service:
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Phone - audio only
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Upcoming Services

May 10: It's All Right to Cry
May 17: The State of Our Union
In Case You Missed It...
Many past sermons are available on our website under Sermon Videos and Archives.

In order to access any services 2024 on, go to the website and click on Worship, then Sunday Services.

04/30/2026

Minister's Column: April 29, 2026 - "Awakening Curiosity"
4/29/20260 Comments

PRAYER:
Spirit of Life and Wonder,
We come carrying questions we barely know how to ask.
In a world that rewards quick answers and sharp certainty,
something in us is still hungry for questions that leave us hanging and unknowing.
Stir in us a living curiosity.
When we meet what is unfamiliar, turn our fear into wondering.
When we feel the pull to shut down, grant us one more honest question.
May we notice anew what we have walked past a hundred times.
May we listen for stories we have never heard before.
May we meet this day not as a problem to solve
but as a mystery to explore.
And my this help us better know the mystery that is us.
Amen and blessed be.

The prayer above is from my colleague Rev. Michelle Collins, offered in connection with the Soul Matters theme for the month of May: “Awakening Curiosity.”

This theme is very UU. We are a people who do not feel satisfied with established answers or familiar ways of thinking; we are questioners. For me, a favorite thing to say when welcoming newcomers on a Sunday morning is, “please talk to us at coffee hour where we would love to answer any questions you may have—and to question any answers you may have.” Another way that I say it is: that we are all seeking truth and meaning, and none of us has found all the answers. Curiosity, you might say, is a core trait of Unitarian Universalists.

One line from Rev. Michelle’s prayer reminds me of my former profession. “May we notice anew what we have walked past a hundred times,” says the prayer. When I was a writing teacher I would say this to my students: “a poet is someone who notices, and is extremely taken by, a thing that other people walk right past.” There are things of great beauty, great interest, and great mystery all around us. The invitation is for us to cultivate a mindset of noticing and wondering.

And Rev. Michelle ends the prayer with a new idea: being curious about ourselves. Being curious about the outside world is one thing—curiosity about a flower, why and how it grows; curiosity about God and religion; curiosity about my fellow citizen who holds views very different from mine. But curiosity about myself has a different feeling. We think that we know ourselves and largely we do—but there are depths to our rational minds, our emotional feelings, and the physical workings of our amazing bodies, that we can still be surprised by.

May we engage with curiosity in the life-long quest of knowing ourselves and seeking to be the best version of ourselves that we can be.
Amen.

Rev. Drew Frantz
April 28, 2026

04/30/2026

Worship Matters
We will gather online via Zoom and in person this Sunday, May 3, to worship with a message from Rev. Drew on "Speaking the Name of God." The Zoom call starts at 10:00am for social time, and the service starts at 10:30am.

"In our multi-religious denomination we have many different ideas about the divine, images of the divine, and names for the divine. Richard Rohr tells us that in the Jewish tradition, the name for God cannot be spoken–but it can be breathed. Seeking ultimate truth and trying to give a name to it is as old as humanity itself. Unitarian Universalism calls on us to engage in that quest on our own terms."

Zoom Invitation for Sunday Service:
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Meeting ID: 402489218

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Phone - audio only
+1 646 876 9923
Upcoming Services

May 3: Speaking the Name of God
May 10: It's All Right to Cry
May 17: The State of Our Union
In Case You Missed It...
Many past sermons are available on our website under Sermon Videos and Archives.

In order to access any services 2024 on, go to the website and click on Worship, then Sunday Services.

Send a message to learn more