UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST FELLOWSHIP OF SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE
NEWSLETTER
The Mission of this Fellowship is to serve the spirit as each individual understands it;
To serve the educational and pastoral needs of our own community;
and to serve our multicultural community through actions that further social justice.
Sharing Community
Peggy Bell has changed her email address
as it has been hacked. Her new address is
campanasma1@gmail.com.
Friends of Connie Brereton note that she
has returned to New York for medical care and is
with her family.
We have folks just returning from trips
and some who are just leaving on a trip. Bon
Voyage and Bienvenidos to all. Or “Aloha” which
covers both going and coming.
Rosalie Gifford, Care Team Chair, thanks
you all for the flowers this week. She loves doing
what she can to help our members. If you need a
volunteer tohelp you or wish to volunteer, please
contact her at 154-8504 or
rosalieagifford@gmail.com.
Note: If you have forgotten or need a
reminder of what your pledge balance is for
2015, email our treasurer, Jane Wilkinson at
jane.wilkinson@gmail.com and she will let you
know.
Tuesday Discussion Group, Oct 20, 10:15 a.m.
Topic: The plusses and minuses of the electronic
society we seem to be moving into. Is there an
increasing divide between generations? Does
our generation just need to adapt? Join us for
these meaningful discussions led by Liz Stone at
the home of Farley Wheelwright, #24, Quinta
Loreto complex, Loreto 15.
Wednesday Comida, October 21, 1:30pm.
Vivali Ristorante, Hernández Macias 66. Between
Canal and Mesones, across the street from Bellas
Artes. Italian.
Sunday Service, October 25, 10:30 a.m.
Mexican Children Health Issues. Maria Aguilar
discusses the health of Mexican children in
relationship to Seguro Popular, the Mexican
national health insurance, at this Sunday’s
Service.
Under Seguro Popular, implemented in
2006, many services have been made available to
all Mexicans who previously had no form of
health coverage. Has the program had an impact?
If so, in which areas? How does Mexico compare
with other countries in some of the primary
health indicators for children and in addressing
preventable diseases of childhood? What have
been some of the challenges during the first
years of implementation and what are some of
the challenges looming in the near future?
Maria Aguilar was born in Mexicali, Baja
California, Mexico in 1956, the daughter of
migrant workers who migrated annually to
California to pick crops. She moved with her
family to Los Angeles in the 1960s. where she
became involved with migrant farmworker
programs as a student through the Bay Area
Raza Coalition for Health. She received her BA in
psychology and completed some of her master’s
education at California State University, East Bay.
Beginning in 1988, she coordinated an
HIV/AIDS program in an Alameda County drug
rehabilitation agency, which led to a 15-year
association with the County Public Health
Agency. Maria had oversight of HIV/AIDS
services in the municipality as well as
implementation of Data and Quality Management
system.
After “retiring” from Alameda County in
2007, Maria and her husband Juan moved to San
Miguel de Allende, where they felt they could still
contribute their knowledge on a volunteer basis.
To that end, she presented at the International
AIDS Conference held in Mexico City in 2008.
Maria currently directs Patronato Pro Niños, a
non profit, providing medical, dental and
psychology services to the children of San Miguel
de Allende.
Wednesday, October 28, 1:30 pm, Annual
Picnic/Garden party. St. Paul’s Church, Cardo.
$100 pesos and a salad or dessert to share. UU
provides the chicken and a vegetarian casserole.
Tickets available at Sunday service.
Sunday Service, Nov. 1. Remembrance,
Wyman Rousseau will be the guest minister on
November and as part of the service members
will be afforded the opportunity to list the names
of departed family and friends who have passed
in the last twelve months. A form is attached
below to facilitate this procedure. You may
return it to Denise at deniseinoaxaca@gmail.com
or drop it off at the upcoming Sunday service.
Nov. 26, UU Thanksgiving Dinner, White
Lantern Event Center, Organos 19 (Barbara
Poole’s place, same as last year). We need turkey
roasters to sign up now.
bobdoupe@wavecable.com.
Dec. 20, UU Christmas Music Program
Women’s Saturday Breakfast Group. The
Women's Breakfast Group meets at Mama Mia,
Umaran 8, at 9:30 each Saturday morning. All
women are warmly invited.
Men’s Saturday Breakfast. Meet at the Jardín at
9:30 in front of the Parroquia and decide where
to eat.
President’s Report
Care Team – is following several members with
longer-term issues and has one member who has
terminal lung cancer. Rosalie (chair) has
received several personal recommendations for
caregivers and met with Deborah Bickel of
BeWell regarding services available to meet the
needs for ill and hospitalized patients. If you
have a need for a professional caregiver or just
need a helping hand from a volunteer, let her
know at rosalieagifford@gmail.com. 415-1548504.
Circle Cena – We hope to again schedule Circle
Cenas monthly. No organizer has come forward
at this time, so there is no October Circle Cena
scheduled. Who will help?
Financial –Due to growth in attendance we have
a need for more hymnals. Currently we have
about 68 available for services. Our highest
attendance so far this year was 118. At $25 each
plus shipping, the cost of 40 (which would bring
us up to 108) would be approximately $1,000 US.
Internal Bylaws, Policies and Procedures –
The review is going well and we foresee no
problem in meeting a timeline for completion of
this project. It appears that some issues can be
handled as internal procedures and guidelines,
while others should/would require a
membership vote. The committee is confident
that there is sufficient time for the board to
review these recommendations and for our
members to review and comment prior to the
annual membership meeting March 30th, 2016.
Long Range Planning – The committee will be
holding another Long Range Planning Forum
tentatively scheduled for November 22 following
the service by Claudia Frost. Written comment
sheets will accompany discussions. We are
hoping also to schedule another Forum in
January in order to reach as many people as
possible. Results will be presented at the March
membership meeting.
Stay in Touch!
UU YAHOO GROUP SITE: Members regularly post
updates and information on this site. We also
post meeting minutes and announcements there.
http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/UUFSMA.
FACEBOOK: “Like” us at: UU Fellowship of SMA
Website: www.UUFSMA.Org
Mail address: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
of SMA, Apdo 798, San Miguel de Allende 37700
Guanajuato, Mexico
BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Arlene Van Note, President 154-8504
aavannote@msn.com
Bob Leonard, 1st VP
152-3120
bleonard1988@gmail.com
Judith Rosenthal, 2nd VP
154-9659
judithr@mail.fresnostate.edu
Jane Wilkinson, Treasurer 152-5024
jane.wilkinson@gmail.com
Liz Stone, Secretary
154-8239
elmendorf7@aol.com
Eleanor Goodwin
152-5700
epgoodwin@hotmail.com
Jim Harper
152-2380.
Harper672000@yahoo.com
Jon Sievert
154-5058
jon@humblepress.com
John Simsarian
154-4771
jcsimsarian@yahoo.com
Dick Snyder 121-0612
rcs39@aol.com