Our dear member Howard Pawley died around 5:30 on Wednesday afternoon, December 30, 2015. Click here to read the article in the Windsor Star about his life and many activities, and here familiesfirst.funeraltechweb.com_tribute-ajax_print-obituary for a pdf copy of the lovely obituary from the website of Families First Funeral Home in Windsor. Howard spoke several times to the congregation, sharing wisdom about his experiences as a politician, cabinet minister, and Premier of Manitoba. After his political career in Manitoba, he became a professor of law and political science at the University of Windsor and generously donated hours of work to many important causes in the region and across Canada. His insight, friendship, and inspirational guidance will be sorely missed at the church.

Visitations are scheduled on Friday, January 8, in the afternoon from 3 to 5 PM and in the evening from 7 to 9 PM at Families First Funeral home on Dougall Ave. in Windsor, and a “Celebration of Life” service will be held in the Ambassador Auditorium of the CAW Centre at the University of Windsor on Saturday, January 9, 2016, at 11:30 AM.

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The Unitarian Church of Burundi has been targeted by violent forces and its minister has been arrested and detained by the police. We believe he is being persecuted because of his Unitarian faith and the good work he and his congregation have done for their surrounding community. Please join this petition to demand Rev. Fulgence’s immediate release.

Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana is a member-at-large of the Executive Committee of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists. Here’s a link to the petition.

Update on Nov. 27, 2015, from the ICUU: Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana has been released from custody and is currently in another country. The charges against him are still under investigation.

Update on May 21, 2015, from the CUC AGM in Vancouver. Rev. Fulgence Ndagijimana has just become a landed immigrant in Canada. He managed to get out of Burundi with his passport, even though the government there had tried to seize his passport. He is at the conference here and is in the process of getting his ministerial status recognized. He plans to join the congregation in Saskatoon. In his talk about the UU-UNO (Unitarian Universalist United Nations Office) and  the ICUU (International Council of Unitarians and Universalists), he described the Hutu government’s violence against many in the Tutsi minority including some members of the Unitarian church there. Here is a photo of Rev. Fulgence, as he is called here, with Bobbye and Bill Baylis, taken this evening.

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Here is the obituary for our minister of 14 years: ObituaryCEHillman.

Our minister at the UU Church of Olinda died peacefully Friday night, August 7, 2015, around midnight in the Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. The Sunday service on August 9 at the church, entitled “Celebrating a 14-year Legacy at UU Olinda,” was an informal reflection and celebration of her time as minister at Olinda. A memorial service will be held for Reverend Hillman in Detroit on Saturday, August 22 at 6pm at the Northwest UU church in Southfield, MI. Reverend Krista Taves will officiate. We plan for an additional memorial service to be held in Olinda the coming weeks. Once an obituary is published, we will copy or link to it here.

Reverend Christine Hillman is dying of cancer, and she was upset with the realization that she might not be able to experience her daughter’s wedding, scheduled in September. However, with the help of family and a nurse at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, the wedding was held early in Christine’s hospital room, on August 1. Here’s a WXYZ newscast about the event:
http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/oakland-county/daughter-has-hospital-wedding-so-her-dying-mom-can-be-there​
Copy and paste into your browser to view.
Congratulations to Christine, husband Arthur, and the wedding pair!!

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