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From the Grosse Pointe News ...
By Jody McVeigh, Editor Mary Fodell’s brother, Tom Peelle, has been hard at work making improvements to the Edible Garden. He recently built two large wicking beds, which are raised garden beds built over a water reservoir of the same size, allowing the plants in the bed to absorb water at a natural rate, even if the surrounding soil is dry. Or, in the case of one of Full Circle’s beds, if it rests on a concrete parking lot. “There’s a reservoir with 4 1/2 inches of water underneath,” Peelle said. “A pond liner goes up halfway, then I put tubes down, which provide a way for there to be 150 to 200 gallons of water underneath the dirt.” A layer of straw and sand are added beneath the actual garden, helping wick water up to the plants’ roots. “And if it’s raining a lot, there’s a drain so it never floods.” Currently, Peelle and a team of Eagle Scouts are building composting bioreactors that involve fungal-based compost as opposed to bacteria-based compost. “All the major compost people are switching their beds to this type,” Peelle said. “You don’t have to turn it. It’s neat. You just load in the chicken (waste), then the organics. There’s a wire screen in the bottom that keeps rodents out. The idea is to have all the compost within a foot of air, which allows the air to penetrate constantly. It’s healthier than bacteria-based compost. Plants need fungus in their soil. It’s easy and it’s neat and it’s faster. And it’s not smelly.” Peelle’s plans for the Edible Garden don’t stop with his latest offerings. “I want a hoop house next year, with our own well and drip watering system,” he said. “I want this to be all organic and self-sustaining, where we’re not using city water or electricity from the outside. “And if the chickens do too good, I want to add rabbit hutches,” he added. #EdibleGarden #TomPeelle #MaryFodell #RiverviewHealth #FullCircle #WickingBeds #FungalCompost #OrganicFarming #SustainableLiving #EagleScouts #CommunityGarden #UrbanAgriculture #HoopHouse #RabbitHutch #ChickenCoop #CompostRevolution #GardenInnovation #fullcirclefoundation— at Full Circle Foundation.
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 Each week, our order of service reads like a spiritual detective story. Where do these inspirations come from? How do sacred words find their way into the pulpit, and through whose hands? I spent a few moments up in the pulpit with Carol Guither, worship associate and our gentle yoga guru. Guither had carefully scripted every word for last Sunday’s service. I wanted to make sure I was locked in on Guither’s reading for the chalice lighting. Jon Noble, head of adult religious education and worship leader, lit the chalice to Rumi’s words.
A good version of Rumi’s meditation comes from Coleman Barks “The Essential Rumi”. Often, scholars refer to Rumi’s poem as “A Great Wagon” or “Don’t Go Back to Sleep”. The version read by Guither closely matched the text translated by Barks: Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When the soul lies down in that grass, the world is too full to talk about. Ideas, language—even the phrase each other-- doesn’t make any sense. The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you. Don’t go back to sleep. You must ask for what you really want. Don’t go back to sleep. People are going back and forth across the doorsill where the two worlds touch. The door is round and open. Don’t go back to sleep. These words echo throughout our city, a city that rapidly grows closer and closer to the Middle East, heart of the Arabic world. Adnan Charara, gallerist of Gallerie Camille in Midtown, has painted the following words by the doorway to the gallery: Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there. When we light the chalice, we illuminate near and far. In a perfect world, we could save those worship associate scripts the way fans save set lists from cherished concerts. To paint the wall with Rumi’s words stands as a brave and compassionate act. Charara came to America as a refugee, establishing a lively studio and gallery in the building that houses La Feria Detroit and Cata Vino Detroit. Sadly, my friend has looked pensive the last few times that I visited the gallery. Friends know that Charara’s family in Lebanon has suffered deeply as the conflicts proceed in the region. Let us turn to the mystery of next week’s service. I was put on the chase by a Facebook post from Ameera Bandy. Bandy has taken to the air waves as a host on newly established Passenger Recovery Radio. Twice a month, Bandy produces “Who’s Listening Anyways” for the online radio channel. Who’s listening? Ameera, you have our full attention. Who is Ameera? It’s more than a question. It’s the title of Bandy’s web page. How well do we know our church administrative lead? Bandy is totally redefining the role of “church secretary”. Bandy leads the effort to produce the Corktown Music Festival. Who knew? It gets better. Sunday afternoon, reflecting upon the service at Starbucks in The Village, Downtown Grosse Pointe, I looked at the credentials for next Sunday’s guest in our pulpit. Bryan Wolf comes to our pulpit as a first order musician. Yet, Wolf’s role as director of programming at Passenger Recovery in Hamtramck piqued my attention more. Passenger Recovery occupies the former convent of Saint Ladislaus in Hamtramck. The church is up for sale. The parochial school now functions as a charter school. Performers at The Majestic all the way up to Little Caesars Arena often need a green room where talent can wait for their curtain call in a drug and alcohol free environment. Passenger Recovery provides that haven. The recovery centered program is open to all, even people outside the industry. The Passenger part comes from the Iggy Pop anthem “The Passenger”. Harry Houdini would have been safer while awaiting the curtain at the Majestic if Passenger Recovery had existed October 1926. I immediately put out a message to Jimmy Doom, sober punk rocker teaching Keyboard Catharsis right then at Passenger Recovery that afternoon. Keyboard Catharsis is Doom’s writing method that has empowered the writer to publish far, far more than one thousand stories on Substack on a daily cadence. I took a session earlier this year, a total unlock for my muse. “Oh hello yes I know Bryan. He's about 40 feet from me right now. Stellar individual.” When we light the chalice, we illuminate near and far. Coming to service next Sunday? Bring a passenger. Two Passengers ... Bryan Wolf & Ameera Bandy -- at Passenger Radio WHCK.  At the History Department, we scan the news for the good work of our members in the Beloved Community. This letter was published in the Thursday, July 17th, 2025 edition of the Grosse Pointe News. We reached out to Paul, who provided the picture.
Grateful for Gilda's Club To the Editor: It is terrific news that Gilda’s Club will now have a location at The War Memorial. I have been a cancer patient for 5 1/2 years and a Gilda’s Royal Oak member for five of those years. If you do not know, Gilda’s is a phenomenal resource for anyone on a cancer journey — patient, family member, caregiver, etc. If you are a cancer patient and have ever wondered what Gilda’s Club is, the best decision you can make today is to check out what Gilda’s can offer you. No one needs to fight cancer alone — and no one should. You may be surprised just how much other travelers on the journey can help lighten the burden. I encourage you to check Gilda’s out — do it today. - Paul Lipsitz So here’s how we can take action this week. Borrowing from the Grosse Pointe News once more. Starting July 9, Gilda’s Club will begin hosting weekly programs at The War Memorial every Wednesday. These include peer-to-peer support groups, family-focused sessions, and public education events—all free of charge. The club calls this the “Gilda’s Around Town” outreach. So for this upcoming Wednesday, take part in the following events on Lake St. Clair. Online registration is recommended. Follow the link for the calendar and registration. http://bit.ly/40uiYE1 Yoga in the Park Wed, Jul 23, 2025 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM The War Memorial Inclusive and accessible yoga class supporting your body and mind through breathwork, meditation, and mindful movement. We'll explore postures on the mat, kneeling, and standing, with options to adjust intensity based on your comfort and energy level. Yoga will be outside, weather permitting. Lunch & Learn Series: Natural Skin & Beauty Care Wed, Jul 23, 2025 11:30 AM - 01:00 AM The War Memorial Join Stacy Theodossin, owner of Healing Goddess, LLC for this lunch and Learn Series. She is an experienced and compassionate holistic and spiritual entrepreneur. For nearly three decades, she’s been helping people radically improve their health and lives naturally. Together she can help you to explore, address, release & heal imbalances in body, mind & spirit. Register today! Tai Chi on The Lake Wed, Jul 23, 2025 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM The War Memorial Tai Chi is an exercise form with its root from Traditional Chinese Medicine used for healing energy and building life force also known as Qi (pronounced Chee). Tai Chi is now widely practiced across the world for improving health including balance, leg strength and for relaxation. As weather permits we may practice outside. Instructor: Vernice McDaniel, certified meditation coach.— at Grosse Pointe War Memorial.  Neil Sroka recited this poem by Walt Whitman as our pastoral message today. The passage appeared first in the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. Our second hymn came from #SamuelLongfellow, Unitarian minister and brother of
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Our service sets gems of literature and music in a perfect setting, dazzling in the light of our chalice's flame. The team at the #DepartmentOfHistory monitors the weekly Grosse Pointe News for the accomplishments of our members. We were well aware of the page dedicated to the works of the Grosse Pointe Rotary Club. Sroka recently passed the president's gavel to a newly president, Jackie Dale. Before passing the gavel, Sroka presented a twenty-five grand check to Mary Fodell, leader of the sheltered workshop at the Full Circle Foundation. We had thought of posting the article on the cork board. We thought of asking Sroka first. Unitarians do the right thing, neglecting to trumpet their good works. Fortunately, an anonymous member pinned the article to the cork for us. So thank you. We care little who breaks the good news first. Even so, we hope you'll drop news tips into the historians' mailbox so we can follow up. Mary Fodell is the sister of new GPUC member and veteran UU Tom Peelle. Peelle recently built a chicken coop for Full Circle's urban farm on Warren in Detroit, designing and building the coop with the help of the local MICHIGAN MASONS. Peelle will be talking with a big daily, so we'll clip and post that ink soon. Several of our beloved community volunteers at the garden, a relationship pointed up in our Green Sanctuary application. Fact checking and commentary requested. --- Miracles by Walt Whitman Why, who makes much of a miracle? As to me I know of nothing else but miracles, Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan, Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky, Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water, Or stand under trees in the woods, Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love, Or sit at table at dinner with the rest, Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car, Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon, Or animals feeding in the fields, Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air, Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright, Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring; These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles, The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place. To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle, Every cubic inch of space is a miracle, Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same, Every foot of the interior swarms with the same. To me the sea is a continual miracle, The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the ships with men in them, What stranger miracles are there? --- Walt Whitman by John Plumbe Jr.?, ca. 1848–1854. Whitman Archive ID: zzz.00006 Cite this page: "Walt Whitman by John Plumbe Jr.?, ca. 1848–1854." The Walt Whitman Archive. Gen. ed. Matt Cohen, Ed Folsom, & Kenneth M. Price. Accessed 13 July 2025. http://www.whitmanarchive.org. |
Will Juntunen,
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