December Reflections: UU Lansing Traditions Through the Years – Part 1
By Ed Busch
December has always been a vibrant time for UU Lansing. From decorating trees and hosting potlucks to meaningful services and community outreach, our congregation has long embraced the holiday spirit. Let’s take a walk down memory lane, exploring our newsletters from December past to see how UU Lansing celebrated the season.
December 1977 Highlights
In December 1977, Rev. Denise Tracy led our congregation, with Ralph Walton serving as church president and Ann and Gene Mellen sharing the role of Religious Education (R.E.) Director. The December 12 edition of The Uni-Universe newsletter gave us a glimpse of a busy and joyful season.
Special Services and Celebrations
December 19 Church Service: The Meaning of Shalom explored themes of peace and connection.
Christmas Eve Festival of Candles: A candlelight service followed by caroling and a potluck supper brought members together to celebrate the holiday.
Events for All Ages
December 18 Tree Decorating Party: Children were invited to Rev. Tracy’s home for an afternoon of tree decorating, food, and laughter. “Entertainment, food, and laughter are guaranteed,” promised the newsletter.
Youth Sleepover: On December 20, also at Rev. Tracy’s home, young adults gathered for a night starting with caroling, followed by ice skating, food, and “as little sleep as possible.”
Christmas caroling with Marie Haynes, Denise Tracy, Leanne Galonsky, Karen Walsh, Bruce Galonsky, and Rich Signell. 1977 (2008.0540)
Community Spirit in Action
The Building and Grounds Committee, led by Cynthia Alderson, gave a special shout-out to the eight members who spent four hours deep-cleaning the church—scrubbing walls, cupboards, tables, and parts of the kitchen.
A Baby Fundraiser
With the congregation experiencing a baby boom, the nursery needed another crib and a playpen. Marion Walsh suggested collecting green stamps to acquire a new crib and playpen. For those unfamiliar, S&H green stamps were trading stamps redeemable for products—a creative solution to the church’s needs!
Adult Social Events
Information about the Womens Bag Lunch (hosted by Liz Schwarzweller), the Lamplighters Dinner (at the University Club), and Playreading (hosted by Bob & Peggy Miller) were provided in the newsletter.
Youth Volunteering
Twelve of the UU Lansing youth volunteered at the WKAR membership drive. They were answering phones and recording pledges and enjoying some very tasty treats provided by local businesses.
And finally, there was an article about one of Rev. Tracy’s past sermons that was popular and frequently requested for printing, It was titled “Anita Bryant is a Homo Sapien”. There was mention of an audio recording but I haven’t encountered it in the archives.
December 1982 Memories
Fast forward to December 1982, and Rev. Denise Tracy was still at the helm, with George Smith as church president and Joey Latterman leading R.E. Highlights from The Liberal Express newsletter paint a picture of a community rooted in tradition and generosity.
Seasonal Highlights
December 19 Service: The R.E. program presented “The Christmas Tree Service,” a pageant celebrating holidays from around the world.
Christmas Eve Candlelight Service: As always, the evening concluded with a potluck supper, bringing everyone together for warmth and fellowship.
R.E. News
The pre-school and K room made pomanders out of apples. And the older children were making great effort in preparation for the Dec. 19 service on holidays around the world.
Acts of Kindness
The Board voted to support two causes for the Christmas offering: the Lansing Area Food Bank and the Marion Vaughn Furniture Fund. The congregation also collected canned goods for the food bank, embodying the spirit of giving.
The church was also to begin selling UU Service Committee Christmas Cards to support their efforts.
UU Service Committee Card Sale, date unknown. (2008.0805)
U.U. Womens Fellowship
On Thursday of this week, the U.U.W.F. was having their annual Bag Lunch Christmas Party at Thelma Anderson’s home. All women in the church were invited.
UUWF Christmas Party at Billie McCants with Liz Winder, Diane Bell, ?, Thelma Anderson, 1982. (The location at Billie McCants seems to contradict what the newsletter said.) (2008.0259)
Holiday Open Houses
I looked at the following week’s newsletter and saw that members opened their homes to share food, joy, and fellowship between December 26 and 30. Hosts included Mary Madonis, the Lovell family, Terry Dennis/Jim Carlson/Peter Shirey, Rod and Marsha Marten, and Pat Hamilton (Colburn). Could this tradition of holiday open houses make a comeback?
Reflections and Next Steps
Reading these newsletters reminds us of the power of community and tradition. From tree decorating parties to meaningful services and charitable acts, December has always been a time to come together.
Do you have favorite memories of UU Lansing’s December traditions? Are there past events you’d love to see revived? Let me know at uucgl.archives@gmail.com. And remember, we’re always grateful for photo donations to preserve our history for future generations.
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About the Author
For those wondering who’s behind these blog posts: I’m Ed Busch, and I’m excited to share the history of UU Lansing with you. I retired in 2023 after 15 years as an Electronic Records Archivist at Michigan State University’s Archives & Historical Collections. My background is in archival administration and information science, with an undergraduate degree in Fisheries and coursework in Computer Science. Prior to a career shift, I also worked in fisheries, aerospace, and Information Technology. My wife, Leigh White, and I began attending UU Lansing in the early 2000s and became members in 2006. I’ve been involved with the church archives since 2007, and both of our daughters went through UU Lansing’s RE program.
Sources:
Church newsletters from December 1977 and December 1982.