September, 2020 Council meeting Summary
Council Meeting, Wednesday September 16, 2020 via Zoom A quorum was noted at 7:00 pm and the meeting was called to order by Terry Moore. We went around the room and shared how we were doing and something that we are looking forward to this fall. The group discussed...
The Lecture Series returns:
2020 Journal: All This Joy, all This Sorrow 2020 has been a year like none other in our memories. The profound and widespread grief of this year has been overwhelming. But, perhaps, it is only by walking through such grief that we are awakened to the possibilities of...
A note from your Pastors
Dear Friends and Members, Grace and peace to you all from your pastors. Visionary scholar and educator Dr. Angeles Arrien, who bridges the worlds of anthropology, psychology, and religion, noted that the most basic step of leadership is simply showing up. Her study...
A note from your Pastors
Dear Beloved Community, As we write to you, fires are raging across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Smoke has blanketed Puget Sound. Forests have burned, homes have been destroyed, and lives have been lost. We know that the fires have directly affected some of you...
A note from your Pastors
Friends in Christ, Grace and peace to you. Despite the pandemic and its necessary changes, life continues; the cycle of the seasons, the daily necessities of work and home life, another school cycle, and more. For some, the changes may seem small. For some, they are...
Faith in Family Life meeting
Faith in Family Life is a quarterly chance to connect with other families in our church. We will gather as a big group for some singing or Zoom-friendly play, then split off into smaller groups for a program time. The first quarterly event will be a Saturday evening...
A Celebration of Kenyan Culture & Mwanzo
September 27 12:00-1:30 pm (after coffee hour) on Zoom Learn about Rabuor: What are you curious about? Have you traveled to Kenya or Rabuor before? What surprised you the most? Share with us: info@mwanzo.org Kenya is a land of great diversity in its people and...
Hope-Coming Sunday is September 20, 2020!
This year, we are planning a different kind of homecoming Sunday. Though we are not re-gathering in the same physical space, the fall is a great time to rally our collective energies in renewal and hope. So, it's not homecoming, but it is Hope-Coming. To celebrate and...
Opportunity to serve
Liz Wells and the rest of the Childcare Board are looking for new members. They meet on a regular basis in support the Child Learning and Care c\Center and Trettin Drop-In Preschool. If you would like to find out more about joining the board, contact Liz Wells at...
Anti-Racist Giving Workshop
How do we as individuals decide when, where and how much to give? How do our personal social and racial identities shape our relationships with money and giving? What does it look like to center the giving of money as part of our anti-racist practice? SJF (Social...
What is the Direction of Spirit in Your Life?
During this time of uncertainty and fear for so many, the central question of spiritual direction, “where is God in this?” is perhaps as relevant as ever. Those trained as spiritual directors are a resource for many in this question as companions in the journey of...
Hunger Outreach – Thank you!
Thank you, thank you, thank you to the members and friends who contributed to the July Special Offering in support of Hunger Outreach. As of Aug 7th, the donations total just over $6,500. Your generous gifts will fund our monthly support for the Emergency Feeding...
For All of Us— Since We Cannot Physically Attend Church
In our journey of aging we often find ourselves slowing down physically. This can offer us the opportunity to go inward and to deepen into our essence - to the Divine within us - a true gift and one that can be enhanced at this time of retreat from much of what...
Recommended Books for our anti-Racism work
Antiracist Baby by Ibram X. Kendi (2020) -Reviewed by Beth Bartholomew This delightfully illustrated book captured my attention at the bookstore. Vigorous rhyme is accompanied by compelling and diverse illustrations.. This book shares important and age-appropriate...
Help in times of need…
UCUCC Parish Aid Fund We are a community that "cares for and prays for each other in trials of the spirit and in times of joy..." If you are experiencing a physical, financial or spiritual trial, you are encouraged to contact ParishCareSupport@universityucc.org or any...
Prayer Requests
There are many ways we pray together as a congregation. In public settings we do not name specific people, but we do open our hearts to the names we carry. We have a Prayer Circle on Wednesday mornings for specific prayers (all are welcome - to participate...
UCUCC General information
Where to send your submissions for UCUCC calendar, weekly emails, Church & Home, and website Church Calendar (on our website and on Church Life app): email office@universityucc.org. Events on the calendar will be included in the weekly email on the Monday the week...
Building Use Policy
We are committed to following the science and data to ensure the safest environment for all.?We are also committed to doing all we can to protect those in our community who are most at risk with this virus, and to maintain access to our gatherings to all, even those...
Special offering for September
Child Learning and Care Center and Trettin Drop-In Preschool (UCUCC Child Care Programs) The September Special Offering goes to our own Child Learning and Care Center and Trettin Drop-In Preschool. These two programs provide quality care and education for children who...
Sacred Earth Matters – Campaigning on Behalf of Salmon
Salmon keep popping up on SEM’s radar screen this year, and the approximately 150 people on SEM’s email advocacy list have done a great job in responding each time it happens. Legislation: SEM advocates flooded the legislative hotline last spring to support a bill to...
Our youth this summer—a wrap up
The Youth Ministry program at UCUCC had a wonderful summer! The events included youth programming at Seabeck, the Middle School Service Camp and High School Service Camp (new names for mission trips to reflect our events this summer). Our events had opportunities to...
Gathering Ground Fall 2020 theme: Ancestors
Ancestors.....the ones we listen to, the ones we are becoming This fall the Gathering Ground Community delves into the power of ancestors. We will deepen our personal and collective roots: to listen to the ancestors who inspire us and to become the ancestors for whom...
A note from your Pastors
Dear Friends in Christ, grace and peace to you. We your pastors write with broken hearts to again lament the shootings of Black men by police this week, in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Lafayette, Louisiana. In Kenosha, it was Jacob Blake (father, son, uncle, cousin) who was...
A note from your pastors
Greetings Beloved Community- We, your pastors, have made a commitment in this Covid time to reach out to you each week with a letter (an email, actually) to let you know that you are always in our hearts and on our minds. Perhaps you’ve noticed. We are determined to...
A note from your pastors
Dear beloved community: “Connect, connect, connect.” We offer these words as a very loose paraphrase of Romans 12:5 “. . . We who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another." Throughout this month, we are working hard to provide...
A note from your pastors
Greetings Beloved Community, “So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit. Right now, therefore, every time we get the chance, let us work for the benefit of all, starting with the...
A note from your pastors
Friends, God’s grace, peace, and justice to you, in the places you inhabit, and within God’s Creation. As we enter our sixth month continuing to be church in a physically distanced way, with our building serving essential functions, we are mindful of the many...
A note from your pastors
Grace and peace to you on this summer day. Your pastors continue to miss seeing you all in person, and we continue to hold you all in prayer even at physical distance. As we near completion of 5 months of keeping our building in an essential function mode, we continue...
We love including YOU in our worship service!
Here are some ideas of how you can participate in our online worship service! Send in a video of your children singing/moving to the children’s song. Record your voices saying the Lord’s prayer, covenant, and/or prayer of confession - the more, the merrier! Record...
Children’s Ministry—Noticing
Since Seabeck, I’ve continued my practice of noticing. I hope you and your kids have too. What have you been noticing? I have been noticing that, as the marches have waned and our focus has shifted elsewhere, the anger remains. My own anger has gained a new feistiness...
Death in the community – George Dvorak
George Dvorak Born: November 30, 1923 Died: July 21, 2020 George died on Tuesday, July 21 at the age of 96. He was a member of UCUCC for over 73 years! George and his wife, Mary Jo (died in 2011) devoted a lot of time and service to our church. He served on the Church...
The search is over! Introducing Benjamin A. Rogers, Interim Music Director
After a busy, purposeful, and sometimes surprised filled two-month process, the Interim Music Director (IMD) Search Team identified, and the Worship and Music Committee affirmed, the selection of Benjamin A. Rogers to fill the position vacated by Heidi Blythe when she...
Liturgical arts now the focus of new web page
Volunteers and artists-in-residence have been enhancing our worship and our awareness of the Devine for more than ten years. Known collectively as the Creativity Council for the Literary Arts, their accomplishments are highlighted on a new webpage on our site. Many...
Prayers for Lebanon
On Tuesday, August 4, 2020, massive explosions rocked Beirut, set off by a fire near a facility that has for several years held highly combustible chemicals at the Port of Beirut. The United Church of Christ has several partners in Lebanon, through Global...
Sacred Earth Matters – Moving to Higher Ground Amidst Rising Seas
All of Washington’s coast is in the Cascadia earthquake subduction zone, and much of it is in a tsunami inundation zone. Research shows that sea-level rise can significantly increase the hazards of tsunamis. FEMA estimates coastal Washington needs more than 50...
Seabeck: all church camp: A virtual experience
Since 1968, UCUCC has been gathering for a retreat at Seabeck conference Center. Each year an invited guest speaker has the participants in thinking about implications of the Christian Faith for selected issues. It is designed for attendees of all ages to explore the...
Growing ourselves into Anti-Racist people
One year ago, we voted and committed to becoming a Racial Justice church. The spiritual and moral work right now for our mostly white congregation is to see the racism that surrounds us, and understand the privilege white skin endows. One of the best ways to keep...
UCUCC Clergy Team Roles Now and After Pastoral Search Committee completes Call of New Minister
UCUCC has been on a journey of self-reflection and preparation for our future since Peter Ilgenfritz departure at the end of 2018. In January 2019, Todd Smiedendorf joined our Leadership Team as our Bridge Minister. We are all grateful for the leadership and fresh...
Peace Circles at UCUCC
In the fall of 2017, Aileen Pruiksma, who had long been deeply engaged in multicultural work at UCUCC, acted on her observations of the exciting restorative justice process taking place at Garfield High School and brought the central element of that process, the Peace...
Racial Justice Resolution Impacts Outreach Giving
~Elizabeth Dickinson with input from Carol Nelson As a church, we acknowledge that what we have to give to others is derived not just from our own labor, but also from the workings of a system of privilege and white supremacy. As the Love & Justice Committee (LJC)...