Volunteer Spotlight – Vince Santo Pietro
~written by Jack Clark In the spirit of thanksgiving, we celebrate the gifts of time and talent that our members give to the church. We are truly blessed by those who contribute to our mission and ministry by serving on committees, action teams, with our children and...
Endowment Grant Awarded to Elizabeth Gregory Home “Empowerment Space”
The John G. Lewis Endowment Committee is excited to announce the decision to grant this year’s endowment income of $5000 to a project with the Elizabeth Gregory Home (EGH). The Mission of EGH is “to provide a welcoming and respectful refuge where women (including...
Volunteers Wanted: Zoom hosts
Our church has some great technology to use Zoom for hybrid meetings and gatherings. We have five zoom spaces in all and demand for them is increasing. While they are not difficult to use, the operation is different from what people are used to at home, and people...
About our Land Acknowledgment Statement
~Gail Crouch We hear or say it together every Sunday: “We gather as guests of the Duwamish people on their traditional land that touches the shared waters of other Coast Salish tribes.….” Our Land Acknowledgement Statement has become an important part of how we open...
Asset Enhancement Task Force Update
AETF Committee Members: Ed Coleman, Don Guthrie, Carol Ingram, Joyce Jackson, Tim Kroll, Cristin Miller, Carol Nelson, Amy Roon, Kyna Schilling, & Kathy Williams As we wrap up the year, we are thankful for the work done by our many committees, staff and leadership...
Church Health Task Force …working to hear your voice
May you feel held. May you know you are not alone. May you know the presence of God’s peace in your life. These are prayers we hold for each other in trials of the spirit and in times of joy. We have been through so much change: the pandemic isolation and partial...
A death in our community Dec 2022
Lester Brown Born: September 21, 1941 Died: November 15, 2022 Lester died peacefully surround in love with his wife Carolyn by his side. The two joined UCUCC in 2012. They were looking for a progressive church and Lester especially liked the music here. Carolyn Scott...
Playground Garden Renovation
On October 1st and 2nd Paige and volunteers renovated the playground garden at the church. They pulled out all the overgrown plants and put in all native species such as yarrow, vine maple, evergreen huckleberry, Kinnikinnick and more. As well as replanted the...
Advent and Christmas Worship at UCUCC
Advent Worship Series Our Advent theme is Harambee!, a Kiswahili word that is understood as let’s pull together! The word is on the coat of arms for Kenya and has been an important part of the political and cultural identity particularly since Kenyan independence in...
Volunteer spotlight – Lon and Anne Dickerson
~written by Jack Clark In this season of thanksgiving, as we wrap up our pledge campaign celebrating the financial gifts given to UCUCC, we also want to celebrate the gifts of time and talent that our members give to the church. We are truly blessed by those who...
Podcast from our Writer in Residence
Our Writer in Residence, Debra Jarvis, has been a hospital and hospice chaplain for over 35 years. Many times she walked out of a home or a hospital room and thought, "Everyone should have heard that conversation!" Her patients shared their wisdom, insight and...
November Visiting Preachers
In addition to some familiar faces, we have incredible visiting preachers lined up for this month, Rev. Traci Blackmon on November 6 and Rev. Paul Ortiz on November 13. November 6 - Service of Memory and Hope Ubuntu: A House of Prayer for All Preacher: Rev. Traci...
Worship in November
November greets us with the conclusion of our fall worship series, Ubuntu: I am because we are. Our texts look at the expansiveness of God’s love - a call to be a house of prayer for all peoples, a declaration to the Ethiopian eunuch that God’s blessing is for all...
Ubuntu and Our Guest Preachers
Recently the Pacific Northwest Conference UCC’s Dismantling Racism Task Force sent out an article entitled Welcoming our Black Brown Indigenous Asian and Pacific Islanders (BBIAPI) pastors and BBIAPI guest speakers to our predominantly white churches. It opens by...
Womanist Storytelling Project
A team from the Global Arts and Theology Experience returned to Seattle to worship with UCUCC as a transitional moment in our partnership with the congregation. In addition, we were also there to lay the foundation for the launch of GATE’s Womanist Storytelling...
Tent City 3 Requesting Donations
The residents of Tent City 3 have been guests in Lot C for over a month and will be with us through 12/17. TC3 provides a safe, secure, and caring community for people experiencing homelessness. Church members have asked how they can help. Here are two ways: 1....
Death Notices: Fall 2022
Muriel Saunders Born: July 2, 1932 Died: September 27, 2022 Muriel died peacefully on Tuesday, September 27th with Stephan by her side. She joined our church in October 2020 via online. Muriel had deep roots in the UCC, joining All Pilgrims Christian Church in 1949....
Afghan Immigrant Initiative Diaper Drive
We received a request for diapers from the Refugee Resettlement Organization (RRO) of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia. More and more families are moving into our area who have small children and diapers, like most things, have increased in price so that already...
Book Review: Wild Seed
Wild Seed by Octavia E. Butler (1980) "A brilliantly mythic tale of primal archetypes and an iconic exploration of gender and eternity" proclaims the book. And it is. This is the story of two immortals, one who cannot die and one who cannot be killed. It starts in...
Solar Panels on UCUCC
Submitted by Nancy Hannah for Sacred Earth Matters As a Creation Justice church, UCUCC is committed to reducing our carbon footprint. Sacred Earth Matters has been interested in what this really means in hard data relating to the solar panels we installed on the roof...
November Special Offering: Global Hunger
Our November special offering focuses on the worldwide hunger crisis which now threatens to turn into famine for many. Hunger is extreme in too many locations, and has been substantially increased by the war in Ukraine. Food, fuel, and fertilizer usually shipped to...
Asset Enhancement Task Force November 2022
Greetings from your Asset Enhancement Task Force! We are a team of members and staff, formed in the spring of 2022, working together to look into future planning for our church community. We are now diving into a deep look at our existing financial assets and are...
Land Acknowledgment Action Step for November
Do you have little ones in your life? Read books about the first Thanksgiving with a Native and historical perspective and learn the Thanksgiving Address of the Iroquois Confederacy. All are available in the church library. Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving Story...
November 2022 Pledge Campaign Update
The Pledge Campaign is in full swing! Thank you for joining in our Pledge Dedication Sunday on October 30th. We are excited for the dedication and enthusiasm shown for our community. If you’ve not yet turned in a pledge card — it's not too late! Online pledging is...
Pastor Search Committee: a year by the numbers
Just a bit over 1 year ago, the PSC was created and charged by Church Council to seek a candidate to fill the position that opened when Pastor Catherine Foote retired. Berta Hollowell and Royce Morrison agreed to co-chair the committee and soon we were a total of 11...
Come visit the Scheyer Library!
The library is tucked back in a quiet corner, but is open for browsing and hanging out before and after church every Sunday (even if the door is closed). We have a great collection of all kinds of books! We often receive donations and cannot always use them in the...
Offering of Gifts: Sunday, December 11, 2022
It’s time for our annual Offering of Gifts! Nine local agencies will receive Christmas gifts from our congregation. Some agencies prefer to receive gift cards only, while others are accepting actual presents. Below, you will find information about the agencies, their...
Thank you from Green Buildings Now!
Green Buildings Now is very grateful to UCUCC for the generous August special offering of $3200. These funds will be very helpful for providing engineering support and supplies for creating a fossil-free South Beacon Hill Resilience Hub at the Bethany UCC campus. You...
Afghan Immigrant Initiative: Seamstress Needs Work
Suddenly, summer is in its last days while fall, with its shorter daylight hours, crisper air, and glorious foliage, is upon us. For the Hamidi family, this means their school-aged children are at last in a reliable school routine. At the same time, many of the...
Mwanzo – Hope has a home here!
Submitted by Lily Lahiri What does Hope has a home here! Look like in practice? This, from Country Manager, Jonathan Aluoka: Madam Careen Owino’s heart is full of joy and gratitude for how Mwanzo has shaped her life. She can’t believe that she is now a fully trained...
Mining is Hazardous for the Environment
The abandoned John Henry coal mine in Black Diamond has never been cleaned up, and it continues to pollute streams which flow into the Green and Duwamish rivers and ultimately Puget Sound. West Virginia has thousands of miles of waterways contaminated by coal-mining...
Budgeting for Love & Justice
Budgeting for Love & Justice A significant portion of the money we pledge each year goes to the Love & Justice Ministry. What happens to it? In alignment with our covenant to "live responsibly within Your creation" and "to promote Your reign of justice and...
Mix-Sups Are Coming
For those of you who have not participated before, Mix-Sups are an opportunity to share an evening of conversation and make new connections, as well as strengthen connections with folks you might know. The goal for these gatherings is to provide an opportunity for...
Service of Memory & Hope
Rev. Traci Blackmon (she/her), Associate General Minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ, will preach for our service of Memory and Hope and Rev....
Welcoming Rev. Dr. Courtney Stange-Tregear
Please join me in welcoming the Rev. Dr. Courtney Stange-Tregear as our Acting Conference Minister! Courtney has served in the Pacific Northwest Conference for the past six years as Minister for Church Vitality, and previously served as Acting Conference Minister...
An Ubuntu Story
A reflection after the death of Patrinell (Pat) Wright in September 2022, by Mary E. Maltman One sunny afternoon years ago at the Emergency Feeding Program, Rev. O.J. Moore, the Director at the time stopped by my desk and said, "Mary, please come over to my office for...
Spiritual Practice – journaling our journeys
Each day of their travels, Pastor Amy and Benjamin will be journaling as a spiritual practice. Some of their journal prompts cultivate curiosity and reflection, and some prompts keep them rooted in somatic practices of experiencing how their bodies are part of their...
October Worship Series: Ubuntu
About our Ubuntu worship series: Ubuntu, commonly translated as "I am because we are," is a worldview of African Bantu (Central, Southeast, and Southern Africa) peoples. It is a philosophy of the "greater whole," as Archbishop Desmond Tutu described it, in which each...
Sacred Earth Matters: Inflation Reduction Act Is a HUGE Win
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) which Congress approved in August is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 42% below 2005 levels. It’s the strongest effort in US history to address the climate crisis. And it raises the bar and will encourage states, other...
Book Review: The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit
The Original Meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment: Its Letter and Spirit By Evan D. Bernick and Randy Barnett 2021 Harvard University Press 489 pp. After the US Civil War the Thirteenth Amendment was added to the US Constitution to abolish most slavery in the United...