Men’s Gathering at Pilgrim Firs Oct 21-23
Men’s Gathering at Pilgrim Firs Friday, Oct 21 - Sunday, Oct 23 Join other men from the church for some time together at Pilgrim Firs. We’ll have fellowship and relaxing time around the lake, creating an “upper room” for exploring men’s spirituality. Pastor Steve will...
Annual Pledge Campaign Launching October 9th!
Greetings! Our annual pledge campaign is in full swing this month. “I am, because we are,” the African idea of Ubuntu, is central to our idea of our church community and how we are asked to work together to risk something big for the sake of something good. Pledges...
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...
Asset Enhancement Task Force Update October 2022
Greetings from your Asset Enhancement Task Force. We are a team of members and staff, working together to look into future planning for our church community. This spring and summer we took action on wage justice for our new and existing staff. We are now diving into a...
October Special Offering – Neighbors in Need
Our October Special Offering benefits the United Church of Christ's Neighbors in Need offering. In 2022, the Neighbors in Need (NIN) offering focuses on economic justice. The NIN offering to Just Love Church in 2021 enabled 24 high school students from an...
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...
Mwanzo Updates – October 2022
This summer has been a busy time in Rabuor! In early summer, because they had qualified in March, our scouting boys and girls competed with 1500 scouts, and scooped up the second-place position at the sub-county competitions, propelling them to the Kisumu County...
Children, Youth, and Families Ministry October 2022
October 1st – Family Pizza Night 5pm – 7pm Families are invited to come to the church for some food and time for activities and connection! We will likely have time for parents to have a breakout session to have some parent-specific discussion and sharing. Friends are...
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...
The Harvest Shared!
This year’s table, supplied by the gardens of members and friends, brought in an amazing $893 for our Hunger Outreach Program. Our Share the Harvest project was coordinated by Joy Sumner who recruited helpers and organized our table to make it beautiful each Sunday...
October Racial Justice Book Club
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by renowned historian Tiya Miles, traces the life of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women. In so doing she crafts an extraordinary testament to people who are...
Meals for people in our UCUCC community
One of the ministries the Parish Care Committee coordinates is finding people who would like to help provide a meal for someone or a family who may be experiencing a trial of the spirit or time of joy as we say in our covenant together. This is one way to give a...
Welcome to three new staff members
We are so happy to welcome our new Evening Custodian, Videographer, and Office Admin! Solomon Embaya is our new evening custodian who started at the beginning of August. Solomon is a familiar face to some of us who have been around the church for several years –...
Music in September
We have a great lineup of guest musicians for the month of September, including some names that might be familiar to you! September 4 – LaDonna Bowers September 11 – Jeannie Rak, Homecoming Celebration – Music by Rainbow City Performing Arts Marching Band September 18...
Chancel Choir Returns!
We are looking for singers interested in joining the UCUCC Chancel Choir this fall! There are no requirements to join – if you have a love of singing, you are welcome in our space. While a formal audition is not required, it is helpful to meet with Benjamin before...
Chancel Choir – Choral Intern Program!
A two-year pilot program for a choral intern program is beginning at UCUCC this fall. UCUCC has a strong history of exemplary music being shared in our church, and this tradition will be enhanced with the creation of a choral intern program. In September, four...
September Events
Vigil for the Common Good Sunday, September 4, 12:00 - 1:00 pm, NE 45th St & 15th Ave NE Each month, we will stand on the corner near our Seattle campus to celebrate and cultivate the common good in the public space. Bring a sign of what you are standing...
John G. Lewis Endowment Fund for Social Justice
Do you feel called by the work of a non-profit committed to social justice? Have you served on a non-profit board or volunteered in support of an organization doing the important work of creating a more just world? Please consider completing an application for funding...
September Children’s Ministry
Great things are happening in the Children’s Ministry! Sunday, September 11 Hope Coming Sunday 10am Worship & Blessing of the Backpacks Join us for worship and at the end of the service, students, teachers and other education professionals are invited to the front...
Asset Enhancement Task Force Update
Greetings from your Asset Enhancement Task Force! In keeping with our goal of full congregational awareness of our processes and activities, going forward we will have a note in Church & Home each month about our current and upcoming work. Upon the conclusion of...
2022 Pledge Campaign Launching Soon!
Greetings! Our annual pledge campaign is starting soon. It will coincide with our fall worship series, during which we will be reflecting together about the African idea of Ubuntu, “I am, because we are.” We will recall times we have summoned our courage and risked...
Meeting the Connection Crisis: A campaign for support of Gathering Ground
Make a difference in the lives of those who face the connection crisis: people who want to cultivate meaning and community in this time of loss and re-birth. Meet the connection crisis with your pledge to the people connecting through Gathering Ground during 2023....
Afghan Immigrant Initiative September 2022
The world can be a troubling place. International crisis after crisis flood the media, which can rapidly move our attention from one situation to the next, pushing previous concerns to back page status. Our congregation (and our partners) have maintained steadfast...
Seabeck Book Club Reading The Seed Keeper
Seabeck Book Club is committed to the UCUCC covenant including this part: "To live responsibly within Your creation, sharing with gratitude the gifts we are given". To further explore and develop our ideas of ourselves in relation to the gifts of Sacred Earth we will...
Book Review: Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains
Hill Women: Finding Family and a Way Forward in the Appalachian Mountains By Cassie Chambers 2020 Thorndike Press Owsley County, Kentucky - the author’s home county - is one of the counties hit by devastating floods in August. Please pray for them and think how we...
Racial Justice Book Club September 20
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by renowned historian Tiya Miles, traces the life of a single object handed down through three generations of Black women. In so doing she crafts an extraordinary testament to people who are...
Mwanzo – Life-Affirming Vocabulary from Kenya – Harambee
Submitted by Lily Lahiri, Mwanzo Board Member Perhaps many of you, like me, delight in learning new words and learning more about words that are already in our vocabulary. I find that knowing the etymology of certain words helps me appreciate the depth of meaning they...
Benjamin’s Continuing Education Summer Excursion to Italy
Earlier this year, Benjamin discovered an opportunity to partake in the Byrd Ensemble’s Italian Renaissance Course in Petritoli, Italy. The focus of this course was on the performance of music by composers who were a part of the Roman School. Benjamin...
Youth Ministry – September 2022
September Events Wednesday, August 31: Teen Feed 5:00pm – 8:00pm Teen Feed is an amazing ministry offering a warm meal to youth and young adults in the community. Youth, their families, and friends are invited to help cook and serve the meal at Teen Feed! Mike...
Amy’s Travel Itinerary
Beloved community, my twice-postponed sabbatical is fast approaching. As I explore the roots of my personal identity and the African roots of Christianity, you will dive deep into the question of identity and belonging back home at UCUCC. My sabbatical theme “I Am...
Fall Worship Series: Ubuntu
Worship in September has all the moods of switching from summer vibes to autumnal energy. Labor Day weekend wraps up our series on Journeys and the blessing of Pastor Amy and Benjamin as they begin their sabbatical travels. The 11th is bursting with Hope as our annual...
September Special Offering: UCUCC Child Care Programs
The UCUCC Child Care Programs are a non-profit preschool and child care for families in the Seattle area providing full-time and drop-in care. They use child-led hands on activities to help children grow and learn, teaching them how to be kind, caring, and respectful...
Pastor Search Committee Update
The UCUCC Minister of Worship and Care position was posted to the national UCC website at the end of May. Since then, 18 minister profiles have been received and the committee has actively reviewed profiles and interviewed candidates whose relevant experience,...
2022 Senior Retreat Oct 3-4
The 2022 Senior Retreat will be held on October 3rd and 4th at Rainbow Lodge in North Bend. It begins on Monday morning and ends after lunch on Tuesday. The retreat is designed for adults 55 and older. It provides an opportunity for those attending to learn and...
Sacred Earth Matters: Electric Vehicle Tradeoffs & Opportunities
Greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced as we transition to electric vehicles. That’s exciting. But EVs require lithium-ion batteries, and the US alone needs more lithium than is produced worldwide. Open pit mines in North Carolina provided most of the world’s...
UCUCC Financial Update
Beloved community, let me start with the good news: the church is in excellent financial health. The summer is a good time to reflect on the first half of the year and evaluate how we’re doing, and when I look at the June financial statements, I see reasons for...
A note from your Pastors *Content Warning: Racial Slurs at University Congregational UCC*
Dear Beloved Community, We want to share information about something that happened at our church. We begin with a content warning, knowing that for Black folks and People of Color, this information about racialized harm has the potential of compounding hurt and...
While your moderators are away…
Who imagined four years ago (long before either of us thought we would be in the UCUCC Moderator and Assistant Moderator positions we hold today), when each of us put a down payment toward the Iona pilgrimage with Pastor Catherine, that the trip would be two years...
August Special Offering: Green Buildings Now
Please support this month’s special offering for Green Buildings Now, a grassroots initiative promoting social justice and climate resilience. Green Buildings Now’s mission is to work for a just transition to a fossil-free Seattle by: Partnering with leaders of...
Save the date: Hopecoming 2022 Sept 11
Sunday, September 11 is Hope-coming Sunday! Join us in celebrating our traditional HOPEcoming on Sunday September 11th! Come and be nourished in body, mind, and spirit as we share in the HOPE of a new season together! During the service, children, youth, teachers,...