News

Saturday, August 30

Visit the Soul Matters Reflection Group Learning Station after the service

Saturday, October 11, 1–4 p.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall

Tuesday, September 9 or Friday, September 19, 6–7:30 p.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall

Various dates and topics, via Zoom

Monday, September 8, 7 p.m. in the chapel

Sunday, September 7, 4:00–5:45 p.m. at Seattle First UMC

Saturday, September 6, 1:00–4:00 p.m. at UUC

From Madi at Bloodworks Northwest : Our August 21 blood drive at UUC was a great success! All the appointment slots were filled beforehand and we registered 35 donors and collected 24 units of blood components— a meaningful impact for patients across the Pacific Northwest.  We’re incredibly grateful for the continued partnership with University Unitarian Church. The culture of giving that you have created is fantastic! THANK YOU!

We are reorganizing the UUC Zoom rooms. At 5 p.m. on Monday, August 24, all UUC Zoom links will be changing. Please see the email sent out yesterday via UUC Connect (on Sunday, August 23) for details. Generally groups are now scheduled in a particular UUC Zoom room according to their ministry area/focus, but some groups have been moved to alternative rooms to avoid scheduling conflicts. If you are expecting your group to have a Zoom room and do not see it listed in the UUC Connect email, please contact office@uuchurch.org .

Worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel and via livestream

Applications for the Family Ministry Coordinator position are due by September 5 through Indeed or Idealist . From Aria Curtis, Director of Family Ministry: I'm sorry to share the news that Teddy MacQuarrie is no longer serving at UUC as our Family Ministry Coordinator. He brought many wonderful things to the position and to UUC, and we wish him well in all his future endeavors. This, of course, means that UUC is hiring again. You can see the job description on Indeed or Idealist . The Family Ministry Coordinator works with and assists the Director of Family Ministry (me!) in implementing programs and events for children and their families at University Unitarian Church. Though many of the tasks associated with this position are administrative, it does include opportunities for creativity, collaboration, and professional development. We are looking for someone who enjoys working with children and their parents, and is a self-motivated leader. Ideally this is someone who is detail-oriented, with strong problem-solving and organizational skills, who can work with a wide variety of personalities and individual learning styles. Familiarity with Unitarian Universalist values and traditions is not required, but it is very helpful, and candidates should be willing to learn and teach these things with children and their families. I encourage you to share the job posting with anyone you think might be interested in the position! Applications are due by September 5 and we hope to have someone start in mid-September (hopefully not too long after Homecoming Sunday). Please direct any questions about the application or job to me at aria.curtis@uuchurch.org .

Wednesdays, August 27 & September 17, noon to 1 p.m.

Sunday, August 31, 11–12:30 a.m. in the Knatvold room

The seven-person Ministerial Search Team elected by the congregation in June includes Steve Carlson, Sallie Dacey, Rosemary Daszkiewicz, Greta Essig, Laurie Mann, Roberta Ray and Michelle Vaughan. We had our first meeting on July 12 (see photo) and will spend more time over the summer getting to know one another. We'll have our official retreat in early September. The Unitarian Universalist Association offers deep resources to help with this process, including establishing a timeline that all congregations conducting searches follow, best practices ideas, and document templates we can use as starting points for our own work. We are still sorting through all this information. Next steps include learning more from the congregation about our collective priorities in this ministerial search. This will include asking folks to complete a congregational survey and scheduling many opportunities to verbally share thoughts/dreams/hopes for our shared future. We will also be scheduling a congregational workshop in late fall/early winter to help everyone be best prepared to welcome a new senior minister. You’ll all be hearing more about all of these in the new church year. We’ll be updating you as we go in the Gateway enewsletter , on our News blog and on the Ministerial Transition & Search page (under the ABOUT US menu) on the church's website. When you see us around church, don’t hesitate to ask questions, provide encouragement and/or submit suggestions.

Sunday, August 24, 10:30–11:15 a.m. in the Office Conference Room

Worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel and via livestream

As many of you will remember, our long-time bass section leader/soloist Rick Scheyer retired last June. I spent the summer in search for a new bass section leader/soloist, and am delighted to announce that Chris Rule will be joining us in that role, beginning in September. Chris has some past association with UUC, and is the perfect fit for us! Read on for an introduction from Chris himself. - Karen P. Thomas, Director of Music "Hello, my name is Chris Rule (he/him) and I'm excited to join the Loft Choir in the fall after making good friends in the Young Adult Group years ago and meeting many of my fellow choir members singing with Seattle Pro Musica. I live along the Interurban Trail in northwest Seattle with my wife Misty and daughter Penny. I work by day on light rail expansion and have been involved in local bike, pedestrian and land use advocacy campaigns. These days you might also find me adding new birds to my list for the year. I look forward to meeting you!"

Seeking community and connection with others in a similar life stage? Join UUC's Young Adult Group!

From UUC's UUs for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME) group For months, we eagerly anticipated the arrival of the two Palestinian peace activists from Umm al-Khair in the West Bank’s South Hebron Hills. Awdah Hathaleen, a teacher, and Eid Suleiman, an artist, had planned a tour across the U.S. to talk about their small Bedouin village and its painful struggle to survive encroachment from an illegal Israeli settlement. The tour was supposed to bring them to UUC on June 16 for an event organized by our chapter of Unitarian Universalists for Justice in the Middle East (UUJME). But Awdah and Eid never made it to Seattle. U.S. authorities interrogated them upon their arrival at San Francisco airport, revoked their visas and placed them in detention. After 26 hours, authorities shipped the cousins back to the Middle East—without explanation. But our UUJME event went on anyway, in their absence. Naomi Price-Lazarus, a friend of both UUC and Umm al-Khair, talked about her several visits to the village as a volunteer for the Jewish Center for Non-violence. She told stories about Awdah and Eid: what warm hosts they had been; what loving fathers and husbands they were; how they and other villagers made her laugh and cry. She reported that the Israel military has been busily demolishing homes in Umm al-Khair, while nearby settlers continue to harass and attack the villagers. Rami Al-Kabra, deputy mayor of Bothell and the only Palestinian-American elected official in WA, also spoke at the event. We had a good turnout, and sent this photo from Nathan Johnson Hall to our missing speakers in Palestine.

Hello UUC! I’m delighted to be settling in and getting connected as your Acting Associate Minister for Community Engagement. I’m feeling a sense of abundance and joy at the beginning of a new and evolving season in ministry together. My garden’s abundance mirrors this feeling. I’ve just finished picking the last fruit from the small yet mighty apple tree in my front yard. The bunnies who live in my hedge and I have been enjoying dozens of light yellow-green, tangy, early-ripening apples that grew large enough for a satisfying treat! I feel grateful for this harvest and relieved that my pruning in the spring encouraged a moderate crop with good growth. My other apple tree, which I did not prune, has many tiny green apples on it, which may or may not ripen. In this interim time of acting ministry, I’m looking forward to learning what is going well in our justice, care, and spiritual development ministries. I’m excited to encourage ongoing spiritual and justice practices that help us live and deepen our UU values. And I anticipate offering support to our teams in discerning where some pruning might encourage energies to flow into an abundant (and delicious!) harvest next year. In my first two weeks the talented and capable staff team welcomed me and helped me navigate through our abundance of tech systems to set up access to communication channels. Thanks to some teamwork, I’m excited to be able to communicate with you and start setting up meetings to get to know you! This month, I’ll be available for meet and greets during fellowship hour after Sunday services on August 24 and 31 . I’m setting up meetings with teams and groups who are involved in justice, care, and spiritual development ministries. And I’m looking for a couple of volunteers who can help me set up an evening potluck and a brunch so that we can be social and chat more informally. If you can help, please send a note to victoria.poling@uuchurch.org or leave a message at (206) 454-7714. With delight and gratitude, Rev. Victoria

UUC Board of Trustees

Monday, August 18, 6–8 p.m., at the Good Shepherd Center/Meridian Playground

Tuesday, August 19, 6:30–8:00 p.m. in Channing

Tuesday, August 19, 5–7 p.m. in the Knatvold room

Monday, August 4, and Saturday, August 16, 10 a.m. at UUC Hunger does not take a break in the summer. Therefore, UUC will continue to provide sack lunches twice per month for clients being served by Lake City Partners Ending Homelessness (LCP) as part of our Homelessness Ministries. New volunteers ages 10+ are invited to join us in this effort. We seek volunteers willing to purchase food items or prepare baked goods and drop them off, and also 6 volunteers each time to prepare sandwiches, fill lunch bags and deliver the finished lunches. We usually prepare lunches on the first Monday and third Saturday of the month. Our remaining summer dates are August 4, and August 16 . However, arrangements can also be made to drop off food items ahead of time. Volunteering is very flexible; we contact volunteers about two weeks ahead of each date, and if you are available, you sign up. If not, there’s always a next time… For more information, or to be added to our LCP Sack Lunch Project email list, please contact Judy Oerkvitz, joerkvitz@hotmail.com . Thank you!

Worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel and via livestream

Thursday, August 21, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. by appointment i n Nathan Johnson Hall

Seeking a Deepening Spiritual Connection? Application for Soul Matters Reflection Groups Now Open

Registration for Soul Matters Reflection Groups will open later this month (August)

TC3 Open House Sunday, August 10, 1–3 p.m.at 2720 S. Hanford Street

Worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel and via livestream

This summer and fall UUC’s Faith Land Initiative (FLI) cohort team is looking for enthusiastic partners to join us in researching what it would take for UUC to move forward with specific actions to share our space to serve the community. An expanded FLI team conducted research meetings with other churches to learn how they serve the community with their spaces and conducted meetings with community service organizations to learn about current community needs. Community Garden at UUC? A few of the top community needs expressed included food security, isolation/community (especially among older folks) and additional support to low-income families in our neighborhood. Meetings with other churches inspired the team with the ways they are sharing their spaces. One of the ideas that the team thought merited investigating further was developing a community garden. A motivating example was St. John United Lutheran Church on Phinney Ridge. St. John’s has redeveloped parking spaces as a community garden managed by an oversight committee of four (two community members and two congregants). Fees are charged on a sliding scale depending on need. It’s maintained through monthly work parties and serves as a source of organic food for the community and the Phinney Neighborhood Association hot meal program. To move forward on the garden idea, Patricia Graesser is looking for a handful of interested folks to come together to : Research the steps and resources St. John’s has required to initiate, develop and maintain their community garden Evaluate UUC’s property for the best location, given the requirements of a sustainable community garden and land-use restrictions Identify steps and resources UUC would need to initiate, develop and maintain a community garden that would support our mission and vision and align with our values If the idea of a community-serving garden is of interest to you , please email patsygraesser@comcast.net If enough interested folks respond, the small team will meet at a mutually agreeable time and date to discuss the best path forward. Other Ideas for Serving the Community Other ideas the FLI team thought merited moving forward with are: Investigating space rental opportunities Developing partnerships with others in the neighborhood to address low-income family support needs Establishing a cycle for hosting TC3 or TC4 in UUC’s parking lot Investigating the possibility of using some of our land to create affordable housing Further developing decision-making guidance and a process by which we determine how to share our spaces and with whom, consistent with our mission and values. Please let the team know via email if any of the preceding examples represent your interests and possible commitments . Please submit your input to any one of the team: Patricia Graesser ( patsygraesser@comcast.net ), Dave Mentz ( davementz@msn.com ) or Gayle Childers ( gaylechilders@comcast.net ). Key Success Factors Two key points other congregations shared with the UUC FLI team were: Engagement, energy and ownership within the congregation are critical success factors; most sustained community service is congregant-initiated, led and executed , requiring limited oversight by staff once started . If you are interested in UUC moving forward with an idea, your energy and resources will be the key to propelling it forward.

Saturday, August 2, 1–3 p.m. in the UUC chapel Whether you are interested in being a regular Audio/Visual volunteer, or just willing to help us out in a pinch, you are invited to join us for a two-hour training on August 2, to learn about our sound board, camera controls, etc. Please email office@uuchurch.org if you are interested in attending or have questions. 

Sunday, August 3, opening and reception

We are looking for a full-time permanent staff member for the position of Custodian. Do you know potential candidates who would enjoy a challenging job in a positive workplace with a great team of program and administrative staff? Please feel free to share this information within your own communities and encourage them to apply. Thank you! ~Cynthia Setel, Interim Executive for Finance and Operations 

Apply by August 3

All-ages worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel and via livestream

Milton (Mick) Hamlin is a former member who lives in a care home in Shoreline. He would enjoy receiving calls or visits from church members. He was most active in the 1990s and 2000s decades. Please call the care home at (206) 542-8532 to make arrangements to visit or to speak with Mick. 

Food donations Saturday, July 26, 9:30–10 a.m. or before Lunches prep Saturday, July 26, 10–11 a.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall We're looking for volunteers to make sandwiches and donate the makings and other food items on Saturday, July 26, so that the residents of Tent City 3 can have a quick but hearty lunch on their moving day (that same day). Food items can be dropped off at UUC that morning between 9:30–10:00 a.m., or arrangements can be made to deliver food donations ahead of time. If you can help, please sign up on the Sign Up Genius at this link: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050544A5A723A75-57565176-sack . Don't forget to click the Submit button on the bottom of the page! For more information, please contact Alisan Tucker-Giesy at 206-240-2046 or agiesy630@gmail.com . A related volunteer opportunity is to help with the move that same day.

Worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel and via livestream

Saturday, July 26 Come when you can: 9:00 a.m. through early afternoon at UUC

Registration deadline is July 26 Camps are August 2-9 and August 9-13 There is still space in the two Eliot Institute camps held in August at the Seabeck Conference Center on Hood Canal. (This is the same place the UUC/ESUC Memorial Day Weekend camp is held each year.) Not familiar with the Eliot Institute ? Read general info about the Eliot Institute and their camps further below, after the teasers about the two August camps. (There are also a video and a bunch of photos down there.) Registration is open through July 26.

Saturday, July 26, 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m. at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church

Tuesday, July 22, 5–7 p.m. in Knatvold

July 18–20 (Friday–Sunday) at the Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center

Because of staff vacations, there will be no July 18 issue of this Gateway enewsletter.  Please submit anything you would like published before the July 25 issue by 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 8 and it will run in the July 11 issue.

Thursday, July 17, 4–8 p.m. at Seattle Central College Also, Sunday, July 13, 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m. in the Knatvold room

Wednesday, July 16 and all 1st & 3rd Wednesdays, 10–11 a.m. at Magnuson Park