News

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

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

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

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!

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

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.

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

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

Tuesday, July 15, 6:30–8:00 p.m. in Knatvold

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

We have a significant need to have additional people trained on how to run the audio/visual (A/V) equipment during our Sunday services. Are you potentially interested? If so, please contact Cynthia Setel to find out more. We will provide training. So even if the extent of your previous A/V experience with A/V is sliding a microphone switch from Off to On (or not even that!) please reach out. In particular, we would love to find someone willing to be trained and available by July 27 , when both Jax and Kevin will be out. Even if you’re not able to be a “regular” volunteer, if you are willing to be trained and to help us out in a pinch, that would be wonderful.

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

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 summer dates are July 7, July 19, August 4, and August 16 , 10 a.m. at church. 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!

Monday, July 7, 6–8 p.m., at the Good Shepherd Center/Meridian Playground

Sunday, July 6, info at the Learning Station before and after worship; 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.) Mary Mason and Susan St. John will be at the south Learning Station in Nathan Johnson Hall before and after the service on July 6 to answer questions and tell you a little about their Eliot experiences over the years. Registration is open through July 26.

This spring, UUC’s Faith Land Initiative (FLI) cohort team (comprised of Gayle Childers, Patricia Graesser, Dave Mentz, Rev. Beth Chronister and now Rev. Doug Wadkins) expanded its team and worked on three interest areas. The expanded team conducted research meetings with churches to learn how they serve the community with their spaces and conducted meetings with community service organizations to learn about current community needs. Team members met with congregants to understand your hopes for sharing our space, and we considered decision-making criteria. Thank you to: Jewels Mellen, Roberta Ray, Pat Marks, Rebecca DiNino, Meta Thayer, Laurie Mann for their research work. In meetings with congregants the common hopes expressed included: to live our values, share our abundance, empower lay leadership and ease the burden on staff, and to consider starting small and growing efforts sustainably. Many of us are asking if we can dare to be bold. In meeting with the community and reviewing King County data, top needs expressed were: Affordable housing/sheltering unhoused Available and affordable childcare/early learning Food security Isolation/community (esp. older folks) Healthcare Access & Delivery Meetings also made it clear that there are sets of low-income families in our neighborhood who need additional support. Meetings with other churches were inspiring. Two key points they shared were: Engagement, energy and ownership within the congregation are critical; most sustained community service is congregant-initiated, led and executed, requiring limited oversight by staff once started. Churches are using their spaces in creative and inspiring ways—some share space for free and bring in a modest income from rentals to sustain the church. Free use includes meals, clinics and housing the unhoused. Rental examples are very diverse: preschools, day cares, religious organizations, philanthropic entities, classes, retreats and meetings; parking lot space rentals; community garden plot rental; recurring meeting rentals like 12-Step, Toastmasters, musicians, artists and therapists. Two Examples Two motivating church examples are St. John United Lutheran Church on Phinney Ridge and University Congregational Church. St. John’s is an inspiring place. Offices host the work of three non-profits. Rooms host six 12-Step meetings a month, three music groups’ rehearsal space and an acting class (fees are charged on a sliding scale depending on entity and use). Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA) serves three meals weekly and offers monthly free haircuts and physical therapy. PNA is a core partner with St. John’s. They have a key and are trusted to oversee their activities and care for the church spaces they use. St. John’s also opens for monthly Community Craft Nights and Game Nights. 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 PNA hot meal program. University Congregational is a bustling place. When you walk through the door, day or evening, you hear music, actors, meal preparation and children’s voices. They are currently hosting Teen Feed for free to serve about 75 unhoused young people every night. They have hosted Tent Cities in the past. They also rent to many others on a term and recurring basis. Research showed that many churches in our community have developed or are developing affordable housing. Examples range from completely redeveloping buildings to developing a parking lot. Our FLI team is now at a point at which moving forward with any idea will require additional congregational enthusiasm and ownership . Some ideas that the team thought merited moving forward with are: Investigating space rental opportunities Investigating developing a community garden Developing partnerships with others in the neighborhood to address low-income family support needs Establishing a cycle for hosting Tent City 3 or Tent City 4 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. If you’ve already shared an idea you are interested in pursuing and don’t see it listed here, please email details about that idea. Please submit your input to any one of the team: Patricia Graesser , Gayle Childers or Dave Mentz .

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

From Madi at Bloodworks Northwest : Hello University Unitarian Church Blood Donors, Thanks to your commitment this week we registered 41 donors and collected 29 units of blood components at UUC—a meaningful impact for patients across the Pacific Northwest. We’re incredibly grateful for the continued partnership with UUC and the enthusiasm you bring to every event. The culture of giving that you have created is fantastic - THANK YOU! The next blood drive at UUC will be on Thursday, August 21 . Click here for an appointment .

Sunday, June 29 after the service in Nathan Johnson Hall This Sunday we will celebrate the June 30 retirement of Janine Larsen , who has served UUC as Director of Ministries and more recently, as Acting Administrator. Bring pie to share! From Janine: My favorites? Rhubarb (without the strawberry, preferably), cherry, lemon, and most everything else. Apple is right at the top of my list too, but I don't often eat it outside my own house because I'm very picky about this particular pie. (Yes, I know yours is also The Best In The World and I'm glad you love it - but that's just how it is for me.) If you're a baker or true pie fan like me, bring a pie you love to share. Otherwise, enjoy some pie that someone else has brought. And yes, we'll still have coffee, tea, juice boxes, and cookies for those who don't enjoy pie. No questions asked.  You are also invited to bring cards or notes of appreciation. (Read Janine's May 16 letter announcing her retirement here .)

Sunday, June 29, 1-5 p.m. in downtown Seattle

Opens Sunday, June 29 All are invited to meet the artist at 10:30 a.m. immediately following the worship service Reception at 11:15 a.m.–1 p.m. in the chapel The Art Committee is pleased to present “The Spirit of Joy: An Exhibition of Paintings” by Sarah C.B. Guthrie , which opens on Sunday, June 29. All are invited to meet the artist at 10:30 am immediately following the service. A public artist reception will also be held 11:15 a.m.–1 p.m. in the chapel. Refreshments will be served. Guthrie explains, “This exhibit brings together my 8+ year investigation into Joy—what it is, how to find it, and why we all deserve it—with my lifetime curiosity into spirit, faith, and existence.” She defines joy as “an optimism of spirit we all carry within us. It’s sparked through our actions and, unlike happiness, is not dependent on our circumstances to be felt. Paradoxically, we can feel joy at the same time we feel anger, sadness, and grief.” For Guthrie, spirit evokes inclusion, love, the sacred, community, and connection. She states, “I am pleased and grateful to exhibit these works of Joy in the heart of the welcoming University Unitarian Church community.” Inspired in part by a recent trip to Japan, Guthrie brings shimmering metallic paint into her colorful abstracts to elicit the ethereal. Guthrie’s use of vibrant colors, combined with the orderly repetition of soft petal shapes, creates vibrant abstract paintings designed to evoke joy. A special feature of her process is that each mark contains dozens of slender lines of color. The marks engage the viewer in optically mixing the colors—inviting them into the process of creating joy through her paintings. Guthrie immigrated to the States from England with her parents when she was a toddler. She holds an MFA in Visual Arts from the Vermont College of Fine Arts, an MA from The George Washington University, and a BA from Davidson College. Her paintings have been part of solo and group shows in museums, galleries, and businesses in Washington State, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, and Washington DC, including at the prestigious Phillips Collection and Bainbridge Island Museum of Art. In Seattle, she is represented by Fogue Studios & Gallery in the Georgetown district. Her works are also held in private collections around the world. For more information about the artist and her work, please visit her website at www.artistgu3.com . The exhibit will hang in the Chapel until August 1.

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

In many years, the Eliot Institute summer camps are already filled by now. But recent events have raised some concerns about the ease of travel between Canada and the United States. Some of our B.C. regulars have decided not to risk crossing the border. So it's not too late to sign up! ( Registration deadline for July Eliot is July 5 . Deadline for the two August camps is July 26 .) Not familiar with the Eliot Institute? Read general info about the camps further below, after the specifics of the three upcoming summer camps.

The recording of our June 15, 2025 Annual Congregational Meeting is now available online .

From UUC's Tent City 3 Team When UUC hosted Tent City 3 (TC3) for three months in Spring 2023, our community provided a weekly dinner that proved to be a great opportunity for many from our community to contribute. Allie Harris and Sue Williams coordinated the plan in 2023, after gauging volunteer interest and seeking input from the TC3 community. When we decided to host TC3 again this year (from March 22 until July 26) Allie stepped up again to coordinate, with many from this community joining the effort. In total, UUC will host 16 dinners during this stay. Each Wednesday, 50-60 from the TC3 community dine in Nathan Johnson Hall. And, another 30-40 to-go boxes are prepared for others in the camp, with some on-duty with various responsibilities at the camp and others arriving back at the camp after dinner service concludes. So many meals—and the TC3 community is so appreciative. On top of that, any leftovers are delivered to TC3 on Thursday late morning, providing lunch fixings for some. Each Wednesday, there are 5-6 volunteers involved with serving and cleaning-up with Allie, with several dozen delivering menu items prepared in their home kitchens. To date, 62 from this community have contributed to at least one of the dinners, with 25 donating at least 5 times. Ten volunteers have become regulars, with their involvement hitting double-digits. As during the 2023 stay, Congregation Beth Shalom has partnered with us, and hosted several of the Wednesday evening meals too. Several other congregations are also delivering meals to the camp: St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church, Temple Beth Am, St. Bridget's Catholic Church, Assumption Catholic Church, Our Lady of the Lake Parish, St. Catherine of Siena Church, IMAN Center, St. Dunstan's and Ripe Catering have been delivering weekly meals to the camp since 2023! Even families in the neighborhood are preparing and delivering meals to the camp. So, if you and your friends are inspired to do that, you can check for openings on the TC3 meal calendar here . If you live nearby, or will be at UUC midweek, you are also welcome to drop by with a batch of cookies or muffins, or other ready-to-eat items. These donations are appreciated any time and you can feel free to drop off a batch of any size. Thanks to all for your ongoing engagement with our TC3 neighbors! If you have any questions about dropping off donations or getting involved with TC3, contact Pam Smith Mentz . Of course, you can simply stop by the TC3 camp to say hello or ask about a donation you might like to offer—any time!

Sunday, June 22, 1-4 p.m. at 12531 28th Avenue NE, Seattle

Tuesday, June 24, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. by appointment in Nathan Johnson Hall

General Assembly Worship Service , online only (The UUC building will be closed)

Thursday, June 19

Saturday, June 21 at 1 p.m. at First Unitarian Church, Portland, and via livestream With sadness, we report the death of long-time member, Pete Guest. He died peacefully on May 27 in the skilled nursing facility at Holladay Park Plaza, his Portland retirement community. He was surrounded by his wife, Kris , and son Andrew. Pete had declined over several years and was hospitalized in early April before moving to hospice at Holladay Park for 6 weeks. He was 84 years old. Pete was a UU since college, and active at UUC from the early 1990's until he moved to Portland in 2013. A memorial service at First Unitarian Church, Portland, Saturday, June 21 at 1:00 pm, will be livestreamed. Viewers can go to the church website or click on this link: https://boxcast.tv/view/pete-guest-lr6ej6ouukucdinvxowo . You can read his obituary here .

Thursday, June 19, 7 p.m. via Zoom The UUC Board of Trustees is holding a last-minute final 2024–25 meeting this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. It is open to members.

Wednesday, June 18, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. in Knatvold and via Zoom