Summer is passing quickly and it’s time for us to gear up the Totes to Go program for the 23-24 school year!
Just to review, Totes to Go is a program that provides weekend food supplies for kids who are at risk of missing meals on the weekend, when school meals aren’t available. We collect food items for a month of weekends and deliver them to Maywood Hills Elementary. The school identifies the students who need support. We provide for fifteen students.
WUUC has generously supported Totes for many years. We collect food items in baskets located across from the church kitchen. We ask for donations of twelve types of non-perishable food. Donations can be made at any time. I send out a message explaining the last minute needs. Deliveries are made shortly before the first of the month.
This year, I’m promoting the idea of signing up for a regular monthly donation. For example, someone might agree to donate 30 granola bars each month. Amazon offers multi-packs of several items that we collect and may be hard to find. The price is often a bit better because you are buying more than a single item. You can even have them delivered on a monthly basis, which gives you a small discount. Many of our donors get supplies at Costco, and grocery stores carry most items as well. I would love to be able to plan on receiving a certain number of cans of tuna (or peaches, or ravioli…) each month. Then those of our donors who like variety in their contributions can fill in the rest.
Please let me know if you would like to make a particular donation each month. I can let you know which items are most helpful and be sure we don’t have overlapping orders.
Many thanks go to our donors, who have come through month after month. Many are anonymous; others identify themselves. Whoever you are, your contributions make a big difference! Hungry kids can’t learn well. We help prevent that.
Questions, comments and signups can be sent to Grace Simons or John Hartman, co-coordinators.
After the worship service on June 18th, we are having our Annual Congregational Meeting, where we will vote on the proposed 2023-24 budget and for the candidates for the elected positions on the Board of Trustees, Endowment Committee, and Nominating Committee. The members of the Nominating Committee are grateful the following members have agreed to serve on the following committees. We propose the following slate of candidates:
Board of Trustees Candidates
Azure “Blue” Forte
Nominated for Board, 3-year position
In 1977 Azure and her two young children found a spiritual home when first attending the UU Society of Amherst, MA. Many years that followed included serving as Facilitator of the Young Adult Group; Ministerial Search Committee member; Choir member; Minister’s Support Committee member and participant in the Earth-based Pagan Group. In connection to her professional work in Sociometry (the study of interpersonal relations) Azure gave sermons entitled, “A Microcosm of Peace,” and “What is Magic? Does it Really Exist?” With the collective talents of the high school youth group she organized, produced and directed a live production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” The nearby UU Rowe Camp and Conference Center included Azure’s leadership as a Certified Practitioner of Sociometry, Psychodrama and Group Psychotherapy for several week-long retreats.
2017 marks her geographic move from Amherst, MA to Woodinville, WA. The WUUC Choir became her first step, guided by WUUC’s unique Kimbrough Café, Auction, Rummage Sale and all the welcoming amazement. But WUUC’s work, to achieve Inclusion in both community and the wider world, touches the depth of Azure’s heartfelt study and purpose, “I am most honored to be nominated for a Board position. I want to engage in shared learning, creative ongoing discovery in the work of healthy community, and healthy inclusion of all individuals.” In 1977, the year Azure first attended a UU church, she also began employment in a small school for children suffering emotional distress. Her co-workers nick-named her Blue. A feeling of connection comes with the nickname, much appreciated by Blue.
Trina Roulet
Nominated for Board, 3-year position
“I moved into the area in 2008 and started attending WUUC that fall. My volunteer service with WUUC began with the kitchen Sunday coffee prep, after a few years I then joined the finance committee first as a general member and then co-chair and finally chair. I’ve also been involved with the BAG garden zones, adopting a zone. I still continue to garden in my zone and enjoy spending outdoor time at church. I am looking forward to continuing to volunteer and welcome the opportunity to join the Board.”
Kermit Sprang
Nominated for Board, 3-year position (second term)
Kermit has been a member of WUUC since 2017. Current church involvement: Board of Trustees (Treasurer); Building & Grounds Committee (co-chairman); Finance Committee; Tech Team (video); Choir.
Jeff Anderson
Nominated for Board, 1-year position
Jeff is a 62 year old fresh retiree who lives in Marysville and has lived in Snohomish County for 30 years with his wife Kim. He previously worked in the field of geographic information systems (GIS) as a “Digital Office Geographer” for Snohomish County, Sound Transit, and Community Transit. For the last five years he traversed the country commercially driving 18-wheeler semi-trucks as what he calls a “Mobile Transportation Geographer”. He’s been a UU in some form for about 20 years. He enjoys scuba diving and traveling and taking care of his home with his wife and their schipperke dog Cerci. Together, Kim and he have 4 grown children (a daughter, son, foster daughter, and Godson) that they stay connected to in the best way that they can.
Endowment Candidates
Carol Taylor
Nominated for Endowment Committee, 3-year position
Carol Taylor has been an active member at WUUC for 25 years. She has served as a nursery volunteer, RE teacher, RE committee member and chair, Board member and Secretary, Nominating committee member and chair, Stewardship committee member and chair, Social Justice team member, leader of workshops and discussion groups, and Designer/Builder of several versions of wuuc.org web site and newsletter. She brings management skills from a professional career in technology development, and fundraising experience from her work on previous pledge drives. “I believe it is important to have a continued progressive presence in our local community. I hope that WUUC can continue to be that place for as many people as possible for many years to come.”
Stephana Ditzler
Nominated for Endowment Committee, 3-year position
“I am Stephana Ditzler and am a charter member of WUUC. I have enjoyed many roles over the years. I joined the first choir our church had and am still a member. Other roles have included board president, membership committee chair, volunteer office administrator, and Golden Girls coordinator. Because I strongly believe in our church and what it stands for, I’m very happy to have been nominated for a position on the endowment committee and look forward to serving.”
Johnna Ebanks
Nominated for Endowment Committee, 1-year position
Johnna is a long time member of WUUC and beloved by all. Our committee failed to nab her bio in time for the newsletter.
Nominating Committee Candidates
Charlotte Benson
Nominated for Nominating Committee, 3-year position
Charlotte has been a member of WUUC for ten years. She steps up and helps where she is needed. She helps in the kitchen, with BAG, the auction and the rummage sale. The Nominating Committee is excited to have her join as Charlotte’s long time service in the kitchen means she knows everyone. 😀
– Grace Simons Photo of Rana helping unload our donations.
June is here and school will soon be out for the summer. The WUUC “Totes to Go” program is looking back on a very successful year! We provide food for 15 students at Maywood Elementary for weekends, when school meals are not available. Thanks to the many WUUCies who have donated to the program this year, and other years as well. Your generosity means that “our” kids don’t show up at school on Mondays hungry and less able to learn.
This year, we have provided over 600 servings of milk, juice, fruit, snacks, 1-dish meals, cereal and granola bars. (That’s 600 of each item!) We’ve also sent 300 sleeves of crackers, 150 cans of meat and fish, about 80 jars of peanut butter and 75 jars of mayonnaise. We’ve added in small treats for several holidays during the year. Wow! That’s a lot.
Totes to Go makes a big difference for kids and their families. Thank you for supporting it!
The Advocates for Social Justice will be sponsoring a Special Collection during the service on April 16 for Farmer Frog, which cultivates programs, school gardens, and hands-on learning to nurture communities. Farmer Frog’s programs support over a dozen school gardens in the state, work with several sites in urban and rural communities, and partner with Washington state indigenous communities. The Snohomish county didn’t renew Farmer Frog’s lease for the Woodinville property so they are now in the process of moving the whole farm from Woodinville to Snohomish over the next year. Our collection will support this enormous project. More information can be found here. If you’d like to give your time instead of or in addition to your money, there are also opportunities to help at the farm at their weekly work parties: Events (farmerfrog.org).
In February the Special Collection raised $564 for Communities of Color Coalition (C3), which educates and advocates for social justice and human rights, especially for people of color and other under-represented groups that have been systemically oppressed. They do this through a transformational process that centers and supports those who are closest to the problem in developing and implementing the solutions necessary for systemic change. Our collection went toward their comprehensive rental assistance program.
The ASJ Committee thanks WUUC members and friends for their generous support of our monthly special collections, which take place during services on the third Sunday of every month. Instructions for giving are posted during the service, and you can also donate anytime the following week at https://onrealm.org/wuuc/-/give/now, or by sending a check to WUUC at P.O. Box 111, Woodinville, WA 98072. Please make checks out to WUUC and write “ASJ Special Collection” in the notes.
Every year on February 2, Punxsutawney Phil (a groundhog) comes out of his borrow in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. If he sees his shadow, it means six more weeks of winter. (This year, Phil did see his shadow, so we can expect six more weeks of winter.)
This silly tradition of having a celebrity groundhog determine the length of the season is, well, silly. But it has a special place in my heart. As a kid, I would watch the movie Goundhog Day over and over again. I’ve lost track of how many times I have seen it. In the movie, Bill Murray plays a news reporter covering Punxsutawney Phil’s appearance and prediction for winter one year. But when he goes to bed, he wakes up and it’s the same day (Groundhog Day) over and over again. (As a kid, I didn’t realize the irony at the time of repeatedly watching a movie that was about repeating). I found it so fascinating to see the same person live the same day over and over again, but in so many ways. Each time he repeats the day, he makes different choices, different decisions. He may have felt trapped, but I found the implausible situation intriguing.
What would you do differently if you had a do-over? What decisions would you go back and change if you had the option to try again?
We may not get do-overs the way Bill Murray’s character does in the movie, but I think we get the opportunity to reflect on the decisions we’ve made, consider the outcome of our decisions, and choose whether we want to continue doing things the way we have been, or whether we want to change, grow, and try something new.
We can do this as individuals; and we can also do this collectively, as a community. If there are some congregational dynamics that we find difficult, uncomfortable, and frustrating, then let’s try a new way of relating to one another. If trying to get people to agree with our own opinions is leading to people digging their heels in and nobody budging, let’s try getting curious instead. Let’s find out where others are coming from before we are so quick to share what we believe/think/feel. We all want to be heard. We all want to be understood. We all want to feel a sense of belonging and acceptance. And if shouting our opinions from the rooftops (or on email lists) isn’t getting us these things, then let’s try a different approach. Let’s seek first to understand, then to be understood.
The most memorable thing (to me, anyway) that Mónica Guzmán said in the Fireside Chat on January 29, was that being curious about others made her a better advocate for her own position. I think we often fear that if we’re not passionately advocating for our opinions (and quickly shutting down contradictory opinions as wrong), then we are not being a good activist/advocate for our values. But what Mónica expressed was just the opposite. Being curious with people first made them more open and receptive to her ideas when she came around to sharing them.
On this Groundhog Day, may this silly tradition point us to a way out of the repeat cycle, and may we find new ways of being together that help us be heard, understood, and feel a sense of belonging and acceptance.
