Each fall, the Advocates for Social Justice go through a lengthy process to choose organizations that will benefit from our monthly special collections, making it convenient for members and friends to meet their giving goals. During the service on August 21, the Advocates for Social Justice invite you to donate to JUUstice Washington, which strives to inspire, educate, empower, and nurture the capacity of Unitarian Universalists (UUs), as well as our community allies, to collaboratively advocate for and undertake social and environmental justice initiatives. They support legislative change that aligns with our UU values in Washington state and beyond.
June’s Special Collection raised $360 to benefit Lambert House, a nonprofit organization that empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth through the development of leadership, social, and life skills. In May we collected $612 for NAMI Eastside. This East King County affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness is a community-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to improving the quality of life for those impacted by mental illness through advocacy, education, and support.
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.
As I prepare to take a study leave to plan the 2022-23 church year, I am excited about the opportunities that are possible as we continue to emerge slowly and cautiously from the pandemic. For the first time since I arrived two years ago, I am able to consider putting in-person activities on the calendar. Adult RE classes, social gatherings, postponed celebrations. Meetings over coffee instead of Zoom. And with so many possibilities, I know I will have to fight the temptation to put too much on my calendar (and the church’s calendar) too quickly. At a week-long community organizing training I attended years ago, the lead organizer asked a question on the last day of the training: what did you learn here that you are excited to take back and implement in your community? Many people raised their hands to share their answers. Then he asked a follow-up question: what is going to come off your plate to make room for the new thing you want to do? The hands didn’t go up as quickly to answer that question.
It is easy to get excited and want to dive right in to new and inspiring projects and plans. But before we do, it is worth reflecting on what we are letting go of to make room in our lives for the new. It can be tempting to think, “I’ll just squeeze this one more thing in. I can make it all fit in my life.” And that may be true; but we’ll only know if we ask the question of ourselves and reflect on the answer. And it is definitely true that this can’t be the answer every time, to just squeeze in one more thing. Eventually, something will have to give in order to make room for something else.
There are so many things I want to see and make happen here at WUUC. And, I know that ministry is a marathon, not a sprint. If we are doing it right, we will have many years together to plan, gather, and build; to connect, learn, and transform ourselves, our community, and our world. There is time for all of it, as long as we take it a little at a time.
I’m so glad to be on this journey with all of you.
At this years General Assembly we had WUUC representation both online and in person. Pictured are four of the in-person attendees Jan Radoslovich, Bridget Laflin, Jane Flood (delegate) and Rev. Dan Lillie. May Killorin (not pictured) also attended in-person.
Our remote attendees included:
Kermit Sprang (delegate), Carol Taylor and Pam Green. Linda Sherry was planning to attend in-person as a delegate, but was unable to attend due to illness.
More reflections of GA to come in our next newsletter from our WUUC representatives who attended GA both remotely and on site.
UU 101 is a two-session class offered quarterly that covers some basics about Unitarian Universalist History, Theology, and Polity. What is polity, you ask? Come to UU 101 and find out!
The next UU 101 dates are:
Session 1: Thursday, July 21, 6:00 – 8:30 pm (Hybrid: Zoom and in-person at WUUC)
Session 2: Thursday, July 28, 6:00 – 8:30 pm (Hybrid: Zoom and in-person at WUUC)
My name is Dani and I am the owner of Woodinville Country Day School! We have been a part time preschool down the street for 8 years and we are absolutely thrilled to be making WUUC our new home! We have recently begun our upgrades to get the campus “preschool” ready. We began by breaking ground on the playground. We have redesigned a safe area for kids to play. The play structure is almost finished and includes 2 slides. A clatter bridge, a rope ladder, a climbing wall and more! The bottom will have a sandbox and picnic table. We also purchased a new teeter totter airplane which was a huge hit at the old campus. Both portables and the nursery are being tested
To new carpet (which of course got delayed but will be here mid July) and fresh paint. We are building 2 sheds to house our books, curriculum, and extra manipulative. We also plan to sand and paint the railings and walkways in front of the portables after the fence is installed. We are a play-based preschool, meaning the kids learn through play. Our goal is to foster a LOVE of learning! We have an incredible staff who have fallen in love with the campus and are anxiously working to set the rooms up.
Our goal is to build a community with WCDS and WUUC. We will be using the space for AM and PM half day classes during the week. The church will have open access to all rooms in the evenings and on the weekends. We have an incredible community that is very excited about this new chapter. We hope that you get the chance to pop by and say hello in the future and if you have any questions please reach out to Dani (dani@woodinvillecds.com).
