Co-Hosts: Johnna Ebanks & Laura Hume Chair: David Simons Kristina Schmidt, Howard Voland, Jo Raymond, Charlotte Benson, Susie Smyth, Kathy Fosnaugh, and Mary Alexander
Questions about your pledge or how to pledge? Contact: Jo Raymond at jozray@gmail.com
We are forming a committee to refresh our congregation’s values, purpose, mission, and vision (VPMV). In the past several years, our congregation had experienced steady growth with new members post pandemic. With the current social climate, it is important to refresh our VPMV, involving the whole congregation. We expect the committee members to engage most of the congregation through focus group discussions, consolidate the data, and present the final readout to the congregation in a year-long process.
Please contact us if you are interested in participating.
Each member of the core team (the “VPMV Committee”) will need to commit to the following:
Attending each virtual committee meeting, which will take place up to several times monthly to get the plan started, then about monthly during the next church year as the process plays out, with more frequent meetings as needed.
Attend VPMV Training (one of the committee’s meetings) to be trained on how to facilitate a Focus Group for the VPMV Process
Facilitate at least 3 (possibly 4) Focus Groups of about 5 people each from the congregation, guiding them through the VPMV recreation process as trained; gather notes from each Focus Group in a common documentation area (Google Drive) for analysis and follow-through by the Committee
Support and participate as needed within the Committee to see the VPMV Recreation process through to the end.
Our annual rummage sale date is rapidly approaching (April 11-12) and we have no one to lead it. If no one steps up to lead it, WUUC will lose $6000 towards our annual budget. We do this sale every year at the same time and the community counts on it to happen; if we skip a year we may lose the community muscle memory to come to the sale and have lower sales in future years. We will also lose some benefit/service at church with the loss to the budget. The community also counts on this sale for affordable clothes/books/toys/household supplies; one year a woman bought almost all of the summer clothes I had donated from my kids and she expressed her great joy and relief that she could outfit her kids for such an incredibly low price!
You don’t have to do this alone! My first few years I had a team and people were assigned specific tasks (one did the advertising, one ordered the truck, one did regular emails to the congregation, etc). I am very happy to walk you (alone or with a buddy or a whole team) through the process. I will also be volunteering during the sale prep process (I oddly really enjoy that part) and the sale itself. There are also a lot of folks that have been helping regularly at the sale who I know will step up to participate.
Never been to the sale so have no idea what I’m talking about or just have questions; email me and we can chat! mortonmarler@hotmail.com.
A new year has started and we can be pleased with the work we’ve done in supporting the Totes to Go program throughout 2024. Totes provides food for weekends when school meals aren’t available to students. We know that hungry kids can’t learn well, so we help to ensure weekend nutrition for kids who are at risk of missing meals. We deliver items each month throughout the school year.
We have a number of “scheduled” donors who have signed up to bring the same items each month. Sometime after the 15th of the month, I send out a message listing the items we still need. Want to help? Watch for those e-mails and pick up some items we need. Or you might choose to make a financial contribution (WUUC with Totes on the memo line or envelope). Also, usually on the last Sunday of the month, I can use help loading everything into my car.
Questions or comments? See me, Grace Simons or John Hartman, co-coordinators.
WUUC has donated to the Maltby Food Bank for many years, and there is a grocery cart in the church lobby for your donations. Please do what you can to support the less fortunate folk in the largely underserved area of South Snohomish region.
Winter is a time of higher need for many, particularly those who are in outdoor work – construction, landscaping, house paining etc. as well as for folks struggling for warmth in cold weather, and all the additional costs of the Winter and the winter holidays. Many people in poverty experience their hardest times during these times.
Maltby Food Bank also experiences a decrease in donations in Jan/Feb, after holiday food drives and outreach have played out. In January the needs go up, and donations go down. Let’s do what we can!
High Needs always include:
Hearty, easy main dish options (boxes/cans)
Peanut Butter AND JAM.
Tuna and other canned meats & legumes
Canned veggies
Pasta sauces of any type
Specialty food for allergies/intolerances like gluten-free, sugar-free, peanut free etc.
Crackers, cookies, easy treats
Toddler Sized Diapers
Feminine Hygiene Products
Personal toiletries; soap, shampoo, shaving needs etc
Household cleaning products; Laundry products, cleaners etc.
One of my personal ongoing efforts is to buy and donate items on buy-one, get-one deals of products I’m already getting for my own use. Or donate portions of the Costco multi-pack items I use.
WUUC also has a thriving donation program with Totes to Go! There are many ways to help others each in our own way, at our own level, and pace.
THANK YOU from all the folks who benefit from our support, large and small.
PS – I’m delighted to report I’ve had very good response to my request for new volunteers for WUUC food bank efforts. By next month we will have a new name as contact for this work.
