By Cynthia Cobb Thank you to DD Hilke for introducing this topic to me. Since then I did some research and found these books discussing the high cost of clothing at the library.
Elizabeth Cline’s first book was Overdressed, The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion. In The Conscious Closet she writes “Overdressed was one of the first investigations to draw a straight line between our increasing consumption of fashion and the critical problems of climate change, pollution, and poor working conditions. Driving it all was the meteoritic rise of “fast fashion,” a hyper-accelerated cycle of making, consuming, and trashing clothes that is wrecking our environment and keeping workers locked in poverty.”
Elizabeth Cline’s second book, The Conscious Closet, the Revolutionary Guide to LookingGood while Doing Good, she writes, “If you want to change the world, there’s no better place to start than with the clothes on your back, and the shoes on your feet.” The clothing industry is “among the world’s largest emitters, water polluters, and users of toxic chemicals. As much as 8% of carbon emissions are caused by fashion. A third of microplastic pollution junking up our oceans is coming from what we wear. A garbage truck’s worth of unwanted fashion is landfilled in the United States every two minutes. And in an industry that makes some people so fantastically rich and famous, there are somehow only a handful of garment workers earning a living wage anywhere.”
These books offer lots of ideas for changing your relationship with clothing by reducing social and environmental impacts from clothing purchases. Consider applying the 5 R’s to your clothing buying choices; Refuse, Reduce, Repair, Repurpose, and Recycle.
King County Repair Clinics are offering a repair event in Woodinville on July 22 where they will be offering repairs to clothing and textiles, and small household and personal items including some electronics. For more info on the Repair Clinics Program or to sign up for this event see:
As we get closer to reopening church, it is tempting to try to rush back into the building and try to “get back to normal.” We miss each other and need connection. AND as a faith community that strives to live into shared values, the decisions of how and when to reopen, and in what capacities is not as simple as it is for businesses.
CB Beal, a consultant on welcoming and inclusion, wrote an amazing blog post on the subject from a Unitarian Universalist perspective. It is long, but I think it is very much worth the read. For those of us not involved in the decision-making process, it highlights things that the reopening committee is considering and gives us a perspective as to why this process is not as simple as it may seem from the outside.
In April our congregants raised $350 for UU Ministry for Earth, which strives to inspire, facilitate and support personal, congregational, and denominational practices that honor and sustain the Earth and all beings.
On June 20 our special collection will support Lambert House, a safe space in Seattle that empowers lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 11-22 through the development of leadership, social and life skills. In her work as a behavioral health counselor, WUUC member Cora Goss-Grubbs has witnessed the transformation of young people’s lives who have connected with Lambert House and found a community in which to explore their identity and grow into their full potential. She encourages everyone to give as they are able to this worthy organization!
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, and selecting ASJ Monthly Collection, 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.
Each month WUUC explores a theme suggested by the UUA’s Soul Matters program. We will engage with the topic in some of our Worship services, some of our small groups, and we encourage you to engage in any other way you’d like! For June, the suggested topic is Play.
What does it mean to be a people of play?
We all are playing.
Playing it up, playing it down, trying to play fair.
Playing for keeps, playing favorites, playing it safe,
sometimes too safe.
He plays hardball; They’re playing house; I’m playing it by ear,
or at least learning to play it by ear.
She’s tired of playing second fiddle; He’s playing right into their hands.
Please God, can’t we all just throw out the playbook and start again?
Sometimes we’re just played out; it’s not always bad to play possum.
And what about playing with fire?
Let’s hope so friends.
Don’t you want to feel again that burning within,
and let it loose?
Welcome to the month of play. May we all take it seriously!
I volunteered at Kenmore Elementary for over 10 years, until the virus hit. I worked with second- and third-graders who were having difficulty in math.
After I retired in 2009, I was looking for meaningful volunteer opportunities. I tried volunteering at food banks and senior centers as well as Kenmore Elementary. I like volunteering at Kenmore Elementary because I feel a partnership with the teachers and I also love the enthusiasm, energy and honesty of children at this age. I also can see, in the course of a school year, the impact I have made on children’s lives.
I’ll never forget working with a particular second grader. It was obvious that he had a very unsettled home life. But he was a genius, for his age, at math. He could add and subtract a string of two digit numbers in his head. While I was trying to get the answer on paper, he already had the answer. Unfortunately, he had other emotional issues so his genius didn’t translate to the classroom. I worked with him for a year and then his family moved away. I often think about him and hope that his gift will be identified and nurtured.
There is such a need for volunteers in the classroom, especially now. So many young people will need help after schools reopen. The schools especially seem to appreciate older volunteers who have no connection to the school except that they want to help. Kids like older adults as well. The cross generational conversations are intriguing and fun.
