by WUUC | Oct 28, 2020 | Announcements
Preview night, Nov. 14, 7-8 p.m. live (Zoom)- introduction of the virtual auction (SIMPLE auction website info/instructions), — plus our Auctioneers, Rob Katz & John Villasenor, will open bidding for one live auction item (test run for Nov. 21)
Virtual auction, Nov. 14-21 – online bidding anytime, 8pm Nov. 14- noon, Nov. 21, – bidders will receive email updates about their bid status
Live Auction & Party, Nov. 21, 7-8:30 p.m. (Zoom) 19-20’s holodeck Party & live auction with musical entertainment and break-out groups for gabbing & mingling
Donations needed by Nov. 7 — donate your knitting, canning, baking, brewing, and the spate of books you’ve read; dinner delivered, online games night, socially distanced summer escape. … For info, ideas, and updates see the weekly WUUC Auction email announcements OR contact the auction team at auctionteam@wuuc.org
by WUUC | Oct 28, 2020 | Announcements
By Cora Goss-Grubbs and Pam Green, Co-Chairs
We are delighted to report that last month we collected $1,455 to add to the Black Student and Families Fund (BSAFF). This money, along with WUUC volunteers, assists the families of students in the Northshore School District with a variety of needs – from essentials of food and shelter, to monthly bills and car repairs, to community organizing and support for future dreams including college and career development.
Your contributions will fund programs and services with the goal of providing a safe environment for students to explore and express their identity as they navigate the racial constructs of their world.
Our special collection on Nov. 20 will be for TRUUsT (Transgender Religious professional UUs Together), an organization of trans Unitarian Universalists who are living out a call to ministry within Unitarian Universalism. Its mission is to advocate for the gifts, safety, liberation, and leadership of trans religious professionals in Unitarian Universalist ministries and institutions. Nov. 20 is also Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transphobia. Please consider making a financial contribution to TRUUsT on this important day.
Team Trees Update: One of the organizations we dedicated a
2019-2020 ASJ special collection to recently announced that they raised enough
to plant 22.3 million trees across six continents. That’s a lot of trees!
Curious to hear more about Team Trees and what they’ve been up to? Watch this
short video: https://youtu.be/myPgz2RRdok
As always, 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.
by WUUC | Oct 28, 2020 | DRE Blog
As we approach the holiday season, I am once again experiencing feelings of loss. Loss is all around us. There is the loss of our ability to be near family and friends, the loss of jobs, of homes, of traditions.
It is so easy to get caught up in mourning what we have lost in this pandemic. We are also being asked to come up with creative ways to live in this new normal when our creativity is often tapped out. It can be quite overwhelming. And all of these feelings of grief and loss and anger and sadness and overwhelm are real, true, and valid.
But as Rev. Dan pointed out in his sermon on Oct. 25, it is important to think about, “What else is true?”
There are some truths that I have found helpful in those moments. Hopefully, some of them will ring true to you as well and provide glimmers of hope in these difficult times.
·
Perfection is impossible.
· You are enough. Even if all you can manage today is to order food delivery and watch some TV, that’s okay. Do what you can do. You are enough. You are loved. You are not alone.
· Everything is perspective. All advice, even from experts, comes from a specific perspective. Only you truly know yourself and what you really need. This will be different from what other people need for themselves. Comparison of yourself to others is never accurate and rarely useful.
· Don’t get caught up in the fallacy that “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” That’s not true. People are given more than they can handle all the time. That is why you have other people in your life. You are part of a community full of people who want to help you. You don’t have to handle anything alone. Reach out if you want/need connection or help. We are here for you.
· The first principle of Unitarian Universalism applies to you, too. You have inherent worth and dignity no matter what you do or don’t do. You do not have to produce anything or perform in a specific way in order to earn your worth.
·
You can do hard things.
· You have a track record of making it through 100% of the hard times in your life. You can do this, too.
Together, we can get through this. Take care of yourself and each other.
by WUUC | Oct 28, 2020 | Announcements
What Does it Mean to Be a People of Healing?
If your body won’t do what it used to,
for right now let it be enough.
If your mind won’t stop racing or
can’t think of the word, let it be enough.
If you are here utterly alone and in
despair, be all that here with us.
If today you cannot sing because your throat hurts or you don’t have the heart for music, be silent. …
The world won’t stop spinning on her
axis if you don’t rise to all occasions today.
Love won’t cease to flow in your
direction,
your heart won’t stop beating,
all hope won’t be lost…
Rev. Vanessa Southern
Often we hunger for healing but don’t know what it will take to
make our way there. The goal is elusive. The path is unclear.
Rarely, if ever, are any of us healed in isolation. Healing is an act of communion.
bell hooks
But what if the work is to travel
toward our suffering? What if proximity to pain, not distance from it, is the
real route to healing?
When we hold our suffering in a way that opens us to
greater compassion, heartbreak becomes a source of healing, deepening our
empathy for others who suffer and extending our ability to reach out to them. – Parker Palmer
Remember that healing words aren’t always easy or immediately
comforting. Sometimes the words we need to hear the most are the ones that are
hard to hear or grab us by the shoulders and shake us awake.
The truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart. Then they come together again and fall apart again. It’s just like that. The healing comes from letting there be room for all of this to happen: room for grief, for relief, for misery, for joy.
Pema Chödrön
Until we widen our view and notice that there are circumstances wounding us both, the painful gap between us will never heal.
Rev. Kaaren Anderson
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about.
Wendy Mass
* *
*
Each month, WUUC is exploring a theme suggested by the
UUA program Soul Matters. Materials are
provided for small groups and for worship themes related to each topic. The reflections above are from those
materials, and compiled by Linda Sherry.
by WUUC | Oct 28, 2020 | Announcements
By Donna Johnson and Karen Hyams
Art: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power. ‘(Oxford Dictionary)
“The foremost reason that artists create, and the rest of us value their art, is because art forms a priceless living bridge between the everyday psychology of our minds and the universal spirit of humanity…….This is the thing: art comes from the heart and, likewise, speaks to the heart; but this asks something of the witness, too, a kind of emotional and spiritual sensitivity with which to receive the generous gift of the artist.” (Larry Culliford, Spiritual Wisdom for Secular Times)
We are blessed to have writers, musicians and artists who encourage one another, who collaborate, and who contribute to Sunday Service every week. Knowing what music you love, what captured your eye while you were hiking, or what stories you have to tell lets us see you. These shared insights enrich our worship services with art’s “emotional power” and ability to help us “bridge to the universal spirit of humanity.” The creative gifts we share are making new connections, inspiring others to express themselves and share their own perspectives, and contributing to our identity as a community. That is a ministry.
For the past months, we have been using the art of WUUC members and friends during the service to enhance our meditation and musical experiences. Now, we are also sharing this art as part of a slide show in the 10 minutes before the service starts each week – the Zoom version of the art that we used to enjoy in the foyer when we were having services in the sanctuary. Thank you to those who have sent in their work. As creative people, we get to show who we are, what we are obsessed with, how we are doing in the moment we are creating, and what matters to us.
Visual Arts Ministry
This re-forming team has a new focus now that our gallery is virtual. The participation of our congregation is unprecedented and inspiring. If you’d like to work on this exciting project with creative people (who are always fun) send a message to Marlene Katz mkatz@wuuc.org
How to Contribute images and video
Best way: Upload files to the graphics folder in Drive, make sure they are named correctly. You can edit names in Drive after uploading.
Graphics Folder
Other way: Email graphic files to Marlene Katz, mkatz@wuuc.org
To Contribute Music, contact Brad Hull, bhull@wuuc.org
What we are looking for:
Original Photos: Nature, Landscape, moody, inspiring, calming, pets, people, coffee, funny
Sometimes we’ll send out a request for a theme.
Original Artwork: any medium, any PG subject but we are especially fond of kid artwork, pet portraits, and kid pet portraits.
Photographing artwork is tricky, try to avoid shadows and glare, and get as close as you can. Make sure the image is big enough; a general guide is Horizontal (landscape) – 1,024 x 512 Vertical (portrait) – 800 x 1,200 Most smartphones do fine.
What happens next:
New files organized
We will use them when it is appropriate for the context. We may contact you asking for permission to use your image in a graphic for church. We don’t know when we’ll use your contribution, but we hope we can use them all.
Credits and Releases:
Your original work only
If you wish to be credited, name your files with your name & the title.
Khyams frog.jpg is a good example.
Make sure you have everyone’s permission to publish photos that they are in. Photo release forms are required for children.
