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!
Sunday worship is the heart of our community. We all want our worship time together to be an important and meaningful part of each week. To get input for service planning for the 2023-2024 church year, the WUUC Worship Team provided a survey for congregants in April/May, 2023. This was an opportunity for all in our community to share ideas about worship topics, approaches, music, and guest speakers (both internal and external). We received 34 responses to the survey, with a wide range and variety of comments. Your responses are valuable and important feedback that will guide Rev. Dan and the Worship Team as we begin our service planning at the upcoming Worship Team Retreat on July 22, 2023.
We will use your answers to help tailor worship services that over the course of the coming church year, meet the needs of the congregation. While we value and will consider all replies, we can’t guarantee that we’ll be able to put together all the services that are suggested. We as individuals have differing needs and expectations of worship, so some services will work better for some people, but we hope over the church year, most people will feel well served by the worship services offered. Rev. Dan and the Worship Team welcome ongoing feedback on any aspect of worship at WUUC. We also invite any congregation members interested in joining the Worship Team to contact either Donna Johnson, Worship Team Lead or Rev. Dan Lillie.
Tony and Katie moved to Washington in 2015 after meeting in college at Boston University. Katie is originally from Virginia Beach, VA and Tony is originally from Colorado. Katie is a first-grade teacher in the Renton school district and Tony is a software engineer at Microsoft. Aside from raising newly-born Gemma, they enjoy musicals, ice hockey, and hiking.
Kate Smith
Kate is serving at WUUC as the chair of the Membership committee, and when she’s not hard at work as a Project Manager at Microsoft where she “makes SQL Queries go fast.”, or hard at work on the Membership team, she’s busy doing exciting things with her kiddos like sailing, hiking, or biking. When she has time for an activity without the kids, she turns to hiking, quilting, or lifting weights.
In our July Newsletter we will have bios and pictures for our other new members: Jeff and Ann Lu, and Jane and Tevina Flood so stay tuned!
Two community-wide discussions about the proposed revision of Article II of the UUA Bylaws finished this past week. The Board invites your written feedback about the Article II proposal via a congregational survey. Attached are two documents: the original Article II followed by the rewritten Article II in one document (from the Article II Study Report to the Board of Trustees) and a side-by-side comparison of the two versions. It may be helpful to review these before completing the survey.
Responses are due, and the survey will close on May 17th, two weeks from the posting date. If you have difficulty accessing the form, please email Terry at TASantmann@gmail.com.
The survey will guide WUUC delegates to GA 2023 about whether to support or oppose moving the Article II proposed language forward for further discernment within the UUA in the coming year. Results will be shared with the congregation without attribution to individual respondents. Your name and email address will be held in strict confidence by Terry Santmann and Carol Taylor solely to determine participation eligibility. The survey is open to members, friends, and regulars of WUUC (definitions are in the survey). A survey format has been chosen instead of a formal congregational vote because the final form of the Article II proposal will not be determined until the review and revision process occurs just before the vote at the General Assembly. The survey results will provide general guidance to the delegates. Delegates will be expected to notify the Board and congregation how they each voted on this measure.
The Board and Rev. Dan encourage WUUC members and friends to take advantage of this opportunity to share information, thoughts, and feelings regarding the UUA Bylaws Article II proposal. If you have additional suggestions/ideas, please contact any of the Board members or Rev. Dan by email at Board@wuuc.org or via individual email addresses.
