Good news, we have new staff, new visitors, and members returning to in-person service. PLEASE remember to wear your Name Badges to help these folks learn your names. Also, returning your badges to the basket in the lobby allows the membership committee to keep track of attendance! Thanks for all you do to help our church keep growing!
Best,
Amy K. Genova
Membership Coordinator
Written by Tevina Flood,
As the COVID team has adjusted the required safety measures for gatherings, it has now become possible to have potlucks in the sanctuary the way we did before the pandemic. The powers that be have all concurred that this is okay.
I’d like to propose that we hold our first potluck after service on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. While I feel a similar though lesser ambivalence about Thanksgiving as I do about Columbus Day, I am all in favor of Thanksgiving dinner leftovers (Yum!!!) being used to jump-start our potluck resurrection. That way they’ll be no need to agonize about what to cook and bring (although you might be in agony as you contemplate having to share your candied yams or green bean casserole). If, like me you have a qualm about a holiday that is hurtful to some indigenous people, please try to focus on the spirit of gratitude and thankfulness and less on the questionable historical myth.
Having done a potluck at the end of November, I would propose to hold the next post-service potluck on the first Sunday in January and then every first Sunday thereafter.
You may be asking why we should go back to doing these when we already have the monthly Circle Supper potlucks. There are several reasons. Circle Suppers have limited seats available, they aren’t family friendly, they are not necessarily conveniently located, and, for much of the year, they require driving after dark in strange places. As we have younger families join us, it’s important that we find ways to include all of their members, not just the adult members. For those with limited transportation, a potluck just after service is much easier to manage than a special trip to someone’s home.
If you think you might be interested in attending the potluck in the sanctuary, it’d be great if you could go to the link below to let me know. It’ll help me plan if I have a rough idea of how many people might stay after to share food together.
Please send your thoughts and questions to Tevina Flood.
November 2022
Thank you to the 34 people who voted for their favorite organizations for ASJ’s monthly Special Collections! Votes have been tallied and below is a list of the ten organizations receiving WUUC’s special collections over the next year. A couple spots are always left open to respond to unexpected events that lead to efforts we feel called to support.
On November 20th our Special Collection will go to the organization that received the most votes – Northwest Abortion Access Fund – which serves Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Alaska with trained, compassionate volunteer advocates running a toll-free hotline, help with paying for their abortion care, and help with transportation and housing for the procedure.
In September we collected $1,032 to support WUUC’s Black Student and Family Fund (BSAFF). This money, along with WUUC volunteers, assists families of students in the Northshore School District (especially those living at Greenleaf, a subsidized housing community) with a variety of needs – from essentials like food, shelter, and monthly bills, to community organizing, leadership development, and support for future dreams including college and career development. Your contributions 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.
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.
Special Collection Recipients, Nov. 2022 – October 2023 (In order of number of votes)
Northwest Abortion Access Fund
Black Students and Families Fund (BSAFF)
Arms Around You
Na-ah Illahee Fund
Advocates for Immigrants in Detention Northwest
National Alliance on Mental Illness – Eastside (NAMI)
Camp Ten Trees
Farmer Frog
Lambert House
Woodinville Storehouse Food Bank
– Jan Radoslovich, WUUC Board VP and Liaison to Ministry Council
“In the Soup” by Rev. Robert Walsh (Reading at the 10/23/22 Worship Service)
My dictionary says the word minister is etymologically related to the word minestrone. I am not making this up. They are both derived from a Latin root that means to serve.
The image of ministry as minestrone is particularly apt for the ministry church people do all together that makes us a ministering congregation. Each bean, each vegetable, each piece of macaroni or pinch of spice gives not only its substance to the soup but also its spirit, its texture and color, its flavor and aroma. Each person offers a unique set of gifts, and if we do our job of organizing well, each gift will be creatively matched with a need—so that the whole becomes a warm, nourishing, life-giving religious community.
All who serve the church and the principles and values we hold dear are ministers. If you are doing part of that work, you are doing ministry, no matter how unlikely that may seem. You are in the soup—the minestrone of ministry!
The “In the Soup” reading seemed like the perfect introduction to what the Ministry Council has been doing for the past several months. The Ministry Council works collaboratively with the Minister in the management and oversight of WUUC ministries and programs in accordance with the mission of the church while abiding by policies as specified by the Board and the congregation. The Ministry Council consists of Ministry Leads, Board Reps for meeting facilitation and notetaking, and the Minister.
For the past 7 years, the Ministry Council has been organized and operating under the “Three Umbrellas of our Ministry” – Community & Engagement, Transformation & Action, and Sustainability. The Ministry Council felt it was time to revisit this model, to literally spend some time “in the soup” of our work. How are the umbrella groupings working? What is our understanding of the Ministry Council mission? Is the Ministry Lead role effective in providing communication, collaboration, troubleshooting and oversight between ministries and with the Board and Minister? What changes need to be made to improve the functioning of Ministry Council in supporting the Ministry Leads and ministries of WUUC?
From April through August, 2022 the members of the Ministry Council focused their meeting time and efforts on addressing these and other questions about the Ministry Council model. We also sought and received input from Ministry Council alumni. A few outcomes of our work together:
Here are the new “Seven Umbrellas of Ministry” and Ministry Leads that were approved at the October, 2022 Board Meeting:
Sustainability – Ministry Lead: Marcia Sprang. Ministries include: Building and Grounds (BAG), Endowment, Finance, Human Resources, Information Technology, Stewardship, Woodinville Country Day School, Building Rental, MarCom (Marketing/Communications)
Justice and Service – Ministry Co-Leads: Cora Goss-Grubbs/Pam Green (rotating)
Ministries include: Welcoming Congregation, Climate, Racial Justice Task Force (RJTF), Land Acknowledgment, Economic Justice, Blood Drive
Worship and Music – Ministry Lead: Donna Johnson. Ministries include: Worship Leaders, Zoomkeepers, Camera/Sound Techs, Choir/Special Music, Earth-based Services/Celebrations, December Labyrinth
Lifelong Learning – Ministry Co-Leads: Skylar Hopkins, Director of Religious Education/Rev. Dan Lillie. Ministries include: Nursery/Preschool, Kindergarten, Elementary, Jr. and Sr. Youth Groups, Our Whole Lives (Lifespan Sexuality Education), Adult Religious Education, UU Identity Formation (Denominational Affairs Team yet to be formed)
Membership and Hospitality – Ministry Lead: Amy Genova, Membership Coordinator. Ministries include: Membership Team, ComCom (Internal Communications, E-mail Distribution Groups), Ushers and Greeters, Coffee/Social Hour Support
Social Connections – Ministry Lead: Tevina Flood. Ministries include: Engagement Groups, Social Events, Small Group Ministries, Pondering Groups, Connections Groups, Recurring Small Groups, Men’s and Women’s Retreats, Camping Trip
Care and Support – Ministry Lead: Rev. Dan Lillie. Ministries include: Lay Pastoral Associates, Care & Concerns Team, Support Groups
This Ministry model is an experiment and will continue to be evaluated as implementation progresses through the church year. If you have questions or feedback for the Ministry Council, please contact any of the Ministry Leads, Board Representative Jan Radoslovich or Rev. Dan Lillie.
As a congregation, we strive to build and maintain a safety culture to keep children, youth and adults safe from sexual abuse, harassment or misconduct while participating in congregational life. In response to the feedback and concerns expressed by congregational members during the September Town Hall and Zoom meetings as well as individual conversations with Board members and our Minister, the Board is forming a “Safer Congregation” Task Force to study and implement Safer Congregation best practices.
The Task Force will include Board Members Leslie Morton and Jan Radoslovich, R&R Team Member Lori McConnell and at-large member Justin Gertler. The Task Force will work on a comprehensive Safety Policy that addresses sexual abuse, harassment, misconduct, and disruptive behaviors. The Board welcomes your suggestions and comments on this policy and other aspects of the Task Force work. Future communication will provide venues for this feedback. If you are interested in working with this Task Force, please contact Leslie Morton, Board President.
The Article II Study Commission’s outreach team will be hosting Zoom feedback sessions in the first half of November, along with gathering feedback through a forthcoming online form for individual comments. This is another opportunity to participate in the process and give your feedback.