-Karen Chernotsky, Community Engagement Liaison – Bloodworks Northwest
Dear WWU Blood Drive Team:
Thank you so very much for hosting your most recent blood drive. We are thankful to you for opening your doors and sharing your space with those who want to save lives. Below are the results of our collaboration, and we look forward to working together with you again.
Thank You for Your Support! You are always appreciated.
Blood Drive Results for Woodinville Unitarian Universalist Church
For the April 10-12, 2023 blood drive, you had a total of 123 people check in to donate blood, and 105 units were successfully collected. We welcomed 5 first-time-donors to Bloodworks Northwest – we hope it was a positive experience, and that they will consider giving again. You already have 11 people booked for your next event, July 10-12.
The blood that was collected at your event will go to local hospitals, impacting and saving lives of patients throughout the Pacific Northwest. This blood is critical to maintain a stable blood supply for surgeries, medical emergencies, and for supporting patients battling life-threatening illnesses like leukemia and other cancers.
We thank all of the donors for taking time out of their day to give their gift of blood, and we thank you for the extra time and support you put into coordinating the logistics, that made the blood drive possible. On behalf of patients in our community’s hospitals, I wish to extend our thanks. Bloodworks Northwest is the primary supplier for over 90 hospitals in the Pacific Northwest.
We do this because, Someone’s Tomorrow Needs a Blood Donor Today! Check out the Bloodworks Northwest Blog for patient stories and more.
Those who donated at this blood drive will be eligible to give again in 56 Days!
As of 4/30/23, Kathy Fosnaugh, Stewardship Committee Chair reports that our pledge drive total now stands at $305,977, or almost 94% of our $326,000 goal.
Below are the next steps in our budget process:
The Finance Committee met on April 25th to review current pledge numbers and recommend specific budget adjustments based off recent pledge numbers. The finance Committee will submit these recommendations to the board.
The Board will hold a special budget meeting on May 3rd to review the recommendations of the Finance Committee and vote on the proposed budget to present to the congregation.
The Congregational Town Hall where the proposed budget will be presented and discussed is scheduled for Sunday, May 21st following the service.
The Congregational Meeting on June 18th is where the proposed budget will be voted on for approval by the congregation, along with voting for elected positions.
If you have specific questions about any aspect of the budget process, please contact Kermit Sprang, WUUC Board Treasurer.
The WUUC Worship team is starting to plan for the next church year – starting September 2023.
Sunday worship is the heart of our community. We all want our time together to be an important and meaningful part of each week. See below for more background information.
What worship services would you like to see at WUUC?
Please take a few minutes to share your ideas about topics, approaches, and possible speakers. You can do this in one of two ways:
2. Send an email to Winny Schnitzler at winny.hanako@gmail.com, and she will get back to you with the survey questions that you can answer in an email to her.
Our faith is a Living Tradition, which has evolved over the years to meet the needs of our changing world and it’s been almost 40 years since the last significant revision to Article II. After careful consideration, the WUUC Racial Justice Task Force is endorsing the draft proposed changes to Article II with confidence for the following reasons:
The updates reflect WUUC’s mission to support racial justice efforts, as clearly stated in the statement from the board on the WUUC website. “WUUC reaffirms our commitment to eradicating racial injustice.”
The revised Article II also explicitly calls out Justice and Equity as core values, which is essential for promoting a fair and just society.
We believe that these changes are timely, given the ongoing systemic injustice and violence that disproportionately affects marginalized communities.
We also recognize that underrepresented UU groups have expressed concerns and called for changes to make our faith communities more welcoming. By incorporating the spirit of the 8th principle and revisiting our practices of diversity and inclusion, we are taking concrete steps towards dismantling racism and other oppressions in ourselves and our institutions, including our faith communities.
We acknowledge that language is never perfect. The UUA has solicited feedback from many UUs to refine the proposed changes. We believe that modernizing the language will speak more clearly to a younger, broader audience, including the specific values (interdependence, pluralism, justice, transformation, generosity, and equity.)
Change can be challenging, at the same time we firmly believe that social justice requires us to evolve and adapt to new ways of thinking and speaking. We are confident that these changes will help us create a more just and inclusive community.
Since the startup of our Mahjongg Learning Group, we’ve enjoyed a wonderful response. Some folks joined in for an introduction only, and some caught Mahjongg Fever. All new players now aren’t so new, and regularly supersede the skill of the teacher. It’s safe to say that we now have four cool Mahjongg enthusiasts who are able to guide others into Modern American Mahjongg.
It’s wonderful to get together for casual conversation, relaxation and suspense; a relief from deep philosophical issues and pressures.
That being said, another question has been on the Mahjongg table: What about the folks who want to learn regular Chinese Mahjongg?
We actually have a creative effort in gear, thanks to Rosie, to include Chinese Mahjongg at WUUC. More news will be coming. Stay tuned and refer all questions to Blue at fieldandlight@gmail.com,
The WUUC Totes to Go program is going into the final stretch for the 2022-2023 school year. I just made the April delivery, so there are just two months to go. Our donations go to students at Maywood Hills Elementary who are at risk of missing meals on weekends, when the school is closed. Each month we deliver supplies for 15 students and the school is SO appreciative. We know that hungry kids can’t learn well, so we’re making a big difference for “our” kids. Many thanks go to all who have supported them!
As we get to the end of the year, please check our messages about what is needed. We clear out everything we have in June, but that’s a short month for the school and some of our supplies won’t hold over the summer if they can’t be sent home before school’s out. Maywood Hills has not had a summer program since I’ve been coordinating this program.
Please think of Totes as you shop over the next month or so. We need individual servings of shelf-stable milk, cereal, snacks, fruit, juice (look for 100% juice), 1-dish meals and granola bars. We also need mayonnaise, canned meat and fish, and crackers. How much? Look for those messages!!
John Hartman will be handling our May delivery. Grace Simons will be away, so direct questions or comments to John after April 15th.
Again many, many thanks to all who have brought food for this program. I don’t know exactly who you are – that’s one of the cool things about Totes. There’s a generous, mysterious spirit here. How wonderful that is!
