Nonfiction Book Club –  Winter 2022

Nonfiction Book Club – Winter 2022

Join us on Saturday, Jan. 15, 2022 at 7 p.m. for a meeting of the WUUC Nonfiction Book Club, hosted by Alaine Davis and Lane Owsley. We will be discussing Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach. We plan to meet in person and have dinner together. Vaccinated guests only, please. RSVP to Alaine <alaine.davis@yahoo.com>.

What’s to be done about a jaywalking moose? A bear caught breaking and entering? A murderous tree? Three hundred years ago, animals that broke the law would be assigned legal representation and put on trial. The answers are best found not in jurisprudence but in science: the curious science of human-wildlife conflict, a discipline at the crossroads of human behavior and wildlife biology.

Roach tags along with animal-attack forensics investigators, human-elephant conflict specialists, bear managers, and “danger tree” faller blasters. Intrepid as ever, she travels from leopard-terrorized hamlets in the Indian Himalaya to St. Peter’s Square in the early hours before the pope arrives for Easter Mass, when vandal gulls swoop in to destroy the elaborate floral display. She taste-tests rat bait, learns how to install a vulture effigy, and gets mugged by a macaque.

Combining little-known forensic science and conservation genetics with a motley cast of laser scarecrows, langur impersonators, and trespassing squirrels, Roach reveals as much about humanity as about nature’s lawbreakers. When it comes to “problem” wildlife, she finds, humans are more often the problem—and the solution. Fascinating, witty, and humane, Fuzz offers hope for compassionate coexistence in our ever-expanding human habitat.

(Modified from Goodreads)

Four times a year, the WUUC Book Discussion Group gathers to read and talk about a nonfiction book. You only attend the meetings about books that interest you, so we end up with a different group of participants every time. We meet to connect and talk about a book in depth. Anyone is welcome to suggest a book and/or lead a discussion. Contact Alaine to RSVP, suggest a book, or offer to host a future discussion.

Community Spotlight: A Story of Community And Its Accomplishments

Community Spotlight: A Story of Community And Its Accomplishments

My name is Jaime Holthuysen. I am a real estate broker and adjunct professor of anthropology. I wanted to share my experience volunteering last year at the start of the pandemic.

In March 2020, I had a heart-wrenching conversation with a good friend who was a doctor helping Covid patients. She was simply overwhelmed. There was such a shortage of masks they had to resort to reusing ‘sanitized’ paper masks. At the same time a local woman in Woodinville had started printing 3D face shields and needed help organizing and delivering supplies and masks to medical facilities that were in dire need of protective gear.

We formed a small group, a core team of organizers and began asking for volunteers. This rapidly grew to hundreds of people producing 3D printed masks in their basements and garages, and nearly 100 volunteer drivers. We established distribution hubs and sought out support from large companies such as Amazon and Microsoft. Our designs were NIH approved, our core team was led by doctors and engineers but also firefighters, stay-at-home moms and people from a variety of backgrounds. We became a 503C non-profit. Our goal was to provide face shields until supply could catch up with demand.

My role was in organizing supply chain and distribution. Our operation lasted several months. There were many late nights and countless numbers of hours volunteered by our community. In the end, we distributed over 500,000 face shields, $1.5 million worth of free protective gear nationwide to frontline medical providers, senior homes, homeless shelters, First Nations reservations, and to local protests supporting Black Lives Matter. 

I share this because it is a story of community and what can be accomplished when people care about others. In my work as a real estate broker and professor, my motivation has always been to support others in achieving their goals. It was a privilege to have been a part of this, seeing the immense dedication and the incredible result of such mobilization.

I firmly believe that change can be made standing together, uplifting each other, and supporting each other. 2020 was a year of hardship, loss, and struggle. It was also a year that demonstrated how, together, we have the infinite capacity to make change through our compassion and humanity. 

Open Positions: Childcare Providers

We have two open positions for childcare providers.  

These positions are available immediately.  Email DLL@WUUC.org to apply.

Position Title: Childcare Provider
Reports to: Nursery Coordinator and Director of Lifelong Learning 
Coordinates with:  Religious Education and Lifelong Learning (REALL) Committee 
Compensation: $15.00 per hour, part-time, non-exempt 
Work Schedule: Sunday mornings and occasional special events (approximately 15 hours/month)

Vision:

WUUC is a thriving church of 170+ adult members and 80+ children and youth.  Childcare providers are responsible for the safety and well being of the children and youth in their care or under their supervision during church-sponsored activities.  The ideal candidate will have the skills and temperament to work with children of all abilities along with an open heart and open mind toward families of all types, however they define themselves.  Additionally, she/he will have a flexible and cooperative attitude toward co-workers, parents, and church members.   

General Job Duties:

  • Provide care for the children and supervision of youth helpers on Sunday mornings during church services, 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
  • Facilitate a provided lesson plan (e.g. attendance chart, chalice, story, lesson, activity, play, clean-up)
  • The ability and willingness to move and lift typical children’s furniture, collapsible tables, and chairs in order to set and reset the meeting space before and after class
  • Model appropriate, effective, and welcoming behavior and attitudes toward the children and youth under your supervision
  • Communicate regularly with nursery coordinator regarding classroom issues, scheduling concerns, supply needs, etc.

Additional Skills and Requirements:

  • CPR and First Aid training is strongly desired.  
  • Candidates must be willing to submit to a background check and sign a code of ethics.  

What to Do at WUUC

Whether you are at home or in the WUUC building, there are so many ways to be involved. Please check the website www.wuuc.org for information on social groups, classes or volunteer opportunities.

As we are now offering Hybrid Sunday services, there are several way you could help out on Sundays:

Online/Zoom:

If you are comfortable Zooming, and expect to be worshipping from home sometimes, we need a couple of Zoom-worship support people.  Not hard if you’re a Zoomer.

In Person:

Ushering – contact Chuck Fowler at  Chuck & Jean Fowler  fernhaven@comcast.net

Greeting arrivals  – contact Karen Hyams   engage@wuuc.org

Sound Tech – contact Linda Sherry   lindasherry@wedges.com

Camera Operator – contact Linda Sherry   lindasherry@wedges.com

AND

LOVE TO SING??

The Virtual Choir will be transforming into the Hybrid Choir, and will be performing in the Sanctuary when the Covid Safety Team says it is safe.

ASJ Update: Giving Tree is Back

ASJ Update: Giving Tree is Back

WUUC’s 2021 Giving Tree

WUUC will once again host a Giving Tree for families living in Greenleaf needing extra support with gift giving during the holiday season. WUUC collaborates with the Greenleaf housing community in Kenmore through our Black Student and Families Fund project. Our ongoing contributions to Greenleaf families provide a safe environment for Northshore students to explore and express their identity as they navigate the racial constructs of their world. Watch the WUUC email lists for more information soon about how to contribute to the Giving Tree.

Black Student and Family Fund (BSAFF) Friendsgiving success

On Nov. 22 the Kenmore Community Club transformed into a celebration of gratitude for friends and family for the Friendsgiving/Harvest Festival put on by the Greenleaf families and Root of Our Youth leaders. The kids planned the decorations and activities during the Mentor Monday sessions (that happen every Monday after school at the Kenmore Community Club) and everyone worked together, including our WUUC BSAFF team, to create the potluck event with face painting, cupcake and cookie decorating (thanks Alaine and Lane), musical chairs, and a youth-led fashion show. The kids had a great time and are excited for the next event on Dec. 20.

Thank you Carol Taylor, Steph Young, Lisa Villasenor, Alaine Davis, Lane Owsley, Cora Goss-Grubbs and thanks to everyone for your ongoing support of BSAFF

Monthly Special Collections

Many thanks for donating to our October ASJ special collection. Your support of $695 went to Honor the Earth, a native initiative to create awareness and support for Native environmental issues and to develop needed financial and political resources for the survival of sustainable Native communities. Among other activities, Honor the Earth is currently supporting actions of Water Protectors to oppose pipeline 3 in the Midwest: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a98gUC53NYo&t=90s

     On Dec. 19 the ASJ special collection will benefit the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, a nonprofit, nonsectarian organization advancing human rights together with an international community of grassroots partners and advocates.

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 Monthly Collection” in the notes.