Beautify Our Grounds!

Beautify Our Grounds!

The Building and Grounds Committee (BAG) invites everyone to honor EARTH DAY by helping out at our all church work party on SATURDAY, APRIL 24.

There will be projects large and small, something appropriate for any age and ability. We will start at 9:00ish and break for lunch.  Restart at 1:00ish and finish up.  Lots to do after a stormy winter.

Theme: Becoming

Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.                        – Anais Nin

The word, ‘become,” is based on the root word “be” and the Old English word, cumin – to move with the purpose of reaching.  This month’s Soul Matters materials highlight many things to contemplate about the idea of ‘becoming”  –

  • The advantages of framing aging as becoming
  • The dangers of confusing striving with becoming
  • How becoming broken open by difficult times can help us grow
  • What becoming an adult really means
  • Becoming by holding on to and reclaiming ethnic identities
  • Accepting change on the path to becoming
  • Determining when becoming might first require us to unbecome who we are not
  • When to (and not to) facilitate becoming by Faking it ‘til You Make it

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.    – Anais Nin

Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real… It doesn’t happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time.       – Margery Williams Bianco, The Velveteen Rabbit

If you can see your path laid out in front of you step by step, you know it’s not your path. Your own path you make with every step you take. That’s why it’s your path.                                       – Joseph Campbell

Check out the materials listed below for more about becoming. 

Find the Soul Matters packet for April here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ads6WzrQHz4attS0tIq4lHeclbP6BP12/view?usp=sharing

The Sacred Word supplement for April on Surrender is here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IJ4BtRkKNzJkKyXaBVUttgJIWCmGhk45/view?usp=sharing

If Unitarian Universalism is Like Family to You, Consider Naming It as a Beneficiary

If Unitarian Universalism is Like Family to You, Consider Naming It as a Beneficiary

You don’t have to be a millionaire to make a difference in the world.  In a world where hate and oppression make claim to religious truth, Unitarian Universalism offers love, democracy, and compassionate justice.  A gift to Unitarian Universalism will bring you joy and will strengthen and extend our faith.

Consider WUUC’s Endowment Fund. Your bequest or beneficiary designation is a statement of faith- faith that our Unitarian Universalism and its voice for compassionate justice and religious freedom are important now and will be important after we are gone.

How will the Endowment Fund be used?

The Endowment Fund provides a permanent fund for enhancing WUUC’s mission.  It can be a means to take advantage of opportunities for growth and service or to provide funds for major emergencies.  Once the fund reaches $250,000, WUUC will be able to withdraw up to 5% of the fund (the fund is currently at $120,000).  Here are examples of how the fund can be used.

  • Enlarging classrooms
  • Startup funding for a preschool
  • RE books, supplies, and furnishings
  • Leadership training
  • Scholarships for youth to attend UUA events
  • Support of a ministerial candidate or initial funding for an assistant minister

How can I make a gift to WUUC’s Endowment Fund?

Anyone can give to WUUC’s Endowment fund.  Any level of contribution is welcome.  Endowments are sensible and simple gifts that allow you to be a Unitarian Universalist philanthropist and keep your financial options open.  Here’s how you can give.

  • Use beneficiary designation to give a percentage of a retirement account, life insurance policy, savings account, or annuity.
  • Use a bequest in your will to give a specific dollar amount, a percentage of your estate or a specific item, such as real estate or another asset.
  • A simple cash donation to WUUC.

Larger gifts ($10,000 or more) are memorialized with an engraved glass leaf that is added to the Kimbrough Legacy Circle Tree located in our church’s foyer

I’m interested. What do I do next?

Contact a member of WUUC’s Endowment Committee.  They are:  Chuck Bean, Laurie Rockenbeck, Jean Fowler, Tom Richards and John Hartman.

ASJ Update: Up Next: UU Ministry for the Earth

ASJ Update: Up Next: UU Ministry for the Earth

Sunday Special Collections

February’s special collection raised $865 for the Root of Our Youth, a Washington-based group of high school and college students that are passionate about racial equity and appreciating all cultures and lifestyles.

The Root of Our Youth is the student subcommittee of The Root of Us, and works closely with them on projects, rallies, and more to educate others. Their goals are based around policy reform and accountability in school districts. Check out this video  the Root of Our Youth created last fall.

Our next special collection, during the service on April 21, will go to UU Ministry for the Earth, which strives to inspire, facilitate and support personal, congregational, and denominational practices that honor and sustain the Earth and all beings.

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. 

Seeking connections?

Seeking connections?

WUUC offers numerous opportunities to get to know one another, delve more deeply into spiritual topics or just gather for song or conversation. If you’re seeking connections, the first place to try is here.

Community Spotlight

Community Spotlight

To highlight the contributions of WUUC volunteers, both within and outside of church, Winny Schnitzler is researching deserving individuals for our new Community Spotlight series.