By Wendy Condrat Here are six recommendations for those who have a new relationship with trees after reading Richard Powers’ “The Overstory.”
“Ginkgo: The Tree That Time Forgot” by Peter Crane
“American Chestnut: The Life, Death, and Rebirth of a Perfect Tree” by Susan Freinkel
“Oak: The Frame of Civilization “ by William Bryant Logan
“Pawpaw: In Search of America’s Forgotten Fruit” by Andrew Moore
“ The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring” by Richard Preston
Each of these stories traces the history and rich contributions to America’s past as to our dependence and love of these trees, despite their disappearance from our landscape. (In a matter of decades, the American Chestnut was eradicated.)
And if you have not read “The Overstory,” begin with that as a lengthy but gripping historically fictional but factual journey into eco-forestry.
Join us on Saturday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. via Zoom for a meeting of the WUUC Nonfiction Book Club, hosted by Alaine Davis. We will discuss “A Promised Land” by Barack Obama. RSVP to Alaine, alaine.davis@yahoo.com.
One of The New York Times 10 Best Books of 2020
A riveting, deeply personal account of history in the making—from the president who inspired us to believe in the power of democracy
In the stirring, highly anticipated first volume of his presidential memoirs, Barack Obama tells the story of his improbable odyssey from young man searching for his identity to leader of the free world, describing in strikingly personal detail both his political education and the landmark moments of the first term of his historic presidency—a time of dramatic transformation and turmoil.
Obama takes readers on a compelling journey from his earliest political aspirations to the pivotal Iowa caucus victory that demonstrated the power of grassroots activism to the watershed night of Nov. 4, 2008, when he was elected 44th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.
Reflecting on the presidency, he offers a unique and thoughtful exploration of both the awesome reach and the limits of presidential power, as well as singular insights into the dynamics of U.S. partisan politics and international diplomacy. Obama brings readers inside the Oval Office and the White House Situation Room, and to Moscow, Cairo, Beijing, and points beyond. We are privy to his thoughts as he assembles his cabinet, wrestles with a global financial crisis, takes the measure of Vladimir Putin, overcomes seemingly insurmountable odds to secure passage of the Affordable Care Act, clashes with generals about U.S. strategy in Afghanistan, tackles Wall Street reform, responds to the devastating Deepwater Horizon blowout, and authorizes Operation Neptune’s Spear, which leads to the death of Osama bin Laden. — Barnes and Noble
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.
Special Sunday Collections Our Sunday service special collection on Oct. 18 collected $375 for the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition. The FRRC is a grassroots, membership organization run by Returning Citizens (Formerly Convicted Persons) who are dedicated to ending the disenfranchisement and discrimination against people with convictions, and creating a more comprehensive and humane re-entry system that will enhance successful re-entry, reduce recidivism, and increase public safety. While this month’s collection went to a Florida-based organization, it had national implications, as it helped hundreds of returning citizens pay fines/fees so they could register to vote.
Next month’s ASJ Special Collection will be on Sunday, December 20, and will go to the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. The UUSC is a non-profit, non-sectarian organization advancing human rights together with an international community of grassroots partners and advocates. We hope you will consider giving generously to UUSC’s important work.
As always, 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.
WUUC’s 2020 Virtual Giving Tree WUUC will once again host a Giving Tree for families needing extra support with gift giving during the holiday season. This year we are excited to partner with families living in the Greenleaf apartment complex in Kenmore, the community that WUUC collaborates with 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 about how to contribute to the Giving Tree.
21-Day Racial Equity Challenge Over forty WUUC members and friends participated in our first Racial Equity Challenge, which provided 21 days of learning, reflection, discussion, and action. Lively and thought-provoking discussions took place at several virtual meetings, at youth group gatherings, and around the family dinner table, with people of all ages engaging at whatever level they chose. The Racial Justice Task Force will be offering a second opportunity to participate in the 21-Day Challenge in early 2021 – stay tuned for more information!
Don’t tell me to be calm when there are so many reasons to be angry… I didn’t say to be calm, said the wind, I said to breathe. We’re going to need a lot of air to make this hurricane together. — Rev. Lynn Ungar, from her poem, “Breathe”
Submitted by Linda Sherry Often when stillness weaves its way into our discussions, it’s framed as a retreat strategy. A balm from the frantic and frequently wounding world. But as wise ones like Rev. Unger remind us, that’s not quite right. It’s less like a locked room that keeps all the enemies out and more like an oxygen mask that brings us back to life, that fills us with power. Stillness doesn’t simply slow our breath and energy; it fills us with it.
As Unger suggests, we don’t really want to be told to be calm these days. There is indeed so much to be angry about. So much that needs to be defended, resisted and restored.
A stillness that invites us simply to escape the world is dangerous. A stillness that merely anesthetizes our nerves comforts us but widens the wounds of the world. … .and alongside this vision of stillness enabling us to gather strength also sits the equally important idea of stillness as something that clarifies our perception.
Even sequestered we can busy ourselves and forget to stop. When we stop and wait for others in the gap we enlarge ourselves. When the merely important stops for what is beautiful, when we let a little sabbath interrupt our busyness the holy enters in the empty spaces. Stop, and let the Holy breathe in you. Who knows? In the pause, angels may parade the neighborhoods of your soul. — Steve Garnaas-Holmes
We have forgotten what rocks and plants still know; we have forgotten how to be still, to be ourselves, to be where life is here and now. — Eckhart Tolle
It only takes a reminder to breathe, a moment to be still and just like that, something in me settles, softens, makes space for imperfection. The harsh voice of judgment drops to a whisper and I remember again that life isn’t a relay race; that we will all cross the finish line; that waking up to life is what we were born for. As many times as I forget, catch myself charging forward without even knowing where I am going, that many times I can make the choice to stop, to breathe, to be and walk slowly into the mystery. — Danna Faulds
Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be Astonished. — Mary Oliver, from her poem, “Learning to be Astonished“
The December 2020 theme for worship, RE, and small groups at WUUC is: What Does It Mean to be a People of STILLNESS? Our monthly themes and resource materials come from Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a network of Unitarian Universalist congregations. A small sample of thoughts to ponder about compassion from Soul Matters.
NW Justice Summit 2020, Part 2, online, December 4-6, 2020 Strategy Sessions/Action Planning
Session 1 panelists and breakout sessions yielded a wealth of action ideas that we will be pursuing at the online NW Justice Summit Session 2 on December 4-6.You are invited to be in on the ground floor for planning 2021 UU justice work in our state and beyond.
Your registration will include attendance for Part 2 of Summit, as well as access to videos and transcripts from Part 1 of the Summit. Details and access information will be sent to you after you register.
I voted for my grandfather’s bones That feed beetles now
I voted for a singing brook that sparkles under a North Dakota bean field.
I voted for the salty air through which the whimbrel flies South along the shores of two continents
I voted for the melting snow that returns to the wellspring of darkness, where the sky is born from the earth.
I voted for the daemonic mushrooms in the loam and the old democracy of worms
I voted for the wordless treaty that cannot be broken by white men or brown, because it is made of star semen, thistle sap, hieroglyphs of the weevil in prairie oak.
I voted for the local, the small, the brim that does not spill over, the abolition of waste, the luxury of enough.
I voted for the commonwealth of the ancient forest a larva for every beak, a wing-tinted flower for every moth’s disguise, a well-fed mammal’s corpse for every colony of maggots.
I voted for open borders between death and birth
I voted on the ballot of a fallen leaf of sycamore that cannot be erased, for it becomes the dust and rain, and then a tree again.
I voted for more fallow time to cultivate wild flowers more recess in schools to cultivate play, more leisure, tax free, more space between days.
I voted to increase the profit of evening silence and the price of a thrush song
I voted for ten million stars in your next inhalation.
