Would you like to learn to craft a thoughtful, faithful sermon anchored in your experience?
Learning to craft and preach a sermon is a wonderful spiritual practice and way for people to learn about worship, their faith, and their church. In this five-session class, Rev. Diana will guide you through the process of writing your own sermon. Some participants may be able to preach their sermons at WUUC services during summer 2020 if they wish, but you won’t be required to.
The class will run from 6:30-9 p.m. on Wednesday nights March 4, March 18, April 1, April 15, May 6. Participants should be able to attend all or almost all the sessions in-person or via Zoom and the last session in person.
The February 2020 theme for worship, RE, and
small groups at WUUC is: What
Does It Mean to be a People of RESILIENCE? Our monthly themes
and resource materials come from Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a network of
Unitarian Universalist congregations. A small sample of thoughts about resilience
from Soul Matters:
Resilience has been defined as the capacity of
a system, enterprise, or person to maintain its core purpose and integrity in
the face of dramatically changed circumstances.
Resilience does not mean just bouncing back to
the way things were before. Resilience means finding healthy ways to integrate
setbacks into our lives and develop new visions. Jane Hirshfield writes, “More
and more I have come to admire resilience. Not the simple resistance of a
pillow whose form returns over and over to the same shape, but the sinuous
tenacity of a tree: finding the light newly blocked on one side, it turns on
another.”
Resilience is profoundly influenced by both
culture and community – the water within which we swim and the web of
connections that surround us. Sharon Salzberg writes, “Resilience is based on
compassion for ourselves as well as compassion for others.”
Wise words from this month’s Soul Matters
materials:
“A river cuts through a rock not because of
its power but it’s persistence.” (unknown)
“Anyone can slay a dragon, but try waking up
every morning and loving the world all over again.” (Brian Andreas)
“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s
the way you carry it.” (Lena Horne)
At its latest meeting, the Board was joined by Bridget Laflin, Donna Johnson, Karen Hyams, Chick Sweeney, Erika Kirkendall and Jan Radoslovich (representing the Worship Committee, Religious Education, and Membership) to address the Board regarding full community, multi-generational worship, which is now being held once a month. Various guests offered their reasons for supporting multi-generational worship. Implementation of this model of worship is a work in progress.
The Board has
submitted to the Ministerial Search Committee a final approved draft of the
proposed contract for the new minister.
According to David’s
tally, we are nine short of the required number for the Chalice Lighter
program. Efforts will continue in an attempt to reach the threshold.
Dottie is leading a subcommittee that will meet with a banker to discuss potential refinancing of the church’s mortgage, which will balloon in 2024. Dottie also reviewed for the Board the budget formation schedule for 2020-2021.
You can find minutes from the Board’s Nov. 5 meeting here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sk1ERqIXqOxY-VTCvDkOC-oCyNceXPXb/view?usp=sharing
Minutes from the Nov. 19 meeting are available here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hyMIMdp9NIOl0ZmEIVdUuyH8jlMdt6u-/view?usp=sharing
The January 2020 theme for worship, RE, and small groups at WUUC is: What Does It Mean to be a People of INTEGRITY? Our monthly themes and resource materials come from Soul Matters Sharing Circle, a network of Unitarian Universalist congregations. A small sample of thoughts about integrity from Soul Matters:
Integrity stems from the Latin word “integer” which means whole and complete. In mathematics, an integer is a number that can’t be divided into fractions. Integrity requires an inner sense of “wholeness” and consistency of character. When you are in integrity, people should be able to visibly see it through your actions, words, decisions, methods and outcomes. When you are “whole” and consistent, there is only one you. You don’t leave parts of yourself behind.
Integrity isn’t simply something we build; it’s something already there. We UUs talk about mostly about inherent worth, but we also believe in inherent integrity. All the building blocks are there, waiting. Our parents who role modeled values we admired and can embrace. Our teachers and mentors who imparted wisdom about what really matters. Our spiritual community that pushed us to grow in the understanding of our faith. It’s all there, just forgotten. They are calling to us from the edge of the woods, from the center of the deep pond of our souls.
On
some questions, Cowardice asks the question, “is it safe?” Expediency asks the question, “is it
polite?” Vanity comes along and asks the
question, “is it popular?” But Conscience
asks the question, “is it right?” And
there comes a time when we must take a position that is neither safe, nor
polite, nor popular, but we must do it because Conscience tells us it is
right. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Can
you remember who you were, before the world told you who you should be? Charles Bukowski
Happy New Year! We begin 2020 with a last-minute call for support for the January Totes delivery. At this writing, we still need quite a few items, including peanut butter, juice packs and snack packs for this month’s delivery. We’re packing later than usual (Jan. 5) because of the schools’ winter breaks.
Just to
review, our Totes to Go program assists 15 kids identified by the schools as
being at risk of missing meals over weekends and school breaks when school
meals aren’t available. We serve two
Bothell schools – an elementary and a Middle School. Each month we fulfill a list of food items
and the school staff sends a selection of those items home with each student on
Fridays. All the items are shelf stable. No refrigeration needed. You can see the variety of items in the
baskets across the hall from the library.
Questions? Contact John Hartman or Grace Simons
Many, many
thanks to all our supporters! It’s a
pretty ambitious program, but one that’s much needed!
Join us for Seminary for a Day on Saturday, Jan. 25 at First Unitarian, Portland. This year’s spiritual theme is entitled, “Spiritual Practice for Difficult Times.”
This year’s keynote presenter will be Rev. Dr. Robert M. Hardies, senior minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington, DC, a large, dynamic and multicultural congregation in our nation’s capital. Rob is a former member of First Church, Portland, where he discovered Unitarian Universalism in the early 1990s. Rob’s own spiritual life has been deeply influenced by his 20-plus-year study of the spiritual practices of our Unitarian and Transcendentalist ancestors. At Seminary for a Day he is eager to share some of what he’s learned with folks at First Church.
Rev. Robert Hardies will join us for two dynamic workshops on spiritual practices. Additional offerings throughout the day will include such topics as Stories of Hope in Uncertain Times, Life and Nature as Sacred Text, The Practice of Prayer: A Holy Charge, Dancing to the Rhythms of the Earth, Writing in Response to Transcendentalism, and many more.
