A small part of Rev. Vandiver’s service was information about Washington being seen as a sanctuary state by transgender and other folks who are being targeted by recent political threats. She said that people have contacted her for support, including help with temporary or transitional shelter for them and asked if anyone in our congregation could help with RVs, campers, housing or hotel points. If you are interested in helping, the first step is to fill out a volunteer form found at bit.ly/uucsj-volunteer-sign-up This form is sponsored by the UUSC and UUCSJ and their partners. Information will not be shared with any other entities. If you have questions, contact Grace Simons, who will try to help.
UUSC = Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
UUCSJ = Unitarian Universalist College of Social Justice
Early last fall, a WUUC Holiday Planning Team came together with the goal of building community through meaningful holiday activities and events, especially those that would welcome families.
Here are the highlights of the 2024 holiday season:
Postcards mailed to all friends and members with the key events that would happen between Thanksgiving and the New Year
Children’s gifting fair, where new and gently used gifts were donated so that children could choose and wrap gifts for their family and friends
Cookie exchange in the WUUC foyer.
Craft activities for creating handmade gifts
Holiday gifts for 20 youth and children donated through Friends of Youth
Collective contributions of supplies and time to make 50 (!) Kits for Neighbors in Need that included essentials, such as socks, gloves, flashlights, handwarmers, tissues, personal care supplies, ponchos, food treats, throat lozenges, wipes, and personalized cards
Solstice labyrinth meditative experience with beautiful luminaria for 38 of our friends and neighbors.
All-church brunch with quiche, pancakes, fruit, and community for over 60 members and friends
Christmas Eve caroling complete with cookies and hot beverages.
And of course, worship services, complete with families lighting advent candles each week, the candlelight Christmas Eve service, and the Burning Bowl service to greet the new year.
At least 50 WUC members and friends volunteered to make these holiday events successful.
Our deep thanks go out to all of you.
WUUC Holiday team co-chairs,
Donna Johnson and Jan Radoslovitch
PS We will be talking about what worked, what didn’t work and what we would like to do better in the coming months. Please let us know your thoughts about our holiday events this year. Also, we will be starting to plan next year‘s events sometime in the late summer or early fall. Please let us know if you would like to be part of the Holiday Planning team at WUUC.
A new year has started and we can be pleased with the work we’ve done in supporting the Totes to Go program throughout 2024. Totes provides food for weekends when school meals aren’t available to students. We know that hungry kids can’t learn well, so we help to ensure weekend nutrition for kids who are at risk of missing meals. We deliver items each month throughout the school year.
We have a number of “scheduled” donors who have signed up to bring the same items each month. Sometime after the 15th of the month, I send out a message listing the items we still need. Want to help? Watch for those e-mails and pick up some items we need. Or you might choose to make a financial contribution (WUUC with Totes on the memo line or envelope). Also, usually on the last Sunday of the month, I can use help loading everything into my car.
Questions or comments? See me, Grace Simons or John Hartman, co-coordinators.
WUUC has donated to the Maltby Food Bank for many years, and there is a grocery cart in the church lobby for your donations. Please do what you can to support the less fortunate folk in the largely underserved area of South Snohomish region.
Winter is a time of higher need for many, particularly those who are in outdoor work – construction, landscaping, house paining etc. as well as for folks struggling for warmth in cold weather, and all the additional costs of the Winter and the winter holidays. Many people in poverty experience their hardest times during these times.
Maltby Food Bank also experiences a decrease in donations in Jan/Feb, after holiday food drives and outreach have played out. In January the needs go up, and donations go down. Let’s do what we can!
High Needs always include:
Hearty, easy main dish options (boxes/cans)
Peanut Butter AND JAM.
Tuna and other canned meats & legumes
Canned veggies
Pasta sauces of any type
Specialty food for allergies/intolerances like gluten-free, sugar-free, peanut free etc.
Crackers, cookies, easy treats
Toddler Sized Diapers
Feminine Hygiene Products
Personal toiletries; soap, shampoo, shaving needs etc
Household cleaning products; Laundry products, cleaners etc.
One of my personal ongoing efforts is to buy and donate items on buy-one, get-one deals of products I’m already getting for my own use. Or donate portions of the Costco multi-pack items I use.
WUUC also has a thriving donation program with Totes to Go! There are many ways to help others each in our own way, at our own level, and pace.
THANK YOU from all the folks who benefit from our support, large and small.
PS – I’m delighted to report I’ve had very good response to my request for new volunteers for WUUC food bank efforts. By next month we will have a new name as contact for this work.
This month’s collection goes to Lambert House. Since 1981 the Lambert House LGBTQ Youth Center has cared for, championed, and celebrated over 15,000 individual minors and young adults through over 500,000 service contacts. Today, our employees and 123 skilled weekly volunteers provide in-person and online programs to more LGBTQ+ youth than any other organization in the Northwestern United States. Long known as Seattle’s LGBTQ youth center, Lambert House is the only social service agency in Seattle and King County, WA, (Pop. 2.25 million) dedicated solely to LGBTQ+ youth. Its programs also draw youth nationally and internationally. Lambert House is a force against prejudice in the effort to build a world in which LGBTQ+ minors and young adults are healthy and safe, and command equality in their families, schools, and communities.
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 (January 19th). Instructions for giving are posted during the service, and you can also donate anytime 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. Visit wuuc.org/collection.
