Shifting to the Long Haul Together

Monday marked an intense day for the West Seattle and Westside UU community, with the announcement about the West Seattle bridge closure and the Governor’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order happening almost at the same time. However this news landed for you, we invite you to take a moment, take a breath, and be gentle with yourself.  The changes will continue to unfold AND you are a part of a beloved community that cares about you.  Please do not struggle in silence or alone.

Westside UU Congregation continues to adapt with intention, holding our mission and vision central to our choices and responses.  With deep gratitude to Shannon and the Board, our Congregational Care Clusters have been created and shared.  These clusters are explicitly geographically determined to allow you to best support each other in a time of limited mobility, such as the essential travel only order we are now living with.  These clusters are meant to create a container for faithful care and mutual resourcing.  They are not meant to replace any other connections that currently nourish you, but to supplement and sustain your congregational relationships.  (If you have not yet received an email with your Congregational Care Cluster invitation and you would like to receive one, please contact office@wsuu.org.)

This week we introduced the Sunday morning Worship Blast, making sure you received the information for joining in community worship at 10:30 am and placing it near the top of your inbox for easy access.  So many people logged in last Sunday that we exceeded our capacity.  We offer gratitude to all the members and leaders who were clear that expanding our capacity is a priority and we joyfully anticipate offering worship access to up to 500 logins this coming Sunday (the next level up in Zoom webinar).

Next week we will begin a mid-week Resilience offering, with spiritual practices for nourishing ourselves in the midst of uncertainty and struggle.  We recognize that we will be remaining in virtual mode throughout the month of April and want to offer sustaining resources throughout this experience.

As we offer our treasures to each other as acts of faithful stewardship, so too are we invited to offer our time and our talents.  If you are a Zoom genius, if you have video editing skills, or if you have a gift of music or a restorative practice or another talent that you would like to share with the congregation over the course of our virtual connecting, please let Scott know: music@wsuu.org.

Dear Ones, as you have needs and resources, may you remember, as Emma’s Revolution reminds us, that Love Reaches Out.  Westside begins (and carries on) with we.

In faith,

Rev. Deanna and Jade

Bridge minister and Board president

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