01/07/2026 by Shannon Day

Board Update for January 2026

HAPPY NEW YEAR from your Board of Trustees! Often part of preparing for a new year is to reflect upon the past year year for inspiration. Looking back at 2025, we can be inspired by our work and celebrations. Both the Board and congregation embraced the values outlined in our Living Covenant…love, justice, trust and inclusion. We adopted the Pathways to Reconnection and Repair. By affirming these statements we clarified how we live, worship and play together as a congregation. This powerful, meaningful work will impact our growing community for years, we should be proud! Last year’s successful auction and

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12/03/2025 by Shannon Day

December Board Update

Talk about ‘Love In Action’ (this year’s Auction theme) — that’s what I feel as I serve on the Board of Trustees. Wow! What a dynamic, blood pumping experience it is to sit at the center of the WSUU universe, with all the planets and moons swirling in their orbits, each with their exciting activities and agendas. Who knew what a well-kept secret it is to serve on the Board? For instance, did you know we are updating some of our safety practices to better respond to situations that might come up on a Sunday morning? So very proactive!! I am feeling very

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11/04/2025 by Shannon Day

Board Update for October 2025

For the month of October the board continued to work on building the foundation for our year of service. We adopted our covenant which was created during our retreat and addresses how we will work in fellowship with one another and how we will serve the congregation. To develop our document we first looked at the staff covenant and were blown away by the thought, detail,  and care that was doubtlessly put into its development. This month we have been thinking about our goals for the year, trying to be both visionary and practical, and looking to build on the

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10/09/2025 by Shannon Day

Board Update for October

I am full of gratitude for this year’s Board of Trustees, and our ex-officio members Rev. Carter and Shannon. This group is affirming, caring, reliable, creative, and deeply committed to Westside’s well-being. We recently gathered for a retreat to strengthen our relationships, learn new ways to collaborate, and lay plans for the year. After getting a sense of the strengths and perspectives we each bring to this work, we engaged with the Core Team to learn more about the tools that nonviolent communication offers us as leaders and members of WSUU. With that foundation we drafted our covenant and turned

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08/12/2025 by Shannon Day

Board Report July 31, 2025

I’m happy to report on the first meeting of the 2025-26 WSUU Board after a fun meet-and-greet potluck.  We begin this year continuing to focus on the ongoing work of supporting and growing our Westside community.  I am excited that we are in process of choosing our new Director of Religious Education (DRE) search and will have news to give the congregation soon. Many thanks to Rev. Katie for her commitment to our youth and we wish her well as she finishes out her time with us.  I’m also happy to report that a decision was made to fund training

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06/03/2025 by Shannon Day

Statement of Incoming 2025-26 Board of Trustee President, Jill Jackson for Annual Meeting 2025, June 1st

Good morning. The first thing I want to say is Thank you. I read through all the reports presented for this annual meeting and am just in awe of what all you do to build and sustain this community. There is so much commitment and love here. I am humbled and honored and grateful for the trust that you all are collectively placing in me and the other Trustees of the Board to lead our congregation in partnership with Rev. Carter. I feel great joy that we have Rev. Carter as our minister, and I want to open today with

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10/22/2024 by Shannon Day

October Board Update

The chill arrived this week in Seattle. Wind and rain have started to urge the color-changed leaves to drop before they are ready. As you are aware, outside forces often are needed to spur change before it is wanted… I am sure that you have all felt such things from time to time. But, as of tonight’s full moon, the leaves have hung on well. Changes of every type, however, are coming – as per the usual. October’s Board Meeting welcomed one of our newest WSUU team members, Reverand Katie Lawson. It was a delight to spend time with her.

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09/25/2024 by Shannon Day

Board Update September 27, 2024

Autumn greetings to you from your Board of Trustees. The start of the 2024-25 church year has been full of meaningful activities, all in support of our Beloved Community. The Ingathering was perfect with spirited energy, music, and activities to support connections. We joyously welcomed Katie Lawson as the Director of Religious Exploration. Committees are beginning to meet, covenant groups are gathering. In short, our WSUU congregation is on the move, growing and connecting.  In support of our congregation’s mission, the Board of Trustees has held its annual retreat. The task for the day was to affirm our goals, clarify

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06/25/2024 by Shannon Day

A Statement on Palestine

From WSUU Minister, Board of Trustees and Racial Justice Change Team Dear members of the Westside UU Community, As world leaders negotiate for a ceasefire deal between Hamas and the Israeli government, we wanted to send this note of care to you all. Over the past 8 months, we citizens of the world have witnessed unprecedented levels of violence and destruction: the brutal attack that killed over 1,000 people in Israel on October 7, and the more than 36,000 people killed in Palestine since. The numbers are staggering. These statistics, along with personal stories and images from this war, haunt

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11/15/2023 by Shannon Day

Board Reflection for November 2023

THE JOY OF CONNECTING IN COMMUNITY Board Reflection from Lisa Maynard This fall I attended Pam Orbach’s nonviolent communication course with some WSUU members and others not connected with the congregation. At the final meeting we went around the zoom room naming needs that had been met by our participation in the class. Many people mentioned that their need for ‘community’ had been met, and I was struck that people from WSUU named other needs instead, such as ‘learning’ or ‘growth.’ It made me think that involvement in the congregation meets a need for community that is hard to meet

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