07/21/2021 by Shannon Day

Notes from Rev. Margo Rinehart’s sermon, Spiritual Maturity

a sermon by Rev. Margo Rinehart In her sermon for the July 11 worship service, Rev. Margo referenced the writing of UU minister Rev. Kendyl Gibbons on the topic of cultivating spiritual maturity. Here are the five points on the journey that she described: 1) Developing self-awareness in the service of intention – pay attention to the impact of your actions, understanding where you end and the rest of the universe or another person begins.  2) Choosing an orientation toward reverence and gratitude – treat our very existence and consciousness as an object of reflection, a source of wonder and

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05/12/2021 by Shannon Day

Let’s Celebrate Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans.

The Asian country of the Philippines is my heritage and I invite you to join with me this month to celebrate Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans. From Asian Americans or Pacific Islander Americans, each week in May I’ll offer links to book reading, podcast, music, poetry, film, panel or art. Questions? Contact WSUU member, Roseanne Lorenzana, roseanne.wsuu@gmail.com Hawaiian-born Shimabukuro has virtually reinvented the instrument, causing many to call him “the Jimi Hendrix of the ukulele.” View  here (2 minutes)  and  here (7 minutes). Poems from a father, a refugee from Vietnam, an activist resisting the invisibility of the Asian American urban poor. Bao

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04/16/2021 by Shannon Day

Thank you to Garden Volunteers!

Last weekend we had a great turnout, with 14 people coming early on a Saturday morning, masked and distanced, to help get the Westside garden into shape for the spring! After many yards of mulch, lots of weeding and planting, the garden is looking great! Thank you to everyone who came out to help, and to our Landscape and Garden Team Co-Chairs, Amy Hance-Brancati and Kimberly Frappier!

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03/24/2021 by Shannon Day

Heart to Heart – Monthly Young Adult Gathering

So many people grace the doors of Westside seeking a community in which to belong, a community where they can share the big questions and challenges of their lives, and bear witness to others who are similarly seeking. We yearn for relationships of depth and vulnerability, and spaces in which to be our most honest selves. Westside members and friends in their twenties or thirties are invited to join Rev. Christopher for a monthly time of ministry. Using a program called Heart to Heart, we’ll gather to share and to listen to one another, with the following topics explored over

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03/24/2021 by Shannon Day

A Letter from the Board in Response to the Events in Georgia

As we mourn the precious lives lost in last week’s violent attacks in Georgia, we offer care and love to our Asian American and Pacific Islander friends, congregants, and community members. We bear witness to the painful impacts of anti-Asian racism, which has escalated in the last year, but also has a long, repugnant history in this country. We also acknowledge the damage that Asian stereotypes have long played, including the way Asians have been viewed as a silent and model minority, experiencing no problems in American society. This simple formulation undercuts the diversity of the Asian American experience, and

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02/10/2021 by Shannon Day

Some Racial Justice Learning Opportunities for February

One of the goals of the Racial Justice Change Team is to connect the congregation to our work. With that focus in mind, we want to help honor Black History Month and Lunar New Year (February 12). We would also like to bring to your attention some learning opportunities about Coast Salish tribal history and a book by a Korean-American author on the Asian American experience. Each learning opportunity is offered by a Seattle organization. (Note: Presenter and author names followed by * indicate the person is BIPOC. [WSUU] indicates that the presenter/facilitator is a WSUU member or friend.) Many

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01/27/2021 by Shannon Day

Racial Justice Change Team Goals for 2021

Wondering what the Racial Justice Change Team (RJCT) is working on this year? Here are the team’s goals for 2021: Become conversant in the recommendations of the UUA’s “Widening the Circle of Concern” report and align our actions to those recommendations. We have ensured that our planned actions below align with the general recommendations of the report, as well as the priorities of the WSUU Board. The report is available for free at the above link, or for a fee in print or as an Amazon Kindle ebook. Support our BIPOC members and continue to be connected and accountable. Currently,

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12/29/2020 by Shannon Day

President’s Letter January 2021- Vanessa Shaughnessy

We made it to 2021! I hope you had opportunities for rest and joy in the last few weeks of that very long year. I am deeply grateful that those of us on the board have been able to take some time for celebration and rejuvenation ourselves, especially because it’s about to get very busy! It’s been helpful for me to reflect that, through the hurt and uncertainty of the last several months, there have been opportunities unique to this time. Virtual gatherings have fostered connection and conversation that may not have happened in person. For example, my youngest is

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12/16/2020 by Shannon Day

Make the Circle Wider

John Britt, Pastoral Associate Imagine that we are back in our beloved building (Yay!)  You are heading downstairs after the service. You get your cup of coffee or tea and begin greeting people. If you are like me, there are people you regularly interact with, people with whom you share a mutually acknowledged connection. There are others I greet, however, where our relationship is friendly but more recent or less well established.  One of my early drumming teachers, Simone LaDrumma (yes, that is her real name) wrote a great song called “I Will Be Your Witness”. Having people recognize and

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12/02/2020 by Shannon Day

A Pledge, an Offering, and an Auction Event Walk into a Bar…

At Westside, our three biggest sources of congregant-based income are: Your pledges Our yearly Auction Sunday Shared Offering contributions Why are there three separate ways to give financial support to our community, instead of just one?   A pledge is what you believe you can commit to giving Westside in a given year, which makes it possible for us to build a budget for the upcoming year. It lets us know whether or not we can provide more benefits to our staff, expand congregational programs, or pay for anticipated building expenses.   Historically, pledges alone have not provided enough to cover our

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