Happy Fall, Beloved Community! Even though I absolutely love Seattle summers and think we were unjustly cut off too early this year, fall is my favorite season. I love the vibrant gold and ruby trees lining the streets on my commute to work, the earthy and familiar city-kid smell of
Continue readingSummary Notes About the “WSUU Equity Workshop: Strategies to Promote and Sustain a Culture of Inclusivity and Equity” By Kerrie Schurr and Tony Ricardi, Board Liaison to the RJCT Below are some observations the two of us put together, and therefore it is limited to two individual white people’s perspectives.
Continue readingWe have a new renter!! A wonderful nonprofit serving a great need for preschoolers will be sharing our building and replacing Sweet Pea preschool as of October 1st! We are thrilled to welcome Leaps and Bounds of Washington and Jamie Huizinga, Executive Director (https://www.leapsandboundswa.org/). They offer pediatric therapy services to
Continue readingThough there isn’t a lot to report, the Lift Committee felt it was time to update our community on what has been happening. First, the Lift Committee, despite the lack of noticeable progress, has not been sitting on its laurels. Judi Finney, in particular, has been hard at work staying
Continue readingHello, Beloved Community, We have another great update in our progress to bring our called minister, Rev. Christopher Wulff, to us from Canada! Our R-1 Immigration Visa application has been assigned a case number through USCIS (United States Citizenship and Immigration Services)! Also, our 2019-2020 Board has met for one
Continue readingWhat is the board focusing on this August, you ask? Transparency – One focus is how to be more transparent with our work, and as collaborative as possible with the broader congregation! We’ve talked about how to be present; how to communicate and keep those channels open; how to document
Continue readingIt’s been a little while since we’ve seen each other, hasn’t it? I miss you all so very much! I’m finding this liminal time between the vote to call in May and my beginning to serve as your minister to be a very rich opportunity for practicing appropriate boundaries, as
Continue readingWe are pleased to announce our Transition Working Group to help us navigate through the time until Rev. Christopher arrives at Westside. Since the R1 Visa (Religious Leader Visa, Canada to the US) Process typically takes a minimum of 6 months, the individuals above, in addition to our Board, will
Continue readingNearly 3 years ago I wrote my first column in your online news. This was a section from that column: “I am a strong believer in ‘church’ being a joyful as well as serious experience. Laughter and delight is a powerful antidote to the feelings of powerlessness and despair that
Continue readingGreetings, and happy mid-summer to all! I realized it’s been three weeks since our last update, and I want to let you know of the ongoing effort and activity going in to this transition time, and preparing for our gap time between ministers. The Transition Working Group has all their
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