12/01/2021 by Shannon Day

Board Update for November 2021

Hello friends. You read the subject correctly – although it is now early December, I (Kristina) am writing to provide a November update from the WSUU Board of Trustees. This is often a busy time of year even in normal circumstances; so much has been happening that this month we thought the most sensible thing to communicate would be a summary of the various things we’ve been working on the past few months. Because I am a librarian and I can’t pass up a chance to share resources, I will take this opportunity to remind everyone (or let you know if you didn’t

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11/26/2021 by Shannon Day

Meet the Committee on Ministry

Dearest Westside members and friends, We, the Committee on Ministry, are pleased to introduce ourselves. We are Simon Knaphus, Roseanne Lorenzana, John Fawcett-Long, Naomi Bradfute, Peggy Abby, and Rev. Christopher. We were chosen by Rev. Christopher with input from last year’s Board of Trustees, and have been affirmed by the Board of Trustees this year. Although we have been meeting since May 2021, we took awhile to find our rhythm with each other and to build our container. In fact, we are still polishing our mission statement and will share it soon. In general, a Committee on Ministry (CoM) is

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11/24/2021 by Shannon Day

A Qigong and Meditation Morning

Saturday, January 8, 9:15 – 12:45. In person at the Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation Social Hall.Start off the new year with practices that can add vitality and calmness to your life!  The morning is suitable for beginner and experienced meditators. For beginners, we will cover the basics of sitting meditation with an opportunity to practice and ask questions. For more experienced meditators, incorporating movement into your meditation practice can deepen and integrate your practice into your life. Meditation instruction will be given by Jill Boone, a Buddhist Lay Minister who leads the West Seattle Buddhist Sangha. Qigong is an ancient Chinese system

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11/17/2021 by Shannon Day

Aging to Saging Scheduling Survey

Members of the Aging to Saging group at Westside are invited to complete the form below to help determine the best times for meeting for the remainder of the church year, and also to provide some feedback on how/if folks are interested in participating in in-person gatherings in addition to online ones. The current plan is to offer one in-person meeting and one online one each month on a consistent schedule. Thank you for sharing your availability and we look forward to sharing the results of the survey with the group soon.

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11/11/2021 by Shannon Day

Evaluation of Rev. Christopher

Last month, we indicated that the board is working to establish a supervisory relationship with Rev. Christopher and will implement an annual performance review. Here is some more information about the process and how you can participate if you wish to provide input. Approach to Ministerial Supervision & Evaluation Since Rev. Christopher is in a period of preliminary fellowship, there is a process in place which requires annual evaluations to support Rev. Christopher’s ministry. The board is working with the Committee on Ministry to provide Rev. Christopher with feedback that will allow him to grow as a minister and better

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10/27/2021 by Shannon Day

Board Update for October 2021

Dear WSUU Friends, The board continues to be busy with several different projects and we are pleased to provide an update. We met this past Thursday and talked about many things, include revisiting COVID policies and discussing the future of RE programs in light of staff changes. As you probably read in last week’s Westside Week, we agreed to plan for in-person worship at WSUU beginning on December 5.  We are deeply grateful for the work of the COVID Task Force (Liz Berggren, Jill Jackson, Amanda Maier, and Chris Hollinger), who have spent many hours reviewing safety guidelines and public

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10/08/2021 by Shannon Day

Making Our Way by the Light of the Heavens

Beloved Members and Friends of Westside, As you read in the message earlier this week from the Board of Trustees, Rev. Cynthia Westby and Cheryl Brown have resigned their positions in our Religious Exploration program. We are grateful for the leadership and service each has offered to the congregation over their many years here, working through sometimes difficult situations as they cared for our children and youth. As they move into other pursuits, we wish for both Cynthia and Cheryl the very best. I know that for myself, as I’m sure it is for many of you, this is something

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10/07/2021 by Shannon Day

Moving in Spirit Extended Through November!

The first cycle of Moving in Spirit was a great success, with a growing cohort of movement meditators each week as we visited Kubota Gardens, Lincoln Park and Schmitz Park! It was so lovely to see so many Westside folks gathering to walk on their own, and then to do a little deeper sharing with another person during the second half of our time. It’s such an important time to be making and maintaining connections with friends and members new and old, and I’m so grateful to the new folks who made this a point of connection with the community,

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09/21/2021 by Shannon Day

September Update from Board of Trustees

Dear Westside Community, We are writing to update you regarding one aspect of our board work.  The board is responsible for supervision of our minister, Reverend Christopher. As we self-organize to cover the different board roles and responsibilities, we have designated two board members to be the leads for this function: Laura Pierce and Marco Deppe. We recognize that it may not be obvious how concerns related to staff should be handled, and that without formal channels for feedback, concerns can fester or lead to gossip rather than resolution. The managerial structure of our congregation is that Rev. Christopher is

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