09/02/2021 by Shannon Day

Small Group Gatherings and the Coronavirus 9.2.21

One of the questions that folks have been asking as they’ve been processing the congregation’s decision to postpone re-opening Sunday morning worship through September (read the announcement), is how do these changes in guidelines affect small groups, and particularly groups meeting in peoples’ homes? I know in the spring and summer it felt like such a joy for vaccinated folks to start to gather, unmasked in each others’ homes. I loved so much being able to be in some of your homes, on your patios, offering and receiving hugs for the first time in over two years. Unfortunately what we’ve

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09/01/2021 by Shannon Day

Moving in Spirit – Meditation in the Great Outdoors

For so many Westside members and friends, the experience of wonder and awe is found most often in nature, moving through the trees, listening to the wind, watching wildlife. Join Rev. Christopher for Saturday morning guided walking or rolling meditation, with questions to hold, time for individual or paired reflection, and seeking joy in the beauty in our outdoor spaces. Bring friends and family, and find a moment of pause, while seeing Westside beloveds. Register below for one or more of the upcoming Saturdays, rain or shine. Let us know on the form if you can offer a ride or

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08/25/2021 by Shannon Day

WSUU Board Retreat Update

by Jim Schlough, Board Treasurer August 22, 2021 The recently elected Board of Trustees of our church got together last Sunday for a daylong retreat. We have an entirely new board of five people this year and, although many of us have served previously on other non-profit boards, we want to determine how we can best serve the specific needs and hopes of our beloved WSUU community. We also want to express gratitude for the guidance we have already received from last year’s board members.Let me remind you who we are: Kristina Darnell, president; Marco Deppe, vice-president; Laura White, secretary; Jim Schlough,

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08/18/2021 by Shannon Day

WSUU COVID Guidelines

September 1, 2021 Love of community, safety, and accessibility are our primary goals for our beloved spiritual home. We celebrate all those involved in nurturing our community virtually and in person. General Guidelines on Church Property Inside and Outside Masks are required in all indoor WSUU church spaces unless you are a vaccinated staff member working alone or with other employees, a young child under 2 years of age and/or those who cannot wear a mask due to a health or accessibility need. Masks are optional outside the building for vaccinated persons. All unvaccinated persons should wear a mask unless

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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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06/09/2021 by Shannon Day

Idea Forum Follow Up

Thanks to all who stayed after our marathon annual meeting to attend the idea forum, where two proposals were presented and discussed. These ideas are also offered here in writing. Please take a look and indicate your level of support in this survey. 1) Thanks to the Board and the Nominating Committee for their dedicated, hard work during difficult times. I’m grateful to volunteers who offered to serve for the coming year. This is not about who was chosen, but how. The committee itself recognized the need for a more democratic and transparent process and took many steps to make improvements, but we still

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06/09/2021 by Shannon Day

Westside Conversations for Connection- BIPOC Series open for Registration

All Westside members are invited to participate in the new Westside Conversations for Connection program, a three-session listening and conversation series designed to give members an opportunity to feel heard and to renew and/or form connections with others in small groups. The program aspires to achieve these goals by: Encouraging members to share their stories and experiences of our congregational community in a small-group facilitated setting.  Connecting members with each other across existing congregational and affinity groups in structured formats with sequential questions (one question per session). Prioritizing the opportunity for congregants to experience intimacy and cultivation of trust in

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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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