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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09/20/2021 by Shannon Day

General Assembly 2021 Highlights

What is the UUA? https://www.uua.org/about The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) is the big umbrella organization for UUs in the U.S. Its membership includes 1,000+ congregations committed to our UU principles; however, each congregation is autonomous—its individual congregational leaders set their own priorities and choose their own ministers and staff. Congregations select delegates who then vote for the leaders of the UUA. The UUA supports congregations by training ministers, publishing books and the UU World magazine, providing religious education curricula, offering shared services, coordinating social justice activities, and more. What is GA? https://www.uua.org/ga. GA is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists, where we do the business of the UUA, explore our faith, and lean into

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09/15/2021 by Shannon Day

White Center Food Bank Volunteer Opportunity

As part of our Beloved Connections work, WSUU volunteers have pitched in at the White Center Food Bank (WCFB) three times over the summer months. We packed grocery bags of food for distribution, helped with in-person distribution, and worked in the warehouse sorting and storing food. In our most recent effort, six WSUU volunteers packed 1,350 pounds of food and had fun while doing so.WCFB’s mission is to “Minimize hunger while nourishing community, nurturing self-reliance and embracing our rich cultural diversity.” They strive to distribute culturally appropriate food in a dignified and respectful manner.Starting Thursday, October 7, and every first

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09/09/2021 by Shannon Day

Vote for a WSUU Congregational Read

WSUU is going to offer a congregational read for 2021-22, and we want your input on the books you think we should engage with as a community. Each of the proposed books is available from the Seattle Public Library or King County Library, as well as local booksellers. Regardless which book is selected, participants will have the chance to engage in either discussion groups or self-directed reading reflections with guiding resources. The three proposed books are (descriptions are from GoodReads): My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies By Resmaa Menakem The body is

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09/08/2021 by Shannon Day

A new year of Common Quest!

What gifts might you bring? What gifts might you welcome?As we move into another exciting year at Westside, we need your help in replenishing our pool of opportunities to grow in spirit and learn in community with one another, a program we call Common Quest (CQ). The offerings provided through Common Quest are designed to encourage a deepening of spiritual maturity and support Unitarian Universalist faith formation in adults. What kinds of programs would you like to offer? What would you like to see offered? In the past Westside members have enjoyed programs on developing spiritual practices, on UU history

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09/08/2021 by Shannon Day

Westside Conversations for Connection to continue in October

This October, WSUU will be offering Conversations for Connection, a series of three 90-minute virtual conversations that offer Westside congregants the opportunity to feel heard and to renew and/or form connections with others in a small group.  This program gives participants a way to experience intimacy and cultivation of trust in conversation groups during this time when we have limited options to be together in person. This summer, the pilot round of the Conversations for Connection program took place, involving 22 participants in three groups. The overwhelming feedback from these groups affirmed the importance of the program goals of deep

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09/03/2021 by Shannon Day

Workshop with Paula Cole Jones – Building a Culture of Inclusion

Building the Beloved Community is about building a culture of inclusion. Is this our unfinished business or is it the bridge to a vibrant future for Unitarian Universalism? Over 115 congregations and UU groups have had positive votes to adopt an 8th Principle that calls on us to build the Beloved Community. And many more votes are in process. Will we heed the call? To build the Beloved Community, UUs must attend to the unfinished business of dismantling racism and oppression in our congregations and Association and with our community partners. How do we stand in solidarity with the social

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09/02/2021 by Shannon Day

Fall’s Westside Spiritual Practice – Poetic Lectio Divina

Lectio divina is a monastic practice of Western Christianity to facilitate the contemplation of texts, and their meaning for our lives. It involves reading the same text repeatedly, and each time applying different lenses or approaches. We will practice this way of engaging texts, each time sharing a new poem, and discover how this contemplative practice can enrich our reading and understanding. Only a half hour long, beginning on September 14th we’ll gather on Zoom on Tuesday mornings from 8:30-9:00am, and Thursday evenings from 8:30-9:00pm. Come once, come every time, come whenever the spirit calls you. Contact Rev. Christopher if

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