OUUC Weekly Update
November 19, 2024
Tools for Tending: Post-Election Spiritual Care Space
Thursday, November 21, 4-6 pm, online
Join Side With Love, BLUU, and DRUUMM for Tools for Tending: Post-Election Spiritual Care Space. This 2-hour special event is open to all and will help tend our spirits through somatic practices, spiritual grounding, and small group connection. Combining structured elements, reflection time, music, facilitated caucus spaces, and visioning exercises, we hope you will feel grounded, strengthened, and held. Sign up here.
From UUA's UPLIFT: Wednesday November 20 is Trans Day of Rememberance
Reverend Jami Yandle, the Unitarian Universalist Association’s Transgender Support Specialist, offers a heartfelt message of love, resilience, and affirmation. As we honor our trans kin who have lost their lives to anti-trans violence, this video creates a space for reflection, care, and celebrating the sacredness of trans lives.
May this message bring comfort, strength, and hope. You are sacred. You are loved.
Transgender and nonbinary people seeking support and resources can visit UPLIFT here to find guidance, affirmation, and tools for connection.
Thursday Dinner: Rice and Beans
Thursday, November 21
5:30 pm
This week's dinner will be yummy Rice and Beans. All are welcome for food and fellowship. If you would like to help prepare dinner starting at 3:30, please contact Rev Sara.
Sign Up Now: Thanksgiving Potluck
Thursday, November 28, 2 pm
All are welcome to join us for our Potluck Thanksgiving Gathering this year.
Sign up with how many are coming, what food you'll bring, and if you can help with set up or clean up here.
Charitable Giving 101 Webinar for OUUC Members and Friends
Tuesday, November 19, 7 - 8 pm
Hosted by Wendy Tanner
Presented by David White, CAP (Certified Advisor in Philanthropy)
DAFGiving360 (previously Schwab Charitable Giving)
This online class is for you if you:
• Are new to charitable giving, or at a place in your life where you want to learn more about charitable giving strategies.
• Are interested in developing a charitable giving plan so you can be more intentional about your giving.
• Would like to learn how charitable donations can reduce your tax liability.
• Have heard about Donor Advised Funds (DAF), but not sure if one is right for you.
• Have thought about donating appreciated stock, or funds from your IRA RMD (required minimum distribution) instead of, or in addition to cash, but aren’t sure how to do so?
This class will help you become more familiar with charitable giving, and making effective donations (cash, items and your talents), and tools to carry out your goals. The presenter will also introduce you to tools available through DAFGiving360, a charitable giving support website.
Register here. For questions, contact your host, OUUC Member Wendy Tanner.
Interfaith Works Resetting the Sacred Table
Sunday, November 24
1:30 pm, First United Methodist Church: 1224 Legion Way SE
Please join Interfaith Works (IW) in our Annual Autumnal Celebration of Community, Culture, and Music: Resetting Our Sacred Table. This year we welcome and celebrate the Squaxin Island Tribe as we explore the theme "Building Bridges of Understanding," in a time when connection and understanding across differences is needed more than ever. We'll enjoy music from a variety of the member faith communities of IW, as well as The Olympia Peace Singers and The Bridge Music Project.
New UU Class
Thursday, November 21
5:30 pm
This class is for everyone interested in becoming a member of OUUC or simply interested in learning more about OUUC. We encourage you to attend as many of the sessions in person as possible, but if you cannot make a session we have online resources to review content similar to what we will explore in that class. Find those resources here.
Sessions are all on Thursdays 6:30-7:30pm
11/21 Faith in Action ministries at OUUC
OUUC Nature Group: Kennedy Creek
Saturday, November 23
10 am
LAST CALL FOR RSVP'S OR THIS EVENT IS CANCELLED
(We are asking for registration now and this event will be cancelled if registration does not reach 5 people. Register here.)
We will meet at Kennedy Creek Nature Trail at 10am (if you need a carpool, please contact Rev. Sara and she can try and help make arrangements) and walk this short and mostly flat/accessible trail together to view the salmon run. Dress for the weather.
Saturday, November 23
2pm
The family and friends of Riley McLaughlin will be welcomed for a Celebration of Life service, both onsite in the OUUC Sanctuary and on Zoom (link below). A reception will follow for those on-site.
Check this site for updates. The recording and order of service will be available online following the service.
Riley's online obituary can be found here.
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87232266358?pwd=Pk84yycC94sxXlavFcQnNJ16Ygrnyc.1
Meeting ID: 872 3226 6358Passcode: 204518
HOLIDAY COOKIE SALE SEEKING BAKERS!
Hey! The OUUC Cookie Brigade is holding a Holiday Cookie Sale on December 8th after the Sunday service. What are the Holidays without cookies? You need a beautiful box of cookies to share with friends and family, and the Cookie Brigade is the answer to your needs. We’ll have cookie boxes available for purchase in advance, and we’ll even deliver to folks. But wait! Before we get to all that, WE NEED SOME BAKERS!
Do you like to make holiday cookies? Would you be willing to make 10 dozen fresh cookies by December 7th? All bakers receive a FREE box of cookies. If so, please don’t delay and contact Melanie Ransom to join the fun. Our goal is to spread joy with butter and sugar.
Holiday Gift Card Collection for LP Brown Elementary
Rev. Sara is collecting gifts cards now for families at our neighborhood elementary school, LP Brown. The school reports to us that they are seeing rising levels of need this year, and our donations can help their families have a joyful holiday.
They ask for gift cards all in $25 amounts for ease of distribution, to stores where families can meet a variety of needs (such as Walmart, Target, major grocery stores).
Bring your gift cards to Rev. Sara no later than Sunday December 8th.
Help Needed: Would YOU like to lead or help decorate OUUC for the holidays?
Seeking a lead and a team to help us keep the holiday cheer and magic alive by decorating OUUC! We already have all the supplies and decorations we need, we just need volunteers who can bring them up from the basement, decorate, and then put them all away again before January.
The ideal time frame for decorating is the Friday-Saturday between Thanksgiving and Dec. 1st, but the next week could work too.
Contact Rev. Sara if you could help, and especially if you're willing to coordinate and organize!
One Parish One Prisoner Congregational Survey
We are about to begin our two year journey of working with One Parish One Prisoner, and there is a congregational survey for us all to take, not just the team working on this process. We are wanting to measure how the whole congregation grows over this two year journey. We playfully call it a mugshot as our congregations get closer to prisons. Both congregations and people in prison will have one to show them at the beginning of their journey. Then at the end of the two year journey, we will ask your congregation to take it again so we can measure growth. Sound good? Here is the link to the survey.
Comfort & Joy Donation Collection
The Community Kitchen volunteers and staff are collecting donations to keep our tiny home village neighbors and dinner guests warm this holiday season. Spread some holiday cheer by donating:
*Hats * Gloves * Hand warmers * Socks * Scarves * Blankets*
100 donated backpacks are also needed and greatly appreciated!
Look for the holiday wrapped donation box in the commons to place your holiday gift between November 3 & 24.
Questions or interested in making a cash donation? Please contact Karmel Shields.
Equity Library is Open Whenever OUUC is Open!
Classified, by Traci Sorrell
December’s Equity Library’s featured book is the story of Mary Golda Ross who broke barriers as a twentieth century Cherokee woman and aerospace engineer, whose work was of great importance to the U.S. space program, and remains a secret until this day. (Found in the Leaders & Heroes section)
Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael E. Dyson
This book tells it how it is and how it feels to be black in America.
(Found in the Parent’s section)
The 2024 Books Brownies & Beans Book Sale...
...is now in our rear view mirror. This year's book sale was our 21st annual used book sale. Impressive, right? And because we are always up for a challenge, we decided that this year, for the first time ever, we would operate the sale on both Friday and Saturday. We knew it was a risk: would we have the same number of shoppers, just spread across 2 days? Or would there be more shoppers and more income for our three partners? You guessed it! This year's book sale was our best ever.
We had about $18,000 in gross income, and just under $3,000 in costs, so our partners - OlyEcosystems , Interfaith Works, and ASHHO Cultural Community - will receive a little more than $5,000 each to support their missions.
We want to extend our thanks to so many people: book donators, local businesses for food and beverage donations, book haulers, book sorters, marketing, sign makers, graphic design, volunteer wrangling, cashiers and cashier assistants, kitchen managers and Bistro servers, brownie bakers, a very large team that set up the book sale on Thursday and a clean up team that somewhat magically had the church ready for Sunday service, greeters, parking lot attendees, many other small tasks that made a big difference and last, but not least, OUUC staff 💖.
Here's a success story from one of our shoppers:
Thank you so much for the book sale that you ran in October. I attended to find young adult books for several teachers' classrooms. We had no idea what to expect. We thought 30 books would be a resounding success with our limited funds. I never dreamed another buyer would hand me $100 "for the children" or that the volunteers would offer me a deal to stretch every penny of my budget. I could not have predicted leaving with 3 boxes of books to share with our students.
When Tamarah, Natalie, and I (we teach 9th grade) went through the boxes of books it felt like opening presents. I let my students unbox my portion, and they had a lot of fun choosing new books to read. C. is enjoying Collapse by Jared Diamond, and I. immediately started reading The Diary of Anne Frank.
With Gratitude,
Amanda
Teacher, Lake Washington School District