Join the East Shore Indigenous Connections Team as we share what we have learned while building relationships with our indigenous neighbors. We will also honor two UU women who have worked tirelessly to connect and inspire us and other UUs to engage with indigenous communities and the issues that impact them. Please join us for a potluck after the service. Everyone is welcome!
A celebration of live music and poetry readings – Don’t miss this Labor Day Sunday service centered on social justice and HOPE. Come and be inspired! Rev. Maria Cristina preaches
We gather to give thanks for having access to drinking water and for the bodies of water near us that allow us to refresh our bodies and souls. We recommit ourselves to defend, care for, and honor this sacred element on which our very lives depend. Join us as we bring together the waters that we have collected (from rivers, beaches, streams, or kitchen sinks) to pour into a common bowl, symbol of our Beloved Community. Rev. Dr. Maria Cristina preaches.
The month of September will be dedicated to reflecting upon the many. meanings of “Home.” How has your understanding of “home” changed over the years? How do we contribute to building and nourishing East Shore Unitarian Church, our spiritual home?
Inspired by the book written by Danya Ruttenberg, we gather to continue exploring paths towards healing from painful and unresolved issues. Rooted in traditional Jewish concepts, the book guides us through the five steps towards healing: Naming and owning harm; starting to change/transformation; restitution and accepting consequences; apology; and making different choices. Join us immediately following the service to continue the conversation with Rev. Maria Cristina. Refreshments will be provided.
Join us in person or via Zoom for our annual Blessing of the Animals ceremony. You are invited to bring your pets so they can receive a blessing (please ensure they are on a leash or in a carrier). If your animal companions have crossed over the rainbow bridge, please bring their photo so we can honor their memory.
Join us as we celebrate Indigenous People's Day and reaffirm our commitment to strengthen our connections with our indigenous neighbors. We recognize the impact of settler colonialism. We lift up indigenous ways of knowing to guide us in building the Beloved Community and practice being in right relationship with Mother Earth and all our relatives.
We celebrate the many ways that our East Shore community nourishes our spiritual journeys and keeps us connected. Join us as we pledge our love and support to our Beloved Community and plant seeds for the future.
So many of us have specific experiences and memories of musical pieces our parents shared with us. Some of these are lullabies, some are songs sung together on road trips, some provide underscore to cherished family memories. In this service Eric Lane Barnes, Grace Colton and local vocalist Heather Gonio will share memories and songs of our parents and how shared music lives on long after our loved ones have gone.
Join us to honor the memory of our dearly departed. We will begin to build our community altars in the sanctuary on Friday, October 27 and Saturday, October 28 from 12:00-4:00 pm. You can also bring your photographs, flowers, and mementos on Sunday morning. “At the rising sun and at its going down; We remember them. For as long as we live, they too will live, for they are now a part of us as we remember them.”
In such a small world it can mean so much to welcome the stranger. Now, and perhaps more than ever, our generous responses may be the key to building the community we yearn to grow.
Reverend Eric Kaminetzky grew up in Unitarian Universalism and serves our Congregation in Edmonds, WA. His first career was in the law as a licensed and practicing Attorney.
East Shore will be joined by Bhangra dance group Rhythms of India to help us celebrate Diwali in style! We will learn dance moves and put them together in a fun and exuberant service that is part storytelling, part dance workshop, part musical exploration.
The wheel of the year has turned again. Once more the Thanksgiving season has arrived. Let us sing our song of gratitude together. Let us gather in community to give thanks for all the blessings we have received. Please join us for a Thanksgiving potluck immediately following the service. All are welcome!
November is Native American Heritage Month. Join us as we welcome Guest Speaker, Paula Peters, member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe of Massachusetts.
Paula Peters is a politically, socially, and culturally active member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and owner of SmokeSygnals Communications. As an independent scholar and writer of Native, and particularly Wampanoag history, she is a producer of the traveling exhibit "Our" Story: 400 Years of Wampanoag History and is currently engaged in the Wampum Belt Project in search of the lost treasures of Metacom, including an effort to restore the art and tradition of wampum making among her people. She is the executive producer of the 2016 documentary film Mashpee Nine and author of the companion book. She lives with her extended family in Mashpee and travels internationally to speak and educate on the true Wampanoag story.
In many Latin American countries we celebrate Las Posadas, a pre-Christmas tradition recreating the arduous journey of Mary and Joseph fleeing from violence and seeking refuge. In the United States, many churches incorporate this tradition as an expression of solidarity with all immigrants and refugees. We are reminded that we are a living sanctuary and a welcoming congregation.