On Sunday, September 13 we will celebrate this community with our annual Water Communion and Ingathering Potluck.
In 1980, two Unitarian Universalist women—Carolyn McDade and Lucile Schuck Longview created a service called “Coming Home Like Rivers to the Sea” with a new ritual “that spoke to our connectedness to one another, to the totality of life, and to our place on this planet.” People brought water from different places and poured it in a common earthenware bowl as each bearer described its significance.
Join us at 10:30 a.m. as we gather once again in our spiritual home to share this deeply meaningful ritual which reminds us of our diversity and interconnectedness. Bring water from the ocean, the river, the lakes, rainwater you collected in your backyard, or tap water from your kitchen.
Then, at 11:30 a.m., join us for the Annual Ingathering Potluck (formerly known as Salmon Bake)! Please plan to stay after the service for a potluck and lunch! We will provide salmon and curry chickpea salad (vegan) and we ask you to provide sides and desserts. Not sure what to bring?
Last Name A-I: Sides
Last Name J-R: Desserts
Last Name S-Z: Salads
We also ask you to consider volunteering! We need cooks and people to help set up. We have great directions to follow, so it’s hands and people willing to give of themselves. To volunteer, please email Nicole at [email protected] or sign up online or in the foyer.
by Nicole Duff, Director of Membership Development
“I want for the church to be a force that causes my life to change and causes me to change the world with my life. When people come to church they should not be handed an order of service with a smile, but should be given hard hats and life preservers; because church should be a dangerous place, a zone of risk, a place of new birth and new life where we confront ourselves with not only who we truly are, but also who we are called to become.” – Annie Dillard
We are so fortunate that at East Shore we have so many members wearing hard hats and life preservers. Those who make sure we have service on Sunday, coffee, greeters, RE teachers, justice organizers, small group leaders, green thumbs and those who give great hugs. All of those are essential to who we are. And I want to celebrate that!
On Sunday, October 18, we will be honoring our amazing volunteers… ALL our amazing volunteers. I’m also looking to highlight a few volunteers who go above and beyond, who have made your time at East Shore special.
I’m asking you to nominate an ESUC member or friend who is always willing to lend a hand or has organized/led something that would have crashed without them. Fill out the form at forms.gle/GNPCCxHt8KuAkrrT6 or email me at [email protected] with the details of who should be nominated and why. Deadline is October 1.
The Membership Development Team will pick three to five people to be highlighted this service. I know there will be way more than a few amazing volunteers, but don’t worry, I plan to continue this tradition going forward to recognize ALL our amazing volunteers!
by Nicole Duff, Director of Membership Development
Thank you to everyone who bid on and donated to the Youth Tip at this year’s auction! Your Youth Tip Donations are at Work sending scholarships to youth to support the Cascadia SUUmer Con. East Shore Unitarian is sending six teens to the event and there are over forty youth from the region going. Taking place at the United Church of Christ Retreat and Conference Center, N-Sid-Sen, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, SUUmer Con is an immersive, transformative experience for our young people — the only summer CON in the Pacific Northwest. Set on the beautiful shores of Lake Coeur d’Alene, it grounds youth in our UU faith, in community and love, in diversity and acceptance, and invites them into deeper connection with themselves, each other, and the wider UU community. It’s open to rising middle schoolers through graduating seniors, and a bus is available to bring folks from the west side out to camp, so distance doesn’t have to be a barrier. We’re thrilled to be able to use the Youth Tip contributions are helping make sure cost isn’t what stands in the way. Thank you again for your generosity — it’s already changing the shape of this summer for our kids.
On another note, it’s that time of year again! Each summer I ask parents to register their kids for the upcoming programming year. This information is very important as it is used to plan events, purchase supplies, and focus our ministry on the specific children and youth involved. Find our annual registration form online.
We Need R.E. Volunteers! This fall we are looking to provide a fun opportunities for children and teens to connect in community and faith each week. We need YOUR help to make it happen! Check out the details and Fill out our form online to get involved
— Amanda, Director of Religious Education
September and October RE Programs
REGISTRATION OPEN FOR 26-27 CHURCH YEAR!
For children and youth
Please take the time to register your child(ren) for Nursery care, Kids Religious Education groups at 10:30am, and Youth Group. You must do this yearly. As contact information, allergies, the kinds of supports kids need in order to fully participate all change over time, we need these updated each year. Thank you for taking the time to do this!
Religious Education classes for children and youth would not be possible without the amazing volunteer teachers. The more teachers we can get, the more kids we can teach! Multiple volunteers are needed for each age group. Teachers receive a volunteer shirt and a teachers packet with lesson plans. Fill out our form online or email [email protected] if you have any questions!
OPTIONS:
Be part of a team of lead teachers, assistants, and substitutes for the nursery, grades K-2, or 3-5, class that meets during the worship service;
Be part of a team of youth advisors to mentor middle and high school age activities, discussions, and service learning projects that meet after the worship service;
Be a parent volunteer be a safe second adult in the classroom to help as needed;
Be a Class Parent to welcome new families and help them connect with other parents and the congregation;
Be an RE greeter and staff the check in table at the start of each RE Sunday;
Be a liaison with a participating ministry team, (e.g. Grounds, Porchlight, Auction, Indigenous Connections, Welcoming Congregations, Giving Tree, etc.);
Be a Sex Ed Teacher with the Our Whole Lives program;
Help plan and implement seasonal events for families;
Care for young children in the nursery during congregational events;
Admin and Library weekday help;
And/Or, contact me for short, 1-3 hour opportunities!
SUPPORT for TEACHERS and FACILITATORS:
Amanda will provide an RE volunteer orientation September 6 from 12:30-2:30 PM and ongoing coaching for those working with our children.
A separate team of other volunteers will assist Amanda to provide the needed lesson plans, activity guides, resources, and supplies.
Volunteer teams will set up their rotation and communication systems to ensure coverage and allow members to attend worship on a regular schedule.
The Children and Youth RE Ministry Team will encourage related ministry teams and other interested adults to participate in RE in their areas of expertise.
Stay connected—Reach out to our staff to ensure you are on our email lists for enrolled youth.
All through the month of September, East Shore will spotlight the PorchLight Ministry Team. Members will help Reverend Maria Cristina with worship services and PorchLight will receive the monthly Share the Plate. In recent years we’ve expanded our efforts to support the Emergency Men’s Shelter on Eastgate Way.
September: Condiment Drive
This month we’re conducting the 2ndCondiments Drive to spice up their meals. Every Sunday this month, we will collect non- perishable condiments:, hot sauce, relishes, ketchup, mustard, BBQ sauce, pickles. Self-serve sizes are fine since they can be put on the tables at the shelter where 80-100 men eat each day. Look for the clearly marked, nicely decorated box in the foyer for donations. We thank you in advance for your generosity.
October: Hosting the Rotating Shelter
For nearly 30 years, East Shore has been part of PorchLight’s Rotating Shelter, where various churches host about 25 men for one month. We do this every October. There are many ways to participate:
You can provide a whole dinner, or just a main dish, a side or dessert for 25-28 people on any night in October. Just bring your contribution to the North Room in the sanctuary at 5:45 p.m. Sign up here or contact Stephanie Chlebowski.
You can sign up to be a host for an evening: set our food and drinks and greet and chat with our guests. This commitment is from 5:45 -7 p.m. Sign up here or contact Bert Velasco
Or you can sign up to shop for staples which the men need for breakfast. Sign up here or contact Peggy Phillips.
We are hoping to add some opportunities to provide breakfast too. Check the weekly eblasts and the Sunday orders of service for more details. The PorchLight Team is eternally grateful for your participation in this long-running East Shore ministry.
At our Children & Youth Bridging Worship Service on June 7, 2026, you experienced the enthusiasm that our children and youth, parents and teachers have for the Religious Education Programs at East Shore. We invited you to “Lean in” to help us get through the uncertainties of running these programs during the extensive construction activity in the Education Building next fall. Here are the two big takeaways we wanted to leave you with for the fall:
Volunteers are encouraged to sign up as teachers and teaching assistants, and
Ministry Teams and other affiliate groups are invited to involve children and youth in your programs.
If your ministry team or affiliate group wants to get involved in the RE program this fall, we invite you to imagine new ways of interacting with children and youth. You don’t necessarily need to offer traditional classroom instruction… we encourage creativity and re-imagining. Here are some different ways you might interact:
Take part in a service learning project
Explore ways of creative expression through art, music, writing
Lead a field trip to an organization that is working in your field/area
Design a curriculum for a 1 to 3 session mini-course on a topic
Collaborate with the RE Team to design a mini-course on your field using their vast resources
We invite you to think about topics or activities that you believe would capture the interest of the children and youth. What is it that you work on as a ministry team or affiliate group that would be appropriate for eager learners? What got you interested in your area to begin with? Ideally topics will be solutions oriented and offer hope for a better future. When we ask you to lean in and help with RE, it will be with the full support of the RE professionals who lead our programs. They have experience and skills of working with children and youth here at East Shore. They are ready to work with you and your teams to collaborate on educational offerings.
We invite you to think about which age groups you would like to be involved with:
Littles (under 5)
K-5
Middle school youth
High school youth
We invite you to think about what month(s) is(are) best for your team to get interactive with the children and youth? You may have a worship service or a special event. Could you involve children and youth in the preparation and presentation for that event? Will you have a special speaker visit East Shore, who could do a separate session with the children and youth? You may want to avoid a crunch time when your team is too busy, and perhaps get involved with kids once things quiet down.
We invite you to think about the ideal timing of the interaction. Should it be during worship, at the same time as worship, a family friendly event after worship on Sundays, on a Saturday morning, or another time of the week?
Once you feel ready, we invite you to submit your ideas, in whatever state of planning they may be. We’ve created this Google Form for you to fill out with as much or as little information as you and your team have. Please feel free to submit multiple ideas by repeating the process using the same form. All of your ideas will be considered by our RE professionals for further, collaborative development with your teams.
by Amanda Alice Uluhan, Director of Religious Education
Are you looking for an East Shore Ministry Team that combines social justice activities and fun? Free films to watch? Infrequent meetings? Then East Shore’s Meaningful Movies Bellevue could be a good fit for you. The members of the team select and show social justice documentaries on zoom, free of charge to anyone who would like to watch them. For example, in the last few months, we screened The Librarians, Fight Like Hell, and The Oil Machine – topics ranging from librarians who are protecting our First Amendment rights, to the woman who became the union organizer Mother Jones, to global climate change and the fight over North Sea oil. Help us continue showing social justice documentaries that educate and build community. All you need is an interest in documentary films and a desire to engage in community events. To learn more about the Meaningful Movies Bellevue team, contact Lynn Roesch.
