Since the Paris Climate Accord was signed in 2015, four banks have provided over one trillion dollars in financing for the fossil fuel industry, an industry that has no plans to stop building new or expanding oil and gas projects. Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank. It’s our money they are using to bankroll the climate crisis. The dirtiest fossil fuels in the world are financed with money from our bank accounts, credit cards, 401ks. Come, learn, and be a part of the solution to the climate crisis!
Where: Bellevue Downtown Park.
When: Tuesday, March 21: Noon – 1:00 pm with optional march past local banks.
What: Guest speakers, educational materials, interactive game, snacks and beverages. PLUS, an opportunity to cut up your credit card symbolically or actually!
Why: The fossil fuel industry polluting our atmosphere can’t continue without money from banks and investors. If we stop the Big Four Banks—Bank of America, Chase, Citibank, and Wells Fargo—from investing, we help shut down the industry. We don’t want our money and savings to be used to bankroll the climate crisis. We’ve got lots of resources to help you find better banks and credit cards to make the switch.
You are invited to a Send-Off Event in the foyer after worship service on Sunday, March 5, to bid farewell to our East Shore members who are traveling to India and Nepal to connect with our partners in education there! We hope you will come to learn about the education-focused programs, write greeting cards to our partners, and give the travelers a hearty bon voyage. Khasi Hills Ministry Team (KHMT) will supply the coffee hour treats!
We will be traveling in late March-early April to visit two educational programs:
Khasi Hills Partners in NE India: We will renew our mutual understanding with our partners in the Friendship School and the Unitarian churches of Smit and Kharang.
ANSWER Nepal: We will be connecting with ANSWER to visit our sponsored students and the program leaders.
We are grateful to Mark Norelius, Elaine Richlie, Kathy and Alan Moritis, Barb Clagett, Vicki Roberts and Doug Strombom, for committing to these visits. We’d also like to thank those of you who considered traveling with us, but couldn’t make it this time. If anyone is interested in future opportunities to engage with partners, please contact Barb or Doug. We would be delighted to see you at our
Since the beginning of Covid and shutdowns, the food cart in the main office at East Shore has been mostly shut down. HopeLink stopped accepting donations and I, as the food-cart person, stopped being able to manage the cart as I had for several years. There is a sign indicating that donations are no longer accepted on the cart. The occasional mistakenly left food has been taken to a small foodbank by Nicole.
To this point, no one has stepped up to take over ongoing food donations on a consistent basis. So, the cart is going away. This is the final notice to not randomly bring your food goods to East Shore. Of course, this doesn’t mean we can no longer have focused food donation drives if a specific ministry team wants to fully sponsor one. Feel free.
Are you overwhelmed with emails asking you to act on legislative proposals? Or do you want a way to easily voice your opinion about important bills?
I have found that the 350 WA Civic Action Team (CAT) twice a week emails spot on in providing an easy way to take a few actions that only take 5-10 minutes of your time. The bi-weekly email lists the bills with top priority for the week—many because are deadlines for comments. After the brief explanation of the bill, click on a link to register your Pro or Con position on a bill. You may add a comment, but it is not required.
350WA says: “We recognize that folks don’t always have time to get all the way through our actions, and that is okay! Every little bit helps. Like last year, we’re indicating actions as having different priorities, in order to make it easier for you to allocate your time. We just ask that you get through as many sections as you can and then scroll to the bottom and click the orange “Done” button to submit. This way we can keep an accurate tally of how many actions the CAT campaign takes this session.
We’re thrilled you are with us; together we can have a significant impact in making our state a leader in climate action and social justice!”
The 2022 Giving Tree Ministry is complete and the tallies are in! This year we supported 6 agencies that reach out to people in need. Those agencies are: Childhaven, Friends of Youth, Hopelink, Sound Mental Health, The Sophia Way, and YouthCare.
We received a total of 220 requests. Many of these requests were fulfilled directly by you! Included in the 220 tags were 113 gift cards totaling $4180. Additionally, we received approximately $840 in monetary donations. This money was used to fulfill the remaining requests. Altogether, we were able to fulfill 208 of the requested donations through your generous donations. There were also quite a few unsolicited gifts that were passed along.
The Giving Tree Ministry team was led by Kathie Moritis and Janis Pock. They were assisted by Nancy Bissel, Paula Doe, Jan Fleck, Marian Hayes, Milly Mullarky, Peggy Phillips, Elaine Richlie, and Trish Webb. Several members of this ministry have participated for many years and will be retiring. If you are interested in participating – now is a good time to let your intentions be known! It is not too early to plan ahead! The commitment time is limited and there are various tasks to be accomplished. We need your help to continue this ministry! Elf hats and aprons are provided!
Please contact Janis Pock with questions or to volunteer.
Thank you very much for your generosity! You have made a difference in the lives of others.
About eight members of our congregation will pay a visit to the Khasi Hills in NE India in March 2023. This will be a time to renew ties and build new friendships with our Khasi Unitarian partners. While we are there, we will hold several important meetings with our Khasi partners to discuss their church programs, the Friendship School, and our sponsorship program for 20 Khasi students.
We have been separated from our partners by pandemic restrictions on travel for far too long, and there is much to catch up on. We do regularly communicate through apps like WhatsApp, but there is no substitute for meeting in person. We are excited that this will be the first visit to the Khasi Hills for several of our members. It is such a rewarding experience, and we gain so much from our exposure to Khasi culture.
We will hold a Send Off Event at East Shore the week of March 5. We want to include as many of our members as possible in the partnership… especially those who cannot go with us on the pilgrimage this year. East Shore members will have an opportunity to write greeting cards that we will carry to our partners in the Smit and Kharang churches.
If you would like to know more about this pilgrimage in March, please contact Barb Clagett or Doug Strombom. We appreciate your ongoing interest in and support of these wonderful partnerships that East Shore has with Unitarians on the far side of the world. Khublei!
