That’s a distinction Unitarian Universalism has offered the world over and over: love is something we do, not something we wait for. It’s built through action, through care, through choosing to believe that what we do today matters tomorrow.
At East Shore Unitarian Church, we see love every time a child exclaims at observing a candle’s dancing flame, every time a family gathers in worship, every time a volunteer says “yes” to helping young people build a relationship with their inner world.
Two years ago, our faith made a conscious decision to name love as the value that holds all our whole faith together, holds all of us together. Not because the world is easy right now—but because it isn’t. Love reminds us why we invest in children, why we protect nature, why we keep showing up for community and for each other.
I can say with confidence: love is alive and well—carried in the singing voices, curious questions, holding hands, shared laughter, and the steady belief that nurturing love today shapes a more compassionate, more resilient tomorrow.
With gratitude for all the ways you practice love with us,
Amanda
February RE Programs
February 1 – Whole Church RE
We continue our all-ages program focusing on gender, sexuality, and allyship as we work together on the Progress Flag Mosaic. Adults can add their contributions during Coffee Hour.
February 8 – Winter Con at Quimper UU (Grades 8–12)
Middle and high school youth (8th–12th grade) travel to Port Townsend for Winter Con, Friday through Sunday. Younger children and elementary classes have a regular RE Sunday on campus and explore the traditions of Mardi Gras.
February 15 – Family Sunday
Celebrate Mardi Gras with our annual shoebox parade. All children are welcome to participate fully in worship on this Family Sunday. Worship bags and rug spaces will be available. Regular Religious Education classes do not take place on Family Sundays.
February 22 – Regular RE Classes
All programs meet. K–2 OWL continues, and other classes explore age-appropriate discussions of fairness, moral choices, and courage.
Stay connected—middle school and high school advisors continue to send emails directly to parents of enrolled youth. You can also reach out to our staff to make sure you are on the correct lists.
Art & Community Summer Camp 2026 invites children into a collaborative space centered on art, nature, and creativity. Summer is a time to play, imagine, build, and be together—and this camp offers space for children to grow in a supportive environment. Campers work on individual and shared projects and spend time together building friendships. We try out new ideas and learn from one another through a variety of activities, both in the classroom and outdoors. Families may register for both back-to-back weeks or choose just one week.
Week 1: Building a New World: July 27–31, 2026 | Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
This week is all about imagining and building together. Campers will create a new world using LEGO, cardboard, birdhouses, fabric, recycled materials, and other open-ended supplies. We’ll build, problem-solve, tell stories, and work collaboratively as we think about earth systems, how communities are made, and what we need to thrive.
Week 2: Around the World in 8 Desserts: August 3–7, 2026 | Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
Campers explore desserts and sweet traditions from different cultures. We’ll spend time in the kitchen learning basic cooking skills, food safety, and where ingredients come from, while making and sharing desserts along the way. We’ll also take a field trip to the Mercer Slough blueberry farm to pick blueberries together.
Who Can Attend
Campers: Children entering grades K–6 in Fall 2026
Counselors in Training (CITs): Youth entering grades 6–7 in Fall 2026
Teen Camp Counselors: Teens entering grades 8–12 in Fall 2026
Cost
Campers (Grades K–6): $300 per week
CITs & Teen Camp Counselors (Grades 6–12): $40 per week
Scholarships and tuition discounts or waivers are available. No one will be turned away for financial reasons.
Camp Counselor Training (Required for CITs and Teen Counselors): July 20–21, 2026 | 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
Youth entering grades 6–12 who wish to serve as Counselors in Training or Teen Camp Counselors must attend this mandatory two-day training. Training focuses on working with younger campers, safety and supervision, leadership skills, and how to help create a camp environment that is fun, inclusive, and supportive. Teens who are unable to attend the training may participate in camp as campers.
“If only it were all so simple! If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” — Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago
Happy New Year! You may be wondering why I am starting the New Year writing about evil. After the good tidings of the holiday season, the celebrating of peace among nations, and the promise of a New Year, it seems sometimes that these feelings can disappear into the winter of despair. The news once again turns to all that is wrong with the world. It is a constant struggle among humanity:
When my son was five years old, we were talking about the idea of Unitarianism. I explained that I have faith that we are each born whole and holy. He asked for verification: “Mommy, does God really love everyone?” I answered that of course, God loves everyone. He then asked, “Does God love Trump?” He had me stumped. I refrained from my knee-jerk reaction and instead answered honestly. I told him, “While I know Trump doesn’t love everyone, and certainly acts on that, it doesn’t take away from the power of love to be bigger and stronger than the people that try to take love away.
It is an interesting discussion to have with your children. Despite our humanity and our civilization worshiping all sorts of “wrong” and “evil”, Unitarian Universalists understand the inherent good in everyone, that we all come from one source. As Solzhenitsyn points out, evil is not an abstract, far-away concept, but rather, how we respond evil in a million little ways, bending the arc toward justice, that makes all the difference. One of the positive aspects of a dynamic religious community is that it invites us to grapple with this question and calls us to our better selves. We can communicate and live the values of community and the higher calling of love to overcome evil every day.
January RE Programs
January 4 – Family Sunday: Join us to welcome the New Year together. Families worship in the Sanctuary. All children are welcome to participate fully in worship. Worship bags and rug spaces will be available. Regular Religious Education programming does not take place on Family Sundays.
January 11 – First Day of K–3 OWL: K–3 OWL begins with orientation and Workshop 1. Children not participating in OWL may join either the preschool room or the Stepping Stones upper-elementary group. Middle school and high school programs meet as usual.
January 18 – Regular RE Classes: All age groups meet this week. Little UUs explore winter stories; Discovery and Stepping Stones begin our “Good and Evil” thematic unit; and YES UU and YRUU focus on community-building and preparing for mid-winter events. Nursery care is open.
January 25 – Whole Church RE: All ages participate in a hands-on Whole Church RE experience in the Education Building. This month’s program centers on gender, sexuality, and allyship through the creation of a Progress Flag Mosaic. The mosaic will be available during Coffee Hour for adults to continue adding pieces.
February RE Programs
February 1 – Whole Church RE: We continue our all-ages program focusing on gender, sexuality, and allyship as we work together on the Progress Flag Mosaic. Adults can add their contributions during Coffee Hour.
February 8 – Winter Con at Quimper UU (Grades 8–12): Middle and high school youth (8th–12th grade) travel to Port Townsend for Winter Con, Friday through Sunday. Younger children and elementary classes have a regular RE Sunday on campus and explore the traditions of Mardi Gras.
February 15 – Family Sunday: Celebrate Mardi Gras with our annual shoebox parade. All children are welcome to participate fully in worship on this Family Sunday. Worship bags and rug spaces will be available. Regular Religious Education classes do not take place on Family Sundays.
February 22 – Regular RE Classes: All programs meet. K–3 OWL continues, and other classes explore age-appropriate discussions of fairness, moral choices, and courage.
Stay connected—middle school and high school advisors continue to send emails directly to parents of enrolled youth. You can also reach out to LeAnne Struble, RE Coordinator, to make sure you are on the correct lists.
by Amanda Alice Uluhan, Director of Religious Education
I’m always looking for ways to get more people involved at East Shore, and one of the best ways is small groups. This is needed now more than ever as more people work from home, live further from family, and loneliness is a growing epidemic.
A new subgroup of the Membership Development Team includes Dave Baumgart, Ann Carden, and myself. We hope to revitalize the Small Group Ministry programs at East Shore! We are looking for groups that are welcoming, accessible, and will build community.
We envision 3 types of groups:
Support Groups: opportunities for people to share their struggles and victories. Led by an appropriate facilitator.
Spiritual Groups: Similar to the Covenant Circle program we are wanting to start a new series – Soul Matters! These are groups of 8-12 people who meet once or twice a month to delve deeper into their own spirituality. We do ask for a one year commitment to a group. Note: current Covenant Circles will continue.
Social Groups: From lunches, walks, arts and crafts, games… the options are endless! These groups are just for having fun and connecting! We would ideally ask for two organizers so the groups can meet if one person is unavailable.
We know there are so many possibilities for types of groups, so we are asking for your help! Please fill out our survey with the types of groups you are interested in. Dave, Ann and I will use this information to prioritize what is needed most.
Are you interested in being a facilitator? That’s great! We are offering various training options. If you would like to learn more about facilitating a group, reach out to me at [email protected]. This is a great opportunity to build skills and help grow our community!
by Nicole Duff, Director of Membership Development
“Now is the moment of magic,
when people beaten down and broken,
with nothing left but misery and candles and their own clear voices,
kindle tiny lights and whisper secret music, and here’s a blessing:
the dark universe is suddenly illuminated by the lights of the menorah, suddenly ablaze with the lights of the kinara, and the whole world is glad and loud with winter singing.” Victoria E. Safford
In November, we meet for a Friday Night Kids Night Out. On November 7, from 5:00-8:00 PM, we meet for fun, games, and art, and you drop the kids for a night off. Open to church members and friends ages 2 through 15. Sliding scale fee from $10-$20. Register at esuc.org!
In November, we also start work on our “Kids Winter Pageant” I want to gather information on who is interested in participating in the Winter Pageant this year. The Pageant will take place on Sunday December 14, 2025. This will help us determine how many parts to write! Rehearsals will be during RE on Sunday morning December 7 and Thursday evening December 11 from 5pm-7pm. Please fill out this form.
Our RE classes are one small part of each families experience; we hope our time with your children encourages discussion and ignites curiosity. We have great resources on the web for Unitarian Universalist families as they navigate this bright and blessed time of year. The following website is a great start: https://www.uua.org/worship/holidays
Through the Holiday season, there are especially so many ways to give, many of them right here at East Shore. There is no greater time to teach our children about aligning values and actions than during the Holidays. Many children want to give gifts to express their love to others. They know the joy or receiving and gift and want to offer that gift to others. How beautiful to let our children know that giving is not just a moral practice, it is a spiritual practice. When we give to others we are making a visible sign of the relationship and interdependence that exists in our world.
One of the first lessons of giving is that it doesn’t matter how much and that giving of your time and talent are just are meaningful as money. We can help our children put loose change in the offering or have them help fill out the Pledge card and Form for our Generosity Pledge Drive. Another idea is to have them play an imagination game; if we have 300 families at East Shore and every person gave one dollar we would have $300!
For the Giving Tree, we can teach your child how to knit or sew fleece scarves and hats, or buy special gifts for those who need extra care from the community. These treasures keep a child warm and provide time for meaningful conversations about generosity and stewardship.
Lastly, on our Christmas Eve Family Service at 4:00 PM we gather for a worship for the whole family. Hear the Christmas Story and join in singing to celebrate the most festive time of the year. The 4:00 pm worship service is a traditional Unitarian Universalist Candle light service. There will be no child care or RE available and we encourage you to participate in the service by volunteering as a reader or another worship associate role. We also take up the offering for the Minister’s Discretionary Fund to be distributed among congregants requesting financial assistance during emergencies (rent, utilities, groceries, etc.), a wonderful way to share with others in the East Shore community!
I wish you all a tremendous fall.
by Amanda Alice Uluhan, Director of Religious Education
Our church has started, and we could not be more thrilled to kick off the school year. Throughout year, there are a couple of steps to take to help with participation, so please be sure to read this article for important information.
First and foremost, we would like to welcome any new children. We are also super excited to see all our returning members. Thank you all for being a part of our East Shore family.
Registration
Fill out our general registration form and, for specialized events and programs, click on an event and fill out the associated form. esuc.org/kids
Arriving at church
You can park in the upper or lower parking lot or on the street. Please drive slowly as there are many pedestrians around.
Regular Programs
Sunday School: PreK–8th Grade, Sundays during worship
Youth Group (YRUU): Grades 9–12, Sunday evenings
Family Sundays: On Family Sundays, children join their families for the full worship service in the Sanctuary. Regular Religious Education programming will not take place on Family Sundays.
OWL and Coming of Age
We have a number of extra curricular opportunities this year that we encourage you to sign up for. These include Our Whole Lives, Sexuality Education, for kids in grades K-1, 4-5, 7-8, and 10-12. We are also offering a monthly Coming of Age program for teens in grades 7 and older on Thursday evenings. These both require additional registration which you can find online at esuc.org/kids
Classes
The teachers and I formed the classes based on their age groups, please make a note of that. Classes are below from youngest to oldest. Please support and thank the class volunteers. Their involvement makes all the difference.
Daily Schedule
This is just to give you an idea — our schedule might change depending on the lessons, worship, weather etc. We don’t strictly time our activities. Our teachers are creating a nice balance between learning, playing and socializing.
10:15 am – Preschool drop-off begins (no earlier than 10:15)
10:30 am – Worship begins
10:45 am – Recessional to Religious Education
11:00 am – Main activity, circle time, songs, and book reading
11:30 am – Snack or recess time and game/activity
11:45 am – Dismissal
Nursery (6 months–5 years): Infants and toddlers ages 6 months (sitting up) through 5 years may be signed in at the nursery starting 15 minutes before each service. Visiting families fill out a temporary registration form, leave a cell phone number, and keep phones on vibrate. Please take care of diaper changes and bathroom needs before drop-off. Children should be picked up promptly after worship, by 11:45 am.
Discovery Year (Kindergarten–2nd Grade): Nametags are available in the Sanctuary building with the adult tags; please return them before leaving. Visiting families complete a temporary registration form and leave a cell phone number on vibrate. Children attend the beginning of worship and leave after the Time for All Ages. Please pick up your child from class following worship by 11:45 am.
Stepping Stones (3rd–5th Grade): Nametags are with the adult tags in the Sanctuary building and should be returned before leaving. Visiting families fill out a temporary registration form and leave a cell number on vibrate. Children attend the start of worship and leave after the Time for All Ages. Pick up your child from class following worship by 11:45 am.
YES-U Junior High (6th–8th Grade): Youth may escort themselves to and from class. Nametags should be worn while in the building for safety and community. Parents are encouraged to set a meeting location with their youth after class.
YRUU High School (9th–12th Grade): High school youth group meets Sunday evenings from 6–8 pm. Youth wear nametags while in the building for safety and community. Parents may set a meeting spot with their teen after class; those with a driver’s license may drive themselves.
What to bring
Please send your children with weather appropriate jackets. We try to go outside rain or shine unless there is heavy rain.
We require at least one parent to be on site during programming.
Volunteers
Each class has volunteers from our community. Our students love our volunteers and getting involved is a great way to help grow out community of families.
Handbook
Please review the attached parent handbook which includes important church policies and procedures. I encourage you to have a conversation with your child about the materials and program.
You can always reach out to our staff if you have any questions or concerns.
East Shore is a 501c3 non profit organization and there is an all volunteer board of trustees to govern the congregation. We are very grateful for them being the invisible force behind our congregation.
