We are excited to begin planning for our annual East Shore auction! Here are some important dates for you to mark on your calendar:
March 1, 2026 – Procurement Deadline
March 14-21, 2026, Online Bidding Opens
March 15, 2026 – Physical Items Previewed in the Foyer.
March 15, 2026 – Early Bird Event Registration Ends
March 21, 2026 – ESUC Annual Auction
There are many ways you can support our annual auction!
A themed dinner for several guests – what a great way to get to know others!
A group event at a community venue – a winery, spa, restaurant, unique business, etc.
An outdoor group adventure – bike ride, hike, garden tour, boat ride, airplane ride!
Ask your favorite small business if they’ll provide a gift certificate – publicity for them, donation for the Auction!
A lesson on a home DIY topic such as how to wire a light fixture, tile a floor, repair plumbing, fix a hole in the wall, build a rock wall, etc.
A group experience – cooking, gardening, soap making, jam making, etc.
An exercise class – Pickleball, Yoga, Zumba, personal training session, etc.
Dance, music, or voice lessons (you decide how many)
An educational tour – geology, architecture, haunted establishments, whatever you know.
Chores for a few hours – housecleaning, painting, gardening, pressure washing, organizing.
A chauffeur ride – to the airport, errands, appointments, etc.
Tickets to a play, concert, sports event, etc. Can’t use that season ticket? Donate it!
A game night or tournament – poker, tennis, badminton, bridge, etc.
Artists – a commissioned work, consultation, or class.
Professionals – a consultation, class, or professional service.
A kids’ party. Magic, juggling, clowning, baking, Lego building, crafting, storytelling, etc.
A meal, appetizers, drinks, an afternoon tea, chocolate or wine tasting, coffee, Girl Scout cookies, etc. in your home or setting of your choice (you can usually reserve space at East Shore for your event)
Volunteer at the Event: Volunteers are needed in many areas to make our auction a success! We need help with set-up, decorating, food service, check-in, raffle sales, bidding assistance, and clean–up.
Thank you for your support from the East Shore Auction Team:
Come join us for our 50th anniversary Seabeck retreat on Memorial Day weekend, Friday May 22 to Monday May 25. This year we are excited to have our 2026 presenter Bowen Lee lead us through an adventure of storytelling! New this year, we are planning a children and youth activity center for our young campers.
What is Seabeck? It is our annual 3 day retreat over Memorial Day weekend, with fellow Unitarians at the beautiful Seabeck retreat center on the Hood Canal. Along with great food and connections with fellow UUs, there will be organized activities for children and youth, and a variety of workshops led by fellow campers. It is always a memorable event for the whole family…and your friends!
Check out our Seabeck website for more information, and see a video highlighting the unique Seabeck experience. Register starting February 20 here.
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.
Imagine everyone in the congregation reflecting on our mission: practice love, build community, explore spirituality, and promote justice. Really ponder the meaning of the light of truth, the warmth of community, the fire of commitment and the power of transformation. Imagine everyone truly taking these values to heart.
For sure, serving our community is a way to make new friends, contribute your labor and time, and learn new things. Sometimes volunteering means greeting newcomers, teaching children, making coffee or serving meals; these roles are profoundly important. Alternatively, you might prefer serving on the Board of Trustees, the Nominating Committee or another committee.
Here’s how: you can nominate yourself for the Board or Nominating Committee. You can nominate another member. Or you can encourage others to nominate themselves and others.
Go to the website for Job descriptions, Self-nominating form or Nominating someone. We are seeking candidates for Board VP, Board Treasurer, 2 Board Trustees-at-Large and 2 Nominating Committee members.
Deadline for your submissions is February 28. The congregation will vote in June 2026. If you have questions, please contact anyone from the Nominating Committee: Mark Norelius, Grace Colton, Karin Pierce, Mike Stunes or Caroline Haessly.
Drop off in the Sanctuary Foyer January-February 8
Please join the Outreach Team in creating care packages to send to young, emerging adults who are a part of East Shore and our extended family. We will be packing boxes on Sunday, February 8 and would love your help!
If you would like to donate any items for the package, contact Nicole Duff or fill out this Sign Up Genius to let us know what you are getting. We want a variety of items. Here are items requested by some of our young adults:
Reese’s Pieces
M&Ms (peanut, caramel, etc.)
Jelly Beans
Twix
Twizzlers
Jolly Ranchers
Chips
Kale Chips
Fruit Strips/Leather
Granola or Protein Bar (mini)
Popcorn
Gum or mints (Extra, Orbit, Altoids Smalls)
Condoms
Fidget Toys
Lip balm (unflavored or mild mint)
Hand sanitizer (mini)
Bandages
Stickers / Pins
Keychains
Also, keep an eye out for note cards on February 1 you can sign to send your love and support to this important ESUC demographic!
Do you have a young adult in your life? Send us their name and address and we’ll do just that! Email [email protected].
by Nicole Duff, Director of Membership Development
Generosity
To worship means to consider that which has worth—today we consider, with gratitude, the many gifts of this community—
The opportunity to be affirmed in who we are and to offer that affirmation to others.
The space to expand one’s own spirit, to reconnect, and be reminded that we must see our world through the lens of love.
The questions of our children as they understand the world anew and offer their understanding to us as a fresh lens.
The laughter and joy of those giddy with the embrace of community
The dollars and cents of those who gave what they could—and then stretched a little more.
The infinite small acts of service that make the parts greater than the whole, done by those who knew themselves in sympathy with our purposes.
Let’s welcome all of these gifts with gratitude—for they have been paid for with many currencies by those who persisted in justice’s name against hostility and adversity. Let us consider with gratitude and humility what it means to pay forward what has been paid forward for us.
-Adapted from Rev. Leslie Takahashi
Dear Beloved Community Member,
Generosity: an Explicit UU Value each of us has three ways to express
Best guess: We’ve all figured out that generosity is a privilege. It’s also highlighted in our new Unitarian Universalist illustration of our values that centers Love as our core value. And this fall, the ESUC Generosity Pledge Drive offers three opportunities to feel good about our willingness to share generously — specifically to share volunteer time, share the benefits of our church by inviting others to join you here on Sundays, and of course to share funds that allow East Shore to thrive.
We’ll kick off the 2025-2026 Generosity Pledge Drive with an all-generation catered brunch after the service Sunday, September 28. Pledge cards like the one enclosed will be distributed and collected at each table. So please plan to attend this tasty and free event – and please consider well before September 28 what you will write on that pledge card. Notice that each of us is asked to contribute at a level that makes us feel comfortable and generous. And yes, it’s a privilege to do so.
Thank you,
Betsy Gelb
ESUC Member
THANK YOU for your generosity!
We hope all of you will join us on Sunday, September 28, as we pledge our support to East Shore and the work we are doing here.
To pledge online or for more information about the budget and how to give, please go to our website, esuc.org/give/gpd
How You Plan to Give Your Time & Talents to East Shore for 2026.
There’s so much going on at East Shore it may be difficult to know where to start. Now we have a new section of the church’s website which provides everything you need to get more involved: esuc.org/connect/get-involved.
On this page, you’ll find social opportunities as well as volunteer opportunities. Those include Big events we need help with, such as the Ingathering, Tabling at Salmon Days, Auction etc.; ongoing opportunities, such as Sunday Welcoming, ACE, cooking for Porchlight and Sophia Way; and working with children, such as teaching RE, OWL etc. On each of these pages, you’ll see a link or contact person to connect with.
At the very bottom of the GET INVOLVED page is information about how to become a member of East Shore, and also how to become a leader and get more involved in the running of the church.
How You Can Share East Shore in 2026.
East Shore is an amazing community, it’s clear you know that because you’re here! What better gift to give someone than to give them the gift of community. This year, we are asking you to please plan to invite friends, family, neighbors, co-workers…. anyone you know who needs community! The invitation can be for Sunday or another great event. And remember, even if the answer is “no,” they will feel complimented that you invited them… so much so they may come later, knowing the invitation is always open.
How You Plan to Give Funds to East Shore for 2026.
If you give by ACH, Bill Pay, or Recurring Credit Card Payments we are asking you to consider becoming a Sustainable Giver. This allows us to factor in an increase cost of expenses to the church each year, and allows you to decide how much you are willing to increase each year. You can change at any time.
If you are a Sustainable Giver you do not need to do anything. Some members are signed up to be a Sustainable Giver, meaning their pledge will automatically increase every year by a percent of their choice. This increase will happen every January. We are so appreciative of your decision to sign up to have your pledge automatically increase. Enclosed you will find a notice of the new monthly pledge amount, starting January 2026.
If you give a once or a few times a year by check or credit card, we ask that you fill out a pledge card to let us know how you plan to support East Shore in 2026. For the past few years, we have seen an increase in members who are set up for regular monthly giving. This helps us plan for the year as we can predict giving.
If you give by stock or designated giving, we ask that you fill out a pledge card to let us know how you plan to support East Shore.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Nicole Duff at [email protected].
