ECAM and the Board of Trustees sign amicus brief in support of Our Children’s Trust lawsuit.
In 2015, 21 youth filed a constitutional lawsuit in US District Court for Oregon in which they were represented by Our Children’s Trust (OCT), a non-profit public interest law firm. The case is Juliana v US which argues that the federal government’s actions are causing climate change, thereby violating the rights of the younger and future generations to life, liberty and property under the US constitution. The youngest plaintiff is a Unitarian, and he received the UU Ministry for Earth Guardian of the Future award in 2018.
Other lawsuits are pending among various states. One such lawsuit, Aji Piper, et al v State of Washington, is claiming there is a fundamental right to a clean and healthy environment. Dan Von Seggern at the Center for Environmental Policy is drafting and filing a short amicus brief for petition of review with the Washington State Supreme Court to get the youth-led constitutional climate case heard in court.
Here is our statement of support: The congregation of East Shore Unitarian Church in Bellevue, WA, along with their Earth & Climate Action Ministry team, supports policies to ensure a healthy environment today and for future generations.
As we have seen the COVID numbers decrease, vaccines increase, and restrictions lifting we can now begin the process of returning to campus. We want to make sure we keep everyone safe and roll this out slowly.
Masks on Campus
We want to keep all our members, friends, staff, and visitors safe, and we recognize the CDC has lifted many guidelines. We know not all of our members and friends have had the opportunity to get vaccinated while others are immune compromised. We are requiring anyone on our campus to wear a mask while inside the buildings, even if you are vaccinated. Masks are optional outdoors. We hope to lift this requirement as our community safety is assured. Staff will not be required to wear a mask in their office, as long as they are vaccinated. Each staff member has the option of what they feel comfortable with for their offices. You will see a sign outside their door letting you know if they are requiring masks in their offices. We ask you to please respect wishes of those who wish to keep their masks on.
Vaccines
We cannot require guests to be vaccinated and cannot guarantee everyone is vaccinated.
Food & Drink
Any food or drink MUST be consumed outside. Staff may eat inside after they are fully vaccinated.
Summer Operating Hours (July 1-Labor Day)
Staff will only be onsite Monday through Thursday, 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. (caretakers only). Campus is closed on Fridays and Saturdays this summer. Many staff will be onsite on Thursdays, 10-2 beginning June 30. Stay tuned for our operating hours in the fall.
Also, please keep in mind the staff has been working for more than a year with little-to-no vacation. As they become vaccinated and the weather improves, many staff may be using their vacation days. This might cause a delay in some responses, so please be patient as we work on a new way of working and taking some much-needed breaks.
Worship
We look forward to having you back in the Sanctuary for worship this fall (date TBD). We are so thankful for the ACE Crew, especially Ralph Lutz and Lee Winstrom for working on a way to make the service multi-platform. We still have some experiments to run before we can go live, but are hopeful.
This summer, Rev. Furrer will be taking a well-deserved vacation and study break. We have a wonderful lineup of guests from around the globe who we have been working with for months. Because of this, we will continue to be online only for worship until Rev. Furrer returns in September. At that time, we will be able to know an exact date. We will still be seeing some of our beloved staff including Eric Lane Barnes!
Religious Education for Children and Youth
Religious Education classes for children & youth are starting summer break on June 13th, when we’ve got an online and in person celebration planned. We had a great year and look forward to several social events planned during the summer. Please plan on joining us for some or all of these events. You can check out some of the dates here.
We’d love to have you involved as a volunteer teacher for the children and youth programs we’re running. By September, many of our youth and adults will be well vaccinated and much of the state and school will be opened. We are anticipating a return to Religious Education and worship in the church building after Labor Day. Our next church year starts September 12, 2021 and runs through May 22, 2022. We can confidently plan that at least some of our time will be on-campus and outdoors, with the possibility of this being weekly as the pandemic allows, perhaps interspersed with virtual time as we need to continue with that type of programming. We have been working to establish several outdoor gathering spaces and have several tents for extra shelter. We will continue with our flexibility as the pandemic realities continue to unfold.
Small Groups
We are working on having spaces for small groups! We have made some outdoor “rooms” outside the North Room on the lovely new patio built by Colton Burd. We are also working on spaces in the North Room and South Room (newly renovated) that will allow for airflow. With just a few rooms, please make sure you make a request with this form. We ask that for now, you keep groups to less than 15 people (masked) if you are indoors.
Some Upcoming In-Person Events
Throughout the past year, we have had some in-person events. Our BLM Flash Stances have continued, we began Soul Saturdays, and the Grounds Team has been working on our campus. We will continue to add more events in person, starting with some outdoor events. Please keep an eye out for some on-site picnics this summer. We also hope to return to in-person choir rehearsals at the end of August. In the fall, we are planning for a multi-platform auction with an in-person event!
Ryther
We are fortunate to have long time renters, Ryther, continue their summer camp. This summer, the Religious Education building will be off limits during the week. This camp is an essential service for children on the autism spectrum. To keep them safe, they will be in the RE building and the grounds behind that building. We also ask that no one else enters that building during the week. Thank you for understanding and helping us keep this high-risk group safe.
A Word About Language
“Hybrid” is a commonly used term for a mix of online and in-person components. It is considered problematic from a cultural perspective. In addition, in connotes combining the characteristics of two things (consider hybrid fruit and cars), which isn’t always quite what we mean. New terminology is emerging and we expect it will continue to evolve. We are choosing to use “multi-platform” to describe a combination of in-person and online options.
Looking Forward
Another letter will be coming out before Labor Day to update you on fall offerings.
Thank you for your support this year and going forward,
June is Pride month in the US, and for the past three years East Shore has held a Pride service. This year our service is on June 27, the day before the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprisings which began on June 28, 1969. It is this date that marks the beginning of LGBT liberation, awareness and pride.
In many places in the US it is relatively easy to be LGB or T. Some states (such as Washington) have specific legal protections for sexual orientation/gender identity in areas of employment, housing and public accommodations. But these laws vary from state to state – protections against transgender and non-binary people are nonexistent in several states. Freedoms and protections that most people take for granted – not being fired for who one loves or how one views their identity – are not universally granted to all US citizens equally.
The state of LGBT visibility, acceptance and protections vary much more when we start looking at countries outside of the US. Some places, such as countries in Scandinavia, offer full protections for LGBT people. Other places, such as India, China and Korea, are struggling with strong trends of nationalism which can tend to rely on misinformation about LGBT people. In some places LGBT identity is seen as a ‘Western’ phenomenon, one that is somehow exported into unsuspecting countries via strongarm marketing tactics or ‘brainwashing.’ In some countries it is still illegal to be LGBT, and in 13 countries homosexuality is punishable by death: Afghanistan, Brunei, Iran, Maruitania, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Somaila and United Arab Emirates. In some places such as the Chechen Republic, Uganda, Cameroon and Senegal police turn a blind eye or are even complicit in rampant anti-gay violence and vigilante executions. Here is a link to an interactive map showing different countries’ attitudes toward LGBT people.
For this year’s Pride service we will be hearing from several people outside the US, and their experience of being LGBT. Swapnesh Dubey will speak from Mumbai, Iris Wang from Beijing, Oscar Hoyos from Colombia and Julien Yagg, a French-Haitian citizen of Paris. They will each share a brief snapshot of their experience of LGBTQ life, both the triumphs and setbacks, the joys and sorrows.
This year’s Pride service will also be the official launch of East Shore recertifying itself as a welcoming and affirming congregation. This is a program ESUC plans to implement on a regular basis, and involves a number of enlightening, engaging and fun activities. Watch this space for more developments!
And, finally, lest anyone is entertaining any concern that this year’s Pride service will be a downer, I, Eric Lane Barnes, Director of Music and Official Gay, do hereby promise that this service will be a celebration of our full selves, one that is full of music, joy, laughter and hope. One definition of ‘gay’ states: “lighthearted and carefree; brightly colored; showy; brilliant.” I take these words to heart : )
Adult congregants, parents and those without kids under 18, sign up annually, (and year after year!) to spend time with our UU kids and youth. The role of the volunteer is to connect kids and youth to our church community, to UU teachings and values, and to each other. You’re helping weave the threads that make us stronger!
What is volunteering like?
You’ll be interacting with age-based groups and leading or supporting the different activities we do each week. Sometimes the different groups will do things with one another or in a multigenerational context with Ministry teams or worship as well. You’ll receive an overview of the curriculum and volunteer responsibilities.
What do we do in the classes?
Faith formation and community building! The content and activities (curriculum) in the age-based classes and in the multigenerational special activities typically include our chalice ritual, covenanting, joys and sorrows, songs, stories, plays, service-based projects, and social time.
What do you need to be able to do to be a volunteer?
connect with children and youth
center the diverse needs of children and youth
connect with volunteers, parents, and staff
maintain a safe, supportive, and sacred environment
file the biannual criminal history background check
honor the East Shore RE adult volunteer covenant
access to Realm, our digital membership database
What is the time commitment of volunteering?
Most volunteering occurs on Sunday mornings, with activities typically finishing by 12pm. Some field trips and extended activity time will be available to sign up for as well. The time commitment on Sundays is typically an hour and a half, including set up and clean up. The more often you can be in the classes with the kids, the more successful you will feel at volunteering. We create teams of four adults typically so that we can have substitutes and take weeks off. And we always need volunteers to sign up for our field trips and special events.
Are we going to meet in person?
It seems like by September, many of our youth and adults will be well vaccinated and much of the state and school will be opened. We can confidently plan that at least some of our time will be on-campus and outdoors, with the possibility of this being weekly as the pandemic allows, or interspersed with virtual time as wee need to continue with that type of programming. We have been working to establish several outdoor gathering spaces and have several tents for extra shelter. And, we’ll continue with our flexibility as the pandemic realities continue to unfold.
We’ve got of couple campus garden parties and picnics, some online movie or game nights, virtual UU summer camps, and two awesome neighborhood field trips.
We’re also going to choose a couple of books we can read as our East Shore Kids Common Read. There will be something for your age, and all your other UU friends will be reading it, too! We’ll announce those books on June 6, at the Annual Kids Vote!
Where and when and how do you want to plug in? What are you excited about and want to come to? Can you pick an event for you and your family to host? Let me know at [email protected].
And a big PS: I’m pregnant with a second little baby-this time, a girl! I’ll be gone in August and September, so LeAnne will need some of your extra awesome help until I get back!
by amanda alice uluhan, Director of Religious Education
Among the many things I enjoy at East Shore Unitarian Church is the beautiful campus. We are nestled in the middle of a sweet little forest, with a wooded walkway leading up from the lower parking lot. During a scant two-week period in April, the cherry trees lining the Sanctuary, Administration and Education Buildings all bloom at once, in an elegant profusion of pale pink. Seeking out cherry blossoms at their peak is a popular pastime in Japan, where cherry trees are prized for their brief, fragrant blooming. In Japanese the term for cherry blossom is sakura, or 桜. Part of the symbol for this word means “to bloom,” which can also mean to smile or laugh. Hanami, or 花見 is the Japanese term for “flower-viewing.” This term almost always refers to seeking out cherry blossoms at the peak of their bloom.
I’m grateful one of the gifts we get to enjoy at East Shore is our very own sakura festival. This year, the trees gave forth an exuberant display. Walking from the parking lot to the Sanctuary for our weekly Sunday service rehearsal was like walking through an enchanted forest. Pink petals fell gently like snow as a gentle breeze blew the boughs to-and-fro. I resolved to take video of this display to share with the members and staff at East Shore.
Once I got home I began to edit the footage, and wanted to find music that would suit the gentle feel of the petals moving in the breeze, as well as the sweet sadness that comes from knowing how brief a period this is. I attempted four different musical approaches, but none of them felt right. I came to my keyboard several times over the next two days with a new bit of inspiration, but each turned out to be not quite right. At one point I was playing something unrelated, and my left hand slipped and played a chord I hadn’t intended to play. This happy accident ended up opening a door to the little piano piece I composed which I titled, simply, “Petals.” I hear bits of Debussy in it, as well as Ravel, and perhaps a tablespoon of Brahms. I love it when a piece of music introduces itself to me – especially after a “mistake” and says, “Hello. I’ve been here all along.” For those who are curious, the “mistake” chord is at the :45 mark. Maybe there really aren’t any mistakes after all. Maybe it’s all simply a matter of context, and acceptance, and grace.
Here’s to next year’s hanami. May we all enjoy this beauty together again.
