Latest News
From the Minister: Leadership
This is an excerpt from Rev. Furrer's recent sermon, What Is Leadership? After working for AT&T for forty years, Robert Greenleaf took and early retirement to establish the Center for Applied Ethics. Throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, he developed the idea of Servant...
Board Buzz: Fresh Eyes
Is it really possible that we have been a virtual church for a whole year? Is it also possible that our community has experienced the challenges of a lifetime condensed into that one year? One of my sons asked me couple of months ago if I had ever experienced anything...
RE-flections: What IS RE?
What is religious education? Or is it religious exploration? What happened to lifelong learning, and where do adult programs fit in? What about other stuff that kids do at the church, is that RE, too? Religious Education came out of the Sunday School, Christian model...
Calling all Kids! And Kids at Heart: Learning to Meditate: Loving-Kindness Buddhist Meditation
Do you want to learn about how to fill your heart up with even more love, for yourself and other people? This is a Buddhist activity called loving-kindness. You can practice it when you’re having a really good day, or a really not so good day. You can practice it when...
General Assembly 2021: Be A Delegate!
We hope that you will consider attending the national conference of Unitarian Universalists-the 2021 Virtual UUA General Assembly! As part of East Shore’s connection to our larger faith community, you can attend from home from June 23-27, online! The short list of...
Memorial Garden at East Shore Unitarian Church
The Memorial Garden is an area of the church grounds set aside for reflection, healing, and peace to connect spiritually with the natural world and remember those who have passed away. This year has been a challenging one for everyone as we social distance, worry...
Spring is Bustin’ Out All Over!
It’s time to start gardening delicious organic food and beautiful dahlias! Our new raised beds (both pictured) were built by Nick Langrock and Kyle Velasco, as Eagle Scout projects. We are so grateful to all involved with these projects for creating the space at...
300 Trees Give Away
On March 6, East Shore's Earth & Climate Action Ministry members joined with other volunteers to help 300 Trees, a local environmental group, distribute about 250 trees free of charge to Bellevue residents. The aim is to help the city of Bellevue reach its goal of...
COVID Food Relief Project Update: April 2021
Back in September, we realized East Shore needed to respond to the ongoing pandemic-exacerbated crisis happening in our community. In November, we raised $21,000 during the annual East Shore Auction’s Fund-A-Need, a radical approach to a project that has typically...
COVID Food Project: What People Are Saying
‘When you feed the hungry, you feed your own soul.’ As the beet season winds down, and Farmer Jim is updating his list of spring chores, we thought it was time for some reflections about beet picking. Farmer Jim Eichner started the Food Bank Farm in 2011 with 12...
8th Principle: FAQs
Several folks from ESUC have been attending an ongoing series of meetings of the 8th Principle Learning Community, organized by Paula Cole Jones, an experienced facilitator skilled at organizing people for systemic change. Early last year at a nationwide meeting, 171...
April Second Sunday: LifeWire
One in four women and one in nine men in the USA experience domestic violence (DV) in their lifetime. LifeWire, Washington state’s largest DV organization and a nationally recognized leader in the field, has helped over 148,000 survivors of DV. LifeWire focuses on...
Mission Fund Drive: How Will The Future Look?
This year, the Mission Fund Drive will begin on March 1. This is the time to renew your pledges to East Shore to support our mission for 2021-2022. Please give generously, and from your hearts. It’s best to think of what East Shore means to you, and what that means...
From the Minister: Our Democracy
The 17th century English dissenters who settled New England were very idealistic. They sought to strip away pretense and vanity to establish “pure religion,” and hence were called by many, including eventually themselves, “puritans.” They’re typically depicted as...
Board Buzz: Reshaping the Wax
What’s the new normal and when will we get there? One thing is certain. When we return to services on campus, we will be experimenting with a hybrid model. Some can attend in person while others continue Zooming in. As with anything tried for the first time, the...
Staffing Updates, March 2021
Nicole Duff Becomes Director of Membership Development by Evelyn Smith, Board of Trustees Your Board at East Shore is very happy to inform you we have given Nicole Duff a promotion. Her new title is Director of Membership Development and she will also now join the...
Welcoming Congregations Team Members Needed
In 2001, East Shore Unitarian Church became a Welcoming Congregation, the UUA’s program for welcoming the LGBTQ community. The UUA has since come out with a renewal program, one they hope each congregation will complete every year. After twenty years, Director of...
RE-Flections: HUUGS!
HUUGS: Huge Unitarian Universalist Gratitudes & Snacks! Gifts for Young Adults We sent out Valentine’s Day care packages to several young adults in the extended East Shore community. We had them packed on our February Soul Saturday-our stuffie sleepover just...
“I come to East Shore to be with warm and open hearted people, who care about the world and work to reach out and heal as many people both near and far as possible.” -Amanda Strombom