Budget Town Hall: Sunday, May 6, 11:30 am
Come learn about the current draft budget for Fiscal Year 18/19. We will review the numbers, answer questions, and listen to member comments. This is an important step in developing our annual operating budget that we will vote on in early June. Members of the Budget Team, Finance Team, and Financial Stewardship Committee will be attending to help answer your questions.
Potluck and Planting: Sunday, May 6, 11:30 am
Join us for a special kids-focused, all-ages event on May 6th in Spring Hall. At 11:30, we’ll have a potluck lunch. After eating, we’ll be planting seeds in containers that will go to the Snohomish Hopelink Food bank farm. We’ll finish at 1:00 p.m. Parents: please bring a child-friendly, nut-free dish to share! This will be childcare during the Budget Town Hall meeting happening in the Sanctuary.
P-Patch Summer Tabling Begins: Sunday, May 6
The P-Patch will kick off their tabling this year with the annual tomato and starts sale. Get plants for your garden here! And in future weeks, we’ll have veggies for donation as well. All of our donations go to a plant-focused non-profit of our choice at the end of the year.
The Big Sing: Folk Song Edition: Sunday, May 6, 5:00 pm
Come for more good times. The Big Sing returns Sunday, May 6. By popular demand, this Folk Song Edition will be a sing-a-long and, for the instrumentalists, a play-a-long. Free and fun! You, your family and friends are all invited. Lyrics and chord charts will be provided. If you want to play, please arrive at 4:30 for a quick rehearsal. For more information, contact Arthur Knapp or Eric Lane Barnes.
Conversation About Race: Sunday, May 13, 8:30 am
Last month we talked about white culture. We recognized that culture consists of characteristics and norms held in common by a group of people, and largely invisible to that group. This month we’ll explore some white cultural norms that can perpetuate marginalization of people of color – without white people even realizing it. These characteristics are often called “white supremacy culture” – and gaining awareness of them can open us to some surprising insights. Join us to discover how they can impact our thinking and decision-making, with Holly House as a special case study.
Meaningful Movies on the Eastside: An Inconvenient Sequel: Tuesday, May 15, 6:30 pm
Vice President Al Gore’s new documentary, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, is a daring call to action. It exposes the reality of how humankind has aided in the destruction of our planet and delivers hope through groundbreaking information on what you can do now.
Where Gore’s first documentary and book took us through the technical aspects of climate change, the second documentary is a gripping, narrative journey that leaves you filled with hope and the urge to take action immediately.
Dr. Gwen Hanson, leader of the Bellevue chapter of the Citizen’s Climate Lobby will be on hand to facilitate discussion and answer questions related to climate change.
This screening is part of the Eastside Meaningful Movies series co-sponsored by East Shore with three other local congregations. Tuesday evenings, 6:30 pm, at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church across Factoria Blvd. from Newport High School. Discussion will follow. Suggested donation is $5 per person, but no one will be turned away. Free refreshments!
East Shore Live
Join us for the final two shows of the 2018 season. We encourage you to get your tickets early as these will have sellout crowds. To purchase tickets go to eastshorelive.com. Church members can get a discount by using the promo code “churchmember” All performances take place on in the Sanctuary of East Shore Unitarian Church at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $20/public and $15 for members.
May 19: History of Latin Jazz
John Chmaj leads a high-energy 10 piece jazz ensemble on the 100-year multi-cultural journey of jazz and Latin music. From the early blues and swing days through bossa nova, modern jazz and popular music, latin and jazz styles have evolved and informed each other. Featuring a full horn section, percussion and swinging vocals, this is will be a powerhouse performance!
June 23: Is It Just Me?
Featuring East Shore’s Interim Director of Music, ‘Is It Just Me?’ traces a young man’s journey out of the dark depths of a Pentecostal church (“everything but the snakes”) through the hazards and mishaps of early gay adulthood, to a place of relative peace and contentment. Songs, scenes, monologues and a frank and open use of puppets fuel the show.
East Shore Outdoors: Sunday, May 20, 11:30 am
Do you like hiking, or think you might? What about birding? Nature photography? Biking? If so, East Shore has an affinity group for you: East Shore Outdoors.
We conduct hiking or other events twice a month on various days. These are led by members who are experienced leaders, and who have a favorite hike or trail they’d like to share with others. Many hikes are suitable for persons of varying abilities and experience, and we are very thorough in explaining each trip and its parameters.
Our semi-annual event planning meeting is Sunday, May 20, after worship. Join us then and meet some of our members.
Whether you are a beginner or experienced outdoors person, if you would like to join us, just email Bill Austin to be added to our special email group. Then you will receiving email updates and invitations to each specific hike or event.
Seabeck: UU Retreat: May 25-28
Seabeck is the annual church retreat held at the beautiful Seabeck retreat center, overlooking the Olympic mountains on the Hood Canal. This is a wonderful way to get involved with East Shore and feel more connected. You will spend the weekend in community with other East Shore and University Unitarian Church members (it has been a joint retreat and tradition for over 40 years!) so there are continual opportunities to meet and get to know other Unitarian Universalists. Seabeck is an intentionally inclusive and multi-generational experience.
Activities such as the Opening Ceremony, the Talent Show, a Sing-along, S’mores, UU Olympics and Salmon Bake are just a few of the beloved gatherings that bring people back to this weekend retreat year after year.
Guy Nelson, is well-known in the Seattle area as a long-time radio host on KUOW-NPR, will be our special guest! He’s also a professional actor and musician, and he travels around the world training people and organizations in communication and creativity. At Seabeck he’ll lead groups in a series of improvisational games that are designed to deepen our connection to others, raise our self-awareness, and tap into our latent creativity. Guy wanted us to share this note:
Hi Unitarian Community,
I hope to see you at the Seabeck Retreat on Memorial Day Weekend!
Here’s a quick note to let you know what’s in store.
It’s going to be an amazing, unforgettable experience. I specialize in fun, interactive play that comes from my many years teaching and performing improv theatre and music in Seattle and around the world. We’ll collaborate in all kinds of creative games and activities to explore our imaginations, using stories, skits, music, dance, drawing and poetry. It’s immersive, spontaneous and interactive, and you’ll learn new ways to listen and respond to everything happening around you.
The games are open to everyone at all levels of skill and experience. There’s no competition and no failure, and you’ll discover truly remarkable things about yourself and your companions.
For those of you who are musically inclined, here’s a special invitation to participate. The amazing musicians joining me at the retreat will play any song in any style. We want you to be part of our massive, endless jam! Bring your instruments, sheet music, chord charts and mostly, bring your voices. It doesn’t matter how skilled you are, the point is to jump in, experiment and have fun! We’ll sing your old favorites, teach you some new favorites, and make up all sorts of things on the spot. And if you want to perform for an audience, you can do that, too, at the campfire and talent show. It’ll be around-the-clock crazy good times!
Looking forward to meeting you and playing together,
Guy Nelson
We’ll tell stories that build our community and envision our future. And most of all, we’ll laugh, play and have fun together. Learn more and register at esuc.org/news/seabeck.
Flower Communion: Sunday, June 10, 10:00 am
Remember to bring a flower this Sunday, from florist, field, garden or roadside, as a celebration of community, the beautiful and bountiful bouquet we create with our presence. Dr. Norbert Capek first celebrated the Flower Communion June 4, 1923, in Czechoslovakia as a celebration of the diversity of the Unitarian community which keeps us strong. We welcome the participation of our young people for this intergenerational service.
Annual All-Church BBQ Potluck: Sunday, June 10, 11:00 am
All are invited to the Annual All-Church BBQ Potluck on Sunday, June 10 after worship. Please bring a side dish to share. Also, we ask for a $1 donation per person to help defray the cost of the burgers and hotdogs.
We thank the ESUC Family Covenant Circle who has taken the lead and signed up for some of the jobs, but there are more jobs than Family Covenant Circle members. So we are reaching out to YOU the ESUC community in search of enough volunteers to make this fun and special event happen. Please sign up for the job of your choice or contact Martin Cox for other ways you can help.
Summer RE Begins: June 17
Summer RE this year will start on June 17th, during our Sunday morning 10:00 am worship. Preschool will be staffed by Noe Struble. LeAnne Struble will be leading one class, focused on inventing, creating, and playing games. The class will be on a three week cycle; the first week will consist of inventing a game, the second week we will create the game from materials from home or around campus, and the third week, we will play the game. Amanda Alice will be hosting an outdoors garden ministry class as well. Each week, Amanda will work with children and youth in the P-Patch, demonstrating the life cycle of plants, and getting to know our ecosystem right here on campus. All are welcome. More details will be shared in the weeks to come.
Spirituality Group: Sundays, 8:30 am
Every Sunday morning, the Spirituality Group gathers at 8:30 am in the Library. The group, using UU writings, explores our personal spirituality and the nature of the “Unitarian-Universalist soul” in various contexts. This group arose from the 2017 weekend workshop during ESUC’s mission clarification process.
Currently, the group has been using the book Our Covenant – The Lay and Liberal Doctrine of the Church: The Spirit and Promise of Our Covenant by Rev. Alice Blair Wesley, as a basis for discussion. Our group found this book to be relevant to our own church’s challenges and hence, to our spiritual lives today.
The next book, providing a different context, is The Larger Faith: A Short History of American Universalism by Charles A. Howe.
ESUC at the Mariners: Get Your Tickets Today!: Saturday, September 8, 6:10 pm
Join us as we have a night at Safeco field! All are invited to the Saturday, September 8th game at 6:10 p.m. as our Seattle Mariners take on the New York Yankees! Tickets are $15 each and must be paid for when reserving. Tickets are available online.