How do we go beyond welcome to build compassionate, authentic, and equitable communities? What is our understanding of growth, diversity, and inclusion? How do we live into the value of pluralism? We can begin by sharing our lived experiences, our joys and sorrows, and working together to examine structures and behaviors that create systemic barriers to building the Beloved Community. 

The Unitarian Universalist Water Communion was created in 1980 by activist Carolyn McDade and UU leader Lucile Shuck Longview at the Women and Religion Continental Convocation, designed as a feminist symbol of empowerment, connectedness, and life. 
You are invited to bring a small amount of water to the service from a place that is special to you. During the service, you are invited to pour the water into a large bowl and say a few words about why this water is special to you. The combined water is symbolic of our beautiful diversity and our ongoing collective commitment to give life to justice, hope, and liberation.

PorchLight helps unhoused men in East King County regain stability through safe shelter and comprehensive support that fosters health, housing, and lasting independence. For many years, East Shore has been a member of a collective of several churches and community organizations that take turns hosting PorchLight guests for a month. We will be hosting in October on our campus. We will also continue to provide year-round support and invite our congregation to donate food, make meals, and encourage our PorchLight friends to participate in congregational events. Join our PorchLight Ministry Team as we lift up our community partnership and offer our Share-the-Plate donations to support the vital work of our PorchLight partners. 

Resistance can take many shapes. Now more than ever, we need to build strong mutual aid networks, to pool our resources, and live into our values by centering love. Mutual aid relies on solidarity and shared power, allowing communities to protect and sustain vulnerable groups when their human rights are under attack. It also relies on stitching together our stories to counter fear and isolation.

Join us for our annual Blessing of the Animals ceremony. You are invited to bring your pets so they can receive a blessing (please ensure they are on a leash or in a carrier). If your animal companions have crossed over the rainbow bridge, please bring their photo so we can honor their memory. Please bring your stuffies for a special blessing.  

Join our Indigenous Connections Social Justice Ministry Team in welcoming our Guest Speaker, Jacob Johns. Jacob is a Hopi and Akimel O’odham environmental defender who has worked tirelessly to advocate for social justice and environmental protection. Johns is an organizer for the community-supported Backbone Campaign, which uses “creative strategies and artful activism to manifest a world where life, community, nature, and our obligations to future generations are honored as sacred” Johns also expresses activism through his artwork, which will be displayed in our East Shore gallery.

We are invited to reflect upon the teachings of Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, a reflective book about natural abundance, gift economies, and mutual well-being. The serviceberry tree is emblematic of how sharing resources builds stronger communities and ensures survival. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.