The Within Phase of Beloved Conversations: Virtual will continue in the Spring Term. We would love to have you (and everyone you know!) join us for another term of this program, with a continued focus on personal learning and growth!
The award-winning PBS documentary, Orchestrating Change, from Bullfrog Films, highlights the world's only classical orchestra created by and for people living with mental illness. The Me2/Orchestra was co-founded by Ronald Braunstein, a world-renowned maestro whose own career was affected by mental illness. The orchestra's mission is to erase the stigmatization of people living with mental illness through the creation of beautiful music, community, compassion, and understanding...one concert at a time. The film will be followed by a discussion with a special guest from NAMI Eastside (National Alliance on Mental Illness). This family-friendly Meaningful Movies Bellevue film is free to all viewers.
In 1942, the Gestapo sent out an urgent transmission: "She is the most dangerous of all Allied spies. We must find and destroy her." The target in their sights was Virginia Hall, a Baltimore socialite who talked her way into Special Operations Executive, the spy organization dubbed Winston Churchill's "Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare." She became the first Allied woman deployed behind enemy lines and--despite her prosthetic leg--helped to light the flame of the French Resistance, revolutionizing secret warfare as we know it. Based on new and extensive research, Sonia Purnell has for the first time uncovered the full secret life of Virginia Hall--an astounding and inspiring story of heroism, spycraft, resistance, and personal triumph over shocking adversity. A Woman of No Importance is the breathtaking story of how one woman's fierce persistence helped win the war.
Vocal activist Melanie DeMore has traveled the world, was a founding member of the Grammy -nominated vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir, and is constantly amazed by her life. But nothing is closer to her heart than bringing people together wherever she is to experience the healing power of music. Her mission is to make sure you unlock the key to experiencing yourself in all your glory and return home with the very same excitement and passion for living that she herself has. Her energy will charge the very air you breathe like a meteor shower, so get ready to rise up!
Please join us outside, at East Shore, next to the Sanctuary, or virtually for a look at some of what we’ve collected over the years from our church partner in Torockószentgyörgy. We’ll have conversation about the items and images we have and make some decisions about what we want to keep, what we’ll let go of, and how to preserve or display it at East Shore. If you’ve pilgrimed there or participated in past partnership events, please join us.
Celebrate our children and youth and the programs that support and nourish them at the congregation. We’ll hold our annual high school senior bridging, volunteer recognition, and the Flower Communion together on this special Sunday. The Flower Ceremony is one of our beloved Unitarian Universalist annual rituals that celebrates beauty, human uniqueness, diversity, and community. Originally created in 1923 by Unitarian minister Norbert Čapek of Prague, Czechoslovakia, the Flower Ceremony was introduced to the United States by Rev. Maya Čapek, Norbert's widow.
Please bring a flower to have with you in the worship service and have it with you online. We will bless the flowers, offer gratitude to the beauty and diversity of nature in human, animal, and plant forms.
Join together transplanting winter squash and pumpkin plants at the "Bank", that is the Food Bank Farm in Snohomish. It's a chance to get outside, and off the screen, enjoying the fresh air, learning about food growing and how far generosity can go! Planting is done standing up by using a transplanter tube that makes a hole in the ground and drops the plant into the hole. Work is in teams of two. One person uses the planter tube. The other person drops the plant into the ground. Little bending required! Farmer Jim says this work is suitable for children with supervision, youth, families, adults....everyone and it is rain or shine! We have a chance to work and learn outside.
The Earth & Climate Action Ministry and Citizens Climate Lobby/Bellevue invite you to a virtual book discussion group: June 10 & 24th, 5:00-6:30. Join us to discuss and learn more about Bill Gates latest book “How To Avoid Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need”. "In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical-- and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe.” We'll invite some guests who can speak to possible solutions and offer hope! Let's learn how we can fight on behalf of the planet! Come share your thoughts with us!
From the Boarder Wall to Dreamers fights in the Supreme Court, Immigration has played a big part in our political discourse. Adam will show us why a wall won’t really stop immigration and how Border Patrol violates EVERYONE’s civil rights.
As the Congregation pauses to elect a Search Committee, Rev. Furrer asks, by what authority do ministers make their truth claims? What gives them the right to speak authoritatively?
Change is happening all around us, all of the time whether we recognize it or not. How resilient are you when faced with the challenges change brings? For some, the prospect of changing the way we think or act is frightening, it may cause denial or blaming. We live with constant changes in the political scene, environmental assaults, the growing evidence of racial inequities, varying beliefs in what is the truth, and more. And we at East Shore are also dealing with change.
The celebration of Fathers Day, with one woman’s memories and a tribute to her famous father.
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 worships and workshops below are just a handful of the fabulous 100+ live webinars and on-demand programs that GA registrants will have access to. And this year’s Ware Lecture will feature Stacey Abrams and Desmond Meade!
One of the best parts about virtual GA - if you miss a live webinar or have trouble choosing between options, you'll be able to catch up later on demand. Also, consider if you may want to serve as a delegate representative of East Shore or participate in the GA virtual choir!
The Founding Fathers tried to protect us from the threat they knew, the tyranny that overcame ancient democracy. Today, our political order faces new threats, not unlike the totalitarianism of the twentieth century. We are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism, or communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience. On Tyranny is a call to arms and a guide to resistance, with invaluable ideas for how we can preserve our freedoms in the uncertain years to come.
East Shore's Annual Pride Service will have an international focus, with a collection of specifically curated short video presentations from LGBTQ folk from India, Colombia, France and China. This will also mark the launch day for East Shore's renewal as a Welcoming Congregation. Rousing songs, touching tributes, and a healthy dose of humor will make this Pride Service a joy to all.