Be a part of People's Liturgy Worship
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A "People's Liturgy" will guide us this Sunday with personal reflections and artistic flair. To contribute something ahead of time around Exodus and the 10 Commandments, please RSVP to the office by tomorrow (Friday, November 13) at noon.
The People’s Liturgy is a creative and informal worship service, a chance for members and friends to break loose and reflect on what we’ve been studying together — the Israelites departure from Egypt and their preparation for a new life together in the Promised Land.
The theme for the day is “The 10 Commandments: A Modern Take.” If you could translate one of the commandments to fit life in 2020, what would it look like? A photo, a video, a poem, a song, a quote, a reflection?
The sky is the limit! What does Honor the Sabbath look like in a pandemic? What does Thou Shall Not Steal mean in the face of wealth inequality? Members of the Caste Book Study have also been invited to come share what they have been learning.
You can send your reflection in advance, OR participate live during our 10:00 am zoom worship.
Please consider sharing something personal and make the service a festive one. Sign up by noon tomorrow to participate by emailing the church office.
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November 8 Congregational Meeting
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On Sunday, at our congregational meeting, we unanimously approved three motions presented by our church council:
• To reconfirm the Purpose Statement which is currently within the church bylaws.
• To adopt the Vision Statement and add it to the church bylaws.
• To support the vision and intent of our Future Story, understanding that details of that eventual structure are conceptual and some of those details may change as the story develops.
Joe Mitter, council vice president, talked about the planning phases and the tasks that will be involved in creating a multifaith center. An email will go out this week to find out who is interested in participating and the skills they could bring to this work.
The full texts of Alki UCC's Presentation of Future Story and the Future Story are attached. Please click here to access the Purpose and Vision Statements. — Charlie H, Council Clerk
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Alki UCC's Living Advent Calendar
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Advent is just around the corner.
Our theme this year, A Gentle Advent, will bring out some lovely Christmas offerings and beautiful music.
Stay tuned for more details about our inaugural Alki Living Advent Calendar, a daily offering of members sharing their own words of encouragement, humor, sweetness and uplift ... a virtual way to reveal the daily magic on the Advent countdown to Christmas.
Stay tuned as we work out the details! What is YOUR Advent message?
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Help Decorate the Sanctuary (yes, the actual Sanctuary!) for Advent and Christmas
Sunday, November 22 at Noon
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Before you know it, we will be in Advent, which begins Sunday, November 29. Here's an opportunity to see some of your friends inside the church (and outside of those little Zoom squares) and prepare our sanctuary for the Christmas season.
Please join us to decorate after worship next Sunday, November 22. We'll meet up at noon.
 In order to have a socially distanced experience, please let Dave S know if you will be helping so that he can plan for proper spacing and timing. Contact Dave and then mark your calendar.
With enough hands it should go rather quickly. Warm gingerbread (the real thing — not virtual) will be your reward. Mmmmmmm ....
— Vicky S
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Call for Grant-Writing Team Volunteers
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 Alki UCC has an exceptional opportunity to apply for a grant that could give us a terrific boost in making our Third Act vision a reality. Sponsored by the Calvin Institute of Worship, the Vital Worship Grant is designed for selected faith communities "to stimulate thoughtful and energetic work resulting in worship services that exhibit renewed creativity, theological integrity, and relevance." WOW!
We envision a grant that focuses on uniting diverse worshipping entities through the exploration and spiritual understanding of their musical traditions.
I feel very passionately about exploring cultural diversity through music, and especially about using music to foster bonds of communication and unity through shared human experience. If this resonates with you, please join me on this journey into a sonorously colorful future.
Come on board! We're forming a team to create and apply for a 2021 grant, due on January 10. The team will meet once weekly over Zoom for the next two months to collaborate on this involved but manageable process.
If you feel called, please join us! If you have a particular knack for budgeting or have unexpressed narrative skills, please join us! If you want to suggest someone, please e-mail me.
— Betsy S, Music Coordinator
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Alki UCC Institutes Covid-19 Health/Safety Procedures for All Building Use
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As more and more folks use the building on a regular basis, a special team has been working on policies/procedures to make sure we keep staff, volunteers and visitors as safe as possible. Following is a general overview.
• All building use needs to be scheduled in advance. Email the church office to make a “reservation” so we can maintain an accurate public record of comings and goings for the purposes of contact tracing.
• Take your same-day temperature or oximeter reading before you visit the building.
.• Comply with the Conditions of Entry which are posted outside on the main Hinds Street entrance door: wearing a mask, maintaining a minimum six-foot social distancing requirement.
.• Stop at a special check-in table just as you enter the Narthex to review our safety protocol statement and fill out a Health Affidavit/Checklist affirming you do not have any signs of the Covid-19 virus.
• Upon your arrival and as you’re leaving, disinfect “common use” surfaces affected by your visit with supplies provided on cleaning stations located in the narthex, on the office level and downstairs in Anderson Hall.
In addition to disposable masks and gloves, we will provide antiseptics for use in keeping the environment as virus-free as possible. Common use surfaces include anything folks might touch: table surfaces, chair hand rests, light switches, door handles, copier keypad, computer mouse/keypad, toilet handles, faucets, stair railings, etc.
Groups should assign one person to make sure the disinfecting happens and that all group members have filled out a Health Affidavit/Checklist form.
The safety of our Alki UCC family, our guests, is Job One, and we hope the above efforts will help.
Since this is the first time the church has been tasked with developing a pandemic safety protocol, there will naturally be questions and the need to refine procedures. Thank you for your feedback and patience as we work this out!
Thanks to the COVID19 Health and Safety Team: Emily H, Kristin M, Sherrie P and Pastor Kelly
Be well and be good to each other.
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In Continuing Tribute to Our Vets
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Combat Veterans Tell Us What We Need to Know About War
Nancy Hill, YES! Magazine
 Charles Battle’s voice, gentle and soft, is little more than a whisper when he recalls his time at war. No visible scars give testimony to his tour in Vietnam, but when he talks about his combat experiences, his eyes glaze with tears. He pauses as another resident of the North Carolina veteran’s home in which he temporarily lives ambles past the picnic table where we talk.
“I saw so many awful things I can’t forget. I don’t want to burden you. Are you sure you want to know what war is?”
Battle was one of 65 participants in a photographic series I have worked on for more than three years in which I asked combat veterans and those who have worked with them a single question: “What should we know about war?” I asked each person to write a brief answer ...
Click here for entire article
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Faith Formation Team Update
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We are almost through reading Caste, The Origin of Our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson, an unsparing examination of racial identity in America and comparison to the brutal caste system in India. Wilkerson, the Pulitzer prize winner of The Warmth of Distant Suns, expresses the uncomfortable subject matter strongly and well.
We finish Caste at the end of November and and are seeking suggestions for the next study, be it Bible or items of current faith expression. Please contact one of us with any suggestions you have for adult study.
Our small group would welcome more members who are interested in enabling and examining our faith and its manifestations. If you are interested in joining or would like to know more, feel free to contact us. Your Faith Formation team: Julia P Russ T Andrea S Pastor Kelly
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Special prayers for the family and friends of Walter Wallace,
Jonathan Price, Jacob Blake, Rayshard Brooks, Manuel Elllis, George Floyd, Elijah McClain, Dreasjon (Sean) Reed, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and the heart-breaking list of African-Americans and other people of color murdered or wounded by police or self-declared vigilantes in our nation over many decades. We mourn with you and we stand for justice and healing.
Special prayers for all those on the front lines of working to protect us, keep us healthy, sane, grounded, informed, fed and comfortable during the current COVID 19 outbreak: our faith leaders, front-line health care workers, EMTs, police, firefighters, educators, transit bus and rail drivers, farmers, therapists, social workers, shelter operators, engineers, grocery/drug store personnel, caregivers, childcare specialists, pharmacists, custodians, organizations caring for the most vulnerable, sanitation workers, dispatchers and others keeping our supply chains operational, truth-telling journalists and all the many public servants who are so vital to our community.
For those grieving the recent death of a loved one:
Ed B and family; Jeff Duckett's cousin Jerry Elder and his wife Tami Elder; Todd S and family; Patty M, family and friends of Bob J, family and friends of Jim C, Kirstin and family; Larry G
Recent hospitalization, illness and other concerns:
Kirstin D; Shannon P's father, Rev. Dr. Bill,; Verona's younger brother Eric; Julia C's long-time friend Megan; Bonita C; Claire F; Dayle B; Gina E and Ashleigh J; Imy P; Kirstin D's father; Don P; Jeff J; Bev C; John K; Jan C
For homebound members/friends of Alki UCC: Doris C
Wider World: Prayers for all those affected by the corona virus outbreak; all those suffering from PTSD in the military and around the world; for all those affected by the increasingly cruel and inhumane US immigration policies imposed by the current administration; prayers for fewer guns, for all victims and those affected by gun violence; victims and survivors of extremist violence around the world; migrants seeking refuge around the world, and for those who are trying to help them. The rest of the missing schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, who remain in our hearts as long as they remain missing. The hungry and homeless, the ill and the addicted, the lost and the lonely; the unemployed.
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Click on the blue donate button to make a secure, online credit card donation and an overview of other ways to donate.
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6115 SW Hinds
Seattle, WA 98116
206/935-2662
Check for church news and calendar updates at www.alkiucc.org.
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"People's Liturgy" Worship this Sunday
Nov 15, 10:00 am
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“Origin stories
for modern times:
The role of courage, leadership and strategy
in God’s Beloved Community.”
Scripture:
Exodus 20
The Ten Commandments:
A Modern Take
Liturgist:
Bob C
Tech Deacons:
Bob C and Shannon P
Accompanist:
Betsy S
Ministry Team Moment
Communications
Sunday's Order of Worship will be posted on alkiucc.org tomorrow.
The Music Corner
Enjoy worship music ahead of time from your own library or YouTube.
Lead Us From Death
to Life
World Peace Prayer
Marty Haugen
Third Hymn
Be Now My Vision
Irish Traditional
Worship and Music Team Meeting after Worship this Sunday
Join us to help fill out details for celebrating Advent and Alki UCC's "Gentle" Christmas. Contact: Joe Mitter
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"Alki Chapel" Survey Results
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Thanks to everyone who responded to our "Alki Chapel" survey about the possibility of small, in-person worship on the four Sundays in Advent.
The Worship and Music team will be discussing your feedback as part of their post-worship meeting this Sunday.
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Alki UCC Thanksgiving Food Drive and Call for Socks!
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Sunday, November 15
10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Hinds Street Courtyard
It's never too early to share the holiday spirit. Priority items, distributed through the White Center Food Bank, include Boxed Stuffing Mix, Instant Mashed Potatoes, Turkey Gravy, Yams, Cranberry Sauce, Canned Veggies, Cornbread Mix, Canned Fruit Pie Filling, Pie Crust Mix, etc.
Donations of personal care items and (clearly labeled) packets of pet food are always welcome.
Donations of Men's Casual/Work Clothes are also being taken, as well as SOCKS, SOCKS, SOCKS — the clothing item most requested by our neighbors experiencing homelessness.
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Paid and Volunteer Positions Open to Help Feed Our Homeless Neighbors
Dec 22 - 27
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This is the 22nd year that The Christmas People Foundation will provide free meals for our homeless Seattle neighbors; we'll be serving at three women's shelters, one family shelter and one men's shelter.
Normally we send out food in full size steam table trays. This year it's individual boxes — all 1900 of them.
There are openings for two paid positions (Working Supervisors) and 8 or 10 volunteer positions (stipend possible) from Tuesday, Dec 22 through Sunday, Dec 27.
Headquarters is an inspected kitchen at Alki Masonic Center, 4736 40th Ave SW. All COVID precautions are observed and a physician will be on hand.
If you know of anyone who needs a paying 1099 job or will volunteer, contact:
The Christmas People Foundation
(206) 719-4979
pialley@jps.net
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Zoom Registration Link for Sunday Worship
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You only need to register once. Due to upgraded security protocols, please register in advance to attend Sunday worship.
You will receive a confirmation email with your own unique link to join Sunday worship.
For additional assistance, phone or text Tech Deacon Shannon Peterson.
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PNCUCC Webinar
Prophets and Power: Compelling Congress to Act
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Wednesday, Nov 18
10:00 am (Pacific Time)
The need for action does not stop with Election Day. In congressional districts across the country, faith-rooted advocates have enormous potential to be the moral and spiritual force needed in this moment.
Build the skills to be a success advocate for climate legislation.
Featured panelists:
Todd Fernandez, Executive Director of Climate Crisis Policy;
Shantha Ready Alonso, Executive Director of Creation Justice Ministries; and
Rabbi Daniel Swartz, Executive Director, Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life.
Sign-up now. If you can't attend the webinar live, you'll receive a recording.
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Liturgists
November
22 Jeff D
29 Joe M
December
6 Verona R and Vicky S
13 Cinda S
Moment of Ministry
November 22 Mission/Redevelopment
November 29
Personnel
December 6
Faith Formation
December 13
Caring Community/
Fellowship
The rotating Moment of Ministry worship schedule is posted here.
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