Dear Alki UCC,
Last Sunday was our first ever "Safety Sunday." Thank you so much to our planning team: Jeff W, Lori Y, Dan K, Emily H, Julia P and Larisa W. You truly are “the helpers” that Mr. Rogers reminded us about.
In this special service we learned about fire safety, first aid resources in our building, located exits and fire extinguishers, and were invited to consider what each of us has to offer in an emergency.
If you were not here in person, please take a moment to fill out this very brief form linked here.Whether you have a particular skill or simply seek to be aware of your surroundings, everyone has something to offer in an emergency. We will use your responses to compile a spreadsheet of what emergency gifts and skills are already in our congregation.
I gave a short sermon on an essential emergency preparedness skill: practicing being calm. You can listen here. The YouTube channel I reference can be found here Sitting with Dogs.
We all have fears. In this turbulent time, there are very understandable reasons for those fears. Yet we will be confident, because our spiritual source is calm. God will help us shift our fear so that we can move from a place of fight, flight or freeze to do the good that is ours to do. Let us be confident together.
In hope,
Pastor Emily
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You can always schedule an appointment with Pastor Emily by using this handy online tool linked here.
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Last Sunday to Purchase Mardi Gras Tickets Before/After Worship
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Alki UCC Mardi Gras Dinner/Celebration
Saturday, March 1
5:30 to 8:00 pm/Anderson Hall
Festivity, fellowship, fun and a sumptuous
New Orleans-style dinner:
Appetizers, Salad, Gumbo (Vegetarian or with Chicken and Chicken Andouille Sausage), Rice, French Bread, King Cake (regular and gluten free) and Pralines ... YUM!!
Entertainers welcome to join the program.
Contact Vicky S if you have an idea for an act.
Our celebration is also a low-key fundraIser, showcasing donated items worth at least $20 "sold" to the first person
to 'buy' them for at least $20.
Please bring your items to Anderson Hall on Saturday, March 1.
Contact Vicky for specific timeframe.
Time, talent and goodies also welcome as donations
(i.e. Dinners or Afternoon Tea for six/eight; Monthly Desserts, etc.).
Contact Cinda S or Patty M to register your donation.
You are encouraged to bring a few extra $$ to Mardi Gras
in case one or more of the various offerings tickle your fancy!
This Sunday is the last opportunity buy your $30 ticket(s) in person before or after worship. You can also purchase them online
Choose the “Dedicate this Donation” option
and write in “Mardi Gras 2025”
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Volunteer(s) Needed:
— Donations Run
— Someone with Truck or Trailer
for Hauling a Few Items
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We are looking for a volunteer or volunteers to
• Do a donations run to take away some items at the church that need a new home, including a desk, some books and the inevitable odds 'n' ends
• Someone with access to a truck/trailer to help clear the chancel and other spaces from unwanted a couple broken tables that have been disassembled, etc.
Please contact the church office if you can help.
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Save the Dates for our commitment to provide the hot meal and volunteers for the Westside Interfaith Network "The Welcome Table."
Saturdays:
March 8
June 7
August 23
November 8
Great news! Alki UCC is joining forces with Admiral UCC and the Westside Unitarian Universalists (UUs), churches that are smaller than us so they can't provide a meal on their own. Together we'll provide a meal for 130+ people.
Please start thinking about what you might want to do for March 8 ...a casserole? Roasted veggies? A salad? Some cookies? LMK!
Event details:
Deliver food to the Body of Christ Church by 11:30 am,
then stay to help out at stations until about 12:30 pm.
1320 SW 102nd St, White Center
Thank you, Cinda (she/her)
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Call to Attend Vital Hearing to Support Church World Service and other Litigants
Challenging Suspension of U.S. Refugee Admissions Program
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Tuesday, February 25 at 10:00 am
(Arrive by 9:30 am)
US District Court
700 Stewart Street
Seattle, WA 98101
Last week, Church World Service (CWS) joined Lutheran Community Services Northwest and several individual plaintiffs to challenge President Trump's Executive Order suspending the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), as well as the federal stop-work orders that were sent to resettlement agencies as a result of the freeze on foreign aid.
The group is represented pro bono by the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). Full press release linked here.
This federal lawsuit brings together individual refugees, faith-based non-profit refugee resettlement organizations, and everyday Americans "welcoming the stranger” to challenge:
• The Executive Order indefinitely suspending the USRAP program;
• its chaotic and unlawful implementation by federal agencies;• the State Department's stop-work orders that inhibit the ability of Resettlement Agencies to provide critical services to refugees in the U.S. and abroad;
• The administration's actions are part of a stated and unlawful effort to decimate USRAP in violation of Congress's explicit mandates.
Here's How You Can Help!
The hearing date is Tuesday, February 25, and CWS would love a strong show of faith community support in the courthouse.
There will also be a press conference after where it would be amazing to have an “audience” of people with “refugees welcome” signage and related t-shirts, etc, especially for TV news shots.
Email here to request further info from Church World Service.
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Celebrate Black History Month!
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 February is Black History month. The Library of Congress, National Archives and Records Administration, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Gallery of Art, National Park Service, Smithsonian Institution and United States Holocaust Memorial Museum join in paying tribute to the generations of African Americans who struggled with adversity to achieve full citizenship in American society.
Image courtesy the Smithsonian
Take a virtual tour of these impactful exhibits here.
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Thanks to all who used our narthex Sustainable Cubbies
Sustainable Stewards Cubbie Corner
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Update!
Four new additions, rubber bands, twisty ties,
metal bottle caps, clean dozen egg cartons:
Every morning you get the paper, every morning your giant ball of rubber bands expands. Every day you untie your veggies and everyday you make twisty tie art out of the ties. A few times a week you end up with a bottle cap and it ends up in the landfill.
Yes, the Sustainable Steward Cubbies are now accepting your twisty ties from fruit and vegetable packaging, bottle caps, and unbroken reusable rubber bands. Please bring drop them in the cubbies any time and miraculously they will move on to a new life in an artists work or reused to package items at Food Lifeline.
 Sometime during the pandemic the WS Food Bank began purchasing their eggs in bulk and repackaging them on site. Fast forward to post pandemic days and repacking eggs is now the standard practice at the WS Food Bank and your egg cartons help save even more pennies.
The cartons can be plastic or cardboard but leave the 18 packs for the recycle bin. Drop them off at the cubbies any time or if you have been looking for an excuse to visit the food bank you can drop of your cartons during their open hours. Info here.
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Ever-present God, we give you thanks.
We give you gratitude for the relationships in our lives and our community of faith.
We pray for all those who grieve.
Comfort their hearts and hold them close, especially former member Davney S and family on the death of Davney's husband Bob.
We pray for all those who are ill, hurting or have a concern on their hearts.
We pray for Vicky S' friend Sue; Karen B, recovering from a stroke; Julia C's cousin Scott M, facing a critical health challenge; Pastor Emily's friends Rich, Julie and Bryson; our Peruvian immigrant friends and for all who seek peace and safety in our country; for Sandy J's cousin Barbara; Dan K facing various health issues; Rev. Joan C; Cinda's mother Jackie S; Julia C's friend Jessie T and family, Amy Y's mother Corlene; Sue's B's friends Mary and Louise; and Nick L.
We pray for our wider world.
We pray for all the people and places in our world affected by war. We ask for wisdom for decision-makers and strength for justice-seekers. We pray for victims of violence, for refugees and asylum-seekers. We pray for all who are hungry, desperate, and in need of support.
In all of these things, we trust that you are with us. In all of these things, we ask for you to strengthen us. Help us to see you in those around us. Help us to love as you love. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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Please contact the church office to add or remove a prayer request. |
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6115 SW Hinds
Seattle, WA 98116
206/935-2661;
Church news/calendar updates at alkiucc.org.
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Worship this Sunday,
February 23
at 10:00 am
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Seventh Sunday after the Epiphany
“Are You Still Listening?”
Rev. Tiare Mathison
Preacher
Liturgist
Rev. Penny M
Scriptures
Psalm 37:1-11
Luke 6:27-38
NRSV
Daniel Self
Music Director
Music Highlights:
How Deep
God’s Love For Us
Stuart Townsend
#25 O God, Our Help in Ages Past
My Tribute
Andrae Crouch
Word of God Speak
Mercy Me
#170 Your Ways
Are Not Our Own
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When you register, please use your first/last name plus your email address.
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Alki UCC Zoom Bible Study Sunday Evening and Tuesday Noon
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Alki UCC offers two sessions of weekly Zoom Bible study; register for one or both and come when you can!
Tuesdays
Noon to 1:30 pm
co-led by Pastor Emily
and Rev. Penny
Register here for Tuesday series.
Sundays
5:00 to 6:00 pm
led by Rev. Penny
Register here for Sunday series.
All are welcome, newcomers especially! Weekly attendance is not required; come to one or more sessions on either day, depending on what works for you. Please note that each series has a dedicated one-time Zoom registration link.
Toe-dipping welcome; personal sharing is invited and respected; questions are encouraged. We are all seekers!
The Lenten/Easter series begins Tuesday, March 4.
Questions? Contact Pastor Emily or Rev. Penny.
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Community Clogging Classes
begin
this Sunday, February 23
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Members of our wider community are now invited to join Diane J's Beginners' Clog Dancing Class every Sunday at 1:00 pm in Anderson Hall.
Dancers of all ages are welcome. Please see registration information below.
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Discover the joy of clog dancing, a lively percussive dance rooted in the Appalachian Mountains and influenced by Irish, Scottish, German, and Native American traditions.
With more than 30 years teaching experience in the Pacific Northwest, I am excited to introduce you to the basics and beyond! No partner needed, you go at your own pace.
— Diane J, Instructor
Non-Alki UCC participants will be asked to fill out a one-time registration form (linked here) to attend one or more classes.
Registration must be received the Friday before the participant's
first class.
There is no formal attendance fee; a free will donation to Alki UCC of $10 per class is suggested
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Parlor Whale Display Leaving this Weekend
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We had a great time planning and decorating Alki UCC’s entry to the 2024 Festival of Trees,
Awareness=Preservation. When the festival ended the creative juices kept going and the tree evolved into a Parlor educational display, highlighting the whale ornaments and serving as a place to share educational materials about our local whale population. The entire presentation was grounded by Maya’s wonderful paper mache of “Little Hunter.”
The display and materials are on display through this Sunday, if you made an ornament that you would like to keep please remove it this weekend, if you think “I want to read about the whales” but have not remembered to grab your informative whale information sheet please make sure to take advantage of their accessibility this Sunday.
Thinking of a fun shot in front of unique art for next years holiday card? This is the Sunday.
Mark your calendars for 2025 Festival of Trees, brainstorming begins in October 2025! — Aly H
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Sunday Worship Registration
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If you've already registered on Zoom, just use your personal link. If not, welcome! You can register here.
When you register, please use your first/last name plus your email.
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For secure, online giving through Give Lively, click the button, OR, send your check, made out to "Alki UCC," to: 6115 SW Hinds, Seattle, WA 98116
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Sunday Worship Videos Posted on YouTube
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Sunday Worship recordings now online!
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