News

Every Wednesday, 7–9 p.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall

The UUC Board of Trustees held their first meeting on June 23 and elected the following trustees as officers for 2026–27: President: Becca Hutcheson Vice-President: Nicholas Eddington Treasurer: Mike Kasprzak Secretary: Laurie Mann In addition, the following trustees were selected to serve in various chair and liaison roles with different committees and groups within the congregation. BoT Nominating Committee Chair: Larry Soriano Stewardship Committee Liaison: Michael Linenberger Community Engagement Co-Chairs: Alison McCormick and Laurie Mann Right Relations Team Liaison: Michael Linenberger Safety Committee Liaison: Nicholas Eddington Accessibility Teams’ Liaisons: Nicholas Eddington and Larry Soriano All members of the Board will be wearing blue “Trustee” ribbons with their name tags this year. Please reach out to any of us if you have ideas, suggestions, concerns, or questions!

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Wednesday, July 1, 5–6 p.m. online meeting

Worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel and via live stream

Tuesday, July 7, 7:00–8:30 p.m. in Knatvold

Meet the Artist - Sunday, July 12, 10:30 a.m. in the UUC chapel (Please note new date)

Alternate Saturdays starting July 11, 2-4 p.m. in Servetus

Over the next two months our new senior minister, Rev. Jeremiah Kalendae, will be finishing up their ministry in California and navigating all of the various transitions involved in moving to a brand new city, state, region and community. During this time the Board of Trustees, Ministerial Search Team, and Transition Team all ask that members of our UUC community wait to reach out to Rev. Jeremiah until they have formally started in their new role with UUC in mid-August. In this way they can have all of the time, energy, and space they’ll need to fully move through those transitions and arrive ready for the new beginnings with us. You can learn more about Rev. Jeremiah here . You can watch the worship service Rev. Jeremiah led at UUC on April 19 here . You can watch the worship service Rev. Jeremiah led at UUC on April 26 here. You can learn more about the Ministerial Search Process here . Reverend Jeremiah has expressed their deep appreciation for the warm welcome they received during Candidating Week, as well as the comprehensive overview of our operations, programs, and beloved community that we all provided. We look forward to many celebrations and opportunities to welcome them in the fall! Until then, please gather with us on Sundays at 9:30 a.m. throughout the summer to share quiet moments of inspiration and hope with our various pulpit guests followed by coffee and good company. If you have questions, please feel free to contact Rev. Victoria Poling or Becca Hutcheson , Board of Trustees President.

Earlier this spring, UUC congregants met with representatives from Hand in Hand , a national organization advocating for domestic workers, to learn how to protect the rights of house cleaners, nannies, home care workers and others they might employ. We also learned that many domestic workers are immigrants facing additional stress and threats in their lives. The workshop was sponsored by UUC's Social Justice Steering Committee. If you hire a domestic worker in Seattle (and soon, in Washington state more generally), you may be a legal “employer” and have an obligation to: Pay minimum wage, sick and safe time, and overtime pay Provide rest and meal breaks Allow workers to keep their personal and identifying documents Create a workplace safe from discrimination, harassment, and retaliation Provide a notice of rights (not mandatory, but supportive!) Seattle has had a domestic workers ordinance since 2019. The state Legislature recently passed a bill that will take effect in 2027. Under the new Washington state law , employers will also need to have a written contract with employees who work more than four hours a month. But this is just the beginning. If you’re ready to create a safer workplace, you can find a more complete guide and Washington-specific resource list to support building trust, developing workplace accommodations that make sense for your employee, and thinking through the types of concrete support that you can offer them. This may be especially helpful for immigrant workers. There are over 100,000 domestic workers in Washington state and just as many employers. Hand in Hand is inviting people to host kitchen table conversations to share their experiences as an employer with their neighbors and friends to help ensure that all of Washington’s domestic workers have full access to their rights. If you are interested in hosting one, please reach out to Erica at erica@domesticemployers.org .

Even before the 2025-26 church year began, social justice teams at UUC had expressed a desire to step outside their issue silos and collaborate by identifying and carrying out projects that would attract a large swath of the congregation. The Social Justice Steering Committee answered this call in the fall by hosting a "Revival" that was well-attended. It generated three projects designed to help us overcome despair and experience joy, centering love in our lives. [Continue reading]

Sunday, June 28, 1-5 p.m. in downtown Seattle

Saturday, June 27, 1:00 p.m. in the UUC chapel

Worship service at 9:30 a.m. in the chapel and via live stream

Sunday, June 28, 11:15 a.m. in the King room and via Zoom

Sunday, June 28, 3–6 p.m. in the chapel

Please respond by Sunday, June 28

Wednesday, July 22, 11 a.m. in Renton Optional 10 a.m. carpool from UUC

Thanks, garden volunteers! More opportunities below!

As Unitarian Universalists, we proudly affirm the worthiness and dignity of every single person. Our values move us to work for justice and equity so everyone truly feels that love and respect. For Juneteenth and Pride Month, your Acting for Racial Justice team and Social Justice Steering Committee are beaming with excitement to debut our brand-new Black Lives Matter banner and a beautiful companion Progress Pride banner! These vibrant additions show our neighbors how we side with love. Plus, we are proud to share that we ethically sourced our BLM banner from a wonderful Black-owned company, our Pride banner from the talented artist, Transpainter, and installed them with a veteran-owned sign company.  We can't wait to celebrate with you at a special banner dedication ceremony this fall—stay tuned for the date!

Tuesday, June 23, 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall by appointment

Tuesday, June 23, 5–7 p.m. in Knatvold

Saturdays, June 13 & 20, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. (come when you can)

General Assembly Worship Service, 8:00 a.m. PT, online only (The UUC building will be closed)

Friday, June 19, various times and places

Sunday, June 21, 2–4 p.m. at Ravenna Park Picnic Shelter #1

July 17–19 in Seattle's Discovery Park

Dear Friends of Lake City Partners, You did it. Because of the generosity of our community, the Aurora Oaks Birthday Campaign has officially concluded—and together, we raised $62,070 from 113 donations , surpassing our $50,000 goal by more than $12,000. We are overwhelmed with gratitude. What began as a campaign to address urgent health and safety repairs became something much bigger: a community-wide investment in the future of the Aurora Oaks Shelter and the people who depend on it every day. Your support is already making a difference. Thanks to your donations, the leaking roof at Aurora Oaks has been repaired, protecting the shelter and the people inside. The funds will be used to complete the remaining planned repairs, including improvements to the heating and hot water systems. We will also address the failing cold storage for food items. If there are any additional funds, we will address other critical building needs as they arise, helping ensure the shelter remains safe, warm, and welcoming. To everyone who donated, shared the campaign, encouraged others to give, or helped spread the word: thank you. This achievement belongs to all of us. We look forward to sharing project updates and celebrating the impact you have made possible. With heartfelt gratitude, Sue Bennett, Interim Executive Director, Lake City Partners

The number from our UUC community involved with Homelessness Ministries has grown to about 200, with engagement spread across the following. Direct service , like rolling up your shirt sleeves to do something. Think Lake City Partners Sack Lunch Team, Teen Feed Meal Team and more. Advocacy - During the legislative session, and other times throughout the year, folks have responded to requests to advocate for city, county, state and even national issues. Using your voice can influence funding initiatives, push legislation through, and advance systemic change. Education - Attending community meetings and training sessions, and sometimes, bringing speakers to UUC like Gregg Colburn. Maybe it's learning more about ways that UUC can share it's space to benefit those who are unhoused. Fundraising - Supporting efforts to combat and prevent homelessness in the community and support agencies that serve our unhoused neighbors. Year-end summary of our community's work during 2025-26 Direct Service Prepared and served 18 dinners at Teen Feed, feeding 85-100 teens for a total of over 1,600 meals for the year. Prepared and delivered sack lunches to feed 40 Lake City Partners (LCP) clients twice a month, for a total of 960 individuals lunches provided this year. Prepared and served 3 dinners at the LCP Winter Shelter Hosted Wednesday night potluck dinners for Tent City 3 when UUC hosted for the second time in 2025 Assisted Tent City with moves in July 2025 and again in May 2026 Prepared and delivered 60 lunches on Tent City Moving Day in July 2025 Organized Drive to collect blankets, winter coats, tents and more to benefit both Teen Feed, and other unhoused individuals, last winter. Coming of Age youth & mentors created centerpiece arrangements to decorate the Teen Feed dinner tables May 2026 Faith in Action – Created 100 personal hygiene/first aid kits for Teen Feed, with several UUC youth involved in the planning Invitation for UUC small groups to consider hosting a Teen Feed meal during holiday and summer months when there may be gaps in the schedule. The Men’s Group prepared and served dinner in early January, and Youngish will prepare and serve a meal in a few weeks. Advocacy Sent out regular advocacy alerts during 2025-26, especially during the legislative session. Some from UUC attended the Faith Action Network (FAN) Advocacy Day in Olympia. Several from UUC attended a King County Regional Homelessness Authority/Seattle City meeting to advocate with SHARE/WHEEL that Tent City 3 and Tent City 4 be allowed to continue at respective sites on public lands during Fall 2025. Several others sent emails and made calls to Mayor Harrell and Seattle City Council members. Educational Hosted Gregg Colburn talk, “Homelessness is a Housing Problem.” Several from UUC attended the Faith Shelter Summits (October 2025 and April 2026). Several have joined the monthly meetings of the Faith Action Network (FAN) Housing & Homelessness Work Group Met with representatives of Faith Land Initiative and other agencies to explore other ideas to impact homelessness such as serving as a Housing Assistance Point, being a center for the Point-in-Time Count, hosting a safe parking lot and serving as a location for an extreme weather shelter. Group leaders attended the Affordable Housing Week 2026 events Fundraising Hosted Second Sunday plates to benefit Teen Feed and Lake City Partners. Shared information about The Oaks 5 th Birthday Go-Fund-Me effort to raise funds for essential building renovations. With more joining this work over the past year, there is potential to do even more. Some ideas include expanding programs that involve families, teens and young adults; expanding our partnerships with more organizations in the community; and getting more involved in advocacy efforts organized by the Faith Action Network (FAN). Maybe you have more ideas you'd like to help launch, or join one of the existing efforts. If you enjoy gardening, consider getting involved with the new Community Garden project to benefit Teen Feed meal teams. Click here to learn about the June 20 garden work party . Questions, ideas or want to get involved? Contact Judy Oerkvitz or Pam Smith Mentz .  (Click below to enlarge photos)

From Karen Thomas, Director of Music: It is with sadness that I share the news that our beloved All Voices Choir (AVC) director, Jacob Finkle, is resigning from his position this summer. His letter (below) provides more information about his increasing responsibilities elsewhere. Jacob has done amazing work with the AVC for the past 12 years, helping to build a wonderful community of singers of all ages. He shepherded the choir through our time at Meadowbrook and during Covid, keeping the morale high during those challenging times. He's been an important member of the Music Program staff, and a constant joy to work with. Thank you for all your care and hard work, Jacob—you will be deeply missed! We will begin the search for a new AVC director this summer. Stay tuned for more information on that front.

Wednesday, June 17, 5:15–7 p.m. at Neumos

Wednesday, June 17, 11 a.m.–1 p.m. in Knatvold and via Zoom

Thursday, June 18, 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Maple Leaf Reservoir Park, Shelter #1

Wednesday, June 17, 2–4 p.m. at the Greenwood Senior Center, free

Sunday, June 14, 4–6 p.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall

Sunday, June 14

Light breakfast at 9 a.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall Worship service at 10–11 a.m. in the chapel and via live stream Annual Congregational Meeting at 11:30 a.m. in the chapel and via Zoom

Sunday, June 14, before and after the 10 a.m. service, and 2–5 p.m. in the UUC parking lot

Sunday, June 14, 1:00 p.m. in the Knatvold room Join us at our next Pink Haven meeting for updates on recent housing developments and other news. Contact a group leader to get the virtual link and/or to request childcare: Allisonrjansen@gmail.com , River McCallum or Sage@themcdaniels.net . The Pink Haven Coalition is a national coalition responding to the baseless and severe discrimination against trans and non-binary individuals in red states who need assistance in moving to blue states. Our UUC group is part of this effort, in partnership with the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, to create a welcome network for trans/non-binary individuals and their families who are fleeing their homes in order to live freer lives and, if needed, to obtain gender affirming care.

Sunday, June 14, 9–10 a.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall

Gardening workparty on Saturday, June 20, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at UUC - come when you can UUC has partnered with Teen Feed for over 20 years, with volunteers preparing 18 meals over the course of each year for teens who are facing food insecurity. May's Faith in Action built upon this long-term relationship and Teen Feed's mission to meet unhoused teens where they are. Each night, starting with a warm meal, Teen Feed creates a space where these teens can get help with basic needs and identify ways to build a more stable future. May 30 Faith in Action: Sixteen youth and families gathered to create personal hygiene/first aid kits to distribute to unhoused youth at Teen Feed. Many more from the congregation donated tooth brushes, travel-size soaps, lotion, lip balm, sunscreen and other essentials. At this event, led by several of our youth in concert with our Family Ministry program, there was an assembly line to create the kits and decorate bins for additional items teen could choose. June 7 Teen Feed Meal: UUC's Meal Team prepared and served the meal—healthy and fun with lots of choices, including three kinds of burritos, salad, fresh fruit and a dessert buffet. Our UUC team of eighteen on-site and six at-home bakers comprised folks of all ages, including eight youth and children. And, UUC youth helped organize distribution of the hygiene kits at Teen Feed too! We will continue to build upon our partnership with Teen Feed this summer by creating a Community-Serving Garden at UUC with the harvest to be used by the Teen Feed meal teams. Join us on June 20 to fill containers and plant the plants! Click here for more information . 

Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m.-noon

As many are familiar with, summer is a time of rest and play for many at UUC: there are fewer events, many groups pause their regular meetings, and we go to a one-service schedule. However, there are still ways for parents and caregivers to remain connected and to support one another throughout the summer! Read below about the groups and gatherings for parents that will continue in July and August. All are open to drop-in participation. Parent Play Dates: June 28, July 26, & August 23, 11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. in Emerson These monthly gatherings are opportunities for parents and caregivers to slow down and connect through spiritual reflection focused on their lives as parents. Using guiding questions about our monthly themes, parents are invited into a space of mutual storytelling and memory, to think about how the theme was present in their own childhoods, in the way they parent, and in their relationships with other adults. For example, our theme in June is "flourishing together." Some of the questions parents will be invited to think about are, "When does your family feel most connected and 'in sync'? What contributes to that?" and "What parts of yourself have you had to work to bring forward in order to flourish as a parent/caregiver? Who in your life has helped make space for those parts?" Childcare is available for Parent Play Dates upstairs in the Children's Suite. You can add these dates to your personal calendar using the red "subscribe" button in the top right corner of this eSpace page . Moms+ Group: 2 nd Wednesday of the Month, 8:00-9:00 p.m. in the King Room Moms, or those who mother, are invited to gather for informal conversation, mutual support and deepening friendships. This group meets once a month, in the evening, and childcare is available upon request. Upcoming dates are July 8, August 12, and September 9 . You can add these dates to your personal calendar using the red "subscribe" button in the top right corner of this eSpace page . To get connected with this group and receive updates about gatherings, please reach out to Alison Meharavi ( amehravari@gmail.com ) to join the mailing list. Dads Group: 2 nd & 4 th Tuesday of the Month, 8:00-9:00 p.m. in the Dix Room UUC Dads are invited to gather for informal conversation, friendship, and support. This group meets twice a month, in the evening, and childcare is available upon request. Upcoming dates are June 24, July 8, and July 22 . You can add these dates to your personal calendar using the red "subscribe" button in the top right corner of this eSpace page . To get connected with this group and receive updates about gatherings, please reach out to John Granillo-Dodds ( johndodds@gmail.com ) to join the mailing list. Note: These events and groups are intended for those who are actively parenting, with children and teens at home. For more information about events and programs for children, teens, and parents/caregivers, please contact Director of Family Ministry, Aria Curtis .

Must be received by Friday, June 12

Monday, June 8, 6–8 p.m. in Nathan Johnson Hall

Exploratory session Thursday, June 11, 7–9 p.m. in Knatvold

Every year we call on our community to financially support UUC with a pledge commitment. It would not be possible to continue UUC programming, staffing and operations without this support. Thank you! Pledging, however, is just the first step; we depend on those who pledge to fulfill that promise by paying. In these extraordinarily challenging times, it is easy to understand how paying on this commitment can have been forgotten. Yet, your support is still vital to all we do within our UUC community and in our service outside of our walls. In reviewing our accounting and membership records, we are noticeably behind on receiving pledge payments compared to previous years. We think they fall into three categories: Some who have a 2025-2026 pledge on record but have not yet made any payment. Some whose personal circumstances may warrant a hardship exemption (which can be granted by a minister). Some who have already made at least one payment but are lagging behind their schedule of payments for this church year. And so we ask you to turn your attention to this: If you made a pledge for this past church year but have not yet made any payment, it is very important that you do so before the June 14 Annual Congregational Meeting so that your membership status will not lapse. If you are unable to pay on your pledge because of financial or other difficulty, please reach out to the church office. We will understand and we want to support you. If you have fallen behind your payments, we ask that you catch-up with an aim of fulfilling your pledge completely by June 30, 2026 (the end of our fiscal year). You can review the status of your UUC pledge payments and other giving activity in UUC Connect . If you have questions about the status of your account, or need to make alternative payment arrangements, please contact the church office. This church is a community of ourselves. We are all stewards of UUC! ~ UUC Stewardship Committee

Sunday, June 14, 11:30 a.m. in the UUC chapel

All Ages worship services at 9:30 and 11:15 a.m., in the chapel and via live stream Flower Communion, Child Dedication, Bridging Ceremony