Puget Sound Worship Collaborative
This summer Northlake is joining with three other local congregations in a unique opportunity to try something new! Since all our Sunday services are being offered online, there is no reason that we can’t share services together. This way we can get to know other UU’s in the area and can learn how others do their worship together, without having to leave our homes or be in unfamiliar surroundings.
From July 1 to August 30th, each Sunday service we will see someone we know leading either the music, telling a story, or giving a sermon, while also being in the worship time with members from Cedars, Westside or Saltwater UU Churches.
You don’t have to do anything new or different. You will get the link to the service just as you normally do, then open the zoom room sometime between 10:15-10:30 on Sunday morning to join us.
Words for hymns we sing together will be in the Chat Box during the service, but you can also print them up ahead of time. We will send you a copy so you can print them in a large font if you wish.
All four churches will collect their offering as usual, but we will all be supporting a common organization. July’s Share The Plate collections will go to the Washington State Poor People’s Campaign.
After the service we will welcome everyone to stay for coffee hour, and then divide folk into random groups of 15 or so others, so you can have time to meet new faces and small enough groups to talk easily. We anticipate a weekly attendance between 200-250, which would be too hard to have good conversations after the service.
This is exciting, and we look forward to each of you joining us for this new way of being together this summer!
Covid response at Northlake
King County is now in Phase 2 of Gov. Inslee’s four-phase reopening plan. For the safety of our NUUC congregants, small groups will still NOT be permitted to meet on church campus. Meetings will continue to occur remotely, per the Covid response plan Reverend Nancy distributed in the May Lighthouse bulletin.
Our Covid Response Team will continue to assess the situation as it changes and keep us apprised of their suggestions. The Covid Response Team is made up of Dave T. (rentals chair), Jordan P. (Safe & Secure Northlake chair), Becky Walker (administrator) and Des P.
The rentals team has been working to ensure that renters are aware of the particulars surrounding Phase 2 guidelines, that they acknowledge the risk they put themselves in by conducting gatherings at Northlake, and that they adhere to strict standards of sanitation and social distancing. Furthermore, rentals will occur in a way that keeps Northlake staff safe from additional exposure.
Summer Religious Education programming
This summer our Religious Education program will be teaming up with Saltwater UU to offer children’s programming at 9:30 am before our worship services.
We will be sharing our rituals (chalice lighting, joys and sorrows, and singing) and engaging with a series of core stories for Unitarian Universalists. We will have time for discussion, sharing and some games as well. Families may also choose to participate in hosting our traveling plushie, who comes complete with their own suitcase of activities, meditations, songs, chalice, and a journal to write and draw about their adventures with our Northlake and Saltwater families.
To sign up to host the traveling plushie, please contact Margaret ([email protected]).
PNW UU Kids Camp (home-based!)
Northlake is collaborating with Unitarian Universalist congregations throughout Washington and BC to offer summer camp. We will gather together via Zoom for interactive time. In addition, there will be suggested activities to engage offline as well, with supply kits for each week.
Registration is for one week at a time, and there’s a new theme each week (including Animals of the Pacific Northwest, Theater and Storytelling, Art and Painting, Food, and Minecraft and Environmental Justice). Registration is free, though donations are welcome. For more information, please check out the great website created by Aria Curtis (from University Unitarian) https://sites.google.com/view/pnw-uu-kids-camp/home or email Margaret ([email protected])
Anti-Racism Ministry at Northlake UU
In the coming year, Northlake will be focusing on anti-racism, weaving together opportunities to engage in education, self-awareness and internal work, active participation in anti-racism work in the wider community, and in understanding racism from a Unitarian Universalist context.
The Unitarian Universalist Association completed the Commission on Institutional Change’s work examining how white supremacy culture has impacted our institutions, congregations, and individuals. I recommend reading the report “Widening the Circle of Concern: Report on the UUA Commission on Institutional Change”.
The Social Justice team and our Religious Education program are teaming up to allow for sustained, ongoing engagement in this work. We hope that most everyone will take part in some way.
You will see additional details about programming in the Weekly Announcements and on our Northlake website and how to get involved.
BIPOC meeting in July
Rev. Joseph Santos-Lyons will offer another BIPOC-only pastoral session this month (July) to be held via Zoom. Join this opportunity to build our local area BIPOC community. (BIPOC = black, indigenous and people of color).
Rev. Joseph is a biracial Chinese and Czech writer, organizer, and community UU minister. He is based in Metro Manila, the Philippines, and is the consulting minister to DRUUMM (Diverse Revolutionary Unitarian Universalist Multicultural Ministries).
In January 2020, Rev. Joseph hosted the first DRUUMM Gathering in the Puget Sound area. On May 1st he hosted a BIPOC-only listening session and is offering another for us in July 2020.
For more information, contact Roseanne Lorenzana, Westside UUC, [email protected]