Reflections

Last Saturday evening, a few families arrived to prepare and serve dinner for our November guests through Congregations for the Homeless.  As the parents were busy chopping and sautéing things (sharp knives and young children aren’t really a good idea) the gaggle of children... Read more →

  I read an article about study a few years ago, that said that kids will work longer at a difficult task if they are dressed up as batman. Kids were set up with a task that was intentionally boring and arduous. These 4-6 year olds were also told that whenever they wanted... Read more →

Last year, the Outreach Commission had an idea: what would it be like to host a job fair for folks who might not have access to the job market, including folks who were experiencing homelessness? There were a lot of unknowns to try something new and outside our expertise.  ... Read more →

As we approach Labor Day, we will have the opportunity to “learn a new balance.”  Our children will return to school, darkness is already coming sooner in the evenings, temperatures will drop as Fall approaches and our church will begin a new season.  As we find our ways through... Read more →

I have seldom been so glad to see rain as I was this morning. As we are now growing accustomed to “smoke season” in the summers, it is a relief to feel things clear out and return to air you can breathe and a possibility of returning again to the outdoors. With our... Read more →

Our congregation has a long tradition of opening our doors to those in need. We are a founding congregation of Congregations for the Homeless, and have opened our doors each November for a rotating program shelter for men experiencing homelessness for more than two decades. The... Read more →

It is a joy to take time with family and travels and it is also a joy to return. I have been in Maryland visiting my spouse Josh’s extended family, with lots of baseball and fireflies. And in the midst of it, I have been thinking about the difference between a vacation and... Read more →

Aloha and Mahalo!  Hello and gratitude from Hawai’i!  What an amazing Western Regional Youth Event (WRYE) we attended last week in Honolulu.    Seven of our youth (and 2 chaperones) joined over 400 participants from the western states of the UCC.     Despite sun-burn and... Read more →

The past week’s events have reminded us how change occurs slowly in some areas and quickly in others. On Saturday, progressive faith communities from Bellevue came together and celebrated God’s inclusive love in our sanctuary.  It was a small, but mighty service.  We... Read more →