If you would like a print copy of this newsletter mailed to you, please reach out to the office administrator at administrator@evergreenuu.org.
. Poetry ..................................................2 Announcements & Opportunities ..................................3 From Rev. Joe ................................4 News From the Board ...............5 Children & Youth .....................6&7 Evergreen's Offerings...........8&9 Actions For Justice ................... 10 Broader Community ................ 11 UUA, Holidays and Days of Observance .................................... 12
Fall 2025 | Covers September 28th through December 20th, 2025
Newsletter
Upcoming Worship Services
The Board of Trustees will be hosting another Sunday BrUUnch to continue our visioning as a congregation on October 26th. Save the date!
Submit something for the Weekly Update, Newsletter or Sunday Announcements using this form or go to www.bit.ly/EUUFblurb
Evergreen
As a reminder, we will be using the smaller Mt Rainier room for worship services on Nov. 23rd, Dec. 14th and for our Christmas Eve service on Dec. 24th. We will not have access to the larger Cascade View room for those dates. Since other renters will also be using the Gipson Center, carpooling is encouraged to save some parking space. Thank you!
Table of contents
Sunday of Service
Join us on October 19th for a special Sunday of Service for all ages focused on caring for our community. We welcome guest speakers from Cocoon House and Interfaith Family Shelter who will share their vital work assisting local youth and families experiencing homelessness. You can help immediately by bringing one of the following needed items: Cocoon House: New hoodies and sweatpants. Interfaith Family Shelter: New or gently used twin or full size sheets. This Sunday will also be a split plate offering to benefit both organizations. Come learn how we can all make a difference!
Sunday Bruunch
Ever Searching for my Vernal Equinox by Nancy B. Miller
Have You Seen Our Updated Website? If you haven't recently visited our church website, we invite you to check out the fresh new look and updated resources! We recently completed a redesign, giving the site new colors, a streamlined graphic layout, and brand new photos throughout. You'll also find the most current information about our ministries, weekly schedule, upcoming events, and ways to get involved. Our goal is for the site to be the easiest place to connect with us and find the details you need. Explore the updated site anytime: www.evergreenuu.org
Oh nature, you are my teacher. You hold the knowledge of the ever changing truth and the vast variety of creation that is endless and evolving. From atoms to galaxies, From a living cell to super novas. All evolution following a master plan, The master plan that we are seeing and As part of it, we are being. Oh nature, you strive for balance in all, and what is not balanced , or seeking balance, will soon cease to be. One example of nature’s perfect balance We will experience twice as we make a full orbit of our sun. A perfect balance of light and dark. Observe, we do not freeze when this balance is achieved but continue on until it reaches it again and again. So, thus in this way my teacher makes it oh so clear, That having achieved a balance, I may hold it only briefly. Then I must move on until I find a point of balance once again.
Fall 2025
Are you looking for a simple and flexible way to pitch in and help our Sunday service run smoothly? Greeter tasks on Sunday morning are the perfect opportunity! It's a fun and easy way to help make Evergreen UU a warm and welcoming place for everyone who walks through our doors. To make it even easier to try it out, we've updated our sign-up sheet. You'll now find our greeter sign-up clipboard on the welcome table every Sunday. We've broken down our Sunday duties into simple roles, and you can add your name to one or more of the tasks listed. Want to try a quick job like putting out the welcome signs or collecting name tags at the end of service? There's a spot for you. Or maybe you'd like a task that involves more connection, like being a door greeter or helping at the welcome table? All the options are there for you to explore. Don't be shy! If you're curious, just grab one of our current greeters and ask them about their experience. They'd be happy to tell you more and help you find the perfect fit. Your help makes a real difference!
Poetry Lovers, this Service is For You! Join us on Sunday, November 23rd, in the Mt Rainier room for Pluralism in Poetry and Music. Led by Rev. Joe Rettenmaier and featuring beloved pieces shared by members. Come listen and be inspired!
Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am Online via Zoom & In-Person at the Carl Gipson Center, Cascade View Room Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship P.O. Box #3262, Everett, WA 98213 www.evergreenuu.org 360-659-6621 In-Person Office Hours Sundays 9:30 am - 3:30 pm Mondays & Wednesdays 11:00 am - 5:00 pm MINISTER Rev. Joe Rettenmaier BOARD PRESIDENT Sage Billings boardpresident@evergreenuu.org BOARD OF TRUSTEES board@evergreenuu.org OFFICE ADMIN Alli Curtis administrator@evergreenuu.org RELIGIOUS EDUCATOR JW Wenzel redirector@evergreenuu.org
Website Updates
Lend A Hand and say Hello!
Childcare at Evergreen
To help all adults get involved, we are happy to provide childcare for children whose guardians are attending any Evergreen UU adult programs, covenant circles, or committee meetings held at the Carl Gipson Center. Simply reach out to JW Wenzel in advance to coordinate your childcare needs. We look forward to seeing you there!
Winter Solstice Craft Fair
This year EUUF will be having a craft fair after service on Sunday November 30th and Sunday December 7th. This is an EUUF only fund raising event and a chance to do some shopping for one of a kind handmade items. Crafters who want to show their wares will be allotted 1/2 of an 8 ft. table. So contact Sandie Biggerstaff, skbigg@live.com to reserve yours. Please plan on attending the fair and if you would like to help with planning etc. also contact Sandie.
NEWS FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Evergreen's Board of Trustees meets once a month for their business meetings on the second Sunday of the month. All are welcome to join at Noon in the Mt Olympus room or online via Zoom.
FROM REVEREND JOE
Sage Billings, President Ken Rines, Vice President Ryan Weber, Secretary Marijo Duprey, Treasurer Sandie Biggerstaff, Past President Dave Speights, Member-at-large Bernard Wacher, Member-at-large Rev. Joe Rettenmaier, Ex-Officio Member
Members of the Board 25-26
An excited and hopeful board started the 2025-26 year strong at the board retreat; a 4-hour brainstorming and potluck. We discussed what we would like to focus on this year. Our goals include training people to help our tech team, fall/winter fundraising events, and two BrUUnches are on the calendar. There we can envision our future home. The congregation will have the opportunity to dream, think, and plan ahead during a Sunday service where we will share a meal together! Yours in service, Sage
the path to membership at Evergreen
Contact the Board via email at board@evergreenuu.org
If you've been coming to EUUF as a friend and would like to learn how to become a member, the path begins by attending one of our Membership classes! Please join us on Sunday, November 16th for a brief class after the Sunday service. You will learn about Evergreen membership, history, our UU Principles and have your questions answered. Then later in May, we'll welcome this year's new members for a new member breakfast and a brief ceremony during our Sunday service. Please contact Alonna Chatburn, our Membership Chair, if you'd like to attend a class.
Dear Evergreen friends, As I shared with you last Sunday, I find inspiration in equinox’s celestial balance of twelve-hours of day and night. That inspiration is still inviting me all these days later to take notice of our balance of spiritual readiness as a congregation. Readiness isn’t just about finding our next long-term home or pinning our hopes and imaginings up on the walls. Readiness is about the home we build through our shared promises, our covenants we make and honor with one another. I want to invite you to read the outcomes of our first two “envisioning our next home” sessions last year, what I call “Evergreen’s Book of Dreams.” You can read those two documents here and here. So many of you contributed your written or sketched responses to our blue sky questions during our Sunday BrUUnch visioning sessions last January and June. Afterward, I took it upon myself to transcribe every post-it note you wrote or sketched into a bullet point or photograph – a task that informed my ministry with you all like nothing else could. When we first embarked on these sessions together last year, I wasn’t sure what shape they’d take. But what you have contributed via post-it notes put onto paper panels on the walls are positively inspiring facets of how each of us centers love in our life here at Evergreen. It reinforces my belief that the congregation who allows themselves to dream together, stays together. Dreaming and imagining our future isn’t frivolous, friends. Dreaming together is crucial. Our collected dreams make the foundation for how we will continue to transform our individual longings into collaborative small group ministries, all ages faith education, new community partnerships, and more. In short, our congregational life and any home that may house it begin with dreaming together. As I shared on Sunday, our dreams will serve us well if we braid them with reality. Like rivulets joining into one river, our challenge this coming year is to weave dream and reality so they trace and hold the contours of our volunteering capacity, family needs, staffing levels, pledge totals and more. I encourage you to hold in your heart and mind that ours is not the only beloved community learning how to balance dreams with truths. Throughout our UU Association, congregations large and small are also becoming the place where faith is rooted in covenants, liberation, and expansive pluralism just like we are. When we watched this year’s UUA Ingathering video together on Sunday, a few of you shared with me afterward how you saw your own dreams mirrored back at you. The beauty of our covenantal faith is that we belong to a broader community of congregations, each a place that is also becoming. In the church year to come, we’ll continue our Sunday BrUUnch visioning sessions for the place we are becoming and our next home that may house it. We’ll continue widening our welcome via guest preachers, social service mornings intertwined with local nonprofit partners, new adult education courses and small group ministries, religious exploration connections for families of all ages, hosted dinners that transform hospitality into new friends, faith-based social justice that brings our dreams of liberation for all souls to life, and much more. Friends, I invite you to thrive with us as we learn how to balance our spiritual readiness with the truths impacting all souls today, to co-imagine how we can embrace Evergreen’s living experiment in progressive faith through the seasons ahead. We won’t graduate into beloved community, we’ll practice our way into it, again and again. With love and gratitude, Rev. Joe
Volunteers give re value
RE Vision: We are a compassionate, interconnected community of spiritually-rooted carbon-based life forms living our values.
RE Families with Children and Youth
All children and youth need to registered to participate! Thank you!
Fall into Faith- Season of Change
The arrival of Fall (or Autumn) is a time of spiritual renewal, reflection, and community in Unitarian Universalism. Drawing on our diverse sources, we honor the themes of gratitude, letting go, and remembrance found across the globe. Themes of Renewal and Balance Water Communion (Early Fall): This core UU ritual celebrates interconnectedness. Individuals bring water from their summer journeys, pouring them together to symbolize the coming together of the community, stronger because of its many sources. Autumnal Equinox / Mabon (Late September): We celebrate the balance of day and night. The Earth-Centered theme focuses on gratitude for the harvest and the need to let go of what no longer serves us, just as the trees release their leaves. Family Practice: Create a small "Balance Point" with seasonal items and discuss what your family is grateful for and what habits or worries you are ready to release this season. Honoring Ancestors and Memory As the darkness grows, many traditions focus on remembrance, teaching us that memory keeps love alive. Samhain / Halloween (October 31st): We reflect on the ancient roots of Halloween as a time of transition and change. The theme is courage in the face of the dark and accepting the cycle of life and death. Learning About Día de los Muertos (November 1st & 2nd): To respectfully honor this beautiful Mexican tradition, focus on the theme of joyous remembrance. A Practice of Remembrance: Create a simple "Memory Table" in your home with photos and small items (like a favorite food or object) belonging to loved ones who have passed. Share stories about them to keep their memory alive. Gratitude and Hospitality We learn from traditions worldwide that emphasize connection and thankfulness. Learning About Sukkot (October 6th-13th): This Jewish harvest holiday celebrates hospitality and the value of a safe home. A Focus on Shelter: Build a simple, temporary shelter or blanket fort in your home. This practice helps children appreciate the safety of their permanent home and encourages inviting others to share time together. Mid-Autumn Festival (Varies, usually Sept./Oct.): This East Asian festival emphasizes family reunion and is celebrated by gazing at the full moon, a symbol of completeness and shared human connection. Family Practice: Share a round dessert or fruit, like a mooncake or an orange, and spend time outside viewing the moon together, reflecting on a sense of global unity. May your family find deep connection and renewed spirit as you explore the rich meanings of the fall season!
Registration
The Fellowship IS the Curriculum! Our program is best served with our community adults involved. Volunteer today!
Book Discussion Group Last Wednesday of the month 7:15 - 8:45 pm, online via Zoom October 29th - "All the Living and the Dead" - Hayley Campbell, journalist explores society's attitudes towards death, and the impact on those who work with it every day, rom embalmers, former death row executioner, mass fatality investigators, and a bereavement midwife, gravediggers, to crime scene cleaners. 288 pgs, led by Chris. Contact Michelle Valentine for more information.
WISE Women's Group 1st and 3rd Tuesdays We welcome women of all ages to share fellowship, interests, ideas, life challenges and opportunities. We meet twice a month: 1st Tuesdays at noon in person at locations to be decided each month - out to lunch or field trips. 3rd Tuesdays at 7:00 pm on Zoom. For more info contact Sarah Taylor.
Friday, Feb 6th - Sunday, Feb 8th, 2026, Pilgrim Firs Retreat Center in Port Orchard Stay tuned for more details!
Save the Date: EUUF Women's Retreat
evergreen's offerings
Covenant Circles
Great Opportunities Are Coming Your Way! Fueled by the summer sunshine and the memories of summer’s warmth, we come together to begin our new EUUF church year. Now is a great time to join a Covenant Circle or become a Covenant Circle facilitator. If you are not currently in a Covenant Circle / Small Group Ministry, Fall is a great time to join a group. Covenant Circles allow members the opportunity to enhance spiritual growth and partake in meaningful conversations while deepening friendships. Want a stimulating new challenge? Becoming a Covenant Circle facilitator might fit the bill! Fall is a perfect time to give it a try. This is an opportunity to help spread UU joy, warmth and spiritual growth, leading a small group ministry/Covenant Circle. This important role also includes organizing and coordinating monthly Covenant Circle meetings, presenting a topic and leading discussions, as well as being a participating member of the group. Facilitator training and support will be offered in October. Stay tuned for future announcements on the Committee Fair where you can sign up for Covenant Circles. We look forward to welcoming new Covenant Circle/Small Group members and encouraging new leaders with the hope of growing our group numbers. Please contact me for more information on Covenant Circles, and look for news on Covenant Circle Leader training in October. With UU Warmth, Sue Gaskin Covenant Circle Coordinator scsg103@comcast.net, 425-220-4678
Men's Circle 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 7:00 pm We are a group of men who gather to share with each other our authentic joys, challenges and insights, with the goals of personal growth and mutual support. We pledge to create affirmative, compassionate gatherings through heart-felt sharing, deep listening, honest communication, and confidentiality. We meet in various homes. Contact Dan Hall for more information.
Big Questions 1st & 3rd Fridays, potluck dinner at 6:00 pm, discussion at 7:30 pm, in person at the home of Judy & Desmond Smith in Snohomish, and Online Join us to discuss fundamental questions in philosophy. The questions take the Socratic form, What is??? What is justice? What is truth? What is it to be spiritual? All are welcome. Contact Desmond Smith for more information. http://bigquestionscafe.blogspot.com/.
Music at Evergreen
Common Ground Choir Rehearsals - 2X a month, Sundays, 8:30-10 am Worship - The choir sings on the same Sundays as rehearsals. Upcoming Rehearsals and Worship Services Sunday, October 12 Sunday, November 2 Sunday, November 16 Evergreen Band Rehearsals - 1X a month, Sundays, 9-10am Worship - The band plays on the same Sundays as rehearsals. Rehearsals and Worship services TBD Please join us! Contact Diane Figaro, Music Director - music@evergreenuu.org
Vocal and instrumental music is woven into each Sunday service. ALL are welcome, including teens!
A sub committee of the Social Action Committee Our Actions For Justice committee strives to be a conduit to keep you up to date with local actions that you may wish to participate in for speaking out for justice in our community. As always, use your personal discretion for actions appropriate to your individual needs. Look for our bulletin board after the Sunday service for local activities. We also provide opportunities to send a post card. We have all the supplies (including addresses), and will even put on the stamp and mail it for you! Together we can raise our voice to be heard. Jennie Lindberg
Faith Action Network Annual Dinner
The Woodlands is a monthly online gathering designed for trans children, youth, and adults—as well as the parents and caregivers of trans people. Each session will begin with a shared message and grounding ritual, followed by breakout rooms tailored to different communities within our circle, and we come back together for a release. Sessions will be about an hour and a half. Each breakout room—co-facilitated by two chaplains—will offer space for meaningful check-ins where we can honor our grief, celebrate our joy, and support one another. The spirit of each room will reflect the people within it. Saplings — Trans Youth (13+/HS) Sycamores — Trans Adults (18+) Sequoias — Parents/Caregivers (attending solo) Sequoias Jr. — Parents/Caregivers (attending with kids) The Woodlands will gather on the first Sunday of the month: Sunday, October 5th Sunday, November 2nd Sunday, December 7th TIME: 1:00 pm PST Register Online This pilot season will run from September 2025 through May 2026—a time for grace, growth, and connection. All of us on the UUA staff who helped bring The Woodlands to life hope you’ll find meaningful community and support in this shared space.
We are excited to announce that our Annual Dinner will be on Sunday evening, November 16, 2025. Please save the date for a special evening celebrating "A Night of Unbreakable Spirit." Join us for a night of inspiring stories, delicious food, and music as we celebrate what we can achieve through the power of multi-faith advocacy! We will once again be in two locations across the state and live-streaming the event online for those who cannot attend. We hope you can join us at one of two in-person locations: SeaTac Hilton in Seattle Gonzaga University's Hemmingson Center in Spokane More details, including tickets, table hosts, and sponsorship opportunities, will be coming soon.
No Kings Day - Oct. 18th
The Woodlands A Monthly Trans/Nonbinary Monthly Pastoral Care Space
Actions for justice
The Unitarian Universalist Association has signed on as an official partner of the No Kings National Day of Mobilization on Saturday, October 18. Building on the momentum from the first No Kings protests in June, we are mobilizing for another mass day of resistance, resilience, and action. Our commitment to building a multiracial democracy shows up in how we resist the abduction and deportation of our immigrant community members; how we resist voter suppression in the legislature and at the ballot box; how we celebrate our LGBTQ+ kin and communities - and on October 18, shows up in how we collectively cry out No Kings! Join the Everett event hosted by Snohomish County Indivisible or find more events and info here. Socialize with Community Before the Event at Snohomish County Plaza & Amphitheater! Rally Begins at 1PM, Sign Waving Along Broadway from 2-3:30 PM Always peaceful and family friendly! Bring creative signs (we'll have signs available by donation, and a limited number of free signs to share). Wear a costume, bring your music makers, and show up with us for the world to see! We'll have music on the stage and invite you to join us for some inspiring speakers, too. After the rally, we're heading down to sign wave on along the sidewalks of Broadway from Everett Avenue to Pacific Avenue - spread out and have some fun!
Sign up to help with Coffee Hour
Consider lending a helping hand with Coffee Hour! You can help with set-up, clean-up, or bring some snacks and treats to share. You can find the sign-up sheet near the coffee on Sunday and simply add your name to a future date. Have questions about the process? Just ask Alli, the Office Administrator, or ask a Coffee Hour Helper on Sunday.
The new UU Common Read, offering a chance for Unitarian Universalists to engage in discussion, reflection, and action around a shared text, is Social Change Now: A Guide for Reflection and Connection (Skinner House, 2022) by Deepa Iyer. Iyer’s book, available through the inSpirit Bookstore, is a compelling and practical guide to creating social change around issues like racial justice, climate justice, reproductive rights, and more. This year’s selection was officially announced with a video invitation from UUA President Rev. Dr. Sofía Betancourt for congregations to take part in the Common Read experience. “There’s a real natural connection between our UU Shared Values and the work that Deepa Iyer raises in this important book,” said Betancourt. “And we know that in these days we need ways to work effectively together to meet this moment faithfully and well.”
October LGBT History Month 1st: Yom Kippur 6th: Sukkot begins 11th: National Coming Out Day 12th: Clergy Appreciation Day 13th: Indigenous Peoples’ Day & Canadian Thanksgiving & Sukkot ends 20th: Diwali 26th: Intersex Awareness Day 31st: Halloween & Samhain November American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month 1st: All Saints’ Day 2nd: All Souls’ Day & clocks BACK one hour 11th: Veterans Day & Remembrance Day (Canada) 20th: Transgender Day of Remembrance 27th: Thanksgiving (US) 30th: First Sunday of Advent December 1st: World AIDS Day 3rd: International Day of Persons with Disabilities 7th: Second Sunday of Advent 14th: Hanukkah begins & Third Sunday of Advent 21st: Winter Solstice / Yule & Fourth Sunday of Advent 22nd: Hanukkah ends
submission deadline for the Winter newsletter: December 14th date range: December 21st through March 20th Send your submissions to newsletter@evergreenuu.org Or submit using this form
Thursday, October 9th, 6:00 pm Let’s gather in the spirit of community, curiosity, and connection! Join fellow Unitarian Universalists from across the Pacific Western Region (PWR) for a relaxed virtual mixer. Whether you’re active in your congregation, connected through UU justice work, or simply interested in meeting other UUs in the region—this space is for you.
Please check the calendar on the Evergreen website for the most current offerings, activities, events and worship services.
2025-2026 UU Common Read
UUA holidays & days of observance
PWR UU Virtual Mixer