Poetry Submission ......................2 30 Days of Love ..........................3 From the Minister ......................4 News From the Board ................5 Evergreen's Offerings .............6&7 Children & Youth .......................8 UUA, Holidays and Days of Observance .................................9
Winter 2022/23 | Covers December 21st, 2022 through March 20th, 2023
please e-mail newsletteR@evergreenuu.org for a print copy
from Reverend joe - on page 4
Now that we're back to in-person hybrid services, we could use your help! If you're planning on attending a Sunday worship service in person, consider lending a helping hand setting up for Coffee Hour, bringing some snacks, or serving as a Greeter for an occasional Sunday. If you're available to help out with Coffee Hour, contact Chris Martinez or Anna Conus. If you want to help out as a Greeter on Sunday, contact Alonna Chatburn.
Newsletter
Lend a helping hand in the new year
Happy holidays to you and yours, Beloveds, I write this to you on the first eve of Hanukkah with snow blowing and falling all around our Salish Sea. On this reverent snowy eve, I’m reminded of those of us who have spent portions of…. (Continue reading on page 4.)
We're gearing up to offer new membership classes soon. If you're curious about the history of Evergreen and Unitarian Universalism, or looking to take that next step on the path to membership at Evergreen, please reach out to our membership chair, Alonna Chatburn at membership@evergreenuu.org
Interested in becoming a member?
Evergreen
Table of contents
Winter 2022/23
Side with love: 30 days of love Spiritual nourishment for the long haul
Ever Searching For My Vernal Equinox by Nancy B. Miller 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 single living cell to the super nova's. All evolution is 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 natures'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 permanently freeze when this balance is achieved, But continue on untill it reaches warmth and light again and again. So, thus in this way my Teacher makes it oh so crystal clear, That having achieved a balance, I may hold it only briefly, Then I must move on until I find a point of balance on my journey, once again.
Sunday Worship Service 10:30 am Online & In-Person Join Zoom Meeting Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship 1607 4th St., Marysville, WA 98270 www.evergreenuu.org 360-659-6621 Office Hours Please check with the Office Admin via email for in-person office hours MINISTER Rev. Joe Rettenmaier minister@evergreenuu.org BOARD PRESIDENT Desmond Smith boardpresident@evergreenuu.org BOARD OF TRUSTEES board@evergreenuu.org OFFICE ADMIN Alli Curtis administrator@evergreenuu.org RELIGIOUS EDUCATOR JW Wenzel redirector@evergreenuu.org NEWSLETTER newsletter@evergreenuu.org
JANUARY 16 - FEBRUARY 14, 2023 Side With Love is thrilled to announce 30 Days of Love 2023! Our annual month of spiritual nourishment, political grounding, and shared practices of faith and justice, 30 Days of Love will go from Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 16) through Valentine’s Day (February 14). This year’s 30 Days of Love is a gift to our whole community: a love letter, a warm hug, a spiritual balm for all of the individuals, families, religious professionals, partners and communities that embody our values and work for justice and liberation year round. Each week will feature a spiritual theme overlapping with one of Side With Love’s intersectional justice priorities, and we'll share an array of offerings to help nourish your spirit and give gratitude and affirmation. WEEK 1 (January 16-22): Interdependence :: Democracy & Electoral Justice WEEK 2 (January 23-29): Embodiment :: LGBTQIA+, Gender & Reproductive Justice WEEK 3 (January 30 - February 5): Resilience :: Climate Justice WEEK 4 (February 6-12): Healing :: Decriminalization BONUS DAYS (February 13-14): Blessings :: Liberatory Intersections Each week, you can expect to receive several different kinds of offerings, each from a different voice within Unitarian Universalism. Each week’s resources will be published by 12pm ET every Monday: A weekly Side With Love message, grounded in personal story and offered on our blog and via email and socials, reflecting on the week’s spiritual and justice issue themes A Time for All Ages grounded in the week’s theme, presented in video and written form, available for free use in your congregation this week or any week it works for you A video of Body Practice, suitable for all ages and with attention paid to accessibility for people of varying abilities A thematic Prayer, available for use in both video and text formats A thematic Blessing, available for use in both video and text formats A Grounding Practice to offer at the beginning of gatherings or meetings from our Side WIth Love Fun & Spiritual Nourishment Squad, available for use in video and facilitator guide formats We offer these resources knowing various people will use them in a range of ways. Individuals may take a quick break during their lunch hour to watch a video blessing or read the week’s prayer; religious educators might use the Time for All Ages in worship, or encourage teachers to start their classes with the Body Practice; families might start a family meal reading one of the written reflections and then engaging in conversation; Board members and committee chairs might use the Grounding Practice to kick of that week’s meeting agenda. However you use these resources, we are proud to bring you the love and wisdom of some of our most compelling UU voices, and are thankful for this annual opportunity to collectively nourish our spirits and love each other up for the long haul.
Members of the Board:
Contact the Board: via Slack on the #board-buzz channel via email at board@evergreenuu.org
Hello Evergreeners! As the halfway point of our church year nears, I wanted to take stock in all the ways our Fellowship is changing as it moves ahead. Our plans and dreams are slowly morphing into actions and a new reality, step by step. Many of us have been working visibly, and behind the scenes, to make this all happen. First, I want to remind everyone that we are trying to keep people informed about our activities using many channels for communication. The #board-buzz channel on Slack is your best, most up to date way to keep track of what the Board of Trustees is doing as we pursue the business of the Fellowship. I post there before each Board meeting with an agenda attached, and after the meeting I post a summary of our actions. The #general channel is where news of the Fellowship is posted, including significant happenings with people, news of activities, announcements, and more. If Slack is not your thing, follow us on Facebook as the Evergreen UU Community group. This is a very active forum with lots of color pictures of happenings and a lively discussion thread. Your EUUF friends are posting pictures and commenting on them, the RE group is active in keeping us all informed about the many excellent programs and activities they are involved with, and much more. Newsletters and Weekly Updates come as emails, for those who prefer to see their information come in an in-box. The newsletters, like this one, require clicking on an icon to open them for reading, but that extra finger wiggle is well worth it. They are well arranged for easy reading, are colorful and fun in format and content. Attending a service in person is now a possibility, and people are starting to attend. Maybe not surprisingly we are getting new visitors already, and they are coming every week, and are bringing a friend! So exciting! But this is also a way to connect with Board members and the minister face to face (ok, mask to mask) and get your updates that way. In terms of communication, then, we are trying to “get the word out” in many ways, to be sure we get to as many Evergreeners as we can. I wanted to thank you for participating in the recent Phase 2 Survey. You will find a report of the results of the survey in the #board-buzz channel, followed by my written interpretation of the survey results (a sort of open report of the survey findings). I welcome any comments you might have in either document, and suggestions for new questions that might be used in a follow-up or clarification survey. In regards to the search for a new space to occupy when our building sells (or possibly before it sells), there has been a lot of work put in by Rev. Joe, staff, the Board, and others, visiting potential sites and talking with the leadership of the churches about how things might work between them and EUUF. No decisions have been made yet, but it is a good sign that there are options available to us, although none have been deemed “perfect” yet. Parking is an issue almost everywhere we are looking, and the visitors we have had looking at our property comment that they need more parking stalls that are in our small 40 car lot. It seems to be a universal problem. I hope this message finds you well, and spiritually prepared for the holiday season. Desmond Smith Board of Trustees, President Evergreen Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Happy holidays to you and yours, Beloveds, I write this to you on the first eve of Hanukkah with snow blowing and falling all around our Salish Sea. On this reverent snowy eve, I’m reminded of those of us who have spent portions of our faith journeys in Judaism, where midwinter’s Hanukkah honors the Maccabees’ faith and miracle in maintaining the sacred light in their temple after invasion by a foreign force. Friends! I find such inspiration in Hanukkah this year as our congregation, too, has been able to return to our sacred church to keep our light of truth, trust, and peace burning brightly after the world’s invasion by a different force – a viral pandemic. All through this month of December and thanks to so many, Evergreen’s longstanding home is once again glowing with warmth, light, and fresh air! During these longest nights in our hemisphere, with our precious planet rounding its furthest turn through the darkness of space back toward our life-giving sun, I pray you and yours are feeling blessed that Evergreen’s light remains resilient. Many of you have been able to come to the church on Sundays to lend your inner light to our gatherings. Seeing one another in person again, sharing embraces and laughter, bedecks our Sunday mornings with spirited hope for the new year to come. We have so many blessings to be grateful for this season: Grateful that we do have a spiritual home to return to when so many do not; the blessings of friends here who have covenanted to support your faith journey; grateful to be one beloved community among many who support others not merely with words, but with deeds. Deeds like donating household items to Ukrainian refugees and others who need our help in their brave journeys for safety and truth. Any item from your home, any supply from your go-to store will be gratefully received in our vestibule collection bins and put to vital daily use by all ages. Perhaps this Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice you’ll share gifts for the county’s refugees as you and yours honor Hanukkah’s miracle of sacred light, or the birth of a prophet of peace, or the restful dormancy of blessed starry nights. As we gather in a few days to celebrate Christmas Eve and the births of prophets of peace, I hope you and yours can join us. We’ll fill our spiritual home with live piano music, holiday singing, candlelight, and conviviality to bring to life how our faith never dims or dies no matter how long the nights of our journeys last. Our welcoming love and trust is here for you whenever you need it on your faith journey. So, beloveds, as you read this, may it comfort you to know each day is now growing a bit brighter. And a new year is only days away. I know many of us are anticipating our move to a different physical home. Your lay leaders, staff, and volunteers have been hard at work fleshing out the phases of this work -- getting the building in a sellable state, finding a temporary rental space, then considering what our next longer term home might be. As you can imagine, this information gathering is both enthralling and challenging as all of us share our hopes for a physical home that can positively influence our congregational life. In the meantime, as we wait for a buyer to come to us in the new year, my conversations with many of you have revealed joyous expressions of relief about taking a break from maintaining a large property; enthusiasm for potentially expanding Evergreen’s opportunities to share some social justice and all ages education and interdependent agape; hope for improved physical and digital accessibility for all, and more. How about a hearty New Year’s toast to that! But that is all in the new year to come. In this present deep winter moment, Beloveds, I find myself inspired by you. My prayers are yet again grateful -- as I hope yours may be, too -- for Evergreen’s mutual, faithful service and courage. I pray you and yours enjoy rest, comfort, reassurance, and gifts of love during your holidays. With agape and peace, Warmly, Rev. Joe
NEWS FROM THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
from Reverend Joe
Desmond Smith, President Chris Martinez-McCullough, Vice President Jennie Lindberg, Secretary Ray Mutchler, Treasurer Ann Kelleher, Past President Tom Gaskin, Member-at-large Sandie Biggerstaff, Member-at-large Rev. Joe Rettenmaier, Ex-Officio Member
We hope you can join us at the beautiful and peaceful Pilgrim Firs for our 2023 retreat February 10-12 2023. Chris Martinez will be providing the program, Passages. Chris says: Passages are places between, they are change, nowhere and everywhere; a magical place where we are not who we were and not yet who we will be. Religion and ritual support us through these times with community, art, music, and poetry. This year’s retreat will be an opportunity to honor your personal change-be it a death in your family, coming out of Covid, or some other significant growth experience that you would like to explore, honor, get support for. We will also honor the changes our EUUF community is passing through. There will be opportunities to learn, share, and create in meaningful ways. Contact: Jennie Lindberg or Marijo Duprey More details (including cost) will be unfolding.
Ever progressive and forward moving accelerando and crescendo, your Common Ground choir is striving to improve the quality of its musical offerings for EUUF’s worship services. Most recently, while we are still recording hymns and anthems, we are now doing live recordings on Soundtrap in our in-person rehearsals at the church. Employing laptop, mic, singers, and piano accompaniment, we record altogether in one large track. It’s an interesting configuration of laptop/mic, singers facing the laptop/mic, piano behind so it doesn’t overwhelm the singing, and Kathleen sitting at the piano, playing and singing. We have been quite pleased with the results, and find much more satisfaction in the singing-together experience than just laying down individual tracks. We plan to continue using Soundtrap for practice and/or recording as needed. If anyone is interested in joining us, please contact Kathleen. We would be delighted to welcome you.
Men's Circle - 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, from 7-9 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. Cedar Covenant Circle - 3rd Tuesdays, 6 pm This Covenant Circle has room for new members, so anyone who would like to give us a try will be welcome. Gaile Simmons was a member of the Cedar Covenant Circle. Her insights and deep sharing will be missed by all of us. If you have any questions please contact Sandie B. skbigg@live.com. WISE - 1st & 3rd Wednesdays, Noon - 1:30 pm The W.I.S.E. group is open to women of all ages. We meet twice a month on the first and third Wednesdays at noon. The first meeting each month will be in person at someone's house, out to lunch or to a destination of interest. The third Wednesday will continue to be on Zoom. Contact: Sarah Taylor. Big Questions - 1st & 3rd Fridays in January, 2nd & 4th Fridays in Feb. & March, from 7-9 pm Join here 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. Book Discussion Group - Last Wednesday of the month 7:15 - 8:45 pm January 25th - "House of Broken Angels" by L. A. Urrea, 336 pages. The definitive Mexican-American immigrant story, a sprawling and deeply felt portrait of a Mexican-American family occasioned by the impending loss of its patriarch, from one of the country's most beloved authors. February 22nd - The Atlantic magazine June 2014 article entitled "Request for Reparations" by Ta-Nehisi Coates. Contact Michelle Valentine for more information.
Adult Programs Is there a program you'd like to offer? Contact Desmond at adultprograms@evergreenuu.org. Find more details on our website! www.evergreenuu.org/adult-programs
2023 EUUF Women's Retreat
evergreen's offerings
Do you like to write, act, draw, paint, cook, make things in various materials ? We are each creative in our own way. This book is not just for those who are artists, but rather, the art of creative living. The couse based on the book is a 12 week program and you will need to aquire the book. There is a new edition that also incudes her other book “ Walking In This World” as well as a workbook for the Artist’s Way course. The workbook is useful but optional. This will be a zoom offering led by Sarah Taylor on Mondays starting January 16 at 7:00 P.M.
The Artist's Way - Creativity As A Spiritual Practice
Noteworthy News from Common Ground
The Year by Ella Wheeler Wilcox What can be said in New Year rhymes, That's not been said a thousand times? The new years come, the old years go, We know we dream, we dream we know. We rise up laughing with the light, We lie down weeping with the night. We hug the world until it stings, We curse it then and sigh for wings. We live, we love, we woo, we wed, We wreathe our brides, we sheet our dead. We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear, And that's the burden of the year.
NO CLASS December 25 January 1 Youth Gathering January 6 January 20 RE Clean Out January 15 and 26
Article II of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) Bylaws, Principles and Purposes, is the foundation for all of the work of our UUA and its member congregations and covenanted communities. It is the covenant to which all of our congregations and covenanted communities pledge themselves when they become members of our UUA. In the fall of 2022, the Article II Study held feedback sessions and surveys on different drafts of Article II, each draft informed by previous feedback sessions and surveys. At the end of this feedback cycle, the Article II Study Commission will submit its recommendation, for a new Article II, to the Board of Trustees, in January 2023. After the Board of Trustees receives the recommendation, Article II Forums will be held at the regional level to get people talking about the proposal. There will be a mini-assembly in May 2023, for congregational delegates to offer amendments to the proposal. Amendments to the proposal, approved by the mini-assembly, may be added to the proposal by the Board of Trustees or placed on the General Assembly agenda for consideration. The final version of Article II, as amended by the by Board of Trustees and/or the 2023 General Assembly, must receive a simple majority vote to move forward for a final vote at the 2024 General Assembly. It will take a 3/4th majority vote at the 2024 General Assembly, to be adopted as the new Article II of the UUA bylaws. If either vote fails, a similar proposal can not be considered for two years. Learn more about the Study Commission here.
December 2022: 21st: Winter Solstice/Yule 24th: Christmas Eve 25th: Christmas 26th: Hannukah ends, Kwanzaa begins, Boxing Day January 2023: 6th: Epiphany 16th: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 22nd: Lunar New Year (Rabbit) 27th: Holocaust Memorial Day (Int'l) February 2023: Black History Month 1st: Imbolc 7th: National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day 14th: Valentine's Day 21st: Mardi Gras 22nd: Ash Wednesday (Lent begins) March 2023: Women's History Month 1st: Disability Day of Mourning 6th (sunset): Purim 12th: clocks FORWARD one hour 20th: Spring Equinox/Ostara 21st (evening): Nowruz (Persian New Year) 22nd (sunset): Ramadan begins (ends 4/21) 26th: UUSC Justice Sunday 31st: International Transgender Day of Visibility
Return of the lighT! And In Person RE!
We will be returning to in-person RE at Evergreen on January 8th! Kids will start with their families in the Sanctuary and will be sung out after the Time For All Ages and return at the end. Pre-K thru High School At this time, nursery will not be available. Adults with babies and toddlers are welcome to join us in class. Volunteers are needed, if you are interested, please contact JW.
UUA news, holidays & days of observance
Article II Study commission
As we move through the phases of selling the Evergreen building, it is time to start going through the items in our storage and classrooms to sort what needs to be kept, sold, gifted, or tossed. Many hands make light work, so please join us if you are available! January 15, 1pm - will mainly include clearing upstairs classrooms to consolidate into nursery space. January 26, 1pm - sort and toss
Coming up:
RE Families with Children and Youth
General Assembly is the annual gathering of Unitarian Universalists, where we conduct business of the Association, explore the theological underpinnings of our faith, and lean fully into our mission and principles. Join us June 21 - 25, 2023 online or in-person in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most GA events will take place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA. General Assembly 2023 will be a multiplatform event, with registration options for in-person and/or virtual participation. In-person registration includes access to events scheduled to take place in Pittsburgh, as well as everything available to virtual registrants. Full virtual registration includes access to the GA app, as well as all on-demand programming, live webinars, and live-streamed events. Registration is open. Register early to secure the lowest rates. Volunteer opportunities and financial support are available.
RE Clean-Out
UUA General Assembly
Submit Something For the Weekly Update, Newsletter or Sunday Announcements! Check out the form for submissions for the Weekly Update, Newsletter, Sunday Announcements and more! You can choose what the title will be, in which publications you'd like the announcement to run, how long it will be publicized, and what images will be included (if any.)
Pastoral Associates are available by phone or e-mail, or zoom. Contact them at pastoralassociates@evergreenuu.org
EUUF Calendar
submission deadline for the Spring newsletter: March 12th date range: March 21st through June 20th Send your submissions to newsletter@evergreenuu.org Or submit using this form Send your submissions to newsletter@evergreenuu.org.
Thank you to all those that helped decorate Evergreen for the holidays! Check out some photos from the festive Greening of Evergreen we had after the service on December 4th...
Please check the calendar on the Evergreen website for the most current offerings, activities, events and worship services. New to Evergreen? Please fill out the Guest Card at evergreenuu.org/sunday.
For the 22-23 church year, we're following the Soul Matters Worship Themes. Through this Winter season, we're exploring Finding Our Center, Love, and Vulnerability, which are represented in some of the images in this edition of the newsletter. For the upcoming Spring edition, the themes are Resistance, Creativity, and Delight. If you're an artist at Evergreen, please consider submitting some visual art or poetry that follow along with those themes for the spring newsletter. Your submissions add a great deal of depth to the newsletter that no stock photo can replace.