East Shore Unitarian Sermons (Bellevue, WA)

Come celebrate the profound impact of love as a binding force that transcends boundaries and divisions! A new statement of shared UU values placing love at the center was adopted at the largest annual gathering of UUs worldwide, known as General Assembly, this past June. The new stated values of the faith are: Justice, Equity, Transformation, Pluralism, Interdependence, Generosity, centered around Love. Hear more about the evolutionary new values and other conversations that took place on Gender-Expansive Rights and the Middle East from those who attended.

Few things are as connecting and freeing as singing together. Join Director of Music Eric Lane Barnes for a sing-along service on July 14! We will sing hymns from our hymnals as well as several UU-friendly songs projected on the screen. If you would like to have a non-hymnal song considered for inclusion please contact Eric before July 7 at music@esuc.org.

Caroline Haessly will lead the congregation in laughter exercises and present ways to bring more joy, love and gratitude into your life. Laughter is a universal language and need not be solely based on humor. Scientific research has shown that laughter has physiological and emotional benefits. It also eases stress and builds rapport. Like mindfulness meditation, laughter practice is a way of being in the moment.

Just like flower communion but with books! Bring a book, take a book. We’re inviting a couple of people to participate in the service by reading a passage from their favorite book.

Join us this Sunday, June 9th, for East Shore’s annual UU Children and Youth Bridging worship. It is an amazing ritual and worship for everyone in your family to join in on. It’s also a special Sunday to thank the adults leaders who guide and mentor children and youth each and every Sunday. We’ll be featuring voices from our community and counting the blessings and gratitude to one another among us. All are welcome!

Happy Pride! Welcome to this joyful celebration! Bring your whole LGBTQIA+ selves and if you are an ally/co-conspirator, bring your joy to celebrate our fabulous Queer community. Because Joy and activism are part of our resistance against injustice and anti-trans legislation. We will also share our offering plate with Lambert House.

East Shore is richly blessed with a diversely musical community. This service celebrates many of our musical members and guests, from the East Shore Mighty Choir to the East Shore All Stars (featuring John Chmaj, Noel Barnes, Tom Ball, George Gatins and more) to violists Barb Clagett and Rafael Howell. Several special musical guests will appear this service - we want to keep them a surprise! Come celebrate life with song and exaltation!

Please join us in welcoming Rev. Karen Van Fossan. UU Minister and author of “The Fire at the Center: Solidarity, Whiteness, and Becoming a Water Protector” Rev. Van Fossan takes readers behind the scenes of the Dakota Access Pipeline conflict, to penitentiaries where prisoners of war have carried the movement onward, to the jail cell where she was held for protesting Line 3, to a reimagining of decolonized family constellations, and to moments of collective hope and strength.

During the month of May, East Shore will celebrate our partnership with the Khasi people, who live in the rain-blessed hills of Meghalaya, India. On May 5th we will dedicate our worship service to the bond that East Shore has with these Unitarian friends.

What would it look like if we opened the doors to East Shore with love? How can that change the way people feel welcomed and help us all move in our journey of becoming a beloved community. We will also be welcoming new members into our community!

Join our Climate Action Ministry Team in collaboration with our Religious Education participants in celebrating Mother Earth with interactive art making, joyful music, and inspirational messages.

How do we adapt to the changing world? How do we collectively transform and grow spiritually and ethically? Transformation is fundamental to our Unitarian and Universalist heritages, never complete and never perfect. At the heart of our Unitarian Universalist movement is Transformation: A value that challenges us to both personal and collective change.

Images hold power. They shape and inform how we perceive the world. They also influence how we treat people around equity, accessibility and inclusion. Join us as we learn to break down societal barriers in order to break through, break open and break free into a more expansive, liberated world for people of all abilities.

Join us in celebrating Easter, Ostara, and the amazing Trans siblings in our lives! Easter and Ostara celebrate new life, the Resurrection, and Spring. TDOV celebrates the joy and resilience of trans and non-binary people everywhere by elevating voices and experiences from these communities.

Join Rev. Maria Cristina and members of the Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans (CUUPS) as we explore the rituals of making home altars as a healing spiritual practice.

Join us in celebrating International Women's Day by imagining and helping to create a world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. Together we can celebrate women's achievements, raise awareness about discrimination, and take action to drive gender parity. Also during the service, join us for a very special Blessing of the Children ceremony followed by an ice cream social!

Social Justice as a Spiritual Practice. We often make a distinction between social justice actions and spiritual practices. Can social justice activism be sacred? Are we making artificial distinctions that separate us from the spiritual nature of social justice activism? Join us as we explore mindfulness-enriched approaches to antiracism and social justice in an environment that promotes self-reflection, deep listening and community engagement.

This month our theme is Love, and we UUs believe in expressing love through service. Our partner for Share the Plate on February 25th is PorchLight, formerly Congregations for the Homeless (CFH). East Shore has partnered with them for many years through hosting their Rotating Shelter each October.

Unitarian Universalism centers love in the shape of social justice. We nourish community, value relationships, care for the suffering, and practice love by breaking through labels and divisions. What are the challenges and lessons of being a welcoming congregation? How do we find our way back when we miss the mark? How do we widen the circle of care and concern? “He drew a circle that shut me out- Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle and took him In!” ― Edwin Markham

There is so much causing us to stress these days. Sometimes one of the greatest gifts we can give each other is the gift of laughter and fun. Join us in sharing the wonderful gifts of laughter, love, and togetherness. It’s not always appropriate to get silly, but when we can, it’s a wonderful thing!