advocacy called forth: Green Team

Join us for services Worship Every Sunday- 10:30 AM All Welcome! Sunday July 13:   Rev. Rich Gamble preaching (Lauren off) our church season and colors switch to Green- for summer "ordinary time" Matthew 13: 1-9, 18-23 Realm of God Reader:  Betty S. Usher:  Sandra S. Greeter:  come a few minutes early to help, if you are free Coffee snack:  per sign up After coffee hour:  meeting of Green Team, in sanctuary (see below)- this week is the report back on ideas from the "Advocacy" work group.  And Jim will briefly describe how we are wrapping up the Green Team Plan.  All welcome! Professional Nursery Care (0-2 year olds) downstairs with Anita, 10:00 AM- 12 PM. PreSchool/Kinder (3-5 year olds) during sermon time- activities & play with Anita in PreSchool classroom. Children's activity pages & crayons on the welcome table every week as you come in to worship (based on the scripture)!  (Two types: younger children/ older children.) *Children with parent/caregiver are always welcome to wander in the sanctuary & welcome area during any part of worship, or to rove to classrooms downstairs / upstairs, or enjoy the playground out back!

Summary of Green Team Meeting July 6, 2014   Personal Sustainabiliity Workgroup: Contributors:  Gloria, Christine, Betty, Sandy, Ruth  Projects Recommended for This Year: 1. Survey members and generate a list of self-greening tips to keep these issues in our minds ... e.g. free cycling, donating magazines to schools, asking Access drivers to turn off their engines while waiting, encouragement to bicycle with education from our inveterate bikers, Rich Voget and the Kikers, gathering neighborhood fruit for food banks through the organization City Fruit or similar …   2. Share recipes, particularly for coffee hour mini-meals ... healthy, local, low on food chain. 3. Schedule a light bulb teach-in during coffee hour ... educate about CFLs and LEDs, exchange incandescents for CFLs.  4. Consider developing an smartphone app to assist with recycling.  Christine has already completed some designs for such an app.   Church Sustainability Workgroup: Contributors:  Lisa, Paisley, Elvina, John, Jim Projects Recommended for This Year: 1. Improve recycling at coffee hour (paper, plastic, food waste). 2. Explore inside storm windows for the preschool. Based on the energy audit of 2011-2012, this would likely have the most effect on lowering our church carbon footprint.  Cost is likely in the range of $1,000 to $1,500.   3. Explore landscaping options for the church grounds.  The primary goal is long-term carbon capture with woody trees and shrubs.  This would serve as an education for members and for neighbors.  Other secondary goals are:  a possible community garden (e.g. vegetable garden, youth garden...), aesthetics and low-maintenance.

link to our new greening website is here at bottom of the Keystone site Green Team Sunday July 13 after coffee hour 3rd work group reports back to the large group & overview steps Green Team Plan Take a look through the environmental justice resources at our new site.  This Sunday we will meet together in the sanctuary. Three Work Groups have been developing and beginning to prioritize ideas in these areas: personal sustainability church sustainability advocacy Take a look to see if one of these calls to you to step in! Jim Little   littlejamesw@mac.com Rich Voget   rvoget@w-link.net Lauren Cannon    lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org

Green inspirations See this next installment from our UCC justice intern, Karin Frank.  Karin has been serving this year at Earth Ministry in Seattle.  She has been adding brainstorming to our Green Team process, offering glimpses of what other faith communities have accomplished. St. Mary’s is a vibrant and diverse Catholic parish located in Seattle’s Central District. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of St. Mary’s is their chapel, which was built entirely from recycled materials, such as second-hand store picture frames and leftover wooden panels. To address the harmful effects of storm runoff and to help preserve the church’s foundation, St. Mary’s installed a rain garden. The garden filters rainwater that runs off the church roof, preventing pollutants from reaching Puget Sound. The garden is entirely made up of native plants that have evolved to handle the local climate and so have limited need for watering, as well as being beneficial to local wildlife. For the past several years, St. Mary’s youth group has organized a zero-waste dinner, the object being to recycle or compost all waste from the meal. karin@earthministry.org

Summer Sunday School every week- Children's Christian Education Bring the kids to church this summer!  Spirit does not pause at Keystone for summer! Anita Featherston offers a learning time each week in the downstairs classroom for our 3-5 year olds, during the sermon & prayers. Reading the Bible story of the morning is the basis (with the weekly activity pages that follow the text in the worship service.)  The time also includes a craft or dramatic play. When do my children head to Sunday School? Families begin in worship together.  After the scripture is read at the pulpit, the children are invited to head downstairs for about 30 minutes: 10:45- Children return about 11:15 to the sanctuary before Communion (you are welcome to go assist their return where needed.) Thanks to all for helping visitors learn: Sunday School for 3-5's is every week during the middle of worship service & Professional Nursery care- open every Sunday 10 AM - Noon!

Happy 11th Anniversary to our "Friday Night at the Meaningful Movies" at Keystone UCC! Every Friday =  a film + discussion with guest speakers + neighbors 7:00 - 9:30 PM   7pm, Battson Hall (downstairs), Keystone UCC see upcoming films:  www.meaningfulmovies.org

Friday, July 11, 2014, 7:00 to 9:30 PM (…Please come at 6:30 and visit with your neighbors)  Film: "DEAR GOVERNOR CUOMO" New Yorkers Against Fracking in One Voice (75 min, Jon Bowermaster, 2012) On a rainy night in May of 2012 a coalition of musicians, scientists and activists gathered in Albany on the governor’s front doorstep, calling for a ban on hydraulic-fracturing. With the news that Governor Andrew Cuomo might lift the moratorium on fracking in New York any day, the event was assembled in less than a month. Two rehearsals in 24 hours and it was showtime! The goal of the varied participants, many of whom had never met before this night, was to explain in clear terms the environmental, economic and health risks of fracking and to motivate people to rise up against the practice using a unique blend of music and message. The cord that bound them all was that they were first and foremost New Yorkers: New Yorkers Against Fracking. The film that resulted from the night is a unique blend of “The Last Waltz” and “An Inconvenient Truth”. Download the Flyer HERE.  Trailer: http://www.dear-governor-cuomo.com/about/ PLUS: The Short Film: "THE SKY IS PINK" (19 min, Josh Fox, 2012) An emergency short film from Josh Fox, the Oscar-nominated director of the fim, GASLAND  addressing the urgent crisis of drilling and fracking in New York state. (Event is FREE and open to the public! ...but Donations are kindly accepted).

Mark the Date! Work Party to ready the apartment for next year's UCC justice interns August 23 10 AM - 2 PM http://justiceleadership.org/

New Photo Directory Extra thanks to Barb!  Barb has been working with our team to put finishing touches on our new photo directory- let Barb know if you have any contact info changes. gepreston@msn.com

Invitation from one of our many kindred groups that has enjoyed use of the Keystone UCC space:   Exploring the Buddhist Path with Venerable Dr. Pannavati August 8 & 9, 2014 “It is not enough to sit on our zafus. These times call for compassionate action to be an integral part of our practice.”   -  Venerable Pannavati. The weekend with Venerable Dr. Pannavati will explore the fundamentals of the Buddhist path, starting Friday evening and continuing through Saturday. To Study Buddhism is to Study Oneself  Friday, August 8, 7 pm to 9 pm       We have within us, qualities which empower us to recognize and accept personal responsibility for our thoughts and behaviors; to exercise choices based on internal strengths, rather than perceived weaknesses; and to create happy, productive lives. Training and practice is offered as an antidote for learned helplessness!    Stepping into Freedom   Saturday, August 9,  9 am - 12 Noon Because we have different temperaments, the Buddha devised different modes of training, reflection and areas of emphasis for his disciples. We’re not all working on the same things at the same times. A good starting point is to know our temperament, its strengths and its weaknesses. From there, we will begin to give attention to what should be cultivated and abandon what should not. In this way, effort is beneficial, on-point and we realize the joy that comes with results. This will be an experiential retreat working with the 5 training for purifying the mind. None of these techniques rely on anyone or anything outside of ourselves for development and mastery. Purifying the Mind  Saturday, August 9, 2 pm - 4 pm The 8 winds of conditioned life are: praise and blame, loss and gain, pleasure and pain, fame and shame. We will inevitably encounter all of these conditions. Whether they cause us to lose our inner peace or stability is determined not by the events, but our understanding of conditionality and mind training.   This retreat will give instructions and practice on how to become steady and "radiant." When thoughts are stilled, we move beyond our limited conception of reality. Register now! "Like Us" on Facebook

From our colleagues with: NO NEW YOUTH JAIL http://tinyurl.com/nonewyouthjail Why is King County spending $210 million in taxpayer money to build a bigger jail to imprison children – when years of studies show that community – based restorative justice programs have much higher success rates? The Proposed King County Children and Family Justice Building in South Seattle will encourage jailing rather than long term–solutions.  More than 200 protestors who will gather to tell our elected officials to start prioritizing education over incarceration for our youth. Join The Movement! Call James Williams at (253)883-9548 for more information.

Please share widely & help spread the word- we seek one more young adult for next year!  We have 4 placed, now 5th is in final confirmation- and this would be our 6th placement for next year! Seattle Justice Leadership Program/United Church of Christ Seeks Young Adult Intern for Justice Organizing Position! Position available for young adult (age 21-35) to work with UNITE HERE in Seattle, September 2, 2014 - August 2, 2015. Please share! UNITE HERE is a progressive labor union, fighting for dignity, living wages and affordable health care for low wage hospitality workers. UNITE HERE boasts a diverse membership of  largely Latino and Asian immigrants and African Americans, with a majority being women.  Justice Leadership Program Intern will work 32 hours/week with Unite Here Local 8 leaders, members, community organizations and elected leaders to move campaigns forward. S/he will also participate with other young adults in faith-based service and leadership development:  Serve with a United Church of Christ congregation (5 hours/week) Live in a simple intentional community in Seattle’s lively Capitol Hill neighborhood  Grow through mentoring, vocational exploration, and reflection on faith and social justice in the context of progressive Christianity. Interns do not need to be members of the UCC or other religious community, but must be willing to participate in spiritual reflection and the life and worship of a faith community.  Interns receive a monthly living stipend of $445, health insurance, and housing. Interested? Please contact Elizabeth Dickinson: jlp.elizabeth@gmail.com or206.320.0432 Visit our website: justiceleadership.org The Justice Leadership Program is part of the United Church of Christ (UCC) Young Adult Service Communities, and is supported by both the UCC nationally and the Pacific Northwest Conference.

Pastoral care concerns & reaching pastors: Rich and Lauren at the church office:  206-632-6021 (which is also checked remotely) rich.gamble@keystoneseattle.org lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org

Lauren & family on vacation July 20- August 3

Click here for: Justice Leadership Program- UCC

Click here and like Keystone United Church of Christ on Facebook!