Friday, December 4, 2015

come for these Advent happenings

Join us for services
Worship Every Sunday – 10:30am
All Are Welcome!


Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015

Rev. Rich Gamble, preaching
Rev. Lauren Cannon
Theme: Prophets
Second Sunday of Advent
Moment of Ministry: Amber
Advent Candle of Peace:  Jo, Eliza, Levi, Blake, Archer
Scripture: Luke 3:1-6
Greeter: OPEN
Reader:  Kaaren
Usher: Alyssa 

Coffee Hour Host: Margaret
Sunday School: Anita

 
LAST SUNDAY: Thanks to all who joined us as we celebrated Nick and Hannah's pregnancy.
The gifts, food and well-wishes were gratefully received. And FYI, their future-Keystone Member is due in April.

RAIN GARDEN: Next time you come by church, check out the installation!  Keystone UCC rain garden was constructed December 1-3 by Fasoldt Gardens.
 
See pictures of this and more at https://keystoneucc.shutterfly.com/pictures/

PRAYERS REQUEST:
Kaaren – for continued improving health, for upcoming possible move, with new caregiver Nadia.
Wall family – on the passing of Sheila Gustafson on 12-3-15.
Denton family – gathering in Cleveland to celebrate Aunt Paula, who died 11-26-15.

Families:  Sunday Worship:  Pick up Children's Activity pages & crayons on the welcome table every week as you come in to worship (based on the scripture of the day.)  There are two types: younger children & older children.  Children of any age are always part of worship & welcome!

 Childcare with Anita, open every Sunday 10:00am- 12pm
• Sunday School (multi-age) downstairs, during sermon & prayers time: approximately 10:45-11:15am.  (Help younger children to class after the scripture is read; and then pick them up to return for start of communion)

NOTE: Children with parent/caregiver are always welcome to move between the Sanctuary & Narthex (welcome area) during any part of worship, or to rove to classrooms downstairs/upstairs, or enjoy the playground out back!  

Upcoming Keystone Events :


Sundays in Nov. & Dec.   – Love and Grief in the Face of Ecological Decline:
(15, 22 & 12/6)                     Siding with Life and Nurturing the Strength to Act
                                             @ University Congregational, UCC
                                              4515 16th Ave. NE
                                             7:30-8:30pm

Friday, Dec. 4                   – Meaningful Movies in Wallingford
                                            "This Changes Everything"

                                           @ Keystone UCC (Battson Hall)
                                            5019 Keystone Pl. N, in Wallingford
                                             Movie begins at 7:00pm

Saturday, Dec. 5               – Sacred Heart Shelter
                                            Cooking & serving dinner
                                           * Drop off items at Keystone UCC by 5pm

Wednesday, Dec. 2         – Holden Prayer Services
Wednesday, Dec. 9           Advent season - 3 weeks of contemplative services
Tuesday, Dec. 15              @ Keystone UCC, 7:00-7:30pm
                                            5019 Keystone Pl. N, in Wallingford

Saturday, Dec. 12            – Seattle Labor Chorus CD Release Party
                                            "Gonna Rise Again"

                                           @ Keystone UCC (Battson Hall)
                                            5019 Keystone Pl. N, in Wallingford
                                            6:30-8pm

Sunday, Dec. 13                – Movie: Freedom Riders
                                           @ Keystone UCC (Battson Hall)
                                            5019 Keystone Pl. N, in Wallingford
                                             Potluck at 5:30pm
                                             Movie, 6-8pm

Thursday, Dec. 24            – Christmas Eve Service
                                           @ Keystone UCC
                                            5019 Keystone Pl. N, in Wallingford
                                            7pm

** See below for details on these, and other events related to life in our community **

EVENT SPOTLIGHT:

Advent & Christmas at Keystone UCC


The holidays can be such an over-done or emotional time of year.  Yet the weeks ahead are a gratefully rich and powerful season when the church celebrates Advent – not in hectic busyness – but in savoring and welcoming God’s presence in the world. Advent prepares us for the world-changing radical message that Jesus will bring – peace, love, hope, justice, and liberation for all people.

This season at Keystone, we will light candles on our 4 Sundays of Adventgather for 3 Wednesday evening Holden Prayer Services and celebrate worship on Christmas Eve together.

All events are at Keystone UCC

Sundays of Advent:
Sunday, November 29
Sunday, December 6
Sunday, December 13
Sunday, December 20

Holden Prayer:
Wednesday, December 2 @ 7-7:30 PM
Wednesday, December 9 @ 7-7:30 PM
Tuesday, December 15 @ 7-7:30 PM
Elliot Kraber, Music Coordinator
Kate Froese, Accompanist
w/Rev. Rich Gamble and Rev. Lauren Cannon
(more info on Holden Prayer below in newsletter)


Christmas Eve Worship Service
Thursday, December 24 @ 7:00 PM

ALL ARE WELCOME to any and all Advent services and events at Keystone! We hope to see you this season.

 
Thanks to all planning to offer great food and company at Sacred Heart Shelter tomorrow Saturday December 5

Barbara, Michelle- coordinating
Hannah, Nick- drivers
Alyssa, Phillip- servers
Jim - lasagna
Elvina - vegetable
Sandie - salad
Margaret - rolls/bread
Rich V. - dessert
Marilyn - milk & juice

We celebrate the ready Spirit with which Keystone folks jump in, join our rotation, and bring this ministry life!

Email Barbara and Michelle to sign up for next time: banderson@evergreencomp.com or mmhebner@gmail.com.  Keystone UCC provides the meal on the first Saturday, of  every other month. Next up:  February 6, 2015

 

Holden Prayer @ Keystone

Elliot Kraber, Music Coordinator
Kate Froese, Accompanist
w/Rev. Rich Gamble and Rev. Lauren Cannon


Mark your calendars to enjoy December contemplative evening worship services at Keystone UCC.

Holden Prayer is 30-minute candlelit evening service with lots of singing, scripture and reflective time! Come as you are, for some peaceful contemplation after your day.

Wednesday, December 2, 7-7:30 PM
Wednesday, December 97-7:30 PM
Tuesday, December 157-7:30 PM

 
This past August, we held prayers as the largest wildfires in Washington state history came right up to Holden Village, and were successfully fought back.  Holden Village is the Lutheran (welcoming of all) retreat center in the Cascades that started the lovely evening prayer service we use each December at Keystone.  Many of the hymns we sing in Sunday worship (Gather hymnal) were written by Marty Haugen, who once took a sabbatical in the Holden Village in 1986.  He composed Holden Evening Prayer  while he was there.  Its a vespers (meaning, "evening") service, that is now done in many places.  Years back (maybe nine years ago?) at Keystone, Melissa and Eric, who were serving as year long interns, began this practice, which has now become counted on.  Take this invitation for a centering pause, in what is all too often a season of too much scurrying!
Make a date to come breathe deeply with others at Keystone for any and all of these three evenings. Bring a friend - all are welcome!

For more info, contact Pastor Lauren Cannon at Keystone UCC: (206) 632-6021 or at lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org
From Pastor Lauren:






Keystone Friends,
Please join me on Sunday, December 13 for an opportunity to continue to open our hearts and minds as we struggle to end killing, and dismantle systemic white supremacy.  Join me for a film with the Justice Leadership Program.  Sunday evening Dec.. 13 we will begin to consider how to faithfully support Black Lives Matter movement as a witness of the church today.

Keystone folks especially welcome, as always, to come alongside our JLP interns.

Sunday, December 13, Lauren hosting showing of the film:

Freedom Riders
Keystone United Church of Christ
5:30 potluck
6-8 film


Freedom Riders film shows role of the churches, the leadership of young adults, and the tool of nonviolence, in the civil rights struggle of 1961.

(With thanks to Meaningful Movies)

“FREEDOM RIDERS”












FREEDOM RIDERS (117 min, Stanley Nelson, 2012) is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism.

From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson (We Shall Remain: Wounded Knee, Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple, The Murder of Emmett Till), FREEDOM RIDERS features testimony from a fascinating cast of central characters: the Riders themselves, state and federal government officials, and journalists who witnessed the Rides firsthand.
---

This two hour film begins a unit on nonviolence in the JLP classes.  Dec. 13 plants seeds that will be discussed more in the next two classes.  Please mark your calendars to continue studying nonviolence with JLP interns, Lauren and local practitioners:

Sun. Jan. 17 (MLK Day weekend), 5:30 potluck; 6-8 class
Sun. Jan. 31 5:30 potluck; 6-8 class
In case you missed the news ...


Record Breaking Year

Festival of Hope was a huge success! We raised over $16,000 for good causes around the world. Thanks to all who gave their time, money and joy to the event.

See pictures from this year's Festival of Hope (and last year's) at https://keystoneucc.shutterfly.com/pictures/

Questions as we are wrapping up this year's Festival? Contact Eliza at eliza.penick@heifer.org or 206-245-5446  
From our friends at Seattle Labor Chorus
 

 
Third time’s the charm: Seattle Labor Chorus completes third album, “Gonna Rise Again”   
All are invited to come celebrate at the SLC CD Release Party

Date: Saturday, December 12,
Time: 6:30 to 8 PM
Location: Keystone UCC, 5019 Keystone Pl. N, Seattle 98103
Basement Social Hall

There will be REFRESHMENTS, PRIZES, PARTY GAMES, and a LIVE PERFORMANCE of songs from the CD. And it’s FREE (not the CD though).  So come look at the CD, buy some copies for you and for holiday gifts, and meet us in person. The cost of the CD is $12 each. Your purchase will not only give you pleasure, but will also help support the chorus.

Songs on the CD are varied and complex, ranging from doo-wop, to jazz harmonies, to Balkan dissonances. “Gonna Rise Again” honors the history and resurgence of the labor movement and people’s movements with songs against war, for immigrant rights, about strikes and organizing, about liberation, and against exploitation. The album (lyrics and liner notes embedded) and the previous two albums are available at all Chorus performances, on CD Baby, and through our website, www.seattlelaborchorus.org.

For any questions, call Janet Stecher at (206) 524-7753, or e-mail her at rebelvoz@aol.com

** Keystone UCC members Kate S., Lisa and Paisley sing with the chorus, which rehearses Tuesday nights at Keystone **


 
Now starring ... Elliot Kraber!

 
You've spent countless weekends with Elliot at Keystone, now come see him as he performs in two upcoming shows:
 

 
In the final program of its 22nd concert season, The Esoterics will celebrate the life and music of the neo-Romantic Russian composer Georgy Sviridov with an unprecedented series of concerts in both Seattle and Tacoma. The Esoterics has expanded to 50 singers to present this concert of luxurious and majestic music inspired by folksong, poetry of the Silver Age, and the Russian Orthodox liturgy.

For the first half of this centennial concert, the Esoterics is excited to perform Sviridov’s entire sacred service, as a meditation, for the first time on American soil.

In the second half of this concert, The Esoterics will sing from Sviridov’s vast catalog that was inspired by folksong and poetry. The ensemble will also sing folksongs based on circle dances, fables, nightingales, magpies, and the balalaika, Sviridov’s boyhood instrument.

Please don’t miss this rare choral event! Join The Esoterics for one of these performances of SVIRIDOV:

Date: December 11
Time: 8:00 pm
Location: St Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 4805 NE 45th Street, Seattle

Date: December 12
Time: 800 pm
Location: Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 4210 SW Genesee St., West Seattle

Date: December 13
Time: 7:30 pm
Location: Christ Episcopal Church, 310 N K Street, Tacoma

Ticket prices are $25 at the door ($22 in advance), $18 for students, seniors,
the un(der)employed, and the differently-abled ($15 in advance).
Active singers in other choral groups may attend for only $15.

Advance tickets are available online at www.TheEsoterics.org (through PayPal).

THEN ...

See Elliot star as Angel in an all-new mash-up of the musical Rent and the opera it's based on, La Bohème. You know you want to see him dance his legs off and hear a brand new original composition arranged by Elliot himself, the La Vie Bohème Overture!

Performances will be December 17-19 at 7:30pm at Queen Anne Christian Church, 1316 3rd Ave W, 98119.

You can pre-order your tickets HERE by making a suggested donation of $15 apiece. The suggested donation at the door will be $20.

Get tickets and showtimes at:
www.gofundme.com/lavieboheme

He hopes to see his Keystone compatriots at either (or both) of these shows!

(Disclaimer: the La Vie Bohème show includes some language and strong adult themes.)



Love and Grief in the Face of Ecological Decline:
Siding with Life and Nurturing the Strength to Act

Dates: Four Sundays - November 1, 15, 22, and December 6
Time: 7:00-8:30pm
Location: University Congregational United Church of Christ, 4515 16th Avenue NE

Eminent biologist EO Wilson believes we are all hardwired to love life, what he calls biophilia. If indeed we are in love with life, there must be a great deal of grief each of us carry with us as we consider a global economy that creates vast inequities and drives ecological degradation through climate change, species extinctions, and habitat loss.

Many people become overwhelmed by what they feel and know about these realities—it can be profoundly sad, frightening, and confusing. We believe our faith calls us to look at the world's brokenness with open eyes and hearts, to acknowledge and move through the suffering and grief, and to find the roots of spiritual, moral, and theological power which empower us to side with life and act for the common good.

We hope this class can guide participants in mourning the losses we are all facing—while nurturing hope and finding actions which are meaningful for each individual and contribute to the kinds of systemic changes needed to live out of the truth that we are from the Earth and for the Earth. 

Classes will include rituals/prayer, presentations, discussions, and reflection. Class topics include: a spirituality of compassion; ecological grief; moving toward an economy that honors life; climate change; and sources of empowerment. Each week will also include brief readings to be read before each class.

TO REGISTER: call the church office: 206-524-2322; or email or call Mike Schut: mwschut@gmail.com206-898-4241


------------------
Francie Rutherford is a psychotherapist in private practice and has been attending UCUCC for almost two years. She is a long-time supporter of Earth Ministry and other local and national environmental organizations. Francie recently took to the water as a kayaktivist on behalf of sHell No!, an organization trying to keep Shell oil rigs away from Alaskan waters.

Mike Schut, a UCUCC member, is a writer, teacher, and retreat leader seeking to connect faith, spirituality, simplicity, sustainability, and eco-justice. He has served in environmental ministry positions for both Earth Ministry and the national Episcopal Church. Mike has edited/partially authored three books: Simpler Living, Compassionate Life: A Christian Perspective; Food and Faith: Justice, Joy, and Daily Bread; and Money and Faith: The Search for Enough. For more on Mike’s work, visit www.mikeschut.com.


Film: THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

(89 minutes; Avi Lewis, 2015)
Friday, Dec. 4; Doors open at 6:30pm; Movie starts at 7:00pm

@ Keystone UCC (downstairs in Battson Hall)

** JOIN MEMBERS OF THE KEYSTONE GREEN TEAM THERE TONIGHT **

Filmed in nine countries and five continents over four years, This Changes Everything is an epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change. Inspired by Naomi Klein’s international non-fiction bestseller, This Changes Everything, the film presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines, from Montana’s Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond.
Interwoven with these stories of struggle is Klein’s narration, connecting the carbon in the air with the economic system that put it there. Throughout the film, Klein builds to her most controversial and exciting idea: that we can seize the existential crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better.

This event is in support of a positive outcome for COP21, and bringing meaningful awareness to what we can all do now to build a carbon-free future for ourselves and our children.

Following the film we’ll have a presentation on how you can become actively involved in effectively working toward climate justice and help make this a better world for ourselves and our children. We’ll also present updates on the progress leading up to, during, and following COP21 Climate Talks, and use this venue organize actions following the Talks if needed. A facilitated community discussion will follow each presentation with an opportunity to dig deeper into the issues.

Joining us following the film and then for our discussion will be:
• ALEC CONNON who heads up the Divestment Campaigns with 350Seattle.org
• JESSICA KOSKI with The Sierra Club, who has been working on closing the Colstrip Coal Fired Power Plant in Montana featured in Naomi Klein’s film.

Sponsors:
• 350Seattle.org: http://350seattle.org
• Sierra Club: http://www.sierraclub.org/washington

Our Cosponsors: Cool Moms, League of Women Voters, Washington Democratic Environmental Caucus, Sightline Institute, and more joining!
 
** All events are Open to the Public. Admission is by Donation **

We help communities organize, educate, advocate & build community around social justice documentary film and conversation.


Carolyn Sabo - 12/7
Anne Marie Jehle - 12/16
Leo Denton - 12/22
Elvina Spoon - 12/23


Here's wishing each of them the happiest of birthdays, from all of us at Keystone UCC!

Keep an eye out here for upcoming Keystone Birthdays!

Pastoral Care & Keystone UCC Hours:


Rich and Lauren can be reached at the Keystone office: (206) 632-6021.  This phone is also checked remotely since both Rich and Lauren serve half-time.

Mondays:  the church office is closed.  Mondays are the day that Rich and Lauren take Sabbath. So while there are several groups that meet throughout the day and evening at Keystone, it may take a day for someone to get back to you, if you call on a Monday.

Pastor Rich is available Tuesday to Thursday mornings and Friday evenings, and holds additional office times on Saturdays and Sundays.  Not all of these times will Rich be in the church office. If you want to see him, it is best to make an appointment. Email him at rich.gamble@keystoneseattle.org

Pastor Lauren works on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, and holds office hours each Thursday at Keystone.  Email her at lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org
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