The Season of Advent

The Season of Advent @ Fauntleroy Church, UCC

12/1 Worship 10AM*, First Sunday of Advent, “You are a Blessing”. Scripture: Luke 1:26-38, Isaiah 43:1-7. We light the candle of hope.

12/1 Youth Group, 5-7:30PM – A fun gathering for youth in middle & high school.

12/8 10AM Worship*, Second Sunday of Advent, Children's Christmas Pageant Worship, “Gathering Fire”. All ages enjoy worship. We light the candle of peace.

12/8 Advent Festival & Stone Soup – Gather in Fellowship Hall after worship for intergenerational fun, soup, & crafts to make for yourself or to give as gifts.

12/15 Worship 10AM*, Third Sunday of Advent, “Do the Good that is Yours to Do”. Scripture: Luke 3:7-16, Isaiah 58: 9b-12. We light the candle of joy.

12/21 Welcome Table – Volunteers provide lunch and other basic resources to our food insecure neighbors and friends once a month in White Center

12/21 Christmas Concert, 7PM – The Festival of Trees opens at 6PM.

12/22 Christmas Concert, 4PM – The Festival of Trees opens at 3PM. Reception to follow in Fellowship Hall.

12/15 Youth Group, 5-9PM – Progressive Christmas dinner and White Elephant gift exchange for youth in middle & high school. RSVPs needed by 12/8.

12/22 Worship 10AM*, Fourth Sunday of Advent, “Hope is Worth the Risk”. Scripture: Matthew 1: 18-25, Luke 1: 45-55. We light the candle of love.  

12/24 Christmas Eve – Three Evening Services:

• 4PM – A shorter, interactive service offered for all, but especially with the energy and joy of families and young children in mind. We'll end singing “Happy Birthday” to the Christ Child. Then, all are welcome to enjoy birthday cake at the reception that follows in Fellowship Hall.

• 7PM* – A worship with the traditional Christmas readings and carols. Worship ends with beautiful candlelight.

• 11PM – A more contemplative worship with communion. We’ll end with candlelight and singing Silent Night.

12/29 Worship 10AM*, First Sunday of Christmas, “Light of the World!” Scripture: Matthew 2:10. This is a “Festival Sunday” for all ages. We’ll shorten our worship time in the sanctuary (and online), head to Fellowship Hall, and engage in creative conversation about what is bringing light to our world.

1/5/2025 Worship 10AM*, First Sunday of Epiphany (our “star word” service), Scripture: Matthew 2:1-11, Come and hear reflections shared by our members and receive a word to guide you through 2025.

1/5/2025 Take Down Decorations – Stay after worship to help us lovingly box up our Advent and Christmas decorations for next year. We can use your help!

* = Offered in-person and live streamed on YouTube

Festival of Trees - Food Donations

Your Food Choices Make a Difference

We have thirteen amazing Tree Teams registered for the Festival of Trees, and soon Fellowship Hall will be transformed into a Winter Wonderland. THANKS to all who answered the call!

Now it’s time for the rest of us to start gathering shelf-stable food items to use as votes for our favorites. To do the best job possible for our neighbors in need, please consider the following:

• expiration dates in 2025 or beyond

• healthier options

• foods for special diets (gluten, dairy or nut-free, etc.)

• culturally relevant options

• healthy, kid-friendly snacks

Many grocery stores have sales at this time of year. Watch for yummy items that you would be excited to serve your family and friends.

Why an expiration date of 2025 and beyond? Once delivered to the food bank in January, some on the items may sit on the shelves for a while. Also, it’s much easier for our food sorting team to look for one date – 2025 – rather than having to make calculations. Thanks for your help in providing the freshest food possible for our neighbors!

Celebrate the Season with Music

We invite you to join us for our Christmas Concerts—Saturday, Dec. 21 @ 7pm & Sunday, Dec. 22 @ 4pm. The Fauntleroy Chancel Choir, Fauntleroy Women’s Ensemble, members of the Peace Lutheran Choir, and additional singers from other choirs who have worked in the past with Music Director Bronwyn Edwards will join us for our Christmas concerts this year. Our special guests include a string trio. Enjoy a diverse program of Christmas music, including plenty of congregational singing. All are welcome! Admission is FREE.

The concerts will include an Offertory. We gratefully accept donations towards our concert expenses.

Giving Tree 2024

Through our annual giving-tree campaign, artificial trees in the narthex and lobby miraculously bear fruit. This year, it directs our attention as well as that of West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA members to four timely community needs:

1. extra food at home for low-income school families over winter break

2. kitchenware for asylum-seeking families transitioning from shelters to housing

3. gifts bags for children whose families rely on the Welcome Table for meals and essentials

4. relief from the burden of medical debt for low-income families in King County.

Take a tag that speaks to you from one of the trees, then use it as a reminder to donate by Dec. 15 online, in the plate, or in the church office. Also take a “Gift from the Heart” card if you’d like to honor a loved one with your donation.

Festival of Trees

A small forest of Christmas trees has bloomed in Fellowship Hall. We’ll enjoy the trees following our 10AM worship services in December, including our Advent Festival on December 8. Bring your unexpired, non-perishable food items to place under your favorite trees and help our local food banks in the fun!

Want to show off our trees to friends and neighbors? Fellowship Hall will be open in December, Monday–Thursday, from 8am–12 noon and for one hour before each of our Christmas concerts.

Guatemala Mission Trip - It Takes a Village!

Several church members will again be joining members of the West Seattle Rotary Club to install stoves and water filters in an impoverished Mayan village in Guatemala. We also intend to provide backpacks and school supplies for the children, reading glasses, and various community improvements. In your pew rack you’ll see cards that show how you can help with financial support. If you’d like to consider joining us on May 1st- May 12, please contact the church office: info@fauntleroyucc.org. The village of Saclecan awaits!

Dec. 6 Immigration Film

A special showing of the highly regarded documentary about an asylee family that fled violence in Honduras and made a new home in West Seattle will be in Fellowship Hall December 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. The film, All We Carry, is being sponsored by Hazelwood School and the Immigration Task Force. Refreshments will be available, and donations will be accepted on behalf of the ITF and the film producers.

All We Carry tells the story of the family of Mirna, Magdiel and their children as they flee persecution—migrating in cargo trains across Mexico, claiming asylum at the US border, and enduring separation in detention before being released in Seattle. There, the West Seattle synagogue Kol HaNshamah based at Alki UCC sponsors the family for two years while they await the final decision on their asylum case. As the family tries to settle into their new home, they navigate countless life-altering and every-day moments where memory, joy, and grief collide.

Magdiel as a local businessman is well known to many here in West Seattle and he has aided the Immigration Task Force in the past. One of their children attends the Hazelwood Pre-School, which initiated the local showing.

A trailer can be seen here. https://www.allwecarrydoc.com

In this time of unprecedented attack on immigration this film offers both hope and promise on how Seattle and America has been protecting asylees. The Immigration Task Force has begun exploring how it can step up efforts to help refugees in the coming years.

Fauntleroy Fine Art & Holiday Gift Show

The 15th annual Fauntleroy Fine Art & Holiday Gift Show hosted by Fauntleroy Church will showcase the creativity of 18 local artists and artistic crafters. Find the list of artists below. Ten of them are new to the show this year and several have a talent for making beautiful art from found objects. Prices will range from special art for the home to the perfect gift for grandma. Show hours will be Friday, Nov. 1 (5-8 pm), Saturday, Nov. 2 (10 am-4 pm), and Sunday, Nov. 3 (11 am-2 pm) in Fellowship Hall.

2024 FAUNTLEROY FINE ART & HOLIDAY GIFT SHOW PARTICIPANTS

Diane Bellisario - Marquetry collages

Brian & Tara Brenno - Blown glass & sgraffito ceramics

Alice Britt - Hand-dyed silk & felted creations

Tom Costantini - Fine watercolors, prints, cards & shadowboxes

Gretchen Curtis - Hand-knit wearable art

Natalie Fobes - Photography & glass art

Rance Holiman - Everyday sightings in oil

Yuchen Lin - Artisan soaps

Johanna Lindsay - Sculptural beaded jewelry

Jenny Mandt - Mosaic art from found objects

Angie Marcelynas -Jewelry & accessories from found objects

Sara McMahon - Hand-cut paper art

Kristen Miller - Shadowboxes & quilted usable art for the home

Ryan Milles - Aeriums & earrings

Martina Noble - Wearable art from found objects

Jacquie Perry - Art from reused materials & objects from nature

Tricia Seery - Cut & painted functional art

Rhiannon Simmonds - Felted hats, scarves & sculptures

Late Fall @ Fauntleroy Church

Order Christmas Wreaths Today!

We invite you to participate in this important church fundraiser! And, be sure to tell all of your family, friends and neighbors about this opportunity to hang such beautiful wreaths on their doors for the holidays! They look great, smell wonderful and last a long time!

The 14” wreaths are made of noble fir with incense cedar and juniper accents topped with pine cones. These wreaths are great for decorating your own home and/or to give as a gift. Wreaths will be sold from now until November 8. The cost is $30 each. Shipping boxes are available for $5.00. To order, please email info@fauntleroyucc.org the number of wreaths and boxes you would like to order along with your contact information. Wreaths need to be picked up on Saturday, Nov. 23, (the Saturday before Thanksgiving) between 9 AM and 11 AM, in the church parking lot. If you can’t pick yours up, please make arrangements for someone else to do that for you.  

You have two options to pay for your wreath:

1. You can pay online here. Leave a note about the number of wreaths and boxes you are ordering.

2. You can pay by check. Please make checks payable to Fauntleroy Church UCC with “Wreath” on the memo line and mail to or drop by the church office. Payment must be made when ordering.

Putting up your wreath is a wonderful way to start the holidays! If you have any questions, please contact the church at info@fauntleroyucc.org. Thanks for your support!

WIN’s 1st Annual Fall Chili Cookoff

Westside Interfaith Network (WIN) will be hosting their 1st Annual Fall Chili Cookoff, October 19th at 6 pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Admiral next to West Seattle High School. Faith communities will be entering their best chili recipes for sample accompanied with cornbread, salads, beer and wine for a fun evening of socialization, community and impact.

WIN is an interfaith group of people across West Seattle-White Center area who are working together to address the needs of neighbors through service compassion and action. The fundraiser will benefit their yearly projects which primarily includes a weekly community meal in White Center every Saturday called the Welcome Table where essential commodities such as hygiene, clothing and food are distributed to those experiencing food insecurities and hardships. Tickets are $15 each. During the event, purchases available will be Chili Voting Tickets, Dessert Dash, and commodity packages to supply the Welcome Table outreach program.

Where: St. John’s Episcopal Church, 3050 California Ave SW

Tickets: https://secure.myvanco.com/L-ZM9Y/campaign/C-153VN

Fauntleroy Church & Y Chili Fest Cook-off

On Wednesday, October 16, we will kick off celebrating our 100 years with the Y with a chili fest/cook-off in Fellowship Hall. Come for the fun, enjoy the chili, engage some friendly competition and participate in a worthy cause! All proceeds for the event will go to a joint campaign of Fauntleroy Church and the West Seattle/Fauntleroy YMCA to buy and eliminate medical debt through "Undue Medical Debt," an amazing nonprofit doing great work to lift the burden of unpaid medical bills off the backs of struggling individuals and families. 

 Many UCC conferences and churches have engaged similar campaigns with Undue Medical Debt (formerly "Rest in Peace Medical Debt"), as well as other organizations, city and state governments. Check out the amazing work this nonprofit is doing at www.unduemedicaldebt.org  As followers of Christ, we look forward to engaging this shared economic justice effort with the YMCA as our missions align to lift burdens off the backs of the disadvantaged and make our world a better place!

 Register for the event here: https://tinyurl.com/FauntleroyChiliFest

Fall Events @ Fauntleroy Church

A look at what’s coming up at Fauntleroy Church

Sept. 21 - Fall Recycle Roundup

Our fall Recycle Roundup will be Saturday, Sept. 21, 9 am - 3 pm. See the list below of what our roundup partner, 1 Green Planet, can take for free, responsible recycling and what it cannot. Since initiating these twice-yearly events in 2010, we have kept 353 tons of recyclables out of landfills!

2nd Time Sale - 9/14 & 15

Our wildly popular 2nd Time Sale will be Saturday, Sept. 14 (9 am - 4 pm) and Sunday, Sept. 15 (11:30 am - 3 pm) in and around Fellowship Hall. This event is much anticipated by the whole community, from those who really need bargains to those on the hunt for collectibles. See the full scope of what will be on offer below.

If you have quality items in working order to donate, see the list of what we cannot take here. We'll be accepting items at the back door of Fellowship Hall weekdays 10 am - 2 pm Wednesday, Sept. 4, through Monday, Sept. 9. Call the church office with questions or to arrange a special drop-off or pick-up.

All-Church Potluck/Picnic

Join the Parish Life Ministry for a Potluck/Picnic after worship on Sunday, 9/8.  Pulled pork sandwiches, veggie burgers, chips and beverages will be provided.  Please bring something to share (salads, side dishes, desserts). Suggestions for what to bring and answers to frequently asked questions found below.

Volunteers are needed to help setup, prep the food and beverage tables, to assist those with mobility challenges, and to clean up. Contact the church if you can volunteer!

Announcing Bronwyn Edward's Retirement

Some of you already know, but I would like to officially announce that Bron, our Music Director Extraordinaire (we should add that to her title, I think), has shared that she will retire at the end of June 2025.

While Bron plans to remain in our congregation as a member, plans at present are for her to shift her music involvement and reengage as a supportive volunteer and participant.

I want to acknowledge that most of you probably just took a deep breath in and let it out with a long sigh. We all knew this day would come, but we hoped it could be put off for as long as possible. And it has. Bron actually first began talking to me about retirement eight years ago, and I'm eternally grateful to her for what will be 17 years of service to Fauntleroy Church in 2025.

I also want to assure you: I and other leaders of Fauntleroy Church know the value of the powerful and vibrant music programs Bron has built with the help of members and friends of this church. The Personnel Committee has been in conversation with Bron and has put together some plans. They have identified that a search committee was needed (because this task is bigger than Personnel can handle alone while still engaging other needed work). A search team has now been appointed and is preparing to have their first official meeting. We thank the team for saying "yes" to serving on that Search Committee. It's a good group with a breadth of experience that will serve us well in the year to come.

There is much more that I could share and that will be shared in weeks and months to come, but there will be time for all of that. For now, I'd ask of you two things: 1) to trust the search committee that has been formed and give them space to begin their good work, and 2) to focus our energy and efforts on enjoying our final programmatic year with Bronwyn Edwards in her role as Music Director. Come join the choir or the ukelele band! Enjoy worship in person where the sound is so much better than online! And mark your calendars now for the next Sweet, Sweet Music (Friday, November 8) and Christmas concerts (December 21st at 7pm and 22nd at 4pm)!

Right now, I'm enjoying planning with Bron and Karyn toward the lovely year that lies ahead for worship at Fauntleroy Church. It's going to be awesome and joy-filled!

God-willing and us-determined-people following the Spirit's lead, what lies ahead will be phenomenal too!

Onward we go,

Pastor Leah

Fellowship at the Fish Sticks Game

On Saturday, July 13, 45+ people from our congregation enjoyed a fun evening at the DubSea Fish Sticks baseball game in White Center. It was quite the intergenerational activity with those in attendance ranging in age from two to 80-something. Each fellowship group in the church (Sojourners, Sisters, Crock Pots, AFG, Solo Seniors, Monday Lunch Bunch, Knitters, and Youth Group) was represented! And…the Fish Sticks won!

Annual School Supply Drive

With summer activities in full swing, school may be the furthest thing from your mind but now is the time for the annual school-supply drive coordinated by our Homelessness Task Force. We are partnering with West Seattle Rotary's Pencil Me In for Kids campaign and the West Seattle/Fauntleroy Y to equip elementary and Head Start programs in this area with supplies their students will need come fall. Find the list of high-priority items HERE. Look for donation boxes in the narthex and lobby OR make a cash donation HERE. The drive will run through Aug. 4.