September's Welcome Table: Sept. 10th

Note the date change! On September 10, we have the opportunity to provide lunch to our homeless and food insecure neighbors in White Center at The Welcome Table Saturday meal. To get details about the meal and to sign up as a volunteer to help onsite during the meal and/or provide part of the meal, click here.

If you can assist on site, it would be greatly appreciated! Please sign up on the volunteer form if you are able to do any of the following:

• Set up tables starting at 11am

• Welcome guests and point them in the right direction

• Serve food and/or help at a supply station (there are multiple tables for clothing, food pantry, toiletries, etc.)

• Break down tables and put away supplies afterward. We typically finish around 1:30.

Come for an hour or the whole time, all are welcome and appreciated!

You may or may not know, in addition to the hot meal, many other necessities are distributed on site including:

• a food pantry with fresh & non-perishable foods

• clothing (especially children's and masc. clothing)

• Blankets, sleeping bags, tarps when available

• hygiene products & other necessities

If you have extras of any of the above items, they would be welcomed and greatly appreciated!

Get Ready to Recycle

We will host our fall Recycle Roundup on Saturday, Sept. 24, 9 am - 3 pm in our main parking lot. (Yes, Saturday this time, not Sunday.) Find the list of what 1 Green Planet can take for responsible recycling and what it cannot here. Since initiating these community-wide spring and fall events in 2010, we have diverted more than 300 tons of recyclables from landfills.

Hydration and Hygiene Donations are Top Priorities for Camp Second Chance Residents

During this hot, dry weather, the lack of trees at Camp Second Chance (the tiny-home village on Meyers Way) is keenly felt, and every breeze kicks up dust. Consequently, the residents need our help staying hydrated and freshly clean.

Our Homelessness Task Force has made one delivery of sports drinks and popsicles and invites you to consider doing the same. Drinks such as Gatorade and frozen treats such as Otter Pops can be at the ready for residents in the camp refrigerator and freezer.

With the camp's new shower facilities, residents can refresh themselves anytime but they need such hygiene items as deodorants, new or lightly used large bath towels, shower shoes, multi-blade razors, shaving cream, and full-sized soap and shampoo. The camp has also seen an increased need for menstrual products.

You'll find donation boxes for these items in the narthex and lobby. Every time a member of our task force is at the camp, residents invariably say "Thank you, Fauntleroy!" We don't just bring cold drinks or shampoo; we bring the love and encouragement they sorely need in order to take their next step out of being unhoused.

Our 2nd Time Sale is Back!

Donors have already given a lot of quality items but more are welcome (see details below). "Quality" means clean, in working order, and complete (all parts). See the list of what we cannot take here. Note that we cannot take large furniture.

Setting up tables for the sale will be after worship on Sunday, Sept. 4, so plan to stay and give a hand if you can.

Another way to contribute is to help before, during, or after the sale (and have a lot of fun!). Sign up during coffee hour or call the office. Sale hours will be Saturday 9 am - 4 pm, and Sunday 11:30 am -3 pm. Monday will be clean-up day.

Homemade sweet treats are popular, too, so consider dusting off a favorite recipe for the bake sale.

Masks will be required of all volunteers and customers, plus sale areas will be well ventilated.

HOW TO DONATE

Bring small items to Fellowship Hall:

-weekdays 10 am-2 pm Sept. 7, 8, 9, 12, or 13,

-Sunday morning Sept. 11,

-or at another time by appointment; email info@fauntleroyucc.org.

Do not leave donations at the door when no one is there! To arrange a pick-up of anything you cannot deliver, email info@fauntleroyucc.org.

Helping Children Feel Welcome in Worship

One of the wonderful things about Fauntleroy Church is the way we welcome children in worship. When the kids didn’t start back in the sanctuary after we first reopened, didn’t it seem like an energy was missing in this space? Now on a typical Sunday, you lean in again when a child asks a question during the Time with Children. This is not a time when children are put on the spot or on display. This is the time when we try to set a bit of God’s word into the palm of each child’s hand, so they start wondering about a scripture story before they head out to Sunday School to wonder even wider. At the core of this time is the message that they are loved by God and by us; that this is their worship, too, and what they have to say has a wisdom we need to hear; that they bless others and we hope we bless them as God teaches us all to do. In fact, it is beautiful the way you keep singing “Go now in peace” until every last child has heard your blessing on their way to their classroom. Now the children also return to join us on Communion Sundays. While our youngest might not understand the deeper meaning of this sacrament yet, the first thing they do know is that they are an integral part of this community and there is a place for them at God’s Table. May God’s love story unfold from there. For other tips on how you can welcome children to worship, go here.

 

There are many resources that offer great tips about being with children in worship. Here are just a few ideas. As adults, we can:

  • Show appreciation for children and their presence through our expressions and body language.

  • Greet children around us, just as we would greet adults.

  • Bend down to a child’s eye level to invite conversation.

  • Get to know children by name. Be sure they have a name tag if adults are wearing them.

  • Invite a child to help you find or to follow the hymns and scripture readings in the bulletin.

  • Encourage children to bring their own offering or to add something to the offering collection if they are in worship. (Think creatively—even a picture can be an offering!)

  • Encourage children to lift up a joy or concern at the prayer time if something is on their heart.

  • Listen to what children have to say and answer questions in a quiet whisper.

  • Ask them what they enjoyed about worship. (But make this a moment of connection rather than a pop quiz!)

 

As parents and grandparents, we can also:

  • Have times of prayer and silence at home before meals and bedtime.

  • Talk about our own special memories of church and worship.

  • Explore the sanctuary when it’s empty.

  • Borrow a hymnal to sing a song at a family devotional.

  • Help children learn the Lord’s Prayer.

  • Create a Saturday ritual: choose church clothes, gather the offering, and pack a small bag with a Bible, thank you note for a teacher, a snack for after or a comfort item, etc.

  • Plan Sunday mornings so everyone has a good breakfast and no one feels rushed.

  • Talk about worship and Sunday School on your way home.

 

Part of the extravagant welcome at Fauntleroy Church has always been the way it regards children and youth as an integral part of its community. We do most of the things on these lists so naturally, but it never hurts to have reminders to keep our commitment to open our welcoming hearts as wide as possible to every one of every age all the time.

 

Camp Second Chance on a Roll!

As Camp Second Chance, West Seattle's tiny-home village on Meyers Way, attests: It takes a community to build a village. Since 2016 when the first residents moved in, a community of dedicated people has built it into a safe, supportive, and effective waystation on the road out of homelessness.

On July 15, a barbeque at the camp thanked that community of people, including representatives from the Low-Income Housing Initiative (LIHI), Sound Foundations NW, Fauntleroy Church, camp staff and residents, and members of the camp's Community Advisory Committee.

They had several recent transformations to celebrate: new tiny homes (now 70 in total), new bathrooms with sewer service and cisterns, a spacious resource center with new appliances, storage trailers for donations, asphalt walkways, and outdoor gathering areas graced with flower and shrub planters.

Also worth celebrating was completion by our Homelessness Task Force's shoe-buying project. Because of generous donations to our giving tree, plus the support of Big 5 Sporting Goods in Westwood Village, we were able to equip 21 residents with new shoes that fit both their feet and lifestyles. "Cathy Phillips conceived this project and persevered with store manager Kendall Fischer to make it happen," said Joan Gregory, who assisted Cathy in scheduling residents to come to the store. "Big 5 clerks were extremely considerate and helpful with residents, several of whom had foot issues and personality quirks that required extra time and patience." The store provided a 10% discount to supplement giving-tree donations that paid about $45 per resident. The store also equipped camp staff with 20% discount coupons to help residents who come in on their own.

For help with the shoe project, as well as above-and-beyond dedication to the camp, the Homelessness Task Force recently presented Manager Scott Harris and Case Manager Marjorie Johnson with gift cards to spend in relaxing ways. Marjorie's response: “I am at a loss for words! Thank you so much. I do this because everyone deserves a home and a pleasant face to greet them when they come here. The camp really appreciates you and I appreciate you.” Noting that this month's barbeque came together on short notice, Joan said that our task force expects to host another in the fall, when many more of us can visit and appreciate all the improvements.

Help Feed the Hungry this Saturday!

On July 16, we have the opportunity to provide lunch to our homeless and food insecure neighbors in White Center at The Welcome Table Saturday meal. To get details about the meal and to sign up as a volunteer to help onsite during the meal and/or provide part of the meal, click here.

Additionally, if you can assist on site, it would be greatly appreciated! Please sign up on the volunteer form if you are able to do any of the following:

• Set up tables starting at 11am

• Welcome guests and point them in the right direction

• Serve food and/or help at a supply station (there are multiple tables for clothing, food pantry, toiletries, etc.)

• Break down tables and put away supplies afterward. We typically finish around 1:30.

Come for an hour or the whole time, all are welcome and appreciated! You may or may not know, in addition to the hot meal, many other necessities are distributed on site including:

• a food pantry with fresh & non-perishable foods

• clothing for men, women & children, hygiene products

• Blankets, sleeping bags, tarps when available

• hygiene products & other necessities

If you have extras of any of the above items, they would be welcomed and greatly appreciated! Note that we will now be providing the meal on the 3rd Saturday of the month for the remainder of 2022!

Pride Sunday

This past Sunday we celebrated Pride here at Fauntleroy Church! A huge thank you to all those who helped decorate our Sanctuary. In case you missed it, check out these pictures of the beautiful rainbow display around the altar (created by Karyn Frazier, and Sarah and Ben Ackers), and check back next week for pictures of the Pride Flag ribbon displays that hung around the Sanctuary (created by Shellie Moomey).

And, in case you missed it, check out our Pride bulletin insert! In it you’ll find a brief description of just a few of the many communities which make up the rainbow! Click here to download your own copy!

6/18 Help Feed the Hungry

On June 18, we have the opportunity to provide lunch to our homeless and food insecure neighbors in White Center at The Welcome Table Saturday meal. To get details about the meal and to sign up as a volunteer to help onsite during the meal and/or provide part of the meal, click here. (https://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0544A5AF23A7F85-fauntleroy19) If you can assist on site, it would be greatly appreciated!

Please sign up on the volunteer form if you are able to do any of the following:

• Set up tables starting at 11am

• Welcome guests and point them in the right direction

• Serve food and/or help at a supply station (there are multiple tables for clothing, food pantry, toiletries, etc.)

• Break down tables and put away supplies afterward. We typically finish around 1:30.

• Come for an hour or the whole time, all are welcome and appreciated! You may or may not know, in addition to the hot meal, many other necessities are distributed on site including:

• a food pantry with fresh & non-perishable foods

• clothing for men, women & children, hygiene products • Blankets, sleeping bags, tarps when available

• hygiene products & other necessities If you have extras of any of the above items, they would be welcomed and greatly appreciated!

Note that we will now be providing the meal on the 3rd Saturday of the month for the remainder of 2022!

UCC Annual Fund- Justice for All

From Rev. Dr. John Dorhauer, General Minister and President of the United Church of Christ.

Dear Friends,

On a recent six-hour road trip from Cleveland to Indianapolis to plan our next national gathering there at General Synod in 2023, I was reminded again why the United Church of Christ is so important — why you are so important!

First, I talked with one of our pastors whose church was under threat.

During Lent, the congregation was singing hymns written by racial minorities. They had chosen the theme “Lenten Fast from Whiteness”. Because of their stance, they were receiving an average of five hate calls per minute.

Shortly following this call, I got a text from the President of the Unitarian Universalist Association. We connect monthly to share mutual support for our work. Her text read:

I just got a call from the Trevor Project legal director. Last night Alabama added amendments to their anti-trans legislation. It includes a felony with up to 10 years in prison for doctors providing trans-affirming health care and the forced outing of trans kids. They are asking heads of denominations to make strong condemnation statements as a part of a veto campaign aimed at the Governor. Would you be willing to make a statement and ask other heads of churches if they are willing?

I assured her that the UCC would be heard on this matter.

Then I opened an email informing me that Ohio was introducing its own ‘Don’t Say Gay’ legislation.

This is our America.

This is your United Church of Christ:

We cannot and will not be silent in the face of racism.

We cannot and will not be silent in the face of transphobia.

We cannot and will not be silent in the face of homophobia.

We fight it all. With and in love, we confront the injustices of our day. We will not stop preaching love until the hatred ends and all God’s children are loved, safe, and honored because of who they are.

In many ways, this is just another day in the life of the United Church of Christ seeking to live out our purpose:

To love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength,

to love our neighbor as ourselves,

to fulfill our vision of those loves building a just world for all!

Our witness matters in the world. Your witness matters in this world. We can only do this work together.

Please join me now in making a generous gift to the UCC Annual Fund so we can continue our pursuit of a just world for all, united in Christ’s love.

Gifts can be made online at www.ucc.org, or text UCC to 41444.

Note from Pastor Leah: Fauntleroy Church’s budget includes support of our national denomination, but we are always welcome to make additional gifts to either our PNC-UCC Conference of churches or the UCC in general. I myself am a “friend of the conference” monthly donor.

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