Musical joy = The DAM Ukulele Band

If you like to sing and make music, please consider spending a Thursday evening with the DAM Ukulele Band. (DAM is the acronym for “Duey Auringer Memorial” – we named our Ukulele Band after an affable and much-loved church member, Duey, who learned a few chords before he joined the heavenly ukulele band.)

This group of musicians has expanded over the past year or two into a dedicated band of friends, singing and playing our way through an hour of music from 6:15 pm to 7:15 pm every Thursday evening before our choir rehearsal begins at 7:30.

You don’t have to know HOW to play the ukulele, but you will need a ukulele to play.  We provide music – we have assembled three volumes of our favorite songs – and you can follow along, playing the chords you know, and adding new ones as you continue to practice.  If you don’t know any chords, we will teach you the C chord to start, and you can follow along on the song charts and play the C chord every time it comes around.

It's that easy.  Before you know it, with regular attendance, you will have learned dozens of chords!

This group is SO incredibly enthusiastic, that for the first time this summer, they didn’t miss a single Thursday.  During the summer break, we played in one another’s back yards and enjoyed the songs of summer, and every week was fabulous.

If you’re not sure that you want to join us, but you’d like to come and listen and experience the DAM Ukulele Band for yourself, you are most WELCOME to drop by and listen.  We will return to the Sanctuary this coming Thursday, August 31, at 6:15 pm.

And a final note, the DAM Ukulele Band is comprised not only of ukulele players, but people bring their banjos, guitars and banjoleles too.  Interested? Please come and check us out.  Bring a friend! Questions? Ask music director Bronwyn Edwards, at 206-255-4590 (text) or sirensongbron@gmail.com (email).

Building a Tiny Home Together

On August 23, members and friends of our congregation joined together to build a tiny home at The Hope Factory. We built the tiny home “Xian” which is a Taoist Chinese word for someone who is long lived or immortal. This is just one of the many ways we are working in our community to end homelessness.

Blues Sunday 8/27

We hope you will join us for Blues Sunday during our 10am worship service on August 27. Blues Sunday is a worship service wrapped in the music of the blues and gospel repertoire.  Blues Sunday became incredibly popular during the pre-pandemic years as we sang the blues to a packed house in August!  This year we are featuring music by Patty Griffin, Nina Simone, Shawn Mullin & Mercyland, and Zach Williams, to name a few, as well as a new original song by Jeff VanGilder, and Bronwyn Edwards’ original song “Circle of Love.” Soloists include Lucian and Allie Smith, Sarah Ackers, Jeff VanGilder, Jenny Mandt, Robb Menaul, and Delia Finney. Worship will be supported by a 20-voice choir and lots of guitars.  Mark your calendars and let’s all sing the blues and bring the house down.

An Abundance of School Supplies

Thanks to your generosity, our annual school-supply drive was another winner for area low-income students. Scores of students will have the supplies they’ll need to start the new term, including 62 boxes of colored pencils, 202 glue sticks, and 420 pencils. We were able to pass along $200 in cash donations to West Seattle Rotary for bulk purchase of supplies and to earmark $1,200 for special supplies that Highland Park, Roxhill, Sanislo, and West Seattle elementaries would otherwise not be able afford. Finally, we joined West Seattle Rotary in giving this area's Head Start coordinator 92 backpacks to equip students for this coming term and the next.

Fauntleroy Fall Festival Fundraiser at Wildwood Market 8/29

Gather with neighbors and friends on the rooftop deck of Wildwood Market from 4-8pm on Tuesday night, Aug. 29 to help raise funds for this year's Fall Festival. Proceeds from the sales of specialty adult beverages will be directly donated to the 2023 Festival. The address is 9214 45th Avenue SW. The D.A.M. Ukulele Band will be playing from 6:30-7:30pm. This is a 21+ event.

Look at What's Coming Up at Fauntleroy Church

Let's Talk: Another service opportunity

Through networking with service providers, our Homelessness Task Force has become aware of another concrete way we might assist.

With Covid relief funding depleted, the rent freeze eliminated, and basic apartment rental approaching $2,000/month, many households are getting "pay or vacate" notices. Local providers receive an average of 60 requests/month for assistance, making this one of the most economically distressed areas in Seattle.

Responding to financial requests is just part of a complex picture, however. To stabilize long term, many families have needs beyond those a check can meet. St. Vincent DePaul offers professional case management but clients can wait many weeks in the queue to access that service.

Our Lady of Guadalupe parish has developed a practical way to shorten the wait, when warranted, by enlisting volunteers to respond to the human dimension of housing crises. Working in pairs, they visit clients to collect the basic information that case managers will need to connect them with available resources.

Our Homelessness Task Force will host an informational meeting about this potential service opportunity on Sunday, Aug. 27, at 11:30 in the sanctuary. Guests will include Bob Bucci, president of the local Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and at least one care-team volunteer.

Annual School-Supply Drive

Every summer, Fauntleroy Church collaborates with West Seattle Rotary's Pencil Me In for Kids campaign to make sure that area low-income elementary and Head Start students have the supplies they need for learning.

Between July 16 and Aug. 6, we invite members and friends of the congregation to donate markers, glue sticks, and other high-priority supplies or to make a cash donation. Our cash goal is $1,000 for special supplies that five area programs would otherwise not be able to afford.

Supply donations are welcome in the church/YMCA lobby or out in the community at Wildwood Market, Treo Organic Salon, or Hazelwood Preschool. The list of priority supplies is found below. To make a financial donation, please click here. Thanks for investing in our children!

New Members Joining 5/28

On Sunday, May 28, we will be welcoming new members to the congregation during worship. If you are ready to become a member and join the church, please complete THIS form and return it to Pastor Leah (leah@fauntleroyucc.org) by Monday, May 22.

Feeding Our Hungry Neighbors on May 20th

Once a month Fauntleroy Church comes together to provide a hot meal for our unhoused and food insecure neighbors. Collectively we serve approximately 100-150 individuals, and it truly takes a village. There's an opportunity to help at every commitment level.

Here are some of the many ways you can participate:

1. make or purchase food, deliver it to the venue in White Center between 11-11:30am (or ask for pick up assistance!). Reimbursement is available.

2. help with set up, service, and/or clean up-- entire time is 11am-1:30pm-ish, stay any length of time you are available

3. drop off food pantry items, clothing, shoes, tarps, tents, blankets, toiletries This is an excellent opportunity to serve our community, be in fellowship with one another, and provide some comfort, sustenance, and love to those in need.

More details and sign up HERE

Boeing Choir Concert

Music Director Bronwyn Edwards has been singing with the Boeing Choir since last September.  As a special gift to our Fauntleroy congregation and neighbors, Bron is bringing the BOEING CHOIR to Fauntleroy Church on Saturday, May 13 at 3 pm.  Admission is FREE, and all are welcome.  The choir performs a diverse repertoire from classical music to jazz standards and contemporary songs.  Its 50+ singers perform in the Puget Sound region including many retirement homes, and they have also toured Great Britain, Portugal, and Australia.  Their next tour is to Greece in September 2024.

Given the beautiful acoustics of the Fauntleroy Church sanctuary, this will be a wonderful listening experience for all.  Please come and bring your friends and family. 

Burgers and Bingo

Looking to share a delicious burger dinner with church friends and maybe win big?  That's exactly what our Parish Life Ministry is planning for Saturday, April 29, 6 pm in Fellowship Hall. 

Menu:  Choose a beef or Impossible burger with Tater Tots, coleslaw, and dessert.  

Cost: $20 for adults and teens; $10 for kids 6-12; younger kids free (no bingo card).  Those under 18 must be accompanied by an adult family member.  Childcare by request only. 

Tickets:  Reserve and pay online HERE, during coffee hour, or in the church office. 

Deadline:  Sunday, April 23 

Contact: mbernahl@q.com or 206-579-8747 or stop by the information table during coffee hour 

Our Festival of Trees is Growing!

Fellowship Hall has been transformed! The festive Winter Wonderland is a sight to behold! From A Starry Night to Frosty & Friends to a Peruvian Christmas, the trees in our holiday forest are all unique creations that will amaze and delight. There is even an Idolitree!

LET THE COMPETITION BEGIN!

One of the primary goals of this event is to collect items for our food banks in West Seattle and White Center. Start gathering non-perishable items and vote for your favorite trees. In this election, voting multiple times and for multiple trees is encouraged! We checked with the food banks. Of course, all types of non-perishable food items are welcome, but there is a special need for healthier options and ones for those with special dietary needs, for example – low fat, low salt, gluten free, etc. Also needed are easy and healthy snacks for kids.

COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSES: Wednesday evenings - Dec 7, 14 and 21 from 7-8 pm Please help spread the word throughout the community. The more visitors, the more items for the food banks.

AFTER WORSHIP SERVICES: Join us for Coffee Hour in the Fellowship Hall on Sundays – Dec 4, 11 and 18. Stack your “votes” around your favorite trees.

VOLUNTEER: Hosts for the Open House evenings and cookie bakers are still needed. Parish Life Ministry is coordinating these efforts.

Mask Optional Policy

As of November 27th, 2022, Fauntleroy Church has implemented a mask optional policy for all church worship, events and activities except during periods when the Seattle area community level of COVID transmission becomes high/red.

This council decision was based on the results of a November 2022 survey, which confirmed:

1) The high percentage of congregants who have received vaccination and boosters that reduce the risk of severe COVID.

2) the high degree of continued care individuals expect to make in their choices around masking, attendance and other engaged behavior.

3) The willingness expressed to engage some additional actions to care for one another that are providing shape to this mask optional decision.

We will continue to take additional steps to help protect against disease transmission, including the creation of a mask-only area in the sanctuary during worship, contract tracing, and making masks available for those who forget theirs and would like to wear one.

Please see the attached letter here for additional considerations and details regarding this policy.

It’s Advent at Fauntleroy Church!

The outside church Christmas lights are up, our halls are decked, the giving tree stands ready to have tags taken as it’s undecked, our home-grown devotionals have found their way into many hands already, our children are preparing for the pageant, our choirs are filling practices with Christmas music, and a small forest of themed trees is growing in Fellowship Hall. It’s beginning to look and sound a lot like Christmas at Fauntleroy Church!  

Advent begins this Sunday, December 27 with communion served during worship. As we make our Advent journey together, you’ll notice that we are taking what feels a tree-lined path to Christmas. That’s intentional! “Under the Tree” is our 2022 Advent theme, and immersed in it, we’ll encounter Biblical stories and passages in which perspective is gained and the indwelling presence of God felt under the boughs of trees.  

You may know that the tradition of having a Christmas tree only goes back about 500 years. But long before that, Ancient Romans were known to mark the winter solstice by decorating their homes with evergreen boughs – symbols of hope and life in a cold and dormant season. Even longer before that, humans found meaning and glimpses of the Divine in the presence of trees.  

I have a Bible in which all the passages about nature are highlighted in green. Much like the more popular red-letter Bible that highlights Jesus’ spoken words (as presented by each Gospel writer), a green Bible draws one’s attention to just how much life and faith has intertwined with nature in the experiences of many. One of the things I’ve learned in reading this “green-letter” Bible is that references to trees abound in scripture. There are cedars and spruce, fig trees, oaks, olive trees, acacia, almond, apple, pine, pistachio, willow and more. Hundreds of references to trees can be found in the Hebrew scriptures and New Testament! Reinforcing the importance of their presence are bookend references to the tree of life in the first verses of Genesis and the last verses of Revelation – its boughs hanging over the garden of Eden as life begins, and as our scriptures end, its boughs stretching to both sides of the river of the water of life, flowing from the throne of God. Under the canopy of both these trees of life, the story of our faith unfolds and deepens. 

This Advent, as we prepare for Jesus and God’s love to be born in the world anew, some of the trees under which we’ll find ourselves include the oak of Mamre, as Abraham and Sarah entertain angels unaware. Then, we’ll nod toward the hope-bringing oaks of righteousness in Isaiah 61 (a common Advent passage) as we enjoy our children’s pageant, “Under the Tree.” Next, we’ll meet Jesus and Zaccheus under the sycamore tree of Jericho as joy in that encounter prompts Zaccheus to embrace the world and life in radically different ways. As we near Christmas, we’ll draw near to the tree of life and a vision in Revelation of the world dwelling in wholeness and peace under the canopy of God’s healing, nourishing love. Though we’re taking this different, tree-lined path toward Christmas this year, the messages of the season will be found in the shade of rich boughs overhead, carols, candles and one another before finally, we emerge on the doorstep of the traditional Christmas story on Christmas Eve.    

We hope you’ll meet us under some tree boughs in worship this Advent. There together, I trust we’ll find some of the most meaningful presents of Christmas: welcome, good news, joy, shared life and the indwelling love of God!  

With hope, 

Pastor Leah