Crossing the sea tonight: Practice Lectio Divina @ 6:30 pm

Practice contemplative Lectio Divina tonight:

Make some tea, grab a Bible, come for centering & connection

Open gathering September 23:

6:30-7pm

We will spend some time with Exodus 14: 10-15 crossing the sea, since this Sunday Sept. 27, Rev. Rich will preach on “Path of Faith.”

We will share a couple minutes in mindfulness to begin, and then a few rounds of seeing what phrases stick out to us, and how we connect with this passage, in the midst of all that is going on this week in our world. Our last round of the practice leads us to what God is asking us to do through this text. Give yourself about 30 minutes to connect in this small group community- that always has new folks coming!

Also mark each Wednesday eve, at 6 - 6:20 pm, we do the same, for the upcoming Sunday scripture, before the gatherings at 6:30- 7 pm.

Let Pastor Lauren know if you want to be one of tonight’s 3 readers!

lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org

Meaningful Movies Virtual Screening & Discussion: Knock Down the House

A rectangle featuring two boxes showing two images. In the left box, which has a white background, are two speech bubbles stylized to look like film strips, one in red and one in blue, with the words “Meaningful Movies Project” beside them. Beneath these words is the website address: www.meaningfulmovies.org. and “Social Documentary Film and Community Discussion. The right box is a segment of a movie poster for the film “Knock Down the House, ” which features the picture of four women clustered together, all looking in different directions, with a faded image of the U.S. Capitol behind them on a blue background.

7 p.m. Thursday, SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

Release Year: 2019
Running Time: 86 minutes
Director: Rachel Lears

When tragedy struck her family in the midst of the financial crisis, Bronx-born Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to work double shifts in a restaurant to save her home from foreclosure. After losing a loved one to a preventable medical condition, Amy Vilela didn’t know what to do with the anger she felt about America’s broken health care system. Cori Bush was drawn into the streets when the police shooting of an unarmed black man brought protests and tanks into her neighborhood. Paula Jean Swearengin was fed up with watching her friends and family suffer and die from the environmental effects of the coal industry.

At a moment of historic volatility in American politics, these four women decide to fight back, setting themselves on a journey that will change their lives and their country forever. Without political experience or corporate money, they build a movement of insurgent candidates challenging powerful incumbents in Congress. Their efforts result in a legendary upset.

The film is available through Netflix or on YouTube (https://youtu.be/YCSo2hZRcXk).  Please watch the film on your own, then join the panel discussion with Meaningful Movies in Kirkland on Thursday, September 17 at 7pm.

Special guest for the discussion is Shelley Kloba, Representative, 1st Legislative District.  

To register for the discussion, please follow this link.  You will receive a link to the discussion meeting by return email.

MORE MEANINGFUL MOVIES: 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 17: Attla tells the gripping but virtually unknown story of George Attla, an Alaska Native dogsled racer who, with one good leg and one outlandish dream, dominated the sport for five decades, becoming a rockstar figure for both indigenous people and white people. REGISTER HERE: https://kcls.bibliocommons.com/events/5f4e7b45636c1c3a006490e3 
Release year: 2019. Running time: 57 minutes. Directors: Catharine Axleyf

Possibilities for Festival of Hope 2020

Red letters that read “A Festival of Hope” with three pine-looking branches to the right of “of Hope.”

In an ordinary year, we would already be making plans for our annual Festival of Hope alternative holiday fair and bazaar. Unfortunately, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, an in-person Festival of Hope isn't possible, but Eliza and other Festival leaders are working on some ideas to bring it about in a virtual form. More details to come as they get ironed out, but for now, something to keep on your radar is that Kim has graciously offered to continue her tradition of providing us with pies (up to 30), despite this strange year. These will be offered for our church community only and Kim will deliver to the church and we will handle distribution to our members. Pies are $12, with all funds for the Festival and we need the headcount by Sunday, Sept 27. Please place your pie order by emailing Eliza at: elizapenick@yahoo.com. 

Also, folks can still buy items from Seattle's Ten Thousand Villages, one of the Festival participants, through their web site. You can check them out, give a donation, or buy some items at https://www.tenthousandvillages.com/seattle. 

Take 5 for Advocacy: Week of Sept. 14, 2020

Image description: A logo that reads “Take 5 for Advocacy, “ featuring the words “Take 5” in red, with the 5 in a circle of lines that indicate a watch face, and the words “For Advocacy” in green. The words sit in front of a pattern that looks like a mosaic of stones, with a green cross surrounded by multicolored blocks.

Actions You Can Take This Week

GET UNSHELTERED FOLKS INSIDE: The Washington Low Income Housing Alliance is asking people to tell Gov. Inslee to use emergency resources to help get indoor shelter for people who are unsheltered or living outside. This includes placing people in hotels, unused dorms, and other vacant spaces, in order to prevent the spread of Covid-19. They're also asking people to tell Gov. Inslee that the state should also ensure that everyone who lost their home to fire has adequate shelter, and ensure that low-income households who lost homes are prioritized in the recovery. Protecting people experiencing homelessness is equally important and urgent. Shelter should be made available to anyone without a safe, indoor space, who is living in an area with unhealthy air, not limited to people who have been displaced by the fires. Raise your voice and send your message by clicking here and filling out the advocacy form. 

RAISE YOUR VOICE ON KALAMA REFINERY PROPOSAL: The time is NOW to give your comments to the Washington State Department of Ecology, about Northwest Innovation Works' and the Port of Kalama's application to build the world’s largest methanol refinery in Kalama. The Department of Ecology will take public comments through October 2 both online and at public hearings, which will be conducted remotely when possible. You can read more about the comment process at the Department of Ecology's web site here, and leave a comment online here. You can also register to participate in the first public hearing, which will be held at 1 p.m. Sept. 17, online here. Future public hearings are scheduled for 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sept. 22, also online. Rich Voget has provided this handout to help guide your comments and make them more effective. He also shared this flier (download here) on the Kalama Refinery and why Sierra Club opposes it, to find out more about the training workshops, and connect with Sierra Club at monthly meetings on the topic every third Thursday on Zoom. Email sept.gernez@sierraclub.org for the Zoom link.


"TEXT BANKING" THE VOTE: Last month some members of Keystone took part in the Environmental Voter Project's "text-banking" day of action, where they sent texts to voters and asked them to commit to voting on Election Day. Our texts were part of the 27,000 that were sent by members of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the UCC on that day. The Environmental Voter Project is inviting folks to do more text banking in the weeks leading up to the election. Every Wednesday, starting on Sept. 16, from 2-4 p.m., folks can send texts to encourage people around the country to vote, with training for those new to the project scheduled for Monday, Sept. 21, and Wednesday Sept. 23. Sign up to join this effort here. For more information, e-mail Roberta Rominger, who is part of the PNC's environmental justice task force, or talk with Pastor Yuki about how you can get involved. 

Prayers of the People: Week of Sept. 14, 2020

A line drawing in gray of two hands holding a heart, behind words in red that read “Prayers of the People”

In worship on Sept. 13, we joined together in holding up these prayers:

• For the communities who have suffered losses because of the fires in California, Oregon, and Washington. For those suffering from the smoke from these fires. Please send hope and carers and rain so that the fires can get under control. 

• For the firefighters and for people who don't have shelter from the smoke. 

• For dear friends who have lost family members, send them peace and healing, and help us be there for them as friends and co-workers so we can be supportive to them. 

• For dear friends who have passed away, and for those of us who miss them. May they feel the peace and love of God, and may God be with us in our grief. 

• For children who care for their beloved parents, give them strength and endurance and love. 

• For our loved ones who are struggling with depression, anxiety, and other mental health concerns, help us be a light and bring life to their sadness. 

• For the work of Megan Phelps Roper, who left the Westboro Baptist Church because of its intolerance of LGBTQIA+ people and others, who carries her insights into conversations with others so that people can understand the power of love and forgiveness. 

• For everyone experiencing grief and fear and anxieties and other unfamiliar emotions right now, and who are uncertain about the future, that we may be able to help them find the comfort and support they need to get through each day, and help them feel not-so-alone, even though it feels that way. Help us help them know that they are loved and to remind them of how much they love others, so we can all make it through together. 

Holy God ... hear our prayers!

These prayers are crafted to carry those shared in worship to our whole community, in the general spirit in which they were given (one pastor or leader makes note as one prays), while guarding their privacy as this newsletter is carried into the digital world.  We also especially welcome you to send Rev. Lauren your note during the week with any prayer request, we are so happy to incorporate it into our online worship (if you may not be up for voicing it). We are also always glad for you to add your prayers to the Zoom chat box during live worship, and we can fold them in to the spoken prayers. Contact Keystone's pastors for any pastoral concerns (contact info is below and at the bottom of this newsletter)

Prayers to include in the newsletter? Email them to Pastor Yuki (yuki.schwartz@keystoneseattle.org), Pastor Rich (keystone5019@gmail.com), &/or Pastor Lauren:  lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org, or text/ call Lauren cell:  773.501.7382