Dear Union Parents,

Summer is here and a change of seasons can often mean decisions or new challenges are on the horizon. But what that might mean for the future can certainly be unclear. Here at our house, we are pondering a new school. Vocation shifts. Growing kids and expanding boundaries.

Nothing seems clear cut when it comes to parenting.

In a recent Sunday morning sermon in Union's Genesis series, I found myself gravitating to the quote, "Trust God. Love people." As much as I try to know what the experts are saying and apply it, my best work is done when I'm trusting God in the hard moments, with the big decisions. Many times, we are told to love God and that's good, but sensed that element of trusting Him was more concrete and active as we move forward in our day-to-day lives. It gave my heart a boost.

I guess that's why I need to look to the heart when facing change and looking forward. That's where trust is most at home.

As we face the decision of the best school for Caden this coming fall after a hard fourth grade year, Andrew and I proceed without answers, but with the assurance that God loves Caden more than we ever could. The assurance that He chooses to surround us and never leave us.

Psalm 139:7-10 (NIV)

You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

In the waiting without concrete answers, what do we do?

Well, we lean in with faith that God is going ahead of us - always - and has our back. We listen, pray, have breakfast for dinner, talk a walk in a beautiful place, hug our people, drink water and get as much sleep as you need. Ask for help whenever you can. These little acts cushion the journey, gives us strength.

What's on your plate these days that leaves you wondering? Where is God asking you to trust him in your parenting, even without giving full fill-in-the-blank answers? Wherever it may be, everything we face is weighed heavily by our Lord. He just shows us the little steps as we journey with faith and together we proceed in trust.

This week is 4th Sunday and there is the opportunity to talk and share with one-on-one. Maybe take the opportunity to talk to one another or talk to me about ways we can journey without answers, but with trust. These conversations are another way to cushion the journey. I'll be there - let's chat!

Psalm 25:4-6

Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; all day long I wait for You. Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and loving devotion, for they are from age to age.

This Sunday, June 25, 4th Sunday

It's time for 4th Sunday! I hope you and your family with join us for projects and community fun this week. We will be making a GIANT pasta salad for our neighborhood partners and will need big and little hands to prepare and box these lunches. There will be other projects like sandwich-making as usual.

Chandra Jamerson will provide a nursery space for our little ones, as needed.

Tuesdays in the Neighborhood - July 11, August 1 & August 8 from 1-3 PM, Ages 9-13

Let's get cooking! We are excited to announce a summer cooking opportunity on Tuesdays for Union Kids ages 9 - 13 with chefs John Thompson and Kystle Adamski. This husband-and-wife team is a dynamic due who will help our kids learn to cook, have fun and share with our community. Olivia Hill will be the onsite contact for these events, which run from 1-3 PM at 415 Westlake. If you are interested in attending any of the Tuesdays in the Neighborhood dates, please let me know at sharon@unionchurchseattle.org.

Read-a-Rama Summer Camp, July 17-20 & 24-27 @ 415 Westlake

Calling all kids and readers, ages 4-11! Read-a-Rama summer camp comes to 415 Westlake from 9 AM to 4 PM - register now! The July 17-20 camp theme is "All Around Town", where campers will see Seattle in a whole new way through a daily field trip. The July 24-27 camp theme is "Flower Power", where campers will learn to garden and cook from garden to table. Both camps are very aligned with our Second Sunday endeavors, so we hope you will join the fun! Scholarships are available - please contact Renee Notkin at renee@unionchurchseattle.org. www.read-a-rama.org

Cafe Club - Wednesdays at 3:00 - 5:30 PM

Each week, Cafe Club welcomes students from Compass House and Union to enjoy after school activities and learning at 415 Westlake. Join us! For more info, please contact chandra@unionchurchseattle.org

Blessings,

Sharon

Sharon Mead

Union Church Children's & Families Lead

sharon@unionchurchseattle.org

206.931.2392 talk/text

Children’s Ministry with Union July 7, 2022

A letter form Sharon Mead about our Summer focus

On June 18, my Facebook account was hacked. Badly. All my social media accounts are currently shut down until I can somehow prove that I was hacked, which is not looking promising.

At first, I panicked (and I’m still panicking a little) because I’ve used it as a diary of sorts for memories with our kids over the last 10 years. I love participating in what’s happening in my friends’ lives via pictures and updates, getting the latest health tip, and miraculously, Facebook had connected me with a childhood friend that I hadn’t seen in three decades so we could rekindle our friendship. Those were all good things, right? But I began to wonder if maybe that hacker in a dark room somewhere might have done me a favor.

Anyone who’s watched the “The Social Dilemma” knows that social media definitely has a dark side. The 2020 documentary, "examines how social media's design nurtures addition to maximize profit and its ability to manipulate people’s views, emotions, and behavior and spread conspiracy theories and disinformation. The film also examines social media's effect on mental health, in particular the mental health of adolescents and rising teen suicide rates.” (Wikipedia). That’s a whole conversation in itself and one we have considered having as a community. (Have you heard of the movie, “Screenagers”?)

WWJP. What would Jesus post? I mean, it seems funny to think about Him posting pictures of the disciples roasting fish by the Sea of Galilee, some before and after pics of the man with (and without) leprosy, or his favorite snippets from the Sermon on the Mount. Ah, no, I just can’t see it because He isn’t about manipulation or profit or conspiracy or even sound bites. He’s about meeting us in real time and space. Wherever we are.

So, that hacker might have actually opened up a door to more realness and and invitation to connection that I often overlook as I scan, scroll, or comment in the interwebs. I miss out on the realness of talking to a friend on the phone to hear what’s really going on. Or the immediacy of participating in my children’s wonder (or arguments). Or talking to my husband about his day or aspirations or frustrations.

But Sharon, you might say, I don’t even like social media and haven’t used Facebook for eons (or ever), so what are you trying to say?

This hacker made me think that the realness that Jesus extends actually moves us from taking in information to shifting toward transformation. Even if you aren’t a social media fiend, we’ve all experienced how screens have removed us from a level of realness. It was really apparent to me on Sunday when I met a woman in my Union small group in person for the first time. We’ve connected on Zoom almost weekly since March, but when we saw each other on Sunday, she said, “And know we know that I am short and you are tall.” That real fact was never known to us from behind our computers. Our relationship has been transformed in a way because we now know each other on a more real basis, even just this physical fact.

No matter what your summer holds, embrace the realness of your life and let those real interactions shape us into transformed people with the Spirt’s gentle guidance. Maybe it’s something your child says that will change you forever because you hear it with new ears. Maybe you’ll be able to release a long held grief through a conversation with a friend or relative because you are open to it. Maybe you’ll pick up the phone and call someone with whom you long to have a more honest and connected relationship. Maybe you’ll invite someone over for an outdoor BBQ that you don’t know well. These last few years have been a struggle for all of us, so even small steps like these might feel overwhelming. I think it’s just being open to where transformation might occur - as we lean into the Spirit. You’ll know when you feel the nudge how to move.

There’s a story in the C.S. Lewis’ “Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, where the boy Eustace finds he has become a dragon, the outer form of his inner self. He tries to shed his skin and dragon nature, but only Aslan himself who must remove the rough, scaly dragon skin with his claws. “The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart,” Eustace explains. After exposing his real boy form, he throws him into the water to wash and the transformation has begun. Realness is definitely scary and maybe painful, but freeing. If the cut feels deep, I’m right there with you.

Sundays in July and August:

If you are able to join us on Sundays in July and August, kids will continue gathering in the cafe area during worship. Along with the fruits of the spirit theme each week, we will be hanging out with kids on personal level (masks per your discretion) and letting kids know they belong. This week, I will be highlighting the fruit of Faithfulness and we’ll be working at table stations.

Nursery:

Each week, we will have nursery care in the 415 conference room. That space is dedicated to kids all summer and is cleared of extra chairs, event materials, etc. Chandra Jamerson will be our nursery care lead and I hope you’ll introduce yourself to her if you pop in. Chandra also heads up our weekly Cafe Club for Compass House kids on Wednesday afternoons and will be returning to school this fall to finish her degree in Early Childhood Education. She is a mom of four kids and her oldest daughter, Charlie, may also be helping this summer with kids.

Erin Stephen:

Erin arrived Thursday, July 7 from Scotland and will be with us on Sunday, July 10 through August 7. She is a college student and her family has a long history with James Bl and Renee through a Seattle-Banchory ministry connection. Please introduce yourself to her. She is very excited to be with our kids and serve at Union!

SignUp Genius:

I will be sending out a separate email with our summer ministry SignUp Genius. This is an online calendar that shows where we could use some volunteers, if you are able. Let me know if you have any questions about this or see a way to improve on it.

Blessings on you,

Sharon

Lent 2022. Activities for Kids

A note from Sharon Mead about our Sunday activites for kids that can be done in person or at home during the six weeks of Lent.

(Zoom link for 10:20 gathering HERE)

The season of Lent is now upon us as we anticipate the love, light and resurrection that Easter brings. But the quiet comes first and I find that I now relish this time to be present with God and even just present with life as it comes.  Lent gives us that time of stillness so we better see our need for Jesus and then to know Him as the generous, joyous overcomer that He is when Easter arrives. 

 But what does Lent and that stillness look like for our children?  Our hope is by tangibly creating a sacred space for them at home.  We can demonstrate this season of preparation through weekly activities and daily reminders about what Easter means in the everyday.   

Each week kids will be invited (either at home or in person) to create one item that will add to the sacred space. There is more detailed info in the kits, but here is a quick overview of the items that could be collected on a table for this space:

 March 6

Six eggs full of sweets - Demonstrates that Lent lasts 6 weeks and points us toward the sweet news of Jesus

 March 13

Small tree with some prayer cards - Reminds us that we can talk to Jesus anytime and anywhere

 March 20

Sheep - Symbolizes that Jesus is the lamb of God

 March 27 (Worship in the Parks)

Shamrocks - Symbolizes that there is One God with Three Parts, Father, Son, Spirit

 April 3

Communion elements - Represents the last supper was the first communion

 April 10 (Palm Sunday)

Cross with Nails - Reminds us that Jesus was crucified

 April 17 (Easter)

Celebrate with your family that Jesus is ALIVE!

 As the stillness of winter gives way to the new life of spring each year, let us take this time to renew our spirits and pour life into our children through His Spirit.  

 "Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the LORD."

Lamentations 3:40   

 Praying blessings on your Lent season,

Sharon Mead & the Children's Ministry Dream Team