the OUUC spark

March 13, 2025

The Spark! messages of inspiration from the Olympia Unitarian Universalist Congregation

How to Know What's Going on with Faith in Action — Rev. Sara Lewis

I’ve heard many people recently expressing a desire to know what is happening in the way of faith in action and justice work, but confused where to look for that kind of information. If we haven’t been involved, where does someone start?

First, I want to lift up for everyone that action isn’t a one lane highway. There’s a lane for everyone, and it’s totally fine to not try and drive in all the lanes at once. Here are just some of the possible lanes you might choose:

1) Direct Action. Direct action is the use of our own agency and power of some kind (economic, labor, physical, etc) to achieve goals. Direct action can be:

Boycotts
Strikes
Demonstrations and protests
Blockades
Civil Disobedience
(Other forms can be violent or involve property damage)

2) Community Organizing. Community organizing aims to strengthen a community to be more resilient and empowered to advocate for themselves. Community Organizing can be:

Voter registration drives
Mutual aid organizing
Community meetings
Know your rights trainings

3) Judicial Activism. Judicial activism is the use of the court system to achieve goals. Judicial activism can be:

Lawsuits to pursue justice
Supporting other legal challenges to unjust laws

4) Advocacy and Political Action. This is the use of the legislative and executive powers of government to achieve goals. It can look like:

Running for office or supporting candidates for office
Contacting elected officials

5) Education and Awareness Raising. This can look like:

Media and the arts
Journalism
Teach-ins and classes
Research and study
Sharing stories and testimony

6) Direct Care and Charity. This can look like:

Providing financial assistance
Providing food or other necessary things
Volunteering to provide needed care, such as chores or rides

That’s a lot of lanes, isn’t it? There’s something there for each of us. But even once you have an idea of all these options, still how do we find them? I suggest that you get on some mailing lists or follow organizations and leaders that you admire on social media. And you can start right here at OUUC. I’m compiling many actions and keeping people informed, particularly through the Faith in Action Alert List. If you aren’t on that list and want to be, let me know and I’ll add you (email me at dcfd@ouuc.org).

Here are some of the things I shared this week:

Quick Actions for this week

March Faith in Action Digest

And two weeks ago, I shared this tool for discerning your risk and courage around action:

“Risk, Courage, and Discernment” Forum Recording

Handout with Discernment Questions

We also have teams at OUUC that you can join!

Environmental Action Team (contact Wendy Steffensen)
Solidarity with Immigrant Families Together (contact Steve Tilley)
Social Justice Team (contact Rev. Sara)

Try some stuff out, you’ll find your lane. And then you can try another lane. And together, we all aim for our goals: A Loving, Just, and Healthy World

In faith,

Rev. Sara

March Volunteer of the Month: Sharon Love

It is with great pleasure that I get to tell you all that Sharon Love is our March Volunteer of the Month!

Sharon has been a long time volunteer at OUUC, bringing her cheerful and skillful whole self to work as varied as the Board, communications and website volunteer work, running the auction tech, and teaching religious education. Now, Sharon is co-chairing the Stewardship team this year.

Here is what people say about Sharon:

Sharon is just amazing! She is compassionate, caring, smart and skilled in many ways. She has the ability to be helpful to those struggling with tech in a caring way, never making anyone feel less than. She is open to new learning and a magnificent team builder. She has been dedicated to the OUUC for many years and has made the community better for her presence.

- Rev Mary

I worked with Sharon for a few years on the Auction, and the thing that impressed me the most about Sharon was her dogged determination to solve problems with our system. Sometimes our Auctria software would do things with our data that defied logic. The average person would likely throw up their hands and give up trying, but Sharon would dig in and not stop until she had a solution in hand. This type of determination to solve problems is exactly what we need in our world today. Thank you, Sharon!

- Melanie Ransom

Sharon is very calm, organized, communicative and helpful. As the Stewardship Committee Co-Chair, she has provided excellent guidance and support, providing timely feedback and assistance. I appreciate her dedication to OUUC and have enjoyed working with her!

- Wendy Tanner

And here is what Sharon says:

It is nice to be able to help out at OUUC for the sake of getting important work done, but what really keeps me volunteering is the chance it gives me to get to know people in a different way than I ever could just chatting with them in the Commons. I learn about people's amazing skills and get to spend time with them.

Thank you so much for all you do and the person you are, Sharon!

Do you have another volunteer in mind who would be a great Volunteer of the Month? Please nominate them by using this form or email Rev. Sara at dcfd@ouuc.org

Report from Area 30 — Deborah Ross

Five years ago, the world shut down. Desperate to find something - anything - to do to keep myself occupied, I reached out to Buildings and Grounds to see whether there were any "Adopt-a-Plot" areas needing a sponsor. I received a map with all the available plots: one big one, Area 30, intrigued me. "I warn you," Anne said, "it's full of blackberries, grass, and weeds." It's possible that the reader may not be familiar with Area 30 - it's half of the flat area between church and the lower parking lot. When I met with Anne, both of us masked of course, the view was indeed daunting, but I set to work.

"Before" photo of the weedy patch described above

That first week I came every day, hauling large bins full of weeds to be composted or, in the case of invasive Himalayan blackberries, put in the large garbage dumpster. It was so gratifying to remove a tangled mass of weeds and vines and find a little evergreen or shrub struggling to survive!

I kept coming weekly for the next year or so. One week, a group of volunteers brought along a bunch of native shrubs and we dug them into the poor, clayey soil. More little evergreens popped up, and other natives spread.

I often had visitors while I was weeding - a doe and two fawns regularly came to say hi. And the two-legged creatures would sometimes come by to encourage and say hi, occasionally helping out with bark spreading.

Now, five years later, I no longer have to come every week, and some of the evergreens are taller than me. As we face another crisis, this one human-made, spending an hour in a garden or on church grounds can be a welcome time of peace and perspective.

"After" photo of a beautifully cared for patch of the OUUC grounds!

Reminder about any Mailed Pledges

A green sprout grows out of a red heart, with roots embedded in the heart. Text surrounding this image reads, "Rooted in Love, Nurture all we love at OUUC."

We have discovered a typo in the address on the pledge cards we mailed out a few weeks ago: one digit was missing. Our apologies for the mistake.

If mailing your pledge, please be sure to use the following address:

OUUC

2306 East End St. NW

Olympia, WA 98502

Most of our pledges arrive electronically; however, if you have already mailed in your pledge card and may have used an address other than the one above, please call us or email to let us know:

Phone: 360-634-2005, Ext. 100

Email: office@ouuc.org

To err is human — to GIVE is divine. Please, PLEDGE TODAY!

Thank you,

The OUUC Stewardship Committee

P.S. — Stewardship Drive progress so far:

under the heading "as of 3/11/25," 2 progress bars indicate our stewardship drive's progress in terms of "amount pledged" (in green, currently $395,938.84 or 66.7% of Target: $593,400) and "number of pledges" (in red, currently 138 or 50.5% of Target: 273)

Tonight's Community Dinner and Activities

Community Dinner: Sides of March

This week's menu plan will be "The Sides of March" — come and enjoy some fun side dishes which together make one whole.

All are welcome for food and fellowship at 5:30 pm. If you can help prepare or set up for the meal, contact Rev. Sara.

After-dinner (6:30 pm) options include: Dances of Universal Peace, Social Justice Book Group, All-Ages Game Night, Youth Group, Kids' Class — World Blessings, and UU Buddhist Sangha.

More info is available on some of these events in the Weekly Update.

Tiny Little News Show

In this week's Tiny Little News Show, hear about our midway point in the Stewardship Drive and about upcoming events:

Upcoming Events

Click the preview image below to download a flyer with a list of OUUC events for March. Great for posting on your refrigerator! Looking for more upcoming events? Go to the OUUC Calendar.