Our worship service starts at 10 am and includes hymns, prayers, scripture reading and a sermon. It usually lasts about an hour and 15 minutes. 
We are an inter-generational church and strive to be family-friendly, with an active ministry for children and youth. All ages are welcome in worship. We also offer nursery and child-care, Younger children begin the service with us and usually leave after about 15 minutes. Older children have the option of leaving for a special sermon time. Junior high and high school youth meet at 9 am and then often sit together in worship. Give us a call at 206-524-2322 for more specifics.
Wheelchair Access: The front entry is wheelchair accessible as are the rest rooms. Please don't hesitate to ask for assistance.
Snow and inclement weather protocol
When there is snow or other inclement weather here in Seattle, we do have a protocol in effect. As in past years, we follow the lead of the Seattle School District. * If the Seattle School District is closed due to snow or other inclement weather, the church...
Children’s Ministry – News and Events for January, 2020
Parents of Young Children (POYC) and Family Pizza Night Bonanza Saturday, January 18 4:30 pm–Special invitation for the POYC group to meet and connect in the hour before Family Pizza Night begins. If you’re just learning about our Parents of Young Children group,...
January 2019 Events for Youth and Parents
Sundays 12, 19, 26: 9 am Youth Group (no youth group on January 5) 9 am-10 am Pilgrim Room and Room 104 Youth in grades 6-12 are invited to join us for 9 am Youth Group! The middle school youth group is made up of youth in grades 6, 7 and 8. Their youth leaders are...
Kyna Grace Shilling hired as Director of Finance and Operations
On Dec. 10, the Church Council unanimously approved the recommendation of the Business Manager Search Committee to hire Kyna (pronounced “kinna”) Grace Shilling to assume the responsibilities of overseeing the finance and operations functions at University UCC, a post...
Invitation: a trip to the Holy Land, April-May, 2020
Many of us aspire to travel to the Holy Land. We want to see the places we read about in the Bible. We want to walk where Jesus walked and brought The Good News. But the Holy Land is more than just the stirring backdrop of our faith. It is also a land of heartbreaking...
January meetings and events
Jan. 5, noon-1 pm, Common Good Vigil at the corner of 45th and 15th Start the year by taking a stand. Join us in our monthly public vigil: Standing for the Common Good. We stand together with signs that encourage people to consider the values that benefit us all: care...
Contribute to the Alternative Food Bank Project
Our Immigrant Justice Team, along with six other congregations in the U-District Immigrant Justice Hub, will again collect food donations in January for immigrant families experiencing food insecurity. The generosity of the November collection was much appreciated by...
Homelessness Advocacy 101, Jan. 29, 6-8 pm
Brought to you by the Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness (where member Hillary Coleman works), the Homelessness Advocacy 101 Workshop will help you learn how to speak up for smart policies and robust funding that will lead to a healthy and housed...
Looking ahead to Seabeck 2020, July 5-10
Reasons to put Seabeck on your calendar now If you’re like me, making commitments for summer many months in advance is hard. But it is easy to have one thing on our family calendar that stays the same every year. The four of us in the McAbee family look forward to...
Financial planning seminar offered: important estate planning elements
Do your estate planning documents reflect today’s laws? Do they meet your ever-changing needs and values? Powers of Attorney (POA's) are not all the same. Do you understand what powers you are giving away with your current Power(s) of Attorney? Trustee authority is...
Get ready for Superfluity 2020 – April 2 – 4
Superfluity is a highlight of the spring season. After last year’s sale, we distributed $31,800 to area nonprofits! Superfluity runs on the energy of many volunteers and it is FUN! We need YOU to make it work. Here’s how you can join in: Comb through your household...
Earth Bistro, Feb. 2, 2020: Plastics – good idea or big mistake?
Sacred Earth Matters is hosting a gathering on Sunday, Feb. 2 to activate our thinking about plastics. Our guest speaker will be Elisabeth Archer, from Zero Waste Washington. She is a life-long environmentalist who decided to focus her energy on the plastics crisis...
January Gathering Ground: Mending, writing and a stone of hope
When is something beyond mending? When have you been surprised that a piece of clothing or a broken chair could be repaired? Mending is the theme that knits together Gathering Ground programs in the first months of 2020. Writing, reflection and really good beverages 2...
Sacred Earth Matters opposes cruise ship expansion at Port of Seattle
We continue to hear of our worsening climate crisis and the need for deeper and faster cuts in our greenhouse gas emissions (UN Emissions Gap Report). Meanwhile the Port of Seattle is planning to expand the number of cruise berths so that we can host four cruise ships...
HVAC upgrades: the “greening” of the church
Thanks to the generosity of donors, a new heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) system has been installed for the fourteen offices located on the south end of the third floor. Until late November, these offices for clergy and other staff have had natural...
UCUCC signs ministry covenant with St. Luke the Evangelist Universalist Orthodox Church
On Sunday, December 1, 2019 Saint Luke the Evangelist Universalist Orthodox Church and University Congregational UCC blessed our Covenant of Understanding including: “Celebrating the gift of God’s presence in our midst whenever we gather, and celebrating our mutual...
January 2020 Special Offering: Elizabeth Gregory House
Our January Special Offering will support Elizabeth Gregory Home, a welcoming and respectful refuge for older and at-risk women in the University District. Located in neighboring University Lutheran Church, the agency is working to expand its services for the growing...
Welcoming the New Year and the gifts of Winter
For those who cannot attend church (and those who can) Winter is the perfect season to go inward. Winter takes away the distractions, the buzz, and presents us with the perfect time to rest and withdraw into a womb like love, bringing fire & light to our hearth....
Spiritual practice for Epiphany: geocaching with a twist
The idea that we are on a spiritual journey is a familiar one. This Epiphany season we will experience actual journeying together through the practice of geocaching. A geocache is an item (typically a container holding several items or logbook) that has been hidden at...
November Church Council Notes
The Council of the University Congregational United Church of Christ met on November 20 in the church library. A quorum was noted just after 7:00 pm and the meeting was called to order by Don Guthrie. After celebrating Catherine’s birthday with cake, ice cream, 6+...
Staffing Proposal Committee working on Leadership Team structure
Change itself may be a constant, but the pace of change is rarely constant. UCUCC is in a period of increased pace of change, especially relative to its leadership staff. Pastor Peter Ilgenfritz retired a year ago and Church Administrator David Anderson will retire on...
Sendoff for David Anderson – Feb. 1, 5 pm, Ostrander Hall
Join members and friends on Saturday evening, Feb. 1 to celebrate David Anderson’s 22 years of service to our congregation. We will celebrate his good work with a potluck dinner and party. The fun will begin with gathering at 5:00 in Ostrander Hall, followed by dinner...
A Season of Gratitude
I’m in a season of deep gratitude. I am excited about Kyna Shilling joining UCUCC as Director of Finance and Operations. I’m grateful to her for reaching out and then saying yes, and to the search committee that found her. I’m already appreciating her gifts, skills,...
PNC-UCC Men’s Retreat: Climate Change, from despair to hope
Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, 2020, Pilgrim Firs Conference Center a Silent Retreat is also planned The topic of this retreat will be climate change. In the coming months, please be on the lookout for materials and resources that you might like to share with others at the...
Stories of Awakening
~ Candyce Rennegarbe, The Scared Feminine Team In her book, Another Way Home, Lonardelli writes, “At the heart of the Jesus movement, . . . there are individuals experiencing an awakening to the presence of the Sacred. “(26) If you are interested in nourishing and...
Seeking Peace & Justice in the Holy Land
Interested in visiting Israel and Palestine in April? Tour with “Churches for Middle East Peace” April 25 – May 2, 2020. There is an additional extension May 2 – 5, 2020 with Mejdi Tours, founded by an Israeli and a Palestinian. I’m going and I hope that you will go,...
Communicating your values on your road to planning, protection & preparation for life’s decisions
~ John Kloess, Planned Giving Committee A few months ago, through a survey to our entire congregation, we asked what is important to you as you plan for your future and the futures of the people and organizations important to you. How can you best have your values and...
Planting Trees, Restoring Forests
The Earth is Sacred – Not Ours to Wreck One of the most useful things we can do to mitigate the climate crisis is to preserve existing forests and plant new ones. That’s because trees absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and incorporate it in their roots and...
October Church Council meetings
Church Council meeting summary October 16, 2019 Council Summary David reported Erin Lovejoy-Guron will be leaving UCUCC, as she accepted a position as church administer at Ronald United Methodist Church on Aurora. We will celebrate her in worship on November 24....
Dec, Death announcements
Jane Doughty Born: November 26, 1946 Died: November 4, 2019 Jane died peacefully with family by her side at Hospice House in University Place. Jane joined UCUCC over 30 years ago and was involved in various ways during some of those years, including Superfluity. The...
Superfluity is around the corner
~ Mary Sue Galvin Mark your calendars: We will take donations starting on January 21. We will welcome volunteers for sorting on Wednesdays, starting on January 29. The Superfluity Sale is April 2-4, 2020
Thank God for Job
Back in February’s Along the Way, I said if I were to write a book titled Why I’m Still a Christian, it would have a number of chapters and the biggest might be titled Original Blessing. That’s still true, but the second biggest chapter would be “Thank God for Job.”...
Nov News, Seabeck 2020
Seabeck 2020 ~ Beth Bartholomew, Seabeck Committee Coming July 5-10, 2020: Faith, Science, & Environmental Stewardship with David Roon, PhD. Plan now Mark your calendars! Sign up for vacation time! Be sure you can enjoy the fresh air, good food, and good company...
Gathering Ground: First Sundays
Dec 1, 2019 Standing for the Common Good First Sundays from noon – 1pm on the corner of 45th and 15th Bring a sign, a prayer, or pick up one of our legacy signs. Join us for 10 minutes or an hour of grounding and public witness.The vigils will last for an hour: drop...
Worship & Music
To worship You in unity and diversity… is what we covenant with God and one another each week in worship. As our congregation moves through this time of change and looks to the future, it does so by also looking deeply and critically at it’s past and present. Ten...
Work with Habitat for Humanity
Feb 22—Mar 2, 2020 in Guatemala Plymouth Church is sponsoring a Habitat for Humanity team to the highlands of Guatemala, in Panajachel, on Lake Atitlan. The work is 5 days of helping build latrines or wood stoves to improve the health conditions of Mayan families....
Letting Go and Embracing
For Those Who Cannot Attend Church (And those who can) Letting Go and Embracing Each Fall, we are reminded of the cycle of life as we watch the leaves turn bright colors and then let go of the branches, becoming rich humus for new growth. This can become a metaphor...
September 2019 council meeting summary
September 2019 UCUCC Council Meeting Summary ~Mary Sue Galvin, Council Secretary The Council of UCUCC met on September 18, 2019 Reviewed Budget We reviewed the budget and expenses to date. Revenue from lot C is lower than projected and expenses are very slightly over...
Net Zero buildings
Net Zero, Fossil-Free Greenhouse Gas Emission Buildings, ASAP ~ Lon Dickerson, Sacred Earth Matters The Earth is Sacred – Not Ours to Wreck We recall fondly the smell of wood-burning fireplaces in our neighborhoods, and we’re comfortable with our natural gas furnaces....
Nov 6, Fibre Arts/sewing group
Attention, those interested in a Fibre Arts / Sewing Group. We are going to meet at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 6, downstairs across from the elevator. This will be a chance for those who weren't able to meet on September 29 to see the space we have available....