Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse | PO Box 9342 420 E. 2nd Street, Moscow, ID  83843 | Issue Date:  July 1, 2026 | Volume #76, Issue 9 | Issued Monthly

July Newsletter Download (PDF)

September Sunday Services | Minister Moment | Message from the Board | August Board Meeting Summary | UUCP Library Seeks Books!! | Upcoming Board Meetings | September RE News | The Fall 2026 Chalice Lighter call ends October 31, 2026| Young Adults Group | Wholly Crones | Month of Sundays | Communication and Connection| Our Staff and Board of Directors | Special Announcements

September Sunday Services:

September 6, 10:00 AM – The Nature of Hope
Service Leader: Rev. Shelly Thompson

Lessons from Nature about Resilience and Community.

September 13, 10:00 AM –  Ingathering WaterCeremony
Service Leader: Rev. Shelly Thompson

Join us for our Blending of the Waters Ceremony to celebrate the start of a new congregational year! Please bring a small amount of water from your home, garden, or a water source that feels special to you.

September 20, 10:00 AM – Exploring Active Hope for Collective Transformation
Service Leader: Rev. Shelly Thompson

Exploring Active Hope for Collective Transformation Ecophilosopher Joanna Macy, PhD, and Resilience Specialist Dr. Chris Johnstone coauthored Active Hope. They tell us, “Active Hope is about finding, and offering, our best response when facing concerns about our world situation.”

September 27, 10:00 PM  – “Hope is the thing with feathers…”
Service Leaders: Members of the Worship Collaboration Team

Hope is the quiet, steady belief that tomorrow can be better than today. It is not blind wishful thinking, but a practical anchor that helps us stand firm during hard times. Like a small spark in the dark, hope gives us the strength to take one more step forward

Minister Moment

Hello, Beloveds!

It is so wonderful to be here with you at UUCP. Thank you for being such a welcoming and caring community!

As I settle in and get to know UUCP, you are most welcome to connect with me one-on-one. My office days are Tuesday – Friday. I am available for pastoral counseling or other appointments by sending a request to my email:  minister@palouseuu.org. You can reach me by phone or text at 775-545-3097. Meetings may be held in my office, or offsite. I also zoom if preferred.

I’m looking forward to seeing many of you at Pride on Saturday, Aug. 29th and worship on Sunday. There is a lot to look forward to in September, and I hope you will join us! Keep reading your Friday enews!

With lots of love and gratitude,

Rev. Shelly

Message from the Board: Introducing our Transition Team

One of the jobs of the Board during our transition along with selecting an interim minister, is putting together a Transition Team made up of members of our congregation.

The Transition Team will work closely with Rev. Shelly during her two years of interim ministry. They will help her get to know our congregation and help guide us as we discern who we are, where we want to go, and what our next steps might be. Together, they will help us recognize our strengths and weaknesses, consider where we might want to change, and identify the things that are important for us to preserve.

The Transition Team is separate from the Board and the Committee on Ministry, allowing its members to focus specifically on the work of transition. Members of the Transition Team also cannot serve on the Search Committee. There will be some overlap between the work of the two groups, their focus is different: the Transition Team helps us understand ourselves as a congregation and prepare for our future, while the Search Committee will focus on finding our next settled minister.

The Board intentionally sought to create a Transition Team that reflects different lengths of membership, ages, and genders within our congregation. We hope that everyone will find someone on the team they feel comfortable talking with about this exciting time in the life of our congregation.

Please join us in welcoming and supporting our Transition Team: Judy Mueth, Kat Clancy, Joseph Erhard-Hudson, Cooper Klippenstein, and Tom Salsbury. We are grateful to them for taking on this important role.

—Barbara Hellier

August 3rd Board Meeting Summary

• Previous meeting minutes were unanimously approved with no changes.
• Ginger reported that RE is going well, Youth CON was a huge success, and she is working on creating an RE Team that will be involved in and support the whole program.
• All six policies under review were approved and will be added to the website.
• From the Social Justice Committee: 24 graduation bags were made for the Healing Lodge of the 7 Nations; the film “The Celluloid Closet” at the Kenworthy was well-attended, and they are looking at showing another film; the July 4 United in Community potluck was also well attended and a “The Longest Table” meal is in the works; United in Community is working on voter registration; Diva Night was very successful; Palouse Pride is coming up August 29 (march to East City Park at 11:30 & in the Park 12:00-4:00); and a film showing forIndigenous Peoples’ Day is in the planning stage.
• David Nelson is now the personal representative for Ralph Nielsen’s estate; if needed, Sue Engels will act as UUCP’s representative.
• The Transition Team is now in place, but has not yet met:Tom Salsbury, Joseph Erhard-Hudson, Judy Meuth, Kat Clancy, and Cooper Klippenstein.
• Next Board Meeting:  August 27 at 7:00 pm, in the Fellowship Hall; future meetings will be on fourth Thursdays to enable Rev. Shelly to take Mondays off.

UUCP Library Seeks Books!!

If you have any books checked out from the UUCP Library, or any books borrowed without officially checking them out, please return them as soon as possible.

If you stored boxes from UUCP in your basement, garage, etc. during covid and construction, please check that all of those boxes made it back to UUCP.

The UUCP Librarians, Ami Scott and Molly Smith, are doing a lot of work with UUCP’s Library and there are quite a few missing books.  They would very much like those books to be returned. Thank you!

The Library shelves in the Fellowship Hall have been completely refreshed—take a look and see what’s new!

Upcoming Board Meetings

The fourth Thursday of every month,
7:00 pm – 9:00 pm,
in the Fellowship Hall and on Zoom: 
September 28, October 22, November 26

September RE News

Divorce Group, Monday, September 21, 7 pm

This caring group is for any and all who have been through a divorce, long term breakup, are in the process of uncoupling, or considering this path. We will meet to support one another in this often complicated journey. Childcare provided upon request. Religious Education office and on zoom.

Zoom Meeting ID: 834 176 2033 – Contact Ginger for the passcode

UU Asynchrony, August 10 (second Mondays of each month), 7-8:30 pm, in the RE Office

A support group for parents & those with close relationships with neurodiverse children

Second Mondays of Each Month, 7-8:30 pm; September 14, UUCP Religious Education Office

Asynchrony is a support group to learn more about neurodiversity in our children and ourselves. As parents and educators we share how to best support our kids, our experiences, and view resources. Together we will listen, gain understanding, empathy, and become more supportive of our children. Open to members/friends of the UUCP and to the public community.

Parent Night Out, Friday, September 18, 5-8 pm at UUCP

We are happy to announce that our next installment of Parent Night Out is finally here!! On Friday, September 18, 5-8 pm, we will care for your children while you get a break! Dinner (GF and allergen options), games, and fun for everyone! Hosted by the UUs this month, watch for a signup!

The Fall 2026 Chalice Lighter call ends October 31, 2026

The proceeds of the Fall 2026 Cascadia Chalice Lighters Call will go to theUnitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon (UUFCO)in Bend, Oregon to replace the aging” commercial gas stove in their fellowship kitchen with two 30” electric induction stoves, poweredby the solar array UUFCO installed in 2022.  Many of the cooks and chefs who use this kitchen prepare food to serve unhoused or food-insecure neighbors and at least 95% of the event rentals are non-profits. The current gas stove frequently malfunctions and presents a health risk of gas fumes. 

This call is open for contributions through October 31, 2026. Contributions may be made online or by mail. Please be sure to indicate the UU Church of the Palouse as your congregation.

https://cascadiauu.org/chalice-lighters/current-cl-call-give-today/

Please send mailed contributions to:

Cascadia Chalice Lighters
2839 W. Kennewick Avenue, PMB 231
Kennewick WA 99336

This a member-supported grant program that supports congregations throughout the PNW to enhance and expand their services or facilities. The UUCP has benefited multiple times over the last 25 years, most recently in 2024, and congregational participation is one criteria for grant eligibility.

More information, including how to make a donation is available at What is a? – Cascadia Growth Fund UU (cascadiauu.org). Feel free to reach out to Jim Frenzel questions.

Young Adults Group

Are you over 21 and looking for an open community of love? Welcome to the UUCP Young Adults group.

We meet up every Sunday from 11:15-12:15 on the Balcony, to talk about different topics that affect us on a day-to-day basis. We create a space where everyone is welcome; regardless of race, gender, sexuality, faith, or ability.

Wholly Crones

Wholly Crones is a gathering of UUCP women of a certain age. We meet twice a month on the first and third Monday of the month from 1:30-3:00 pm in the 3rd Floor Meeting Room/Library at UUCP. Contact Mary Jo Hamilton if you’d like to be added to the e mail list. (maryjomoscow@gmail.com).

The group has no formal structure. Our meetings begin with a quick check-in to catch up on each other’s lives. If they wish, members volunteer to host a monthly meeting with ideas they select to discuss. We occasionally meet in person for a planned activity – going out to lunch is always popular.

We are a group of friendly “life-experienced women” who socialize and explore and discuss a variety of topics such as aging, decision making, women’s issues, current events, medical care, priorities and spirituality in the second half of our lives. Anything is open for discussion.

You would be most welcome.

September 2026 Month of Sundays: Family Promise of the Palouse

Family Promise of the Palouse is a nonprofit made up of area churches who collaborate to provide housing and support for homeless families. This partnership of interfaith congregations has helped many families find permanent housing and lasting independence. The UUCP has sheltered families through Family Promise of the Palouse since it began in 2013 and currently works with two LDS wards from our area to host families in our building five times a year.

Communication and Connection

Congregate. Consecrate. Communicate. A trifecta in varying contexts. Consider church, political movements, the concert hall, a scenic overlook. Each taps into aspects where we are drawn together for a focal experience. In how many ways do we collect ourselves to share deep thoughts and feelings, time and space, seeking something and conveying what we find? 

We may gather for protection or adventure, for wisdom and direction, for language not fully expressed by words, and for great meaning in beauty, belief, or building something fine. Perhaps we just want to celebrate an event, a person, a tradition, or things that raise our spirit and joy. We each need to feel we belong and connect beyond a single lifetime. 

We are social beings who will naturally congregate and who will suffer from too much separation. We thrive on rich connections that casual interactions alone do not satisfy. We gravitate in some intentional, core way to what is elevated in our regard. Our highest values tend to be revered into overarching systems or moments of awe and enduring memories. And what moves us so, we will communicate in art and prayer, in simple and profound ideas, and in community action and legacies. 

What matters most to us, we’ll discover in a common sharing, a shared gratitude and honoring, an irrepressible desire to sing and shout to the rafters, respectfully. Congregate. Consecrate. Communicate. It’s as basic as the questions of Who am I? What is my purpose here? Where is here in the scheme of things? And, why? 

Consider as well … How often do we take the profound sense of consecration into a street rally for a cause? How much urgency or anger detracts or fuels our words and listening to the many sides of a story? Can we come together in our differences to build better and invite exclusivity at the table? 

Will music and magnificent landscapes open us to peace? Will grim images of injustice open our eyes without closing off our hearts to some? Can we get to foundational truths and recognize the holy in everyone and everything? Can we embrace a common language based in love of life wherever we find it and it finds us? 

Why do we congregate? Why is it worthwhile? What do we consecrate? Why is right important? How many ways do we find a way to fine-tune what needs to be said? What is spoken in laughter, wonder, and dreams? Congregate. Consecrate. Communicate….Consider the many angles of depth they bring.

—Victoria Seever

Our Staff and Board of Directors:

• UUCP Minister and Staff
• UUCP 2026 Board of Directors
• Message from the UUCP Board and meeting notes

Special Announcements:

• From the UUCP Board – Masks
• Food Recovery – FREE Food!
• Little Free Pantry Always Needs Donations!
• Parking at UUCP