"The River"
This Sunday
July 28   
Neurology and Relationships
How does the make-up of our body, our physiology, our neurology, affect our behavior? Are we at the mercy of our evolutionary development? Or are we the Captains of our lives?

Service Leaders: KEN DUNNING & JORGE MANZANERA
No regular office hours in August. Claire's vacation! Susan Wakeman and other volunteers will be filling in and keeping things running.
Check out our new, repaired website. Wow!! Great. I was impressed. Thank you Mike Murdock and others who completed this awsome task after our old web page was hacked. Claire

skagituuf.com
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEWLY ELECTED BOARD OF TRUSTEES
President: Jim Heard
Vice President: Jorge Manzanera
Secretary: Greg Sherman
Treasurer: Ken Stern
Rosemary Stevens
Doris Brevoort
Tatum Kenn
Pete Smith
Anneliese Sherman

The Board of Trustees meets once a month from 6:30 to 8:00 p. m. Any member or friend may attend and observe the meetings, If they want to participate, it would be necessary to submit in writing what it is they wish to talk about. Next meeting August 8 Thursday at SUUF.
SUMMER SCHEDULE 2019
Services at 10:30 AM

August
August 4             El Mitad Del Mundo
                        (Solstice at the Navel of the World)

Donna recently returned from a visit to Ecuador. This service will include
her personal connection to - and sights and sounds of - this marvelous country.

Service Leader: DONNA RIEPER
 
August 11           No Place on Earth
The homeless arrived at our doorstep this spring. Though inadequate to relieving their plight directly, we must pay attention to it. After all, a housing crisis in the midst of a boom-time portends the unsustainability of fundamental economic policies. We'll look at the underlying forces that produce homelessness in a community, consider what small measures we can take, and prepare our reactions to the larger crisis to come.

Service Leader: JIM HEARD

August 18           POTLUCK PICNIC at WASHINGTON PARK
Come share comradery and food with your church family today, @ 11am-5pm. We have reserved a covered shelter, so regardless of the weather we can be comfortable. This is our “sometimes annual” picnic, where you get to eat foods that you never make at home and catch up on all the gossip. Good times!
 
August 25           Our National Monuments      
National Monuments reveal our country’s history – both good and bad. Come hear why they are important indicators of the nation’s direction as we move into the future.

Service Leader: SUSAN WAKEMAN

September
Sept 1                  Life And Teachings of the Masters of the Far East
Service Leader: KEN DUNNING

For the children   CRE with Maddie Schleif Sunday 10:30 am.

The smaller babies room has a speaker system installed. If you should need to leave the service, you can still hear everything in there..
Decorate the calendar: We are assembling a new committee we will call the Celebrations Team. It will punctuate the year with special occasions -- holidays, turnings of the season, work and service sessions, major milestones. Most of these occasions will fall on afternoons and evenings outside our superb Sunday service schedule.
Though short on helium, we'll be long on levity. Our events will be festive, meaningful, and communal.
Want in? Can you jazz up an invitation? Handle confetti? Clean up the aftermath of a mad bash? Well you're overqualified then, but we aren't picky. E-mail Jim Heard at james.heard@skagituuf.com and you're in.
This space awaits a photo or poem or news or reminiscence from you, when you're ready. Email your contributions to the office.
We will participate.   Will you help? Talk to Rosemary.  Volunteer to support our LBGTQ+ friends and members.

Parade walk: 
We're meeting in Pine Square downtown Mount Vernon on August 24th at 11:00 am. From there we will have a pride walk around town, which will take about a half hour. We are delighted to include church members! Anyone who would like to walk with us and represent their church is welcome to do so! 
We will have a table in Pine Square w ith information about SUUF. We will want to have volunteers there to talk to people who have questions. Please contact Rosemary if you'd like to help at 360-293-4146, text at 360-630-6160, or email at rr_stevens@comcast.net . I will need help setting up and taking down as well as putting things away at the church. We want to have people walk around town. Can you make a sign?  Let's be a hit!
*It is important to note that we are not blocking off the street, so floats won't be possible this year. However, if someone has decorations they would like to include in Pine Square after the walk, that would be great. (I've heard of a wonderful float that's a closet with rainbow clothes. I don't recall which church has it, but displays like that are encouraged!)

Tables:
Mount Vernon Pride organizers are providing one table at Pine Square after the pride walk for churches. Churches are welcome to provide additional tables if they are needed. Any booth set up, including canopies, are also welcome. Please feel free to bring whatever information you like about your church, merchandise, etc. to share with Pride attendees! 

Human wall:
In addition, we are hoping to find as many volunteers as we can for a 'human wall' in case of people being hurtful or disruptive to the event. This would be a great opportunity for allies to help! I am personally providing flags, and in the case of disrupters, we will simply hold up our flags and stand together. This is a peaceful and loving way to stand against hate! Anyone interested in participating is invited to join us in Pine Square after the pride walk as well. I will be wearing a rainbow hat, and will be easy to find! 

Thank you so much to everyone who is interested in participating in this event! Our community needs your support, and it means so much. I am hoping that a positive, loving and inclusive church presence will help people in my LGBTQ community feel they have safe places to worship in Skagit Valley. We are so very grateful.
Please don't hesitate to contact me with questions.

360.982.8897 or email is fine –samera.ales hanee@gmail.com

Sincerely,
 Samera Fleek
(Skagit Queer, Mount Vernon Pride Organizers)
Our woods and forest lands are at the heart of Skagit County. You don't have to OWN a forest to be interested in protecting them. Your backyard is very likely a miniature forest. If you would like to enjoy a day of woodland exhibits, talks and strolls, this event "in the woods" might just be for you! Please go to this "link" about an all-day event near Arlington on August 10 : forestry.wsu.edu/nps/events/fieldday
Please join me and Trudy James of Speaking of Dying for this festive informative event, celebrating my book Reimagining Death, and offering some hands-on experience of what it means to care for our own dead in more natural and healing wa ys. 
Greening Death:
A Speaking of Dying Event
Happy July birthdays!!! Best wishes to Cindy, Rev. Barbary G, Michael H, Rev. Vincent, Andrea, Odessa, Cat, Greg, Disa Rose, Rosemary, Kathy and any others celebrating your special day this month.
The Covenant Circle discusses periodical and book and news. Lately the topics have centered on major socioeconomic issues of the times. The discussion is lively and the spirit is convivial.

They meet every Thursday afternoon at 1:30 at Haggen on Division Street, except the second Thursday of the month, when they convene over lunch somewhere at 1:00. Call Joy Lindberg (360-424-8090) for further information.
Office Administrator, Newsletter : Claire Phillips skagituu@gmail.com Hours: Tue. & Thur. 12-4 pm
Worship Team Leader : Sally Riggers suufmusic@gmail.com Board contact: Jim Heard james.heard@skagituuf.com