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Worship at 10:45 am | After-Service Forum at 12:15 pm

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Meeting ID: 873 210 124 | Passcode: 2306

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Dial +1 (253) 205-0468 to listen to the service audio-only.

Chloe Meyer will be out of town Thursday, October 8 through Thursday, October 15

Help OUUC serve those in need. Every 3rd and 4th Wednesday a group of generous volunteers bring a main dish and/or side dish to (feed 10 to 12) for the dinner of the 53 adults at the Unity Commons Adult Shelter. If you are able to help once, twice, or regularly, please contact Whitney Godby

Sponsored by OUUC's Social Justice Team, this summer 12 congregants hand-wrote 250 postcards to get out the vote with UU the Vote. Heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this happen! This year's UU the Vote postcard writers: Kathy Boyajian, Ariel Birks, Arlene Colerick, Diana Finch, Jean & Tom Hayden, Anne Hundley, Jan Johnston, Connie Ruhl, Josie Solseng, and Dave & Judy Schroeter. 

Reverend Mary and the Pastoral Care Team would like to remind congregants that a Personal Care and Support Record form is available on the OUUC website.

To find the form online, log into OUUC and locate Connect at the top of the home page. Scroll down to Congregational Care where the Personal Care and Support Record will be an option on the right. Finally, click Personal Care and Support Record fillable.

Hard copies of this form are also available in the Commons and may be turned into the office when completed.

PCT members will be available after services to answer questions. Look for the green stoles and smiling faces.

The information you provide us on the form will allow us to better assist you in times of need and will also let us know your end of life wishes.

Forms become PDFs and will be added to the member’s Realm personal profile, which is private, Only Reverend Mary and Reverend Sara will have access to them.

A Retiree's Guide to Tax-Free Generosity by Sally Alhadeff

If you are of a certain age and fortunate enough to have investments in an IRA or other employer-sponsored retirement plan, the initials RMD – Required Minimum Distribution, very likely mean something to you.  

Saving money during your working years in a tax-advantaged retirement account can be a smart way to build savings. But once you reach the applicable age, you must start taking distributions from those accounts and those withdrawals become part of your taxable income. Net result – you finally have to pay taxes on the money you saved tax free. 

There is an alternative worth knowing about if you are charitably-inclined and don’t need the money for daily living expenses from your RMD. A powerful tax-planning tool called a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) may be worth exploring. A QCD lets you transfer funds directly from your IRA retirement account to a qualified charity; that transfer counts toward your RMD, but it is not taxable income to you. 

To make a QCD, you must be at least 70 1/2 when the distribution is made. The funds must come directly from an eligible IRA to a qualified charity; the charity must receive the payment, rather than you receiving the money first. Ask your IRA custodian about the process, and perhaps a tax professional as well.  

A QCD is not claimed as a charitable deduction. Instead, its potential tax benefit comes from excluding the distribution from taxable income. And importantly, you support causes you care about. 

On December 1, OUUC is participating for the first time in Giving Tuesday, a global generosity movement and annual day of charitable giving. It is deliberately scheduled to follow major commercial shopping days to shift some attention from holiday shopping to supporting charities, community causes and acts of kindness. 



Look for more information soon about a Giving Tuesday Campaign to benefit OUUC’s Endowment and/or Greatest Needs Fund. I’m excited to participate, and plan to arrange a QCD to support OUUC. Note: If you do make a QCD gift, please inform OUUC staff it is coming so we can thank you!

This article is part of OUUC’s “Make a Legacy” series to raise awareness about how we can all make a legacy or endowment gift, no matter the size, to help sustain OUUC projects and operations, aligning with its mission of advancing social justice and community well-being

The OUUC Board of Trustees will hold their September meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, October 20 from 7-9pm. Contact Secretary Ryan Baye for the log-in information and the agenda.

https://www.ouuc.org/request-for-contact-information/

Join the Environmental Action Team (EAT)! The EAT team works to educate, advocate, and empower members of OUUC to act NOW for the ongoing survival of diverse life on the planet. They are seeking volunteers for collection and sorting of plastics, removing invasive plants on OUUC grounds, and attending meetings at DNR. Reach out to Wendy Steffensen (wsteffensen@gmail.com) for more information.

Each year OUUC invites community nonprofit organizations that serve the South Sound area (Lewis, Mason and Thurston counties) to apply online to the Share the Plate program. Bi-monthly awards are made to six organizations that align with Unitarian Universalist Core Values, with an emphasis on racial, economic, and climate justice. The amount of the grants typically total $3,000 - $4,000. The deadline for applications is October 31, 2026. More details and the application can be found at

https://www.ouuc.org/give/share-the-plate/stp-guidelines-and-application/ .

If you know of any deserving non-profit organizations that fit the criteria and might be interested in applying, please forward this information to them. We will be accepting online applications soon, but they can better understand the process and requirements and even download the application now. The application is very straightforward and not lengthy.

-Bob Brennand

The Pastoral Care Team members serve as an extension of Rev. Mary's care of the congregation, which is especially important and needed as we grow.  Rev. Mary invites team members based on their professional and life experience, as well as their caring heart and presence.  The team members also continue their learning and growth together as they serve. 

Ours is a ministry of loving presence, as we listen to the words that need to be spoken. We provide short or long term social/emotional, one-to-one care to members and friends. We work as a team, with a lead member assigned to each request to ensure consistency and coordination. 

We also offer two support groups, one for those who are grieving or caregiving and one for those who are living with chronic illness.  

If you would like support from the Pastoral Care Team, you can identify members on Sunday mornings or at other church events by looking for the green Pastoral Care stoles they wear.  If you are not physically at church, you can reach out via email at pastoralcare@ouuc.org, and a team member will get back to you shortly to see how they can be of service.  

Your Pastoral Care Team members are: Debra Dohrmann, James Forest. Susan Joy, Bobbe Murray, Polly Taylor, Elizabeth Williamson. 

You are invited to register for AGUA's next Immigrant Accompaniment Volunteer Training

Saturday, November 7th, 9:30am to 1pm (we ask you to arrive ten minutes early)

Olympia location to be announced after registration and will not be open to non-registrants.

In a time of fear and uncertainty, AGUA: the Accompaniment Group for Unity and Action provides transportation, resources, and support—because no one should face these experiences alone. We stand with our immigrant neighbors! 

AGUA volunteers accompany and provide transportation for our immigrant community members going to court hearings, ICE check-ins, & other appointments in Seattle & Tukwila & Tacoma. We typically work in pairs to support accompaniments. At this moment in time, we are without capacity to coordinate visits with local detained community members at the NW ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma. Some of our volunteers are still visiting detainees and witnessing court hearings. We hope to continue supporting Vecinos Unidos in accompanying/transporting local family members to visit their detained loved ones, albeit through plexiglass.

We need volunteers from Thurston, Mason and Lewis counties to drive community members from their homes to Seattle and/or Tukwila. We also need volunteers with conversational Spanish to commit at least one day per month to this shared work. Most accompaniments take place on weekdays. If you are not available on weekdays, consider supporting local family visits with detained loved ones in the NWIPC, which has visiting hours 7 days/week.

To join AGUA, we require that you attend an in-person training. Our next training will be Saturday, Nov. 7th, 2026 from 9:30am to 1pm, location TBA in Olympia. Registrants must give at least one full weekday each month to our accompaniment work. We hope to offer another training in early 2027. 

We are part of a growing community mobilizing to protect and defend the rights and lives of our immigrant neighbors. JOIN US!

Please send questions to agua.of.oly@gmail.com

REGISTER HERE

AGUA Accompaniment Training Facilitators: Jean Eberhardt, Lourdes (Alfie) Alvarado, Marilyn Gilman, Holley Rauen, Anne Fischel (we are all volunteers!)

October 11 Weekly Actions

Get inspired to take action with this week's action sheet.

October 2026 Faith in Action Digest 
Find events and learning opportunities collected here.

There’s a new way to support OUUC! Hosted by a worker-owned business founded by two of our congregants, the new online OUUC Store features over a quarter-million products from hundreds of small and medium businesses nationwide. We have new books, plants and gardening equipment, pet supplies, and so much more, all available 24/7. Every time you shop at Little Red General Store and use discount code OUUC, you save 5% on your purchase and another 5% goes directly to support OUUC.

Would you like an official OUUC mug with a lid? These are the kind that are allowed in the sanctuary now.Order from Zazzle to get your very own!

The Yellow OUUC Side with Love Shirt! Get ready to represent OUUC and Side with Love at gatherings and justice events. Order your yellow T-Shirt here!