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The BeaconA weekly email newsletter from Cedars Unitarian Universalist Church Serving Bainbridge Island and Northern Kitsap County Volume 17 Issue 24 June 11, 2026
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| | Now What? 
Sunday Service, June 14 10:00 am The Island School
Rev. Barbara Gilday, Cedars Guest Minister Johanna Munson, Worship Associate
As we try to make sense of what is happening in our country, it is useful to look back at some past recoveries, and importantly, look at what successful strategies are being employed in our day. We must not lose faith. We must not give in. And true to our Unitarian Universalist values, we must think and act in love - the greatest power in the world.
Rev. Barbara Gilday came to professional ministry in mid-life, but her life has been full of inquiry, diversity, social justice, connecting and sharing with others: Teaching in Ghana, hosting Japanese Exchange Programs, developing peer tutoring programs, hosting a Ukrainian refugee, to name a few. Currently, she is exploring in new and deeper ways, how we continue to find joy in, and give value to life as our capacities change. Barbara is the grateful member of a loving, blended family, and a new mom to a young rescue dog, Marley, who keeps her physically active. |
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Welcome to Anne Sommer 
Anne Sommer was born and raised in a small town in Ohio and spent twelve years in Catholic school, an experience she jokes she’s still recovering from. At 25 she headed west and, to her great surprise, eventually found herself on Bainbridge Island, where she met her late husband, Ted. She was widowed three and a half years ago.
She and Ted have a daughter and two granddaughters who now live in Oregon. Over the years she has held many jobs, but her favorites were teaching bridge and working as a birth and postpartum doula. Today she shares her home with Tilly, her lively five‑year‑old Aussiedoodle.
She is deeply grateful to have found Cedars at this point in her spiritual journey. |
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| | Help Represent Our UU Values at Bainbridge Pride
Saturday, June 20th 12:00 pm - 8:00 pm Waterfront Park 
Cedars will have a booth at Bainbridge Pride this year. Would you be willing to staff the booth for a short time to welcome people and show support for our LGBTQ+ community?
We still need two volunteers to join Rev. Margo at our booth from 3 to 5 PM. PRIDE events are lots of fun and a great way to interact with people, sharing our UU Values that put love at the center.
We have several engaging activities planned, including scratch-off bookmarks, bracelet-making, a free book library, as well as info about Cedars and the UUA. After setting up at 11:30, the festival will begin at noon, with music, food and fun. What better way to spend a Saturday, than experiencing a supportive event and spending an hour or two to show how Unitarian Universalists are Welcoming to All. This booth is organized by the Cedars Social Action Committee. Thanks to Sandy Spears for organizing the booth. Contact Patricia Erdmann for more info at office@cedarsuuchurch.org. |
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GOT BOOKS? 
Help us tempt curious browsers to our booth at Bainbridge and Poulsbo Pride—nothing draws people in like a Free Library! We’re happily collecting gently loved books for all ages. Bring your donations to Sunday services or drop them at the Cedars Center anytime before August 15.
Questions? Track down Patricia Erdmann at office@cedarsuuchurch.org. |
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| A Message From Reverend Margo |
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| Side with Love
Last night I attended a Side With Love forum which featured a panel discussing our democracy, specifically what we are celebrating on the 250th anniversary of our country. Side With Love is sponsored by our national Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the panel featured our UUA President, Sofia Betancourt. I spent much of the hour thinking about recent action from the Department of Defense reducing allowable religious tradition choices from over 180 to 31, twenty-two of which are Christian. Many of our Founding Fathers would be appalled. 
The freedom of religion that the founders of this nation created was not only for people who shared their beliefs. The First Amendment is based on the idea that the government should not decide which religious faiths are legitimate and those which should be excluded. Deists, Unitarians, Jews, Catholics, Baptists, Quakers and many others could exist and flourish side by side without the government deciding if their beliefs were American enough.
Some of the most famous founders did not fit neatly into religious categories. Benjamin Franklin publicly questioned Christian traditions. Some of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Deists, believing in a God that created the universe but did not manifest in daily life or organized religion. Thomas Jefferson did not believe in the divinity of Jesus. John Adams attended a Unitarian, not a Trinitarian church.
There is the juxtaposition of the First Amendment and the Department of Defense. Prior to last week’s announcement, the Department of Defense allowed service people to choose from over 180 different faith groups to be noted in their personnel records. (They are still able to keep their actual affiliation on their personal ID, often known as “dog tags.”) Among several Christian traditions, choices of Ba’hai, Buddhist, Agnostic, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, Sikh and a few others remain. Paganism, Unitarian Universalism and Humanism were omitted. Mormon Latter-Day Saints were set aside from other Christian faiths. Even the United Church of Christ is now characterized as “Christian - other.”
The explanation given by the Department of Defense was that simplification would allow the Chaplain to quickly look at the religious compilation of their units and determine how they should structure resources “to best provide for war fighters of all faith groups.” As a minister this explanation makes no sense to me. I would only be able to look at a small slice of the faiths represented and then have to guess at the others. This would certainly not be providing for “all faith groups” - only the groups that the DOD has found to matter.
June 8th was the anniversary of James Madison standing before the House of Representatives in 1789, introducing a set of amendments that later became the Bill of Rights. The first freedom was religious freedom. I remain thankful that I can choose my own religion, or none, and that so far, I have the freedom to seek my own spiritual truths. I remember each day that our Unitarian Universalist faith calls us all to believe that all expressions of faith matter. May it always be so. |
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| July 12, 2026, Cedars Sunday Service Potluck Brunch at Battle Point Park
July 12, our service moves to the Picnic Shelter at Battle Point Park for a congregational potluck brunch. Break out your flip‑flops, bring something brunchy to share, and enjoy a relaxed morning as we welcome the start of summer together. We’ll swap stories about favorite childhood summer memories, chat about plans for the sunny days ahead, and enjoy being in community. Families and children are warmly welcome.
The Picnic Shelter is near the Arrow Point entrance on the east side of the park. If you’re using GPS, enter 10727 Arrow Point Drive NE. |
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| | Where are the men? Problems and Progress 
Sunday Service, June 21 10:00 am The Island School
Chuck Walbridge, Cedars Guest Speaker Gregory Cook, Worship Associate
Within the liberal left is a subgroup determined that men are the problem. They use words like toxic masculinity. On the the illiberal right there is the mansophere, a subgroup that seems determined to exemplify toxic masculinity. The lives and fortunes of most men barely get noticed. |
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| | CEDARS Presents: YOU CAN! 
The growing need for food resources in our wider community is unmistakable. Because the most urgent needs are currently across the Agate Pass Bridge, we are currently directing all Cedars food donations to Fishline. Every contribution of cans, boxes, bottles, and more goes straight onto the shelves and is immediately appreciated.
Thank you for giving what you can. Every bit truly helps.
Questions? See Nancy Dowey or Patricia Erdmann or email them: office@cedarsuuchurch.org |
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| | Super Suppers Volunteers:  Super Appreciated!
We have a great team serving Super Suppers each month to an appreciative group of Islanders. For many years, we have teamed up with Kol Shalom to provide this much-needed service on the last Tuesday of the month, at Eagle Harbor Congregational Church in Winslow. However, we need more volunteers! to bring side dishes and help with set-up, serving, and cleanup or help warm up the premade main dish, set up, and serve.
We provide side dishes or prepare the main dishes on alternating months. You can sign up for one or more slots using this link, whatever works for you, and your help will be SUPER APPRECIATED! Our next opportunity is June 30.
For more information, please use this link to email Mike Cox at socialaction@cedarsuuchurch.org. |
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| | Cedars Women's Covenant Group
Mo nday, June 8 (ongoing on the second Monday of each month) 2:00 pm - 3:30 pm Fieldstone Retirement Community The Cedars Women's Covenant Group would welcome adding several new members committed to sharing experiences and feelings on a specific topic in a confidential setting. If you are new to Cedars, this is a great way to get acquainted, and if you're a long-standing member, it's a way to deepen your friendships.
If you are interested or want more information, contact Fran Korten or send an email to office@cedarsuuchurch.org using this link. |
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| | | | Cedars Music Committee
Friday, June 12 (ongoing on the second Friday of each month) 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm Cedars Center
The Cedars Music Committee welcomes anyone interested in joining to promote, advocate, nurture, and sustain music programs at Cedars.
If you are interested or want more information, contact Fran Korten or send an email to office@cedarsuuchurch.org using this link. |
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| Cedars Book Group
Wednesday, June 17th 1:30 - 3:00 pm via Zoom
A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness by Michael Pollan
When it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one-point scientists, philosophers, and researchers can all agree on with a level of certainty: that it feels like something to be ourselves. And yet, the fact that each and every one of us has a subjective experience of the world continues to be one of the greatest mysteries in nature. How is it that our mental operations are accompanied by feelings, thoughts, and a sense of self? What would studying the idea of an inner life even look like, considering we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of the sea? What began for Michael Pollan as a startling awareness of his own consciousness soon evolved into a greater fascination with this strange and elusive phenomenon.
In A WORLD APPEARS, Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness via several radically different perspectives—scientific, philosophical, spiritual, historical, and psychedelic—to see what each has to teach us about this central kernel of our lives.
Please get in touch with Herb Hethcote with any questions by sending an email to office@cedarsuuchurch.org using this link. |
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| | League of Women Voters of Kitsap: Bainbridge Island Unit
Saturday, June 27 (ongoing the last Saturday of each month) 11:00 am - 12:00 pm  Cedar Center
The League of Women Voters of Kitsap is a nonpartisan political organization committed to educating voters and encouraging them to engage in our community.
If you are interested or want more information, contact Naomi Gary, co‑chair of the LWV Bainbridge Island Unit, or send an email to office@cedarsuuchurch.org using this link. |
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| | | Ukulele Jam Group
Saturday, June 27 (ongoing on the last Saturday of each month) 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm Cedars Center 
A new Ukulele Jam Group is taking shape, and everyone in the Cedars community is welcome to join in. Bring your own instrument but we also have plenty to share. Please think about 3 favorite and easy songs you’d like to play. Send to Rebecca Kim to office@cedarsuuchurch.org using this link. She has the Ultimate Guitar app and projects the chords and lyrics on the big screen. Makes it super fun and easy for us all to JAM!!!
If you are interested or want more information, contact Naomi Gary, or send an email to office@cedarsuuchurch.org using this link. |
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| | Newer to Cedars Conversation
Sunday, July 5 (ongoing on the first Sunday of each month) 11:15 am–12:00pm (right after Service) The Island School
If you’re newer to Cedars or simply want to learn more about Unitarian Universalism, you’re invited to join our Newer to Cedars Conversation. This is an easy, friendly space to ask questions, meet others who are also getting connected, and enjoy light snacks.
These conversations are relaxed, fun, and usually run 30–45 minutes, depending on how many of us gather. We’ll be hosting them every first Sunday of the month, so there’s always another chance to drop in. |
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| | Cedars Ride Matching Survey
Sharing a ride with someone to our services on Sunday mornings at The Island School is a great way for us to help our neighbors, build community, and take care of the earth at the same time!
Please take a few seconds to answer two simple questions in the survey linked below, and our Cedars Care Team will try to match up folks who are willing to drive and folks who would appreciate a ride on Sunday mornings and live in the same area.
Once a potential match(es) has been identified and communicated to the drivers and those wanting rides, they will be responsible for working out the details with each other. You can also talk to Susan Shaffer about this effort to match up potential drivers and riders.
Use this link to answer the Survey questions. |
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| | | Members and Friends of Cedars
Do you know someone looking for a calm, welcoming place to work—perhaps for a remote job or small practice? We’re seeking a subletter who would feel at home in a space grounded in Unitarian values such as respect, inclusivity, and community-mindedness.
A bright, furnished 8' x 15' office is available within a quiet, peaceful professional suite just two blocks from the local movie theater. The space includes access to a shared conference room, small kitchen, and bathroom. It features exterior windows, a comfortable two-seat couch, a corner desk, and bookshelves—move-in ready and well-suited for consultants, therapists, or remote workers seeking a thoughtful, values-aligned environment. Rent is $700 per month.
Contact Sandy Spears or send an email to office@cedarsuuchurch.org using this link for more information. |
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| | | | | Our Congregational Mission |
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| | | | | | | | Cedars Minister Rev. Margo Rinehart, Cedars Minister Tuesday 9:30 am - 3:00 pm in office hours 284 Madrona Way, NE #128 Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 (206) 780-0373 minister@cedarsuuchurch.org
Cedars Office Monday thru Thursday 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm in office hours 284 Madrona Way, NE #128 Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 (206) 780-0373 office@cedarsuuchurch.org |
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