Thank you!

An astonishing $7.4 million in donations rolled in for the Seattle Foundation's GiveBIG day on May 2nd!  Thank you to all those who donated to support nonprofits in the greater Seattle area and a special thanks to those who donated to the Church Council and our programs!

Missed GiveBIG?  You can join our Gather the Talents: Meet the Challenge Campaign anytime with your donation of time, talent, or treasure here.

Our new Board President, the Rev. M. Christopher Boyer, fulfills his American Baptist heritage.  Read his thoughts about the future of the Church Council of Greater Seattle here.

Annual Assembly

Thank you to Kirkland Congregational United Church of Christ for hosting our Annual Assembly this year and thank you to all who attended.  Attendance included people from 14 different denominations (with most of our member denominations represented) and many first-time attendees.

Find out what happened at the Assembly, see the Annual Report, and read the speeches, statements, and announcements here.

Spring Rummage Sale Benefits The Sharehouse

The Sharehouse, a program of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, invites you to their spring rummage sale on Saturday, May 19th from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. at 5706 2nd Ave. S., Seattle 98108.

The Sharehouse's mission is to bring a sense of self-sufficiency and comfort to families and individuals moving from homelessness to permanent housing, and to protect our environment by distributing useful household items that would otherwise be discarded.

Download the flyer here!  Check out The Sharehouse's Facebook page in the coming days for photos of some of the items that will be for sale.

Sound Youth VISTA Seeks VISTA Leader

Since 1996, Sound Youth VISTA, a program of the Church Council of Greater Seattle, has placed AmeriCorps VISTA members with partner nonprofits.  These organizations all share a common mission of empowering the young people of Seattle. 

Sound Youth VISTA is also seeking a VISTA Leader to work with the Sound Youth Program Director, supporting 8 VISTA service members during their year of service.  Read the position description here.  Deadline is Friday, June 8th.

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Church Council Sees
Systemic Racism in
Killing of Trayvon Martin

The Church Council of Greater Seattle expresses its profound concern and outrage over the killing of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida.  In addition to sharing our grief with his family and friends, we denounce the taking of an innocent life on the presumption that because of dress and race a person would be considered threatening.  Every human being is a child of God with a fundamental dignity that must be honored and respected.

Trayvon Martin is more than the victim of one individual's hate-filled act.  The absence of justice in the handling of Trayvon's killing is continuing evidence of pervasive institutional racism.  Profound bias and disparity in how crimes against people of color are handled by our law enforcement and judicial system continues unabated.  The message sent by the circumstances in Trayvon Martin's violent death in Sanford, Florida, is the same as the one sent in the killing of John T. Williams in Seattle: people of color are naturally suspicious, and violent crimes against people of color are more acceptable.

The Church Council joins with other faith communities and organizations to work to create an environment where racism in its different forms is confronted and overcome.

The above statement may be downloaded here or as a bulletin insert here.