March for Science - April 22, 2017

Justice and compassion begin with valuing the world. Valuing the world begins by understanding the world. Good data are needed to understand the world. Science is how we get good data. To that end, The Well is a proud partner of the March for Science. We hope you participate in DC, in Seattle, or wherever you are! #marchforscience 

Come and celebrate the importance of science! The Seattle March Gathering begins at 10:00 AM at Cal Anderson Park. The Marching begins at Noon. The march will end at the International Fountain at the Seattle Center. Learn more about our local march! Print off signs and bring them! Lots of great local designs are available for you to use. 

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Standing Rock

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In November, Pastor Katie joined over 524 other religious leaders at Standing Rock, ND to bear witness to and pray for the events taking place there between local and invited police forces, ETP, and the Standing Rock Sioux people.

As sources for photos are clarified, they will be attributed.

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Love Lives - an invitation to decency

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The divisions in this country are deep and wide. Following the presidential election, which left many feeling fragile, vulnerable, and afraid, The Well partnered with friends at Immanuel Lutheran Church to invite neighbors into a new movement - "Love Lives - an invitation decency."

This movement doesn't pretend that all is well in our communities. It doesn't pretend that people aren't afraid, and often for good reason.

But it does offer a different way forward - robust love.

Neighbors gathered at the International Fountain at the Seattle Center to write prayers of concern and prayers of love and hope on flags, which were strung together with twine. People took one another's prayers home and made commitments to add more prayers to them. Can we fill Seattle with prayers - honest prayers of lament and hopeful prayers of love?

You can keep up with Love Lives on our Facebook page. 

#flowers4cops

The morning of July 8th, 2016, the morning after the deaths of 5 Dallas Police officers, and two mornings after the murders of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, The Well's Jasen Frelot decided it was time to act. Calling together clergy from all over King County, Jasen organized 30+ churches to cover five of the Seattle Police Department Precincts - North, South, West, East, and the Downtown Headquarters. Calling it #flowers4cops, Jasen was determined to deescalate the narrative of war between the black community (#blacklivesmatter) and police officers across the nation. As the different faith and congregation leaders visited the precincts, they shared photos and reflections on Twitter & Facebook with the hashtag #flowers4cops: 

The following faith communities delivered ‪#‎flowers4cops‬ to precincts throughout our region.

Each gift of flowers included this note:

"Our prayers for safety and peace on this painful day. With gratitude, love, and hope for a more just and peaceful future."

Queen Anne United Methodist Church/The Well
St. Luke's Lutheran Church
The Church Council of Greater Seattle
The Catacomb Churches
Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (Lynnwood)
Prince of Peace Lutheran Church (Shoreline)
University Presbyterian Church
Maple Leaf Lutheran Church
Luther Memorial Lutheran Church, Seattle
Northminster Presbyterian Churche
First Church (First United Methodist Church, Seattle)
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Seattle
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Mercer Island
Edmonds Lutheran Church
Immanuel Lutheran Church
Interfaith Community Sanctuary & School
Queen Anne Presbyterian Church
Seattle Mennonite Church
UW Lutheran Campus Ministry
Columbia City Church of Hope
Shoreline United Methodist Church
First African Methodist Episcopal Church-Seattle, WA
Wedgwood Presbyterian Church
Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church
Broadview Community United Church of Christ
Good Shepherd Baptist Church
Immanuel Community Services
Northlake Lutheran Church, Kenmore, WA
Grace Lutheran Church - Bellevue

King 5 News traveled around with Jasen as he searched for police officers to hand off flowers to and covered the story later Friday evening.

 #flowers4cops King 5 News Coverage

A few words from Jasen and Katie on behalf of the Well were sent to King 5 and the other news organizations covering the story:

Too many lives are lost. Too much blood has been spilled.

The Well is committed to addressing the deep divisions created in our community because of white supremacy and racism. As an insidious disease it infects all of our culture and is found throughout our institutions - our families, our schools, our religious institutions, our police forces, our businesses. It fills us with fear and makes us treat one another with suspicion. Black lives are routinely taken because of white supremacy and racism. Black lives are shattered. We want our communities to thrive, and that requires the cessation of bloodshed. We have to address this head on if we want to have any hope at all in addressing the divisiveness in our communities - if we want to find our way to the beloved community.

The statement above, while written by Katie, is shared by Jasen. It is how we understand our theological task.

Signed, Katie Ladd and Jasen Frelot

Watch Jasen's video on Facebook to hear his words on why he felt called to action Friday morning. The video followed a few words also posted on Facebook (somewhat paraphrasing the previous statement written by Katie) as some following the progression of the event called for clarification of the purpose and intent of the action: 

Here is a bit of my philosophical and spiritual reasoning for my action today.

I want to make it absolutely clear that I do not condone or endorse the actions of police in the country to a large extent, but As a Christian I am called to Love my enemy and bless those who curse me. This was our attempt at doing that. Showing Kindness and Love should never be mistaken for condoning evil.

I and The Well are committed to addressing the deep divisions created in our community because of white supremacy and racism. As an insidious disease it infects all of our culture and is found throughout our institutions - our families, our schools, our religious institutions, our police forces, our businesses. It fills us with fear and makes us treat one another with suspicion. Black lives are lost routinely because of white supremacy and racism. We have to address this head on if we want to have any hope at all in addressing the divisiveness in our communities - if we want to find our way to the beloved community.

To follow along with all of the action of the day, check out the #flowers4cops Twitter and Facebook feeds. 

Peace Maker Tour

On November 19, 2015, Mike Martin brought his tool to help us turn guns into gardening tools. Learn more about this modern day "swords into plowshares movement."

Just Juice - The Table of Justice

Just Juice is a program started by The Rev. Jenny Phillips with support from The Well. It helps congregations connect the sacrament of the Eucharist with environmental and labor ethics and justice in the real world. Plus, it's a lot of mess and fun with the best tasting juice! You can reach out to us if this workshop is of interest to your congregation.