Click on link at bottom to get graphical version of the announcements.

Open Arms Project
The Open Arms project seeks additional host families for transgender people
fleeing violence and traveling to Washington State. Can Fairwood Community UMC
help?
TRACTION (Trans*Community*Action) is the sponsoring organization for the Open
Arms Project and their website (www.Tractionpnw.org) offers this description of the
project:
Project Open Arms is a grassroots resettlement project of TRACTION started in
2023 in response to the alarming increase in anti-trans legislation and rhetoric
across the country. Hundreds of thousands of Two-Spirit, transgender, nonbinary,
gender-diverse, and gender-nonconforming (trans+) people and their families are
seeking to escape legislative persecution and violence. The Pacific Northwest has
long been a destination for such folk, and we expect an increase in the number of
migrating people and families over the next decade.
Our goal then and now is to support U.S. red state “transplants” – trans+ people
and their families – seeking safer, more welcoming places to live.
Simply put, the need for host families is great. Gordon Glasgow, our PFLAG
representative on the Heart for Others team and a volunteer with Project Open
Arms, would be our initial point of contact for anyone requesting more information
or offering to host. Please let Dwight C. know if you need Gordon’s contact info.
Thank you for your prayerful consideration of this BIG ask.

Pride Month Celebrations

6/21 (Sunday) - Mitch Hunter, guest speaker in service
6/28 (Sunday) - Join/march in Seattle Pride Parade (after service at Fairwood).
Please mark your calendars, wear your pride colors, and join in!

Special Guest Speaker June 21st
Join us for worship on June 21st as guest speaker Mitchell C. Hunter brings a message crafted specifically for our community in this moment.

With warmth, humor, and a familiar presence that draws people in, Mitchell invites us to move beyond fear, deepen our understanding, and take meaningful steps toward informed, sacred allyship. Come be part of a conversation that helps us create a community of true belonging…

because when it comes right down to it, we are more alike than we are different.

~~~~

Mitchell C. Hunter is a storyteller and educator whose work brings together faith, gender, and belonging. With decades of lived leadership experience, Mitchell has worked across tech, medical, and educational settings, standing with diverse communities and helping them cultivate empathy, inclusion, and the kind of trust that builds true allyship. With warmth, humor, and a generous spirit, Mitchell creates spaces where honest questions lead to a deeper sense of belonging and a truly welcoming and informed allyship.

Guided by the simple truth that we are more alike than we are different, he invites congregations to become communities where all people can belong, become, and thrive. When we have the freedom to live authentically, we not only cultivate love — we also open ourselves to receiving it, the heart of all belonging.

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