Posts by Marcia Rutan
Spirit Matters: July – D-Day
Spirit Matters: July – D-Day I was born on D-Day, five years after the end of WWII. This was never discussed as I was growing up. My father had been a Marine on Iwo Jima where he was wounded, and came home with a Purple Heart and Silver Star. This was also never talked…
Read MoreSpirit Matters: June – This Wild World
June – This Wild World I’m lucky to live on the edge of a city ravine, Willow Creek rippling below. As I write here on our deck, song sparrow, western warbling vireo, American robin, dark-eyed junco, chestnut-backed chickadee, Anna’s hummingbird, house finch, American crow, Stellar’s Jay, and spotted towhee serenade me (according to my free…
Read MoreGet Out the Vote with The Risers!
You’re invited! This Sunday, 6/7, The Risers host a Get Out the Vote Postcard Project in L3 Unity Hall, and welcome all participants! On Sunday, 6/21 @ 11:30 am in the L2 Sanctuary, The Risers host special guest speakers from Common Power, a powerhouse non-profit dedicated to getting out the vote across the country. Congregants…
Read MoreTrans Community and Looming Initiatives
Risers Meeting, May 17: Trans Community and Looming Initiatives Everyone is invited to join The Risers on Sunday, 5/17, promptly at 11:30 in the L2 Sanctuary, for guest speakers and discussion about current social and political impacts on the Trans community, including citizen initiatives proposed for vote here in Washington this fall. Congregant Sandy Varndell…
Read MoreSeattle Unity: Rising Up!
Seattle Unity: Rising Up! As a church group engaging in political action, The Risers seek to continually embody the foundational spiritual principles of Unity: love, prayer, inclusiveness, and wholeness – rather than divisiveness. We operate within legal guidelines for non-profit organizations, meaning no endorsement of or opposition to candidates. Instead, we focus on issues…
Read MoreSpirit Matters: Peace of Mind
Spirit Matters: Peace of Mind Dear Friends, Let’s start with a poem. As we lean toward Spring, our longing grows to throw open the windows and let in fresh air, plant seeds, make room for new possibilities. But like me, you may be burdened like the Ancient Mariner’s Albatross with detritus accumulated over decades,…
Read MoreSpirit Matters: Beauty of the Earth
Spirit Matters: Beauty of the Earth Dear Friends, Here we are, April already! – Earth Day, National Poetry month (the world’s largest literary celebration), and my husband’s birthday. Poetry and nature are spiritual lifelines for me and I became curious to look back to see how that evolved. As a child in Palmer, Alaska,…
Read MoreSpirit Matters: May – Flower Moon
Spirit Matters: May – Flower Moon Dear Friends, If you were a flower, what would you be? The familiar rhododendron in dazzling pink, red, lavender, gold, or apricot? A rose, lovely, fragrant, yet spiky to touch? A sweet pea, tender and innocent, as aromatic as summer herself? A shy violet, content to hide in grasses…
Read MoreSpirit Matters: Love In Action
Spirit Matters Spirit Matters is a new column by Marcia Rutan. Marcia has been a member of Seattle Unity since 2007, and has served as greeter, Earth Care leader, and Prayer Chaplain. She lives with her husband Carl Woestwin… [and is] focused on writing. A published poet, her background includes three yearlong programs (Popular and…
Read MoreSpirit Matters: Hat Over the Wall
Spirit Matters Spirit Matters is a new column by Marcia Rutan. Marcia has been a member of Seattle Unity since 2007, and has served as greeter, Earth Care leader, and Prayer Chaplain. She lives with her husband Carl Woestwin… [and is] focused on writing. A published poet, her background includes three yearlong programs (Popular and…
Read MoreSpirit Matters: Finding Our Way
Spirit Matters December: Finding Our Way My husband and I recently stayed nine places in 14 days in New Mexico, a flurry of packing and unpacking. One night I woke up and realized I hadn’t put my headlamp by our bed and couldn’t remember where the bathroom was. I used my cellphone on dim…
Read MoreSpirit Matters: Kiss the Joy
Spirit Matters November 2025 When Karen R. Smith invited me to submit a monthly column, I was surprised and delighted. I appreciated the challenge to stretch my spiritual writerly wings to see what might emerge. So here goes, and I welcome your feedback! Kiss the Joy as It Flies This is the…
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