Partner Church Ministry Sponsors Celebration

Mark your calendar for an evening of international food and fellowship! The Partner Church Ministry of East Shore Unitarian Church and West Seattle Unitarian Universalist Fellowship will sponsor the Partner Church Celebration at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, March 29, in the East Shore sanctuary.

The event is a fundraiser for the Partner Church Ministry and will benefit our partner congregations in Transylvania, Romania, and the Khasi Hills, India. The ministry is financially independent of our congregations and thus depends on fundraisers to make possible our work in our three partner villages. We support the villages through ongoing communication, special projects, scholarship programs, and pilgrimages that are not funded by our churches.

The celebration will include hors d’oeuvres and wine followed by dessert and coffee, as well as a program focusing on our partnerships. Tickets for the event are $20 for adults and $10 for students ages 13 to 18. Children 12 and younger will be admitted free. Advance tickets are recommended and will be available after services.

The event will be held in conjunction with a weekend visit to East Shore and West Seattle by the Rev. Béla-Botond Jakabházi (pronounced Ya-kap-hazi), this year’s Balázs Scholar at Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, Calif. At the celebration, Béla-Botond will share stories about his work in Transylvania. He will also lead East Shore’s worship services on Sunday, March 30.

Béla-Botond, 28, is in his second year of ministry with the Transylvanian village of Nyomat. Previously he served as an assistant minister and as a religious educator. He has studied psychology and is interested in the psychology of religion and counseling. His other interests include leadership as well as Buddhism and meditation practice.