Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship ~ BUF.org

January 15, 2020 Published January 16, 2020

So Cool! Lacking an MWU yesterday, through which I might write to you, I took the opportunity to experience the snowsome beauty of Whatcom Falls. A smudge of pink finger there at the bottom provides evidence that this is a color photograph. With Gratitude for the community of nature in which we dwell,

Paul

And fyi, some information below about how our Whatcom community responds to extremely cold and dangerous conditions: Winter and severe weather shelters were operational during our winter storm. Information was updated daily during bad weather and we were able to post this information on our door Tuesday night.

The LMM and Women’s Civic Field shelters are operating as usual tonight. Check in for these shelters

is at 1012 W. Holly Street. Please be there no later than 6:30 pm.

Northwest Youth Services Shelter is also open during the winter season. This shelter is for youth ages

13-24. Check in begins at 8 pm and ends at 10pm. Please arrive during that time. Youth can check in

at 2500 E. St. in the basement of First Congregational Church.

Severe weather shelters open during this winter storm:

Family Shelter: Garden St. United Methodist Church will be offering space for families with children

to stay the night. Please visit the Opportunity Council at 1111 Cornwall Avenue before 4 pm to check

in. If you are getting this message outside of this time, please call 360-593-7500 to find out if space is

available. Doors are open from 5:30-7:30 pm.

CTK is operating a men’s shelter. Please arrive to 1012 W Holly St. by 6:30 pm at the latest. Once

checked in, guests will be transported to CTK’s shelter location at Norway Hall. The main check in

point for all adult downtown Bellingham shelters is 1012 W. Holly Street with a check in no later than

6:30.

Seventh Day Adventist Church is open tonight, January 1/14. This shelter is open to adults as

well as families. Doors open at 5:30pm and guests must check in by 8:30 pm. Check in is just inside

the doors at 5321 Waschke Rd. Guests will be served breakfast before leaving at 7am. WTA bus 27 is

the closest bus stop to this locatio

Ann Beck, MSW, LICSW Human Services Supervisor, Whatcom County Health Dept

Upcoming Sunday Services

January 19 MLK and World Religion Day – Rev Paul Beckel The World Religion Day observance was initiated by the Baha'i Faith 70 years ago. Today, with all the division in our world it’s important to remember what unites us. Dr. King, of course, encouraged us to fulfill the principles of justice and respect that have been promoted worldwide, throughout history, but are not always practiced. What do UUs have in common with other faith traditions that could help us to see the possibility of greater harmony?

January 26 Is Trust Possible? - Rev Paul Beckel Continuing on our January theme of Possibility, it’s hard to imagine much of anything positive being possible without some level of trust. At the same time, experience teaches us to be wary. So how do we find balance?

BUF is a community of committed people, as clearly proven by your generous response to our request for “Extra Giving” in December. Thanks to more than 75 people/families, we have raised about $17,000 to help BUF balance this year’s budget. Our fiscal year runs from July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020. Our pledges (July – November) have been right on target, again highlighting ongoing support from our members. Donations from friends and visitors have lagged since July. At the same time, our expenses have exceeded our income by $8195. BUF did not get an

expected boost from the previous fiscal year, when only 91% of pledges were received and fundraising was at 98% of budget. As a result, BUF started out this fiscal year with a deficit in our budget. I appreciate your interest in BUF’s finances, and I’m always happy to answer questions. Contact me at Treasurer@buf.org.

Sky Hedman BUF Treasurer

Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship Summary Income & Expense Report As of 30 November -- 42% of budget

INCOME

Actual to Date July 2019-Nov 2019

Fiscal Year Budget

% of Budget

Pledges, Donations & Fundraising $160,615 $393,999 41%

Rental, Special Collections & Programs $32,810 $88,980 37%

Interest Income and Misc Income -$810 $19,714 -4%

Total Income $192,615 $502,693 38%

EXPENSES

Denominational Dues & Fundraising Expense $10,991 $25,616 43%

Facilities, Utilities, Administrative & Program Expense $55,164 $166,351 33%

Staffing Expense $125,774 $298,126 42%

Reserves and Contingency Expense $8,195 $12,600 65%

Total Expenses $200,124 $502,693 40%

NET OPERATING INCOME (LOSS) -$7,509 $0 0%

Endowment Income $0 $0 0%

CC+ Capital Income $0 $4,140 0%

TOTAL INCOME -$7,509

This information is provided regarding our annual budget only. For full information on BUF's financial status, see the Treasurers' Reports, available for review as part of the Board of Trustee's monthly meeting minutes, available in the work room.

Music to look forward to at BUF in January: January theme: Possibility

Friday 17 Coffeehouse at BUF and Sweet Honey in the Rock at the Mt Baker Theatre

Sunday 19 Chalice Choir sings the beautiful Appalachian folk hymn “Bright Morning Stars”in preparation to sing it for the Interfaith Music Festival on February 23

Monday 20 Bellingham Food Co-op presents a 7pm MLK Jr. Day Celebration at BUF

With music by Chico Tohomaso and the Choir of the Salish Sea and speeches by Terrance Morris, Damani Johnson and Amanda Grelock

Sunday 26 Treble Voices sing for a service about transformation - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - BUF choirs resume tonight, Wednesday, January 8 6:45-8pm Chalice Choir – large mixed choir - newcomers welcome anytime We’re starting out this new year with two beautiful and inspiring songs. Listen to them on YouTube and then come join us in singing them!

Bright Morning Stars https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIpNwKDVXYk Baba Yetu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=or4IKVG2zAA

For more information contact director Kevin Allen-Schmid kevin@buf.org 8:10-9:10pm Phoenix Ensemble – auditioned 16-20 voice select choir who also all belong to Chalice Choir Treble Voices –Group directed by Karen FitzGerald, new sopranos and altos welcome anytim

Sharpen your pencils and get out your note pads! BUF is looking for a ten word (or less) phrase that embodies BUF’s mission. Can you recite BUF’s mission statement? No? Neither can we! BUF has a thoughtful, inspiring and meaningful mission statement. https://ww1.buf.org/about-us/our-mission-and-beliefs/ We would like to adopt a BUF slogan that is thoughtful, inspiring and able to be remembered, in ten words or less.

A slogan for BUF isn’t just a catchy tagline. It’s BUF’s story, your story at BUF, our vision and mission distilled down to a short and memorable phrase. It should inspire us and inspire our decision making. That’s where you come in. Think about a phrase that embodies BUF’s mission and also is short enough and catchy enough to be remembered (and put on a t-shirt!). Submit it in our contest. You may submit as many entries as you wish: Drop them in the box in the narthex. Include your name. Or…Email them to: Contest@buf.org

The congregation will vote on the entries February 2 and we will announce the winning slogan February 9, 2020. The winning slogan will be used on a BUF t-shirts, BUF’s mission poster and on the web page. Questions? Contact Melissa Swift or Sky Hedman or email us at Contest@buf.org.

SWEET HONEY IN THE ROCK, the internationally renowned a cappella ensemble, has been a vital and innovative presence in both music and communities of conscience around the world. Sweet Honey’s soulful collective voice delivers the sacred music of the black church, the clarion calls of the civil rights movement, and songs of the struggle for justice everywhere. - BUFsters are encouraged to attend this concert at the Mount Baker Theatre at 7:30pm, Friday, January 17. Tickets should be bought in advance at the theatre or online. Prices range from $30 to $60. Then join a post-concert BUF gathering at “The Local Public House,” 1427 Railroad Ave (whether you have attended the concert or not).

JANUARY – The month of Possibility

Jan. 19 SET Sunday (Skills, Expertise, and Talent Share) Children will be sung out of the service. We will have preschool for our youngest. For the K-5th graders, Jed and Jesse Reynolds will lead theater games in the flex room. This will be an engaging and physically active session – come in comfortable clothes that allow you to move and stretch! Jan. 26 ART Sunday Our RE art coordinator, Lisa Moss, will be leading an art project delving into the possibilities of the New Year and the vision you have for yourself in the future. Three dimensional collages and calligraphied “fortunes” are some of the ways you can put your imagined future on paper. If there’s time we can also continue working on the Impossible Invention from Jan. 12.

PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT! Theme: Summer in Winter

Friday, January 17 5:30 to 8:00 Enjoy an evening out with other BUF parents while your child has fun with other UU kids! Drop your child off in the social hall at BUF at 5:30 and walk to nearby Elizabeth Station with other parents for dinner, drinks and conversation. Meanwhile your child will have dinner (pizza and ice cream) followed by active games, a craft project and a short, kid-friendly movie with popcorn. The Theme is Summer in Winter and we encourage children to come dressed in Hawaiian shirts, sun glasses and bring a beach towel! Kids will be under the

competent care of our teenage childcare providers and our college-age childcare coordinator Marissa and Colleague Dylan. All children under the age of 13 are welcome and will be well cared for! To help cover the cost of childcare, dinner, and craft materials we suggest a donation of $10 per child, or $15 per family, but everyone is welcome no matter what. We ask that you email Genia, our Director of Life Long Learning, at genia@buf.org by Thursday, January 16, if you plan on participating so we can plan for food and craft supplies. This is a great way for the whole family to make connections with their peers! We look forward to seeing you.

BUF’s (SEJC) Social and Environmental Justice Committee Collection recipient for January is Restorative CommUnity Coalition (RCC).

RCC’s vision is to reclaim lives impacted by social and systemic injustices. It’s goal is to implement sustainable programs of housing, self-reliance and sustainable living for citizens experiencing trauma due to our inequitable civic and justice systems. Working with local, state, and national organizations RCC strives to implement restorative, economic, systemic and social change.

RCC has made over 4000 connections involving educating the public and serving families involved with the justice system. Funded entirely by local donations, RCC offers programs such as Court Navigator Training, Emotional Trauma and Resilience Courses, and Life and Career Mentoring.Funds are used to educate the public about the prison system and to advocate on behalf of individuals and their families. Funds are also used to provide bus passes, ID cards, clothing, training, and personal coaching for those re-entering the community after incarceration.

Volunteers are always needed For more information contact Irene at impeace2@whatcomrec.org. Web site: https://www.whatcomrec.org

Coming Soon -- Thursday morning exercise group Starting next week Jan 23. Come prepared to get some exercise. We will gather around 9:00 am, begin tackling whatever is on the "To Do List". It could be straightening up the sanctuary or kitchen. It might be some minor repair work or filter replacements. Just whatever needs to be done around BUF. Then around 10:00 we'll stop for coffee or tea (your choice), and finish around 11:00, with a satisfaction that BUF is better for our workout. Frank McDonald B&G chair

BUF WOMEN’S RETREAT - SAVE THE DATE!!

Please update your new 2020 calendars with the dates of the BUF Women's’ Retreat: April 17-19, 2020. We will again be at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island. Details and registration information coming soon. If you are interesting in experiencing the retreat vibe from now until April, help us plan the retreat! Be a part of the design and creation process for this amazing event. Our first planning meeting is Sunday, January 19th at 11:45 AM in the conference room. If interested please contact Linda Fels at gr8fels@msn.com or (360) 647-8029

Interfaith Coalition Music Festival

The BUF choir will be participating in this uplifting program of spiritual music from Interfaith’s diverse congregations, showcasing solo, choral, and instrumental music.

And our own Kevin Allen-Schmid is the concert coordinator and choir director for this festival that ends with an exuberant grand finale involving the audience and all the performers.

The event happens at First Congregational Church (2401 Cornwall Ave., Bellingham) on Sunday, Feb. 23, at 3pm. There will be a freewill offering to support Interfaith Coalition programs. We hope to see you there.

Humanitas: Sometimes, Humanitas clients arrive with dogs. Pets? Service dogs? Companion animals? It's a gray area, and not our place to determine whether our clients can afford to maintain a furred friend. Typically, these animals lead a vision-impaired client, or calm a person who suffers from an anxiety disorder, or simply provide companionship during long winter nights spent in a cold car. We have learned that sometimes, a dependent creature even provides a despairing person a reason to keep going. The dog in the adjacent photo, named Sophie, arrived at Humanitas with her human, Judy, on an especially busy morning recently. Judy needed help purchasing propane to stay warm. Sophie was agitated at first to be among strangers in a strange place. But as we spoke quietly with Judy, Sophie relaxed. And as we petted her, so did we. .~ Humanitas Team

Lummi Food Bank: Lummi Food Bank is operated and staffed by members of Lummi Nation’s Commod Squad. It is a commodity food program for low income Tribal and non-Tribal people who live on the reservation. BUF collects both financial and material donations (see the red shopping cart in the foyer); however, a financial donation allows the Commod Squad to purchase needed food items in bulk, like beans. They also provide food stuffs like milk, cheese, peanut butter and vegetables. When available, it also provides food for pets. The Commod Squad also provides nutrition educational activities for LFB clients; including gardening for fruits and vegetables. Each Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season it provide food baskets to the Lummi Community.

~ Native American Connections Committee

Family Promise: Thanks to BUFsters: Kathy and Jim Fonte, Barbara Davenport, Isa Werny, Bharti and Tom Kirchner, Murray Bennett, Rebecca Cowen, Carol Dukes, Carol and David Smith, Patricia Ashby and Troy Dillard. You all bring such wonderful energy to our guests. Thank you! There is always a need for more volunteers. If you are interested in joining the Family Promise team as a volunteer, contact Ann Stevenson: ann.v.stevenson@gmail.com ~ Family Promise Team

EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

Fall and Winter Office Hours at BUF Monday through Thursday, 9am-3pm

Minister’s Schedule Tuesday through Friday

BUF Board of Trustees and Officers Rory McLeod, President • Murray Bennett, Vice

President • Melissa E. Swift, Secretary • Sky Hedman, Treasurer • Angie Lindquist, Trustee • David Curley, Trustee Rod Haynes, Trustee •

Debbie Boots, Trustee Bharti Kirchner, Trustee • Rev. Paul Beckel, ex officio

AT A GLANCE: BUF WEEK ACTIVITIES AND MEETINGS

Wednesday, January 15

10:00 am Humanitas

4:30 pm Stewardship Meeting

5:30 pm Financial Oversight Meeting

6:00 pm Community Night Dinner

6:45 pm Chalice Choir

8:10 pm Phoenix Ensemble & Treble Voices Thursday, January 16

12:00 pm Gabriel's Art Kids-After School Program

2:00 pm Flowering Cherry Sangha Mindfulness Meditation Group

5:45 pm Healthy Relations

7:00 pm Raptor Clinic

7:00 pm BUF Book Group Friday, January

6:30 pm BUF Coffee House Saturday, January 11:

9:00 am 12 Step Meeting

10:00 am Seed Swap

Sunday, January 19

10:30 am Worship Service

11:30 am Post-Service Reflection Discussion

11:30 am Coffee Hour

12:30 pm Dungeon and Dragons

1:30 pm – Celebration of Life for Luthi

12:00 pm BUF Men’s Group

4:00 pm Build Your Own Theology

4:00 pm YRUU

6:00 pm ASL Women’s Support Group Monday, January 20

4:30 pm Life Exercise

7:00 pm Martin Luther King, Jr. Event Tuesday, January 21

12:00 pm Lunch with Paul

4:30 pm HR Committee

7:00 pm 12 Step Group – B

7:00 pm Celebrant Training

WEDNESDAY NIGHT COMMUNITY DINNER Cancelled this week due to snowy weather, back next week!

BUF's website is BUF.org.

Contact us by email at admin@buf.org.

Contact us by phone at 360-733-3837.

Sign up for our online newsletter, the Midweek Update at https://wp.buf.org/news/communication-sign-ups/

Sign up for BUF News Digest at https://wp.buf.org/news/communication-sign-ups/

SUNDAYS AND SPECIAL EVENTS AT BUF

Friday, January 17

Saturday, January 18

Cascadia Skillshare Seed Swap and Barter Fair 12:00PM – 4:00PM Saturday, January 18th Bellingham Unitarian Fellowship, 1207 Ellsworth St, Bellingham, WA Bring your seeds to share and your home made, hand crafted, wild harvested, or home grown items to barter or sell. Meet amazing gardeners! Many local gardeners have unusual seeds adapted to our bioregion. You do not need to bring seeds to participate in the seed swap. Free classes on gardening, seed saving, greenhouse management, fermentation, cooking and homesteading skills. If you have a lot to barter, please contact info@cascadiaskillshare.org to reserve a table. The goal of Cascadia Skillshare is to help maintain all kinds of useful, handy, and practical skills and showcase some new ones. $5 donation, Children under 12 Free Event contact info: (510) 926-0468 or info@cascadiaskillshare.org

Sunday, January 19

MLK and World Religion Day with Rev. Paul Beckel 10:30 am. World Religion Day began 70 years ago, but is relevant today as we consider what unites us. Dr. King encouraged us to fulfill the principles of respect and justice. What do we have in common with other faith traditions that could make greater harmony possible? 11:30 AM Coffee Hour in the Social Hall- Hosted by the Third Sunday Chalice Circle 11:30 AM Post Service Reflection Discussion 11:45 AM Women’s Retreat Planning Meeting in Conference 4:00 PM Building Your Own Theology in the Conference Room

6:00 PM ASL Women's Support Group

Monday, January 20

Friday, January 24

Bellingham Folk Festival 2020 Friday Evening Showcase Concert

7:30pm - 9:30pm • $20 adults, $10 under 18 Purchase tickets in advance here: http://www.thebellinghamfolkfestival.com/concerts Performances by: Fru Skagerrak: Fru Skagerrak takes you on a journey through Scandinavia; from lowlands to mountains, from slow airs to roaring polkas, and everything in between. Three master musicians from each of the Scandinavian countries - the result is an explosion of the sounds that exist in Scandinavian traditional music today. Maja Kjær Jacobsen, Denmark - fiddle and song, Elise Wessel Hildrum, Norway - fiddle, recorder and song, and Anna Lindblad, Sweden - fiddle, 5-stringed fiddle and song.

George Rezendes: George is a lifelong musician (guitar and drums) and has been playing country blues and American roots music since 1970. His earliest and most enduring influences have been the guitar playing of Mississippi John Hurt, Elizabeth Cotton and Blind Blake. Currently he produces and records music in his Toolshed Soundlab recording studio in Port Townsed. Projects have included Rattletrap Ruckus, Maria Muldaur, Crow Quill Night Owls & Tuva Kyzy. He also runs the luthier shop out of the Port Townsend store he founded in 1996, Crossroads Music. West of Roan: West of Roan is multi-media performance artists Annie Schermer and Channing Showalter. Their sparsely set original and traditional songs feature carefully crafted, intuitive harmonies that emerge from deep listening. Annie and Channing met in Bellingham, WA and returned to the Pacific Northwest in 2017 after a three-year period of collaboration in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Their experience of life, music, place, and lineage in both regions informs their searching and soulful music. Richard Scholtz, Laura Smith & Evan Ingalls: Richard Scholtz has been playing and teaching music since he moved to Bellingham in 1973. Though he is most committed to music as an integrated part of community life, his music has taken him as far away as Japan and New York. He sings and plays autoharp and dulcimer. Laura has been involved in the music scene in Bellingham since 1979. Primarily a singer and old time banjo player, she’s especially interested in American fiddle tunes, Celtic fiddle tunes, recently composed tunes, old time duet singing, and folk music. She has taught a variety of classes at the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop for over 30 years and banjo at the American Banjo Camp for 15 years.

Saturday, January 25

Bellingham Folk Festival 2020 - Saturday Evening Showcase Concert 6pm-8pm • $20 adults, $10 under 18 Purchase tickets in advance here: http://www.thebellinghamfolkfestival.com/concerts Performances by: Ben Hunter and Joe Seamons: Ben Hunter & Joe Seamons are songster revivalists who perform acoustic blues, field hollers, fiddle & banjo breakdowns, and early jazz that delights audiences in concerts and workshops nationwide. For seven years, their tours have extended their work as teachers and community organizers in their home of Seattle, Washington. With their unique integration of performance, education and modern-day folklore, this duo redefines the role of a songster in the 21st century. In 2016, they earned 1st place in the International Blues Challenge’s solo/duo category. In July, they released a new album with harmonica master Phil Wiggins entitled “Black & Tan Ball.” 3 Play Ricochet: Bluegrass re-imagined! 3 Play Ricochet is an acoustic string band that knows no boundaries, or perhaps simply respects none. Their music spills over into country blues, ragtime, Appalachian old-time music, and cool jazz; they gleefully steal from Dave Brubeck, Joe Cocker, the Beatles, and Johnny Mercer, right along with Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Pete Seeger, and the Carter

Family. The band members are Peter Langston, Tina Webster, Ron Haas, and Bonya McGarrity. Band leader Peter Langston has been playing acoustic music in the Pacific Northwest for more than 50 years and running music camps like the Puget Sound Guitar Workshop and the American Banjo Camp. The 4 band members grew up in the 4 geographical corners of America and they call on their differing backgrounds to make exciting, multi-faceted music that pleases the mind as well as the ear!

Andrew Finn Magill and Nando Duarte: Andrew “Finn the Fiddler” Magill has straddled the tenuous line of “fiddler” and “violinist” for the better part of his thirty years. Raised in an Irish musical household in Asheville, North Carolina he grew up studying with many of the world’s best traditional American and Irish fiddlers at The Swannanoa Gathering music workshops. At age 18, his debut album Drive & Lift was featured multiple times on NPR and his 2016 two-disc project Roots and Branches debuted at #46 on the Folk DJ charts. In 2014 Finn moved to Rio de Janeiro and plunged head on into Brazilian choro music, studying with some of the most accomplished in the genre including Luís Barcelos, Nicolas Krassik and Pedro Paes. Gradually absorbing other Brazilian traditions such as forró, samba, and bossa nova. Nando Duarte, a Rio de Janeiro native, started his musical career at a young age playing electric guitar on tour with pop bands in Brazil. Moving to the seven-string acoustic guitar he became one of the catalysts of Brazil’s popular music re-awakening with Dino 7 cordas as his mentor and Luiz Otávio Braga, Hélio Delmiro among others as his professors. His career as a seven-string guitarist led him to play, arrange, and/or produce the biggest names in Brazilian music.

Then head downstairs for a contra dance with music from the Golden Gems, 8-9:30pm! The Golden Gems: The Goldengems find friendship through the music they share and a common love of beautiful, melodic, rhythmically interesting tunes. Their repertoire comes from a wide range of old and new music traditions including Old Time, Scandinavian, French Canadian, and the British Isles. They focus on skillful fiddling (Channing Showalter) with rich and supportive rhythms on cello (Clea Johnson) and guitar (Casey Connor). The Goldengems are based in Northwest Washington and are named after a lovely golden apple.

Sunday, January 26

9:30 AM BUF Men’s Group, in Conference room (a one-time schedule change due to the Folk Festival.

Is Trust Possible? With Rev. Paul Beckel 10:30 AM Worship It is hard to imagine much of anything positive being possible without some level of trust. At the same time, experience teaches us to be wary. So how do we find balance?

11:30 AM Coffee Hour in the Social Hall

11:30 AM Post Service Reflection Discussion

Bellingham Folk Festival 2020 - Sunday Evening Showcase Concert

6pm-8pm • $20 adults, $10 under 18 Purchase tickets in advance here: http://www.thebellinghamfolkfestival.com/concerts Performances by: Kalos: Ryan McKasson, Eric McDonald and Jeremiah McLane are masters of tradition who purposefully explore the dark corners floating on its edges. Their individual artistry is enhanced when together. In short, the sum creates a greater whole. The result is an alluring complexity, full of spontaneous musicality. Pulling from parallel strands of influence, they create a swirling level of intensity that traverses darkness, light, and everywhere in between. An air of mystery pervades a sound compelling enough to transcend boundaries and appeal to music lovers of all stripes. The music they create is to share, and live performance is the forte. But their mutual attitude stretches beyond the music. They have been good friends ever since they met, and this is present in their live performances, which are full of organic banter and good humor to go along with the music. Red Tail Ring: Laurel Premo and Michael Beauchamp of Red Tail Ring create lush, intricate arrangements of original folk music and traditional ballads with banjo, fiddle, guitar, and close harmonies. The Michigan-based band is fresh off their fourth full-length studio release, Fall Away Blues. Featuring new songwriting fused with old-time and country blues themes, the album tackles topical subjects such as gun violence and environmentalism as well as age-old questions of place and love. Over seven years of touring, Red Tail Ring has performed their brand of acoustic roots all over the United States, traveled over seas to play in Denmark, Germany and Sweden, and has also appeared at some of the most notable festivals and venues that the US has to offer, such as The Ark, Club Passim, Caffe Lena, the Indiana Fiddlers Gathering, Wheatland Music Festival, and Hiawatha Traditional Music Festival. SVER: Since the group’s inception, Norwegian/Swedish folkrock band, SVER, has gone from strength to strength, playing extensively throughout Europe and the US, gaining a reputation as one of the most acclaimed live acts in the Nordic folk scene. SVER has often been described as “sounding electric without electricity”. Their imaginative soundscapes, grooves, and melodies will take you on a journey over the Norwegian fjords and mountains, into the lively pubs and back out into the deep forest of their musicality.

Friday, February 21

Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival at BUF – Beyond Climate

7:00 pm. Beyond Climate takes viewers beyond the headlines and into the heart of the issues. The film holistically connects the larger patterns of climate change with the human dimension, and what it looks like across BC from the top of the mountains to the depths of the oceans. Shot throughout the province over many years, the collective wisdom and perspectives of Indigenous leaders, local communities, scientists, and policymakers are featured.

Dr. David Suzuki - renowned scientist, broadcaster and environmentalist - helps guide the journey as the narrator of the film. But, David is more than just narrator, he’s a long-term resident of BC, having lived most of his life in Vancouver, and this film is part of his enduring legacy. Now, in his 80s, Suzuki reflects back on his life, how his home province is changing, and offers his personal perspectives on the environment, economy, and opportunity to navigate our complex future if we “pull back and give nature a chance.”

Monday, February 24

Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival at BUF – Blood Memory

7:00 p.m. In Blood Memory, Sandy White Hawk’s story of adoption is not of saving an orphan, but of creating one. At 18-months she was removed from her Sicangu Lakota relatives and taken to live with missionaries, a traumatic experience she later found to be part of a federally-funded assimilative movement that targeted American Indian children. As Sandy defies bureaucratic genocide and works to bring home members of this stolen generation, a buzz begins to form around Mark Fiddler, a member of the

Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians who put heritage on trial as lead attorney in the 2013 Supreme Court case Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl. Mark argued against the Indian Child Welfare Act - a law passed in 1978 to fortify tribes and halt the systematic displacements of the Adoption Era. The Court’s controversial decision to bypass the Act in favor of a white adoptive couple was seen as a win for the “adoption industry,” outraging Sandy and fellow advocates and resurfacing generations of trauma throughout Indian Country.

In this dark-horse political thriller, Mark leads the charge to dismantle the law he once fought to protect as Sandy organizes the first Welcome Home Ceremony for adopted and fostered relatives in Rosebud, South Dakota - the community from which she was removed over 60 years ago."

More info on the film here: https://www.visionmakermedia.org/films/blood-memory

This film is one aspect of what has been addressed in the Truth and Reconciliation in Washington State. It would behoove those of you who will be engaging in the T&R process to view this film along with Dawland.

Thursday, February 27

Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival at BUF - The Wild

7:00 pm. The Wild is a race against time, where the hard-fought-for/hard-won protections for Bristol Bay now seem as fleeting as morning mist. Focused through the lens of Mark Titus’ inherent love for wild salmon, the conflict in Alaska becomes a harbinger to a larger, global question: How do we reconcile human separation from the natural world that sustains us – and if we can change course - how do we save what remains?

How do you save what you love?

BUF's website is BUF.org.

Contact us by email at admin@buf.org.

Contact us by phone at 360-733-3837.

Sign up for our online newsletter, the Midweek Update at https://wp.buf.org/news/communication-sign-ups/

Sign up for BUF News Digest at https://wp.buf.org/news/communication-sign-ups/