Spreading the good news in SLU & Pike Place Mkt

On Friday May 19, Izzy and I traveled to South Lake Union for our first day of outreach beyond the U-District. This was extra exciting for me, since it was my first time in the area! After our morning study of the Sermon on the Mount with Cindy, Izzy and I hopped on the light rail heading south to the Westlake Center, where we switched to the Monorail, which I especially loved! It went above ground, so I could watch the city pass below as we traveled. It also took us straight to the Space Needle, so I got to see it close-up for the first time!

Once we got off the Monorail, our first stop was visiting First Church Seattle! We were given a little tour of the reading room and Sunday School, plus a mini history lesson about how the church ended up in its current location. I love how there's a peaceful outdoor area with "God is Love" written to uplift anyone who visits!

Taking a tour of First Church of Christ, Scientist, Seattle in South Lake Union, near the Space Needle

After stopping for lunch at Shake Shack, we were rejuvenated and ready to go! Izzy and I trekked around many different streets, stopping to visit businesses as we went. There weren't as many receptive places as in the U-District, but we still talked to many different businesses and found some who wanted copies. In particular, there was a large Starbucks that wanted some, so we were able to spread out a variety of Monitor issues on their tables for customers to enjoy!

As we worked our way around the city, we ended up at the Pike Place Market! This was my first time at the market, where hundreds of people mill around selling and buying all types of merchandise in front of the beautiful Elliott Bay backdrop. Many of these businesses were outdoor stands, but we also found an area with indoor businesses with more permanent establishments. Most of these were small shops with many people shopping but only one worker. 

Bella at the Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle

At first, I assumed that these workers would not want copies of the Monitor, since their businesses didn't seem to have as much open room as some of the others we'd visited. However, we actually found a lot of takers here! We still met a lot of "no"s, but we persisted and found several people who were interested in copies of the Monitor! This especially demonstrated the importance of having a variety of copies because many of these people wanted a couple of different issues.

We also found some people who had experience with the Monitor! One business, a barber shop, had received a gift subscription from our project last year, and they were still receiving them and displaying them for customers to enjoy! Additionally, we met an art print shop owner who knew about the Monitor and wanted a few copies. We had a long conversation with him about it, and he gave us some free postcards as a thank you for the nice chat!

Izzy talking with a store merchant inside the building at Pike Place Market

We didn't find anyone who wanted gift subscriptions in this area (apart from a few “maybes”), but we did give out more than a hundred copies of the Monitor and had some great conversations with people about it! As I see it, one of the most important parts of this project is being a positive presence to introduce people to the Monitor, and we definitely did that! My hope is that those who received copies enjoy them and share them with others, and that those who didn't this time may see it more positively now and choose to look into it the next time they encounter it!