St. Luke's Communicator April 2006

Let’s see … hmmm, we’ve got daf’s blooming, Easter on the horizon preceded by a full Holy Week, a yard filled up with Tent City, a mission team deep in plans for Ensenada, St. Luke’s 50th Anniversary celebration coming up next year, annual stewardship program in May, a capital campaign in the fall, the potential for your Pastor to take a group next spring to Israel (and maybe Rome) … hmmm, anything to share?

Shoot Newt! Life’s a hoot around here, if anything it is not boring. So, with all that said, I would like to borrow just about three minutes of your time to read this and about three years of your time to process (by my experience that’s about how long it takes to begin to integrate) what I believe is the next critical piece in the life and ministry of St. Luke’s.

Did I just hear a large “Gack!”? I know that in the world of ministry “vision” stuff is not near as sexy as bricks and mortar or all the visible things we are about like tents in the yard. Given that caveat, it is always critical to be mindful that anything we do by way of program, needs to be in keeping with our vision for ministry. To date, our identity has in large part been defined by those ever present words, “St. Luke’s shall be a place of refuge, renewal and sanctuary … a light to a world living in darkness.”

Isn’t it helpful to see how our programs have been consistent with those words? Indeed, blessed by them. To revisit them is not to imply they are no longer relevant as much as it is to wonder, out loud, how they might morph to better provide direction for the next 50 years of ministry. Given our approaching anniversary it is a significant conversation. At this moment I cannot offer you a next addition of our vision statement but I can suggest that based on current conversation among board members, being more present in our local community/neighborhood is important.

What will our ministry look like to this next generation? Want to be a part of the conversation?

P.S. Want to work on our stewardship campaign, go to Ensenada, our next capital campaign, go to Israel?

With Open Hands

“With Open Hands” — that’s the name of a book by Henri Nouwen. It’s also the theme of the Lutheran Staff Association conference I attended in March. LSA is an assembly of professional lay ministers who serve in Lutheran congregations, agencies and in specialized settings who gather annually. Our goal is to clarify the role of lay ministry; promote individual development through education and training; convene lay ministers for inspiration and sharing of mutual concerns; and encourage lay ministry as a vocation.

Our keynote speaker and Bible Study leader was Rev. Janine Goodrich from Newport, Washington. Allow me to share some of what I recall (I knitted on a prayer shawl instead of taking notes) from her five sessions.

We are all broken in some way. God is ready to give us good things but our hands are too full. When we clench our fists, we hold tight to whatever is in our hands. When we let go, we relax. To illustrate this we were invited to take a stone, clench it tightly, then release it in a bowl of water. This helped me to think about how this is true for our time, money and gifts. When I protect my time for myself, I seem to have less of it. When I share my time with others, blessings come my way and my time is enlarged. When I give my tithe to God first, the other material needs of life seem to be met. There is always enough. When I share my spiritual gifts with others, the blessings return again to me.

During times of grief, our hands feel empty. God is able to come to us and fill that void with love. God uses people to fill those voids. People can be God “with skin on.” That’s one of the reasons we have a Grief Support Group at St. Luke’s. On the third Wednesday of the month we meet to listen to one another and to support one another. Sometimes we think of grief as the big losses of life, however we can experience grief as a result of many everyday unmet expectations. Life doesn’t always turn out the way we expected. God is there for us, sometimes as a person.

“To pray means to open your hands before God. It means slowly relaxing the tension which squeezes your hands together and accepting your existence with an increasing readiness, not as a possession to defend, but as a gift to receive. Above all, therefore, prayer is a way of life which allows you to find a stillness in the midst of the world where you open your hands to God’s promises, and find hope for yourself and the whole

community in which you live. In prayer, you encounter God in the soft breeze, in the distress and joy of your neighbor and in the loneliness of your own heart.”

~ From “With Open Hands,” Henri J.M. Nouwen

At the end of February the youth participated in a hunger awareness event with Grace Lutheran Church. This event went very well but one part that was very meaningful for everyone (especially me) was the hunger awareness meal. If you haven’t heard of it or been a part of it, you are really missing out. The youth were divided into four groups: one representing the rich (1% of the world); middle class; working class; and poor (60% of the world). The one person in the rich group got

a nice meal of chicken Alfredo, cake and sparkling cider. Two people in the middle class had pizza and pop. Four were in the working class and had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with bottled water. The rest of the youth (8 or 10) sat in a square in the middle of the room and shared a bowl of rice and a jug of water. The person who ate the rich meal felt badly about having such a nice meal and didn’t want to finish after seeing what others had to eat. It was a great experience and made us think about how good we have it compared to those who share that bowl of rice every day.

Thank you to those who have donated couches and other items for the youth space. If anyone else would like to donate anything else, please let Ben Richards know.

Take a look at the youth calendar for all the other events that are going on. Take care and God bless!

Easter is approaching quickly, and many of you know what that means…Easter Egg Hunt! St. Luke’s Annual Easter Egg Hunt will be on Saturday, April 15^th at 10:00 a.m., so bring your Easter baskets and let’s hunt some eggs. Please be aware of the donation boxes that will be in the narthex. You can purchase some of your favorite candies and some plastic eggs and put them in the boxes. Don’t worry; the high schoolers will be stuffing the eggs.

There will be a meeting for all Sunday School teachers on Wednesday, April 5^th at 6:00 p.m. We will have Lenten soup supper, but take it into the library and eat. Please come and have conversation about a monthly meeting that will allow support and conversation about Sunday School. It will also be a time to pray for one another.

The next Faith Formation Meeting is on Wednesday, April 5^th directly following the Lenten service (about 7:30 p.m.).

The dates for Vacation Bible School are August 7-11. We will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 12:00 p.m. If you have interest in helping with VBS please contact me for more information.

Natalie Larson
Director of Children’s Ministry
St. Luke’s Lutheran Church
(425) 281-8100
Natalie@slukes.org

Palm Sunday – April 9

The gift of Lent is an intentional opportunity to focus on reflection and discovery. As the calendar moves us closer to the celebration of Easter, we will reflect on the entire Passion Story on Palm Sunday, April 9^th. Our worship services will begin outside (weather permitting) with the procession of palms, and the Gospel lesson for the day will lead us through the Passion.

The Three Days – Holy Week Schedule

Maundy Thursday - April 13th at 7:00pm		Celebrate the Last Supper, foot washing and stripping of the altar
Good Friday - April 14th at 7:00pm		Tenebrae Service
Easter Vigil - April 15th at 7:00pm		Includes Catechumenate baptisms
Easter Sunday - April 16th at 8:30 and 11:00am		Brunch between services

~Amy Corsini, Worship Coordinator

For Lutherans, worship matters. In fact, worship lies at the heart of how we understand ourselves together. Today, worship practices among Lutherans reflect different patterns, different pieties, different ethnic backgrounds and experiences, and some influences that are not Lutheran at all. For the sake of the mission we share and with the hope of coming to understand more deeply who we are as Lutheran Christians together, With the Whole Church invites people from every corner of the church into conversation and study about worship.

This study guide is part of the Renewing Worship project, which was initiated by the Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in the fall of 2000. Over the next five years, Renewing Worship involved thousands of people in the process of identifying things we hold in common and developing materials that will shape the next generation of worship resources. Timing for this shared work was determined by need. Recognizing growing diversity within this church regarding worship practices and the challenges of being responsive to changing mission needs, Renewing Worship literally renewed an ongoing conversation.

After Easter, Jim Frerichs will lead us in a seven week study for Renewing Worship: Jim has a passion for worship and liturgy; we are fortunate to have him lead this study. This will be helpful for new members, those who have been Lutheran a long time, and those new to the faith. Come April 23^rd and see what it’s all about.

May 14 Session 4: Means of Grace – The Word in Holy Baptism and Holy Communion

I’m a different person since Tent City IV came into my life. How about you? How many homeless people did you know personally before Tent City arrived? I knew none by name, now I know at least 50. I’ve got all kinds of new friends in my life because of this, some with homes and some without.

Here are four things I can’t imagine I would have had the opportunity to do if it weren’t for St. Luke’s hosting of Tent City IV:

I’ve also now met more faith-filled people then I have in a very long time. By faith-filled, I mean people who are openly practicing their faith — people who respond when asked with open and generous hearts. Not just with money or food, but with their time and their talents, all to make the Tent City IV residents a little more comfortable during their stay at St. Luke’s.

Here are just a few of the adventures I’ve been privileged to go on thanks to Tent City IV residing in our backyard:

The outreach that is happening is amazing to me. We have so many visitors to our church, so many people who want to help. What will we do when our 90 days are up and Tent City IV must move on? I will miss them a lot. I hope they don’t have to move too far away. I am a kinder, gentler person because of their presence in my life. I don’t want that feeling to go away. I think others feel this way too, how will we fill the void?

Are you looking for a way to contribute to Tent City IV? Here are some simple ways you can help.

There are weekly grocery needs that need to be met. You can pick up one or more of the following items and deliver them to Tent City: cheese, eggs, non-dairy creamer, butter, margarine, lunch meat, hot dogs, salt, sugar, mayonnaise, mustard, etc. With approximately 50 people fixing breakfast and lunch on a daily basis you can imagine how much food they go through.

On Sunday mornings we will let you know of the more immediate needs. It might be creamer; paper products or garbage bags. Changes occur daily so we will keep you posted.

Also have you noticed how nice our church grounds are looking? We can thank many of the residents of Tent City for turning out on Saturday, March 11 (our monthly clean-up day) and joining our work party. They worked alongside the St. Luke’s folks sprucing up the grounds for Holy Week.

As we have said before, the experience of hosting Tent City IV is a blessing in our lives and adds depth and dimension to us. The residents are grateful to have a place in our back yard and we are grateful for the opportunity to host them.

Remember — if you are making a Costco run, perhaps you could pick up some of the needed items; our guests will be truly appreciative.

Facilities Update

As noted in the Tent City News article, residents of Tent City IV helped at our March 11 monthly clean-up. Windows were washed, weeding and pruning done, driveway blown clear and everyone had a great time. Much was accomplished and a special thank you to Joan Jackson and Jodi Daub for coordinating the work party.

Our last clean-up date before Easter is Saturday, April 8 beginning at 9:00 a.m. The weather reporter has called for a sunny day so we are asking you to turn out so we can show St. Luke’s off to our visitors on Easter Sunday. We also need someone to coordinate the work party, so please call Dana Kim at (425) 765-1912 or the church office to volunteer.

With spring and warm weather approaching and use of our church growing, we need to emphasize the need for tight security. Whoever is the last to leave is responsible for securing the building. This means you must be sure all windows are closed, doors shut and locked, lights turned off, electrical appliances unplugged, and, yes this has happened, faucets should be turned off! Due to some earlier false alarms, we are now being charged $150 if police respond to an alarm.

St. Luke’s will soon be getting a new sign for Bellevue Way which will be seen from both directions. If you would like to make a donation toward the new sign, please mark “sign” in the memo portion of your check. The sign will invite the many travelers along Bellevue Way to our worship services and other special events.

Jodi Daub, office administrator, is in charge of the master calendar for St. Luke’s. Please be sure to call her if you need to reserve a space so there are no conflicts. Jodi is in the office Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Yes, the ovens were able to be repaired. The problem had been that they weren’t reaching the proper temperature. The solution? Let the ovens heat up for 30 minutes before cooking/baking.

St. Luke’s Annual Taco Feed will be on Sunday, April 2following the 11:00 a.m. service. Please come and feast on some tacos as well as remember last year’s trip through pictures. You can hear more about the group that is going this year and help raise funds for them and the houses they will be building.

Let’s all get on our computers and invite friends and relatives to St. Luke’s taco feed on Sunday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m. This fundraiser will help buy materials for two houses we plan to build in Ensenada ($4,250 per house). Come hungry and learn to make tortillas from scratch!

The Amigo Sponsorship Program

Each person going to Ensenada is responsible for the cost of all the building materials, food, water, supplies and transportation. Our total cost is about $950 per person. We are trying to supplement the cost with a new sponsorship program. This new program is called the Amigo Program. Would you consider being a part of this program by becoming a St. Luke’s Amigo Sponsor? Consider becoming a member of one of the following "clubs"

Club de los Amigos (Friends Club up to $30)

Club de los Discipulos (Disciples Club - $31-$99)

Club de los Apostles (Apostles Club - $100-$249)

Club de Amor del Dios (Love of God Club - $250-$499)

Club de los Evangelistas (Evangelist Club - $500 or more)

As an Amigo Sponsor you will receive:

An Amigo penpal that will contact you through a personal letter to thank you for sponsoring this year’s Ensenada Mission trip.
A postcard from your penpal during their Mexico Mission experience.
A special invitation to be the guest of your penpal at a free “thank you” Amigo dessert. At the dessert you will have the opportunity to hear many of the stories the students and adults will have to share about their mission experience.

Judy Ness is the Community Life Facilitator for the month of April. She is in charge of a group of members and friends within the church who are asked to help provide the coffee and refreshments on Sunday mornings and with Easter brunch. Members of her group will only be called upon to help with these types of activities this month. Your participation is wonderful and welcomed.

Burton, Bill & Cara; Charouhas, Tom & Diane; Corsini, Tomas & Amy; Davison, Carrie & Steve; Finnegan, Kathy; Hoetmer, Ron & Karenjean; Jackson, Allen & Joan; Johne, Kim & Paul; Krueger, Robin; Monson, Gus & Melanie; Mutschler, Lucille; Ness, Arne; Rongstad, Al; Saxegaard, Finn & Sharriee; Ziehl, Bill, Jr. & Lisa

Thank you so much for volunteering your help when Judy calls. If you have questions, feel free to call her at (206) 779-6971.

Recently, I was talking with a church member who related a story to me about some man who apparently was a salesperson who wanted to visit her in her home. He didn’t give his name, the name of his company or the reason for his visit. He would not send anything to her in the mail, saying he could explain it better in person. This sounded rather fishy to her so she hung up on him. Had she let him in, he could have been looking her home over for a future robbery or some other mischief.

We are surrounded with opportunities to be “taken in” by all sorts of scams and need to be more vigilant each day. Please be very careful about who you let into your home or give information to and in what form. For example, folks are trying to get you to confirm information about your bank accounts, etc., often by e-mail. I received one of these messages yesterday stating that some third party had tried to access my account, that my account was frozen and to regain access, I should confirm my personal information for them. I guess this scam has been around for ages, but this was my first exposure. I called my bank and was told that banks don’t ask for information through e-mails. I forwarded the e-mail to the bank’s abuse division.

Please be careful – we don’t need to give any more help to these con artists! Don’t you wonder how successful they would be if they directed their energies to lawful pursuits??

Judy Pagnotta

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), an independent fellowship of recovering alcoholics founded in 1935, has played an important part in the recovery from the disease of alcoholism for countless men, women and teens throughout the Puget Sound area. At present there are thousands of members in East King County. Individuals are available to explain what AA is all about and share their experience of living successfully in sobriety. More information about Alcoholics Anonymous is available online at http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org or for the Eastside Intergroup,

http://www.eastsideintergroup.org. The Intergroup office phone number is (425) 454-919. A comprehensive flyer with information on Alcoholics Anonymous is available in the rack by the office. St. Luke’s also hosts an AA meeting every Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m.

Our annual spring luncheon will be held on Saturday, May 13. We will begin at 11:30 a.m. with time for punch and fellowship followed by a potluck salad luncheon. The program is still to be determined but mark your calendar now so you don't miss out. More details will follow as information becomes available.

Please bring a breakfast dish to share and join on us Easter morning from 9:30 to 11:00 a.m. Come and enjoy the celebration and fellowship of the day. If you would like to help with the festivity, please contact Judy Ness at (206) 779-6971.

There are still a few copies yet available of Gene Edward Veith, Jr.’s book, “The Spirituality of the Cross.” The cost of the book is $12.00. Pick up a copy in the narthex and join us for what has been a year long conversation about the nature of Christian spirituality and what it means for our daily living.

We are planning a special time to honor our shut-ins and those who find it difficult to attend worship. Do you wish you could visit with people from St. Luke’s? Let us know and we will work together to help you attend this special function. Call Roselyn at (425) 822-7907 with questions or to let her know you would like to come. We’ll also publish more information later.

Church picnic will be held June 11. Watch for more details.
Join the St. Luke’s Community for camping at Daroga State Park July 13-16.

We are currently looking for people who would enjoy working on an ad hoc committee charged with planning a number of events to aid us in the celebration of this remarkable achievement. There exists in this a wonderful and life-giving opportunity to participate in the life of this congregation. If you are interested please let pastor or Anne Bly, congregational president, know.

Pastor Tom is currently sampling the mood of our congregation to see if there is sufficient interest to begin making plans for such an experience. If this is something you might in fact be open to, leave your name with him or the church office. There could also be the possibility of completing such a trip with a visit to Rome, this latter part being optional.

Along with other up-to-date information (sermons, meetings, etc.) Carolyn Norton, our webmaster, has posted photos and other information on Tent City IV. Check it out at www.slukes.org.

In concert on Sunday, April 9 at 4:00 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran College Church Sanctuary

Tickets may be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com or call 1-800-838-3006. Tickets for general admission are $15; senior citizen $10; and student or PLU Alum $5. There is also a surcharge when you order the tickets.

The same concert will be performed in the Lagerquist Concert Hall on the campus of Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday, April 8 at 8:00 p.m. If you are interested in that performance, please call 1-877-254-7001 for information and tickets.

The Elimination of Hunger Worldwide
by The Reverend Wm Chris Boerger, Bishop

Last year the 2005 Synod Assembly passed a memorial to the ELCA Churchwide Assembly designating the elimination of hunger as "core conviction" of the synod and the ELCA. We joined 16 other synods in passing this memorial. The Churchwide Assembly in Orlando passed a resolution committing this church to work for the elimination of hunger worldwide. As a result, the ELCA has joined a number of other organizations in the One Campaign.

Every year at the Synod Assembly, we invite participation in the Bread for the World "offering of letters." This year that offering will focus on the One Campaign. I encourage you to participate in the offering of letters by having your Synod Assembly Voting Members bring those Congregational letters to be offered up at the service of worship on Saturday, June 3.

The specific request of this year's offering of letters is a significant increase in funding for programs that support the goals of the Millennium Challenge established by the United Nations. This is not a partisan issue. President Bush has called for this support and many members of the Congress have supported this in concept. The challenge is to appropriate the funds to put actions with our words. That is where the offering of letters comes in.

I ask that you write your congressional representative and senators. Encourage them to support the increase of poverty-focused development assistance in the 2007 Fiscal Year and that an additional one percent of the Federal Budget be devoted to this purpose by 2010. These letters, then, will be mailed to their local offices by the synod staff.

There are sample letters available, as well as fact sheets and other information, at the Bread for World website, www.bread.org. I have a video on the campaign that can be borrowed for a short period through the synod office. If you have questions about how to put together "an offering of letters", please contact Paul Benz at the Lutheran Public Policy Office (LPPO) at 206-464-4133 or email benz@lcsnw.org; or contact me at the synod office.

Like the US Government, we are now being asked to put action to our words. I invite you to learn more about the One Campaign and organizations like Bread for the World. As a synod, we have said that this is a core conviction. Now, we need to start acting on that conviction by writing to our representatives and learning about the issues. I invite you to send your letter with your assembly member so that we might envision how we are working together as a synod to act on this conviction.

Several years ago, a woman in a mid-west state found herself in yet another painful situation. She remembered how she, while very young, had visited an Al-Anon group for help. After deciding on another such meeting, her experience led to a written description of her impression and here is an abbreviated and adapted form of it. (The Al-Anon concept is similar to that of Alcoholics Anonymous and it came about in the 1930s as well.)

The purpose of Al-Anon meetings is primarily to facilitate fellowship among relatives and friends of individuals with alcoholism, so that they can share their experience, strength and hope—confidentially. The groups can be somewhat different, but often they will focus on one of the Twelve Steps. This evening, my group agreed by consensus (that is how it works) to take up the issues of caretaking and detachment because there were several newcomers there.

The hundreds of groups in the nation and other parts of the world use various sites. This one was in a smaller room in a church building, with no sign on the door or other indication. The meeting was “closed” in contrast to an “open” meeting that would have its signs and publication. Age, socioeconomic status, race, etc. vary. Alcoholism is no respecter of persons or of people close to the problem.

One of the participants took the lead but was otherwise on the same level of involvement as the others. Besides the Steps, Al-Anon groups often read the Twelve Traditions, those who wish taking the book in turns to read, as reminders of what their recovery entails. A collection basket goes around unobtrusively (at open meetings visitors are welcome and are never asked to contribute). The meeting also includes announcements about upcoming conferences, for example. During the sharing, all are free to speak or stay silent. Without breaking anyone’s confidentiality, I include some general concepts that would be a part of any group meeting around the mentioned issues:

Imperfection is as much a blessing as my talents. . . I lay them both at His feet. . . No longer do for others what they can do for themselves. . . Allow family to make their own mistakes. . . Don’t try and cover for their mistakes. . . In other diseases, do help, in this disease, don’t. . . Don’t treat adults like babies. . . Don’t treat the alcoholic as though he is God. . . I need to take care of myself and be my own person. . . Enmeshment is when you lose yourself, forgetting where you begin and they leave off. . . I learned how to do detachment with love: he rolled out of bed one night drunk. I left him there but I did put a blanket over him. . . It’s a fine art. . . Compassion is allowing your loved one to face consequences even if it causes pain.

I felt this meeting showed me how people should ideally interact—with love, respect, kindness and thoughtfulness. We ended the evening joining hands and reciting the Lord’s Prayer. It was a stunning moment for me, hearing wounded people petition God to “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” and a reminder of a Higher Power who wants to be healer of us all.

That French restaurant with the menu that is over the top and your gratitude that they translated those French terms for the food. Is it serious just because it is difficult to navigate, or because it is exquisite? Those who create such menus are really in love with the smells, tastes and feels of the food.

There are some who love wine and savor every second that they can possibly be aware of the taste or feel of the nectar. Wine tasting is really wine encountering. These are the connoisseurs. These are the people who would travel halfway around the world just to sample the beverage in its natural habitat. Now these people are serious!

Is it possible that we could all learn to become connoisseurs of God’s creation? Oh, please, don’t tell me I have to become a “Life Gourmet.” It sounds like too much work. I’m not that serious!

Well, we kind of are saying that. But maybe serious doesn’t translate into work. Maybe it is more like awareness or intentionality. What would it be like if you developed a ritual of intentionally paying attention to each breath when you woke each morning? What if you noticed how every breath felt all the way down? Maybe you clear out every thought and only tend to the experience. What if you got serious about noticing breath? It is God’s gourmet gift, after all. Why shouldn’t you savor it?

After all, breathing is serious stuff.

		Light in a world of darkness
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