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Other News, Events & Ministries at St. Luke's Wednesday Evening Women's Study and Social Group
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Okay, it’s kind of like the end of the year - the new program year begins July 1. So I want to thank you for oh so many things… I also want to make a confession (that might make you want to try to stick around through the end of this little epistle). First, I want to thank the many of you who have taken time and made themselves vulnerable by assuming leadership. There are so very many lovers of Christ’s ministry in this church that when asked, though all our schedules are full, have said, “Sure, I’ll give it a try.” I cannot begin to express the power that unleashes among us all when you say yes. So, from the Board of Trustees (Elders and Deacons) to all the ministry boards to those who work with committees that affect everything from worship to grounds and mission projects, thank you. We all are especially indebted to those whose love of children has led them to work with the Sunday School and Confirmation programs. Let us never forget how these faithful volunteers assist parents in the fulfilling of Baptismal vows. I am grateful for how your making yourselves available has functioned as balm for program staff who are so in need of your energy. On behalf of Ben, Natalie and Roselyn, you are a joy. We have completed another program year with notable accomplishments. From mission projects to capital campaigns, art guilds and stained glass windows, to serious times of self reflection that we continue to be honest and Spirit led in ministry, there are so many people to thank. Actually, here is the problem and the joy; I can’t begin to list names because it would include most of the names in our directory. A significant portion of this congregation has staked out an area of calling for faith service. That is our strength and hope for the future of our commonly held ministry – that we all maintain an area of connection of service with Christ’s church. If you find yourself lacking this connection please let me know, I will help. With regard to confession, there were two things Ms. Lamott shared with us during her May 11th visit that have challenged my life of faith. First, she quoted another author who describes the experience of writing for a living — from which she drew a parallel to the living of our life — to driving at night with your headlights on. The lights only permit you to see so far, but it is enough to allow you to eventually get there. The second piece that sticks in my memory is how she confessed, “I’m not a good Christian, really I’m not. I just love Jesus.” Sometimes I get upset with myself that I did not see further than the lights. So when life does not appear to have unfolded according to my expectations, my fallback position is that “It’s my fault.” Maybe you note this tendency in your own life? So, here’s a goal for the new program year — maybe we won’t always be the best Christians but we each can love Jesus more. Right?
Pastor Tom will be leading a six week study beginning in September on the topic of “How does our faith affect our politics?” The book we will be using is Jim Wallis’s, God’s Politics. This is a fairly weighty read that endeavors to challenge the person of faith to begin looking at the political process and the response of faith from lens other than blue or red. With us already knee deep in a Presidential election that is fully a year and a half away this will be, hopefully, an enlightening read and provocative conversation. Pick up a copy and plan on a time of good conversation.
Associate in Ministry - Roselyn Olson Via de Christo Via de Christo is a special weekend of love and deepening of your faith. Many years ago some friends of mine attended an Episcopalian "Cursillo." When I saw the significance it made in their lives I wanted that experience. It took years until I registered for one and then each time a date came up, I had prior plans so was unable to go. Finally the leaders suggested I look into the Lutheran expression of the Cursillo. It was called Via de Christo (The Way of Christ). Last fall I decided to attend the Thursday through Sunday after Easter. When the time came, I was a little nervous and a lot excited. What would this be like? What would I gain from it? Would I be glad I went? My sponsor, Jean Gillette, and others prayed for me. Dorothy Scott prayed for me. There were wonderful surprises throughout the weekend. Now I would like to help others experience the same. (Actually that's not possible. Everyone has their very own unique experience.) Is this something you want to experience? If so, talk to Jean Gillette or to me. This is not a weekend for non-Christians. This is a weekend for committed Christians who want help in deepening their faith and their walk with Jesus. This is for men and women who have made a commitment to live out their faith and just want a little "push" to help that happen in a deeper way. You receive tools to use the rest of your life in making the commitments you may already have made.
Another month has gone by in the year of our Lord 2007, which makes me realize how life has been going by so fast. One minute you are a kid, then a teenager and then you are an adult - making big lifetime decisions, like what home to buy or do I want to have a family? The biggest thing that keeps me going is knowing that God is right there with me, helping me and guiding me through each of those tough decisions.
I believe the youth of the church are ready to make the next step in their development at St. Luke’s. That is leadership. They have had a chance to really get to know one another and now we will start to mold some leaders who will help shape the program for years. I want to thank all of the youth who are now in college or are going to college next year who have been instrumental in showing good leadership while I have been here. I do not want to name names, but I hope you know who you are.
There are many events happening during the summer that you all should know about. o June 10 is the church picnic with fun and games for all (example: egg toss) o July 19-22 is the family camp out at Daroga o August 18 is St. Luke’s day with Habitat for Humanity in
o August 26 there will be an Adults vs.Youth Softball game There are more events going on this summer that you can find on the summer calendar on the youth board. I hope you all are doing well and look forward to seeing you at church. Take care and God bless! In Christ, Ben Richards, Director of Youth Ministry
Meet the Youth of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church This month we meet Madison Moore and Will Ziehl. Madison Moore is 16 years old and is a sophomore at
Will Ziehl is 14 years old and in 8th grade at Rose Hill Junior High. His favorite ice cream flavor is cookie dough. His friends say his best quality is that he can be a little crazy at times. Fun activities keep him coming to St. Luke’s. Please greet these two when you see them at church. Look for the bulletin board on the wall next to the nursery.
Welcome to June! As we wrap up this year and reflect on all that has been accomplished in Sunday School let’s thank those that have been taking care of our children’s spiritual growth this year… Preschool/ Kindergarten Teachers – Carrie Davison has helped with this class for the last few years. She serves as a teacher of young children during the week. Her husband, Steve, also helps her in class on a regular basis. They have two children, Emma and Liam, who participate in Sunday School. Kerry Reid is a first time teacher, and has been a great asset to the teaching team this year. Her husband, Chris, helps with Sunday School on a regular basis. They have three children, Jamie, Katie and Alex, who are active participants in Sunday School. 1st Grade/ 2nd Grade – Jana Johnseine recently became a member, along with her daughter Teva Groulx. She immediately signed up to help with Teva’s class. This year, Jana has managed to balance her church life, being a parent, and her schooling. She adds energy and excitement to the class that she teaches. Jeanne Gorder became a Sunday School volunteer mid-year, and has been a wonderful addition to the teaching team. Jeanne has two brothers, Bryan and Steve, and their families also attend St. Luke’s. Bryan and Stephanie have a daughter, Lauren, in Jeanne’s Sunday School class. If you are in the class with her it is apparent that the children adore her. 3rd Grade/ 4th Grade – Paula and Tim Hower are an amazing team with the children they have been working with this year. Paula has been home-schooling their two children, Brittney and Zackery, so her knowledge has a powerful effect on the kids in their class. Tim is an example of a servant for the children. He and Brittney have participated in the St. Luke’s trips to
5th Grade/ 6th Grade – Heather Erickson has been teaching Sunday School the past few years. Her husband, Steve, has helped in the class from time to time. Their sons, Mitchell and Blake, are active participants in the youth program, as well as Sunday School. Heather also serves on the Board of Trustees and the Faith Formation Board. Kris Isaacson has been a part of the teaching team for the last few years. Her husband Steve is an active member of St. Luke’s. Recently, Kris has been thinking about the possibility of going back to school to get her Masters degree.
Lastly, if you are interested in helping out with VBS please contact Natalie Larson ASAP! We need youth and adult help, and even if you can’t be at VBS we need help with supplies! ~Natalie Larson~ Director of Children’s Ministry
Summer is a time of warmth and growth. The liturgical color green is used throughout the Sundays following Pentecost that make up our summertime. Green is not only present in our worship space, but it is pervasive in the natural landscape of our region. Every time you see the greenness growing outside, let it remind you of our growth in life as Christians. A consistent topic throughout this last year has been that of St. Luke’s striving to be a place of Christian growth for the vast unchurched in our region. This directly ties into a realized goal of the Worship and Music Board—we have been successful in developing a variety of worship experiences. In order to offer stability to this accomplishment, the worship program and times will not change during the summer as it has in past years. Continuity of worship times and styles is important to the larger goal of reaching out to the unchurched. Thus, we will continue with Sunday worship as follows, with summer brunch every Sunday in between services beginning Father’s Day, June 17th: 8:30 a.m. Traditional Worship (using LBW Setting 2 through June) 11:00 a.m. Informal Worship There is one exception to the summer schedule. As a part of celebrating our 50th Anniversary in ministry, there will be one worship service on July 29 at 10:00 a.m. This will be a wonderful worship experience with special music and a summer celebration following the worship service. In God's Love, Blessings and joy to you! ~Amy Corsini, Worship Coordinator
THANK YOU to everyone who helped clear the sanctuary in preparation for the drywall repairs last month. It is amazing how fast such a large endeavor can get done with so many hands! THANK YOU – THANK YOU to Joan Jackson and Judy Doidge for such a wonderful job of cleaning the floors while the sanctuary was still empty. Let’s keep it clean. Please do not bring food or beverages into the sanctuary, and please be aware of stiletto heels that can damage the floor. THANK YOU – THANK YOU – THANK YOU to Irv and Nancy Quale, Laurie Mitchell, Ron Norton, Cathy Lisle and Judy Doidge for being the few who were able to put all of the sanctuary furnishings back in the short window of time before Sunday worship. If I omitted any names, we thank you too!!!
Income and Expense July 2006 – May 2007
As I am writing this we are 6 weeks away from our ministry program year end, June 30. God has blessed us this year with contributions higher than pledged or that we had projected in our budget, but on the other side, our expenses have exceeded what we had projected. Total giving through April 2007 is $518,626, expenses are $534,332. At last June’s congregational meeting it was announced and accepted by the congregation, that we were starting the year with a deficit with the intent of eliminating that deficit. The problem is that we We have not made any of it up, we’ve remained about the same. We have just concluded New Consecration Sunday and when asked the question, “What is God calling me to give? 61% of you said more. God continues to bless St. Luke’s, and the Board of Trustees will bring recommendations to you about our ministry expenses for the coming program year. The congregation will need to make some decisions at the June 24th Annual Congregational Meeting. I urge you to attend this very important meeting. Carolyn Norton Treasurer
The next phase in capital projects is now underway with the formation of the Construction Committee and two meetings under our collective tool-belt. AustinCina Architects, who designed the new sanctuary, was selected for our latest capital improvement project. They have begun work on drawings for the relocation of the administrative offices and new entrance. The offices will be located in the current nursery facility and south end of the building. The architects will also provide detailed plans for the completion of the classroom space on the lower level under the sanctuary. In the meantime, the committee has begun the process of soliciting and reviewing contractors for the renovation of the office and administrative spaces, which we prayerfully hope will be underway by August. Actual contractor bids will be taken once working drawings are available. Debra Caldwell & Margaret Nicoll, Co-Chairs
Wow, look how great the grounds look at St. Luke’s! Our gardener recently spent the whole day cleaning, pruning and sprucing things up. In order to keep this service, we need to have additional support from you! Please pick up one of the envelopes in the narthex (some of them are small amounts) and do your part financially. This way we won’t “invite” you to those work parties on a rainy Saturday. Thank you to those who have already given so generously.
Pictorial Directory
Each year, as soon as April hits, I begin hearing college seniors talk incessantly about their “lasts.” From turning in their last papers to attending their last sorority formal to eating their last cafeteria meal, seniors cannot help but reminisce. After years of participating with them in their “lasts” from the outside, I feel more connected with the senior class this year as I, too, am counting down some of my “lasts.” Effective July 1st I will no longer be serving as the Director of Tacoma College Ministry. After much deliberation I have decided to pursue seminary full-time and will be moving to
The past five years I have spent at TCM has served to confirm my sense of call and my desire for more education as I continue in ministry. I'm not altogether sure about the particulars of my professional future, but I'm certain that it will be in ministry in some context. I'm hoping that school will continue to help reveal what is next. Thank you all for your support over the past five years as I have tried to figure out what I think about this whole vocational ministry gig. Whether it is a kind word when I am in town, donating finances to TCM, or checking in with my parents to hear about my life and the ministry in
Note: Kristy is the daughter of
Wednesday Evening Women's Study and Social Group Ladies, it is time for the 2nd Annual Women's Study and Social Group Mariner's Game Outing! We will be going to a Mariner's game on Monday night, July 16th. Tickets are only $10.00! If you would like to go please get your $10.00 payment to Karen Dunning by June 24th. Carpools to the game can be arranged. Next regular meeting - Wednesday, June 20th at 7:00 p.m. Please come and bring a friend!--we are reading a copy of a book together (in round robin fashion) called "You Matter More Than You Think", by Dr. Leslie Parrot and you can come into this book at ANY time. At our May meeting, after reading together the chapter titled "Dream Venti", we pondered some of life's greatest questions - "Where have I been?", "Where am I now?" and "Where do I want to go?". What a great time of sharing and fellowship! You may contact Pam Webber at 425-827-5861 if you would like to get your name and phone number on a list for more info on the group and/or the Mariner's game.
Father’s Day, contrary to popular misconception, was not established as a holiday in order to help greeting card manufacturers sell more cards. In fact when a “father’s day” was first proposed there were no father’s day cards! Mrs. John B. Dodd, of
The first Father’s Day was observed on June 19, 1910 in
Father’s Day has become a day to not only honor your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Stepfathers, uncles, grandfathers and adult male friends are all honored on Father’s Day.
Other News, Events and Ministries At St. Luke's The Puget Sound Blood Center will be at St. Luke’s for a blood drive on Monday, June 25 from 1:00—7:00 p.m. There are some restrictions on giving blood (listed below) but generally if you are healthy, you can be a donor. Supplies of blood are usually down in the summer as regular donors are on vacation so this drive is very important. Some of the restrictions are:
You must also be cancer-free after completing at least one year of treatment. If you have any questions on eligibility, please contact the
Are you looking for a fun family activity in July? St. Luke’s will have their annual family camp-out at
Singers of all abilities are invited to join with four established Eastside choirs in the thrill of singing great works of choral music — right here in your own backyard. Choirs from
St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church at 7:00 p.m. (
July 10 Handel Messiah conducted by Linda Gingrich July 17 Brahms Requiem conducted by Philip Tschopp July 24 Verdi Requiem conducted by Glenn Gregg July 31 R. Vaughn Williams Mass in G Minor conducted by Fred Lokken Tickets may be purchased at the door at $7.00 per sing or $20.00 for a four-sing package. High School students are admitted free. Bring your own score if you have it. Some will be available to borrow or to purchase at the door. For information, call (425) 881-0445 Here is the list of people who have the VIP parking space for the rest of 2007. The people on this list and others bought raffle tickets and were picked to receive the spot each Sunday morning. You will have the opportunity to vie for this space again in November for 2008. It is really priceless!
June—Janel Gotta July—Brenda Kidd August—Laurie Mitchell September—Chris Reid October—Marty Heuchert November—Donna Kobelin December—Ron Norton
Tent City IV is coming to Issaquah on August 11. A public meeting will be held in the sanctuary of the Community Church of Issaquah (
The Rev. Elizabeth Maupin (425) 392-6447 or elipeter@juno.com) will be the general contact for those with questions about TC4 or with a desire to assist in the hosting. Karyn Akishin kakishin4842@msn.com will be handling questions related to meals. Are you interested in helping with a Food Ministry? We would cook meals and freeze them for people in the congregation who are ill, give birth or are just in need of a meal. If you are, call Anne Bly at (206) 669-0889 or Leslie Schofield at (425) 462-0357. On Saturday, August 18 our church has an opportunity to be involved in a one day service project working at seven
This project will give our congregation a chance to present a united front across denominational lines by combining our efforts in service and fellowship. Some of the opportunities to serve in this effort include: general cleaning, classroom prep, sewing, power washing, window washing and assisting with the district math project by cutting, pasting and laminating. Please take the time to sign up in the narthex or call the office for this chance to turn outward through acts of service. God didn’t call people to go to the church. He called the church to go to the world. Please note that we are aware that this Jubilee Project conflicts with the Habitat for Humanity Project on the next page. We were not aware of the housing project when we were asked to help in the
Habitat for Humanity and Thrivent sponsoring local house project Did you miss out on the
This project just got off the ground and the schedule is to have a family move in before this year’s Christmas holidays. St. Luke’s has been blessed to organize a work group of 10 to 15 to help with the housing project on Saturday, August 18. No need to feel like you have to be a skilled carpenter — there will be plenty of work opportunities for the day, plus supervised staff will be on hand to make sure we are safe and not unintentionally redesigning the home. Please sign up early so we can make a strong showing. Information and a sign-up list is posted in the narthex. Questions? See Kent Kollmorgen. Looking Ahead (for those who plan ahead) Alpha is a basic course about Christianity. It consists of fellowship, DVDs and small group discussions. We would like to offer this to the community this fall. If you would like to take the course or help with the planning and implementation, please contact Roselyn soon. We need people to prepare and serve meals, show the videos or DVD's (depending on which we use), lead small groups, and organize the whole program. There will be training offered. This is a good way to introduce others to the Christian faith and learn more ourselves. Formation for Spiritual Companions is a new program at St. Luke's. It consists of an all day retreat followed by six weeks of small groups. This class will help you talk with and listen to others about faith issues. The curriculum is based on a new program that the Health Committee purchased from the Institute for
to have your name on the list. This is an activity for which we need to plan ahead.
A Most Unusual Request One of the fun aspects of my call is meeting with call committees to review the ministry profile that they develop. This description of the congregation and of the attributes of the pastor they would like to call is used as the filter we develop to screen potential nominees for interview. I was recently pleasantly surprised by the profile submitted by the call committee of Shepherd of the
Under the section the leader we seek they said, "...would embrace stewardship and teach and encourage tithing of income, time and talents." There were other attributes identified, but this one caught my attention. Here is a congregation that is asking its pastoral leader to assist their existing stewardship team in teaching and encouraging the whole congregation in tithing their whole lives. Stewardship is about our life of faith in action. It is about our money, our time and our talents. Too often we reduce the stewardship of life discussion to the annual stewardship sermon, if that, and an occasional pledging program. I hear people quickly correct me when I suggest that we should talk about our stewardship of money. They want to remind me that stewardship is also about time and talent. The fact is that many of these corrections are excuses to not have the discussion about money or time or talents. We live in a most dangerous time. I am not talking about the public unrest in the world. I am talking about the amazing wealth that we, members of the
We have several excellent resource people working in our synod who are deployed by the churchwide expression of the ELCA to assist us in planning and talking about stewardship. Pastor Phil Reitz is regularly working with congregational leaders to develop healthy and faithful stewardship education programs. David Swartling is now working as the Director of the Lutheran Planned Giving Consortium of Western Washington. David works with the ELCA Foundation to help us be intentional in our estate planning and in making sure our wills reflect our faith. Our Synod Vice President, Larry Johnson, is also the coordinator of our Charitable Giving Initiative grant that we received from Thrivent. Larry, Phil and David are available to you for work in your congregation. They just need to be asked. I now have the task of finding pastoral nominees for a congregation that wants to be intentional in teaching stewardship, among other things. This is a most unusual request. I pray that it is just the first of many such visions of our life together. Editor's Note: Pastor Phil Reitz can be reached at reitzpl@msn.com; David Swartling can be reached at dswartling@mms-seattle.com; Larry Johnson can be reached at johnson@lutheransnw.org.
FROM BROADWAY TO THE NORTHWEST?
Initially, there is just one man on the stage. "My name is Bill W." he says, "and I am an alcoholic." "Hi Bill!" some of the large audience shout, as if they are at an AA meeting. There is some scattered laughter.
Dr Stephen Bergman, an MD and playwright, and his wife, Janet Surrey, PhD, have been so inspired by the beginnings of Alcoholics Anonymous that they have written a play, simply called "Bill W. and Dr. Bob." During their careers, both Bergman and Surrey have treated people suffering from alcoholism, and when they learned the history of the movement that has been instrumental in helping more alcoholics to sobriety than any other, they joined forces in 1986 to write the dramatic story that has inspired so many, both addicted and non-addicted people.
Eventually, the play was sponsored by
The play tells the story of the stockbroker and the surgeon, their friendship and relationship and the strong roles their wives, Lois and Anne respectively, played in their men's lives and the whole movement's development. It was these two women who discovered that family members also need help. That was their discovery; the men's discovery before that was that "the only thing that can keep a drunk sober is telling his story to another drunk," as Bill Wilson bluntly stated. His statement was based on the experience he and Dr. Bob had the first evening and night they were together, when they found that they were both out of control with alcohol and that, after six hours of talking, they knew that sharing there own life events was part of recovery. Little did they know that this was the start of a two million world-wide membership movement.
After a performance of the play one night, a teenager pointed back at the theatre and said, "Those two guys saved my life!" Ruth Kverndahl Note: Ruth and Roald Kverndal will be out of the country during the months of May and June. Roald will be giving a talk on Maritime Ministry in Barcelona. They will then go on to Norway to visit many friends and relatives, first staying in a friend’s “insulated” vacation house in May and then staying in their little cottage in Ruth’s mother’s ancestral village on the south coast.
June 2007 Gimme Oudda Here!
Some people have had the experience of repeated rejection when other people have not been available when they really needed them. “Hurt me once, shame on you! Hurt me twice, shame on me,” is their motto. “I’m not putting my finger in that light socket again.” So closeness threatens to bring up pain. When someone says to them, “trust me,” an alarm bell goes off inside. Avoidance becomes a way of being. A protective wall goes up that shields them from hurt and a Keep Out sign is posted on their emotional lawn. This person is easily mistaken for someone who doesn’t care how other people feel or they are seen as “just cold.” But attachment theory helps us understand that it is just the opposite! These people care and feel very deeply, but, they are also very, very afraid. Is there Gospel here for the fearful one? It is so hard to see that God’s light shines through others even when we cannot feel it or are afraid to trust it. But it does. All those we meet in the future are not as faithless as those in the past. The temptation is, of course, always to fear the other. The angel that appears may just be another trick. But it just might be God! Such encounters call on us to make great leaps of faith. And what about you angels? Will you let fear have the last word? Or will you recognize that the other’s longing for love is being obscured by fear? Are you willing to risk? Are you willing to have God so wrap you in love that you dare to reach for the frightened one within the other?
Lutheran Counseling Network
The Jesus Prayer Lord Jesus Christ, You are the light of the world; fill my mind with your peace, my heart with your love, my body with your healing. Amen
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