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Other News, Events & Ministries at St. Luke's Wednesday Evening Women's Study and Social Group
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If you were drowning what would you want to have happen? Silly question, of course you would want to be rescued. Your needs would be pretty straightforward, wouldn’t they? Yep, no mystery here; throw me a life ring! I wish it were that straightforward with regard to our need for God. It really should not be any less complicated. Every person, every person, EVERY PERSON needs to have a hope for the living of their life that only God can provide. That would be every person… I am trying to figure out how to make that clearer? There are so many things that distract us, so many things that consume our time and energy, so many things that fill our life with anxiety and fear, there is one thing and one thing only, every person created, born and breathing needs: God. That’s it With God in our life we have hope. Can you think of someone who is in need of hope? Someone for whom life has gotten very complicated and they are lacking resources? Of course you do but you also know the answer… you are the agent of hope in someone’s life right now… you are the conduit through whom the Spirit of Christ can supply that person’s need. So, among all the things you are willing to do and say and offer because you are a good friend and a caring person — who will you invite to church this summer? The first service (8:30 a.m.) remains traditional, the second (11:00 a.m.) is informal and has some pretty terrific musicians. Who will you care enough for to offer what they really need?
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 Are You Really Listening? When I asked myself that question, I thought the answer was yes. I’ve taken classes and workshops that emphasized good listening skills. I’ve read books on listening. A few weeks ago I read a book with the above title. This book opened my eyes (and my ears) to a deeper way of listening. I was reminded that often I don’t listen well. Sometimes I don’t listen because I am too busy defending myself or protecting my behavior. At other times I am pre-occupied with “me too” (telling my story). Then there are the times when I want to give advice; I think I have the solution. It didn’t take me long to realize that having the information wasn’t enough for me to learn new skills. The book, “Are You Really Listening?”, was published in 2005 and written by Paul J. Donoghue, Ph.D. and Mary E. Siegel, Ph.D. (They also wrote “Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick and Tired”). It is one of the texts for the fall program titled, “Formation for Spiritual Companions.” This summer, Nancy Quale, Dorothy Scott and I are going through the program. One of the things we will be doing is sharing faith stories with one another. We are going to concentrate on really listening to each other. We will use the guidelines from this book and other teachings from the course. By fall I expect to improve my listening skills. When the class is offered to the congregation, you also may work on your listening skills. Think of what this could mean for the Kingdom of God; people at St. Luke’s who really listen to one another, to our families, our friends and to others with whom we come in contact. It can be another step in helping us to live out our faith day by day. Jesus was a good listener. Often a casual conversation would end up being life changing for the person he was talking to. As we learn to truly listen we become better able to share the love of Christ with others.
Your Board of Trustees has decided to establish a policy to protect children and other vulnerable persons from sexual abuse. We have not had any incidents; however, we want to be proactive and prevent problems. We need a few people who are willing to do some research and put together a policy for St. Luke's. We have resources to help us get started. If this is an area where you would like to serve your church, please contact Anne Bly, President of the Congregation or Roselyn Olson, Associate in Ministry.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways.” Have you ever heard that expression? I’ve heard it many times lately and I believe it. To us it seems He works in mysterious ways because we do not always understand them. I believe that the Lord gives us a road to follow that has many twists and turns; and it is ultimately up to us to choose the right path. We sometimes stray off that path, but with the Lord’s help we jump right back on the path. During the next few years St. Luke’s will be entering into a time of physical change. We hope to bring more people from the neighborhood into our church to help us grow. More ministry opportunities will be offered to help strengthen our community. The ultimate question is: “Will you change with the church?” I hope so, because we already have a great family. Expanding our space and inviting more people will bring us closer together, and with Christ as our center we cannot go wrong. One thing I always tell the youth is, “If you do not understand something then ask God to help.” As it says in Matthew 7:7-8, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” (NIV) We may not get our answers right away but we will get them. I hope you trust that our church will be even more blessed as we grow into the future. Youth Ministry is going well. We have great youth at St. Luke’s. Please go up to them and get to know them and you will see what I mean. We will be initiating a leadership program to get them more involved in the youth program starting in the fall. If you would like more information about this, please let me know and I will be happy to tell you more about it. I am also looking for adults who are willing to be mentors for youth starting this fall. Please contact me if you are interested and we can go over what the expectations are for this. Check out the youth calendar for all the events in July, including our trip to Daroga State Park July 19th-22nd. There is a sign-up sheet with all the information in the narthex. Take care and God bless! In Christ,
Meet the Youth of St. Luke’s Lutheran Church This month we meet Amanda Webber and Erick St. Onge. Amanda Webber is 15 years old and in 9th grade at Kirkland Junior High. Her favorite ice cream is cheesecake flavor and her friends say that her best quality is that she is fun and humorous. Her favorite Bible story is of creation. She keeps coming to St. Luke’s for support and friends. Erick St. Onge is 14 years old and in 8th grade at Heatherwood Middle School. His favorite ice cream is cookie dough and his friends say his best quality is that he is very friendly. His favorite Bible verses are found in Genesis chapter 1. He keeps coming to St. Luke’s because of his parents. Please stop by the bulletin board by the nursery to see pictures of Amanda and Erick.
Welcome to SUMMER! We are gearing up for Vacation Bible School. Our theme this year is “The Great Bible Reef”. The dates are July 9th-13th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. There are still opportunities to get involved. If you are interested please talk to me. We will be having an ALL STAFF Vacation Bible School meeting on Sunday, July 1st at 9:45 a.m. Please come and get your materials for class, meet your fellow VBS workers, and enjoy some doughnuts and juice! Also, there will be a decorating party following the second service on Sunday, July 8th. Anyone who can help is welcome! Don’t forget that David Harsh will be here on Thursday, July 12th to help with music for VBS. He will also give a free concert following the closing program the children give. The closing program for VBS will begin at 6:00 p.m. so mark your calendar for an evening with the children of St. Luke’s and David Harsh! If you have any questions about VBS please contact me.
~Natalie Larson~ Director of Children’s Ministry
Do you remember how wonderful the worship services were on Palm Sunday and Easter? This was partly due to the doubling up of musical resources including instruments and musical styles on those mornings that are typically found at their respective Traditional and Informal Worship Services. Such great feedback was received that we have decided to do it again! Mark your calendars! On July 29th we are planning a 50th Anniversary Worship Event where we will once again have a combined worship experience. There will be only one worship service that morning at 10:00 a.m. It is also the 5th Sunday of the month, so don’t forget your loose change for the Noisy Offering. Don’t worry, summer brunch will still happen that day following the 10:00 service. July 1st, 8th, 15th & 22nd Worship Schedule 8:30am Traditional Worship (using Now the Feast and Celebration liturgy) 11:00am Informal Worship July 29th 10:00am 50th Anniversary Combined Worship Service – includes Noisy Offering In God's Love, Peace be with you, ~Amy Corsini, Worship Coordinator
Income and Expense July 2006 – May 2007
We began our program year 2006/07 with a bank balance of ($37,525). We will close the year (projected) with a deficit of ($22,451) in expenses versus income and a bank balance of ($50,000) (projected). This deficit was addressed last year at the congregation meeting and has been a topic of discussion in the Board of Trustees meetings all year. The Board will present 2 options for a balanced budget to the congregation at the meeting on June 24th, one option would allow $9,698 (excess income) to go into a “Back into the Black” fund, the second option would allow $16,043 to go into this fund. The Board also has other plans, which will be presented at the meeting, for reducing this deficit bank balance. The treasurer’s reports will reflect this “pay back” in the reports for the coming program year. Please keep St. Luke’s ministries in your prayers. Carolyn Norton Treasurer
We hope that this will be the last Communicator article on the roof that we will write for a very long time. It’s done! We have received the letter of completion along with the warranty on the new membrane roof that covers the flat portions of the building. We have made the final payment and now will move onto patching and painting the new drains. The cost of the roof was covered thanks to the generosity of those who pledged into the Fan into Flame capital campaign along with $5,000 each from the Facility Fund, the New Roof Fund and $20,000 from the Refurbishing Fund. Additional thanks go to all of those who worked on this project from patching the old roof to researching and meeting with contractors; your efforts have been rewarded with dry drip pans! Smokey Bear says “Only you can prevent a barbecue fire!” If you will be using the Weber Barbeques that are available and located behind the old sanctuary, please be aware of the following safety issue: One of the BBQ’s does not have an ash pan. If you are using the Weber please be sure to leave them on the patio for at least a couple of days to ensure that the coals have gone out completely. After the church picnic, we discovered a small fire in the bark right by the siding of the old sanctuary. The coals from the BBQ had fallen onto the bark and started to smolder. The smell of barbeque is wonderful; the smell of burning bark…not so wonderful. At times we have asked for your donations for the Compass Center, LATCH or other organizations in need. You have always kindly responded. Unfortunately we have been left with some items (portable commode, walker, etc.) that are not needed by anyone at this time. Our storage space is full so the items are now in the library. If you brought these items, please call the office; and if you have items to give, please call the office to see if it is anything we need before you bring it in. These items not only add to our “clutter” but arrangements have to be made for us to dispose of them. Thank you for your consideration.
Pictorial Directory
Each year, St. Luke’s has given graduating high school seniors who are members, an opportunity to receive a scholarship to apply toward their college/school costs. The money comes from our Endowment Fund. This year we had two seniors apply — Holly Dunning and Kim Johne. Below are the articles they wrote as part of their request. Holly Dunning Among my various experiences at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, my three years at Wilderness Ranch has helped my faith grow the most. From campfires, to morning worship, to trail rides and prayer groups, I was able to expand my faith. Surrounded by the wilderness, the comforts of home quickly slipped away. We slept in tents, cooked our meals over the open fire and used a kybo. We breathed, ate and slept nature, and witnessed God’s miracles of life first-hand. Through our trail rides we met, not only peace, but bounteous times of laughter and the occasional fear of falling off (not that anyone actually did). I was able to take myself away from the busy, materialistic world we live in most of the time. I allowed myself to focus on other aspects of my life; this time being my faith. Overall my experience at Wilderness Ranch changed me for the better and I will take it with me for the rest of my life. It matured my faith, and since then I have found myself growing into a better person. Wilderness Ranch has been on the top five of my most rewarding experiences. Kelsey Johne
I have been involved with the Kid’s Holiday Store since I was about eleven. I love how our whole congregation comes together to help out the needy during the holiday season. This event always remind me of how fortunate I am to have the life I have, and how important it is to give back to the community — especially the kids. The joy on their faces makes me feel that I have made a difference in their lives. I even have had my friend come out and assist in translating since she is fluent in Spanish. She was very impressed with how much we were able to provide for each family, not only in materials goods, but also in compassion and kindness. I have looked forward to this experience every year and I am sad that this was my last year since I am going off to school. As I continue my life, I plan to find similar things to do around the community so God can work through me in order to help other people get through tough times.
Last year Lutherwood started a program at camp to help nurture their young summer staff. Each summer approximately 45 young adults (mostly college students) come from around the country to serve Christ by serving children and teens as counselors and support staff at camp. St. Luke’s has agreed to adopt a staff member for the summer. Our “adoptee” is Scott “Awed” Rehbein, 20 years old from Valparaiso University in Indiana. We will provide more information in the Sunday bulletins so you may participate.There are many ways to be involved. Some of the things adopters are asked to do is:
Wednesday Evening Women's Study and Social Group All women are invited to participate in this group. We meet at 7:00 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month. This summer it will be July 18th and August 15th. We meet in the library for fellowship, discussion and casual study. On Sunday, August 19th we will take a walk through Bastyr University’s Medicinal Herb Garden. Watch for more information in the August Communicator and Sunday bulletins.
After some initial survey work these are the dates most accessible to those who have indicated an interest in joining a group led by Pastor Tom and Brenda to the Holy Land. We would leave on Wednesday evening, April 2nd and return Sunday evening, April 13th. We are still waiting for brochures and will make them available as soon as they arrive. For now we can say the cost per person will be approximately $3000. Pastor will take up to 30 people on this life-changing experience. If you are interested, a deposit of $300 dollars may be made to St. Luke’s at any time. Any monies given are fully refundable up to 100 days before departure. Checks should be designated, St. Luke’s/Israel ’08.
Among sites and activities will be:
Three things to remember:
Other News, Events and Ministries At St. Luke's Are you looking for a fun family activity in July? St. Luke’s will have their annual family camp-out at
Since our Annual Report of the Congregation will be published the end of August, each ministry will soon receive a copy of last year’s report to help them write the report for this year. A final due date will be set soon but this is a “heads-up”.
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
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 will be moving to the Community Church of Issaquah on Saturday, August 11th until Saturday, November 10th. They have been in contact by email with churches who have hosted previously. They have also experienced some “interesting” permitting requests such as “large tents must be flame treated and have a flame treatment certificate.” However, flame treatment is done with a water- based solution that won’t penetrate waterproof canvas. The treatment is designed for tents used indoors and will wash off if exposed to rain! (This was resolved.) The church is asking for volunteers to help with the move, meals, ice and donations. To help with meals, please contact Karyn Akishin at (425) 235-4842; to volunteer in other areas, contact Elizabeth Maupin at the church office, (425) 392-6447.
On Saturday, August 18th 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. 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 18th. 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) Dr. Bruce Grigsby, Professor at Trinity Lutheran College since 1992 will lead our adult forum in September. Dr. Grigsby has served as Chair of the General Studies Department since 1994. He is currently directing Trinity’s biannual study tour of Greece and Turkey. His research has appeared in numerous theological journals, including Biblica, Evangelical Quarterly, and Novum Testamentum. Currently he is preparing several manuscripts for publication. He will be teaching on a series on stories from the gospel of John.
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 June and July 2007 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.
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.
July 2007 Fear - Cubed What happens to a child whose God-given drive for connection is born into a home where the very sources of love and nurture are also sources of pain and abuse? It’s kind of crazy making, really. They move toward the source of comfort and are sometimes loved. At other times, they are wounded, either physically or emotionally or both. So, they back away and avoid, only to have the parent offer, and even demand that the child receive comfort from them again. The child gives in, is comforted and then soon is hurt again. Repeatedly. So as adults, these people will cling to and demand a spouse or family member’s love, then will angrily criticize it when it is given. “What is the matter with them?” others say. “Why can’t they figure out what they want?” Well, duh! “What can I do?” you might ask. Well, stop looking at these folks like they’re crazy. They aren’t. They are having a perfectly sane response to a crazy situation! If you are the one caught in such a loop, stop thinking of yourself as crazy. You are not. You are frightened and need reassurance. Lots of it. To those who care about these people, here is your chance to draw on God instead of yourself. You don’t have an infinite amount of reassurance to give anyone. Only God has that. Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are burdened and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” This pain is very real brokenness and it needs real power to combat it. The power of God’s bottomless and endless well of love and compassion.
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