Faith Lutheran Church
Bellingham, Washington
A "Reconciling in Christ" Congregation of the ELCA.
|
|
|
"And He departed from our sight that we might return to our heart, and there find Him. For He departed, and behold, He is here!" --Saint Augustine
|
|
|
|
Holy Week at Faith
Schedule of Services & Events
Palm Sunday Service 10:00 am SUN
Labyrinth Walk in Social Hall 6:00-9:00pm MON
Noon Holy Communion 12:15pm WED
Prayer Around the Cross 6:45pm WED
Maundy Thursday Service 7:00pm THURS
Good Friday Service 7:00pm FRI
Open Prayer Vigil All day SAT
EASTER SUNDAY: Service & Brunch 10:00am SUN
|
|
Come help us do some spring cleaning and spruce up the place before Easter!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
9:00am - 2:00pm
Please bring gloves, garden tools, and any other useful tools.
Lunch will be provided.
|
|
Easter Brunch
Directly following Easter Sunday Service
Served by Faith Youth. Donations accepted
|
|
Sunday, May 1, 2011:
"Wear Your Peace Shirt to Church Day!"
All Peace Gear is being sold as a youth fundraiser and is available through Jessie in the office or after services in the social hall.
|
|
|
Upcoming
Events:
|
Property Committee Meeting
Mon, April 4, 2011
7:00 pm
Parish Life Committee Meeting
Tues, April 5, 2011
1:00pm
Worship
Committee Meeting
Tues, April 5, 2011
5:30 pm
Finance Committee Meeting
Wed, April 6, 2011
5:00 pm
Parish Council Meeting
Mon, April 11, 2011
6:30 pm
Service of Communion @ Merrill Gardens Retirement Community
Sun, April 17, 2011
4:00 pm
Labyrinth Walk @ Faith
Mon, April 18, 2011
6:00 - 9:00 pm
Maundy Thursday Service of Communion
Thurs, April 21, 2011
7:00 pm
Good Friday Service of Communion
Fri, April 22, 2011
7:00 pm
EASTER SUNDAY
Service of Communion & Brunch
Sun, April 24, 2011
10:00 am
"Wear Your Peace Shirt to Church Day"
Sun, May 1, 2011
Property Committee Meeting
Mon, May 2, 2011
7:00 pm
Parish Life Committee
Tues, May 3, 2011
1:00 pm
|
|
|
Invitation to Hospitality
Because we believe that the table from which we receive the gifts during worship is the same table around which we gather as a community throughout the whole week, we invite you to join us after Sunday services for coffee and snacks and time together.
If you have time during your week to make an extra batch of baked goods or to pick up your favorite thing to share, we also invite you bring those items to the table on Sundays-no prior arrangements necessary!
As a family, let's build the practice of providing for each other, enjoying the gifts of others, and living out God's own spirit of abundance!
 |
|
This Month's Food Drive:
April 17, 2011
Please bring items from list and donation checks to the church; checks can be made out to Faith Lutheran Church (Memo: Food Bank).
|
|
Labyrinth Walk at Faith
April 18, 2011, 6:00 - 9:00pm
Please join us for a special Holy Week introduction to praying the labyrinth on Monday, April 18, 2011, 6:00-9:00pm in the social hall. An ancient Christian tradition dating back to 324 AD, walking prayer on the labyrinth has been used as a spiritual practice and Lenten pilgrimage for centuries.
Myra Smith, a certified labyrinth facilitator and owner of The Laughing Flower Labyrinth Co. of Bellingham, will bring a canvas replica of the oldest surviving Christian labyrinth, the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth, which was built in 1201 in Chartres, France. The canvas will be laid out on the floor for walking. Finger labyrinths will also be available for those who prefer to trace the pattern by hand.
Myra will provide a brief introduction to the Christian history of the labyrinth, as well as a brief "how to" (spoiler alert: any way you choose to walk a labyrinth is the "right" way).
Labyrinths can be described as a tool for walking prayer. Labyrinths are generally constructed on the ground so they may be walked along from entry point to center and back again. There are numerous different designs, although they are mostly constructed in the form of a circle, symbolizing unity, oneness or wholeness. For more information about labyrinths, visit www.laughingflowerlabyrinth.com or read Myra's articles about Christian spirituality and the labyrinth at http://www.examiner.com/christian-spirituality-in-seattle/myra-smith.
|
|
NEWS FROM THE KITCHEN
From the Parish Life Committee
A note of thanksgiving from the Parish Life Committee to all who helped set-up, serve, clean-up for recent events. Thank you also to those who baked cookies and breads, bought crackers, soda, cheese and fruit.
2011 GOAL
The goal this year is for groups and individuals using the kitchen and its contents to "LEAVE NO FOOTPRINT." Most groups are doing fairly well. Ways to leave no footprint: Put away platters used on Sunday morning, mark foods left in the fridge or freezer. Wipe or sweep up spills on the floor. When you have used table cloths, take them home to launder, or have someone else designated to do so. Please return on hangers to the Linen Room. Reassemble coffee makers after rinsing. Thank you all for your help.
|
|
Hello all! Here are some updates on Faith's Community Garden Project. The application we submitted to the city for water has been approved! We are still waiting to hear back from two of the grants we applied for, so please keep this in your thoughts throughout the week. The committee met & finalized the mission statement (see below), application & use agreement. We are in the process of finalizing dates for breaking ground, so stay tuned!
If you or anyone you know are interested in joining the committee, signing up as a volunteer, recruiting others or applying for use of garden space, please let us know! Contact us at:
communitygarden@faithbellingham.org
- Contributed by Annalee DeBoer, Faith Neighbor & Community Garden Committee Member
Faith's Community Garden Mission Statement:
Believing in the essential goodness of the earth, Faith Lutheran Church's Community Garden Project aims to promote stewardship, foster community, and address local hunger by offering garden space for our neighbors, the greater community, and members of the church.
Find the garden on Facebook!
|
|
Financial Balance Sheet
as of March 31, 2011
March Income......................... 17,842.00
March Budgeted...................... 17,910.00
(+/-)............................................... -68.00
Checking Account.................... 1,111.01
Restricted Savings................... 41,307.97
Total Assets...................... $42,418.98
Total Liabilities......................... 1,637.61
Total Fund Balance................. 40,781.37
Total Income to date.............. 56,955.00
Total Expense to date............ 57,768.00
Cash Flow <813.00>
|
|
Music at Faith
Adult Choir Rehearsal WED @ 7:15 pm and SUN @ 9:30 am Chime Choir Rehearsal SUN @ 11:30 am
On Sunday, May 22, 2011,
the Parish Choir & Instrumental Musicians
will lead the congregation in a special musical service
in celebration of the stewardship of creation!
Consider joining us! Please contact Renee King, Music Director, about Faith's music opportunities @ renee.king@faithbellingham.org
|
|
Children's Education
Beginning in the fall, Faith began using Godly Play as the curriculum style for children's education (most ages) on Sunday mornings. Godly Play is a Montessori-based program, and the classroom is designated and assembled very intentionally. If you have not yet entered Faith's Godly Play room, please take some time to do so or ask a staff person to show you around. Also, read the excerpt below!
Godly Play: A Way of Religious Education
An excerpt from Teaching Godly Play: The Sunday Morning Handbook, by Jerome Berryman.
The goal of Godly Play is to teach children the art of using the language of the Christian tradition to encounter God and find direction for their lives. There are six objectives that help meet that goal.
- To model how to wonder in religious education, so children can "enter" religious language rather than merely repeating it or talking about it.
- To show children how to create meaning with the language of the Christian tradition and how this can involve them in the experience of the Creator.
- To show children how to choose their own work, so they can confront their own existential limits and depth issues rather than work on other kinds of problems dictated by others, including adults.
- To organize the educational time to follow the pattern of worship that the Christian tradition has found to be the best way to be with God in community.
- To show children how to work together as a community by supporting and respecting each other and one another's quest.
- To organize the educational space so that the whole system of Christan language is present in the room, so children can literally walk into that language domain when they enter the room and can begin to make connections among its various parts as they work with the lesson of the day and their responses in art or other lessons.
|
|
Middle & High School Youth
Announcement:
Sunday, May 1, 2011 is:
"Wear your Peace Shirt to church Day"
Get yours now!! Available in the office and after services in the social hall.
Peace Shirts New Colors $20 New Peace Flag Tote Bags $22 Peace Flag Onesies $15 Fundraising In preparation for upcoming trips (including May Youth Weekend @ Holden Village and a service learning trip to Berkeley, CA in June) Faith Youth are fundraising hard! Support the kids--support the program here at Faith! Peace gear is available through Jessie in the office and after services in the social hall.
Adult Peace Shirts (NEW COLORS!) $20 Kids Peace Shirts $15 Peace Flag Baby Onesies 15 Peace Flag Tote Bags $22
Shipping is available. Please email for more details!
Youth Program & Events:
Middle School Youth Night Every Monday 7:30 - 9:00pm High School Youth Night Every Wednesday 7:45-9:15pm May Youth Weekend @ Holden May 20-23 High School Only Berkeley Service Learning Trip June 25-July 1 High School Only
Contact Jessie Twigg-Harris with questions:
jessie.twigg-harris@faithbellingham.org
|
|
|
|
Adult Education Opportunities
Sunday Morning Adult Education
8:45 am
Every Week
Dialogue on Living the Questions series:
"Countering Production-Consumption Society Today"
Featuring Walter Brueggemann
Mid-Week Bible Study
12:30 - 1:30 pm
Every Week
Study and Dialogue on Paul. Facilitated by Renee King
Women's Bible Study
May 5, 2011 6:30 pm
Potluck and Study/Dialogue on the Easter narratives in the gospels.
Facilitated by Pastor Sharon.
|
|
A Note From the Pastor
By Pastor Sharon Swanson
Our Lenten journey is coming to an end. Soon we will join with Christians around the world in the Procession with Palms which leads us into the mysteries of Holy Week. Plan to spend some time in prayer during this time - the sanctuary will be open, candles will be lit, and resources available all week. Pray, too, with the community: listen to the Scriptures, pray for peace and healing in the world.
The ancient centrality of the Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter liturgies to our faith is harder to describe than it is to experience. Each belongs to the whole.
The Alleluias will ring out on Easter Sunday and we will rejoice that God's promise to us has come to fulfillment in our Risen Christ.
May you find deep blessings in this knowledge of God's gracious love,
Sharon |
|
|
