Faith Lutheran Church
Bellingham, Washington
A "Reconciling in Christ" Congregation of the ELCA.
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Radical Lutheran Theology Workshop
with Dan Peterson
Sat, April 28, 2012
9:00am-3:00pm
Registration is available outside the church office. $25 per adult. Includes lunch and childcare.
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Faith welcomes a new staff member!
We are excited to have long-time volunteer Kevin Wolber on staff as a part-time Youth Activities Coordinator! Kevin had been a youth chaperone and Faith community member for a few years now. He will be working directly with Faith's middle and high school youth program. Welcome aboard, Kevin!
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News from Congregational Meeting
Faith recently held a congregational meeting in order to vote on several items of business. Among those was whether or not to accept the offer from the City of Bellingham as compensation to proceed with their plans to build a roundabout at the intersection of Northwest Ave and McLeod Rd. All measures passed by vote, and we look forward to the official start of the construction project this summer.
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A scholarship fund has been set up to help enable youth participation in trips and activities, especially when finances are a limiting factor. If you would like to add your contributions to the fund, please make donations through the office, designated "Youth Scholarship Fund."
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If you are interested in knowing more about the church and the possibility of joining our Faith familiy, please speak with Pastor Swanson. We will be receiving new members in the Easter season, and are setting up some evenings or Sunday afternoons for enquirers.
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Upcoming Meetings:
Thurs, April 12, 2012 6:00pm
Thurs, May 10, 2012 6:00pm
The men's group meets monthly for dinner and discussion.
Contact Don Early for more information (don.early@gmail.com).
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Upcoming Dates to Note:
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Easter Services
8:00am
10:00am
Brunch following each service.
Weekly Sunday Worship
10:00am
Mid-Week Communion
Every Wednesday
10:30am
Wednesday Supper & Prayer
Every Wednesday
6:00-7:15pm
Mid-Week Bible Study
Every Tuesday
12:30pm
Men of Faith
Thurs, April 12, 2012
Thurs, May 3, 2012
6:00pm
Worship Committee Meeting
Tues, April 3, 2012
5:30pm
Faith Women's Breakfast
Wed, April 11, 2012
8:30am
Second Wednesdays
Blood Pressure Sunday
Sun, April 8, 2012
Following worship
Every Second Sunday
Parish Council Meeting
Mon, April 9, 2012
6:30pm
Food Drive Sunday
Sun, April 15, 2012
Opportunity Council Volunteer Lunch
12:30pm-3:00pm
Blessing of the Community Garden on Earth Day
Sun, April 22, 2012
11:00am
HS Youth Discussion Forum
Sun, April 22, 2012
11:30-1:00pm
Radical Theology Workshop w/ Dan Peterson
Sat, April 28, 2012
9:00am-3:00pm
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Food Drive Sunday:
Sun, April 15, 2012
Please bring items from list and donation checks to the church (made out to Faith Lutheran Church, memo: Food Bank).
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Community at Faith
Thank you to all who came to Faith's Spring Work Party! It was wonderful having the nice weather and so many of you pitching in! Some of those hard-working volunteers are pictured below!
 
Also recently, the ladies of Faith gathered for a good old-fashioned baby shower to celebrate Kevin and Rochelle Wolber's new arrival: Liam Douglas Wolber! Cupcakes, gifts, laughs, jokes, and stories!
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From September through April, a dedicated group of women (about 7 of us) can be found each Monday, 8:30am-2:30pm, in the church Gathering Room, busily assembling, sewing and tying quilts. One of our quilters works at home ripping hems from sheets and then washing and pressing them in preparation for re-use!
We are grateful to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans for granting us funds to buy the batting for the quilts, as well as to those people who donate fabrics, yarn, and/or used sheets to make our quilts and lap robes. Once finished, we donate them to various charities, including the Red Cross, YWCA, Dorothy Place, Opportunity Council, and the Women's Shelter. The lap robes are given to nursing homes including St. Francis, Shuksan, Alderwood, and Evergreen, as well as to folks within the congregation who are wheelchair bound. This season, we have donated 100 quilts and lap robes!
There is a certain warmth we, who deliver the quilts and lap robes, get when we hear responses like "Oh, we know where these quilts are coming from--we look forward to receiving them--these are just as good, if not better than monetary donation."
We welcome other volunteer, you don't need to know how to quilt!
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This month we celebrate Earth Week--April 22-28!
The stewardship committee would like to encourage you to reflect on the following text as we consider our role in the stewardship of the earth.
Speech attributed to Chief Seathl (Seattle) in 1854 upon being told to sell the tribal lands to the U.S. government. A newspaper reported took notes on the speech. This version of the speech is by a screen writer in 1970 for a movie. No text of the actual speech exists, but this version reflects my understanding of a common traditional Native American worldview, although some details are inaccurate. It provides a comparison with the traditional Judeo-Christian worldview.
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How can you buy [the land.] ... or (we] sell the sky ... ? This idea is strange to us .... If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, how can you buy them?
Every part of the earth is sacred to my people. Every shining pine needle, every sandy shore. every mist In the dark woods, every clearing, and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people. The sap which courses through the trees carries the memories of the red man.
The white man's dead forget the country of their birth when they go to walk among the stars. Our dead never forget this beautiful earth, for it is the mother of the red man. We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumed flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle; these are our brothers. The rocky crests. The grasses in the meadows, the body heat of a pony, and man---all belong to the same family. . . .
The shining water that moves in the streams and the rivers is not just water but the blood of our ancestors. If we sell you land, you must remember that it is sacred, and you must teach your children that it is sacred and that each ghostly reflection in the clear water of the lakes tells of events and memories in the life of my people. The water's murmur is the voice of my father's father.
The rivers are our brothers. they quench our thirst. The rivers carry our canoes. and feed our children. If we sell you ... {the] land. you must remember. and teach your children, that the rivers are our brothers. and yours, and you must henceforth give the rivers the kindness you would give any brother. . . .
The air is precious to the red man, for all things share the same breath: the beast. the tree. the man. they all share the same breath. The white man does not seem to notice the air he breathes. Like a man dying for many days, he is numb to the stench. But if we sell you {the] ... land, you must remember that the air is precious to us. that the air shares its spirit with all the life it supports. . . .
[If we sell you the land.] ... the white man must treat the beasts of this land as his brothers. I have {heard about] ... a thousand rotting buffalo on ... [a] prairie. left by the white man who shot them from a passing train.... {How can] the smoking iron horse ... be more important than the buffalo that [red men] kill {only enough of] to stay alive? ... What is man without beasts? If all the beasts were gone. men would die from a great loneliness of spirit. : .. {W]hatever happens to the beasts soon happens to the man. . . .
This we know-the earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. . . . All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth. . .. Man does not weave the web of life. he 'is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web. he does to himself.
(Quoted from Seed. J. et al., Thinking like a mountain. pp. 68-73. 1988. New Society Publishers.
Copied from Environmental Problems and Human Behavior, 2nd ed. by Gerald Gardner & Paul Stern, Pearson Custom Publishing, 2002, pp. 34-35.)
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Faith Community Garden
We are pleased to announce that Faith Community Garden is FULL for the 2012 season! (We are hoping to build more beds in the coming months for those on the waiting list.) We are thrilled to have a group of gardeners--roughly half from the parish and half from the larger community. There are still plenty of opportunities to volunteer in the garden, though, so let us know if you are interested!
Faith Community Garden's Spring Opening:
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Blessing of the Garden:
Sun, April 22, 2012, EARTH DAY!!
11:00am
Faith Community Garden Spring Work Party
Sat, May 12, 2012, 10:00am-2:00pm
For info, email the garden team at:
community.garden@faithbellingham.org
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Music at Faith
Adult Choir Wed, 7:15pm & Sun, 9:15am
Chime Choir Sun, 11:30am & Special services
For more info on music at Faith, contact Renee King, Music Director.
Ph: (360) 733-3970 or (360) 927-6331
E: renee.king@faithbellingham.org
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Education at Faith
ALL AGES
Godly Play (Pre-K through Grade 5) Sun, 8:45am
Godly Play is a Montessori-based children's curriculum that invites the young children into the sacred stories and the act of "wondering." Each session also includes a time for a creative response from the children as well as time for the feast (snack)! Godly Play sessions include a storyteller and a doorperson--roles filled weekly by a team of GP volunteers.
Confirmation Class (Grade 6 & 7) Sun, 8:45am
Confirmation class delves into the basics of the faith and the Lutheran tradition. Students who have completed confirmation class are confirmed into full membership in the church on Reformation Sunday in the Fall. Confirmation is taught by Don and Cindy Early, Chris Behee, and others.
High School Discussion (Grades 8-12) 4th Sun, 11:30-1:00pm
High school students are invited to a monthly (fourth Sunday of each month--after church) study and discussion on what it means to be young people of faith and justice, our identity in the community of faith, and advocacy. Study is led by Jessie Twigg-Harris. Next date is Sun, April 22!
Mid-Week Adult Study Tues, 12:30-1:30pm
Renee King leads an ongoing mid-week adult Bible study and discussion on the Gospel of Mark.
Embracing An Adult Faith Sundays, Starting 4/22
Pastor Sharon Swanson leads a 5-Week study on this Marcus Borg series "What It Means To Be a Christian: Embracing an Adult Faith." Series will be held Sundays, following worship. Materials cost: $20. Sessions" 4/22, 4/29, 5/6, 5/13, 5/20. Sign up outside the office.
Radical Theology Workshop Sat, April 28, 9:00-3:00pm
Dan Peterson teaches this one-day workshop at Faith on Radical Lutheran Theology. Dan is a professor and teacher in Seattle. His website: www.soundtheology.net contains more information on his work and teaching. Day registration is $25 (includes lunch and childcare); sign-ups are outside the office.
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Middle & High School Youth
PROGRAM:
Youth Nights
Every Wednesday 7:15-8:45pm
We gather for games, activities, food, and laughs! Join us early at 6:00pm for dinner and Holden Evening Prayer with everyone else!
Second Wednesdays, serve CAST (6-7:30pm), followed by youth night!! (Upcoming dates: 4/11, 5/9)
Confirmation Class
Sundays, 8:45am
Taught by Cindy & Don Early and Chris Behee--meets in Room 2 of the Annex.
Monthly High School Discussion Forum
Fourth Sunday Monthly 11:30-1:00pm
Join us for lively conversation about how we as young people of faith and justice can develop relationships and foster advocacy. Join us for pizza and conversation! Upcoming date: 4/22!
NEWS:
- Faith welcomes Kevin Wolber as the new Youth Activities Coordinator! Kevin has been working as volunteer with the youth at Faith for several years already.
- Throughout the Easter season, the youth will be selling prayer cubes to raise money for upcoming trips and activities. We've got three kinds of prayer cubes: mealtime prayers, bedtime prayers, and prayers en Espanol! Please see Kevin or one of Faith's youth to purchase one ($12 each)!
- Faith youth will be headed to Holden Village for May Youth Weekend, May 25-27! Holden is a group favorite, so we look forward to a fantastic weekend. As always, thank you for your help in getting us there!
Contact Jessie Twigg-Harris for more info:
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A Note From the Pastor
By Pastor Sharon Swanson
MUSINGS IN HOLY WEEK
How wonderful this past Sunday to hear the reading of the Passion narrative from Mark's gospel. Even though I've been listening to the story for most of my life, there's always some new insight.
I think it's because each voice gives different inflection and meaning to the written Word, awakening listeners to new possibilities. When we read we also interpret - bringing ourselves and our context, plus those of the authors, into dialogue. Small wonder this is called the "Living Word of God."
In Holy Week, there are abundant riches to experience through the readings, the art, and the music and liturgies:
Maundy Thursday, reminds us of Jesus' new commandment for his disciples - that they love one another as he loves them. The service includes remembrance of the first Passover; Jesus' last evening with his friends, the foot washing and the celebration of the Lord's Supper. At the end all furnishings are removed from the altar and chancel. Everything is dark and empty. We leave in silence.
We gather again on Good Friday to pray the great "Bidding Prayer," hear the Scriptures and the Solemn Reproaches, and show our reverence and respect as the cross is brought forward in procession... "Behold the life-giving cross, on which was hung the Savior of the whole world." We experience the darkness that falls over the land as Jesus meets his death. Again, we leave in silence.
Saturday will be kept as a day for prayer. The sanctuary will be decorated for the next day's festival.
The women who visit the tomb on that first Easter morning do so with understandably heavy hearts, and according to Mark's Gospel, leave terrified at what they have seen and heard. Jesus is gone from the grave. He is risen and will meet them back in Galilee where it all began. They are told to go and tell everyone. They flee in silence.
Easter brings visitors to church. How will they hear God's Word in this place and time? Will they feel welcome, looking around and saying to themselves: "See how they love one another!" and stick around to get to know Jesus better, or will they leave with a sense of being unnoticed and unwelcome.
I wish for each of you a meaningful journey through Holy Week, and a wonderful Easter season of rebirth and renewal.
Thank you for your liveliness, dedication and generosity, and for all the other ways that you are a blessing to this community
Christ is risen! Alleluia! Now go and tell everyone the Good News!
Sharon
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