|
April, 2009
The Vine
Monthly Newsletter of All Pilgrims Christian Church
- Seattle, WA
Jeremy Matheis, Editor
Norm Wells, Features Editor |
|
|
All Pilgrims Christian Church
Come As You Are!
All Are Welcome!
Sunday Schedule:
10:30 AM Worship
11:45 AM Coffee Hour
Location:
500 Brodway East
Seattle, WA 98102
Mailing Address:
509 10th Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98102
All Pilgrims' Call
Hearkening to Christ's example, we confirm this to be our call:
To be a center of hope,
A community of joy and gladness,
A family of high compassion,
And a home for healing and growth.
- All Pilgrims'
By-Laws
|
|
|
Greetings from Rev. Nina Merkle Nestlerode - Interim Pastor
 It's good to be back with All Pilgrims. My 3-month maternity leave was a rich and very important time to me and my family. Baby Gabriel is doing great! Mom and Dad are getting more sleep and loving the smiles of our little one. We thank you for this special time together and thank Pastor Greg for his excellent filling-in during this time.
The cycles of life continue to turn. The baby was born just as we officially entered Winter (between snow storms none the less). As a newly growing family, it was a wonderful time to "hibernate" in our home and draw close to each other. As a congregation, you too did some important drawing close time: discerning God's call and direction as part of our New Beginnings process. I also see new faces, hear new voices among us - people who have found spiritual warmth amongst the cold.
Now Spring is beginning to burst around us. The church has daffodils brightly lining it and growth is beginning to show on our roses. We are moving into the "Action Inquiry" phase of New Beginnings, beginning to bud forward into something new. This hope of newness, this answering God's call for this season requires work, energy and dedication. Spring is here and action is going to take place!
As we move into the new life of Spring, I give you the following from a collection titled Earth Prayers.
Lord of the springtime, Father of flower, field and fruit, smile on us in these earnest days when the work is heavy and the toil wearisome, lift up our hearts, O God, to the things worthwhile - sunshine and night, the dripping rain, the song of the birds, books and music, and the voices of our friends. Lift up our hearts to these this night and grant us Thy peace. Amen
~ W. E. B. Du Bois
May your hearts be filled with the promise of Spring and may your mind, body and soul be willing to do the work that this season calls for to move into the glory of Summer.
Blessings,
Pastor Nina
|
|
|
New Beginnings Update
Members Vote to Affirm Working "Purpose Statement"
 On March 22, a brief congregational meeting was held following worship to vote on two motions, one of which was a motion to approve a working "purpose statement" developed through the New Beginnings process. The statement is: "We are a community of progressive, diverse Christians which gathers on Capitol Hill for spiritual formation that compels us to action."
Members of the congregation voted to approve the statement. Discussion prior to the vote reflected the provisional nature of the statement as "working language" that requires further discernment.
The next step in the New Beginnings process is the Action Inquiry phase, tentatively scheduled to begin on April 19. The Action Inquiry phase will begin this Spring and will stretch over a period of months. It is designed to get people into action in ministry and other forms of discernment regarding aspects of the purpose.
The New Beginnings Committee will announce details of that phase of the process within the next two weeks.
Additional details on all aspects of the New Beginnings process are available at the blog here. |
|
Holy Week Worship
HOLY WEEK and EASTER
April 5 - 12
Come Share Holy Week with Us!
Palm Sunday - April 5th worship at 10:30am with palm procession
Maundy Thursday - Joint service at Queen Anne Christian Church, April 9th at 7:00pm. The service will include communion, a reading of the Gospel of Mark in its entirety, and is expected to last about 2 hours. (Queen Anne Christian Church - 1316 3rd Avenue W, Seattle, WA 98119)
Good Friday - April 10th Meditative Labyrinth service at 7:00pm to reflect on the darkness of the cross and the days leading into Easter.
Easter Sunday - April 12th worship at 10:30am |
|
A Balanced Budget?
Going to be Tough
April 1st is the start of APCC's new financial year. After-church forums on the 2009-2010 budget were held March 22nd and 29th to help prepare for the Congregational Meeting on April 19th.
The proposed budget is cause for concern, but not fear. Thanks to a generous bequest, we will weather the economic storm. Finance joins all of us in looking to the future, supporting our rebirth and the growth of our membership and ministry.
The proposed budget invites all of us to do everything we can to increase giving. We need to increase revenues through giving and from renting out our aging but spacious church home during the week to avoid depleting our savings - we face a deficit as large as $52,000. This is a budget based on faith and excitement: the strength of our congregation and our ability to grow, our commitment to New Beginnings, and calling a new long-term Pastor.
We believe the agonizing decision to dip so heavily into reserves for the coming year is necessary to finish the discernment process and call our new Pastor. We can then tackle concrete and lasting financial solutions. Please contact us - we love discussing our ministry of money on the Finance Committee! Steve, J.D., Muriel, Justin & Ray.
-Steve Clagett, Chair, Finance Committee
|
|
Regional Assembly Meeting, 2009
This is just a reminder that registration material for the PNC-UCC Annual Meeting are now on-line. Please go to www.pncucc.org, click on "Forms & Misc," then select "2009 Annual Meeting" from the list on the left-hand side of the page. Each item or form can then be selected individually from the center of the page.
Some things you should know about this year's Annual Meeting:
-
This year we are at a beautiful location near the park in downtown Spokane. We have two guest presenters and many wonderful workshop options to choose from.
-
Encourage your delegates to register soon. The deadline for the early registration discount is April 3rd.
-
This year's Annual Meeting will include an art show and reception. We hope your church has a piece in the display! Even poetry is appropriate if the font is large enough and the piece is framed so that it can be included with visual arts. Any artist in your congregation can submit up to 3 pieces.
-
And finally, bring canned food. Our youth will be taking your donations to one of the local foodbanks as part of a special service project.
As you can tell, your Annual Meeting Planning Committee has so many wonderful ways you can participate in and experience this gathering of the Pacific Northwest Conference. Be sure your church is represented! See you in Spokane!
Blessings,
Karyn Frazier
Moderator
DOC Special Regional Assembly
The Northwest Regional Christian Church of the Disciples of Christ will be holding their annual regional assembly on May 16 in Yakima, WA. Click here for more details or contact the Church Office.
|
|
Groups, Committees & Events
Search for Long-term ("Settled") Pastor Begins
Three weeks ago APCC's "Pastoral Search Committee" held its first meeting with Linda Jones and Norm Wells being chosen as Co-chairs. Vince Larkin was named "Chaplain" and J.D. Fugate will serve as Secretary.
Asked to attend the second meeting, to be held early April, are Mike Dent, Northwest Conference Minister (UCC) and Rebecca Hale, transitional Northwest Regional Minister (DOC). We will keep you updated.
Annual Congregational Meeting
A Congregational Meeting will be held on Sunday, April 19th (after service), to vote and approve the church's fiscal year 2010 budget. Please plan on attending to ensure that we have the required quorum and to show your support. This is your church. Help define our future!
Agenda Items:
For more information, please contact the Church Office at (206)322-0487 and please plan on attending this very important meeting.
Two Bible Study Opportunities
How Do We Read The Bible?
How do we, as progressive Christians, read The Good Book?
What is the Bible, anyway? What can we expect to get from it, and what can we not?
For some, these questions are elementary. For others, they may not be.
What is the core Message of the Scriptures? What are the difficult, or irrlevant parts? What are your favorite passages? How does the Bible relate to other sacred writings? We'll consider these questions and any others you may have.
Please join a group with Clark Wills to address such questions. We're going to use a small booklet entitled "The Bible and The United Church of Christ", written by the UCC Writers Group. We shall meet on the four Wednesdays after Easter, from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Chapel.
Wednesday evenings from 6:30 - 7:30 pm in the Chapel, starting Wednesday, May 13th
Jesus did much of his teaching in parables. What did these New Testament stories tell us? Is there more than one way to interpret the meaning of a parable? Can these age old stories speak to us today? Come find out! Join Pastor Nina for weekly Bible Study and discussion. All are welcome!
Seattle's Three Interfaith Amigos at APCC
Rev. Don Mackenzie, Rabbi Ted Falcon, and Shaikh Jamal Rahman - inspired, educated and entertained an enthusiastic audience of about 120 people who gathered in church on Sunday afternoon, March 22, to hear their message of interfaith understanding.
The three friends, who have collaborated in ministry for the past seven-plus years, discussed why and how they got started together and where they hope to see interfaith activities go in the future. They emphasized the need for Christians, Muslims, and Jews to hold onto what is best in their own traditions while also seeking the universal truths that our three faiths have in common. Their forthcoming book, Getting to the Heart of Interfaith, will be published by Skylight Paths this June. You can learn more about their book, here.
Multifaith Works Training Day
How do you live compassion? Could you support someone isolated by AIDS or other illness?
Listening ears. A trip to the doctor.
Sharing a meal. Laughter and companionship.
This is what a Multifaith Works Volunteer offers.
Multifaith Works matches groups or individuals with people living with HIV/AIDS, MS, or other life-limiting illness;inmates in local prisons and jails; and people in recovery from addiction.
Upcoming CareTeam orientation and training:
Saturday, April 18th
Apply Today
Reminder, Mark your Calendars:
Everyone is invited to attend the ordination of Linda Purdy. This monumental event for Linda will be held the afternoon of Saturday, May 2nd, 3:00 PM right here at APCC. Linda will be ordained to the call of Hospice Chaplain at Providence Hospice of Seattle.
More details to follow in the church bulletin and through the church email list.
|
|
All Pilgrims Photo Featured in Seattle Times
In the March 22nd issue of The Seattle Times, the magazine insert "Pacific Northwest" featured an article with two before-and-after photos of the Broadway and Republican intersection depicting All Pilgrims church and its neighboring buildings.
The first, taken in 1931, shows street construction entitled "broadening Broadway," while the second reflects the current view of things. The article mentions a curiosity -- that the Pilgrim Congregational Church's sanctuary was built in 1906 on "a narrow swamp appreciated for its vocal ensemble of frogs long before its chorus of Christians." Wayne Daly, who chairs our Building and Grounds Committee comments, "no wonder we have a problem of water in the basement."
The article can be viewed online here, or there are hard copies available on the table in the Narthex. | |
|
|
|
|
Upcoming Events
Palm Sunday Procession & Worship
10:30 AM April 5, 2009
Maundy Thursday Service
7:00 PM April 9, 2009 at Queen Anne Christian Church
Good Friday Labyrinth Service
7:00 PM April 10, 2009
Easter Worship
10:30 AM April 12, 2009
April 18, 2009
Annual Congregational Meeting
12:00 PM April 19, 2009
Pacific Northwest Conference UCC Annual Regional Meeting
April 24, 2009 - Spokane, WA
Linda Purdy Ordination
3:00 PM May 2, 2009
Northwest Regional Special Assembly (DOC)
May 16, 2009 - Yakima, WA |
All Pilgrims Christian Church
500 Broadway East
Seattle, WA 98102
206-322-0487
|
|
|
|
|
