"The image of the Palm Sunday procession captures the imagination of the church in Lent.  Jesus, who began his ministry by calling people to 'follow me', now leads his followers into the heart of the world's suffering and struggle.  Confronting the power of sin manifest in individuals and in society, Jesus preaches freedom, healing, justice and new life.  To follow Jesus means to carry out his mission in our time:  it requires humble self-knowledge and the willingness to change one's own life.  It requires, as well, confident courage to confront the world to change its sinful structures.  'Follow me' extends to Jerusalem where Jesus is hailed as ruler, then on to Calvary where he faces death.  Jesus promises no safety along the road; he promises only to provide those who follow with 'the Way, the truth, and the life'.
 
Covenant with a faithful God is part of the context for the Lenten journey.  The Hebrew Scriptures offer reminders of God's promises of life and relationship made to Noah and his family, Abraham and Sarah, and Jeremiah.  Christians experience God's covenant faithfulness continuing in Jesus - God-with-us - who shares our life and our death.  Lent begins with the black and gray of Ash Wednesday; it ends with the black of Good Friday.  Along the way the church wears purple, a color long associated with penitence."
 

Psalm 103
"Repeat.  Do you read?  Do you read?
     Are you in trouble?
     How did you get in trouble?
     If you are in trouble, have you sought help?
     If you did, did help come?
     If it did, did you accept it?  Are you out of trouble?
     What is the character of your consciousness?
     Are you conscious?
     Do you have a self?
     Do you know who you are?
     Do you know what you are doing?
     Do you love?
     Do you know how to love?
     Are you loved?  Do you hate?
     Do you read me?
Come back.  Repeat.  Come back.  Come back.  Come back."
                                              

                    - Walker Percy
 

We believe in Jesus Christ, our savior and liberator,
the expression of God's redeeming and restoring love,
the mark of humanness, source of courage, power and love.
God of God, light of light, ground of our humanity.
 
We believe that God resides in slums,
lives in broken homes and hearts,
suffers our loneliness, rejection and powerlessness.
 
But through death and resurrection God gives life, pride and dignity,
provides the content of our vision, offers the context of our struggle,
promises liberation to the oppressor and the oppressed,
hope to those in despair...
 
We believe in the activity of the Holy Spirit
who revives our decaying soul, resurrects our defeated spirits,
renews our hope of wholeness and reminds us of our responsibility
in ushering God's new order here and now.

 

                                                  - Yong Ting Jin, Hong Kong
 

 

God does not just deal with this world, but deals with it passionately, loving it and suffering for it.  "God loved the world so much that God gave his only son to it" (John 3:16).  But this is not logic.  This is passion.  How else would God be willing to part with God's own son for the sake of us?  Nor is this a result of reasoning.  It is a risk.  And passion always involves risk, does it not?  But only in risking will there be new discoveries and exciting experiences.

                                                             - Choan-Seng Song

 

• Palm Sunday - March 28th worship at 10:30am with palm procession
• Maundy Thursday - Joint service at Queen Anne Christian Church, April 1st at 7:30pm.  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 2nd, 7:30pm Tenebrae Service.  The word "tenebrae" is Latin for shadows.  It is a recreation of the emotional aspects of the Passion, reflecting on the darkness of the cross and the days leading into Easter.
• Easter Sunday - April 4th worship at 10:30am

Welcome Back to Music Minister, Ryan Dye!
 

Ryan has been away for a three month paternity leave after the December birth of his daughter, Maggie.  Ryan will be rejoining us in mid-March to lead the choir, select our worship music and play the organ with incredible talent.  We are thrilled to welcome Ryan back after such an important time with his family!
 
In doing so, we also want to extend a warm thank you to our paternity leave substitutes.  Alex Gagiu has beautifully led our choir with professionalism, talent and warmth.  We also thank both of our organists, Kathleen (Kitty) Dow and Myrtle Groom.  We are grateful to all three for keeping our music program vibrant while Ryan was away.

Every third Sunday has been set aside for Action Inquiry rallies in order to keep the congregation informed about New Beginnings activity, as well as the process for starting a new Action Inquiry.  These communication sessions are about 15 minutes long, and occur at the beginning of our fellowship time in Stuart Hall.  If you miss the rallies you can get caught up by reading the New Beginnings bulletin board and Action Inquiry posters.
In December, we adjusted the process of starting an Action Inquiry.  Here are the steps:

1.  Start with an Action Inquiry Idea form which can be found here.  Complete the idea form and we will post it and announce it at a Rally so that the congregation can hear about the idea and provide comments.  One of the things that makes Action Inquiries successful is the amount of congregational interest or support.  This is a good first step to finding others who support your idea or want to be involved.  We recommend that if your proposal is for any type of ministry or outreach that you consult with the Pastor before taking your proposal to the next step.

2.  Assuming your idea has congregational interest and support, a formal proposal for Action Inquiry and any related planning documents should be submitted to the New Beginnings committee chair.  The form to complete this step can be found here.

3.  The Council or Executive Committee will review and discuss Action Inquiry proposals at regular meetings.  Action Inquiry proposals (along with all other agenda items) must be received by Council or the Executive Committee two weeks prior to their meeting.

New Church Directory Available

Updated church directories are finally available.  Contact the Church Office to pick up your copy during regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 am - 4:30 pm) or one can be set aside for you to pick up on Sunday.  Copies will also be available during the first 15 minutes of fellowship hour in Stuart Hall.