All Are Welcome!
Sunday Schedule:
10:30 AM
Worship
11:45 AM
Coffee Hour
Location:
500 Broadway East
Seattle, WA 98102
206-322-0487
office@allpilgrims.org
All Pilgrims' Vision
We are a welcoming people, following Christ's example by journeying to:
...encounter the Holy,
..live faithfully,
...and do justice. |
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 I wonder what difference it would make if we spent more time considering, even celebrating, all that we don't know. The list would be long. I don't know how to perform surgery. I don't know how long my tires will last. I don't know how it feels to pole vault. I don't know how tootsie rolls are made. I don't know what that bright star in the west is called. Actually, I don't even know if it is a star. My wife just bought a present for her mom's birthday and kept the receipt because she doesn't know if she will like it. That's the spirit! With that last pronoun, you may not know if it is my wife or her mom that won't like the present. Now we're all getting the hang of it. I know that bees make honey, but I'm not sure exactly how. I don't know why it seems like such a project to know  more than others. (I've never found someone on their deathbed state how they won an argument or knew more than their neighbors.) I don't even know if you'll like this little ramble.
As you might imagine, I could go on for days. Actually, I don't know how long it would take to list all that I don't know. See, I can't stop. It's not that we don't know a great deal. We do. That too, is worthy of our celebration. It is good to have expertise, knowledge, and certainly wisdom. However, it seems that a desire to be so "in the know" can make a difference as to how we orient our lives. If I find it so important to be "in the know," then it is easy to confine my worldview to that which I do know (or think I know). Conversations may be funneled to familiar topics, exploration and wonder may be stifled, and the world may become confined to a relatively small portion of all that is. Even more, if we attach our identity too close to that which we know, or can have others believe we know, then we are left with an experience of internal discomfort and devaluation because, deep down, we are aware of our charade. From here we may just concentrate on knowing more than others as a sort of imagined competition.
To make it a habit of considering, even celebrating, all we don't know may open us to the wonder of creation and the mysteries within. Think of how much we don't know. Isn't it great? It's so vast! To be open to the mysteries within creation may further open us to the mystery beyond. God does not call us to be the "Lords" of our kingdoms of knowledge and expertise. God calls us to fall in love with God, others, ourselves and all creation. Fall in love with that which includes the other 99.9% of life beyond our knowledge.
I don't know why one does something, so perhaps I'll ask. I don't know what will be the perfect solution, so I will pray and seek God's lead. I don't even fully know and understand myself, so I will marvel at the mystery of me in hopes of moving closer to the Great Mystery Of YOU, O God. I don't know what the future will bring, so I will have hope and faith. I don't fully know my ever-changing daughter, so, out  of love for her, I will ask her of her dreams and silliness and times of irritability. I don't know how bees make honey, so I will give God thanks for the wonders of creation and thank a local bee for its work. I do not know the things of medicine, so I like to hug my doctor, but I don't because it makes him uncomfortable. I just say "Thank you." I have a bit of an idea what will happen in the rest of today, but the truth is there is much that I don't know. Aahhh, the wonder. Let it be!
A Prayer
Gracious God, forgive me for when I confine myself to my small understanding and expect you to fit within it. Bless me that I may become open to, even embracing of, all the mysteries and wonders of the world, and, with this openness, find you there. |
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All Pilgrims Welcomes Children!
Our congregation has a longing to see children in our midst. We heard this in our early New Beginnings Conversation Café's and in the more recent Summer of Vision meetings. We are a welcoming people and we welcome children and their parents!
As a result, the APCC Youth Task Force (and friends) are taking steps to create a more welcoming environment for children and their parents. Most recently completed is the updated Nursery. This includes fresh paint, updated cribs that meet current safety requirements, new hygiene protocols and a parent paging system.
Many thanks to the leadership of Danielle Hulton and Heather Purdy, joined by Eric Liljegren, Stephan Gearhardt, Sharon Nichols, and the Buildings and Grounds Committee. Thanks also to Pastor Greg for the Goodwill/Dump run! Many thanks also to our Office Manager Jeremy Matheis for coordinating several aspects of the project including the installation of the new Dutch Door!
More is coming! So stay tuned.
   
For more pictures please join our Facebook Group page! |
 Progress on Community Supper at APCC
As Jesus calls us to encounter him in "the least of these," we find moments of deep, life giving encounter as we give ourselves to serving others in their need. "Community Lunch on Capitol Hill" is a ministry that provides this enriching opportunity to selflessly serve. All Pilgrims Christian Church is working closely with Community Lunch and Central Lutheran Church to start up a third weekly meal on Capitol Hill. Currently there are lunches served on Tuesdays and Fridays at Central Lutheran, so we are considering scheduling supper for Thursdays at All Pilgrims.
We are moving forward on several fronts:
Sharon Nichols, STM Pastoral Leadership Intern and
Community Supper Volunteer Coordinator, has led a very successful sign-up effort for volunteers during fellowship each Sunday. We currently have 32 volunteers signed up for various shifts and duties for the pending supper efforts and the names of the current group of people are already in the Yahoo online database set up for us by Howard Hoxie. Volunteers have signed up to contribute their energy in a wide range of ways and we are grateful for the generous offer of time and for the spirit of sharing so prevalent in our congregation.
The APCC Community Supper Planning Group has begun to collaborate with the Growing Our Church Committee and the Building & Grounds Committee members to approach relevant building issues which may overlap among program goals. In an effort to test APCC's kitchen capacities and limitations, we have committed with the existing Community Lunch's director, Don Jenson, and his staff to host a pancake supper on October 14th in our facility. The dinner on the 14th is an experiment for us to learn how we may best move forward in hosting community suppers. Community outreach of this scope is a step by step process, and we will act accordingly. Don and his staff will stay after the supper to discuss with us our successes, challenges, and APCC's facility needs.
In addition, Craig Rennebohm, author of the book Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, is offering "companioning" training courses so that our future volunteers may offer compassion and companionship when we open our doors to share a meal. Some of our congregation attended the first training at Plymouth Congregational Church in mid-September, and an additional session is scheduled for October 2nd from 9-12 at the Vineyard Church in the University District. Any volunteers or members of our community interested in a brief orientation to hospitality, neighboring and listening are most welcome. |
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Interfaith in Action
Eboo Patel on Religious Pluralism
The great divide in religion today, says Eboo Patel, is not between Christians and Muslims, Jews and Muslims, Hindus and Muslims, or any other set of faith systems per se. The great divide is between religious pluralists of all faiths and religious extremists of all faiths. Religious extremists believe that "only one interpretation of one religion is a legitimate way of being, believing, and belonging on earth" and everyone who does not share that conviction "needs to be cowed, or converted, or condemned, or killed." This description pertains to Muslims who blow themselves up in a crowded marketplace or fly airplanes into buildings-but it also pertains to Christians who bomb abortion clinics and Jews who dream of driving Palestinian Muslims out of their homes and into the sea.
Five people representing All Pilgrims carpooled to Tacoma on September 7 to hear Dr. Patel speak to an audience of several hundred at the University of Puget Sound. Patel, an American Muslim, is the founder and executive director of the Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based international nonprofit that brings young people of all faiths together to get to know each other, work together on service projects and have fun.
Patel cautioned his audience to be clear on who the "enemy" is in the current atmosphere of distrust, hatred and fear. He emphasized that, just as we should not judge all Christians by the act of Timothy McVeigh, one of the Oklahoma City bombers, or the murderous cult leader Jim Jones, we must not assume that all Muslims hold the views of that small, extremist minority whom we justly call terrorists. At their core, Patel argues, all major religions are about love. Like Christianity and Judaism, Islam is primarily about loving God and doing good among our fellow humans.
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Meet some of our Muslim brothers and sisters
Members and friends of All Pilgrims are cordially invited to share an evening of prayer and fellowship with the congregation of the Ithna-asheri Muslim Association of the Northwest (IMAN) in Kirkland on Friday, October 29. IMAN, a congregation of Shi'a Muslims, was founded in 1997 and is one of several Muslim organizations in the Greater Seattle area.
This event is sponsored by the Interfaith Learning and Dialogue action inquiry team of All Pilgrims Church. Our  purpose is to reach out across lines that too often divide people of faith, in order to find common ground as children of God. We will be planning a second event with IMAN to take place at All Pilgrims in November.
Please mark your calendars for October 29 at 7:00 p.m. IMAN is located at 515 State Street in Kirkland. We will make carpooling arrangements for all who are interested in sharing a ride. For more information, contact Pastor Greg, David Paul, or Dave Beck.
For information about IMAN, visit their Website at www.iman-wa.org |
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On a sunny Saturday, September 11th, a handful of APCC daredevils decided to risk their lives by white-water rafting down the Tieton River. And they all returned intact, except for a few sore muscles. The heros were: Vince Larkin, Ray Nutter, Leslie Shepard, Clark Beck and his friend Jim, Paul McDevitt, John Sabol and friends Teddy and Earl. And the group was guided by Andrew, who has 24 years of rafting experience.
The water was cold, but the sun was warm and the action never stopped. At the end of the day all were tired, but smiling nonetheless. It was a chance to challenge our fears, get out of our day-to-day routine and enjoy a part of God's green earth. Maybe next year you will be one of the few, the proud, the brave, and join us. Are you listening Pastor Greg? |
 Centering Prayer Service
An evening prayer group meets every Wednesday in the Sanctuary at 6:15 pm.
This gathering is consistent in form, drawing from different traditions and styles, to provide a centering and listening environment while also making room for sharing, support, and expression.
All are welcome. |
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