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From Pastor Bill
As much as I enjoy being in Europe, the bigger excitement is what can and will be done in Seattle! The interesting part for me is how similar Amsterdam/Copenhagen are to Seattle culturally. The people are post modern and post christian, they are indifferent to religion, and claim to be spiritual. Jesus is a big question mark for people.
The opportunity to meet with churches that are swimming in these waters is vital for the development of All Saints as a church for all who believe, doubt and seek in Seattle. I have always wanted All Saints to be a center for spiritual seeking and ultimately encountering the person and work of Jesus Christ. I see All Saints introducing the abundant life of Christ in many ways and forms. One of the ways is for our church to have very thin walls. Huh? What do thin walls mean?
It means that a believe-doubt-seek culture can look like there are no walls. We have never wanted to be a church that is a fortress. We have never wanted to be a big church. We have always wanted to be people who are the church; we look for the imago dei (image of God) in everyone. In other words, the church is in us, we take the church to the people of Seattle.
Our gatherings are amazing. They are wonderful moments of sensing the presence of a real God. They are moments of authenticity and transparency. Those moments are meant to send people to their neighbors, their jobs, and their city to change and influence it.
I am excited for what is to come. I am thankful that God has all the resources; I want to provide him with ideas to utilize those resources. I see the city of Seattle blessed that All Saints Church is part of the culture and I want to be a blessing to the city I love.
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General Updates
Annual Business Meeting: If you are an official member of All Saints Church, please make it a priority to attend this meeting immediately following the 11am gathering on February 22nd. If you are not a member, but are interested in hearing more about how All Saints functions as an organization and our vision going forward, you are more than welcome to join us!
Contribution Records: Everyone who gave even once during 2008 has a contribution record waiting for them at the Concierge Desk. Any records that aren't picked up this weekend will hit the mail next week.
Hilltop Children's Center: It looks like our temporary little tenants will be moving back to their regular facilities after February 20th. We have gained some wonderful ideas from them for our children's program and have developed some great relationships, not to mention the fact that many families from the area have been exposed to All Saints for the very first time! The leak in their facility has turned out to be a blessing to us and we hope that they can say the same!
Youth: After a day of some serious tubing last Saturday our youth are gearing up to give of themselves by volunteering at the Food Lifeline distribution warehouse on Saturday the 21st. Food Lifeline in Shoreline repackages bulk food and distributes it to food banks and families in need.
Service: People from All Saints are getting involved in some amazing outreach opportunities throughout Seattle, one of which is New Horizons. New Horizons is a youth shelter downtown which is reaching homeless and hurting youth in a unique way. Anyone interested in learning about what they are doing is invited to an event on Thursday, February 26th to meet their new Executive Director, enjoy a tour and participate in a time of Q & A. You can RSVP for this event at www.nhmin.org or call 206-374-0866 x103.
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What I'm reading now...
I
have to admit that I am rediscovering the simplicity of reading a book
once again. Though I still consider myself a loyal citizen of the
blogosphere while checking my RSS feeds, catching that uber dramatic
television show, or tune into the sounds of my kids playing with some
electronic based toy, there is nothing like actually sitting down in a
chair and holding this bound piece of paper with printed words on it.
I
started my blog a while back because some friends wanted to know what I
was reading and needed a good book recommendation, and so I thought
that I would share with you what I am reading right now. From time to
time, I will be sharing my current list with you and eventually I'll
post this on my blog. I would love to hear what you're reading as well.
Grace to you.
- Pastor Joel
MY CURRENT READING LIST:
Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
by N.T. Wright
Elsewhere,
U.S.A.: How We Got from the Company Man, Family Dinners, and the
Affluent Society to the Home Office, BlackBerry Moms, and Economic
Anxiety
by Dalton Conley
The Bible: English Standard Version
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The All Saints Newsletter is sent out regularly to the community to engage and inform people of all that takes place through All Saints Church. This and previous issues will soon be available on the All Saints website.
If you have any ideas, submissions, or comments, please send them to life@believedoubtseek.org
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