 Newsletter
Lake Burien Presbyterian Church
March 2011 |
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| Mission Statement and Slogan |
Imagine living God's kingdom now as disciples of Jesus' radical way, just imagine.... "A place to Encounter God in worship, Encourage one another in life and faith, and Engage the world for Christ." |
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| From the Pastor's Desk |
At our February Session meeting we were engaged in a dialogue and discerning what God has for us in the near future and Steve Turner said something that I resonated with. He said, "It seems like we are entering into a season of new." I think that he is correct. For some this may be fearful and for others it will be cause for celebration. I hope that you would choose to celebrate.
We certainly are celebrating "new for the next," new for what God has for us next. So with new people arriving all of the time, a new building inside and out, new partnerships, new Session, new Deacons, new mission initiatives, a new multi-purpose room, new organizational structure, we will say "Thank you, God," that this church is being re-NEW-ed. The list of new for the next is long and represents the work of the Session for the last four hard years.
So as we begin the Lenten season of new, let's celebrate. I will put it out there; our VISIO DIVINA weekend is coming quick. We will worship, celebrate and grow in our NEW. The expectation of leadership is that we will all be present. If you need childcare, we will make it happen. If you need a ride, we will come and pick you up. If you are wondering if art is for you, the question to ask is, "Am I willing to cultivate beautiful by seeing God in the arts?" If you are interested in that, then this is for you. Plus, how many times has your pastor released a book? I cannot think of a time that this has happened before. Fill out a brochure and put it into the offering plate or register online at www.lbpc.org. Biblically, times of celebration are benchmarks in the life of faith communities. So we will celebrate. Join us and don't miss the fun!
The week after VISIO DIVINA we will roll out the new organizational structure. We will highlight each of the three E's and their leadership so you can see who is providing leadership at each of these key levels. Our official start is in April with a church wide potluck later in the month of April to inaugurate the newly remodeled multi-purpose room.
We are even attempting to restructure the deacon ministry around passions for service. The intent is for people to be involved in ministry according to their passions as we love and serve the community with the very re-presentation of the hands and feet of Jesus.
Join us. God is good all of the time. All of the time God is good.
Tobin
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| Ash Wednesday, an Invitation... |
Ash Wednesday, an Invitation...
please come to the sanctuary,
Wednesday, March 9, at 7 p.m.
for a service of contemplation,
reflection, turning around...
a service of music, meditation and communion
the imposition of ashes... atonement
Come
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| Your Session |
Moderator of Session
Tobin Wilson
Clerk of Session
Melinda Glass
Encounter God in Worship
Jenna Fox
Brandon Stoy
Encourage One Another in Community
Norma Kastien
Margarita Suarez
Engage in the World As Transformers of Culture
Steve Glass
Carolyn Carpenter
Property
Steve Turner
Gordon Shaw
Finance
Paul Larson, elder with
Anne Tiernan, Treasurer
Capital Improvements
Paul Larson
Personnel
Tim O'Brien
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| Clerk's Corner | |
I hope this finds you warm and safe in our on again and off again winter.
We had a successful Annual meeting of the congregation January 30, 2011 and you approved the additional $25,000.00 from the endowment fund to complete the master plan projects this year. The budget was also received as well as approval of the Terms of Call for Pastor Tobin. We shared the blessings and gifts we were given this past year in our programs, in our community and in our church. It was a wonderful day and a great start to a "New" year.
The "New" session has begun! At the annual meeting you approved the election of new officers and they were ordained and installed at that meeting. So we started with our "New", full session last Tuesday. They are excited, committed and ready to do the work of our church. Our first session meeting was filled with; prayer, questions, listening, learning, teaching, voting, thoughtful discussion and discernment, and a touch of laughter.
Session assignments under the "New" Organization of LBPC Session" are as follows:
Encounter - God in Worship - Elders: Brandon Stoy and Jenna Fox
Charge: To provide for the maintenance of divine worship at all levels at LBPC as God is encountered in worship and the sacraments.
Encourage - One another in Community - Elders: Norma Kastien and Margarita Suarez
Charge: To foster community and congregational life of fellowship at LBPC.
Engage - In the World as Transformers of Culture - Elders: Steve Glass and Carolyn Carpenter
Charge: To provide for spiritual nurture and growth for all ages to an engaging faith that articulates the gospel with words and demonstrates the gospel in love, justice, and action.
Property/Finance/Capital Improvements - Property -Elders: Steve Turner and Gordon Shaw, Finance - Elder: Paul Larson, with Treasurer Anne Tiernan, Capital Improvements: Elder: Paul Larson.
Personnel - Elder: Tim O'Brien.
Each elder has been given the "homework" to work on what their charge means, what activities and resources they need to get organized and mobilize groups or teams into the ministry of our church. You will hear more about these teams and opportunities for ministry as these "new" teams roll out. It is an exciting time in the life of our church.
Other items that were approved by session:
1. We will provide transportation assistance to UGM for their summer program.
2. We worked on how to host the Seattle Presbytery, May 17, 2011 here at Lake Burien Presbyterian Church. This event will host 250 ministers, elders and guests who will come to our church for an afternoon and evening for business meetings, worship, prayer and dinner at our church. It is the final voting session on the items going forward to the General Assembly of PCUSA.
If you are interested in reading more about the items being discussed, go to; http://www.seattlepresbytery.org and look for meetings. You are looking for documents listed as: Confession of Belhar, Amendments, new Form of Government (nFOG). Elders; Steve Glass, Melinda Mackey-O'Brien and Don Weber are representing LBPC for these 3 Seattle Presbytery meetings November - May, so that we have consistency in the representation of our church.
Lots of "new" at our church and in our community of faith.
Respectfully submitted, Melinda Glass, LBPC clerk
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| From the Children's Department |
 Greetings LBPC family!
I feel like it is even easier to write you in great joy today because not only is God so good, but the sun is shining, and as a mid-western girl, it truly soothes my soul!! Life in children's ministry is also good and I thank God for the continued opportunities He is giving me to plant seeds in our children. I love the time that I am getting to spend in some of the classrooms at Seahurst Elementary. It has provided a lot of opportunities to invest more deeply in the lives of some of the students who attend the after-school program, as well as allowed me to connect more with some of the teachers.
Concerning life in the after-school program, we are definitely still in need of some more volunteers who are willing to be the "hands and feet of Jesus" to our 22 kids. We have a lot of younger students who need considerably more one-on-one attention, so if you're willing to give an hour of your week to our kids, it would help our kids greatly.
We also have been having a wonderful time on Wednesday night with the Remix program. In the month of February, Brandon Stoy, Tobin Wilson and Dawn Wilson took turns teaching the kids during the first portion of the program time. Our kids were also introduced to some kids from Liberia via video in the ORR office, and I pray that some of the images they saw and stories they heard will have a lasting impact...and that's what life is all about: making a lasting impact. I pray that God will use you in a mighty way this month to make a lasting impact!
HIS servant,
Sarah Pham
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| From the Growing Team |
Engage - Adult Education
"What really got me about the whole story was what it proved... that our imaginations are pure and boundless and can take us anywhere that we let them, no matter how much these bodies might fail us."
*Rob Bass, one of the comic-book creators of Electron Boy, The Seattle Times, "A Hero for the Pages," Dec. 21, 2010
It was a wonderful story the Times reported on: 13-year-old Erik Martin's desire to become a super hero - Electron Boy - made possible by the Make-A-Wish Foundation last April and turned into a comic-book of Electron Boy's exploits by a group of comic-book creators this past November. Rob Bass' quote at the end of the article captured me and I knew I'd use it. We all have this gift of imagination, this gift to brainstorm, think "outside the box," to release our minds with joy and abandon. I'm wondering why I don't do that more often. This gift of imagination if we allow it will help us in our new team configuration of encounter, encourage and engage... it will help us "imagine God's kingdom now..." and "cultivate beautiful" in this season of Lent.
After the commissioning come to our CAFÉ Lenten series, Double Click, with the Rev. Dr. Tobin Wilson where we will drill deeper into the sermon of the day.
March 6 - no class
March 13 - no class - fellowship with artist Linda McCray
March 20 - Sacred Journey
March 27 - Sabbath
April 3 - Sacred Meal
April 10 - Prayer
April 17 - Lectionary
April 24 - no class - Easter Sunday (Finding Our Way Home Again - God is for us)
May 1 - Tithing
Melinda Mackey-O'Brien
P.S. Please come to our March 11-13 weekend event, Visio Divina, Cultivating Beautiful: Seeing God through the Arts. Experience God in written and spoken word, in paintings and other art creations, in music, in dance... in the gift of imagination. Come.
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From the Finance Department | |
2011 Budget as of January 31, 2011
Budget $337,950
Income $ 29,813
Expenses $ 21,739
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| Alice Winters' Auction Postponed | |
Alice Winters' Auction has been postponed until May 22, 2011. We're sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, but we think we'll all be more comfortable in our new multipurpose room!
Gail Lane
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| Synod Gathering for Presbyterian Women | |
Each spring, Presbyterian Women from all around the Alaska-Northwest Synod meet together. This spring, the gathering will be located in the Seattle Presbytery at Camp Berachah in Auburn from May 5-7. The theme is "Mission-Women Called to Act." Our mission speakers include Rev. Joyce Martin Emery (Presbyter to the Synod of Alaska-Northwest), Ann Ferguson from PW in Louisville, Stephanie Johnson (Director of REACH in Tacoma), Loanna Day (Founder of Massai Women's Education and Empowerment), the Reverend Donna Frey DeCou and Theresa Schultz Norris (President of Women's Enterprises Int'l). Save the dates now. One can attend the entire conference as a lodger or a commuter or as a part-time commuter. Contact Gail Lane at 206.246.5898 for information and registration. Deadline for registration is April 14.
Since Seattle Presbytery is hosting this Gathering, and we can use volunteers to help bring snacks, we will hold our PW Spring Gathering for women in Seattle Presbytery during this PW Synod Gathering on Friday afternoon. At that time we will hold our PWP Spring elections and conduct business as needed.
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| Abdallah Family: Holistic Outreach | |
Your partnership with Venture International and our Family to Family program is providing families a hand-up, not a hand-out. We seek to develop self reliance in these families while connecting them to a local church.
We have done a thorough assessment of your sponsored family and are able to address their physical, mental, social and spiritual needs.
Life in East Jerusalem can be described as a chain of neglect, poverty, severe socio-economic distress that bred a range of social problems such as violence, school dropout, drugs, health and nutritional problems and high unemployment especially among the youth.
In Jerusalem, our Project Manager, Nora Kort works with the Arab Orthodox Church to customize the help for the Abdallah family: JRS-104-1004
This past year, Nora Kort provided encouragement and tuition fees to your family because of your sponsorship. This has resulted in the children being able to attend school to get a better education.
From: Venture International, Family-to-Family Program
Please continue your faithful giving to help this family. Thank you.
Sally Mackey
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Hospitality House's Spring Fling Dinner and Fundraiser | 
Featuring Boats for Beds Auction
Saturday, March 5 at 6 p.m.
Highline Community College Student Union
Information: hospitalityhousesouthking.org or
Call Priscilla Stephenson (206.242.8037) or Linda Shaw (206.244.2457)
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Have You Seen the Office Lately? | |
In keeping with the upgrades in the rest of the facilities and on the grounds, the office has undergone a dramatic change as well. If you haven't stopped by lately, you should make a point of checking it out. Tom Duncan, with help from wife Rhonda, built the receptionist's desk and the matching tables that line two walls, giving beautiful and much needed work space, while the Spinnakers supplied a glass surface to protect the desk. We now have a spacious, lovely area to match all the other lovely spaces!
Thank you, Tom and Rhonda!
Thank you, Spinnakers!
Jeanie Burns
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Thank You! from the Robeck family | |
Our heart-felt thanks to everyone who surrounded us with love and support during our time of saying "good-bye" to my husband and Susan's father, Jim Robeck. Your prayers sustained us and your expressions of kindness eased our grief. Thank you, so much.
Carol Robeck
Susan Robeck Peters
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Thank You! from Karen Tyree | |
Karen Tyree thanks the LBPC community/family for the months-long prayer support for herself and her grandson Zachary. She is recovering from hip surgery and is looking forward to putting aside her crutches in three months. Grandson Zachary's spondylarthropathy is now in a manageable phase.
Life is good, God is great!
Blessings, Karen
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Thank You! from Jeanie Burns | |
Thank you, thank you!
I don't even know where to begin thanking everyone for their help, prayers, cards, support, trips shopping or to the doctor's office. Gifts and flowers. Cards and transportation. Prayers and support. Love and caring. To be on the receiving end of so much is both humbling and inspirational. I love you back. I love you more.
Update:
The emergency room staff kept telling me what a bad break it was.... But I was on such good painkillers at the time, I wasn't sure I believed them. Nowadays, apparently when you have a CT scan, they burn a DVD and send it home with you. It was definitely a very bad break.
Unfortunately, they don't do another one after the surgery, but the doctor says it was a perfect repair! And he did send me home with an X-ray to prove it. It certainly looks perfect! And that's quite good enough for me!
The doctor expects about six months of physical therapy before I'm good as new... or at least as good as I'll get. With the way you guys pray, we can probably cut that time in half!
One last thought:
If you ever, ever need emergency medical care, I can only hope you manage to make it to Highline Medical Center. Every single person I came into contact with during my entire stay, both in the emergency room and after surgery, was exceptional... gentle, sweet, encouraging, professional and personable.... I cannot say enough. They were wonderful.
Jeanie
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| From the Health Care Team | |
The Secret to Joint Pain Relief: Exercise!
Joint pain: it throbs, aches, and hurts. Quite likely, it makes you think twice about everyday tasks and pleasures like going for a brisk walk, lifting your grandchild or some grocery bags, chasing a tennis ball across the court, or driving a golf ball down the fairway. Sharp reminders of your limitations arrive thick and fast, practically every time you move.
What causes joint pain?
Very often, the culprits behind joint pain are:
ˇ Osteoarthritis
ˇ Old injuries
ˇ Repetitive or overly forceful movements during sports or work
ˇ Posture problems
ˇ Aging
ˇ Inactivity
How exercise can help...
Ignoring the pain won't make it go away. Nor will avoiding all motions that spark discomfort. In fact, limiting your movements can weaken muscles, compounding joint trouble, and affect your posture, setting off a cascade of further problems. And while pain relievers and cold or hot packs may offer quick relief, fixes like these are merely temporary.
By contrast, the right set of exercises can be a long-lasting way to tame ankle, knee, hip, or shoulder pain. Practiced regularly, joint pain relief workouts might permit you to postpone - or even avoid - surgery on a problem joint that has been worsening for years by strengthening key supportive muscles and restoring flexibility. Over time, you may find limitations you've learned to work around will begin to ease. Tasks and opportunities for fun that have been weeded out of your repertoire by necessity may come back into reach, too.
Beyond the benefits to your joints, becoming more active can help you stay independent long into your later years. Regular activity is good for your heart and sharpens the mind. It nudges blood pressure down and morale up, eases stress, and shaves off unwanted pounds. Perhaps most importantly, it lessens your risk of dying prematurely. All of this can be achieved at a comfortable pace and very low cost in money or time.
Source: Harvard Medical School, HEALTHbeat, August 10, 2010
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