 Newsletter
Lake Burien Presbyterian Church
April 2012 |
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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 | |
Caring for one another in covenant
Recently the Schroeters sent me this article from the Presbyterian Layman. I thought it was a great reminder that we are in a relationship of mutual promise. It is worth the read. Enjoy....
A call to pastor your pastor
by Carmen Fowler LaBerge, The Layman, posted Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Even as we acknowledge the priesthood of all believers, the calling of every Christian to use the gifting of the Holy Spirit to serve the Lord and the parity of Christian leadership between ruling and teaching elders in the life of the church, there remains a sacred space for those called to pastoral ministry.
Pastors live and breathe the faith throughout the warp and woof of life. Even as we all recognize that pastors are flawed, fractured human beings just as prone to sin as the rest of us, we still hold them in high esteem with great expectation and hope.
Pastors who are worthy of the calling have a spirit of under-shepherds. They live in humble service to the Good Shepherd, whom alone they emulate and serve. They do not bow to the sheep, but to Christ. They do not serve a human institution but a sovereign, revealed and holy Lord. They do not conform to the world, but by their own demonstration of grace and truth, lead others to be transformed by the power of the Word and Spirit of the living God. All of which makes them odd ducks in the world.
Holiness is an oddity. If it were not, it would not by definition be holy. To be holy is to be set apart. That does not mean that pastors are aloof, distant, hard to reach, nor above the fray. It means that God has intentionally set them apart from the world in order that they might speak truth, demonstrate grace and equip the saints for the work of ministry.
The joy of pastoral ministry is in caring for the world without the proverbial cares of the world. In order to do that, pastors must be supported by a fully empowered and mobilized laity. That support comes prayerfully and personally.
Encourage your pastor through prayer. Pray for them and pray with them. If your pastor is a good shepherd, he or she is:
- praying daily by name for you and all the members of the flock entrusted to their care. Are you praying by name every day for your pastor?
- praying for the needs, anxieties, stresses, troubles, illnesses and losses of the people of your faith family and community. Are you praying for your pastor's family, their challenges, and with your pastor for others?
- praying that the Word of God would be communicated with veracity, power and effectiveness. Are you praying for your pastor as he or she prepares to preach and for them as they preach?
- Your pastor physically feels the weight of the health and future of the church. Are you prayerfully helping to relieve that burden by holding them up in prayer before God?
Encourage your pastor as a person. Be their friend. Offer your advice and counsel when it comes to things that you know more about than they do. Pastors have a tendency to serve others to the neglect of their own health and family.
- When you need to talk with your pastor, don't ask them to lunch. Ask them to take a walk with you or prayer walk the church campus together.
- Hold them accountable to take their day off (their Sabbath belongs to God and it is worthy to be honored by the entire church).
- Provide all the support that is necessary for them to take their continuing education and vacation weeks each year. And don't use the challenge of filling the pulpit as an excuse. Every ordained elder in the church bears the responsibility of preaching. Or, if you need a guest preacher, just ask. I'm available.
Don't complain; just do it. Pastors are trained in the Bible, not the books. Expecting a pastor who does not have a business degree and no business experience to run the business of the church is foolish. Finances, personnel, building maintenance, non-profit tax law, etc. are not areas of expertise or even training for most pastors. These are the purview of the session and trustees of the church. Ruling elders must bear the load the Lord has assigned to them and not place unrealistic expectations upon the pastors whose primary responsibility is one of shepherding.
Uphold your pastor in prayer and uplift your pastor in life that your days together might be long and your shared ministry abundantly fruitful, to the glory of God whom alone we worship and serve.
Carmen Fowler LaBerge is president of the Presbyterian Lay Committee and executive editor of its publications.
Pastor Tobin
Holy Week Services
Be sure to attend these Holy Week services:
Good Friday Service
April 6, 8 p.m.
Easter Sunday Service
April 8, 9:30 a.m.
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Sermon Series |
FORWARD
TO FREEDOM
April 1
Exodus 12:1-28
The Present Perfect
April 8
Exodus 14:10-31
Grace, a Good Difficult
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Your Council |
Moderator of Council
Tobin Wilson
Clerk of Council
Melinda Glass
Encounter God in Worship
Dave Hall Kathy Reed
Encourage One Another in Community
Norma Kastien
Margarita Suarez
Engage in the World As Transformers of Culture
Steve Turner
Carolyn Carpenter
Property
Gordon Shaw
Finance
Paul Larson
Anne Tiernan
Capital Improvements
Paul Larson
Personnel
Tim O'Brien
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Clerk's Corner | |
The March LBPC Council meeting was one of Transition!
We welcomed Rev. Lina Thompson as our new Vice-Moderator of Council. She will be a regular member of our council.
We also welcomed our new ruling elders to council; Anne Tiernan, Dave Hall and Kathy Reed. All were on session before, and are now on council for three years.
The council members are as follows:
Rev. Dr. Tobin E. Wilson, Moderator
Rev. Lina Thompson, Vice- Moderator
Melinda Glass, clerk
Ruling Elders:
Engage - Steve Turner and Carolyn Carpenter
Encounter - Dave Hall and Kathy Reed
Encourage - Margarita Suarez and Norma Kastien
Property, Finance and Capital Improvements - Gordon Shaw, Anne Tiernan and Paul Larson
Personnel - Tim O'Brien
Motions and business of the council is as follows:
We received the February financial report.
A motion brought forward from the Engage team was approved to designate monies from one of our three special/holiday offerings this year go to ORR. This will be to assist ORR in providing latrines to Mother Ellen Harley's orphanage in Liberia, West Africa.
The council continues to review the book; Changing the Conversation, and creating ways to live out the mission and vision of LBPC.
Respectfully submitted,
Melinda Glass, LBPC clerk
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ENCOUNTER | |
New Encounter Elders
We have two new elders on council who will be working within the Encounter framework. You can look forward to reading future articles from Dave Hall and/or Kathy Reed. Welcome aboard, Dave and Kathy!
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ENCOURAGE | |
Charge: To foster authentic community and encourage congregational life at LBPC
Goal: To serve as an umbrella for present and future ministries and promote communication among all ministries as well as with the congregation
Norma Kastien and Margarita Suarez, elders;
Deacons' moderator;
Barbara Carlsen, representing the Presbyterian Women;
Jan Cox, who also works with the Health Care Team, and Penny Hickman, Priscilla Stephenson, Natalie Sarantos and Beth Williams.
The ordination of Lina Thompson was held on March 4,with a reception in the Fellowship Hall following the service. We want to thank all who participated in helping with the reception to make it such a success. Many of our members were involved in this event and worked with Lina's family before, during and after the reception. The meal, prepared by Lina's family, included chicken, meatballs, rice, green salad and fruit salad, and was served on buffet tables in the Fireside Room. We also had two dessert tables as our contribution to the meal. Of course, we had the usual tea, coffee, water and punch. So again, a big thank you to all.
Through 2012, we want to continue to build and imagine; events to encourage participation and celebrate our congregational life, as we continue to extend ourselves in our community life. We invite everyone to several events that we are planning:
Easter Sunday, April 8: cakes for the coffee hour
May 20: Potluck Salad Sunday--more details later
July 15: Sundae Sunday--more details later
Besides events, we are working on the best way to facilitate communication. We have asked the pastors and each elder how they want to be contacted. The purpose is to have a process where each of us can contact and connect with the elders for each committee. We want to give you the name and how to connect with people on different committees, to know to whom and how to direct your comments and ideas.
Senior Pastor: Tobin Wilson
Best days/time: email tobin.wilson@lbpc.org or call to set up an appointment at 206.931.6244. Office hours are Monday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. I try to keep Friday as a Sabbath.
Assistant Pastor: Lina Thompson
Email: linathompson14@gmail.com; cell: 253.224.2195; office hours: 1 to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays--it's best to call to make an appointment.
Clerk of Council: Melinda Glass
Email: mjbglass@comcast.net
any time; phone: 206.242.1765 before 9 p.m. I will answer both within 48 hours.
Encounter God in Worship
Dave Hall either email or phone or both: seattleopsmgr@hotmail.com; home 206.246.9929
Kathy Reed either email or phone or both: kreed@comcast.net; cell 206.909.1331
Encourage One Another in Community
Norma Kastien normalk@comcast.net any time; home: 253.852.5929 anytime until late, 10:30 or 11 p.m., or cell: 206.679.2529 anytime during the day, leave messages if unavailable
Margarita Suarez mmsuarez@comcast.net any time; home: 206.444.5737 before 9 p.m.
Engage in the World as Transformers of Culture
Carolyn Carpenter cvcarpenter433@gmail.com, any time before 9 p.m.
Steve Turner 206.245.9937; steve@turnerdesignstudio.com; afternoon any time but Tuesdays/Thursdays
Property
Gordon Shaw: 206.473.8751, cell phone for building issues and care
Best day/time: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Finance
Paul Larson cyclist_paul@comcast.net any time; cell 206.914.4423 evenings
Anne Tiernan email or cell or both: annemtiernan@msn.com; cell 206.948.0487
Capital Improvements
Paul Larson cyclist_paul@comcast.net any time; cell 206.914.4423 evenings
Personnel
Tim O'Brien tobrien@saltys.com any time; home 206.246.2503 Saturday all day or Wednesday through Friday mornings
Okay, this is all for our April news, please contact Norma or Margarita if you have any questions.
Gifts of Women Celebration
"Gifts of Women" Sunday was celebrated on Sunday, March 11. On that day we thanked two women who have donated their service to our church for many years. Our Lake Burien Presbyterian Women gave them each an Honorary Life Membership in the Presbyterian Women in the PCUSA. We donated a contribution in their name to the special Life Membership Fund. This fund began in 1912. Programs are funded which support the training of women for future leadership in the church. Our honorees also received a certificate of membership and a membership pin that illustrates the purpose of the Presbyterian Women. Each part of the pin tells a story. For example, in one corner are hands. These represent those who want to build a community of women working together. The overall design of the pin is in the shape of a butterfly. This is the symbol for our new life in Christ.
Edith Meyers has a passion for education, children and youth. As the Elder for Children, Youth and Families, she supported these programs with leadership, wisdom, enthusiasm and many hours of volunteer contributions of her time to Wednesday night "Family Nights," Vacation Bible School, Sunday School and a "Young Children and Worship" Volunteer.
Barbara Jones served as a member of Lake Burien's Chancel Choir for many years. She faithfully served with weekly choir rehearsals and the extra rehearsals needed for special Christmas, Lent and Easter services. Barbara also spent many hours in the church kitchen volunteering her time for church dinners, cooking Wednesday night dinners for children and youth, helping with the "Young Children and Worship" program and she always was willing to say yes to helping with Wedding Receptions.
Our Presbyterian Women feel privileged to honor Edith and Barbara for sharing their God given gifts of service, enthusiasm, music, hospitality and wisdom with our congregation for many years. Just like the Biblical women Ruth, Mary, Esther and others, Edith and Barbara answered our Lord's call to spread the good news to our church. We are grateful.
From the Health Care Team
The Happiness-Health Connection
Want to improve your health? Start by focusing on the things that bring you happiness. There is some scientific evidence that positive emotions can help make your life longer and healthier.
But to produce good health, positive emotions may need to be long-term. In other words, thinking positive thoughts for a month when you already have heart disease won't cure the disease. But lowering your stress levels over a period of years with a positive outlook and relaxation techniques could reduce your risk of heart problems.
Pathways to happiness
In an early phase of positive psychology research, University of Pennsylvania psychologist Martin Seligman and Christopher Peterson of the University of Michigan chose three pathways to examine:
- Feeling good. Seeking pleasurable emotions and sensations, from the hedonistic model of happiness put forth by Epicurus, which focused on reaching happiness by maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain.
- Engaging fully. Pursuing activities that engage you fully, from the influential research by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. For decades, Csikszentmihalyi explored people's satisfaction in their everyday activities, finding that people report the greatest satisfaction when they are totally immersed in and concentrating on what they are doing - he dubbed this state of intense absorption "flow."
- Doing good. Searching for meaning outside yourself, tracing back to Aristotle's notion of eudemonia, which emphasized knowing your true self and acting in accordance with your virtues.
Through focus groups and testing hundreds of volunteers, they found that each of these pathways individually contributes to life satisfaction.
Things that won't make you happy
People tend to be poor judges of what will make them happy. While most people say they want to be happy, they often believe in myths or carry assumptions that actually get in the way. Here are some widely held myths about what will bring happiness:
- Money and material things. The question of whether money can buy happiness has, for more than 30 years, been addressed by the "Easterlin paradox," a concept developed by economist Richard Easterlin. His research showed that people in poor countries are happier when their basic necessities are covered. But any money beyond that doesn't make much difference in happiness level. This idea has been challenged periodically, as in 2008 when two University of Pennsylvania researchers analyzed Gallup poll data from around the world. They showed, in contrast to Easterlin's work, that people in wealthier countries are happier in general. The two studies were not directly comparable in method, however. And Easterlin points out that the new study may be flawed by cultural bias, as people from different countries may have different ways of answering questions about wealth and happiness.
- Youth. Being young and physically attractive has little or no bearing on happiness. In a study published by Richard Easterlin in 2006 in the Journal of Economic Psychology, not only did being young fail to contribute to happiness, but adults grew steadily happier as they moved into and through middle age. After that, happiness levels began to decline slowly as health problems and other life problems emerged.
- Children. Children can be a tremendous source of joy and fulfillment, but their day-to-day care is quite demanding and can increase stress, financial pressures, and marital strife. When ranking their happiness during daily activities, mothers report being more happy eating, exercising, shopping, napping, or watching TV than when spending time with their children. In several studies, marital satisfaction declines after the first child is born and only recovers after the last child leaves home. Personal relationships of all types are important, however. In studies, being married, having more friends, and having sexual intercourse more often are all moderately or strongly associated with happiness.
source: HEALTHbeat, Harvard Medical School, September 20, 2011
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ENGAGE | |
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
Carolyn Carpenter and Steve Turner, Chairs; Committee members: Gail Lane, Sharon Larson, Sally Mackey, Melinda Mackey-O'Brien, Sarah Pham (staff) Linda Shaw, Nola Sparks, Judy Todd (PW Women), Sonya Vasilieff, Don Weber, Dawn Wilson, Dee Wix.
From the Children's Department
Happy April!
A couple of weeks ago during our Sunday morning Children in Worship time, we were looking at the story of Mary, Martha and Jesus. When the kids were thinking about Martha, one of them said, "Why is Jesus saying that Martha was making a wrong choice? She was only doing good things to have everything be special for Jesus' dinner there." I had to assure the class that Martha wasn't "in the wrong", but that Mary had chosen "the better part." To be perfectly honest, I easily connect with Martha. I very often get caught up in all the tasks that I need to get done, and "the better part" gets cut short. Have you ever felt like Martha? Whether you're working in children's ministry, volunteering in children's ministry or a part of any other ministry, I would challenge you, as well as myself, to never skimp on "the better part." We should be so saturated with God (His presence, His word, His Spirit) that the rest of what we need to do, just flows out of us.
During this same Sunday morning, we did an object lesson to illustrate the point Jesus was trying to make with Martha. I gave the children a jar that had three Hershey's kisses inside. After the kisses were placed inside the jar, the jar was filled with rice. I then asked the children to dump their jars out and fill them again. This time, however, they needed to put the rice in before the three Hershey's kisses. The children soon discovered that the lid of the jar did not fit when the kisses weren't placed in first. One of them piped up, "I get it. It's kind of like us with God. If we don't put Him first, our lives are off and we can't fit everything in, but if we put Him first, everything else falls into place and it fits." Wow! I thought... what insight! I couldn't have said it better myself. May you remember to ALWAYS put Him above everything else, so the rest of life will "fit."
In His Love,
Sarah
Adult Ed
"...Sometimes the official lags behind the sacred."
The Rev. Dale Sewall, 2011 Moderator, Seattle Presbytery, ordination service for The Rev. Lina Thompson March 4, 2012
Sometimes the official lags behind the sacred. Those words have been with me since the ordination service. How often do I lag behind "the sacred"? I know I'm lagging behind when I'm not present in my own life; when I'm not listening; when I want things my way; when I'm not for the common good of all.... What "official" keeps you lagging behind "the sacred"?
After the benediction come to class in the fireside room
April 15 - Double Click - Stanley Hauerwas' Sunday Asylum with Dr. Tobin Wilson
--Melinda Mackey-O'Brien, Engage
P.S. The official (Presbyterian laws, by-laws, Book of Order) eventually caught up to the sacred and Lina was ordained!
A Word from Our Partner in Ministry, Orphan Relief and Rescue
From all of us here at Orphan Relief and Rescue we wanted to thank our LBPC church family for your generosity in helping provide Mama Harley, her kids and the surrounding community a water well. Currently in Liberia there is a nationwide drought. Many wells are drying up, yet the wells that ORR has drilled continues to produce as much as three to four gallons a minute of clean drinking water. We have even heard that as many as 500 people each morning are waiting outside the gate of the orphanage to get water for their families. This is a miracle! Thank you again for making this dream a reality.
There is a desperate need to help Mama Harley's home once again. They are at risk of losing their accreditation because their latrines are in disrepair. We have presented this need to your leadership and they have approved unanimously to move ahead on raising awareness and funds for this most desperate situation.
Mother Harley has 40 children in her orphanage home, and they currently have no working toilets or latrines. These children, as well as their whole community, will benefit from the new flushing toilet system that we want to install. There are no other working toilets or latrines in their area, so these will be a huge blessing. There will be approximately 200+ people who will be using Mother Harley's flushing toilets on a regular basis. Therefore, the health of the whole community will improve due to the installation of the toilets. The cost of regular maintenance (pumping and waste removal) for four toilet stalls will be 5,000 USD. With ORR's flush toilet system the benefits to the children and community will be huge.
Thank you for once again being such a blessing and giving to this project.
Earth Day Sunday April 22, 2012
Yes, Earth Day falls on a Sunday this year, an especially good time to recognize and celebrate what we have done, what we are doing and consider what more we might do in caring for God's creation!
- We did away with Styrofoam cups.
- Signs have been put up to remind us to turn off the lights when we leave the room.
- In nearly every room and office we have blue recycle containers.
- We contracted with Camano Island Coffee for organic, sustainable, shade grown coffee, a company with partners with Agros International to the benefit of villagers, who eventually become landowners. A change was made perhaps because of cost. Are there other possibilities we might consider?
- All light bulbs have been changed to energy efficient CFL bulbs.
- In remodeling the fellowship hall and fireside room we have used Marmoleum, environmentally safe flooring that can be cleaned with water.
- Our landscaping was redone in favor of native plants that support the birds and animals and once established need only the rain.
- We cancelled our spraying contract and did away with the use of pesticides and became a designated "Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary."
- We value our Peace Garden.
- We partner with Earth Ministry together with other faith communities to engage, educate, model and advocate for creation care.
- Let's support our after school program in their effort to build and plant vegetable boxes for the inner courtyard.
- Let's get an LBPC Team together to join Clean Sweep Burien this year on Saturday, April 28, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
What's next? What big or little ideas would you like to share?
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Capital Improvements |
Re-Keying Our Campus Buildings
Approved by the session and the congregation a year ago, the capital improvements group will be completing the re-keying of all outside doors to our campus buildings during the month of April. Keys are being assigned to the groups and individuals who need "regular" access to the buildings only. Please plan accordingly when it comes to building usage and contact the church office if you need our business hours. If you have questions about the project, please contact Paul Larson at 206.914.4423 or my email.
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FINANCE | |
2012 Budget as of February 29, 2012:
Budget $339,000
Income 45,012
Expenses 47,671
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