Samaritan Center counselors are based throughout the Puget Sound area, most often in churches. They become a wonderful resource for pastors to easily make referrals.

I'm serving as a Table Captain and have purchased a table. Please come, be my guest, enjoy and "make a generous donation". We'll car pool from the church parking lot, maybe take the van. I need reservations by May 1.

Sally Mackey

206.243.3338

sallynmnmac@comcast.net

Covenant Network of Presbyterians:

Toward a Church as Generous and Just as God's Grace

Join the Covenant Network at our Northwest Regional Conference

Mercer Island Presbyterian Church, 3605 84th Avenue SE Mercer Island

Saturday, April 13 ~ 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Church of What's Happening Now: Faithful Response

Marriage Equality...R74, what now?

Ordination Standards...What's next?

Generational Shifts...Does it matter?

Keynote Speaker, Bruce Reyes Chow
Moderator of the 218th General Assembly

"Groovy, Sick and Epic ~ Speaking Languages of Justice Across the Generations"

Panel discussion, lunch, workshops, worship

Registration: $20 by April 10 to CovNet Mercer Island PC

Join me and we'll carpool

Sally Mackey

206.243.3338

Presbyterian Women Birthday Offering on April 7

Each spring, the Birthday Offering is collected to celebrate the blessings in the lives of Presbyterian Women.

The Creative Ministries committee of Presbyterian Women chose this year's offering to go to the Westminster Neighborhood Ministries in Indianapolis. Close to 34 percent of the families have incomes below the poverty level. There are programs for children, youth and adults. The Birthday Offering collected nationwide will be used to expand services to preschool-age children and to expand the basic adult education program. Expanded adult services will include job skills training and résumé building, developing adult literacy and basic math skills, financial counseling and budget building, cooking and fitness training, post-secondary education preparation, and anger management classes. All these resources are offered to help create stable families in which parents cope with everyday stresses, participate in their children's education and become better role models for the children in their care.

Our model of a "Yellow Birthday Cake" will be in the back of the Fellowship Hall during the All Church Potluck Luncheon after worship on Sunday, April 7. We invite you to build up the neighborhood of Westminster Neighborhood Ministries just like we try to do for our UGM families. Look for the "cake" and drop in your donation. We thank you for your support.

Presbyterian Women Synod Gathering

The Presbyterian Women of the Alaska-Northwest Synod will meet together at Camp Berachah in Auburn from April 25-27. The Annual Synod Gathering begins with dinner on Thursday evening and concludes on Saturday after lunch. This is a great opportunity to meet women from all around the Synod. Liz Potter will share her experiences that she had at the United Nations Status of Women Conference. A second speaker is Theresa Schultz Norris who is president and founder of Women's Enterprise International. Mary Ann Eschbach will describe her Mission trip to the Philippines and the effects of Human Trafficking there. Sandi Thompson-Royer has devoted many years to the elimination of domestic violence against women. She manages Jubilee Global Gifts. Her presentation will give us insight into women's lives in Nepal and Central America.

The program will also include an overview of the 2013-2014 Horizon Bible Study entitled "An Abiding Hope-The Presence of God in Exodus and Deuteronomy. You are invited to participate in a Hands On Mission Project for Matthew House, which is located in Monroe, Washington. Matthew House staff give "Help And Hope" to families affected by parental crime, arrest and incarceration. We can help by bringing a Zip-Lock bag with toothpaste, toothbrush, small tissue package, small bar of soap, deodorant, tampons or pads, pair of socks, etc. Use your imagination. You could also provide a "Zipped with Love" bag with children's sizes.

Contact Gail Lane for a registration form. The cost is $150 which includes all meals and two nights lodging. Full time or part time commuter options are also available for $20, $30 or $65, depending on the meals needed.

Gifts of Women Sunday

On March 10, our Presbyterian Women celebrated the "Gifts of Women Sunday" by honoring Norma Kastien and Margarita Suarez. We gave Norma and Margarita a butterfly pin and a certificate of Honorary Lifetime Membership in Presbyterian Women. We sent a donation in their names which will be used to help pay for scholarships and leadership training for women in the church. We thanked them for their service to Christ and our church using their God-given gifts to follow Jesus Christ's example of service to others.

Norma Kastien meets regularly with her five sisters along with family reunions and her close friends who share birthday luncheons that last all day. Norma and Jack joined LBPC in 1967. She and Jack raised their daughters, Julie and Leslie, in this church. Leslie explains, "my mother is the nicest, kindest person I know." Julie agrees with her and says, "My mother is my best friend. I can tell her anything and she is such a good listener. In fact, she helps people because after listening to them carefully, she can make suggestions on how to de-escalate their problems."

Norma has served as Co-President of Presbyterian Women along with Jan Meerdink. Norma also served two different six-year terms as deacon. Currently, she is serving a six-year term on the council. She and Margarita are co-chairs of the Encourage Team. Norma and Jack helped the Samuel Oppong family when they moved here from Ghana. She also spent many years reading the mail for Robert and Nam Chan Guyette as well as helping them with doctor visits and shopping. Norma has been a faithful member of the choir for years. She has also helped as an office volunteer and has helped with phone calling.

Margarita Maria de Las Nieves Suarez (e) Gaston was born in Cuba the fifth of a family of 14 siblings. She left Cuba in 1960 to become a nun for two years. When the Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba began, her father and three sisters were arrested by the Castro regime, but were later freed and the family was able to leave Cuba. Margarita joined them in Maryland. Their family struggled at first to adjust to a new country. Then Margarita studied to be a nurse. She joined a special Army nursing program at Walter Reed. She volunteered to go to Vietnam and stayed there for 15 months. Since then, she has been a pediatric nurse, a counselor and executive director of two non-profits. On the Sunday after 9/11 she gave us tips on how to deal with the stress and fear we faced. At our monthly Seattle Presbytery Christian Educator Luncheon she gave us training on how to help children and youth face grief, trauma and stress. She now works for New Futures and visits 11 families with children from 18 months to three years twice a week. She helps out both the children and the parents of these families.

At LBPC, Margarita has served as a deacon and currently as an elder. She has served on the personnel committee and now serves as the co-chair of the Encourage Committee. She has given many presentations to the Café class and to Presbyterian Women on ways to handle stress in our busy lives. She has served as a food coordinator for the Wednesday evening Remix program and uses her Spanish skills with the UGM students and their families. The children love her cooking.

Sandy Spence says about Margarita, "If you ask her what she feels are her gifts, she will say her gift is connecting with people, along with her gift of humor, and, Sandy adds, her generous heart and soul." Margarita feels these gifts have been hers since birth, but she also will say her non-gifts are her disorganization and her impatience.  

Roma Baskets and Cross-stitch Items from Thailand

Thank you for your response to help the Roma women in the Carpath-Ukraine by buying baskets on March 10. There are still two baskets remaining. Gail Lane will send in orders for those who asked for different sizes and will let you know when they arrive.

The Reverend Dr. Sirirat Pusurinkham will be contacted in Thailand to find out what the time line would be if we ordered cross-stitch items. The church near Oakland, California also has some remaining items from their alternative Christmas fair held last December who also may be able to give us some. Contact Gail if you are interested.

Information on Human Trafficking

For example, one story is of Rani Hong who was trafficked in India and became a slave at the age of seven years old. She eventually was adopted by a woman in Olympia, Washington. She now serves as a United Nations Gift Special Advisor. Her report to the United Nations was published in the Huffington Post on March 6.

Our Presbyterian Women of Lake Burien subscribe to Horizon Magazine for our church library. This outstanding magazine is published by Presbyterian Women. Each issue includes mission project descriptions, book reviews, resources and program ideas, Bible study ideas, devotional reflections and inspirations and humor and more. There are three remaining free complimentary copies of past issues that you are welcome to take. The regular subscription issues are on a lower shelf on the right side of the bookcases. Enjoy. 

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