Seattle Church, Neighbors in Battle’s Grip Over Tent City

Readers,

I had occasion to do this story, though it takes place in the Northwest Washington Synod. - Rachel Pritchett

SEATTLE - A North Seattle church whose members have decided to host a temporary tent city is feeling intense heat from neighbors, but is resolved to live its mission.
Signs have surrounded Maple Leaf Lutheran Church in this usually bucolic neighborhood saying, "Burn in Hell, Maple Leaf Lutheran" and "Please be Good Neighbors; No Tent City."
Neighbors have intimidated Maple Leaf members trying to get to worship with aggressive questioning while handing out 65-page booklets stating the case against a tent city. They’ve strewn nails across the church parking lot, and even driven vehicles next to a recent outdoor Oktoberfest and set off car alarms, according to the Rev. Julie Blum of Maple Leaf Lutheran.
"I want to think I can give humanity more credit," said Pastor Blum, adding that everyone is encumbered by sin. "I think their biggest concern was they didn’t have a say in the matter."
Tent City 3 is a legally sanctioned traveling homeless encampment that’s operated for many years in Seattle. It is operated by SHARE/WHEEL, the Seattle Housing and Resource Efforts and Women’s Housing, Equality and Enhancement League.
SHARE/WHEEL, always having to search for venues on which the tent city can live for 90 days before moving on, asked the congregation if it would be willing to be a host.
On Sept. 19, some 80 percent of members voted yes as about 50 protesters milled outside. The congregation served them coffee and donuts, but that didn’t bridge the gulf of misunderstanding. The congregation had a long history of helping the homeless, having housed homeless people in the church basement for the past 15 years.
The face-off with neighbors has left its mark, with congregants having to answer how the camp would benefit the community, since there are few grocery stores in the neighborhood to serve the camp, and how it could ensure that children living in homes nearby would be safe.
"We try to claim that they don’t know that about their neighbors now," Pastor Blum said.
A church tent-city task force has received intimidating e-mails, threats of lawsuits and at least one house-egging, and remains weary but solid in resolve. One neighbor threatened to move should the tent city come.
"We’re trying to do something good, and we’re being met with hostility," Pastor Blum said. "Jesus said it wasn’t going to be easy, but this is what we were called to do."Meanwhile, the standoff, and the opposition the congregation met 15 years ago when it began putting homeless people in its basement, has changed the congregation forever.
Blum says it’s become more "outward focused," doing things like becoming supporters of the Lake City Holiday Project, which provides Christmas gifts to low-income children.
"I think that we are realizing in a world that has needs that the church can address, the church can respond instead of just getting caught up in ourselves," she said.
Meanwhile, Tent City 3, made up of 100 or so destitute adult men and women, is set to move to the Maple Leaf Lutheran parking lot. The nails will be all cleared, just hours after America celebrates Thanksgiving with turkey with all the trimmings.
"If we’re going to be disciples of Jesus, we’re going to follow his lead," the pastor said.

Lutherans working together to build Habitat house

By Jim Lamb and Rachel Pritchett

BREMERTON – Lutherans from all corners of Kitsap County are building a Habitat for Humanity house in Bremerton.

It is the first of its kind in the county, and will be occupied by a low-income family next spring.
The house is located at Habitat for Humanity's emerging Cornerstone Place neighborhood. Workers now are hurrying to get to a stage in construction to keep the rains out.
The home will be occupied by a nursing student at Olympic College and her two sons.
Leon Thomas of nearby Silverdale Lutheran Church came up with the vision for the Lutheran-built house. He developed a plan to raise $24,000 and get pledges of at least 1,500 hours of work from members of local Lutheran churches. Tirelessly visiting each church beginning in June, he and the Rev. Bill Crabtree of Silverdale Lutheran so far have raised more than $16,000 and received commitments of 500 hours of work.
That's been enough to start.
Groundbreaking and a worship service were held at the sight on Aug. 7. Walt Washington, the county treasurer, delivered remarks.
"Besides the joy of helping a deserving family, just imagine the fellowship, relationships between churches and new friendships that would develop as Lutherans worked together," said Jim Lamb, member of Silverdale Lutheran.
That’s happened, and members from the following churches now are working shoulder-to-shoulder: Port Madison and Bethany Lutheran churches of Bainbridge Island; Family of God, Memorial and Our Saviour’s Lutheran churches of Bremerton; Spirit of Life Lutheran Church of Olalla; and First Lutheran Church of Poulsbo.

Disabled young adults reach out to God at Messiah

By Rachel Pritchett, communicator

VANCOUVER - The mother of a young Vancouver woman with Down syndrome has come up with an amazing way to wrap God’s love around her and her friends.
Shelley Park at Messiah Lutheran Church explains that when daughter Hadley was young, it didn’t take much to fold her into church activities with the other children.
But as Hadley reached middle-school age, teachings in Sunday school and in youth activities became more abstract. Classmates became less understanding and less tolerant of behaviors that can sometimes come from people like Hadley.
"It gets harder for people with disabilities to participate in church life," Park said. And even harder as Hadley grew into a young adult.
"Hadley said, ‘Mom, where’s my part?’ " Park remembered.
Park prayed for guidance.
Nearly three years ago, she began a group at Messiah specifically for young adults like Hadley - a place where they could deepen their understanding of the love of God in a way they understood, an ecumenical place where they could deepen friendships and enjoy the fellowship so many others at Messiah enjoyed, but which eluded them.
Park called the group All for One. At times with more than a dozen members, it meets on Saturday at the church, with volunteers assisting.
Since it began, the special young adults from all religious backgrounds prepare and eat a meal together. They learn the meaning behind Bible stories on their terms. They share, they do crafts projects like taping newsprint all over each other to demonstrate the armor of God. They love. They fold their hands and look upward.
They pray for one of their dads who lost his job. They pray for Kyron Horman, the little Portland, Ore., boy who vanished.
"It’s the groaning of the spirit. God understands; angels understand," Park said.
Park has struggled to find appropriate curriculum for the young adults in All For One. The Lutheran church has some, but Park considers it too Lutheran for the diverse group.
"It is really hard to find Bibles for disabled people. I’m still struggling," Park said.
Park’s efforts have caught the attention of local media, who have featured her group.
Today, friendships have deepened in the All For One group, as has their exploration of God.
"I think disabled people are close to God. Their God space is already filled in them," said Park, who also is a preschool teacher at Messiah.
As for Hadley, now 25, "She finally had a spot. She finally had a place."

Opportunity coming to learn about synod's companion relationship with Namibia

Greetings,

Starting with its October edition and continuing through the end of the year and into next year, The Lutheran magazine will run a series of articles and photographs featuring the Southwestern Washington Synod's companion relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Namibia. The series is based on a synod-delegation visit that took place this spring that was led by Bishop Robert D. Hofstad.

To subscribe to The Lutheran either online or by mail, visit www.thelutheran.org. The series will appear on the synod's new website at http:/swwsynodelca.blogspot.com/ after publication in The Lutheran. A related article will appear this fall in The Little Lutheran.

Please consider sharing with your congregations and friends in your newsletters.

Thank you,

Rachel Pritchett, Southwestern Washington Synod communicator
rachelpritchett@msn.com

Synod's newest worshipping community elects officers

EAST JEFFERSON COUNTY -- Peace Lutheran Fellowship of Port Hadlock, the Southwestern Washington Synod’s newest synodically authorized worshiping community, elected new steering-committee officers on Sept. 19, just three months after first convening.
They include President Dave Witsoe, Vice President Mark Getzendanner, Treasurer Jack Randall, Secretary Janet Getzendanner and Members at Large Jerry Larson, Linda DeLeo and Harold Jensen.
The fellowship formed after Lutheran Church of the Redeemer of Chimacum left the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American following the 2009 churchwide vote on sexuality. It was one of five congregations in the synod to leave.
Some 35 Redeemer members, however, wanted to continue together as an ELCA congregation, and began meeting first in a restaurant and currently in a picturesque lodge on Beaver Valley Road near Chimacum.
"It’s amazing to me we’ve come this far this fast," said Mark Getzendanner.
The congregation now is working toward forming a constitution and vision statement.
Pastors from nearby ELCA congregations have been preaching each Sunday. The Rev. Kent Shane of First Lutheran Church of Pousbo preached during the inaugural service on the Fourth of July. On Sept. 19, the Rev. Julie Kanarr of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church of Port Angeles came.
"We give thanks to God for you," Kanarr told the worshippers, adding she looks forward to her congregation partnering in many endeavors with Peace in the future.
The synod gave the congregation a $10,000 grant, and participants now are beginning to talk about a pastor.
"We need to have a pastoral leader," said Joe Wagner.
Witsoe, the newly elected president, said the fellowship has come about because every person in it has helped in their own way.
"I don’t see one person witting here who hasn’t help Peace Lutheran Fellowship evolve to where it is today," he said.
The fellowship meets at 10 a.m. Sundays at Beaver Springs Lodge, 2924 Beaver Valley Road. To learn more, visit the community’s website at www.peacelutheranfellowship.org.

Messiah Lutheran Church - North County Campus begins worship

RIDGEFIELD, CLARK COUNTY – More than 100 worshippers crammed into new space in the second floor of a Ridgefield office building for the Sept. 12 kick-off of Messiah Lutheran Church – North County Campus.

Welcoming worshippers were the Revs. Peter and Kathleen Braafladt of Messiah. Kathleen Braafladt delivered a moving sermon about willingness to let God take control.
Also starting just before worship was an intergenerational education hour called G.R.A.C.E., God Reaches All In Christian Education.

Lynda Laird, the new site’s outreach coordinator, gave an orientation, and the Rev. Melanie Wallschlaeger, director for evangelical mission for the Southwestern Washington Synod, was on hand.

The new worshipping group is an expansion of Messiah Lutheran Church of Vancouver, and was supported by a $100,000 grant from Thrivent Financial for Lutherans and a $150,000 grant from the Evangelical Outreach and Congressional Mission unit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

Organizers found the new worshippers through doorbelling and advertising. The new group continues to contact persons who work in the office building during the week.

Messiah – North Campus meets at 2 South 56th Place, Suite 204, close to Interstate 5 at Exit 114. The education hour begins at 9 a.m. and worship starts at 10 a.m. For more information, visit http://www.messiahvancouver.org/.

Speaker: Stewardship calls for being in life of congregation

TACOMA – Keith Mundy, ELCA assistant director for stewardship, was the keynoter for five recent events at synod congregations.
Some 40 persons attended one at Peace Lutheran Church of Tacoma on Aug. 28, where he explained that while 90 percent of people believe all that they have belongs to God, only a few live that out.
"Stewardship is about connecting what we believe with our lifestyle," he said.
Yet our culture teaches us to accumulate and hold onto everything, he continued.
"We have to turn things upside down and look at things differently," he said.
Rather than inviting newcomers to first give generously, congregations should first work to make them part of the life of congregations, he said. Giving follows later.
When congregation members are asked to plan on giving a specific dollar amount, giving increases 70 percent, he said. When they’re asked to give a percent of their total income, giving increases much more, he said.
Lutherans give 1.5 percent of their income, on average, the lowest of any mainline denomination. "There is room to grow," he said.
Mundy said congregation members sharing stories about their history of giving is effective.
In a workshop that followed, Margie Fiedler, vice president of marketing for the ELCA Mission Investment Fund and Jim Leistikow, director of Lutheran Planned Giving Consortium of Western Washington, focused on teaching children about stewardship.
A good place to start is sharing the 10-10-80 rule, they advised. That means putting 10 percent of their money toward savings, 10 percent toward giving, and spending the rest.
The pair suggested getting children involved early in stewardship opportunities at church, including taking part in collecting offering. The Mission Investment Fund has many other opportunities to save and to learn the practice of giving. Fiedler is available to help parents find those paths. She can be reached at (208) 664-7973 or margie.fiedler@elca.org.
Other congregations that hosted the stewardship event include Dungeness Valley Lutheran Church of Sequim, Amazing Grace Lutheran church of Aberdeen, Trinity Lutheran Church of Vancouver and Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of Olympia.