Gifts of Hope catalog offers alternative gifts, local and global

Once again this Christmas, volunteers throughout the synod have put together and are offering the “Gifts of Hope” catalog, the one-and-only source for alternative gifting that’s local and global. Gift opportunities range from supporting your community’s food banks or youth and health programs all the way to helping a Namibia garden that will feed AIDS orphans. Since 2005 when it began, Gifts of Hope has raised $87,000. Obtain a Gifts of Hope brochure from the following synod churches: 
 

Spanaway Lutheran Church

St. Mark’s by The Narrows Lutheran Church of Tacoma

Trinity Lutheran Church of Parkland

Creator Lutheran Church of Bonney Lake

Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd of Olympia

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of Olympia

St. John’s Lutheran Church of Chehalis

Trinity Lutheran Church of Vancouver

Upcoming events

Lutefisk, bazaar all in one in Sumner

Christ the King Lutheran Church of Sumner invites all to its annual lutefisk dinner, from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10. A complete lutefisk dinner is a bargain at $20. An even better bargain is a complete meatball dinner with no lutefisk at $15, with kids 10 and younger at $10 for both. Further enticement is the congregation’s annual bazaar, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. the same day. For more, phone the church at 253-863-1142. Christ the King Lutheran Church is at 245 Valley Ave.

Discernment workshop scheduled

Pastors and professional church workers seeking deeper discernment into their ministries are invited to an upcoming Crossroads vocational-discernment seminar in Seattle. It takes place Nov. 15 to 17 at the University of Washington. Contact Consultation to Clergy at 206-623-8193.

Gregoire to headline FAN annual event

Outgoing Gov. Chris Gregoire will be the keynote speaker at Faith Action Network’s 2012 Annual Awards Dinner in Seattle. It takes place from 6 to 7 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Temple De Hirsch Sinai, 1511 East Pike St., Seattle. To learn more or to register, go to www.fanwa.org.

Byberg Preaching Workshop in Oregon

The Rev. Dr. Terence Fretheim of Luther Seminary will be the presenter at the 2013 Byberg Preaching Workshop, to take place Jan. 14 to 16 at Cannon Beach, Ore. Fretheim will address “Preaching and the God of the Old Testament.” Joining him will be the Rev. Rick Jaech of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church of Vancouver, Wash., who will talk on “Preaching in a Context of Conflict.” See Page 3. Worship, learning, connections, good food and long walks on the beach are included. For more information, visit www.bybergpreaching.org.

Youth events start with Point Defiance beach cleanup

 

Youth can mark their calendars for these cool and inspiring events brought to you by the synod’s Youth Committee and ALYVE Board. ALYVE stands for Associated Lutheran Youth in Various Endeavors. 

Nov. 17: Middle- and high-school youth from Peninsula of Gig Harbor and St. Mark’s by The Narrows of Tacoma will clear debris from the beach at Point Defiance Park on Nov. 17. Fun and food is planned for afterward. The cost is $10. Those interested in learning more can contact Katie VanBeek, Peninsula’s director of youth and education, at k.vanbeek@plcplace.com.  

Jan. 25 to 28: ELCA Youth Ministry Extravaganza, Anaheim, Calif.; pauldavis@pflc.org.

March 5 to 7: 21st Century Faith Formation Event for youth leaders; Seattle; pauldavis@pflc.org.

March 15 to 17: Synod Youth Gathering; 6th to 12th grades; Auburn; k.vanbeek@plcplace.com.

April 12 to 13: Fool’s Night Out Lock-Out; 8^th to 12th grades; ingelaurie@smlutheran.org.

May 4: Synod Youth Service Day; 6^th to 12th grades; three synod locations; ingelaurie@smlutheran.org.

June 8: Youth Convocation; Hotel Murano Tacoma; k.vanbeek@plcplace.com.

Items from around the synod ...

95 Reeses: The Rev. Suzanne Appelo and friends at Gull Harbor Lutheran Church of Olympia thought that reading the monthly newsletter for members was about as exciting as reading the tide tables. For October, they instead came up with “Gull Harbor Lutheran Church’s 95 Reeses,” a spinoff of Martin Luther’s theses. Printed on oversized parchments, events of the months made up some of the list of 95. Truisms like “You might be Lutheran if you only serve Jell-O in the proper liturgical color for the season” were spread among the church's schedule of events and birthdays. Gull Harbor then wrapped the large documents around a Reese’s peanut-butter cup and sent them on to readers, who this time got all the way to No. 95. To see how they did it, email rachelpritchett@msn.com.

Mission-site moves: Messiah Lutheran Church of Vancouver's North County Site has a new home at the Tri-Mountain Golf Course in Ridgefield. The synodically authorized worshiping community formerly met in a Ridgefield office building. The move followed lease talks. In Kingston, Faith Community Church, the synod’s second federated Episcopal/Lutheran congregation, soon will leave its home in a Veterans of Foreign Wars hall. The flood-prone building will be torn down. Faith is expected to move to nearby Redeemer United Methodist Church.

Coming in the mail

Assembly planner the Rev. Don Fossum says congregations and rostered staff in November will be emailed information about the 2013 Synod Assembly, to take place June 7 and 8 in Tacoma. The information will include:

Official notice of assembly dates;
Registration information;
Requests for displays;
Requests for ideas for workshops; andNotices to rostered clergy and associates in ministry regarding voting privileges and retirement, disability, and on leave from call.

Synod calendar of events

Readers,

I didn't have room for this in the newsletter, so I'll post it here. You can get more detail about some of these events in Moments for Mission. — RP

Nov. 4: Fall back an hour
Nov. 4: Missionary support event, Redeemer, Tacoma
Nov. 10: “Global Stories: From Trip to Pilgrimage,” Tacoma
Nov. 10: Church-conflict resolution workshop, Olympia
Nov. 15 to 17: Pastoral discernment session, Seattle
Nov. 28: Thanksgiving
Dec. 1: PLU Christmas concert, Tacoma
Dec. 2: PLU Christmas concert, Tacoma
Dec. 3: PLU Christmas concert, Seattle
Dec. 4: PLU Christmas concert, Portland
Dec. 7: PLU Christmas concert, Tacoma, see Page
Dec. 8: Faith Action Network annual awards dinner, Seattle
Dec. 28: Christmas
Jan. 1: New Year's Day
Jan. 20 to 22: Prayer Retreat preceding Bishop’s Convocation, Seabeck
Jan. 22 to 23: Bishop’s Convocation, Seabeck
March 16: Southwestern Washington Women of the ELCA Olympic Cluster spring celebration, Silverdale Lutheran, carolfossum@comcast.net
April 19 to 21: Southwestern Washington Women of the ELCA spiritual retreat, "Fully Rely on God" with the Rev. Mary Sanders, Dumas Bay Centre, Federal Way, carolfossum@comcast.net
June 7 to 8: Assembly of the Southwestern Washington Synod, Hotel Murano Tacoma
June 21 to 23: Region 1 gathering including Southwestern Washington Women of the ELCA, featuring author Jane Kirkpatrick and Bishop Kay Ward, Heathman Lodge, Vancouver, Wash., carolfossum@comcast.net

New posting

 

Organist/pianist: Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church of Bremerton seeks a part-time pianist and organist, to begin prior to the Christmas season. For more information, contact the church at 360-479-6374.

Pictured: A rebuilt pipe organ was installed in 2009 by Steven Cheyne-Cook at Our Saviour's Lutheran after a out-of-control truck rammed through the sanctuary, causing major damage. (Kitsap Sun)