Sunday, July 29, 2012

Summertime around the synod: Gardens a growing concern

On the coast, first came a food bank, then the garden
By Ann Gergens, Pacific County Press
SOUTH BEND — Last October, the empty field on Water Street was dusty or muddy, depending on the weather.
July 7 was different when the Growing Together Community Gardens (GTCG), begun by the Rev. Laurie Johnson of First Lutheran Church of South Bend and many others, held an open house to show off what a little water, some seeds, and working together can accomplish. The barren lot now is a flourishing green expanse of container gardens with tomatoes, cauliflower, Swiss chard, lettuce, broccoli, tiny bean sprouts and berries growing in lush profusion.
GTCG contributes produce to the Legacy Community Outreach Food Bank next to the garden. The food bank grew out of the church in years past, and now comes the garden to complement it.
But both are truly a community effort. South Bend Mayor Kirk Church listed the 67 organizations, businesses, individuals and volunteers who have so far contributed to its growing success, after which he cut the ribbon that made it official. Pictured above, the Growing Together Community Gardens


In the city, potato towers pack plenty into small space
By Allison Ramsey, Resurrection Lutheran church member
and synod office manager
TACOMA — Four years ago, Cindy Niemi, a member of Resurrection Lutheran
Church, got the idea to start a community garden in the back of the church in
the middle of what used to be blackberries, brush and horrible soil conditions.
After working with the men’s ministry and outreach committees, as well as with
local donors, the garden has grown in lots of ways.
This Community Garden has taken on the spirit of true victory gardens —
bringing people together to grow their own food, and also providing recreation,
education and beautification.
The garden provides produce for the New Jerusalem Food Bank in Tacoma. Last
year, the potato towers, under the leadership of Master Gardener Jennifer
Schroeder, produced 200 pounds of potatoes in four towers for the food bank.
Potato towers are square, high-sided wooden boxes that contain multiple potato
plants and are built higher by adding soil as the potatoes grow, making room
for more. Resurrection’s Facilities Committee has built a beautiful fence this
year around the garden, and enlarged the space by several plots. The garden
has been blessed with donations, too. Garden workers received compost from
a landscaping business. They also are active in Tacoma’s Community Garden
Program, from which they’ve received
supplies.
This year, they’ve organized events around the gardening including classes,
a scarecrow contest, and “Happy Hour in the Garden” (non-alcoholic and
alcoholic drinks using fresh herbs and the fresh produce.)  


Pictured above left to right with a potato tower is Ramsey,
Tracy Johnson and Schroeder



Fehring, Dieckhoff use time away from school to teach English


By the Rev. Steve Ray, executive director, chinaconnect

This summer, three volunteer teachers, Joy Fehring, Linda Dieckhoff and Andrea Schatzman, are teaching oral English skills and American culture to youth in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China.
Fehring grew up at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd of Olympia where her parents Dorothy and Carl still attend. Dieckhoff is a member of St. Mark’s by The Narrows Lutheran Church of Tacoma, and Schatzman is from Minnesota. Febring specializes in teaching autistic students in the St. Paul School District. Dieckhoff is a counselor in the Tacoma School District. Chinaconnect recently established a relationship the Nanchang Institute of Technology to develop opportunities for volunteers to serve Chinese society through short- and long-term English language training, short-term youth service teams and semester-abroad college students. Later on this summer, I will meet with Nanchang leaders to see where we can work together to serve the most needy in Nanchang. This summer, volunteer English teachers will visit the new chinaconnect HomeAlone Kids Care Project. Chinaconnect works with local government officials in this nationwide program to support kids whose parents are working in other provinces. To keep abreast with our summer activities, go to www.chinaconnectonline.org. Questions? Contact me at sray@chinaconnectonline.org

Pictured: Nanchang 

Saturday, July 21, 2012

Spanaway marks 50 years of proclaiming Gospel



By Karen Whitmore, Spanaway Lutheran Church

In his covenant word, the Torah, God taught his people about Sabbath and gave his people this gift of time. The Sabbath time is for resting playing, singing, feasting, praying, storytelling, and time for savoring friendship with God and others and nature. The Sabbath would be honored in three ways: the Sabbath day, the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath year, the seventh year which is the Sabbath year, and the fiftieth year, the Grand Sabbath year.

This year Spanaway Lutheran Church is celebrating its Grand Sabbath or Jubilee year. For 50 years, Spanaway Lutheran Christians gather for worship, and live as God’s people proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the Spanaway community and throughout the world. Spanaway Lutheran is consecrated as a uniquely Jubilee congregation as proclaimed by the cross in our sanctuary. Carved on the cross are the words from Isaiah 61 which Jesus read proclaiming his ministry as recorded in Luke 4. By these words we also proclaim and live our ministry to the world.

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me
 to proclaim good news to the poor. 
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives 
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God,
 to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion — 
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, 
the oil of joy instead of mourning, 
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
 They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord
 for the display of his splendor.

We are released from the activity of this world of acquisition to participate in this joyful Year of Jubilation. In January 2012 we began a year long celebration commemorating a year of celebration; remembering and reaching out.

Monthly projects involve the congregation members and community. We have chosen these projects which support church members, Base children, food bank, the military, individuals who are released from incarceration, and our community as a way of sharing our abundance with others. A target goal of 50 of each item was proposed in honor of our Jubilee and congregational members have surpassed that goal. Favorite hymns are chosen and sung through out the Jubilee year. People are enjoying pictures and posters in the Fellowship Hall which recount our history. Many members of the congregation share their faith by means of a written Lenten devotional booklet available in booklet form or online at the SLC webpage. T-shirts and sweatshirts with the church logo remind us of our connectedness. A summer church picnic on July 1 at Spanaway Park reaffirmed our enjoyment of each other and God’s creation of nature.

We will continue our Jubilee projects throughout the fall in ministries as we collect coats to help others prepare for winter; as we appreciate God’s gift of creation and resurrection by planting bulbs in the churchyard. In spring when the bulbs bloom, we will recall our year of Jubilee and celebration for our years of ministry. We joyously show our thankfulness for God’s abundance by supplying funds to purchase Turkey breasts for the food bank for Thanksgiving.

This Jubilee year, many joyful activities are occurring at Spanaway, a sharing of ourselves that identify us as a covenant people. We pray that in our hearts we continue to live a Jubilee life, seeking and savoring our friendship with God and each other, seeking ways to further the kingdom by sharing love and hospitality and resources with those less fortunate. And thanking and praising God for his grace, good gifts and mercy.

Our Jubilee year of Celebration culminates in a festive gathering of the current congregation and many who have left to become members in other bodies. We will savor our history and former relationships and recount our blessings from God on the weekend of October 6th and 7th. A special Saturdy evening event and Sunday worship service is being planned with the inclusion of festive activities. We invite all to come and enjoy and celebrate with us this Jubilee. Call the church office: 253-531-7000 for additional information.

For a brief history of God’s unfolding promise to mend the entire universe please read "Manna and Mercy" by Dan Erlander.


Monday, July 16, 2012

First Lutheran continues to be big player in Nepal effort

Here's a story in part about First Lutheran Church of Poulsbo and its support of an orphanage in remote rural Nepal: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/jul/10/north-kitsap-religious-service-business-groups/

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Community Shepherds invest at home







By Rachel Pritchett, synod communicator

CASTLE ROCK — They painted the outside of a restaurant struggling to stay open, then pulled waist-high weeds at a community garden.

They washed and waxed fire trucks and tested the hoses. They even battled the afternoon heat beating off the asphalt to built a skate-park ramp.

Those were among a dozen projects in and around Castle Rock taken on by 42 middle- and high-schooler in the extraordinary Community Shepherds Program at St. Paul Lutheran Church, from July 9 through 14.

"We had a bunch of different work sites this year," said organizer Lucas Myers, 23, St. Paul's youth director.

Each day when they finished work, they returned to the RV park where they were camping. 

Then it was into the pool to cool off their weary bones. After some well-deserved dinner, they worshiped and sang around the campfire.

In the end, the young Community Shepherds were changed. So were the communities they touched.

"I just don't think they're going to understand the love that's going to come from doing these things, how that can change someone's entire life," Myers said.

Amanda Snow, 14, member of St. Paul, agreed. "Just because we don't need help doesn't mean other people don't."

That is especially true in Cowlitz County, historically dependent on logging and construction. Unemployment persists at 11.2 percent, among the highest rates in Washington state.

In the past, St. Paul youth had gone to other places for their summer mission work. Why they weren't working in their home communities was a question that grew louder.

"I thought, 'Why are we going to Idaho and spending thousands of dollars on something that isn't being invested in our own community,' " said Myers, a Castle Rock native.

The cost per young person this summer was a mere $50. Fundraisers throughout the year brought in more money than needed.

The Community Shepherds Program is growing. For the first time this summer, youth and leaders from other congregations joined in, including Castle Rock Christian Church and Solid Rock Fellowship of Longview.

Myers wasn't too tired at the end of the week to begin thinking how the Community Shepherds Program might look next summer. He's thinking about extending it  throughout the summer, maybe with less camping.

"It's more of a lifestyle rather than a getaway," he said.

On July 14, as the workers were breaking down camp, the Rev. Robert Sinclair of St. Paul hoisted boxes and pushed heavy carts of folding chairs used for worship into a trailer.

"I think that God works in, with and through all of his children," he concluded.

To learn more about Community Shepherds Program, contact Myers at lmyers@atsu.edu or Pastor Sinclair at rsinclair001@luthersem.edu.

Pictured above top to bottom:

Left to right, Amanda Snow, Brandon Ruhland and Delaney Fouell spiff up a firetruck. (Cole Forney) 


Cody Dowell hauls a load at one of the gardens tended by the Community Shepherds. (Cole Forney)


Clarence Knutson, Brock Johnson and Steven Bohna work on free lunches for low-income people at St. Paul. (Cole Forney)

Closing camp with song (Pritchett)

St. Paul Youth Director Lucas Myers (Pritchett)

Myers also teaches biology at Lower Columbia Community College and has a 1-year-old baby. (Pritchett)

Amanda Snow of St. Paul (Pritchett)

Life was great in Castle Rock

Readers,

Here are some shots I took while in Castle Rock this weekend. Thanks to the Rev. Bob Sinclair of St. Paul Lutheran Church and Lucas Myers, the congregation's youth director, for welcoming me and accommodating my needs as I worked to get the word out about the extraordinary Community Shepherds Program.

Most of all, I'd like to thank young Cole Forney for his excellent photography of the Community Shepherds at work. Cole, you have tremendous potential in photojournalism, in my opinion. Give me a call sometime, 206-498-0920.

Top to bottom are some scenes around Castle Rock, volunteer Jill Lair, and one of the young workers dismounting from the trampoline after the week was over. 

I'd call Castle Rock an awfully good place to raise kids. It's a close-knit community where you roll down your window several times as you drive through town to update everyone on your current status. St. Paul is a very family-oriented congregation at the heart of Castle Rock. At times during my visit, it seemed as if every young person in town was a Community Shepherd.

Rachel Pritchett, communicator







 


Friday, July 13, 2012

Giant garage sale at Messiah on Saturday

A giant garage sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, July 14, at Messiah Lutheran Church of Auburn, and all are invited. Furniture, yard equipment, toys and clothing are just some of what's available. The church is at 410 Eighth St. NE.

Deadline for August synod newsletter is July 20

Readers,

Friday, July 20, is the deadline for the August edition of Moments for Mission, the synod newsletter. You can send photos and information directly to me or to the synod office. If you would like to be included on the e-mailing list, let us know, as well.

Thanks,

Rachel Pritchett
rachelpritchett@msn.com
206-498-0920

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Stories coming this summer


Hello everyone,


Some of the stories I'm working on over the summer are below. Contact me if I've missed anyone.

1. Next weekend, I'll be at the Toutle River Campground with youth from St. Paul Lutheran Church of Castle Rock, who by then will have devoted body and soul to a week's worth of work serving the local community under the Community Shepherds Program. I'll see what they've been up to. St. Paul is led by the Rev. Bob Sinclair. He and Lucas Myers, youth director, are overseeing the week. That's the Toutle River, pictured.

2. Patrick Cudahy is the synod's newest Young Adult in Global Mission. I'll be meeting with him in coming weeks between trips to Costa Rica and Malaysia, where's he is headed to perform his global service. Cudahy is the son of the Rev. Sigi Helgeson of Family of God Lutheran Church of Bremerton.

3. I'm planning a visit with Kathleen VanBeek of the youth ALYVE board, and we'll see what she has in mind for the group.

4. Just heard from the Rev. Steve Ray of Elim Lutheran Church of Port Orchard and director of Chinaconnect. He's given me an update of the organization's work in Nanchang, China, where he is now.

5. We'll be hearing from Allison Ramsey about Resurrection Lutheran Church of Tacoma's community garden, as well as fro the folks in South Bend about a big celebration of the expanded food bank initiative undertaken by First Lutheran Church.

6. We're going to look at a $100 million environmental remediation effort just getting started at Holden Village, the Lutheran retreat center in the Cascades. It's a former copper mining camp and some of the byproducts continue to migrate into a creek there. I think I'll be doing this for The Lutheran.

If you'd like to receive the synod newsletter, contact the synod office or myself.

— Rachel Pritchett, communicator

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Pastor's corner: Make your choice carefully, lest you become like Emerson

By the Rev. Kim Latterell, Creator Lutheran Church of Bonney Lake, creatorpastor@comcast.net 

In preparing for a Bread for The World event planned by Associated Ministries of Pierce County, I came across a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson that spoke directly against being concerned about the plight of others. Emerson wrote: "Do not tell me of my obligation to all poor people. Are they MY poor? I tell thee thou foolish philanthropist, that I grudge the dollar, dime and cent I give to such men as do not belong to me and to whom I do not belong." Clearly, the poor are deemed neither Emerson’s concern nor responsibility.  To no one’s surprise, his viewpoint remains contagious in American thought and daily life.

On the other hand, as to counterbalance his view, I recalled an ancient Bible story involving one brother killing another, who, when asked about what he had done, responded with the question that still rings through the generations; "Am I my brother’s keeper?" Does somebody else’s life impinge on mine? The answer to his query appeared to be yes indeed, we are responsible to and for one another. Now I grant that the choice between the two approaches is a matter for your own heart’s consideration. If your heart and wallet grudge the poor still, individualism wins the day and Emerson is truly your man. But if your heart is moved by the plight of others to engage in both charity and justice on their behalf as well as the larger community, then clearly you’ve been shaped and led by a different Author and philosophy. You’re not libertarian but humanitarian.
 
The battle of viewpoint and worldview of the previous paragraphs is not newly made but forever engaged. Twenty-five hundred years ago, in a collection of proverbs, commonsense wisdom sayings gathered from real life experience, those authors included these hard earned lessons and passed them down for our consideration:  Do not let us close our ear to the cry of the poor. Those who are generous are blessed for they share their bread with the poor. And then this verse that speaks directly to American politics, policy and perspective: Oppressing the poor in order to enrich ourselves and giving to the rich, will only lead to great loss. But as I said, the choice and the vote is yours to make. Make it well, that every mouth be fed, every stomach filled, every home be made secure and every life become one of true abundance, together.