Tidings from Tibbetts

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1 Tidings from Tibbetts R e v e r e n d D o c t o r J o a n n e C a r l s o n B r o w n A p r i l Founded 1909 I n f o r m a t i o n a n d I n s p i r a t i o n f r o m T i b b e t t s U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t C h u r c h J o a n n e s Jottings Rev. Dr. Joanne Brown As I write this, devastating pictures play out daily on the TV of the earthquake and tsunami and its aftermath in Japan. The magnitude of the damage and the loss of life is staggering. And the carnage in Libya grows by the day as people struggle with a brutal dictator for their freedom as indeed many people are doing in North Africa and the Middle East. And yet, I am writing this article for the April newsletter and the big event in April for the church is Easter, when we celebrate new life and rebirth and unbridled joy. How to do this in the face of all this death and destruction? But it is precisely now, in the face of this horror, that we must speak of resurrection. To speak of resurrection is not to deny the reality of what is happening in the world. It is not to deny the past and live in some utopian future where all is sun- A n E a s t e r H y m n Y o u E i t h e r L o v e O r H a t e b y J oh n V an Li e r o p As I promised in last month s issue I am sharing with you an Easter hymn which some people have come to love or hate. The hymn is Up from the Grave He Arose UMH #322. I remember this hymn from my youth, but I didn t learn it from the Presbyterian hymnal. Upon checking the hymnal used in my father s previous churches it was nowhere to be found. Maybe this hymn wasn t formal enough for those stuffy Presbyterians back then. light and life. The resurrection is a sacrament of tears shed, pain sustained and death remembered. To celebrate the sacrament of life in the face of death is an act of faith. To believe in life resurrected from the ruins of human conflict or natural disasters comes from God who is the power of transformation. And to work toward change in the human condition is a calling..continued on page 7 On the other hand I found this hymn in earlier editions of the Methodist hymnal. Robert Lowry, an important gospel writer of the 19 th century, wrote this hymn. Continued on next page... Inside this issue: Better-than-theballpark Dinner and a Movie, A League of Their Own An Easter Hymn Love/Hate Scenario, what s your fave? We re throwing ANOTHER baby shower but for the nursery this time March Book (& Dinner) Club, I m Down, potluck and discussion April 28th One Great Hour of Sharing an offering for the world

2 Page 2 Ti di ngs from Ti b b etts Saturday, April PM Where: Adams Hall / Organized by the Kolze Circle It is springtime and Opening Day for the Mariners at Safeco Field is just around the corner! April movie night will be a baseball focus. 6 PM Dinner is promised to be better than what s found at the ballpark 7 PM A League of Their Own (1992) (128 minutes) Small-town sisters Dottie (Geena Davis) and Kit (Lori Petty) join an all-female baseball league formed after World War II brings pro baseball to a standstill. When their team hits the road with its drunken coach (Tom Hanks), the siblings find troubles and triumphs on and off the field. Rosie O'Donnell and Madonna co-star in director Penny Mar- shall's funny, sentimental crowdpleaser inspired by the real-life All- American Pro Girls League. HOPE TO SEE YOU AT THE MOVIES! Movie summary provided by Netflix.com C a n you give someone a ride sometime? The Congregational Care Committee is assembling a list of people who can give Rides to folks who otherwise would not be able to get to church, church events, meetings, or doctor appointments / groceries. If you are able to offer a ride please or call the church and leave your name. You will be put on the list and called when there is a need. Also, if you are in need of a ride to anything, you can call the church office and we will connect you with a person who has offered a ride. This is one of the ways we are being church for one another. It is an important ministry. Please consider being a driver. Easter Hymns which is your favorite? ( c on tinued f r o m page 1) John Van Lierop, Jr. Music Coordinator and Keyboardist (continued from previous page) It is a very effective hymn with the dramatic contrasts between the verses and the refrain. The verses are about the death of Jesus, with their somber tone at a low register. The refrain announces Jesus resurrection with its ascending musical notes that are more rhythmic. Even though there is no indication in the music to change the speed at the refrain, it is common among congregations to sing the verses slower and speed up the tempo on the refrain. I think that it is in this area where some congregations have gotten carried away and have made the hymn too melodramatic. Our minister Joanne shared with the Worship Committee members that this hymn had a notorious reputation at her seminary. The Low in the Grave He Lay was known as the Pot Roast Jesus hymn and the Up from the Grave He Arose was known as the Jack in the Box hymn. Nonetheless this hymn will be sung by congregations all over the globe this Easter Season with much vigor. Next month: Our own congregation s favorite hymns. What s one of your favorite hymns?

3 Page 3 Rever end Doc to r Jo a nne C ar ls o n B rown Please Remember to Support the West Seattle Food Bank The first Sunday of every month is Food Bank Sunday (just think Communion Sunday!) Christians In Action collects non-perishable food items for the West Seattle Food Bank, which is experiencing an unprecedented rise in use. A collection box is in the Narthex. Items needed on a regular basis are: - Protein foods, as peanut butter, tuna, chili, ravioli and other similar foods - Canned fruits and vegetables - Cereals - Baby formula (both soy and milk based) - Large size 5-6 diapers. Money donations are always welcome. Please make checks out to Tibbetts UMC with a notation that it is for the West Seattle Food Bank. THANK YOU! UM Men April breakfast presenter to speak on wind power Saturday, April 16 th 8 AM, Adams Hall Have you seen any of the wind turbine farms in Eastern Washington? Have you ever wondered how these get built? Well come to the Men s Breakfast meeting in April and your questions will be answered. Michael Bogie (Howard Bogie s Grandson) will be the guest speaker. Michael is a Project Manager for Next Energy (.com). Michael will talk about what is involved with putting up the wind turbine and has some great pictures to show how it is done. Next Energy is also involved with Solar Energy so he will be able to talk about current activity in solar panels for both home and business. It will be a fun morning; you get a great breakfast and will learn some things about renewable energy! This Mother s Day, Share the Warmth on May 8th It has been a tradition at Tibbetts to partner with Church World Service in their Tools of Hope & Blanket program on Mother s Day. For $5 you can purchase a blanket in honor of your mother or other loved one to receive a beautiful card to send announcing your gift. Supporting this program helps make a difference in the lives of children and families the world over and that includes families in Washington State. A blanket can be used for a myriad useful purpose a makeshift tent, a cover against the cold, a cradle for the baby, a bed, a carryall for one s meager possessions and a token of our love and concern. There will be a display of Mother s Day cards in the Narthex on Sunday, May 1st and 8th, for you to choose from. Members of the CIA will be happy to assist you. What an easy way to make someone next door or at the ends of the earth smile and feel God s love through us.

4 Page 4 Ti di ngs from Ti b b etts Babies, Babies everywhere and we need a fresh place to play! It s a Boy, It s a Girl! The nursery has turned 25 and needs a little Tender Loving Care! We are going to be redecorating the nursery. On the list is fresh paint, new carpet, new toys, playthings, books, and bedding! Please come to the Nursery Baby Shower Kolze Circle is throwing a Thanks to all who donated rummage and came shopping! Thanks to those faithful people who worked for weeks preparing for the sale and during the sale so that people assure us this is the best Rummage Sale they have been to! Thanks to those who came Wednesday evening and made moving the Rummage an easy task and to those who came Saturday afternoon to help clean up!!! baby shower for the nursery! It will be April 10 in the Parlor after cookie hour. The Tibbetts Nursery is registered at Target and Babies R Us. There will also be a money tree. We will start work on the nursery right after the shower to take down wallpaper and then start the painting after church on Sunday April 17. After the redecorating is complete there will be a blessing in May! If you would like to help fix up the nursery please call Denise McKee or Kylene Ushimaru. Thank You! Inter Generational Book (& Dinner) Club I m Down: A Memoir by Mishna Wolf Potluck and book discussion Thursday, April PM at the Carters. PLEASE bring your ideas for future books to read and discuss What a great book! Fun, moving, and with a really unexpected ending. Though the promo material highlights her childhood as a white girl in a black neighborhood, this Another Successful Spring Rummage Sale! memoir is a more sophisticated story--and more universal story -- of a child who can't find her place in her family. And the most moving aspect of this book is her success in finding a place in the world, and what it ultimately costs her. Yes, it's heartbreaking in places, but it's hysterical in others and most importantly -- the story is compelling. I literally couldn't put this book down and I have the circles under my eyes to prove it. Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program Books available in the church office A special Thanks to all who came at 6:30 Friday morning to help move the furniture outside for the sale! Thanks to the members of the Kolze Circle who came with dinner for the workers Friday afternoon, making it possible for the workers to go home and rest and relax! Thanks to all those who do many things behind the scenes that make things go smoothly and easily! The Spring Rummage Sale earned approximately $4,400! This money will go to United Methodist Women s Missions.

5 Page 5 Rever end Doc to r Jo a nne C ar ls o n B rown Joanne s Jottings c o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 1 in response to the vision of God s Beloved Community. Resurrection does not simply spell the survival of the soul but requires the transformation of the world as we know it. Faith in the resurrection must come from real glimpses of our ability to make whole our suffering world. For the work of Christian grace and love is now, and not just later. We are tempted to look around us and to despair. Think of the disciples and how they felt. They had just seen their teacher, their friend killed in the most brutal way possible. And to compound their grief, they had betrayed and run away when he needed them most. Who could blame them for thinking that all was lost and over. Our deepest human instinct would have us believe that sin and death and destruction have had the last word and that we are of all persons most to be pitied (I Corinthians 15:19). But the resurrection means that wonder of wonders, it s not over. That life ultimately triumphs over death. The wonder of the resurrection is that the disciples had an experience of their friend and teacher and master that transformed their lives. And very soon Jesus followers began to see him everywhere in every suffering soul and every expression of beauty, in every broken body and every loving act, in every corner of creation and beyond the greatest of hopes and their lives were changed forever. My friends, we need resurrection more now than ever before. We need to have that transformative experience of Jesus. To hear the God say YES! Bravo! to Jesus for a life of love faithfully lived. Belief in a Risen Lord confronts each one of us with a passionately loving God who has pursued us through death into life. In a world that otherwise would have every reason for paralyzing cynicism and pessimism, even despair, believers in a Risen Lord become an Easter people of hope who make a difference in our world. With hope, we can cope, cope with fear, confront fear and despair eyeball to eyeball. This is the message we have to give this hurting world. We need to reach out with substantive help, of course. Giving money to UMCOR so that real, tangible relief items can get to folks who need them is crucial. But we also need to speak and live hope. We are an Easter people, and that makes all the difference in our lives. We are commissioned and empowered to share the good news of hope and resurrection and new life with our fragmented and hurting world. Living out of that truth gives meaning to life, gives hope and peace, and yes, even joy as we bring that message of life in words and in deeds. As Easter people we see Jesus everywhere that is our experience of resurrection - and we respond in love and justice and hope giving all we are and all we can be to this world that God loved so much that resurrection broke into it and suddenly, nothing was the same. We are not the same. Our world is not the same. And thanks be to God for that. ~~~ Lenten Bible Study Like Living Stones We are continuing our Lenten Bible Study each Wednesday night from 7 8pm. We are using the curriculum Like Living Stones, as we look at what it means to be in community and how to strengthen our church for the mission God has called it to. Come whatever Wednesdays you are able. This is a wonderful way to deepen your faith and connect with others in the church. Reader s Theater Palm/Passion Sunday Palm/Passion Sunday, April 17 we will have a Reader s Theater to lead us through the last week of Jesus life leading up to Easter. We need 12 people. Some parts are smaller than others and there is no need to memorize. We will have one rehearsal on Saturday afternoon, April 16, though scripts will be given out in advance of that actually whenever you say you are interested. Please think about being part of this moving time of worship. Let Joanne know if you d like to be in this worship service as soon as possible.

6 Tibbetts United Methodist Church st Ave. SW / Seattle, WA Phone: churchoffice@tibbettsumchurch.org Church Members receive a lengthier printed version via US Mail. The Communications Committee has ensured addresses and phone numbers of church members who host events in their home are not published on the internet, and also protects the privacy of its Youth. Facebook.com/TibbettsUMChurch We welcome all people to celebrate and share God's love. One Great Hour of Sharing April 3rd Now more than ever we need One Great Hour of Sharing. We join with Christians of all denominations around the world in contributing to alleviate suffering and tragedy in the world. Our United Methodist Committee on Relief began its work before OGHS was established (1949). Now UMCOR depends on this special offering to do its work worldwide. Your gifts on April 3 rd will affirm that we are no longer strangers, but one household caring for another. This year we do this in memory and honor of Helen Mockridge, long time Chair and member of the Christians in Action Committee. We know you will be generous. One Great Hour of Sharing is an offering that makes the love of Christ real for individuals and communities around the world who suffer the effects of disaster, conflict, or severe economic hardship, and for those who serve them through gifts of money and time. Today, projects are underway in more than 100 countries, including the United States and Canada. In the 1990s, receipts have exceeded $20 million annually. While specific allocations differ in each denomination, all use their One Great Hour of Sharing funds to make possible disaster relief, refugee assistance, development aid and more. Other Upcoming Christians In Action (CIA) Events: Mother s Day, Sunday, May 8th blankets for Church World Service. Pride Fest, Sunday, June 26th we will again have a table at Pride Fest, indoors at the Fisher Pavilion of Seattle Center.