BURLINGTON LUTHERAN CHURCH THE BRIDGE March 2019

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BURLINGTON LUTHERAN CHURCH THE BRIDGE March 2019 Grace & Peace, BLC! Lent is upon us! The season of repentance, waiting and hoping is so perfectly placed into March in the Pacific Northwest.

1 BURLINGTON LUTHERAN CHURCH THE BRIDGE March 2019 Grace & Peace, BLC! Lent is upon us! The season of repentance, waiting and hoping is so perfectly placed into March in the Pacific Northwest. This is the time of the year where any sane Pacific Northwesterner is looking at the price of condos in Boca Raton. Life as it is in the gray damp seems unsustainable. But in just a few weeks all that will change. Days will get longer and we will find we are not eating both breakfast and dinner in darkness. Perennials and trees will come to life. That strange orb will glow in the heavens. Spring will come. We are fortunate to have the natural world reflect our liturgical calendar. As we walk through these last, dark days of winter; we journey through lent. Lent is a beautiful time of recognizing our need for the Resurrected Jesus. Through prayer, fasting and contemplation, we can see in ourselves our hunger and thirst for righteousness and nourish ourselves with God s grace. I invite you, this year, to allow yourself to walk through the cold, bereft season of Lent with repentance and prayer. I invite you to not sugar coat your life or your heart and to be honest with yourself and others. I invite you to come to Holy Week as your one, true, broken self and experience the joy of the Resurrection as if for the first time. Pray. Fast. Read the Word. Come to worship on Sundays and Wednesday. Walk. Listen. Do whatever it takes to not escape the now, but to watch for signs of God s love to you in this journey. Blessings on your Lenten Journey, Pr Bethany Hull Somers

BLC SERVICE PROJECT BLC will have a service project, sponsored and led by our confirmation students, at Helping Hand Food Bank in Sedro-Woolley on Saturday, March 2 from 10am-12pm.

2 BLC SERVICE PROJECT BLC will have a service project, sponsored and led by our confirmation students, at Helping Hand Food Bank in Sedro-Woolley on Saturday, March 2 from 10am-12pm. If you would like to help, dress warmly, please! 9386 Fruitdale Road. Confirmation class, Sunday, March 3 after worship. MULTI-CULTURAL COOKING GROUP If you like to cook or try new recipes come meet with us in the Fellowship Hall on the second Friday of each month, 6-8 pm. We ll share recipes, cook, and eat together as a community! MARCH 8, 6-8 pm THE COLOR PURPLE We are still in the church season of Lent. Many churches have purple paraments on the altar, lectern and pulpit. Many pastors and choir members wear purple stoles. Why purple? In ancient times, purple garments were expensive and hard to find. The dye came from rare sea mollusks that had to be crushed to garner their purple fluid. (One ounce of purple dye required 250,000 mollusks!) Then the right kind of fabric had to be placed in the dye, dried and made into clothing, which was timeconsuming. Generally, only wealthy people and members of royalty could afford purple garments. For example, in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the rich man was dressed in purple and fine linen (Luke 16:19, NRSV). Purple is used in church sanctuaries during Advent and Lent because Christ is revered as the King of Kings.

We will embark on the season of Lent the time of preparation, fasting, repentance and spiritual discipline leading up to Holy Week starting with our Ash Wednesday service.

3 We will embark on the season of Lent the time of preparation, fasting, repentance and spiritual discipline leading up to Holy Week starting with our Ash Wednesday service. EVENING SERVICE Join us on Wednesday, March 6, at 7 pm for this special worship time. MIDDAY SERVICE If you are unable to make the 7 pm service, consider coming to the church on Wednesday, March 6 between 12-1 pm for prayer, repentance and the imposition of ashes. Meet Pastor Bethany in the sanctuary and take as little or as much time as you need. The Significance of Lent Lent is the fourth season of the Christian year. Its length is the 40 days preceding Easter Day, not counting Sundays. This means Lent always begins on a Wednesday, known as Ash Wednesday. Lent commemorates Jesus fast and temptation in the wilderness of Judea Province, which, according to the Gospel, lasted 40 days. Just as Jesus confronted his temptations during these 40 days, Lent helps Christians focus on our most basic need as sinners: forgiveness. The only way our Lord s forgiving power can become effective in our lives is by our taking the initiative to confront our sins, confess them and repent of them. In short, Lent is a season of penitence. Some Christians fast during Lent. This denial of bodily comforts can help encourage self-reflection about the need for Jesus forgiveness. Our Lent services will be March 13, 20, 27, and April 3, 10, 6:30 pm

Dear Partners: JOSEPHINE CARING COMMUNITY Liberating Beyond our Walls For those of you on the lectionary cycles for worship, you may have remembered Jesus confirming his mission in life:.

4 Dear Partners: JOSEPHINE CARING COMMUNITY Liberating Beyond our Walls For those of you on the lectionary cycles for worship, you may have remembered Jesus confirming his mission in life:...the Spirit has anointed me to bring good news to the poor...proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free (Luke 4:18). As I do weekly, I now try to read these texts through the eyes of the people I work with at Josephine. How would they read and relate to the scriptures we have? Would they take this text from Luke 4 and say: I m on a very limited income, what kind of good news could I offer the poor? I m confined to a wheelchair and can t drive anymore how can I offer any kind of release to those who are captive? Sight to the blind? I need a size 32 font to read these days and I can t find my own glasses half the time! For me as their pastor, I think it's important for me to at least try to step in their shoes and to ask these questions because now I have a context in which to reflect and respond. It's important for me to realize that I am often preaching to those who are poor, feel captive, and are often blind themselves. I also believe, though, that when we can be a part of liberating others we can often be freed to find life as well real life. I think this is why one of the most important parts of worship for those I work with is the offering. For folks in their lives who are in the position of needing to receive care all the time, even for the simplest of their daily needs, many find life in being able to participate in the act of giving. This is why for the past couple of months, I ve been putting together videos, to be shown during worship time, of where their offerings are going. We ve been intentional about our giving and where it goes spreading our gifts locally, nationally, and internationally; some directly connected with eldercare and sometimes beyond; Cont d on next page

some as continued support and some for new ministries It s been wonderful to be able to share that even though their limitations are real, and never what they would have ever imagined or hoped for,

5 some as continued support and some for new ministries It s been wonderful to be able to share that even though their limitations are real, and never what they would have ever imagined or hoped for, that they can also in their own small but significant ways be a part of liberating others. This past Sunday, I shared about an $800 benevolence that they made to the Good Gifts Program. I not only shared how their contributions helped buy pigs, chicks, goats, honey bees, a share of a cow, a share of an oxen and plow, and a fish farm but also how important each of these livestock can specifically be to those who are poor and often captive in that poverty. Next week, I will share their participation in helping provide clean water to communities and their help in providing micro-loans especially to women. It s been totally life-giving to help our folks connect a face to the few dollars they put in the offering plate on Sundays. Maybe we ve also discovered what we were anointed to do. If you are interested in seeing some of these videos, I will try to post them on our website for you. For now, let me offer a continued word of thanks for your partnership and for allowing us to continue our ministry here on your behalf. God bless you all! Warmly, Chaplain Andy To the BLC Women, We are so grateful for your generous support and trust of Family Promise of Skagit Valley during the past year. Thank you for your contribution in We hope you will partner with us in the future. Warmly, Matthew Desvoigne, Donor Records ************************************************** To my Church family, Thank you so very much for all the prayers, cards, and visits during my month long stay at the hospital. The support & concern I and my family felt was very comforting and truly appreciated. Continued prayers would be helpful as I continue with one more procedure at Virginia Mason in March. I am very grateful and blessed to have such support. Peace, Terri Heyntsen

BLC QUILTERS The quilting group will meet on Thursday, March 14 at 9 am in the Fellowship Hall. If you are interested in helping in any way, please come. No sewing experience is necessary!

Religion is a refining fire, helping us get rid of everything that is not us, everything that distorts, dilutes or compromises the persons we really want to be, until only our authentic selves remain.

Sunday) and make a cross on parishioners foreheads. God s people have used ashes as a sign of mourning, humiliation and penitence. In the Old Testament, ashes were used as a purification offering.

6 BLC QUILTERS The quilting group will meet on Thursday, March 14 at 9 am in the Fellowship Hall. If you are interested in helping in any way, please come. No sewing experience is necessary! Religion is not a nagging parent, nor is it a report card keeping track of our achievements and failures and grading our performance. Religion is a refining fire, helping us get rid of everything that is not us, everything that distorts, dilutes or compromises the persons we really want to be, until only our authentic selves remain. Harold Kushner + Christian Symbols + SYMBOLISM OF ASHES On the first day of Lent, pastors in many churches dip a finger in ashes (often made by burning palm branches from the previous year s Palm Sunday) and make a cross on parishioners foreheads. God s people have used ashes as a sign of mourning, humiliation and penitence. In the Old Testament, ashes were used as a purification offering. The New Testament speaks of repenting in sackcloth and ashes (Luke 10:13, NRSV). On Ash Wednesday, Christians are pained because our sins private and public led to Jesus death. With repentant hearts, we begin the season of Lent, knowing it leads to resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 10 Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour before you go to

BURLINGTON LUTHERAN CHURCH WOMEN (BLCW) All women of BLC are invited to attend a Bible study on Tuesday,

For more information, please contact Avis Robinson or Fran Hansen. First Day of Spring is March 20!

7 Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 10 Remember to set your clocks ahead one hour before you go to bed on Saturday! BURLINGTON LUTHERAN CHURCH WOMEN (BLCW) All women of BLC are invited to attend a Bible study on Tuesday, March 19, 10:30 am. Meet in the Conference Room. For more information, please contact Avis Robinson or Fran Hansen. First Day of Spring is March 20! SMALL GROUP Families with kids, meet us on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month from 12-2 pm at Grant and Claire Burwash's house on Samish Island. Discuss topics of interest and build a community of support. Questions? Contact Claire at claireburwash@gmail.com.

AUDIO SERMONS You can now listen to Pastor Bethany's sermons! Visit our website at www.burlingtonlutheran.org and click on the Sermons tab. Good St.

8 AUDIO SERMONS You can now listen to Pastor Bethany's sermons! Visit our website at and click on the Sermons tab. Good St. Patrick On March 17, many churches, especially those with a large Irish population, will celebrate the life of St. Patrick. He grew up in a Christian home in Britain, but wasn t very religious until a major event changed his life. As a teen, he was captured and sold into slavery in Ireland, but escaped to Gaul (France) after six years. The years of enslavement strengthened his faith. He later wrote, In that strange land [Ireland], the Lord opened my unbelieving eyes. He was led by God s voice to return to Ireland where he converted people to Christianity tribe by tribe. Because Ireland is called the Emerald Isle, those who celebrate St. Patrick s Day will wear something green. Some Christians will even color food or drink green. Many Christians will also eat corned beef and cabbage and decorate tables with shamrocks. Shamrocks are actually three-leaf (not four-leaf) clover plants. Legend has it that St. Patrick used the three leaves to teach about the Holy Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. BLC WELCOME STATEMENT God is love. We are all God s beloved children and are recipients of God s radical love and grace. All are welcome in this church community. You are welcome here if you have ever felt excluded or judged because of your gender, ethnicity, race, religion, status, ability, sexual orientation, doubts or questions. We believe in Jesus commandments to love God and love neighbor. Join us!

Bible Quiz In Luke s gospel, as Jesus prepared to enter the city Jesus said that he thought many in Jerusalem would not accept him and his ministry.

mother dog gathers her pups to her side B. hen gathers her brood under her wings C. father protects his wife and his children D.

) Answer: B Lutherwood Camp & Retreat Center Pick up a pamphlet in the Narthex or on the table outside the office and explore all the offerings of Lutherwood!

9 Bible Quiz In Luke s gospel, as Jesus prepared to enter the city Jesus said that he thought many in Jerusalem would not accept him and his ministry. Even so, he said that he had the desire to gather your children together as a, and you were not willing! Which statement below belongs in the blank above? A. mother dog gathers her pups to her side B. hen gathers her brood under her wings C. father protects his wife and his children D. shepherd gathers his flock (The answer is in Luke 13:34, NRSV.) Answer: B Lutherwood Camp & Retreat Center Pick up a pamphlet in the Narthex or on the table outside the office and explore all the offerings of Lutherwood! They re sure to have a camp that is just right for you and your family. Talk to Curt Tveit or visit camplutherwood.org If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we would find in each person s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility. ~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

10 The Power of Dignity Rev. Kirby Unti, Synod Bishop, Northwest Washington Synod Article from The Spirit, March 2019 The most frequent question that I am being asked these days is, What are you going to do next? I announced in September that I would not be seeking reelection and immediately the question began. Strange as it may sound, I wasn t prepared for it. In fact, I have given very little thought to what I might do next other than sleep, spend more time with Kim, and get out more on our boat, Gratitude. I am now thinking more seriously about what I am going to do next - knowing that throughout my life God has always disrupted my plans. One area I know I want to invest more heavily in is my work as a trustee of Renton Technical College. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life s journey to have a front row seat at the College. I have been tuned into the to college for over thirty years. I was first attracted to the college knowing the population of students it serves - primarily those for whom tradition education is not fulfilling, those who cannot afford a 4-year college and more recently those who are new to our country whose primary language is not English. The faculty at the college is likewise unique. They are people of great passion who believe that every person can learn and succeed. By and large, all of them can find much higher paying jobs in other areas of the economy. They are in it because they receive great joy in seeing students who have little or no confidence discover how smart and capable they are. I recently returned from a gathering of trustees in Olympia where we hosted the Transforming Lives dinner. It was an opportunity to offer gratitude and praise to 34 students, each representing their school. Each of them arrived with incredible stories of moving from utter to defeat to a pace of hope. Five of the 34 were invited on stage to tell their stories. There wasn t a dry eye in the room. One woman returned to college at 46 after years of abuse nearly ending in her own death. She was a high school dropout and had four children for whom she was responsible. She said to her kids before she entered college. Don t grow up to be like your mom. It took only one counselor to see what potential she had. She went from wanting to drop out of college in the first week to getting her GED and will graduate this Spring with the intention to get her degree in psychology and use her life experiences to help others. At the end of her presentation she said to her four children in the audience, Be like your mother - never give up. Cont d on next page

11 Another student had come out of an abusive home from which she ran from. She ended up in the horrific world of sex trafficking. She once again ran from the violence, knowing her only hope was in getting an education. It was a hard story, but she said, I do so because I want others to find the hope that I have found. Two other students had been living on the streets and in their cars without shelter. Each had been incarcerated for lengthy periods of time. One living with HIV and the other having been a child soldier in the war in Liberia. They spoke powerfully of the confidence and hope they have in their futures. Further education and a living wage awaits all of these students. The final student came from a family of 24 siblings. They lived in incredible poverty. She never dreamed she would go to college. She found a dead-end job and new that her only hope for a bright future was education. She is now a rising star in her college with a very promising future. Each one of these students went from being unable to establish eye contact to finding their voices in less than two years time. There wasn t a dry eye in the room because we witnessed how resilient the human soul is when at least one other person knows you by name, sees you as fully their equal and believes in your ability to fulfill your dreams. I don t know all that I will be doing - but I will continue to be an advocate for fully funding our Community and Technical Colleges. +BKU TREASURER S REPORT for JANUARY 2019 Average Attendance for the month of January: 97 January Total Income: $13,808 (General offering and building use) January Expenses: $15,831 $ 2,023 (Short) We are below target for January income. January expenses are a bit higher due to inclement weather and first of year expenses. Finance Committee: Linda Rudy, Treasurer Cindy Cohen, Finance Committee Chair Rhonda Brown, Shirley Osborn

March 3: March 3: March 6: March 8: March 13: March 14: March 19: March 20: March 23: March 27: March 27: March 27: Every Sunday: Praise Team practice, 9 am Worship Service, 10 am El Camino worship,

Quilters, 9 am, Fellowship Hall BLC Women, 10:30 am, Fellowship Hall Lent Service, 6:30 pm, Sanctuary Special music practice, 6 pm, Sanctuary April Bridge deadline Council meeting, 6 pm, Conference

12 March 3: March 3: March 6: March 8: March 13: March 14: March 19: March 20: March 23: March 27: March 27: March 27: Every Sunday: Praise Team practice, 9 am Worship Service, 10 am El Camino worship, 12 pm MARCH SCHEDULE Confirmation, after worship service 4-H, 4:30-8 pm, Fellowship Hall Ash Wednesday Service, 7 pm, Sanctuary Cooking Group, 6 pm, Fellowship Hall Lent Service, 6:30 pm, Sanctuary Quilters, 9 am, Fellowship Hall BLC Women, 10:30 am, Fellowship Hall Lent Service, 6:30 pm, Sanctuary Special music practice, 6 pm, Sanctuary April Bridge deadline Council meeting, 6 pm, Conference Room Lent Service, 6:30 pm, Sanctuary Every Wednesday: Praise Team practice, 7:30 pm (during Lent), Sanctuary Private meeting, 6:30-7:30 pm, Conference Room Burlington Lutheran Church 134 E. Victoria Avenue, Burlington, WA burlingtonlutheran@gmail.com Office hours: 9 am-3:30 pm, Tues-Wed-Thurs Pastor Bethany Hull Somers burlingtonlutheranpastor@gmail.com Check in and Like us on Facebook. Follow the church on BLC Staff Rev. Bethany Hull Somers, Pastor Sean Bendickson, Worship & Music Leader Sheri Logan, Office Administrator Lynne Berg, Organist Matthew Ranten, Sound Technician Elly Pederson, Nursery Attendant Randy Dalaba, Custodian

BURLINGTON LUTHERAN CHURCH THE BRIDGE. September 2018

BURLINGTON LUTHERAN CHURCH THE BRIDGE September 2018 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure