Tower Echoes The Monthly Newsletter of Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church 7500 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, Washington

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1 The Monthly Newsletter of Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church 7500 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, Washington A Reconciling in Christ Congregation Volume 65, Issue Five Summer Worship Times Begin May 27 On Sunday May 27, 2018 (Memorial Day weekend), we will begin our summer schedule of worship, observing two services: the first at 8:30, the second at 10:00. This schedule will continue through September 2, Labor Day weekend. Pentecost is May 20 - One service at 10:00 - Come, Holy Spirit Pentecost is the culmination of Easter s 50 days. At Pentecost we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of Christ who breathes new life into the church, and provides us with energy for life, faith, and ministry. At every celebration of Holy Communion, we pray that the Holy Spirit will make the bread and wine on the table to be the Body and Blood of Christ and to make us, the gathered assembly, to be Christ s body in the world. It is the Spirit who makes God present and alive. What a glorious day for the whole church to come together! We will celebrate Pentecost in one service at 10:00 a.m. followed by a special reception. Baptisms will be celebrated, as well as Confirmation (Affirmation of Baptism). Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people, and kindle in us the fire of love. Sunday, May 20, :00am We are one in the Spirit and there will be one service on the Feast of Pentecost! Zachary Branica, Erin Golden, Peter Golden, Grace Kaste, Logan Nickel, Magnus Pearson, Alec Simonson, Avery Sutton, and Lydia Van Kley will affirm their baptismal promises during this service. A reception will follow in Fellowship Hall.

2 In the Family The Faithful Departed Hazel Olson; died April 14, 2018 Transferred to a New Congregation Elaine Burgwald; transferred to First Lutheran Church of Richmond Beach, Shoreline, Washington Jean Kline; transferred to Our Savior Lutheran Church, Twin Falls, Idaho Kate and Pontus Niklasson; transferred to Faith Lutheran Church, Redmond, Washington Circles in May Pentecost is the birthday of the Christian church. It was on this day that the Holy Spirit ignited and united the hundreds gathered in the synagogue into one universal language under the name of Jesus Christ: a language of love, forgiveness and service as our Lord Jesus shared in his ministry. So what does it look like to have the Spirit alive and moving in the world? In your very life? If Pentecost is the birthday of the universal catholic church, do you know when your birthday into the church took place? Pentecost is a day of celebrating; let s celebrate together our unity in the family of Christ. Bible study circles this month will read Acts 2:1-21 and meet as follows: Bethany Circle: Monday, May 14 at 9:30 am at the home of Anne-Marie Wick Salem Circle: Wednesday, May 16 at 10:00 am at the home of Mabel Rockness Church Office Hours to Change Starting the week of May 28, the church office will go to its summer schedule, and will be open Monday- Thursday 9-4 and CLOSED ON FRIDAYS. This schedule will continue throughout the summer. Regular hours will resume the week of September 3. Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church 7500 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, WA As people made one in the waters of baptism, we believe our lives and faith are strengthened by diversity. We strive to be a community that welcomes people of every ability, age, citizenship status, ethnicity, gender identity and expression, language, life circumstance, marital status, political perspective, race, and sexual orientation. Whether you are a believer, doubter, or seeker, we openly welcome and value you. We celebrate God s unconditional love and respond joyfully to your presence here. All are welcome. You are welcome. Bryon Hansen Pastor pastor@prlc.org Anne Van Kley Associate Pastor associatepastor@prlc.org Kirsten Olshausen Parish Administrator administrator@prlc.org Patrick Meagher Minister of Outreach outreach@prlc.org Nancy Monelli Children and Family Minister children@prlc.org Tim Sullivan Child Development Center Director cdc@prlc.org Christina Bogar Parish Communications and Office Manager office@prlc.org Church Staff Pam Gompf Vicar vicar@prlc.org Valerie Shields Organist Beth Ann Bonnecroy Chancel and Handbell Choirs Director Evelyn Hartwell Children s Choir Director Diane Figaro Youth Choir and Gospel Choir Director Molly Chrisman Angel Choir Dallas Cooper Anthony Nelson Custodians Cally Nelson Vanessa Unti Jannah Fitch Nursery Attendants Bryant Williams LYONS Director lyonsdirector@roaringlyons.org Sunday Summer Worship Schedule Holy Communion at 8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. Church Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. 2

3 Vacation Bible School June 25-29, 2018 Financial Update through March 31, 2018 March Offerings $57,353 (March had 4 Sundays) Needed per month $64,583 (1/12 of General Fund annual budget) Tithes and Other Income $63,188 Expenses $74,332 Church Net Income ($11,144) CDC Income $83,955 CDC Expenses $78,817 CDC Net Income $5,138 Have you ever had a bad day, and then someone gives you an unexpected gift or reaches out with a hug and somehow it all seems much better? At this year s VBS, we ll explore the nature of grace, and how God s unexpected love changes just about everything in our lives. We re excited to welcome our friends from Camp Lutherwood, who will lead groups, games, songs, and field trips all geared toward experiencing God s grace for God s people. We ll offer a day-long program for kids entering 1 st -6 th grade in the fall, as well as a half day morning program for 4-year olds through Kindergarten. Older kids and adults are still welcome (and needed!) to volunteer as leaders and helpers. Please contact Minister of Outreach Patrick Meagher in the office for more information. Look for registration brochures in May, and let s have some fun! 1 st 6 th grade: 9am 3:30pm Cost: $75 for the week 4 yo K: 9am 12pm Cost: $40 half day Phinney Houses Income $1,225 Expenses $750 Net Income $475 TOTAL INCOME ALL $148,368 TOTAL EXPENSES ALL $153,899 TOTAL NET INCOME ($5,531) At the time of this writing, April financial reports have not yet been finalized, but General Fund numbers look very encouraging due to extra giving around Easter and some generous stock gifts. Members should by now have received their first quarter giving statements in the mail. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for your faithful support of the many ministries going on here at PRLC! Kirsten Olshausen Parish Administrator administrator@prlc.org/ Graduating High School Seniors to Be Quilted On June 3 we will bless our congregation s graduating high school seniors and send them off with a lasting gift from the congregation: handpieced quilts created especially for them by the people of PRLC s quilting ministry. Please join us in blessings and prayers for the class of 2018: Makenzie Blaney Avery Carlson Katrina Hendrickson Sophia Rice Katherine Simonson 3

4 Children and Family Ministries The Monelli Memo Alleluia. Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia. As we come to the end of the joyous season of Easter and head into Ordinary Time, we must never forget that the risen Lord continues with us and that the power of the Holy Spirit fills us so that we can boldly step out in faith no matter what lies ahead. I know that summer can be a busy time for families. Child care arrangements become even more complicated than they are during the school year, and sports, vacations, and other activities can consume every waking minute. But I hope that all of us especially those of us with children will consciously make time for worship and service during the summer months. Children can easily be led to believe that the entire world revolves around them if everything we do is aimed at making sure they are occupied with healthy and fun activities. But even during the long days of summer, Jesus is calling us all (young and old alike) to follow him into the places of need in the world around us. Schools may be closed, but shelters, food banks, and soup kitchens are still open and in need of Jesus love and care for those they serve. And as the Feast of Pentecost reminds us, we have all been empowered to share that love and care with them. Come for nourishment each Sunday and then take what you have received out into the community. Even little hands can make a big difference. Thanks. For His Sake, Nancy Last Day of Sunday School Party on Sunday, May 13 Included in this time of celebration will be our annual Blessing of the Bicycles (and other nonauto modes of transportation). Please leave your person-powered vehicles in the Tree of Life room when you arrive for worship. Bread for the Journey End-of-Year PICNIC Wednesday, May 23, 2018 West Woodland Park Playground 5500 Phinney Ave. North (corner of Phinney Ave N and N 59th) Hot Dogs and Veggie Dogs, beverages, plates and utensils, and s more fixings will be provided. Just bring something to sit on and a side dish to share. Thank you so much for inviting me into this wonderful community of faith. The past five years have been a tremendous blessing for me and I give thanks to God for it all. I am especially grateful for the opportunity to have spent time with the children, tweens, and teens as we ambled together on our journeys of faith. For His sake, Nancy 4

5 Come Celebrate Our Amazing Nancy Monelli, Minister of Children & Families! Nancy will be saying good-bye to us in her role as Minister of Children and Families at the end of this program year. She has served PRLC since WOW! Nancy s care and influence over the children and families here during her years of ministry are immeasurable. Come join in the joyous celebration giving thanks for her years of faithful service on Sunday, May 13 at 10am in the Fellowship Hall. For details on how you can help, please contact Amy Wathey at wathey@hotmail.com Who Is My Neighbor? NW Washington Synod Gatherings June 2 at Saint Andrew s, Bellevue OR June 9 at Bethlehem, Marysville 8:30 am - 4:30 pm In lieu of a traditional Synod Assembly business meeting, this year we will gather for conversation, learning, worship, and engagement around the theme "Who is My Neighbor?" There will be three forum times featuring 16+ topics to help us discover and explore what it means to be a neighbor. There is no limit on the number of attendees per congregation, so we encourage every church in the synod to send as many members as possible. The two events will be nearly identical, so choose the date and location that works best for you. Forum topics range from global music to earth ministry; from congregational hospitality to community partnerships; from listening to leadership; from human trafficking to being ally and advocate for our neighbors of different color, orientation, economic status, faith, or nationality More information may be found at Cost is $40/ person, and includes materials and lunch. Registration is open now! Sign up anytime April 2 - May 15. Signs of the Times The Rev. Kirby Unti, Bishop, NWWA Synod It was not that long ago that the third highest attendance numbers for a Sunday were on Mother s Day. It was a big deal to honor mom s wishes to have all her kids in church. I often met adult children that I didn t know existed. It may have been awkward for them to go to church, but it was one day when you didn t want to disappoint mom. Coffee Hour was always slim because families were off to a Mother s Day brunch following worship. It was the one day when Mom was not expected to do any work. It was a favorite day for restaurant owners as the cash registers were singing. Father s Day, on the hand, was one of the least attended Sundays. It often fell on the first day of the fishing season. The treat was for dad to take the kids fishing and then return home to a big meal. Fast forward a decade or two - and everything has changed. Not even Hallmark has been able to sustain the power of these special days. I dare say that Mother s Day has fallen off the Church calendar. These are the kinds of changes in the culture which we don t get to vote on. Multiple factors converge to create new perspectives on what is important and what the culture values. We are but one voice in the conversation. I know several people for whom Mother s Day elicits tremendous pain. People who had difficult relationships with their mother, those who have lost their mom, people facing fertility challenges, those who have lost children, and women for whom Continued on page 6 5

6 From Budapest with Love Missionary Friends Visit in April On April 29 th, we welcomed back church member Zach Courter for an adult forum about the work he and his wife, Rev. Rachel Eskesen, do as ELCA missionaries in Hungary. We heard about the ups and downs of being Program Coordinators for Young Adults in Global Mission-Central Europe, as well as the work Zach does at City Park Lutheran in Budapest, Hungary. Zach and Rachel both returned the following Wednesday evening to connect with our confirmation classes. You can read more about their ongoing adventures via their blog at zachandrachel.wordpress.com. In 2017, we began supporting Zach and Rachel by joining the ELCA s Covenant Sponsorship program. Their important work doesn t happen without support from communities like ours, and our church s support of Zach and Rachel comes from you. Would you like to join the effort by offering a one-time gift or make a monthly pledge for the remainder of 2018? Please contact Minister of Outreach Patrick Meagher, or simply mail or bring a check by the church (made out to PRLC) with Zach and Rachel in the memo line. Thank you for continuing our support of this wonderful missionary couple! Signs of the Times Continued from page 5 the expectation of motherhood by the culture is not their personal choice. My comments are not intended to be a critique of Mother s Day but rather a reminder for us all how the church must learn to adapt to an always changing culture. While having this conversation with a congregation s adult forum group, I met a mother who expressed the heart burn she feels trying to navigate her role as mom in the world. She confessed that she has had to forgo her time on Facebook because it made her feel that her parenting skills were lacking given all the postings about how great other people s families are. She spoke about how much she would value a mothers group of mothers willing to share in the real challenges they face. I could see the light come on as she began to imagine how this could happen in her congregation and how valuable it would be. She was clear that it would need to be an outreach for new mothers by new mothers. She received affirmation from others for raising the idea, and I encouraged her to consider giving it a try. Such a gathering isn t going to turn around attendance on Mother s Day, but it could very well be the Day that each one of the participating mothers looked forward to. There are so many ways in which the church can discover new ways of being church with mothers and fathers, with ALL PEOPLE, that serve to strengthen the fabric of the whole community. We need to listen, learn, and try. So, for those who celebrate Mother's Day, happy Mother s Day. For those who celebrate Father's Day, happy Father s Day. And for all children of God, may we discover new ways to be in relationship with God and with one another. Fridays 7:00 p.m. Saturdays 2:00 p.m. & 7:00 p.m. 6

7 Pastor s Page Baptized into a New World Order During the 20th century, the church returned to large baptismal fonts that were common among our Christian ancestors. This recovery is more than aesthetic. It is supported by a renewed understanding of the large claims the gift of baptism makes on our lives. Consider the way we greet the newly baptized by saying, We welcome you into the body of Christ and into the mission we share: join us in giving thanks and praise to God and bearing God s creative and redeeming word to all the world. (ELW, p. 231) We are baptized into nothing less than the mission of God participants in God s mission to heal and reconcile all people to God s self. We can honestly say that we are immersed into a new and different world. The Christian community is no like-minded group, but an extraordinarily diverse community where all are welcomed and loved the same. The community exists not for its own sake but to live under the rule of Christ. Large fonts or pools hold enough water for a good bath and enough water to die in. Yes, we are cleansed but we also enter the waters to die. We die to The early church baptismal liturgy was an example of social justice, of a new social order, the reign of God. By modeling a new social order, a new creation, in the catechumenate and in baptism, the early church subverted the Roman Empire from within rather than challenging it head on Christians proclaimed in word and deed that only Jesus, who had accomplished their liberation by his death and resurrection, was the Lord. This undercut allegiance to the Roman Imperial system. It is no wonder the Roman Empire persecuted the early church. Robert Brooks Baptismal font at Saint Joseph Church, Pinole, California old loyalties and old allegiances and are reborn into life under the reign of Christ. The PRLC Discernment Process had led your leadership to see how our mission and ministry is inextricably tied to baptism. Within this community, the gift of baptism is ritualized in dramatic ways. In the WAY and in Confirmation, we seek to form people around the promises of baptism. The bath signals change and transformation in our lives, individually and communally, and draws us deeper and deeper into the mission of God and the way of Jesus. Christendom has gone away. The church no longer enjoys favored status in our cultures and among our institutions. We may lament the reality that the church has shrunk, but hidden in this turn of events is, I believe, a wonderful opportunity to recover what has been lost and to discover in new and ancient ways who we are and whose we are. Peace, Pastor Hansen Raising White Kids: An Anti-Racism Conversation for All of Us The Well, th Ave W, Seattle WA Powerful and difficult conundrums exist when it comes to raising white children in a society that is one of the most racially diverse in the world, while also being full of racial tension and inequity. Developing strategies for raising healthy (by definition, anti-racist ) white kids is a critical investment in the well-being and futures of all of our children. This plenary will map common conundrums relative to nurturing anti-racist white identity: conundrums that impact adults as much as they do young people. Whether you have or were a white kid, or just have relationships with people who used to be or have white kids the conversation this lecture will enable us to have is for everyone. 7

8 7500 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, WA RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED TIME VALUE MAY 11-12, 2018 Fri-Sat MAY 13, 2018 Sunday Upcoming Events at Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church PhinneyWood ArtWalk Farewell Party in honor of Nancy Monelli, Minister of Children & Families Between services at 10:00. Express your appreciation for our beloved Minister of Children and Families as she ends the program year with us and says good-bye. Katherine GrayBuck ordained 5:00 p.m. at Church of the Apostles MAY 20, 2018 Sunday MAY 23, 2018 Wednesday MAY 27, 2018 Sunday JUNE 25-29, 2018 AUG 3-5, Pentecost Sunday ONE SERVICE ONLY at 10:00 a.m. Eighth-grade Confirmation students to be affirmed in baptism Bread For the Journey End-of-the-Year Picnic Summer Worship Schedule begins Services at 8:30 and 10:00 a.m. Vacation Bible School Phinney Family Campout at Camp Lutherwood 8