SeaPres & Big Table Launch Partnership
Learn more about one of Seattle Presbytery's newest ministry partners, Big Table, and how you can get involved.
Watch Big Table videos.
Big Table Facebook.
UNEXPECTED 20s (what they are, how to give one, & more)
Kids4Peace Recruiting for Summer 2015
Kids4Peace (www.k4p.org), a global interfaith youth movement, is currently looking for 6th graders (at least 12 years old) who are interested in taking part in our dynamic, exciting leadership and education program. Meetings take place approximately once a month, and kids will also attend the Kids4Peace Seattle camp from August 5-17, 2015 at the Treacy Levine Center in Mt. Vernon, where they will be joined by 18 youth from the Jerusalem area (6 Muslims, 6 Jews, and 6 Christians).
Kids4Peace (www.k4p.org), a global interfaith youth movement, is currently looking for 6th graders (at least 12 years old) who are interested in taking part in our dynamic, exciting leadership and education program. Meetings take place approximately once a month, and kids will also attend the Kids4Peace Seattle camp from August 5-17, 2015 at the Treacy Levine Center in Mt. Vernon, where they will be joined by 18 youth from the Jerusalem area (6 Muslims, 6 Jews, and 6 Christians).
The application is available at: k4p.formstack.com/forms/nwapplication2015.
Check out stories about our 2014 camp in the Seattle Times, the JT News, the Huffington Post, and on KUOW.
Kids4Peace began in Jerusalem during the Second Intifada in 2002. Its mission is to transform divided societies into communities of lasting peace, through a long-term investment in youth leaders and their families. Kids4Peace brings Jewish, Christian, and Muslim girls and boys to international summer camps in the United States and operates year-round after-school programs in their home communities; the year-round program in Seattle focuses on local issues of social justice, such as hunger, homelessness, and racism. The six-year continuum of activities focuses on interfaith dialogue, cultural exchange, leadership development, and practices of nonviolent social change.
For more information, please contact Jordan Goldwarg, Northwest Regional Director, at jordan@k4p.org.
Lombard Mennonite Peace Center Continuing Education Opportunities
Since 1983, Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (LMPC) has provided resources for conflicted churches, in addition to training judicatory leaders and pastors in principles grounded in family systems theory useful for managing self in the midst of anxious churches, while addressing conflict in transforming ways.
Since 1983, Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (LMPC) has provided resources for conflicted churches, in addition to training judicatory leaders and pastors in principles grounded in family systems theory useful for managing self in the midst of anxious churches, while addressing conflict in transforming ways.
This year, LMPC will be on the West Coast on three occasions, providing training and resources for church leaders. Twice we’ll be leading the Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders: first, in March 16-20, 2015, the MSTI will be held at Hope United Methodist Church, in San Diego, California. Then, we will be at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Portland, Oregon, October 5-9, 2015.
The third visit will be in May 1-2, 2015, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Beaverton, Oregon (Portland area). This occasion will be for a Healthy Congregations workshop, which uses family systems theory for teaching healthy functioning in churches in face of anxiety and negative, reactive forces. Church Discount Coupons are available on our website, www.LMPeaceCenter.org, to facilitate groups from the same congregation to attend together.
Tall Timber Ranch News: Fishburns' Retirement
(From Stan & Becky Fishburn, January 31, 2015)
Dear Friends and Supporters of Tall Timber:
As we wrap up 2014 and ring in 2015, we do so with more than a few mixed emotions. As many of you know, we (Stan and Becky) are retiring at the end of January as Tall Timber’s Executive Director and Assistant Director. We have been hearing many similar questions recently, so here are a few answers:
How long have you been at Tall Timber? We began on May 1, 1980 on a Presbyterian mission grant to develop Program and do PR. Three years later, we were hired as Tall Timber Ranch’s first full time, year round employees. Last summer was our 35th summer at camp!
Wellspring 3rd Annual Basketball League
Wellspring would like to introduce the 3rd Annual Wellspring Basketball League.
When: 10 week league starting March 15th, 2015 games to be held on Sundays
Where: Edmonds Woodway High School
How Much: $650.00 per team
Format: 5 on 5, 45 min games
Who can sign up: Your team must represent a church or a non-profit in order to play.
What do I need to do? How do I register?
Step 1: Form a team, your team needs to get approval from your church or non-profit to form a team. Get a minimum of 5 players (we recommend more in case of injuries or no-shows)
Step 2: Fill out the online registration form
The Ekklesia Project
Whitworth University's Office of Church Engagement: The Ekklesia Project
OCE serves a selected group of churches (8-10 per year) which enter into a 2-3 year process of developing new forms of ministry capable of effectively engaging people in their specific geographic, demographic, and cultural context.
Whitworth University's Office of Church Engagement: The Ekklesia Project
OCE serves a selected group of churches (8-10 per year) which enter into a 2-3 year process of developing new forms of ministry capable of effectively engaging people in their specific geographic, demographic, and cultural context. This partnership develops through a four step process: 1) intentional spiritual formation of the leaders (pastors, elders, and other key leaders) in a communal process of scripture reflection, individual and group prayer, and relational bonding, all with a view toward leading the congregation into an intentional process of vision-casting for the future of the church; 2) learning and recording the story of the church through an intentional process of oral-history recording facilitated by an OCE-trained Whitworth student who will come and live in the midst of the congregation for a summer; 3) cultural analysis of the church's context, facilitated by OCE-trained Whitworth faculty, staff and students; and 4) planning and implementing new forms of ministry with the people who live in the neighborhood. Applications for the Ekklesia Project will be available on the OCE website in the early fall, with selection process complete by mid- November in order to facilitate a January start for the new cohort of Ekklesia Project churches. The cohort for 2015 will be based primarily in the Pacific Northwest, with expansion to other west coast sites in 2016.
January 20 Stated Meeting
Thank you to Southminster PC for hosting our January 20 stated meeting!
January Meeting Summary
Thank You Southminster
Our thanks again to Southminster (Rev. Ken Onstot and the whole congregation) for their gracious hospitality, and a shout out to our preacher Rev. Chris Pritchett for setting the tone for our whole gathering. Rev. Scott Mann, our moderator, led us flawlessly, as did Rev. Dean Strong our Stated Clerk, pro tem.
Statistical Reports Due 2/12
There are two annual reports required by the Book of Order (one each for the presbytery and the General Assembly), that are for the Clerk of Session to complete each year. They are the annual Statistical Report, and the reports of Pastor Terms of Call.
Annual Statistical Report Deadline: 2/12
There are two annual reports required by the Book of Order (one each for the presbytery and the General Assembly), that are for the Clerk of Session to complete each year. They are the annual Statistical Report, and the reports of Pastor Terms of Call. Both of these reports may be completed online and the links are below.
We have had many requests for a comprehensive update on the Pastoral Compensation for all Pastors and Associate Pastors in the presbytery. Therefore, this year, we would ask for you to complete the Terms of Call form even if the presbytery already has updated information on your position(s).
The deadline to complete the Annual Statistical Report is February 12 so please compete the form online as soon as you are able. It is not necessary for the Session to approve the Annual Statistical Report before it is filed, rather the Clerk of Session completes the report and then reports to the Session the submission of the report. It is helpful to then include a printing of the report in your Session minutes.
Please complete the Terms of Call form (again online) after your early year annual meeting or no later than March 15. This will allow for the approval of all Terms of Call at the April Presbytery meeting and provide to all the presbytery a single report of all Terms of Call. To simplify matters we are asking only the questions asked by the Board of Pension in their request for updated Terms of Call. Alas, due to matters of privacy, the Board of Pensions may not just report the information directly to the presbytery.
2014 Necrology Report due March 15. Email completed form to: clerk@seapres.org.
Seattle Evangelicals for Racial Justice
Monday night in Seattle, a group of local pastors tried a different approach in the battle against racial injustice. They invited the public to a worship service that replaced protests with prayers.
Monday night in Seattle, a group of local pastors tried a different approach in the battle against racial injustice. They invited the public to a worship service that replaced protests with prayers.
Watch video of the worship service.
Contact Eliana Maxim for details about a similar presbytery hosted event coming up in January 2015.
SeaPres Office Parking In June
The Presbytery Nominating Committee is seeking qualified candidates to serve as Vice Moderator of the Seattle Presbytery in 2015.
An important note about parking at the SeaPres office (1544 S. Snoqualmie St., Seattle, WA 98108) for the entire month of June: we do not have any regular, reserved parking spaces available this month. Street parking is also limited due to parking lot closures at the VA Hospital nearby.
Please call or email EJ Lee before visiting the office or to schedule appointments, as our office will be working remotely and off site this month. Seattle Presbytery/Synod parking spaces will be available to use again beginning July 1. Please do not park in spots marked Walsh Construction. Thank you for your cooperation.
2015 Per Capita
By vote of the presbytery, 2015 per capita has been set at $40.00 apportioned as follows: Seattle Presbytery $30.43; Synod of Alaska-Northwest $2.50; General Assembly $7.07.
Prayerful Response to Ferguson
“In this time of angst and anger, frustration and fear over the shooting death of eighteen-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) calls for calm and prayer as justice is sought and righteousness pursued.”
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is responding in partnership with the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy and First Presbyterian Church of Ferguson, providing support and resources through members of the National Response Team with significant experience in public violence disaster response.
“In this time of angst and anger, frustration and fear over the shooting death of eighteen-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) calls for calm and prayer as justice is sought and righteousness pursued.”
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance is responding in partnership with the Presbytery of Giddings-Lovejoy and First Presbyterian Church of Ferguson, providing support and resources through members of the National Response Team with significant experience in public violence disaster response.
Prayer following the grand jury decision, Nov. 24, 2014
“The PC(USA) will not become a change-agent in the ages-long battle against racism by passing actions at the General Assembly or presbytery levels. Our impact must take place in our heart of hearts — the PC(USA) congregations in most cities and towns in this country. Our strength is at the “bottom” of our denominational hierarchy, not the “top.” Our congregations are perfectly positioned to make a difference in their communities.”
Feasting on Community: An Interview with Mike Yonkers
Mike Yonkers shares about the Seattle Presbytery's new worshipping community in the Greenwood neighborhood.
By Aaron Willett, SeaPres Communications
Tell us about this new thing that God is doing in Greenwood: What is the Feast Community?
God’s church is the vehicle through which the abundant, overflowing life of the Spirit is given to the world. But because culture is always changing and evolving with each successive generation, God’s people need to be quick on their feet and continually adopt new postures of engagement to create space at God’s table to effectively invite and welcome in different people into God’s Kingdom feast. With that being said, the Feast Community is a weekly gathering of around 25 people who are dreaming and imagining ways in which local communities of faith can help the Kingdom of God become tangible within their neighborhood in the 21st Century. So, the question that gathers us together in Greenwood each week is: How do we imagine helping Greenwood flourish? How can we partner in God’s mission to make this neighborhood fully alive to God’s good purposes? So, this means we’re very much an experimental community that is also a think-tank. We call ourselves the Feast Community because there’s a great line that comes from St. Athanasius, who says that “the resurrected Christ makes of life a continual feast.” We think this is a good metaphor for the Kingdom of God, and also a good image for doing church: church is like a feast, where we gather together around a common table, eating a common meal, where we feast on Christ’s Spirit. So, practically speaking this means we potluck together each week and dialogue about mission over a table, and then experiment during the week as we try to start living as missionaries of shalom in our daily lives. As of now, we’re gathering at the Seattle Area German American School (formerly Bethel Presbyterian Church) on 110th and Greenwood, on Sunday evenings from 5-7pm.
What’s your vision for the Feast Community?
Since we’re very much a co-operative/think-tank community at this point, we’re still narrowing down what exactly our vision is. We could become a full-fledged public church, or we could end up becoming an intentional “monastic” like community that shares a common mission. Just this week we did a lectio divina on John 3:1-8 and studied Jesus’ teaching that “the wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” So, we’re still discerning.
Regardless of this, though, a theme of hospitality is emerging in that we are hoping to become a community that can embody God’s hospitality through common spiritual practice--the discipline of small community--and acts of mercy and justice in the neighborhood. The language we’re using to orient this is Upwards, Inwards, and Outwards. An Upwards orientation is our common spirituality/way of life that connects us corporately to God (e.g. corporate prayer, lectio divina, attentiveness, etc.). An Inwards orientation is our common community practices that keep us in real relationship with one another (e.g. storytelling, meal sharing, celebration, resting together). An Outwards orientation is our common participation in God’s mission to bring the Kingdom of peace to the neighborhood through service and creating structures that promote justice and freedom (e.g. skills training, starting a business that could provide means of employment for those in poverty, or beautifying the neighborhood through public works of art). The hope is that these three orientations could provide easy means for more to join into God’s transformative embrace.
Mike Yonkers at the November, 2014 Meeting of the Seattle Presbytery.
Who’s in this with you? Do you have a team of core leaders?
Again, we’re roughly a network of around 25 people. The network is made up of people who are connected to Union Church, UPC, Young Life’s Beyond Malibu ministry, as well as a few others who have been unconnected to church for a while but are looking for a new manifestation of the church.
Our core team of leaders is coming together this week for the first time (not quite a “session”) and their job is to essentially review where we’ve come from, where we’re going, pray, strategize together our future, help share the load of making this happen, and empowering everyone who is participating to help shape this mission in a meaningful way.
Rev. James B. Notkin has referred to Union Church as a Caleb community, scouting out the land for what lies ahead in this post-Christendom world. What is your connection to Union? Is the Feast Community one of Caleb or Joshua?
Yes, James B. and I have talked about this and I’d say that is a pretty natural analogy. Union Church definitely was a means for UPC and others to scout the land and see what was needed when on the frontier for “doing church” in the 21st Century. Union Church was for me very much a wonderful place for learning about new ways of doing mission, and this is meant to be a natural development and moving forward into the unknown, based on what was pioneered at Union. So, with the Feast Community it’s new people now who have been given this work of being God’s church and it’s up to them to take us into a very new landscape where American culture is now no longer living within Christendom. But the soil within post-Christendom is very rich because, despite the fact that we’re becoming more secular as a culture, scholars have shown that this does not mean that that we aren’t becoming any less spiritual (see A Secular Age by Charles Taylor). We live in a very hungry age that is desperate for a spiritually that gives life, and I think the world is waiting for new spiritual communities that are clearly articulated that can provide this for all sorts of people who wouldn’t traditionally associate themselves with “traditional” church (not unlike the monastic communities of a different age).
What was your experience of working with Seattle Presbytery and PCUSA’s 1001 Worshipping Communities project?
I’ve had a great experience working with Seattle Presbytery in that I’ve been given moral support, encouragement, and also free training through the PCUSA’s 1001 church planting discernment course. Presbytery has also contributed a small “seed” grant of $7,500 to match 1001’s seed money, and for that we’re very grateful.
How can the people of the presbytery continue to support you?
Right now we are really needing Presbytery to pray for us as we discern where we’re going and who we’re becoming. Pray especially for our leadership team which is just gathering, as well as for those in the community who are participating in this new venture.
Free Robes & Stoles Available
E.R. Moore robes and stoles, purchased in 1995 available at BelPres.
Clean, no tears, no frays. A few nylon zippers do stick, but are easily replaced. Dry cleaned every season. We took very good care of these!
Free Hymnals Available
Newport Presbyterian Church has up to 200 copies of “The Presbyterian Hymnal,” (blue hymnal published in 1990) available for free. Anyone interested should contact janetdewater@newportpres.org. Copies will be available to pick up at the Nov. 18 Presbytery meeting at Newport.
Madrona's Julia's Place Shelter featured in local news
Julia’s Place home to many homeless families
By Sarah Radmer, Staff Reporter
Wednesday, October 29, 2014 11:59 AM
When you think of a church’s basement, you probably expect it to be full of old, broken pews or spare Sunday-school supplies. But the basement of Madrona Grace Presbyterian Church (832 32nd Ave.) is full of tents.
On any given night, up to seven families or 22 people are living in those tents as part of the Julia’s Place shelter.
Keeping families together
The shelter began three years ago after church pastor Mark Zimmerly offered the space to house homeless families through a partnership with Mary’s Place.
Young Presbyterian Scholarship
$74,000 scholarship available at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.
Westminster College has a 4-year PC(USA) Young Presbyterian Scholarship of $74,000 ($18,500 per year) for qualified students from PC(USA) churches. However the student must be nominated by their church (pastor, youth director, session). In a sense this scholarship allows your Presbytery and Congregations to provide a scholarship for their students without ever having to come up with the money to do so. This scholarship has added to the diversity of Westminster College by providing the means for students from as far away as Alaska, Oregon, Utah, Texas, Kansas, Iowa, and all the states in between, as well as from Puerto Rico to attend Westminster College.
We have found numerous students who have arrived on the campus of Westminster College and would have qualified for the scholarship, but their church never nominated them or never received the information, so we are trying to contact all churches using all available resources to offer this gift to students.
Wrestling with Reconciliation
The series begins Wednesday October 29th and continues two more Wednesdays Nov. 5th and Nov. 12th.
Wrestle with Reconciliation, in 3 consecutive Wednesday forums building racial reconciliation in our community.
Wrestling with Reconciliation: Race, Class and Media is a combined response from Urban Impact and local churches for the need to build community and activate reconciliation.
A speaker series sponsored by Seattle First Presbyterian Church, Bethany Presbyterian Church, Emerald City Bible Fellowship, Quest Church, and Urban Impact.
Wrestle with Reconciliation, in 3 consecutive Wednesday forums building racial reconciliation in our community.
Wrestling with Reconciliation: Race, Class and Media is a combined response from Urban Impact and local churches for the need to build community and activate reconciliation. The series begins Wednesday October 29th (6-9:30 pm) and continues two more Wednesdays Nov. 5th (6-9:30 pm) and Nov. 12th (6-9:30 pm). Each forum begins with a presentation from local leaders, followed by two community voices describing their personal stories. The evenings conclude with 30 minutes of facilitated dialogue from the audience. The goal of the series is to discuss, understand, and build reconciliation in our community. Everyone in is invited and admission is free.
21st Century Reformation with Dr. Rodger Nishioka
Dr. Rodger Nishioka (Columbia Theological Seminary), "21st Century Transformation: Eight Trends that are changing and challenging ministry."