March 2017
 




Feeling Sorry

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Christian Repentance

 

This isn’t as easy as it looks – feeling sorry for our sins. We have Martin Luther and our sinful selves to thank for that. Let me explain.

     On the surface, repenting is feeling sorry for your sins. But as Luther pointed out, those feelings can easily end up being only “the remorse of Judas” (Luther’s Works 35:16). He repented alright, but, as you recall, it did him no good (Matthew 27:5; Acts 1.15–20). We don’t want that to happen again to any other follower of Jesus! In order to avoid that misrepresentation, we need to understand better what repentance involves. But this is exactly what we refuse to do, and so we veer off track. Repentance is the last thing we want to think much about. 

     But we must. The Lutheran Confessions (1580) are of considerable help here. They contrast the repentance of Judas with that of Peter (The Book of Concord, ed. Tappert, p. 183). And why did one have a good outcome and the other did not? The answer is faith. So with Peter it was there, but with Judas it wasn’t.

     So as we begin the intensification of repenting this Lent on Ash Wednesday, March 1, remember also to join the disciples in asking God for an increase in your faith as well (Luke 17:5). Otherwise Lent will be of no use.

—Pastor Marshall 





Don’t You Want to be a Prominent Man?

 

When Paul Braafladt was in the Spring term of his senior year at PLU in Tacoma (1951), he had a strange experience walking home one day. All of a sudden – with no one around to witness it – he burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably. This had never happened to him before. At that moment Paul knew he should change his plans and go to the seminary instead of medical school at the University of Washington. (And as it turned out, Paul was ordained in 1956 and served for over thirty-five years in the ministry of the Lutheran church and ready reserve chaplaincy of the US Air Force.)

      He already had fulfilled all the requirements for graduating in biology and chemistry. Many of his classmates were heading to medical school at the UW with him. But now, in a moment, all that changed. What he had been suppressing for a long time, took over. He knew he had to go to the seminary to see if being a pastor was the right thing for him to do.

      Paul also knew he had to tell his mother about this right away. Paul’s older brother, Halvor, already had become a physician, like their father, and his mother was expecting another doctor in the family. When Paul told her, she couldn’t believe her ears. So she asked her step-daughter, Borghild, to ask her physician husband, Tom, to talk to Paul (who was one of his favorites). What he had to say to Paul was: “Don’t you want to be a prominent man?” The message was that if Paul gave up on medicine and entered the Christian ministry instead, he would be wasting his life and talents.  

 

[as told by Paul to a group of Lutheran pastors in Seattle on February 2,2017  – Pastor Marshall]



 



 

 

Chuck & Doris Prescott

70th Wedding Anniversary

 

Congratulations to Chuck & Doris!

They have been members here since

March of 1954 (Doris being Parish

Secretary from 1973-87).  They were

married at University Lutheran Church

in Seattle on January 22, 1947.

Blessings on your wonderful life together!

  

Ted Foss

80th Anniversary of Baptism

March 28, 2017

 

The above certificate is in Norwegian and is signed by Pastor A. O. Aasen, who is also pictured above.

Congratulations Ted! We thank God that you

have been a member here all of your life.

 


 



President’s Report…by Bob Baker

 

At the congregation’s annual meeting Jan. 29th, new Congregation Council members were elected: Peter Douglass, Cary Natiello and Jamey Sagmoen. Bob Baker, Earl Nelson and Bridget Sagmoen were re-elected to new terms. Thank you and congratulations! We thank our outgoing members, Janine Douglass and Dale Korsmo for their considerable service.

     At the first meeting of the new Council, Committee memberships were agreed upon:

          Comm. For Parish Ministry: Bridget Sagmoen, Chair; Pastor Marshall and Bob Baker.

          Comm. For Extended Ministry: Carol Nelson, Chair; Jane Harty and Jamey Sagmoen.

          Comm. For Education: Peter Douglass, Chair; Gina Allen.

          Comm. For Facilities: Jeff Sagmoen, Chair; Dean Hard.

          Comm. For Budget and Finance: David King, Chair; Melanie Johnson, Janice Lundbeck and Cary Natiello.

     Committees meet from 7:30 to 8:00. FLCWS members are invited, urged even, to meet during this committee time without having to meet for the rest of the Council meeting! Facilities is especially in need of additional help.

Two Motions were made during New Business:

     It was Moved to establish a Committee for the 100th Anniversary of First Lutheran Church of West Seattle, with Pastor Marshall designated as the Chair. Motion passed unanimously. This committee is responsible for all planning regarding the September 23, 2018, celebration of our 100th Anniversary, as well as possible additional events on All Saints Sunday, November 4, 2018. The motion passed unanimously.

     It was Moved to authorize purchase and display of a 500th Anniversary of the Reformation banner to be paid for by special donations only, and to be displayed outside the front of the church building all of 2017 except during Easter and Christmas. Afterwards it may be displayed inside permanently. The banner is to be made of durable canvas measuring 12 feet three and one-half inches by seven and one-half feet. The image will look like the upper left-hand corner of the bulletin we are using every Sunday this calendar year. The motion passed unanimously.

     A verbal decision was agreed upon for the Facilities and Budget & Finance committees to jointly work on inventorying the congregation’s assets, determine replacement costs, and with that information review our current insurance coverage, and possibly compare cost of appropriate policy with different insurance companies. This joint committee project will report their progress in May or June.

     The Facility Committee also agreed to report back in May on progress with getting bids for repair/replacement of east facing glass wall by the lounge stairway.


 


Stewardship

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Creation and Romans 8:18-23

I always wonder what the second offering prayer in the liturgy means when we say that we “dedicate our lives to the care and redemption of all that you have made.”  The prayer finishes with “for the sake of him who gave himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.” 

     It seems a tall order, since God made the entire universe and everything in it.  Can it be that just as Creation fell when Adam and Eve fell, so all of Creation will be lifted up when we are finally remade when Christ returns?  Paul says exactly that in Romans 8.18-23, that “the Creation was subjected to futility” but will be “set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.”  

     We live in a time of environmentalism and—a term I personally prefer—conservationism, that is, of human ideology based primarily in rational self-interest.  It has been accompanied by narratives of dystopia and utopia, disaster and earthly bliss, the alternative outcomes based on human choice and initiative.  It is tempting to find common ground between such narratives and biblical eschatology, but it seems to me that the two actually have little in common.  In the same verse Paul says that “the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope.”  Paul apparently refers to Genesis 3, and the regime of enmity, consequence of the Fall, which God established then between nature and humans.  According to this word, it is not in our power in this life to restore our relationship with nature.  Rather it is up to God. 

     Note also that nature groans not for anything it did wrong, but because of our sin.  We are meant to feel sharply this enmity between ourselves and the creation, and regret it.  We did not at first eat animals.  As Paul puts it, the way back is not back but forward.   Our enmity with nature is on account of our original and hereditary sin, our turning away from God.  In order for nature not to “groan,” we have to stop sinning, and we sin with respect to God, not with respect to nature, as many environmentalists would have it, though nature also pays a price on our account.  If I have lined these things up correctly, I can now conclude that the best thing I can do for nature is to steward my church, which is the way to increase that “hope” to which Paul referred, the hope of salvation in Christ Jesus.  The creation waits on us and our relationship to God, which it is up to God finally and forever to fix.

     Besides this narrative of salvation that includes physical nature, there is the matter of rational self-interest.  A biologist friend of mine, an atheist and a passionate environmentalist, set great store by it.  It was his great hope for the success of the movement he worked more or less constantly to foster.   To me, who love birds and plants in my own way fully as much as he did, human rational self-interest seems an extremely weak reed on which to rest hope.   I, on the other hand, believing in unseen things, can hope in the God for whom creation with all its strange beauty both in the parts and the whole is merely a footstool, and in His son, whose loving sacrifice on our account causes us to look beyond ourselves.

 

─Earl Nelson, Church Council


 




John 9:39

That Those Who See May Become Blind


 “Repeated viewings of the [March 3, 1991] videotape [of Rodney King, 1965-2012] reveal that it is chock-full of information not apparent to the untrained eye…. Where police perceptions part company with the public’s perception is in recognizing that the incident looks vastly different on video than it did to the officers at the time. Fear ruled the field where King was beaten. The arresting officers had reason to suspect that King was on drugs, probably PCP, when he behaved so

strangely after leaving his car. Their suspicions were heightened when he flung them off his back as they tried to handcuff him, which also made them aware of King's strength. King’s amazing ability to shake off the effects of the two 50,000-volt volleys from Koon’s stun gun was the clincher. None of the officers who made contact with King – Powell, Wind, Briseno, and Roland Solano – had ever seen anything like that. Later speculation that the stun gun’s electric darts had not made proper contact did not occur to any officer at the time…. The action that occurred before the videotape began is the fundamental reason that the video cannot be relied upon for an understanding of what happened to Rodney King. The events that were not video-taped after King stopped his car took at least five or six minutes…. The other problem with the videotape is its perspective. To viewers of the video, the beating of King seems callous as well as brutal because officers can be seen watching with folded arms, as if they have no cares in the world. But Koon could not see those officers. He stood within a cone of light that shone downward from the police helicopter, his gaze fixed on King and Powell.”

 

[Lou Cannon, Official Negligence: How Rodney King and the Riots Changed Los Angeles and the LAPD

(Boulder, Colorado: Westview, 1999) pp. 578–79, 80.]



 



Book of . . . What?   Why?!...by Bob Baker

 

Why? Yes, why does the Pastor take time each month at the Congregation Council meeting to lead a discussion on some section of The Book of Concord? Nobody wants the meetings to run any longer than necessary! Right? “You know I’m right.” So why do it?

     I’m glad you asked!

     Let’s consider this. Talk with someone about their thoughts about the Bible, and chances are you will soon learn much more about that person’s feelings, that person’s wants, and popular preferences—much more about them than you will learn about the Bible. It will mostly, if not all, be about what they read into the Bible rather than what the Bible has to say to them. Now that’s really not surprising. Isn’t that usually the case, regardless of the topic? I guess alternative “facts” are nothing new.

     OK, you say. But What about The Book of Concord? Thanks for keeping me on track. The way I see it—yes, this tells you something about me—one way of thinking about the Reformation in this its 500th Anniversary year is that the Reformation came about because so many people agreed that in Martin Luther’s teaching, they found they were learning more about the Word of God in the Bible addressing them than they were learning about Martin Luther. Not that we don’t learn anything about Martin Luther himself. But in his day, church practices had departed so far from the biblical message to the people of God that someone like Luther was needed to get people back to what the Bible had to say about sin, God’s wrath, and salvation through the redemptive death of Jesus.

     Ah, but Luther died February 18, 1546. Obviously after that, he himself was no longer teaching. Years began to pass. People who valued what Luther taught about the Word of God wanted to preserve the essence of his teaching and position statements on biblical teaching.

     How might they do that? Good question. In short, let us say that in 1580, the leaders of the churches, following the teachings of Martin Luther, collected the historic documents commonly acknowledged as the standards of the Lutheran Movement. These documents were regarded as essential to preserving the faithful teachings about the biblical Word of God. Much of it was written by Luther himself, and by Philip Melanchthon his right-hand collaborator. Collectively these documents constitute The Book of Concord; The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, first published in 1580. In that book, Martin Luther is regarded as “our most eminent teacher.”

     Now back to your original question: Why The Book of Concord at Council meetings? Pastor Marshall helps keep the elected leaders of this congregation tethered to The Book of Concord, which helps keep us tethered to what the Bible says we should be about. I thank God for that! It is an urgently needed practice.

     However, in my experience it is not a practice advocated by our seminaries. Much of their comments about the biblical message tell us more about the current content of popular culture than they tell us about the Word of God speaking to us.

     So I urge Pastor Marshall to continue leading us through The Book of Concord, and continue to urge us to be as conversant about what Scripture and The Book of Concord have so say to us as we are about the NFL, the NBA, or the latest Microsoft or Apple product!



 



March Book

With the Mind:  Readings in Contemporary Theology

3-5 pm in the Church Lounge, Saturday, March 25th.

The book for March is The Allure of Gentleness: Defending the Faith in the Manner of Jesus (2016) by Dallas Willard (1935–2013), long time professor at University of Southern California. This book is a detailed elaboration of the defending of the faith with gentleness in 1 Peter 3: 15–16. He argues that you can mount the best defenses of the faith but they will fail if they do not include gentleness (p. 5)

     A copy of this wonderful book is in the library. If you would like to purchase one for yourself, contact Pastor Marshall. Feel free to attend our meeting when we discuss the right way to back up the faith.

 

ANNOUNCEMENTS: 

WEB PAGE ADDRESS:  www.flcws.org  Log on to see what is new! Besides the monthly update of the latest issue of The Messenger, each week we have the “bulletin of the week” added to the 500 Year Reformation bulletin page.  Also listed you can find Bible Study helps, upcoming events and photo updates.  Each page is unique in what it has to offer.  .

MARK YOUR CALENDARS –
West Seattle Food Bank Instruments of Change benefit & social hour: live music, guest speaker, dinner, and a dessert auction at their new location of the Seattle Design Center. Saturday, May 13, 2017, 5:30-9 pm.  Also the West Seattle Helpline 11th Annual Taste of West Seattle on Thursday evening, May 25th.  Tickets can be purchased starting March 1st on the Helpline web page.  Get yours early, this is a popular event and they have been known to sell out. 
KORAN CLASS:  This March class is being offered at Vashon Lutheran Church.  More information at http://www.vashonbeachcomber.com/news/west-seattle-pastor-teaching-classes-about-koran-on-vashon-next-month/
WEST SEATTLE RECYCLING will buy your recyclables and then send the church a 10% bonus check a couple of times a year. Pastor Marshall is willing to take your donations (newspaper and aluminum cans) if left neatly at the back of the parsonage carport. #6 Styrofoam can also be recycled. Another suggestion is dead batteries.  They are not allowed in the garbage.  Pastor Marshall is willing to properly dispose of them if they are left in marked bags on the office window counter.  Thanks to those who participate in these programs. 

FOOD BANK DONATION suggestions for March are canned meats, chilies and stews. 

2017 FLOWER CHART could use a few more families to sign up for Easter Flowers.




 




 Romans 11.24

Monthly Home Bible Study, March 2017, Number 289

The Reverend Ronald F. Marshall

 

Along with our other regular study of Scripture, let us join as a congregation in this home study. We will study alone then talk informally about the assigned verses together as we have opportunity. In this way we can "gather together around the Word" even though physically we will not be getting together (Acts 13.44). (This study uses the RSV translation.)

We need to support each other in this difficult project. In 1851 Kierkegaard wrote that the Bible is "an extremely dangerous book.... [because] it is an imperious book... – it takes the whole man and may suddenly and radically change... life on a prodigious scale" (For Self-Examination). And in 1967 Thomas Merton wrote that "we all instinctively know that it is dangerous to become involved in the Bible" (Opening the Bible). Indeed this word "kills" us (Hosea 6.5) because we are "a rebellious people" (Isaiah 30.9)! As Lutherans, however, we are still to "abide in the womb of the Word" (Luther's Works 17.93) by constantly "ruminating on the Word" (LW 30.219) so that we may "become like the Word" (LW 29.155) by thinking "in the way Scripture does" (LW 25.261). Before you study, then, pray: "Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in Our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen" (quoted in R. F. Marshall, Making A New World: How Lutherans Read the Bible, 2003, p. 12). And don’t give up, for as Luther said, we “have in Scripture enough to study for all eternity” (LW 75:422)!

Week I. Read Romans 11.24 noting the word wild. What makes this tree wild? On this read Isaiah 5.2 noting the contrast between the two words choice and wild. What makes the vine wild and unruly if it was so good when planted? On this read Isaiah 5.20 noting the line woe to those who… put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. What’s involved in this mix-up? On this read Isaiah 3.8 noting the words fallen, against and defying. Why would we oppose God like this and ruin these choice vines? On this read Isaiah 1.19–20 noting the words refuse and rebel. But why are we so disobedient when it isn’t in our self-interest? Why do we willingly hurt ourselves? On this read Isaiah 1.6 noting the line there is no soundness. What happens when that’s the case? On this read Isaiah 59.2 noting the line your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God. What follows when that happens? On this read Isaiah 30.1 noting the phrase they… add sin to sin. Where does that lead? On this read Isaiah 30.11 noting the line let us hear no more of the Holy One of Israel. Where does that leave us? On this read Isaiah 30.12–14 noting the phrase smashed so ruthlessly. Do you understand your wildness a little better now? If so, how so? Is it that we have given up on consulting the Lord – following in the path of Isaiah 31.1?

 

Week II. Read again Romans 11.24 noting the phrase cultivated olive tree. What is this tree? On this read Romans 11.5 noting the line a remnant, chosen by grace. Read also Romans 2.28–29, noting the words real, true, outwardly and inwardly. So the cultivated tree is the true community of God. On this read Galatians 6.14–16 noting how crucifixion and walking by that rule brings about a new creation, the real Israel of God. Where do we find this community? On this read Acts 20.7 noting the words first day of the week and bread. What does this new Sabbath indicate? On this read Hebrews 9.15 noting the words mediator, new, death and redeems. And why is this important? On this read Hebrews 8.13 noting the words first, obsolete and vanish. Does this explain the joy in Philippians 4.4? How so?

 

Week III. Reread Romans 11.24 noting the words grafted and against. Is this how we enter into to this new covenant – this new community of God? On this read John 6.44 noting the word draw. How disruptive is this to us? On this read Luke 16.16 noting the word violently. Why does this have to be? On this read John 3.19 noting the words loved, darkness and rather. What does this distorted love do to us? On this read Ephesians 2.3 noting the words nature and wrath. What are the consequences of this corruption to our very nature? On this read John 15.16 noting the contrast between the words choose and chose. What does that imply? On this read Romans 9.16 noting the line it depends not upon man’s will or exertion. Why not? On this read Romans 7.18 noting the words nothing, good and cannot. How impaired do all of the verses leave us? On this read Revelation 3.17 noting the words wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. If that’s so, what’s left in us? On this read Mark 7.21–22 noting the words evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. Where does that leave us? Romans 7.24 says body of death. Do you agree? If so, why?

 

Week IV. Read Romans 11.24 one last time noting the word cut. Is this violent word gracious since it gets the ball of salvation rolling? On this read Acts 9.3–9 noting the contrasting words flashed and fell, with led and brought. Is this an example of a violent beginning with a peaceful ending? On this matter of proper sequence, read Romans 2.4 noting the words kindness, lead and repentance. Here the order is reversed, and it fails. Know why? On this read 2 Corinthians 6.1 noting the words entreat, not, grace and vain. So is it that we presume on the kindness of God as Romans 2.4 puts it? Do we misuse mercy and grace and thereby force upon ourselves a harder road? On this read Matthew 7.14 noting the words narrow and hard. Where does that leave us? On this read the Hebrews 11.32–40 with its vast array of difficulties and horrors.






 








From The Luther Bible of 1534 (complete facsimile edition).

The Reformation at 500

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Luther's Seal

 

By Pastor Marshall

 

Our third installment on what makes the Reformation so great, comes from Martin Marty, October 31, 1517: Martin Luther and the Day That Changed the World (Brewster, Massachusetts: Paraclete Press, 2016) pp. 29–30. In this passage he describes Luther’s seal by which he is best known for what he stood for: 

Generations of believers schooled in the gospel he proclaimed recognize the Luther seal, often called the Luther rose, from book covers or as rewards on jewelry for well-scored lessons in Sunday schools. Fortunately, we have data that shows why Luther chose the symbols on the seal. Its designer, Lazarus Spengler, who served Prince John Frederick of Saxony, received a letter of July 8, 1530, wherein Luther interpreted the seal. The central and dominant feature, of course, was a heart, but on it was an even more prominent cross, black because the cross “mortifies and… should also cause pain.” Yet the heart itself, he went on, “retains its natural color,” red. Why? It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. Now comes the change of heart. Beyond the black and red figures is a white rose, “for white is the color of the spirit and the angels (Matthew 28),” according to Luther’s interpretation the white rose is “to show that faith in the crucified gives joy, comfort, and peace.” At this point repentance is far from being associated only with self-obsessed gloom. Luther goes on, “Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in spring and faith is a beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed.” Luther rounds things out by describing, surrounding it all, “a golden ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in heaven last forever and has no end.” It is “exquisite, beyond all joy and goods.” Luther called the seal a “compendium” or “summary of theology.” In fact, the theology in the 127 volumes [of his writings] is in a way a set of footnotes to the seal.  

Marty concludes saying that the way the Reformation changed the world was by Luther being “God-intoxicated with a theology” always centered in God and his action, “through Jesus Christ, and not in human-centered initiatives” (pp. 85–86). May this same legacy be preserved and passed on to the Church in the years to come.

 





 




Library News…

 

Step into our library and you may notice a few changes. In commemoration of the 500th anniversary of The Reformation, you may be interested in reading and learning more about Martin Luther and our Lutheran heritage and faith. To aid you in finding books and media on this subject, the bookcase facing you at the end of the table as you enter the library has been emptied and dedicated to all things Luther and Lutheran. If you would like to search for anything you don’t see there, just sit down at the computer and press any key and the search screen, similar to the one at your public library, will appear. You may search by author, title or subject to see what our library holds to satisfy your search.

    On the bookcase at the right of the computer I have labeled a space for NEW BOOKS and CDs. To check out any of these or other items, we still use the “old fashioned” book pocket with sign-out card system. However, other than that, our library database is completely computerized and using the computer search screen mentioned above is the way to find what you are looking for. The old wooden card catalog has not been kept up to date for many years now and will soon be removed from the library.

    Other changes for our library are in progress. As time marches on, certain forms of media, namely audio and video cassette tapes and filmstrips have become obsolete. Space is at a premium and circulation of these items has gone down to nothing in recent years. These forms of media are being removed from our computer database and from the library shelves. For the time being they will be boxed up and kept until discussion and a decision is made concerning their disposal.

 Please check around your house for items which you may have borrowed from the library long ago and have forgotten about. There are many books which are currently missing. Even though we do not issue overdue fines, out of courtesy to other library users, please return borrowed items within a reasonable span of time.

    In closing, I want to thank Dale Korsmo for his dedicated service in updating our library computer software and printer and being the IT “go to guy” whenever problems arise.

    Thanks also to Gina Allen, our library committee representative to the Church Council, and to Janine Douglass, our committee member in charge of tracking down as many of those missing books as possible.

Respectfully submitted,

Connie Baker, Library Chair




 




 

Commissioned Anthem Published

In 2015 First Lutheran Church of West Seattle commissioned a new choral anthem to honor the 40th anniversaries of Andrew King as organist and Dean Walter Hard as choirmaster of our church.  The anthem by David P. Dahl, Professor of Music and University Organist Emeritus at Pacific Lutheran University, was premiered at the 40th anniversary liturgy on Sunday, September 27, 2015, with the composer in attendance.  Based on Psalm 42, the anthem was published this year by The Sacred Music Press of Dayton, Ohio, with the title As the Deer Longs for the Water-brooks.  It was originally written with the traditional text Like as the Hart Longs for the Water-brooks, including the newer rendering of the published title as an alternate text.  The published version reverses the two, including the traditional text as the alternate.  We’re delighted that this beautiful and moving anthem has now been made available to choirs everywhere. 





 




  PARISH PRAYERS 

Remember in prayer before God those whom He has made your

brothers and sisters through baptism.

 

Dean Walter Hard, Marlis Ormiston, Ken Sund, Mariann Petersen, Evelyn Coy, Eileen Nestoss, Tabitha Anderson, Leah Baker, Bob & Barbara Schorn, Celia Balderston, The PLU Music Faculty, Heidi Anderson, Jordan Corbin, Jim Moe, Matt Anderson, Linda Anderson, Margeen & Chris Boyer, Linda Hagen, Iris Hansen Tate, Nell & Paul Sponheim, Stan & Doreen Phillips, The Rev. Kari Reiten, The Rev. Keith Krebs, The Rev. Paul Smith, Laura Coy, John Matthiesen, Therese Mannella, Ion & Galina Ceaicovschi, Nathan Arkle, Kevin & Jacqueline Johnson, Chris & Margeen Boyer, Merle & Irene Machmiller, Myra Woody, the Alaska House in West Seattle, those infants and families affected by the Zika virus, the great migration from the Near East into Europe and other parts of the world. 

     Pray for the shut-ins that the light of Christ may give them joy: Florence Jenkins, C. J. Christian, Louis Koser, Anelma Meeks, Dorothy Ryder, Lillian Schneider, Crystal Tudor, Nora Vanhala, Elmer & June Wittman, Bill Wright.

     Pray for our bishops Elizabeth Eaton and Brian Kirby Unti, our pastor Ronald Marshall, our deacon Dean Hard and our cantor Andrew King, that they may be strengthened in faith, love and the holy office to which they have been called.

     Pray that God would give us hearts which find joy in service and in celebration of Stewardship.  Pray that God would work within you to become a good steward of your time, your talents and finances.  Pray to strengthen the Stewardship of our congregation in these same ways.

     Pray for the hungry, ignored, abused, and homeless this Lent.  Pray for the mercy of God for these people, and for all in Christ's church to see and help those who are in distress.

     Pray for our sister congregation El Camino de Emmaus, in the Skagit Valley, that God may bless and strengthen their ministry.  Also, pray for our parish and it's ministry.

     Pray that God will bless you through the lives of the saints:  Thomas Aquinas, teacher, 1274; Joseph, guardian of our Lord.


 

A Treasury of Prayers

 

Lord, give me a humble, quiet, tender and charitable mind, and in all my thoughts, words and deeds a taste for the Holy Spirit. Take from me all lukewarmness in meditation and dullness in prayer. Give me fervor and delight in thinking of you and your grace. The things that I pray for, good Lord, give me grace to labor for. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

                                                                       [For All the Saints III:21026, altered]




Give Thanks Always

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Singing 1 Thessalonians 5:18

By Pastor Marshall

 

Try singing this repeatedly as a round during the day – to yourself or out loud – as you do your work or when you’re sitting around. Use the beginning of the tune “The Ash Grove” (Lutheran Book of Worship, 1978, Hymns 221, 557). Maybe it can help you increase your thanksgiving….

 

Thank you for

my safety,

my faith;

and that I’m healthy,

and wealthy;

and for my family,

and the work that I do.

 

(RFM, February 20, 2017)

Feel free to change the words if you like—but include the six categories.  Included in faith are Christ, suffering  and his church.  Included with family are friends—and the you is, of course, our heavenly Father.