Here's what happened at Seattle First Baptist from January through March, 2015
Sunday, March 29
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Adult Learning
Cherry Johnson concluded the Lenten series, Wilderness Survival, with Community in Wilderness. Some selected quotes from the session follow: John Lionberger - Renewal in the Wilderness After we find a place to camp and have a wonderful meal, the dark settles in and the night begins to get cold. As we huddle around the campfire, an amazing thing happens: We begin to talk. We are strangers to each other, but we begin to open up. Maybe we talk because it’s cold and we’re feeling vulnerable. Maybe it’s because we’re far from civilization where we’ve built walls to make us feel secure. On this island in the middle of nowhere, we create an island of light in the darkness. We talk about life’s pains and struggles. We talk about our spirituality. No two of us have the same view. The discussion is deliberate, emotional, and meaningful; not the quick-paced, short snippets of conversation you might over a beer. We talk for hours, stoking the fire, and adding another layer of clothing every so often. The night is glorious. On the ride back home, I’m exhausted, but my head is filled with wonderful memories. I pushed my body harder than I have in years, and I felt closer to God and the people with whom I’ve shared this wilderness experience. Rodney Romney - Wilderness Spirituality Just when we thought we had conquered and tamed our final wilderness, we came face to face with a new one. It is a wilderness created by the possibility of nuclear annihilation. It is a wilderness created by the systematic failure of all the institutions we once thought to be secure. It is a wilderness created by the accumulation of all our past problems suddenly rushing upon us as one massive problem rendering us almost inert in terms of finding solutions. It is a wilderness created by human polarization, gender mistrust, racial inequities, and economic collapse. And all this in a time when we were sure we had solved most of our problems and were in the process of ushering in a new age . … It didn’t happen all at once, but slowly it dawned on us that our present cultural era is grinding to a halt. Religious fundamentalists declared it was the long-foretold end of the world, while devotees of New Age thought proclaimed it the beginning of an era that would be ultimately transformative. … Our present generation is a transitional one. We have one collective foot planted in the soil of an old order that is dying and the other in midair, trying to find some solid ground on which we can build our stake in the future. … Since social environment always informs and shapes religion, the new wilderness of our times has created the need for a new spiritualityIt is too early to know the exact form that spirituality will take, but what seems to be emerging is a strong linkage between spiritual principles and issues of social justice. A vengeful, arbitrary God is being left behind for a God of universal love. True religion finally is being cast into the same mold that Jesus offered: What matters is how we treat one another, and that is determined by the kind of God we choose to follow and serve. |
Cherry shared this video of Sweet Honey in the Rock singing The Women Gather as an example of Community in Wilderness.
Cherry Johnson talks about one of her times in Community in Wilderness during the early days of the AIDS Crisis.
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Community in Wilderness - Questions for Exploration
- In what communities have you travelled/are you traveling in your life?
- What have been your experiences of being “thrust into wilderness” as a community (including the SFBC community)?
- How have your communities/this community chosen wilderness times? And why?
- What wilderness gifts have been received by your communities/this community?
- How have your communities/this community experienced a call to wilderness? What was/is your response?
- How have wilderness times changed your communities/this community? Have you raged at or avoided wilderness together? Have you seen or entered a promised land together?
- How have your found personal and community experiences of wilderness to be different and/or the same?
Moments from Worship
Michelle Horsley and Bruce Carpenter provided a lovely extended prelude, featuring music on piano, organ, obese, clarinet and flute. The choir got into the Palm Sunday spirit, as did the congregation when they welcomed one another. Susan Blythe-Goodman had the children waving their palms, and Jennifer Chin read the gospel lesson.
Concert - MASS by Leonard Bernstein, March 22
The sanctuary was filled with music on Sunday afternoon with "A concert celebrating LIFE in the face of cancer." Vicky Thomas led the Sanctuary Choir, Seattle Girls' Choir Allegra, soloist Jim Ginn, and orchestra in a concert version of MASS by Leonard Bernstein. The Girls' Choir also performed several pieces as a prelude, and the audience joined in singing two hymns. An offering was received to benefit Gilda's Club Seattle and The Goodtimes Project. Representatives from both groups spoke briefly. Karen Carlos shared some of her experiences, referring to Fight Back with Joy by Margaret Feinberg.
Photos courtesy of Bob Sittig.
Photos courtesy of Bob Sittig.
Sunday, March 22
Adult Learning
Cherry Johnson continued her series on Wilderness Survival with Called to Wilderness. She explored the concept of "call," which can be cryptic, chaotic and confusing, compelling, and continuous.
Cherry Johnson continued her series on Wilderness Survival with Called to Wilderness. She explored the concept of "call," which can be cryptic, chaotic and confusing, compelling, and continuous.
Some quotes from the class follow:
In the same way that birds simply must answer the call to migrate, despite all the dangers that lie in the journey, we also have that instinctive imperative. We are driven by an urge to both go deeper and, paradoxically, move closer to the edge… More than almost any other place, the wilderness lays us open to the surprise of God. Thoreau understood this perfectly when he declared that we need the stimulant of wild places that can carry us “beyond [ourselves], beyond an illusion of mastery, into an emptiness that [leaves us] stunned, vulnerable, and open to the unexpected... But I have to emphasize, especially for the couch potatoes among us, that manifestations of God in very ordinary places are available almost daily -- not just in the wilderness -- IF we’re available to be surprised. IF we’re not wedded to our expectations... The 11th century Jewish Spanish poet Judah Halevi balanced the divine-in-the-ordinary dichotomy perfectly in his question “Lord, where shall I find You?” followed by the equally haunting, yin vs. yang, question, “And where shall I not find you?”
~ John Lionberger, Renewal in the Wilderness
While God is remarkably flexible about showing up anywhere -- in the desert, in a manger, in a burning bush, or in a prison cell -- the eyes of my own faith see most on urban streets. For me, paradise is a garden, but heaven is a city.
~ Sarah Miles, City of God
The insight we receive on the inner journey is that chaos is the precondition to creativity: as every creation myth has it, life itself emerged from the void. Even that which has been created needs to be returned to chaos from time to time so it can be regenerated in more vital form.
~ Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
A Power, not our own, stands waiting for us at the pit of every peril, illuminating and transfiguring our adversity and promising an eventual triumph. This is what religion means by faith in God. God can be trusted. God can be relied upon.
~ Rodney Romney, Wilderness Spirituality
Questions for Exploration:
In the same way that birds simply must answer the call to migrate, despite all the dangers that lie in the journey, we also have that instinctive imperative. We are driven by an urge to both go deeper and, paradoxically, move closer to the edge… More than almost any other place, the wilderness lays us open to the surprise of God. Thoreau understood this perfectly when he declared that we need the stimulant of wild places that can carry us “beyond [ourselves], beyond an illusion of mastery, into an emptiness that [leaves us] stunned, vulnerable, and open to the unexpected... But I have to emphasize, especially for the couch potatoes among us, that manifestations of God in very ordinary places are available almost daily -- not just in the wilderness -- IF we’re available to be surprised. IF we’re not wedded to our expectations... The 11th century Jewish Spanish poet Judah Halevi balanced the divine-in-the-ordinary dichotomy perfectly in his question “Lord, where shall I find You?” followed by the equally haunting, yin vs. yang, question, “And where shall I not find you?”
~ John Lionberger, Renewal in the Wilderness
While God is remarkably flexible about showing up anywhere -- in the desert, in a manger, in a burning bush, or in a prison cell -- the eyes of my own faith see most on urban streets. For me, paradise is a garden, but heaven is a city.
~ Sarah Miles, City of God
The insight we receive on the inner journey is that chaos is the precondition to creativity: as every creation myth has it, life itself emerged from the void. Even that which has been created needs to be returned to chaos from time to time so it can be regenerated in more vital form.
~ Parker Palmer, Let Your Life Speak
A Power, not our own, stands waiting for us at the pit of every peril, illuminating and transfiguring our adversity and promising an eventual triumph. This is what religion means by faith in God. God can be trusted. God can be relied upon.
~ Rodney Romney, Wilderness Spirituality
Questions for Exploration:
- How have your beliefs about the concept of being called changed over the course of your life and why?
- Palmer says a vocation is “something I can’t not do.” How have you experienced vocation in your life?
- Do you agree with Parker Palmer that we need to return to chaos periodically for its regenerative qualities?
- Have you experienced what you would term a “call” to metaphorical wilderness? What did you do? How did it turn out?
- Have you ever experienced a call to be “tender” or “alluring” as mentioned in Hosea? Or perhaps haunting and relentless as Palmer describes?
- How have you experienced either fear and freedom from fear with relation to being “called”?
- Romney talks about anger as a common and understandable response to wilderness. How have you experienced anger when “called” to wilderness times?
- Do you agree with Lionberger that there is a spiritual collective unconscious? If so, how does this impact your understanding of call to wilderness?
- What call are you experiencing - perhaps ignoring - at this time in your life?
Moments from Worship
Cherry Johnson did the Gathering. Patrick Green invited people to the concert featuring Leonard Bernstein's MASS. Pastor Ned talked to the children about keeping people warm in the wilderness by donating clothing. Larry Duncan was the cantor in the Wilderness Canticle for the day.
Cherry Johnson did the Gathering. Patrick Green invited people to the concert featuring Leonard Bernstein's MASS. Pastor Ned talked to the children about keeping people warm in the wilderness by donating clothing. Larry Duncan was the cantor in the Wilderness Canticle for the day.
Wednesday, March 18
These photos are from the final rehearsal before Sunday concert featuring MASS by Leonard Bernstein. Check out the concert web page for more information.
Sunday, March 15
Adult Learning
The Wilderness Survival series led by Cherry Johnson continued with Gifts of the Wilderness. Some choice quotes that Cherry shared during the class included:
The beat poet Jack Kerouac, feeling primed for a spiritual breakthrough, wrote to a friend before he retreated into the wilderness, “If I don’t get a vision on Desolation Peak, then my name ain’t William Blake.” But later he wrote that he found it hard to face the naked truth. “I’d thought, in June when I get to the top…and everybody leaves…I will come face to face with God or [Buddha] and find out once and for all what is the meaning of all this existence and suffering … but instead I’d come face to face with myself, no liquor, no drugs no chance of faking it, but face to face with old Hateful … Me.”
~ Pema Chodron - The Places That Scare Us
In our culture of comfort and avoidance of the hard things that require us to be blindingly candid about our lives, I know I’m asking a lot when I say we need to put ourselves in the path of a wilderness challenge. But we do carry many things that weigh us down and confuse the essence of WHO we are -- the beauty of WHAT we are -- and this baggage does not go away without some serious and intent examination. This is the gift of the wilderness. It is God’s “hull scraper,” stripping us of the barnacles of civilization that slow us, distract us, and divert us in the pursuit of God -- and God’s pursuit of us.
~ John Lionberger - Renewal in the Wilderness
Wilderness is the closest thing to home we will ever know on this earth. There is something inside the wilderness - a light, a warmth, a tenderness, a presence - that draws us deeply into life. In the wilderness we find the presence of eternity, what the mystics call a timeless presence in time. In the wilderness we possess nothing but have everything. In the wilderness we learn what it means to be. We learn what it means to forgo ownership and become all attentive. In the solitude of wilderness we learn what it meant to be at home.
~ Rod Romney - Wilderness Spirituality
GIFTS OF WILDERNESS - QUESTIONS FOR EXPLORATION
Cherry shared part of the following video, featuring Lesley Hazelton:
The Wilderness Survival series led by Cherry Johnson continued with Gifts of the Wilderness. Some choice quotes that Cherry shared during the class included:
The beat poet Jack Kerouac, feeling primed for a spiritual breakthrough, wrote to a friend before he retreated into the wilderness, “If I don’t get a vision on Desolation Peak, then my name ain’t William Blake.” But later he wrote that he found it hard to face the naked truth. “I’d thought, in June when I get to the top…and everybody leaves…I will come face to face with God or [Buddha] and find out once and for all what is the meaning of all this existence and suffering … but instead I’d come face to face with myself, no liquor, no drugs no chance of faking it, but face to face with old Hateful … Me.”
~ Pema Chodron - The Places That Scare Us
In our culture of comfort and avoidance of the hard things that require us to be blindingly candid about our lives, I know I’m asking a lot when I say we need to put ourselves in the path of a wilderness challenge. But we do carry many things that weigh us down and confuse the essence of WHO we are -- the beauty of WHAT we are -- and this baggage does not go away without some serious and intent examination. This is the gift of the wilderness. It is God’s “hull scraper,” stripping us of the barnacles of civilization that slow us, distract us, and divert us in the pursuit of God -- and God’s pursuit of us.
~ John Lionberger - Renewal in the Wilderness
Wilderness is the closest thing to home we will ever know on this earth. There is something inside the wilderness - a light, a warmth, a tenderness, a presence - that draws us deeply into life. In the wilderness we find the presence of eternity, what the mystics call a timeless presence in time. In the wilderness we possess nothing but have everything. In the wilderness we learn what it means to be. We learn what it means to forgo ownership and become all attentive. In the solitude of wilderness we learn what it meant to be at home.
~ Rod Romney - Wilderness Spirituality
GIFTS OF WILDERNESS - QUESTIONS FOR EXPLORATION
- Have you found yourself “trapped” in either a natural or metaphorical wilderness and been troubled by how hard it was to be face to face with yourself? What happened?
- Can you think of wilderness experiences in your life which were very difficult at the time but which you see as a gift in hindsight?
- Moore talks about our “oceanic” times, when we are perhaps adrift at sea like Jonah, and says we are always reborn after such times. Have you had such a time? Describe it.
- How have your wilderness times caused you to re-prioritize your life or change your habits?
- Goethe said “The present is a powerful deity.” How have wilderness experiences forced you into the present moment? How much of your life do you live in the present during non-wilderness times?
- Describe a time when being in the natural wilderness made you feel “holy again”. Can you think of a metaphorical wilderness time in your life when you felt “holy”?
- Has the aging process brought any sense of wilderness into your life? Any gifts?
- Have there been dark times of illness in your life when you were aware of spiritual healing?
- How have your wilderness experiences become an integral part of your life story and legacy?
Cherry shared part of the following video, featuring Lesley Hazelton:
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Moments from Worship
Gary Davis did the Invitations to Involvement and Call to Giving, recalling how Companis benefited in its early days from the America for Christ offering, which was received today. Pastor Ned Allyn Parker invited the children to an oasis. Belle Chenault sang Bach during the offertory, and Ethan Jones led the Wilderness Canticle. Coffee Hour was lively, as usual.
Saturday, March 14
Today was the first combined rehearsal for "MASS" by Leonard Bernstein, which will be performed next Sunday. More information is available on the concert webpage.
Sunday, March 8
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Adult Learning
Cherry Johnson continued her series, Wilderness Survival. Following are quotes, questions, and videos from today's class - Choosing Wilderness. Bob Penny -- NW Dharma News In the almost black of early morning I was walking through a dark forest, rhythmically ringing a small bell. I was searching for a tent, but I didn’t know where it was. Below me mist was suspended in the pre-dawn grey over Demarus lake, and as I stepped over yet another crumbled log the barren, littered, understory of the forest felt trackless and dreamlike…So it seemed there was nothing to do but just keep walking, gently waking up people, waking up the whole world.This was the 10th day of our 2-week backpacking meditation retreat this fall in the Three Sisters Wilderness of central Oregon. The design of the retreat, circumambulating around three snow-capped volcanoes, was centered on a study of the three treasures of Buddhism: Buddha (universal essence or unexplainable wildness), Dharma (governing principles or ethical imperatives, and Sangha (connectedness or community of all beings). John Lionberger - Renewal in the Wilderness We need, truly need, to be startled by God in ways that don’t seem possible in our civilized lives. This is why people, from ancient times to modern, continue to seek out the wilderness to leave the everyday, to simplify, to open our lives to the possibility of God’s personal interest in us, and to experience the transcendent. Thomas Merton -- Journals It is necessary for me to see the first point of light that begins to be dawn. It is necessary to be present alone at the Resurrection of Day in solemn silence at which the sun appears, for at this moment all the affairs of cities, of governments, of war departments, are seen to be the bickering of mice. I receive, from the Eastern woods, the tall oaks, the one word DAY. It is never the same. It is always in a totally new language. Justin Elder - SFBC Voices Blog My own relationship with the wilderness is hard to define. I know, simply, that I need it. Being alone in the wild is a form of prayer to which I do not know the words, but my spirit knows the rhythm. This need to be in a wild place does not go away just because of the absence of those places; it must be satisfied. Rod Romney - Wilderness Spirituality We all need the wilderness of place, a place of isolation where we can allow change to overtake us where we can adapt to a constantly altered environment, and where we can recover from our own mistakes. It is out of that wilderness of place that I live today, grateful and serene. Daniel Ladinsky - I Heard God Laughing: Renderings of Hafiz (14th C Persian poet) Why carry a whole load of books Upon your back Climbing this mountain, When tonight, Just a few thoughts of God Will light the holy fire. Wayne Muller - Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest) At our best, we become Sabbath for one another. We are the emptiness, the day of rest. We become space, that our loved ones, the lost and the sorrowful, may find rest in us. QUESTIONS FOR EXPLORATION 1. When you think of taking a journey into the natural wilderness, what images & feelings arise for you? 2. Where do you go when you need natural wilderness but cannot get away? Why there? 3. When you think of being totally alone for hours or days at a time, what images & feelings come up? Have you ever had an extended period of intentional solitude? What was it like? 4. Do you pray or meditate regularly? How? Why? 5. When you think of observing Sabbath or Lent, what appeals to you? What scares you? 6. What’s your favorite practice of metaphorical wilderness & why? 7. Is there a spiritual practice/metaphorical wilderness practice you would like to explore? |
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Photos from the Day
Belle Chenault rehearsed with children and families, preparing for an upcoming worship service. Muriel Jones-Cashdollar played flute during several musical numbers, including the Prelude. Pastor Ned Allyn Parker invited the children to go camping with him for a few minutes. Vicky Thomas and Jim Ginn invited everyone to the upcoming concert featuring Mass by Leonard Bernstein. Janet Whitlock and Joseph To were cantors for the Wilderness Canticle, which also featured instrumentalists Muriel Jones-Cashdollar, Brian Lew, Bell Chenault, and Ethan Jones. Naomi Simila-Dickinson sang a response to the sermon. The music is posted on our Sunday Worship page.
Belle Chenault rehearsed with children and families, preparing for an upcoming worship service. Muriel Jones-Cashdollar played flute during several musical numbers, including the Prelude. Pastor Ned Allyn Parker invited the children to go camping with him for a few minutes. Vicky Thomas and Jim Ginn invited everyone to the upcoming concert featuring Mass by Leonard Bernstein. Janet Whitlock and Joseph To were cantors for the Wilderness Canticle, which also featured instrumentalists Muriel Jones-Cashdollar, Brian Lew, Bell Chenault, and Ethan Jones. Naomi Simila-Dickinson sang a response to the sermon. The music is posted on our Sunday Worship page.
Sunday, March 1
Special Congregational Meeting
Sue Ross, president of the congregation, presided over a special congregational meeting to consider a loan of up to $250,000 in additional funds from our building endowment to complete the remodel of the Minor Hospital Building, which is underway. The congregation originally approved a loan of $500,000 from the endowment funds for the project. Bob Sittig, church administrator, outlined the reasons the project is costing more than originally estimated. The congregation approved the additional funding. See the Building Remodel page for more details.
Sue Ross, president of the congregation, presided over a special congregational meeting to consider a loan of up to $250,000 in additional funds from our building endowment to complete the remodel of the Minor Hospital Building, which is underway. The congregation originally approved a loan of $500,000 from the endowment funds for the project. Bob Sittig, church administrator, outlined the reasons the project is costing more than originally estimated. The congregation approved the additional funding. See the Building Remodel page for more details.
Adult Learning
Cherry Johnson continued her Lenten series, Wilderness Survival. Today's focus was Mountaintop Experiences. The class included singing, a quiz, and lots of animated discussion. Cherry shared several quotes about wilderness and mountaintop experiences, including this one from John Lionberger in Renewal in the Wilderness about a visit to Machu Picchu:
These circular areas are holy places. I sit on a finished stone in the middle of the floor to imagine what it must have been like in this world, in this place, nearly eighteen generations ago. Except for the low wind and occasional bird calls, it is completely silent. In that holy roofless room, alone with my thoughts, I experience an unbidden and overwhelming sense of wholeness, a feeling that the world is exactly right, and I am absorbed into it as an integral part. I feel peace in my whole being, for about two minutes, and then it slowly wanes.
This moment of grace takes me by surprise because it is completely unexpected. I had no spiritual expectations of this trip. I had come to the Andes purely for the adventure, not for such an intimate encounter with God. But, once again, God defied my expectations, as if saying: “Do not expect me to do the expected. Do not attempt to box me in with your need to control me. Do not try to predict me.” As God said to Isaiah, “I am about to do a new thing.”
She shared these QUESTIONS FOR EXPLORATION:
1. What “natural wilderness” mountaintop experiences have you had? How have they changed you?
2. What “metaphorical wilderness” mountaintop experiences have you had? How have they changed you?
3. Like Christian Wiman, have you longed for inspiration, grace, a mountaintop experience when one was a long time coming or seemed impossible? Have you ever planned successfully for a mountaintop experience?
4. Like Peter, have you ever tried to hold on to a mountaintop experience? What happened?
5. Have you “seen the Promised Land?” And if so, does it allow you to feel a sense of fulfillment or completion? To feel less fearful of the future?
6. What have been the defining characteristics of your mountaintop experiences? How do they connect with your experience of the Sacred?
7. How do you mange “coming down” from a mountaintop experience?
Cherry Johnson continued her Lenten series, Wilderness Survival. Today's focus was Mountaintop Experiences. The class included singing, a quiz, and lots of animated discussion. Cherry shared several quotes about wilderness and mountaintop experiences, including this one from John Lionberger in Renewal in the Wilderness about a visit to Machu Picchu:
These circular areas are holy places. I sit on a finished stone in the middle of the floor to imagine what it must have been like in this world, in this place, nearly eighteen generations ago. Except for the low wind and occasional bird calls, it is completely silent. In that holy roofless room, alone with my thoughts, I experience an unbidden and overwhelming sense of wholeness, a feeling that the world is exactly right, and I am absorbed into it as an integral part. I feel peace in my whole being, for about two minutes, and then it slowly wanes.
This moment of grace takes me by surprise because it is completely unexpected. I had no spiritual expectations of this trip. I had come to the Andes purely for the adventure, not for such an intimate encounter with God. But, once again, God defied my expectations, as if saying: “Do not expect me to do the expected. Do not attempt to box me in with your need to control me. Do not try to predict me.” As God said to Isaiah, “I am about to do a new thing.”
She shared these QUESTIONS FOR EXPLORATION:
1. What “natural wilderness” mountaintop experiences have you had? How have they changed you?
2. What “metaphorical wilderness” mountaintop experiences have you had? How have they changed you?
3. Like Christian Wiman, have you longed for inspiration, grace, a mountaintop experience when one was a long time coming or seemed impossible? Have you ever planned successfully for a mountaintop experience?
4. Like Peter, have you ever tried to hold on to a mountaintop experience? What happened?
5. Have you “seen the Promised Land?” And if so, does it allow you to feel a sense of fulfillment or completion? To feel less fearful of the future?
6. What have been the defining characteristics of your mountaintop experiences? How do they connect with your experience of the Sacred?
7. How do you mange “coming down” from a mountaintop experience?
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz also offered one more session in her series on the Gospel of Mark.
Moments from Worship
Pastor David Kile shared information about Loaves and Fishes, one of the programs at Seattle First Baptist that feeds the homeless in Seattle. Pastor Ned Allyn Parker told the children about the beads he carried on his trip to Israel to remind him of them. Donna Ward, Ethan Jones on guitar, and Belle Chenault on bass led the choir and congregation in this week's Wilderness Canticle. Pastor Cathy Fransson and Pastor Tim Phillips served Communion.
Sunday, February 22
Adult Learning
Cherry Johnson began her Lenten Series, Wilderness Survival. She talked about the definition of wilderness, both in nature and in our lives. Various definitions or parts of definitions include:
She quoted from Rod Romney's Wilderness Spirituality: Finding Your Way in an Unsettled World, as follows: "I a sense, every moment in time is a new wilderness - a time that has never happened before and will never repeat itself again."
She also quoted from John Lionberger, the author of Renewal in the Wilderness: A Spiritual Guide to Connecting With God in the Natural World: "Standing alone in the middle of a frozen lake at dusk, I was suddenly and unexpectedly overwhelmed by a sense of profound warmth, from the inside out, and ultimately with the absolute knowledge of Something Bigger Than I Am. At that point I certainly didn't want to call it God, but I've never been able to find a better word for it. No one could have been more surprised than I was. I was there just for the adventure. I certainly wasn't looking for God, and for a while I tried hard to ignore the experience. But God ambushed me in that frozen wilderness. Ultimately I could no longer ignore it and nothing has been the same since...not necessarily easier, but much better, and I feel I have more than a passing knowledge of the spiritual power of the wilderness. I left a long-time business career to attend Chicago Theological Seminary, with the idea of doing this work." http://www.renewalinthewilderness.org/about-john-lionberger.html
Cherry gave these exploration questions to the class:
Homework for next week: Think about mountaintop experiences in your life that you may be willing to share with the group.
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz wrapped up her study of the Gospel of Mark.
Cherry Johnson began her Lenten Series, Wilderness Survival. She talked about the definition of wilderness, both in nature and in our lives. Various definitions or parts of definitions include:
- Five words in the Bible are translated as wilderness. They have a variety of meanings.
- Wilderness is hovering in the risk-zone between comfort an death.
- It is our experience "at the edges," which show us how vulnerable we are.
- Meeting God at the edge.
- "God is not the God of comfortable places." ~John Lionberger
She quoted from Rod Romney's Wilderness Spirituality: Finding Your Way in an Unsettled World, as follows: "I a sense, every moment in time is a new wilderness - a time that has never happened before and will never repeat itself again."
She also quoted from John Lionberger, the author of Renewal in the Wilderness: A Spiritual Guide to Connecting With God in the Natural World: "Standing alone in the middle of a frozen lake at dusk, I was suddenly and unexpectedly overwhelmed by a sense of profound warmth, from the inside out, and ultimately with the absolute knowledge of Something Bigger Than I Am. At that point I certainly didn't want to call it God, but I've never been able to find a better word for it. No one could have been more surprised than I was. I was there just for the adventure. I certainly wasn't looking for God, and for a while I tried hard to ignore the experience. But God ambushed me in that frozen wilderness. Ultimately I could no longer ignore it and nothing has been the same since...not necessarily easier, but much better, and I feel I have more than a passing knowledge of the spiritual power of the wilderness. I left a long-time business career to attend Chicago Theological Seminary, with the idea of doing this work." http://www.renewalinthewilderness.org/about-john-lionberger.html
Cherry gave these exploration questions to the class:
- Have you had wilderness experiences of "temptation?" What did you learn from this? Were angels involved?
- Which wilderness experiences in your life have induced the greatest fear? Loneliness? Talk about a time when you "couldn't heart nobody pray."
- What "prisons" have you been in and sweat pulled you through? What strengths and weaknesses did you discover in yourself as a result? How have those experiences impacted your life? Do you think you could have learned those lessons in an easier environment?
- What are the beliefs and behaviors which keep you imprisoned in wilderness?
- Are you in the wilderness now? Do you feel safe naming it? Why or why not? What do you think you need? Are you being tempted? Are you open to the presence of the Sacred?
- What wilderness stories speak to you personally and why/how?
- In what ways can you identify with the idea of being "ambushed by God?"
Homework for next week: Think about mountaintop experiences in your life that you may be willing to share with the group.
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz wrapped up her study of the Gospel of Mark.
Moments from Worship
Susan Blythe-Goodman shared a Time With Children. Larry Green sang Deep River for the offertory, accompanied by Michelle Horsley on piano. Cindy Ervin read an excerpt from Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams. The choir, instrumentalists and soloists led the congregation in a Lenten canticle: Out in the Wilderness. Pastor David Kile and Gretchen Champoux participated in worship with Pastor Catherine Fransson.
Susan Blythe-Goodman shared a Time With Children. Larry Green sang Deep River for the offertory, accompanied by Michelle Horsley on piano. Cindy Ervin read an excerpt from Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams. The choir, instrumentalists and soloists led the congregation in a Lenten canticle: Out in the Wilderness. Pastor David Kile and Gretchen Champoux participated in worship with Pastor Catherine Fransson.
Sunday, February 15
Adult Learning
Dr. Molly Marshall, president of Central Baptist Seminary, spoke about Cultivating Transformative Practices. She focused on the following practices:
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz continued her study of the Gospel of Mark.
Dr. Molly Marshall, president of Central Baptist Seminary, spoke about Cultivating Transformative Practices. She focused on the following practices:
- Paying Attention - "Attention is the only faculty of the soul that gives us access to God." (Simone Weil)
- Discerning - "The road emerged only as I walked it." (Jurgen Moltmann)
- Praying the Scripture: Lectio Divina - "The nature of water is soft, that of stone is hard; but if a bottle is hung above the stone, allowing the water to fall drop by drop, it wears away the stone. So it is with the word of God; it is soft and our heart is hard..." (Abba Poemen)
- Companioning One Another - "Our life and death is with our neighbor." (Abba Anthony)
- Sabbath-keeping - "The field is tilled and left to grace..." (Wendell Berry)
- Caring for the Body - "The practice of honoring the body challenges us to remember the sacredness of the body in every moment of our lives. We cannot do this alone. Because our bodies are so vulnerable, we need each other to protect and care for them." (Stephanie Paulsen)
- Participation in Worshipping Community - "It is the Spirit who calls the thirsty to the well of worship. It is the Spirit who creates the hunger for communion with God and others. It is the Spirit who makes us present to one another, receptive and welcoming. It is the Spirit who prompts voices too long silent to speak." (Marshall)
- Pondering - "We are better persons when we carry tension, as opposed to always looking for easy resolution. To carry tension, especially great tension, is to ponder in the biblical sense." (Rolheiser)
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz continued her study of the Gospel of Mark.
Moments from Worship
The Sanctuary Choir led the congregation in song. Mikiko Hashimoto sang Pie Jesu by Gabriel Faure. Patrick Green, with a big assist from Spencer, brought us A Time with Children. Harriet Platts introduced Dr. Molly Marshall, our guest preacher for today.
The Sanctuary Choir led the congregation in song. Mikiko Hashimoto sang Pie Jesu by Gabriel Faure. Patrick Green, with a big assist from Spencer, brought us A Time with Children. Harriet Platts introduced Dr. Molly Marshall, our guest preacher for today.
Sunday, February 8
Thank you to the Faithfulaires, a gospel group from New Beginnings Christian Fellowship in Renton, for calling us to worship. The group sang three songs, which can be heard on our Sunday Worship page for the day. New Beginnings is also a member of the Evergreen Baptist Association.
More Moments from Worship
Harriet Platts encouraged everyone to come to Seattle First Baptist next Sunday to hear Dr. Molly Marshall, president of Central Baptist Seminary. Marshall was one of Harriet's favorite teachers. Henry McGee played some Bach on violin for the Offertory. Pastor Ned told the children about his upcoming trip to the Middle East. He is taking along a string of beads that represent the children in the congregation.
Harriet Platts encouraged everyone to come to Seattle First Baptist next Sunday to hear Dr. Molly Marshall, president of Central Baptist Seminary. Marshall was one of Harriet's favorite teachers. Henry McGee played some Bach on violin for the Offertory. Pastor Ned told the children about his upcoming trip to the Middle East. He is taking along a string of beads that represent the children in the congregation.
Adult Learning
Michael W. McCann from the University of Washington spoke about Social Justice and Police Militarization. Some of his points were:
- We must be clear whether excessive police violence is due to individual bad apples or a structural problem.
- McCann recommended the book, The Rise of the Warrior Cop by Radley Balko. Click here for an essay that Balko wrote for the Wall Street Journal: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323848804578608040780519904
- Many police forces have moved from being a civilian force to a military model, including: material weaponry, cultural mimicry, military organization, and military operations.
- This trend started in the 1980s, partially as a way to reuse weapons from the Vietnam War. Every administration since has continued to provide military weapons to police departments all over the nation.
- Seattle has one of the least "militarized" police forces for a city of its size.
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz continued her series on the Gospel of Mark. The purpose of the writer of Mark was to convince people that Jesus was the Messiah. He was not what people expected of a messiah - a warrior/king, mighty prophet, or priestly figure that would bring back pure worship. Jesus was the Son of God, a suffering Messiah who would give his life for many.
Mark 8: 22-26 tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man. The story illustrates how no one understood who Jesus was, everyone was blind to the fact that he was the Christ. Only after this story does Peter declare that Jesus is the Christ.
The series continues next week.
Mark 8: 22-26 tells the story of Jesus healing a blind man. The story illustrates how no one understood who Jesus was, everyone was blind to the fact that he was the Christ. Only after this story does Peter declare that Jesus is the Christ.
The series continues next week.
Sunday, February 1
Adult Learning
KC Young, executive director of the Freedom Project (and a Companis worker) spoke about The Social Implications of Having a Criminal Record, and focused on work that the Freedom Project does with prison inmates and "returnees" to society. A focus of the group's work is non-violent communication. Some points she made were:
More information is available at www.FreedomProjectSeattle.org
KC Young, executive director of the Freedom Project (and a Companis worker) spoke about The Social Implications of Having a Criminal Record, and focused on work that the Freedom Project does with prison inmates and "returnees" to society. A focus of the group's work is non-violent communication. Some points she made were:
- All of us are prisoners of something.
- When people can learn to make requests from their needs, then they can truly begin to communicate.
- Prisoners often are not aware of their own needs. They have not learned to discover the root of emotions like anger.
- Freedom Project's "Mindfulness Curriculum" helps prisoners pause, quiet their brains, center and focus.
- KC related a story of a prisoner who shared the value and importance of recognition. "I have learned that I matter, that someone has learned my name. There are people who will keep coming back."
- One returnee explained how he was able to avoid returning to prison: "I learned patience. I've learned not to be compulsive."
More information is available at www.FreedomProjectSeattle.org
Leadership Retreat - Friday, January 30 - Saturday, January 31
Members of the Diaconate and staff met at Camp Burton this weekend for the annual Leadership Retreat. Sue Ross, president of the congregation, put together a fantastic program with help from "First Consort" Brian Ross and facilitator Kurt O'Brien from the UW Medicine Organizational Development and Training Department. The group met at Camp Burton, where they enjoyed comfortable accommodations in the new Retreat Center, great meals and beautiful scenery. The weekend included team building, focused discussions about our Mission Statement and Behavioral Norms, singing some of our Heritage Hymns, meditations, and of course fun and games. Thank you to Sue and team for a rich, thought-provoking experience.
Friday, January 30 - Organ Update
All the pipes have been reinstalled in the organ, and experts from Bond Organ Builders tuned each pipe on Friday. The organ is once again usable! Thank you to all who made this rapid repair possible.
Wednesday, January 28 - Organ Update
Repairs to the organ chamber roofs have progressed rapidly, and are nearly complete. Workers finished patching the ceiling in the damaged organ chamber today. Both chamber roofs have been replaced and drains that take the rainwater from the roofs have been repaired. The pipes do not need to be taken out of the second organ chamber. A crew from Bond Organ is beginning to put the organ back together in the chamber where repairs were made.
One photo below shows one of the newly-roofed organ chambers, with a backdrop of the work being done on the Minor Hospital building. Lots of construction is happening this week! A Minor Hospital update is available by clicking here.
One photo below shows one of the newly-roofed organ chambers, with a backdrop of the work being done on the Minor Hospital building. Lots of construction is happening this week! A Minor Hospital update is available by clicking here.
Sunday, January 25, 2015 - Annual Meeting Sunday
145th Annual Meeting
Leroy Johnson, outgoing president of the congregation, called the meeting to order. Annual reports were handed out. An electronic copy of the annual report is available on the website Organization page. Treasurer Metta Williams reviewed the 2014 financial statements. Leroy Johnson presented Volunteer Recognition Awards to Diana James and Nancy Roberts-Brown. Incoming President Sue Ross introduced the 2015 slate of Officers and church leaders. Margaret Norton-Arnold presented to proposed utilization of funds from the Dr. Rodney Romney Legacy Fund for 2015. Rod Shutt presented the 2015 budget. Jim Segaar gave an update on media ministries, including our web presence. Sue Ross thanked Leroy Johnson on behalf of the congregation and adjourned the gathering.
Leroy Johnson, outgoing president of the congregation, called the meeting to order. Annual reports were handed out. An electronic copy of the annual report is available on the website Organization page. Treasurer Metta Williams reviewed the 2014 financial statements. Leroy Johnson presented Volunteer Recognition Awards to Diana James and Nancy Roberts-Brown. Incoming President Sue Ross introduced the 2015 slate of Officers and church leaders. Margaret Norton-Arnold presented to proposed utilization of funds from the Dr. Rodney Romney Legacy Fund for 2015. Rod Shutt presented the 2015 budget. Jim Segaar gave an update on media ministries, including our web presence. Sue Ross thanked Leroy Johnson on behalf of the congregation and adjourned the gathering.
Moments from Worship
Many of our lay leaders participated in worship today in honor of the Annual Meeting. Muriel Cashdollar on flute performed a medley with Michelle Horsley on piano. Pat Kile of the Music Commission introduced two "Heritage Hymns" that the congregation sang during the service. Bob Sittig reviewed building usage for the year, focusing on how many nonprofit organizations in addition to Seattle First Baptist regularly use the facility. Steve Smith from Adult Learning read the scripture for the day. Susan Dohrmann of Outreach and Gordon Harper from Social Justice Ministries read a litany leading into the annual meeting.
Many of our lay leaders participated in worship today in honor of the Annual Meeting. Muriel Cashdollar on flute performed a medley with Michelle Horsley on piano. Pat Kile of the Music Commission introduced two "Heritage Hymns" that the congregation sang during the service. Bob Sittig reviewed building usage for the year, focusing on how many nonprofit organizations in addition to Seattle First Baptist regularly use the facility. Steve Smith from Adult Learning read the scripture for the day. Susan Dohrmann of Outreach and Gordon Harper from Social Justice Ministries read a litany leading into the annual meeting.
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A Special Thank You
We thanked Geoffrey and Amy Boers for leading the Sanctuary Choir while Vicky Thomas was traveling in Asia. Vicky returns to the choir this week. Amy conducted the choir this week, while Geoffrey sang a solo during the Offertory. The choir and pastors did not wear robes today in honor of the Annual Meeting. |
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Afternoon Activities
The Drama Group convened for rehearsals of their next production. Elsewhere folks of all ages gathered in the gym to eat pizza and play games.
The Drama Group convened for rehearsals of their next production. Elsewhere folks of all ages gathered in the gym to eat pizza and play games.
Adult Learning
Patricia Warming concluded her series on Dreams and the Spiritual Life.
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz continued her study of Mark, focusing on chapters 4 - 7. The series continues for several more weeks.
Patricia Warming concluded her series on Dreams and the Spiritual Life.
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz continued her study of Mark, focusing on chapters 4 - 7. The series continues for several more weeks.
Friday, January 23, 2015 - Organ chamber update
Response to damage discovered during Sunday's storm has been quick and effective. Work to repair the first organ chamber is proceeding. With the help of volunteers (thank you!) the organ pipes have been removed and stored in the chapel. This allowed the construction crew to examine the roof from below. They found good news - the rot and structural damage is limited to a fairly small area near the drain. Repairs are underway. The other organ chamber will be examined from above, and the organ pipes may be able to stay in place there.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015 - Emergency repairs to the organ chambers begin
This week we discovered that the roofs to the organ chambers need to have fairly extensive repairs completed. To protect the organ itself, the pipes are being removed from one chamber at a time. A group of volunteers began working with a team from Bond Organ Builders on Wednesday afternoon. The organ will not be playable until the repairs are completed and the pipes reinstalled.
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Moments from Worship
Congregation President Leroy Johnson invited all members to the 145th Annual Meeting next Sunday immediately after worship. Susan Blythe-Goodman led the Time with Children. Dr. Geoffrey Boers led the Sanctuary Choir as guest director. Janet Whitlock led off with a solo of Amazing Grace.
Congregation President Leroy Johnson invited all members to the 145th Annual Meeting next Sunday immediately after worship. Susan Blythe-Goodman led the Time with Children. Dr. Geoffrey Boers led the Sanctuary Choir as guest director. Janet Whitlock led off with a solo of Amazing Grace.
Nasty Weather!
In addition to soaking thousands of Seahawks and Packers fans, heavy rain drenched some churchgoers too. It rained so hard that water washed through the doors and down the steps by Fridell Hall. Water also seeped into one of the organ chambers, taking some plaster down into some organ pipes in the process.
In addition to soaking thousands of Seahawks and Packers fans, heavy rain drenched some churchgoers too. It rained so hard that water washed through the doors and down the steps by Fridell Hall. Water also seeped into one of the organ chambers, taking some plaster down into some organ pipes in the process.
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Adult Learning - The Gospel of Mark
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz continued her study of Mark. She recommends that poeple read the gospel all the way through in a single sitting. The gospel is divided into four sections:
Some features of the gospel include:
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Adult Learning - Dreams and the Spiritual Life
Patricia Warming explored dreams and their interpretation on Sunday. Some key points included:
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Sunday, January 11, 2015
Honoring Pastor Craig Darling on his Retirement
Craig and his husband John were guests of honor at a lunch following the worship service. Several speakers recalled special times with Craig during his 21 years of ministry at Companis and Seattle First Baptist. Craig talked about a favorite hymn, Bring Us Home by Dr. Rodney Romney, and its significance to him. He also quoted a Cherokee prayer. Pastor Catherine Fransson expressed the feelings of so many at Seattle First Baptist when she quoted Matthew 25:23 in closing, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Craig and his husband John were guests of honor at a lunch following the worship service. Several speakers recalled special times with Craig during his 21 years of ministry at Companis and Seattle First Baptist. Craig talked about a favorite hymn, Bring Us Home by Dr. Rodney Romney, and its significance to him. He also quoted a Cherokee prayer. Pastor Catherine Fransson expressed the feelings of so many at Seattle First Baptist when she quoted Matthew 25:23 in closing, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
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Words from Bring us Home:
“Bring us home on love’s renewing tide to the place of our belonging. Bring us home to your redeeming side. Bring your scattered people home. From our weary night bring us to the light, to the place of our belonging; with your warm embrace, waken us to grace, bring your scattered people home. From our closed-in fears, from our wasted years, to the place of our belonging; to our highest call, sharing love with all, bring your scattered people home. From our selfish views, learnings we refuse, to the place of our belonging; to the truth we are, to our rising star, bring your scattered people home.” Cherokee Prayer: O Great Spirit Help me always speak the truth quietly, to listen with an open mind when others speak and to remember the peace that may be found in silence. |
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Photos from Worship
Dr. Geoffrey Boers led the Sanctuary Choir. Pastor Ned Allyn Parker asked the children to help him write the story of our church for the upcoming 145th Annual Meeting.
Dr. Geoffrey Boers led the Sanctuary Choir. Pastor Ned Allyn Parker asked the children to help him write the story of our church for the upcoming 145th Annual Meeting.
Adult Learning - the Gospel of Mark
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz began a multi-week series on the Gospel of Mark on Sunday. She explained the background in which Mark was written, which included:
Dr. Leticia Guardiola-Saenz began a multi-week series on the Gospel of Mark on Sunday. She explained the background in which Mark was written, which included:
- Tension between the Jews and Samaritans. Even Jesus' relationship to Samaritans changes in the gospels.
- Moving from Prophetic Eschatology (If you follow God, you will have a good life, here and now) to an Apocalyptic Eschatology (God will reveal something, and will intervene in history and change things). The latter was a product of living in exile and being ruled by foreign empires - periods when the Jews did not have any control. The former was the focus of earlier periods, when the Jews were in control.
- Longing for the Kingdom of God, or the Rule of God. Messiah (Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean "the anointed one." King David was a messiah because he was "the anointed one." It did not necessarily have divine or supernatural connotations.
Adult Learning - Dreams and the Spiritual Life
Patricia Warming continued her series based on the work of Carl Jung. Following are a few points (not direct quotes) from the class this week:
The series continues for two more Sundays.
Patricia Warming continued her series based on the work of Carl Jung. Following are a few points (not direct quotes) from the class this week:
- Only when dreams are very highly valued can they exert great influence. Ask yourself in the morning, "What did I do in my dreams last night?"
- The unconscious is a part of nature. Like nature, it is true. It cannot lie.
- Small dreams have significance only to the individual. Big dreams have significance to the tribe or larger group.
- Recommended reading: Inner Work and Balancing Heaven and Earth by Robert Johnson; Man and His Symbols by C.G. Jung
The series continues for two more Sundays.
New Faces in Choir
Dr. Geoffrey Boers led the Sanctuary Choir during rehearsal on Wednesday and during the Sunday service. Geoffrey and his wife Amy are filling in during the month of January for Vicky Thomas, who is traveling in Southeast Asia. Geoffrey is Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Washington. Amy is recognized as a national music leader in the Lutheran church.
Dr. Geoffrey Boers led the Sanctuary Choir during rehearsal on Wednesday and during the Sunday service. Geoffrey and his wife Amy are filling in during the month of January for Vicky Thomas, who is traveling in Southeast Asia. Geoffrey is Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Washington. Amy is recognized as a national music leader in the Lutheran church.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Moments from Worship
Margaret Norton-Arnold joined organist Michelle Horsley in a duet. Pastor Tim Phillips invited people to help "de-decorate" the sanctuary (see photos below). Patrick Green gave A Time with Children, and asked congregation members to wear ribbons as a reminder that each of us is a gift. Melissa Thirloway, Jeff Thirloway, and violist Brian Lew joined Michelle Horsley in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne that Michelle arranged especially for the service.
Margaret Norton-Arnold joined organist Michelle Horsley in a duet. Pastor Tim Phillips invited people to help "de-decorate" the sanctuary (see photos below). Patrick Green gave A Time with Children, and asked congregation members to wear ribbons as a reminder that each of us is a gift. Melissa Thirloway, Jeff Thirloway, and violist Brian Lew joined Michelle Horsley in a rendition of Auld Lang Syne that Michelle arranged especially for the service.
Adult Learning
Patricia Warming began a four-week series titled Dreams and the Spiritual Life. The first session focused on a video, Appointment With the Wise Old Dog, which explores the inner journey that David Blum, an orchestra conductor and writer, experienced in his dreams while dying from cancer. Blum, who described himself as a "modern skeptic" when it came to religion, drew pictures of his dreams to give form to the elusive images which arose from the depths of his psyche. Several characters recur in the dreams/images, including: Mairi, "a soulful woman;" Papageno, Blum's long-haired Dachshund who died at the age of 16; and Alfonto, a toy dog from Blum's childhood. Some quotes from the video follow:
Patricia will show the video again this Wednesday evening, January 7, at 7 p.m. The class continues each Sunday through January at 9:30 a.m.
Image from: http://www.davidblummusiciananddreamer.com
Patricia Warming began a four-week series titled Dreams and the Spiritual Life. The first session focused on a video, Appointment With the Wise Old Dog, which explores the inner journey that David Blum, an orchestra conductor and writer, experienced in his dreams while dying from cancer. Blum, who described himself as a "modern skeptic" when it came to religion, drew pictures of his dreams to give form to the elusive images which arose from the depths of his psyche. Several characters recur in the dreams/images, including: Mairi, "a soulful woman;" Papageno, Blum's long-haired Dachshund who died at the age of 16; and Alfonto, a toy dog from Blum's childhood. Some quotes from the video follow:
- "The dreams are larger than I am. They explain me more than I can explain them."
- "Healing isn't confined to getting well physically."
- "I came, I saw, I passed."
Patricia will show the video again this Wednesday evening, January 7, at 7 p.m. The class continues each Sunday through January at 9:30 a.m.
Image from: http://www.davidblummusiciananddreamer.com
De-Decoration
Our beautiful Christmas decorations made one more appearance on Sunday. After the service, volunteers led by Sterling Morris and Patrick Green packed the trees, poinsettias, manger scene, and greenery away for another year.
Happy New Year!
A sell-out crowd gathered in Fellowship Hall on New Years Eve to ring in 2015 - three hours ahead of schedule. It was a fabulous evening filled with fun, food, entertainment and conversation. Even though sickness took out many of the would-be volunteers and twice as many people as anticipated made reservations, Patrick Green, Chef Rick Hansen, Michelle Horsley, and their very dedicated helpers put on a great event, and about 20 performers shared their talents over the course of the evening.
This note from Patrick says it well:
Thank you all for your time, talent and flexibility as we flew by the seat of our pants into the new year. Not knowing exactly what to expect we had to make it up as we went along. Not a bad metaphor to start a new year.
It was a huge success. A very meaningful and magical evening that celebrated our community. Whatever this new year has in store we will face it and enjoy it together. That is definitely worth celebrating!
This note from Patrick says it well:
Thank you all for your time, talent and flexibility as we flew by the seat of our pants into the new year. Not knowing exactly what to expect we had to make it up as we went along. Not a bad metaphor to start a new year.
It was a huge success. A very meaningful and magical evening that celebrated our community. Whatever this new year has in store we will face it and enjoy it together. That is definitely worth celebrating!
Sunday, December 21 - Christmas Breakfast and Do-It-Yourself Christmas Pageant
A large crowd gathered in Fellowship Hall to share a delicious breakfast, get pictures taken with not one by two Santas, and then put on the Fourth Annual Do-It-Yourself Christmas Pageant. Pastor Ned was the organizer and narrator. A diverse collection of Animals (including two jellyfish), Angels, Marys, Josephs, Kings and Queens, Magi Shepherds and one Jesus made the pageant a rowdy success, and buzz is already building for the Fifth Annual pageant next year.
In case you missed the pageant, here is a sample of the gripping dialog:
In case you missed the pageant, here is a sample of the gripping dialog:
[MARYS] - No one, and I mean NO ONE touch my baby this year.
[JOSEPHS] - Except me, of course!
[MARYS] - Are you kidding? You let him play with the myrrh last year!
[JOSEPHS] - So what?
[MARYS] - Myrrh is used to embalm DEAD PEOPLE!
[JOSEPHS] - It's not MY fault! Blame the kings who brought the stuff!
Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra Christmas Concerts
Vicky Thomas led the Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra through two Christmas concerts on Saturday, Dec. 20 and Sunday, Dec. 21.
The program, Sing Noel, included Magnificat by Andrew Carter, Shepherd's Pipe Carol by John Rutter, O Nata Lux by Morten Lauridsen, and Ave Maria by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Vicky arranged a 15th Century English noel called Salutation Carol for octet, choir and orchestra. The audience joined in on several noels, including Sing We Now of Christmas, The First Noel, and Joy to the World.
Michelle Horsley did double duty as organist and member of the Alto section. She played Noel, Grand Jeu et Duo by Louis-Claude Daquin for the offertory.
Both concerts were well attended.
Recordings of selected works from the concerts will be posted later this week as part of the Christmas Worship online service.
Photos courtesy of Carla Granat.
The program, Sing Noel, included Magnificat by Andrew Carter, Shepherd's Pipe Carol by John Rutter, O Nata Lux by Morten Lauridsen, and Ave Maria by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Vicky arranged a 15th Century English noel called Salutation Carol for octet, choir and orchestra. The audience joined in on several noels, including Sing We Now of Christmas, The First Noel, and Joy to the World.
Michelle Horsley did double duty as organist and member of the Alto section. She played Noel, Grand Jeu et Duo by Louis-Claude Daquin for the offertory.
Both concerts were well attended.
Recordings of selected works from the concerts will be posted later this week as part of the Christmas Worship online service.
Photos courtesy of Carla Granat.
Joyful!Noise Concerts
This community choir, whose mission is "to be the community we want to see in the world, and to reach out to the broader community with joy," rehearses and performs at Seattle First Baptist. Several church members and friends are active in the choir. Joyful!Noise gave two concerts at SFBC recently. These photos are from the concert on Sunday, December 14.
December 14 - Third Sunday in Advent
Photos from Worship
The Children, Youth and Families choir under the direction of Belle Chenault played and sang Silent Night. Linda Zaugg led the congregation in the German version of the Christmas favorite in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Christmas Truce during World War I, when German and British soldiers put down their arms and gathered in No Man's Land to sing together.
Pastor Ned Allyn Parker demonstrated how to participate in next week's Do-It-Yourself Christmas Pageant.
Michelle Horsley and Larry Green combined on a touching rendition of "Some Children See Him" at the conclusion of Pastor Tim Phillips' sermon All Our Children Matter.
Today was the last service for Pastor Craig Darling as part of the SFBC pastoral staff. Craig officially retires on Monday, December 15. A celebration is planned for January 11.
The Children, Youth and Families choir under the direction of Belle Chenault played and sang Silent Night. Linda Zaugg led the congregation in the German version of the Christmas favorite in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Christmas Truce during World War I, when German and British soldiers put down their arms and gathered in No Man's Land to sing together.
Pastor Ned Allyn Parker demonstrated how to participate in next week's Do-It-Yourself Christmas Pageant.
Michelle Horsley and Larry Green combined on a touching rendition of "Some Children See Him" at the conclusion of Pastor Tim Phillips' sermon All Our Children Matter.
Today was the last service for Pastor Craig Darling as part of the SFBC pastoral staff. Craig officially retires on Monday, December 15. A celebration is planned for January 11.
Adult Learning
David Bloom concluded a three-week series on Walter Rauschenbusch and the Social Gospel with a small group discussion focused on the following question:
What would it mean for Seattle First Baptist Church to self-identify itself as a Social Gospel congregation committed to the principles that have been set forth in the study of Walter Rauschenbusch and the Social Gospel?
Feedback from the small groups was recorded and will be discussed further.
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Getting Ready for Christmas Concerts
The Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra are hard at work preparing for next weekend's Christmas concerts, Sing Noel. The following photos are from the rehearsal on Saturday, December 13.
December 7 - Second Sunday in Advent
Photos from Worship
The Champoux family lit the Advent Candles while the congregation sang "O Come, All Ye Faithful." Susan Blythe-Goodman shared a Time with Children. Gretchen Champoux participated in worship. Pastor Ned Allyn Parker was very animated while delivering the sermon.
The Champoux family lit the Advent Candles while the congregation sang "O Come, All Ye Faithful." Susan Blythe-Goodman shared a Time with Children. Gretchen Champoux participated in worship. Pastor Ned Allyn Parker was very animated while delivering the sermon.
Adult Learning
David Bloom continued his series on Walter Rauschenbusch and the Social Gospel. The series concludes next week.
This week's material included discussion of the "Brotherhood of the Kingdom," a group of leading thinkers and advocates of the Social Gospel founded in 1892. Rauschenbusch published a leaflet that became their manifesto. It included the following:
"We desire to see the Kingdom of God once more the great object of Christian preaching; the inspiration of Christian hymnology; the foundation of systematic theology; the enduring motive of evangelistic and missionary work; the religious inspiration of social work and the object to which a Christian man surrenders his life, and in that surrender saves out to eternal life; the common object in which all religious bodies find their unity; the great synthesis in which the regeneration of the spirit, the enlightenment of the intellect, the development of the body, the reform of political life, the sanctification of industrial life, and all that concerns the redemption of humanity shall be embraced."
Bloom offered that one way to summarize the Social Gospel is "God loves working people," and cares about their lives, working conditions and compensation.
He asked: "What is the legacy of the Social Gospel for us in this place, in this city? What could it mean for us?"
David Bloom continued his series on Walter Rauschenbusch and the Social Gospel. The series concludes next week.
This week's material included discussion of the "Brotherhood of the Kingdom," a group of leading thinkers and advocates of the Social Gospel founded in 1892. Rauschenbusch published a leaflet that became their manifesto. It included the following:
"We desire to see the Kingdom of God once more the great object of Christian preaching; the inspiration of Christian hymnology; the foundation of systematic theology; the enduring motive of evangelistic and missionary work; the religious inspiration of social work and the object to which a Christian man surrenders his life, and in that surrender saves out to eternal life; the common object in which all religious bodies find their unity; the great synthesis in which the regeneration of the spirit, the enlightenment of the intellect, the development of the body, the reform of political life, the sanctification of industrial life, and all that concerns the redemption of humanity shall be embraced."
Bloom offered that one way to summarize the Social Gospel is "God loves working people," and cares about their lives, working conditions and compensation.
He asked: "What is the legacy of the Social Gospel for us in this place, in this city? What could it mean for us?"
November 30 - First Sunday in Advent
Photos from Worship
Pastor Ned Allyn Parker invited the children and congregation to join in singing This Little Light of Mine. Brent Bouldin read an excerpt from The Pine Island Paradox by Kathleen Dean Moore and the Gospel reading. Pastor Catherine Fransson shared the message. See the Worship page for this Sunday for more.
Pastor Ned Allyn Parker invited the children and congregation to join in singing This Little Light of Mine. Brent Bouldin read an excerpt from The Pine Island Paradox by Kathleen Dean Moore and the Gospel reading. Pastor Catherine Fransson shared the message. See the Worship page for this Sunday for more.
Adult Learning
David Bloom began a series on Walter Rauschenbusch and the Social Gospel. Two books, Christianity and the Social Crisis and A Theology for the Social Gospel were referenced heavily.
Bloom included Rauschenbusch's Six Social Sins in this class, as follows:
"As one looks across human history with a mind enlightened by the thought of the Kingdom of God, (a person) sees a few great permanent evils which have blighted the life of the race and of every individual in it ... I have been impressed with the fact that so many of them plainly converged on Jesus and had a part in doing him to death." (from A Theology for the Social Gospel)
Six Social Sins or Evils that Rauschenbusch says killed Jesus and that continue to kill Jesus in the lives of the people today:
David Bloom began a series on Walter Rauschenbusch and the Social Gospel. Two books, Christianity and the Social Crisis and A Theology for the Social Gospel were referenced heavily.
Bloom included Rauschenbusch's Six Social Sins in this class, as follows:
"As one looks across human history with a mind enlightened by the thought of the Kingdom of God, (a person) sees a few great permanent evils which have blighted the life of the race and of every individual in it ... I have been impressed with the fact that so many of them plainly converged on Jesus and had a part in doing him to death." (from A Theology for the Social Gospel)
Six Social Sins or Evils that Rauschenbusch says killed Jesus and that continue to kill Jesus in the lives of the people today:
- Religious bigotry: The use of religion to demand conformity and exclusivism.
- The combination of graft and political power: When those who are in political control are able to use it for "selfish and predatory ends, turning into private profit what ought to serve the common good."
- The corruption of justice: The existence of injustice in society is "worse when the social institution set up in the name of justice gives its support to injustice." The legal system of his day, and of ours, was stacked against the poor.
- Mob spirit and action: The deliberate manipulation of the masses for destructive purposes. "Entire nations may come under the mob spirit, and abdicate their judgment."
- Militarism: Militarism killed Jesus. "With his arrest Jesus fell into the hands of the military machine." And it is militarism that is literally killing thousands of Americans due to our neglect of health care, affordable housing, food, education, treatment for mental illness, and help for those who suffer from the trap of drug and alcohol addiction. It is militarism that is killing the least of these, as Jesus called them, just as it killed him.
- Class contempt: Class pride and class contempt is "the direct negation of solidarity and love." The class system "is a sinful denial of the Kingdom of God, and one of the characteristic marks of the Kingdom of Evil." He predicted in 1917 that if the economic conditions of his day went unchanged that we would ultimately see a rigid class system in America.
Thanksgiving Sunday, November 23
Shout for Joy
Instrumentalists of all ages and abilities joined the congregation, choir and soloists in a lively rendition of Psalm 100 during the worship service. This was the final psalm in our fall series.
Pastor Ned Allyn Parker shared a lesson about a donut with the children.
Pastor Tim Phillips introduced the guest preacher for the day, Rev. David Bloom.
See the Thanksgiving Sunday page under Worship for more about the psalm and the service.
Instrumentalists of all ages and abilities joined the congregation, choir and soloists in a lively rendition of Psalm 100 during the worship service. This was the final psalm in our fall series.
Pastor Ned Allyn Parker shared a lesson about a donut with the children.
Pastor Tim Phillips introduced the guest preacher for the day, Rev. David Bloom.
See the Thanksgiving Sunday page under Worship for more about the psalm and the service.
New Assistance for the Hearing Impaired
A new system is being installed to assist people with hearing impairments. An information session took place right after worship. The new system will be active beginning Dec. 7. See Rev. David Kile for more information.
A new system is being installed to assist people with hearing impairments. An information session took place right after worship. The new system will be active beginning Dec. 7. See Rev. David Kile for more information.
Bake Sale
ABW sponsored a bake sale during Fellowship Hour. Delicious goodies were available in a variety of quantities.
ABW sponsored a bake sale during Fellowship Hour. Delicious goodies were available in a variety of quantities.
Greening of the Sanctuary
A large crew worked after the worship service to Sunday to decorate the Sanctuary and other parts of the church for Christmas. Patrick Green and Sterling Morris directed traffic as everyone pitched in to fluff greens, set up trees, and hang wreaths. The crew shared a delicious lunch before setting to work.
A large crew worked after the worship service to Sunday to decorate the Sanctuary and other parts of the church for Christmas. Patrick Green and Sterling Morris directed traffic as everyone pitched in to fluff greens, set up trees, and hang wreaths. The crew shared a delicious lunch before setting to work.
Adult Learning
Rabbi Olivier BenHaim of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue concluded his three-week series of Torah Study by exploring the story of Isaac, Rebekah and their children Esau and Jacob as related in Genesis 25. When she was pregnant, Rebekah felt twins struggling in her womb. She speaks to God directly, and God answers her directly:
“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
Rabbi Olivier BenHaim of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue concluded his three-week series of Torah Study by exploring the story of Isaac, Rebekah and their children Esau and Jacob as related in Genesis 25. When she was pregnant, Rebekah felt twins struggling in her womb. She speaks to God directly, and God answers her directly:
“Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”
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Sunday, November 16
Craig Darling's Last Sermon before Retirement
Pastor Craig Darling reflected on 21 years at Seattle First Baptist on Sunday. He recalled three significant events and many people who were important in his life at SFBC in his sermon, If These Walls Could Speak. Many friends, including one from Dingle, Ireland, joined Craig for the occasion. Congregation President Leroy Johnson and Past President Renna Pierce honored Craig's ministry. Renna was President when Craig was called to Seattle First Baptist to found Companis. A celebration of Craig's ministry with us is planned for January 11.
Also during the worship service, Pastor Ned Allyn Parker entertained the children with a phone call to his parents, and Pastor Catherine Fransson and Choir Director Vicky Thomas led the congregation in the day's Psalm reading.
Pastor Craig Darling reflected on 21 years at Seattle First Baptist on Sunday. He recalled three significant events and many people who were important in his life at SFBC in his sermon, If These Walls Could Speak. Many friends, including one from Dingle, Ireland, joined Craig for the occasion. Congregation President Leroy Johnson and Past President Renna Pierce honored Craig's ministry. Renna was President when Craig was called to Seattle First Baptist to found Companis. A celebration of Craig's ministry with us is planned for January 11.
Also during the worship service, Pastor Ned Allyn Parker entertained the children with a phone call to his parents, and Pastor Catherine Fransson and Choir Director Vicky Thomas led the congregation in the day's Psalm reading.
Adult Learning
Rabbi Olivier BenHaim of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue continued a three-week series of Torah Study. He explained his belief that scripture contains stories whose purpose is to elucidate what is within us beyond the literal translation. "I don't need it to be real. It is true enough."
This week's class focused on the story of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac in Genesis 21 - 24. Rabbi Olivier pointed out similarities between the story of Isaac and the life of Jesus, beginning with immaculate conceptions. Careful reading of the text calls out many inconsistencies with our traditional interpretation of the story. For example, when Abraham went to a mountain to sacrifice Isaac, the son is often presented as a small boy. Some Torah scholars calculate that he was actually 37 years old at the time. Others read the story to mean that Isaac was actually sacrificed, and then returned three years later from the Well of the Vision of Life.
The class concludes with a final session next week.
Rabbi Olivier BenHaim of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue continued a three-week series of Torah Study. He explained his belief that scripture contains stories whose purpose is to elucidate what is within us beyond the literal translation. "I don't need it to be real. It is true enough."
This week's class focused on the story of Abraham, Sarah and Isaac in Genesis 21 - 24. Rabbi Olivier pointed out similarities between the story of Isaac and the life of Jesus, beginning with immaculate conceptions. Careful reading of the text calls out many inconsistencies with our traditional interpretation of the story. For example, when Abraham went to a mountain to sacrifice Isaac, the son is often presented as a small boy. Some Torah scholars calculate that he was actually 37 years old at the time. Others read the story to mean that Isaac was actually sacrificed, and then returned three years later from the Well of the Vision of Life.
The class concludes with a final session next week.
Saturday, November 15 - Another busy day at SFBC
Music, laughter, conversation and the sounds of food preparation mingled on Saturday during another busy day at Seattle First Baptist. The Burrito Roll gang gathered in Fridell Lounge and prepared burritos for our neighbors need. Meanwhile in the Sanctuary entertainers and audience members enjoyed Evergreen Has Talent, a benefit for the Euro Caucus of the Evergreen Association of Baptist Churches which included a talent show and a silent auction.
Anne Lamott at Seattle First Baptist
The popular author filled the sanctuary to capacity for a presentation about her latest book, Small Victories, on Wednesday, November 12. Pastor Tim Phillips introduced Anne to an appreciative, attentive audience.
Additional photos courtesy of Bob Sittig.
Additional photos courtesy of Bob Sittig.
Sunday, November 9
Adult Learning
Rabbi Olivier BenHaim of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue began a three-week series of Torah Study by saying, "There is no one way of understanding what the Hebrew scriptures are saying." Some points he made were:
There are four levels to Rabbinic study of scripture:
The class focused on the first few verses of Genesis 18, where God appears to Abraham. Various translations pointed out how bizarre the encounter was: Abraham just stayed sitting, for example, and did not stand up or bow down to God. Rabbi Rashi, a medieval Torah scholar, explained that this was because Abraham was still recovering from being circumsized. Rabbi Olivier gave a different interpretation: that Abraham encountered God while meditating.
The class will continue for the next two Sundays.
Rabbi Olivier BenHaim of Bet Alef Meditative Synagogue began a three-week series of Torah Study by saying, "There is no one way of understanding what the Hebrew scriptures are saying." Some points he made were:
There are four levels to Rabbinic study of scripture:
- Peshat, the literal reading
- Remez, the "hinted at" or allegorical reading
- Derash, the mythical or deeper reading
- Sod, the mystical reading, where even the words don't matter any more
The class focused on the first few verses of Genesis 18, where God appears to Abraham. Various translations pointed out how bizarre the encounter was: Abraham just stayed sitting, for example, and did not stand up or bow down to God. Rabbi Rashi, a medieval Torah scholar, explained that this was because Abraham was still recovering from being circumsized. Rabbi Olivier gave a different interpretation: that Abraham encountered God while meditating.
The class will continue for the next two Sundays.
Moments from Worship
Bob Nicholson led the Gathering.
Sterling Morris helped Patrick Green deliver the Time with Children by decorating Pastor Ned Allyn Parker for the holidays. The children lent a hand. Everyone is invited to help decorate the sanctuary after service on Sunday, November 23. See Announcements for more details.
Michelle Horsley and Jim Ginn performed an organ piece for four hands and four feet.
We brought our pledges for 2015 forward.
Bob Nicholson led the Gathering.
Sterling Morris helped Patrick Green deliver the Time with Children by decorating Pastor Ned Allyn Parker for the holidays. The children lent a hand. Everyone is invited to help decorate the sanctuary after service on Sunday, November 23. See Announcements for more details.
Michelle Horsley and Jim Ginn performed an organ piece for four hands and four feet.
We brought our pledges for 2015 forward.
Explore!
Bob Sittig hosted the first session of the latest Explore! series, for people interested in learning more about Seattle First Baptist. Sessions 2 and 3 of the series take place over the next two Sundays.
Bob Sittig hosted the first session of the latest Explore! series, for people interested in learning more about Seattle First Baptist. Sessions 2 and 3 of the series take place over the next two Sundays.
Our Organ gets a Tune Up
Our historic Aeolian Skinner organ received some TLC recently courtesy of Richard Bond of Bond Organ Builders. Our organist Michelle Horsley captured these images of the process. Ask Michelle if you'd like a description of the work done. It has something to do with replacing a thing that looks like a mechanical toe (see picture below).
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Sunday, November 2
Photos from Worship
Ethan Jones, Nancy Roberts-Brown and Abid Bhatti led a reading of Psalm 107: Thanks be to God. Pastor Tim Phillips preached to the choir as well as the congregation. Communion was served by Pastors Catherine Fransson and Craig Darling. As part of All Saints Day, the columbarium was opened for visits.
Ethan Jones, Nancy Roberts-Brown and Abid Bhatti led a reading of Psalm 107: Thanks be to God. Pastor Tim Phillips preached to the choir as well as the congregation. Communion was served by Pastors Catherine Fransson and Craig Darling. As part of All Saints Day, the columbarium was opened for visits.
Adult Learning
Bill Malcomson concluded his four-part series on Islam. He focused on the work of Tariq Ramadan, a prominent academic, author, and Muslim who advocates the study and re-interpretation of Islam, and emphasizes the heterogeneous nature of Western Muslims. Bill shared many quotes from Ramadan's work. Following are a few points he raised. The quotes are not exact:
Several books by Tariq Ramadan that Bill referenced are shown below.
Bill Malcomson concluded his four-part series on Islam. He focused on the work of Tariq Ramadan, a prominent academic, author, and Muslim who advocates the study and re-interpretation of Islam, and emphasizes the heterogeneous nature of Western Muslims. Bill shared many quotes from Ramadan's work. Following are a few points he raised. The quotes are not exact:
- The Quran say: Had God so willed He would have made you a single community. Interpretation - God did not will humanity to belong to a single religion.
- Tolerating people of other religions is not enough. We must respect the other as our equal, our mirror, our question.
- Interpreting scripture involves three steps. 1. Quote the sources - the literal translation. 2. Explain different readings or interpretations that other scholars have offered over time. 3. Take into account the context in which we live.
- Between 75 and 80% of people who identify as Muslim living in Western cultures are not observant, or only somewhat observant.
- Islam has no problem with women, but many Muslim apparently do.
- Islamophobia should be as unacceptable as antisemitism.
Several books by Tariq Ramadan that Bill referenced are shown below.
