A Monthly Newsletter of the Southwestern Washington Synod - ELCA | |
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Synod Staff
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Synod Events
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Transitions
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On The Road With the Staff Archive
Find out what our staff has been doing throughout the year HERE
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In This Month's Edition:
A Word from Bishop Rick Jaech
A Word from the Synod Staff
On the Road with the Staff
Storytelling - "We have more in common than we think we do..." - Pastor Marietta Nelson-Bittle, Spirit of Life Lutheran Church, Port Orchard
Ministry Voices - Design for Peace
ELCA Churchwide - "Christmas Joy" by ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton
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Dear Friends,
The Yale church historian, Roland Bainton, combed through the Christmas sermons of Martin Luther to pull out the highlights. On one Christmas Eve, Luther marveled at the faith and trust with which Mary opened herself to God’s world-changing action. Luther said to his congregation in Wittenberg that Christmas,
“Her name was Mary. I think she was probably an orphan. And the angel said to her, ‘Dear Mary, you are more blessed than any woman that ever lived or ever shall live. For you shall bear a child, and you shall call his name Jesus. And he shall sit upon the throne of his father David, and of his kingdom there shall be no end.’
Mary was flesh and blood. She said, ‘How can these things be?’ And Gabriel said, You’ve asked too big a one for me, Mary. I don’t know. But the spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and you will not know yourself how it has come to pass.’
And Mary believed.’” Then Luther said, “There are three wonders here: one, that God should become human; another, that a virgin should bear a child; and the third, that Mary believed. And this is the greatest of the three.”
In this Advent of 2024, to what is God inviting us to open ourselves? Where is God entering to bring new life to people and the world and inviting us to be bearers of that new life? I pray that the third great wonder will happen to us as it did to Mary: that the Spirit will agitate you and I to trust and say ‘Yes’ to God, no matter how much it turns our lives upside down.
In another Christmas sermon, Martin Luther bluntly tells the people of Wittenberg that, if they are opened and set free by God’s grace to new life, it must make a visible difference in their daily treatment of the people around them, especially the homeless and refugees. Luther said in that Christmas sermon.
“The inn was full. No one would release a room to this pregnant woman. She had to go to a cow stall and there bring forth the Maker of all creatures because nobody would give way. Shame on you, wretched Bethlehem! The inn ought to have been burned with brimstone, for even though Mary had been a beggar maid or unwed, anybody at such a time would have been glad to give her a hand. There are many of you in this congregation who think to yourselves: ‘If only I had been there! How quick I would have been to help the baby! I would have washed his linen! How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!’ Yes you would! You say that because you know how great Christ is, but if you had been there at that time you would have done no better than the people of Bethlehem. Why don't you do it now? You have Christ in your neighbor. You ought to serve your neighbor, for what you do to your neighbor in need you do to the Lord Christ himself.”
What would Martin Luther preach to us about the homeless in our cities? What would Luther say to us about the refugee mothers and children needing shelter at our southern borders? More importantly, how is Christ calling us to open ourselves to God’s grace and then to live out that grace in concrete actions to others, whatever the cost?
As we journey through Advent and Christmas, may the wonder of new birth once again stir in us. May we, with Mary, be moved by the Spirit to say, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.”
In Christ,
Bishop Rick Jaech
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A Word from the Synod Staff | |
This morning my 8 month old was playing on the floor in the living room while I was getting ready for the day. I checked on him and found he had rolled under the tree. I moved him away from the tree and got him set up with toys. I came back in the room a few minutes later and he was even farther under the tree, living his best life – enjoying a toy while staring up at a tree filled with lights. As I pulled him out from under the tree, I thought to myself, “I don’t blame you for being under the tree.”
When was the last time you laid down under the Christmas tree? Have you ever looked up at the green boughs full of light and bearing ornaments that hold memories from your life? When was the last time you changed your perspective and seen things differently?
In this Advent season we wait with hope and anticipation for what is to come. A baby to be born. A baby whose life consistently defied what was expected - from birth in a manger to flipping tables outside the temple, from touching the untouchables to being executed by the government. Not the savior that people were expecting but the Savior we all need.
As we wait and prepare this Advent season, how can we open ourselves up to new possibilities? How can we open ourselves up to things not going the way we hope and expect? To look up from under the tree into the fullness of branches twinkling with memories and open to space for new opportunities to form in unexpected places?
Advent blessings to you from the view under my tree 🎄,
Pastor Melissa Anderson Trust
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As a native of Scotland and an immigrant to the shores of the Pacific Northwest, I’m not a stranger to a long, dark winter. This season, though, a kind of winter dark and cold has drawn in that puts our Advent theology to the test.
Do we truly have eyes that have been transformed, capable of discerning the faintest hope at the darkest time? Can we see in the vulnerable baby, born in the throes of occupation, corruption and violence, a light that casts out all darkness?
For me, it is a strenuous daily - if not hourly - practice to try to look and see with eyes of Hope and anticipation. In practicing, and failing, at this discipline, I have learned a few things that I have found don’t work. First - let’s not rely on the leaders of this world for too much of our hope. We have all been let down too many times. Advent is a season for remembering our prophetic distance from the Herods of this world, for whom Jesus’ birth represents a profound threat.
Second, let’s not confuse hope with optimism. Hope is not when the evidence is looking good, it is an orientation to the world that ultimately refuses to be shaped by dread and despair. Third, let’s not ignore or expel our doubt, our pain and our anxiety in the name of a shallow, narrow, cheerfulness that looks a bit like hope. Hope is only possible when it is truthfully found in the midst of our honesty, in all its messiness.
This Advent, we are looking for signs of holy hope. In our work we see glimmers everywhere church members turn to one another and to their neighbors with an open heart, and take the risk of an honest and vulnerable conversation. We see holy hope where churches are allowing dreams to emerge for the future of their land and buildings that might involve letting go of things that have been dear to us. We see holy hope where the other - whoever that is for you - is welcomed as a sibling.
Friends, where is holy hope visible to you in this time of dark and cold? Together, let’s have the eyes to see it, and the courage to nurture it, like the vulnerable Jesus until all of us are changed.
Merry Christmas!
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Advent Blessings to you!
I hope you get to make time for some peace and quiet this Advent season. I pray that you get to breathe in a little bit of the wonderous anticipation of our Savior's birth and you get to spend this season with the ones near and dear to you. May your days be filled with joy and laughter and may the new year bring you prosperity!
For me this year has been a year of learning new and exciting things here at the Synod office. I am grateful for my wonderful colleagues, who have welcomed me into their midst and who allow me to thrive in my position. I am looking forward to this next year as we are preparing for the Bishop's Convocation in January and then the Synod Assembly in June. A lot of change will be upon us and I am reminding myself that change is an opportunity for growth and discovery.
I was given the chance to meet some of you lovely people this past year, and I am hopeful to meet many more of you, as I continue to grow into my role here at the Synod office.
I appreciate all of you and your ministries and I am excited to be part of the Southwestern Washington Synod!
Many Blessings to you and yours,
Stefanie
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On the Road with the Staff | |
October 20
Bishop worships with Twin Harbors Lutheran Church and South Beach Presbyterian Church in Grayland, WA
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October 24 - 26
Bishop attends a Board of Regents meeting at Californian Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA.
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November 3
Bishop leads worship at Family of Christ Lutheran Church in Vancouver, WA
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November 11 - 15
Pastor Melissa Anderson Trust and some of the other Region 1 DEMs at the DEM Gathering in Chicago. (L to R: Pr. Lisa Smith Fiegel, Alaska; Pr. Jude Brennan, NWWA; Pr. Melissa; Pr. Kay Wittman, Montana; Pr. Liv Larson Adrews, NW Intermountain)
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November 16 and 17
Bishop ordains and installs Rev. Callie Moothart, pastor at Christ Lutheran Church, Federal Way.
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November 17
Bishop attends the annual fundraising dinner for Faith Action Network with members of Beautiful Savior and St. Paul, Vancouver
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November 24
Pastor Melissa Anderson Trust and her son attended worship at Saron Lutheran/First Presbyterian the Sunday after lighting struck the church's steeple. Here Saron/First's pastor, Pastor Michelle de Beauchamp Olafson gives the Children's Message and allows the kids to touch and feel a piece of the copper cross that used to sit on top of the Steeple.
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December 1
Pastor Dan Wilson (far right) at the Installation of Pastor JT Burk at Agnus Dei Lutheran Church in Tacoma.
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December 3
Bishop presides at the Advent Eucharist service with rostered leaders of the Mt. Rainier, Evergreen, Tacoma Narrows, and Tacoma SW conferences.
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December 5
Bishop presides at the Advent Eucharist with rostered leaders of the Olympic and Peninsula Conferences.
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December 8
Bishop participates in the 50th Anniversary of Consecration of Deaconess Grace Jewett, held at St. Andrew Lutheran, Vancouver, where Pastor Cindy Bauldree serves.
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December 10
Bishop presides at the Advent Eucharist with rostered leaders of the South Sound and Coastal Conferences.
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December 12
Bishop presides at the Advent Eucharist with rostered leaders of the Fort Vancouver and Lower Columbia Conferences.
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Every month we feature a new story from and/or about one of our worshiping communities with the desire to inspire, inform and build community! Each story can be found on our website at https://swwasynod.org/home/news/stories-of-shalom/. Do you have a story to tell? Contact us at swwsynod@plu.edu.
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“We have more in common than we think we do…”
Leading up to the potentially divisive election season, Pastor Marietta Nelson-Bittle of Spirit of Life Lutheran Church in Port Orchard decided to do some, in her words, “preventative pastoral care.”
Building off of a Sanctified Art worship series called “I’ve Been Meaning to Ask,” Pastor Marietta created an experimental worship experience called “Conversation Church.” This was a worship service entirely focused around opportunities for one to one time and connections, both new and deepened, within her congregation.
It began with intentionality around the worship space. “We have a multi-purpose room,” Pastor Marietta explained, “so we could follow the early church practices of facing one another, rather than all looking at an ‘expert’ in the front.” They set up two circles, one inside of another, and people sat across from one another.
Worship began with a lectio divina on John 14, “as I have loved you, love one another,” and continued with a new song about acceptance before the main event – in place of the sermon was thirty minutes of individual, one to one conversation.
There were four questions:
What or who feels most like home to you and why?
What is something you have learned about yourself in the past year?
Share a key moment in your faith journey – how did that moment shape what you believe today?
Share a memory related to food – a family recipe, a baking ritual, or time with family.
After this unique experience, during what would usually be prayers of the community people were invited to put a reflection on an index card and put it up on a special board for that day.
People wrote things on their cards like “I never knew this about so and so…”
“We have more in common than we think we do”
Why was this kind of experiment important at Spirit of Life? In the last three years, there have been 30 new members. Coffee conversations weren’t enough to build lasting bonds that could survive tumultuous seasons – there needed to be permission and opportunity to ask curated, in depth questions.
It was important to communicate that this would be a day of “everything different” during worship. Pastor Marietta wanted her people to have full knowledge of what they were getting into, up to and including a different chair arrangement! Church leadership picked an ambitious attendance number to pray for – and twice that showed up.
“It’s easy, these days, to dismiss someone based on one aspect of who they are – but when you know the answers to questions like this it’s easier to feel connection and to see others as siblings in Christ.”
The aftermath? People staying longer for fellowship. People who have never been seen in conversation before make a point to connect. People say they even learned things about others they have known for twenty years.
Community is something that people in every demographic are struggling with in this era. Spirit of Life has found a new way of helping people belong – knowing others and being known.
~ by Synod Storyteller Chavaleh Forgey
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Design for Peace
If you've attended synod events over the past year, you may have heard the name “Design for Peace.” Supported by the Southwestern Washington Synod, the Lilly Foundation, the UMC, and other ecumenical partners, Design for Peace is an ecumenical resource dedicated to fostering ministries of place across Southwestern Washington, cultivating an ecology of peace in our region.
At the heart of our work is the vision of Shalom—God’s peace and the Kingdom of God—where people of faith are called to steward creation toward justice, reconciliation, and healing. Many churches share this vision, but systems of white supremacy, capitalism, and our dominant culture often lead us away from this calling and into isolation. Design for Peace works with communities of faith seeking Shalom in their local contexts, inviting them into a regional ecology of resources and leaders and accompanying them through discernment, design, and experimentation in ministries of peace.
Over the last year, this work has unfolded in several ways. This month marks the conclusion of our third annual Faith Land Stewardship Cohort, a six-month journey with eleven congregations across Southwestern Washington exploring how they might steward their land and buildings toward a collective vision of Shalom. Central to this work is the recognition that physical place matters deeply in embodying Shalom. Churches, as physical spaces where people gather, steward land and space, and thus, power to shape their communities. As part of this cohort, congregations have engaged in practical discernment, listening to their neighbors about what they desire for physical space in their neighborhoods. From this deep listening, churches have invested in community-guided ministries such as affordable housing, expanding food justice initiatives, and offering space for migrant housing. These ministries, rooted in place and guided by the broader community, reflect the peace and transformation we are called to embody. Some congregations from previous cohorts are now moving from this discernment to the "design" phase of their ministry. Accompanied by our team, these churches are working with consultants and developers to move forward with plans that emerged from their discernment.
We’re also wrapping up the first year of our Peace in Place cohort, where four congregations have been discerning around the current state of their resources, vocation, and context. Additionally, we continue to support “Preaching Peace,” a monthly gathering of 30 ecumenical clergy in Pierce County, who collaborate around a shared commitment to peace.
One of the emerging focuses of our work is place-based climate resilience. Over the past few years, we've worked with several congregations who have ministries related to food security and climate change, such as food ministries and warming centers. This year, we've hosted two of three webinars in our series on The Church and Climate Resilience, featuring partners from Olympia Community Solar and author Sarah Augustine. These webinars are not only about equipping churches with practical resources and knowledge to support their ministries—they’re also about connecting people in the region who are curious and passionate about climate resilience. Our hope is to build a network of like-minded individuals and congregations who can collaborate and respond collectively to these ongoing challenges.
If you’re curious about joining this growing ecology of people working toward Shalom, we invite you to visit our website at www.wedesignforpeace.org or connect with us at info@wedesignforpeace.org.
~ by Design for Peace Team Member Zoe Forbes
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Christmas Joy - Elizabeth Eaton, ELCA Presiding Bishop
In her Christmas message, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton calls our attention to the word “joy” in the angel’s proclamation to the shepherds. “Do not be afraid, for see, I am bringing you good news of a great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.’” (Luke 2:10-11). Eaton reminds us that the message of Christmas is joy, not happiness. Happiness is transient and humanmade. But joy given by God is deep and strong and unshakable. “Joy is a sign of the reign of God…Perhaps that is why in the middle of the night, to terrified shepherds, outside of a small town, God chose to send the angels to announce the birth of Jesus. No distraction. No interference. Just the simple, deep, profound gift of true and lasting joy.”
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