THE
CHRISTIAN COURIER
BELLINGHAM, WA
VOLUME 60 JULY 21, 2010 NUMBER 15
SHARE THE SPIRIT
November 13
Bazaar Committee Chairs Named
Bazaar
co-chairs Margaret Brown and Darlene Page will be working with a team of women
-- no men volunteers yet! -- for the annual "Sharing the Spirit"
Bazaar to raise funds for mission.
The
chairs of committees are:
- Diana Linayao-Walker Entry
Decoration
- Mary Ann Teeters Raffle
- Darlene Page Jams
and Jellies
- Ann Hall and Diana
Linayao-Walker Kitchen
- Betty Perry Bake
Sale
- Lynn Plancich Craft
Cashiers
- Connie Page Food
Cashiers
Committee
chairs needed are people to organize the set up for the bazaar and to clean the
kitchen and fellowship hall after the November 13 event. To volunteer, call Margaret Brown or Darlene
Page.
Outreach
Coordinators
Theatre
benefit for Interfaith Coalition
Interfaith
Coalition of Whatcom County will benefit from Bellingham Theatre Guild’s
performance Thursday, Sept. 23 of the 1990 off-Broadway musical hit
“Forever Plaid.”
Tickets
cost $25, and price includes a wine and hors d’oeuvres reception at 7
p.m., theatre performance at 8 p.m., and dessert at intermission.
To purchase
tickets, call Interfaith Coalition at 734-3983 or contact Interfaith board
member Brenda Riseland.
Proceeds
will support housing for homeless families and medical, dental and
behavioral-health care for individuals and families without insurance or the
means to pay for care themselves.
Discretionary
Outreach
Funds Needed
The Discretionary Outreach Fund is
used to help our own members and a few others who find themselves in a
financial bind from time to time.
This fund is administered by Pastor
Gary to give assistance in emergency situations.
If you could make a gift to the
fund, make your checks out to the church and put “Discretionary
Fund” in the memo.
Thank you for your continued
generosity!
Do you or know someone who has a spare room? Melanie McLachlan needs a place to live. Contact Melanie at 738-6598.
Renovation=change
Bring
your loose change to church for the seed fund to renovate the church’s
west bathrooms.
cONTRIBUTION
STATEMENTS
2010 Contribution
Statements from January through May 2010 are available on the table in the
fellowship hall. Please pick up yours
today.
Thank
you all,
With
gratitude and much appreciation for all the years you have shared your building
and volunteers supporting the program and children of VCS.
The
planning team
On Saturday, August 21, Agape Fellowship will meet at 6 p.m. All are invited. Contact the church office for additional information.
MARK
YOUR CALENDAR
First
Christian Church general board meeting will be held in the fellowship hall Sunday,
July 25, at 1 p.m.
Our Dear Friends and
Partners in Ministry:
We write to you with
hearts heavy with grief. Like most of the world, we have watched as the
disastrous oil spill in the Gulf
Coast has continued,
seemingly unabated. We have watched as those we have entrusted to prevent such
tragedies have puzzled over how this could have happened, and we have watched
as attempt after attempt to stop the leak has failed.
We are angry, hurt, and
disappointed. We are also well aware that your proximity to this disaster
sharpens your emotions. Beaches marked by oil, wildlife sticky with oil,
struggling economies—these are happening not just on your televisions,
but in your communities, perhaps even in your backyards. We grieve with you,
pray for you, and have hope for an end to the damage done by this spill and for
the healing of the Gulf
Coast.
We know, too, that the
damage done by hurricanes in the recent past makes your hurt all the more
palpable. We weep with you as we remember the recovery work that still needs to
happen across the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida, and we pray
with you as we anticipate the current hurricane season.
Above all, we share with
you a commitment to ministry in the midst of such uncertainty. Though our
hearts are heavy with grief, they are full of faith as well. From the office of
the General Minister and President to the seminary classrooms, God’s call
to respond continues to resonate.
Those of us who serve as
Regional and Area Ministers along the Gulf Coast are here to listen and to
respond to pastoral needs as best we can, and we are committed to connecting
you with the services you need.
Those of us at Week of
Compassion stand ready to collaborate with our regions and congregations to
help provide relief to those affected by the spill—whether that means
collaborating on recovery efforts with our ecumenical partners or providing
resources to our congregations and church members for whom the economic fallout
from this disaster is proving to be a disaster in itself.
Please let us know how we
can be of assistance. All of us make up the Church—the very Body of
Christ, and as we know from that oft-repeated letter of Paul, whenever one
member suffers, the rest of us suffer as well.
We send to you our tender
love, our fledgling hope, and prayers that the one who calls us to be signs of
grace in a harsh but holy world might continue to push us toward wholeness and
healing. In Christ’s Peace,
Dr. Beth Dobyns Transitional Area
Minister, SW Coastal Plains Area
Rev. Allen C. Allen Transitional Area
Minister, SW Bluebonnet Area
Rev. Barbara E.
Jones Executive Regional Minister, Great
River Region
Rev. Michael Elmore Regional Pastor, District
1, Great River Region
Rev. Ron Degges President, Disciples Home
Missions
Rev. Carl Zerweck Disciples Volunteering
Dr. Sharon Watkins General Minister and
President
Rev. Amy Gopp Executive Director, Week
of Compassion
Rev. John Mobley Regional Minister, Alabama and Northwest Florida
Rev. Rebecca Hale Transitional Regional
Minister, Florida
Rev. John
Richardson Regional Minister, North Carolina
Rev. Sotello Long Regional Minister, South Carolina
Rev. Dani Loving
Cartwright Regional Minister and President, Southwest
Prayer
Vigil
for Peace
in the Middle East
Wednesday,
August 18
5:30 p.m. - 6:00
p.m.
The
Inheritance of Loss, by Kiran Desai,
is the August book selection the Book Discussion Group will talk about Sunday,
August 22, at 7 p.m. Newcomers are
always welcome.
DORIS
MATZ, BEA GILFILEN’S sister is recovering from surgery at Swedish Hospital. . . Pray for MARIAN
KIRKEBY. She is having medical concerns
and is staying with her daughter. . . GEORGE STEER passed away Tuesday, July 13.
. . VELMA MCDONALD is home from the hospital. . . Pray for MARTY WITMAN who has
been hospitalized. . . Pray for ROBERT NAIDU who had open heart surgery June 7.
. . Pray for BILL PRIBILSKY he has been moved to Mt. Baker
Care. . . MARY WESTON has gone back to her home at Summit Place. . . Pray for CONNIE PAGE who suffered a stroke
and for her parents CHUCK & DARLEEN. . . Pray for DON DICKINSON, BARBARA
DICKINSON’S father, who has bone cancer. Pray for the well-being of HELEN
LANGFITT, JOAN POLLACK’S mother. . . Pray for ETHAN POWERS, BOB &
MARIAN CRIM’S 4-year-old great-grandson.
He has a rare infection that is attacking his bones. . . MARY ANN
TEETER’S sister Christy Bennett's "adopted" 3-year-old grandson
Noah Smith, has been diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease and is undergoing chemo.
. . Pray for guidance for ELLEN ERICKSON’S husband MARC. . Please
continue prayers for LINDA NUNAMAKER’S sister PAM. . . Pray for DOUG and
LIZ SEARLES, our Global Mission partners. . . Pray for Regional Minister Rev.
Sandy Messick; General Minister & President Rev. Sharon Watkins; Yakama
Christian Mission. . Please keep the DISCIPLES HOUSE FAMILY in your prayers. Please pray for all TROOPS INVOLVED IN WORLD
CONFLICT. Please submit written requests, if you want ongoing prayers printed and
let us know when requests should be removed.
July
13, 2010
Saturday
evening July 10th in St. Louis, I had
the opportunity to attend Hope for Haiti – An Evening of Music
to Benefit our Haitian Neighbors.
The
event was inspired by the prayer of Ray, a child from Epiphany United Church of
Christ in St. Louis who prayed that his church
would do something to help the people of Haiti. Mary Albert, pastor at Epiphany, gathered a
group together and Hope for Haiti
emerged.
Over
20 UCC and Disciples congregations from the greater St. Louis area, along with several
individuals and The Deaconess Foundation signed on as co-sponsors.
Karen
Elizabeth Hylton, who grew up at Centennial Christian Church and UCC musician
and justice advocate Bryan Sirchio presented a diverse, moving concert. A silent auction was held at intermission. I had the opportunity to bring greetings,
thank folks for their support and provide a brief update on the earthquake
relief ministries being supported by Global Ministries, One Great Hour of Sharing
and Week of Compassion. I focused on
CONASPEH's work, as they were the designated recipient for the proceeds from
the concert. Over $10,000 was raised.
It
was a grand evening – folks were still buzzing on Sunday morning –
grateful for the opportunity to join together as UCC and Disciples to remember
Haitian sisters and brothers and contribute to the recovery work of CONASPEH.
Peace,
Susan Sanders
United
Church of Christ
Minister
for Global Sharing of Resources
One
Great Hour of Sharing Administrator
18th Annual
School Supply Drive
The Opportunity Council is hosting
its 18th Annual Community School
Supply Drive in August to help children who are
homeless or in very low-income families.
On Wednesday, Aug. 4, businesses,
organizations and individuals are invited to bring school supplies and
financial donations to the school buses parked at the Opportunity Council, 1111 Cornwall Ave.,
downtown Bellingham.
KAFE 104.3 FM radio station is promoting this event.
For more information call the
Opportunity Council, 734-5121, or tune into the radio stations.
Opportunity Council staff said
every year they have a long list of students in need of school supplies and this
year they expect an increased number of students will need help.
""Everyone’s trying
to make ends meet these days, especially families with children in
school,” said Jim Cozad, Opportunity Council housing case manager. “The school supply drive is a great
community service that helps many children and families get ready to start the
school year prepared and ready to learn.
Contributions make a positive difference in the lives of homeless and
low-income children throughout school districts across Whatcom County.”
Financial donations are used to
purchase school supplies for children, help pay for school fees, transportation
costs, extracurricular activities, and provide other types of support to the
homeless families with school aged children.
Contributions can be mailed to the Opportunity Council, 1111 Cornwall Ave.
Suite C, Bellingham, WA 98225.
FIRST CHRISTIAN
CHURCH
(Disciples of Christ)
495 East Bakerview
Rd Bellingham, WA 98226
360-734-6820 - Fax: 360-734-6821
Email: fccdoc@hotmail.com
Website: www.bhamfcc.com
Mission Statement
First Christian Church (Disciples of
Christ) is called to be a Christ-centered faith community, engaging in the
ongoing ministry of Jesus, and inviting all people to experience His love and
practice His message.
SUMMER SUNDAY
SCHEDULE
10:30 a.m. – Worship
After Worship Coffee Hour
OFFICE HOURS
Monday – Friday
9 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
STAFF
Gary Shoemaker – Pastor
Lynne Baxter –
Administrative Assistant
Anni Brooks – Accompanist
Aaron Pinkston – Youth
Director
OFFICERS
Aaron Pinkston – Chair
Lynn Plancich – Secretary
Pat McGovern – Treasurer
