Broadview Community United Church of Christ



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PASTOR’S REFLECTION: from Pastor Dan

EVANGELISM

Ron Buford, the founder of the “God is Still Speaking” movement, is a brilliantly-gifted African American gay man who himself gratefully “converted” to the UCC after he and his then-boyfriend were unceremoniously dismissed from their black Pentecostal church of origin some 20 or so years ago. They were welcomed into the doors of a little UCC congregation in Cleveland, Ohio. That congregation is now one of our strongest growing multiethnic, multicultural, open and affirming, just peace, accessible to all congregations. Now just saying all that is a mouthful, but don’t laugh: the point is not to spout the lingo, the point is to walk the talk. At their best, our most self-confident congregations are not trying to be politically correct, as our detractors claim, but rather to be theologically alive and diverse and aware that GOD IS STILL SPEAKING to us. UCC cutting edge PROGRESSIVE congregations are the ones which are GROWING, don’t you know, it’s the conservative and blandly moderate ones which try to look exactly like average Baptists and Methodists down the street which are tending to languish. People are longing for welcoming, progressive, liturgically-varied communities of faith, and to the extent that we’re confident about and practiced at being a real open and affirming peace and justice church here at Broadview, to the extent that we never rest on our laurels or upon successes of the past, to the extent that we know who we are and what we stand for, we can yet tap into that huge hunger

and head into a bright and purposeful future together.

Our former UCC president John Thomas once commented on the conservative reaction to increasingly-effective UCC growth patterns and activism, saying “People have stopped laughing and have started to get mad.” Which must mean that we’re doing something right (at least in recent years we’ve gotten noticed a bit!) Rev Thomas, in assessing of the state of the denomination, says we’re poised at a very hopeful very positive turning point. We could be a real alternative to other Christian denominations, and in so being, our future potential to have strong, growing progressive congregations- is actually quite good.

Of course, our future is no foregone conclusion- either for the better or for the worse.

[continued on page 2]

TABLE OF CONTENTS Pg. #

Pastor’s Reflection 1-2

Stress - Words to Live by 3

Ordination of Peg Faulmann 4-5

Upcoming Events/Calendar 5

Opportunities for Sharing 6

People News 6

Broadview Youth News 7

Other News 7

Upcoming birthdays 7

Lectionary Readings 8

Pilgrim Firs Registration Form 9

Pastor’s Reflection continued from Page 1

And to really get good at a cross-cultural, multi-faith hospitality, at gracious receptivity to people of many races and personalities and orientations and backgrounds is no easy task; to truly welcome all with depth of inclusivity and integrity has to be one of the deepest ethical callings one can possibly pursue.

Meanwhile, it is with modesty verging on embarrassment, that I now find myself sitting in as the chair of THE committee in the Pacific NW Conference of the United Church of Christ charged to work in the area of welcoming, evangelism and church growth. I mean, who am I to be in charge of THAT? It’s a big job, and I have no track record of pastoring wildly successful, fast-growing congregations! But then: neither, of late, does the Pacific NW Conference! Only one out of six recently-funded attempts at new church starts in the Pacific NW Conference have resulted in successful new UCC congregations (results are better in some parts of the country, though hardly stellar). Many if not most of our already long-existing area congregations are at best holding their own, not gaining in numerical strength. We do have some exciting growth coming to the UCC via the adoption of already existing congregations who don’t already have a fitting wider church affiliation- for instance: one group interested in joining our UCC family is a lively Seattle area faith community consisting of mostly well-educated young people of color between the ages of 28 to 32 who appreciate UCC institutional maturity, our Open and Affirming stance, and our clarity about being both Christian and liberal at the same time. My job in part as CDC chair is to prepare us for showing readiness to welcome congregations such as these: whole congregations attracted to the UCC, but wanting to know for sure, just as individual visitors to Broadview Church want to know, that there’s a genuine place for them here. As it can be when newly-attending individuals join with us, already vibrant and lively communities of faith who like the UCC, are becoming a part of us too; they’re inspiring and renewing the body of Christ.

There are some wonderful signs of hope and new insight afoot in our Conference; I do believe that we’re blessed to have Rev Mike Denton at the helm and just upstairs in our Conference Office; there is energy, enthusiasm, and creativity afloat. In the midst of all this, I’m happy to take on this challenging church growth assignment. I do at least care about church growth. But I also realize from long experience that much wanting and wishing don’t make it so. Effective, faithful, appropriate evangelism for UCC progressives? We have our work cut out for us.

And yet Jesus encourages us, saying “Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward.” To welcome someone ‘in the name of’ means ‘while taking into consideration their primary identity’. We are, in other words, to welcome the other as they truly are. It is practically the opposite of a generalized generic friendliness; it is to listen attentively, to recognize true strengths; to make it easy to be real. Over the long haul, probably keeping it real is much more important than ‘making nice’ anyway (see Rich Gamble’s essay elsewhere in this edition).

It’s probably wise to add this concluding caveat: We may or may not grow numerically because our welcome is strong. It would seem that growth, attraction to our faith community, would indeed be a byproduct of inclusive hospitality. But even if it is not, we are to do it well anyway. We have this gospel mandate for extravagant, excessive, audacious, wholehearted hospitality, and we reach out in this way, not mainly as a means to an end, but more like art for art’s sake- hospitality is (or should be) it’s own reward. A prophet’s reward, after all, was hardly readily apparent during many a suffering prophet’s lifetime. Still: it is our gospel imperative.

Stress – Words to Live By

A young lady confidently walked around the room while leading and explaining stress management to an audience; with a raised glass of water, and everyone knew she was going to ask the ultimate question, 'half empty or half full?'..... she fooled them all... "How heavy is this glass of water?” she inquired with a smile.

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes." She continued, "and that's the way it is with stress. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden - holding stress longer and better each time practiced. So, as early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don't carry them through the evening and into the night... pick them up tomorrow.

Whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment. Relax, pick them up later after you've rested. Life is short. Enjoy it and the now 'supposed' stress that you've conquered!"

1 * Accept the fact that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue!

2 * Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.

3 * Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.

4 * Drive carefully... It's not only cars that can be recalled by their Maker.

5 * If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague

6 * If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

7 * It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others.

8 * Never buy a car you can't push.

9 * Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.

10 * Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance.

11 * Since it's the early worm that gets eaten by the bird, sleep late.

12 * When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

13 * Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

14 * Some mistakes are too much fun to make only once.

15 * We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors, but they all have to live in the same box.

16 * A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

17 * Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.

18 * Save the earth..... It's the only planet with chocolate!

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Peg Faulmann’s Ordination Manifesto

On June 26, several BCUCC folks, including Gisele Wiederhielm, Charles Cressey, Bill Kirlin-Hackett, Sam Wilson, and Pastor Dan were able to attend the ordination and installation of Rev Peg Faulmann at Keystone United Church of Christ. Rev Rich Gamble (formerly a member of BCUCC) gave the ordination sermon. Below are portions of his commentary, both about Peg and about his proposal for a statement of purpose for the Pacific NW Conference, UCC.

As a child growing up in the Roman Catholic Church, Peg Faulmann gave out pretend communion wafers to her friends but, because she was a female, she was denied the opportunity to ever become a priest. She carries with her strong feelings about the place of the feminine in the work and being of God. As she followed her calling into the UCC and seminary, Peg and her husband, Erv, moved from being business owners and landlords to being employees and tenants. She and Erv have embraced a life of growing simplicity as part of their lives of growing faith. Peg is becoming a passionate voice for justice: for women, for the impoverished and for the planet. And it is not surprising that Peg, so rooted in music, chose a song for her ordination biblical passage- The Magnificat of Mary.

In our culture we are taught to lavish praise and wealth on the wealthy and contempt upon the poor. We are taught to sacrifice our rights to obtain security, to wage war to gain peace, to trade the health of future generations for wealth today, to exclude the outsider, and fear the stranger.

Mary’s song invites us into a very different reality; where poor pregnant hillbilly teenagers can lead us in the struggle, not through military tactics, but through poetry and song and a willingness to endure hardship to embody love.

Recently, pastors and leaders of the Pacific Northwest Conference of the United Church of Christ met and discussed the need for a guiding vision. Mary offers us one today.

(below, Rev. Rich Gamble’s version of the Magnificat as a kind of bold manifesto for our day and for our denomination):

WHY WE GATHER

We gather and share songs and poetry to evoke an alternative to the soul killing, greed based, violence prone, fear generating lies that guide our world’s values and systems.

We gather to learn the stories, and songs of our alternative identity, to share unconditional love, and to share our joys and sorrows.

We gather to center ourselves in a radical alternative way that teaches us and our children how to be prophets, poets, community organizers and activists.

We turn from our traditional role of being the convenient community of niceness (and mere tolerance), and embrace our altered role in a changing world:

We are no longer the mainstream, we are the insurgents.

We are no longer the flour, we are the leaven.

We are a minority tactically employing our gifts and skills to promote a radically alternative vision of the way the world can be, must be. In so doing, we become what the world needs: articulate, creative, committed, embodiments of God’s life, changing world, changing love.

We are called to move into the life of an alien in corporate America.

We are called into broadening circles of family, and ever diminishing levels of what the world calls success:

Away from prison and bombs- towards reconciliation and reconstruction.

Away from the country clubs- into the soup lines.

[continued on Page 5]

[Ordination continued from Pg 4]

Away from upward mobility- into downward solidarity.

Away from the order of gated communities- into the chaos of poverty.

Away from fearful, narcissistic, nihilism- onto the path of peace and prosperity for humanity, for the planet and for future generations.

This is the direction to which Mary’s song called Jesus. This is the direction to which Mary’s song calls us……

Peg Faulmann, mother, prophet, pastor this is the path before you. You have been called. May God bless you on this journey and may God bless us in your leadership.

just for laughs…….

God's Problem Now  

His wife's graveside service was just barely finished, when there was a massive clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance. The little, old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, 

“Well, she's there!”

June 5 held a successful electronics recycling event hosted by Broadview Community UCC for the folks at 1 Green Planet. Our local community contributed about 1.5 tons of recycled material helping to benefit local charities, homeless shelters and food banks. Thank you to all who helped make this event a success!

Upcoming Events…..

Mark your calendars for the following events:

Labor Day Weekend Retreat at Pilgrim Firs Camp – September 2 - 4

The annual all-church retreat at Camp Pilgrim Firs near Port Orchard, WA on the Kitsap Peninsula begins with dinner on Friday and ends with worship on Sunday morning over Labor Day Weekend. Included are two nights lodging, five meals, and great company! There will be plenty of time to relax, read, hike, nap and connect. Some time each day will be on a program theme about the environment. Deadline is Sunday, August 21st –A registration form is included in this newsletter or is available at the church. You can also call the office if you would like one mailed to you. Questions? Contact Pastor Dan.

Stewardship Visitor

The Pacific Northwest Conference of the UCC welcomes The Rev. Kate Huey. Rev. Huey serves as Minister for Stewardship, Scripture, and Discipleship with Local Church Ministries. She produces the UCC weekly preaching resource, Sermon Seeds, and the Bible Study, Weekly Seeds on .

Friday, September 16 – First Church of Bellingham UCC 11:30 – 2:30 with lunch provided – Stewardship Conversation

Saturday, September 17 – Plymouth Congregational UCC, Seattle 9 – 3 pm with lunch provided – Stewardship as Spiritual Practice; Telling the Story; and Forbidden Topics in Stewardship

Sunday, September 18 – Veradale UCC

10:30 am Preaching in Worship

12:00 – 2:30 pm Stewardship Conversation with lunch provided.

These events are sponsored by the Stewardship Committee of the PNC-UCC and are free.

 Opportunities for sharing………

We continue to support Sharehouse by collecting full-sized, unopened personal hygiene items in the basket in the narthex (entry area).

We continue to support Northwest Harvest by bringing non-perishable food items and putting them in the labeled box in the narthex.

Every gift given lightens someone’s day.

People News…………

 

This year's Seattle to Portland Bicycle Trek (STP) was well-represented by BCUCC members and friends!

Bruce McLean, Pete and Walter Thorn, and Scott Pinegar were among the riders this year (note- Pastor Dan did this ride once too, back in 1998).

 Pete Thorn and Rose Bailey celebrated their 30th Anniversary this June!

Gladys Harwick celebrated her 91st birthday in late May.

 

Eric and Laurie Ford are enjoying much of their summer at their Silcox Island cabin on American Lake (where Sam and Pastor Dan recently learned that eagles and baby ducklings don't mix!). 

Laurie and Eric anticipate being at Family Camp at N-Sid-Sen in early August, and are preparing for the big August wedding of their daughter, Lizzie and her fiancé, Bobby Drown. 

The wedding will take place at a waterfront museum of old boats near Tacoma. 

Other weddings too!  Joan Henjum's son Andrew, and Pastor Dan's niece, Amy Stern.

Lin Takahashi recently endured a hospital stay due to illness and tremors; now back in her Lynnwood group residence.

People News continued……..

 

Alma Turner, always having been an up-to-date reader and life-long traveler, has of late become an autobiographical writer. 

 

and this note to Pastor Dan from Don and Claudia Hutchison

Hello from Switzerland!

 We are absolutely loving our travels here - the variety of situations we are encountering and the uninterrupted time to focus on and enjoy each other. Our three weeks in France provided a nice blend of chic Paris, historical sightseeing on the Seine river cruise, and quiet time in a small beach community in S Bordeaux.

 

When we leave Switzerland for Italy on Thursday we will have been here as guests in this little farming village for 12 days. We have settled in nicely to the bucolic atmosphere, the simple life, and indeed we feel we have become a welcome part of our host family, who stayed in our Costa Rica house last July.  Our daily routine usually includes a drive to some point of interest, and an evening stroll amid the fields and meadows, with beautiful mountains in the distance. Cows and goats come up to greet us as we pass by their grazing areas. We have visited the nearby cities of Fribourg, Neuchatel, and Montreax, attended outdoor opera in the ancient Roman amphitheater in the town of Avenches, and swum in a clear mountain lake. Some mornings I ride a bike around the farms. I think I may have been a country girl in a previous life.

 

Our next stop is a hotel in Milan for three nights, and then on to Richard and Rosamaria’s (Pastor Dan's Italian brother and sister-in-law). 

 

See you in Sept,

Claudia and Don

Do you keep up with our Broadview youth and young adults?  DID YOU KNOW?

Some of Jackson Witmer's favorite instruments are the zither, clavichord, recorder and fortepiano.

Ask recent college grad Chris Hylander about the brand new job he just landed in medical technology!

Carrie Hylander brought a host of college friends to our recent Outdoor Worship service.  She has a summer job in environmental research, and plans to be a Pilgrim Firs camp counselor too.

Christian Thorn has returned to Seattle from living in Bend, Oregon, planning to get a nursing degree;  Walter joined his dad Pete in the Seattle to Portland bike ride.

Sara Qualin is in Seattle for the summer, living with her mother and working part-time as a nanny and house/pet-sitter.  She recently joined Hans Tae Kwan Doe in Lake City to continue her practice in martial arts. She has a black belt and is qualified as an instructor. 

 Frequent visitor and friend of the congregation, Jonathan Gardner, who now lives in Vancouver, BC with his partner Jito, just celebrated his birthday and recommends Seasons restaurant in Queen Elizabeth Park for your next visit to Vancouver!

 OTHER NEWS….

Please check out our website at and our Facebook page under “Broadview Community United Church of Christ.”

For further news of the Conference, check out the Conference’s website at ; the UCC News at ; and for news about the national UCC, .

BIRTHDAYS June, July, August & Sept 2011

June

Norma Myers 6/4

Peter Doney 6/6

Kymberly Lundt 6/7

June Bender 6/11

Henry Thompson 6/15

Kay Groves 6/17

Elena Richmond 6/17

JoAnne Conard 6/18

Mary Mackenzie 6/18

Marie Fortune 6/22

David Warfield 6/22

Eileen Elliott 6/25

David Anderson 6/27

July

Vincent Lachina 7/3

Pete Thorn 7/5

Peter Kujac 7/7

Day Murti 7/14

Jeff Lundt 7/19

Frances Squaglia 7/19

August

Marilyn Andrews 8/1

Bruce MacLean 8/14

Claudia Hutchison 8/15

Neva Naf 8/21

Mary Linda Cook 8/22

Dan Clark 8/24

September

Patti Kujac 9/2

Mary Lundt 9/6

Fabiola Vargas 9/10

Joan Henjum 9/16

Dennis Hylander 9/17

Gary Law 9/22

Peter Bloch-Garcia 9/23

Lisa Denny 9/25

Happy Birthday to one and all!

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LECTIONARY READINGS

July 17 – Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Gen 28:10-19a Ps 139:1-12, 23-24 or

Wisd of Sol 12:13, 16-19 or

Isa 44:6-8 Ps 86:11-17

Rom 8:12-25

Matt 13:24-30, 36-43

Place of Blessing

July 24 – Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Gen 29:15-28 Ps 105:1-11, 45b or Ps 128 or

1 Kings 3:5-12 Ps 119:129-136

Rom 8:26-39

Matt 13:31-33, 44-52

Weaving the Future

July 31 – Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Gen 32:22-31 Ps 17:1-7, 15 or

Isa 55:1-5 Ps 145:8-9, 14-21

Rom 9:1-5

Matt 14:13-21

Face to Face

Aug 7 – Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Gen 37:1-4, 12-28 Ps 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b or

1 Kings 19:9-18 Ps 85:8-13 Rom 10:5-15

Matt 14:22-33

When All Seems Lost

Aug 14 – Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Gen 45:1-15 Ps 133 or

Isa 56:1 Ps 67

Rom 11:1-2a, 29-32

Matt 15: (10-20), 21-28

Bold Moves

Aug 21 – Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Ex 1:8-2:10 Ps 124 or

Isa 51:1:6-8 Ps 138

Rom 12 :1-8

Matt 16 :13-20

Be Transformed

Aug 28 – Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Ex 3:1-15 Ps 105:1-6, 23-26, 45b or

Jer 15:15-21 Ps 26:1-8

Rom 12:9-21

Matt 16:21-28

Spirit-Led Living

Sep 4 – Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Ex 12:1-14 Ps 149 or

Ezek 33:7-11 Ps 119:33-40

Rom 33:8-14

Matt 18 :15-20

First Sunday (Acts 17 :22-28)

Sep 11 – Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Ex 14 :19-31 Ps 114 or Ex 15 :16-11, 20-21 or

Gen 50:15-21 Ps 103:(1-7), 8-13

Rom 14:1-12

Matt 18:21-35

Land Sunday (Ps 139:7-12)

Sep 18 – Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Ex 16:2-15 Ps 105:1-6

Ps 37-45 OR Ps 145:1-8

Jon 3:10-4:11 Phil 1:21-30

Matt 20:1-16

Wilderness/Outback Sunday (Rom 8:18-27)

Sep 25 – Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Ex 17:1-7 Ps 78:1-4, 12-16 or

Ezek 18:1-4, 25-32 Ps 25:1-9

Phil 2:1-13

Matt 21:23-32

River Sunday (Rev 22:1-5)

Volunteers Needed!

We are looking for volunteers to take part in an active and involved Broadview Community UCC Nominating Committee to help identify and select our future council members. If you think you can help or have any questions, contact Pastor Dan. We need you!

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Please complete all the information below and return this form with your registration check to the Broadview Office. Checks should be made

payable to Broadview. If you are able to contribute to help others attend the retreat, we would be most grateful!

Name(s)______________________Adults @ $105

Name(s)______________________Seniors @ $95

Child/Age____________________8-12 Yrs @ $95

Child/Age____________________4-7 Yrs @ $85

Child/Age___________________ under 3 free

*If you need childcare (ages 4-12), please register by August 1:

Child/Age___________________ Child/Age___________________

Child/Age___________________ Child/Age___________________

My scholarship gift = $__________

Total enclosed: $__________

ChurcH RETREAT

CAMP PILGRIM FIRS

SEPTEMBER 2—4, 2011

Register by Sunday, August 21

Your Phone number and/or email:______________________________________

Lodging preference (check 1) Lodge______ Cabin________ No preference _________

Preferred roommate if applicable: Share room with: ______________________________________

Special Dietary needs? ___________________________________________

Transportation: Need a ride__________

Can give a ride___________________

Limited financial help is available — speak with Pastor Dan.

Details: Arrive Friday anytime after 2 PM; check-in begins at 5 PM. Price includes Friday & Saturday night accommodations (lodge or cabin, plus 5 meals (Friday dinner-Sunday breakfast). Bedding & towels provided.

Bring: clothes and toiletries, sunscreen and insect repellent, a talent for the Saturday night talent show (if you wish), flashlight, swimsuit, flip-flops, healthy snacks to share.

Join us at Camp Pilgrim Firs for a wonderful weekend

retreat with folks from Broadview, St. Paul’s, Kirkland Congregational, and Prospect Churches!

Broadview community

United Church of Christ

325 N. 125th St.

Seattle, WA 98133

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Broadview Community United Church of Christ

STEEPLE NEWS

325 N. 125TH ST., SEATTLE WA 98133

206-363-8060



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SEPTEMBER 2005

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STEEPLE NEWS

VOLUME 7: ISSUE 3

JUL AUG SEPT 2011

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