On Thursday, Jan. 29th, ten early bird members of our UCC congregation and myself participated in Environmental Lobby Day in Olympia where we teamed up with other activists to speak up for the environment. We gained skills on how to be persuasive constituents and put them into practice with the legislators or their aides from […]
Sometimes when I am trying to explain what kind of a congregation I serve, I am tempted to begin by explaining what we are not. You look at the way that Christians are portrayed in the media, and from the get-go we start on the defensive that we are not-closed-minded and that we are not-like-THOSE-Christians.
The Immigration Welcoming Task Force has compiled a list of books for adults and children on the topic of immigrant experiences in their journey to immigrate to the U.S. Suggestions will be offered during the months of November and December. We hope this will be helpful to the congregation as we learn about immigration and
Experiencing play in community can be a holy thing. Halloween, has long ago-Christian roots, and today along with its spooky connections can be a time of dressing up in community. It can be one of the times that we cross thresholds to know our neighbors and where young and old can meet across a doorbell.
Over the last couple of weeks, the news of tragic events has been constant. People’s responses have been made public in news reports, social media platforms and in private conversations. Over time, the words we use in response to tragedy has varied. I can remember a time when the phrase “I’m holding you in my prayers” was used
Our reflection today comes from Office Manager Mariah Pepper: It was hazy when I woke up this morning, and my first thought was “is it smoke season already?” It’s not yet, but we all know it’s coming. This is our new normal. The first year we had prolonged smoke cover, it felt to me,
On the day you honored me with a call to ministry at First Congregational Church of Bellevue, I remember feeling like the winner of a beauty pageant as I stood in the chancel of our wonderful sanctuary. On that day in November of 2017, I had no idea what mysteries lay in the wings of this
This week’s reflection comes from Office Manager Mariah Pepper: It’s summer, which means things have slowed down a fair amount around the office. It also means it’s time for me to get going on all the big organizational projects I wrote down all year for “when I have time.” Well, I finally have time! I’m
Called to serve this congregation as the Pastor for Children and Youth, you have known me to love sacred silliness. Such theologians as Meister Echkahrts, C.S Lewis, John of the Cross and Therese of Lisieux are some of the official sources that formed this theological perspective of mine, but really it is by interacting with
Many Gifts: One Spirit, the theme of our Pacific Northwest Annual Gathering, brought more than 200 members from UCC congregations into our sanctuary last Friday night and all day Saturday. On Friday night, we were inspired by four preachers: Rev. Dr. Renee McCoy, Rev. Amy Roon, Rev. Dr. Kelle Brown and Rev. Bianca Davis-Lovelace. The
