St. Thomas Kids' Club goes ice skating

Yesterday the St. Thomas Kids' Club went ice skating at Bellevue Downtown Park. Despite the "pineapple express" downpour and the thermometer reading 57 degrees, the ice stayed cold enough for some good skating! A local radio station even gave us all free pizza and cupcakes.

The St. Thomas Kids' Club is a group of 3rd - 5th graders who practice the hospitality of God through fun fellowship events (like ice skating) and helpful service projects (like decorating Thanksgiving delivery boxes, giving donated money to Episcopal Relief and Development programs, and many other efforts). We meet once a month, and this year, we've averaged 17 kids per event.

From Double Bass to CEO

The Episcopal Holy Nativity Church was the place to be on Friday nights in Aina Haina, O’ahu. When the popular Ben Franklin’s Almanacs band played, high schoolers packed the church’s small gym. The double bass player, Tom Goodenow, never performed. Instead he contributed with his God given talents and promoted. Distributing flyers to all the local high schools, he brought Christians and non-believers together. With the popularity of his band, Goodenow swelled the attendance of Holy Nativity’s youth group.

“I’ve seen what an active youth organization can do, the strength it can give the church and it’s clearly a missing part of what we have right now,” Goodenow said.

Though the Ben Franklin’s Almanacs have disbanded, he’s built upon his promotional skills. As CEO of The Harbor Club, Goodenow provides a luxurious home away from home for members. His dedication to detail ensures excellent service. The breathtaking views of the Seattle skyline and surrounding area are matched by Chef David’s food. Each plate is cooked to order, ensuring the chicken is always moist and the medium rare steak is medium rare.

St. Thomas will hold two events at The Harbor Club. Don’t worry, Goodenow won’t bring his double bass. He will open The Harbor Club with warm hospitality as we build for the hospitality of God.

Thanksgiving: even more photos

Here's a link to Tammy's entire album of photos from Thanksgiving. Enjoy!

More Thanksgiving prep photos

The energy in the St. Thomas Great Hall building is overwhelmingly joyful! And all of this is happening despite the fact that there is currently no heat in the Great Hall or the church.

We're working on the problem, and the replacement parts will arrive next week, but ... hey, here's an idea ... how about we build a new Life Center?

Snowy Thanksgiving Update

Here's the very latest news!

• If you are picking up a turkey today, Tuesday November 23rd, the Thanksgiving team will be at the church at 1:00 PM.  If you are able to pick up your turkey between 1:00 and 4:00 pm, it would be greatly appreciated because the team would like to get home before sunset if possible.

• We are on track for prep tomorrow and deliveries to families on Thanksgiving. However, we also do not want you to take safety risks with traveling over the next 48 hours. If you are signed up for anything with the Thanksgiving project (pies, roasting a turkey, volunteering) and do not feel as though you can travel, please let us know so we may make adjustments. Please contact either Bill McSherry or Tammy Waddell, or Marilyn McGrath. (Contact information is in an all-parish email you should have received.)

• Communication is a KEY POINT today. If you need to pick up your turkey later than 4:00 PM or cannot pick up your turkey today at all, please let us know as soon as possible.

A caffeinated kick

St. Thomas parishioner Ginny Schreiber forwarded this piece today. What do you think, everyone? ;) (Rats ... I thought I'd been the first to come up with "St. Arbuck's"!)

St. Thomas children try their hand at architecture

Yesterday morning, seventeen St. Thomas Sunday schoolers in grades 1-5 created and presented their ideas for our new Life Center. Here’s Life Center architect Mark Nelson consulting with some of our young contributors.

This wasn’t merely an exercise in cuteness. We want the Life Center to feel like a second home to our youngest parishioners. To that end, we do well to listen intently as they describe their ideal building. We may not be able to create the Life Center in the shape of a spaceship, or have a live tree growing through the middle of it. But a disco ball in the youth center? That we can do.

And if we listen deeply enough, delving beneath each child’s fanciful architectural drawings, we will hear the voice of a young child of God, a full member of the Church through baptism, reminding us: “I belong here. I am not the future of the Church—I am the present. You have promised to help raise me in the Christian life and faith. I am a minister too, and I will do ministry right along with you in the new Life Center at St. Thomas.”

The Handshake

My dad says you can judge a lot about a man by his handshake. Last night, I found handshakes say a lot about a church as well.

I am not a St. Thomas parishioner. In fact, I’m a Presbyterian. Until last night, I had never been to an Episcopal service. The occasion was Martha Karen Haig’s Ordination, which, if you missed it, was lovely. I don’t know Karen from childhood. I’m not part of her family or a classmate. For those who don’t know me, I am Mikaela Cowles. I work on the campaign for the new Life Center and was blessed Karen invited me.

Originally I thought the new Life Center was just an interesting idea. When I interviewed people from Alcoholics Anonymous, I really started buying in. One Monday night I stood in the old Parish Hall next to men and women battling addiction. I laughed with them as a toddler escaped from the small nursery and pushed open the kitchen door. Golden curls bouncing, he giggled and ran to his father. I was even more excited about the project when I learned how St. Thomas houses homeless men, giving them warm meals and a sense of humanity, and I was impressed when I discovered the parish feeds 800 families at Thanksgiving.

Last night I felt the church’s handshake. I felt its peace. Strangers reached across pews and looked me in the eye. “Peace,” they said, “peace be with you.” I stood, reluctant to sit, shaking hand after hand around me. Parishioners left their pews to embrace one another. I watched as they lingered, returning to their seats slowly. The new Life Center will magnify this peace, the peace of Christ.

The new Life Center is going to be beautiful – built to last. But its strength is not in bricks and mortar. It is in the parishioners. It is in the handshake which says, “No matter who you are, Christ loves you. Welcome home.”

- Mikaela Cowles

First’s Things First

If you haven’t met Mary Friedlander, you should. Known as Granny Mary to the kids, she wears her love in her smile. Her joy in Christ and for life radiates to everyone around her. Since I met her, her warmth has repeatedly struck me.

She and I sat and had a chat the other day. We didn’t start where I intended, with the new Life Center. We began with what she calls, “The first thing first.” We began with us as, “A community formed in the name of Jesus Christ and our desire to follow Him. To learn from Him.”

Putting Christ first is why she sees Father Lex as such a vital addition to St. Thomas. She says his, “Good old Southern religion is a strong faith we haven’t had before. He encourages us to feel strong about our faith. There is no question he’s a Christian and he wants us to be Christians. It’s a very warm back and forth feeling that we all love the same Lord.”

As an ardent student of the Bible, she studies not just the words, but their contextual meaning. Through reading scripture and discussing it in fellowship with others, she continues to blossom as a person. As a member of the St. Thomas bible study, she joins the group of 25 who squeeze into the parish’s conference room each Tuesday. In the communal exploration of Christ’s words, she has seen members work through challenging questions, celebrate each other’s joys, and support one another through hard times.

However the space is limiting and clearly space is what the parish needs. Space for fellowship – for people to gather, learn and grow through Christ. “Space,” Mrs. Friedlander says, “where everyone can feel comfortable and safe.”

Building for the hospitality of God means we are, “Putting the first thing first.” It means we are making space for fellowship with each other and Christ.

A Letter from Sunni Bannon

Hello Lex, Karen and Charles,

I have very much enjoyed the 5:15 contemplative Eucharist service -- thank you all so much for making it happen. I wanted to share what I’ve enjoyed most and found particularly meaningful:

• Having nothing to hold - I like not having an order of worship or program in my hand. It allows me to be in the moment and not be distracted by what is coming up. Also, I am free to sing or chant or respond as I am moved to instead of following along on paper.
• The beautiful, simple chants and songs - I have been to 4 or 5 of evening services in the last two months and I'm surprised at how often the sweet words and tunes of the songs have come to mind and offered me comfort, strength or encouragement in the days following.
• The moments of quiet and meditation - In my spiritual life, nothing has been as profound as quiet moments when I am able to directly connect with God. Lex and Karen have offered thoughts to ponder, but at this service, the brevity of the sermons has allowed for extended reflective time that is not available in a more traditional service.
• Refreshing the day's gospel reading - I've heard mention of attending the 5:15 service when one doesn't attend a morning service, but I have really enjoyed re-hearing the gospel reading and having a contemplative experience with it in addition to the morning reading and sermon. I've noticed that sometimes the translation at the 5:15 service varies from the morning service and I've liked the way that little change helps me hear the passage in a fresh way.
• The intimate setting created by the simple table and candle. I also love the closeness I feel during the communion service. The incense is new for me, but it is growing on me.

The contemplative service is a jewel and I look forward to more people learning about it -- St. Thomas members/attendees as well as people who have not ever visited St. Thomas. My background, although Protestant, is not Episcopalian and my first experience with the Episcopal church (outside of a book) was attending the Compline service at St. Marks. I remember how welcome I felt and even though it was new to me, I loved soaking in the liturgy. I know the Contemplative service at St. Thomas is not quite the same, but it will be a balm for many people once they know about it. It has already been a great blessing to me and I appreciate each one of you and your vision and contribution.

Warm regards,

Sunni

All Hallows' Eve @ st. thomas

We've been so busy at St. Thomas that there's hardly been time to breathe. But we still took time to celebrate All Hallows' Eve with a family party in the Great Hall that featured games, music, a costume contest, and another fabulous haunted house created by the youth group.

Along with all this, we spread out butcher paper and invited our participants of all ages to write their "Bucket List." What do you want to do before you die? Here's the full list:

• Bungee jumping
• See the great pyramids
• Drive I-90 all the way
• Go to space
• Be on the radio
• Ride the Oriental Express - the whole way!
• Go to Japan, Australia and Europe
• Skydiving
• Meet “Buried Life” cast
• HUGE family reunion
• Learn Aikido and see a dragon and invent a time machine and invent a computer game and write a book and become famous and go to the Empire State Building
• Live in another country
• Visit Buenos Aires
• Get into an awesome college! (Gonzaga)
• Meet J.K. Rowling
• See the Great Wall of China
• Become a professional fencer
• Learn three more languages and live in 10 different countries
• Play organ
• Go to Europe, Australia and New Zealand
• Survive the rest of high school!

Life Center Project Update

1) The City of Medina has spent a full week in their temporary space on the Eastern edge of the parish. The demolition work on Medina City Hall will begin next week.

2) New parking, paving and sidewalks have been installed on campus by the City of Medina. The City, Parish and Saint Thomas School benefit from the additions.

3) The Enrichment Gatherings Team continues to inform and contact households. More than 280 people have been told about the Life Center.

4) The Advance Commitment Team has begun meeting with scores of households. Invitations are being received for the Advance Commitment event scheduled for November 21, after church.

5) Final interviews by the Audio Visual Team were recorded at church today. Work is also underway on the brochure, which will be sent to all parish households.

6) Studio 216 finalized their computer graphic work on the Life Center.

7) Arrangements for the all parish banquets at The Harbor Club in Bellevue, on December 3 and 4, are well underway.

8) The Friends of Saint Thomas effort has continued moving ahead with outreach to schools, neighbors, publications, foundations, and major donors.

9) The Building Committee meets this week to discuss building materials for the Life Center.

10) The Vestry continues to fund, support and oversee the Life Center effort.

11) Gifts, pledges and in kind contributions to the Life Center Project now exceed $500,0000.


Peace,

Bob Simeone
Project Manager
Life Center at Saint Thomas

Building for the Hospitality of God, in Christ, in our community and for future generations.

The Narrow Door

sermon preached at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Medina, WA
by the Rev. Karen Haig, Priest Associate
Wednesday, October 27, 2010

“Lord, will only a few be saved?” - Luke 13:22-30

I recently flew to California, and because I booked my flight so late, I found myself in a middle seat, sitting between two rather large men. The man by the window had on a ball cap sporting the words “Man of Faith” on the front, and in very large letters, “Jesus” on the back. The man by the aisle was a bit imposing – very sure of himself and seemingly used to being in charge. Squeezing into my middle seat, the space between those two big men felt very, very narrow.

Settling in, I pulled out my prayer book, and no sooner had I done that than the Man of Faith exclaimed, “Amen sister, I’m praising God because we are all believers!” Being the good Episcopalian I am, I smiled at him and replied that yes, that was lovely, and quickly returned to my prayer book. The man on the aisle began to ask questions of the Man of Faith, who by now had spoken enough for me to recognize a significant slowness in his speech, and an inability to completely formulate his words. “God is awesome, man!” he drawled. “God saved my life and I’ve been a believer for 20 years.” He reached into the seat pocket in front of him and pulled out two cards, handing one to me, and one to the man on the aisle. “Look, this is my Mom, this is her ministry.” I read the card, which conveyed a brief version of the story of this man’s near-fatal car accident 20 years earlier, and of his recovery and the entire family’s conversion to Christianity.

“Oh my,” I thought. “I’m in for a long ride …”

As I tried to read my prayers, the two men talked back and forth, each of them leaning in a little toward one another in order to more closely converse. It was a funny feeling … as though I wasn’t even there. And my narrow little middle-seat space was becoming increasingly narrow. I invited either of them to change seats so that they might more comfortably converse, but the Man of Faith wanted the window seat, and the Man in Charge needed the leg room of the aisle.

Understanding clearly that this was not a circumstance conducive to reading my prayers, I closed my book and paid attention to these two men. “What do you do?” the man on the aisle asked me. “Uh-oh,” I thought. I hadn’t planned on a theological debate. I had planned to pray.

As I had been trying to read my prayers, the Man of Faith told the story of his accident, his recovery, his journey to conversion and his beautiful life as a Christian. This man had very certain and specific knowledge of God and of God’s plan for every person on earth. I would venture, in fact, that he would have had an answer to that question posed to Jesus in our Gospel reading today: “Lord, will only a few be saved?” “YES,” I imagine him saying with absolute certainty! “Only a few will be saved.” He’d already made known his very narrow definitions about who would be saved, what all of us must do to be saved, and how if you look at specific verses in the Bible and take them seriously (which to him meant taking them literally), you would know what you had to DO to be saved. Quoting scriptural passages popular among fundamentalist Christians, the Man of Faith described a god I do not know and certainly don’t believe in: an angry, vengeful god whose primary job it was to sort the good from the bad, casting aside all those who did not see the world through the same very narrow lens as did this Man of Faith.

I don’t think this is the way Jesus wanted us to understand the narrow door. This is a difficult passage, though, especially for those of us who understand God to be expansive and compassionate, a God of self-effusive and overflowing love. While we know Jesus often answered specific questions with expansive stories and parables, it is hard to understand his response in today’s Gospel. Why must the door be so narrow? Why will it be closed to many? Why would a gracious God make the doorway so narrow and the path to salvation so difficult? We know the answer to this question. Our good and gracious God did not make the path so difficult. WE make the path difficult.

We make the path difficult every time we exclude someone from God’s love. We make the path difficult when tend to ourselves at the expense of others or turn a blind eye to the injustices of the world. We make the path difficult when we lose track of our prayer life or forget that all we have is gift from God. We make the path difficult any time we allow anything in the world to separate us—or any one of God’s beloved—from the God who loves us all.

That’s why the doorway seems narrow. Because when we’re not paying very careful attention, we find that we’ve gone off the path – perhaps missed the doorway all together.

I think this is why Jesus tells us we must strive to take the less traveled and narrow way – because God knows that which is ugly in the world is indeed powerful. Jesus isn’t saying that what we DO brings us salvation or that our striving will bring us to the banquet feast. Rather, he is saying that being a Christian is big work, that it requires deep attention and intention and that we can’t rest once we’ve self-identified as a woman or a man of faith. We need to be mindful. We need to be prayerful. We need to be humble.

Sitting in that narrow middle seat on the airplane, I knew I needed to honestly engage the conversation that surrounded me. And because it was such an important conversation, I knew I needed to choose my words with great love, real attention, and deep prayer. One cannot proclaim the Good News of God’s all-encompassing and redeeming love in the world by telling someone he is narrow-minded and wrong!

This is a real story of the Christian life, isn’t it? A life where there are always choices. We can choose to take the easy way of disengaging, pretending not to notice the need for God’s love all around us and so not offering that love. Or we can choose to lovingly engage, and do the hard work of squeezing ourselves through that narrow door, choosing our words and actions with great love, real attention, and deep prayer.

What narrow pathways are you negotiating? Where are the very narrow doorways in your life? How are you striving? Take a few minutes of quiet. During that time, I invite you to reflect on these questions and to offer them to God, whose guidance and grace will surely sustain you and help you find your way through that narrow door.

Shared Values

“Our mission is to support programs which help children and families reach their highest potential,” said Craig Stewart, President and Trustee of the Apex Foundation. His blue eyes were intense as he continued, “It’s truly blessed work.”

As a teacher and coach, Stewart learned the importance of providing a safe environment for children. He recognizes the early years make the most difference. Providing positive role models for youth and parents fosters a well-rounded and moral family.

At the Apex Foundation he helps Jolene and Bruce McCaw use their blessings to make the biggest impact they can. Their focused efforts on the education of children and parents build positive results for generations to come.

As Stewart looks at St. Thomas’ plans for a New Life Center, he recognizes these shared values – values he instilled in his own children and values by which he’s lives his life.

by, Mikaela Cowles

New Pictures of the Life Center

Thanksgiving @ St. Thomas: Many ways to help!

For the sixth year, St. Thomas is partnering with Hopelink (http://www.hope-link.org/) to prepare and deliver dinner for hundreds of hungry people in our community. We don’t just deliver meals, though – we provide a home-cooked Thanksgiving dinner, using the same food you would eat at home. We cap the project with a celebratory Thanksgiving dinner, for the parish and the community, in the Great Hall.

Each of us has many opportunities to pitch in and help. You can sign up any Sunday between now and Thanksgiving  to volunteer in many meaningful ways. These include:

Roast a turkey at home. Pick up a turkey that we will supply, roast it at home, and deliver it hot to the Church Thanksgiving morning. Turkeys will be distributed the Sunday before Thanksgiving, or Tuesday of Thanksgiving week if necessary.

Bake a pie. Pumpkin, pecan and apple pies are a signature part of Thanksgiving. Sign up to bake or buy a 9-inch or larger pie. Pies should be delivered in a non-returnable pie pan to St. Thomas on the day before Thanksgiving.

Cook and portion side dishes. The day before Thanksgiving, the kitchen and Great Hall are abuzz with activity making mashed potatoes, dressing, green beans and yams. Sign up to help cook or portion these side dishes in containers ready for deliver the next day.

Box up dinners for delivery. On Thanksgiving morning we put the complete dinners in boxes and bags ready for pickup by our delivery volunteers.

Deliver Thanksgiving dinner to families. Our most crucial – and most rewarding – task is delivering three to five dinners to hungry families on the Eastside. Pre-set routes make it easy and convenient, and you get to see first-hand the impact your work has in our community.

Share Thanksgiving dinner with parishioners and community. We open the doors of St. Thomas to anyone to join us in a celebratory Thanksgiving dinner after all meals have been delivered. Plan to join us for a great deal of fun and fellowship!

Clean up and send leftovers to Seattle to feed the homeless. Each year, we have had enough leftovers to help provide additional meals to homeless people in Seattle. This final, critical activity gives you one last opportunity to help make Thanksgiving better for folks in our community.

No matter what your Thanksgiving plans may be this year, you will find an opportunity that fits your schedule.  Sign up soon to join us in this fun and meaningful effort!

- Tammy Waddell and Bill McSherry

Life Center Project Updates

At church today someone asked me how things are going on the Life Center Project. Here is an update. Please share this with others.

1) The City of Medina has installed the infrastructure and facilities for their modular structures.

2) New parking, paving, and sidewalks are the most visible change which will benefit the City, the Parish, and the School.

3) The City of Medina Police Department has moved onto campus.

4) The City of Medina City Hall opens on the morning of Monday the 25th.

5) The Enrichment Gatherings Team has made contact with more than 250 people, informing them of the plans for the Life Center.

6) The Advance Commitment Team has mailed to scores of households. They will call those households in the next 10 days.

7) The Promotions and A/V Team continue to develop and refine the publications and electronic media for the campaign.

8) Studio 216 will finalize their computer graphic work by the end of the week.

9) The final video filming for the next version of the parish video takes place this week with the Bishop of Olympia.

10) Work on the Advance Commitment event and all parish Banquets are well underway.

11) The Friends of Saint Thomas work effort moves ahead with outreach to schools, neighbors, publications, foundations, and major donors.

12) Bonnie and Lex will update the Saint Thomas School Board of Directors on the Life Center on the evening of 24 October.

13) The Building Committee is prepared to refine their initial plans should they be called back into action by the Steering Committee or the Vestry.

14) The Vestry continues to fund, support, and oversee the Life Center effort.

Thanks to each of you for your respective efforts to make the Combined Campaign and Life Center efforts as successful as they have already been.


Peace,

Bob Simeone
Project Manager
Life Center at Saint Thomas

Building for the Hospitality of God, in Christ, in our community and for future generations.

I'll Be Close to Him Today

This will be my article in the November issue of The Collect. I figure, hey, why not publish it here in advance? That way you get bonus points for visiting the blog.

- Josh Hosler, Associate for Christian Formation


---

In her first week of kindergarten, my daughter Sarah befriended a little boy named Eric. The entire class was trying to adjust to the kindergarten routine, and Eric dealt with it by crying every morning on his way from before-care into the classroom.

One morning the before-care teacher was consoling Eric as he cried. Sarah came up to her and said, “Don’t worry. I’ll be close to him today.”

My memories of age five are not clear enough to remember what this kind of grief felt like. I have experienced grief many times since then, but when you’re only five, even little losses must feel overwhelming. Sarah spent the summer preparing to grieve the loss of her preschool, her weekly day with her grandparents, and our weekly “Daddy-Daughter Day.” By September, she was ready. Having dealt with her grief in advance, she knew how Eric felt. And she was able to come close to him.

“Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Could this be the bleakest lament in the Bible? It is attributed to a field of bones that represent—in Ezekiel’s psychedelic vision—the people of Israel, God’s chosen people [Ezekiel 37:1-14]. But at one time or another, these bones also represent each of us. No matter our age or the size of our loss, we are all grieving something.

Every week when we gather for worship, there are people among us who are grieving, who feel dried up and hopeless, cut off completely. Christians are those who don’t allow people to remain cut off. We strive to live like Jesus did: pouring ourselves out for others, and finding meaning in our life even as we pour it out. One way we can give ourselves away is to be fully present and attentive as the Holy Spirit drops opportunities for ministry into our laps, like the opportunity Sarah found with Eric.

This Sunday, talk to a stranger. When you pass the peace, don’t just greet people you already know. Seek out somebody you don’t know. Begin a conversation and continue it at coffee hour. Welcome people. Include people. Invite people. This is our mission: practicing the hospitality of God. And hospitality is one of the tools God uses to breathe new life into old, dry bones. You never know who God is calling you to come close to.