Messiah Weekly

September 14, 2020

Messiah Lutheran Church

Auburn, WA

"And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." Micah 6:8b

Holy Communion

Messiah will be making Holy Communion a part of each Sunday worship service. Wherever you take part in these coming services, whether it is at home in Auburn, WA or at home anywhere around this amazing, beautiful planet, we will gather at one table, the Lord’s Table.

Prepare the place in which you dwell for Holy Communion. Set a table with a small cloth, place a candle upon it, and add perhaps a Bible or a small cross (both together are also good). Make the space sacred for you. Prepare some bread and wine (or grape juice if you choose) and appoint one person to be the host of your table. If it is just you, be both the host and the welcome guest, and know you are not alone. You are part of a much larger welcome place.

Be at peace with yourself. Be at peace with your neighbor. Know that we, through the bread and wine, all feast together on the amazing grace of our Lord Jesus. In the holy meal to come, all our individual tables, separated by city blocks or country miles, are really one, blessed, and holy communion.

Thank You!

Dear Messiah Lutheran Church,

I am filled with gratitude for you! Thank you so much for the cards, texts, gifts and financial contributions at my retirement. Your generosity is overwhelming and so appreciated. More importantly, thank you for being my home for the past thirty-one years. Thank you for putting a foundation under my feet. Thank you for being a beloved second family, both for Bruce and myself, and for our children, Kat and Sarah. Thank you for years of ongoing encouragement and support, for surrounding us with love and laughter, for sharing holidays and holy days with us. Thank you for grace when I failed you. Thank you for being the heart and hands of God to me. Messiah is at a beautiful crossroads, which is both anxiety-producing and exciting, both hopeful and terrifying. I will be holding you tightly in my love and prayers as you discern what's next. May you continue to do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God. Traci Vatne

Thank You!

From Dale Schossow:

My treatment for leukemia is going very well. I'm completely finished with chemo and radiation. Last Thursday, I received my stem cell transplant. My donor was a 24 year old from Germany. She was a 10 for 10 match and same blood type. If it all goes as it should, I should be completely cured by this time next year. Many prayers have been answered.

Thank you to so many Messiah members and staff for the thoughts and prayers.

God's blessings to all! Dale Schossow

Thank you!

Thank you to Messiah Lutheran Church for your generous donation of $4000.00 to help local families struggling with homelessness. Your generous care and compassion is giving moms and kids help escaping from homelessness. We look forward to continuing our partnership with you.

Michelle K. Frets, Executive Director of Vine Maple Place

Lutheran World Relief School Kits

It is the time of year again to begin gathering supplies for the LWR school kits. Each kit contains 4-70 sheet notebooks, 1 centimeter ruler, 1 pencil sharpener, 1 pair of blunt scissors, 5 unsharpened #2 pencils with erasers, 5 black or blue ballpoint pens (no gel ink), 1 box of 16 or 24 crayons and a 2 ½” eraser. Due to COVID-19, please keep your donations at home until the church office is open. Thank you!

Affirmation of Baptism

Messiah’s AOB (Affirmation of Baptism) program will begin this year at the end of September. Messiah’s 7th, 8th, and 9th graders will be learning about “Lutheran Stuff” this fall, followed by a New Testament overview starting in January, and finally, after Spring Break, they will be learning about and creating projects for worship.

Families of AOB age students will be receiving books and a class schedule soon. Mark your calendars though, the first Zoom meeting of the AOB class will take place on Sunday evening, September 27, at 5:00pm.

In the meantime, anyone with questions about the AOB program can email Pastor Chuck at chuck.harris@mlcauburn.org or savannah.phelan@mlcauburn.org. Either Messiah staff member can answer questions and help get you connected.

Worship Bulletins

The worship bulletins that are sent out electronically on Saturday are printable from your home computers. When you receive the email, open it and press "ctrl p" on your keyboard and it will print.

On Thursday afternoons, we will place pre-printed bulletins in the Messiah Lending Library (the box pictured in this article). It is located on H street outside the kitchen. Please feel free to stop by and pick one up if you do not have a computer or printer at home.

On Monday afternoons, a pre-printed copy of the Messiah Weekly will be in the Please contact Tia Monsen if you have any questions.

CONFERENCE WEBINAR

Following the killing of George Floyd, people all over the U.S. are confronting the legacy of white supremacy and racism that has shaped our nation, culture and churches. In addition, we find ourselves in the middle of a global pandemic. This year’s Lutheran Studies Conference focuses on systemic racism and will involve opportunities for reading, reflection and commitment to action for individuals and their faith and/or educational communities. We will be guided in this work and reflection by Rev. Lenny Duncan, an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Church of America (ELCA), and his 2019 book addressed to the ELCA: Dear Church: A Love Letter from a Black Preacher to the Whitest Denomination in the US. During the Webinar, we will be joined by our guest speaker, Rev. Duncan and have the opportunity for a time of question and answer.

Prior to the webinar, congregations and individuals are welcome to join Dr. Marit Trelstad, University Chair of Lutheran Studies, for two weeks of adult forums focused on racial justice in our churches and discussion of Rev. Duncan’s book. Congregations are encouraged to read the book prior to the adult forums. This offers us the opportunity for self-reflection and questions in preparation for our time with Rev. Duncan. His book may be ordered online through other sources, including Augsburg Fortress. Rev. Duncan’s approach to his own church is one of sincere, deep love and direct truth-telling concerning racism in the church that calls itself the “body of Christ” in the world.

Come Join us virtually for this unique opportunity to “gather” and discuss our calling to address systemic racism in our own lives, our educational systems and churches. This is central to the mission of PLU “to educate students for lives of thoughtful inquiry, service, leadership and care – for other people, for their communities, and for the earth.”

The description of Duncan’s book from his website, linked here.

Messiah Staff Holds in Prayer

Requests for prayers: Marena Boman, Jan Campbell, Pierre Clement, Janice Davis, George Dolney, Mary Eastman, Erin Furnas, Charlotte Graham, Cecil Greiner, Jaclynne Halverson, Bonita Hancock, Adam Hartong, Temple Johnson, Louise Johnson, Ray Keinholz, Blaine Leonard, Evelyn Miller, Grant Miller, David Monsen, Jane Nelson, Garry Nevers, Myrtle Peterson, Cindee Reamy, Dale Schossow, Doreen Shaver, Maxine Stehr, Mardy Stevens, Ed Swanlund, Carol Taylor; the family of Blanche Swalling, following her death; the family of Wilma Tipton, following her death; Betty Gartner and family, following the death of her sister, Evelyn Okert; United Lutheran Church of Tacoma following a fire in their Fellowship Hall and church building.

Ongoing prayer concerns: Cindy Bottomley, Gavin Charbonneau, Joan Daugherty, Traci Donohue, Matt Gartner, Bea Girdler, Irene Gordon, Dottie Grebe, Gerry Gronewold, Martha Guerrero, Kay Gunderson, Bonnie Hagen, Whitney Hanson, Marc Harris, Betsy Henderson, Kris Knutson, Jimmie Kramlich, Don Minnick, Dick Ode, Elizabeth MaiLin Tran, Patty Unzen, Katie Walda, Erik and Nick Welch, Lori Wollum.

In the Military: Jeff Fitzmorris, Lucas Fitzmorris, Ray Hardaway, Sam Harris, Kenny Hendrickson, Daryl Johnson, Madeline Almodivar Sanabria, and J.R. Sawyer.

Every Tuesday, our staff prays for the persons listed above. If you would like to be included in our staff prayers, please contact the church office at 253.833.5280. Individuals will be in our prayers for four consecutive weeks. To be included after the four weeks, please call us again, let us know how you are doing, and we will continue to hold you in our ongoing prayers.