October 2021 Newsletter

Worship Schedule

Sunday Mornings
8:30 am and 11 am


Please join us for worship. Services will be both in person and live streamed. Contact Pastor Berg or Kristin Smith for the streaming information.

Falling
from Pastor Berg's Monthly Blog
As I write this blog, Fall is imminent. I can feel it in the air. I am sure there are scientific reasoning to why we feel this change. Yet, for me, it is a reminder simply that I am a part of creation. I can sense spiritually that there is change in the air, a connection with my being to the earth.
The Live Project Bible Course: Hearing the Spirit with God's People Past and Present

Imagining Our Callings with God's People
September 23 - November 18 (8 weeks)
Thursdays, 6:30 pm - 8 pm
Zoom Platform - Presented by the Northwest Washington Synod of the ELCA
How to think about the LiVE Project? 
·  As a way to deepen your discipleship calling with others
·  As an extension of your congregation’s faith formation
·  As an opportunity to find new partners across the synod experimenting with new ways of being church 
·  As a leadership development opportunity-form a team of lay leaders open and interested in learning and collaborating in new ways 
 
First Lutheran Church has signed up and paid for anyone in the FLC community to participate in the LIVE PROJECT in 2021 - 2022.
Our full cohort experience includes:
online courses, resources, and guided conversations from our community learning platform 
Access to as many congregational participants as you desire for 42 hours of  content in the full cohort experience  
Bi-monthly coaching to accompany your learning with your congregational team.

To Join the Live Project please email Pastor Berg for the prepaid invitation.

Future Courses in our Cohort Experience of the the LIVE PROJECT:
Culture Course - Interrogating Privilege (Jan 19 - Mar. 10, 2022) Wednesdays, 6:30 - 8 pm (Thursdays during Lent)
Community Course - Practicing Community (4 half day retreat experiences)
Forming Community - October 16, 2021
Communal Spiritual Practices - November 20, 2021
Dinner Church - February 12, 2022
Becoming Public Companions - March 26, 2022
From the FLC Council
In conjunction with our Northwest Synod and the larger ELCA, First Lutheran Church has an overall commitment to diversity and inclusion. As such, it is our policy to promote and increase business opportunities for Minority- and Women-owned Business Enterprises (M/WBE). We will accomplish this commitment by incorporating diversity in the fabric of our decision-making and selection processes and will proactively seek opportunities to resource our suppliers and vendors from these diverse business enterprises.

We encourage our FLC family and extended families to also make this commitment and prioritize doing business with minority- and women-owned business enterprises.
From the FLC Council's Covid-19 Task Force

Masks are required for all entering the First Lutheran Church Building.

All people who enter the building must hand sanitize. We ask that you stay home if you were exposed to COVID or have any symptoms.

Due to the currently high COVID infection rate in our community, FLC is currently not offering food or beverage during fellowship time with a goal of keeping people from congregating in a way that increases the risk of spread.  

If you test positive for COVID after attending an FLC service or activity, please notify Pastor Berg. He will keep the information confidential, but it will allow FLC to notify congregational members of possible exposure so they can take appropriate action. This is a very important piece in reducing the spread of COVID in our community.

For the time being, we will not serve any refreshments after worship services or at any FLC activities.

The FLC Council uses Healthy Washington - Roadmap to Recovery in making re-opening decisions. To see the current state of cases and vaccinations, please visit:

In an effort to stop the spread of COVID, we have turned off all water fountains in the building. Although bottled water is available, we ask that you get into the habit of bringing a reusable water bottle with you when you visit. Did you know that it takes up to 1,000 years for every single plastic bottle to decompose? Bringing a reusable water bottle will help us to reduce the environmental footprint of FLC and it is a great habit to get into as we look at installing water bottle refill stations in the building. 
Questions to Christy Freriks.
Camera Techs Needed!
Camera Tech Training: October 7, 7pm
Are you interested in becoming a worship service camera tech? We will continue broadcasting worship services via Zoom during in-person worship for the foreseeable future. We especially need camera techs for the 11 am worship services.  All are welcome! For more information, please contact David Osborne.
Church Directory Information!
First Lutheran Church members are invited to use Instant Church Directory either online (members tab) or via the Instant Church Directory app, available in Google Play Store or Apple App Store. Your access to the directory is based on the email we have listed for you in the directory. If you are having trouble getting into the directory, please contact the church office to ensure we have your correct email address.

If you don't have a computer or smart phone, and are in need of an updated directory, please contact the church office at 425-486-2314.
Women's Bible Study & Fellowship opportunities available:

Deborah Circle: October 12, 10:30 am. We continue the fall season with the gift of the Holy Spirit: Session 2, Breath of God: Reviver & Reformer
Contact: Bonnie Ahlstedt 360-805-1743 or bobbon_9@msn.com.

Hannah Circle: October 18, 6:30 pm.
Contact: Linda Siebert 206-369-7047

Rebecca Circle: October 20, 10:00 am.
Contact: Barbara Thieme 425-898-8982
Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study! (Also available on Zoom)
Saturday, October 16, 9 – 10:15 am. 
Join other men from the congregation and community for breakfast and conversation! There will be “food for the body, food for the soul and food for thought!” A group of 11 men attended the September 2021 in-person and zoom breakfast. Please join us for discussion and enrichment. Please watch for more information.
Roger Steinke's Notes
Director of REACH Ministries
Reach Ministries
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL AGES
Fall Fun at the Farm! Sunday, October 17th, 12:15 PM – 4:30 PM
Youth in Grades 7 – 12 are invited to enjoy a Corn Maze, Pumpkin Patch and Fall Food at The Farm at Swan’s Trail in Snohomish. The Bus will leave from the Church at 12:15 PM. We’ll stop for lunch at McDonald’s in Clearview and “head on down to the Farm!” Please dress for the weather (boots, coats, etc.). Cost is only $10 per person (includes admission and lunch). We return to the Church at 4:30 PM. Please Sign Up on the Youth Board.   
College Student Current Address Updates!
Please share your college student (‘s) current address with Roger by Sunday, October 24th, so your student (‘s) can be included in the upcoming Fall College Care Package shipments.  
Movie Review
News of the World
Sunday, October 24, 3 pm
“Wandering from town to town, only five years after the end of the Civil War, the former Confederate Army officer, Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd (Tom Hanks), travels the dusty and dangerous roads of 1870 Texas to make a living. For the price of a dime, gentle Kyle, dressed in his impeccable suit, informs and entertains the people, reading the latest news and recounting stories of exotic, far-off places from his pile of newspapers. Then, on one of his travels, the storyteller comes across the gruesome scene of a murder and encounters an abducted ten-year-old orphan, Johanna. To reunite the girl with her only surviving kin, patient Jefferson is willing to brave the perils of the long journey back and risk life and limb for Johanna. But, amid harsh territories once divided by war, what will it take to find this orphan a home?”

Movie Review on Zoom: Please watch the movie prior to our Movie Review. “News of the World” is available to watch on HBO Max, Netflix, Prime Video, Vudu and You Tube. Our discussion will begin with a review of the main plots of the movie. We will also explore the spiritual themes of the movie. Questions? Contact Roger Steinke.  

Please watch the Weekly News for additional information.
From the Library Committee - October 2021
The First Lutheran Book Club continues to meet on Zoom for thoughtful discussions of our monthly book selections. Please join us!
Book Club!
Discussion Book: Refuge: An Unnatural History of Family and Place by Terry Tempest Williams
October 26, 7:00 pm on Zoom
Discussion Leader: Nora Strothman

 “The only constants in nature are change and death. Terry Tempest Williams, a naturalist and writer from northern Utah, has seen her share of both. In the spring of 1983 Terry Tempest Williams learned that her mother was dying of cancer. That same season, The Great Salt Lake began to rise to record heights, threatening the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the herons, owls, and snowy egrets that Williams, a poet and naturalist, had come to gauge her life by. One event was nature at its most random, the other a by-product of rogue technology: Terry's mother, and Terry herself, had been exposed to the fallout of atomic bomb tests in the 1950s. As it interweaves these narratives of dying and accommodation, Refuge 
transforms tragedy into a document of renewal and spiritual grace, resulting in a work that has become a classic.”

         The Zoom link will be sent on September 27. A copy of the book will be available in the FLC library.

Questions to Clint Bastin (Book Club Coordinator) or Roger Steinke. Copies of the books are available on table outside the library.  

If you would like to participate in FLC's Book Club poll to choose upcoming discussion books please click here.

The library committee is now designating a shelf in the FLC Library with Book Club reading choices over the past year. Excellent choices!

Check it Out!
The above link will be updated with August's financial information after the Finance Committee is able to review the financial statements during those months.
These are anxious and trying times for all of us. Physical distancing has changed how First Lutheran provides mission and ministry. We are all eager to have worship and all ministries return to normal.
 
What has not changed are the expenses for mission and ministry. Thank you to all who have continued their faithful giving.
 
Listed below are ways for you to share with First Lutheran.
  • Mail in your checks. We are still doing weekly deposits.
  • Set up electronic giving by using the Give Online button at flc.bothell.org, or calling Vanco services at 800-675-7430. Note: there is a one time fee to FLC for the set up of bank to bank transactions. There are approximately 3% transaction fees on all credit card donations, making credit card and debit card giving more effective if combined into a monthly transaction, rather than smaller amounts, weekly.
  • Set up one time or auto payments through your bank’s pay service

Thank you for your faithfulness. 
 
The Finance Committee
Bob Berg, Chair 
Social Ministry Update
Thank you!
On behalf of the Washington Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, I want to thank your congregation for their generous donation to our cause! Together we will challenge the evils of systemic racism, poverty, the war economy, ecological devastation and the nation's distorted morality. Forward together. Not One Step Back.
Sincerely,
Ming Chen
Fin. Coord WAPP
Top 5 Drive for Compass Housing Alliance!
October 2021
For 100 years, COMPASS HOUSING ALLIANCE has been meeting the needs of the community across the Puget Sound region by providing 24-hour enhanced emergency shelter programs for those experiencing homelessness and housing instability. Please help support the work of Compass Housing Alliance with these “Top Five Items.”

Please place your Top Five donations in the designated receptacle in the narthex. Items collected will go to the Hygiene Center in Pioneer Square and other area shelters.
Monthly Outreach

CHANGE FOR CHANGE All money received in the Change for Change jar will be used to support HOPELINK food bank.

HOPELINK helps homeless and low-income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities gain stability, while providing others with the tools and skills they need to exit poverty for good. Hopelink is not accepting food or other goods at this time. Click here for donation information.

January Monthly Outreach: Compass Housing Alliance
February Monthly Outreach: Hopelink
March Monthly Outreach: Lutheran Community Services
April Monthly Outreach: Earth Ministries
May Monthly Outreach: ELCA World Hunger
June Monthly Outreach: Lutheran World Relief
July Monthly Outreach: Open Door Ministries Seattle Chapter
August Monthly Outreach: Global Citizen Journey
September Monthly Outreach: Lutherwood Camp & Retreat Center
October Monthly Outreach: TBA
November Monthly Outreach:
December Monthly Outreach:
Scrip and Other Passive Fundraising for First Lutheran Church!

This is an excellent time to set up Shop with Scrip and Presto Pay for instant Scrip purchases and redemption on your smart phone. This is a super easy way to continue to support FLC's Scrip program. (See below for more information.)

Additionally, while worship is being celebrated virtually, you may mail a check to FLC Scrip, attention Gordy Phelps, with a note of what scrip cards you wish to purchase, and he will mail the cards back to you.

We have several other opportunities for earning money while you shop for FLC's many social ministry programs:

2. Sign up for Amazon Smile and name First Lutheran Church as your charity. Every time you shop with Amazon Smile FLC receive .05% of your purchase price. You can still use Amazon Prime. Get your kids to sign up, too!

3. Link your Fred Meyer rewards card to their Community Rewards program for First Lutheran Church. All of your purchases will result in a quarterly donation to FLC.

If you have questions email Gordy Phelps.
October 2021 - The Spirit
A Publication of the NW Washington Synod
Connect With Our Partners
Save the Date!
Lutherwood's Auction
Saturday, November 13
In person or virtual event is still to be determined. Check the website for updates!

Please help us collect donations to support our ministry! We are looking for quilts, items, cabin rentals, trips, dinners, baskets and outings, etc. Please email adventure@camplutherwood.org or call our office at 360-734-7652 to arrange pickup or drop off.
First Lutheran Church | 425-486-2314 | 425-297-4898 |office@flcbothell.org |flcbothell.org