Messiah Weekly
April 5, 2020
Messiah Lutheran Church
Auburn, WA
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"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
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Holy Week Worship Schedule
Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services of worship, April 9th and 10th, will be online at 7:00pm both days. Easter Sunday worship will be streaming live on Facebook and the Website at 9:30am, Sunday, April 12th.
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Online Holy Communion
With Holy Week now upon us, and social/physical distancing the new normal, participating in Holy Communion together has been at the front of my thinking. From my emails, and looking at some conversations online, it seems that it has been on a lot of other pastors’ minds also.
It has also been on the minds of Messiah members. I’ve been asked if we might practice this during these extraordinary times. After a lot of thought, I’ve concluded that it would be appropriate for us to give it a go on Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday. Think of it as a little bit of a research project into how God might be stretching us in our own and our communal life of faith. God just might show us something new.
One of my hesitancies has been that for early followers of Jesus what we call Holy Communion was an actual meal. It was also a meal during which, as Paul writes, the poor may have been forgotten and excluded as the wealthy made their feast together. When we are together physically, we know that we all receive the same and are blessed to stand shoulder to shoulder no matter our circumstance in life. My prayer is that during this coming week all of our individual tables are blessed with a sense of God’s presence in and through what is set before those who gather.
As we dip our toes into this practice of online communion for Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday, I want to emphasize that we receive the grace of God through both the hearing of the word and the receiving of the sacraments. In other words, telling the story, being washed in the sacred bath, and eating together around the holy table are all vehicles of God’s forgiving and redeeming love. These are all part of the rich and varied manner God approaches us in our individual and communal lives.
One of the foundations of the sacramental life is that we are drawn to together and nourished in community by these things we do: hear, bathe, eat. It has dawned on me that in this new age, the age of the internet, community is something much more expansive than it may have ever been in the history of humanity. Although it may seem strange, “virtual” community is no less “real” community than standing together shoulder to shoulder. I wonder if folks felt something similar at the introduction of the printing press?
With these potentials and pitfalls in mind, I am asking that in whatever place you happen to be on Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday, you set a simple table. Maybe you bring out a special table cloth, a few candles, a cross, and/or a Bible. Arrange them on the table with care and say a word of blessing over the space. Invite all who are with you to join together at table. Be mindful that there are tables, whether they be next door or across the globe, for whom such a simple table is an extravagance. We will keep all tables in our global community in our prayers.
During our online services of worship both days, we will make time to celebrate communion. During the worship, I’ll give extra instruction for those who at home are acting as host at the table. I invite each household to select a table host, whose main job is to help everyone feel included and facilitate partaking in the meal. For those who do not communion, a simple blessing may be given, such as, “You are indeed a precious child of God.”
Prepare your table, select some wine (or grape juice for those who choose), and bread, and let us all feast at the one table of our Lord.
I’ll be very excited to hear what the experience is like in your household. In these extraordinary times, God may indeed come near and provide love and grace in extraordinary ways. Pr. Chuck
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Messiah Youth
Calling all youth and chaperones! We are doing a scavenger hunt! Join me on Monday, April 6 at 7:00pm. Traci will send out the Zoom code on Monday morning.
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Let's Talk with Pastor Chuck
This coming Wednesday evening, April 8, Pr. Chuck will be hosting a “Let’s Talk” Zoom conversation at 6:30pm. This is a chance for the Messiah community to check in with one another, ask Pr. Chuck questions about Messiah and what’s coming up, share thoughts and hopes, and end with a brief time of prayer. Everyone is invited to the conversation.
There may also be specific questions around the upcoming Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday “online” or “virtual” communion. There has been a lot of conversation around the country about this, so here’s a good time for us to converse about some of the thinking going on. To get connected, email Pr. Chuck at
chuck.harris@mlcauburn.org
and ask to receive an invitation to “Let’s Talk”. Again, it will be Wednesday evening, April 8, at 6:30pm.
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Virtual Family Choir
Messiah is putting together a Virtual Family Choir for our Easter Sunday service. The hymn we will be singing is
Jesus Christ is Risen Today,
and everyone is invited to join us. A virtual choir is created from individual video or audio recordings of people singing, so we want you to send in a recording of yourself singing the hymn. The files will all be blended together in the editing process, so we promise no one will end up with a solo! For detailed instructions on how to record your video, click
here
or contact our Chorale Director Jan Nelson at
jan.nelson@mlcauburn.org
.
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9th Grade AOB Students
The 9th Grade Affirmation of Baptism Class is meeting on Thursday evenings at 6pm via Zoom. They are working on their faith projects, bible verses and planning for AOB Sunday.
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Messiah Chorale Fellowship Hour
Messiah Chorale is meeting for a weekly fellowship hour via Zoom during our normal rehearsal time, Thursdays from 7:30-8:30pm. All are welcome to join. Topics of conversation range from choral music to coronavirus coping mechanisms and everything in between. It’s mostly just an opportunity for us to gather together. You can join us on Zoom:
Meeting ID: 9034601988
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Giving
As we continue to worship and meet online, our regular support of Messiah Lutheran ministries is a vital part of our community life.
Messiah offers five options
for our members, friends, and neighbors to give to our ongoing ministry. We encourage everyone connected with and inspired by our community of faith, whether in person or through our online resources, to give as the Spirit leads. We thank you for being a partner in ministry.
Our church facility is located at 410 H Street NE in Auburn, WA, and the zip code is 98002. Utilizing this address, you may
(option 1)
place your offering to Messiah in the mail slot on the north side of our church building. You may also
(option 2)
mail your offering to the same address utilizing the United States Postal Service. Our mail is checked daily. This is a great giving path for folks who enjoy the tradition and feeling of writing a check.
Messiah also
(option 3)
works with VANCO to allow you to give through our website online. This online option is easy to use and secure. You can track your giving here and access this option anytime and anywhere you are online. Click here
https://mlcauburn.org/give/
and scroll down to the Secure Giving Link.
Thrivent Financial is making it easy for Messiah members, friends, and neighbors to establish a regular habit and pattern of giving. Thrivent’s Simply Giving program
(option 4)
creates a consistent giving record, and you can set it up for any frequency and amount you desire. Click here
https://mlcauburn.org/give/
and scroll down to Simply Giving to download the form. Once completed, you can mail the form to our church office at the address above or simply drop it off.
Finally, Messiah is offering a mobile option for giving
(option 5)
. Just go to the App Store on your smartphone and download the GivePlus+ Mobile App. Once downloaded, the set up instructions are easy. Just make sure you find Messiah Lutheran Church in Auburn, WA and set us up as the congregation to which you would like to give.
Here is the link for the video explaining how to use the app:
Thank you for creating a holy and consistent habit of giving for the ministry and mission of Messiah Lutheran Church.
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Amazon Smile
Amazon Smile is a way for our Messiah community to support the church ministry every time they shop with Amazon. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you will find all the same Amazon products, prices, and services, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the price of eligible purchases to Messiah. Signing up is easy! You can find instructions at our website:
http://mlcauburn.org/give/amazon-smile/
or contact Jan Nelson at
jan.nelson@mlcauburn.org
for more information.
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Messiah Social Media
Messiah wants to connect with you wherever you are! Make sure to check us out on all of our social media accounts:
Instagram: @mlcauburn
Twitter: @mlcauburn
YouTube: @mlcauburn
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YouTube Channel
Messiah now has a YouTube channel! You can view all of our video content in one place, including services, devotions, updates, and more. Subscribe
here
and you’ll be notified when new videos are available.
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Vine Maple Place Needs Help!
COVID-19 EMERGENCY - ITEMS NEEDED - The Coronavirus is already hurting moms and kids on the edge of homelessness by devastating their incomes. Please help us support our partners at Vine Maple Place by providing urgently needed basics:
Deliver items to 21730 Dorre Don Way SE, Maple Valley - Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm.
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Daily Devotions
Beginning this morning Messiah staff will share readings from the ELCA’s Daily Lectionary. There is one reading available each day from the Old Testament, one from the New Testament, and a selection from the Psalms. Each staff member will pick one or more of the readings, share it aloud, and then offer some brief thoughts or comments that the scripture provokes. This sharing from scripture is one way we are working to create new ways of being community in Christ together. You can find these videos on our website homepage
www.mlcauburn.org
or on our Facebook page.
The weekly devotion schedule is:
Monday-Tia Monsen
Tuesday-Jan Nelson
Wednesday-Pr. Chuck Harris
Thursday-Deacon Traci Vatne
Friday-Savannah Phelan
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April Feminist Theology Meeting
Join us this month as we read the book "
Outside the Lines
" by Mihee Kim-Kort. We will meet on
April 14th at 6:30pm
are planning to meet via zoom. A meeting invite will be shared closer to the date. Anyone is welcome to join us whether you get the chance to read the book or not! If you have any questions, contact Savannah.
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Messiah Staff Holds in Prayer
Requests for prayers
: Walt Bishop, Jan Campbell, Pierre Clement, Mary Eastman, Ginny Fergueson, Erin Furnas, Charlotte Graham, Cecil Greiner, Bonita Hancock, Adam Hartong, Holly Hammon, Louise Johnson, Ray Keinholz, Nancy Kirkpatrick, Blaine Leonard, Debbie Lundberg, Connie McGlothern, Evelyn Miller, Grant Miller, Jane Nelson, Myrtle Peterson, Cindee Reamy, Robin Saxton, Doreen Shaver, Maxine Stehr, Mardy Stevens, Carol Taylor, Gloria Thompson, Les Warboughton, Kathy Wittnebel;
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, Marcia Hoover, Kris Knutson, Jimmie Kramlich, Don Minnick, Dick Ode, Everett Rom, Sarah Trott, Elizabeth MaiLin Tran, 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.
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Messiah Lutheran Church
410 H Street NE
Auburn, WA 98002
253-833-5280
Staff Directory
Pastor Chuck Harris, Senior Pastor
(206) 245-8626
Deacon Traci Vatne, Director of Faith Formation
(253) 797-5837
Savannah Phelan, Associate Director of Faith Formation & Partnerships
(406) 600-5165
Tia Monsen, Worship Manager & Communications Coordinator
(253) 334-6618
Lynne Inman, Administrative Assistant
(253) 740-9642
Pam Downing, Finance Coordinator
(206) 799-3130
Katie Walda, Organist, Keyboardist & Handbells Director
(925) 413-9052
Jan Nelson, Chorale Director and Website/Social Media Manager
(541) 556-7232
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Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube!
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Messiah This Week
Sunday 4/5
6:30pm Small Group-Zoom
6:30pm Small Group-Zoom
Monday 4/6
8:00am Devotion-Website/Facebook
11:00am Staff Devotion-Zoom
7:00pm Youth Scavenger Hunt-Zoom
Tuesday 4/7
8:00am Devotion-Website/Facebook
10:00am Staff Meeting-Zoom
Wednesday 4/8
8:00am Devotion-Facebook/Website
Thursday 4/9
8:00am Devotion-Website/Facebook
1:00pm Bible Study-Zoom
5:00pm Spirit Fest Meal-Grab and Go 6:00pm 9th Grade AOB Meeting-Zoom
7:00pm Maundy Thursday Worship-Website/Facebook
Friday 4/10
8:00am Devotion-Website/Facebook
7:00pm Good Friday Worship-Website/Facebook
Saturday 4/11
Sunday 4/12
9:30am Easter Sunday Worship-Facebook/Website
4:00pm Community Meal-Grab and Go
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Messiah Lutheran Vision
We are an inclusive community following Jesus, worshiping God,
striving side by side, and mending the broken places in all creation.
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Messiah Lutheran Mission Statement
• Engage our world from a deep, Jesus centered community life
• Embrace, welcome, and accompany people along life’s journey
• Enhance our understanding and practice of a life called by God
• Explore and connect in an ongoing process of growth in faith and spirituality
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