Messiah Midweek Update

August 12, 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.

Engage!

At Messiah, we have made it one of our key priorities and values to engage in the community around us. Even in the midst of a pandemic, there are many ways for us to continue to live into that call. Here are a couple of ways we can serve and support our community partners in the next few weeks. If you have any questions or suggestions please let Savannah know!

Masks!

Messiah still has boxes of masks available for distribution. If you need any cloth or disposable masks or know of a group/organization that does, email Savannah to set up a time to come pick some up!

Vine Maple Place continues to connect closely with more than 190 families each week. More than half of those are still unable to work and the stress is taking its toll. Here are a few ways you can help provide support to these families:

Urgent items needed - Order online (https://bit.ly/Hygiene_Items) or purchase at your local store and deliver items to The Family Hope Center at 21730 Dorre Don Way SE, Maple Valley (Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm).

Most needed items:

Twin comforters, neutral colors (new only)
Standard bed pillows (new only)
Disinfectant spray or wipes
Laundry detergent (liquid)
Dish soap (liquid)
Conditioner
Provide transportation assistance: $10 or $20 Gas Cards - Safeway, Fred Meyer or Chevron – (https://bit.ly/Gas_Cards) and mail to Vine Maple Place or use the link to order online (mailing address: PO Box 1092, Maple Valley WA 98038)
Feed families: (https://bit.ly/Meals_In_A_Bag) Deliver items to The Family Hope Center at 21730 Dorre Don Way SE, Maple Valley (Monday – Friday 8:30am – 5:00pm).
Provide rent assistance and care: https://bit.ly/vmp_coronavirus_emergency_fund

Interfaith Event (organized by the Pacifica Foundation):

This event is happening up in Bellevue, but I (Savannah) have loved other Pacifica events I've attended and would definitely recommend.

The annual Eid ul Adha celebration is around the corner for all Muslims globally. Pacifica Foundation cordially invites you to their “drive thru” Eid ul Adha celebration this year. On this important day for Muslims, they will be distributing rice and beef, which is as traditional food in Turkic countries. Just drive to the venue provided below and grab your traditional rice and beef!

Date & Time

July 31st 2020, Friday

6:00PM to 8:00PM

Location

Newport Presbyterian Church (Car Park)

4010 120th Avenue SE, Bellevue, WA 98006.

*Please note that due to pandemic you are required to put on your face masks and stay in your cars while grabbing the food. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

ELCA Advocacy Tools:

Congress traditionally takes a recess during the month of August, allowing lawmakers time to return to their home states and congressional districts to connect with constituents. That may look a bit different this year, but the month still holds meaningful potential for local advocates to advance relationships and engage with elected officials, ask questions and share concerns.

New to help you connect with lawmakers in 2020 is a Virtual Visits resource with tips on how to utilize digital communications options more widely in use this year. ELCA Advocacy's August Recess Guide also contains ideas for communicating with your elected officials and candidates in-district this month.

SPECIAL NOTE: In the coming days, Congress is also considering a new supplemental package to address the economic impacts of COVID-19. Many ELCA Advocacy priorities and other community needs are under current lawmaker negotiations – and need your urgent attention now. Send a customized message to ensure an equitable COVID-19 response at the ELCA Action Center.

Vacation Bible School was a hit!

Thanks again for joining us for this year's VBS! All of the videos will stay on our website, so if you didn't get the chance to watch the videos last week, you can still participate in VBS any time you'd like. Additionally, ELCA World Hunger loved our VBS and shared it on their page, so now we will have people all over the country joining in our programming!

Thanks again to all our incredible volunteers who helped make VBS happen, especially those who filmed videos; Anne Baunach, Jaymie Torres, Pastor Susan, Sarah Vatne, Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp, Lauren Mendez-Thomas, Kelly Mullin, Elisa Holman, Chuck Harris, Kam Chamberlain, Tara Phelan, Andrew Larsen, Traci Vatne, Emma Hammel, Laura Hammel, Sarah Cafoe, Pam Downing, Ryan Monsen, Laci Doman, Leah Downing, Melissa Barnard, Finnian Abraham, Atticus Abraham, Bruce Vatne, Seth Sundahl and Savannah Phelan.

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.

Please contact Tia Monsen if you have any questions.

Little White Church in Elbe

The Little White Church is now holding live services at Elbe outdoors and on August 16th at 2:30pm Pastor Eric Wooldridge is speaking.

The following are the guidelines for Worship in Elbe:

Everyone must wear a mask.
The service is a BYOCs service. Bring your own Chairs, Coffee and Cookies. We don’t have many chairs and we are not providing any coffee or other food for after the service.
The restroom is limited to the restroom in the back of the Pfaarhaus. Access will only be allowed through the back door of the Pfaarhaus.
When placing your chairs on the lawn, please follow social distancing as much as possible.

Next month on Sept. 20th, Bishop Jaech is speaking with Communion. He will also follow the tradition of the Bishop riding a bicycle to church which began with the first Pastor Killian.

Messiah Staff Holds in Prayer

Requests for prayers: Marena Boman, Jan Campbell, Pierre Clement, Janice Davis, George Dolney, Mary Eastman, Erin Furnas, Dennis Gartner, Charlotte Graham, Cecil Greiner, Jaclynne Halverson, Bonita Hancock, Adam Hartong, Louise Johnson, Temple Johnson, Ray Keinholz, Blaine Leonard, Evelyn Miller, Grant Miller, David Monsen, Jane Nelson, Myrtle Peterson, Cindee Reamy, Dale Schossow, Doreen Shaver, Maxine Stehr, Mardy Stevens, Ed Swanlund, Carol Taylor;

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.