A Message from Pastor Berg | |
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Remember That Net?
Matthew has the "Sermon on the Mount." Luke has the "Sermon on the Plain." In each we have Jesus teaching the disciples what it means to be a follower of The Way. There are blessings and woes. There are admonishments and encouragements. As I was reading Luke chapter 6 in preparation for preaching I was stood up by the words of Jesus.
Palestine had corrupt government, has a foreign government oppressing the people, even their faith leaders were in on the graft. The rich were getting richer, and the poor were getting poorer. The people were getting fed up.
Continue to Pastor's blog
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Volunteers of the Month - FLC Building & Property Committee | |
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When a refrigerator needs to be replaced, who finds a vendor and coordinates the job? Building and Property! When official fire inspections are required, who coordinates the inspections? Building and Property. Furnace stops working? Leaking roof? Plumbing problems? Rodents in the ceiling? The members of this committee help manage the church’s physical infrastructure. They also make decisions regarding Building use.
The Art Guild (Ann Bormann, Lucy Kay Osborne, Sue Ebert, Rebecca Baunsgard and Audrey Fisher - through 2024) coordinates with the Committee to suggest and implement art and decor throughout our facilities. Potential donations of furniture and art are evaluated by the Guild. Many thanks to them for their hard work.
The Garden Guild coordinates with the Committee and works hard maintain the church grounds and planting areas. Thanks to their members, Nora Strothman, Dan and Ann Bormann, Karen and Ray Thomas, Gordy Phelps, and Paula Glandon. Although Knut and Ann Aagaard don’t always attend the Guild’s Saturday gatherings, they adopted the north side garden and care for it independently.
The Building and Property committee (Mark Schnarre, David Osborne, Richard Keltner, Andrew Baunsgard, Jess Faubion, Eric Peoples, Roger Steinke and Pastor Berg,) meets once each month. The committee and guilds can use your help. If you have questions or (more importantly) want to participate, contact any committee member. No experience is necessary.
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FLC Preschool is registering for 2025 - 2026 now! If you have a preschooler or know of a preschooler, please send them our way! FLC members receive a discount! | |
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Coffee with Council Update
Coffee with Council was introduced on September 3rd, 2023. As of February 1st, this monthly opportunity with be suspended until the incoming Council has had time to review it and determine if it should continue, and, if so, in what format.
Council Retreat
The Council has scheduled a retreat on Feb. 15, 2025, beginning at 10:30 a.m. Activities will include Council orientation, and members will receive an updated Council Handbooks, containing documents such as 2024 meeting minutes and church policies. In addition, committee chairpersons are invited to attend the retreat at 12 noon, for a joint session with Council and lunch.
Other News
In addition to the Council retreat, the Council has established a second opportunity to meet with committee chairs throughout the year. Over the last year and a half, each committee submitted a Continuing Resolution, defining its scope and work. The Council approved the resolutions and established staggered review dates for each in 2025. As a committee s Continuing Resolution comes up for review, its committee chair will be invited to attend the Council meeting.
Pastor Andy Yee, Assistance to the Bishop, was invited by the Council to attend our August, 2024 meeting. One question Council had concerned a form that is to be submitted to the Synod annually. The form includes a section to identify special areas of emphasis by the pastor and special encouragement by the congregation. For 2025, Pastor Berg plans to give special attention to: staff development; church/leadership education; worship development; Eucharistic ministers - expand visitation; and a Mutual Ministry Committee. The Council has identified the following ways in which we all can encourage and support Pastor Berg s ministry: prayer; honor Pastor Berg's Sabbath (Friday); engage the next generation to volunteer; communicate about who to pray for; and communicate openly and honestly, being specific and sharing both concerns and appreciation with Pastor, speaking one s own truth.
Yours in His service,
Ho Brown
Outgoing Council President
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Scrip Card Purchases are Available Online
You don't have to wait until Sunday to purchase Scrip. Purchase scrip cards directly from RaiseRight for your gifts and everyday purchases, and benefit First Lutheran Church’s Social Ministries programs!
Follow this link to easily set up your account. The RaiseRight app is available in the IOS App Store or Google Play Store.
Happy Shopping!
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Widows Support Group
Februay 10, 10 am
(formerly known as Friends Supporting Friends)
We are not a therapy group, but we are a place for widows to find friendship, support, and fun.
We meet the 2nd Monday of the month at 10:00 am in the library. Please join us!
Call Paula Glandon for more info. 425-483-1783
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Women's Bible Study & Fellowship opportunities available:
Hannah Circle: February 15, 9:00 am.
Contact: Linda Siebert 206-369-7047
Rebecca Circle: February 19, 10:00 am.
Contact: Lucy Kay Osborne 425-823-9793 or dlktutti@comcast.net
FLC circles welcome all women of the congregation! Please contact the persons listed above for meeting locations.
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Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study!
Saturday, February 15, 9 – 10:15 am.
Join other congregation and community members for breakfast and conversation! There will be “food for the body, food for the soul and food for thought!” A group of 17 men typically attend. Please join us for discussion and enrichment. Questions to Roger Steinke
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Reach Ministries
Opportunities for all Ages!
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Sunday, February 2, 2025,11:45 AM – 2:00 PM First Lutheran Church Youth Auction.
We are raising fund for July 2025; a group of our youth and adults will attend a week of service with Lutherhaven's Idaho Servant Adventures at Shoshone Mountain Retreat near Wallace, Idaho.
This year’s western themed auction goal is to meet or exceed the $28,000 raised at last year's auction. Our young people are counting on your help and support. Can you help?
The Silent Auction & Appetizers begins at 11:45 AM. The Taco Bar Lunch begins at 12:15 PM. The Cake and Live Auction begins at 1:00 PM. Local First Lutheran Celebrity, David Osborne, will serve as our Auctioneer. Donations for the Youth Auction are being received. Please contact Roger Steinke for additional auction and donation information. Please save the date and join us!
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Elementary Retreat at Camp Lutherwood in Bellingham
Friday, March 14 – Saturday, March 15, 2025
3:30 PM Friday to 8:00 PM Saturday
Grades 2 - 6
This “Over Nighter” includes Bible Study, Campfire, Games, Music, Outdoor Experiences and much more! Youth from other church groups will help fill the camp! Be prepared for some ultimate camp fun! Cost is $30 per person (includes Friday dinner & lodging and Saturday meals). Please meet at the church at 3:30 PM on Friday. We will leave at 3:45 PM on Friday and return to the church on Saturday night by 8:00 PM. Roger Steinke and another adult (TBA) are attending as Adult Leaders. The deadline to sign up is Sunday, February 18. Please Sign Up on the Youth Board! Questions? Ask Roger. More information is coming soon!
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Mission Trip to Shoshone Mountain Retreat/Idaho Servant Adventures Leadership Camp
Friday, 7/18 – Friday, July 25
Middle School & High School
Registration Information coming soon!
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FLC Vacation Bible School will be Monday, July 28 – Thursday, July 31, 2025. | |
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Book Club
The End of Drum Time by Hanna Pylvainen
February 25, 7 pm
Discussion Leader: Donna Gilbery
An epic love story in the vein of Cold Mountain and The Great Circle, about a young reindeer herder and a minister’s daughter in the nineteenth century Arctic Circle.
“In 1851, at a remote village in the Scandinavian tundra, a Lutheran minister known as Mad Lasse tries in vain to convert the native Sámi reindeer herders to his faith. But when one of the most respected herders has a dramatic awakening and dedicates his life to the church, his impetuous son, Ivvár, is left to guard their diminishing herd alone. By chance, he meets Mad Lasse’s daughter Willa, and their blossoming infatuation grows into something that ultimately crosses borders—of cultures, of beliefs, and of political divides—as Willa follows the herders on their arduous annual migration north to the sea.”
“Gorgeously written and sweeping in scope, Hanna Pylväinen's “The End of Drum-Time” immerses readers in a world lit by the northern lights, steeped in age-old rituals, and guided by passions that transcend place and time.”
(Review from Amazon Books)
Please contact Katie Pyne or Roger Steinke for additional information about the Book Club. A copy of the Featured Book of the Month is available in the First Lutheran Church Library
From the Library Committee
Grief is a part of life. This month we're highlighting books that can help us learn how to speak to people who are grieving, how to work through our own grief, how to help children understand death, and how to see God at work during those difficult times. Find these excellent resources both in our library and outside on the display table during February.
It’s time to submit your favorite photo from 2024! An impartial judge will select nine photos that will hang in our library for a year, but this is much more than a contest. It's a way to share a little bit about yourself with your church family. What did you do, where did you go, what interested you in 2024? All submitted photos will be on display in the library at our gallery showing in March. The more photos we get, the more fun it is for everyone! Informational fliers are available in the narthex and in the library with guidelines for submitting your photo. Deadline for submission: Sunday, February 14, 2025. (note new submission date)
Wonderful memories: Bonnie Ahlstedt compiled and labeled pictures taken at FLC’s special events since 2010, into a photo album, available on the round table in the library. Thank you, Bonnie!
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The above link will be updated with the previous month's financial information after the Finance Committee is able to review the financial statements at their monthly meeting. | |
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A special note from the Finance Committee Regarding Credit Card Giving
Effective February 1, we will no longer be accepting American Express cards as payment for donations and other charges. They have raised their processing fees, again from 3.65% to 3.99%. We will continue to accept Mastercard, Visa and Discover which only charges 2.65%. Thank you for your understanding.
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February Ministry of the Month | |
Click on image for more information about Hopelink. | |
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CHANGE FOR CHANGE All money received in the Change for Change jar will be used to support HOPELINK food bank.
Monthly Financial Outreach
January Outreach: Compass Housing Alliance
February Outreach: Hopelink
March Outreach: Lutheran Community Services
April Outreach: Poor People's Campaign
May Outreach: ELCA World Hunger
June Outreach: Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Services
July Outreach: Camp United We Stand
August Outreach: Lutheran Disaster Response
September Outreach: Lutheran World Relief
October Outreach: Faith Action Network
November Outreach: Northshore Senior Food Bank
December Outreach: Camp Lutherwood and Retreat Center
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Click on image for more information. | |
Food donations are distributed to local food pantries and to school food banks. | |
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World Wetlands Day
In February, 1971, the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance was held in Ramsar, Iran. The UN General Assembly set February 2nd, annually, as World Wetlands Day. The theme for 2025 is “Protecting Wetlands for Our Common Future.” There are over 2,400 sites, covering over 2.5 million square kilometers, around the world that are designated as Ramsar Sites.
National Skip the Straw Day
Each year on the fourth Friday of February, we are encouraged to skip the straw and save not only the planet but all living things on the planet. Plastic straws are not recyclable, so end up in landfills, water ways and oceans, polluting our environment and endangering our oceanic and land wildlife as well as humans. It takes over 200 years for plastic straws to decompose into microplastics, which then can invade the bodies of all living things with yet-to-be-known consequences. This year, National Skip the Straw Day is on February 28th. So, on that day, if not every day, practice what the Coral Keepers (the group of teenage activists who established this day in 2017) have asked us to do and “Tip the Glass” rather than sip through a straw.
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First Lutheran Church has purchased the Northwest Washington Synod's LiVE bundle for 2024-25, so any LiVE events are free to our congregation! See the complete LIVE Project Catalog and register using FLC's Confirmation Code to register for free!
Click the button below for all the upcoming LiVE Project offerings and related information!
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First Lutheran Church | 425-486-2314 | 425-297-4898 |office@flcbothell.org
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