Just show up and enjoy lunch with your faith family. (If you would like to lend a hand with set up, serving or cleanup, there will be a signup sheet on the narthex kitchenette door.)

Spotlight on Volunteers!

Lloyd Condra and his wife, June have been members of First Lutheran Church for over twenty years, and Lloyd has been a member of the Christian Education Committee for over ten years. He has taught the Confirmation Class for 17 years. Lloyd is also a Sunday morning usher and lector, leads the Tuesday morning lectionary Bible study when needed, plays the bag pipes for worship from time to time, and recently, was a guest preacher for Sunday worship. June and Lloyd are involved with special music programs at FLC throughout the year.

Lloyd and his wife June have three children: Nathan, (Den Haag, Netherlands), Eve, (Sofia, Bulgaria) and Paul (Bothell) and six grandchildren. Much of their time and travel involves doing things with their family.

June and Lloyd are members of the Bothell Senior Center Variety music group, where June sings and plays the piano, and Lloyd plays the bagpipes. The group presents concerts to local area retirement communities.

From FLC's Music Director, Lucy Kay Osborne:

Sanctuary Choir Returns!

Thursday, September 7, 7 – 8:30 pm

Do you like to sing? This is your invitation to join choir rehearsals in the downstairs music room. We would love to have you join us! You can sing for a season such as Advent/Christmas, or whenever you are available. Please email Lucy Kay Osborne with questions.

“Make a joyful noise to the earth all the lands! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord is God! “Ps. 100:1-3

Church Workday, Saturday, September 9, 9 AM to 12 PM / Noon  

Please help prepare our building and property for the start of fall. A list of work projects will be available and cleaning supplies will be provided. “Many hands make the labor light!” Please contact David Osborne or Mark Schnarre with questions or for additional information. Please join us for part of the morning or for the whole time.  Thank you!

Attention all committees! The FLC Finance Committee would like all 2024 budget requests before the Finance Committee meeting on September 12, to start the fall Stewardship Drive. Please send your requests to Kristin Smith, Bob Berg or Dan Bormann. Thank you for your help!

Council Corner for August 2023 Meeting

On August 15, 2023, Johannes Skjonsby submitted his resignation from the Church Council due to personal reasons. Johannes joined the council on January 27, 2019, and we are so very grateful for all he’s contributed during his time of service.  

On the first Sunday of every month, beginning on September 3rd, two members of the council will host a conversation in The Landing during our Fellowship Hour. There won’t be an agenda; it will, instead, just be a time of community for our church family. So, bring your coffee, questions, thoughts, and any ideas that you’d like to share and stop in for a few minutes or for the entire hour.  Gary Curtis and I will meet you in The Landing on September 3rd. See you then!

Yours in Christ because He lives,

Ho Brown

Council President

[email protected]

Stewardship Opportunities

From your Stewardship Committee

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21)

Have you felt the urge to become more involved and help with our Sunday service? Our worship ministries are always looking for additional help. These include, but are not limited to, Greeters, Ushers, Communion Assistants, Lectors, and Camera and Sound Techs. It’s easy to do. Just reach out to Kristin in our church office, [email protected], with your contact information and area of interest. She will add you to the Scheduling System and put you in contact with a lead for that ministry. Everything is scheduled online. About mid-month, an email is sent out to all interested volunteers with a link to the next calendar month. You simply put in any Sundays you are not available. The system then schedules everyone, and you receive an email with your date or dates for the upcoming month. The ministry lead will get back to you and arrange any necessary training. That’s all there is to it! Kristin or any lead are glad to answer any additional questions.

The new Membership, Stewardship, and Worship & Music committees are also looking for additional volunteers. Not only does participation help your church, but it’s also a great way to get to know additional church members. Please reach out to your Council Liaison or any Council Member should you have an interest in joining one of these or any other church committee. Most committees meet no more than once a month, and most meetings are held on weeknights on Zoom. You’re welcome to audit any meeting as well. Thanks for your consideration!

Environmental Awareness Month 

September is Environmental Awareness Month, which means that environmental organizations throughout the country join together to raise awareness about issues such as global warming, pollution and conservation. Awareness is key to translating knowledge into action. 

National Wildlife Day 

National Wildlife Day is on September 4th. It’s an opportunity to appreciate the beauty and wonder of God’s creations and remember that climate change and other environmental conditions have a huge impact on their lives. It’s up to us to safeguard their world and ours.t

Widows Support Group

September 11, 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

Men’s Breakfast and Bible Study! (Also available on Zoom)

Saturday, September 16, 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

Sunday, September 24th Pool Party at Jackie Fairbanks Home (12:15 – 3 PM)

Youth in Grades 6 – 12 are invited!

NO worries about cold or rain – it’s an Indoor heated pool! PIZZA lunch is included. Just bring a swimsuit and towel. We will leave the Church at 12:15 PM and will return to the Church around 3 PM. Please sign up on the Youth Board. Join Us and Get Your Swim On!

Movie Review Meeting Via ZOOM

Monday, September 18, 7 pm 

The Social Dilemma

 “This documentary explores the sometimes-dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations. Can human behavior be manipulated by coding and influence our actions? This movie interviews social media designers and addiction experts, explaining the effects on users’ mental health and self-image. Is the polarization of our country, protests and riots symptoms of the social media era? What changes are necessary to salvage the good of social media without the bad?” (Summary Credit: The New York Times) Please join us!    

MOVIE REVIEW: Please watch the movie prior to our ZOOM Meeting Review. As of this writing, “The Social Dilemma” is available to watch on Netflix. Our discussion begins with a review of the main points of the movie. We will also explore several of the spiritual themes of this movie. Questions? Please contact Roger Steinke.

Book Club!

September 26, 7 pm

West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge

When 17-year-old Woodrow Wilson Nickel buried the last of his family, he struck out from his Texas panhandle home to find his cousin in New York City. It was 1938, the Great Depression had taken hope from the nation and if that wasn't bad enough, the Dust Bowl era added to the despair.

Now at the age of 105, Woody is in a VA center where he has become aware of the near extinction of so much wildlife because of the ever-increasing human population taking over their habitat. This includes giraffes, which so much of his growing up depended on. He begins to write a journal of an eventful trip he took with a young pair so many decades ago.

Lynda Rutledge has delivered a wonderful, bittersweet coming-of-age novel designed to celebrate hope in a hopeless world. “West With Giraffes” is an unforgettable novel of adventure, unrequited love, and the spirit of America during the bleakest period of its existence.

Please contact Clint Bastin 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. The Zoom link will be sent on Monday, Septemb Please join us!  

Keep taking pictures of your summer( and soon fall) favorite subjects and adventures. Remember to mark a special one for your photo entry to our FLC “ Share your Favorite Photo” contest/ display. We are creating a new youth category for next year/ 2024. A “child/teenage/young adult” photo category. In January we will provide details on how to submit your favorite photo. 

 START CLICKING !

The table by the library door has a new display: “ Books on Prayer” ( books for all ages).

Visit our church library. “CHECK IT OUT” 

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: Earth Ministries

February Monthly Outreach: Hopelink

March Monthly Outreach: Lutheran Community Services

April Monthly Outreach: Poor Peoples Campaign

May Monthly Outreach: Earth Ministries

June Monthly Outreach: Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services

July Monthly Outreach: Lutheran World Relief

August Monthly Outreach: Camp United We Stand

September Monthly Outreach: Lutheran Disaster Response

FLC's Focus on Lutheran World Relief School Kits

Supplies and cash donations deadline: September 23. If you do not wish to shop, please contact Lucy Kay Osborne by September 21.

Set- up for School Kits Stuffing: Saturday, September 23, 9:30 am – 11:30 am. We will be unwrapping school supplies and setting up for school kits stuffing.

LWR School Kits Stuffing: Sunday, September 24, 8:15 am – 11 am. Please help stuff a school kit or 2 on your way into or out of worship!

Lucy Kay Osborne & Audrey Fisher

Community Food Drive:  

First Lutheran Church will partner again with the Northshore Nourishing Network and hold a Community Food Drive during September 2023. Donations of non-perishable food items can be brought to the Church at any time and placed in the Grocery Cart in the Caring Corner or in the Food Drive Container in the Preschool Hallway. Food donations will be distributed to local food pantries and to school food banks. Thank you First Lutheran for your generous help and for giving what you “CAN!”  

Put a Backpack on a Northshore Student’s Shoulders

First Lutheran Church’s Social Ministries Committee invites members of First Lutheran Church to support the Northshore Schools Foundation’s Backpacks for Kids program, which makes backpacks and school supply kits available to students in need across the Northshore community. The Foundation relies on partnerships with communities like First Lutheran to ensure every child can access the resources they need to succeed in their education regardless of their financial circumstances. Your generous financial donations will purchase backpacks and school supplies in bulk at discounted rates. This allows us to maximize the impact of every dollar donated.

Donations should be made directly Northshore Schools Foundation, online here or checks payable to Northshore Schools Foundation can be mailed to NSDF, 13110 NE 177th Place B102-103, Woodinville, WA 98072. Thank you for considering this opportunity. 

Scrip is a Great Way to Increase Your Giving

with Purchases You'd Make Anyway!

Proceeds from FLC's Scrip program recently paid for the shipment of quilts and school/health kits to Lutheran World Relief. Your purchases really do make a difference!

Purchase your Scrip gift cards on Sunday morning before and after worship. (No Scrip sales on Easter Sunday, so get your Easter Basket gifts on Palm Sunday!) You can also 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.)

If you are unable to attend worship or purchase Scrip online, 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.

Another other opportunities for earning money while you shop, for FLC's many social ministry programs:

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.

Sunday, October 8th, 12:15 PM – 5:30 PM “It’s Fall Fun at the Farm!”

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 Church Bus will leave from the Church at 

12:15 PM. We’ll stop for lunch at McDonald’s in Clearview and then “we’ll 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 4:45 PM. Please Sign Up on the Youth Board. 

Journey Classes!  

Everyone has a unique Spiritual Journey. All are invited to grow in faith, learn in understanding, share thoughts and ask questions. Please join us as we Journey in Faith together. The Fall Series of Journey Classes will be held on Sunday, October 22 and Sunday, October 29, from 5 – 6:20 PM. A delicious dinner follows. The class will be on “Worship: Why Do We Do What We Do?” Questions like, “Why do the liturgical colors change?” will be answered. Pastor Berg will be leading the two-week class. The Education Committee will be providing dinner. Join us!

LiVE (rhymes with "give") is an acronym for "Living into Vocational Engagement." LiVE is a ministry of our synod that offers education opportunities for lay people, with the goal of forming Christian leaders able to make sense of God’s world and our place in it.

LiVE offers a flexible, hybrid-style of learning, including multi-week courses, one-day retreats, and interactive learning cohorts. Some offerings are weekday evenings via zoom, others are one-day Saturday retreats. All offer the chance for further discussion, exploration, and community building. Find more information on our website. You can find LiVE’s 2023-24 Course Catalog HERE.

Some examples of LiVE offerings this year include:

· Sovereignty Spirituality – a 5-week course on what indigenous and womanist communities might have to teach us about our Christian faith. · Waiting for God: Reimagining Church Vitality - a 1-day retreat on church sustainability in a time of resource decline.

· Rest & Renewal – a 1-day retreat on wholistic ministry to the body, mind and spirit. · Synod-wide Bible study – a weekly deep dive into the Lectionary scripture.

· Cohorts – CYF, Becoming Anti-Racial Church, and Evolving Church cohorts meet for discussion every 4-6 weeks.

Questions? Email [email protected].

LiVE Fall Retreat - Save the date!

(Living into Vocational Engagement)

LiVE Fall Retreat - Save the date!

(Living into Vocational Engagement)

Saturday, September 23

Location to be announced soon!

Chosen: A Study in God's People-Creating Project  

Dr. Michael Chan will lead this One-day Retreat for any and all lay leaders who wish to revisit the Chosen life of God’s people as heard within the Old Testament. Whether you are new to Scripture or a seasoned Bible reader, this day will bring you new insight, and inspiration for growing closer to the God who chooses people for a life of calling and connection.   

Read more about this opportunity here

Crossways Bible Study

Ever had reading the entire Bible on your bucket list? Let Crossways and Pastor Mike Anderson be your guide. This two-year program, hosted by Holy Spirit Lutheran Church, begins October 1 with Genesis, and will include pre-recorded lectures sent on Sundays to your email address to be watched at your leisure. Optional Thursday evening Zoom discussions will follow each lecture’s release. The course is academic in nature and works well for those with or without Bible background. Click on the following link to register and to read endorsements from: Kathryn Buffum, Red Burchfield, Rena Connell, and Rebecca Langholz.  Crossways Registration and Information.