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Spiritual development is a
life-long process. Adult
Education provides opportu-
nities to study the Bible and
apply the scriptural teachings
to our lives as disciples of
Jesus. It also provides oppor-
tunities to learn about and
discuss a variety of contem-
porary issues facing Christians
today.
At Phinney we offer Adult
Education between worship
services each Sunday at
10:00 a.m. (except during the
summer). Our Sunday classes
range from beginning-level
Bible studies to what you
might expect at a university-
level learning opportunity.
Some are taught by our own
members and pastors; some-
times we bring in guest
speakers. There is never any
advance registration neces-
sary. All that’s needed is a
desire to learn – so just come
and join in!
Tower Echoes The Monthly Newsletter of Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church 7500 Greenwood Avenue North
Seattle, Washington 98103 206.783.2350 — www.prlc.org
Volume 61, Issue Two February 2014
February 9
1) Prayer and Pain Management
Dealing with your own pain or
helping a loved one cope with their
suffering can be an excruciating challenge. This class will help you
to better understand the many tools, from pharmacology to pray-
er, that can help during these diffi-
cult times. Presenter Roy Mock is a board certified clinical Pharma-
cist specializing in oncology and
pain management.
2) The Caregiver Circle will meet in
the Wartburg Room. This is a sup-
port group for people who care for
others with special needs.
February 16
Planning a Memorial Service
If you've ever settled a loved one's
affairs after death, you know it can
be difficult to plan a funeral or me-morial service. Family and friends
want to honor the person who has died, but they may not agree on
what's best. The grief and stress of
loss can make decisions even more challenging. Taking the time to
document your wishes for a funeral
or memorial service can both en-sure that you get the kind of service
you want and provide tremendous relief for your loved ones. This ma-
This Month’s Adult Forums Every Sunday Morning at 10
Ash Wednesday is on March 5 this year. That day marks the beginning of Lent, the 40-day period of prayer that leads to Easter.
If you saved your palm fronds from last year’s Palm Sunday service, we invite you to bring them in to the Grace Station or to the church office sometime in the next few weeks. They will be burned, and their ashes will be used to make the crosses placed on worshipers’ fore-heads on Ash Wednesday. We’ll need them by Sunday March 2, Transfiguration Sunday.
You can observe Ash Wednesday at Phinney at any of three services that day:
at 11:15 a.m. in
the Chapel, followed by a Lenten soup lunch
at 6:30 p.m. in the
Tree of Life Room (a brief service designed for families with children)
at 7:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary
All services include imposition of ashes, preaching, and holy commun-ion. Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return ...
Ash Wednesday Is March 5
Continued on page 5
February 2014 Tower Echoes
2
Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church 7500 Greenwood Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103 206-783-2350 www.prlc.org
Church Staff
R. L. Christensen,
Interim Pastor [email protected]
Patrick Meagher,
Minister of Outreach [email protected]
Nancy Monelli, Children
and Family Minister [email protected]
Darren Hochstedler,
Parish Administrator [email protected]
Tim Sullivan, Child
Development Center
Director [email protected]
Nancy Winder Allan Bruck
Pastoral Assistants
Christina Bogar, Office
Manager [email protected]
Valerie Shields, Organist
and Youth Choir
Director
Beth Ann Bonnecroy,
Chancel and Handbell
Choirs Director
Shari Anderson,
Children’s Choir
Director
Kent Stevenson, Gospel
Choir Director
Dallas Cooper Anthony Nelson Steven Berry
Custodians
Johanna Eby Erika Anguiano
Nursery Attendants
Sunday Schedule: Holy Communion at 8:30 and 11:00 a.m.
Sunday School and Adult Forum at 10:00 a.m.
Church Office Hours: Monday-Thursday 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Friday 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Next Tower Echoes Deadline:
February 26, 2014 (for the March edition, to be mailed March 5, 2014)
Led by the Holy Spirit, the mission of Phinney Ridge
Lutheran Church is to provide a place to worship God,
to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and to reach out to the community.
Circles for February But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven ...
~ Matthew 5: 44 Minister of Outreach Patrick Meagher will lead the Circles in February through a study of Matthew 5:38-48. Circles are scheduled for the following times and places during the month:
Mary/Martha: Wednesday, February 12 at 1 p.m.
in the Tree of Life Room
Salem: Wednesday, February 19 at 10 a.m. at the home of Randi Valdok
Bethany: Monday, February 17 at 9:30 a.m. at the home of Caroline Brakken
Parents’ Night Out
LYONS Summer 2014 Middle School
Service Trip Fundraiser
Plan a date night! LYONS staff and middle school
students are offering an evening of fun childcare for
kids potty-trained age and up!
Kids will enjoy games, crafts, and a movie
Dinner provided (pizza and fruit; please pack an
alternate meal if your child has allergies)
Suggested donation: $30 first child, $15 each
additional child. All proceeds go to the LYONS
summer trip.
Lots of great date destinations near the church:
Stumbling Goat, Gorgeous George’s, The Ridge,
Yanni’s, Martino’s, Cornuto Pizzeria, Gordito’s,
418 Public House, etc.
No need to sign up—see you on the 15th!
Questions? Contact Renée Dudley, LYONS Program
Assistant: [email protected].
Saturday, February 15, 4–8 pm at
Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church
February 2014 Tower Echoes
3
We offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given us:
Our selves, our time and our possessions, signs of your gracious love.
Receive them for the sake of the One who offered himself for us, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
There is a lot of power in these words: words that most of us have heard over and over throughout the years. An invi-tation to generous giving in response to a generous God.
I am happy to report that we were able to match our expenses to our income in 2013 with a transfer from the excess earnings of the Child Development Center. We are also in the great position of being able to save money for the Pastoral Call Process, the CDC Savings account
and our reserve fund. If you are ever interested in more information about our church finances, please contact me in the church office.
At our annual meeting worship we had the chance to hear from over 35 people at each service who re-
minded us of the ministry that is carried on by us inside and outside the walls of our church building. If you weren’t able to be there that morning, take a look at the bulletin board in the nar-
thex. Many of the ministries are highlighted. These ministries are possible only because of your gener-ous giving. Thank you!
Thanks be to God!
Darren Hochstedler Parish Administrator
2013 Financials
~ Minister of Outreach Patrick Meagher
Mary’s Place Beginning on February 11th, we wel-come back our Mary’s Place guests for a week of safe shelter and warm hospitality. There are ways to sup-port the program that don’t require pre-training, so it is never too late for you to be involved. Contact Minis-ter of Outreach Patrick if interested.
Jena’s Surgery Update Jena, my lovely wife, underwent a procedure to remove a brain tumor in January. We are thrilled to report nothing but positive results from the surgery! Everything went as planned without any of the potential compli-cations for such an event. And given the moderate nature of the tumor, and the success of the removal, we were told Jena would likely be done with this issue for the rest of her life. Furthermore, we are both left truly amazed by the active support so many of you poured out over us throughout this ordeal. You kept us going, you really did. Thank you for showing us the love of Jesus.
Outreach Report
Write to Our YAGM
Jerusalem Volunteer
PRLC is proud to have life-long member Abigail Cress serving with the ELCA’s Young Adults in Global Mission in Jerusalem.
Abby maintains a thoughtful and interesting blog at https://yagminjerusalem.shutterfly.com/, but you can also write her the old-fashioned way, putting a piece of paper in an envelope and dropping it in the mailbox. To do so, send it to:
Lutheran Church of the Redeemer Abby Cress P.O. Box 14076 Muristan Road—Old City 91140 Jerusalem ISRAEL
February 2014 Tower Echoes
4
The Monelli Memo
Recently, five-year-old Elise stated that she knew the story about Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus
because she had those action figures at home and she had played with them. Greta, who was sitting beside her, suddenly looked up with a smile of recognition. “I have those action figures at my house too,” she said
happily.
I have never before heard of the figures in a nativity scene referred to as action figures, but I like this description because it shows me that these little girls know something really profound about the people of
the Bible – they were real and they were active. Salvation did not begin as thought, but as the action of God
taking on human form and being present to us as a teacher, healer, and finally, Savior. And since we are called to be followers of Christ—preaching, teaching, and serving in His name—we
too are called to action. Do your children see you as action figures within our community of faith or mere
spectators?
For His Sake,
Nancy
Children and Family Ministries
Bread for the Journey Continues (but takes a break on February 19th)
There will be no Youth or children’s choir rehearsals, classes, or dinner on Wednesday, February 19th due
to Winter break.
Sunday School News Sunday school is growing and changing! Next year,
the Kindergarten and first grade classes will meet
together, and the second and third grade students
will meet as a class. New teachers and helpers are needed to help make this transition a smooth one
and to ensure that the light of Christ will still shine in
our classrooms through Bible-based creative pro-graming. Interested? Please contact Nancy Monelli
Attention Mentors & Confirmation Students
Mentor Sunday is February 9th. Please gather in the
Chapel at 10 am
Gifts to Help Ease Grief A new fund has been established to purchase materi-
als to help children and teens to deal with times of
grief. If your youngster has experienced a loss, please
contact Nancy Monelli and she will be happy to talk with them and give them a book that is appropriate
for their age and situation.
Phinney Phlames! The Phinney Phlames (the youth group for 4th and 5th graders) will meet from noon until 1:30 pm on
Sunday, February 9. We will be baking cookies and
making Valentines gifts for community members in need. Participants should bring a sack lunch. Bever-
ages and dessert will be provided.
Heart to Heart An Afternoon Retreat for
Girls in 3rd – 6th grade and their Mothers
Sunday, February 23,
2014, 11am – 4 pm This event is for girls in the third
through sixth grades and their mothers. It will pro-
vide a time for prayer, sharing and caring, learning more about one another, and growing in faith togeth-
er. There will also be food, fun, and crafts. Registra-
tion materials are available at the Grace Station.
Programs for Grown-Ups
February 9
The Caregiver Circle will meet in the Wartburg Room at 10am. This is a support group for people who care for others with special needs.
February 2014 Tower Echoes
5
The Pastor’s Page Maybe You Will Find That Word
Sisters and brothers: Tuesday, February 4, 2014, is the fourth anniversary
of my wife’s death. Forgive me for being self-indulgent in this space. Writing about it helps. Maybe there will be a Word in it all.
Pat’s death came after a seven month flurry of medi-cal activity. Consults. Tests. Medication. More consults. Tests. Tests. Tests. The last test indicated that the cancer was all over Pat’s body.
The doctor recommended that she enter Hospice care. That decision was both hard and easy to make. I had worked on the Hospice board for years. I knew the quality of care that was provided to persons who were at the end of life. Both of us hated to give up hope of a cure happening. Hard. Easy.
Hospice did all of the things they are good at doing. Pat’s comfort was foremost. Morphine was the chief
drug for palliative care. It must have worked – Pat never complained of pain.
The Hospice folks were helpful in providing a pre-view of what was to come. We knew that life would slow down and down. The time would come when in-continence would be an issue. A hospital bed would be helpful in the last stages. A coma was possible. And at some point Pat’s body would refuse to receive the medi-cine she was given for pain management.
Everything went as the professionals said it would. No surprises. Except!
Pat was a very strong woman. She wanted nothing
to do with all the fuss being made in her last weeks. I believe in my heart of hearts that on February 4, 2010, she decided that she had had enough. Surprise! After two weeks in Hospice care she left our embrace to be taken into the arms of God.
The next while is more a blur than clear. I know we did all the things a family has to do when death comes to call. The usual stuff of life was done more mechani-cally than enthusiastically. We made it which I take to be a sign of God’s goodness.
These days my prayer life concerning Pat is ambigu-ous. I thank God for keeping her safe, for repairing all hurts, and for re-uniting her with people who joined the company of heaven before her. I also remind God that it would be nicer for me if she was with me rather than with God. Praying both parts of the prayers is important for me. I trust God manages to receive the thanks and forgives my selfishness all at the same time.
At the outset of this piece I hoped that a Word might surface that would be helpful to others. I am not sure what that Word is. Maybe you will find it and let me know.
My other hope was that writing about the event would ease some of the pain of it. That has happened for me. Thank you for listening. God’s peace, R. L. Christensen
terial is applicable for people in all
phases of life, and you will receive
forms and guidance to help in the planning. We will discuss low cost
cremation and burial options, the
recently installed columbarium and memorial wall, and how future
phases will be built. You will leave with the tools and (we hope) moti-
vation to plan a beautiful memorial
service and leave clear directions for the disposition of your remains.
February 23
What Does It Mean to Be Lutheran
Today?
Our culture is always changing and
rethinking faith and spirituality. Where does the Lutheran church
fit into this? Rev. Erik Samuelson, Campus Pastor and Director of Vo-
cational and Spiritual Formation at
Trinity Lutheran College will share not only some surprising new data,
but also some hopeful news for Lu-
therans.
March 2
On Welcoming All God’s People
Following up from November's
discussion What Does the Communi-
ty of God Look Like?, join us for an-
other forum on PRLC and racial
diversity. Our main issues under discussion will be continued from
the first forum: What does it look
like to welcome all God’s people to church? Where does our communi-
ty stand on creating a loving, di-
verse environment that is inclusive to all who wish to come and wor-
ship here? We will discuss what our next steps as a congregation
could be, including during transi-
tion and how we can involve the upcoming pastor.
This Month’s Adult Forums
Continued from page 1
February 2014 Tower Echoes
6
February 2014 Tower Echoes
7
FEB 11-18 Mary’s Place at PRLC Contact PRLC member Peggy Kreger to volunteer!
FEB 15 SAT
LYONS “Parents Night Out” Fundraiser 4-8 pm on the 200 Level
FEB 17 MON
Presidents’ Day Holiday CDC and Church Office closed
FEB 19 WED
NO Bread for the Journey
MAR 5 WED
+ Ash Wednesday Services at 11:15 am, 6:30 pm (family service), and 7:30 pm
Lenten soup lunch served after the 11:15 service
MAR 12-APR 9 EVERY WED
Lenten Mid-week Services 11:15 am in the Chapel, followed by Lenten soup lunch in the
library
APR 20 SUN
+ Easter Sunday Services at 8:30 and 11 am
Easter Breakfast offered in Fellowship Hall
Upcoming Events at
Phinney Ridge
Lutheran Church
7500 Greenwood Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98103
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