-  by Fred Wicks

The “Stories to Tell & Gifts to Share” devotional guide that we received in May was a new approach to stewardship that has many members of Holy Spirit buzzing about it.

Recall some of the wonderful titles:

            My Persistent Friend

                        Fishing - With Jesus

                                    Make God Smile

                                                Incredible Journey

                                                            Jack and the Bean Stalk 

Pastor Mike believes that these stories are at the very core of our stewardship and our service to the church.  “These are stories of our faith,” he said. “It is these inspirations that propel us to give and serve.”

Sharlene Hauge welcomed the insights into people that the stories provided, “With three services it is pretty hard to get to know our people.”   Sharlene voiced her opinion that this would be worth doing again, a view echoed by many.

“The stories were wonderful,” said Kevin Olson, “I enjoyed learning who some of our people are.  We are a diverse and wonderful and caring people.”  We found that it seems to resonate with many that they appreciate getting to know each other in a deeper way.  This view was echoed by Jennifer Pruitt, “I love that we’re taking the opportunity to get to know each other.  It is nice to learn about people that you haven’t had the opportunity to meet.”

We all remember Fishing - with Jesus.  Beverly Berg was thrilled when asked to read her story in church.  “It was great; I wanted to tell my story.”   She added, “I think this whole idea was fantastic!”  Beverly was surprised when asked to read Fishing - with Jesus.  She thought she would be asked to read The Antelope Story.  Now don’t you wish we could all hear that one! 

From reading and hearing the stories of others, Beverly said that she found out so many wonderful things about her friends.  “I see them in a different light,” she said.  A similar view was expressed by Harry Hanson, who commented, “It is very interesting to find out why people believe.”

We never know what impact our faith can have on others.  Beverly Berg said that not just her friends but strangers came up to her and told her how much they appreciated her story.

Pastor Mike noted, “The stories have a wonderful spiritual quality that is personally inspiring!”

By Anja Helmon

My mom retired to Florida.  One of the greatest things about retirement is that she’s able to come visit for a month or more at a time.  She never lived in this area before, though, so she doesn’t know anyone.  She comes for an extended period of time, but then finds herself antsy, looking for social events since my sister and I are busy with work, church, etc.  She’s very active at home in Florida (she organizes a Singles group there), so settling into our normal, everyday routines isn’t something that’s easy for her.

When she comes for a visit, I’m always looking for things to do with her, and for her on her own.  As I believe is normal for everyone, getting her to join an activity on her own, not knowing anyone, is not easy.  She doesn’t know what the people will be like, whether it’ll be an activity she’ll enjoy, whether she’ll feel like an outsider, etc. However, I saw a good opportunity with this last visit.

The eNews advertised a Vintage Spirits Field Trip to the Annual Tulip Festival.  I took my mom to the Tulip Festival a few years ago, and she really enjoyed it.  I wasn’t sure if my mom would feel comfortable going, though.  It was a workday for me, which was great since she could do it when I wasn’t around.  It meant she’d go alone, though, without knowing a single person.  I wasn’t sure she’d do it.

I got all the information, sent an email to Tammie Zarfos (who was organizing the event) to ask if there was room (there was), and I gave it all to my mom.  She sounded interested, but was noncommittal.  When the day came, my mom called me as she got in the car to drive to HSLC… she was already 20 minutes late.  I sighed, guessing she will have missed it.  I couldn’t help but wonder if being late was a subconscious “dragging of feet” because she was nervous about the event.

When I didn’t hear back from her after an hour or so, I called her.  She answered in a happy and ‘I’m-having-fun’ tone.  She was having a great time.  She talked about all of her new friends, and her voice expressed how genuinely welcomed she felt.  I couldn’t be happier.  It wasn’t too long after that day that my mom flew home (to Dayton to see my other sister first, then she’ll drive to Florida from there).  She sent me this email after an event-filled flight (but that’s a different story):

Hi Anja, Have arrived in Dayton last night. What a hassle.

I want to thank you for suggesting the Tulip Festival while I was in Seattle. I really enjoyed meeting the people that attend The Holy Spirit Church. Everyone was so friendly to me and made me feel so welcome. The tulips were so beautiful and the weather cooperated. After taking many pictures of the many gardens and unique designs with tulips; we went into town for shopping and lunch. A quaint town with many great stores that welcomed us. Of course, we did stop by the ice cream store for ice cream. We then stopped outside the van to take a group picture before heading back to the Church. I really enjoyed all the people on the trip. Several people had interesting stories to tell. There was a nice mixture of couples and Singles. I look forward to being involved with the next activity with the Church the next time I am in town.

Thanks again,
Mom

I should explain her comment about the ice cream… my mom is an ice cream fanatic.  She always has been, and it’s become a family tradition.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the group did not actually plan to stop for ice cream, but my mom somehow coerced them into it J. 

I love this church.  I’m reminded of how much I love this church all the time.  However, now I have a new way – they welcomed my mom, and made her feel at home.  Thank you, Vintage Spirits.  This may have just been another fun field trip for you, but it meant much more to my mom (Gladys)… and especially to me.

By Anja Helmon

The last time I attended an Easter egg hunt, I was hunting for eggs.  I remember running around in my Easter dress, surrounded by many bright colored plastic eggs, and eagerly grabbing as many as possible.  I didn’t really care about the candy; the excitement was in the activity… how many could I find?  As an adult, I’ve hosted small Easter egg hunts for the kids in my family, but I’ve never attended an organized Easter egg hunt.  So, I was curious to see what I would find at Holy Spirit on April 11^th. 

The festivities began at 10:30am, but I arrived late at 10:45am.  I was worried I would already have missed it – I mean, how long can it really take to find all the eggs?  My hope was to make it in time to catch the chaos of kids roaming around the grounds, searching for the last few, well hidden, eggs.  Little did I know that HSLC’s Easter egg hunt had much more in store than just the hunt!

The first thing I noticed when I arrived was the many, bright colored eggs scattered around the grass; but no chaos or kids roaming to find them. I figured I’d see what was going on, and started by walking to the south end of the church, where I found a few Easter bunnies disguised as HSLC volunteers, hiding eggs.  As I continued around to the back of the church, I found more of these curious bunnies.  They came in all sizes, as some were hunting for eggs themselves just last year! 

As I entered the back of the church to find out more, I found the chaos!  The Fellowship Hall was filled wall to wall with kids.  Every child had a bag, markers, and other decorating tools to create their own, personalized bag for holding Easter eggs.  There were muffins and fruit laid out for all to enjoy, and the Hall was packed with kids excitedly decorating, running, and exploring while parents tried to keep up! 

At 11:15am, Becky Cole called the Hall to order.  She gathered the kids to hear the Easter story.  There were big kid volunteers and little kid volunteers who helped by taking either a colored egg or a picture.  As Becky told the story of Easter, the volunteers assisted by opening their egg and finding a prop that fit that moment in the story, then finding the kid with the picture to match.  Through the use of the volunteers and props, Becky kept the kids’ attention through to the end with Jesus’ resurrection!

As Becky let everyone know that the back grounds were for older kids, the south side for younger, the excitement grew and the kids were hard to contain.  The doors opened and kids exploded through them, eyes wide as they took in all the colors peeking through from their hiding spots.  Suddenly, the Fellowship Hall was empty, with kids roaming the grounds and parents trailing. 

I watched as one little girl was so excited to run to the next group of eggs, that her bag tilted and all the eggs she had already found spilled out onto the ground behind her.  She was too excited to gather the new eggs to even notice the loss of the old!  I also watched some of the older kids as they noticed someone who only had a couple of eggs in his bag.  Suddenly, so many kids were offering their eggs to him, that he had more than the others who were sharing!!

And then, the eggs were gone.  All were found, and the kids were filing back into the church with their parents, emptying the candy into their bags so they could recycle the eggs into boxes for use next year.  As the participants, parents and volunteers emptied out of the church, I reflected on how much planning, organization, and coordination went into this event.  I had come expecting to see a 15-30 minute egg hunt, and left having witnessed an entire morning full of activities, filled with opportunities to learn about Easter, as well as giving and sharing.  Each child obviously enjoyed every activity to the end.  And I enjoyed watching them.

By Paige Rinnert

Holy Spirit’s first annual “Senior Prom” was a blast for all the Vintage Spirits (aka ‘seniors’) and confirmands that attended! The event was organized by two eighth grade Confirmation groups: Ron and Fred’s  group of eight boys and Jan’s group of six girls. The Fellowship Hall, where the Senior Prom was held, was decorated with streamers, balloons, and other festive prom decorations.

Around thirty seniors (or Vintage Spirits) showed up on Thursday evening, January 29^th for the Senior Prom. Many of them danced to their favorite songs from the 30s, 40s and 50s. A few seniors were even brave enough to dance the Macarena with the younger generation! Everyone had fun hearing music they knew - as well as music from other generations.

There were also other things to do besides dance. The seniors  (or V.S.’s) talked to each other and shared their many memories and experiences with the younger generation. Food and refreshments, like cookies and punch, were always available. The youth enjoyed taking pictures of the seniors (or V.S.’s) as they arrived and each other, as well as talking with the seniors.

Overall, the Senior Prom was a fun, intergenerational event that was enjoyed by all who attended!

We’d like to send a special thanks to Tammie Zarfos, Jeff Hall and Walter Schlotterbeck.  The Senior Prom couldn’t have happened without them!

By Anja Helmon

It was cold.  And white.  Christmas Eve in Kirkland… who would have thought we’d have a white Christmas?  When was the last white Christmas?  No one seems to remember, but everyone agrees it has been a long time.  Snow tends to slow things down.  Activities get canceled, people stay at home, keeping warm by their fireplace while watching kids make snow angels and snowmen outside. 

You have to take the good with the bad.  Snow also means it’s hard to do things that may be important to you.  It cuts into traditions… like Christmas.

The Christmas Choir Concert had been canceled due to snow.  At the time, I don’t think many people thought snow would impact Christmas Eve, too!  The great tradition of Christmas Eve...  Kids spend weeks, maybe more, preparing.  Families who don’t make it to service every week will come on Christmas Eve.  It’s a chance to catch up with familiar faces, to watch kids perform Christmas celebrations, and to enjoy candlelight service while singing Christmas carols.  Holy Spirit Lutheran Church had five services planned: 3pm, 5pm, 7pm, 9pm and 11pm.

But then, Christmas Eve, and the continuation of snow, arrived.  It just seemed to be too much to take on… the dangerous, icy roads, getting the walkways and parking lots cleared… and expectations of how many people would actually arrive were low.  Church services were just one of many holiday activities being canceled all over the city.  It looked like many typical Christmas Eve traditions may be skipped this year.

But not for Holy Spirit.  Although the Longest Night Service had been canceled, church staff were determined to keep Christmas Eve.  Low attendance was expected, kids had missed way too many practice dates for their performance, the choir might not make it, but that’s ok… the service must go on! 

But when 3pm rolled around, the church was in for quite a surprise.  There were close to 60 kids, in costume, whose parents braved the weather to bring them for the Christmas Eve performance!  But what would they perform?  There were few practices, and although the program had been rewritten to accommodate, the kids didn’t know the new program!  That’s ok… we’re HSLC folk, we roll with it J  The kids put on a “Lessons & Carols” style performance, and they were spectacular!  Although the nursery was open, there wasn’t a single child there… they were all at the service.

When the 5pm service began, more people rolled in.  Glowsticks and candy canes were provided, giving the younger kids a light to hold during the candlelight ending.  A children’s message was given for the kids, and another successful service completed.  Glowsticks and candy canes were given to children again at the 7pm service.  More people came to attend a candlelight traditional Christmas Eve service.

The choir was scheduled to perform at the 9pm service, but they hadn’t met to practice in weeks, and most choir members probably couldn’t make it.  Yet another surprise…

although the choir was, indeed, smaller than normal, there were still plenty of voices, singing beautifully in a full church.

As the night continued, the streets would be getting worse, so the 11pm service wasn’t likely to be as full.  And yet, when 11pm rolled around, the sanctuary filled once again; ready to greet Christmas Day with hope, prayer and reflection.

Across all of the services, it became apparent that the snow did, in fact, impact the attendance.  However, the impact was in a way we weren’t expecting.  It is true that there were many in our congregation who simply were unable to overcome the snow and ice in the driveway and on the streets.  However, the cancellation of other churches’ services (Faith Lutheran and Trinity Lutheran were both closed) left many in search of a way to keep their Christmas Eve traditions alive.  They found an answer in Holy Spirit. 

We had almost 950 people attend on Christmas Eve.  This is comparable to previous years when there was no snow!  Not only was it wonderful to be able to keep at least this Christmas tradition alive, and not only were we able to provide, accommodate, and welcome our neighbors, but we were also given the opportunity to meet and commune with people who share our faith and yet are new to us.  What greater Christmas gift is there than that?

By Anja Helmon

Wow… what an election!!  For many reasons, the national and local elections held on November 4, 2008, will be one of the most memorable.  And Holy Spirit Lutheran Church played a part!!  As many of you may know by the many flyers that were posted around the church and the announcements in the church bulletins, HSLC’s Advocacy team hosted a Candidate Forum for State Representative of the 45^th District on October 20.  What a great way for HSLC to encourage, educate and enable citizenship in our community!

It was a stormy night, but that didn’t impact attendance.  Not only did the Candidate Forum get the attention of our neighbors, but some local politicians also arrived, interested to see how each candidate would do.  All in all, about 50 people attended.  Pastor Mike welcomed the community to HSLC and introduced Mary-Alyce Burleigh, HSLC church council president, Kirkland city council member, and former Kirkland mayor, as moderator for the forum.

Mary-Alyce started by reading a short statement from the ‘Called to Be a Public Church’ publication (published by the ELCA):  “Voting is one of the most important ways that Americans can be involved in our representative democracy.   Through the simple act of casting an informed vote we have the opportunity and responsibility to help make decisions that will impact our lives, and the lives of our families, for the next 2-8 years.” 

State Representative Roger Goodman (Democrat Incumbent) and former State Representative Toby Nixon (GOP Challenger) were introduced and the forum officially began with a 3 minute opening statement from each candidate.  Yes, they were kept to 3 minutes, and unlike our national candidates, they actually stuck to it!  The Advocacy Team was all business with their yellow and red cards to signal when time was running low J

The first question was a great opener, “What will be your top three priorities if you are elected to the State House of Representatives?”  Toby Nixon answered first with (paraphrased) 1) Public Safety, 2) Economy and Jobs, and 3) Traffic Congestion.  Representative Goodman’s priorities were 1) Educational Transformation and 2) Public Safety.  He never got to the 3^rd, as he ran out of time.  Of course, their actual answers were a bit more verbose, but you’ll need to log onto the HSLC website (http://www.hslckirkland.org/Sermons/mp3/forum081020.mp3) to hear the tape if you want the details!   (Unfortunately, the tape ran out before the end of the forum, but most of the dialogue is there.)

The following topics were also discussed:  Affordable Housing; State Budget; Taxes; Program Cuts; Affordable Healthcare; Environment/Climate; Education, including Charter Schools; Initiative Stances; and Transportation. 

What may have been the most memorable question was when a young girl asked what the candidates will do to help her brother in his fight against autism?  We heard such great questions from all ages.

As one question pointed out, the main difference that seemed to appear between the candidates was one of regulation.  Toby Nixon, who prefers minimum government involvement, favors regulation only when residents are at risk for fraud.  In contrast, Representative Goodman would employ regulation as a tool to drive policy.

Despite their differences, though, this may have been the most friendly, respectful, and cordial forum in the 2008 elections.  Both candidates seemed to authentically like and respect each other.  Seeing that candidates running for the same office can disagree while being honest and open about where and how they disagree, and without tearing each other’s ideas down, was the most refreshing and enlightening part of the evening.

A big thank you to the Advocacy Team for bringing the candidates to HSLC.  I, for one, feel a bit more enabled, educated, and encouraged because of their efforts!

FYI ~ Roger Goodman won the election.  The results of this race can be found at http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/200808/Respage12.aspx.