I’m with the DJ | 8.4.21

Hello everyone, 

I pray that you and your loved ones are doing well. It’s nice to have sunny weather, that’s a bit cooler. This week, we participated in “National Night Out”. Our mayor dropped by along with police officers and firefighters. To learn more about National Night Out, check this out,

https://www.cityoffederalway.com/page/national-night-out-2021

Here’s a quick video I took of one of the firefighters reaching for a basketball rim. They were all very kind.

If you haven’t participated in an event like this where you get to meet your neighbors and local hero’s, I’d encourage you to do so. 

I’m including a link below of a resource for mental health awareness. Please feel free to share these resources and take a look for yourself. 

https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Awareness-Events/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month



Peace be with you!



Pastor DJ

I'm with the DJ | 7.28.21

Church family and friends, 


I pray that you and your loved ones are doing well. For those with students living in their house, we are in full summer mode. My kids are enjoying fishing, tennis and riding bikes. Similar to last summer, this is a season of sun, joy and anticipation. For many of us, we are holding our breath to re-launch in person worship at our church. Recently, we’ve surveyed people connected to our church and I’m excited to share some of the results with you over the next several weeks. One question we asked was, “what are you looking forward to when we re-launch in person worship?” Here is a word cloud of your responses. The larger the word, the more people clicked the same response. 

 

Something we are learning from you and our community is that providing more opportunities to gather together in safe socially distant ways is one of our key priorities. Our leadership group, Church Council has appointed a smaller group to focus on re-launching in person worship. Our team is based off of Jeremiah 29:11-12.

"11 For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. 12 Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.” (New Revised Standard Version)

If you have any questions or feedback please email federalwayumc@gmail.com. Here is a list of our team members…

Pastor DJ

Sandy S.

Janine D.

Ann M.

Marissa T.

Sharon W.

Paul A.

Bobbie M

Byron O.


Right now, our Jeremiah 29 team has set a tentative date of August 29th to begin adding in-person worship. We understand that re-launching will be carefully done and each week will open up more and more. 

Something I’d like to address is the rise of Covid-19 Delta variant. Our team will closely monitor what’s happening daily and appraise you of the newest info as soon as we are able. One site we are using is the Center of Disease control Covid-19 tracker. To see one of the sources we are using, click here https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home


We look forward to continue to learn from you as we work toward Re-Launch. 

blessings,

Pastor DJ


I’m with the DJ | 7.23.21

Weekly email 7.20. 2021


I pray that you and your loved ones are enjoying the cooler, yet still warm weather. My family and I have been enjoying being outdoors when possible.  I’d like to begin by thanking that many of you who took the time to fill out our Spring Survey. We had 56 responders in total which is an increase from our last survey. 

I’d also like to invite you and your loved ones to join us in recording our welcome statement for our church. Here are the instructions. 

  1. You can record using your phone, or email SharonatChurch@gmail.com, to set up a time for her to record you at church.

  2. Please record in a place where we can hear you easily.

  3. Record with the phone horizontally positioned.

  4. Please read this in its entirety…

    1. We are a welcoming community that seeks to grow in love for God and our neighbor as we walk in faith and reach out in love. We celebrate God's acceptance of all people, and affirm that all are made in the image of God. We welcome the full participation in our church of everyone, without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, education, marital circumstances, physical and mental abilities, and economic status. We passionately believe that God has given all people gifts to use for building a world of mercy, justice, and peace.

Please use this link to upload your videos. 


https://www.dropbox.com/request/pGDuTp8Igmf1mDBWFPtl

Pastor DJ

I’m with the DJ | 7.14.21

Church family and friends,


This past weekend we held our first “Unplugged, Unpotluck” event at our church parking lot after worship service. It was a wonderful time of fellowship, singing and games. I’m including a 60 second montage of pictures on this post. We are planning on putting together another one hopefully this Fall.

Welcome video to church:

We would love for you to be a part of our welcome to church video. All we need from you is to read our welcome statement on video and this Fall, we will create a montage of people reading our welcome statement at the start of our service. We would like a diversity of all our people and community please.

  1. Please record your video horizontally, if you need assistance, contact Sharon Wisenburg at the church and she can set up a time to record with you at church on a designated Wednesday. Office@fwumc.org.

  2. ”We are a welcoming community that seeks to grow in love for God and our neighbor as we walk in faith and reach out in love. We celebrate God's acceptance of all people, and affirm that all are made in the image of God. We welcome the full participation in our church of everyone, without regard to race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, religion, education, marital circumstances, physical and mental abilities, and economic status. We passionately believe that God has given all people gifts to use for building a world of mercy, justice, and peace.”

This Sunday, Reverend Yvonne Agduyeng will be our guest preacher. She’s a Pastor at First Church Seattle

Rev. Yvonne was born in the Philippines and grew up in Kent, WA. She holds a master of Divinity from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC. Yvonne was commissioned in 2016 as a Global Mission Fellow (GMF) of the Global Board of Global Ministries and served in Germany working alongside refugees and migrant ministries of Bremen United Methodist Church. Yvonne has been serving as co-pastor at First UMC Seattle since July 2020 and was commissioned as provisional elder in 2021. During her free time, Yvonne enjoys reading, hiking, and yoga.

Reverend Yvonne will be using Genesis 22 as her preaching text. I’ve had the privilege of hearing her preach before and she’s very gifted.

Please note that we have a page on our website FWUMC.org with any updates regarding adding in-person worship. Our grounding Scripture is Jeremiah 29:11-12:

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

The purpose of our group, Jeremiah 29, is mandated by our leadership team (Church Council). We report directly to Church Council and are tasked with making decisions, communicating and working with our community as our community shifts from strictly online engagement to adding in-person gatherings in a safe way.

If you would like to contact us, please email Jeremiah29fwumc@gmail.com


Peace be with you church and I look forward to seeing you soon,

Pastor DJ






I’m with the DJ | 7.8.21

Church friends and family,

Curiosity. This is my word for the week. As the season shifts to Summer and quarantine regulations slowly relax; exploring and learning the world around me is a new blessing. As followers of Jesus, one of our greatest gifts is our ability to engage with people with an authentic desire to know and be known. When we engage with people around us, they too might want to learn our story. If our story is entwined with the grace of Jesus that shapes and transforms us, we naturally become storytellers pointing to Jesus.

In the picture below. You can see Bishop Elaine and members of her cabinet (District Superintendents) amongst others. We gathered recently to ordained and commission persons as clergy persons in the United Methodist Church. One of my roles in our conference is to lead a team, interviewing candidates who have finished seminary or are very close to. Candidates share their faith stories, talk about theology and we spend time getting to know them. One thread that is very common in the faith stories we hear is a desire to engage in the community around them and a desire to learn more about their faith. For these folks, the road lead to serving as clergy.

As we draw closer to this weekend, how are you engaging with people you have been around for the past year? How are you curious to learn more about the people you spend a finite amount of time with? In the Scriptures, we rarely know how long Jesus spent with people. We did know that He asked questions, told stories and met people where they were.

——————-

I hope to see you all this weekend after our church service for our unplugged, unpotluck gathering. As we gather, please remember to maintain social distance.

See you soon!

Pastor DJ

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I’m with the DJ | 6.30.21

 

Friends of Federal Way UMC, 


I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are staying safe and cool during this heat wave. This weekend is the time we celebrate the Independence of our Nation on July 4th. I pray that you have a great time celebrating and connecting with your community. 

This Sunday, we begin a new sermon series “Anything but Ordinary” focusing on the Abrahamic family through the summer. I’m excited about this time or learning and hope you join us.

As promised, here is an update from our Jeremiah 29 team regarding adding in-person gathering to our church.


Grounding Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11-12:

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.


Guiding values:

We are in an ever evolving place of socially distant guidelines from the United Methodist Church, local government and the Center for disease control. Our guidance is subject to change based off of the current state of the pandemic and guidance of church council. Our primary mandate is to “Do No Harm”. We understand that we are all a work in progress, we desire to listen, learn and serve to the best of our abilities for the glory of God.

Jeremiah 29 team updates

  • Our survey is open and available! Click here to take our 5-minute church survey

  • We’ve approved our preschool to begin the process of reopening this fall.

  • We’ve added a webpage to keep folks up to date through FWUMC.org

  • To email our team Jeremiah29fwumc@gmail.com

FAQ’s

  • Currently, we ask that everyone entering the church building wear a mask. We also ask that people entering the building be vaccinated (currently ages 12+)

  • We will add key announcements toward the end of the service

  • We will information with Community group leaders 1x a month

  • We are be open to feedback, comments and concerns using the email address fwumcJeremiah29@gmail.com

  • We have add a section on our website for Covid-19 updates and communication.

  • Our team meets every 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month, your prayers are welcome.

  • The preschool has permission to begin meeting in the Fall and preparation that is needed to prepare.

  • Any group using the church facilities must have first approval of our church Admin Sharon Wisenburg. She will provide a checklist that the leader of the group (currently the Preschool and those leading worship) will use to sanitize immediately after using church facilities.

Grace and Peace be with you,

Pastor DJ


I’m with the DJ | 6.3.21

Friends and family of Federal Way UMC, 


This Sunday is the first Sunday of the month. That means that we get to celebrate the sacrament of communion together! Communion is a way to remind ourselves and one another that God’s love through Jesus is for all of humankind. I invite you to prepare elements that are sacred for you this weekend. In addition, it’s Peace with Justice Sunday. To learn more about this special Sunday, click here. https://www.umc.org/en/content/peace-with-justice-sunday-ministry-article

Also, with Summer drawing closer, we want to remind you that we will continue to be providing worship online Sundays at 10am. I want to encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube account too.


In addition, I’m excited to share with you that our Church Council has created a team to help plan and prepare our church to slowly begin the process of adding live worship again.

I’m calling our team Jeremiah 29.  

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.

This Scripture feels appropriate for the task that is ahead of both our church and churches in general. Our team will be meeting regularly and our goal is to communicate regularly as well. We begin our work the second week of June. I’m guessing that you may have concerns, comments, and questions for us as we begin to think through all the work entailed in a slow opening over the next year. If so, please feel free to email our group Jeremiah29fwumc@gmail.com.


We are here to serve our community and take our work seriously. 


Here is a list of our team below… 


Pastor  - Rev.DJ

Finance - Barney Osborne

Trustees - Paul Arms

SPRC - Sandy Shinbo

Worship team - Janine Dodd

Welcoming team - Bobbie Mowery

Children’s - Ann Mayer

Youth - Marissa Thompson

Admin - Sharon Wisenburg 

Lay Leader - Ed Shinbo





Peace be with you church, 


Pastor DJ

I’m with the DJ | 5.27.21

Friends and family of Federal Way UMC, 


This Sunday we finish our series on the book of Ruth.  Please take the time to read the whole book in preparation. Just a reminder that the book is only 4 chapters long. It’s been a joy to prepare and share more about the stories of Ruth and Naomi with you. 

In addition, I’m excited to share with you that our Church Council has created a team to help plan and prepare our church to slowly begin the process of adding live worship again.

I’m calling our team Jeremiah 29.  

For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.

This Scripture feels appropriate for the task that is ahead of both our church and churches in general. Our team will be meeting regularly and our goal is to communicate regularly as well. We begin our work the second week of June. I’m guessing that you may have concerns, comments, and questions for us as we begin to think through all the work entailed in a slow opening over the next year. If so, please feel free to email our group Jeremiah29fwumc@gmail.com.


We are here to serve our community and take our work seriously. 


Here is a list of our team below… 


Pastor  - Rev.DJ

Finance - Barney Osborne

Trustees - Paul Arms

SPRC - Sandy Shinbo

Worship team - Janine Dodd

Welcoming team - Bobbie Mowery

Children’s - Ann Mayer

Youth - Marissa Thompson

Admin - Sharon Wisenburg 

Lay Leader - Ed Shinbo





Peace be with you church, 


Pastor DJ