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Last Sunday

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you had the chance to listen to the Reverend John Edgar, author of "A Front Porch for All People" join us as a guest preacher on July 23rd. Both his sermon and the conversation with our community after the service were inspiring. If you would like to watch his sermon, you can go to our Youtube page (Federal Way United Methodist Church) or use this link.

This Sunday

We start a new sermon series this weekend as we study the parables of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. If you would like to prepare for this weekend, the Scripture I’ll be preaching on is Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52.

Adventure Camp at Fusion

Camp @ the Fusion Family Center - August 14 - 18, 9:30 - 1:30

We have been invited to partner with several churches in Federal Way to put together a week of day camp for the children living at the Fusion Family Center, which is an emergency family shelter in Federal Way. There will be many opportunities to volunteer to donate/ prepare/serve food, lead a small group, donate/prepare craft items or help lead an activity station. More specific information to come but I wanted to get it on your radar and your calendar! It's a mission trip right in our own backyard!!

Please contact Michelle Thompson if you would like to know more or want to volunteer. md.thompson@earthlink.net

To learn more about Fusion, you can visit their website or use this link.

Coming up

A note from Steve Mayer -

It's time for the second annual Federal Way Pride Event.  Federal Way United Methodist Church is once again a sponsor of this event which will be held Saturday, August 5th, 2023 at Wayside United Church of Christ. The hours are noon-9pm and you can come for as long or short as you like.  Whether you are part of the LGBTQIA+ community or are an ally, we'd love to see you there.

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This Sunday

Hi Everyone,

I pray that as you are reading this, that you are having a lovely summer. I’m looking forward to seeing you all online and in person this weekend. We will have a special guest, the Reverend John Edgar, author of "A Front Porch for All People" will join us as a guest preacher this weekend. In addition, I’m excited to share that he will stay after the service for further conversation with those interested. For those interested, I have included a picture of his book below.

Adventure Camp at Fusion

Camp @ the Fusion Family Center - August 14 - 18, 9:30 - 1:30

We have been invited to partner with several churches in Federal Way to put together a week of day camp for the children living at the Fusion Family Center, which is an emergency family shelter in Federal Way. There will be many opportunities to volunteer to donate/ prepare/serve food, lead a small group, donate/prepare craft items or help lead an activity station. More specific information to come but I wanted to get it on your radar and your calendar! It's a mission trip right in our own backyard!!

Please contact Michelle Thompson if you would like to know more or want to volunteer. md.thompson@earthlink.net

To learn more about Fusion, you can visit their website or use this link.

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Last Sunday

What a wonderful Sunday this past week with our guest Ms. Katherine Parker! Ms. Parker shared some of the missions work she does with the people of Nepal. If you would like to watch last weeks service, you can use this link.

If you would like to know more about our global missionary partners, particularly Ms. Katherine’s work, click here.

Coming up

This Saturday on June 17th, we will celebrate the beautiful life of a beloved member Jan Crews. The service will begin at 1 pm. We plan to livestream her service via YouTube. You can use the link here.

Following the service, I will be going on my planed personal leave. Our church planter and community developer Caleb will be preaching and serving as pastoral care through July 13th. Rev. Brian will preach the 16th.

During this time, I’ll be taking a break from these weekly e-notes as well. As always, if you receive an email claiming to be from me or someone from the church asking for money or gift cards in any way that seems secretive or unethical, please call the church office to confirm.

Local Outreach Opportunity

Adventure Camp @ the Fusion Family Center – August 14 – 18, 9:30 – 1:30

A note from Michelle Thompson

We have been invited to partner with several churches in Federal Way to put together a week of day camp for the children living at the Fusion Family Center which is an emergency family shelter in Federal Way. There will be many opportunities to volunteer to donate/prepare/serve food, lead a small group, donate/prepare craft items or help lead an activity station. More specific information to come but I wanted to get it on your radar and your calendar! It’s a mission trip right in our own backyard!!

Please contact Michelle Thompson if you would like to know more or want to volunteer md.thompson@earthlink.net

Generosity update

Thanks for Supporting Meredith Hill Elementary (an update from our partners at Meredith HIll)

This year our church has helped Meredith Hill Elementary in multiple ways:

• Food4Families

• shopped, bagged and delivered meals for 16 families weekly

• provided additional food, gift cards and clothing to one family who had a house fire and needed some emergency assistance

• partnered with school on two very fruitful food drives that helped offset the cost of groceries

• purchased gift cards during the holidays for distribution to families through Meredith Hill Cares

• a member volunteered weekly in a second grade classroom

• bought socks and underwear for students in need of a change of clothes during the school day

• provided morning treats for teachers during student led conferences during the month of March

• prayed and provided help for a teacher battling brain cancer

Our partnership with this local elementary school makes a difference in the lives of students, staff, and families.  Thank you for reaching out in love to these members of our immediate community!

Resources

South King County Tools is a great resource for lending tools, learning more about how to do diy home repair and more. We hosted a table for them not long ago, if you want to learn more, click here.

Peace be with you church,

Pastor DJ

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Update

On June 17th, our church will host a memorial service for one of our longtime members, Jan Crews. The service will begin at 1 pm. We plan to livestream her service via YouTube. You can use the link here.

On June 17th, our church will host a memorial service for one of our longtime members, Jan Crews. The service will begin at 1 pm. We plan to livestream her service via YouTube. You can use the link by clicking the YouTube photo.

This week

This Sunday, our missionary partner, Katherine Parker, will be our guest preacher. It is a special gift that she will be visiting us. After the service, she will stay for a short while to deepen our conversation. If you would like to learn more about Katherine's work, you can click here.

Please also remember that we are still collecting "Jars for Jamaa Letu." This is an easy way to support the two orphanages in the Congo that our church helps fund. The money collected goes towards supporting operating expenses, including food, shelter, clothing, school fees, medical care, and staff salaries. Colorful labels for the jars are still available each Sunday. Please tape them to your own jar and collect cash until mid-June. Alternatively, you can make a donation in the offering plate or on the website.

Coming up

On June 17th, our church will host a memorial service for one of our longtime members, Jan Crews. The service will begin at 1 pm. We plan to livestream her service via YouTube. You can use the link here.

In July, we have a special guest coming. The author of "A Front Porch for All People" will join us as a guest preacher and for further conversation after the service on July 23rd. For those interested, I have included a picture of his book below.

Thanks for Supporting Meredith Hill Elementary

This year our church has helped Meredith Hill Elementary in multiple ways:

*provided meals for 17 families weekly through the Food Backpack Program (is this the correct name of the program?)

*purchased gift cards for distribution to families through Meredith Hill Cares

*a member volunteered weekly in a second grade classroom

*bought socks and underwear for students in need of a change of clothes during the school day

*provided morning treats for teachers during student led conferences during the month of March

*prayed and provided help for a teacher battling brain cancer

Our partnership with this local elementary school makes a difference in the lives of students, staff, and families.  Thank you for reaching out in love to these members of our immediate community!

I’m with the DJ

Last Sunday:

What a wonderful celebration of Pentecost! Thank you to the many who joined us for worship, both online and in person. During worship, I shared that we now have an official online greeter named Steve. Just like our greeters in person on Sunday mornings, Steve has volunteered to welcome people online and provide ways to engage during worship. We are extremely grateful for his creative leadership!

This Sunday:

We will be celebrating the sacrament of Holy Communion this Sunday. If you plan to worship with us online, please prepare sacred elements to join us remotely. For those worshiping in person, we strive to offer allergy-friendly options. If there is a way we can serve you better, please let us know.

This coming Monday marks the last online gathering of our weekly study on Amy-Jill Levine’s book, "The Difficult Words of Jesus." If you are interested in joining us, please inform me.

Coming up:

June 11th:

In just a few short weeks, our missionary partner Katherine Parker will be our guest preacher. It is a special gift that she will be visiting us. After the service, she will stay for a short while to deepen our conversation. If you would like to learn more about Katherine's work, you can click here.

Please also remember that we are still collecting "Jars for Jamaa Letu." This is an easy way to support the two orphanages in the Congo that our church helps fund. The money collected goes towards supporting operating expenses, including food, shelter, clothing, school fees, medical care, and staff salaries. Colorful labels for the JARS are still available each Sunday. Please tape them to your own jar and collect cash until mid-June. Alternatively, you can make a donation in the offering plate or on the website.

July 23rd:

We will have a special guest preacher, John Edgar, who wrote a fascinating book titled "A Front Porch for All People." Rev. Edgar will share some of his experiences and insights that Sunday. Additionally, we are working with him to facilitate a deeper conversation after the service. Please mark your calendars for this exciting opportunity to learn how we can serve our community together.

Peace be with you,

Rev.DJ

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Pentecost this Sunday

This Sunday we get to celebrate Pentecost. I want to encourage you to read Acts 1-2 to prepare for worship this Sunday. As you do, take some time to consider moments in your life when you gathered in large groups. What did you experience? How did if feel to be in a large gathering? Famed author Brene Brown worked on a project with The RSA defining Empathy and Sympathy. Here’s a link to a short video that is profound.

Amy-Jill Levine online study

We are off to a great start with our weekly study of Amy-Jill Levine’s book “The difficult words of Jesus”. If you are interested in joining us on Mondays at noon, please let me know.

Katherine Parker on June 11th

In just a few short weeks, missionary partner Katherine Parker will be our guest preacher. It’s a special gift that she’ll be itinerating our way. She will also stay after the service for a short while so we can deepen our conversation.

Bishop Bridgeforth

Our Bishop was recently installed as a newly appointment Bishop of the Greater Northwest Conference in Alaska. He preached a great sermon.I want to encourage you to watch his sermon, you can watch it by clicking here. If you want to learn more about Bishop Bridgeforth, please visit greaternw.org/bishop-cedrick-bridgeforth/.

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This Sunday

Don’t forget that we will be celebrating Ann M’s 10+ years of ministry serving at our church at the end of our service and afterwards. I hope that you are able to join us as we celebrate together.

Amy-Jill Levine online study

We are off to a great start with our weekly study of Amy-Jill Levine’s book “The difficult words of Jesus”. If you are interested in joining us on Mondays at noon, please let me know.

Jars for Jamaa Letu

Jars for Jamaa Letu is a way to support the two orphanages in the Congo which our church helps fund.  The money goes to support the operating expenses, including food, shelter, clothing, school fees, medical care and salaries for the staff.

A colorful label for JARS will be available this Sunday.  Tape it to your own jar and collect cash from now until mid-June.  Or, make a donation in the offering plate or on the website.

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Getting ready for communion

This Sunday, we will participate in the sacrament of communion together. Whether you join us online or in-person, I’m attaching a great article for you to think about as we prepare for Holy Communion. To read the article, click here.

New members

Toward the end of worship, we will also be welcoming two new members. You will get a chance to meet Theresa and Jessica. They have both attended membership classes. Theresa, her husband and uncle regularly attend our services. Jessica and her daughter have also been attending. I hope that you join us in welcoming them to our faith community.

After they share their desire to join our faith community and the United Methodist Church, In response, the congregation will have a chance to covenant as well by reciting the following words…

Congregational Response:  We give thanks for all that God has already given you and we welcome you in Christian love.  As members together with you in the body of Christ and in this congregation of The United Methodist Church, we renew our covenant faithfully to participate in the ministries of the church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service and our witness, that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

It’s a sacred and wonderful joy to welcome new members to our church family. Please be sure to take the time to get to know our newest members.

See you all soon this Sunday,

Pastor DJ

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Sunday worship

This Sunday, one of our groups the United Women in Faith (formerly United Methodist Women) will be leading us in worship. If you would like to learn more about the UWiF, use this link. Our organist Rev. Jan Skaggs will be the guest preacher for us. Jan serves as the organist of our church.

White Allyship: What It Means to Be an Antiracist Ally

The United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race is hosting a webinar on May 17th. For those interested in leaning more about how to be an antiracist ally click here.

Food for thought

I mentioned last Sunday, “How to feng shui your fridge -- and other happy climate hacks”. Here is a link to the great Ted Talk.

Want to be in a book study with me?

Recently I mentioned that I plan on offering an online study based off of Amy Jill-Levine’s book “The Difficult Words of Jesus: A beginners guide to His most perplexing teachings”. If you are interested in joining this study, will you please sign up here? Our 5 week study will begin the first week of May.

Faith in Action

I’m on Faith Action Networks email list and they sent me something that may be interesting to you. I’m copying what they wrote below.

“Stand with Airport Workers

You are invited to stand in solidarity with airport workers this week on Thursday, April 27, at 12:30pm at Gate 00 at SeaTac airport. We have just celebrated a month of sacred days — Eid and Ramadan, Passover, Easter, Vaisakhi Day, Buddha's birthday, and more. Let's move our faith into action with our friends at SEIU 6 this Thursday. Their monthly meeting will include prayers from faith traditions their workers belong to, as they organize for adequate healthcare coverage.

Learn more about the Healthcare for SeaTac Airport Workers campaign. Sign their petition here. And let us know if you can show up this Thursday 4/27 at SeaTac airport at 12:30pm.”

Peace be with you church,

Pastor DJ

I’m with the DJ | follow up from worship this morning

Updated links to sign up for my book study

Several folks mentioned at church this morning that the link to sign up for my zoom study wasn’t working. I’ve created a new signup form. If you experience any issues, please email me. My plan is to have sign ups through the first week of May. Then, I’ll email folks who signed up with a few options that works best us all to have a weekly study. The online study will be based off of Amy Jill-Levine’s book “The Difficult Words of Jesus: A beginners guide to His most perplexing teachings”. If you are interested in joining this study, will you please use this updated sign up?

Native American Ministries Sunday

I’m remiss that I failed to acknowledge that today is Native American Ministries Sunday. From their website you can read “What is Native American Ministries Sunday?

Native American Ministries Sunday serves to remind United Methodists of the gifts and contributions made by Native Americans to our society. A gap in knowledge exists in The United Methodist Church, in congregations and other United Methodist entities, relative to comprehending concepts of Native American life, cultures, languages, spirit, values, contemporary issues, and such. We affirm the sacredness of American Indian people, their languages, cultures, and gifts to the church and the world.

An offering is taken on this Special Sunday to support vital ministries and churches in the Native American communities and allow The United Methodist Church to partner with existing native ministries to develop new programs on behalf of Native Americans.”

To learn more or to give please use this link.

Book recommendations from my sermon today

I mentioned this during my sermon today. “My friend and colleague Jeremy Smith has an excellent blog https://hackingchristianity.net . One of his posts from years ago is fantastic in the ways he explains the varieties of atonement theologies. Here’s the link if you are interested in reading more. There are many theologians and scholars who have written excellent works about the significance of the Jesus death and ressurection. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan wrote “the Last Week, What the Gospels really teach about Jesus Final Days in Jerusalem”. Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker wrote an excellent book “Proverbs of Ashes : Violence, Redemptive Suffering, and the Search for What Saves Us” also. “

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Friends and families of Federal Way United Methodist Church,

I pray that you an your loved ones are well and staying warm right now. It’s been such a joy to worship alongside you these past few weeks.

Deepening your discipleship

Spoiler alert: if you are reading this, there’s a chance I’m going to share some of these same thoughts during my sermon. Something that’s been on my heart lately is the different ways we, as the Church teach and preach about atonement. My friend and colleague Jeremy Smith has an excellent blog https://hackingchristianity.net . One of his posts from years ago is fantastic in the ways he explains the varieties of atonement theologies. Here’s the link if you are interested in reading more. There are many theologians and scholars who have written excellent works about the significance of the Jesus death and ressurection. Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan wrote “the Last Week, What the Gospels really teach about Jesus Final Days in Jerusalem”. Rita Nakashima Brock and Rebecca Ann Parker wrote an excellent book “Proverbs of Ashes : Violence, Redemptive Suffering, and the Search for What Saves Us” also.

I share all of these resources with you because my hope and prayer for our church is that we study, learn and reflect on some of the key pieces of theology that make up the Christian faith as we know it. Recently I mentioned that I plan on offering an online study based off of Amy Jill-Levine’s book “The Difficult Words of Jesus: A beginners guide to His most perplexing teachings”. If you are interested in joining this study, will you please use this update sign up?

This Sunday

This Sunday, we will also be hosting our next membership class after the church service. It’s a great time to spend time together as I share more about the history of our church and the United Methodist Church. In that time, we will also talk about ways for you to connect to our community as well as opportunities to deepen your faith.

Coming up

Jars for Jamaa Letu is a way to support the two orphanages in the Congo which our church helps fund.  The money goes to support the operating expenses, including food, shelter, clothing, school fees, medical care and salaries for the staff.

A colorful label for JARS will be available this Sunday.  Tape it to your own jar and collect cash from now until mid-June.  Or, make a donation in the offering plate or on the website.