Sunday is Mother’s Day when we celebrate mothers in our church family. We have a special gift for all the women of the church (since we all had mothers, of course) as we share a special service focused on women. Pastor Don's message, titled "God's Gender" will examine how the gender of God is presented in Scripture. Did you know that, in the Bible, God’s gender depends on the book and the particular scripture that you are reading? As always, great fellowship, great music and great sharing.

On the second weekend following Easter,  flowers are blooming, pollen hopefully is abating and the temperature  is finally warming.  It is also the weekend when we celebrate Native American’s. What did they do when the first European Settlers came? How did they interact and welcome them, teaching them to harness this new land and become in sync with the seasons, the weather and the culture? How have we progressed since that time? What connection to the Biblical story of the Israelite people in Egypt? How does God command us to treat one another, especially aliens in the land? Pastor Don preached on Aliens in Our Land from a Native American perspective and how God works through the people. 

We celebrated the weekend following Easter with an emphasis on perseverance. Pastor Don preached on why perseverance is important and what we are to be persistent about as a church called by the resurrection of Jesus. We are called to be witnesses to God’s love for one another, regardless and unconditional. We recognized those who answered the call to shelter the homeless and highlighted current mission needs such as support for Jeremiah Project and our continuing need to share our story with our neighbors, friends and family. 

He is risen! Last weekend,  we celebrated the  reason the Christian faith is here, a Christ who is resurrected and promises us that same resurrection.  On Saturday we shared in a service of darkness as we thought about the emotions and thoughts of the disciples while Jesus lays dead in the tomb. On Sunday, we celebrated the resurrection with a sunrise service at 6:30 AM in the cemetery behind the Chapel.  At the 11:00 a.m. service, we shared  music with the Korean Baptist Church with combined choirs bringing a great message. Pastor Don asked the question, “What Next?” as we explored where Jesus wants us to go from here.

Jesus lays in the grave at this moment. What are the disciples thinking? What is happening to Jesus in these moments?

Jesus enters Jerusalem acclaimed as the king and messiah. But there are shadows over his procession, the shadow of the Cross and the shadow of the spiritual blindness that kept the people from recognizing who he really was. 

This weekend we celebrated the fifth weekend of Lent. We are rapidly approaching Palm Sunday when we celebrate Jesus coming into Jerusalem. Lent is a time of reflection. What would our world look like if we gave everyone a second chance? What would the world look like if we opened our ears and our minds to listen to others instead of talking over them?  Lent is a great time to ask these questions and focus on helping those who are the least, the lost and the marginalized.

How is God like a parent?  A "Rad Dad?"  Gabby Vtipil makes the connection, identifying God as the only One who always loves us, forgives us, and cheers us on. 

On Sunday, we celebrated the third weekend of Lent, a time of reflection and anticipation as we see faintly the marks of heaven that one day we will see clearly face to face with God. We celebrated the coming of spring, flowers blooming and trees budding. All of this in anticipation of the celebration of an empty tomb. Pastor Don talked about heaven and hell as we continue our Lent series answering the questions people have asked. Are heaven and hell real? Are they real places or just stories we are told? What proof do we have that we can anticipate spending eternity in one or the other?

On Sunday, we celebrated the second weekend of Lent. We are reminded that, to the Jewish leadership, Jesus life was only worth 30 pieces of silver. That is the equivalent today of about $ 600.00. What is your life worth? We continued our discussion of the Ten Commandments, focusing on the six that refer to our relationships with each other.