Night Time Sledding Fun!

We had a BLAST tonight at Sledding Fun For Everyone - kids of all ages sledding down the big hill, lots of tasty treats thanks to Paula the hostess, lots of laughs, lots of cold fingers and toes.
There will be more photos and videos to come, but here's a first taste...

Sledding Fun For Everyone!

This Fabulous and Fun event really is for EVERYONE!! There will be extra sleds availabel to try out. Feel free to bring a lawn chair to sit on and watch (and cheer on!) the hilarity.
See you on the hill!! (and look for photos here next week...)

Summer Dreamin'

All this cold weather has me perusing the gardening books at the library and thinking about fun things to do this summer. How about you?

Here are some great ideas for summer 2010:

Go to camp! It's not just for children and youth anymore. Both Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp and Christikon have Family Camps and camp experiences specifically for adults. Check them out! There are so many great opportunities!

Camp not your thing? Prefer to spend some time working on or learning some new artistic skills? Check out the Grunewald Guild, a community of art and faith. The Guild, located in Plain, Washington (not far from Leavenworth, and only a few hours northeast of Seattle) is one of my favorite places on earth. I've only been there twice, but can't wait to go back! My first time there I spent a week learning calligraphy in the morning and "fabric embellishment" in the afternoon. The second summer there I spent the mornings in a creative writing class and the afternoons in "clay paper sculpture." Swing by my office sometime and I'll show you the results.

When there is no "them" in the church

I may write more later about the sermon I preached on Sunday (the text was 1 Corinthians 12:12-31), the idea of Us and Them in communities of faith, or as it more frequently plays out, unforutunately: Us vs. Them, continues to picque my interest. Of course I'm as skilled as the next sinner when it comes to dividing people into tidy little categories that make it easy for me to think about "them" or "deal with" "them" in a way that makes me feel right (or right-er), and good (or better than "them," at least). I suppose that's part of the human condition. But still, when our attitudes of superiority and division get in the way of what God is doing in the world through us, or maybe even in spite of us, those attitudes and patterns of thinking need to be examined.

Here's a link to a great blog post from Duke Divinity School about including children in worship. After all, ... the theological default is to have all of God’s people in worship – including, especially, the most vulnerable. (Thanks to Mary Hess at tensegrities for the link).

Thoughts??

New Women's Bible Study

A Bible study/fellowship group for women will begin meeting on Saturday mornings at 7:30am, at Wheat Montana (located at N. 19th Ave & Oak, on Stoneridge), beginning TOMORROW!!
All women are invited to come and participate, no experience necessary! Bring a Bible if you have one and come for conversation, prayer, support, and time in God's word.
Questions? Contact Pastor Lindean in the church office at 587-4131 or by email.

One Body

The sermon text for this Sunday is 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, and I've been thinking a lot this week about how as the church we are one body. Every person is connected. Every person is valuable and needed. Every person has a part to play in the divine drama of God's work in the world. It is God's mission we're following, after all. Sometimes I think we forget, this is God's church, in God's world. Our task is to discern what God is already doing out there and then join in.

I look forward to the day when we have a few more options when it comes to multimedia in worship here at CtK. I'm not saying I believe worship should be all electric, all the time, but a little more flexibility might help us carry out our part of God's mission even more effectively.

For instance, I'd love to show this video in worship on Sunday (and I would have embedded it here, but I don't want to take the time to figure out the glitch in the html, so you'll just have to click the link to see it). Enjoy!

Do you remember the divided kingdom?

I'm working on getting ready for confirmation tonight. Our 6th-8th grade students are studying the Hebrew Scriptures, or Old Testament, this year. Last week they learned about the splitting of the kingdom of Israel into two kingdoms: Israel, the northern kingdom, and Judah, the southern kingdom. Tonight we'll be learning more about the northern kingdom, its kings, and some of the prophets who called them to return to faithful relationships with God and each other.
If all of this sounds like a distant memory, at best, I'd encourage you to break out 1 and 2 Kings, and maybe even check out Enter the Bible, a great new website from Luther Seminary. It makes learning about books of the Bible and important people in the Bible easy and fun. You can learn more about 1 Kings here. Explore the site - and HAVE FUN!!

Prayer Shawl Ministry Begins

We are beginning a Prayer Shawl Ministry here at CtK. The first group gathered this morning at 10:30am and began working on some shawls. Another group will gather this evening at 7pm - ALL are welcome!!
Wondering what Prayer Shawl Ministry is all about? Check out this website.
Don't knit or crochet, but would like to learn? Just show up! There are folks who can get you started.
CtK's prayer shawl knitters and "crochet-ers" will meet on the third Tuesday of each month, at 10:30am and 7pm - come to either or both sessions each month!

Help for Haiti

It's probably been impossible to miss the news reports about the earthquake in Haiti earlier this week. And sometimes it feels pretty impossible to make any difference or be of much help in the face of such devastation.
But God works through us, and already Lutheran Disaster Response and Lutheran World Relief are working to help. If you'd like to help, you can give online, or during worship on Sunday. One of the great things about LDR is that if you designate funds to help a particular situation, 100% of the money will be used for that purpose.

And don't forget to hold our brothers and sisters in Haiti in prayer.

Outdoor Adventures Tomorrow

Tomorrow, Saturday, January 9th, is the first Outdoor Adventure of 2010. Meet here in the CtK parking lot at 9am with your cross country ski gear in tow. The group will head up to Hyalite for a short/long easy/difficult ski adventure.

New issue of Bold Cafe - Epiphany

Here's the latest issue of the Bold Cafe zine. The theme is Epiphany. Enjoy!

Twelfth Night

Today is the 12th day of Christmas - and in keeping with the Jewish observance of time, Epiphany begins at sundown. We really do encourage you to bless your dwelling this year - it can serve as a visual prayer every time you go through your front door.
Here's a brief service (all you need is a piece of chalk!) you can do at your house. If you don't have any chalk, you can do what I did a few years ago: write the symbols on a piece of paper then cover it with clear packing tape (like a poor girl's laminating...) and stick that above the door.
You might also want to check out this great post over at The Painted Prayerbook.
Blessings!!

Epiphany House Blessing

Many Christian households gather together on the Day of Epiphany (January 6th) to bless their homes for the new year. You will need a piece of chalk, or piece of cardboard and art supplies, to mark the lintel above the doorway with symbols of blessing.

All make the Sign of the Cross (in remembrance of their baptism).

Head of Household Peace be to this house and to all who dwell here, in the name of the Lord.
All Blessed be God forever.

Reader In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a Father’s only son, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-5, 14)

Using chalk, or a piece of cardboard that has been decorated with crayons or colored markers and designs, write on the outside of your house, above or next to the front door, these symbols: the date, abbreviation of the phrase Christus Mansionem Benedicat, “Christ bless this home” (which is also the initials of traditional names for the three Magi—Casper, Melchior, and Balthasar), and four crosses.
Order the symbols in the following way: 20 + C + M + B + 10 (the current year), with the four crosses representing the four seasons.
In the new year, this marking serves as a blessing over the entire household.

Head of Household: Be our shelter, Lord, when we are at home, our companion when we are away, and our welcome guest when we return. Bless this house and all who inhabit it, with health, goodness of heart, gentleness and the keeping of your law. Fill us with the light of Christ, that our love for each other may go out to all. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

All: Amen