Pastor's Report

Dear church,

From my bunker to yours, greetings in this time of quarantine.  If your email inbox is anything like mine, every company and organization you’ve ever shared your email address with has sent you a notice of how they are responding to this Covid-19 Crisis.  

Well, friends, it seemed fitting for your church family to do the same.  So, how are we responding?  Ah, let me count the ways.

1. SUNDAY SERVICE

Church service is happening online.  And it’s so much fun!  We have been blessed with an amazing group of people who are stepping up, and going above and beyond to help Sundays remain a successful time of worship and fellowship.

Worship is happening by filming our service, and then broadcasting that into our people’s living rooms via Facebook.  I’ve seen some fun photos of people taking pictures of their families gathered around laptops and tv screens on Sunday morning.  These photos bring joy to my heart.  

These pictures actually remind me of those old black and white photos I’ve seen of our nation’s response during the second World War.  In those old pictures, families were gathered around their radios to hear the news, and perhaps listen to Rev. Charles E. Fuller deliver his sermons.  (For those who are interested, Rev. Fuller’s “Old Fashioned Revival Hour is available today on the Fuller seminary website.  You can listen to his sermons by clicking on the blue words above.)

2. COMMUNITY SERVICE

Right away, we started to think about how our church can respond in this crises to the needs of our community.  What we came up with was a grocery shopping program where anyone in Port Angeles, who feels that they are especially vulnerable to Covid-19, is welcome to call the church; and we will deploy a volunteer to go and pick up that person’s groceries.  This is a service also available to the people of our church who fall within the vulnerable demographics.

3. OFFICE LIFE

Following the orders from our President and Governor, we have taken to closing our office to the public.  We have sent as many people home as possible.  Lynn and I continue to report into the office as necessary to plan and record the Sunday service, to help oversee the grocery shopping community service, and to respond as needed to daily issues that come up.  However, while we are reporting in to take care of such essential needs, our office and building are officially “closed” to in-person traffic.

We’ve been able to set-up David with a “home office” of sorts; where he is continuing to manage some of our church business from his place of residence.  We want to give a huge “thank-you” to David’s family for being so accommodating.

4. SMALL GROUP MEETINGS - WE’VE GONE ONLINE

A. In light of the stay-at-home order, some of our small groups needed to suspend meeting.  Others, however, have gone online.  The Young Adult small group, which meets Fridays at 5:30 p.m., actually shifted its focus: The group is starting a new study this Friday, April 3, 2020.  The new study is going to focus on inviting people, who have intellectual objections to the faith, to come and have discussions with us about Jesus.  We moved from being an inward focused discussion group to being purposefully outward focused in the hopes that some of our doubting friends might find this a fun thing to do in light of a sudden increase in free-time.

B. Youth Group took a break while we adjusted to the new normal; but it is going to pick-up again this Wednesday, April 1, 2020. The group will meet online at 3:00 p.m.

5. FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

A. KIDS

For the past two Saturday evenings, we’ve hosted a fellowship time for the children of the church called, “Movie Night with (not at) the Hughes.”  To carry-off this fun time of social interaction we are inviting parents to connect via an online service called ZOOM.  The kids are able to see each other, talk, giggle, and have fun in conversation.  The parents all bring up the same children’s movie on their TVs; then, we count down so we can all hit “play” at the same time.  This way, the kids get to watch the same movie together.  

Last Saturday, the movie was Frozen II; and we actually had a set of grandparents join-in to watch the movie on their TV.  They had as much fun as the kids.  

B. PRAYER

Tuesdays at 10:30 a.m., we are hosting weekly prayer meetings online, which are open to anyone in our church body who wants to join-in.  During these prayer meetings, we are asking for God’s direction and blessing as we seek to share the hope we have in Jesus with our friends and neighbors.  Evil does not come from God; but he can certainly use bad things for good purposes.  We want to be prayerful and intentional in how we respond to this crisis.

C. SUNDAY SERVICE CHATTING

Because our service is broadcasting on Facebook, we have a unique opportunity to connect with one another via the “comment thread.”  This is where people are able to write thoughts and greetings to one another.  We encourage chatting online during this worship time as we meet and congregate with one another.

D. PHONE CONNECTION

We are working as an elder board and office staff to be sure that we are checking in regularly with our church body, that is, to ensure everyone is doing well.  If you’ve not received a phone call from someone from the church by the end of the week, please call us; and let us know.  We don’t intend to miss anyone; but in the midst of the unique craziness of the time, it is possible.

6. SPECIAL THANKS

I need to take a moment to thank some key people whose work and dedication you may not always see.  One such person is Rhys Crawford.  Rhys has given hours and hours of volunteer time to our church to help us with all things tech.  This includes filming the worship time and sermon, as well as editing the videos so that we can see testimonies and kids’ scripture reading.  He seamlessly adds in AND integrates the worship lyrics and sermon slides to the video.  

Rhys was also invaluable in helping us set-up David at his house so he could continue working for the church while adhering to the Governor’s proclamation.

Thanks also to “I.T. SUPPORT SERVICES” which is owned and operated by Roger and Rose Sanders, and for whom Rhys works.  They have also been a great resource during this unique time of becoming ever more dependent on technology.

7. FINANCIAL SUPPORT 

A. IT IS NEEDED

Although our building is not open, we are continuing to share the Gospel as we serve our community.  Earlier in the month of March, we were in a situation of deciding which bills to pay after we covered payroll, that is, if we were even able to do that.  I had to call some of the ministries our church supports, and had to let them know that our monthly support would be coming late.  

Thankfully, when our folks learned of our financial hardship, several stepped up to give above and beyond their normal commitments.  As the Spirit leads you, do remain faithful in your worship of God through your giving, even if we can’t gather in-person.

B. IT IS OFFERED

However, because the church depends upon the gracious giving of our people, it mirrors well the financial realities of our community.  If you are struggling, please know that your pastor and church family are well aware of the growing financial hardships that many may soon be facing, or are facing already.  

It is our intention to be generous with what is untrusted to our care; and as the church receives support from our members, so too will we return that support.  If any of you find yourselves in need of food or some other emergency resource, reach-out to your church.

8. COMMUNITY CONNECTION

In just a few moments, I am going to be part of a meeting with several other Port Angeles Pastors, who dream together about how we can continue to celebrate Easter together as we’ve done in the past with the Sunrise Service.  Gathering at the Civic Field is no longer an option of course.  But is there something else we can do?  Stay tuned, as we are gonna try and address that very question.

9. REGIONAL CONNECTION

Each week several of your church leaders and I are connecting with other Mission Northwest church leaders to brainstorm ideas about how to be responsive to church and community needs.  It is an important time of connectivity and idea swapping.

A FINAL STORY OF ENCOURAGEMENT

While working in the office, I received a phone call from our sister church in Oak Harbor.  With the challenges of streaming a service and social distancing, they have had trouble getting their worship team together for their Sunday Service.  Their Pastor, seeing the quality of what we had online called and asked for advice, which we freely gave.  He then asked if he could “borrow” our worship team for his church service.  We were able to do this by sending him the recordings we had of our ladies leading us in worship.  

This means that on Sunday, not only did Lynn lead you in worship here in Port Angeles, but Lynn, Stacie and Sarah also helped lead the folks over in Oak Harbor.  How cool is that!

Pastor's Report

Dear Flock,

Do you suppose Jesus ever had a sermon he didn’t want to preach?  It’s a question worth pondering.  Did the Father ever lay a message on Jesus’ heart that the human part of Jesus responded to by saying, “Yes, Father, I know you are right… but boy is this gonna make me unpopular.”

There is a famous sermon Jesus once gave that is now known as the “Seven Woes”.  In that sermon he said things like this to the religious leaders of his day:

“23 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. 24 Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!”  - Matthew 23:23-24

I believe it to be very possible that going into that message that day there was part of Jesus that said - “OK Father, you want me to give THIS message?” 

We know from Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane that Jesus was not eager to go to the cross, and such sermons as this certainly didn’t win Jesus any favor among those who would later cry out “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”

We are often told in our culture today that there are three subjects we should just avoid if we are to participate in “polite society’.  These subjects are “Religion, Politics and Money”.

Well friends, guess what… Jesus spoke often about all three… very often. Indeed the passage quoted above is about BOTH religion and money, at the same time! 

Friends, I’ve a confession to make - as your pastor I don’t always want to deliver the message that I feel God lay on my heart.  Indeed, any minister sensitive to the Spirit’s leading is familiar with this feeling. This October we will enter the season of our church calendar that I approach always with a little feeling of dread because this is the time of the year we talk about one of the subjects I like preaching on the least, but that spoke about quite often… money. 

“Indeed of the 39 parables Jesus told, 11 of them were about finances. If my preaching schedule was to follow this same ratio (28.21%), I’d be preaching about money about 14 to 15 times a year.”

Indeed of the 39 parables Jesus told, 11 of them were about finances.  If my preaching schedule was to follow this same ratio (28.21%), I’d be preaching about money about 14 to 15 times a year.  

Fortunately, I’ve not (yet) felt lead to do so.  But for the month of October, we will be taking seriously Jesus’ statement in verse 23 from his sermon above that “you should tithe, yes…”

We will be discussing what a tithe is, why being faithful with our finances is part of being faithful in how we follow Jesus, and the blessings that come from following the Biblical directives in how we manage what God has entrusted to us.

And my favorite part of this season, is we are going to get to hear personal testimony from a few people within the congregation who have practiced God-pleasing stewardship in their own lives and how they have found blessings from following God’s directive.

It is true… each year as I enter this season of planning and preparation, I do so with a hint of dread.  That cultural teaching that some subjects are off-limits runs deep in my people-pleasing heart.  And yet each year that we come out of this study I find that being faithful to the prompting of the Spirit has led to blessing.  Imagine that! 

I am looking forward to this month of study with each of you.  And let me say this: If finances are a source of stress in your life, it is my belief that learning how God calls us to faithfulness with our resources will lead to joy.  Indeed, anytime we follow God’s direction, it leads to joy.

Blessings all,

Pastor Tim

Pastor's Report

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Dear Flock,

Several months ago we embarked on a prayer journey together - fasting and praying that God would bless us with 40 baptisms in the year 2019.  This would be the highest number of baptisms in any given year in our church’s history.  The vision for the prayer came from my own private prayer time with the Lord.  

Since we began that prayer journey together we have celebrated that Christopher Buckla, Michael Roggenbuck, Wendy Reese, Jesse Widder, Jennifer Cummins, Amanda Kendrick and Bella Johnson have all made the decision to follow Jesus.  

I am overjoyed that these seven people have made this decision that will shape and give direction for the rest of their lives.  It is wonderful and joyous to see!

And even as we celebrate their decision for Christ I encourage you to remain in prayer with me that God would continue to use us to reach out so that others can learn about Jesus as we follow him here.  When was the last time you prayed for the ministry and people of our church?  I know I am guilty of not always praying as I should.  I can be so action driven that I can often find myself having begun a meeting or a project only to suddenly remember that I need to pause so that we can initiate the whole thing with prayer.

Thankfully we have a God who hears our prayers - even when we forget to lead off with them.  I hope that this brief letter may serve as a reminder to any within our flock that may have found the busyness of life crowding out the importance of starting and ending your day with kneeling before the Savior of our souls and listening to His direction for our lives, for our families, for our church, and for our world.

James 5 tells us that the prayers of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  Won’t you join with me as I continue to pray for the ministries of our church - that we would continue to lead more and more people to that place of decision where they give their hearts and lives to Christ.

Blessings,

Pastor Tim

"He Called A Little Child To Him"

The big event for our family recently was the celebration that we got to adopt our 5 year old, Grayson.  It is a wonderful thing that now what Stacy and I have felt in our hearts for so long is a reality legally recognized - Grayson is our son.  Praise God for this blessing!
    For those who have followed with our family on this journey, you know that it has been lengthy.  Specifically 1,399 days.  That is how long it was from when Grayson first came to live with us until the finalization of his adoption.
    And of course, more hearts than just Stacy and mine are involved, in addition to the Grayson adoptive extended family - grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins - there are his forever siblings: Vivian, Jackson, and Ian.  
    In fact, the inspiration for this article comes directly from reflecting on the love Grayson’s big brother has for his younger sibling.  Jackson and Grayson are separated in age by just over 2 years, Jackson and Vivian will turn 8 on Jan 15 while Grayson becomes a big 6 year old on March 1st.
    And for kids so close in age - sibling rivalry is a thing.  Everything from competition for mom’s attention to a ready scape-goat to blame for mutual bad decisions are evidences of this phenomenon that we see on a daily basis.  (Or perhaps it’d be more accurate to say “hourly” or even “minute by minute” rather than “daily”.  Thank you Jesus that Stacy gets to be the one to stay at home.  Ha!)
    But in the midst of the squabbles, disagreements, and blame shifting there is also evidence of the love between the kids.  I recently posted a short video on my facebook page of all four of our kids dancing together to the happy music that played at the end of a family movie we’d watched together.  Oh, such are the moments that a parent holds onto!  
    Along with sibling squabbles, another aspect of childhood can often be finicky eating.  Jackson epitomizes this.  As Stacy and I are anticipating this year’s Thanksgiving meal, we know that in spite of a table set with turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, and sweet potatoes with toasted marshmallows the plate in front of our eldest son will be bare but for a single bread roll, no butter, and a plain microwaved hotdog. Jackson has been a very picky eater ever since he first learned the word “no”.
    But one food has stood out as a favorite for this young man, one particular food has towered above all others as the most decadent of all treats - behold the wonder of Peanut Butter!  Oh you blessed source of protein for my picky-eating son. 
    And perhaps those who work in our children’s church program can now anticipate where this story may be headed.  As our church has grown, we’ve instituted a “child-check” program where parents can check in their kids and the child is given a sticker to wear that includes their name and any information the parent needs to communicate about their child to the volunteers: information such as allergies. 
    Every Sunday, when his mom checks Grayson into children’s church, and his badge is printed out, it communicates to everyone that this little boy is allergic to - peanuts.  And not just mildly allergic, but deathly so. A simple peanut could kill our boy.
    It was around age four that Jackson first learned of his kid brother’s vulnerability.  After what had to have been some deep and personal contemplation, young Jack pulled his mom and dad aside and shared with us a significant decision at which he’d arrived.  He confessed to us that “if it means we can keep Grayson I will give up peanut butter.”
    This simple statement of sacrifice has continued to bless his father’s heart ever since it was first stated - it can even get me teary-eyed if I think on it too long.  I don’t think I can overstate young Jackson’s love for this sweet and salty concoction.  
    Of course, as adults, we know that whether or not Jackson eats peanut butter doesn’t really impact our ability to adopt Grayson, and that there are ways to protect Grayson from peanut butter without needing to entirely remove it from the house.  Through the years, we’ve been able to find means of compromise where Jackson is able to enjoy his favorite food so long as he sits at a different table while eating and washes his hands immediately afterward.  (Truthfully this is not a bad practice even if there isn’t a food allergy with which to be concerned).
    But comprehension of the details wasn’t what was most important; rather, what engenders joy and pride in Jackson’s father is the love such a willingness for sacrifice displays.  It is so beautiful in fact that years after the offer his dad would remember it well enough to write a whole newsletter article about it.
    For the past several Sundays, we have been studying 1st Peter. In this book, the Apostle Peter tell us that Heavenly Father shares how He finds joy in the relationships between us, His children.  Peter writes:

"Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.”  1 Peter 3:8 (NLT)

    As we think of peanut butter, I think it is appropriate that “sandwiched” between the ideas of sympathizing with each other and being tenderhearted we are told to “love each other as brothers and sisters”.
    How often do church squabbles, church splits, or even a loss of love for the church come from attitudes which are concerned only for the preferences and tastes of those who are already part of the family.  What would have been the normal childish behavior of a four year old would have been to think along the lines of “but this was my home first, and in this home we have always loved and enjoyed peanut butter.  Let the kids who don’t like it my way find a different home”.
    But what Jackson did instead showed a willingness to give up what he loved, to give up his tastes and preferences, that he might open the door to the person who did not yet belong.  His desire was not to protect his own, but rather to grow the family; to welcome a brother.
    May we all be so childish.
    At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who, then, is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Blessings,

Pastor Tim

“2 He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them. 3 And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. 5 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” - Matthew 18:2-5 (NIV)