Evergreen Notes

Pray for Churches Seeking Pastoral Leadership Fremont Baptist Church, Filipino-American Chris-tian Fellowship, Mount Zion Baptist Church, First Baptist Church-Mountlake Terrace, Community Church of Issaquah, and Washing-ton Kachin Baptist Church

In This Issue

2019 Individual Giv-

ing Pg. 2

Happenings Around

the Region Pg. 3

Evergreen Leader-

ship Retreat Sched-

ule Pg. 4

...Bible Study with

Google Hangouts

Pg. 5

Catching Up w/our

Missionaries in Haiti

Pg. 6

2020 MLK Worship

Service Pg. 7Pg.

Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches Monthly Newsletter February 2020

Volume 19, Issue 2

Euro-Caucus Sponsored Fundraiser

On Saturday, February 29th from 1-4 PM at Seattle First Baptist Church will

be the Euro Caucus Fundraiser. The event will feature a wide variety of ethnic foods to sample as well as several carnival games for children (and grownups!) where prizes can be won. Combining foods from around the globe along with carnival games, the event will be called Evergreen’s World Fair. Tickets will cost $20 for individuals, $30 for groups of two or more. Payment for the event will be collected at the door. Another option is that you can now prepay online at http://www.ea-abc.com/fundraiser.html and get two dollars off your ticket price. After paying, just print the emailed receipt and show it at the door. The fundraiser committee is looking for volunteers to bring an ethnic dish to be sampled. We are also asking for someone to donate a big ticket item to be raffled off during the event. If you would like to volunteer to bring an ethnic dish or if you would like to donate a big ticket item, please contact Sean Brown at seanesber@hotmail.com or 206-919-6692. Thank you.

Purchase tickets at http://www.ea-abc.org/fundraiser.html

2

FRIENDS Who Gave Up to $100

Marc Oliver

Trina Pridgeon

Karen Reese

Lillie Hayden

Linda Koerber

Jerome Polite

Anita Peebles

David & Patricia Kile

Sarah Gray

Patricia Long

Jonnie & Seandra Terry

Joyce Baker

Cherry Johnson

Leslyn Jones-Petitt

Patricia Hunter

Darlene Hobbs

Vanessa Isom

Rivian Smith

Stephanie Commandest

Rodelia Gray

Robert Kelly

Irma Evans

Sandra Lee

Dana Harrison

Terry Oliver

Nathaniel & Tahia Good

Cathy Thomas

2019 Individual Giving: THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

Constance Bown

Machaele Miller

Elvis Stewart

Darla OBrian

Delores Mack

Tun Han, Sr.

Paul Dromgoole

Rebecca Anderson

Brooke & Mary Rolston

Carole Cornell

Susan Blythe-Goodman

Peter Shaw

Lynne Lohr

Bruce & Candice Sagor

Sarah Halverson

Judie Clarridge

Russ Kaake

Dorothy Roth

Joy Abbey-Adams

Yoshhide Sakuragi

Carole Carmichael

James & Karen Hopkins

Frank & Priscilla Lowe

COMPANIONS Who Gave Up to $1,000

Barbara Bryant

Connie Schmidt

Roy Ostergren

Nancy Smith

Bonnie Sutton

Albert & Mildred Matthews

James & Clem Winbush

Linda McCoy

Kathleen Fearn

Priscilla Eppinger

Ernestine Robinson

Harolyn Tibbs

Christopher & Connie Boyer

Darby Lockett

Gordon Hutchins

Marian Voge

Willie Stewart

Jack & Muriel Cashdollar

Samara Hoag

Denise Aanenson

Paul & Gail Aita

Gregory Johnson

Roxanne Fowler

CHAMPIONS Gave $1,000 and More

Carol Sutton

Robert & Barbara Reid

Douglas & Micky Holmes

Wim & Annette Mauldin

The Waterboy & Family

Marcia Patton

John & Sandy Stice

John & Maxine Sondericker

Anonymous

3

Happenings Around the Region

RAINBOW LODGE, a retreat center in the forested foothills of the Cascade Mountains just east of Seattle and associated with the Evergreen Association of the American Baptist Churches, is in the search for an Executive Director to replace our retiring Executive Director. Rainbow Lodge has been a vital and appreciated retreat center for over forty years and looks forward to many more years of extending the Ministry of Hospitality to groups looking for a place of welcome, safety and renewal. Visit the Rainbow Lodge website at, rainbowlodge.org for a view of the lodge and http://www.rainbowlodge.org/jobs.html to get an idea of the scope of the position. Please send inquiries to Randy Crowe, 509-232-9589, randycrowe.crowe@gmail.com

Ordination Council of Ramhei Cin, Pastor of Seattle Chin Baptist Church, January 11, 2020

Please go Online to www.ea-abc.org and click on “Give”.

Thank you for your continued support!

Ministerial Standards Committee L-R: Ernestine Robinson, Leslie Piacitelli , Paul Aita, Candidate Ramhei Cin, Doug Avilesbernal, Kip T. Pau and Jackie Williams

The rest of the friends and family are all smiles after Ram successfully defended his ordination paper.

4

Evergreen Association Leadership Retreat REGISTRATION

Clergy: February 6-8, 2020 Laity: February 7-8, 2020

Evergreen Association Leadership Retreat SCHEDULE Thursday: Clergy arrive between 2-4 p.m. and check-in. 4 p.m. Welcome, announcements, introductions, and Brain Dump 6 p.m. Dinner 7 p.m. Evening devotion/worship 7:30 p.m. Free Time/Evergreen Pub Theology Friday: Laity expected by 5 p.m. Welcome to arrive from 3:30—5 p.m. for some free time! 8 a.m. Breakfast 9 a.m. Morning Prayer/Devotion 9:15 a.m. Forming Our Breakouts 10 a.m. Breakout #1 11 a.m. Breakout #2 12 p.m. Lunch 1:30 p.m. Breakout #3 2:30 p.m. Breakout #4 Clergy Break 3:30-6 p.m. Free time (Beach, Vashon Downtown, lighthouse, etc.) Laity Arrive 5 p.m. Laity Welcome, Introductions, and Brain Dump

6 p.m. Dinner together

7 p.m. Worship together

7:30 p.m. Laity form Breakouts (Clergy Free Time)

8:00 p.m. Laity Breakout #1

Saturday: Clergy and Laity Together

8:00 a.m. Breakfast

9:00 a.m. Breakout #2 for Laity

9:45 a.m. Breakout #3 for Laity

10:30 a.m. Clergy and Laity Together: Sharing from our breakouts

What has momentum? What could use another discussion time?

11:00 a.m. Breakout A (everyone)

11:45 a.m. Breakout B (everyone)

12:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 p.m. Report back: What has momentum? Who will lead? What resources are needed?

2:30-3 Closing Worship

3 p.m. Blessing to go home

(Or you may remain at the camp for the afternoon for continued retreat time)

Registration Closed—INFORMATION ONLY

5

At Queen Anne Baptist

Church, we’ve changed how

we do Bible Study to reflect

the changing times. When I

first arrived, we attempted

Bible study at noon and

called it, “Brown Bag Bible

Study,” the idea being that

people could bring their

lunch and join us from work.

However, it was poorly at-

tended. Previous iterations

of weekday Bible study had

dwindled in attendance. As

more of our folks work dur-

ing the day or are caring for

children, we knew we need-

ed to make a change. With

people traveling for work, we

also recognized that a week-

ly Bible study was hard to

maintain, for if people

missed more than once it

was hard to catch up.

We conducted a survey over

the summer about Christian

Education and fellowship

opportunities, using both a

bulletin insert and a website

form. I received only one in-

sert back, but several web

form responses after email-

ing out the link. When it

came to Bible Study, almost

everyone wanted an even-

ing. We scheduled Bible

Study for 7:30 p.m.-8:30

p.m. on the second Wednes-

day of the month. This way,

it was after work and dinner,

Changing Times, Changing Our Practices: Bible Study with Google Hangouts

and if someone had to be

away, he/she would only

missed one session and

would have a month to catch

up.

The other change we brought

was adding Google Hangouts

as an option. Anyone with a

Gmail account can set up a

Google Hangout. On our

Google Calendar, when I

scheduled Bible Study, I

clicked on “Add Conferenc-

ing.” It automatically gives a

Google Hangout link.

Hangouts is free to use, but

everyone must have a Gmail

account in order to use it.

Multiple people can be on at

the same time.

On the second Wednesday of

the month at 7:30 p.m., I meet

in the parlor of the church. I

had one month where no one

showed up in person, but I

had participants join in on

Google Hangouts. It takes

some finessing with technolo-

gy—making sure that people

have their microphone and

camera settings correct. I

ended up purchasing a better

webcam to use at the church

that had a built-in micro-

phone, and that has worked

well for those joining at home

to hear. I connect the comput-

er to a TV screen so that

those at the church see

everyone joining

us from home.

Our Bible study,

even though it only

meets once a

month, has been

meaningful for those who

have participated. We close

our session with prayer re-

quests and pray for each

other, and we’ve grown to-

gether in faith and in fellow-

ship with one another. One

member has a newborn, so it

is easy for her to join after

the baby is in bed, and oth-

ers, having worked a long

day, don’t have to worry

about finding parking or be-

ing out late. You can also

turn the camera feature off

and just join in as you would

a regular phone call.

I encourage churches to

think outside the box on how

we do ministry. We can’t do

things the way we’ve always

done them. We need to be

flexible and think of ways

that we can connect using

today’s technology and inspi-

ration, and grow together as

faithful followers of Jesus in

2020.

Blessings, Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell

Ministry Associate for Social Media

media@ea-abc.org

Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell

6

American Baptist Seminary of the West Says “Thank You” for

your continued support. Your contribution of $602.59, benefits

ABSW students as they prepare to follow their call to service

in the church, community and the World… James E. Brenneman, President

Catching Up with Our Missionaries in Haiti

Dear Loved Ones,

Greetings. We hope and pray

that you had a blessed Christmas

with loved ones and we are all

looking to a richly blessed new

year.

The general situation in the coun-

try has calmed down considera-

bly. People are now moving

freely to their whereabouts. The

big news of this ending year is

the arrest of the big gun seller in

the capital city of Port-au-Prince.

He was arrested at his home with

many different types of guns and

over one million munitions. No

other information has been given

and the investigation continues.

We celebrated our Christmas

with a traditional Haut-Limbe

Baptist play on the 24th night. It

was just amazing to relive the

history. We had two girl students

for Christmas dinner at our

house. On Friday night, we had

children of the campus for Mama

Kihomi’s homemade Congolese

Mikate, beignets or Congolese

donuts and ice cream. Chil-

dren are always delighted to

have some M&M’s , a rare,

unique delicacy in our area

that one can only find at our

place. This time they received

some toys as well.

At the eye clinic, we had our

Christmas prayer session on

Thursday December 26 after

work. Then, Monday, Decem-

ber 30, after we finished with

the last patient, we thoroughly

cleaned the whole clinic and

prayed together before we

closed to welcome 2020. We

want to start clean, physically

and spiritually.

Mama Kihomi has deeply en-

gaged herself in her ministry of

visiting families bringing some

relief, counseling and prayers.

She comes back excited with

stories to tell.

We do not have words to

thank each one of you for your

love, your unconditional sup-

port of all kinds. We have and

we will al-

ways appre-

ciate every

gesture you

have shown

toward us.

We pray that in spite of ups

and downs of this life, may

2020 bring us all peace of

minds, health and happiness in

serving the Master of life.

In Haiti,

Nzunga & Kihomi

Dear Supporters,

We thank God that He heard our prayers and Haiti is calm-ing down…

Dennis Shewell

Editor’s Note: Thank you, Evergreen, for supporting a time of rest and relaxation stateside for Nzunga & Kihomi following the recent crisis ex-perienced when they were on call virtually 24/7. We believe they are in the states as this newsletter is published.

Kihomi & Nzunga

7

Martin L. King, Jr. Worship Service, January 20, 2020 @ New Beginnings Christian Fellowship, Kent

Thank you to NBCF Junior Deacons: Noah Oliver, Amber Jones. Madison Bryant, and Nile Hunter for representing the four Evergreen caucuses: Euro, Black, Asian, & Hispanic– and lighting the Unity Candle.

Mission Statement

Being a culturally diverse

people who are one in

Christ and who value the

liberties of our American

Baptist Heritage, the

Evergreen Baptist Associ-

ation will

Build bridges between

communities;

Provide resources to equip

member churches to

share Christ and teach

God’s word; and

Translate our unity to

the world.

Calendar of Upcoming Events Evergreen Leadership Retreat, Clergy: February 6-8, 2020; Laity: February 7-8, 2020. Registration closed.

February 29, 2020: Euro Caucus Sponsored Evergreen’s World Fair Fundraiser, 1 PM -4 PM, Seattle First Baptist Church

March 14, 2020: Association Board Meeting, Panther Lake Com-munity Church, Kent WA 9 AM

May 9, 2020: Association Board Meeting, Panther Lake Commu-nity Church, Kent WA 9 AM

June 16, 2020: SAVE the DATE! Take Your Pastor to the Ball Game, Mariners vs. Astros, 7:10 PM. Tickets $10 each.

August 8, 2020: Association Board Meeting, Seattle First Baptist Church, Seattle WA 9 AM

Executive Committee meets monthly on the second

Thursday each month at 6:30 PM, Japanese Baptist

Church.

Non-Profit Organization

US Paid

Kent WA Permit No. 451

Building Bridges, Resourcing Churches & Translating Our Unity

Return Service Requested

Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches

409 Third Avenue S, Suite A

Kent WA 98032-5843

Phone: 253-859-2226

Email: eba@ea-abc.org

Evergreen Notes, the newsletter for

member churches, ecumenical partners,

national affiliates, and friends of the

Evergreen Association of American

Baptist Churches is published monthly.

Please submit articles by the 20th of

the month prior to expected publication.

You are encouraged to copy and/or

reprint information and articles for your

congregation and community.

“Like” us on Facebook:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/evergreenabcusa; Instagram, and Twitter @evergreenabcusa #ebaabc

Rev. Douglas Avilesbernal

Executive Minister