Moments for Mission The monthly newsletter of the Southwestern Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America August 2013    

 

n Phone: 253-535-8300 n Email: swwsynod@plu.edu n Blog: swwsynodelca.blogspot.com n Website: www.lutheranssw.org nAddress: 420 121st St. S, Tacoma, WA 98444 n Newsletter can be reproduced

 Photo, Rachel Pritchett

Incoming Bishop Rick Jaech, pictured in July in his office at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church of Vancouver.

By Rachel Pritchett, synod communicator

Incoming bishop brings breadth of experience VANCOUVER — Incoming Southwestern Washington Synod Bishop Rick Jaech brings a breadth of experience in ecumenism and conflict resolution to the office. A recent period of his 26-year ministry at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Vancouver was devoted to facilitating dialog between Christians, Jews and Muslims, an effort that left a lasting imprint of sensitivity on members of his flock. “It was a great time of learning about each other’s faith traditions,” he said in a conversation in his office at the church, a quiet oasis located in an otherwise busy web of thoroughfares in East Vancouver. Jaech, pronounced Jake, is a member of the Greater Vancouver Interfaith Association. Beyond that, the tall 63-year-old has served for the past four years as the bishop’s representative to the ELCA’s Lutheran Ecumenical Relations Network, a group devoted to Christian unity and inter-religious awareness. As bishop, he hopes to continue ecumenical work in the synod and at the churchwide level. Continues "I am thankful that the ELCA is very active in ecumenical and interfaith dialog," he said. His work earning a master's degree in conflict mediation led to his writing the book "Transforming Church Conflict: A Guild for Pastors and Leaders." Many know Jaech best through his workshops on turning seemingly insurmountable conflicts into valued

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Incoming bishop: Continued from Page 1

“I am thankful that the ELCA is very active in ecumenical and interfaith dialog,” he said. His work earning a master’s degree in conflict mediation led to his writing the book “Transforming Church Conflict.” Many know Jaech best through his workshops on turning seemingly insurmountable conflicts into valued growth opportunities, another skill set he will be able to call on in the next six years. Jaech said he is looking forward to getting to know the pastors and members of the synod’s 88 congregations and worshiping communities. He plans to continue starting and supporting new mission starts. “That will be a priority of mine,” he said. And he hopes to work with congregations to discover ways they can collaborate on efforts instead of working alone, or “to help all congregations work cooperatively to build their ministries.” Jaech grew up in West Seattle, the son of a Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod parish pastor, Emil Jaech, who himself served as the widely admired president, or bishop, of the Northwest District of the LC-MS between 1968 and 1980. The elder Jaech helped develop close working ties with other Lutherans and was a founder of Consultation to Clergy, the group that offers personal and professional support to pastors and other church leaders. A graduate of West Seattle High School, the younger Jaech was among dissident students and faculty at Concordia Seminary of St. Louis, Mo., who walked out over a theological rift in the 1970s to form Concordia Seminary in Exile (Seminex). He actually received his master of divinity degree from Seminex at The Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. More about that historic walkout from the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod seminary is at wikipedia.org/wiki/Seminex. Jaech was ordained as an LC-MS pastor in 1975, but a year later joined the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, which helped to form the ELCA. His first call was to the Mission District of San Francisco, where he established a Spanish-speaking congregation of immigrants and imperiled refugees at St. Mary and St. Martha Lutheran Church. He had learned the language by immersing himself in study in Mexico. He served that congregation from 1975 to 1986, and during that time also worked to improve their living conditions as director of Lutheran Latino Ministries. “Seeing the faith of the Latin American people really trusting in God even though their lives were turned upside down was very inspiring to me,” he remembered. There is little doubt that Jaech will look wistfully over his shoulder at Beautiful Savior as he makes his way to Tacoma. He called members there “a wonderful gathering of people.” They help the homeless through Winter Hospitality Overflow and the local Y.W.C.A. They assist refugees through Lutheran Community Services Northwest, advocate with Faith Action Network in Olympia, and consider themselves a celebrating church in which all are welcome to Christ’s table. The incoming bishop and wife Satya Lamparter Jaech, a psychotherapist and meditation instructor, have one son. Nicholas, 20, is a political-science student at the University of Washington. The family has a long history of service at Holden Village. As for his new calling, Jaech said, “I’m confident God has many blessing in store for us, and I very much welcome people’s prayers as we begins this ministry together.” All are invited to his installation at 3 p.m. Sept. 14 at Trinity Lutheran Church of Parkland. Jaech can be reached at rick@rickjaech.com.

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A thank-you from outgoing Bishop Rob Hofstad Dear Friends,

My family and I want to thank you — with our hearts and hands and voices — for the warm and gracious retirement celebrations of the month past. As we have been preparing ourselves for one of the huge transitions of life, it has been both heartening and life-giving to be surrounded by all of you. Thank you for your kind affirmation and support. Thank you for the gift of an exquisitely carved nativity set. And thank you, most of all, for our continuing friendship and life together in Jesus Christ. It has been the highest honor to have served as your bishop for these past 12 years. I will continue to pray regularly for all of you, for our synod and church, and for our good and faithful Bishop Rick Jaech and his fine staff.

Your brother in Christ, Rob Hofstad n Available: Multiyear copies of Interpretation and Word and World periodicals are available in the synod office for anyone who is interested in scholarly reading. Congregations in transition Call process Position Status Pastoral care Agnus Dei, Gig Harbor P TR Richard Hermstad Beautiful Savior, Vancouver P NV Pulpit supply Creator, Bonney Lake P NV Pulpit supply First, Tacoma P NV Howard Fosser Gloria Dei, Kelso P C Elten Zerby Light of Grace, Federal Way P TR Sang Su Kim Mount Cross, University Place P NV Pulpit supply Mountain View, Edgewood AP I John Vaswig Redeemer, Fircrest I I Art Sortland Salishan Eastside Lutheran Mission P TR Pulpit supply St. John’s, Chehalis P I Linda Smith Trinity, Vancouver P I Katherine Hellier Key: AP – Associate Pastor; I – Interviewing; P – Pastor; NV – New Vacancy; TR – Transition Calls: The Rev. Randy Haas has been called as full-time pastor to Hope of Tacoma. Postings

Youth minister, Mount Cross Lutheran Church of University Place, mountcrosslutheran.org After-school coordinator, Immanuel Lutheran Church of Vancouver, 360-694-3661 After-school coordinator, St. Paul Lutheran Church of Castle Rock, www.stpaulcr.com Office administrator, Our Saviour's Lutheran Church of Bremerton, www.oslcbremerton.org Choir director, The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd of Olympia, www.gsolympia.org Correction: An incorrect name of a person elected to the synod Discipline Committee by the 2013 synod assembly was published in the previous synod newsletter. The correct name is Sarah Briehl.

 

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Around the synod

Summertime, and the fixin’s easy

Hot summer days have meant an upswing in the usual amount of sprucing up at synod congregations. One example was at Mountain View Lutheran Church of Edgewood on July 13, when members and friends devoted that day prepping and painting the education and gymnasium wing. Labor was pulled from the Honey Doers group of Mountain View handymen retirees.

Planting seeds with Young Adults in Global Mission By the Rev. Sigi Helgeson, Family of God Lutheran Church of Bremerton After traveling for 12 hours flying over the Pacific Ocean and having a stop over in Hong Kong, my sister Kathy and I departed for Malaysia. As the plane landed in Kota Kinabalu, in the province of Sabah Malaysia, my heart raced to get through customs to see my son, Patrick, who had been living there for the past nine months. I could not wait to see the country he had come to love on the island of Borneo in the South China Sea. After arriving, we traveled to the newly built school at Grace Center on the outskirts of town. We met the teachers, all young adults who welcomed us in their small office they shared. They offered us tea and treats from their own meager supply. We moved into a hall where students were assembled cross-legged on the floor to receive their awards for academic excellence. It was hot that day, 90 degrees-plus with humidity, but inside was even hotter as the electricity had gone out and there was no air conditioning or fans. We sat inside a sweltering room for almost two hours watching the kids delight at their awards and enthusiastically sing songs and perform dances. Continues We had brought some little gifts of stickers and bracelets and found that we had many instant friends. These nearly 200 children are given an education that they would not normally receive as they are immigrant children primarily from the Philippines and Indonesia who are not recognized by

 

 

Above, Bill Hansen paints trim from high atop a truck at Mountain View Lutheran Church of Edgewood on July 13. At left, Darrel Hagen preps siding. Photos by Darel Roa of Darel Roa Photography

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Young Adults in Global Mission: Continued We had brought some little gifts of stickers and bracelets and found that we had many instant friends. These nearly 200 children are given an education that they would not normally receive as they are immigrant children from the Philippines and Indonesia not recognized by the government; Patrick went to teach English and many of the children spoke to us practicing their English. I could see why my son fell in love with this place and teaching here. Later that night we returned for a barbecue and got to meet the director of Grace Center, Pastor Barnabas, a Korean pastor who saw the need for a Christian school in this primarily Muslim country. His vision was to reach out to children who would not be able to go to school due to their lack of citizenship. He started with one school and 80 children. Now they have two schools and more than 200 children. I thought about the many young adults who were there teaching in the school because they felt the tug of the Holy Spirit, the call of God upon their lives to “die” a little to their selves, to give up a year or two from what they would otherwise be doing, or in Patrick’s case take a “gap year” and volunteer with Young Adults in Global Mission. I wondered what seeds were being planted and what harvest would come from it? Already the relationships built with these children have impacted both them and their teachers. These relationships forged in their young lives will be remembered for a lifetime. Who knows what God may do through these Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) who serve not only in Malaysia but all over the world in places as remote as Madagascar. I can only imagine what God has been doing through each of the 70-some YAGMs. What an impact they are having globally that will also play out in each local setting. As I sent my son off for a year of global mission with a mixture of both anxiety and anticipation, I never imagined what growth would occur in him. I have watched him grow in his ability to manage difficult and somewhat overwhelming situations: living in a foreign country, learning the language and adapting to his surroundings, making friends with many of the people there, not only Christian but having many Muslim friends as well, the love he has for teaching and for his students. The Young Adults in Global Mission is one of the best kept secrets in the ELCA and I think we need to change that. Could you be the next Young Adult in Global Mission? Or as I wondered could God use even an “older adult” like me? What seeds will you plant? “Selemat Pagar” Blessings, Pastor Sigi

 

The Rev. Sigi Helgeson with students at Grace Center, Malaysia, in July. Helgeson’s son Patrick is completing a year there teaching English as an ELCA Young Adult in Global Mission. Courtesy photo

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On the road again The Rev. Randy Faro, 68, freshly retired from St. John’s Lutheran Church of Chehalis, has since become one of Lewis County’s most admired easy riders. He recently accepted a challenge to ride his 2006 Yamaha Royal Star Tour Deluxe more than 1,000 miles in 48 hours. He easily succeeded. Faro and St. John’s member John Haworth rode from Chehalis to Redding, Calif., on June 29 and 30, making the trip there and back in 23 hours, 47 minutes, pausing for just four and a half hours in Redding for sleep. “I’d do it again. It was a hoot of fun,” Faro said. On July 23, he and the Rev. Kim Latterell of Creator Lutheran Church of Bonney Lake, undertook an 850-mile drive around Washington and Oregon.

Mountain View Community Center welcomes new director Michael Wilson has been selected as the new executive director of Mountain View Community Center, on the campus of Mountain View Lutheran Church of Edgewood. Wilson brings with him 25 years of nonprofit experience for organizations that include Young Life, Pro Teen of the Northwest Leadership Foundation, the Salvation Army and Tacoma’s Safe Streets. Mountain View’s giant back-to-school event takes place Aug. 24, by the way. The popular event attracts hundreds of families in need seeking backpacks, supplies and services for their children on the cusp of a new school year.

 

The Rev. Randy Faro on Interstate 5 in northern California with Mount Shasta in the background. Courtesy photo    

 

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Upcoming

Follow along with the churchwide assembly Those not attending the ELCA churchwide assembly Aug. 12 to 17 in Pittsburgh, Pa., can still follow along at www.elca.org/assembly. Two key action items include the elections of the presiding bishop and secretary.

Next service at Little White Church is Aug. 18 The Rev. Mark Woldseth of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church of Tacoma will lead worship at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 18 at the Little White Church at Elbe in the foothills of Mount Rainier. The 18-by-24-foot miniature church is part of the Southwestern Washington Synod and appeared in “Ripley’s Believe it or Not” for being the smallest church around. While in Elbe, visitors also can jump on the nearby Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad, which goes a short distance to Mineral, where a new railroad museum awaits. Throw in a hike and a picnic and a summer Sunday is complete. Worship services also are slated for Sept. 15 and Oct. 20, at the same time. Go to www.elbehistoricchurch.com for directions.

Sept. 8 official celebration date of 25th anniversary of ELCA On Sept. 8, the ELCA – 4 million members in 10,000 congregations – will celebrate its 25th anniversary by taking part in “God's work. Our hands.” The celebration is planned to be a day in which ELCA Lutherans everywhere serve their communities. More information is at www.ELCA.org/25years. A toolkit is available to help congregations prepare.

Gift-planning retreat at Alderbrook A gift-planning retreat will be offered at the Alderbrook Resort on Sept. 27 and 28 and Oct. 18 and 19 at Skamania Lodge. For more details, contact Director for Evangelical Mission the Rev. Dr. Melanie Wallschlaeger at the synod office.

Come learn about African mission The synod’s Global Mission Committee invites all to a fall gathering of ELCA congregations with mission connections in Africa. The African Mission Summit takes place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 5 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church 2650 148th Ave. SE, Bellevue. The special guest is the Rev. Anna Eva Makyao, a Lutheran pastor from Tanzania. Participants will have opportunities to share what they are doing with others. Worship, learning and planned will take place, too. Registration including lunch is $10 at www.lutheransnw.org/africansummit. An offering for companion-synod programs will be taken. The event replaces the committee's Global Stories event this year. Deaconess J term scheduled The Deaconess community of the ELCA plans a J term course for those discerning that path toward

 

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Bulletin board

Help offered in supporting incoming college freshmen Those first moments in college can be alienating and lonely for freshmen. Lutheran Campus Ministry at the University of Washington is there to help, with worship, fellowship and support. Get your incoming student signed up at http://uwlutherans.com/Refer_a_Student.html

Share your stories of inter-religious efforts The ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations invites those with stories of engaging with people of other religions through an ELCA ministry or some other activity to share. The group is particularly interested in new biblical and theological insights, personal transformation, shared social-action components such as a food pantry or refugee assistance and new ideas for teaching. Submit stories of 1,000 words or less by Sept. 6 to Kathryn Lohre, ELCA Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations, 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL 60631. More information is at www.elca.org/ecumenical.

Postings

Youth, family and discipleship minister, Mount Cross Lutheran Church of University Place, http://mountcrosslutheran.org After-school coordinator, Immanuel Lutheran Church of Vancouver, 360-694-3661 After-school coordinator, St. Paul Lutheran Church of Castle Rock, www.stpaulcr.com Office administrator, Our Saviour's Lutheran Church of Bremerton, www.oslcbremerton.org Choir director, The Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd of Olympia, www.gsolympia.org Calendar

Aug. 12 to 17: Churchwide assembly, see Page 7 Aug. 18: Worship at Little White Church of Elbe, 2:30 p.m., see Page 7 Aug. 24: Giant back-to-school giveaway event at Mountain View Lutheran Church and Community Center of Edgewood; www.mtviewlutherean.org. Sept. 8: ELCA 25th anniversary, see Page 7 Sept. 14: Installation of Rick Jaech as bishop, 3 p.m., Trinity Lutheran, Tacoma Sept. 15: Worship at Little White Church of Elbe, 2:30 p.m., see Page 7 Sept. 21: Synod Council meets, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Good Shepherd, Olympia Sept. 27 and 28: Planned-giving event, Alderbrook, see Page 7 Oct. 5: African mission event, St. Andrew's of Bellevue, see Page 7 Oct. 20: Worship at Little White Church of Elbe, 2:30 p.m., see Page 7 July 24 to 27, 2014: Ninth Triennial Gathering of the Women of the ELCA, Charlotte, N.C. Aug. 5 to 8, 2014: Catechumenate training, Vancouver, B.C., www.catechumenate.org