In response to this decision, Trinity UMC (a reconciling congregation in
Seattle) will be hosting

A Service of Hope
Wednesday, May 9th at 7pm

All are welcome!

Refreshments and conversation will be available after the service.

6512 23rd Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98117
206-784-2227

This workshop has been developed to be very safe, nurturing and encouraging.  It welcomes all, including those who have previous experience in writing or creative expression, as well as those who are interested in exploring new ways to tell their own personal and spiritual story.

Carrie has been described by Barbara Kingsolver as “poet, storyteller, snake-charmer, good neighbor, friend and lover, minister of the wide-eyed gospel of hope and grace” as well as “a soaring songstress” by Billboard, and Rolling Stone says that Carrie “asks all the right questions” in her music. She has toured with Alison Krauss Europe and the U.S. Nickel Creek recorded Newcomer’s song “I Should’ve Known Better”, on their Grammy-winning album This Side. Carrie internationally facilitates workshops on the topics of songwriting, creative writing and spirituality, vocation and activism. In 2009 & 2011 Carrie was invited to tour India as a cultural ambassador for the American Embassy. In 2011 she released her 15th recording Everything is Everywhere with master of the Indian classical sarod Amjad Ali Khan as a benefit for the Interfaith Hunger Initiative. In 2012 she is collaborating with author Parker J. Palmer in concert and retreats based on “Healing The Heart of Democracy”.

Here is the audio from the event. It will be shared here for one week. This audio expires on May 2.

This was recorded especially for United Methodists who are in Tampa, Florida for General Conference. But, we are glad that it can be shared all who drop by our site.

Pull up a chair. Settle in. And give it a listen. We’re glad to share with you.

Thanks to Tavis Smiley and Cornel West for their witness and their passion.

UPDATE: The audio has now been removed. We thank Cornel West and Tavis Smiley for their words, wisdom, and witness.

General Conference 2012 is beginning. This year it takes place in Tampa, Florida. While the delegate count is about 1,000, many more descend upon the area to lobby, pray, watch, and bear witness to the events.

There are hundreds of petitions that delegates must consider, but three areas of legislation bear the most consideration. There is the Call to Action, a sweeping change in the order of the denomination. It radically changes how our connectional work is accomplished, who holds power, how clergy are evaluated, and where money is spent. The Call to Action should not be misunderstood by the layperson in the pew as something irrelevant for their lives. It is a sweeping series of changes. Second, human sexuality and our diverse opinions about it will once again take center stage. As parts of Europe, Central and South America, Canada, and the United States begin to shift their laws regarding marriage and as homosexuality gains in acceptance in these places, more and more pressure is placed on the denomination to change as well. This pressure is met with equal force from those who want to maintain the current status quo. This force comes from the South – South in the United States and South of the Equator. Africa is a growing part in our denomination, and the African church is must more conservative on issues related to sexuality and gender. As our church grows more in these locations, the question looms: how does that affect freedom for dissent around issues like sexuality? Third is the Pan-Methodist vote. Once upon a time, Methodism was one movement. White racism and other factors splintered the church. Now, multiple denominations contain the moniker “Methodist.” This General Conference, the delegates vote on whether to enter into full communion with other Methodist denominations. The denominations that would enter into full communion are the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, African Union Methodist Protestant Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, Union American Methodist Episcopal Church, and the United Methodist Church. The vote would, in effect, allow clergy to serve across denominational lines. And, full communion officially names our affirmation of one another’s Baptism and Eucharist.

Of course, all kinds of topics and issues will have their hearing in Tampa – peace, war, the ordination process, abortion, family planning, interfaith relations, worship and liturgy, adjudicatory issues, and so forth. It’s a time and place when United Methodists come together to sing, pray, and commune together.

The General Conferences that I have attended have displayed both the best and worst of organized religion. From beautiful liturgy and acts of mercy to graceless and hurtful actions – all are found in these gatherings. As disappointing as that can be for people, I always find that whenever people are gathered around issues of ultimate importance, their best and their worst are bound to shine through.

I ask Queen Anne to pray for our delegates and for our own Joan H. as she travels to Florida to play her part in events as they unfold. As tempting as it is to believe that our local church community stands largely apart from events taking place so far away, it isn’t true. We are bound together with these people, most of whom we will never meet, many of whom speak languages we will never understand. We sing the same songs. We pray the same prayers. We break bread in the same way. We are baptized in the same waters. We share the same heritage. We are formed by the same patterns of faith formation. As different as we may be, we are brothers and sisters in faith. Please pray for your brothers and sisters.

You can track General Conference online. You can even download an app and follow particular legislation.

Above all, pray that justice and compassion will be the rules against which all decisions are measured. It is always better to be loving than correct.

Pastor Katie

Here is a good overview of issues under consideration.

Call or email now for your tickets.

UPDATE: Thank you to all who came to the conversation on April 18. It was a wonderfully successful public launch for our new ministry. Thank you to Robert V Taylor, who offered a tender word of compassion and a challenging word for people to expand their lives.

April 5 – Maundy Thursday, Soup and Bread Dinner with Holy Communion, 6:30 PM, Parlor.
During dinner, we will have fun exploring the meal that Jesus ate with his friends at Passover, and we will spend some time with those few who walked with Jesus into the last week of his life, the disciples. This service is especially child friendly.

April 6 – Good Friday, Tenebrae Service (Service of Darkness), 7:00 PM, Sanctuary.
As we tell the last hours of Jesus’ life, we extinguish candles one by one until the world is left in darkness awaiting the dawn of Easter morning.

April 8 – Easter Sunday. Alleluia!
Easter Egg Hunt (Rain or Shine), 9:00 AM
Easter Service, 10:00 AM, Sanctuary
Easter Brunch, following the service, Downstairs Fellowship Hall

Altar for Children's Chapel on March 6, 2012.

Queen Anne UMC’s preschool is called Little Red Wagon. It provides an inclusive, loving, and enriching learning environment for 2-5 year olds. Every Tuesday and Wednesday, Pastor Katie leads the kids in chapel. Each chapel includes a call to worship, a song, a lesson/story, and a prayer.

During the week of March 5, the lesson was about Noah, the animals, and God’s promise of love and restraint. After the call to worship and a rousing rendition of “Rise and Shine,” the kids learned about Noah and the flood. Most importantly, they learned that God promised all of creation to love it, even when it misbehaves. God is a god of love and not a god of destruction. In response to the lesson, each child received a rainbow sticker and a rainbow piece of foam board. They selected a color that says something about them because they are a living part of God’s promise. In the streaming spring sunshine, the kids raised their colors above their heads making a rainbow inside.

This is one way QAUMC loves children and teaches them about God, love, values, and liturgy. Children are always welcome here.

United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) responds to natural disasters, such as floods, earthquakes, major storms and tornadoes, as well as disasters of human origin, such as explosions, shootings, and bombings.

Over the past couple of days, a rash of tornadoes has broken out over the Midwest and across the South with devastating effects. This is a cruel reminder of the tornadoes that cut a swath across the Southern states last year. Many of the same towns under threat of tornadoes today were places where tornadoes touched down last April.

Please take a moment and respond in both prayer and action. Give to UMCOR and help a neighbor whom you may never meet.

100% of your gift to UMCOR through an “Advance” number goes to the relief effort itself. None is used for administration purposes.

The word “Lent” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “lencten,” which means “spring.” Specifically, Lent is the six week period that precedes Easter. During this time, potential converts to the faith are asked to examine their hearts and to determine whether they really desire to die with Christ and be raised with him. It is a time for those who already walk in The Way, the examine our hearts, determine the ways in which we have strayed, and take steps to come back home.

Some people find Ash Wednesday “depressing.” But, it isn’t intended to be depressing. It is intended to invite us back to intentional life with Christ. It reminds us in a very stark way that we have limited days with life’s breath in us. How we live those days rests with us.

Queen Anne UMC encourages you to take Lent seriously. The traditional spiritual disciplines of the season include alms giving (giving to charity), fasting (giving something up), and prayer. And, remember, that Sundays are “little Easters.” If you do take on a fast, you can take a break from it on Sundays!

As part of your Lenten journey, we invite you to a Thursday evening Bible study with Wes Howard-Brook who will be teaching “Coming Out of Empire, Moving Into Christ.” It will take place March 1, 8, 15, and 22 from 7-9 PM in the Sanctuary.

Watch Ashes to Ashes on PBS. See more from Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly.