UPC Times: Archive

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January/February 2006

‘Willing to be used’: UPC teams aid victims of Hurricane Katrina

Marine volunteers in Djibouti orphanages

Larson Fellowship is UPC’s church basement

Pastoral Perspective: The authentic ministry of ‘just being there’

Thank you to UPC Times volunteers

A heart for art and kids leads to life’s calling

Online giving available this month

Annual youth auction adds Sunday night

Join UPC’s Sewing Group

In France: The harvest is plenty but…

Mission Focus: Urban missions: Living it in Seattle

 

‘Willing to be used’: UPC teams aid victims of Hurricane Katrina

Cindi Whalen

They seemed completely different: a Boeing engineer, a defense attorney, an 82-year-old ex-missionary and foreign services attaché, a seminary graduate, a choir director, a city planner, a mother and community services volunteer, and a photographer. Yet they shared a common conviction: that God was calling them to serve on one of the first UPC Shoulder-to-Shoulder mission teams to help the survivors of Hurricane Katrina. So they gathered at Sea-Tac airport at 5 a.m. on Oct. 9, ready for what would become a life- and faith-changing adventure.

Two teams flew down to the Gulf Coast that day. The other team, which left that night on a red-eye flight, was heading down to establish a continuing UPC presence at the First Presbyterian Church of Bay St. Louis, Miss. That team, headed by Jaci Smith, associate director of  Urban & Global Missions, would help local families with clean-up and set up food and lodging support for the teams that would follow in coming weeks.

But the first team, led by seminary graduate Brandon Lewis, didn’t know exactly what to expect. They were just “willing to be used.” Kim Fredericks, with help from her teammates, agreed to share some moments from that first week in Mississippi.

SUNDAY
“When we landed at the tiny airport in Montgomery, Alabama, we knew we were entering a region in crisis,” says Kim. “The Red Cross was already there meeting other work teams. Brandon introduced us for the first time. I think we were all a bit apprehensive – what if we don’t get along?”

They headed for the Days Inn motel. Kim and Karen Murray remember being stunned when they saw the run-down building. “I think this was God’s way of preparing us step-by-step for what lay ahead,” says Kim.

MONDAY
After a restless sleep, the team met up with Henry Norton and Ann Yeager, partners from Faith Presbyterian Church of Huntsville, Ala. Henry, a photographer with experience in hurricane relief, would be the team director for the rest of the trip. As they drove farther south toward Gulfport, Miss., they started seeing wind damage from the hurricane. “First we saw mangled street signs, then downed trees,” says Kim. “When we drove into Gulfport, the damage took my breath away. It was a nice middle-class area – like what you’d see in suburban Seattle but flat – and there was debris everywhere.”

They continued on to Bay St. Louis, closer to the coast and the center of the destruction. “It was shocking,” says Kim. “ We couldn’t find our way to the church because the streets were a mess and the signs were gone. There was no electricity and it was getting close to the 8 p.m. curfew. We finally found the First Presbyterian Church, one of the few buildings near the beach that was still standing. We met with the members of the other UPC team and, like them, slept on or between the pews in the sanctuary.”

Later teams have slept on cots as the UPC prep team organized provisions in the small church the size of Geneva Hall. The team learned that the pastor lost everything in the hurricane and many members had not returned. First Presbyterian of Bay St. Louis was “primed for outreach,” says Jaci. “Together with UPC and other churches from around the country, First Presbyterian was already bringing the love of Christ to the community.”

TUESDAY
The team woke early and reviewed the posted list of local families needing assistance. They headed out with their tools and supplies to help Susan, a 54-year-old grandmother who was caring for 2-year-old Emily. Susan’s husband was working on the oil rigs offshore. She needed help cleaning out the house and clearing yard debris.

“Everything in the area was totally devastated,” says Kim. “I couldn’t believe all the debris hanging in the trees, cars that had clearly rolled over and over, houses totally destroyed…75 percent of all the trees in the area were broken off or uprooted. The water level had reached eight feet in the houses.”

As they headed onto the property, Henry directed everyone to specific tasks. Team members naturally gravitated toward their areas of giftedness: Kim to caring for Emily, Henry to listening to Susan, the other men to cutting up downed oaks with chain saws, Ann and Karen to helping clear debris. Of the 15 houses on the block, only four families had returned. Susan had no idea what had happened to the others or if they would ever return. “Susan clearly wanted to talk,” says Kim. “Sometimes that seemed to be the biggest need – just to talk about what had happened.” Later that afternoon, Kim and Emily made a symbolic discovery: butterflies were returning to the area.

WEDNESDAY
The team returned to Susan’s house in the morning to help remove moldy insulation and ceiling tiles. The men wore respirators and gloves, but “the smell was still awful,” says Kim. “The sewage system backed up when the hurricane hit and the mold was unbearable. We couldn’t believe some people had lived in these hazardous conditions for the past six weeks.”

They sprayed everything with Clorox and then met with Susan, Emily and the team for prayer. “That time praying with the families was the most meaningful part of the trip for me,” says Kim. Later that afternoon, the team went to the town of Waveland to help a young family strip their house and yard of debris. Here the devastation was even worse. “We drove down block after block with tears in our eyes,” remembers Kim. “All of the houses were completely demolished.”

The young father told his story to Brandon while the rest hauled and wheel-barrowed debris to the street. The family had lost their dog and no one had even entered the grandparents’ home at the back of the property yet. Six-year-old Landon came home from school and started talking about his best friend down the street who had not returned. At the end of the day, the appreciative family joined hands with the team and prayed.

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY
On the last two days of the trip, the team went to a Baptist church in Gulfport, where a charismatic young pastor was setting up a distribution center for the area. The men helped build a makeshift warehouse and the women unloaded boxes. On the last morning, a young boy from the neighborhood wandered up to Brandon saying, “Hungry, they’re hungry…” Brandon followed him to his home near the church and found the boy’s grandmother and aunt clearly distraught, hungry and needing help.

“It was sobering,” Brandon says. “We wrestled with this as a team …there was a family right in our midst, literally 54 feet from the church, who wasn’t being helped with their immediate needs.” Brandon made sure the family received food and clothing. Later that afternoon, the team went to help a 60-year-old woman whose husband left her after the hurricane. The group cleaned out two rooms of her house and helped remove moldy ceiling tiles. By then, the team was emotionally and physically exhausted. “We had our last meal together that night,” says Brandon. “It was a good time to debrief, vent, debate and share what we had encountered during the week. Our experiences had brought us closer together…all of us were powerfully affected by what we witnessed.”

Saturday morning the group drove back to Montgomery to board the plane for Seattle and their own homes.

Shoulder-to-Shoulder continues

UPC has committed to sending teams to Bay St. Louis in the coming months. As of Dec. 31, more than 160 UPC volunteers have traveled to Mississippi. “We are helping residents move from despair and indecision to hope. We try to help get them over the initial hump so that they can begin to make decisions and move ahead,” says Jaci Smith, associate director of Urban & Global Missions. All teams stay at the Bay St. Louis Presbyterian Church and work in the surrounding community. Although the specific tasks performed by the teams may vary from week to week, most of the work involves clearing debris from homes and property, helping clean and wash possessions, repairing facilities, and providing love and encouragement to residents. Both skilled and unskilled labor is needed, and training is provided for particular needs such as drywalling and roofing.

The tax-deductible cost of the trip is $650, which helps pay for airfare, meals, lodging and equipment, as well as scholarships for those who cannot pay.

Jaci explains that many people ask if it wouldn’t be better just to send a check. “My answer is an overwhelming ‘NO!’ Our personal presence is so important to people there. Remote help is not what they need most. They need to know that others truly care enough to help them. You can see the resurrection power of Jesus Christ at work in this situation, bringing new life to the church and community there, and also new life to the people from UPC. We are being the hands and feet of Christ, reaching out and loving with no strings attached.”

For more information about volunteering, e-mail shouldertoshoulder@upc.org. An on-line registration form is available at www.upcmissiongroups.org. For specific questions, call Julie Lewis at 206/524-7301, ext. 531, or Jaci Smith, ext. 533.

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Marine volunteers in Djibouti orphanages

by Linda Whittlesey

When Marine Sgt. Tyler Parris gets free time from his duties as the HelpDesk chief at Camp Lemonier in Djibouti, Africa, he changes into his civvies, jumps into a vehicle with several buddies and heads out to visit orphans.

At the orphanage for babies, run by a French convent, Tyler and his fellow Marines feed, burp and play with the infants and toddlers who have lost their parents to poverty, civil wars or AIDS.

The Americans also visit an Islamic-sponsored orphanage for older boys, where they are greeted exuberantly as they show up to join in lively games of basketball and soccer.

Djibouti is a tiny, poor and overwhelmingly Muslim country surrounded by Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and the Red Sea. The U.S. military presence there is a direct result of the September 11 attacks. But this mission isn’t about fighting. It is instead about creating a much-needed stable infrastructure in a potentially volatile region. Tyler sees it as an opportunity to “extend the grace of God to this hurting part of the world.”

The first time Tyler, a West Virginia native, joined the Marine Corps he was a punk teen-ager who had been into gang fighting, heavy drinking and skipping school. The son of a hospital chaplain, Tyler was aware he had become everything his parents raised him not to be. He hoped the Marines would make a “better person” out of him. But he didn’t make it past basic training. He was mustered out of boot camp because he disobeyed orders.

Tyler continued in his college studies, but he remained the victim of his own self-described “lack of character.” He cut and ran when anything got too challenging: classes, girlfriends, jobs.

Nonetheless, amid all this personal chaos, God used people and events in Tyler’s life to get his attention. And, after the darkest times he had experienced, he finally encountered God’s presence personally at a Christmas Eve service in a small Anglican chapel. “The priest spoke of Christ coming to be a light into a dark world. For some reason, everything I’d ever heard about God fell into place in my brain and heart at that moment. I realized that after trying unsuccessfully to change myself, I could never (do that) until I gave my life to Christ.”

Slowly, transformation took place. Over time, he became an honors student at Marshall University, poetry editor of the school’s literary magazine, a student advocate in his college’s disciplinary hearings and a leader in campus ministries. He spent three summers working at a church camp in Massachusetts, and spent a year and a half as a youth director in a small church in West Virginia. Approaching graduation, he prayerfully sought God’s will for the next phase of his life.

That included completing unfinished business. Tyler re-enlisted in the Marine Corps six years after his initial failed attempt. This time he completed boot camp, which he describes as “one of the most difficult challenges of my life.” He was trained as a network administrator, and began a six-year commitment in the reserves.

At the same time, he followed God’s call to graduate school in Ohio for a master’s degree in technical writing. Balancing demanding studies with Marine reserve duty, Tyler proved he was a different person than the unfocused and rebellious young man he had been.

After graduation, Tyler came to the Seattle area to work for Microsoft in the fall of 2002. When he got here, he took the advice of a friend of a friend, and visited UPC.

That first visit was almost his last. Stepping into the Narthex one Sunday in time for the 10 a.m. service, he was staggered by so many people bustling in so many directions. He almost walked out the door. But he didn’t.

Instead, he became a regular at the Tuesday evening worship services, where he found community with many UPC worshippers. Among them was Katie Johnson, who was raised at UPC and spent her college years abroad. Combining her UPC background with a world view that was shaped while she was overseas, Katie was using her master’s degree in business at Pura Vida Coffee, a local company founded to use the power of capitalism to aid the poor. Initially, Tyler didn’t appreciate that. “She was a flaming liberal,” he recalls. “I didn’t want to have anything to do with her.” Except for the fact that she was pretty cute.

Gradually, as they were part of a group that hung out together, Tyler realized that he had misjudged Katie, and the seeds of a romance were sown.

For her part, Katie thought Tyler was attractive. Her friends and family adored him. But, she was troubled by his life with the Marines. It was early in 2003. War was heating up. It was inevitable that he would be deployed overseas. He had asked her if she’d wait for him if he were activated. She struggled with that. Preferring he’d leave the service as soon as he could, she told him, “I don’t want to be a Marine widow.”

However, she came to realize that Tyler’s Marine duties proved he was a person who took commitment seriously; that fulfilling his duties had become essential to the person he had become.

In May 2004, they were married at UPC, and settled in a townhouse in Bellevue. Fourteen months later, Tyler was activated and deployed to Djibouti. He is scheduled to return home sometime in February 2006.

The Marine Corps has praised Tyler for his work with the orphans of Djibouti. But Tyler clearly thinks he has received more than he has given. He describes the joy on the faces of the childcare workers at the baby orphanage, even though they labor under immense poverty; and how rewarding it is to help alleviate some of their burden.

He describes Mohammed, a young “bright and visionary” orphan boy who speaks three languages, and who has concrete plans to help alleviate the poverty in Djibouti as an educated adult. Tyler says, “He doesn’t even seem to flinch at problems so large, complex and layered that I stagger just to comprehend them, much less fix them.”

And so it goes. Tyler, who as a young adult was transformed from aimlessness to purpose and faithfulness, lives out his calling as a Christian and his duties as a Marine. Semper fi.

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Larson Fellowship is UPC’s church basement

by Jennie Gulian

It’s a tradition that is repeated thousands of times each Sunday: A congregation meandering down to the church basement after services to eat jelly doughnuts and drink coffee. Between the powdered sugar and the kids playing tag, a lot of catching up gets done. You find out who’s been accepted to the UW and who’s in – or out – of the hospital. You talk to the Andersons about their plans for the Fourth of July. You might even do a little church business – set up a committee meeting or get an e-mail address.

UPC doesn’t have a basement, not an accessible one anyway, but the need is the same as it is in a smaller church – to provide a place for the congregation to fellowship.

“Sunday is the main day in the life of UPC,” says Renée Sundberg, pastor of Community Life. “What draws us together is worship, but there are five services,” she adds. “What we needed was an informal, public space where people could turn toward each other and enjoy the experience of being the family of God.”

Over the past year and a half, Larson Hall has turned into just that: a place with a “gracious and welcoming atmosphere” where everyone is invited, including seniors, teens, preschoolers and infants.

Renée admits that some people felt the cavernous Larson Hall may not be the right space for bringing the congregation together. “But once you get people into the space, it becomes the right space,” she says.

Creating a fellowship space at UPC has been talked about for several years. When the coffee was moved from Calvin Lounge up to Larson a couple of years ago, everyone complained. Larson seemed so far away. But the lure of caffeine was powerful and there was more room. It slowly became the gathering spot.

The foundation of Larson Fellowship is hospitality in all of its forms, says Suzanne Giannini, hospitality event resource coordinator. “People want to be together,” says Suzanne. “When someone comes to Larson for a bite of something, that’s their excuse to get drawn in.”

Food plays a huge role in helping to provide the kind of atmosphere that UPC staffers and volunteers are trying to nurture through Larson Fellowship. Currently, a full breakfast is served in the morning and a full dinner in the evening during the first Sundays of each month (unless a holiday or a churchwide special event is happening). On the other Sundays, a continental breakfast and soup and salad supper are served. The new popcorn machine – well on its way to being paid for – is also a popular fixture in the evening. All food is offered for a suggested donation amount, which approximately covers the cost of the food.

On non-breakfast mornings, coordinators and volunteers serve 15 gallons of hot cocoa, a case of marshmallows and more than 500 hard boiled eggs, along with countless cups of coffee and pastries.

Suzanne says she loves to hear stories about people who “connect” because of Larson Fellowship. One staff member told her that a family who has a disabled child found out about the opportunities in Children & Family Ministries by talking to someone in Larson. Another family invited their neighbors to have supper with them in Larson before an evening service. Now, the neighbors are there every week. In another case, several people who weren’t connected sat down at the same table one week and began discussing the difficulties they had experienced in finding a small group. Now, they meet once a month after the 5 p.m. service to discuss the sermon.

“Boundaries are broken down because of food,” Suzanne says. “It’s amazing to see.”

Besides plenty of opportunity for socializing, Larson Fellowship gives UPC ministry groups the chance to provide information to the congregation in a low-key way. Community Life organizes and sponsors UPC groups that want to host a registration table for upcoming events or just offer an opportunity for people to meet face-to-face with someone who is already involved in a particular ministry.

But it is people talking to other people, one-on-one, that takes center stage in Larson Fellowship. Says Renée, “That’s how fellowship grows deeper.”

For information about sponsoring a ministry table during Larson Fellowship, contact Leah Bickel in Community Life, at 206/524-7301, ext. 162.

Families, small groups needed to serve
About 20 volunteers are needed each Sunday to greet the congregation and serve food during Larson Fellowship. It is a wonderful opportunity for small groups and families to serve together, says Suzanne Giannini, hospitality event resource coordinator. Volunteer teams are asked to work once a month for one to two hour shifts.

“One of the greatest things is that whole families can serve together – ranging in age from about 8 years old and up,” Suzanne says.

A larger number of volunteers allows teams to serve in a wider variety of ways, from greeting newcomers to walking around with carafes of coffee to provide “refills” for those engaged in conversations.

“The more volunteers we have, the more opportunities we can create,” Suzanne says.
If you or your group is interested in serving, contact Suzanne at 206/524-7301, ext. 165.

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Pastoral Perspective: The authentic ministry of ‘just being there’

by Earl Palmer, Senior Pastor

Are there some people in your life who you can always count on just to be there? You don’t really need to check out their availability; you can count on it. “Luke alone is with me.” (2 Timothy 4:11) When St. Paul put this sentence into his prison letter to Timothy, he told us a lot about Luke and he also helped us to name a form of ministry that might be called the ministry of presence.

Usually when we think of ministries that we as followers of Jesus Christ are called to do and live into, we think of such mandates as the ministry of servanthood in the name of Christ, or of preaching, or teaching, or of prayer, or of the guidance ministry of younger disciples, and each of these ministries is surely needed. But there is another ministry that may or may not be rated as highly as the others: It is the uncomplicated and simple act of faithful presence where someone stays when others have left. We really don’t know all of the tasks and roles that Luke fulfilled, though the fact that he is a physician certainly came in handy. Paul calls him “the beloved physician” in his Colossian letter. (Colossians 4:14) We also know that Luke kept track of what was happening around him and he later wrote it down in two books that became the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts. But his main role in the New Testament narratives seems to be his faithful presence; he stayed with his friend Paul, even on the prison ship journey from Caesarea across the Mediterranean Sea via shipwreck at Malta and finally at Rome, and he stays by Paul during the last days of Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. (Acts 28)

I am grateful that Paul let us know that Luke was with him because he has helped us recognize a kind of ministry that might otherwise go unnoticed.

I know it is true that people who stay with an unhurried look on their face have a calming effect on those who are around them. They offer just by their presence the still waters side of the Shepherd’s peace. People need this and, when it happens, healing happens, not because we scheduled it, but just because we were able to sit around a room and perhaps not even say too much.

I remember a Saturday afternoon when our daughter, Elizabeth, and her Girl Scout friends were having an ice skating troop event. We were at the public Berkeley ice arena along with a large crowd of other youth. I was one of the adult come-alongs, but since I tired quickly I stood at the edge and just watched our troop girls. One by one they would skate toward me and then, with theatrical skill, stop suddenly. Then they would say, “Did you see that, Mr. Palmer?” I would always cheer them on with exclamations of encouragement: “Mary, you look great!” “Wow, Jane, you can skate backward as well as frontward!” Then a humorous thing happened. Totally random girls and boys  would skate boldly toward my rink position and say, “Hey Mister, did you see this?” I then realized that people need watchers who are like an encouraging anchor presence, especially if a few words of acknowledgement prove that you actually saw them at the most daring moment. That was what I was. I was just present in a friendly way. I was paying attention and that in itself was important. It was also vital that I had a reason to be there; I was an adult attached to a troop of little girls.

This is what makes the ministry of presence an authentic ministry. We need to be permitted to be present and then the mystery of it all can happen – not because we did anything remarkable that was especially memorable, except that we were there and therefore the friend who wanted us to stay is not alone.

Peter was especially low at one dark hour in his life. (It was after the victory of Easter too!) Jesus had won the battle, but Peter mainly remembers his own denial during the frightful trial of his teacher and friend, Jesus. He announces to the other disciples, “I’m going fishing.” The next line in John’s gospel is very moving to me: “The disciples said, ‘We are going too.’”

These four other disciples had the right to invite themselves along, so together they fished all night. And though it is Jesus who will resolve the failure that haunts Peter’s heart at a breakfast encounter when morning comes, through the night James, John, Nathaniel and Thomas gave an uncomplicated gift to Peter. They were with him.

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Thank you to UPC Times volunteers

Many faithful volunteers have shared their time and talent by editing, proofreading, writing and shooting photographs for the UPC Times during the past year. Thank you! As always, a special thanks goes to those who have shared their stories with our readers. - Jennie Gulian, Editor

Copy Editor

Elizabeth Tutmarc

Proofreader

Delora Buoy

Financials

Dick Greiling

Writers

Sharon Acton
Sue Bodensteiner
Delora Buoy
Megan Bradley
Sarah Campbell
Bob Davies
Todd H. Fast Sr.
Karen Freeze
Patti Holman
Dan Gilchrist
Sue Lockett John
Wayne Kenney
Kathy Neary
Tracy Cooper Norlen
Kari Olson
Wendie Phillips
Keith Rozumalski
Anita Thompson
Cindi Whalen
Linda Whittlesey

Photographers

Kevin Delahunty
Larry Fogdall
Mike Gamble
Neil Jorgensen
John Nelson

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A heart for art and kids leads to life’s calling

by Wendie Phillips

Steffanie Lorig always felt that there was something she “had to do” to help kids, but she had no idea what that something was. An award-winning graphic designer and Christian, she wanted to do more with her talents than just design packaging and logos. Art with Heart (www.artwithheart.org), a non-profit organization that works to empower youth in crisis through creativity, was that something.

In 1996, Steffanie served as Community Outreach Director on the board of the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA). The position linked creative professionals with meaningful projects in the community. Specifically, they focused on serving kids lacking family support. She called the effort “Art with Heart” and started simply by preparing meals once a month for homeless teens at YouthCare’s Orion Center.

While they received rave reviews for their meals, the activity wasn’t tapping the artistic talents of the AIGA members. “Art plays an extremely important part in expressing who you are as an individual,” says Steffanie. Recognizing that one of the first things homeless youth lose is their identity, they began hosting self-portrait workshops with the goal of boosting the self-esteem of the youth.

These workshops were only the beginning of Art with Heart’s outreach. Through a friend, Steffanie was introduced to Hallie, a young girl who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the age of 12 months and had spent most of her seven years in and out of the hospital. Remembering feeling frightened and bored during her own hospital stays as a child, Steffanie realized that Hallie embodied “a whole population of children in crisis that Art with Heart could be helping.” The question was: “How?”

One night, Steffanie had a dream. Her dream was big — create an activity book for hospitalized children with top-notch artwork by a hundred illustrators that would free imaginations, inspire self-expression and foster emotional healing.

The fruition of her dream was Oodles of Doodles for your Noodle, a 124-page activity book featuring 97 artists. “I knew this was something God wanted me to do because every time I turned around, another miracle happened,” Steffanie recalls. God orchestrated a series of miracles that turned her dream into a reality: from access to artists, to donations of printing and paper to funding totaling $75,000.

Starlight Starbright Foundation was instrumental in distributing the first printing of Oodles. A second printing of the book was made possible by the Ideas That Matter grant from Sappi, Inc., and was given to organizations working with seriously ill children, including the Side-By-Side ministry at UPC. A Spanish version of the book was released in February 2005.

The response to the book was tremendous, and this success meant change for Art with Heart. Not only had the organization outgrown the original AIGA goals, but Steffanie found it was consuming a larger part of her life as well. “I had a major decision to make; I could no longer balance my day job with my passion and dedication to Art with Heart.” In February 2003, Art with Heart was awarded non-profit status, and Steffanie left her job to focus her time on the organization.

Their latest project is Chill and Spill, a funky art therapy journal inspired by the events of 9/11. Designed to be used with “adolescents suffering from trauma-induced stress to help reduce its future impact,” it helps teens express their feelings through creative writing and art therapy exercises. “The book itself is a journey. It starts out light, then delves deeper into the heart of the matter and then leaves them feeling empowered at the end,” explains Steffanie.

Released in August, the journal found its first use immediately. Working with the Art Council of Central Louisiana, Steffanie and her colleagues traveled to Louisiana to train school counselors on how to use the book and held artistic workshops for teens left homeless by Hurricane Katrina.

It was particularly rewarding to see the book in action. Steffanie recalls conversations with a 7-year-old girl who talked about her father in prison for murder, and with a child who lost his entire family in the hurricane. “The conversations that percolate when you’re doing nothing more than coloring are remarkable, and watching God’s hand as he changes lives is nothing short of breathtaking.”

As for the future, Art with Heart is at a “critical junction in our growth,” says Steffanie. Returning to Louisiana to distribute more Chill books is at the top of their to-do list. And, with only a handful of copies of Oodles remaining, they want to print a smaller version of the book. To achieve these goals, Art with Heart needs help – business professionals to serve on the board, artists interested in working with kids and, most importantly, individuals who can assist with fundraising.

As Steffanie sums it, “Things we do tend to be quiet, but it’s time to get louder. People need to know about Art with Heart because we are making an enormous difference.”

For more information about how you can become involved in Art with Heart, contact Steffanie at 206/362-4047 or info@artwithheart.org.

Kids send oodles of compliments
Each Oodles of Doodles book includes a postcard on which users are encouraged to express in picture or words how their book made them feel and return them to Art with Heart. Here are some comments from Oodles users:

“I enjoyed doing the crafts in this book. In fact this is probably the best book I ever had.” –Joshua

“I had 18 surgeries, when I got this book. I was in the bed and I did this book. It took the pain away, while I was doing it. It is so cool.” –unsigned

“My son loves your ideas in, on and around your book…I like the way the book has many, many different things to do and at the age of 5, he does not become bored with the book because there are so many variations.”
–Justin & Family

“I just loved this book!!! During my stay at the hospital I was bored and lonely… until my nurse suggested this book to me. It filled my time up – I couldn’t even stop to answer calls from friends!” –Lindsey

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Online giving available this month

Online giving will be available at UPC starting Jan. 8 and can be used for one-time or recurring gifts. The congregation will still have the ability to give via Visa, MasterCard or ACH (automatic withdrawals from bank accounts).

People also will be able to view their contribution history online and will be able to register and pay for events online when specified. For those who do not have access to a computer, computer stations will be available at UPC in the future. Watch the bulletin for updates and additional information.

When setting up an account, users will be asked to provide their birthdate for verification purposes. Identity verification will be completed within three business days before users are allowed to see their giving history. This waiting time is for security purposes and to ensure that there are no duplicate records.

For more information or to create an account click here.

For those who want to continue giving the “regular” way, giving envelopes have been mailed, but with a big change, thanks to the new database system. The envelopes will no longer include stewardship numbers. Fellowship One, the new system, allows the finance department to scan checks and match checks with donors via the check’s encoded bank numbers.

When giving with a check, write the designations on the memo line of the check instead of on the envelope. Envelopes will be discarded. Your name, address and designation are required on the envelope only when giving cash. In fact, the primary purpose for envelopes is to help members and friends remember to fulfill their financial stewardship plan or to make cash gifts. They are no longer needed by finance. All old envelopes with stewardship numbers on them should be thrown away.

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Annual youth auction adds Sunday night

by Sharon Lindblom

It’s hard to imagine the cold winter melting away to another spring, but spring is coming, along with the annual Youth Mission Silent Auction. This year the auction, on Sunday, March 5, has expanded into the evening. While the main morning auction from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. will remain virtually the same, there is now an addition of a separate mini-auction from 4:30 to 7 p.m.

As Larson Fellowship has continued to build momentum and fan base, Youth Mission and Ministry has chosen to continue that momentum on auction Sunday. Incorporated with the auction will be mini-bites to eat in the morning and the same dinner the UPC congregation has come to enjoy in the evening.

Each year, hundreds of junior high and high school students serve through short-term missions around the globe and in Seattle. The largest mission trip sends about 120 students, sponsors and staff members to build houses near Tijuana, Mexico. The annual Youth Mission Silent Auction is the single fundraiser for the entire youth mission program.

The morning auction will include hundreds of assorted silent auction items typically found at the annual auction. Items will include handcrafts, baskets overflowing with toys and other goods, meals at neighborhood restaurants, and a getaway to a cozy Montana cabin! Also included will be an exciting, impressive collection of live-auction items.

The mini-auction in the evening will feature a limited number of items with a common theme: Spring Fling! A small selection of silent items related to the springtime or thoughts of spring will be included, all items not seen in the main auction. There will also be an evening live auction, with fewer items that promise the same excitement as in the morning auction.

The common thread between the two auctions will be Build-a-House (where auction guests can sponsor a piece of a house or a whole house), Sponsor-an-Orphan and prayer bracelets to remind guests to pray for a specific student while they are on the mission field.

With more and more students becoming interested in serving those in need, the congregation’s support helps to provide meaningful and life-changing mission experiences for students.

While the auction is still many weeks away, donations are starting to be gathered and the online catalog is growing. To donate online or check out the online catalog, go to www.upc.org/auction. To donate in person, come to Larson Fellowship during January and February and find the auction table or call 206/524-7301, ext. 428. Donation ideas include handmade or new items, getaways and gift certificates. The congregation is what makes the auction successful.

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Join UPC’s Sewing Group

Do you enjoy sewing or knitting? Join the UPC Sewing Group on the second and fourth Thursdays of the month from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The group sews, knits and quilts for others. They have made quilts for shelters, day care centers and hospitals; wheel chair and walker bags; Christmas costumes; smocks for the UPC nursery and donated quilts to the UPC youth auction. Beginners are welcome! For more information, call Sue at 206/632-9363.

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In France: The harvest is plenty but…

by Cheri Wilke

As the plane touched down at Charles de Gaulle airport outside of Paris in late September, nine people – Shelly Dahl, Barbara Williams, Phyllis Smith, Christine Trautman, Robert Livingston, Kathy O’Laughlin, Evie Shine, my husband Kris Wilke and I – felt the tingle of beginning a new adventure. Here we were, going to Paris on a short-term mission trip. We all had a laugh at Sea-Tac airport before we left; “Oh, you got it too? A ‘mission trip to France,’ right. ‘Well, don’t drink too much wine!’ Or, ‘Why Paris? That’s not a Third World country. What are you going to do there?’ Most people we spoke with thought that France was the last place that needed short-term missionaries. But all of us had felt a tug and a call to go. So here we were, landing on French soil.

On the second day in France, we met with Caroline Shrumpf, pastor of the Reformed Church of France in the town of Poissy, a bedroom community to Paris. Several years ago, she was an intern in UPC’s Youth Mission and Ministry department. She gave us our marching orders. We were to paint some rooms of the presbytery as well as visit several Christian organizations in the area. Painting we could relate to. We had the American vision of “doing something constructive” while we were there. Well, at least, we all thought that this would placate everyone back home. But on the agenda there were only six hours allotted for painting and the rest of the time was spent either visiting organizations or eating dinner with people. How were we being missionaries when we weren’t doing anything? We kept telling ourselves that God must want us here. We were all slightly guilty (having enjoyed a wonderful day in Paris) until we began meeting, talking and listening to the Christians of France.

We spent our first Sunday enjoying a West African dinner, prepared by members from Caroline’s church who were originally from parts of West Africa. We talked with those around us, and found them open and warm. A few opened up, talking to us about their search for truth. The asked us to get up and sing. We hadn’t prepared a song, so we sang the Doxology, and they loved it. We saw the French as people like us – gentle, caring people who want to share their culture.

That next week was a whirlwind. We traveled all over the area, visiting places like La Gerbe, a humanitarian organization that has a two-fold ministry: First to the poor in the Balkans and Romania, and then to troubled youth and those leaving prison with no training or skills. They trained the youth to refurbish used items and then sent these items to those in need in the Balkans. It was beautifully run by only a handful of dedicated people. It was obvious they needed help.

We had lunch on a barge run by Father Arter of Le Sers, a homeless shelter on barges on the Seine River. In Paris, we met Gilles Boucomont, who leads a church in the Bastille loaded with controversial history, and has felt a calling to “bring real light” to Paris, the City of Light.

We ate a wonderful lunch with a group called Le Cause that ministers to the blind and unwed mothers. The group also runs an adoption agency for children from all over the world. We listened to a lecture at the Nougent Bible College about the history of the Huguenots in France, the French Protestants. We began to see the bigger picture; France has a truly secular government, which works against the church. The Christians in France have to work that much harder to survive. There are sparks of life in this old, historic culture, which need others to come alongside to bring kindling to the fire.

Finally, we went on to Lille and Roubaux, in northeast France, where we met with Ali Arhab, a UPC-supported missionary. Ali shared his ministry and vision to reach the Muslims of Algeria with the message of Christ through his television broadcast through Channel North Africa. He also wants to reach the large Muslim population in Roubaux. Ali has a heart as big as France for those who live and work in Roubaux. He envisions a church with a coffee house outreach and children’s and teen ministries. Through street evangelism, Ali meets people where they are at in their everyday lives. But it is just a handful of people who are carrying on this vision.

God began to show us all that the harvest is plenty, but the workers are few.  France is at a crossroads, having the largest Muslim population in all of Europe and being in a strategic position next to North Africa. The timing is critical, as we have all seen the riots in France over the past few months. The youth, the disenfranchised, the culture is looking for an answer. The church in France is looking for those who will come alongside and support, pray for and join them in this harvest. Another short-term mission team is scheduled to be in France from Feb. 17-25.

For more information on the trip, contact Julie Lewis at juliel@upc.org.

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Mission Focus: Urban missions: Living it in Seattle

by Maribeth Martin

“…Seek the peace and prosperity of the city…and pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Jeremiah 29:7

“If God provides the vision, he will provide the provision,” says Allen Belton, senior associate director for Urban & Global Missions (UGM). From building homes through Habitat for Humanity to teaching immigrants English and needed skills, urban missions help bridge a social, economic and geographic gap between our suburban communities and our diverse urban communities by providing UPCers with opportunities to invest directly in our urban neighborhoods.

Habitat Launches House No. 4

In January, UPC’s Habitat for Humanity launches the building of its fourth house. “This ministry is as much about building relationships on solid ground as it is about swinging a hammer,” says task force member Terry Proctor. “We’re looking for individuals and small groups who want to spend time building together. No special skills or knowledge are necessary – just a heart for loving your neighbor and a willingness to learn.”

The three-bedroom home in the High Point community in West Seattle will be built for and in partnership with Nasuf and Felize Ramadani and their two children. The Ramadanis are Kosovo refugees who moved to Seattle in 1999 and, since then, have rented a room in Nasuf’s brother’s overcrowded home. Nasuf, who works as a machine operator for Mailhandler Service, Inc., says it was necessary for them to move from their home in Kosovo’s Preshevo Valley when it came under Serbian control. The joyful births of their daughters, Edona, 4, and Hasbije, 1, have helped offset the difficulties they’ve faced in adapting to a new country and their challenging living conditions. Says Nasuf, “Thanks to the medical care we received here, my wife and I were finally able to have two beautiful daughters and now we are very excited to finally have a house that we can call our own. Thank you!”

To volunteer to help build the Ramadanis’ home, contact Terry Proctor at 206/915-3555 or terryproctor@msn.com.

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