Pentecost Sunday was celebrated on May 20th with many in our congregation wearing red in remembrance of the day recorded in the Second Chapter of Acts: “From heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them” … and it became the birthday of The Church.

Our Outreach Meal is back! As announced on Sunday we are hosting the REACH dinner on Sunday, June 17th. It is Father’s Day but there are several ways to support this effort. All of the food except for desserts must be prepared in a “church kitchen” for which our United Christian Church’s kitchen qualifies. The Outreach/Fellowship group plans to buy frozen lasagna from Costco or a similar store and heat it in our kitchen. A green salad and garlic bread will be served along with it. Various desserts can be prepared at home by others, but must be at the church by 4:30 pm, and the salad ingredients and bread earlier. Check the list of food and quantities wanted. Food or money donations are greatly needed. A page for signing up to provide food, money or help with serving the meal was in the narthex last Sunday. For those who missed signing the page, contact Joyce Bruner or Caroline Bacon to learn where your help is most needed. This project was enthusiastically approved at the April congregation meeting. Now is the time to prove we really want to help provide a meal to the community!

Pastor Dick’s Hours Reduced The church council approved a recommendation from the Pastoral Relations Committee to reduce Pastor Dick's hours for July and August by 30 percent.  He will continue with his current ministry of weekly preaching, teaching Bible study and working with the Priority Task Forces.  His office schedule will be flexible as needed. Pastoral Care responsibilities such as hospital visits, funerals and weddings will continue to be in his capable hands.  This change saves Dick traveling time and the church a little money for the new pastor.  Dick will continue to be available by cell phone, so don't hesitate to call him as needed, or make an appointment if you need to see him in person.  Contact Nancy Osborn, PRC chair, or any of the Elders if you have questions.

Page � , Mid-June~ Mid-July 2018 Weathervane; United Christian Church, 15509 116th Ave. SE, Renton WA 98058;1In covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ

Phone: (425) 226-3080; Website: www.uccrenton.org; E-mail: Pastor@uccrenton.org

Mid-June- Mid-July 2018

The Weathervane The Newsletter of United Christian Church, Renton, WA

Claudia Gillispie, Editor newsletter@uccrenton.org

Find Direction at United Christian Church, An Open and Affirming

Congregation. No matter where you are on

life’s journey, you are welcome here.

TALLEY’S TOPICS I am writing this column from Portland on Tuesday morning and have not seen the rest of the articles that are in the newsletter. But I want to make note of two, what I consider to be very important, actions that the council took last Tuesday night. One was to approve a

recommendation from the ActoFaith Committee to streamline the church committees: The recommendation read as follows: “It is the recommendation of the ActoFaith Committee that the Task Forces become Program Committees with consolidation of committees as follows: (1) Administration — Finance and Stewardship (2) Spiritual Growth – Worship, Education, and Evangelism/Communication, (3) Building and Grounds – Property, (4) Fellowship/Outreach. The thinking behind this action is that the Task Forces were set up to do some brainstorming of the priorities that we set. This has been done, now we must move ahead. These four Program Committees will continue as set up until new By-Laws are reviewed with a settled pastor. The ActoFaith Committee has faithfully fulfilled its responsibility and will be ending it’s responsibility. Thanks to all who served. Great JOB.

The second Council action was to reduce my time in July and August from full time to about 28-30 hours per week. In discussions with the Chair of the PRC, I requested this action. There are a couple of reasons for this action. One is that with us moving to Blaine it makes it more difficult for me to be in Renton four or five days a week. As hospitable as the Kimseys and Chapmans have been, it is difficult. The second reason is that my salary will be reduced by $2,500 per month for July and August. This will have a positive impact on the church budget. My plans are to be in Renton either on Saturday/Sunday, or Sunday/Monday depending on the church schedule. I will also be working on sermons, church school class and other things from home. Hospital visits, other pastoral care responsibilities and church meetings will be taken care of by me as usual. It will save me some travel time and the church some budget money.

If anyone has questions about these two actions and would like to talk, I am available, by phone at 310-387-8854 or by appointment. Just let me know. SEE you Sunday….Dick

Sunday Adult Bible Study Class Time Changed With choir members no longer meeting at 10 am, the Bible Study class now will meet at 9:30 am until about 10:20, depending on the discussion. New class members welcome!

Thoughts from Randy (Vice Moderator) Pastor Dick talked about seeds during his Sermon on Sunday, specifically mustard seeds. These seeds

are the smallest of all, yet they grow into the most magnificent bushes. He also talked about how we can make seeds with all the necessary elements, copy the dimensions and even the way they look, and still nothing would come of them. I’ve been experiencing a similar situation with my front lawn.

Early in the week before Memorial Day, I tore up my front lawn. When I moved here I was told that no one waters their lawn during the summer. I was surprised, and confirmed that I should just let the lawn turn brown. After three years, I had more weeds than lawn and just could not handle it anymore. I tried some spot weed killer and it killed all the weeds I sprayed, but it also killed the grass underneath the weeds. So I started over. I tore up the front lawn completely and put down some new topsoil and new weed killer, waited and then planted grass seed. I kept it moist until I left for the Memorial Day holiday and the new grass was coming in beautifully.

When I got back on Monday afternoon, I noticed that some of the grass was doing very well, but in spots it was either not growing or it was suffering from three days of no watering. So on Saturday I took time to put down more topsoil on the bare spots and put down some more seed.

As Pastor Dick was talking about seeds, I was thinking about the process I had been going through in a larger sense. I felt like I had to start over and re-build, but it was not enough. I had to nurture the freshly planted seeds and even do some additional unforeseen work to make sure I ended up with healthy growth with no bare spots. This reminded me that the life of the church and my lawn actually have some things in common.

As a church, we are now working on our future. We are in the process of getting a new settled pastor, and coming up with ways to strengthen our mission, set goals and implement them. We are clearly not done when we have made the plans and actually started the work. As critical as the beginning stages of planning and implementing are, (Continued on page 4 ).

Page � , Mid-June~ Mid July 2018 Weathervane; United Christian Church, 15509 116th Ave. SE, Renton WA 98058;2In covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ

Phone: (425) 226-3080; Website: www.uccrenton.org; E-mail: Pastor@uccrenton.org

Dates & Times to Remember Sundays: Adult Bible Class, 9:30-10:20 am, Office Bldg.Sundays: Worship, 10:45; includes Children’s Sunday School.

Sundays: Sermon on the Mount Study Grp: 6pm, AA room2nd & 4th Mondays: Monday Munchers lunches, 12:30, see below. Thursdays: Choir is on summer vacation. See below. ROMEOS (Retired Old Men Eating Out Somewhere), 12:00. (Talk to Carl Kever, Ed Gillispie or Terry Kimsey for location.)

Other Groups Use Our CampusMonday through Friday: Montessori School in Ed. Bldg., 7am-5pm

Mondays: Hula Group Practices, 11:00 am-1:00 pm in Narthex2nd & 4th Fridays: SCA group uses our buildings, 6:00-10:00 pm

Saturdays: AA meets in the Ed. Bldg. basement.- 10:30 am************************************

June 17, Community Dinner provided by our Church membersJune 25, Mon. Munchers, 12:20, @Alki Bakery, KentJuly 8, Council Meets, Sunday, 2:30pm, Office Conference Rm.July 9, Mon. Munchers, 12:20 @Apogee Pub, FairwoodJuly 15, Email Newsletter sent outJuly 23, Mon. Munchers, 12:20 @BJ’s, Southcenter

Fellowship Activities this Summer July 20, Movie Night: Kids @4 pm, Disney’s “Brave”; Adults @ 8:30 pm, “Normal.” (Beckers, leaders)August 19, Potluck Picnic after church (Joyce B, leader)Sept. 9, Pie & Ice Cream after church on the patio (Pat Ar, leader)Oct. 6, Potluck TacoBar, Piñata, Game Night (Sign up to organize)

Our choir, under the direction of Chris Copley, and accompanied by Cindy Dow, is now on vacation for the summer. (The photo above was taken during their Christmas program.) Their final performance on June 10th included two rousing, toe-tapping fun songs for the congregation to look forward to Fall and the Choir’s return. We thank all the members of the Choir for their commitment and diligence. You are each appreciated!

Church Contact E-mail Addresses Here are church email addresses if you need to contact someone but don’t know where to send an email:

Prayer `Chain’: prayerlist@uccrenton.org Pastor’s Office: pastor@uccrenton.org Property Chair: property@uccrenton.org Newsletter Editor: newsletter@uccrenton.org Moderator: moderator@uccrenton.org Treasurer: finance@uccrenton.org Outreach: outreach@uccrenton.org

July 1, Angie & Dan Peterson, 1995 July 4, Donna & Carl Kever, 1952 July 9, Claudia & Ed Gillispie, 1952

Around the Church We now have working kitchen appliances suitable for preparing food for the Community Dinner on June 17th, thanks to a Legacy donation to us last year by the Bellevue Christian Church.

A plaque is now fastened to the refrigerator door acknowledging their gift, which includes the stove beside it.

Summer Fellowship Activities Sign up sheets for summer fellowship are on the narthex buffet. As noted in the Dates and Times above, a Movie night is set for July 20th with a Disney movie at 6:30 and the adult film, Normal, at 8:30. Air popped popcorn and lemonade will be provided. The movie, “Normal,” features Jessica Lange and Tom Wilkinson about a man with a gender identity disorder who decides to have a sex change operation. It addresses his struggles as well as those of his wife and son and rejection by his church.

Page � , Mid-June~ Mid July 2018 Weathervane; United Christian Church, 15509 116th Ave. SE, Renton WA 98058;3In covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ

Phone: (425) 226-3080; Website: www.uccrenton.org; E-mail: Pastor@uccrenton.org

Anniversaries

Our Wonderful Amazing Choir Last Christmas

Ongoing Outreach Continue to bring cereal for the breakfast for the homeless. It is appreciated by REACH. We will continue to collect cereal and deliver it as long as it is needed.

Canned goods (fruits, veggies, meat) are appreciated by the Salvation Army Food Bank. Be sure to check that they are not past their expiration dates.

Communities In Schools need: full size shampoo and conditioner; toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouth wash; brushes and combs, deodorant; hand soap, body soap; Chapstick and skin lotion; laundry detergent, toilet paper, sanitary napkins.

From Moderator Pat Auten Pat continues to recover from her lung infection she has been fighting for several months. She wrote: “I wanted to thank everyone again for their prayers.” [Before her illness she was involved in the community organizations mentioned above.

Her doctor has now advised her to cut back on her activities to avoid other episodes. Her contacts have been very helpful for our congregation to learn of opportunities to be ‘The Church’. Let us keep her in our prayers. ~CG~]

Spiritual Growth Committee Report This committee combines the Worship, Education and Evangelism/Communication committees. They set two goals to be completed by September 1: (1) Provide several Bibles in the Narthex to be available for anyone to use. Bibles will be available soon.

(2) Add an Invitation/Dedication opportunity to the worship service each week. There will be a trial period until September 1st, after which time the committee will evaluate how it is working.

After the settled pastor is in place, some opportunities the committee will be looking at are: More opportunities for Bible Study, small group prayer groups/times, and a class on prayer life. If you have any additional suggestions please see one of the committee members listed below or the pastor. This committee is also responsible for Children’s Education. As we have more children attending we plan to expand what we now have. Spiritual Growth Committee members are: Carl Kever, Donna Kever, Nancy Osborn, Jean Gilbertson, Daniel Johnson, Leona Hansen, and Leigh Lacey.

********************************* REACH needs volunteers to serve and/or cook for their two meal programs, one for the warm ups breakfast Monday thru Friday, to help serve from 7:30am - 10:30am. The other for the hot meal weekend program on Saturday and Sundays from 4pm-7pm. Please contact them if you are interested or know of anybody that is. Call 425-209-0594 ext 0. or via e-mail: admin@reachrenton.org. (Our church members may also contact outreach@uccrenton.org )

(Randy’s Thoughts continued from page 2)

monitoring and active involvement in the continuing process of growth and evolution is just as important. I have been thinking about this, and it seems that the latter stages are more difficult than the first stages. The approach to those latter stages will determine how successful we are. We feel very good about starting, but how do we feel about our progress?

We work together to make things happen as a cohesive team. When one of us is not able to do a particular task at a particular time, others often step up and do the work that needs to be done when it needs to be done. We do that out of love, not only for our church as a whole, but also the love we have for one another. There are no accusations or recriminations because we all have the same goal and we are working together to fulfill God’s plan for us. Isn’t that a grand way to work?

Dear God, please help us to keep our eyes on your plan and our hearts filled with anticipation and love for what we can and will do together. Randy

Now again, on Thursday mornings from 6-7:30 AM people driving along 116th can have a free cup of coffee and a good morning greeting, complements of Randy Chapman and United Christian Church. If you talk to Randy about why he willingly gets up so early and stands out on our sidewalk, he will tell you he truly enjoys talking and waving to those going by. He invites others to join him for a lift to their own spirits. Some have questioned what good is it to smile, wave and offer coffee to passersby? We have no answer other than we never know how our actions can affect others. But possibly coffee, a smile and a wave might make a big difference to someone’s day. [~CG~]

Page � , Mid-June~ Mid July 2018 Weathervane; United Christian Church, 15509 116th Ave. SE, Renton WA 98058;4In covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ

Phone: (425) 226-3080; Website: www.uccrenton.org; E-mail: Pastor@uccrenton.org

June Council Meeting Reports and updates The Search Committee reported they had two top candidates being considered as our settled pastor. One is scheduled for in-person interviews later this month. The Committee has been working closely with Sandy Messick, the DOC Regional Minister. Council approved money to cover interview expenses. An “Offer of Employment for Accompanist,” addressed to Cindy Dow was presented by Pastor Dick. He said Cindy has agreed to the figures and Council approved his recommendation for the pianist job. The Administration report by Randy C. thanked Jolynn and Chuck Kenney for the new office computer and printer. It will help the bulletin preparation transition from Chris Copley to Pat Archer and Randy. Randy reported the Committee will be rewriting our church bylaws, as is the Lake City Christian Church, so we may be able to learn more from them. Pastor Dick added that the Lake City church and University Christian are merging and have hired a lawyer to write new bylaws. Members who signed up for that Task Force include Linda Becker, Randy, Peter Dunn, and Claudia Gillispie. The Property report from Cameron McLaughlin asked that all Property issues be directed to him, rather than to Dee Woods, as she is focusing more on the Fellowship/Outreach Committee. Cameron is working to establish relationships with groups outside the church (e.g., a city representative and a realtor) and will conference by phone with an organization in California that provides low-income housing for seniors. The Fellowship/Outreach report from Dee Woods said the June 17th REACH dinner is their event for this month, and included other summer events (page 3). She suggested a donation to support a booth at the Pride Festival and $25 was approved by the Council. Treasurer, Linda Becker, gave a report of the church finances as of May 31. “Pledges are up to date and special offerings are doing well. The church does very well in spending versus outgo, but we need to monitor.” She said there is approximately $10,000 in an emergency fund that might be used for getting a settled pastor in place.

A Question to the Editor An Anniversary noted under last month’s Anniversaries was questioned by one of our readers, so perhaps others have wondered also, but didn’t ask. The date was June 11, and the occasion was “Parent Churches Married” in 1972. What does that mean? Newer members of the congregation may not know that United Christian Church Renton, first started out as two different churches, one from the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and one from the United Church of Christ. One located in Renton and one in Kent. During the recession in the 1970’s (“Remember, the last one leaving Seattle turn out the lights?”) those two churches came together in order to survive. On that date the two churches “married” with a ceremony and a wedding cake!

(Actually, they lived together for nearly a year before the ceremony in 1973!) The Office Building Conference Room has pictures of our “Parents.”

Page � , Mid-June~ Mid July 2018 Weathervane; United Christian Church, 15509 116th Ave. SE, Renton WA 98058;5In covenant with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ

Phone: (425) 226-3080; Website: www.uccrenton.org; E-mail: Pastor@uccrenton.org

Several in the congregation travel year around and we like to show their photos but we also like to show ordinary family photos. This month Mary and Terry Kimsey sent in pictures from their trip to Asia.