"Experience Easter"

Last week when I was preaching at our Esperanza service, I could feel the power of the Spirit of God working. It was just as real as anything in life. It was beautiful, joyful and incredibly powerful! As Pastor Ricardo Uribe translated the message, it gave me an opportunity to watch the impact on the rowd. When I was sharing about the power of the kingdom of God and what it really means to become a follower of Jesus Christ, a young man just lit up with joy. Pastor Rey Diaz told me later that this young man had committed his life to become a Christ follower. As Rey told me, he gave me a high five and we just celebrated. Ricardo had already called me and told me that a new birth in this young mans life was on the way. He had spent many hours discussing his questions and watching the reality of Jesus Christ grip his life. This young man, who is going to be an incredible world changer, said, “Finally I met Jesus. I personally knew that he was there and I chose to follow him.” That was Easter striking a few weeks early.

I want to ask you a question – how many people are going to find a life-changing, personal encounter with Jesus Christ this Easter? There are one billion Christians on this planet – that means there will be a lot of Easter services. I hope I meet Jesus again this Easter – I hope he touches me with the miraculous. I hope he instills within me a new confidence in the pervasive power of his Kingdom authority. I hope my life is changed again as further proof that Jesus Christ is still encountering people just like he did in the garden on the first Easter, or in the upper room, or at the sea of Galilee. My hope soars for all those who have Jesus “pigeonholed” as just another religion. I hope they meet him and his miraculous power and he knocks them off their horse, just as he did a man named Saul who became Paul and changed the world.

I promise you that this year – Easter will be just awesome at Washington Cathedral! Of course there will be harp music, of course the choirs will be bigger and better than ever. Of course there will be dancing and children and the waterfall and a whole cast of actors dramatically reenacting the Easter story. Pastor Ricardo is going to sing “Via Dolorosa”. Pastor Naomi is going to sing “I’ve Just Seen Jesus” and my Dad, Dr. Dale White is going to be with us this year to share his dramatic retelling of the story. I will have the best sermon of my life and the worship team is gearing up to be better than ever! So if you’ve ever wanted a friend, co-worker, neighbor or family member to have a life-transforming encounter with a resurrected Jesus, then bring them to the “Glory of Easter” this year.

One Easter service can transform a life, a family and a community!

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

"Community Is Not Dead!"

I look around at the neighborhood in which I live, and I realize that it is not the neighborhood of my youth. Small-town Nebraska was filled with families deeply rooted in their geography; my family knew them all, both the “town-people” and the ranchers, and we were related to many of them. Community was a critically important part of our lives. It was more than just a social calendar; community was a survival network – a safety net for our lives. When thelocal fire department siren blared to life, we all knew it was time to get out of the local jewelry store or clothing store because the owner and volunteer fireman was on his way to help. Word traveled fast. Sometimes it was a minor emergency. Sometimes it wasn’t. “HankSawyer got his arm caught in a baler. You want to ride with me?” Where did that community go? Have we outgrown our need for it? As for the community of my youth, it is shrinking but not gone. As for the rest of us, we all need to feel a part of a community – a group of friends we can count on in times of trouble. A group that will rejoice with us in times of joy, comfort us in times of sorrow, and just show up with a helping hand when the kids are sick, the car just broke down, and the boss is demanding more than we can give!

I am so thankful that community is not dead at Washington Cathedral. It is an integral part of who we are! I look around, and I see the bright smiles on the greeters. I notice the sincere caring in the eyes of those who hear of a need. I watch the teachers in the classes as they greet the children coming in. I watch the small group leaders minister to their families. I am encouraged, and I realize, COMMUNITY IS NOT DEAD, IT HAS JUST RELOCATED!

It also makes me realize that I can do more. I can make a greater effort to say “Hi!” to the new family in the third row. I can make sure they know they are welcome and I can answer their questions. I can join a small group and reap the blessings of a new community of friends. I can make a difference in the lives of the people around me! After all, isn’t that what community is? And aren’t those the people that Jesus was really referring to when he said “Love your neighbor as yourself?” I am energized by the opportunity to serve. Join me in the excitement!

Elaine Brammer

"Singles Group Provides Fun, Safe Interaction"

“One is a whole number - that’s something we’re taught in math class,” said Pastor David Gerzsenye, who conducts Washington Cathedral’s Single Ministry with his wife Carol. But for many adults who aren’t in a romantic relationship - and especially those who are divorced - “there’s a negative connotation that I’m not half of a couple,” he said.

For the Redmond Reporter’s continuing, pre-Valentine’s Day series about “Looking for Love in Redmond,” we asked Gerzsenye what kind of people are drawn to the singles group at Washington Cathedral and what benefits are offered to them. “We tell everyone who walks through these doors, whether or not they’re looking for a romantic relationship, that we can give them three things - a place to belong, something to look forward to, and the chance to love or be loved by someone.” he explained. “We’re not a dating service. We don’t exist for the purpose of ‘hooking people up,’ but we host dinners, game nights, trips to museums, hiking and camping trips. We create a bunch of things to do as brothers and sisters… and sometimes romance happens naturally because people who’ve been hurting, and licking their wounds, get back up to a healthy frame of mind.” In his ministry, about 75% of participants are divorced and the other 25% have never been married. According to the group’s bylaws, participants are ages 29 and older, but the majority are 40-60 years old, he said.

From personal experience, Gerzsenye commented, “Being single again feels very weird - they either stay at home alone or they date, date, date until they end up in their second or third marriages.” Now remarried and an ordained Christian minister, he is a former atheist who lived through divorce and serial dating himself, “because I couldn’t be alone - I felt I always had to be with someone.” The trouble with that mindset - and with dating and dumping one stranger after another - is that “it’s hard to see people’s true colors, to know whether they really share your interests and values, or are just putting on an act for you,” he said. That’s why the mission statement of Washington Cathedral’s singles group mentions “a family environment that is safe, caring, enthusiastic for all single men and women to enjoy fun, fellowship, praise and worship…” A one-on-one conversation between a man and a woman is going to be different than a conversation in which many people, who feel like “brothers and sisters” are getting to know each other, said Gerzsenye. “A brother or sister is going to call you on it, when you say something goofy or something that’s not coming from the real you.”

At the singles get-togethers, participants share meals and talk about “boundaries in dating, how to identify safe and unsafe people, sexuality, purpose in life, conflict resolution and communication. Often-times our role models for relationships were our folks and maybe they were not the best role models.” He added that he and his wife met through the divorce recovery workshop here and were “just friends” for a long time until he felt healthy enough, emotionally, to date her. “I’ve also married at least 18 couples who met and dated here,” he remarked.

Article By Mary Stevens Decker, Redmond Reporter
(Reprinted with the permission of the Redmond Reporter)

"God's Economy"

What Mary did was scandalously extravagant, not to mention conspicuous. A fortune of fragrance emptied over a holy man’s feet…

Judas objected more from greed than charity, according to the narrator. Jesus told him there would never be a shortage of people needing help. And he affirmed Mary’s act as perfectly appropriate.

Mary’s gesture flowed from fearlessness. She didn’t budget her devotion based on a bottom line of zero.

God’s economy is not based on scarcity. Mary’s gift wasn’t going to cheat the needy. Jesus was confident that his followers wouldn’t run out of resources necessary to their calling. God’s economy is predicated on plenty.

Scott Burnett