"Thank You!"

Dear Friends at Washington Cathedral:

On behalf of the Bridge Ministries Board and staff, I want to extend our heartfelt thanks for Washington Cathedral including the persons Bridge Ministries’ serves who have physical and/or developmental disabilities in your Santa Conspiracy again this year. What a marvelous ministry your congregation has chosen to spread cheer during this most blessed of seasons to those who are lonely, perhaps without families and to those who are in fragile health!

Santa, Mrs. Claus and the Elves with stuffed animals were a true highlight at our Bridge Ministries’ Christmas Party for persons with disabilities we co-hosted with St. John Vianney’s Catholic Church on December 8th. Santa always goes over big, but the way Santa got down on his knees and looked the individuals in the eye communicated such warmth and caring. It makes all the difference for people to be so joyfully received in our hearts! The stuffed animals were a treasure so gladly received by our guests. We took a picture of each person with Santa so that each person would have a lasting keepsake of this special moment. Throughout the year as we visit with these persons in their homes we will be introduced again to their teddy bear and often the picture is on the wall by their bed to be a reminder of a fond memory.

We especially want to thank Connie Wahlin for coordinating this and for being the #1 Elf, and Wayne and Linda Jaton and Craig and Reava Davis for being your hands and heart in bringing joy to so many. It was truly sacred encounters which brought great joy and delight.

Bridge is so honored by your ministry through the Santa Conspiracy. May you continually experience the fullness of Christ’s love and blessings.

Joyfully,
Rev. Donna Whitmore

Chaplain

"What's Your Achilles Heel?"

With your very own hands you formed me; now breathe your wisdom over me so I can understand you. When they see me waiting, expecting your Word, those who fear you will take heart and be glad. I can see now, God, that your decisions are right; your testing has taught me what's true and right. Oh, love me—and right now!—hold me tight! Just the way you promised. Now comfort me so I can live, really live; your revelation is the tune I dance to. Let the fast-talking tricksters be exposed as frauds; they tried to sell me a bill of goods, but I kept my mind fixed on your counsel. Let those who fear you turn to me for evidence of your wise guidance. And let me live whole and holy, soul and body, so I can always walk with my head held high.

Psalm 119:73-80 The Message

Do you ever feel like you make the same New Year’s resolutions every year?

I'm 28 now and the idealism over New Year’s resolutions has faded a bit for me.

This year, knowing that I make the same resolutions every year, I'm thinking reflectively: What is my Achilles heel? What is the one main thing that keeps me from becoming all that God intends?

I think a lot of people have an "Achilles heel" that is fairly easily discovered. Think about some of the characters in the Bible: King David: lust; Moses: quick temper; Peter: lack of faith; Paul: legalism. What's interesting about all of these characters in that God redeemed their areas of greatest weakness!

I think my Achilles heel is lack of discipline. Lack of discipline keeps me from diligence in my devotional life and the close connection with God that I desire. Lack of discipline keeps me from memorizing scripture that would help me to break strongholds in my life. Lack of discipline will have a long-term consequence on my health and has kept me from being a good steward of the vocational opportunities God has placed before me (college, etc.).

I think if we can become aware of our particular Achilles heel, we can open it up to God to reform it. If you'd like, you can pray this prayer from Psalm 119 along with me: "With your very own hands you formed me; now breathe your wisdom over me so that I can understand you... And let me live whole and holy, soul and body, so I can always walk with my head held high."

Elise Diaz

"Neighborliness!"

My friend Doug knows what it means to be a good neighbor. He came over at 9:00 a couple nights ago to help me install a new dishwasher. We got a late start because we’d each had very long workdays.

The installation didn’t follow the script (Do they ever, I wonder?). It was impossible to discern which breaker the electrical was wired to so we turned them all off. Of course, that meant doing much of the job by flashlight.

The not-so-helpful instructions estimated the job should take between one and three hours. Doug left our house at 1:00 in the morning. He was still smiling. Perhaps even morestriking was the utter absence of profanity! That’s a good neighbor. In fact, for those four hours at least, I’d say Doug’s neighborliness bordered on the saintly.

Grace arrives in many forms. I’ve found though, that it usually involves a palpably personal and relational element. Grace usually entails somebody choosing to be available as its conduit.

Scott Burnett

"One Sunday!"

Eight hours in church one Sunday! A day of inspiration, worship, teaching, fellowship, community, fun, laughs, good food, great music, drama, a few tears, great joy in being a part of the family of God... where else could one go and have such a great day?

Sunday, November 25th started out with early Communion and the early Worship service, complete with inspiring music, a professional quality drama on the blind man whom Jesus healed, and then some unbelievably beautiful violin duets by the Pattersons, and a most passionate, touching and uplifting message from Ricardo, pastor in the Esperanza service.

...Then I enjoyed a delicious breakfast, lovingly prepared by Pastor David.

...Then I attended three more meetings: a short Pacesetter Small Group, with fun, sharing & inspiration.

...Then a follow-up class on the Book of John, taught by a great Bible teacher, Allan Wenzel, and then on to a “Cares” class on Prayer, and "How to Let God Work through You", taught by Sally Jo Holmes, with great discussion and inspiration.

...Then I had the privilege of attending the Baptism celebration, with a 3 generation Baptism of father, son and grandfather, plus another lovely woman whom I've come to admire and love.

...Several hours later, on Sunday evening, I was honored to be a part of the "Lights of Love" Grief and Healing Service, a very touching and beautiful candlelight service, and I shed a few tears and lit a few candles.

What a beautiful day! As I returned home, my heart was so full of love for Jesus, and I was so thankful for the privilege of being a part of such a loving fellowship at Washington Cathedral. How can Heaven get better than this?

Marilyn Biggs

"Addendum For Sermon Preached 12/8 & 12/9"

Last week my sermon was on how to allow “Christmas Faith” to help you break through self-accepted curses in your life based on John 11, the story about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. The week of my sermon preparation was the kind of week that is typical around here during the holidays -- a week jammed with pastoral care on top of Christmas activities and preparations. I wanted to make sure my message was not misinterpreted, so this devotion is an addendum to the sermon I preached at the services December 8th and 9th.

One of my points was that Jesus argued against using the language of curses, because he knows that what human beings believe has incredible power over them. (Matthew 5:22.) As an aside, this is one of the reasons I speak out strongly in opposition to Christians or people of other religions who are in the practice of calling their enemies “of the devil.” It is like calling someone a derogatory name, it is not going to help the level of communication and allow the grace of God to enter, bringing forgiveness and restoration. I used the example of the story of Soren Kierkegaard. His entire family lived under a self-imposed curse which they believed came because of a sin of their father. They were told, and believed, that they would all die before the age of 34. When Kierkegaard turned 34, he realized that even though he respected and feared his father, maybe his father did not know what he was talking about when it came to God. There are people who believe so strongly they are under curses of poor health, poverty, failed relationships and faithlessness and because of that belief they never allow God to set them free from these self-fulfilling prophecies. Admitting that we have a lot to learn about God is the beginning of a closer encounter with the loving nature of Jesus Christ and is absolutely liberating.

Now for the addendum: I said in my sermon that Christian theology believes we live in a world that has been cursed since the fall of man and as a result, earthquakes, tsunamis, cancer and war are a result of that fall. This is what requires further explanation. Please remember that while our church is very diverse, my background is as a simple Bible-believing Christian. It is because of the Bible and the teaching of Jesus Christ that I believe in grace – unconditional healthy love, resulting in treating every human being with dignity and respect. I use that phrase of “the curse of our planet” in the way that C.S. Lewis, a former professor of Literature at Oxford, would have used it. Let me explain. What we (historic Christianity) mean by “the curse of our planet” is that this earth is not a perfect place and perfection will not be achieved until we get to heaven. As a result, we believe cancer and other diseases are here and earthquakes and wars take place because of the imperfect nature of our world. Both good people and not so good people suffer because of those things and it is not because God is aiming any of those disasters at a certain person or group of people. It is a belief that in fact God is “other than nature.” C.S. Lewis explains this in his first attempt at a theodicy (why do the righteous suffer) an essay entitled “The Problem of Pain.” Of course, this subject is the focus of many great thinkers from Voltaire to Alister McGrath.

I like the discussion by Eric J. Welensberg in “God and the Research of Reason.” He introduces a conversation by C.S. Lewis, who as you may know, is one of the most beloved Christian apologists of the twentieth century. C.S. Lewis was uniquely qualified to speak about the nature of life being less than perfect. He spent most of his life as an atheist because his mother died when he was young, he fought in World War I (where indescribable acts of inhumanity took place) and he married the love of his life on her death bed (she died of cancer). Welensberg has a dialogue between C.S. Lewis, David Hume and Bertrand Russell. The other two are among Christianities most vocal critics. This book puts these three intellectual giants in conversation with one another on various questions such as: the existence of God, the suffering of humanity, morality, reason, joy, miracles and faith. Alongside irreconcilable differences, surprising areas of agreement emerge. This is not written from a Christian perspective, but I am reading to understand the complexities of this issue we are tackling – God is loving and good and yet bad things do happen in this world to the good and the not so good alike. It is animportant conversation and I hope that we can continue to ponder and discuss these complexities in this “think tank” of diverse thinkers known as Washington Cathedral.

Tim White

"Always Be Prepared!"

Be ready and keep ready, you and all the companies that are assembled around you, and hold yourselves in reserve for them. Ezekiel 38:7

“Always be prepared” were the words of wisdom I heard from my mom almost on a daily basis. I am sure that she learned it as a young child traveling to Washington in a covered wagon from Montana. Or maybe as a young woman with a small child who had to work hand in hand with her husband to hold the family together during the great depression. Or maybe it was when she and my dad pulled up roots and moved to California with no job or apparent future income. Or maybe it was a combination of all those experiences.

As we approached the possibility of snow on Saturday and Sunday last week I could hear her say “Be prepared!” So I began to make plans for how we’d get to church. We needed to shovel snow off the walkways and we needed to be ready to cover any bases that wouldn’t be covered by people who couldn’t make it. I told Rich, “Be prepared, I have no idea what we might end up doing or helping with!”

Driving home on Sunday I said to Rich, “Well, we made it through the storm but, be prepared, we are going to have a very low offering because of the low attendance. A lot of people were not able to make it to church today because of the snow.” Sure enough on Monday I received a call from Diane, our bookkeeper, informing me that our weekend offering was $15,000 under the minimum we need to meet our obligations.

Storms, winds and floods are going to come along and we have to be ready for them. I would like to ask you to help our church “Be prepared”. If there is a reason you can’t make it to church, would you consider putting your check in the mail or dropping it by when the roads get better. Or maybe even becoming a part of our eGiving program so your offering comes to us electronically whether or not the roads are opened. (If you’d like more information about this program, please contact Diane Sibley at 425-702-9750 or diane.sibley@wacathedral.org).

And remember as Pastor Tim said last week, “We will be open for worship regardless of snow, wind, rain, earthquake, tsunami, or WWIII!” Because that is what Jesus has called us to - to be lifting up people, ministering to them when life is at its very toughest.

Pastor Linda Skinner

More "Random Acts of Christmas!"

Imagine… thousands of beautiful stars in the Sanctuary for Christmas…..what an amazing setting for our Pageants! This isn’t the first time that we’ve had this vision for our Sanctuary….but I’ll talk more about that later.

This year, we want to decorate the Cathedral in stars, and you can be the one to do it! We need you to SHARE your “Random Acts of Christmas” with us throughout this season, by writing your random act on a glittering star and hang it in the Cathedral. We know that so many of you are givers of kindness throughout your day and week. It just pours out of you! You can’t help it! Because you have been blessed with a relationship with Jesus Christ, the blessings from Him just pour out of you onto the people you meet. So let’s hear about them this Christmas season. Pastor Tim would like us to write our anonymous “Random Act of Christmas” for each and every one that you give. Here are a few examples:

• Feed the hungry! “Random Act of Christmas”
• Help your neighbor for no reason! “Random Act of Christmas”
• Give someone a helping hand changing a flat tire on the side of the road! “Random Act of Christmas”
• Help a child do their school project! “Random Act of Christmas”
• Join in with others in the Santa Claus Conspiracy! “Random Act of Christmas”
• Give financially to the church for God to use in the community! “Random Act of Christmas”

There are just so many different ways to bless someone this Christmas! Washington Cathedral is known for how we bless the Community, but I’m wondering if our own church congregation knows what each of us is really doing? Well, it’s time that we all find out. I was so blessed to know that my neighbors (who also attend Washington Cathedral) take it upon themselves each year to give “Random Acts of Christmas” to people who are less fortunate than themselves during the Christmas season. And they do it each and every year! It made me feel so good to know that in my little corner of the world. God has surrounded me with amazing, loving people with huge hearts for the Lord. My neighbors are huge blessings in my life and their commitment to God to be the hands and feet of Jesus inspire me to do the same.

Now back to that vision of thousands of beautiful, glittering stars in the Sanctuary. This truly is not the first time that we’ve dreamed of this beautiful setting for our Pageants. Nope…just ask Pastor Erskine Austin…or visit my office and see the gold star he gave to me to remind me of the “Year of the Stars”. Yes, it was a Christmas season like any other. It was July and I was coming up with the all important “GREAT IDEA” for our yearly pageant. When I painted the picture for Pastor Tim, he was all over it with excitement. “Let’s announce it to the staff” he said.. “This is truly going to be one of the best Christmas Pageants Ever!” So we did. Our pageant producer at the time was Erskine Austin. It was his task to take my vision and make it happen! Well, this is where the crying…and laughing began. First…how to do it? Well, how about rows of fishing line that have gold stars attached to them? So Erskine, with the help of Pastor Michael, set about hanging hundreds of stars thatvolunteers had tied to fishing lines. It really looked amazing! Yep, it was all done…….”Let’s grab the ladders and go” Erskine said, “but be sure and watch the ladders so they don’t touch the lines……….OH NO!!!!!” Yes, you guessed it, the ladder caught the first line and managed to, in one move, grab every other line and roll it all up in a huge ball. It was….well….just awful. And this was just a day before the first Pageant! We were in trouble. Dozens of volunteers were called in to help untangle the mess… and the story goes on and on from there, but suffice it to say, Erskine was not happy with me! Nope! Not happy AT ALL. But……after a long while, he forgave me andpresented me with a gold star….I think mostly to remind me not to come up with that kind of an idea again. But I treasure it dearly.

SO HERE WE GO AGAIN! But I think we have learned our lesson. Plan your “Random Acts of Christmas” now and help us decorate the Cathedral with them. It’s going to be fun!

Love you all,

Pastor Naomi