"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

"Premeditation"

Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages." He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. "Leave her alone," Jesus replied. "It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me." Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him.
John 12:1-11

In the first part of John 12, the religious power brokers are so afraid of Jesus and Lazarus that they begin to plot their murders in earnest. Why? It makes sense that they’d be irate at Jesus for exposing the emptiness of their illusion. And I can see why they’d want to destroy the evidence, so to speak, by erasing the resurrected Lazarus from the scene.

But I don’t see how they could unequivocally dismiss the possibility that Jesus was telling (and living) the truth. How could they be so sold out to their own propaganda that they couldn’t see the sense-making beauty in what Jesus was saying and doing?

One of the reasons I’m so bothered by this riddle is my uneasy feeling that I could do the same thing. What am I guarding? What am I dismissing? What are the fears in me that skew my perceptions? Whose ideas am I ready to erase in order to protect my own?

Scott Burnett

"Our Son Jake"

Our son Jake (5 years old) has autism. He is incredibly smart but is missing the piece to connect with others. When he was 1 year old, he had about 20 words and first said, “Mommy” around his first birthday. At about 19 months old Jake lost all of his language and I did not hear "Mommy" for almost a year. Jake seemed to have gone into his own world. Not connecting to us at all. We have spent numerous hours in therapy, by his side trying to get our little boy back. With much hard work he is beginning to connect more. Jake is a five year old boy that can not tell us he is hungry or like other five year olds, ask to go to McDonalds or even that he wants to go to the playground. This morning I am doing my usual pick up around the house and Jake came over to me, turned my face to look at his eyes (this is hard for children with autism) and asked me, "Are we going to church Mommy?" I know that came from God and I no longer need to wonder why we have Jake in our lives. Yes... we came to church and today changed my life... because I listened to my little boy. We have been gifted with Jake and God gave him to us for a reason. We are the lucky ones.

Like everyone... we are a family with a lot on our plates and find ourselves procrastinating often by getting everyone into the car for one more place to be… even Washington Cathedral. Having a child with autism has not only blessed our lives but also tired us out tremendously. Scott spends many hours at work trying to make and save as much as he can because we have no idea what we will need to do for Jake in the future. My days are full and never-ending, making sure everyone gets from here to there. Courtney is almost 7 and although it is often hard for her to understand that her little brother has special needs she is the best friend he could ever have. Jake is a true blessing to our entire family. From him we have learned to have faith (lots of it). I know that we can no longer handle this road alone. I could not hold back the tears today after hearing how important children are to you and your family. I have always found Washington Cathedral to be a place that I can bring Jake and he is always welcomed with open arms. After this morning, I know in my heart that we want Jesus to be a part of our lives every day, we want a church family and to surround ourselves with others who have a strong faith and love towards children. We have also started a charitable organization called Autism is Real. We want to make a difference in these kids’ lives!

Thank you for a great service today!

Tonya Baker and family

"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