Emmanuel Community Life

Receiving Communion During Flu Season

The diocese has gathered a good number of resources relating to our practice of receiving communion from a common cup and the related risk of infection from flu and other communicable diseases. It's interesting to note that intinction (or dipping of the wafer in the wine) carries the most risk of infection. Take a look at the information so you can make an informed decision on Sundays.

Legacy Sunday May 24

10th Annual Legacy Sunday--celebrated on 24 May, which is the Sunday after the Ascension and Memorial Day weekend. This special worship service focuses on the abundance and bounty that we enjoy as a result of God's grace in our lives, whatever our individual circumstances. As stewards, we covenant to use our resources for good in this community and the world. The Emmanuel Legacy Society, a ministry of the Endowment Board, honors those parishioners who have named Emmanuel in their wills or other estate plans. Please plan to attend--it's special!

Layweeder News

Thanks to Bobbie Morris, who got back to town on Tuesday, hit the ground running, or rather pruning, clearing and weeding. -Hunt

Layweeders group:Spring has come and the warm weather is here, which means the garden is blooming and the weeds are growing!

Layweeder Mondays (10 AM to noon) will not officially start until June--but we all need to pitch in and help to maintain our gardens. The following tasks need some attention in the interim: weeding the "dreaded" pop it or shot weeds wherever they take root; weeding the portion of grounds adjacent to the east and west parking lots, pruning the purple heather and white heather when the flowers are faded; cutting the daffodil and tulip blossoms when they fade, hand digging the weeds in our grassy areas, deadheading faded rhododendrons, weeding the gravel paths behind the Memorial Garden and between the pavers in the Memorial Garden and the Sunken Garden. Any help you can volunteer will be very appreciated. And if you see a spot that needs some TLC, please feel free to work your magic on it.

The Layweeders Group is looking for a new chair to organize the care of Emmanuel's gardens. Please contact Hunt at the church office if you are interested in learning more about this opportunity.

Monthly Aid to Others

On the recommendation of the Social Action Committee, the people of Emmanuel will be supporting the following for April and May: Northwest Harvest, Mercer Island Youth and Family Service, Emergency Feeding Program, Lifelong Aids Alliance, the Chicken Soup Brigade, Downtown Emergency Service Center, Sophia Way, UCC Bridge Ministries, St. James Center, Cathlamet and New Beginnings, and Episcopal Relief and Development. In addition there is ongoing support for those who have immediate emergency needs such as rental assistance to keep them in their home, help with power and heat bills to keep from being shut off, help with telephone bills to allow the need of a telephone and assistance with medical prescription that are needed according to their doctor.

Finding Hope in Hard Times

Finding hope in hard times: Seven spiritual practices (a faithful steward’s guide). This timely brochure is now available for free. The diocesan stewardship office has 500 copies, limited quantities on a first-come, first-served basis. You can also download the brochure. 

As Bishop Greg Rickel has said, the question is not, “When will this crisis be over?” but “How will this crisis change us?” The seven practices include thoughtful scripture, suggestions for action, pauses for reflection and prayer: Count Your Blessings; Count Your Cash; Learn to Be Content; Choose a Simpler Lifestyle; Keep on Giving; Rebuild Generous Communities; and A Financial Downturn Can Be a Spiritual Upturn. Contact the stewardship office at 206-325-4200/800-488-4978, ext. 2016 or e-mail Carl Knirk at cknirk@ecww.org. If supplies run out, more will be ordered.

Dancing in the Darkness: A Chaotic, Creative, Prophetic, Movement Moment

when: Good Friday, April 10th from 9 to midnight

what: Join in a night of mess/art/meaning making, energy generating revelry with an Irish band, dancing & some art!

who: It's about art and creation and spirituality and a really good time and open-ended-ness, so if that appeals to you, come! (and bring $5 for the band)

where: Skinner Hall, 1501 10th Ave. E, located on the grounds of St. Mark's Cathedral on Capitol Hill (far end of the building to the right of the Cathedral itself when facing from the street)

why Good Friday? in the Christian tradition Good Friday marks Jesus' death on the cross and descent to the dead. Its the start of the "rebuilding of the temple in three days" i.e. a prophetic work of creative chaos, in darkness.

Organ Day for Teens

The University of Washington and the Seattle Chapter of the American Guild of Organists are jointly sponsoring an Organ Day for Middle School and High School Students, ages 12 to 18.  Previous organ experience is not necessary.  It will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2009, from about 9:30 am to 7:30 pm,  and dinner is included.  We will start and end at Plymouth Congregational Church in Seattle.  The event will include visits to the organs at St. James Cathedral, St. Mark's Cathedral, St. Stephen's Episcopal, the UW organ in the Walker Ames Room of Kane Hall and a visit to an organ shop where the restoration of the Roosevelt High School organ is underway.  Transportation between these venues will be in a UW van.   The cost of the event is $15.  If you are interested, please contact David Lepse for a registration form. E-mail: davidlepse62@yahoo.com or by phone at: 206 465-2457.

Backyard Wildlife Habits

The layweeders and green team encourage everyone to learn about how to a backyard sanctuary for wildlife.  Details are on the poster at the West entrance, with application forms,  too.  This program has been created by the National WIldlife Federation to promote the health and wellbeing of wildlife, which includes aquatic life (and eventually human life, as well).  It is designed to be easily accessible; it's been around for and costs only a $15 one-time fee.   The program began in 1973:  here, lightly edited, is what NWF says about it

 

Certify Now!    Natural places--and the plants and animals that inhabit them--face ever-increasing pressure from human activity. Few places left on Earth are unaffected by our actions.

 

As a result, habitat loss is the number-one threat to wildlife today; and urban run-off, one of the primary dangers to aquatic life. 

 

Choosing "conventional" landscaping options-- dominated by cultivated lawn, ornamental plants, and dependence on chemicals and supplemental watering--results in disturbing the balance of the ecosystem and banishing wildlife from the land we once shared.

 

We can, however, choose to create landscapes that help restore the ecological balance, and allow watersheds and lake waters to run clean. 

 

To demonstrate this, in April 1973 the National Wildlife Federation ran an article in the April 1973 encouraging people to landscape and garden in a more sustainable, natural way, with wildlife in mind.

 

Response to the article was so overwhelming that NWF began the Certified Wildlife Habitat™ program that same year. Since that time, the practice of natural landscaping has grown in popularity.

 

You will learn how to restore wildlife habitat in your own yard, balcony, workplace or even your entire community. Once you create your habitat, submit an application and get your yard certified as one of thousands around the country and the world; and receive a handsome certificate that designates your property as part of the NWF's national registry.

 

You will be saving a place for wildlife right in your own backyard and community, while opening your eyes to the natural world around you, to be nourished by its wonders.