Thougthsfrom

our Pastor

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Rev. Julie S. Johnson

Remembering.... Beautiful flowers for sale!

Treat yourself or buy gifts{Page 2}

April • 2016 Vol. 46 • No. 3

The FOCUSFOCUSFircrest Presbyterian Church

It was happy hunting!

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CARNIVAL!SaturdayApril 232:00 pm

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Page 2 • April 2016

The Easter life is about Remembering and Resurrection As I write this article, it is evident that spring is here! What a beautiful week this is to celebrate the resur-rection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As the sun streams through my office and my ministry this week, it seems to me that the Easter life is about at least two things: Remem-bering and Resurrection.

Angels invite I mentioned in my sermon on Easter Sunday that the angels who encounter the women at the tomb invite the women to remember what Jesus had said about his death and rising. As the women remember, they are empowered to go and tell the eleven and the rest what they have experienced.

Jesus remembers The next story in Luke (which we did not hear on Easter) is the story of two dis-ciples on the road to Emmaus. While the two disciples are walking and talking, Jesus himself comes near, walks with them, and interprets “to them the things about himself in all the scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Jesus remembers the scriptures with them, reminds them what they have heard and fills them with new understanding.

Who we are Remembering who we are in Christ grounds us and empowers us. Grounded and empowered, we can participate fully in the life of resurrec-tion. On Easter Sunday, I preached that the resurrection decisively reveals that our God is the God of Life. And not just any life… ABUNDANT life! Resurrection invites is to pay attention to those parts of our lives where we feel confined, or “boxed in.”

Change Are there practices or habits in your life that feel isolating to you? What needs to change in your life to make space for abundant life in relationship with God and others? As we journey togeth-er through the Great Fifty Days of Easter toward Pentecost, I invite you to remember that God loves you and pursues you – without

reservation! And the life of resurrec-tion offers freedom from anything that hinders you from being the person God calls you to be. I am glad to be with you on the journey! Warmly in Christ,

Pastor Julie Johnson

Pastor Julie Johnson

THOUGHTS FROM Our Pastorflower sale !

Sunday • April 24

A variety of bedding

plants & hanging basketswill be on display

FLOWERS

HERBS

HANGING

BASKETS

Plants provided

by L’Arche Hope

Community

Great Fifty Days of Easter toward Pentecost

Easter morning: Pastor Julie and Young Disciples

April 2016 • Page 3

Guest pastor

The Mission & Outreach Team is asking you to donate whatever you want to this month - so please bring such items as these during

April: •canned beans (green, waxed, baked) • canned fruit

• pasta or other side-dish items • tuna • personal hygiene items (toothpaste, shampoo, soap)

Mother’s Day cards and special note cards – that provide funding for a global poverty initiative – will be available for purchase on April 24 at Fircrest Pres. Mother’s Day is coming and a great way to honor mothers and children everywhere is by supporting the Healthy Women Healthy Families program, a global poverty initiative of Presbyterian World Mission and Presbyterian Women. Here’s one example of how Healthy Women Healthy Families is making a difference in Malawi. On Ken and Sylvia Gentili’s first trip to Malawi in 2007, they learned about a 7-year-old girl in the community who had suffered se-vere burns while cooking over an open fire, a commonly used cooking method. When this child’s clothing caught fire, she did the only thing she knew to do - she ran. “No one had ever heard of stop, drop and roll,” Sylvia says. “So,

sadly, this little girl did not recover from these severe burns.” The following year, Sylvia, a retired community health nurse and early childhood educator, returned to Malawi with a curriculum to teach fire safet - par-ticularly stop, drop and roll - to prevent other needless child deaths. The same year, Jodi McGill, a PC(USA) mission co-worker, collabo-rated with the Church of Central Africa

Presbyterian’s Synod of Livingstonia to apply for start-up funding from the Healthy Women Healthy Families Program to create Child-to-Child Health Clubs. This funding made it possible to use the international Child-to-Child curriculum to train church women about important health issues. Then, the women taught the health-related lessons they had learned to the youth in their respec-tive villages - so the youth could go on to teach the lessons to others. “I joined the Health Department’s first weeklong Child-to-Child curriculum training in Usisya, a remote village on Lake Malawi,” said Sylvia. “We taught stop, drop and roll, along with other health and safety lessons related to water sanitation, hygiene, nutrition, and prevention of malaria and dysentery.” At the end of the week, the village pastor not only thanked the group for the workshop, but also honored Sylvia by giving her a Malawian name of “Mama Usisya,” which means “of the people.” He commented that they had never had a white American spend a whole week in their village before. Programs of Healthy Women Healthy Families support primary and pre-primary education, prenatal and essential obstetric services, trauma healing and psychosocial support, early childhood health and nutrition programs, health and hygiene education, food security and repair surgery. The cards will be on display in the Narthex, starting April 24.

NOTECARD

HappyMother’s

Day

Mother’s Day cards help ‘Healthy Women Healthy Families’ poverty initiative

in Malawi & around the world

CARNIVAL!SaturdayApril 232:00 pm

face painting

tasty goodies!yard gamesladder toss

bean bagsmore surprises

NEWS In BRIEF

Rev. Dr. Keith Tanis, the Executive Prebyter of the Presbyteria of Olympia, will be filling the pulpit on Sunday, April 10. Keith works closely with the Committee on Min-istry and looks forward to both preaching and spending time with the people of Fircrest Pres. (Pastor Julie wiill be on vacation April 4-11.)

Please pay Per Capita All members are asked to help our congregation pay our Per Capital responsibility of $39 per member for 2016. Per Capita paid to the larger Presbyterian Church (USA) helps the wider church to support growth, renewal and development of churches. It also is the source of loans, grant and other assistance for congregations (which has benefitted Fircrest Pres).

April foods for FOOD BANK

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April 2016 • Page 5

Happy Bir t h d a y ! APRIL

1 Michell Riggs6 Alexys Fender9 Ken Gentili11 Grace Eubanks12 Frank DalSanto13 Ladd Wikstrom14 Daivd Riggs Jr.18 Bob Bringer18 Jerry Bryant19 Kennedi Fender24 David Thomas24 Carol Bryant24 Aneaka Davis25 Eric Fender30 Lucas Tess

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SOUP SUNDAY

Bring yourfavorite!

Sunday morning10:30 • Worship time

11:30 • Fellowship timeAlso

• A Joy Program(pre-school & primary)

& nursery care during worship

It washappyEaster

hunting!

Fircrest Presbyterian Church1250 Emerson St (40th)Fircrest WA 98466

Phone: 253.564.3737

E-mail: fircrestpres@gmail.com

Web: www.fircrestpres.org

The Fircrest FOCUSis published monthly for our members & friends.

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