into a living

Happy New Year! Soon after we came here I told you a bit about my Christmas in Japan from years ago. Not

surprisingly they don’t celebrate it much. There the big holiday is New Year’s. It is not religious specifically but there are certainly religious themes that come to mind at the start of a new year. We think of the fresh start and a recommitment to doing our best. It is amazing the things you notice in a fresh way in a foreign country that just seem to fade into the background in places that are familiar. Something as basic as color jumps out more than usual. We may notice the colors of the changing seasons but so many colors go mostly unnoticed. In Japan the background colors were certainly not black and white. I vividly remember black hair and eyes; black and dark navy school uniforms contrasting with white shirts and blouses; dark shadowy shrine interiors fragrant with incense…the shadows and incense veiled the rich gold and cut flowers and the Budha’s bulk, but seemed powerless to dim the whites of the eyes that seemed to search directly for me. Mostly, the backgrounds were earth tones and pastels. Rich browns and sand, dusty green, faded paint on boats and buildings, and sunlight on the water. Vividly onto the background of all these colors and experiences is engraved the living, pulsing, red globe of the rising sun. The incredible sunrises stay with me. That balloon red sphere bursting from the sea and through the morning haze to light and celebrate our experience together. That sun caused the fishermen’s fire to pale, shimmered on the wrinkled gold water, and etched in dark relief the graceful boats with finlike sail as we were silhouetted standing and looking with our private thoughts soaking the beauty into our very souls. The red of that sun was echoed in the reds of neon lights set against the dark night. I remember the comfortable cleansing renewal of steamy hot mineral water contrasting with the invigorating chill of night air. The red of that sun was echoed in the hot reds of the tiny maple leaves. Those hot reds and golds were such a contrast to the infinity of forms and faces in the cold stone of granite shrines and statues. The red of that sun shone like the red Christmas stockings, the blinking red lights and the glazed red cherry on the special Christmas bakery. Across the bay was the most striking contrast to the red sun, a shining white lighthouse. As we flew away from Japan our final picture was the white curtain of clouds descending on the peak of Mount Fuji as though a closing performance just for us. The beauty of the shapely island dropping lower and lower beneath us as the plane rose, an island twinkling in the blackness with infinite flecks of light, as if lit by tiny candles. As we enter 2016, many things do not appear to be black and white. Though many no longer see things in black and white with regard to right and wrong, we can still trust that God’s Word gives us a clear view of the truth. Some things are not so cut and dried. The world is a wide variety of beautiful colors. The browns remind us of creation. The greens remind of us of the growth that the Holy Spirit leads. Purple reminds us of God’s royalty. The golden nuggets of God’s rich wisdom shine the way. Orange warms our heart for eternity. Yellow shows the brightness of the light of the world. We are the little candles taking his light out into the far corners of the earth. Blue soothes the soul with the peace beyond human understanding. The redness of our sin has been made white as snow. The rising of the son turns our black soul fresh, white, and pure. May your new year be filled with the rich array of colors that God has prepared for you. Don’t miss the color tones reminding you of the love that our Lord has for you. His love is so deep and so broad, like an ocean poured out on you. Drink in the fullness of God’s grace as he provides for you physically, emotionally and spiritually. Soak up the nourishment that he rains down on you throughout the year. Peace to you!

January finds us talking about winter and where snow comes from. We are going to be experimenting and playing with all the forms water can take in our water science unit. Fingers crossed that it will actually snow outside so we can “play” with the real stuff instead of fake snow. We resume our zoo-phonics this month and I will be turning the cards around to show the animal with the letter as we learn each letter individually. I am introducing small group work activities each week now with the kids too. At the small group table we are working on our pencil grip and learning to write and draw. We also do some numbers recognition and counting activities. The 4

year olds will be working on their story journals once again and I am excited to see what new stories they

have.

ReFrame explores how to connect faith with all of life, and starts back up on Wednesday, January 13, during Confirmation 5:00 - 6:15. The goal of ReFrame is to help Christians see The Gospel with fresh eyes & experience the renewing power of Jesus Christ in every aspect of their lives. Please come join us for this exciting video series. Contact Kelley Zuch (360.933.1304) if you are interested in coming.

It's time for gigi! We are studying Sticky Faith! Middle School & High School girls come & join us, as we discover what it means to have a faith that sticks! gigi meets Sundays after church until 1:00 p.m. We resume on January 10. We nourish our bodies as well as our souls.

The heart of evangelism is sharing the story of Christ, the Good News of how God took upon himself the sin and shame of the human race so that all who believe in Him might be saved. This message is the most liberating news to ever grace this planet! To share this “good news” with others is the most charitable and merciful act we can perform, the most joyous news we can bring. The early evangelists, felt that way about the gospel. Sharing the good news of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ is the simple task we have before us. What a great New Year’s resolution!!

Each one-reach one! If you might like serving as a greeter Sunday mornings and haven’t done that for some time, please indicate such a willingness on our “fellowship of worship” form. Thanks, and enjoy your evangelistic journey this New Year!

THANK YOU to all the ladies who have supported our MITE MINISTRY. Over $200 has been collected from our church during this past year to help he LWML reach its goal of $2,000,000 in the next biennium which will support missions all over the world.

January’s Mission Emphasis is REDEEMING LIFE MATERNITY HOME IN SANFORD, FLORIDA. This crisis pregnancy ministry has served as home to 15 women in its 2 years of existence and referred 60 more to other service agencies.

“The LWML Grant will support the home’s programs for education and vocational learning, instruction in financial management, parenting skills and life skills. Individual, group and specialized counseling is also available. What a blessing it is for the LWML to be able to support this organization, upholding the values of human life and sharing the message of Christ’s salvation.”

Check out the bulletin board in the parish hall for more information on this. If you are not yet part of this ministry, please consider taking a small mite box located on the mite box in the narthex.

We had Lyndale Glass install double pane windows in the Sunday School classrooms the middle of November. We have received reports that there hasn’t been any con-densation on the windows and the sills have remained dry. So, the windows are working and we should experience less heat loss, and should have less cold air inva-sion now.

We didn’t receive a clean report of the last fire safety inspection because two of our emergency lights failed. One has been replaced and the other has the battery con-nected so that it is kept charged.

We have the preschool playground equipment set up and the retaining wall in place, and now are awaiting the arrival of the safe-fall wood chips to be delivered.

The playground equipment should not be played upon until we get the bark in place.

We didn’t get to one of our major projects this year, and that was to replace the ceiling of the front breezeway. We will try to accomplish that task this coming year

1 Kristi Galbraith

3 Athena Johnson

Kara Hinchey

Eadweard Johnson

5 Todd Pomerening

6 Todd Hollarn

8 Laura Nelson

10 Delray Carleton

Cynthia Thompson

11 Ruth Chiko

Kurt Thomas

Maria Balentine

12 Jenny Baldwin

15 Jay Pukaluk

16 Jeremiah Smith

2 Jason & Niki Wildermuth

6 Steve & Maria Balentine

10 Gary & Regina Bailey

18 Carl Chiko

Don Johnson

Charlene Liebert

19 Jessica Smith

Shane Thompson

Lisa Newton

21 Hunter Liebert

22 Carol Delong

Clarence Ochsner

23 George Holmes

24 Kelsy Berg

25 Kelley Zuch

27 Ray Walser

28 Richard Johnson

Rick Thompson

31 Cheryl Persse

Butch & Pat Hin-

Steve & Debbie

Ron Leach/

Servants January 3 January 10 January 17 January 24 January 31

ACOLYTES Anna Corrine Seth Elee Anthony Emily

ALTAR

COMMITTEE Pam/Linda Pam/Linda Pam/Linda Pam/Linda Pam/Linda

COFFEE HOUR

Marilyn Mitchell/

Karen Halldorson/

John Veleber

Jeff & Rika

Kent/ John & June

Gilliland

John & Carole

Liebert/Jim &

Carolyn Higby

Ron & Donna

Leach/Rick &

Gladys Faulkner

Jon & Colleen

Huffman/Mike &

Jo Galbraith

GREETERS Ruth & Carl Chiko Jacquie Robbins Donna & Ron

Leach Jean Cartwright Ruth & Carl Chiko

SCRIPTURE

READERS Elinor Blakely Carl Chiko Sandie Miller Ron Leach Carole Liebert

LAY MINISTERS/

COMMUNION

Jean Cartwright/

Steve Galbraith

Carole Aguirre/

Dick Johnson

Lenore Onyon/

Angus Pratt

PIANIST Cheryl Fischer Cheryl Fischer Cheryl Fischer Cheryl Fischer Cheryl Fischer

ORGANIST Brent Johnson Brent Johnson Brent Johnson Brent Johnson Brent Johnson

USHERS Dan Persse/

Bruce Shelton

John Gilliland/

Dick Johnson

Art MacArthur/

P.J. Aguirre

Angus Pratt/

Jay Pukaluk

Jim Higby/

Andy Higby

FLOWERS