Slideshow image

What a joy to be back with you this week! A celebration of Math Camp, camping in general, and a church picnic was a great way to return from my travels. Thank you for the many blessings of this weekend and of the week away with family.

There is much to look forward to this fall and our schedule of ministry is ramping up. I encourage you to pay special attention to the end of this newsletter. The section called, “Opportunities to Serve Your Church” is full of the great plans that many of our teams and committees have been making. Please mark your calendars and plan to be part of the special events and celebrations coming up this fall.

Rather than reiterate here what is below, I want to call out several changes coming to our parking lot. The parking lot might seem like an unlikely site for much of our ministry, yet it’s turning out to be an action-packed place. In addition to the P Patch, which continues to provide garden space to neighbors and produce for many, new possibilities are emerging.

Blooma tree service has found another site for their largest trucks and they are discerning whether they will need to retain space in our parking lot, moving forward. For now, you may have noticed that their fenced enclosure no longer locks and their equipment is being stored elsewhere. They have left a large wood pile, that is free to anyone who needs wood for their campfires or woodstoves.

Without the Blooma employees parking in the lot on weekdays, we’ve been able to respond to a need at Lakeside Middle School for some temporary parking for their employees. Our Building and Grounds team is in discussions with the principal and Leadership Board from Lakeside to come to an agreement about how we might help them fill a gap in necessary parking for staff while their site is under construction. The specifics aren’t entirely known yet but starting soon, we may have more visitors using our lot on weekdays during school hours. The parking spaces in the lot, closest to the church building will continue to be designated for church use. We anticipate that this arrangement with Lakeside will only persist through this school year while their space is under construction. Arrangements for Camp United We Stand to return next spring, if that is their desire, are an important component of the conversation with Lakeside. If these plans proceed, more parking lot striping will probably be forthcoming.

Looking a little farther into the future, plans continue to develop for what new housing options might be developed in what is now our parking lot. Our Faithland team met with a team of investors who could potentially be interested in developing there for a co-housing project occupied by a multi-generational family. In addition, our consultants from LPA are sharing our goals and priorities with other possible development partners so we know what our options are. The Sea-Tac district Board of Church and Location has set the date of September 15 to hear a presentation from our team about these plans and possibilities and to provide their input and guidance on our process. We will be accompanied in that presentation by Rev. Mark Galang, the Puget Sound District Superintendent, who serves as our primary contact to the bishop’s cabinet. Rev. Shalom Agtarap, the superintendent who works most closely with the Board of Church and Location will also attend that meeting with the Board. The Leadership Board will be making a recommendation about a proposed direction and a congregational vote on our Board’s proposal continues to seem likely at our annual Charge Conference this winter.

Things are changing in our neighborhood and therefore in our ministry context. What remains is the heart for service for our neighbors that guides our congregation in responding to our mission.