Religion/Churches

Members of a new church in SeaTac are holding a street cleanup in their new city this Sunday.

The World Mission Society Church of God, located at 18435 42nd Ave. S. is sponsoring the cleanup. They will begin at noon along South 188th Street, go north on International Boulevard to South 176th Street and back to 42nd Avenue South. The event goes until 4 p.m.

The members are inviting other volunteers to join them.

“Living in a clean environment contributes much to a person’s well being and allows a much more pleasant life,” the church said in a press release.

For more information, contact Amanda Tello at 520-256-3142 or Deborah Kwon at 206-465-0255.

Press release:

Seattle Christian Schools will host an Open House for future families, Kindergarten through 12th grade, on Thursday, January 17, At 7:00 p.m.

The school wide meeting will take place for students enrolling for the 2013-2014 school year. The format will include opportunities to meet faculty, staff and SCS Superintendent, Gloria Hunter. Seattle Christian offers top-rated academics, a strong Biblical worldview, excellent athletics, fine and performing arts, co-curricular programs, as well as before and after school care.

The school has approximately 550 students on a beautiful 13.5 acre campus, just off Interstate-5 in SeaTac. For more information, contact Fran Hubeek, Admissions Coordinator, at 206.246.8241 or visit www.seattlechristian.org

Press release:

Rebecca M. Pratt takes her readers to Africa, Central America and the United States to bring awareness to the needs around the world and stimulate people to help those who are suffering in “Inspired To Action: How Following the Promptings of Your Heart Can Change the World” (ISBN 1466409029).

Pratt shares her experiences and challenges in her own walk with God to inspire readers to trust God in the unseen.

She brings her readers into the lives of those suffering and hurting., and she shares about being faced with unbelievable decisions that will change the outcome of hundred of children’s lives in Africa, . Her book will challenge readers’ faith as they reflect on their own personal walks with God.

“You will be challenged to live your life purposefully and to embrace the concept that we each have the ability to make a huge difference in the world as we say yes to all that God may prompt us to walk forward in,” Pratt says. “In return, we will live this amazing, empowered and fulfilling life like we have never experienced.”

Press release:
Walk with your Highline neighbors on May 1st as the Des Moines CROP Walk kicks off its 22nd year of CROP Walking to end hunger. Enjoy walking with neighbors and friends from Highline Community College (Global Health class) and six churches. We walk in solidarity with those who are hungry here and around the world. Each walk committee designates 25% of their funds to stay locally. The funds we raise help the Des Moines Area Food Bank, as well as the hungry in 80 countries.

Church World Service is the hunger-fighting agency that directs the funds. Because CWS is already working with local communities & partners around the world, they are usually the first to arrive at the scene of a natural disaster. For over 65 years CWS has provided disaster relief and long-term recovery for war-torn countries, flood and earthquake victims, and refugees. CWS works with local community groups to address their needs: literacy, education for girls and women, safe water, agriculture and job skills. Yes, CWS is working with 32 local agencies in Japan right now.

The ribbon cutting for Westside Unitarian Universalist Congregation at 7141 California Avenue s.w. took place today shortly after 10:00 a.m
Sept. 12 to formally introduce the building to the community as well as the congregation. The first service was held just after the opening ceremonies.

CLICK THE PHOTO ABOVE TO SEE MORE IMAGES

The congregation purchased the building that once housed the Gatewood Baptist Church in April and needed to make many renovations to improve the facility and get it ready. The process lasted from May, when they first acquired the property until mid-September. With a 60 year old building, they completed an extensive repair & renovation prior to moving in. These repairs included installing a new sound system, accessibility upgrades, painting, electrical and plumbing upgrades, new furnishings, kitchen upgrade, garden design and more.
There are still a few loose ends but the process is essentially complete.

"Everything you need is here," Bryan Johnston said about his 3,500-square-foot, 98-year-old Ballard house. "There is a room for everything."

He isn't kidding.

There is the spacious living room and dining room, complete with fireplace and original woodwork. The sunroom that Bryan's wife Susan used while making calls for the 700 Club and now holds a half-played board game. A former bedroom with its own private stairwell to the kitchen so the children could eat without interrupting their parent's parties. Another former bedroom, now converted into a dressing room with tiered walk-in closet.

Add to the house's interior accommodations and surprises, the views of Puget Sound from second and third-floor balconies and a double lot-sized yard, and it becomes clear that Susan and Bryan Johnston's home isn't just any house.

"The moment you walk in, you feel something," Susan said.

In 1975, Bryan bought the house at 8344 32nd Ave. N.W. from his parents, who had purchased the house in 1943 when Bryan was 6 months old. In 1976, he started redoing the house.

Barb Balden lives in her vehicle on the streets of Ballard. She works but can't afford rent and homeless shelters are full.

It's a noisy and difficult arrangement – parking enforcement officials target and harass homeless people, having to move her vehicle every 72 hours uses up her gas supply, and there are few places left to park due the the proliferation of "No Parking 2 a.m. to 5 a.m." signs, she said.

Ballard Homes for All Coalition, started by State Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson in 2007, is launching the Congregation-Hosted Safe Parking for People Living in Vehicles project to create a safe place for homeless people to park their vehicles and have access to restrooms, waste disposal and showers.

"Everybody has to be someplace," Sally Kinney, a member of the Interfaith Task Force on Homelessness, said at the first meeting for the project June 3. "Even though we don't like the idea of people living in vehicles, we have to give them someplace to live."

The Safe Parking project is reaching out to 34 Ballard-area churches and religious organizations to convince them to host a small number of car campers on their property.

Davy Liu wasn’t a straight-A student. He wasn’t even a straight-B student.

Growing up in Taiwan in a culture that puts a lot of pressure on getting good grades, he felt like he didn’t fit in until he excelled in his first art class after moving to the United States in eighth grade.

Interjecting Chinese phrases and Bible verses, Liu, a former Disney artist who now heads his own production company, entertained families during an April 3 presentation at Ballard’s Evangelical Chinese Church with stories of faith, art and the importance of following your passions, even if your report card isn't quite perfect.

“The message he gives the parents here is really important because parents push their children to do the best,” said Jaya Conser, a member of the congregation. “Each person has a unique gift to do the best.”

Liu’s resume includes animation work on "The Lion King," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin" and "Mulan."

With a six-digit salary by the time he was 23, he said he felt too self-serving. So, he merged his two greatest joys, religion and art, and sought to develop more Christian-centric entertainment.

The Admiral Congregational United Church of Christ, 4320 Southwest Hill Street, welcomes the Rev. Dr. Donald Schmidt as its new pastor. Formerly the West Seattle Congregational, the church was founded in 1899 and is among West Seattle’s oldest churches. (Since this article was written, we found that, according to the book "West Side Story" published by the West Seattle Herald, St. John's Episcopal Church is the oldest and had its beginning in West Seattle in 1892.)

And now Donald Schmidt is West Seattle’s newest pastor. While the church’s search committee did an exhaustive searched nationwide, Schmidt was just across Lake Washington, finishing up his two-year interim as pastor at the 500-member Bellevue First Congregational Church, also a United Church of Christ. Admiral Congregational currently has 103 members.