March 2016 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

6

One Great Hour of Sharing

7 8 Finance 5:30pm

Church Council 6:30pm

9 10 11 12

13

Daylight Savings Change Clocks Forward

14

Prayer Shawl 2:00

15

SPRC 5:30pm

16

Craft Group 6:30pm

17 18 19

20

Palm Sunday

21 22 23 24

Maunday Thursday Meal 6:00pm Service 7:00pm

25 26

27Sunrise 6:00am Service 8:30 & 11:00 Brunch9:30

28 29

Trustees 5:30pm

30 31

T r a c y t o n T i d i n g s

Tracyton United Methodist Church

PO Box 127 5153 Naomi St

Tracyton, WA 98393 Bremerton, WA 98311

Phone# 360-373-6425

Like us on Facebook Tracyton United Methodist Church

visit us on the web www.tracytonumc.org

E-mail us at Church@tracytonumc.org

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Inside this issue:

Letter from Pastor 2-3

Letter from Ginny 3

Finance 4

UMW Spiritual Day 5

UMW Pledge 5

One Great Hour/ 6

Inside this issue:

Holly Week Schedule 6

Arts & Crafts/Liturgist 7

Backpack Brigade 8

Prayer Shawl/food bank 8

Skippers/Tea Party 9

Thursdays Prayer Vigil at 8:15am

P a g e 2 Not Ready! Ready!

Continued On Page 3

Dear Sisters and brothers!

Already it’s almost Easter. Already the daffodils are in full bloom, the

camellias and crocuses are past their prime, and the amazing March-lion winds

are right now clearing the plum blossoms from the trees.

Already, new life is springing-forth. And we’re not ready.

In fact, we’re not even sure what being ready for new life looks like.

We can’t define that readiness in terms of the old life, that’s for sure.

I think we can learn something about God’s new life from the garden, and

from the vegetative new life we witness in nature.

Did you ever notice how many of Jesus’ images of God’s new life were

grounded in the soil and what grows from it? From mustard seeds to fig trees,

from blond-bearded fields of wheat to vineyards of the overwhelming sweet

heady scent of ripe-for-harvest grapes. From planting, to fertilizing, to weeding,

to watering, to pruning, to harvesting, to threshing, to storing-away.

A couple months back, looking at the patches of dirt and bare rose canes

and an overgrowth of winter weeds that were our garden beds, nobody would

have had a clue what was to come. (Nobody without an experience of the growth

of plants through the seasons, anyway!)

How are we to be ready for God’s new life? How to be ready for what has

not been imagined?

Get hopeful. Where there’s no vision, the people perish, says the Proverb. So

imagine! Envision what the new life could be like.

Get humble. The opposite of faith isn’t doubt; the opposite of faith is certainty.

Hold your vision, your expectation, your particular hopes, with

humility. One thing for certain: your particular vision won’t get

everything right.

Get alert. Notice things that are out of the ordinary. And notice the

extraordinary wonder IN the ordinary. What you expect is what you

already know. Practice noticing and cherishing what’s new.

Get together. The old security-consciousness adage holds true about

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new life as well: See something? Say something. What you notice, point out!

Together, talk it through, let your hopes and experiences combine, to

come to a new perspective.

Get equipped. Tools for nurturing the new life include the things

mentioned above, and the spiritual disciplines: I commend them all,

though today it feels right to commend contemplative prayer, service and

generosity, and listening --- especially listening to the community of new

life from the present and from the past, in conversation and books and

poetry and scripture and art.

Get gardening. Seriously, do this last. If you go to the ground with your

tools and your preconceived vision, but without the humility to accept

changed plans when the garden’s growth changes, you’ll miss a freshness

that’s of God. If you go there alone, you’ll miss the perspective and team-

work of community. If you go there un-rested, un-alert, you’ll miss the

wonder.

Easter’s timing is predictable. But the Easter life goes beyond predictability.

The new life is coming. It’s at hand. Ready, or not.

Love,

Wes

Continued From Page 2

Dear Tracyton friends and brothers and sisters in Christ,

Once again I want to thank all of you for all that you did to make the memorial

service for Gay so meaningful. It warmed the hearts of our family members who were

there. After being away for three years we did not expect such expressions of love and

reminders of our years there. Our memories of TUMC are blessed and very special.

Enclosed is a gift to show our appreciation. With it comes my love and deep gratitude.

For your many expressions of sympathy I also thank you. I’m so glad you were able to

know Gay when his health was better. He loved all of you, too. With special thanks to

Wes and those who arranged the amazing reception.

Ginny

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I went to a conference

this last weekend at the Heathman Lodge in Vancouver, WA. What a fabulous hotel! Really

friendly people who are anxious to answer any question you might have and provide any service

you might need. The most chatty staff person we met has worked there for 18 years, so they

must be doing something right. They recycle. They have water bottle filling water fountains.

They serve locally sourced food in their restaurant. I asked if I could just move there, and they

said that would be fine! And our conference was also fabulous.

When we arrived there was a group gathering for a memorial service for what looked like a fairly

young man (maybe 40, maybe 50 by the looks of the photo and the title page of the video). We

saw them gathered later for a buffet dinner. I’m sure they must have shared stories. It looked

like a very nice large group of people, and I’m sure they also appreciated the services offered by

the hotel, and were able to remember their friend and loved one well. I don’t know anything else

about this gathering.

This week I’m working on a video to be shown at my cousin Merrilee’s memorial service, to be

held at University Place Presbyterian Church. My cousin was 66 when cancer took her. I don’t

know how this “venue” will compare with the hotel. I’m sure the staff will be friendly and very

helpful. I’m sure there will be food to share after the service. There will be singing, I’m sure.

There will be stories. There will be a video. There will be a pastor sharing a message. There will

be an organ, or a piano, playing Merrilee’s favorite hymns.

What difference does it make if a person’s life is remembered at a hotel or at a church?

Wherever two or more are gathered, there God is also, right?

Here’s what I think. When we join with Merrilee’s faith community on Friday, we’ll learn things

just by being there that we might not otherwise have known. What is the community involved

in? What values can we see in the written materials and in the liturgical setting? The banners,

the mission projects, the education and fellowship opportunities? We’ll already know something

about Merrilee, even before the service begins and the stories are shared. I will not be an iso-

lated person attending this service. I will be part of a community. I will feel the support of this

community for Merrilee’s family, and I will rejoice at the care they will continue to give to them

in the years to come. I will know that when this service is over, this community will remain, and

their care and nurture will support this beloved family in their grief, and in their joy for

Merrilee’s life.

Bring your friends to church. Make them part of our community at Tracyton UMC, a place

where lives are nurtured and sustained through all of life’s joys and sorrows. We could be a

hotel, but we’re not. We’re a community of believers who want to share God’s love with

everyone, to be Christ in a hurting world. May you continue to support this community with

your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service, and your witness.

Heres What I Think…. By Kathy Bogue, Finance Chair

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Tacoma District UMW Meeting

Tracyton UMW will host the Meeting on Saturday, March 12th at 9:30am.

Brunch will be served as plans for Spiritual Day Apart are finalized.

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March 6th

Special

Offering

Sunday March

13th

Daylight Savings

Time Begins!

Don’t forget to…..

6:00am in Farrar Park

March 27th

Easter Egg Hunt

following 11:00 service.

If you would like to

bring soup or bread for

Maunday Thursday

there will be a sign up

sheet in the Fellowship

Hall. We would like to

have at least 3 or 4 soups

available.

We will also be asking

for donations of candy

and goodies to put

inside those Easter Eggs

Would you like to bring

flowers to help decorate

the Altar on Easter

Sunday? They could be

either cut or potted

(maybe something

other than lilies). We

will have a sheet avail-

able where you can

designate your flowers

in memory/ honor of

someone special, their

names will be published

in the Bulletin. You may

bring your flowers

anytime during Office Hours or

Service Times Easter Week

(March 20-27).

Easter Services at

8:30 and 11:00

Easter Brunch

between Services

9:30-10:30.

March 24th

Soup Supper 6:00

Followed by

worship at 7:00

March 20th Regular Services 8:30 and 11:00

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8:30 March Liturgists 11:00

6th Kim Carroll Kris Aleman

13th Joan Peirsall Mariah Young

20th Jim Klein Malia Young

27th Galen Newling Sue Sanders

Sally Klein would like to gather

some ladies of the church to make some crafts for

the Bazaar By the Bay We will be having several

“crafting” sessions this year to make items to sell

at the Bazaar in November. If you are interested

please let her know. She has some ideas for the

TUMC Craft table to sell and will need folks to start

saving supplies. At this time, these are the

supplies we will need:

WHITE, RED AND GREEN BUTTONS

(new or used will do)

WOODEN PIC-TURE FRAMES

READER’S DIGEST BOOKS

(in various

sizes, plain or

ornate)

YOU MAY DROP ITEMS IN THE BASKET IN THE FELLOWSHIP HALL

THIS IS DIFFERANT FROM OUR

MONTHLY CRAFT GROUP WHICH

MEETS ON THE

Consider helping in any capacity

that you can for the

“Bazaar By The Bay”

This is our big fund raiser for the

church and your help is needed!

Watch for announcements about

upcoming meetings!

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The following is a note from Myra Battin Leader of the

Backpack Brigade

Please place your

non-perishable

food donations in

the basket you will

find at the front of

the Sanctuary

Wish List of Food Items

for Backpack Program

Cup of fruit

Instant oatmeal

Capri Sun or juice pouch

Granola bars

Macaroni and cheese

Spaghetti noodles and

sauce

Chili

Crackers

Tuna

Vegetables

Peanut butter

Jelly

Any fresh fruit would be

great

Hot chocolate would be

a special treat

bread

Backpack Brigade

Last Friday, five ladies from our church helped

pack backpacks to go home with low income and

homeless kids in the Bremerton School District. In

less than an hour, they packed seventy-one backpacks that were

then delivered to schools.

If you would like to help, please call Libby Correll at 698-9082.

“During March, the Bremerton Backpack Brigade would like to

focus on collecting essential foods for the children we serve. We

would welcome donations of good protein sources, like canned

meats (chicken, tuna, beef, or even spam and even Vienna Sau-

sage. Protein is an excellent brain food and helps to make pasta

or a boxed “Helper” meals, a much more complete and nutritious

meal! The Brigade is honestly humbled and thankful for your

amazing responses to help meet the needs of hungry children in

our neighborhoods! Thank you from the bottom of all our hearts

for your vital support!”

will again start meeting on a

regular basis, the second

Monday of the month at

2:00pm. Let them know if this

works for you. They would love

to have you join them .

Prayer shawls are tangible symbols of love. They are

warm hugs of empathy and support; a private place of

escape in which to rest, relax, and renew; something to

hold on to when all else seems to be slipping away.

Wrapping others in shawls made with prayer and loving

thoughts is the gift. Prayer begins in the heart and the

creation of a prayer shawl is a spiritual journey of

prayer for the shawl maker.

We designate the first Sunday of the

month as “Food Bank Sunday”

But we gladly except donations anytime.

February - 34 pounds of food and $120

Total for the year

149 pounds of food and $120

We're off to a good start.

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To Benefit Brownsville School “Green Garden”

& CK Food BankBrownsville UMC will receive a percentage of the

profits for items sold from 4-8pm. Bring your family, tell your friends! Come and enjoy the

wonderful seafood and chowder while supporting your sister UMC. Located at 10725 Silverdale Way NW, Between NW Myhre Rd and NW Randall Way

Tuesday April 19th 4pm to 8pm

Jeanne Worthington invites you to a Musical Tea Party at her

senior community (Park Plaza) in Walla Walla, WA

Thursday, March 31, 2-4PM

Guest Musician performing your favorites

Roberta Daniel, Tracyton UMC musician RSVP Jeanne Worthington 1400 Dales Military Road Apt 126 Walla Walla WA 99382 (phone:360-692-2202(Jeanne's phone number) For detailed directions to Park Plaza/Phone number 509-740-3085

Worship Times 8:30am Early Service

9:45am Adult Sunday School 10:00am Children’s Sunday School

11:00am Late Service

T r a c y t o n U n i t e d M e t h o d i s t C h u r c h

M a r c h 2 0 1 6 T r a c y t o n T i d i n g s

M a r c h 2 0 1 6 T r a c y t o n T i d i n g s

We are a multi-generational community growing together in the grace,

love and service of God. Children are welcome at all services. Should you desire, a

nursery is available for children 5 years and under at the 11:00am service.

On the Fifth Sunday of any month,

One Worship Service only at 10:00am

followed by a potluck lunch.