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From our Pastors: Bryon Hansen

Friends in Christ,

The coronavirus pandemic has changed our lives in so many ways. During this time, in conversations with

PRLC members and others, people have rightly lamented the absence of personal interaction in community

and have also become more aware of how we need other people in our lives. Perhaps this longing and aware-

ness will yield good fruit. Our culture, so ensconced in individualism, may grow into a greater sense of com-

munity and neighborliness. Perhaps, too, with recent public protests over racial disparities and tensions in our

nation, we will come to value being in communion with people who are not just like us.

Holy Communion is central to our common life as Christians. More than generic community, this “common-

union” anchors us in Jesus Christ. Sadly, we cannot now meet. PRLC has followed the strong recommenda-

tion of our Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to refrain from meeting together for in person worship

and according to the guidelines issued by the state of Washington, we plan to worship again in person during

Phase 4 of the re-opening stages. King County has not yet entered Phase 2.

In this time of waiting we are free to lament our loss, name our longing, and even rejoice in hope because God

is with us, and we trust anew the promise that God will yet do a new thing.

God is with us

Not unlike our current experience, our ancestors in faith were in exile from their homeland and temple. Their

lament, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song upon an alien soil?” (Psalm 137:4) urged them to pray from their

location of displacement. Their placeholder lives necessitated new and different ways to practice the presence

of God, finding hope in the prophet’s visions and coming together in assembly away from the temple. They

found hope and joy even in exile.

Already, people have used their creative energies into new and different ways to practice faith through a varie-

ty of Zoom small group interactions and videotaped Sunday morning worship. In addition, this is a good time

to delve deeper into bible study and engage in in home prayer practices. We do not wait in a vacuum. We

have the resources of daily prayer, scripture and more to remember and rejoice in God’s near presence trust-

ing that “… neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come … will sepa-

rate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:34-35)

Discerning the body

When writing to the church in Corinth, St. Paul advised people to wait. The circumstances were different that

our current circumstances, but Paul called out those in the community who were celebrating the Lord’s Sup-

per without “discerning the body” (1 Corinthians 11). Instead of coming together to eat the Lord’s Supper,

some were eating their own suppers (and drinking a bit too much), failing to wait for others. Paul’s plea,

As we pray and think over the challenges and opportunities that await our church community in the months to come, many

diverse insights and points of view concerning our liturgical life are already being shared, both from among us and from the

wider church and world. As a way of furthering this conversation, our pastors each decided to give a frank overview of their

thoughts so far. Through this process of listening, working toward consensus, and trusting God and one another, we hope to

deepen our commitment to our common life and the mission of the church in the world.

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“when you come together to eat, wait for one another…” (1 Corinthians 11:33) was a call to cease practices

that were essentially excluding certain members of the body of the body of Christ.

Paul is speaking of a different kind of waiting than our current waiting but our impatient call to do a “virtual

communion” does essentially exclude members of the body. There are many members of the body who cannot

participate because they do not have access to virtual communication. Our current Sunday morning virtual

worship is a means of reaching out to many but it doesn’t reach all. Those without internet receive bulletins

and sermons in the mail. These are good means of proclaiming the Gospel. The public gathering of the assem-

bly around Word and Sacrament, however, must exclude no one.

The gathering of the Christian assembly is an in-person bodily encounter with one another. Singing, speaking, shar-

ing Christ’s Peace, being splashed with water, receiving healing prayers by the laying on of hands and anoint-

ing, and sharing bread and cup are all physical acts. In worship we employ all our senses to see and taste and

touch and hear Christ. Due to necessary social distancing we cannot now engage in these things. An essentially

communal, bodily and physical gathering cannot be replicated virtually.

Some suggestions around virtual communion include persons watching words spoken by a priest or pastor

over bread and cup and then eating bread and drinking wine from their homes. When Christ gathers us in

thanksgiving around the table, we share one loaf and drink from one cup. With St. Paul, we advise against

“going ahead with your own suppers.” A virtual communion may reach some, but most are excluded from the

central act of worship for the whole church. Moreover, Communion is not “consecrated” by holy words from

afar but instead by the entire action of “a people together in thanksgiving to God, remembering and proclaim-

ing the promise of Christ, excluding no one, and then turning to the needs of their neighbors.”1

We vow to love our neighbors

Recent messages on our PRLC reader board include “Love your neighbor. Wear a mask” and “Love your

neighbor by keeping distance.” In other words, to abide by the Governor’s guidelines to practice safety and

social distancing, we are protecting our neighbors from possible infection of the virus. These are real, im-

portant, and effective ways to love our neighbor.

A fast from the service of Holy Communion or the Eucharist is not like “giving something up” as a private spir-

itual practice, but, rather a communal and even public act that acknowledges our present crisis and finds us in

solidarity with our neediest neighbor. In short, it is an act of justice.

For now, we do not wait as those without hope but wait purposefully and prayerfully.

During this time, may God bless us with consolation and peace, soothe our anxious spirits and give us a re-

newed passion to “proclaim the good news of God in Christ in word and deed, serve all people following the

example of Jesus, and to strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”2

Pastor Bryon Hansen

1 Gordon Lathrop, “Assembly and Pandemic” 2 Affirmation of Baptism, Evangelical Lutheran Worship, p. 236

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One of the many gifts of PRLC is our use of the consensus model. Our church council operates under this

method, which means that instead of making decisions by “majority rules” voting, we work through each issue

until we have reached a conclusion that everyone can agree on. Consensus ensures that all voices are heard and

valued equally. If a person is not ready to come to consensus, we listen to their concerns and adapt our plan

until all are on board.

Pastor Hansen and I also function this way. As you may have noticed, the two of us are very different people. I

believe this is a strength of our ministry, because our unique personalities and skills complement one another

and help us create balance in our congregation, which hopefully serves our community well. I’ve often heard

from members that you love having different voices in preaching, teaching, and leadership.

Consensus, however, is not always easy. The truth is that our faith journeys are all different. If you ask any

two Christians, even two Lutherans, even two Lutheran pastors a theological question, you won’t hear one an-

swer. In matters of faith, there is no right and wrong, because our individual experiences shape our relation-

ship with God. Of course, we do follow a certain theological framework. We confess the Creed, are grounded

in Scripture, and have read the Book of Concord. Even these resources present us with contradictions and

leave us with questions. Our spiritual lives shift and grow and change throughout our whole lives. What an

exciting thing!

When it comes to the current matter of how and whether to administer Holy Communion, there is certainly a

range of opinions and approaches. Many of you have told us how hungry you are for the sacrament, and some

of you have asked us to find a creative way to make it possible, perhaps “drive up” communion, virtual com-

munion, or home communion. I am sure you know someone who is practicing communion in one of these

ways now. Pastor Hansen and I have had many rich conversations around this topic. We’ve both studied, at-

tended conferences, and talked with colleagues and our bishop. As it turns out, we have not reached consensus

on the best way forward.

My thinking around this topic continues to evolve. Personally, I am comfortable not receiving communion un-

til we can gather safely and together in worship. Yes, I miss it. But mostly I miss the full Body of Christ that is

our worshipping community. Communion by itself, without the liturgy (literally the “work of the people”)

would not satisfy me. It is in the context of corporate worship that we share peace, we offer our gifts, receive

elements to bless and share, and so much more. The bread and wine are only elements in the practice of mak-

ing Eucharist.

But I’ve also been learning what communion means to others, and why they would like to find some way to

receive it. As I’ve talked with many of you, I have found your theological perspectives to be thoughtful, faith-

ful, and profound. You’ve shared that you know communion is not about “just me and Jesus” or some magic

food that only a pastor can make come to life. No, you have told me that you truly believe that Christ is pre-

sent in the meal and that when we receive it, we are united with Christ and with all the saints of every time

and place. You want it because it would be one way to be in community with one another, even if physically

distanced. And you’ve told me that it nourishes you to go out into the world and feed the hungry, love your

enemy, comfort the sick, and strive for justice and peace. I believe these things, too.

From our Pastors: Anne Van Kley

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Furthermore, I believe the power of Christ to be present in the meal reaches far beyond our table in the sanc-

tuary. It reaches far beyond our church walls. It reaches far beyond a Sunday morning. It reaches far beyond

our human understanding! So of course, the presence of Christ can reach through your computer screens and

phone lines. It can reach you even when you’re alone in your home. Since I have never tried virtual commun-

ion, or communion at my table with my family only, I can’t judge the experience. But I know many people

who are doing it and they are being fed as mysteriously as always.

This pandemic has led me to question everything. I have been wondering why we do what we do, and what is

really essential, and what traditions we are holding onto just because we’ve never considered changing them. I

believe that God is calling us to new things during this pandemic. The Church is being challenged to rethink

who we are, how we worship, and what is central to our mission. So I cannot rule out the possibility that even

communion needs to change. If this were a matter of waiting just a month or even three, I would be quite con-

tent to wait. As it stands, though, it appears that it will not be safe to administer communion in our “usual”

way for a long time, maybe a year or more. When we do gather, it will first be with masks and social distance.

We won’t be sharing physical signs of peace or kneeling shoulder to shoulder around the table. Once we begin

sharing communion, we probably will do so in one kind only, meaning we will receive bread and not the cup.

All of this breaks my heart. It breaks Pastor Hansen’s, too.

Because it will be a very long time before we can do this safely, I think we do need to find a creative way to

make the sacrament available to all who desire it. I am certain that we will do this. I don’t yet know when or

how, but I trust that Pastor Hansen and I will continue to talk about this until we reach consensus. As ordained

Ministers of Word and Sacrament, it’s our calling to administer the sacrament, not to be its gate-keepers. We

are both equally committed to this calling and will work together to steward the sacrament, and all of our

worship life, as faithfully as we can.

We are choosing to share both of our perspectives with you because we believe our experience in being col-

leagues is something you all can relate to. In our world, there is so much division, disagreement, and conflict.

But we don’t have to fear that. We don’t have to retreat to our own little bubbles with people who think like

we do. We are called to remain in community, to listen, to respect others’ points of view, and to be open to

having our minds changed. We also are sharing because we want you to know that this is certainly something

that is on our hearts and minds. All of the decisions around church and worship are difficult; no pastor wants

to be away from our people. We are mourning. We are learning. We are working harder than ever before.

Most of all, we remain hopeful. We know that God has never left God’s people abandoned. We know that

Christ is risen and is with us here and now. We know that the Holy Spirit will continue to breathe life into the

Church and send us out in a mission of love for the world. We are not afraid or anxious about the future, be-

cause God is faithful, and so we continue on the journey. Sometimes it feels like a wilderness, for sure, but

wilderness is where God does some of God’s best work. I cannot wait to see how this time will bless and form

the Church into something new. And in the meantime, the gift of Christ’s presence, salvation, forgiveness,

and healing is still available to you, now and always. Pastor Hansen and I both invite you to be in prayer and

conversation with us about all of these things.

Pastor Anne Van Kley

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Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 11:00 am

The meeting will take place remotely, by telephone and online; connection information coming soon.

The Constitution and Bylaws that we ratified at our last congregational meeting—back in January, when the

world was so different—calls for two mandatory business meetings of the congregation every year: one in Jan-

uary, and one in April. April came and went this year, and for some good reasons having to do with COVID-

19, we never did have that meeting. But to stay in compliance with our constitution—and by extension, with

state law—we do still need to have it. And thanks to modern online conferencing technology, we can.

At 11:00 am on Sunday, June 28, after worship, we will gather electronically, by telephone, laptop, tablet, or

PC, with an agenda that includes:

• A report from the Endowment Committee

• An update on the sale of one the Phinney Houses

• An update on the parsonage remodeling project

• Re-opening considerations

• News about our incoming vicar

• Election of the 2020-2021 Congregation Council

Our new constitution calls for a quorum consisting of 20% of voting members. (Voting members are defined

as confirmed members who have communed in the congregation and have made a contribution of record dur-

ing the current calendar year.) That quorum is currently calculated at 91 – which is almost double what our

former constitution called for. If you are a voting member, please do your very best to attend. Watch for an

invitation next week with instructions for how to connect.

As we’ve said before: the church building is closed, but CHURCH is still open! See you at the meeting on June

28.

Congregational Election Meeting

CHURCH FINANCES May 2020 Year-to-Date 2020 2020 Budget YTD

Tithes, offerings, & other income $64,628 $409,161 $394,353

Expenses $72,842 $386,701 $385,785

CHURCH NET INCOME ($8,214) $22,459 $8,568

Church Picture Directory

Those of you who came in to have your photo taken last fall are probably wondering what ever became of the

planned directory. And the answer is: one blessed thing after another. Office personnel changes, operations

challenges – and let's not forget coronavirus – really derailed that project. The good news: we still have the

pictures, and we’re ready to pick up the project again. If your contact info has changed since last fall,

please call or email the church office (office@prlc.org) with updates, and we should have it for you sometime

this summer. Thank you for your patience!

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Proposed Congregation Council for

2020-2021

Our nominating committee has been hard at work this

spring finding outstanding candidates to fill council

positions for 2020-2021. The following candidates are

up for election:

EXECUTIVE COUNCIL

Brian Gruber, President (term expires July 2022)

Shannon McCarthy, Vice-President

(term expires July 2022)

Signe Roscoe, Secretary (term expires July 2021)

George Snelling, Treasurer (term expires July 2022)

MEMBERS-AT-LARGE

Jenn Boelter (term expires July 2023)

Renée Dudley (term expires July 2023)

Brian Kreger (term expires July 2021)

Matt Langston (term expires July 2023)

Trygg Magelssen (term expires July 2021)

Matthew Hendrickson will continue to serve his term as Mem-

ber-at-Large. (term expires July 2021)

AUDIT COMMITTEE

Peter Carlson, Janet Deters, and David Rice

Re-Opening Task Force

A Task Force for re-opening our church has met twice

and plans to meet again in late June. We are using the

counsel of our Bishop, Shelly Bryan Wee to abide by

Governor Inslee’s Phased Re-Opening Plan and to

create a thoughtful plan for how to open our congre-

gation, considering the guidelines put out by the Cen-

ter for Disease Control and the guidelines around so-

cial distancing. We are looking at re-opening as it ap-

plies to various aspects of congregational life and will

keep everyone updated. Members of the task force are

Brian Gruber, Jean Moody, Beth Ann Bonnecroy, Pat-

rick Meagher, Nicole Meyer, Pastor Anne, and Pastor

Bryon.

Sunday Worship

Please join our Zoom Watch Party at 10:00 a.m. on

Sunday morning for worship. Though we had planned

for livestreaming, we discerned that a prerecorded

service is a better option. However, we will now con-

tinue to film the service inside our worship space and

encourage everyone to tune in at 10:00. We will have

a full Morning Prayer liturgy with sermon. You are

invited to a Zoom Coffee Hour following the service.

The scripture readings for worship come from the Re-

vised Common Lectionary. Note the word common.

We share the Sunday readings with Christians from

several denominations. Another gift of the RCL is its

adaptability during these days known as “Ordinary

Time” where we have the option to do a “semi-

continuous” reading of the first lesson. The lessons

from Genesis will guide us through the journey of

God’s people in the very first book of the Bible. These

stories will be the focus of our Sunday School lessons.

Phinney Houses Update

The Phinney House Sale Team (Carolyn Hostetler and

Brian Gruber) has been hard at work with our realtor,

member Don Gibbons, to get 329 N 76th into shape

for sale. The coronavirus shutdown put a temporary

halt to the project, but once it was possible to freely

show the house to prospective buyers we found a great

deal of interest in the property. In early June it

was sold for substantially more than the $600,000 the

congregation had set as the minimum price, and the

sale is currently in the process of closing. Looks like

we’re going to have some new neighbors!

Its neighbor – our future parsonage at 333 N 76th – is

in the process of a complete remodel. Ty Lambrecht

of Ty Remodel has had his crews working steadily and

hard, working from designs drawn by member and

architect Cherry Snelling, and the transformation so

far is truly exciting. If all goes as planned, our associ-

ate pastor Anne Van Kley will move in with her family

in September!

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7500 Greenwood Avenue North Seattle, WA 98103

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TIME VALUE

Virtual Vacation Bible School with Phinney Ridge Lutheran Church August 10–14

We can stay home, stay safe, AND Jesus' power will STILL pull us through! ZOOM along the Rocky Rail-way with us August 10–14 daily at 10am. With videos, songs, stories, skits, experiments, snacks, discussions and much more we'll engage in online faith focused fun and exploration. Stay on track supply packs, in-cluding a t-shirt, music album, and lots of fun surpris-es will be provided for each participant. Cost per per-son is $30. Scholarships are always available if need-ed. Opportunities for safe and distanced in-person gatherings may be added as government and health guidelines progress and permit. Online registration will be available soon at prlc.org.