Continuing Through Sunday, Oct. 11 Meaningful Movies Social Justice Film Festival, from Oct. 1-11. Learn more at https://www.socialjusticefilmfestival.org/.
TONIGHT, Wednesday, Oct. 14: Lectio Divina practice, 6 - 6:20 p.m. in Keystone Zoom.
TONIGHT, Wednesday, Oct. 14: Parables Study: reading the book Short Stories by Jesus. Introduction, plus chapter 1 (+ aspirational: Ch. 2, and 3!) 6:30 p.m. in Keystone Zoom.
Wednesday, Oct. 21: Lectio Divina practice, 6 - 6:20 p.m. in Keystone Zoom.
Wednesday, Oct. 21: Keystone Story Night, telling tales under the theme of Transcendence, 6:30 p.m. in Keystone Zoom.
Wednesday, Oct. 28: Lectio Divina practice, 6 - 6:20 p.m. in Keystone Zoom.
Wednesday, Oct. 28:Concerns of the World, new gathering time dedicated to sharing our worries and hopes about the world around us. 6:30 p.m. in Keystone Zoom.
Wednesday, Nov. 4: Green Team meeting, 6:30 p.m. in Keystone Zoom. Topics: debrief or continuing to debrief the election?! Jim Antal's book : Ch. 5 & 6. Come join Green Team action planning.
Wednesday October 14: 20 minutes contemplative practice
Tonight and each Wednesday evening, come into the Keystone online space for a little reflection on scripture. We meditate on the upcoming Sunday passage from 6-6:20 p.m. using a practice called Lectio Divina, for a type of centering prayer.
Tonight strengthen your Spirit with a small group of others with Pastor Lauren. We will have a few moments to pray over this coming Sunday 10/18 scripture: to hear something new in those old commandments Words for Living Exodus 20 Rich’s theme for Sunday is “Rules for the Road.”
Look for the ‘cheat sheet’ in your email, or email Pastor Lauren: lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org for the Zoom link. Bring a favorite Bible if you like!
Prayers of the People - lifted October 11
Please continue to add your prayers for these lifted during online worship together:
As people on a journey, may we follow You O God, to do things right, to love neighbor, earth, and self.
Give all those fighting voter suppression, great strength and all cleverness, as we help all votes count.
For new caregivers, we give thanks, for those wanting to serve, with hearts open, who work with a presence of love.
For all bravely facing mental illness or depression, to discern away from posting fear and conspiracy, and toward a knowing that distancing need not be isolation, that we can help promote health.
Our loved ones in procedures & treatments, for healing breakthroughs, for strength, for doctors.
For us to bring loving care to those sick; for us all to engage in action to change our systems.
Holy God, in your mercy ... hear our prayers!
These prayers are crafted to carry a sense of the ones shared in worship to our whole community, in the spirit in which they were given, but not in specifics, as we guard our community's privacy. Also welcome: send Rev. Lauren a note during the week with any prayer request. We are happy to incorporate it into our online worship (if you may not be up for voicing it).
Contact Keystone's pastors for any pastoral concerns (contact info is below and at the bottom of this newsletter)
Prayers/ celebrations to include in the newsletter? Pastor Rich (keystone5019@gmail.com), & Pastor Lauren: lauren.cannon@keystoneseattle.org, or text/ call: 773.501.7382 & Pastor Yuki: (yuki.schwartz@keystoneseattle.org)
Faith Formation is getting crafty - its fall! For Families...
Keystone families - we continue to find fun ways to stay connected, even when we miss having in person StoryTime, in the church classroom, with our children's teacher Anita. Since Keystone kids are not able to play at church for a while yet… nor share communion with everybody, nor bust out to the Keystone playground... we are keeping hope alive at home, in some other ways! Look out for a little package coming from your church staff! We are pausing our Zoom story times for October & November Sundays, while everyone is online so much @ school. Here comes some activities for building more crafty time at home instead!
And please keep helping the kids make surprise appearances or acrobatics at church zoom coffee hours and break out groups whenever you wish! Your children are especially missed, & are always truly truly welcomed, when they can say hi!
More conspiring: next up: podcast is brewing: email Pastor Lauren & Anita!
PS-
If you got here, looking for adult faith formation: get your copy of this book, for our fall study: Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi by Amy-Jill Levine.! Next meeting is November 11 @ 6:30 pm
Pastor Yuki Appointed as Theology Faculty at Claremont School of Theology
Dear friends, I know that many of you were at church last week when I announced my good (and sad!) news: I have been awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the Louisville Institute to teach theology at Claremont School of Theology at Willamette University in Salem, Ore. I did not expect nor plan for this award, but it comes as part of a new effort by the Louisville Institute, and the Lilly Foundation, which funds church engagement and transformation in the US, to help scholars such as myself get placements to teach and do scholarly research during this pandemic era, when so many institutions of higher learning have had to cut budgets and faculty because of the decrease in enrollments.
You can read more about my new placement at Claremont School of Theology’s web site.
The sad part of this means that I will have to leave Keystone as one of your pastors, since the appointment to Claremont is a full-time job. I am very sad to have to leave, since I’ve experienced such love and support from this wonderful community in the three years that I’ve been here. You have taught me so much about the different ways to show up in the world to do justice, especially through advocacy whether it’s through text-banking, sending letters, or showing up in Olympia to badger our elected officials to do good! You helped me connect the good news of the gospel to the good news of the work that we do.
My last day at Keystone will be Nov. 30, and I look forward to spending the next several weeks continuing in this journey with you to be good news in the world.
Yours in love and hope,
Pastor Yuki