Wedgwood Presbyterian Church

The Apostle is an intense film about a preacher whose life spins out of control and how he copes with it. The movie is rated PG-13 so it is not suitable for young children. Please let Karen or Jennifer know if you would like to attend and need childcare. Healthy snacks will be provided. Door opens at 6:00pm, the movie will start at 6:30pm.

For me, one of the most troubling aspects of prayer is the question of why some prayers are answered and some are not. Perhaps it troubles you as well. For Quaker minister Richard Foster, the reason some prayer is unanswered or is answered in the negative rests in our humanity. We are finite creatures who cannot in this lifetime fully know the will or purposes of God.  In “Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home,” Foster speaks of the prayer of relinquishment, which he describes as “a grace-filled releasing of our will and a flowing into the will of the Father.” As an example of this type of prayer, Foster points to Jesus praying passionately and desperately in the Garden of Gethsemane for the suffering of the cross to be removed from him, and then, in almost the same breath, praying for God’s will to be done. Foster writes, “Here we have the incarnate Son praying through his tears and not receiving what he asks. Jesus knew the burden of unanswered prayer.” Somehow Foster’s words ca

Contact Cil Pierce for information to volunteer. Wednesdays: February 9th and 16th Wedgwood is staffing the “Resource Room” at Sandpoint Housing, where transitional housing people come to pick up household items like sheets, blankets, cups, dishes, etc. for their apartments/rooms. All you do is greet them, mark down what they took, etc. 6pm to 8pm. Emergency Feeding Program Food Packing Party! February 11th Join Mission and Social Concern Committee members at the Emergency Feeding Program (EFP) Friday afternoon, February 11th from 3:30 – 5pm to help pack food bags for the needy. We did this last year and it was good fun, and quite helpful to them. EFP provides food to many social service agencies throughout King County who provide food and shelter for the needy. We’ll have a car leaving church at 3pm for anyone who wants to carpool with us. They are located in the one block off Martin Luther King Way in Rainier Valley (directly behind the Chase Bank building on the corner of MLK a

Walk, Run or Bike First Date – Saturday, February 5 Starting at 10:00am You’re invited to come join us at 10:00am on February 5th at Matthews Beach Park to walk, run or bike. We’ll gather at the east end of the Matthews Beach parking lot. You decide what personal type of locomotion you would like to do; running, walking or biking. The goal is for us to spend time in fellowship as small groups of us walk, run or bike. We’ll exercise on the first and third Saturday in the months of February, March and April. Feel free to convey your interest and questions to me or just show up at the Matthews Beach parking lot, Sand Point Way NE and NE 93rd St. Look for Adam H., Pastor Karen B., and Mike S. They will be the leader contacts at the Matthews Beach meeting spot. We’ll meet rain or shine, but not snow! -Jennifer H., 206-525-8787 or jennifer@wedgpres.org

Book Recommendations Prayer is at the heart of our life of faith. It is the way we find ourselves moving deeper into God’s presence and being transformed into the people God created us to be. It is intentional communication with God – speaking our concerns, singing our praises, listening, discerning, communing. There are a multitude of good books on the subject, but I’m going to focus on just two. Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home by Richard J. Foster is a classic. Written almost 20 years ago, the work holds great value for us today. Presbyterian minister and author, Eugene Peterson has this to say about Prayer . “Richard Foster takes us into the huge forest of prayer and names each tree, points out what is distinctive in each bush and flower. After a few hours in his company, the profusion of detail that at first overwhelmed and bewildered us now delights us, pulling us deeper into the forest . . . .” In his book, Foster groups prayer into three types: inward, upward, and o

Session has chosen a theme for 2011. It is “Where is God: Finding Emmanuel in Everyday Life.” Our hope is that in the course of the year, we will be able not only to explore the ways we find and see God in our lives but that we will also deepen our awareness of God’s presence in the process. “Where is God: Finding Emmanuel in Everyday Life” is a broad theme, one that encompasses so much of how we live, work and worship. In order to help us more fully explore our theme, the Session has named an area of focus for each month. Through these areas of focus, we will consider how we meet and experience God a variety of different ways. The areas of focus are: February – prayer March – suffering/the cross April – resurrection May – worship and sacraments June – family July – play/joy August – creation September – work and school (vocation) October – music November – the church December – the incarnation There are several ways that we are hoping to highlight the are