Lenten Ashes and Other Marks
Pastor Dan Baumgartner
Marks. If you are a Harry Potter fan, you’ll remember that evil Lord Voldemort’s band of “Deatheaters” were permanently marked on their forearms with a special sign. It clearly revealed to anyone that the bearer of the mark belonged to Voldemort...

The Upside-Down Gospel / Mark Russo
I longed to be in a weekly, small group of Christians....Instead, we landed in a group comprised of the homeless, the broken, the out-cast, and the working poor...

White Privilege - What Is It? / Pastor Lynne Faris Blessing
Bethany’s Race and Justice Team is inviting our congregation to gather with others from the region for a half-day seminar to wrestle with the issues of "white privilege" and "institutional racism."...

What If We No Longer Had Ushers? / Lisa Hudson
What would Bethany’s worship services be like if we no longer had ushers? We could just toss a stack of bulletins on a table near the entrance and become a self-service church. If people had questions about bathrooms or children’s classes they could figure it out on their own. And couldn’t we just mail in our financial contributions instead of having an offering during the service? ...

Boxes / Jill Bell, Elder for Prayer Ministries
Just a few months ago, Bethany held a Sunday Service of Prayer and Healing, which took the place of the regular 5 pm service. The service was a powerful time of witnessing the Lord's work in people's lives, seen through inspiring testimonies and joyful worship together...

New College Intern / Erin Mitchell
My name is Erin Mitchell and I am the new college intern. I am really excited about getting involved here at Bethany and especially so about working with the college students...

Children's Ministries

Thank You to our 9 am Volunteers
On Sunday, March 8, there will be a special "coffee" for all our 9:00 am Sunday School teachers, assistants, musicians, and buddies. Please drop into the Parlor anytime between 10:20 am and 11:00 am for coffee and treats. Your spouse, children, significant other, and roommate are invited, too.

The Amazing Jerusalem Makeover
Come experience "The Amazing Jerusalem Makeover". Rehearsals have begun every Tuesday (except Feb 17) from 4:15-5:15 pm in the parlor for the winter-spring musical for those presently in kindergarten through 9th grades. The show will be presented on Sat, April 18.

Families in Service - looking towards summer 2009
The Mexico trip (July 11-18) is for children 8 and older with a parent. We will be supporting the ministry of a Christian orphanage near Ensenada. The information meeting is Sunday, March 22 at 10:30 am in the Parlor. Cost (including flight to San Francisco): $725/person. Contact Dianne Ross for more info. The China/Hong Kong trip will be August 5-17. If interested, contact Julia Sensenbrenner (985-8838). The Esperanza Trip (Vancouver Island) is August 8-15. Cost: $100 per family plus transportation. An information meeting will be held Sun, March 29 in the Parlor during the first half of the service. Contact Delene DeForest-Dale or Mike Christensen for more information.

Partial scholarships are available for the Mexico and China/Hong Kong trip.

Upcoming Parent Forum
"Talking to your children about sexuality" is the subject of our next Parent Forum, which will take place on Sunday, March 15, at 10:45 am. Sponsored by the Children's Ministry team, this forum will focus on creating good open communication with your older elementary age children. We will have a variety of parents sharing, and there will be time for Q and A. Childcare is offered in our regular 10:45 am Children's Ministry programs.

On the Calendar
see interactive calendar for complete listing

Women's Bible Studies
Tuesdays, March 3, 17, 31., 9:30 am & 6:45 pm in the Parlor

Wednesday Night Dinner
Wednesdays in March, 5:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall

Healing Prayer
Sunday, March 1 & 15, after the 5 pm service in the Sanctuary.

Learn About Afghanistan
Sunday, March 7, 7:00 pm in the Parlor

Prayer for Honduras
Sunday, March 8, 12:15 pm in the Library

Welcome our New Members
Thurs, March 15, 9:00 am in the Sanctuary

Lenten Day of Prayer
Sat, March 28, 9:30 am - 4:00 pm at Rosary Heights in Edmonds

Session Notes
Gene Williams pointed us toward Christ by inviting us to pray the Psalms and then write our own as we consider the Bethany community. Steve Jones provided a financial update—we’re off to a fairly normal start to the new year. Todd Holdridge offered an update on the Dynamis course materials and video.

We met with Ryan White, who is under the care of Session and approved that he move to the next stage in the ordination process (Candidacy).

A discussion about the upcoming March Presbytery meeting and vote on sexuality and ordination standards followed. We chose representatives to attend and vote at the March Presbytery meeting.

The meeting was closed after we spent time in the sanctuary praying for people and marking each prayer by placing a stone into water in the baptismal font.

News & Notes

Births

• Serafina Jolene Wickline January 26
• Jack Lucas James January 29
• Collin Anthony Huizenga February 3
• Kieran Dao-Yuan Morgan Chen February 13