PASTOR’S PEN . . .
by Pastor Dave Templin

Perhaps you’ve heard about it… the pastor is taking a sabbatical this year.  But… what is a sabbatical?

Briefly, “sabbatical” relates to “Sabbath,” or a time of rest before the Lord on a regular basis – usually achieved every seventh day (Sunday worship, etc) or week, month, or year.  It is a time of refreshment and rest. 
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by Kurt Imbach

We are going to need your help!  No, I am not after money – praise the Lord for the great faithfulness of the congregation in that regard.  What I am looking for is people.  People who are beginning to feel a growing sense of vision, interest, and restlessness pulling them toward being a more integral part of what we all are beginning to recognize as a new and powerful work of the Holy Spirit among us. 
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Youth News From Justin . . .
by Justin Ross

THE SECOND MILE

For a long time, people have thought that Christianity always has a catch. It’s that little hesitancy that people have in the back of their minds that’s just waiting for that all-too-familiar Christian punch line. I see this each summer as we take the youth group on our summer mission trips.  People just cannot understand why teenagers would use part of their summer break to work on their house- for free!  The reason is like Jesus said, “Even the ungodly love their family and friends—you’ve got to step it up even more” (my paraphrase, of course). Still they don’t get it, and that part they don’t get—it's grace.
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Stephen Ministry Needs YOU!

“Christ Caring FOR People, THROUGH People”

Do you desire the personal joy that comes from sharing Christ’s love with people?  Would you like to learn to help others while growing in your understanding of yourself?   Do you have a  desire to be intimately involved in a ministry of your own, but just didn’t know how, or where, or with whom?
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Join your church family for the annual congregational meeting on Feb. 12 in Heritage Hall.  Dinner will be at 5:30 P.M., with the business meeting to follow.  And, at long last, we will dedicate and celebrate the new kitchen!  Dinner will be provided, but we will need a few additional desserts.  There will be a sign-up sheet in Heritage Hall.  If you have any questions, please contact Terry Smith.
 

40 People of Purpose – A New Study During Lent

Plan now to be part of a special Purpose-Driven® study beginning on Ash Wednesday, March 1st.  Each day we will ask you to read a short devotional from the book “40 People of Purpose.”  We will meet every Wednesday from March 1 through April 5, beginning the evening with dinner at 5:30 followed by a presentation of the purpose-theme for the week and some lively discussion of lessons to be learned from various Biblical characters who lived out God’s purposes.  We plan to complete each evening’s activity by 7:00 p.m. so the choir people can practice, too. 

BONUS!  Justin and Nicole Ross are planning a great children’s activity to take place in Fellowship Hall during each evening’s discussion time.  So bring the kids for dinner, enjoy some family time with your church family, and grow in God’s purposes for you!

AND we are inviting all the Life Groups to focus together on this fellowship and study for the Lenten season.  This will strengthen us all as we grow together in God’s purposes for us as His church.

BOOKS will be available soon.  The purchase cost to us is $8.50 each.  If you are able to donate that to cover the cost, we thank you for your help.  However, we want everyone involved to have a book, so be sure to get one!

Look for more information in the weekly worship bulletins as the Lenten season draws near!

                                                                             --For the WPC staff,  Pastor Dave
 

Peace, Unity and the Purity of the Church

(The following was received from North Puget Sound Presbytery.  You are invited to attend this meeting.  You must pre-register to get lunch.)

The February Stated Meeting of North Puget Sound Presbytery will feature a final report presentation, discussion and worship with members of the Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church.  The 213th (2001) General Assembly appointed a Theological Task Force to lead the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. in a process of spiritual discernment to discover how the church might find peace, unity and purity in light of matters that “unite and divide us,” including the issues of Christology, biblical authority & interpretation, sexuality, ordination standards, and power.  Members of the Task Force were chosen to and do represent the full spectrum of biblical and theological views within the PCUSA.  We are fortunate to have members of the Task Force with us on Saturday, February 25th.

Task Force Reports have been mailed to all ministers and churches.  Additional copies, plus Spanish and Korean versions are available at http://pcusa.org/peaceunitypurity/finalreport.htm.

All ministers, commissioners, elders and interested church members are urged to attend.

Housing and meals will be available only to those who pre-register:

     Friday

          6:00 P.M.—Dinner at Everett First Presbyterian (for those who pre-register)

          7:00 P.M.—Presbytery Business Meeting

      Saturday

          8:00 A.M.—Continental Breakfast @ Everett First

          9:00 A.M.—Task Force Presentation

         12:00 P.M.—Lunch, Everett First (for those who pre-register) 

          3:00 P.M.—Worship  

 Housing:  in area church member homes or nearby hotel at special rate.

 Registration forms are available in the church office.  Stop by or phone or e-mail to request one.  You may also call Dean Strong, Stated Clerk, for more information, at npspclerk@speakeasy.net, 425-355-0922, 866-355-0922 toll free, 425-355-0165 fax.
 

Our Bible studies are going well.  The morning study of Romans will meet on Feb. 2 at 10:30 in the Blue House.  Please read Romans 9 - 11.

The evening Bible study is on lesson 6 and meeting in the Blue House at 7:00 P.M. on Feb. 8.

There are no boutique workshops yet; we’re trying to plan with the new kitchen.  We would like to keep the boutique all in the main room in Heritage Hall.  More discussion will follow and ideas are welcome.

Please join us for the February 16 meeting at noon.  Bring a sack lunch and we will provide dessert.  New members, and others who are curious, all that’s needed to join P. W. is an interest in:  the Bible, mission of the church worldwide, and a caring community of women.  May we recognize and embrace our gifts from God.  
 

February 2, 10:30 a.m., Bible Study - Blue House

February 8, 7:00 p.m., Bible Study - Blue House

February 16, Noon, Meeting - Heritage Hall

Please check the bottom of laundry baskets
for church table cloths.  We are missing a few.

Thanks!

The Barnabas Group and the Prime Time Group will conduct combined meetings over the next several weeks in Heritage Hall at noon.  The schedule is as follows:

      Jan. 31– Combined meeting, with a showing of the first half of the DVD “Ghosts of Rwanda.

      Feb. 7—Combined meeting, Tracy Stone of Rwanda Partners to be the speaker.

      Feb. 14—Combined meeting, and the second half of “Ghosts of Rwanda” will be shown.

      Feb. 21—Combined meeting, with Don Mowat of World Concern to present a talk.

      Feb. 28—Prime Time will meet in the Blue House.

In March, the regular schedule will resume, with Prime Time meeting on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays in the Blue House, and Barnabas Group meeting on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays in Heritage Hall.  Both groups meet at noon.  Everyone is welcome.
 

The Rev. Dr. Marta Bennett is a clergy member of the Presbytery of Seattle, where she served as an intern, and then later as a parish associate at University Presbyterian Church for 12 years prior to leaving for Kenya. 

Dr. Bennett serves with Daystar University in Nairobi, Kenya.  Daystar is a multidenominational Christian university, with accreditation through the Kenyan government.  Marta teaches at the graduate level in biblical and religious studies, Christian ministries, and leadership development.  Marta is herself in the process of earning an M.A. in African Studies at Tangaza College in Kenya.

Marta has adopted two Kenyan children:  A boy, Justin Kefa Wangai Bennett, and a girl, Sara Imani Njeri Bennett.  They live with her in Nairobi.
 

For more information or to pick up a brochure, see Mollie B. or Norm M.
 

Something to Think About—Wills and Endowments

Most of us spend a great deal of time making plans for our future, yet many of us have not taken the time to plan for what happens to our property and other blessings after our lifetime.  No one knows why we procrastinate over such an important issue.  Estate planning is not an unmanageable task, yet some may avoid it because it makes our mortality a reality.  Ask yourself the following questions to get a start on planning your estate.

1)  Do you have a current will?  Your will is the way you can specify who gets what from your estate.

2)  If you have a will, have you reviewed it within the last 5 years?  Change in net worth, a move to another state, deaths and births, changes in the law are all events that may cause your will to be out-of-date.  Reviewing your will every few years will assure that your plans are kept up-to-date.

3)  Have you made a list of all your assets and liabilities?  The list will be helpful for the executor of your estate.  The difference between your assets and liabilities, minus administrative, taxes and other costs, is what your beneficiaries will receive.  How your property is held, for example, as community property, in joint tenancy, or in trust, will also make a difference in your planning.  Also, depending upon the size of your estate, bequests to a charitable organization such as Whidbey Presbyterian Church may reduce the estate tax your estate would have to pay.

4)  Do you have a durable power of attorney for both legal and medical purposes?  Who would make decisions concerning your legal or medical affairs in the event that you were mentally or physically disabled and unable to make your own decisions?  You generally would want to make it possible for a trusted family member or close friend to act on your behalf in that event.

5)  Have you named charitable beneficiaries to receive a gift from your estate?  This is your opportunity to make a charitable gift that reflects your charitable intentions.  You may designate a specific amount for Whidbey Presbyterian or a percentage of the estate.  The gift can be given outright to the church to be used as determined by Session or you can name a cherished program or mission of the church to be supported throughout the coming years through an ongoing endowment or memorial fund administered by the Whidbey Presbyterian Church Wills/Endowment Committee.

Contact a member of your Wills/Endowment Committee if you have questions.  We will be happy to assist in any way that we can.  (Jim Petersen, Will Williams, Joan Bell, Tom Asmus, Von Summers, Mike Sullivan, Kathryn Powell, Bob Swetnam, Robert Taylor, and Jim Kotschwar).
 

T

We are appreciative of everyone who has contributed to the WPC church library by purchasing items at His Place Christian Bookstore, however, we have learned that as of January, the “church library builder plan” is no longer available due to a steady decline in sales at His Place over the last few years.

If you have questions or suggestions related to the church library, please feel free to pass them along to Nancy Hodges Hughes or Becky Bolte, church librarians.
 

One of the busiest committees at Whidbey Presbyterian is Christian Education, chaired by Elder Caroline Lokkins.  From pre-school through adults, this important team has as its mission statement “to provide quality Christ-centered opportunities for all.”

Having served as Sunday School Superintendent for three years, Suzie DuPuis has requested to be released from that position.  Thank you, Suzie, for a wonderfully successful term.  Now, the committee is seeking a new superintendent.

Future plans for this team include an evaluation of the Rotation Sunday School at the end of the second year, as of June, 2006.  Also, a mission trip for high school students is planned for August 6-15.  This will be the DCLA Conference to be held in Anaheim, California.

We are fortunate to have this dedicated committee oversee the “Christ-centered” education of youth and adults.  Committee members are:

Becky Bolte, Anita Juan

Suzie DuPuis, Nichole Ross

Heidi Figgs, Justin Ross

Elder Caroline Lokkins
 

Welcome to the guy who helps us get clean!  We’re happy to have Rick Caldwell on board as our new custodian.  Rick began his WPC career on Tuesday, January 17.

He is single and lives in Coupeville, where he’s lived for about a year.  He has no family in the area, but his parents and two sisters and a brother live close by in Portland.  Rick himself was born and raised in the Portland area.

For fun, Rick paints and does crafts.  When asked what he would want his new church family to know about him, he said, “I’m glad to be here, and I love Jesus.” 

Stop and introduce yourself when you see him around the church and office.  We hope he’ll be here a good long time!
 

Our sympathies and prayers to Marilyn Arnsberger,  and friends and family of  her husband, Jim, who passed away on January 17.  Services were held on January 26 in our sanctuary. 

We also offer our condolences and prayers to the family and friends of Thelma Long, who passed away on January 20.  Services were held on January 24 at Burley’s Funeral Chapel.

Ruth Smith, a former long-time member, died December 23, 2005 in Sterling, Colorado where she had moved several years ago.  She was 93 years old.  She made the Christmas banners that are hung every year in the sanctuary.