Finding Peace In 2026
By Phil Rushton
Lead Pastor
“Acquire inward peace, and thousands around you will find their salvation.”
- St. Seraphim of Sarov
The new year is often a reflective time for me. I took some time over the holidays to do an annual Examen prayer. I looked back over the past year in gratitude and confession and looked ahead to the year to come, seeking God’s guidance and leading. One of the things I lamented about 2025 is how much time I spent worrying about things I couldn’t really change. The longing I have for 2026 is to live a life that is freer from fear and anxiety. I would like more peace in my life!
On Christmas Eve, I explored how we might live into scripture’s call to not be afraid. This imperative shows up hundreds of times in the scriptures. Jesus repeats this refrain regularly. In John 14:27, he says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” In Matthew 6:25, he says, “Do not worry about your life.” While these words provide comfort, they also seem elusive and unattainable. On what grounds are we able to live at peace when the world is full of suffering, pain, and loss?
I believe our ability to overcome fear requires that we find a source of peace that cannot be threatened by death or loss. Johann Christoph Arnold writes, “The only way to truly overcome our fear of death is to live life in such a way that its meaning cannot be taken away by death.” This sounds a lot like Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus’ command to not worry is connected to his call to not trust in the things of the world, where moths and rust destroy, and thieves break in and steal. Peace emerges when we live for the eternal and imperishable kingdom of God.
To find peace, then, we need a change of allegiance. One of the titles of the messiah is Prince of Peace. Addison H. Leitch writes, “Our trouble is that we want the Peace without the Prince.” While we want peace, we are often less ready to let God have full rule and reign over our hearts and lives. We continue to enthrone the idols of this world that are vulnerable to death and loss. If we put our trust in achievement, money, beauty, or worldly power, our peace will be contingent on something that is temporary and precarious. Even if we have some of these things in our life, we will be on edge about the prospect of losing them. True peace requires that we dethrone the idols that rule our hearts, and enthrone the true Prince of Peace!
Our journey towards peace in Christ is not simply good for us personally; it benefits the world around us. As St Seraphim of Sarov notes, the acquisition of inner peace will have a ripple effect on thousands around us. When you think about it, the roots of so much violence, discord, and division in our world can be traced back to a troubled and fearful heart.
We likely have many longings for our lives and for our world this year. In light of these longings, we often try to find practical solutions for personal or social change. Practical action is not without merit. It is helpful to set goals and translate our hopes and goals into tangible actions. I suspect, however, that the deeper longings we have for peace within and peace without require that we begin by attending to the state of our hearts.
Perhaps you might begin 2026 by reflecting on the following questions:
What is causing you fear and anxiety right now?
Who or what is ruling or guiding your life?
To what do you give your highest allegiance?
Are you living in such a way that the meaning of your life cannot be threatened by death or loss?
How does a life committed to Jesus alleviate your deepest fears?
God Bless,
Pastor Phil
A Deep Dive
The recent Ken Burns series on the American Revolutionary War revealed to me how little I actually knew about that war waged long ago.
Similarly, participating on the first Sankofa immersive experience offered by the Evangelical Covenant (our denominational family) 26 years ago revealed to me how little I knew about the civil rights movement and the lived experience of African Americans even today. The three day experience brought us to places that frankly, I would never have thought of going: Selma, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Birmingham, and more.
Now, 26 years later, hundreds of Covenant people, including scores of leaders, have made a Sankofa journey…
By Mark Olson
Member of Christian Formation Team
The recent Ken Burns series on the American Revolutionary War revealed to me how little I actually knew about that war waged long ago.
Similarly, participating on the first Sankofa immersive experience offered by the Evangelical Covenant (our denominational family) 26 years ago revealed to me how little I knew about the civil rights movement and the lived experience of African Americans even today. The three day experience brought us to places that frankly, I would never have thought of going: Selma, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Birmingham, and more.
Now, 26 years later, hundreds of Covenant people, including scores of leaders, have made a Sankofa journey. Additionally, new immersive opportunities have developed: Journey to Mosaic (a dive into Asian, Native, Black, and Island cultures), Journey to the Border (experiencing the crisis at the Southern border), and Weaving Justice and Peace in a Wounded Land (an indigenous learning experience). These provide opportunities to grow spiritually and culturally. Our regional conference offered one for high school students just a few months ago, and 50 students participated, along with 20 leaders. Click here to view a video recap.
These are immersive experiences: intense, confrontative, challenging. A variation on the practice of retreats, long a staple of Christian communities.
A surprising number of people at BCC have participated in one of these opportunities, including John Kerl, Letha Kerl, Dave Benedict, Kathy Sellereit, Christine Keiper, Diane Hawkins, Pastor Adria, and Doreen Olson. Doreen co-led several when she was working for the Covenant.
The next Sankofa is scheduled for February 19-22, 2026. It originates and concludes in Atlanta. You will visit museums, historic sites in the civil rights movement, churches, and more. People are paired with someone else, preferably a person from a different ethnic background.
Here is what a few of the BCC prior participants have had to say about their Sankofa or Journey to Mosaic experiences (and feel free to ask them questions you may have):
“This experience was life changing for me in opening my eyes to the past and current suffering around me, and began to teach me about the spiritual meaning of lament: break my heart for the things that break yours, Jesus.” — Diane Hawkins
“‘Walk a mile in his shoes’ is just a cliche until you've actually done it; to visit the church where children were killed in a KKK bombing and to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma with an African American friend, and then to process together late into the night changes you.” — Dave Benedict
“I participated in Journey to Mosaic in November 2019. Listening to stories and visiting the sites of several ethnic groups in the PNW gave me a window into the lives of people who have suffered from prejudice, and then in turn how I can be a part of the healing process of reconciliation in the Body of Christ. Being able to look back at history and lament the wrongs while at the same time look forward to the future with hope is what the experience meant to me." — Kathy Sellereit
“Being the son of a remorseful Southern mother, who grew up in white privilege in the midst of the Jim Crow South, whose grandparents owned slaves and fought from start to finish for the Confederacy, I had only heard about the South through the stories my mother told me (since I actually grew up in Edmonds). Climbing on the Sankofa bus in Chicago on a cold January afternoon and finding my seat next to my African-American, Covenant pastor began a journey that took me to the other side of life in America for our African-American sisters and brothers. This was one of the most powerful, impactful and deeply meaningful experience of my life. — John Kerl
For more information, visit the Sankofa page on the Covenant website. Or talk to one of the people above who have done Sankofa. Partial scholarships are available and Pastor Adria can help access those resources. Dates have not been announced yet for the next Pacific Northwest Conference Journey to Mosaic.
When I was working at North Park University the University Ministries office began sponsoring an annual Sankofa experience for students. The trip filled up every year. A decade or more later I would sometimes come across a graduate and would ask if he or she did Sankofa. Without exception, if the answer was yes, they would say something like this: “It was the most important experience of my life.”
Photos:
Letha Kerl and her trip partner in front of the The National Civil Rights Museum, located at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. John Kerl and his trip partner on the group bus.
FROM YOUR BCC LIBRARY
One of the most delightful books I’ve read in quite a while is Road to Courage: A Boy’s Adventures on America's Last Frontier, by BCC member Roy Taylor. This true-life adventure is recounted from the perspective of four-year-old Roy who journeyed with his parents and adventuresome, slightly-older brother to build a church in the village of Valdez on the Alaskan frontier. Traveling the Alcan highway, much of it no more than gravel and potholes, proved to be something of a hair-raising adventure in itself.
By Nancy Henderson
One of the most delightful books I’ve read in quite a while is Road to Courage: A Boy’s Adventures on America's Last Frontier, by BCC member Roy Taylor. This true-life adventure is recounted from the perspective of four-year-old Roy who journeyed with his parents and adventuresome, slightly-older brother to build a church in the village of Valdez on the Alaskan frontier. Traveling the Alcan highway, much of it no more than gravel and potholes, proved to be something of a hair-raising adventure in itself.
When, at last, they arrived in Valdez, they found life in the village to be as challenging as their journey to get there. Mere survival required hunting, fishing, cutting timber and preparing it for use, and preparing and storing food for the long winter. Roy’s memoir paints a picture of his courageous, determined family and the faith that sustained them as the preschool brothers worked alongside their father to construct a log church—without power tools.
Amid their struggles and adventures, they found new friends, helpers to share their challenges and their fun, and a community to brighten their first dark winter and Christmas in their new home.
This new addition to our BCC library is inspiring and entertaining, and I eagerly await the sequel. You’ll find this award-winning book in the Biography section.
A Playful Christmas
The recent Ken Burns series on the American Revolutionary War revealed to me how little I actually knew about that war waged long ago.
Similarly, participating on the first Sankofa immersive experience offered by the Evangelical Covenant (our denominational family) 26 years ago revealed to me how little I knew about the civil rights movement and the lived experience of African Americans even today. The three day experience brought us to places that frankly, I would never have thought of going: Selma, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Birmingham, and more.
Now, 26 years later, hundreds of Covenant people, including scores of leaders, have made a Sankofa journey…
By Megan Mattix
Children and Family Ministries Director
A big thank you to all who participated in the children and youth Christmas play on December 14th! Our kids and youth did an amazing job helping to lead us in worship through songs and story, acting out the story of Jesus’ birth!
Special thank you to all the amazing parents and Grandparents who helped us stay organized, kept costumes in place, and got kids to rehearsal! We appreciate you!
Thank you to Julie Rushton and Melissa Mueller for all your costume organizing/creating, and logistical support. You ladies are a gift to this congregation and to me!
And thank YOU, congregation, for participating with us in singing along and watching with joy and care. The children of this church feel welcome and loved. Each of your smiles, high fives, and kind conversations in the halls add to a culture of welcome for the kids of this church. They feel it, and so do I. We are so grateful for you!
Enjoy some photos from our Christmas Nativity Program!
Many blessings in the new year to you and yours,
Megan Mattix
Up Next…
Life Together Resumes
Sunday, January 4
10:45-11:45 am
*Classes for children, youth, and adults resume in various rooms
Small Group Leaders Gathering
Sunday, January 4
10:45 AM in Classroom C
Vespers Evening Service
Sunday, January 4
7:00 pm in the Sanctuary
*Vespers is a contemplative evening worship service of scripture, singing, and prayer, in the style of Taizé.
Prime Timers
Thursday, January 15th
12:30 pm in the dining room
*Join this great group of retired age folks for a potluck lunch in the BCC dining room. Contact Jim Bruns for more information at (360) 393-1403.