November 2023
Together In Mission
Monthly Reflections from BCC
The Cloud of Unknowing: Learning to Follow Jesus in a Complicated World
By Phil Rushton
Lead Pastor
“Peter, not even knowing what he was saying, blurted out, “Master, it’s wonderful for us to be here! Let’s make three shelters as memorials—one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 34 But even as he was saying this, a cloud overshadowed them, and terror gripped them as the cloud covered them. 35 Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. Listen to him.”When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone.- Luke 9:33-36
Last week I had the chance to gather with the Covenant Spiritual Directors Network at Cannon Beach. My colleague, David Robinson, led us through a retreat based on his current book on the medieval devotional classic The Cloud of Unknowing. As part of the retreat, we spent time meditating on numerous biblical texts that feature clouds. This particular text, quoted above, from the transfiguration story in the gospel of Luke captured my attention.
Peter has a mountain top experience where he sees the beauty and glory of God. His instinct is to build a shelter to try and preserve and contain this moment. “Lets make three shelters as memorials,” he says. However, God sends a cloud that obscures his vision. He is going to have to step out into the unknown and trust the voice of Jesus. God is too big to fit into the limited human structure that Peter wants to build.
As we navigate the complexities of life, there is something appealing about trying to have God contained and explained. Fundamentalism thrives in contexts of anxiety and fear. When we are scared and confused, we have a natural desire to want certainty and easy explanations that we can get our head around. Like Peter, we want to get to a place where we can arrive and stay put.
God, in his grace, does allow us moments of awareness. Sometimes we have beautiful mountaintop experiences where God seems clear and close. However, there is a danger in feeling like we have fully arrived or have God fully figured out. We may miss out on the deeper things that God wants to bring about in our life.
Earlier in the text, we read that Jesus is “speaking about his exodus from this world, which was about to be fulfilled in Jerusalem.” If Peter had his way and remained on the mountain, he would have missed out on the deeper liberating work that Jesus accomplishes through his death and resurrection.
This liberating work often requires us to come down off the mountain and navigate seasons of complexity, confusion, and suffering. There is grace in this cloud that overshadows Peter’s clarity and certainty. The obscurity of the cloud requires him to learn how to listen and trust the voice of God. This cloud requires him to maintain a posture of humble dependence and remain in relationship with God.
I’ve been thinking of how this text informs pastoral leadership. When I come to these monthly articles I often feel a self-imposed pressure to share a clear vision for where we are headed and what is on the horizon for us as a church. It is helpful to have goals and objectives. It is helpful to have a sense of vision for where we are going. To be sure, we are not without direction. We have been given the Great Commission and the Great Commandment to guide our steps. We are called to grow deeper in our love of God and neighbor. We are committed to the long journey of making disciples who learn to live like Jesus. Yet, there is also something healthy about maintaining enough humble openness to the mystery and the leading of the Lord, so that we do limit what God wants to do in our midst.
The invitation I am hearing from God these days is to continue the central work of helping us learn to hear the voice of God. There are so many things we could and should do as a Christian community. Our primary call, however, is to prioritize the centrality of listening to Jesus. We learn to discern the voice of God through our continued commitment to learning the scriptures and engaging in the practices of our faith.
After the cloud dissipates, we read, “When the voice finished, Jesus was there alone.” Christ alone is left. Christ alone is what we need to navigate whatever lies before us. The disciples aren’t left with a clear road map. They don’t come away from their retreat with a five year plan and clear goals and objectives. Instead, they descend back into the valley of real life walking close to Jesus and listening to his voice. May we, too, continue to step out into the unknowns and the complexities of this broken world with Jesus by our side. May we continue to learn together how to listen to his voice!
God Bless,
Pastor Phil
41st Annual BCC Holiday Bazaar
Saturday, November 11, 2023 ~ 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
By Gladys Clancy
Happy Fall, Everyone!
It's time once again for one of our community-wide events that brings over 2,000 guests into our church building in 7 busy hours! Many of you are already busy helping to prepare for this Hospitality Event.
In addition to our own 41 years, this event has a long history in our church's Scandinavian heritage as well as having strong Biblical origins.
Examples of Biblical references:
I Timothy 5:10 ...showing hospitality...
I Peter 4:9…Offer hospitality to one another....
Titus 1:8…Rather, he must be hospitable...
Romans 12:13...Practice hospitality…
The primary vision of this event is to present BCC to a wider community through a welcoming experience of love and fellowship. A significant part of this is that we all have a great deal of FUN ourselves! (It's hard to be welcoming when we're not having fun!)
We welcome our guests as they walk into our "home" with their expectation of finding treasures and treats. We welcome them with smiles and generous hospitality as we would old friends!
The secondary objective is as a fundraiser through vendor booth space rental, bake sale and Fika Cafe. After event expenses, this year's proceeds will primarily be used to assist refugees that come through our local World Relief office. Like 2022, this year we will purchase gift cards that will enable the refugees to purchase their immediate needs as they arrive.
The third objective is to provide a venue for fun and healthy holiday shopping while supporting artistic endeavors of our community. This includes several of our own BCC members. This year we have over 50 vendors who create handmade quality items. And there are at least three vendors who represent other Christian ministries.
However, the Holiday Bazaar can only happen as a result of the efforts of about 100 women and men from our congregation. In an hour or two of your time, you will have made a solid contribution. Examples of volunteer tasks are:
Baking & bringing to the church Thursday or Friday (11/9 or 11/10) your home-baked goods for the Saturday Bake Sale. See suggestions on sign-up board
Door greeting, Cashiering, Miscellaneous kitchen tasks
Packaging goodies for the bake sale
Clearing out spaces for vendors including moving furniture Thursday pm, (11/9)
Church clean-up and re-set on Saturday pm, (11/11), for Sunday services
Helping in the parking lot with arriving guests
Your own shopping, while enjoying Kate's scones, the Bake Sale and Cafe Fika!
So many opportunities to participate! - It is a JOYFUL and wonderful opportunity to be a part of this church and community-wide event. If you haven't already, consider joining this 41st annual church event volunteer team.
Please come to the foyer sign-up board this Sunday, (11/5), for un-met volunteer openings.
For questions, contact Gladys Clancy, Peggy Koskela or Tracy Johnson.
*This event is lead by BCC's Women's Ministry who has sponsored several Hospitality events over the life of our church. This season, these events are the Second Cup of Coffee one Saturday a month, this Holiday Bazaar and The Evening in December (12/5) for our BCC ladies and their guests.
Building and Grounds Update
We are blessed to have a wonderful facility to support and host important ministry work throughout the week. We are committed to stewarding and taking care of this resource as best we can!
This past month we celebrated the retirement of Brian Aronson. Brian served as our director of building and grounds for over two decades and took care of our custodial and set-up needs on a weekly basis. Brian was planning to retire in November, but his timeline was expedited when he found out he needed to have open heart surgery. Brian had a successful surgery this month. We encourage you to continue to be praying for him and Nancy as he recovers.
We wanted to share a quick update about how we are approaching this staffing transition. This past month we contracted with Marathon Cleaning Services to take care of our cleaning and custodial work. We are trying this out for a couple months to see if this is a good solution for the church. Marathon is coming in with a cleaning crew once a week to do a deep clean of the church. Brian Aronson’s brother Von, who served as an assistant to Brian, will continue helping out 8-10 hours a week to fill in the gaps that are not covered by Marathon Cleaning. Grady Henderson is continuing to serve as a project manager for larger repairs and maintenance projects around the church. This current arrangement does not involve any increase to our budget. In fact, it will cut some of our costs.
This transition should not impact operations much. We have asked some groups to take care of setting up their room with the proper arrangements of tables and chairs. You can also help out by having your group empty garbage into the dumpster in the back of the church, especially if your meeting has food involved.
We will keep you updated if plans change in the near future.
Up Next…
Prime Timer’s Potluck Luncheon
Thursday, November 2
12:30 PM in the Dining Room
*Prime Times is for those in the empty nester/retired phase of life
Vespers
Sunday, November 5
6:00 pm in the Sanctuary
*Vespers is a contemplative worship and prayer service
Holiday Bazaar
Saturday, November 11
9:00 AM-4:00 PM.
*Volunteer sign-ups will be in the foyer through November 5th
Office Closed
11.23-11.24
*Closed for Thanksgiving
First Sunday Of Advent
Sunday, November 26
Christmas Eve Service
Sunday, December 24
4:00 PM in the Sanctuary
*There will be no morning worship service this day