Light and Life Newsroom

Bellingham Festival??

2010-07-22T13:21:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Jordan and Kirsten Radke got a chance to visit Yakima CityFest, with the perspective and hope that it is something that we could bring to Bellingham, WA. Kirsten shares their experience below.

Bellingham City Fest was a tremendous experience for the Bellingham Planning team. We arrived Friday night and met up with the Luis Palau Team on Saturday morning for a Q&A time with the Yakima planning team.

For those of you who do not know what CityFest is . CityFest is an event that is put on by the town and Luis Palau Association comes in to assist in the process. To see details on this event you can click on this link: http://www.palau.org/festivals/details

There are three stages to a Festival.

1. Season of Service

2. Festival

3. Long Term Impact

This is an awesome way to show a city in need that they are loved. It is an amazing way to share the love of Christ through acts of service and celebration. In Yakima we experience something that I have never experienced in my entire life. Seeing 21,000 people gather together for fun, fellowship, music, and the Word of God. There were over 600 commitments to Christ. What an amazing God we serve.

Bellingham are you ready?? Because here we come!!!

Watch the Video: http://www.palau.org/festivals

From Nick and Melody

2010-06-16T08:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Students, Parents and Friends,

As you no doubt already know the youth group at LLCF is going through some leadership changes. Jenny Quimby answered God’s call 3 years ago as a group of students and continued her leadership as the others graduated. Jenny has been faithful to the youth group during Wednesday nights and big events such as ATF and the 30 hour famine. We thank her for the many, many hours of preparation, ministering, and care for our students and wish her well in the next stage for following God’s will for her life. As pastor at LLCF I could not be more proud of a young person such as Jenny following God’s call as she has. THANK YOU!!!!!

Through an interesting series of events, Nick and Melody Eastman have come to the forefront as the next leaders for LLCF youth group. They have made a presentation of hopes and goals to our Leadership Board and the board unanimously agreed that they are God’s choice for our next leaders. We then circled and commissioned them for this purpose. Please Join me in welcoming them in this new role. Pastor Paul Drewer

I have had the incredible honor of working with both Nick and Melody Eastman for many years. Both were active students in the youth group at LLCF in past years and both have been strong examples in their walks with God. Nick is gifted with a servant’s heart and wise counseling and Melody has fulfilled leadership and teaching roles in student leadership, musical ability, and mission trip participation. I am very excited to see these two step forward as the new youth leaders and will make a great team to lead the youth at LLCF this next year. Jim Vandermay

We are Nick and Melody Eastman. We have been married since July 2009 and we have both been involved with youth ministry before. After Nick graduated high school he was intern staff with the Light and Life youth group, under Jim Vandermay and Gayle Crabtree. As an intern staff member he encouraged the student leaders as they led small groups, chaperoned events, enforced youth group guidelines, and helped plan events. Melody has also been involved with youth. She was a student leader at the youth group she attended in high school and was on that group’s worship team. During her senior year in high school she led the school’s Christian club called F.I.S.H. (Friends Into Sharing Him). After high school she continued her youth involvement by leading worship for Light and Life’s youth group. She also was on a leadership team for a month long mission trip to Panama. Before we got married we talked about our desire to someday be involved with the youth group. We have been praying for the youth over the last 6 months or so and we felt God leading us to get involved in some way. As we pursued involvement doors opened in the area leadership. We are very excited to for this amazing opportunity to be the new youth leaders. Our goal is to provide a safe and loving environment for students to grow in the knowledge of God and learn to live a life worthy Him. We look forward to getting to know you all better in the coming year.

Nick and Melody would love to have the opportunity to get to know the students and let them get to know us more before the school year begins in the fall. We would like to invite your student to “Meet the Eastmans” on June 25 at 7pm at the Crabtree’s house (3720 York St. Bellingham, WA 98229). Please bring a snack or drink to share. Games and friends are definitely welcome too. Hope to see you all there!

Nick & Melody Eastman

Welcome Nick and Melody!

2010-06-16T08:17:00.000-07:00

Light and Life Christian Fellowship is excited to welcome Nick and Melody Eastman into our Ministry Team. Nick and Melody will be heading up the Youth Ministry program. They have a strong passion for the Lord, teaching the word of God, young people, and Fun!!

Please congratulate them and remember them in your prayers as they get to know the youth this summer and prepare for fall activities.

Blessings on you both!!

Upcoming Events at Light and Life Christian Fellowship

2010-03-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Baptismal Service

If you would like to participate in baptism on Easter Sunday, April 4^th, please contact Pastor Paul today.

Spring Revival – Ferndale Camp – March 19 & 20

Come at 7:00 pm to the Ferndale Campground, 5942 Portal Way, to hear messages of hope and encouragement! Guest speaker: John David Hicks, a Network Evangelist with Luis Palau and the Next Generation Alliance.

Spring Clean-Up

We need your help Saturday, March 20^th, for our annual church/yard clean-up inside and out (weather permitting). Sign up on the job sheet in the foyer.

Eggstravaganza

Coming Easter Sunday, April 4^th! Children through 5^th grade will enjoy an Easter hunt—invite your friends! We need candy! A box will be in the foyer for your candy donations. Thank you!

Wedding Invitation

Everyone is invited to attend the wedding of Rebecca Slotemaker and Matt Black, Saturday, March 27^th at 12:00 pm(noon) at the Northwest Baptist Church. A reception will follow at LLCF.

Dinner Groups

If you are interested in being a part of a Dinner Group, please fill out the form in the bulletin and turn it into the office.

Ukraine Update

2010-02-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

Surgery again? Yes Brenda will be undergoing surgery to fuse the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae in her next on Monday, February 1st. The operation will be done in Wenatchee and will once again require that she be in a neck brace for 6-8 weeks and not travel for at least 4 months. As always, it's been difficult being apart. However, I'll be flying to the states this Saturday January 30th to rejoin her. My plans are to return to Ukraine again on March 6th. Then, hopefully in June sometime, she'll be ready to travel and I'll go back and get her. Thank you so much for your love and prayers for Brenda. If you would like to send her a card her mailing address in Wenatchee is : PO Box 5602, Wenatchee, WA 98807.

As you might imagine, over the past months we've been re-assessing a number of things, not the least of which is how much longer should we stay in Ukraine. After much prayer, though and discussion with our mission, we decided that the time has come to begin transitioning back to living in America. Our goal is to complete this transition by September sometime. We will however, continue on as FM missionaries through the end of 2010 utilizing the last 4 months of the year speaking and sharing with supporters and supporting churches on what is called "Home Assignment."

Our plans are to relocate in the Wenatchee area but a large part of our hearts will remain with the people in Ukraine. A proposal is being considered that would allow us to make 1 to 2 short trips/year back to Ukraine to encourage and pray with those nationals whom God has raised up to carry on the work. We rejoice in how HE as been drawing some very special people to serve Him.

Remember this young couple? Their names are Misha and Lena Petrochenko. God has been actively drawing them to Himself and it has been so wonderful to observe. Last week Lena wrote, "We have made some changes in our lives. We've made a very important decision in our lives - to follow God! We had got a strong feeling that we also what that God would change our lives forever. We realized a very strong desire in our hearts to get to know God more and more. Frankly speaking we really need a wisdom during this transition time especially...as for me I had some doubts - frankly speaking - but Misha never did! I am talking about quit his job and stuff..but now when I look at him I can see a peace and God's love and it's the best thing I can ever feel!!"

How we thank God for this young couple who's hearts have been set afire for God. Thank you for praying for them. Please continue to pray for their spiritual growth.

Blessed be the Name of our Lord!!
Greg and Brenda

Haiti Relief, Recovery and Development Funds

2010-02-01T10:58:00.000-08:00

Funds received for Haiti through the Bishops Famine and Relief Fund, Help Haiti Heal fund and Operation Hope will be used for relief, recovery and development purposes in Haiti. Costs to administer these funds will be held to a minimum. All expenditures will be approved through the FMWM Executive Director, Latin America Area Director and Haitian leadership, according to a budget developed in consultation with the Haitian church. These expenditures will be reported through the FMCNA Chief Financial Officer.

HELP HEAL HAITI

Give Online at: www.helphaitiheal.org or send checks to: Bishops Famine and Relief Fund
Free Methodist Church of North America
PO Box 535002
Indianapolis, IN 46253-5002

Announcements

2010-01-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

Haiti Offering:

We sent $1232 to the Free Methodist Bishop's Relief Fund for Haiti this week. If you would like to give, please put Haiti on the memo line of your check.

Thank You!
An update from Rebound of Whatcom County says they were able to serve 779 children during the Christmas Season. THe funds from the wreath sale were donated for toys.

Coming Events @ Warm Beach Camp:
Feb. 5-7 - Potters Wheel Retreat with Brennan Manning
March 5-7 - Men's Advance
March 19-21 - Engaged Encounter
Register online or by phone - warmbeach.com or 800-228-6724

Kick off the 2010 Year!

2010-01-04T10:48:00.000-08:00

Light and Life Christian Fellowship kicked of their 2010 yeah this past Sunday with new Sunday school classes for the kids and youth and a Fellowship Cafe for the Adults. The Adult Sunday School classes with start up next week.

We are blessed with a wonderful start to a wonderful year.

News from Marcie Huson in Garstang, England

2009-12-06T15:45:00.000-08:00

The Christmas season has begun-always a wonderful time of year! England celebrates Christmas in a big way. The local garden Centre has blue neon trees in the car park and Christmas scenes from around the world. Our town will host Victorian Christmas nights, all the children are getting ready for nativity plays at school and folks are "queuing up" to give their wish list to Father Christmas.

Our church is also planning special ways to celebrate: including a ladies' carol sing and supper, children's plays and, of course, a family service on Christmas day! And everywhere - I mean EVERYWHERE - there are mincemeat pies. :)

I hope that you will enjoy this magical time of year, when we celebrate the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.

European Conference

Nov. 13-17 was our big European Church Leaders' Conference, held every two years in Budapest. Around 90 people came from across the continent for worship, encouragement and teaching. A high light of the conference this year was the ordination of three pastors for the work in Europe. We were also blessed to have the first Area Director for Europe Stephanie Crouthers LaVan, and Bishop Emeritus Gerald Bates with us to help celebrate ten years of work on the continent. It was wonderful to see things through their eyes: from one church ten years ago, there are now 17 churches and work in 10 countries on continental Europe.

Around Garstang

It's been a busy month at Garstang Free Methodist, as well. I've had the joy of dedicating two of our new babies. The Young Adults group has been meeting and is making plans for a Christmas party when everyone is home from "uni". David Carr was up for a weekend with our youth, a men's prayer breakfast, meetings with the leadership and an outreach event on Saturday night.

Some News

Recently I was offered and accepted a full-time position as assistant pastor in our Garstang Free Methodist Church here in northwest England. Whereas I am very excited about this, the decision comes with some sadness, as well. This transition means that I will be resigning as a missionary at the end of March. It is sad to say goodbye to many folks that I've come to know and love over the past 11 years working on the continent. And it will not be easy to say "goodbye" to many of you who have supported and encouraged me in this work over the years. Thank you for all that you have done to help our work in Europe, and for me personally. I hope to see many of you this winter while I am in the states to be able to express my thanks in person. "You have encouraged the hearts of the saints."

The work on the continent will continue. And there are many ways you can continue to learn about and support that work. In coming months, I'll highlight some of those opportunities.

May this Christmas be a very special time for each one of you. "The virgin will give birth to a child and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us." What a wonderful promise.

Happy Christmas,
Marcie

KIDZONE UPDATE - By Jennifer Smith

2009-11-12T15:21:00.000-08:00

Fall Happenings - It's been a wonderful fall in the children's department at LLCF. We began the school year with fresh curriculum and a new class arrangement, with a boy/girl split for the 1st through 5th graders and of course we've been busy working with Mrs. Drewer on Christmas music! We can't wait to share what we've been preparing for you! Gayle Crabtree and Ashley Baer have also kicked off the Middle School class, which meets following the music segment of worship for a Bible-based discussion group. E are so thrilled to welcome Ashley as a teacher and are grateful that God prompted her to serve in this way.

Coming in January - We hope that you've heard about the upcoming changes that will occur in January. We are so excited to be bringing back the Sunday School hour at LLCF, a focused education hour prior to the worship service which will offer the opportunity for all ages to meet for learning and fellowship. During the regular worship service children will remain wit their families for the initial praise and worship time (as we've been doing) and then will have the option to attend a supervised activity time. We hope to add some fun board games, books, and group activities to our supply cabinets for this purpose. We will also be providing coloring pages and activity sheets for older children and for those families who choose to have their kids remain in church. Stay tuned for more details!!

How can you help? - As January approaches, we will be lining up volunteers to help monitor the activity room(s). If you would be available to help on a rotating basis, please contact me or Gayle Crabtree. We are also always eager to hear from anyone with a heart to serve in children's ministries. There are so many creative ways you can use your gifts to bless and educate the children God has entrusted to our congregation! Is God prompting you to serve in this area? We would love to hear from you!

GLEN HALLMAN RECEIVES AWARD

2009-11-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

The Alzheimer Society of WA honored Glen As "Someone Who Cares" a a luncheon at Christ the King on Oct. 23rd. He was among 3 others who received this award. Dotty Marston, Parish Nurse nominated him for this award due to his many years of proactive and patient care giving of Helen Jean. In her nomination, Dotty said, "Because Glen took Helen Jean with him as a normal part of his busy retired life, many people were educated about dementia and Alzheimer's. He was a great role model. As a result, Helen Jean was not forgotten, the cause of Alzheimer's was advanced, and her life was meaningfully celebrated at her well-attended memorial service."

OUTWARD SIGNS OF INNER STRENGTHS - The Editor

2009-11-12T15:08:00.000-08:00

The way that individuals deal with crisis often tells us much more about them than the words they speak. When some people get sick for example, hospital staff are subjected to whining, demanding attitudes and outspoken self pity while, in the very next room, another person with even more serious ailments can bring sunshine to the darkest halls.

In the same way, how a church handles the crises faced by individuals and families can tell us a great deal about that church. Are we willing to step out of our comfort zone? Will we interrupt our routine to bring the struggles of our people before the Lord?

Recently, our church leadership set aside the agenda of the service for the sake of ministering the hurting members. The worship music was interrupted in order to come to prayer. Instead of a prepared sermon, we were led in support of church family members who were dealing with immediate life situations.

Because of some unexpected events in the personal lives of church family members, it was once again demonstrated that Light & Life is a healthy, living, breathing family of believers, a family that is comfortably connected with each other and with the Lord.

CHRISTMAS SEASON EVENTS

2009-11-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

Dancing for Joy, a local Christian dance studio presents "We Danced Our Best For Him" in celebration of Christ's birth on December 17, 2009, 6:30 pm at the Mount Baker Theater. Make plans to attend this inspiring evening of story-telling through dance, including ballet, jazz, modern, lyrical, tap and hip-hop. Carleigh Smith, Hartly Kemp, and Destaye Radke are participating. You can also see Carliegh dance several pieces from the Nativity show at the Port of Bellingham Festival on Sunday December 6,2009, 3:30-4:45pm, held at the Ferry Terminal. Make dance a part of your Christmas season!

Christmas Eve Service- This year we are excited to be able to have a Christmas Eve service. We would like to invite all of you to join us in the celebration of Christ's birth. The service will be Dec. 24th, 2009 at 6pm. Hope to see you all there.

SAVE MONEY AND GET HEALTHIER - By Dotty Marston

2009-11-12T14:41:00.000-08:00

"Save Money" and "Get Healthier" that's what we all want right? There are two programs that can help you get either or maybe even both.

LIFEQUEST is now offering all their classes at half price because our church is part of the St. Joseph Hospital Health Ministry network aka "Parish Nurse" program.

Examples of some of the terrific classes they offer are Strong Bodies Stay Healthy, Brain Boosters, Vegetarian Eating Basics, and Building Better Bones.

Check out the fall HEALTH TODAY issue which lists many offerings. To get this 50% off discount, all you have to do is give your church name and tell them you have a parish nurse.

The second program which can save you or someone you know money is the FAMILYWIZE prescription discount card.

It can save you up to 30% or more and up to $20 per prescription. It is accepted in most pharmacies, including all major chains. It covers all prescription drugs, and everyone with no health insurance or prescription coverage, takes medicine not covered by insurance, Medicaid or Medicare or other benefit plans. There's no age, income or residency restrictions. Anyone can use it. There's no registration, activation, paperwork or enrollment. No personal information is collected. These cards can be printed off the website: www.familywize.org. We also ave a supply in a plastic holder in the pamphlet area of the foyer.

Please share this information because 40% of people in the U.W. in the last 2 years have either skipped filling a prescription or reduced doses because pharmacies have agreed to accept prices for medications that are close to the prices they make available to large insurance companies and employers. Any additional costs are covered by in-kind donations from the program sponsors and by part of the processing fee included in the cost of the medicine.

Questions? Contact Dotty Marston, mmarston143@msn.com .

A REPORT FROM OUR YOUTH GROUP

2009-11-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

Steve the Penguin?? Rotten peppers?? This year is again exciting, entertaining, and instructing for our youth on Wednesday nights. Our fearless leader, Jenny Quimby is once more keeping lessons memorable and using out-of-the-box illustrations to capture the hearts of our youth.

Phil and Fran Radke are encouraging worship time as they bring their talents and gifts to the group ending each night in awesome praise music. The youth have also decided to continue to financially support a young man named Hendri that lives halfway around the world through Free-Methodist Mission Services. And yes, Steve the Penguin is back again this year to entertain the masses.

Just recently this youth group of junior high and high schoolers enjoyed an evening at their annual Harvest Party with apple and donut eating contests, some pumpkin carving and a round of ga-ga ball. This year will definitely unfold exciting adventures and life changing moments allowing them opportunities to grow closer to God and each other. Please continue to get to know our young people and soak them with your prayers.

Wecome to Light and Life Christain Fellowship's Newsroom!

2009-11-12T11:55:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! I am so excited to have this finally up and running. If you haven't checked it out yet, Light and Life Christian Fellowship has a brand new website! We are wanting everyone to be able to see what is happening in the daily life of our church. Our website is full of information about the many different ministries that are alive and growing within our church body! But it is NOT full of all the little stories and updates that touch the lives of the individuals of our church family on a daily basis. SO to fix that we have created this blog and are Calling it the Light and Life Newsroom!

Basically all the stories and updates that you receive in the monthly new letter you will now have available online as well!! So great right!!??

If you have a story or update that has touched your life and you would like to share it email :info@lightnlife.org.

Stay tuned for more updates on a weekly and monthly Basis.