Knocking on the
Doors of Justice!
To join our email list
Send your request to:
ravenw1@gbgmchurches.gbgm-umc.org
Introducing Pastor John Cahall...
John
Cahall began his ministry at RavennaUMC, as our new interim pastor,
January 15th, 2009. He was assigned a half-time position with us and was
being considered for a full-time commission in June. Although there was no guarantee that we would be able to retain his
services after June, we were encouraged by his
enthusiasm and we felt that he was the type of person who fitted the type
of leadership we had been seeking, to help us move forward and grow,
both spiritually and in numbers. We believed that he would bring needed
energy, passion, and compassion to the pulpit and to our community in
and around us. So far we have not been disappointed. In May, we
were especially grateful upon receiving the news that he had chosen to
stay with us as our permanent half-time pastor. In July, he was
also assigned a quarter-time pastorship with Highland Park UMC in West
Seattle. A short biography of our pastor follows:
A self-described gay man who lived in a committed relationship
for many years until 1995, John Cahall has been single since 1995 and has
no children. He states that his father's very positive influence, his
Christian childhood, the sacred scriptures of India, and his
studies at a progressive Christian seminary are among some of the major
influences in his spiritual formation. In late 1995, in a period of
intense grief, he found Wallingford UMC in Seattle, a
Christian
faith community that was very supportive in his personal and spiritual
journey and became somewhat of an evangelist for open and affirming
faith communities. His experience as one of 29 United Methodists arrested on
the podium in Cleveland protesting the 2000 General Conference's
continuation of
discriminatory policies against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender
persons, and the profound effect it had on him, led to his feeling the call, a few months later, to enter the seminary.
He
received a Master of Divinity degree from the Pacific School
of
Religion, Berkeley, CA, in May 2004, transferring there after spending
a
year at Seattle University's School of Theology and Ministry. Prior
to entering seminary, his career was in the field of human
services, having spent approximately 17 years in programs serving the
elderly and disabled, including seven years overseeing King County's
Medicaid home care agencies. In 2004-05, he served as the Interim
Pastor of Willapa UMC in Raymond, south of Aberdeen, before returning
to working for the City of Seattle Human Services Department as a case
manager. During 2008, he has been involved in volunteer
ministry at First UMC of Tacoma.
After being "semi-retired" for a year, as a case manager for the city of Seattle, John Cahall decided to re-enter the ministry. In January 2009, new District Superintendent Pat Simpson announced his half-time assignment to Ravenna United Methodist Church as our new interim pastor, beginning January 15, with the full understanding that he may not be here beyond June 30. After completion of interviews with the Provisional Committee on Commissioning of the Board of Ordained Ministry in mid-February, he was recommended for full commission as an ordained minister to the Annual Conference in June.
Having received the recommendation of the Board of Ordained Ministry Provisional Retreat Committee, Pastor John was fully commissioned in June. He was then given the opportunity to remain with RUMC as our permanent half-time pastor and, happily, he chose to stay. Later, he was also appointed and assigned a quarter-time pastorship with Highland Park UMC in West Seattle, effective July 1.
We are excited with his feeling "alive" approach to re-entering ministry. Come share in the excitement with those who have already had a chance to meet and be around him. On Sunday mornings, he will be attending our SMDSS class in the Parlor, starting at 8:30 AM, and leading us in our Worship service in the Sanctuary, at 10:30 AM. Be sure to also join us in the Parlor for coffee and refreshments, after the service.
New Approaches to Learning
Seattle's Most Dangerous Sunday School (SMDSS): Adult Education/Bible Study
Meets every Sunday morning at 8:30 AM in the Parlor.
Join us for SMDSS--Seattle's Most Dangerous Sunday School. Meets every Sunday at 8:30 AM in the Parlor and ends just before Sunday Worship. Plenty of lively discussion, study, and debate. Currently, our focus is on The Bible: A Biography by Karen Armstrong. Fr. Philip Knowles of St. Ignatius Catholic Community is coordinating the class. Coffee will be provided.
Caring and Getting Involved in the Community
Ravenna United Methodist Church is a member of the The North End Interfaith Community.
The North End Interfaith Community is a community of various congregations within our area, working to promote compassion, love, peace, tolerance, justice and civility among all people; to engage in efforts which increase the awareness of the commonality in, and shared values from, our many faiths with the hope of bringing peoples, religions and cultures into a more peaceful, loving, understanding and tolerant life here on Earth, by among other things, holding joint worship services, and providing assistance to people who need help. Our primary assistance has been with the Sand Point Community Housing Association.
On Tuesday, November 3rd at 6PM, the North End Interfaith Community is hosting a potluck dinner for the residents of the Sand Point Community Housing Association in the Sand Point Housing
Community Room, 6940 62nd Ave. NE, Seattle, WA 98115. Participants in this year's event besides RUMC are Assumption Catholic Church, Sand Point Community UMC, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, Congregation Beth Shalom, St. Bridget Catholic Church, Maple Leaf Lutheran Church, Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church, Temple Beth Am, Wedgwood Community Church, Wedgwood Presbyterian Church, University Congregational Church, Faith Lutheran Church, and Idriss Mosque. RUMC has been asked to bring soft drinks or juice. It should be a fine event and show of support. Please join us. For more details, email Greg Wheeler @ gregwith2gs@juno.com or Sandy Spelman @ francis220@comcast.net .
On Wednesday, November 25th at 7 PM, the North End Interfaith Community's 2009 Interfaith Thanksgiving Eve Service will be held at St. Bridget Catholic Church, 4900 NE 50th St., Seattle. The congregations mentioned in the previous paragraph above along with Lake City Christian Church and Pastoral and Spiritual Care, Children's Hospital are sponsoring this event. Please bring a dessert for the reception that follows the formal service. Gifts of blankets or warm gloves will go to the homeless. Monetary gifts and gifts of non-perishable food will go to the University District Food Bank. Please join us. For more information, email Greg Wheeler @ gregwith2gs@juno.com or Denny Duffell @ denny@stbridgetchurch.org.
Since 2007, Ravenna United Methodist Church has been hosting
the Seattle Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR).
The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is a candlelight vigil remembering those victims of violence who have died in the past year due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice, combined with a service of worship and song addressing the role of transgendered people of faith in the life and future of the church.
This years event, features Peterson Toscano* :Wednesday, November 18, 7 PM in the Sanctuary.
*As part of this event, theatrical performance activist, Peterson Toscano will present his play, Transfigurations—Transgressing Gender in the Bible in an updated version with specially crafted segments for Seattle Transgender Day of Remembrance. If you saw it last year, you will find that this presentation goes farther and deeper as it brings in the stories and lives of people in the Seattle area.
Check back for details. For additional information on the TDOR, contact Shannon Buzard at 206.931.6170 or email ShannonBmail-UMC@Yahoo.com.
Admission to the event is free, but there will be donation baskets available. All proceeds will support next year’s Transgender Day of Remembrance program.
Our Doors are Open to ALL!!!
We, at Ravenna, are proud to be a part of the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN).Reconciling Ministries Network is a national grassroots organization that works for the full inclusion of people of all sexual orientations and gender identities within the United Methodist Church.
Paragraph 4, ArticleIV of the United Methodist Constitution states:
The United Methodist Church is a part of the church universal, which is one Body in Christ. The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth and that we are in ministry to all.
...and "ALL MEANS ALL!!!"
This year at Annual Conference (in the Pacific Northwest Conference and all the Annual Conferences), there is a constitutional amendment, which was passed by last year's General Conference (558-276), that will be voted on to ensure that our "Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors" slogan applies to ALL persons who enter our doors of our church. The constitutional amendment requires a 2/3 vote of the General Conference and a 2/3 vote of ALL members of annual conferences. If passed, it will guarantee the right to membership for all persons and deny discrimination of any kind. No longer will pastors be allowed to determine who can and cannot join as members.
Ravenna UMC, together with other congregations of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, have declared our support for the Constitutional Amendment to Paragraph Four, Article IV of the United Methodist Constitution that includes all people in the life, leadership and rites of the church. Believing ALL MEANS ALL, our congregation welcomes persons of all ages, races, ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, economic conditions, marital status, mental or physical abilities to attend, join, and participate fully in the life of our congregation. Such belief advances our United Methodist mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world by applying the three simple rules: Do no harm, Do Good, Stay in love with God.
Ravenna UMC Welcomes You!!!