Pray for Churches Seeking Pastors:

Mount Zion Baptist

Church, Community

Church of Issaquah,

Filipino-American

Christian Fellowship,

Grace Baptist

Church—Tacoma,

and Burien

Community Church

Thanks to Churches Com-pleting 2017 Annual Reports

2

Poor People’s Campaign—A Facebook Post

3

Save the Dates 3

Social Media Corner—Privacy and Passwords

4

MLK ‘s Invitation to Pastor Youngblood’s First Reflection

4

Pray for Sister Churches 5

Helping Women Succeed 6

The Journey toward Trans-formation and onward

7

Remembering Tom Nielsen 7

Inside this Issue

June 2018

Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches

Volume 17, Issue 6

Evergreen Notes

The Evergreen Black Caucus will host the 11th Annual Barbeque, Bake

Sale & Auction to support the ministries of the Association and give us

all an excuse to fellowship with each other! Come, let’s have a good

time!!

Invite your family, friends, and neighbors to:

Cedar River Trail Park Picnic Shelter

1060 Nishiwaki Lane, Renton WA

Saturday, July 21, 2018,

12 noon to 3 PM

Meal Cost: $20.00 each

(For tickets see your Association Board Rep/pastor or contact

Clem at 253-859-2226; clem@ea-abc.org

Your choice of any and/or all of the following items:

green salad, corn on the cob, potato salad, baked beans, cake & water

Meats: Ribs Chicken Brisket

BAKE SALE AUCTION at 1:30 PM

Proceeds support ministries of Evergreen Association—ABC

Remember to pray for a warm, sunny day! It’s worked for 12 years!

Evergreen Night at the Baseball Game

Tuesday, June 12, 2018 7:10 PM

Seattle Mariners vs. Los Angeles Angels

Tickets: $13 each Contact Clem: clem@ea-abc.org or 253-859-2226

Only 6 tickets

remaining!

It’s Barbeque, Bake Sale & Auction Time! - July 21, 2018

Page 2 Evergreen Notes

1. First Baptist Church—SLC

2. Seattle Chin Baptist Church

3. Queen Anne Baptist Church

4. Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church

5. Arlington Community Church

6. Grace Baptist Church—SJ

7. University Baptist Church

8. First Baptist Church-Chico

Thanks to Churches Returning Completed 2017 Annual Reports

9. Seattle Falam Baptist Church

10. Japanese Baptist Church

11. First Baptist Church-Mountlake Terrace

12. New Beginnings Christian Fellowship

To date, the following churches have returned or completed online the 2017 Annual Report.

Thank you! If your church is not included in the following list, please complete and return your

report as soon as possible.

Evergreen Leaders Tour Restored Chapel Car at NW Railway Museum

Executive Minister Rev. Douglas

Avilesbernal and 16 Evergreen

pastors, clergy, leaders and

spouses experienced a tour of

the restored chapel car on

exhibit at the Northwest

Railway

Museum.

Evergreen Notes Page 3

Poor People’s Campaign—A Facebook Post

SAVE the DATES

August 14, 2018

2018 Seattle Baptist Union Active Clergy and Spouse Dinner Cruise

Invitations will be coming to pastors and clergy of SBU churches.

***************************

2018 American Baptist Men’s National Conference

How to be the Hands and Feet of Christ

September 7-9, 2018, Green Lake Conference Center, Green Lake WI

***********************

June 21-23, 2019—Biennial Mission Summit, Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia

Beach, VA (Meeting on the East Coast for the first time since 2007!)

Sharing A Facebook post from Kate Layzer, Minister of Street Outreach at First Church in

Cambridge, and one of Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell’s clergy colleagues arrested Monday,

5/21/2018, in Olympia WA as part of the Poor People's Campaign. When this editor sought

permission to share this story with you, Kate added, “…Our group was incredibly fortunate

to be there and to be able to help in a small way. But please don’t focus on that. Keep your

eyes on the man in the handcuffs.”

Kate Layzer’s Story:

We were waiting for the Clerk of the Court to call our names when an African American prisoner was brought slowly in in handcuffs. We watched as he made his way painfully to a nearby chair, wincing with every move-ment. His body bore the marks of his beating in custody. The DA told the state's version of what had hap-pened; his attorney told a different version, and then reminded the court that her client had relapsed last fall after his eldest child had been killed in a triple homicide in Roxbury. The judge set bail at 1,500—half what the DA requested, but an impossibly steep sum for a poor family. The man had been before the court many times before.

When we left the courtroom, all 16 of us free to go without so much as a fine, we encountered the man's wife and sister in the hallway, wailing—wailing at the targeting of their family member, at his beating, and at the bail which they could not hope to pay. Our lawyer from the Massachusetts Lawyer's Guild was there, and so was the representative from the Massachusetts Bail Fund. The MBF rep was offering to cover $500 of the $1,500, but it wasn't enough. Cathy Hoffman, the great and wise peace activist, who sees what needs to be done and never hesitates, turned to our group and said, "Can we help?" We scrambled for cash and check-books, and raised $700. It was enough. And we went back out into freedom more aware than ever of our priv-ilege. How easy everything had been for us. How the police had treated us gently and with extreme courtesy. How the judge had dismissed all charges. How we had had checkbooks and bank accounts to draw from.

Praying and working for the day when the courtrooms of America aren't overflowing with black and brown de-fendants, when the poor hear good news, when the blindness of Lady Justice is healed, and the oppressed are set free.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

to let the oppressed go free,

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor." (gospel of Luke, chap. 4) Massachusetts Poor People's Campaign

Rev. Kate Layzer

Page 4 Evergreen Notes

Social Media Corner: Privacy and Passwords

If you

haven’t

heard (or

seen a

thousand

emails about

Updated

Privacy

Policies from

companies),

the new

GDPR

(General

Data Protection Regulation)

laws went into effect on May

25th. While the GDPR is only

legal in the European Union,

if you have anyone on your

church email list from

Europe, you may want to

make sure you have an

updated Privacy Policy

(assuring folks that you would

never give or sell their

information) or a way for

those folks to opt in to your

mailing list. For more

Mindi Welton-Mitchell

Pastor, Queen Anne Baptist

Church and Evergreen

Social Media Specialist

information, you can read

this article here: https://

www.theguardian.com/

technology/2018/may/21/

what-is-gdpr-and-how-will-it

-affect-you.

This should not affect

churches, but I do know

some churches in other

denominations that have

taken steps to update their

Privacy Policies, and if you

do not have one, it’s a good

idea to make one. It’s also a

good idea to periodically

review your privacy policies

on other social media, such

as photos (especially sharing

photos of minors on your

church Facebook page).

Additionally, it’s always a

good time to review your

passwords—who has the

passwords to your website

and social media accounts?

Who is an administrator on

your church Facebook page?

How often are your

passwords changed? These

should be reviewed annually

and whenever there is staff

change, such as an office

administrator or pastor who

has access to those sites.

Blessings,

Rev. Mindi Welton-Mitchell

media@ea-abc.org

Sharing the Evergreen Way!

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/

evergreenabcusa

Twitter:

@EvergreenABCUSA

Instagram:

@EvergreenABCUSA

Hashtags: #ebaabc

#IamEBAABC

Send events and happenings in your church and community to Mindi at

media@ea-abc.org and she will spread the word on the web through

multiple media formats. Thanks, Mindi!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Baptist Church 4519 NE 10th Street, Renton WA 98059

Invites You to Join in the

Celebration of Pastor Johnny Youngblood’s First Reflection (Anniversary)

June 10, 2018 3 PM

Guest Preacher: The Rev. Robert L. Manaway, Senior Senior Pastor, Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church

Page 5 Volume 17, Issue 6

Congratulations to Rev. Dr. Timothy Phillips and Seattle First Baptist Church upon Dr. Phillips’ Graduation from

the American Baptist Seminary of the West Doctoral Program on May 19, 2018!

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Baptist Church

New Beginnings Christian Fellowship

Seattle Chin Baptist Church

Seattle Falam Baptist Church

Sky Center for Spiritual Living

First Baptist Church, Salt Lake City

Pray Especially for these Sister Churches during the Month of June

Rev. Dr. Paul Aita has been called and began on May 1, 2018 as half-time Pastor for the Interim at the First Baptist Church of Olympia.

Additionally, Gail and Paul Aita will lead training events for educators in Kuala Lumpur in July, 2018 as part of their ministry with people from Burma.

Gail and Paul Aita

request the honor of your presence

at an Open House to

Celebrate their

50th Wedding Anniversary

to be held at

Panther Lake Community Church 10630 SE 204th Street, Kent WA

98031 on Saturday, June 30, 2018

Japanese Baptist Church Calls Rev. Samuel Kim as Pastor

Volume 17, Issue 6 Page 6

" Now there are varieties of

gifts, but the same Spirit.

And there are varieties of

ministries and the same

Lord. And there are

varieties of effects, but the

same God Who works all

things in all persons."

I Cor. 12:4-6.

Dear Loved Ones,

Greeting. We all know that in

many third world countries, the

new and modern education

system is more for men than

women. Given the financial

hardship of many families,

priority is always given to boys

to study while girls are

encouraged to help the family

while waiting for a man to

marry.

Well, this has been true for

years, but things are changing

and changing rapidly. Our

Helping Women Succeed

University Chrétienne

du Nord d’Haiti

(UCNH) has

championed the

education of girls. In

our twenty years of

teaching here, we have

seen girls come and go. Many of

them have emerged to be the

most outstanding in their fields.

They also have successful

families. Many of them have gone

beyond their Bachelor degrees to

secure their Master degrees.

This year alone the University

has officially enrolled 816 male

students and 572 female students

in its schools of Theology,

Education, Business

Administration, Agronomy, Fine

Arts, Leadership and

English.

To see that we are part of

academic success of those

successful women makes us

humble and we always praise

God for using us as His feet and

hands in Haiti.

In Haiti,

Nzunga & Kihomi

Nzunga and Kihomi’s work to raise the status of women in Haiti is among their most important accomplishments. Financial and spiritual support, mentoring, encouraging, micro-loans, small business development and health/family planning information are only a few ways they foster these young ladies. Kihomi’s empowerment programs have touched many and no one is more passionate about women’s causes than Kihomi……... Thank you for allowing them to be there doing God’s work among the “least of these.” In His Name, Denny Shewell – MPT Communications Advocate &

Convener

EVERGREEN WAY TRAINING

Designed for all church leaders and

Essential for every Evergreen pastor

This training/reflection event is underwritten by a Palmer Grant. The five-day training costs

only $250 which covers room/board and resources as well as a travel scholarship for those

outside of Western Washington. Pastors can get an ABHMS scholarship to cover the $250

registration fee.

February 4—8, 2019 Camp Burton Retreat Center Vashon Island, Washington

Kihomi & Nzunga

Pastor Gale O’Neil Retires as Pastor of Arlington Community Church

Volume 17, Issue 6 Page 7

Remembering Tom Nielsen: Memorial Service June 10, 2018—Seattle First Baptist Church, 2 PM

The Journey Toward Transformation and Onward

Please read Exodus 3:1-4:17

Biblical narratives remind us

that transformation begins with

the courage to leave. Just as

well, the most interesting stuff

happens during the journey.

What is some of that interesting

stuff? The journey is the place

where the breaking down and

rebuilding necessary for trans-

formation occurs. We should also

note that usually this is a very

confusing and uncertain time.

The story we read in Exodus 3 is

one which will be familiar to

many and I hope will serve you

as the beginning of your own

exploration of a period of trans-

formation that might take years

to gestate and be born. I encour-

age you to explore the amazing

journey the people of God under-

took to take them from slavery

to freedom. Early on they even

clamored to get back to slavery!

The journey to freedom can be

long and difficult. But we must

also realize that it is not all diffi-

culties and tragedies, there is

fun along the way as well.

Our entire life as Evergreen has

been a journey of transfor-

mation. Nearly everything

about us as an association is

new and has never been done

this way before! Still, we have

kept going and taken significant

steps in our journey toward a

radical equality in diversity.

I encourage you to take solace

and courage from similar trips

we find in Scripture. Particular-

ly the fact that transformation

always requires letting go of

dearly held beliefs, practices,

habits, etc. Letting go and leav-

ing some things for the sake of

following is both awesome and

agonizing. Ask Abraham, Sarah

or Moses; ask Amos, Micah, or

Jeremiah; ask Peter, Andrew,

James, Paul Silas Barnabas.

Paul needed around 3 years to

“recover” from his conversion

experience and then spent prob-

ably as many as 9

years of ministry

with little

“success”.

With God’s help,

guidance and

patience we

have made an unimaginable as-

sociation a reality!

Now we find ourselves along a

journey going somewhere. What

do we do with what we have?

What do we do as a community

of churches? Where should our

energies go? The middle of a

journey is often the most diffi-

cult as we find ourselves far

from “home” and the destination

as well. But during the seeming-

ly endless desert, when we won-

der what’s next, know that God

is with us, watching over our

coming and our going and will

carry us through to life in the

promised land.

Pastor Doug

Rev. Douglas Avilesbernal

Executive Minister

Executive Committee meets on the second Thursday each

month at 6:30 PM, Japanese Baptist Church.

July 21, 2018—Bar-be-Que

Bake Sale and Auction,

Cedar River Trail Park

Shelter, Renton WA, 12 Noon

August 18, 2018—

Association Board

Meeting, SFBC, 9 AM

October 12-13, 2018

Evergreen Annual

Meeting, Grace Baptist

Church—San Jose CA

*February 4-8, 2019

Evergreen Way Training

at Camp Burton

February 8—9, 2019

Leaders’ Retreat; noon on

the 8th—3 PM on the 9th.

MISSION STATEMENT

Being a culturally diverse peo-

ple who are one in Christ and

who value the liberties of our

American Baptist Heritage, the

Evergreen Baptist Association

will

Build bridges between

communities;

Provide resources to equip

member churches to share

Christ and teach God’s word;

and

Translate our unity to the

world.

Building Bridges, Resourcing Churches & Translating Our Unity

Calendar of Upcoming Events

409 Third Avenue S, Suite A Kent WA 98032-5843

Phone:253-859-2226 E-mail: eba@ea-abc.org

Evergreen Association of American Baptist Churches

Evergreen Notes, the newsletter

for member churches, ecumenical

partners, national affiliates, and

friends of the Evergreen Association

of American Baptist Churches is

published monthly.

Please submit articles by the 20th

of the month prior to expected

publication.

You are encouraged to copy and/or

reprint information and articles.

Non-Profit

Organization

US

PAID

Kent WA

Permit No. 451 Return Service Requested

“Like” us on Facebook:

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Twitter: @EvergreenABCUSA

Hashtags: #ebaabc #IamEBAABC

Rev. Douglas Avilesbernal

Executive Minister