I N S I D E

Small group’s sponsorship blossoms into a 29-year career by Sue Lockett John

Hieu Hoang’s relationship with UPC began more

than 30 years ago with four couples in a small-group Bible study, and through his work as senior member of the facilities team, it has expanded to encompass the entire church. It will culminate in a Jan. 10 reception in Larson Hall (see box) honoring his retirement after 29 years of service.

“I love UPC like my home,” Hieu says, with his warm, trademark smile. “I always look at the church as God’s house and the members as my own family. I have watched a whole generation nurtured by God’s love under this roof.”

As he watched and experienced God’s love in the lives of others, Hieu learned that God loved him as well.

His first glimpse came on Nov. 14, 1979, when he and his wife, Tung, arrived in Seattle with their two children, 9-year-old Kien

and 5-year-old Lien. Already their family had endured a month-long boat journey from North Vietnam to Hong Kong in order to escape postwar persecution against those of Chinese descent. The small sail-powered boat was jammed with 125 people and becalmed for days. They spent the next six months in

a refugee camp, with Hieu earning a little money to buy clothes for the family.

Hieu vividly recalls “feeling so worried” when they finally arrived at Sea-Tac airport with just $100 and one suitcase of clothes. “We didn’t speak English. I wondered how I would find a job and take care of my

kids. My daughter was blind and mentally handicapped. While we were waiting, my son asked, ‘Daddy, what will we do?’”

Hieu assured him, “We will work hard. You will live.”

The fears eased as soon as UPC members Bill and Joan Springer met them

at the airport and whisked them to their new home on the top floor of Jim and Sheila Trumbull’s Greenlake Victorian. The Springers’ and Trumbulls’small group, which also included Tom and Anita Steury and Tom and Kris Ogren, sponsored the family through World Vision and provided support while the four got their bearings.

Hieu and Tung were astounded. “We had never met people like this. They had no relationship to us …. Why did they protect and love us so much?” After working at UPC and watching this and other small groups, Hieu knew: “The love came from God.”

From his own experience with his family’s sponsors, and the lives he quietly observed as he set up rooms, unlocked doors and worked behind the scenes, he saw the power of God in individual lives and, especially, in small groups. “They study the Bible, and do everything they can to follow what God is teaching them.”

Ryan Church .............2

Ten years, ten lessons

Union Church ............2

All renovated!

Big heart ..................3

David Hallgren

Thanks......................3

UPC Times volunteers

Room for you ........4,5

Lent small groups

Elders & deacons ......6

What’s it like to serve?

Life Together ............7

An international twist

WorldMarkets ..........8

In photos

U P C T I M E S

by Linda Whittlesey

Senior Pastor George Hinman isn’t just talking

from the pulpit when he says he wants everyone at UPC to join a small group during Lent. He’s speaking from his own life experience.

“ I ’ m a r e c o v e r i n g individualist,” he explains. “Some of my conviction about small groups comes out of my own story.”

It started when George was 14, and his mother s igned him up for a backpacking trip sponsored by a youth ministry. “I wasn’t particularly involved with a Christian ministry or even the church at that time. But we sat around the camp fire one night, and I remember eavesdropping on some other boys’ conversation. They were talking about God answering prayer in one boy’s life. And that really surprised me. I had no notion that God would speak to a contemporary of mine, an unimportant person like me.

“They were just talking about their experience of this God in response to prayer. They weren’t trying to impress me, I was simply eavesdropping. And I realized, ‘Wow, these people have an experience of God, and it raises the question at least, “Could I?”’ That God wanted to relate to me now, as a boy. It shocked me.

“So I pulled one of the leaders aside and stayed up late into the night, asking him every question I could think of related to life, and meaning, and God. And I came to believe that night that God does want to relate to us, he does want to speak to people. I can’t imagine having had that experience apart from hearing other people share their stories of contact with this gracious God. So, that’s where I came to faith, originally.”

As George recalls his conversion, he reflects, “It really was a small-group experience.”

For the next school year, George was engaged with

other believers in a Christian church, but then, “I pulled myself out of Christian community. And I went for the next three years with a Bible on my bedside table. I would read it, and I would pray, and I knew that I belonged to God. But at the same time, I wasn’t connecting with other believers. I didn’t have that fellowship with God to help me digest what I was learning in the classroom to reinforce those prayers, to encourage me, to challenge me when I started to drift.”

Fast forward to George’s freshman year of college: “I remember getting very involved with rowing. Crew had become a minor deity in my life. I would come back from a really long day of physical workouts, and I would be hungry and exhausted, lying on the floor of my dorm room, praying, just sort of spent emotionally, and saying, ‘God, I don’t feel close to you.’”

Then, some Christian crew members reached out to

‘Individualist’ is transformed by experiencing God with others

Vol. 31, No. 1 January/February 2010TIMESU n i v e r s i t y P r e s b y t e r i a n C h U r C h

The sponsoring group “so loved us,” he says. “They have been our constant friends throughout the years.” After the Hoangs moved into their own home, the small-group families continued to get together for picnics, weddings and other events. At potlucks, they always looked forward to Tung’s spring rolls.

To this day she brings an extra portion for James Trumbull, who was born just a month after the Hoangs moved in to the Trumbulls’ home and spent many hours in Tung’s loving arms. “Every time I see Hieu, I recall special times of having our families together and watching our kids grow up,” says Sheila.

Hieu found extended family at the church, too. The staff’s warmth and cohesion was a marked contrast to the loneliness he felt during his 25-year career as a translator for China and Vietnam. He recalls his early days on staff, before

See “Years” on page 4

George. “I resisted. I didn’t feel I had a faith that I was proud of. And yet they said

that none of that mattered to them. They kept inviting me into a small group. And after a year I finally relented and found myself in a small group.

“We asked, ‘Who is Jesus Christ, and what difference does he want to make in our lives?’ That experience was revolutionary in my life. Then, I knew I wasn’t just learning facts about God, but that I was learning to live with God, and let him

live in me. I was literally the prodigal son coming back into the home.”

During the next school year, one of the campus ministry leaders asked George to lead a small group of freshmen. “And I said, ‘You have got to be crazy!’ I knew nothing about leading a small group!’”

But he finally agreed when help was promised. When he met with his freshmen, “I said the ground rules were really simple. We’re just asking two questions: Who did Jesus claim to be? And, who cares? And people said, ‘That’s interesting. Can my girlfriend come?’ and ‘Could my roommate sit in on this?’ The way to really learn something is to teach it. And I found myself in a really hungry place, wanting to know more about my faith because I was being asked great questions by these fellow students.”

George’s next significant small group experience took place in Boston, where he

See “Building” on page 5

photo by Rick Bechtel

After 29 years as a member of the facilities team, Hieu Hoang not only knows how things at UPC are supposed to work, he knows how they really do work.

Senior Pastor George Hinman

2 January/February 2010 UPC Times

Pastoral PerspectiveTen lessons from a decade of learningI can’t believe it’s 2010. In part,

because I can’t believe that I’ve been working in college ministry for a decade. Curiosity led me to what I thought was going to be a 10-month experiment as a UMin intern. Those 10 months have quickly turned into 10 years.

Needless to say, the past decade has been a time of great discovery for me. Certainly getting married and becoming a father have been the greatest contributions to these discoveries, but I’m confident in saying that my jobs at UPC as intern, coordinator, associate director and senior director have been a close third. In each of those positions, I’m quite confident that I have been a primary beneficiary of great ministry; I’m convinced that my co-workers and the students that I have the privilege of working with have ministered more to me than I have to them. For that I’m grateful.

I join with mentor and friend Allen Belton in saying, “I’m under construction, a work in progress.” Let me give you an update on that progress and share with you 10 lessons I’ve learned in 10 years of ministry to college students at UPC.

1. God cares more than I do. James B. Notkin alerted me to this reality when I started as the interim director of University Ministries a few years ago. I consider myself one who

cares deeply for college students. But God cares more. I desire for college students to know the joy of authentic life with Christ. But God desires that more. I’m passionate about my wife and 1-year-old son. But God is more passionate. God cares more than I do.

2. Genuine interest is the primary qualification for ministry. In his letter to the church at Philippi, Paul says that he is sending Timothy to them because of his “genuine concern for your well-being.” I don’t need to have all the answers. I do need to be interested in the people to whom I’m witnessing. It starts by being genuinely interested in Jesus.

3. Faith – not certainty – is the goal. When I was an intern, former UMin Senior Director Mike Gaffney challenged me to know my Bible better. As I accepted that challenge, I thought it would mean I could give the right response about God to students at the drop of a hat. However, I’ve found that the more I’ve studied the Bible, the more questions I have and the more faith is required. Mike’s challenge was not to learn the answers. It was to learn my Bible. I’ve discovered the testimony of Scripture calls us to faith, not certainty.

4. Faithfulness – not success – is the task. This is an unapologetic rip off of Mother Teresa. As a fiercely competitive person, I want to win.

Here’s the problem: it’s difficult to figure out what “winning” looks like when it comes to pastoral ministry. Mother Teresa focused more on the process of being faithful and less on the outcome of “success.” That said, I still love to win!

5. God is doing way more than I give God credit for. I’m continually amazed at the stories I hear of the Spirit moving in our community. I hear of God’s movement in testimonies at the Inn or worship on Sunday. I see God’s faithfulness in the actions and efforts of UMin students and staff. When I have allowed my feelings to be the primary indicator of God’s presence, my vision has limited my

ability to see God. 6. Rhythm – not balance – is key.

When I think of balance, I picture a tightrope walker or someone keeping plates spinning on a pole. I believe trying to keep our schedules “balanced” is an unnatural state. Ultimately, you cannot maintain balance because in the long run, the plate will stop spinning, the tightrope walker will fall. Rhythm, on the other hand, means that within the context of a seven-day week that includes Sabbath, one can remain attentive spiritually and free from burnout. That idea leads me to freedom from trying to fit it all in and “keep all the plates spinning.”

7. Relat ionship, re lat ionship, relationship. My primary job is to bear witness to the incarnation. It doesn’t matter who it is: my wife, my co-workers, the person pouring my coffee, the dude that cut me off in traffic, even Oregon Ducks. I am to bear witness to God with us. I’ve become aware that program is a lot easier than relationship, especially if you don’t actually have to learn someone’s name. On Sundays, my biggest sin is not living into this discovery. I’m constantly forgetting the names of the faithful at UPC. Please forgive me!

8. Prayer is the heavy lifting of the faith. Eugene Peterson goes into detail on this in his book, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction. After 10

years, I would expect that prayer would somehow become easier. It hasn’t. I once heard an interview with Lance Armstrong where he explained that riding a bike in the mountains never gets easy, you just learn to do it faster. Prayer has not gotten any easier. I still have to approach it regularly with discipline and yet find it is the first thing to go when life gets busy.

9. “I don’t know” is a legitimate answer. By virtue of my position, people assume that I know more than I do. For many of the questions I get asked, I don’t have a good answer. So I tell them the truth: “I don’t know.” In my better moments, I’m able to follow that up with: “Let’s see if we can find out together.”

10. You cannot grow in faith apart from community. We need each other. Abraham needed Sarah. Moses needed Aaron. Mary needed Elizabeth. We need each other if we are going to give ourselves the chance to grasp a bigger picture of who God is and what the Spirit is up to. There is a tremendous opportunity for us to discover this together during the upcoming Lent season.

I fully anticipate that there are more lessons ahead. I certainly hope so because as soon as I stop being “under construction,” I’m no longer growing.

University Presbyterian Church4540 15th Avenue N.E., Seattle, WA 98105

206/524-7300 • www.upc.org

George Hinman: Senior Pastor Jennie Gulian: Editor

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UPC TIMES (USPS 596-010) is published bimonthly January, March, May, July, September and November

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UPC Times

Ryan ChurchSenior Director of

University Ministries

Union Church moved into its new, refurbished space in

South Lake Union on Nov. 1, ready to claim the building not only as a new home, but as a launching pad for new ministry.

Located at 415 Westlake, on what many consider South Lake Union’s “Main Street,” the newly remodeled 6,000-square-foot building includes a large event room that can accommodate up to 300 people for worship or community events. The front of the building houses a conference room and a commercial kitchen, and will eventually include a café. A small mezzanine will provide office space for the Union staff and the church’s sound equipment. One of the distinct advantages of the

new location is its availability to the church 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

On moving day, Union people literally grabbed a box and moved from Union’s temporary location at the Naval Reserve Armory to the new location, just a few blocks to the south, says Tina Owens, Union elder. “The space itself has kind of an edgy, industrial feel, and people I’ve talked to really like the vibe — the openness and light, the sense that we’re willing to try new things.”

One of the new things Union is trying is to become a “third space” for the community — a place beyond home and work for people who need a place to gather and meet. Union’s leadership sees the building being

party. The café will feature all things chocolate as well as coffee drinks.

Union still needs additional funds to get the café up and running, notes Tina, “so we are concentrating on getting the venue known around the city and using the kitchen, which will also be central to our hospitality ministry to the neighborhood.”

With the help of many volunteers, renovation costs are on target to come in at or below the project’s $650,000 budget. The building has been renovated to “green standards,” but the church will not go through the formal, expensive

process of getting the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, says Pastor James B. Notkin. UPC has signed a five-year lease on the building, with an option to lease for an additional five years and right of first refusal to buy the property.

The congregation worshipped at 415 Westlake for the first time on Nov. 8, three years after meeting for the first time. Everyone agrees it’s nice to have a more permanent home. But it’s even better, says James B., “to have a solid place from which to launch our ministry into the community.”

used for community events such as book signings, movie nights, lectures, small music concerts, Alpha classes and neighborhood association meetings.

Tina says Union’s congregation hopes that sharing its space will “allow us to begin relationships and conversations with folks who frequent the space that will eventually lead to faith.”

Union’s original plans included leasing space in the building to a private vendor for a chocolate café, another community meeting place. Though the vision for the café is unchanged, Union leadership has decided to take the venture “in house,” due to the limited hours of operation that the church would have to impose on a private

Union moves into refurbished space

Finishing touches were put on the renovation of Union last fall. The building has an edgy, industrial feel, and will be used as a community space as well as a place of worship.

UPC Times January/February 2010 3

teacher training,” he says. “The backbone of any kids’ ministry is what you teach and how you teach it. I also see a need to develop deeper relationships with families and parents so that we can create ways for parents to grow and for families to experience their faith.”

Julie Metzger, the elder chair for CFM, is excited for the experience and vision David brings to his role as pastor of CFM.

“David brings a fresh and familiar perspective to Children and Families Ministries simultaneously,” she says. “He has been able to hit the ground running to maintain wonderful ministry traditions while also asking important questions, challenging the routines, and prayerfully assessing people’s gifts. I believe one of David’s greatest strengths is his commitment to collaborate and partner with others. His amazing family and his remarkable friends are a testimony to his generous heart.”

uniquely prepared for this, stemming from my time at UPC and the experiences I’ve had outside of here,” he says. “I feel like God has called me to this leadership and nurtured me for it, and I feel confident in that.”

David plans to take this year to assess and discern what God is calling CFM to do. He wants to ensure that any changes he makes are a natural part of CFM’s growth, and are a part of stewarding its resources — its staff, its incredibly gifted volunteers and its finances.

“We’re going to take a look at our curriculum and

by Rory Douglas

You might already know David Hallgren, UPC’s

pastor of Children and Family Ministries (CFM). He’s worked in CFM for nine years, and, at 6’1”, he’s hard to miss. But if you only know David in passing, you might not know his passion for children’s ministry, his deep love of God, and his vision for Children and Family Ministries at UPC.

“When I see a 3-year-old, and 8-year-old, a 10-year-old, my hope for them is that in their 30s and 40s they’re standing on the foundation we’ve built.”

David was called to be pastor of CFM in July, filling the role previously held by Kay Broweleit and Cathy Wagner. Kay and Cathy’s leadership, David said, provided a solid foundation for David as a leader and CFM as a ministry.

“Their wisdom and gifts cleared a lot of paths for me. I am glad that I worked with both Kay and Cathy for so long. I understand their systems and see the logic and brilliance in many of them. I’m also excited to explore a vision of spiritual transformation that may look different, but I’ll certainly be relying on the foundation they laid.”

David’s vision for CFM is grounded in the belief that children learn about faith by seeing it lived out. He says that 98 percent of what kids learn, developmentally, is by observing.

“When k ids s ee a community living out their

Bringing a fresh and familiar presence to CFM

faith—worshiping God, serving God, proclaiming God to this world—that does more for a child’s faith than anything we say.”

Rooted in the theology of Stanley Hauerwas and Darrel l Guder, David believes that children form ethically by connecting what their parents do with why they do it. Children learn about giving, for example, by seeing that their parents give to others, and then having their parents explain to them why they give.

“I really believe that kids are most influenced by their parents and environment

— and we can be a part of that,” he says. “I see our role as teaching kids the story of God’s faithfulness. For every hour we spend with a child, they’ll spend 80 with their family. Our role is to support, encourage and affirm what they’re doing — to resonate with their faith in a corporate way.”

David, 37, brings with him a variety of experience, personal and professional. A Native American adopted into a Mennonite family at age 2, he learned “what it really means to be in community, to be in places where vulnerability is

comfortable.” David directed the Fir Creek

Day Camp for five years and then, after graduating from the University of Washington, became associate director of CFM in 2001. He graduated from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2007, and was ordained this past February. But one of the most important experiences he brings to CFM, he says, is his experience as a dad. “I have a 3-year-old daughter. It’s a unique perspective on what parents are engaging in.”

“I feel that God has called me here for a purpose and reason, and I feel that I’m

photo by Rick Bechtel

Pastor of Children and Family Ministries David Hallgren says his 3-year-old daughter,Anna, gives him perspective on what other UPC families are going through. Pictured are David with his wife, Kristin, and Anna.

photo by Michele M. Waite

David enjoyed time at Camp Side-by-Side last August.

E n c o u r a g e m e n t , information, humor and, above all, evidence of the faithfulness of God. These can all be found in the pages of the UPC Times, thanks to its dedicated volunteers. The UPC Times would not exist without those who volunteer to write, photograph, copy edit and proofread these pages. A huge thank you to them for being part of this ministry.

In what has been a tumultuous year in the communications business around the globe, the good news at UPC is the Good News. We still have a story to tell. So, as always, a special thanks goes to those who have shared their stories with the rest of us.

Editor

Copy Editor Elizabeth Tutmarc

ProofreaderDelora A. Buoy

WritersBob DaviesDelora A. BuoyDan GilchristSue Lockett JohnMarsh KellegrewLiz OrrestadTyler ParrisWendy PhillipsDiana PhilbeckDale RothLil Runnion

Carolyn SchottHeather SnyderLinda Whittlesey

PhotographersRick BechtelJeff BlackburnChristine BuffalowKeith CottrillBryce CoveyKelley DivestaJonathan EvansLarry FogdallMike GambleAnn LenssenMerwin QuiggleSam SnyderMichele M. Waite

Thanks to UPC Times Volunteers

UPC Times Volunteers:

Thank you all!Jennie Gulian

CFM Advent Party

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by A

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4 January/February 2010 UPC Times

to circle up together. In homes, in coffee houses, in conference rooms, even in Sunday school classrooms — to share a common experience, to study the same text, to be the church to one another and beyond ourselves in a tangible way.”

Down the hall from Renée, Sarah Campbell, the associate director of Community Life, has been devoted to coordinating this project since late last spring. She explains that the Many Rooms small group study guide that accompanies the Lent sermon series has been printed. Plans are in place for everyone to participate, including elementary, middle school, high school and university students, as well as those with special needs.

Many Rooms “is an activity for the whole church — including those who have never been in small groups before, those who are new to the faith, those who have been Christians for decades, youth, the homebound, those in retirement centers … the whole church will be doing it together,” says Sarah.

by Linda Whittlesey “In my Father’s house are many rooms…” John 14:2 (NIV)

In the hours directly preceding Jesus’ arrest, he assured his

disciples that, although he was leaving them, he was not leaving them forever — he was going ahead to prepare for them a place in the Father’s “many rooms.” In this final discourse, he also taught his disciples, “Here’s how you can still be with me while I’m gone,” says Senior Pastor George Hinman.

For Lent this year, UPC encourages everyone to gather together in small groups, to study Jesus’ final discourse in John 13-16, and, while in community, to learn from Jesus himself.

“This is one of the most exciting things UPC has undertaken,” says Renée Sundberg, pastor of Community Life. “We are such a large congregation that it is difficult for us to have a sense of unity. This Lent, we get the opportunity

A Many Rooms bonus DVD featuring dialogue between George and Renée about each week’s text has been produced, and will be available to each group. It also includes special help for getting started and for a small group celebration session after Easter. Use of the DVD is optional.

For this unique event, UPC invites all of those who are not currently in a small group to sign up now to join one (see accompanying timeline box). All existing small groups are being encouraged to use the Many Rooms curriculum during Lent. And, all UPC task forces, committees and affinity groups have the opportunity to add the elements of studying and praying together as a small group to enhance their Lenten experience.

“I anticipate some amazing things happening in our future that will have started in one of these small groups,” concludes Renée. “It’s in our history. UPC began over 100 years ago as a small-group Bible study. I hope this experience

Meet in one of UPC’s ‘Many Rooms’ during Lent

On their wedding day, he recalls, “the United States Air Force congratulated us with bombing raids for 12 days and nights.” Subsequent years were filled with air raids, nearby bomb explosions and fear. Hieu wishes he had known about God then, because that would have given him and his family “more peace during all the crises we had to go through.”

The war ended in 1975, but diplomatic strains between China and Vietnam led to discrimination against Chinese living in Vietnam and fears of yet another war. To spare their children further suffering, Hieu and Tung decided to leave Vietnam.

continued from page 1

he learned English, when then-Senior Pastor Bruce Larson took time to stop and speak very slowly, and also to explain that they were working together as part of the church’s one body.

“After Bruce said that, I felt good about what I was doing here.”

Hieu and his older sister, who now lives in Los Angeles, were born in Haiphong to a lawyer father and homemaker mother to a life that would be marked by warfare. “I was raised in a war zone,” he says. “First it was the French, then the Japanese during World War II. After that, the French came back and stayed until 1956 when Dien Bien Phu fell to the Vietcong. During that war my father went missing and we never saw him again. Then there was the actual Vietnam War, as most Americans call it. For us, it was a civil war between the North and South.”

Hieu did not have to serve in the military because after his father’s disappearance he had to work to support the family. In the early 1960s, he graduated from high school, completed language school and was sent to China to study construction of roads, bridges and factories so he could help Chinese advisers teach Vietnamese students who would take the technology back to Vietnam.

There he met Tung, another translator. They returned to Vietnam in 1968 to marry and start a family.

As he promised Kien so long ago, the couple indeed worked hard — Hieu at the church and Tung, after earning her community college culinary degree, at Zeta Tau Alpha sorority — and made a good life for their family. Tung worked mornings and Hieu worked the late shift so one of them would always be home with Lien.

Hieu knows he will miss UPC when he retires, but looks forward to visiting friends and family and having more time with his two grandchildren. He will keep taking his daily morning walks — 45 minutes on his own, followed by another with his daughter — and exercising his love for sports,

especially ping pong, volleyball and tai chi.

Seasoned travelers, Hieu and Tung have been to China twice, as well as to Europe, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Malaysia. Next they hope to visit their relatives in Vietnam, but must wait for Washington state to resume funding for group home respite care for their daughter.

As he departs UPC, Hieu thanks God for “letting me work in His house all these years.” And he knows he will keep living by the words of the first songs he learned in English language classes: “This Is the Day That the Lord Has Made” and “Jesus Loves Me.”

Years of crises bring family to states

will shape us individually and capture our imagination as a church following Jesus Christ.”

Renée realizes that making a weekly commitment will be a sacrifice for some. “To commit to a weekly group over a season, even a short one, takes a conscious decision. But it seems like a fitting thing to do as we walk through Lent and into Holy Week. To sit with one another just as Jesus’ first followers did, and ask real questions about what it means to be with God.”

Of course, Renée, George, Sarah and others involved in organizing this small group launch hope this will be the beginning of many new permanent small groups — and many new relationships.

“My hope is that people will realize, ‘That was just amazing!’ and decide to stay together past this experience,” says George.

Sign up and discover that during Lent and beyond there’s a room prepared for you and your fellow disciples.

FAMILY ROOM

DURING THE SIX WEEKS OF LENT: SLOW DOWN TOGETHER, BE THE CHURCH ON A SMALLER SCALE, GROW IN RELATIONSHIP WITH ONE ANOTHER, LISTEN AND LEARN FROM JESUS

The congregation will honor Hieu Hoang for his 29 years of service during the Larson Hall fellowship gatherings between Sunday services on Jan. 10. Many of the original small-group members and their families will be there to share their memories of how their lives were touched by their friendship with the Hoangs.

THEN: THE HOANG FAMILY (CLOCKWISE FROM UPPER LEFT) HIEU, TUNG, KIEN, LIEN AND LIBBY TRUMBULL.

RETIREMENT CELEBRATION JAN. 10

FACILITIES STAFF LONGEVITY SHOWS COMMITMENT

Hieu Hoang may be second in seniority only to Pastor Ray

Moore, but numerous members of the facilities staff count their years of service in double digits. Facilities manager Dale Whitney says that UPC’s staff is exceptional in its commitment and longevity. In order of seniority, the facilities staff members and their approximate years of service are:

Tony Barrientes, 21 years; Minh Luu, 13; Nicolas Ramirez, 12; George Breban, 12, Huy Bang, 9; Qiang Xu, 5; and Mark Sommers, 4.

Existing small groups are invited to send a facilitator to the orientation, and to consider opening their groups to new members

Jan. 15 - Online registration opens

Thursday, Jan. 21 - Facilitator orientation, 7 p.m., Larson Hall

Sunday, Jan. 24 - Repeat of facilitator orientation, 11:30 a.m., Geneva

Sundays, Jan. 31, Feb. 7, 14-On-site registration in Larson all day

Feb. 17 - ASH WEDNESDAY; small groups officially start meeting during this week

Feb. 17-April 1 - “Many Rooms” Lent sermon series (includes Ash Wednesday and Maundy Thursday services)

Sunday, Feb. 21 - Instagroup last-minute signup in Geneva, 11:30 a.m.

April 5-10 - Groups meet for celebration and evaluation

MANY ROOMS LENT 2010 SMALL GROUP TIME LINE:

KITCHEN

UPC Times January/February 2010 5

members of that small group. We really raised our children together and we became like an extended family. And I think after a while it was not just meaningful to us, but to our kids.”

He concludes, “And now if you come through the front door of our home here in Seattle, the first picture you’ll see is a picture of this group.” He reports that the group is still meeting, and the Hinmans keep in touch with those they knew from that experience.

And now in Seattle? “Ann and I are in a small group here. We asked the nominating committee to extend their commitment, and be our small group. It was a cruel thing to do because they had been meeting every week for multiple hours for two years. But the reason I did that was because I had gotten to know them, and they had gotten to know me. And more importantly, they had really gotten to know each other. There was a lot invested in the relationships in caring for one another. I hated to see that go away.

continued from page 1

and Ann, along with their 3-month-old son, arrived for graduate education and ministry. “We were very committed to the church, but needed more than a Sunday experience. We needed to know how to raise this child, and how to get along with our work as our careers were developing, and how to continue to grow in our faith.”

They were invited to join a small group that had been meeting for some time. “When we first started going, many of the couples had children — there were babies, there was nursing, there were toys strung out — any normal person would have come into the room and would not have understood a word, because we were shouting over the din of crying babies. But we all had sort of a filter, and we could hear each other perfectly.”

The Hinmans stayed with the group for the 10 years they lived in Boston. “We ended up having three children, all while we were active

And we were going to need a small group from the very beginning.”

George also meets with several pastors in the area, in a small-group format. “We meet and pray together. We pray for each other’s ministries

and for each other’s personal lives, and for renewal.”

The beauty of small groups, George has found, is that its members share their lives with each other. “If you’ll invite us in, we’ll

outing.Victoria Walker adds an

international flavor. She is a native Ukrainian whose English is excellent. Victoria and her husband, Josh, met in Uzbekistan, where they both worked for the UW. They’ve been with the group for two years.

Arriving together, and finishing up sandwiches they’ve been eating in the car, are brothers Lucas and Hoyt Koepke, and Hoyt’s wife, CaraBeth. They’re all grad students, and share a house in Ballard.

Eleven adult members are here this evening. The only current member not present is fisherman Zeb Strong, who is in Alaska. He joins them during the off-season.

The group members here tonight

by Linda Whittlesey

Editor’s note: This is one evening in the life of a UPC small group. Writer Linda Whittlesey takes us along as she visits the group that started as a Lenten study in 2003.

A cheerful octogenarian, Eleanor Bennett welcomes me in as I

stand at the door of her home on a leafy Montlake street. She scurries about to make sure everything is ready for the soon-to-arrive home group that meets there every Wednesday. “We’re a late-arriving bunch,” she explains with a twinkle in her eye. Her husband Wally sits in his chair and engages me in conversation while waiting for the other members to arrive. I learn their story: The Bennetts have been in the group for six years, since moving here from California. Because Parkinson’s disease affects Wally’s mobility, the group always meets at the Bennetts’ house.

Group leader Carolyn Sherwood arrives. A gregarious middle-aged woman, she and her husband Scott are original members. Scott will arrive later, as he’s working late tonight. They’ll leave the door unlocked for him, and a vacant chair ready.

The emotional temperature of the room increases as other members arrive, some casually attired, others in dressy work clothes. Causing the most excitement is the group’s newest member, 2-month-old Elijah Bell, carried in by his parents Justin and Nicole. It’s Elijah’s first social

MANY ROOMS

are in their 20s, 30s, 50s and 80s. Five of them are doing graduate work at three different universities. As for the non-students: two run their own nonprofit, and others are employed in executive positions, marketing and customer service.

Sitting in a semi-circle in the living room, they catch up on the past week. One couple is in the middle of a move. Some of the members offer to help with getting vans lined up for the weekend.

After an opening prayer, they quickly transition to the study. At times during the evening, Justin takes Elijah for a walk around the room, to burp and calm him. No one seems to notice, and Justin doesn’t miss much of what’s going on.

Tonight’s topic is about the prior Sunday’s sermon — the parable of the Prodigal Son. Everyone takes a copy of the study guide Carolyn has printed from the UPC Web site. Then, they take turns reading the Scripture text from the Bibles they’ve carried in. They’re prepared. They attend different UPC services, but they’ve all heard the sermon. Some bring notes; others have already discussed the sermon during the week.

The study guide questions are geared toward identity issues, and a lively and honest discussion follows. The talk is casual and friendly. Everyone laughs when someone imagines a Pharisee responding to the parable with a, “Good point, Jesus!”

Soon, however, the group segues to more personal questions: “Where do I find my worth?” “What is my struggle?” “What are my weaknesses?” And lastly, the painful subject of death comes up. One of the younger women has lost her mother in the past year. Everyone empathizes with her grief — they’ve all lost relatives too. Someone observes, “This is where the rubber meets the road.” Another adds a succinct “Losing family members sucks.”

Given the group’s multi-generational mix, it’s refreshing that there are no attempts at fixing — advice giving or lecturing — throughout the evening.

CaraBeth observes that she and Hoyt appreciate the group’s

diversity, mentioning that before they joined this group, their only Seattle connections were college classmates. “[Here] there are people from all walks of life, so it somehow feels more complete than many of the demographically homogenous groups I’ve been part of.”

The group begins its prayer time by asking every member in turn, “How can we pray for you?” The requests range from the desire of the young parents for a whole night’s sleep, to work and classroom issues, to concern for family members. After all have shared, everyone has a chance to pray outloud, though none is forced to.

Then, the formal part of the evening concluded, Eleanor serves coffee. Afterward, as people stand around talking, she happily holds young Elijah in her lap. Later, she writes in an e-mail, “We love this group.”

Since 2003, the group has had 38 different members, including a political refugee, a missionary on leave, and a neighbor returning to a faith community. They’ve celebrated two members meeting and marrying each other, and the birth of two babies. Together, they’ve experienced illness and the death of loved ones, “all the stuff life throws at you,” according to Carolyn.

Through all of this, she says they’ve clung to this truth: “God is good, he is love, and he is faithful.” It’s why they keep coming back every Wednesday evening.

Intergenerational group becomes family

LIVING ROOM

walk beside you — through cancer, the birth of your child, or a difficult transition in your job. And it’s not just that we’re going through this as friends. It’s that we’re going through this with you as friends of Jesus Christ.”

George has seen God relate to others in small groups, just the way God initially related to him during the backpacking trip when he was 14. “I believe Jesus Christ is calling me into community. You speak to me about who Jesus is — he speaks to me through you. And I have to be real about who I am, because you know me ....”

But without community, “You can know a lot of theology, and not have any more intimacy in one’s relationship with God than one did before all that learning,” George warns. He claims that true transformation comes when we experience the kingdom of God together. “I see Jesus not just imparting information to his disciples, but causing them to live with each other.”

ROOM FOR YOU, TOO

Building small group relationships

THE HINMANS’ BOSTON SMALL GROUP GREW LARGER OVER THE YEARS AS MEMBERS EXPANDED THEIR FAMILIES. ANN AND GEORGE AND THEIR CHILDREN DEVELOPED LONG AND STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH MEMBERS OF THE GROUP.

photo by Mike Gamble

THE INTERGENERATIONAL SMALL GROUP THAT MEETS AT THE HOME OF ELEANOR AND WALLY BENNETT OFFERS SUPPORT AND A FRIENDLY VIBE.

6 January/February 2010 UPC Times

Serving in leadership

Carol: I realize that all people will be healed — some will experience physical healing from God on earth, some will experience complete and total healing with Jesus in heaven. It has been my joy to pray and come alongside two women who are now breast cancer survivors and to see how God has helped them through each difficult step of treatment while their husbands were also experiencing life-threatening health issues. These ladies are amazing women who love Jesus deeply. I have been blessed and touched by their deep faith.

Carol Neumann is a current deacon and team leader on the Care of the Sick team. She is an on-call substitute teacher two or three days a week in the Highline School District, where she taught full-time for 33 years.

Mark Pearson just completed his three-year elder term supporting University Ministries. He is currently a member of the Doing Session Better team and is also a member of the Lent Small Group team. Mark is in full-time ministry, which includes book publishing.

Lorie Wild served as an elder for three years supporting what was then the Discipleship department. She also worked with Community Life. Currently, Lorie supports elder development, which includes helping with orientation for new elders as well as ongoing development as elders progress through their terms. She has also served on the nominating committee both as a committee member and elder chair. Lorie is a registered nurse who serves as the chief nursing officer and senior associate administrator for patient care services at the UW Medical Center.

These three UPC leaders answer questions about their elder and deacon ministries.

Q&A

How was your leadership role meaningful for you?

Mark: It’s unbelievable to step back and consider how UPC folks are transforming our city and the world. We are loving our neighbors by building the world’s greatest airplanes, teaching in schools, driving delivery trucks, supporting more than 100 missionaries, walking with children who have cancer, and investing in the lives of more than 1,000 college students. I can’t think of anything more meaningful than to be a part, in a very small way, of what God is doing in and through our community.

What about your department or team assignment?

Lorie: Working with David Rohrer [who was then pastor of Discipleship] was amazing. I learned a lot from him and I’d like to think he learned some things from me too. I think the integrative work of discipleship was consistent with my strengths and my professional experience. It was a good match.

Carol: My first two years as a deacon, we worked primarily in our own [geographic] area trying to be “all things to all people.” That approach was very difficult for me as I lacked focus. When the deacons reorganized into teams, I was very excited because I could see exactly where my gifts, experience and passion fit – Care of the Sick team. We minister to those with long-term and short-term needs. I coordinate the part of our team that comes alongside members and friends who are battling long-term illness.

How did you fit this commitment into your busy life? Were there any special challenges in that regard?

Carol: Many of my deacon duties can be done on a flexible time schedule. I do the team updates once a week. I also am a point person for three people who have journals on Caringbridge.org. I read their updates and pass along prayer requests to my team from their journals. I also call people and pray on the phone with them. Usually team members serve only one person with long-term needs at a time.

Lorie: Serving as an elder is a significant time commitment, but so worth it! Although I said “no” to some other “extracurricular” activities during my time on Session, I found all of it to be manageable. I think it’s important to have the mindset that this is my

call, for this time in my life. Also, there is some ebb and flow in the work/time commitment over the three-year term.

Mark: Serving as an elder for three years is a big commitment. This might sound strange, but I had to cut back on my involvement in other ministries at UPC in order to serve as an elder. While it was a challenge to fit in so many meetings, I felt a strong call throughout the time I served.

What did you learn by being a deacon or an elder that you didn’t know before you started?

Carol: God has taught our team that there will always be more needs than deacons can meet, and that praying for people who are sick and their families and caretakers is the most important thing we can do. We send cards, we pray on the phone, we offer an occasional meal, and we visit people in the hospital and in their home.

Lorie: Some of the most significant learning I had during my elder term was how UPC functioned as an organization. I got a very different view of UPC than I had had “from the pew.” Sometimes that involved deep gratitude for UPC’s mission and commitment as the body of Christ; sometimes that involved a sense of dismay as I saw that we are a large organization that must function (at least to some extent) as a business. At times, I needed to remember that we all are “fallen people” — and that I must extend grace as it has been extended to me.

Mark: Prior to serving as an elder, I was not truly aware of the breadth and depth of what we do inside the walls of UPC. We have an entrepreneurial culture that has created hundreds of ministries. There is something for everyone .... Also, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Elders pay for everything they eat at meetings.

Would you recommend the experience to others? Why?

Lorie: I absolutely would recommend the experience. I learned so much about what it means to be a church but most importantly how God does his work in and through UPC. I also learned a lot about leadership that was different from what I experience as a leader in a large, complex health care organization. From a practical standpoint, it’s a great way to get to know many more UPCers—both members and staff!

Carol: I hope many of our members will consider being a deacon. I have met so many people in our church. I also have come to know all my deacon friends and cherish their servant hearts as they care for God’s people at UPC. If you

are looking for a deep connection to God’s people, consider being a deacon. Having the privilege to listen and pray with someone who is going through cancer, recovering from surgery, facing recovery from accident, will touch you more than you can imagine.

Mark: Serving as an elder is one of the many ways to use your gifts at UPC. Each year, any member has the opportunity to recommend another member to serve. For those who are servant leaders, big-picture thinkers, teachers — and have an interest in governance — it’s a great opportunity to help chart the mission and vision of the church. One of the highlights for all elders is the strong community that forms.

What do you think is the most important trait a person needs to be a deacon /elder?

Mark: The role of an elder is to be a shepherd, encourager, overseer and modeler. The most important trait is empathy, which is related to the ability to collaborate and work well with others. You can’t do ministry alone.

Carol: Does it take special training to be a deacon? No, it just takes a servant heart and a willingness to be God’s hands and feet to the UPC congregation. Yes, we are only 13 [on our team], but God has always worked through small groups and even one little boy with a loaf of bread and five fish.

Lorie: First, you have to have a sense of call, both to the role of elder and the time to serve. This isn’t about having a prestigious position on a board of trustees. Rather, serving as an elder is about being open to the call and the work God has for you to do during your term. The second trait that I would identify is the quality of discernment. That includes the ability to come with an open mind, to listen and be thoughtful in response.

Does one event or story illustrate for you the joy or benefit you’ve received from participating in this ministry?

Lorie: There are many, but I’ll share just one — serving communion. From my experience as an elder, communion has taken on so much more meaning. I, very literally, get to serve my brothers and sisters in Christ the elements that symbolize the overwhelming grace of God. To be able to say to someone, “The body of Christ, broken for you” and “The blood of Christ, shed for you” has made this sacrament so much more personal and real.

Mark: One of the many joys is serving communion, which is one of the responsibilities of elders. It’s a personal reminder of God’s surprise gift of love and a corporate reminder that we are all on this journey together.

Recommendations for elders and deacons may be submitted to the Church Officer Nominating Committee using the forms found in the pew rack and at the Kiosk, or through www.upc.org from Jan. 10 through 31. The committee makes its nominations based on the recommendations from the congregation.

What does it take to be a deacon or elder at UPC? What are the challenges and rewards? We asked three people who know.

Recommend a UPC member

Do you know someone who’d make a good elder or deacon?

An elder is someone whose life reflects:

• a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; active in daily prayer

• sound judgment and Christian maturity (Titus 1:6-9)

• a life walk and conversation that is above reproach and shown by example (1 Timothy 3:1-4)

• demonstrated servant leadership in ministry at UPC (1 Peter 5:2-3)

A deacon is someone whose life reflects:

• a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; active in daily prayer

• a demonstrated life of faith (1 Timothy 3:8-13)

• a gift for service, to be Christ’s “hands and feet” to his people

• service or demonstrated caring of practical helpfulness to others (Acts 6:1-6)

UPC Times January/February 2010 7

by Jennie Gulian

Early this fall when visiting UW scholars Ruth Gitau, from

Mombasa, Kenya, and Grace Rebekah, from Vellore, India, were chatting over lunch, they found out they had more in common than their work in HIV/AIDS research. Ruth, a research physician, and Rebekah, a biostatistician, were drawn together by their Christian faith and the fact that both were getting married in December, just days after completing their work at the UW School of Public Health and returning home to their respective countries.

The week before, Ruth had visited UPC with a friend, where the brochure about the “Life Together: Preparing for Marriage” classes had caught her attention. The two women decided to fi ll out the registration cards and attend the kick-off meeting.

Life Together is an eight-week course designed for engaged couples or couples seriously contemplating marriage. And that was the challenge. Though Ruth and Rebekah were here and wanted to participate, their fi ancés were thousands of miles and several time zones away.

But this is a story where love — and technology — conquers all.

Three times a year, Life Together offers couples who are preparing for marriage the opportunity to meet in a small group with two or three other couples, led by a mentor couple. A written curriculum covers wide-ranging topics including the spirituality of marriage, love and love-making, stewarding time and money, and hope. The course is designed so that the couples answer questions about their own expectations, discuss their answers with their partner and then discuss the topic with their small group.

Sue Leach, who coordinates Life Together, matched Ruth and Rebekah with Judy and Dave Wackerbarth, who have been mentors for the course since 2003. During the kick-off meeting, Dave says he and Judy were listening with half their minds and praying with the other half.

“We knew it would work. We just didn’t know how,” says Judy, as

the mentors and their two mentees met for one of the last times in November.

Judy and Dave did know that Ruth’s and Rebekah’s fiancés needed to be involved. After the women talked with their partners, both of whom are also committed Christians, the men gladly agreed to participate.

Ruth’s fi ancé, Maurice Deya, who is a business consultant and auditor in Mombasa, told her, “If this makes you happy, I’m going to do it.”

Rebekah’s fi ancé, Samuel, who is an occupational therapist at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, the same institution where Rebekah works as a researcher, also agreed to answer the questions and send them back so they could be used in group discussions with Judy and Dave.

Though a bit challenging because of the time differences (Vellore is 12.5 hours ahead of Seattle), both women communicated through email and discussed the answers with their fi ancés via Skype, the internet video phone service.

In fact, through the magic of that technology, Judy and Dave were able to “meet” both Maurice and Samuel. On consecutive Saturdays, they had Skype sessions in Internet-ready rooms at UPC.

The fi rst week, they met Samuel, his parents and Rebekah’s entire family, who had gathered to celebrate her granny’s 93rd birthday. They even sang “Happy Birthday” to her. The next week they met Maurice, who had some probing questions for Judy and Dave, including, “What have you learned from 53 years of marriage?”

Part of the fun for Judy and Dave was learning the story of how each couple met. Ruth met Maurice in what Westerners would consider the traditional way: through mutual friends. They got to know each other better as members of a Bible study through the Baptist church they both attend. Rebekah, on the other hand, was introduced to Samuel in April as part of a process that here would be called an “arranged” marriage. Details and pictures of the bride and groom are given to a third party who talks to each family, to see whether the two will be a good match. After Rebekah met Samuel,

marriage,” says Dave. “This takes care of some of them and I believe softens others. The main thing is to get in the habit of talking so you don’t have the parallel universe type of thing.”

The couple want to see the younger couples they mentor grow together, rather than separately. “And then make the agreement that their guide is Scripture,” says Dave. “It’s not that I’ve got this set of standards over here and you’ve got this set of standards over there.”

Meeting with Rebekah and Ruth was “God’s good gift to us,” says Judy. Both Judy and Dave recognize that the women are not only amazing people but are pioneers of sorts in their own countries. They are highly educated women in cultures that, until recently, didn’t recognize professional women with responsible jobs.

Judy and Dave love mentoring for Life Together because they like knowing what couples in their 20s and 30s are thinking. “And this was even better,” says Dave. “This is what people in their 20s and 30s are thinking about in Kenya and India. That’s enormously broadening for us and helpful. We tend to get a little culturally isolated in the United States.”

On the other side, Ruth and Rebekah appreciated Judy and Dave’s wisdom after 53 years of marriage.

“My mom isn’t even that old,” marvels Rebekah.

“I know Judy likes the section on hope,” says Ruth. “This really gives me hope. I have a lot of friends in their fi rst rocky years [of marriage] and I hear a lot about that, but I think it’s very refreshing to ... just hear that it can work and it can last.”

Both Ruth and Rebekah enjoyed hearing the small, personal stories that Judy and Dave tell about their own marriage — the everyday events like buying a mattress or celebrating a birthday.

And they feel that taking the Life Together classes will make them stronger marriage partners. After completing the course with Rebekah, Samuel told her, “You would have missed this if you had gone to some other church, so you are not there by chance. It’s been God’s will that you are there doing it.”

The next kick-off meeting for Life Together is Thursday, Jan. 7, from 7 to 9 p.m. in Geneva A. To complete the required preregistration, pick up a brochure at the Welcome Kiosk or contact Sue Leach at 206.361.0977.

her father asked her to pray about the situation.

“So I just prayed and as I was meditating, God gave me the words, ‘This is the Lord’s doing and it is marvelous in my sight,’” she says. On May 21, the couple got engaged.

So, did anything about Life Together surprise the women? According to Rebekah, the session on love and love-making would have gone “mostly unspoken” back at home. But the discussion, which included passages from the Song of Solomon and I Corinthians 13 “was based on biblical concepts and was really good,” she noted.

Ruth says the sections on family expectations and the stewardship of time and money were the most eye-opening for her.

“I didn’t realize that time was such a resource,” she says. “That you have to plan and work out your time together. That was a nice area to discuss.”

Judy and Dave both believe the main strength of the program is to enable couples to talk about things they may not think to talk about.

“It sets the pattern for the future so they can continue to talk,” says Judy.

“There are plenty of shocks in

Love and technology conquer all

photo by Larry Fogdall

Front row, from left, Ruth Gitau and Grace Rebekah, enjoyed their “Life Together: Preparing for Marriage” course with their mentor couple, Judy and David Wackerbarth. The two women spent fall quarter studying at the UW School of Public Health through the International AIDS Training Program. Besides studying and taking the marriage course, the women found time to sing in UPC’s Gospel Choir.

move their attention away from the matters dividing them and toward the one thing that would unite them. “When we survey the cross we learn something about God and something about ourselves and this knowledge is at the foundation of prayer,” says Dave.

To register, call the Prayer Retreat Hotline at 206.524.7301, ext. 577, or email prayerretreat@upc.org, leaving your name and phone number.

In the one-day winter prayer retreat, “Eloquent Foolishness:

Praying in the Vernacular of the Cross,” participants are invited to listen to Paul’s invitation in I Corinthians 1 and 2 to consider the cross and allow the eloquent foolishness of Christ crucifi ed to teach them to pray.

Facilitated by Dave Rohrer, pastor of Worship, the retreat will be Saturday, Jan. 23, from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in Geneva.

Early in his fi rst letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul directs the attention of that congregation to the cross of Jesus. He does this to

Register for the winter prayer retreat Coming up in JanuaryParents Learning Together: “Marshal Your Finances”Wednesday | Jan. 20 | 7-8:30 p.m. | CalvinContact: Betsy | betsyf@upc.org | x119

New Member Kickoff sSunday | Jan. 24 | 10 a.m. | Geneva BSunday | Jan. 31 | 5 p.m. | CalvinContact: Sharon | sharonb@upc.org | x560

Habitat for Humanity Benefi t BreakfastFriday | Jan. 29 | 7:45 a.m. | LarsonContact: Terry Proctor | terryproctor@msn.com Shelley | Shelleyd@upc.org | x212

Father Daughter SummitSaturday | Jan. 30 | 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. | GenevaContact: Jean Lewis | jeanlewis@mac.com

8 January/February 2010 UPC Times

Bringing the world to UPC through WorldMarkets

U P C P E o P l EB A P T I S M SS T A F F N E W S

Congratulations to UPC newlyweds:Nov. 6 Megan Erickson and Eric Nordlund

Nov. 7 Elizabeth Weldin and Graham McGinnis Amanda Parkins and Christian Geismann

Nov. 14 Margaret Pak and David Enslow

The following were baptized on Dec. 27:

Alexandra Taylor, daughter of Terri Taylor

Caitlin Juliet Cerise, daughter of Kristina and Gil Cerise

Aiden John Robinson, son of Laura and Brett Robinson

Eli Karsten Overa, son of Mollie and Keith Overa

Abigail Kelley Thomas Barnes, daughter of Carrie and Barry Barnes

Lincoln Wesley Young, son of Hilary and Jonathan Young

Riley Smith, son of Julie and Tim Kestle-Smith

Maryn Reese and Ashton Kiara Burkhalter, daughters of Brynne and Charles Burkhalter

Jaedon Ha-Eun Belo, son of Jean and Nathan Belo

Jean You-Dee Belo

Nathaniel Dirige Belo

Lindsey Bickel Burgess is the new director of Communications/Web. Lindsey, a 2000 graduate of Westmont College, comes to UPC from her job as an account supervisor for the international public relations firm Porter Novelli. She has also served as editor-in-chief of Seattle Pacific University’s ETC magazine.

Since moving to Seattle seven years ago, Lindsey and her husband, Eric, have attended Bethany Community Church. They’ve recently begun attending UPC and are “excited to get to know this new community.” As a new mom, Lindsey says, “it would be impossible for me not to brag about our new little son, Oliver, who is ridiculously cute and can practically hold up his own head! I mean, it seems like he might be a genius or something.”

Congratulations to Jaci Smith, director of International Outreach, who earned her master of divinity degree from Fuller Theological Seminary in September. She pursued her degree while working full-time at UPC. Jaci has extensive international travel experience and has lived in France, Italy and Russia (as a missionary for five years). She speaks Russian and French, as well as some Italian and Polish. While studying at Fuller, she says that her language and cross-cultural skills

W E D D I N G S

A N N O U N C E M E N TUPCer Kiko Van Zandt was quoted in the Dec. 14, 2009 Sports Illustrated story, “The Games of Their Lives.” The story featured swimmer Marin Morrison, whom Kiko coached in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. You can read more about Kiko’s experiences as assistant swim coach for the 2004 and 2008 Paralympics in the January 2009 issue of the UPC Times, at www.upc.org.

were an asset in interpreting Scripture within its own context and that she deepened her interest in church history.

Photos by Ann Lenssen