"Making Moral Choices" - A Word from our Pastor May 2011

Words from our pastor, Sandy Hackett, that may be helpful in light of Osama Bin Laden's death:


A Word From Our Pastor - LCPC May 2011 Newsletter


"Making Moral Choices" 


Several weeks ago, I preached a sermon on ―Making Moral Choices. I promised a number of you that I would reprint parts of it in the newsletter since the book I was working from is out of print.  The book is called  "Choices:  Making Right Decisions in a Complex World,” by Lewis B. Smedes.  


Smedes says that most moral decisions are made on a continuum rather than being simply right/wrong, good/bad.  He offers language that makes it possible to talk about this continuum in a way that does not compromise Biblical standards and yet acknowledges that we are broken people in a broken world.   I first heard this material in a lecture he offered in my ethics class at Fuller, and I have never forgotten it.


When we have a decision to make, Smedes says that our first and best hope is for choice that is celebrational.  I love his question.  He asks, ―Is there singing in heaven because of this decision?  Are the rights of all parties honored in such a way that everyone has won?   Is it excellent?” 


This is always our best hope and highest goal, but we can’t always reach it.  So he suggests the following criteria, in descending order:


Is it justifiable?  Is this act warranted, legally permissible, circumstantially necessary?   This is the minimum standard we have to meet for something to be considered morally ―right.



Is this obligatory—something I must do.  ―We are, for instance, obligated to keep our hands off other people’s throats and out of their pockets.


Is this tolerable?  ―We do not tolerate people walking naked down Main Street at high noon.  This does not mean that noonday nudity is morally wrong; it only means that most of us do not want to see it on our streets.


In the hardest places of life the question becomes at the very least, Is this permissible?  In ethics class, we debated case studies around questions like ―Is it permissible to steal life-sustaining medication if you are too poor to purchase it? The answer isn’t a blinding yes/no, good/bad, right/wrong.  Compelling rights and responsibilities are in competition here.


Smedes suggests that sometimes we simply seek to pass the test, is it excusable? “We excuse people when we decide that while they have done something wrong, they are not really to blame for what they did.  Smedes uses the example of a friend who committed suicide, deeply  wounding his wife and children, his patients and all who depended on him.  However, he was in the midst of such a great depression, that his desire to escape made his decision understandable.  Not right, but excusable.


And finally, Smedes says, as desperately broken people operating in a shatteringly broken world, the final question we ask of any moral decision is, is it forgiveable?  Can I forgive?  Can I be forgiven?  And more importantly, can God forgive?  And the answer is ultimately, yes.  There is nothing we can do that God cannot forgive if we are willing to accept his forgiveness.  We are back at the cross of Christ.  Because of his body broken and his blood shed, we are forgiven.  


That isn’t where we want to start in making moral decisions.  We do not sin that grace may abound, b/c forgiveness doesn't exempt us from the consequences of our choices.  Nor does it protect others from the extraordinary pain that we can inflict when we sin.  But it is possible to receive the forgiveness of God for even the most selfish and destructive of decisions.


Is it celebrational?  Justifiable?  Obligatory?  Tolerable, permissible, excusable?  Is it forgivable?  These are the questions we ask when making moral choices.  It is my prayer that we would find a celebrational solution to the crises each of us face in our personal lives, and that in the infinite grace, mercy, and strength of God that we might  find such a celebrational solution to the crises of our world.   


- Pastor Sandy


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Easter at Lake City Pres

Its not too late to decide ... no RSVP required!!

Come join us for Easter Worship at Lake City Presbyterian Church

This Sunday April 24th at 10:00 a.m.

• Nursery class provided for infants & toddlers (Special egg hunt in Nursery)
• Children's classes w/ egg hunt during worship - children are welcome to bring their baskets! (ages preschool through 5th grade)
• Easter Brunch - Linger a few minutes longer for a light Easter brunch following the service

Share this and invite your family and friends to join you.

Spaghetti Dinner & Raffle Fundraiser for Missions this Saturday March 26

Let us serve you, while you help us serve others by supporting youth and adults serving our sister congregation in Kake,Alaska this summer.
We have an incredible all you can eat pasta dinner, salad bar with a variety of toppings, plus dessert all for $9!!!
Begun as a prayer partnership for this remote Southeast Alaskan village, this project now includes mission trips to provide Vacation Bible School and to do construction work for the church. Christmas gifts and school supplies and clothing are sent each year for the children in the village.
Dinner Tickets


$9 at the door | Children $4.50 (Ages 0-5 yrs eat for free)


$20/Families up to 5 persons


Raffle Tickets for several great donated prizes are $2 per ticket or $10 for 6 tickets. Winners drawn during the dinner but it is not necessary to be present to win raffle prizes.
All proceeds benefit LCPC 2011 Summer Missions Team's work in Kake, Alaska (June 26-July 6, 2011)


Show up at the door on March 26th at Lake City Presbyterian Church: 3841 NE 123rd Street, Seattle WA 98125 or contact Leena Prindle - 206-362-6878 or DFF@lakecitypres.org for information.

Farewell Walk In Memory of Bill Petter

Several in the Lake City Presbyterian Church  community have heard of the loss of LCPC family member Bill Petter. If this is your first notice, I'm sorry you are getting the new in this format. 
We have come across a few links featuring a special farewell to Bill by his family, friends, City of Kirkland, and King 5 TV News, please scroll down and click through the links. Feel free to pass this on to others. 

Invitation to the Farewell Walk (occurred this morning in Kirkland)
http://www.kirklandviews.com/archives/25428

King 5 TV New Reporting during the walk and a few Photos
http://www.kirklandviews.com/archives/25457

Farewell Bill Petter comments - read others comments and leave one of your own in his memory.
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://www.kirklandviews.com/archives/25360

Peace,


Leena Prindle, LCPC Director of Faith Formation

Summer Mission Oportunity 2011: Kake, Alaska

The Missions Department at Lake City Presbyterian Church is gearing up to host a mission trip to Kake, Alaska for summer 2011 - this year! This is an intergenerational trip planned to include youth, young adults, and adults alike partnering LCPC with Kake Memorial Presbyterian Church ministering to the children of Kake through Vacation Bible School and a lunch program, plus working on various projects throughout the community. 

An Information meeting will be held this Sunday, January 16th after worship (approx. 11:30 a.m.). At this meeting you'll get answers or at least opportunity to ask questions, concerning dates, costs, projects, fundraising ideas, lodging/meals,participating as a family, etc. If you are unable to make it to the meeting but are interested in find out more about this trip please contact Holly Kennell  or myself with your questions.

If you are not able to be on the trip there will be plenty of opportunities to be on the team through prayer,fundraising, and prepping or providing materials for the projects.

~Leena Prindle  |  Director of Faith Formation 

Christmas Eve Worship Times & Christmas resources for Families

Sending you an invitation to worship at Lake City Presbyterian Church on Christmas Eve and share a few fun Christmas resources for your family.

There are two services planned:

5:30 pm Family Worship Service - A 30 to 45 minute service focusing on traditions of Christmas and how they can be reminders of Jesus... includes singing some favorite Christmas songs and service ends with the congregation holding candles and singing Silent Night.Wiggly children and 

7:00 p.m. Tradition Carols and Scripture Lessons service. Also ending with Silent Night by candlelight. 

Bring your whole family and celebrate the birth of Jesus together including the wiggly children and restless/vocal babes-in-arms. 

Family Resources for the Season:

** Would you like to have the music and words for traditional Christmas Carols for your family to sing at home or for caroling in the neighborhood (or on that car ride to visit others)? Kididdles.com has put together a free Song book with the lyrics to 28 classic Christmas Carols.If you go to the website you can print out sheet music and activity pages to accompany the songs. Click here to download the pdf. document now: http://db.tt/vv6QEJs (from my Dropbox.comaccount).

** Like Veggie Tales? The entire mp3 version (for those using Ipods,mp3 players, i-tunes, etc) of The Veggie Tales Incredible Singing Christmas Tree album is free for the download (completely free!) on Amazon.com. Click here to get started!

If you're looking to get a Bible for a child/teenager in your life here are a few quality options: 

For the preschool and elementary age children:

* Check out the beautifully illustrated paraphrased Jesus Storybook Bible. It is currently 50% off on Amazon.com that can ship to you by Christmas! 

* If you want a general bible I really like:The NRSV Children's Bible by Abingdon Press and the NIV Adventure Bible. Some illustrations, study helps, maps, and faith-life application questions for kids to ponder.

For teens and young adults my favorite solid standbys are:

* New International Version Student Bible (Revised)  or the New Revised Standard Version edited by Phillip Yancey. Both Bibles have study guide, lots of great historic information, glossary, maps, and devotional pieces for applying scripture to life as a young adult.

* If you're looking for a contemporary paraphrase of the Bible for teens/young adults - I'd recommend the The Message Remix by Eugene Peterson. When looking at the various options for this Bible, be aware there are some versions of the Message that have only The Psalms, Proverbs, and New Testament.

I hope some of these resources will be helpful to you and perhaps we'll see you and your family on Christmas Eve. 

Merry Christmas!

~Leena Prindle, Director of Faith Formation

Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Packing - Sunday Nov. 7th

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD 2010

Tomorrow - Sunday, November 7th - Lake City Presbyterian Church will be packing shoeboxes to be sent as Christmas gifts for children around the world.

Here are ways that you can help between today and November 14th:

• Nov. 7th - Show up, grab a box and fill it up with pre-donated items
• Nov. 7th - Donate items for the morning of ( from Dollars stores, that hygiene samples drawer in your home, leftover Halloween candy stash,etc

- There are plenty of toys for young children, play/fun items for the 10-14yrs age group is desired. 

- Also we could use Hygiene/Clothing items ( gentle bar soap -no liquids, hair brushes,combs, toothpaste/brush, hairbands, sunglasses, socks,scarves,sweatshirts).

- School supplies, stamps/stamp pads, markers, blank paper, sodoku books, small books, stickers, cards (uno,phase1,old maid, regular cards, etc)

- And any 'hard' leftover Halloween candy (not chocolate or anything that will melt)

• Nov. 7th -14th - Make a monetary donation to LCPC towards shoebox postage. Samaritan's Purse is asking $7 per shoebox.
• Nov. 14th - Pray with us as we have a blessing/sending of the boxes during worship 
• Nov. 7-14th - Bring a pre-packed box of your own --> Packing Guide. We will deliver the boxes on Nov. 15th.

For more information about Samaritan's Purse and Operation Christmas Child visit: http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/occ/

Thank you!