News from our Senior Pastor
Celebrating the Harvest
By Rev. Karen Yokota Love
“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the first fruits of the crops you sow in your field. Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.”
– Exodus 23:16
June is here, which means that summer is just around the corner! Summer is a season known for cultivating and bearing good fruit. There is just nothing like a sweet, sun-ripened, summer cherry. Could we say, it is like a taste of heaven? Summer is known to be ‘harvest time’ in the Pacific Northwest with the cherries, blueberries, marionberries to name a few. Farmers are busy, reaping and bringing in the fruits of their labors.
We, too, at Blaine Memorial are busy celebrating the hard work of our students and teachers as June signals the end of another school year. This month, we are celebrating our high school and college graduates, Church School teachers, BYG directors and leaders, dads, and father-figures alike. It also marks the season of summer activities including the National Japanese American United Methodist Caucus’ Jr. High Camp and Asian Camp, as well as, Blaine Memorial UMC’s Vacation Bible School. You are invited to celebrate our dads and father-figures at our Sunday, June 18 worship service with a special lunch provided for all of our father and father-like figures.
Thank you to our Church School teachers, BYG directors and leaders for all the flexibility, commitment, and love that you’ve demonstrated this year to our growing children and youth. You’ve all done a fantastic job continuing to share God’s good news! We also celebrate the fruits of the harvest as we honor and celebrate the good work in The Pacific Northwest Conference:
| May 24, 2:00pm PNW Clergy Session (online) |
| June 2 & 3, 6:00pm PNW Focus Sessions (online) |
| June 13, 9:00am PNW Opening Worship |
| June 13-15 PNW Plenary Sessions |
| June 13, 7:00pm PNW Memorial Service |
| June 14, 11:30am PNW Retirement Service |
| June 15, 11:00am PNW Service of Commissioning and Ordination |
| June 15, 6:00pm GNW Closing Worship |
Each of these meetings and worship services are both in-person and online this year and will be available for your viewing at a later date. This year’s PNWAC representatives are Ron Nobuyama, George Yates, Lynne Onishi and myself. Rev. Mia MiKyung Park is a member of the Oregon-Idaho Conference so she will be attending her Annual Conference prior to the PNW Conference Sessions. Please visit https://pnwumc.org/ac2023 for the full schedule.
Finally, Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) Walk for Rice is on Saturday, June 17 at Seward Park from 9am-12pm. Walk with Blaine for a great cause to help those who are experiencing food insecurity. Join Team Blaine and read more, here.
During this season, continue to celebrate joys and lift up your concerns. Continue to pray for friends, family, and the stranger. Together, may we grow into all that Christ longs to pour into us, Christ’s body. May we continue to pray and shout for joy as we cover everything we do with God’s guidance, presence, and love to transform lives in every way possible.
May the Holy Spirit continue to open our hearts to receive God’s abundant grace, that it may flow through us, offering healing and hope to everyone around us.
Rev. Karen Yokota Love serves as the Senior Pastor of Blaine Memorial UMC.
Read our latest issue of the Beacon!
The June edition of the Beacon features stories from our church in celebration of Summer! Download the PDF!