Church News & Events – Page 43 – Blaine Memorial United Methodist Church

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Photos: DOR 2023

Posted by Admin on Mar 12, 2023 in Church News & Events, Photos

The Day of Remembrance 2023 in Photos

By Rev. Karen Yokota Love, Senior Pastor

Photos by Ryan Kozu with Jesse N. Love

**Remembrance:** *Eugene Tagawa and Sharon Maeda attend the Day of Remembrance Ceremony at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Puyallup, Wash.*

**Listening In:** Blaine Memorial UMC church members critically listen to Kiku Hughes, a cartoonist. She reads her poetry and complements her readings with illustrations of her late grandmother, Ernestina, who was incarcerated in one of the 10 camps.

**Representation Matters:** Members from Blaine Memorial UMC attended the Day of Remembrance Ceremony at the Washington State Fairgrounds on February 18, 2023. Many of the members were either survivors or have family members who were sent to the Puyallup Fairgrounds 81 years ago when it became an Assembly Center before heading to the Minidoka Incarceration Camp.

**Family Names:** Marina Kozu and Ron Nobuyama look for their family names on panels. The Day of Remembrance Ceremony honored 81 years since the issue of Executive Order 9066. Over 7600 Japanese and Japanese Americans were incarcerated behind barbed wire fencing on the Puyallup Fairgrounds, now known as the Washington State Fairgrounds. The majority of the population was from Seattle, but people from Fife, Puyallup, Kapowsin, Eatonville, Snohomish, and Alaska were forced to live in horse stalls, animal pens, or barracks. This assembly center was open between April to September 1942.

**The Beat of the Drum:** *Seattle Kokon Taiko opens and closes the ceremony with a few powerful musical pieces.*

**Cranes:** *Shig and Rae Nishida receive tsuru (cranes) because they are “Camp Survivors.”*

**In Solidarity:** Day of Remembrance Part II included a caravan to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash. The solidarity with the Japanese American community and those who are in the NWDC link the past and present injustices, drew attention to worsening conditions inside NWDC.

**Sharing of stories:** On February 19, Blaine Memorial remembered 81 years since the issuing of E.O. 9066. Church members including Donna Sekijima, Pam Ikegami, Jerry Ikegami, Dorothy Rutherford, Shizue Watanabe, Dale Watanabe and Nina Chinn shared their stories about camp life, their parents’ experiences in camp or their experiences living in the “Free Zone.” Thank you to Gail Nomura for your strategic planning and organizing of this special worship service.

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Photos: Anniversary Sunday!

Posted by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 in Church News & Events, Photos

Celebrating 119 Years at Blaine!

By Rev. Karen Yokota Love, Senior Pastor

**Anniversary Sunday:** *We honored our 88+ church members in worship on January 29.*

**Real Influencers:** *The Revs. Karen and Ken Miyake (previous Blaine Memorial pastor) with his daughter, Washington State Representative Sharon Tomiko-Santos.*

**Smiles all around:** *Rev. Dr. Jeney Park-Hearn addresses the congregation with a greeting.*

**Saints:** *Ron Nobuyama rings a bell for each of our of our beloved 88+ saints who passed away in 2022.*

**Newly-Minted:** *Mike Takahashi (L) and Tom Kometani (R) celebrate their new induction into the 88+ club with Janet Kometani (M).*

**Cake to Celebrate:** *Pam Ikegami helps out by giving our 88+ elders a piece of celebratory cake. Delicious chocolate and vanilla cakes were offered.*

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B.Y.G. Bake Sale!

Posted by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 in Blaine Youth Group, Church News & Events

Cookies, baked mochi, and other delicious treats were offered during the Blaine Youth Group Bake Sale!

B.Y.G. Update Bake Sale raises hopes, funds for young people

By Lawrence Paltep, B.Y.G. Co-Director

*The Blaine Youth Group serves delicious snacks for sale after worship service, along with scented candles.* *They raised over $1000 to fund future camping experiences that will enrich their spiritual journeys.*

Camping is an important part of our youth ministry. Developing deep relationships with other youth is an opportunity for all attendees to experience. These camps are held in California, the Blaine Youth Group makes great efforts to ensure that we attend. Last year, BYG covered costs for flights, charter bus, hotel, and COVID-19 exposure related costs. To raise funds, we hosted pop-ups and bake sales last year. Before the pandemic, we hosted annual banquets with auctions that took months of planning and organizing.

Knowing the financial responsibilities of sending a youth to camp, BYG and families have been proactive in raising funds. Earlier this year, our youth hosted a bake sale along with hand-crafted candles for church members to purchase. Co-Director Lynne Onishi and I have been very impressed with the ways that youth and parents have stepped up to lead these events. For the bake sale, youth, leaders, parents, and congregants prepared various baked goods such as cookies, mochi, and brownies. Everyone who contributed sweets put great thought and care in making their items.

*Scented candles were handmade by the B.Y.G. using their time and talent to raise funds for camping.*
*Thank you to the Blaine congregation for supporting this ministry with its treasure.*

On Friday, February 10, our youth made 40 candles, enjoyed potluck, and prayed together for the work that’s dedicated for summer camps. BYG came up with this brilliant idea to have a purposeful gathering to benefit camping ministries and create candles for others to enjoy. On Sunday, February 12, youth created signs and designed the presentation of the bake and candle sale, which generated over $1000.

As co-directors, Lynne and I oversee the extensive amount of coordination, support, and people-power to make these events happen. It is humbling to be part of a community that goes through great lengths to ensure the growth of our young people. Without the continued investment of the Blaine Memorial community, we would not feel secure in sending our youth to camp and continue our BYG programming. We greatly appreciate your continued love and support for this ministry.

*The Blaine Youth Group welcomes the congregation for delectable snacks and fragrant candles during its Bake Sale fundraiser*

The Blaine Youth Group meets on Sundays at 10:00am in the sanctuary then in the Nishida Room. If you are interested in growing spiritually, learning acceptance of self and others, and developing a love for God and neighbor, contact Lynne Onishi & Lawrence Paltep – co-directors of Youth Ministry at Blaine Memorial UMC.

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What is God seeking?

Posted by Admin on Mar 9, 2023 in Church News & Events, Lenten Season, Pastors' Columns

Lent, Spring, Sukiyaki: What is God Seeking?

By Rev. Karen Yokota Love, Senior Pastor

There are clear signs that Spring is approaching as cherry blossoms bloom sparsely among the trees in the neighborhood. Spring screams renewal, regeneration, and new beginnings, with a sudden burst of fresh energy, after the carefully considered and controlled conservations of winter. However, I feel a great sense of tension. American musician Henry Collins once said, “In winter, I plot and plan. In spring, I move.” Blaine Memorial continues to be a vibrant place with new ideas and ministry activities, while reviving much loved events hosted prior to 2020.

After a three-year hiatus, our Sukiyaki Benefit Fundraiser will return to Blaine Memorial UMC on Saturday, April 29 from 2pm-6pm, take-out only. This year’s benefit recipient will be the Rainier Valley Food Bank. Invite your family and friends for a delicious homemade meal!

As we enter the second week of Lent, I hope it is meaningful for you. Just as Jesus prepared for ministry through prayer and fasting for 40 days, we have sought to further open ourselves to God’s presence, work, and vision for us and for this world. Our Lenten programs are yielding the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of those who are participating in-person, online, through service or by way of prayer and support.

This year’s Lenten theme is “Seeking: honest questions for deeper faith”. We’ll continue to use Lectionary A which offers us many stories of Jesus encountering people who are seeking:

• Nicodemus comes to him in the veil of night

• Jesus approaches a Samaritan woman at a well

• Jesus heals a man born without sight

In these stories, each person is seeking a new beginning, a different life, and a deeper faith. Often, an unveiling occurs — assumptions are disrupted, a new perspective is revealed, mystery grows. This year’s Lenten series is founded on many questions. Some feel restorative (Can these bones live?). Some feel like a charge or challenge (Who will you listen to?). Some questions are hopeful and curious (How do we begin again?). Our questions won’t necessarily lead to answers, but they can help us find clarity and a new perspective. Ultimately, we pray they lead to a new beginning, a restoration, and a wider grace.

We are also seeking many things: clarity, connection, wonder, justice, balance. We are seeking our calling, the sacred, and how to live as a disciple. During the last few years, many of us have asked big questions about our lives and our faith. If you are returning to church, you probably have more questions and a critical lens. We hope this series will help unpack some of those questions in honest and faithful ways. We hope you will continually ask yourself, “What am I seeking? What is God seeking?”

Blaine Memorial continues to seek answers and dig deeper into our faith as the Reconciling Ministries (RM) Team continues to offer safe spaces for conversations about human sexuality. The RM Team will facilitate a 3-part Bible Study about Reconciling Ministries on March 15, March 22, and April 5 from 7pm-8:30pm. Subscribe to our weekly emails for updates.

*Rev. Karen having fun with our youth on Palm Sunday 2022.*

Save the Dates for Holy Week in early April:

• Palm Sunday Service, April 2, 10am: We will have a procession of palm leaves into the Sanctuary.

• Good Friday Service, April 7, 7pm: Join us at Blaine Memorial as we collaborate with Japanese Baptist Church as we reflect on how Jesus bore the full brunt of our violence, sin, weaknesses, and pain. A simple soup supper in the Social Hall will be at 6pm.

• Easter Sunday Service, April 9, 10am: Celebrate and worship God’s love, grace, new life, and the miracle of the resurrection! We’ll have the flowering of the cross and an Easter Egg Hunt for our children and youth!

*Rev. Karen, Rev. Angeline Lau (JBC), Rev. Mia and Rev. Samuel Kim (JBC) at Japanese Baptist Church on Good Friday 2022.*

We invite you to engage in the spiritual practice of seeking during Lent. Stay curious, open, and nimble. Soften your assumptions and expand your perspectives. We pray that these questions will create a safe space to explore — to be drawn more deeply into the fullness of life, into the heart of God.

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