A report from Linda Brumley on her Forgiveness Workshop:

One of the wonderful things about living in the Northwest is the close proximity to sister churches.  Even a day trip or a weekend offers opportunities for fellowship with other disciples—to the north, south or east.  So many wonderful spiritual bonds have been formed.  Our teens have joined teens from Portland, Ashland, Boise, Missoula, Spokane, and Vancouver, BC in retreats and camps.  Our singles have dated disciples from these churches and our campus students have taken road trips to fellowship with students on other campuses.  We are so blessed to have such accessible friends.

I was in Portland last weekend leading a Forgiveness workshop.  At the same time one of our campus women’s Bible Talks was camping out on a Portland elder’s living room floor—making memories and deepening bonds.

The workshop was well attended and enthusiastically received.  Most of the workshop deals with forgiving others, but two of the sections address forgiving God and forgiving self.  I only addressed these two issues briefly assuming the greater need was focused on other people.  But the desire of the women there to delve more deeply into being at peace with God and themselves garnered me an invitation to return.

A return to Portland is surely no burden since it means getting more time with Steve and Lisa Johnson and Buzz and Anita Banadyga.  It takes no time at all to feel like you’ve known someone forever when your hearts are united in your love for God and the people you serve.  Looks like I’ll be going back in March or April.

Our Feb 14 staff meeting included (as we do once a month) South Sound ministers Dana & Gin Perkins, and Marcus & Noemi Wallace. We were able to pray together that morning for special needs in the church, and for those close to a decision for Christ.  In addition, we discussed details of church discipline, how we would film a “20/20 Vision” segment for Disciples Today (and for us to see in Seattle!), and feedback about last Friday’s “Family Connections” outreach night.  Scott taught a lesson to the men (“How we know what love is”) and Linda Brumley taught the women’s discipleship group.

Some of the news from the meeting:

• The Balsoms’ adopted son was recently baptized into Christ.  Jeff has served an elder in the Chicago church and is currently battling a challenging cancer.  The Brumleys have been close to them for many years.
• The ongoing BC revival featured the baptism of Stephanie Morais.  At her baptism Stephanie thanked all the teen leaders who had walked with her over many years.
• Many athletes are coming to the UW “athletes’” Bible Talk, led by the Whitakers and anchored by our football brother Andrew Hudson, whose humility baffles and inspires his teammates.
• On MLK Day, disciples helped canvas over 4000 homes in the cause of fire prevention