An Update

And just like that, three years have gone by. Here’s what happened:

 In the beginning (March 2020), we had high hopes for this experiment, that is, finding ways to enable relationship building and partnerships between the congregations of the Stillaguamish Cluster.

And then COVID happened. We adapted and adjusted, and it turns out that some things we hoped for just could not happen. Some things we never imagined did. The Spirit leads.

There’s no one perfect way to “build relationships,” and in this time and place, the work has begun slowly but continues quietly, steadily, and will no doubt make a difference in the life of the participating congregations.

The harvest is small and subtle. We are barely planting seeds. We have, in fact, been doing the work that happens before seed planting. We have been preparing soil, making sure it is healthy, removing obstacles (or at least acknowledging them and finding ways to think about them that may lead to more than just hand wringing about our shrinking memberships). We have been building spiritual infrastructure.

  • The pastors and deacons have continued to meet weekly to share joys and concerns, to study scripture and to consider ways to strengthen the ties between their congregations and communities.

  • Camano and Peace have continued to work together to lead and learn alongside their youth and confirmation students.

  • LINC NW (sharing space with Faith Lutheran in North Marysville) had grown and is hosting a Family Community Resource Center and continues to offer youth activities and mentoring. We’ve connected with the Community Resource Centers in Arlington and Stanwood to better serve our community, including raising $20,000 at our Summer worship service to give to support the work these important organizations.

  • A Lay Leaders Team has been meeting regularly, sharing in real, honest ways, reading and discussing a book: “How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going” by Susan Beaumont. In Winter 2023 they will be focusing on the book “Living Lutheran: Renewing your Congregation” by Rev. Dave Daubert.

    • Our first Zoom meeting will be Wednesday, January 4, 2023 from 7 – 8p.m.

      The other dates tentatively are:

      Wednesday, January 18

      Wednesday, February 1

      Wednesday, February 15

      Then we move to Thursdays in March (during Lent):

      Thursday, March 2

      Thursday, March 16

    • For more information, contact Karen Dicken: quilter@wavecable.com

  • The Office Managers meet monthly via Zoom to encourage and teach, share news and information with each other.

  • The Cluster “One Parish-One Prisoner (OPOP)” Team meets monthly, learning about the prison industrial complex in general and specifically how to be a friend to our releasing friend, Kelly, as he re-enters community life.

  • A Monday night Zoom Bible Study has met faithfully through the pandemic and includes Vern and Hilda Williamson, who moved to Africa in the middle of all this and can still Zoom with us (when the electrons allow).

  • The Cluster Treasurers and the Cemetery Managers all know who each other are and know who to call when they want to connect.

  • The Care Teams at Camano and Faith are reinvigorated and ready to share what they know (and learn from those who serve as lay visitors and Eucharistic ministers).

  • Pastor Erik has been coaching the leadership teams of many of our congregations as they seek to get clearer about their missions, navigate transitions, and continue to collaborate together.

We are starting to see real growth in active cooperation and partnering throughout the cluster. More people from each congregation know someone else at another location, and see our church as not just our individual congregation, but part of a wider network. And when the day comes when one church needs another, they will know who to call (besides the pastor, because sometimes a congregation goes on without a pastor). When one church decides to reach out into its community and serve, the people will know who to call and invite in. In these ways, we are on the road to living out our baptismal call as the priesthood of all believers.

We are grateful for the financial and prayer support of the Northwest Washington Synod, the ELCA, our congregations, and individual donors who helped make this possible. In particular, we are grateful to the people of Grace Lutheran Church in Bellevue who had the foresight in the closing of their congregation to share the funds that would become “Grace Grants.” Their courage allowed us to experiment in new ways, and we hope to live into their legacy—someday also to use our resources to fund the next generation of mission and ministry experiments in our cluster and beyond.

Key Project Learnings from Rev. Erik Samuelson