Dinner is pizza. The movie is “Places in the Heart,”  a 1984 film that follows Edna Spalding, a young woman during the Great Depression who is forced to take charge of her farm after the death of her husband and is helped by a surprising group of people.

We will eat dinner while we watch the movie and then discuss the movie. (There will be a freewill offering to help cover the cost of the pizza and drinks.)

There will be a sign-up sheet in the Sanctuary on February 9.  Please sign up if you plan to attend so that we know how much pizza to order.

Dear Beloveds,

One of my most vivid childhood memories is when my home congregation welcomed a Vietnamese family. As a young child, I remember helping prepare the home that the family would live in, going grocery shopping with my mom for food to fill the pantry, giving our couch to them, helping with the “world dinner” that would raise money for this endeavor, and, most of all, anticipating the arrival of these new people – Loung and Young and Quin. I remember when this little family stood in the back of the sanctuary and everyone stood and clapped and embraced this family.

The length of the season of Epiphany depends on when Easter falls. This year Easter is late, April 20. That means we will remain in Epiphany throughout  February.  Epiphany is all about having their eyes opened to see more clearly who Jesus is and what his ministry is all about. 

February 2            Jeremiah 1:4-10  and  Luke 4:21-30
February 9            Isaiah 6:1-8 and Luke 5:1-11
February 16        Jeremiah 17:5-10 and Luke 6:17-26
February 23        Genesis 45:3-11, 15 and Luke 6:27-38

 Our friends from Academia Latina are hosting a celebration to  welcome in 2025 on Saturday, February 8, at 5:00 pm.  There will be fun activities, gifts and prizes for children and adults. 

 Faith Action Network is an interfaith, statewide partnership striving for a just, compassionate and sustainable world through community building, education, advocacy and courageous public action. Find more information at: www.fanwa.org.

A Statement on Immigration from the Bishops of Region One of the ELCA

January 22, 2025

As Lutherans, we are called to live out the teachings of Jesus Christ, who welcomed strangers and emphasized love, mercy, and justice for all people. We believe that every human being, regardless of their country of origin or legal status, is created in the image of God and has inherent dignity and worth. This foundational truth compels us to approach the issue of immigration with compassion and a commitment to the common good.

The quilters here at Central Lutheran Church make quilts for people around the world, through Lutheran World Relief.  Click below for more information on how you can help.  

The Sunday Supper program is looking for donations of warm socks, gloves, coats, and blankets, for our guests, as the weather has gotten colder.  

The homeless, under-resourced, or just plain hungry are all welcome! Anyone in need can get a meal at Central Lutheran Church each Sunday night. Sunday Suppers are at 5:00 pm. These meals are provided by volunteers from  different congregations representing a variety of denominations in Snohomish County.

You are invited to serve in this vital ministry. Volunteers can arrive at 4:30 to help with set up and the meal will be served at 5:00. We stop serving meals at 6:00 and usually can be cleaned up and done by 6:30.   As the saying goes, many hands make light work. 

As the weather begins to get colder, our neighbors will be looking for coats, sweatshirts, hats, and gloves. If you have any gently used items we would love to keep them in stock for when people in need come in looking for warm-weather clothing.

Thank you as always for your support in time, food, and prayers.

Each week we live stream our worship service on YouTube. Our services are also recorded and can be viewed on our website. Jonathan Todd faithfully serves as our YouTube Operator. (A task for which he is seldom recognized and thanked.) In order to give Jonathan a break, or to fill in if he is not here, we are looking for a few people who could step in. Starting and ending the YouTube stream takes roughly three minutes at the beginning and end of the service. Please contact Pastor Jim if you would be willing to help in this way. 

We use YouTube to live stream and record our worship services.  In each weekly Worship Invitation email, we include a link  to that Sunday's worship service.  Past worship services can be viewed by going to our YouTube page by searching for "Central Lutheran Church Everett Washington" or by CLICKING HERE.

We are working to get recordings of our worship services on our website. 

In the middle of Jesus’ story about the Prodigal Son, the boy is down in the pigpen eating bean pods with the hogs. At this point, he realizes that he has made a serious misjudgment with the direction of his life, and Jesus describes his turning point like this: “But when he came to himself he said, ‘I will get up and go to my father’” (Luke 15:17-18).

What does this mean—“when he came to himself”? Was he not already at himself? Yes, he was at one part of himself, but not his real self. As the boy leaves home in the first part of the story, he is full of resentment and bitterness and rebellion. But when he finally came to himself at the low point of his life down in the pigpen, we find that he decides to become an altogether different kind of person.

And we find our real selves in the same way—by a decision to return to God. That is a great part of what we are doing each week when we worship God by giving our money to help God’s causes. We are saying, “By myself, I am not enough. By myself, I wander into pigpens. Here, take this and use it to help me, and other people like me, to find our way home again.”

Finance Update through December, 2024

Beginning Balance           3,009
Monthly Expenses       (20,845)
Monthly Income             29,230
Surplus for 2024           11,394

CLICK HERE to make a financial donation to Central Lutheran Church.

 Happy Birthday to those celebrating February birthdays!  

Steve Olsen, February 7

Gayle Watts, February 10

Ryan French, February 12

Janis Ahern, February 14

Dave Kurtz, February 21

Clayton Olsen, February 24

Central Lutheran Church Office Hours are:

Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. 

Pastor Jim works in the office Tuesday through Friday, times vary.