April 2025
Together In Mission
Monthly Reflections from BCC
Planting a Garden in the Graveyard
By Phil Rushton
Lead Pastor
Last year, my Easter sermon focused on the connection between the resurrection story and the creation story. There are numerous echoes of Genesis 1 and 2 in John 20. John 20 begins, “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark.” This connects with the first day of creation in Genesis 1, which started with a formless void of darkness. In Genesis 2:8, God planted a garden in Eden. In John 20:15, Jesus is mistaken by Mary for a gardener tending the grounds around the tomb. The creation story culminates with God creating humans and breathing into Adam, “the breath of life, and he became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). Similarly, in John 20:22, Jesus breathes on his disciples in the locked upper room so that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
John 20 is communicating something significant. The resurrection of Jesus, the new Adam, has ushered in the beginning of God’s new creation! The resurrected Christ is at work restoring and renewing what has been marred by the fall. The resurrected Jesus is cultivating a garden in the midst of the graveyards of life!
I wonder if this might shape our calling as God’s people during this upcoming Easter season? I wonder how we might join God in the work of sowing and cultivating seeds of God’s kingdom in a dark and broken world?
My pastoral conversations, over the past couple of months, have been characterized by a notable uptick in grief and anxiety. This daily news is flooded with difficult stories these days. The wars in Ukraine, Gaza, and Sudan rage on. The sociopolitical dynamics in our own country are marked by instability and anxiety. When we add into the mix personal losses and challenges, life can feel overwhelming. Like Mary at the tomb, we can be so clouded by grief that we struggle to see signs of God’s presence in our midst.
It is sometimes hard to know what to do with our anxiety. We can’t personally do much about the wars raging overseas. Most of us have very little power or influence in the political life of our own country. Doom scrolling or posting angry rants on social media may provide a temporary catharsis, but they don’t really change our fundamental reality.
What if, instead, we directed our energy toward planting and tending to some small gardens in the graveyards of our world? What if we made the sowing of small mustard seed acts of kindness, compassion, and care our protest against the violence and injustice in our world?
We are resurrection people! We believe in a God who has the power to overcome evil and death. We worship the great gardener God who cultivates new life in the midst of grief and loss. We follow the God who is working to make all things new. This Easter, let us join God in cultivating beauty amidst the graveyards of our world!
God Bless,
Pastor Phil
Celebrate Holy Week with BCC
FROM YOUR BCC LIBRARY
By Nancy Henderson
Are you in a small group, interested in starting a small group, or wondering what your small group could study next? Your BCC Library has a new section of Small Group Study Materials on a wide range of topics including:
Exploring Covenant Affirmations; When Helping Hurts; God’s Story, Your Story; Jonah – Navigating a Life Interrupted; The Armor of God; Gideon – Your Weakness, God’s Strength; The Prodigal God – Finding Your Place at the Table; The End of Me – What does it mean to die to yourself?; The Blazing Center – Experiencing the Holy Spirit Through the Book of Acts; A Better Country – Embracing the Refugees in Our Midst; The Truth Project, and a number of others.
Located in the General Bible Study section, some of these studies include a video and a workbook or study guide, some have a book and a study guide, some have a leader’s book and a participant book, and some are only a study guide. Studies that include more than one item are to be checked out as a set using the barcode on the back item in the bundle (or the barcode on the box in the case of the few boxed sets). Several of these studies have extra participant study guides which may be handed out to and kept by group members. These are available on a first-come first-served basis. Talk to the librarian or Pastor Adria for these extra materials or for an extended checkout time.
Just a reminder that there is still time to check out the Lent and Easter materials for adults and children, located on the window seat in the library.
A New Way to Celebrate Earth Day
By Heather Merchant
Looking for ways to help the environment but not ready for big changes like solar panels or an electric vehicle? You can still make a difference by participating in the Earth Day Recycling Drop-off. This event will take place Saturday, April 19, from 12 – 3 PM, at the City of Bellingham Civic Field, 1335 Civic Field Way.
The Creation Care Team at BCC is partnering with the City of Bellingham for this city-wide free recycling event. This is a great way to clear your clutter and reduce your environmental impact by dropping off your hard-to-recycle items. Also, every participant will leave with a free countertop compost can!
Our team will once again collect athletic shoes and sneakers. If the shoes donated are reusable, they go to secondhand markets for resale at affordable prices to those in need of quality shoes. Heavily used and damaged shoes are recycled or converted to create new energy. We will have a drop-off box in the foyer for the next two Sundays if you cannot make the recycling event.
What You Can Bring:
Up to three grocery bags (or 2 banker boxes) of sensitive documents for shredding and recycling. (Did you know shredded paper cannot be recycled through residential recycling services in Bellingham?)
Old TVs, computer monitors, desktop and laptop computers, tablets & e-readers, portable DVD players
Single-use batteries including (Alkaline AA, AAA, 9V, C, D), button cells & lithium primary
Rechargeable batteries including Lithium-ion (Li-Ion), Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd), Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MN), Nickel Zinc (Ni-Zn), car and small marine batteries (Small Sealed Lead Acid -SSLA/Pb)
Used athletic shoes & sneakers in any size and condition. Please tie or rubber-band matching shoes together.
NOT ACCEPTED:
Non-athletic footwear of any kind (i.e., dress shoes heels, sandals, wedges, water socks, rain boots, crocs, cleats, and non-athletic styles)
We hope you’ll come by Civic Field to drop off your hard-to-recycle items! You’ll be saving landfill space, eliminating potential fire hazards, and protecting our soil and air from toxic waste. Best of all, together, we will witness to our community that we care about stewarding God’s creation too. For information about this event, visit this site.
To discover more Earth Day Events scheduled in Bellingham visit this site.
Up Next:
CoWork Corner
Every Tuesday & Thursday
12:00 pm-3:00 pm in Cafe Fika
*This is a shared workspace for those who work or study from home
Prime Timers Brunch
Thursday, April 3
12:30 pm in the Dining Room
*Prime Timers is a ministry for those who are 60(ish) and above
Second Cup of Coffee
Saturday, April 12
10:00 am in Cafe Fika
*Ladies, join us for coffee and fellowship! If you are new to BCC, this is a great way to get to know other ladies in our church!
Looking beyond April…
BCC Hosting Conference Annual Meeting
May 1-3
*Church family invite for Friday night worship
All Church Campout
June 19-22
School Readiness Program
August 5-8