By Pastor Tim White

All Things New

What a historic night the Rockin’ the Dream Banquet will be on Saturday May 21st, 2022.
Rhonda and Ted are driving back from Central Oregon to give us a mini concert.  Man, do we miss Rhonda’s music! She will play a medley of hymns on the piano, as only she can do. How blessed we are to have Rhonda minister to us. Eliot and Chelsea will be there to teach us the theme song for this spring sermon series: “All Things New”.  We will also introduce our new Families Pastor, Mark Nsimbi. He is a talented young pastor who is more than we could ever have dreamed of drawing to this job; and he will introduce his amazing wife Anne and their two daughters.

This year’s Rockin the Dream’s goal is to raise, through special gifts, the money to renew our restrooms. This is a top priority for reaching new people. New people want to see an updated restroom which is safe, looks clean, smells fresh, and looks like the church cares.  We can’t have a great caring network with decaying restrooms.  We are raising money for a new fire alarm system as our old one is due for an upgrade and after 20 years - it is time. We are hoping to put in new fresh flooring throughout the church and maybe a new sound system to make a better worship experience. One person has donated $35,000 towards that new system already. We also raise our lease payment for our sanctuary at this time.

When we give to Rockin’ the Dream, above our normal tithes and offerings, we begin to explore that territory.  It’s the vehicle that many will start giving to at first, but for many of us it is the opportunity to investigate the territory of being blessed so that we can bless. Again, our targets for this year are:
1. Bathrooms
2. Fire Alarm System
3. Flooring
4. New Sound System

Come to Sunday service either on-line (You Tube, Facebook Live or church Apps) or in-person at 10:30am we will have exciting news to share from the banquet. We will have an uplifting sermon, beautiful worship and each other. See you there.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

By Pastor Tim White

All Things New

I don’t know about you, but I just love to start over again. I remember when Jackie and I were raising our first baby Elise. All the change of raising a new baby was exhausting. Everywhere we went we had to carry a carload of stuff just for a tiny, 8lb baby. Mealtime and nights would be the same for a couple of decades. Our clothes were all marked with baby stains which pushed us out of the “cool” category. Bathing our baby exhausted us both. And all of a sudden, we had to figure out how to be Youth Pastors with a baby. It seemed impossible. Every morning Elise would wake up long before we wanted to get up, and we would hear her yell out with humor and enthusiasm “Daddy…Daddy.” She called everything daddy - Jackie, me, motorcycles, balloons and kitty cats. But Jackie nevertheless would poke me in the gut with her elbow and say, “that’s you, daddy.” Elise was just so excited for each new day.

The Bible says, “Therefore anyone in Christ is a new creation, the old is gone, all things have become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17. This weekend we start a new series of messages on how God can renew our lives, our churches and our nation. And that is God’s plan. So please join us this Sunday at 10:30am in the in-person or online services (Your Tube, Facebook Live or church App) for a message our whole world needs to hear.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Listen to Your Mom

By Pastor Tim White

We have the privilege, on our staff, of serving with a young mother. Chelsea Maitland is an inspirational person. Jackie and I love it so much when she talks about her two amazing toddler boys.  She just beams joy, contentment, and hope when she talks about them. And every story about her babies just brings back so many good memories helping us to remember how much we love our kids.

We will honor mothers this weekend. And yes, God speaks to us through mothers…so listen to your mom.

The first women that arrived at the empty tomb of Jesus ran back to the rest of the disciples telling them about a resurrected savior.  We wouldn’t know about Easter if it wasn’t for women who were preaching the good news.

Moms speak to us in so many ways. They tell us to make our beds, to share, to toughen up and never give up. They teach us compassion, kindness, hope and that we are unique and loved.   In the church there are women who don’t have kids and they make us the church by loving those without positive role models.

My mom is Elizabeth Jane Cundiff Saunders White. She has helped form at least half of my personality. If Washington Cathedral is, or ever has been, or ever will be, a great caring network, it is because of my mom. If you didn’t know my mom broke her neck in two places last summer. Surgery presented the highest probability of death or life-long paralysis. She wears one of the neck braces and continues to do the things she has done her whole life. Loving her family and friends is the simple life focus of my mom. The other day I was talking to her and suggested that she does not continue cooking for my dad, doing the dishes or serving so many people. She said,
“Timothy, I have been caring for your dad for nearly sixty years and I am going to continue to be your dad’s best friend and helper as long as I live. And that is all I am going to say about that.”
Allow a mom to speak to you from God - so listen to your mom.

Please join us either in the in-person or on-line service (Facebook Live, Church Apps or
You Tube) this Mother’s Day at 10:30am. We would love to see you in person as we celebrate Mothers.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

By Pastor Tim White

When people are to grow towards becoming the people God designed them to be - first they must learn to listen to the Spirit of God. God’s Spirit is like the wind. You can’t see him, but you can see his impact; just as you can’t see the wind, but you can see the trees, a kite, a wind sock, your hair, leaves or tumbleweeds. God is moving at Washington Cathedral.

On Easter 2020 churches had to close around our nation due to Covid. We scrambled to put our service on-line. And wow what a surprise! We had over 10,000 people around the world watching. Previously the largest service we had ever was the Christmas Service at Meydenbauer with over 6,000 attending. We averaged in that Covid year maybe 600 people a week watching on-line until Christmas where we had 20,000 people watching. We spent a lot of time leading people into a personal relationship with Christ or answering questions and praying with people.

On Easter 2021 we were astonished to have over 40,000 people. And by Fall we were averaging over 10,000 a week. People from Kenya, Honduras, Peru, and Brazil were increasing in numbers worshiping with us. In person numbers were still small but dynamic. But in February of 2022 we had over 40,000 watches on a non-descript week. Finally, Easter a couple of weeks ago over 103,000 people checked in to watch the service. And on Wednesday after Easter the Board voted unanimously to hire a new young family’s pastor who we hope will grow to be our new senior/ lead pastor in the next three and a half years. I will stay around to encourage and have the back of our new young pastor after retiring in the Fall of 2025 but I’m still going to be involved in this great caring network. We aren’t going to announce who our dynamic new pastor will be until he has had a chance to inform his much-loved church, that God has led him to accept a call to Washington Cathedral. But until then let’s all just celebrate that God is on the move.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

By Pastor Tim White

I don’t know about you, but Easter completely renews me. Forgiveness that is mine from the cross and unmeasurable hope from the resurrection.

We are beginning a brand-new series entitled Growing in God: Listening to the Wind. 

I chose this title because the thing those of us who have been touched by Resurrection Sunday want, is to grow and become the people God wants us to be. That’s the way to feel after Easter.

One of the main ways that we grow is learning to listen to God’s voice in our lives. Through scripture, through prayer, and through Christ-like relationships.  After the resurrection, Jesus taught us about the Spirit of God and how that because of his death and resurrection we can all be led by the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament the word is Ruach or wind. That why the subtitle is listening to the wind.

Why not decide to be a part of this eight-week series and discover what God can do in your life if you learn to listen to his direction.  Join us either in person at 10:30am Sunday in the Sanctuary, or on-line via Facebook Live, You Tube or the Church Apps.

Your friend for the rest of my life.
Pastor Tim

Get Your Tail In Church This Easter

By Pastor Tim White

Easter is the moment for each of us to break through to a new level of dynamic faith - if we can only believe it! You will be inspired to believe at a more authentic level than you ever have before this Easter Sunday at 10:30 am.

If you can make it to our in-person service, it would be so important to Washington Cathedral. All over the world people have stopped coming to in-person services at their churches. It’s totally understandable with all we have gone through with the pandemic. On-line services are up, in fact, we had over 50,000 people view our service on just a normal week. Some churches have over a million. But at some point, we need to continue meeting in person to be a healthy church. We find people who are back to shopping, going to sports events, going to dinner or even a bar but still not coming back to church. It’s hard to make a church more than a crowd unless we can worship together in person. Why not try out going back or bring a friend at Easter. You are welcome to wear a mask if you want, but if you want to worship without one then it’s lawful to worship that way as well.

Our Special Guests this Easter are Ellaina Lewis who is one of the top young sopranos in the nation. Of course, you know Leon Patillo will also be there; and as the former lead singer for the band Santana, he brings a lot of energy and joy to the service. The resurrection drama will be better than ever. Eliot Stone and Chelsea Maitland have assembled a master worship team that have come to worship the Master. Including lead, rhythm and base guitars along with drums, piano, and keyboard leading worship in front of the waterfall. We will have hundreds of beautiful blossoming flowers. Pastors David and Carol are making a super breakfast before the service and there will be a fun Easter egg hunt for kids right after the worship service.

Friday night (April 15) at 7pm, Dr. Marty Folsom is leading a wonderful Good Friday service with the seven stages of the cross.

What a great Sunday to dare to come back to church in person. The world needs Christian faith and churches more than ever so please be a part of saving the church.

Your friend for the rest of our lives,

Pastors Tim and Jackie White

The Triumph of Jesus

By Pastor Tim White

In the early months of 2014, 700,000 people from our community, the Seahawks 12’s, braved freezing temps to line the streets of Seattle to celebrate our first Super Bowl Championship ever. The Seahawks in the parade said it was one of the greatest moments of their lives.

Palm Sunday is a bigger celebration then even that momentous event. It is our moment to sing and pray Hosanna! God save us! Blessed he who comes in the name of the Lord! We do this not because God needs to hear this - we celebrate Jesus because we need to pray this. We will all be better off because we say this.

This is the beginning of Holy Week. Starting with a great celebration on Palm Sunday (April 10) and recognizing the Stages of the Cross on Good Friday (April 15) at 7pm.We will all meet together for a wonderful breakfast at 9:30am on Easter Sunday morning. Then the Easter drama starring our own little Violet and the reenactment of the first Easter. Our praise band will be better than ever. Former Lead singer of Santana, Leon Patillo will be with us, as will one of the top sopranos in the nation, Ellaina Lewis, who will be sharing her wonderful voice with us.

This year is one of the most important Easter Sundays in the history of our great caring network. Even though we have 50,000 people from all over the world worship with us on-line it’s time to invite our friends to come back to church and worship in person. It will determine the future of the church post covid. So come in person and bring a friend.

Your friend for the rest of my life,
Pastor Tim White

Let’s kick off a very important Holy Week by bringing our celebration to Palm Sunday this Sunday at 10:30am, in the sanctuary or on-line with You Tube, Facebook or the church Apps.

We Are Family

By Pastor Tim White

I can’t believe all the internet scamming in our present age. I have literally had to change our credit card twice in two weeks and three times in one month. Finally, my banker asked me, “Pastor White have you ever thought of yourself as overly trusting to the point of being gullible?“
I replied, “Yes, yes I have always understood that about myself.” She went on, “Well quit thinking you have won a free computer from Best Buy or Costco or anyone else. And no! you did not win $10,000 from the federal government, or $100,000 from some billionaire! My goodness gracious!!” I paused and replied, “Well what if I really do win something and I miss it.” Pause,
“Oh my Gosh! Well, I will talk to you next time then, “replied my new banker friend.

That’s kind of the way people have come to look at the words of Jesus where he says, “Who is my mother, my brothers? Those who do the will of God are my mother, brothers and sisters.”

Today so many scams have been done in the name of Jesus that people are giving up on the family of God. Especially with all the abuse that has taken place. Some counselors justifiably question whether that metaphor can be used in our day and age. And so many people have created a metaphor of the church as a business. For a long time, I tried to follow this emphasis in the modern church, as did many other pastors. After seeing leader after leader fall under this system, I withdrew my approval of this metaphor. There were too many people without the qualifications trying to lead churches because they had business experience. They would get in the way of thoughtful biblical leaders and hurt a lot of people along the way. For this metaphor exaggerated the weakness of American business culture. It’s “all about me” and the end justifying the means. In one generation it took the United States with church attendance at 80% of churches down to 40%. It all happened with the best intentions by very good people.

Throughout the Bible the church is called the family of God, not a multimillion-dollar corporation. Members are people with unique needs not statistics in corporate growth. Every human being has a need to be surrounded by a positive, loving, forgiving, and encouraging community and respected as a family member of that community. Yes, we need to watch out for abuse by sticking with accountability. And, as a whole, we need to institute better safeguards to protect us from these instances. But we need to be a team, a family of God and not some ego driven corporation where it’s all about each person’s need for power.

Join me this Sunday at 10:30am either at the in-person or on-line service (via You Tube, Facebook Live or Church Apps) as we catch the vision of the church as a healthy family of God.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

By Pastor Tim White

Who Are You?

That is a question people all around you are asking every day. Even the people closest to you continue to ask that question in the secret part of their brains. Who is my mom during all she is going through? Who is my child now that they have grown up? Who is my boss? Who is my employee? It’s a question we ask of ourselves. For young adolescents it is a major issue for their mental health.

Maybe one of the most important questions Jesus ever asked was when he asked his closest friends – “who do men say that I am?” Not only was that the question of the hour, but it is a question we are still asking today.

Who are we and who is Jesus Christ? Join us this Sunday at 10:30am, as Dr. Marty Folsom speaks to this issue in our on-line service and in our in-person service. (Facebook Live, You Tube or the Church Apps) It’s a very important question and this Sunday is a very important time to ask it. Please join us.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Celebrate!

By Pastor Tim White

Let’s learn to celebrate in the midst of life.  I love the words of Jesus. They speak to our hearts right in the middle of whatever we are facing in life right now.  In Mark 2:19-22, Jesus speaks our tendency to define religion in terms of just self-sacrifice, denying ourselves of the pleasures in life.  People are wondering why John the Baptist’s followers are fasting and denying themselves while Jesus’ followers are having fun with his disciples.

Join us this Sunday at 10:30am to either the on-line service (You Tube, Facebook Live or
church Apps) or in-person in our Sanctuary at Spirit Falls. We will study the scriptures to better understand the point Jesus is making and how it might help us to better communicate with the people in our lives. The music is going to be wonderful, and the fellowship is always up lifting.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White