A fresh look at the most ancient of stories: the 1st chapter of Genesis.
Narration by Julie Jesmer, Will Crow, Melissa Newbry
Images from Pexels, Pixabay, and Charis Weathers Music by Bensound Words (mostly) by Eugene Peterson, The Message Edited by Charis Weathers Produced by Echoes Bellingham
A visual reflection of the biblical story of Jonah combined with poetry read by our community.
Jonah Poem
By Matthew Hunt Fletcher
Scripture: “One day long ago, God’s Word came to Jonah, Amittai’s son: “Up on your feet and on your way to the big city of Nineveh! Preach to them.” -Jonah 1:1 (The Message)
1. The Lord told Jonah to arise And go to Nineveh.
God’s eyes Had seen their sin.
Their time was up, And soon they’d drink God’s wrath-filled cup.
But Jonah didn’t want to go To preach this dreadful word of woe.
So down to Joppa Jonah trod To try to get away from God.
He got on board a ship that day And sailed for Tarshish far away.
In vain the prophet tried to flee; God sent a storm upon the sea.
Each sailor quickly grabbed an oar And vainly tried to row to shore.
The prophet told them ‘bout his sin And said,
“You’ll need to throw me in, If you want God this storm to end And make the waters calm again.” With heavy hearts they followed through And tossed him in the ocean blue.
The Lord then sent a great big fish To swallow up this tasty dish.
Three days & nights God’s man was there.
In chapter two we see his prayer:
Scripture: “Then God assigned a huge fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was in the fish’s belly three days and nights.”-Jonah 1:17
2. "I called to God in my distress,
Surrounded by the ocean's depths,
Where weeds were wrapped around my head;
I thought I was as good as dead.
Yet in that deep, dark, dreadful place,
God showed me mercy, love, and grace -
The things that I could not perceive,
But chose by faith to still believe.
From fish's gut I give my praise To You, the sov'reign God who saves."
'Twas then God did the fish command;
It threw up Jonah on dry land.
3. With slimy Jonah back on shore, God spoke to him just like before.
Determined this time to obey,
The prophet left without delay For Nineveh, that no-good town,
Where God would rain his judgment down.
“In forty days, you’ll be o’erthrown!”,
The prophet said in somber tone.
The people listened and believed.
They fasted, prayed, and greatly grieved O’er all their sin, from which they turned
To serve the one true God they’d spurned.
With mighty mercy God the Lord,
Despite their sins which He abhorred,
Withheld the judgment they deserved
When their repentance He observed.
4. And what of Jonah? you may ask.
Upon completion of his task,
He made his great displeasure known To God for all the grace He’d shown.
“That’s why I fled from You at first –
Because You love the very worst!
Your grace is great, Your anger slow. Why must You such great mercy show?”
Then, angry as a man can be, He said, “Lord, take my life from me.”
But God replied, “Do you do well To be so mad?” –
And then, do tell, The prophet sat beneath the shade
Wrought by a plant the Lord had made.
This set-up made old Jonah smile,
And he felt happy for awhile.
5. But then a worm sent by the Lord Ate up that lush, gigantic gourd.
The sun beat down on Jonah’s brow.
He faintly prayed, “Lord, kill me now.”
Then came this answer from the Lord: “You showed such pity for the gourd –
A plant not made or grown by you,
And here for just a day or two.
Should I not care for Nineveh
Whose multitudes are lacking the Discernment to choose right from wrong –
One hundred twenty thousand strong?
Remember, there are cattle too,
Which may not mean that much to you;
But they are worth more than a gourd
And matter much to me, the Lord.”
6. And on this note the story ends.
What difference will it make, my friends,
In our own lives as we think through
The lessons here for me and you?
When God commands, will we obey,
Or will we run the other way?
Is mercy just for me and you,
And not for other peoples too?
The sign of Jonah points today
To Jesus Christ, the living Way.
He died and rose to save the lost.
Let’s spread the news whate’er the cost.
Created by the Echoes community in Bellingham, WA. Read by community members at Service Church in April 2021.Featuring images and footage from unsplash, pexels, shutterstock and the Echoes community.
Produced and Edited by Matthew Grey & Emma Donohew
Video from our special winter Indoor Church Advent worship service at the (former) Black Drop Cafe in downtown Bellingham featuring music by Tara Ward.
It was a beautiful evening filled with prayer, scripture and song, while enjoying seasonal coffee, chai & tea.
https://tarawardmusic.com/
Se Sealth, Jewell Praying Wolf James, and Sit ki kadem, Douglas James, carvers of the House of Tears at Lummi Nation, share wisdom and stories regarding the spirituality of carving totem poles and embarking on the journeys to take them across North America.
Their words form the basis for this video that allows the viewer to connect with God, reflect upon one's own actions, and move toward positive action.
Many, many thanks for their generosity in sharing their experiences and thoughts, and for allowing this video to be made and published online.
For further information on the journey for this 2021 totem pole: https://www.redroadtodc.org/ https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-...
Created by Charis Weathers
If you’ve wondered what a conversation might be like between a so-called failed pastor, and a pastor who side-stepped out of evangelicalism, this is a chance to listen in. Jayson Bradley has a considerable social media following as “an evangelist to evangelicals, and Charis Weathers is a member of the Echoes team. They discuss how and why they began to wonder if there was more to faith in Jesus than the evangelical model and culture, and Jayson offers his reflections on being a presence on social media, with all of its ups and downs.
On Monday, June 22, Echoes had an online conversation with Jodi Spargur; this is a recording of that event.
From 2008-2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) sought to create "as complete a historical record as possible of the residential school system and legacy," as part of the settlement for a conviction on the charge of cultural genocide.
Our discussion guest for this Echoes' 'Hamster Church gathering was Jodi Spargur, who was involved with TRC, and has spent many years working alongside and under the leadership of First Nations peoples. Jodi describes herself as a farmer, pastor and catalyzer for justice and healing between settlers and Indigenous Peoples. Jodi has been a pastor for 27 years, including planting a church in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver in 2009 that was formed around First Nations families. A large aspect of Jodi’s work focuses on helping non-Indigenous communities learn about colonization, and about how the implications of colonization manifest themselves today. Because of her extensive experience working alongside Indigenous Peoples, Jodi opens eyes to a different worldview.
Jodi established and directs Red Clover Initiatives, a non-profit network that creates Indigenous led local actions for healing and justice. Red Clover also provides cultural safety and anti-racism trainings. She works among churches catalyzing local, sustainable connections with Indigenous communities for the purposes of healing and justice. Jodi is profoundly gifted as a presenter and educator. She lives as a guest on the unceded Coast Salish Territory known as Vancouver, BC.
This event challenges understandings of colonialism, the role of churches, and offer some of the findings of the TRC in making a way forward. In a time when we are actually facing systemic racism in our country, this event is a vital look at our early and ongoing injustices towards those who have lived on North American soil since time immemorial.
RESOURCES:
The Legend of Salmon Woman and Her Children Featuring images of the Salmon Woman Totem, carved by the Lummi House of Tears, 1997 (Bellingham, WA).
This was created for our online Easter Service in April 2020.
The Easter Walk is an Echoes tradition that follows the path of Whatcom Creek through downtown Bellingham, and includes the reading of The Salmon Woman Legend at the Lummi House of Tears Totem Pole. We were able to honor this tradition and include a virtual walk with Salmon Woman in our Easter service
Take a watch & listen to the ancient story of Salmon Woman and the message she has for us today!
Produced by Emma Donohew & Matthew Grey for Echoes
Dr Jennie McLaurin and Behavioral Health Consultant Josh Whaley share helpful knowledge and insight into what we know about COVID-19 medically, and how we can process/manage our feelings. Both have excellent information. Hosted by Echoes Bellingham, as our way of contributing positively to our community. Recorded during a March 16, 2020 Zoom call.
We believe that church is not confined to a building, so neither should church! We gather once a month in one of the many excellent breweries, cideries and pubs throughout Bellingham for good beverages & deep conversation. This is church, too, led by part of the Echoes team pastor Emma Donohew, whose experience with the best beers and the finest conversation starters serve the community at Echoes well.
We invite fascinating and wonderful Bellinghamsters* from the wider community in for an intimate conversation which we record for a podcast, scheduled to launch in January 2020! These conversations are church, hosted with compassion, curiosity, and respect by Echoes founding pastor, Charis Weathers.
*Folks from Bellingham, Washington are affectionately called Bellinghamsters!
Inner transformation leads to outer transformation. We lend our hands, presence and time to support local non-profits that are committed to restoring the land, people, creatures and life of our community. Echoes has a deep commitment to the reality that vibrant faith must always seek to serve others.
Venturing beyond our brains, creative expression taps into our hearts. Through diverse mediums from watercolor, to poetry, to collage, we explore the many ways our innate creativity opens up our connection to Mystery and the Divine. This church experience is led by artist and Pastor Emma Donohew.
Gathering in different wild places in and near Bellingham, we develop spiritual practices to re-member ourselves back into sacred relationship with the rest of the natural world. We are grateful that our Wild Church experience was founded by Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild founder, Pastor & Teacher, Victoria Loorz. Check out her book Church of the Wild here.
We meet monthly throughout Bellingham and Whatcom County on the land, our original sanctuary. Find out where we are gathering on our events page.
Echoes was founded in Bellingham, Washington in 2013 at Bellingham PRIDE! We believe that God loves everyone, and its important we make that known. Loudly! So each year we march & table at Pride to spread the love, share in hugs, stories and swag to spread our message of radical welcome. Because love is beautiful in all its form and it matters that we spread it! We are grateful for the love and vision of our Founder & Pastor Charis Weathers.
We turned 10 this year at Bellingham Pride (2023), thanks for supporting this inclusive ministry!
Find out where we are gathering on our events page.
For Earth Day we had a public dialogue with Sr. Alexandra Kovats. This is the audio of that event.
Emmett was our first video vignette. They offered profound words for who they are, why they came to Echoes, and who might benefit from being a part of Echoes.
In Dec, 2017, an Imam, Rabbi, and Pastor sat down to discuss what they considered the "Heart of Faith." This event took place at St Paul's Episcopal Church in Bellingham, WA. Pastor Josh Hosler convened, and Echoes' pastor, Charis Weathers, offered the view of the "Pastor." This is the recording of the event.
This was our first video, made by a friend who is a professional. The theme of "belonging" was helpful, and yet doesn't quite encapsulate who we are. Yes, we offer a place to belong, and we also offer a place to make a difference -- a difference for what church is and can be, a difference in our local community, etc.