February 2024 - Season of Lent

Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 14.

We are invited to join Living Water for their Ash Wednesday service at Keystone in the lower level at 10 am.

Also beginning on Wednesday, February 14th, the 2nd Wednesday book study will be the Bible! Pastor Rich will lead us through a study of Exodus to Jesus and Beyond - Progressive Christianity, Justice and the Bible. Join us on 2nd Wednesdays for our study and conversation.

On Thursday, February 22 at 6:30 pm at Keystone, Pastor Rachel is hosting an Open Sacred Space for our Grieving and Hurting World. All are welcome to enter the sacred space for prayer and meditation - there will be prayer stations or an opportunity to be present with Gregorian Chant sung by Elliot and at 7 pm we will gather for shared spoken prayers.

January 2024 - A Letter from Pastor Rich

To the people of Keystone:
 
I started as your pastor in the year 2000. I started with a one year contract. The congregation was small and dispirited. It was my expectation that at the end of that year we would close the church. I saw it as my job to make that year both easy and meaningful for the good people that had so long labored to keep Keystone going. We stopped being the church we were told we needed to be, and started being the church we were called to be. We stopped worrying so much about how small we were. We celebrated who we were. We carved out an important role for small congregations. We celebrated the fact that we were nimble decision makers willing to take risks. We stopped seeing ourselves as failing to meet the ideal and started seeing ourselves as leaders in the faith community. At the end of that year, the congregation voted to continue rather than close. It was a near-death experience which has informed our identity. We do not live in fear for the future of the congregation. We have an appreciation for who we are and what we can still do to make this world a better place. 
 
I have been your pastor for over 23 years. I have never seen it as my job to make sure that Keystone lives forever. Congregations, like people, die. The point is not to worry about death but to make the most out of life. In those 23 years, we have hosted somewhere in the neighborhood of 700 peace and justice gatherings. We have kept the Festival of Hope going, raising awareness and an average of over $12,000 a year for worthy causes in Seattle and around the world. Meaningful Movies, a justice-based community discussion group was born in our fellowship hall and has gone on to be replicated in numerous other sites. We have started a Direct Service ministry which disperses thousands of dollars of necessities a year to meet direct needs. We have ordained 6 people who have served us as associate pastors. We have welcomed 9 social justice interns to Keystone through the Justice Leadership Program which we created. That program provided a transformational year of exploration of faith and justice to nearly 40 young adults. We have had 3 of our members participate in the Jubilee program for older adults modeled after our young adult program. These graduates have gone on to take on leadership roles in the congregation and wider community. We have provided a home to local community groups and two congregations which share our values. We have updated the sanctuary, maintained and updated the building, and fixed some long term problems. We have installed and paid for solar panels which now provide all of the electrical needs of the church using sustainable energy. We have started the transition away from gas heating to electric heat. We have marched for justice, testified, sent letters, made phone calls and visited our elected officials. 
 
Because you chose to keep Keystone alive and support its mission, much good has been done for this community, and for the cause of Christ. 
 
We have been blessed by having strong support staff. Elliot, Yigit, Iain and Janet have served Keystone with skill and grace for many years. Before them were other dedicated leaders who also helped us worship with vitality and maintain the buildings and the programs. 
 
Keystone has been a gift to this community and the cause of Christ. It has been a gift to me. Your support has allowed me to explore the intersection of justice and faith. It has allowed me to work as part of a team with many talented and dedicated people. At Keystone, ministry became more than a duty for me, it has been a joy. It is for that reason that I am sad to say that my time as your pastor is coming to an end. As you may know, I am an only child and my mother recently turned 90. She will need more help in the coming years and so I need to move to Missouri. My time as your pastorwill end in June of this year. 
 
It is often difficult for a congregation to make the transition of pastoral leadership after a pastor has served a long time. I hope that will not be the case for you. You have good leaders. You have skilled members. You have a long history of providing compassionate support for one another and there have been no significant divisions in the congregation for a very long time. 
 
You have been a supportive congregation for pastors. Your identity as a social justice centered congregation is solid. You are a congregation that exists, not to preserve a history but to promote a more faithful present and a better future. You are willing to try new things and support new leaders. It is difficult to predict the future of the Church in general or Keystone in particular but while Keystone exists, I have no doubt that you will strive to make the world a better place; and so I have great hope for your future. 
 
In the coming months, Rachel and I will be doing what we can to ease the coming transition. We will also be treasuring this time with you. 

Peace,
 
Rich 

-- 

Rev. Richard Gamble (he/him)

Pastor, Keystone United Church of Christ

Christmas Eve Service - 7 pm

Join us for Christmas Eve worship - Sunday evening December 24th at Keystone and online. Service includes songs, readings, poetry and ends with Silent Night and candlelight. All are welcome!

(No service Sunday Morning)

Email worship@keystoneseattle.org if you’d like the zoom link.

Fall Season

Keystone meets for worship online and 1st and 3rd Sundays we meet as a hybrid community with online participation and in-person at our church building in North Seattle.

In September we celebrated the ordination and installation of Rachel Haxtema as Associate Pastor!

Coming soon: We are excited to celebrate our annual tradition:

45th Annual Festival of Hope
Saturday Nov. 18 from 10am to 4 pm Sunday Nov. 19 from 12-3 pm

Browse and shop, have a tasty lunch, and enjoy a mingling of cultures. This is a non-profit event: the money you spend goes to support hunger relief and self-help projects, both locally and globally.

Join us and give a gift of hope through your purchases in 2023.

Deli lunch, fresh baked pumpkin pies, Homemade baked goods, Vintage/upcycled treasures, Books, Gifts and holiday decorations, Fair Trade handcrafts from around the world.

Learn more about Northwest Harvest, Bread for the World, Heifer International, International Rescue Committee and Faith Action Network. See how and where the money you spend will be used to help others in need.