All-Church Potluck. Next Sunday, April 6, is Native American Sunday. We will have guests from the White Swan community on the Yakima Reservation in Eastern Washington. In their honor we will host an all-church potluck at noon. Come and feast on the best food around! What’s better than an old-fashioned Methodist potluck? Please bring ten or more servings of a favorite dish or two to share (main dish, vegetable, salad, fruit or dessert). Let’s welcome our friends from White Swan with a potluck to remember!

Patterson Park Project. Sign-up now for Habitat construction. The first work day is Saturday, April 12. BCUMC will begin construction on the fourth and final townhouse complex at Patterson Park on Avondale Road in Redmond on April 12 in coalition with several other local churches. The foundation is poured and framing has begun. We need your help! No construction experience is needed!!! Look on the Missions table for a flyer with directions to sign-up online for a workday. We will be working on this project for the next 12-15 months on the second Saturday of each month, so find a date or two that’s convenient for you and your friends. Sign-ups are currently available through November 8, 2008. Please be sure to review the relevant information online after signing up; age (18 and older or 16 and 17 with a guardian or parent), appropriate clothing, bring a lunch, hours of building (8:45 a.m.-4 p.m.) etc. Hope to see you there.

Coffee Hour Hosts. The following people have graciously offered to bring coffee hour treats (cookies, fruit or sandwiches). This is one way we can “serve” our church. Please see Connie Gagnon if you would like to host a Sunday.Today’s hosts are Linda Bellamy, Ellen McKee, and Joan Pierce.

Church Giving. When making contributions to the church, please make sure that you identify to which fund it is going. Our major funds are the General Operating Fund, the Capital Fund and the Endowment Fund. Periodically during the year contributions are asked for special funds as well. By clearly indicating a designated fund, you will greatly simplify the job of the counters and assure that your contribution gets credited properly.

Midweek at Bear Creek. Help! We need volunteers who would be able to prepare a MWBC dinner in April and May. We need help on April 16, 23, and 30, and May 7, 14, 21 and 28. Please contact Connie Gagnon or Sonya Garrett as soon as possible if you are or your group are available any of those dates. Please note there will be no midweek activities on April 9, spring break for Northshore School District. Thank you!

Heifer International Giving Calendars! The Sunday School students have given over $100 in offerings toward their Heifer International mission project. This week in Sunday school students will receive a colorful and fun ‘Fill the Ark’ calendar. This calendar uses the story of Noah to illustrate how animals make a difference in a community. It is divided into four weeks, with each day having an interesting way of sharing the gift of self-sufficiency. Calendars are also available in the narthex by the milk bottle if you would like one for yourself. We are well on our way to seeing our Pastor Dave in full cow-ness! Moo. (Stop by room E8 after class and visit a couple of live, cuddly bunnies-just like the ones that could help provide support to a family.)

Green Tip of the Week. The US Postal Service delivers more than 100 billion pieces of direct mail every year; a significant portion is “junk” mail! Recycling helps, but reducing junk mail saves landfill space and conserves natural resources, so here’s how:

1. Write “Do not rent or sell my name” every time you give out personal information to a business, club, on-line, or in a warranty.
2. Sign up for Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference Service at www.dmachoice.org.
3. Remove your name from mailing lists used for credit offers, toll free 888.567.8688.
4. Use Catalog Choice, a free, non-profit catalog opt-out service at www.catalog choice.org.
5. Reduce unwanted mail at your business or workplace.

www.metrokc.gov/dnrp/swd/nwpc/bizjunkmail.htm ~ Mother Earth thanks you!

Helping Hand Fund. Our Helping Hand Fund has reached low levels. We like to be able to help members of the congregation and community with emergency expenses. If you can contribute to this fund, please place your donation in the offering plate marked “HHF” or send to the church office. We appreciate your generosity.
Safeway eScrip. Everyday Purchases-Extraordinary Results! Want to help Kairos Prison Ministry transform lives? Your ordinary purchases at Safeway can help fund this important ministry. Through eScrip enrollment, a portion of every Safeway purchase is donated to Kairos Prison Ministry, and you don’t have to do anything other than shop as usual! To enroll your Safeway club card, please contact Terri Stewart at 425.788.3164 or terri.stewart @comcast.net. She will need your name, address and club card number.

Kairos Prison Ministry. There are three easy ways to support Kairos Prison Ministry and the programs that it runs: (1) Your ordinary purchases at Safeway can help fund Kairos! Through eScrip enrollment, a portion of every Safeway purchase is donated to Kairos Prison Ministry-see previous announcement; (2) Attend the Dinner/Auction on April 19. Tickets are $25; (3) Sponsor a child to attend the first Kairos Torch Outside-$75 suggested donation. Checks should be made payable to Kairos Prison Ministry (memo line: Torch) and you can give them to Terri Stewart or mail them to: Kairos Torch, PO Box 7104, Bellevue, WA 98008-1104. For details or more information, please contact Terri at 425.788.3164 or terri.stewart @comcast.net.

Taproot Theatre. Doubt, a Parable, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning drama by John Patrick Shanley which probes the mystery of uncertainty. When Sister Aloysius suspects wrongdoing at St Nicholas school, she instructs Sister James to keep a watchful eye. Her strong convictions set into motion a course of actions that could terminate Father Flynn. In the pursuit of truth, doubt shadows all certainty of the situation. Is Sister Aloysius right? Do convictions alone prove the accuracy of truth? Doubt, a Parable, runs through April 26. Group rates are available. For tickets and information, call 206.781.9707. www.taproottheatre.org

Used Book Sale. Congregation Kol Ami is holding its annual used-book sale on Sunday, April 27, at Whole Foods Market in Redmond. If you have books you would like to donate, please place them in the bin labeled “Used Book Donations” in the narthex. No text books or media (DVDs, CDs), please.

Northshore Early Childhood Developmental Screenings. If you have concerns about your three- to five-year-old child’s development, your child may be eligible for a free developmental screening. The screening may include vision, hearing, motor coordination, speech and language, and learning skills in order to rule out or identify school-related developmental concerns. This screening does not indicate readiness for kindergarten. Screening is available through May. Call Sorenson Early Childhood Center at 425.408.5570 for more information.

Senior Services’ Transportation Program is seeking dedicated and caring volunteers to drive seniors in King County to their medical appointments. Use your own vehicle, choose the days, times and areas you wish to drive, and receive reimbursement for mileage and parking, plus supplemental liability insurance. For more information call 206.448.5740 or visit www.seniorservices.org.