2022 is still young and yet it has already brought with it a large range of emotions.
On January 25th, we happily celebrated the 100th birthday of Wilda McOmber.
She has called First Church home since 1942 when she began attending as a nursing student at the University of Washington School of Nursing. As a longtime member of our Women’s Society and 50 years in the Sanctuary Choir, she has certainly been a blessing, and this is reason to celebrate!
We lost our oldest church member, Bishop Wilbur Choy just days before the new year on December 28, 2021, at the age of 103.
Bishop Choy made national headlines in 1972 when he was elected as The United Methodist Church’s first Asian American episcopal leader. He served as the Bishop of our Pacific Northwest Conference for eight years. You can learn more about Bishop Choy’s trail-blazing career in this wonderful article.
We celebrate his long life and ministry as we also grieve his passing. We wish many blessings on his incredibly supportive and loving widow, Rev. Nancy Adachi-Osawa. They had nearly 40 years together. Bishop Choy’s memorial service will be at First Church on Saturday, March 12, 2022, at 2 pm.
We also celebrate the ministry of Pastor Yvonne Agduyeng and sadly say goodbye to her as she begins her new ministry at Redmond United Methodist Church.
How do you say goodbye to someone who has had such a successful but unusual ministry at First Church? From her appointment during the beginning of the pandemic while serving a church in Bremen, Germany to her recent appointment midyear to another church during the continuing pandemic, nothing has been normal. Yet, she has left a profound mark on our congregation. Since she attended First Church as a small child (church photo circa 1997) and as the granddaughter of active First Church members Manuela and Andres Agduyeng, it seemed our destiny that she would come back as one of our pastors.
To summarize from Pastor Yvonne’s Kudoboard, we say to her:
Yvonne, we are sad to see you leave, you will be missed greatly, and your time with us was too short. What a strange way to start/end your First Church journey. And yet, your poise, captivating smile, laughter, joyful personality, kind heart, compassion, energy, wisdom, and pastoral care touched us all. You are a true witness to the love of God for all of his creation. We were inspired by your spiritual leadership. Your sermons were engaging, thoughtful, meaningful, and heartfelt. They were both a comfort and an inspiration to us during this trying time. We rejoice with you as you begin this exciting new opportunity. We think you will be a smashing success and do great things at Redmond United Methodist Church. They are truly blessed and lucky to have you. We wish you the best of luck in your new church!
Please keep us in your prayers and heart and do not forget us.
Joyce Frost, Congregational Care