Echoes

Every year our favorite Bellingham movie theater The Pickford hosts Doctober, a month long celebration of documentary film. This year they are showing a film: Shalom, next Monday evening 10/12, and we will watch it as our gathering for the evening!

This documentary looks at the conflicts across religion and culture in Israel from a Palestinian Muslim, an Israel Jew and the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. After the film we will have the option to discuss the film and go for a bite to eat/beverage at a nearby restaurant.

SHALOM: Set within the unlikely refuge of the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo, Shalom unfolds as a deeply moving and unexpectedly resonant portrait of care, coexistence, and life amid conflict. At the center of the film is Shalom, a beloved rhinoceros whose declining health forces a difficult reckoning for the people who care for him. Among them are Rushdi, a Palestinian Muslim from East Jerusalem, and Gilad, an Israeli Jew from West Jerusalem, whose differing views on how to respond to Shalom’s suffering reveal larger questions about responsibility, compassion, and the meaning of freedom. As visitors from across Jerusalem's religious, ethnic, and political divides wander the zoo's pathways, war and political turmoil intensify beyond its gates, casting a shadow over this fragile shared space. When Shalom's story comes to an end, new challenges emerge with the arrival of another rhinoceros and an unusual task: finding a way for two powerful male rhinos to coexist within a confined habitat. Rich with humor, tenderness, and unexpected symbolism, Shalom transforms the daily rhythms of a zoo into a poignant reflection on captivity, coexistence, and the enduring hope for peace in a deeply divided land.

Tickets: https://www.pickfordfilmcenter.org/movie/shalom?date=2026-10-12 #/movie/shalom

Trailer: https://youtu.be/QBgnv1tcJeM

If you would like to join us, please email Pastor Emma ([email protected]) to let her know so she can get you a ticket. We would gladly accept donations to cover the cost of attending the film, but most importantly want you to attend, so don’t let cost be a barrier.

SHALOM | Dokumentarfilm Trailer | DOK.fest 2026 DOK.fest München is Germany's largest documentary film festival. We...

Pub Church 10/5 🍻 Gathering at Menace Brewing @ 6:30pm - https://mailchi.mp/echoesbellingham/pubchurchoctober2026

Dinner Church 9/28 - Pasta Bar 🍝 - Make Your Own Pasta Bowl https://mailchi.mp/echoesbellingham/dinnerchurchseptember2026

May Your Blessings
Outnumber the
Autumn Leaves

Art by Shannon Snow [Hello Shannon]

Blessings to you on this Autumn Equinox where the day and night find a moment of balance. Equal Day. Equal Night.

At our Wild Church last night we spent time at the shores of Lake Samish seeking nature's balance. Our spirits were open as we listened to the wind, the birds, the waves and the trees, paying attention to our non human kin. Creating art. Making room for the season's threshold as the stars peeked through the darkening sky.

The beauty of the summer faded into a fall fire. And after prayer, s'mores, communion and song we went into the quiet night. Blessings on your equinox and may this blessing find you as you begin your Fall.

“Call Back the Holy”
By Kate Lore

A god who needs cruel men
to bruise the world into obedience
is a god cruel men have made—
shaped from their fear,
crowned with their hunger,
given a voice
that echoes only themselves.

Leave that altar.

Come into the open,
where the Holy is still breathing
in leaf and lung,
still rising like dawn
beyond every border
drawn by fear.

God is the open hand,
the widening doorway,
the lamp left burning
to guide the lost home.

God kneels beside the wounded,
breaks bread with the stranger,
and gathers the banished
into the wide embrace
of belonging.

Let the gods of cruelty
crumble into dust.

Let Love rise instead—
ancient as breath,
gentle as mercy,
strong as the river
breaking winter’s hold.

Let Love rise in us
until every soul is gathered
within the circle of our care.

For God is Love.

And Love asks only
that we become
its open hands.

Fall Equinox Wild Church 9/21 🌝 - An Autumn Sunset Awaits You! https://mailchi.mp/echoesbellingham/wildchurchseptember2026

"Remember to include yourself in the list of things you need to take care of today."
-Goldie Alexx

Unfortunately due to illness, Echoes won't be gathering for Creative Church tonight 9/14. We look forward to gathering for our Fall Equinox Wild Church, next Monday, September 21st @ 6:30pm @ Lutherwood Camp & Retreat Center!

Art by: Mia The Hoooman

[Drop In] Pub Church 9/8 🍻 Come anytime between 6-8pm to Larrabee L***r Co. https://mailchi.mp/echoesbellingham/pubchurchseptember2026