There should be lines drawn, of course. When we draw it between gay/straight, however, I believe we miss the mark. Our rich Judeo-Christian faith has deep roots in love and covenant. The oldest and most time-tested is the relationship with God, “I will be your God, you will be my people.” The slightly newer covenant from the lips of Jesus, “love the Lord your God with EVERY ounce of your being, and love your neighbor as yourself.” Actually these words were just as ancient as the first round but seems like we have a tendency to get distracted. Jesus said the latter of the two really is all you need to know and do to live that life of fullness and completeness or find “eternal life.”

Covenant.  Words vary on what we promise each other (and God), but those like “to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, … forever” are familiar.  More contemporary language like “I take you from this time onward, to join with you and to share all that is to come… as long as we both shall live” seem to paint the picture pretty clearly what the marriage covenant is about.

Some see the covenant of marriage as a protection of an institution. I think it is much, much more than that. Covenants of  faith and of marriage, I believe, are meant to enhance our experience of the beauty and fullness/completeness of life God has intended for us.  Only through long-term, loving, trusting relationships that transcend the wild swings of ups and downs can we truly experience that which might be considered “eternal.”

Human sexuality is an important part of this covenant making. It is truly a gift of God and calls for reverent stewardship. For a couple of decades our culture has taught “safe sex”. We, the church,  have been slow, however, to teach “sacred sex”, human sexuality enriched by long-term, loving, trusting relationships, that enhances our human experience of that which is divine and eternal. Teaching sacred sex to teens (through families, of course) most certainly requires different ethical sensitivities than teaching mature adults. I believe the ethical line is best drawn with covenant.

Christian mystics have long talked of sacred unions. Those are the mystical, beautiful unions between the divine and the human, between the body and soul/spirit, between ecstasy and intimacy. Isn’t it interesting that humanity has attempted throughout history to keep these in separate spheres. The ancient Hebrews would certainly die if the divine and the human ever meet… then they did meet, and in Jesus, we learned a new lesson of intimacy and ecstasy. The Greeks of New Testament years knew that the body was evil and the spirit was heavenly. It seems to me the sacred unions named by the mystics are complementary and simply belong together.

Well, this might not be compelling evidence in itself to justify men marrying men and women marrying women, but I’m convinced enough by Jesus that the ethics are in the covenant and not in the orientation.

As stated in Newsweek’s Conventional Wisdom Watch a few weeks ago, as the court overturned Prop 8, “Finally we may be over this silly debate.”

Not yet, but soon.

Peace – Bill

“Working the Soil-Attending the Soul”
Starts Monday July 12, 2010 6:30-7:30 p.m.
“Community” time in the garden each week together building community and attending to the soul:
◊ Checking in with each other on garden progress
◊ Sharing insights about your favorite vegetables
◊ Sharing poetry/meditations from: our own garden experiences, from creation spirituality resources, from world religion and “hands-in-the-dirt” spiritual practices and sharing resources and action potential around environmental issues.
Please join us Mondays in the garden at 6:30 p.m.

A Noisy Place! Lots of sounds have been coming from inside and outside Miller Hall for the past few weeks. Thanks to your generosity the upgrades are happening! Over thirty thousand dollars was pledged to help begin the renovation. We’re about halfway through the project…the new energy efficient windows are in, walls have been insulated, new gas furnace and water heater have been installed and the new siding is going up. Plans are in the works for a dedication of our new energy efficient Miller Hall this fall. A special thanks to Pastor Don and the PCUCC congregation who have been so accommodating throughout this noisy, dusty process!

Summer Reading Program…Just finished its first two-week program. Seventeen students participated in cooperation with Sacramento Elementary School to help students maintain their reading skills during summer break. Thanks to the nine dedicated volunteers who helped these students. Four more one evening sessions will be held throughout July and August.

Music and Drama Camp… August 2-6, 2010. Still spaces left!! This year marks the fourth summer that Lesley Bossert and Molly Fazio have offered energetic leadership to this popular camp for young people in grades 3 through 8. Campers take group lessons in singing and drama in the morning and use the afternoons to prepare a short musical theater performance that is presented on the last day after a BBQ is provided for the families and students. The camp fee is $50.00, which includes a t-shirt, daily snacks, recreation and family BBQ. Registration forms are available at the church or by email. welcome@parkroseumc.org
We may also have a component led by Ashely Verhulst and Nicole Cerry (youth leader from PCUCC) who will work with younger children in a vacation bible school type format as older siblings and youth spend time in the drama camp…stay tuned for more details as that develops

Coming this Fall-Community Dinner! As part of our 2010 evangelism goal to address poverty in the neighborhood we are exploring the possibility of holding a monthly community meal. Our target population for the meal will be families from Sacramento Elementary, and formally homeless folks through JOIN, but of course everyone is welcome to participate. We are looking at a start date in early fall – right about the time school is back in session. Some of the ideas we are hope to incorporate into these meals include cooking classes that would help families prepare healthy meals on a budget, puppet plays about healthy eating, and an introduction to the community garden. Sacramento school has instituted a healthy eating program and we want to encourage that as much as possible. This monthly meal would be one way for us as a congregation to connect with families that may need some encouragement and a place to find community. Look for more information and ways you can get involved as we draw closer to fall!
I would love to hear your ideas for other ways we can connect with families through food or other community activities. Shannon Starr

Under One Roof Gathering-September 2010-Celebrating our many groups and diverse congregations that meet here on the Parkrose UMC Campus. We are just in the beginning stages of putting together this great evening. How do you envision us celebrating life here on the corner of 111th and Knott?… If you would like to be a part of this “dream team” contact Carolyn Fairfield, Shannon Starr or Linda James,

I would  like to host a weekly meditation/conversation time for gardeners and others in the garden. Maybe starting in June. But for now… just planting seeds.

Here is a meditation from A Mystic Garden: Working with Soil, Attending to Soul, by Gunilla Norris. Enjoy

Peace – Bill

First Planting –

Here is the moment for which I have been waiting so many months. The packet is open. The seeds lie inside full of promise, dry and potent. Some are so small they can hardly be handled. This is the season for arugula and lettuce — the daring early crop that can tolerate wet, cool weather.

I make shallow furrows, sprinkle in the seeds. Then they are tamped down with a thin layer of earth. Here’s the lettuce bed, full of intention and hope.

Can we remember that every thought we have is seed also and that we plant seeds inside ourselves all the time? Our inner gardens have thistles and ragweed as well as marigolds and sunflowers.

Our thoughts may seem small to us, almost insignificant, not unlike the lettuce seeds put in the ground. But they can grow into significance. Our lives develop from them and in many ways they determine our existence.

How can we realize what we plant daily? How do we bare this responsibility?

Seeds germinate in the dark, sink their roots, develop stems. It is the way of thought also.  Only when what has been invisible breaks the surface can you see what to weed, what to feed and water.

The GUT is one of five chakras (an Eastern spirituality term) Matthew Fox uses to talk about in-body manifestations of spiritual experiences. The gut is where we experience anger and moral outrage. And oddly enough, says Fox, the gut is where compassion and grief are born. “Anger is a kind of wake-up call”, says Roger Gottlieb, in A Spirituality of Resistance: Finding a Peaceful Heart and Protecting the Earth.  ”It demands that attention be paid. In the first place, anger can teach us about the quality of our most important relationships, about what is lacking, and about what needs to be done.”

I’m convinced anger is neither good nor bad. It is simply an emotion we all have. While neutral in nature, it is never silent for long. It will manifest itself either negatively as violence (overtly as  physical or verbal violence but also in a passive/aggressive violence that you may not recognize) or on the positive side as non-violent resistance.  If you want an example of non-violent resistance at it’s best, just take some time to deeply study Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 5:38-48 (eye for an eye, and loving enemies).

Some say anger and love are opposites. Certainly hate and love are opposing values. But anger is a companion of love, just as anger can be a companion of hate. We have a choice.

But, oh my, do we in the church run from anger! And it’s no wonder. Just look at our scriptures. The Apostle Paul lists anger as one of the sins of the body to be rid of. There are only twelve references to “anger” in the entire New Testament and the Gospels refer to anger only twice; Mark 3:4-6 (Jesus is angry), and Matthew 18:33-35 (Jesus uses anger in a parable).

Hebrew scriptures? Anger is everywhere. My quick Google search of anger in the OT turned up about 260 references. God is angry, Moses is angry. I was surprised, too, to find that anger was most prevalent in their poetry and liturgy. There were 26 references to anger in Psalms.

The difference between testaments is, I suspect, a matter of culture. The Hellenistic culture of the NT, particularly by the end of the first century, had spiritually  separated soul from body and heaven from earth. I suspect the ancient Hebrews would have found that strange. God’s promise of their salvation was in that which could be embodied; land (earth/dirt), and family/tribe/community.  They would have been quite comfortable with God displaying normal embodied emotions including love and anger. An angry God would have just meant God loved them so much that their behavior had kicked God in the gut. We are created in the image of God… hmmm.

Remember Sir Isaac Newton from science class? “Every body continues in its state of rest,…unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.” Anger and love are compelling forces for change.

Here are a couple connections that help keep my fires of anger and love for environment, immigrants and homeless kids moving in a positive direction:

• Environmental Action - http://www.environmental-action.org/
• Oregon New Sanctuary Movement - http://www.oregonsanctuary.org/
• JOIN PDX - http://www.joinpdx.com/
• Parkrose School District - http://www.parkrose.k12.or.us/

There are many, many more. Sign in, comment and add your favorite connections.

Peace (and an abundance of  non-violent resistance) – Bill

May 2010, Volume 3, Issue 4

http://www.parkroseumc.org/       welcome@parkroseumc.org.   Facebook.com/parkroseumc

Men’s Early Bird Study resumes May 4, 2010

                 Tuesdays in May, 6:45 – 7:30 a.m. 

Anger is a powerful motivator. Competition can transform your life. By nature, neither is good or bad, but rather neutral. We live in a competitive world and anger is simply one of many emotions we all have. But it seems both have been shunned by church culture in the name of “harmony” and “getting along.” I am convinced that by dismissing the positives of both for fear of their negatives we’ve done a great disservice to our spiritual formation and particularly that of our men. 

During the weeks of May we’ll take look at anger’s potential and the possibilities for appropriate competition in our spiritual lives. 

Please join us. We’ll have the coffee on. 45 minutes of prayer and conversation before heading to work or other destinations for the day.    Pastor Bill 

A Morning In Lesotho, Africa  

Thursday May 13, 2010  11:00 am  Miller Hall

The United Methodist Women  invite you to a presentation with music, video and pictures from Corinne Tate’s (our church administrator) recent UMVIM (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission) trip to Lesotho, Africa. It’s a potluck lunch; so bring a little something to share while you enjoy your adventure to Africa! You’ll also hear about the next UMVIM team Corinne and her husband Tom will be leading in February 2011. 

 When we see a child smile, it brings a smile to our faces also. 

You may have seen the beautifully dressed Barbie Doll in the display cabinet at church, she is the result of a group called the Busy Bees, recycled and lovingly dressed by many volunteers who love to see a little girls smile. 

Shirley Kline of Portland started dressing Barbies and giving them to charities about 14 years ago. There are now a group of about 20 who help in producing a wardrobe for Barbie. She has pajamas, a blanket, skirts, pants, shirts, sweaters, a carry bag, and a design kit to design her clothes. 

These packets are given to girls in 20 different facilities in the Portland/Metro area including foster care, homeless shelters, Human Solutions, and Snowcap. Betty Keast recently joined the Busy Bees, and is busy making knitted tops for Barbie as well as stuffing pillows, making afghans, and coordinating poncho, hat, and scarf for Barbie.

She has been working on this activity at home and with the Crafters Group that meets every Tuesday, 10:00 a.m. at PUMC. 

Would you  like to join this group? Contact Betty Keast  (503) 489-5608. No commitments to meetings or activities, just a desire to do something that will bring a big smile to a little girl’s who’s facing a lot of uncertainty in her life.

Congratulations to our May, 2010 College Graduates! 

Claire VanMeer, granddaughter of Chuck and Shirley Boothby, is graduating from Warner Pacific College and plans to head home to Abbotsford, BC. While looking for work she will coach volleyball with her dad and lead worship with her mom, and eventually go traveling! We wish her luck in all that, and hope that PUMC is always a destination when that traveling happens.

Emily Donaldson, daughter of Robin Donaldson is graduating from Willamette University. She has been accepted into Teach for America, a growing movement of young leaders that seeks to close the academic achievement gap by bringing excellence to our nation’s struggling schools.  Teach for America sends recent college graduates to the “highest need” districts around the country to teach for two years. After an intense summer of training and certification, Emily will be teaching middle or high school English in Baltimore, Maryland, as well working toward her Masters degree in Education.

Pentecost Sunday, May 23, 2010 

 Come Pentecost Sunday as the Spirit of God flows among us and our newest neighbors, the Parkrose Community United Church of Christ, who will be joining with us for a combined worship as we celebrate the birthday of the church.

http://www.parkroseumc.org/ welcome@parkroseumc.org. Facebook.com/parkroseumc

Welcome Parkrose Community United Church of Christ (PCUCC)!!!
Here’s a riddle for you: What happens when you bring Methodists, Congregationalists, Hispanic Pentecostals, Oromo (African) Seventh Day Adventists, and a Christian Montessori School together under one roof? … Whew! Not sure I know the extent of it. But it has great promise for all of us.

Our friends at PCUCC have sold their building and have been packing… and will move into Miller Hall by the end of this month. They plan to construct some simple office space in the south end of Miller Hall and will use the larger space in the middle for worship and study. Your Trustees have been working hard clear a path for them. We’ll all share the gathering space in Miller Hall as well as the kitchen just like we share the rest of our campus.

I have great admiration for the journey that has brought PCUCC to us. In the past few years they have made several very difficult decisions about their identity and purpose. I know a little of the depth of their discernment and I am in awe of the results. Their decisions:
1) Church is the community, not the building. Sounds simple but as we know quite well, connections to “place” tend to run deep. They sold their building!
2) Church is about radical hospitality, not just about being warm and friendly. They identify themselves as “Open and Affirming”! This is the UCC’s version of our “Reconciling Congregation” proclamation that welcomes ALL God’s people including gay, lesbian and transgendered children of God.
3) They have “called” (Methodist pastors are appointed, Congregational pastors go through a different process) an openly gay pastor, my friend and colleague, the Reverend Don Frueh.
We are indeed blessed!

Peace – Bill

Building Relationships that Enhances God’s Kingdom!-
Addressing Neighborhood Poverty – Update
At this time we have the beginnings of three directions for action toward our mission of addressing poverty in our neighborhood. 1) Develop a small food/clothing pantry for low-income families through Sacramento Elementary School. The week before Spring Break we hosted 7 families (31 people including children) with food boxes to help feed hungry kids while away from school (most of these kids eat three meals a day at school). 2) Initiate a Once-A-Month community dinner next fall. 3) Finding ways of entering relationships with homeless teens at Parkrose High School. We have a lot of discovery to do with regards to these possibilities. Your generous contributions to the Christmas and Easter offerings have made it possible for us to begin building our pantry and will provide opportunities as we journey forward.

We are well aware that poverty is a complex phenomenon. And while the symptoms of poverty, including hunger, joblessness, and homelessness, can be addressed immediately with hospitality, (food, clothing and shelter) there are systems that tend to keep people in poverty. System change takes time, determination and the strength of long-term relationships. We are committed to addressing both symptoms and systems. Thanks so much for your prayers and gifts.
Peace – Bill

Miller Hall Update-

At the recent Town Hall, attendees voted unanimously to proceed with renovations to Miller Hall contingent on raising a portion of the needed funds.
The trustees have some money available from the sale of the parsonage to begin the project and are inviting the congregation to support the work through a capital funds campaign. Watch your mailbox for a letter within the next two weeks outlining the campaign that begins April 18, 2010.
Upgrades to Miller Hall include:
▪ Hardiplank siding and painting of the entire building
▪ Replacing all windows with energy efficient windows
▪ Energy efficient lighting
▪ New three zone energy efficient gas furnace
with air conditioning
▪ Insulation for the entire building

The estimate for these improvements is $80,000.00 Money raised during the campaign will be matched with money from the parsonage fund helping to pay for part of the renovations and creating a maintenance fund for the upkeep of the buildings on our campus.

Growing Gardens Event- April 17, 2010 10 am to Noon

PUMC Garden
Thirty one children and parents will be participating in this fun hands-on activity where they will learn how to grow plants from seeds, how to care for them and the right time to transplant. Sponsored by the Parkrose Heights Garden Committee free of charge and presented by growing-gardens.org

Welcome-William Mateo Flores-Gates
Mateo (Matthew) arrived Monday, March 15, 2010 to Ryan and Cat Flores-Gates in Orange County, California… Congratulations to mom, dad and the proud first time grandparents, Pastor Bill and Pam Gates who were able to sneak away for a few days to welcome the newest member of the Gates family!

Save the Date!

Mothers and Others-Monday, May 3 7:00 pm McKinnon Education Wing
An evening celebrating and honoring mothers in our congregation sponsored by the UM Women

A “Morning in Lesotho”-Thursday May 6, 11:00 am McKinnon Education Wing
Corinne Tate will be sharing about her latest mission trip to Africa

February 2010, Volume 3, Issue 2
http://www.parkroseumc.org/ welcome@parkroseumc.org.

Thoughts from Someone in a Pew

My thoughts to members who do not regularly attend Sunday Services. — Riley Montgomery
First let me assure you that just because I took it upon myself to write this little “reminder” I am not a religious zealot!
I was raised in a home where religion was more or less taken for granted. It consisted mainly of bible reading/study one night each week at the dining room table by the light of a kerosene lamp. The four of us-my younger sister, my parents and myself would take turns reading a chapter then take a few minutes to discuss it and ask questions. So you see the basics of religion are not new to me, although I learn a lot by listening to our minister-Pastor Bill.
I moved to Portland after WWII and married a young lady who was a member of the First United Methodist Church and joined it. After we were married I bought my first home at 12041 NE Knott Street. The street from 111th was a mass of chuckholes and the acreage where the school is was a forest of 10 feet tall brush. I learned that the school district had purchased that property so I expected both the street and the land would be improved.
My job at that time consisted of covering eight NW states plus Alaska and Hawaii, but I managed to salvage enough time to join the men’s club, and share in the once-a-month pot lucks. When the contractors completed the shell of the church I joined with folks who donated their time and expertise to finish the interior of the building. I have a host of good memories of those times and the good folks I associated with. Perhaps this is part of the reason I always get a good feeling when I attend Sunday Services.
I have always felt the primary responsibility of a Pastor is to teach. Perhaps that is why I am so aware of our small attendance. I know from personal experience how it feels to prepare a program expecting a crowd and be disappointed by a half empty room.
I have a poem at home in my desk entitled “Are you a member or do you just belong?” It is too long to quote here but I’m sure you get the idea. I believe the time spent with fellow “members” at worship and after service having a cup of coffee and a cookie or two is well worth the effort. Give it a try; I’m certain you’ll enjoy it! SEE YOU IN CHURCH-Riley

Lenten Sunday School Class to begin February 14, 2010-

 No other 24 hour event in human history has had more impact than the last 24 hours of Jesus’ life. Join Adam Hamilton as he guides you from the Last Supper, to Gethsemane, to the trial, to the Crucifixion in: 24 Hours that Changed the World. Experience and understand the significance of Jesus’ final hours in ways you never have before. Becky Creech will be facilitating this DVD series that will continue for seven weeks. Please consider participating in this Sunday School class during the special season of Lent. The class will meet in the McKinnon Education Wing at 9:00 a.m., room to be determined by how many of you plan to attend. Please contact Becky Creech if you will be attending 503-255-6466

Thank You, Thank You 

To Kathy Nicholas who has a painting business and lives in our neighborhood. Kathy donated her time and the paint to cover our recently applied graffiti on Miller Hall.

Ash Wednesday Service-

February 17, 2010 7:00 p.m.-

 Enter into a time of reflection and journey as the spirit leads us toward God’s promise. We plan to gather with several congregations here at PUMC.

Lesotho, “Kingdom in the Sky”-

Do you know where Lesotho is? I didn’t until we were asked by a good friend to join with an UMVIM team (United Methodist Volunteers in Mission) that he was leading. Lesotho pronounced (Le-sue-too) is surrounded and ignored by her big brother South Africa. With the lowest elevation of 4,300 ft. and the highest of 12,000 ft. this mountain kingdom provides water and diamonds for South Africa. It also has the distinction of being the poorest nation in the southern hemisphere and with the highest rate of HIV/Aids in Africa; this small country is overwhelmed with Aids orphans and not enough orphanages to care for them.

We will be traveling to Roma, where a community center has been started by the villagers to provide a safe and nourishing place for the 157 orphans who live in the area.The orphans in this village remain in their own homes and become the “head of their household”. Village members do look in on them, however they are not being taught the life skills that parents would normally pass down to children.

 Our team of 20 members from around the USA (five from Rose City Park UMC) will be adding on to the one-car garage sized center and teaching life skills such as sewing, knitting, crocheting, drafting, computer skills and spending time playing games, dancing and sports with the children.
The Leratong Center (which means “where there is love”) was started so that these children would have a place to go after school and on weekends where they would be exposed to caring adults.

 I will be departing with my husband, Tom on Feb. 19, 2010 and returning to the church office on March 15, 2010. I am so thankful for Pastor Bill and the congregation at PUMC who understand my passion for mission and give blessings to my time away. You can follow our mission by visiting http://klipspringerstudios.com  While I’m in Africa the church office will not have regular operating hours- “Sala hantle” (Goodbye in Sesotho)-Corinne

We’ve Lost a Friend…

 
A memorial service celebrating the life of Jim Wakefield will be held at PUMC on Friday, February 5, 2010 at 2:00 p.m.
PUMC lost a good friend and faithful member on January 31, 2010 when Brenda Smith passed away at Hopewell House, surrounded by family and friends. Her thoughts were never far from her church family. She began attending PUMC in the late 1980’s and continued until recently when her health kept her homebound. Brenda was always enthusiastic about greeting, helping with children, and especially music. We will gather as a church family with Brenda’s mother, siblings, relatives and other friends at a memorial service on Saturday, February 6 at 3:00 p.m. in the PUMC Sanctuary. If you wish to remember Brenda with a gift, the family suggests a donation to Shriners, Doernbecher Hospital or Hopewell House.

Faith and Taxes: Oregon Measures 66 & 67
The test of our progress is NOT whether we add to the abundance of those who have much.
It is whether we provide enough to those who have little. — Franklin D. Roosevelt
Separation of church and state? Yes, I know. Taxes and Faith? Both call on us for choices. How we make those choices depends on how we see our society (and for that matter, how we see our faith): “ME” society or “WE” society. And in choices we make toward a “We” society that boundary between church and state begins to look very permeable.
The Judeo-Christian faith community sprouted into existence with a divine promise of salvation. At the heart of this promise was community; its existence and its place. The promise was put to the test with each wave of empire that swooped through the land, from Egyptian to Syrian to Babylonian to Greek to Roman. As empirical pressure threatened their very existence they drew strength and direction from phrases like giving the “first fruits of our harvest” so the “Levites, the resident aliens, the widows and orphans”… “can celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house”. (Check out Deuteronomy 26 as an example). As Jesus said hundreds of years later, the most important of these community regulations were loving God with every ounce of your heart, soul, mind and passion and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. The ancient regulations connected the love of God and the love of neighbor in symbiotic relationship.
On January 26, we have an opportunity to make a choice. About community (and about faith). Ballot Measures 66 and 67 are efforts to shore up Oregon’s broken tax structure in support of education, health care and public safety. Some parts are temporary and some are permanent. Your mailbox will no doubt be flooded with cries for YES votes and NO votes. Be informed. See who is supporting which side. And make a choice.
I’ve read some from each side. There is a lot to sift through. I find both sides attempting to answering the question, “How will it affect ME?” Who is answering the question, “How will it affect WE?”
Peace, Bill
Congratulations! Thanks to your generous response to the UMW’s annual SnowCap collection, 121 boys and girls have a pair of socks, 5 heads are nice and cozy with a new hat, 117 boys and girls have a new pair of underwear, 13 men have new socks, and 10 hands are now warm. Each one of those numbers represents a person who was in need and you helped them! As you think about each item that was donated, take time to say a prayer for each of the individuals who received them.

A note from Pastor Bill: It has been a long time since I’ve been back to Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. Each year they sponsor a series of lectures and workshops on topics that help pastors and lay leaders at the cutting edge of congregational ministry. This year, the week of January 25, the Earl Lectures will take on the topic “Spiritual But Not Religious: Chasing the Divine.” I plan to attend. It will be a chance for me to re-connect with my seminary roots and share time with others seeking to connect with those many, many people of our communities who have distanced themselves from the church, but who have a deep hunger for matters of the Spirit. Pam and I plan to take the next week (First week of February) for vacation.

Nuts and Bolts Training- January 16, 2010 Portland First UMC, 1838 SW Jefferson Street 9:00 a.m. to noon. An opportunity to learn more about the what and how of serving on church committees. Early registration date has passed, however you may still register as a walk-in attendee by paying $5.00 at the door on January 16th.

Vine Time Happenings- Vine Time Fellowship continues to meet each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Over 200 “ Beans of Grace” meals were packaged and delivered from the December Advent Conspiracy Study. Vine Time Fellowship is open to one and all and meets with a time for fellowship and relevant study/discussion each week. Coming Soon- Bob Grovenburg of the Gateway Project at Parkrose High School will be sharing about this special program that was started to help homeless students remain in class and how we at PUMC can be involved.

Town Hall Meeting- PUMC-Sunday, January 24, 2010 3:00 p.m. in the McKinnon Education Wing. You are invited to this time of discussion and approval of our 2010 budget, Safe Sanctuary Policy, and Core Leaders Policy.

Greeters Workshop-have you ever been embarrassed to greet a visitor because you were not sure if they were a church member who seldom attends or truly a visitor? Would you like to learn how to be more effective at welcoming and greeting people who visit PUMC? Plan to attend a two-hour workshop being held at Rose City Park UMC on Saturday, February 13, 2010 from, 10 a.m. to noon. For more information on this dynamic program visit www.mastergreeter.com

Memorial Services
Saturday, January 23, 2010 3 p.m. at PUMC for Brett Leines’ mother, Ruth Leines.
Friday, February 5, 2010 2 p.m. at PUMC for a celebration of Jim Wakefield’s life.

The Judeo-Christian faith community sprouted into existence with a divine promise of salvation. At the heart of this promise  was community; its existence and its place.  The promise was put to the test with each wave of empire that swooped through the land, from Egyptian to Syrian to Babylonian to Greek to Roman. As empirical pressure threatened their very existence they drew strength and direction from phrases like giving the “first fruits of our harvest” so the “Levites, the resident aliens, the widows and orphans”… “can celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house”. (Check out Deuteronomy 26 as an example).  As Jesus said hundreds of years later, the most important of these community regulations were loving God with every ounce of your heart, soul, mind and passion and loving your neighbor as you love yourself. The ancient regulations connected the love of God and the love of neighbor in symbiotic relationship.

On January 26, we have an opportunity to make a choice. About community(… and about faith). Ballot Measures 66 and 67 are efforts to shore up Oregon’s broken tax structure in support of education, health care and public safety. Some parts are temporary and some are permanent. Your mail box will no doubt be flooded with cries for YES votes and NO votes. Be informed. See who is supporting which side. And make a choice.

I’ve read some from each side. There is a lot to sift through. I find both sides attempting to answering the question, “How will it affect ME?” Who is answering the question, “How will it affect WE?”

Peace, Bill

Jesus, with disciples in tow, is found teaching his provocative message of God’s kingdom with thousands gathering to participate. It’s close to dinner time and the disciples get nervous. “Everybody’s hungry but won’t go away. What are we going to do?” Jesus says, “Feed them.” Gulp! With what? We have so little.

Well, the story is well-known. Thousand being fed abundantly from what appears as scarcity is surely a miracle. Julian Scott, an elder in our church, mentor and friend of mine, offers this practical solution to those who might be befuddled by the audacity of God’s miracles. You see, says Scotty, it was customary for people on the move to carry food with them as they traveled in those days. When the time came, and Jesus teaching a message of love, compassion and justice, well, they just pulled what they had out of their pockets and… and shared. Five loaves and two fish became much, much more. It was truly a miracle of God.

An invitation for you – Please join us at PUMC for a Community Thanksgiving Dinner. Thursday, November 26, 2009, 2 p.m. Bring a dish to share.

Here’s what to expect – We’ll provide the turkeys; Larry is making his patented dressing; Pam is bringing her fruit salad; Shannon will bring bean casserole; I know there will be at least a pie or two; …  So bring some of the same, bring something different… most importantly bring the gift of yourselves, families/friends, and neighbors.

One thing we ask is that you contact us to let us know you’re coming. (Comment on this site or send an email).

I don’t claim miracle status for this… but certainly our gathering is about the abundance of God in community.

Psalm 42:4-6a   These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I went with the throng, and led them in procession to the house of God, with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving, a multitude keeping festival.

Peace, Bill