THIS SUNDAY: June 3, 4-6 p.m. Worship at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church 1907 NE 45th Avenue – Portland, OR, 97213; Corner of NE Sandy Blvd. and NE 45th Ave.; two blocks east of Hollywood Theater.
Questions? Contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com
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Dear Gadabouts, Globe-Trotters, Homeless Ones, Strangers, Family Members, and Friends,
This coming Sunday is the second Sunday after Pentecost in this liturgical calendar. We continue, many years, to live in the incredible gift of Spirit, unleashed unto the world who guides us, the people of the Way.
As we continue to live in the times of the Holy Spirit moving us forward, following Christ, as God beckons us home, the focus Scripture is Mark 2:23-3:6. There are two stories here, one of Jesus and the disciples in an open field, picking wheat, and the second is the story of Jesus healing the person with a hand that is disabled. Both stories are tied together by Sabbath: they were picking wheat on the Sabbath, and Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath. While Jesus broke no laws per se in picking grain or healing the man’s hand, Jesus also reminds, in small ways, that he—and now we, in Christ’s name—reveal the oppressive and corrosive tyrannies of fear, pretense, and religious hypocrisy wherever they reside, as we work to preserve and love life. Join us this Sunday as we explore the many ways of preserving and loving life, in small and grand ways, as Pilgrims of the Way, which may find us confronting the powers of the world around us, all at the same time!
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Events!
Sunday, June 3, 2018, 4-6 pm: Gathering and Worshiping together, Rose City Park Presbyterian Church;
Sunday, June 17, 2018, 11 am, Gather at North Park Blocks and walk with Creating Welcoming Congregations as Community of Pilgrims, Portland, OR;
Sunday, June 24, 2018, Brett will be preaching and sharing stories from Community of Pilgrims at Southminster Presbyterian Church in Beaverton, OR;
Thursday, June 28, 2018, Steering/Guide Team Meeting; Chris Dungan’s Home;
Friday, June 29, 2018, 1:00 pm, Brett participating in Friday Lunch Speaking Series at Portland City Club, Portland, OR;
TBA: Group Outing to see: “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” documentary on Mr. Roger’s life and ministry. It is opening on June 15, 2018;
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Poem
“June Light,” by Richard Wilbur
Your voice, with clear location of June days,
Called me outside the window. You were there,
Light yet composed, as in the just soft stare
Of uncontested summer all things raise
Plainly their seeming into seamless air.
Then your love looked as simple and entire
As that picked pear you tossed me, and your face
As legible as pear skin’s fleck and trace,
Which promise always wine, by mottled fire
More fatal fleshed than ever human grace.
And your gay gift—Oh when I saw it fall
Into my hands, through all that naïve light,
It seemed as blessed with truth and new delight
As must have been the first great gift of all.
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Buen Camino!
Pastors Brett & Chris
Rev. Dr. Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com Rev. Chris Dungan (503) 724-7060; chrisdungan1@msn.com