THIS SUNDAY: July 8, 4 p.m. Gathering and Worship at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church 1907 NE 45th Avenue – Portland, OR.
Questions? Contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com
_____
Dear Festival Goers, Paddlers, Strollers, Bicyclists, Car Travelers, Family, and Friends,
As many of you already know, this is the prime time to live in Portland, OR! The weather is out-of-this world. And over this holiday, there was no shortage of things to do and see in the area, from the Waterfront Blues Festival to fireworks. There were also places in which our rights as citizens were given ample room to be expressed, from Sheridan’s Federal Detention Center to some of the protests rallies that keep springing up in Portland, in which we have ample opportunity to do justice (see Micah 6:8).
The focus Scripture is Mark 6:1-13: Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth. The problem? Nobody wanted to listen to a hometown “boy”, especially one whose parentage is questionable (to say the least). There was some push back, some questioning from a people who are named after Israel, aka, Jacob, “the one who wrestles with God.” Having been rebuffed by his kith and kin, Jesus turns around and sends out his disciples to continue to expand his ministry, and to be God’s agents at work in the world, traveling light, and depending on God to provide all that they would need. In other words, they are, like us, a community of pilgrims! And we, like our forbearers before us, are sent out, as delegates, envoys and pilgrims, to preach Jesus’ message, in Jesus’ name, and, to quote St. Francis, “if necessary, use words.” We are sent out to heal, to attack the demons of injustice that plague our society and the world God loves, and to share and be the good news. Join us this Sunday as we explore being Gospel bearers as a Community of Pilgrims!
____
Events!
Sunday, July 8, 2018, 4-6 pm, Gathering and Worship with Community of Pilgrims;
Sunday, July 15, 2018, Pastor Chris will preach in Estacada in the morning.
Sunday, July 29, 2018, Pastor Brett will preach in Toledo, OR in the morning.
Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018, 10:00 am, Pastor Brett preaching at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Tigard, OR.
*Possibility: seeing “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot,” the life of John Callahan, a Portlander, filmed by Gus Van Sant, another Oregonian, at Cinema 21.
____
Requests
*Regarding the t-shirts: Please pick up your t-shirt this Sunday, and bring cash or a check made out to Community of Pilgrims, in the amount of $8 for adult M,L, and XL, and youth; and $12 for adult 2XL. Thank you!
*Opportunity to discuss and act: From Pastor Linda at Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church: “If your folks would be interested in fixing a dinner for the kids from Warm Springs as they are here in the NW College of Construction program-- let me know. Opportunities will be S-Th dinners from July 8-August 8.” Let’s discuss Sunday!
____
Poem
“Bed in Summer”, Robert Louis Stevenson
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer, quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
____
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