THIS SUNDAY: Nov. 3, 2019, Rose City Park Presbyterian Church, 1907 NE 45thAve., Portland, OR, 97213 Contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com
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Dear Pilgrims of Community of Pilgrims, and the Company of Pilgrims Surrounding Us,
Happy All Hallows’ Eve!
These three upcoming days—All Hallows’ Eve, All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day—are truly unique in the Christian calendar. The artist Jan Richardson wrote that, for her, these days represent a thin place in the year; a space where a door opens between worlds that often seem terribly apart. This concept of "thin times" is part of pilgrimage. This concept of “thin" in terms of places is also a part of pilgrimage. I first ran across it with the writings of religious scholar Mircea Eliade, who wrote that “Some parts of space are qualitatively different from others.” Those who are followers of the Celtic traditions know that there is the belief that there are certain locales where the distance between heaven and earth collapse, and that we are able to catch a glimpse of the Divine, or the transcendent, or the "Infinite Whatever." Again, this idea of a thin time and a thin place is one of the major characteristics of pilgrimage! Pilgrims is a thin time in a pilgrim’s life, in which our senses are aware that we are accompanied by the Spirit as we walk on holy ground, visiting holy sites, thin places. In these places, these shrines or churches or temples, we are more able, more aware, of the presence of the Holy in our living. My hope and prayer as I write this email on All Hallows’ Eve is that the Community of Pilgrim would be a people who experience such thin times and places. And perhaps by our very existence, where we meet and the time we meet are a “thin," in which we are more aware of the Holy in and among and around us! May it be so! Amen.
Join us this Sunday, as the Rev. Tom Letts brings the Good News to life!
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Events!
Nov. 1-3, Time with Tom Letts, Church Coach! More news TBA!
Nov. 3, Gather and Worship, Rose City Park Presbyterian Church, 4-6 pm; Tom Letts preaching.
Nov. 10, Gather and Worship, Rose City Park Presbyterian Church, 4-6 pm.
Nov. 17, Gather and Worship, Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church, 4-6 pm.
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Requests
* There will be a gathering of clothes on Sunday, Nov. 10, for Snow Cap, along with packing of rice and such on that Sunday for Snow Cap! Start collecting your clothes for being sent to Snow Cap!
* Regarding the CoP 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!
* We also have plenty of beautiful leather bracelets for each member of the community! Pick one up this Sunday!
* In the coming months, Pastor Chris and I will be quoting from and referencing sections from the book, Wisdom Distilled from the Dailyby Joan Chittister, a Benedictine monk, who, in this book, focuses on the nature of living life in an intentional Christian community, which is our aim as Community of Pilgrims. We can either order books for those interested and sending in a request for so-many copies, or feel free to order it or buy it from your favorite book distributor. Wisdom Distilled from the Daily, Joan Chittister, San Francisco: Harper One.
* Another book for our consideration: The Intentional Christian Community Handbookby David Janzen (Paraclete Press, 2013). We may use this book as we delve deeper into understanding what it means to be an intentional Christian community of faith.
* Finally, Community and Growthby Jean Vanier will be picked up as a book for us to read together.
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Poem
God of the Living: A Blessing, by Jan Richardson
When the wall
Between the worlds
Is too firm,
Too close.
When it seems all solidity
And sharp edges.
When every morning
You wake as if
Flattened against it,
Its forbidding presence
Fairly pressing the breath
From you
All over again.
Then may you be given
A glimpse
Of how weak the wall
And how strong what stirs
On the other side,
Breathing with you
And blessing you
Still,
Forever bound to you
But freeing you
Into this living,
Into this world
So much wider
Than you ever knew.
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Buen Camino!
Pastors Brett & Chris
Rev. Dr. Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.comRev. Chris Dungan chrisdungan1@msn.com