Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship Newsletter, Aug., 5, 2018

THIS SUNDAY: August 5, 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 Folks who Stroll, Hike, Bike, Paddle, Use Canes & Walkers, Bus Riders, Drivers, Friends, and Family Members,

Thank you, Pastor Chris Dungan, and all who gathered at Chris’ air-conditioned home on Sunday, July 29! You’re flexibility in moving locations is amazing. What a wonderful relief on a hot summer’s day in Portland, OR, with the promise of more sunshine in the coming week. We are back in our home in the Chapel at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church this Sunday.

The focus Scripture for this Sunday is from the Letter to the Ephesians (which may or may not have been written by Paul), 4:1-16. The writer is exulting over the incredible work of being a Christian community, which is possible by the gift of grace, embodied in the risen Christ, and made real in the never-a-dull-moment of being the body of Christ on earth. The Benedictine writer John Chittister wrote, “In community we work out our connectedness to God, to one another, and to ourselves. It is in community where we find out who we really are…It is easy to talk about the love of God; it is another thing to practice it.” As we, the Community of Pilgrims, continue the work of our calling—to be an intentional Christian community, in which we practice service and fellowship, prayer and worship, and education and discipleship as we follow Jesus and embrace all—may we always be open to what the Spirit is calling us to be and do as we practice and grow into being the body of Christ in Portland, OR!

____

Events!

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018, 10:00 am, Pastor Brett preaching at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Tigard, OR.

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018, 4-6:00 pm, Gathering and worship of Community of Pilgrims at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church.

Wed., Aug. 8, 7 pm, Steering/Guide Team, Chris’ home.

Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, 9:30 and 11:00 am, Pastor Brett will be preaching at First Presbyterian Church, Salem, OR.

Thurs., Aug. 16-Sunday, Aug. 19, Pastor Brett will be theologian-in-residence at Camp Hope on the OR Coast (Camp Magruder), which is a camp for people with intellectual disabilities. Worship will still “happen”, from 4-6 pm at Rose City Park on Aug. 19.

Fri., Aug. 24-Wed., Aug. 29, Pastor Brett will be staff for “Listening with Open Hearts” Conference for the United Methodist Church at Collins Retreat Center. Again, we will gather together on Aug. 26 for worship.
____

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

Things of August, by Wallace Stevens

These locusts by day, these crickets by night
Are the instruments on which to play
Of an old and disued ambit of the soul
Or of a new aspect, bright in discovery--
____
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

Community of Pilgrims Newsletter, July 22, 2018

THIS SUNDAY: July 22, 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 Rovers, Barnstormers, Commuters, Displaced Persons, Friends, and Family Members,

A big “THANK YOU” to the Community of Pilgrims for your gift of toys, balls, crayons, markers, paper, coloring pens, pencils, erasers, coloring books, and incredible books for the young children who have been taken away from their moms and dads on our southern border. housed at the Morrison Child and Family Services Center. As I write this newsletter, Linda and Kathy of our Community are delivering these gifts to Sean at the Morrison Center, and other churches have asked for this contact and opportunity to provide for others.

This leads to the focus Scripture for this Sunday, Ephesians 2:11-22, which is a very “pilgrim” centered passage, because the words “aliens” and “strangers” that are strewn throughout the passage can also be translated to “pilgrim.” However, what is even more striking amid the talk of “securing the border and “making America safe again,” the building of walls, and the fortification homes in gated communities, is that God is all about doing the exact opposite. In Christ, God is breaking down “the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (vs. 14), “creating one new humanity, making peace” (vs. 15), and calling us to “be citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” (vs. 19). In Christ, there is no talk of borders and walls, only longer tables and more chairs in the household of God, for there is plenty for all. Two completely different metaphors and visions of life. As for us, we belong to God, and are participants in the One who is the cornerstone of a whole new world.
____

Events!

Sunday, July 22, 2018, 4-6 pm, Gathering and Worship with Community of Pilgrims, Rose City Park Presbyterian Church;

Thursday, July 26-28, 2018, Pastor Brett will be at the national Reconciling Convocation, with many of my LGBTQ and allies UMC friends in St. Louis, MO;

Sunday, July 29, 2018, Pastor Brett will preach at Trinity UMC in Toledo, OR in the morning.

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018, 10:00 am, Pastor Brett preaching at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Tigard, OR.

Wed., Aug. 8, 7 pm, Steering/Guide Team, Chris’ home.

Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, 9:30 and 11:00 am, Pastor Brett will be preaching at First Presbyterian Church, Salem, 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. Any interest in seeing this Monday night, July 23, 7 pm? San Sai afterwards?
____

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

The Forsythia Bush, by Brian Doyle

One morning this summer I was basking in the sun
With the brother closest to me in age. We had been
Brought up almost as twins but then took disparate
Roads, as twins do. He was sobbing and I was near
Tears and the ocean was muttering. I heard a heron.
We had been having the most naked open talk we’d
Had in many years. I wanted to tell him how deeply
I loved him but words are just so weak and shallow.
So I talked about the forsythia bush we used to hide
Under together. It was the safest place on the planet.
The light was always amazing in there and it wasn’t
Ever muddy somehow and you were draped in gold.
It was a hut a huddle a tent a canopy a cave a refuge.
Sometimes you have to use a thing to say something
Else. We do this all the time. We talk sideways, yes?
But sidelong is often the only road that gets to where
You know you need to go. So much means lots more
Than it seems like it could mean. Tears, for example.

____
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

Toys and Books for Children of Asylum Seekers at Morrison Child and Family Services

At a recent rally on World Refugee Day, Kathy Fukuyama and Brett Webb-Mitchell discovered that some of the children of asylum seekers are living and being taken care of at the Morrison Child and Family Services in Portland, OR.  Through Sean Buchanan, who works at the Morrison Center, we learned that the Center would appreciate toys, books, crayons, and the like for children 12-17 years of age.  On Sunday we collected bags upon bags of toys, books, crayons, markers, coloring books, and balls for the children. What an amazing gift of love!

Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, July 15, 2018

THIS SUNDAY: July 15, 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 Gallivanter, Jaywalkers, Gadabout, People of the Way, Family Members and Friends:

Willamette Week’s “Best of Portland” came out the other day, and while we are not listed under the “Best New Presbyterian Fellowship that Began in 2017” category (no one is, phew), we have been around for almost a year (yeah!), and all of you are marvelous and lovely in supporting this new movement of God’s Spirit in Portland, OR! Yes!

The focus Scripture of this newsletter today is this week’s lectionary passage from the Epistles, Ephesians 1:3-14. The writer lays out before us God’s plan for us and all creation, in a trinitarian fashion, calling out God and “Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us,” while also reminding us that are marked “with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.” In other words, not to sound too eerily like televangelists, God has a plan that is unfolding right before our very eyes, if we take the time to notice, in which we are part of the marvelous unity in Christ Jesus. The plan may be an ancient one, rooted long before the earth was created, but it stretches forward too, far into the future, and we have a place within it, in this time and moment of God’s story. So, when I read this comment by Stephen Mattson on Facebook, “Sometimes, being a good Christian meant being a bad Roman. So before you accuse people of being unpatriotic, ask yourself which empire they’re actually serving,” I was reminded that, first, we are heirs who have received the blessings of God as part of God’s realm of love. That’s who we serve. And, secondly, we are ancestors with an eye on all that will come after us in the Spirit’s grace-filled purpose for all of creation. Or as Bob Dylan reminds us, “You’ve got to serve somebody.” Just know which empire we are serving…
____

Events!

Sunday, July 15, 2018, Pastor Chris will preach in Estacada in the morning.

Sunday, July 15, 2018, 4-6 pm, Gathering and Worship with Community of Pilgrims;

Thursday, July 26-28, 2018, Pastor Brett will be at the national Reconciling Convocation, with many of my LGBTQ and allies UMC friends in St. Louis, MO;

Sunday, July 29, 2018, Pastor Brett will preach at Trinity UMC in Toledo, OR in the morning.

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018, 10:00 am, Pastor Brett preaching at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Tigard, OR.

Wed., Aug. 8, 7 pm, Steering/Guide Team, Chris’ home.

Sunday, Aug. 12, 2018, 9:30 and 11:00 am, Pastor Brett will be preaching at First Presbyterian
Church, Salem, 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. Stay tuned!
____
Requests

*For the Children of Asylum Seekers, housed at the Morrison Center in Portland, OR: Last Sunday, July 8, we chose to purchase items for the young people, between the ages of 12-17, and let the Center distribute them. They would like Spanish books, board games like dice, dominoes, balls, arts and craft supplies, yarn, and beads. Bring the “stuff” with you on Sunday, July 15, 2018! And thanks!

*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

Vacation, by Rita Dove

I love the hour before takeoff,

that stretch of no time, no home

but the gray vinyl seats linked like

unfolding paper dolls. Soon we shall

be summoned to the gate, soon enough

there’ll be the clumsy procedure of row numbers

and perforated stubs—but for now

I can look at these ragtag nuclear families

with their cooing and bickering

or the heeled bachelorette trying

to ignore a baby’s wail and the baby’s

exhausted mother waiting to be called up early

while the athlete, one monstrous hand

asleep on his duffel bag, listens,

perched like a seal trained for the plunge.

Even the lone executive

who has wandered this far into summer

with his lasered itinerary, briefcase

knocking his knees—even he

has worked for the pleasure of bearing

no more than a scrap of himself.

____
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

Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship Newsletter, July 8, 2018

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

Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, July 1, 2018

THIS SUNDAY: July 1, 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 Wayfarers, Drifters, Searching Souls, Sauntering Lives, Friends, and Family Members,

We are knee deep in Portland summer. The weather (so far) is just right for a summer’s stroll, a swim in a pool or lake, walking along the water line of the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon coast, and taking a gentle nap after a long, hot day.

On dictionary.com, there is a “Word of the Day.” On June 28, 2018, the word of the day is “transmundane”. It is an adjective, meaning “reaching beyond or existing outside the physical or visible world.” It is literally “beyond” and “mundane”, brought together.

The focus Scripture—Mark 5: 21-43—is a re-telling of two miracles: the healing of Jairus’ daughter—who was at the point of death—and the woman who had been hemorrhaging, who touched Jesus’ cloak. Both of these miracle stories reflect the transmundane reach of the realm of God’s love for humanity. Indeed, these miracle stories, and every miracle around us, is a reflection of the transmundane nature of God in Christ, and these are stories we need to be reminded of today. On the southern border of this country, Jairus’ daughter lies dying today in little girls jeopardized by illness. Little boys and girls lack of food and water, and the necessities of life, the safety and security they—and we all—deserve, and are not permitted. How can we be the “miracle” in the lives of these young girls and boys teetering on the edge of life and death? How can our actions reflect the transmundane nature of the Spirit in the world today?
____

Events!

Friday and Saturday, June 29 and 30, Stated Meeting of the Presbytery of the Cascades; First Presbyterian Church of Salem;

Friday, June 29, 2018, 12 noon, Pastor Brett will be on a panel addressing LGBTQ+ issues and Faith Communities at Portland City Club. Go to this site for more info: https://www.pdxcityclub.org/calendar/?eid=9008

Saturday, June 30, there is a “Families Belong Together” rally in Portland, OR: https://act.moveon.org/…/families-belong-together_a…/search/

Sunday, July 1, 4-6 pm, Gathering and Worship with Community of Pilgrims;

Wednesday, July 25, 7 pm, Steering/Guide Team, Chris Dungan Home;

Sunday, July 29, Pastor Brett will be preaching at Trinity UMC in Toledo, OR;

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018, 10:00 am, Pastor Brett will be preaching at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Tigard, OR.
____

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!
____

In honor of the refugees in the world today: 

Learning to Love America, by Shirley Geok-Lin Lim

because it has no pure products

because the Pacific Ocean sweeps along the coastline
because the water of the ocean is cold
and because land is better than ocean

because I say we rather than they

because I live in California
I have eaten fresh artichokes
and jacaranda bloom in April and May

because my senses have caught up with my body
my breath with the air it swallows
my hunger with my mouth

because I walk barefoot in my house

because I have nursed my son at my breast
because he is a strong American boy
because I have seen his eyes redden when he is asked who he is
because he answers I don’t know

because to have a son is to have a country
because my son will bury me here
because countries are in our blood and we bleed them

because it is late and too late to change my mind
because it is time.

____

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

•  

Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship Newsletter, June 24, 2018

THIS SUNDAY: June 24, 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 Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Nomads, Wanderers, Family members, and Friends:

I am writing this letter in a time in which there is much tumult in our community, our city, our state, nation and world. After experiencing the ebullient atmosphere of two Pride marches in Boise and Portland after a week of working with United Methodist folks on issues of justice, this week my “in-box” has been filled with requests for support to be part of various rallies and protests, from Sheridan, OR to Portland, OR. I know that many of us are overwhelmed with sadness and anger, trying to figure out ways to help in the moment of “now” with the southern border crisis, knowing the struggles that are gripping our communities are long in coming, but are coming to a crisis point quickly; daily.

Breaking in to the crisis is this story from Mark 4:35-41: “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped…they woke Jesus up (because he was asleep) and said, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. Jesus said, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still not faith?’”

It is now, at this time, that I draw on the words of Fred Buechner, who invites us into our little boats of faith, because “Christ sleeps in the deepest selves of all of us, and…in whatever way we can call on him, as the fishermen did in their boat, to come awake within us and to give us courage, to give us hope. May (Jesus) be with us especially when the winds go mad and the waves run wild, as they will for all of us before we're done, so that even in their midst we may find peace, find him" (Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons).
____

Events!
Sunday, June 24, 2018, 10:00 am Worship at Southminster Presbyterian Church, Beaverton, OR, Pastor Brett preaching

Sunday, June 24, 2018, 4-6 pm, Gathering and Worship with Community of Pilgrims;

Monday, June 25, 6:45 (though this time could change, and I'll alert you to a change), “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” at Cinema 21, Portland, OR, with dinner at San Sai restaurant (across the street from Cinema 21);

Friday, June 29, 1:00 pm, Pastor Brett at Portland City Club;

Friday and Saturday, June 29-30, Presbytery of the Cascades Stated Meeting at First Presby. Church, Salem;

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2018, 10:00 am, preaching at Calvin Presbyterian Church in Tigard, OR.
____

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
From Burnt Norton, by T. S. Elliot
At the still point of the turning world.
Neither flesh nor fleshless; 
Neither from nor towards;
at the still point, there the dance is, 
But neither arrest nor movement. 
And do not call it fixity, 
Where past and future are gathered.
Neither movement from nor towards, 
Neither ascent nor decline. 
Except for the point, the still point, 
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance. 
I can only say, there we have been: but I cannot say where
And I cannot say, how long, for that is to place it in time.
____

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

Protest Rally, "Mourn, Pray, Love, Take Action", happening today!

There is a rally in downtown Portland today on World Refugee Day re: the current crisis on our border with Mexico. It is at Terry Shrunk Park, 6-8 pm. https://www.theskanner.com/news/newsbriefs/27056-unite-oregon-hosts-mourn-pray-love-and-take-action-june-20.

Peace, Brett

Community of Pilgrims Newsletter, June 17, 2018

THIS SUNDAY: June 17, 4:30 pm, we will be meeting at Chris Dungan’s home for a barbeque. 25140 Rancho Lobo Court, West Linn, OR. RSVP by tomorrow, Friday, June 15, 2018, Chris Dungan, chrisdungan1@msn.com  or 503.656.2095. Bring your own beverage. This is not a potluck.  This is a “post parade” event! 

Questions? Contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com

____

Dear Path Makers and Path Finders, Asylum Seekers and their children, Drivers and Passengers, Friends and Family Members, 

Greetings from Boise, Idaho, where I am a guest of the Oregon-Idaho United Methodist Church Annual Conference. The sun is out, it is nice and warm outside, and we are all sitting inside convention spaces.  Such is life!

The focus Scripture this coming Sunday is Mark 4:26-34, otherwise known as the Mustard Seed Parable. Such wonders and surprises lie within small seeds. The power of the seed parable reminded me of the story of the Nobel Prize winner scientist Barbara McClintock, who studied the way that genes communicate between organisms. She came to understand genetics by studying kernels of corn. She was the first person to create a genetic map of a chromosome for corn and theorized transference. She did this by having a “feel for the organism... learning to lean into the organism." Evelyn Fox Keller, who wrote the biography of Barbara McClintock, reminds us that the relationship that McClintock had with corn is the highest kind of intimacy and love that does not annihilate differences, but embraces them. It is the kind of relationship that God in Christ has with us as God leans in closely and has a feel for us as well.

____

Events!

Sunday, June 17, 2018, 11 am (at the latest), we are part of Creating Welcoming Congregations (CWC). We are contingent 74. Line up on Everett between NW 8th & Park. Kathy will have our t-shirts.  Feel free to wear any rainbow accessory. Let us remember that the first Pride parade was a “small seed” event in New York City on June 28, 1970. This was the one year anniversary of the Stonewall Riot, in which members of the LGBTQ+ community clashed with the police, who raided Stonewall Inn.

Sunday, June 17, 4:30 pm, we will be meeting at Chris Dungan’s (and collies) home for a barbeque. 25140 Rancho Lobo Court, West Linn, OR. RSVP by tomorrow, Friday, June 15, 2018, Chris Dungan, chrichrisdungan1@msn.com  or 503.656.2095. Bring your own beverage. This is not a potluck.  This is a “post parade” event!  

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, 7 pm, 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;

Friday, June 29 and Saturday, June 30, 2018, Presbytery of the Cascades, First Presbyterian Church, Salem, OR. Ask Brett or Chris for more information.

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, Cinema 21 on NW 21st Ave., Portland, OR.

Sunday, July 29, 2018, Brett is preaching at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Waldport, OR.

Aug. 5, 2018, 10 am, Brett is preaching at Calvin Presbyterian Church, Tigard, OR.

____

Poem

PRIDE 

By Dahlia Ravikovitch

Even rocks crack, I'm telling you,
and not on account of age.                 
For years they lie on their backs
in the heat and the cold,
so many years,
it almost creates the illusion of calm.  
They don't move, so the cracks stay hidden.         
A kind of pride.
Years pass over them as they wait.
Whoever is going to shatter them
hasn't come yet.
And so the moss flourishes, the seaweed
whips around,
the sea bursts forth and rolls back --    
and still they seem motionless.                    
Till a little seal comes to rub up against the rocks,         
comes and goes.                             
And suddenly the rock has an open wound. 
I told you, when rocks crack, it comes as a surprise. 
All the more so, people.

____

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

Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, June 10, 2018 newsletter

THIS SUNDAY: June 10, 4 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
____

Dear Mystic Wanderers, Spiritual Dancers, Nomadic Souls, Searching Ones, Pilgrims of a Faith, Family Members, and Friends,

It is June! And the Rose City does not disappoint in finding something and everything to do, all in one day. So much to choose from! Options abound! And we are glad that you join us each and every Sunday, or many Sundays. Thank you!

The focus this Sunday is a story from the Gospel of Mark 3:20-35. In the ‘80s, the LGBTQ+ community, at the height of the AIDS/HIV epidemic, coined the term “families of choice”, when friends stepped up to being caretakers of those of us who were ill, because of the perceived failure of families (heterosexual) of origin and the state to respond adequately to the crisis. “Families of choice” is intended to capture the commitment of chosen, rather than fixed, relationships and ties of intimacy, care, and support. Mark’s Jesus already set before us this concept of families of choice. Here’s the scene: Jesus’ disciples brought Jesus’ mother, brothers, and sisters to Jesus’ side, because the disciples feared how Jesus was being perceived wrongly by the crowd. When he was told his family was there, Jesus replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers? … Here are my mother and my brothers (and sisters)! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother (and father).” Through baptism, hasn’t Brother Jesus reconfigured our relationship as mother, father, brother, and sister to one another as God’s “family of choice”? And what does that mean for our relationship with one another and God in the Community of Pilgrims?
____

Events!

Sunday, June 10, 2018, 4-6 pm: Gathering and Worshiping together, Rose City Park Presbyterian Church;

Sunday, June 17, 2018, 11 am (at the latest), we are part of Creating Welcoming Congregations (CWC). We are contingent 74. Line up on Everett between NW 8th & Park. No gathering and worship at 4 pm. Wear your new t-shirt, please!

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, 7 pm, 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;

Friday, June 29 and Saturday, June 30, 2018, Presbytery of the Cascades, First Presbyterian Church, Salem, OR. Ask Brett or Chris for more information.

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, Cinema 21 on NW 21st Ave., Portland, OR

Aug. 5, 2018, 10 am, Brett is preaching at Calvin Presbyterian Church, Tigard, OR. 
____

Poem
(month of) June, by Hilaire Beloc

Rise up, and do begin the day's adorning; 
The Summer dark is but the dawn of day. 
The last of sunset fades into the morning, 
The morning calls you from the dark away. 
The holy mist, the white mist of the morning, 
Was wreathing upward on my lonely way. 
The way was waiting for your own adorning
That should complete the broad adorned day. 

Rise up, and do begin the day's adorning; 
The little eastern clouds are dapple grey: 
There will be wind among the leaves to-day; 
It is the very promise of the morning. 
Lux Tua Via Mea: your light's my way - 
Then do rise up and make it perfect 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