Newsletter, CoP, July 3, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, July 3, 2022, Fourth Sunday After Pentecost. Join us on Zoom at 4 pm. Contact me if you need a link. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

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Dear Community of Pilgrims,

Greetings from sunny, hot, muggy Louisville, KY! At least this is where I’ve started writing this newsletter. I’ll continue to write it in the air from Louisville to Dallas-Ft. Worth (DFW), and email it out from DFW. 

I had a wonderful time in Louisville. I got to cross off one of my “bucket list” items: attending a General Assembly of the PCUSA as a Commissioner. This was my fifth General Assembly. I’ve preached at one of them, which is a high honor. I’ve been “gopher” on issues pertaining to people with disabilities and LGBTQIA2S+ people in two of them. I’ve prepared Welcoming Ceremony and co-designed opening daily worship when it was in Portland, OR in 2016. But this was the first time I got to attend as a Commissioner. As one retired Exec. Presbyter said to me years ago, when she finally went as a Commissioner, she always wanted to go to a General Assembly where the “sausage is made,” and that was in the Committee meetings and voting plenary sessions. And we made some sausage on the Committee I served. I’m glad I got to represent the Presbytery of the Cascades during this time, and look forward to reporting back to the Presbytery in the months to come.

The focus Scripture this Sunday is from Luke 10:1-11, 16-20. Jesus sends out 70 of his disciples to not only preach the Good News, but to live the Good News in the world. Jesus sends them out two by two. There were certain instructions that went along with this “sending out,” in which disciples were given options on whether or not they were welcomed or not welcomed to where they went. What I prize most about this passage as I read it this time is that the disciples were instructed to take the Good News out to the world in which they lived. They didn’t sit in the synagogue, waiting for people to come to them. They went deep into the world of Nazareth, Cana, and the various villages around the Sea of Galilee. This is a pilgrimage that they were sent on, which spread the news of God’s realm of love near and far. And the realization is this: we are called to do the same. We aren’t to sit and wait for people to come to us. We are sent out into the world, to bring the Good News to people right where they live. Join us this Sunday as we explore in great depth the work of the earliest disciples. 

**

Good news! The Community of Pilgrims request for $16,000 for 2022 was granted by the New Ministry Team of the Presbytery of the Cascades. Also: Tom Letts, our church coach, was provided funds from the New Ministry Team to be with us in 2022-2023. We are deeply thankful for the funding from the Presbytery of the Cascades. For my birthday request on Facebook, in which people are invited to give to a non-profit in the birthday-person’s name, I asked for people to donate to the Community of Pilgrims. So far, we have raised over $1,000! And thanks for keeping up with your pledges this year. YOU ALL are the Community of Pilgrims. This is your Community. Thank you for your support!

**

The Community of Pilgrims will celebrate our five-year anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022! Mark this in your calendars. More details will be coming. This is a big anniversary for the Community of Pilgrims, and we look forward to celebrating it with one another, and with the world around us as we continue to serve and love God and serve and love neighbor in creative and meaningful ways. 

______

Events!

July 3, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion and Holy Communion on Zoom!

July 10, Holy Holiday!

July 17, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom OR Rise Church! Stay Tuned! TBD!

July 24, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom OR Rise Church!

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Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

Thankfulness

* Lorinda and Ray celebrate 61 years of marriage!

* Commendations to Chuck for getting a pacemaker.

* Successful Beaverton Pride day.

* Thankful for the financial support of the Community of Pilgrims!

Thankfulness and Concerns

* Brett’s Birthday is on Friday!  And Brett and Christian’s wedding on July 9!  And Brett will attend the Presbyterian Church (USA) General Assembly before the wedding.  Prayers for good experiences in all these activities.

* Dean’s leukemia permits treatment with pills.  Prayers for effective treatment.

Concerns

* Kathy Fukuyama’s sister and brother-in-law.  Her brother-in-law is suffering from dementia.

* Continued prayers for Linda Fuqua-Anderson and her brother Gary.

* Lorinda’s friend, Louise.

* Kate Butler is moving to Clackamas county and asks for our prayers for a safe transition.

* Notwithstanding political and cultural polarization and adversity, keep your eyes on the prize (God)! Per Brett’s sermon, the prize is a goal of God’s ideals, for equality, freedom and respect, not mere tolerance.  Keep hands on the gospel plow. Go forward!

* Prayers for Michael B.

*Roxanne’s daughter’s graduation. For improved experience in her trip to Europe.  

* Prayers for Roxanne’s daughter-in-law and son, who are undergoing divorce, and their two grandchildren.

* For everyone with family challenges.

* Michelle Ware’s father is 102 years-old and got Covid-19.  Prayers for recovery.

* For women in reproductive age and affected by the Supreme Court abortion decision.

* Peace in world, with war in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and the Sudan.

* For correction to harm by anarchists protesting the abortion decision and other issues with which they disagree. 

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen

_____

Poem

Rough Translations, by Jan Richardson (from Circle of Grace).

Hope nonetheless.

Hope despite.

Hope regardless.

Hope still.

Hope where we had ceased to hope.

Hope amid what threatens hope.

Hope with those who feed our hope.

Hope beyond what we had hoped.

Hope that draws us past our limits.

Hope that defies expectations.

Hope that questions what we have known.

Hope that makes a way where there is none.

Hope that takes us past our fear.

Hope that calls us into life.

Hope that holds us beyond death.

Hope that blesses those to come. 

Buen Camino! Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell and Karen Cornwell Fortlander

Newsletter, CoP, June 26, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, June 26, 2022, Third Sunday After Pentecost. Join us on Zoom at 4 pm. Note the time change. Contact me if you need a link. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

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Dear Community of Pilgrims,

In our household, we enjoy a good Broadway musical tune. This song popped up, from Rogers and Hammstein’s “Carousel!”: “March  March went out like a lion a whippin' up the water in the bay. Then April cried and stepped aside and along come pretty little May! May was full of promises but she didn't keep 'em quickly enough for some. And a crowd of doubtin' Thomases was predictin' that the summer'd never come,” followed by the chorus: June is bustin' out all over! All over the meadow and the hill buds're bustin' outa bushes and the rompin' river pushes ev'ry little wheel that wheels beside the mill…” Well, that’s exactly what happened this week in Portland, OR, and other cities where many of you live. Yeah!

The focus Scripture this Sunday is Luke 9:51-62. In this passage, Jesus and the disciples Peter, James, and John, had recently experienced what we call “the Transfiguration” on top of Mt. Tabor, and Jesus’ face was set to go to Jerusalem (v. 51). In other words, Luke’s Jesus was on his final pilgrimage of his life ministry, leaving Galilee and vicinity, and headed to Jerusalem, where he would face the courts, be sentenced to death, die on the cross, and rise again. So, time was short. The goal of this pilgrimage was set. Jesus’ face was set towards Jerusalem (v. 53). With that in the backdrop, Jesus’ response to the questions and situations at hand were set in the context of Jesus going to Jerusalem to meet his future. And his responses were short and to the point. For example, when he was kept out of a village by Samaritans, who were not friends of Jesus, Jesus does not wish them ill, but moves forward. He calls others to follow him, though the pilgrimage will not be an easy one. He cautions that while foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, that God’s son is on the move, and has nowhere to call home right now. “Follow me,” was his refrain. When someone wanted to follow but first bury the dead, his refrain was simple: Let the dead bury their own dead, follow me (v. 60). When still someone else wanted to say farewell to his kith and kin, Jesus simply urged this one to follow him. See a theme here? So, this Sunday, let’s talk about following Jesus, whose face is set to Jerusalem. 

**

The Community of Pilgrims will celebrate our five-year anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022! Mark this in your calendars. More details will be coming. This is a big anniversary for the Community of Pilgrims, and we look forward to celebrating it with one another, and with the world around us as we continue to serve and love God and serve and love your neighbor in creative and meaningful ways. 

______

Events!

June 26, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

July 3, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

July 10, Holy Holiday!

July 17, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom OR Rise Church! Stay Tuned! TBD!

____

Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

· Vaccines now available for children under five years old, and prayers that they will  take them.

· Karen's new Cochlear implants which are lighter, clearer, and technically more advanced.

· Randy's last radiation therapy treatment tomorrow and he is doing well.

· Juneteenth, now a national holiday commemorating the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans in Galveston, TX, in 1865 who were the last to be freed.

· Pride and the Portland Pride Parade to celebrate diversity and keep fighting for equal rights.

· Chuck Stilson is back home following pacemaker surgery and able to join us today.

· Lorinda is healing.

· Kathrine Klein is able to join us today.

· Christian's sister Yarrow's numbers are improving.

We shared Prayers of Concern for

· Energy for Roberta teaching elementary school children in Vacation Bible School this week.

· Brett's former partner Dean has been diagnosed with leukemia, but his “strain” of leukemia is very mild and can be treated with daily medications.

· Lorinda's friends Connie and Louise who are both bedridden.

· People in war-torn countries including Ukraine, Sudan, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Syria, Yemen, Myanmar, and Afghanistan.

· Farmers facing shortages and delivery issues.

· Mother Earth that we do our best to slow or reverse the trajectory we are on.

· Climate change increases flood risks such as the heavy rains which caused flooding in Yellowstone.

· Massive cattle die-off in the mid-West.

· Cessation of gun violence.

· Senators to make incremental changes in gun laws.

· Linda as she adjusts to her new home at The Ackerly.

· Improvement in the divisiveness in our world.

· Those drawn to fascism and authoritarians.

· Those living without shelter, food, or financial stability. 

· Prayers for this nation with the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen

_____

Poem

In-Between the Sun and Moon, By Padraig O’Tuama

In-between the sun and moon, 
I sit and watch 
and make some room 
for letting light and twilight mingle, 
shaping hope 
and making single glances last eternity, 
a little more, 
extending love beyond the doors of welcoming, 
while wedding all the parted people, 
even sons to violent mothers, 
and searching all the others finding light 
where twilight lingers, 
in-between the sun and moon.

Buen Camino! Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell and Karen Cornwell Fortlander

Newsletter, CoP, June 12, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, June 12, 2022, Trinity Sunday. Join us on Zoom at 4 pm. Note the time change. Contact me if you need a link. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

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Dear Community of Pilgrims,

Greetings this morning from the City of Roses! For those who are far away from Portland, June is a time for roses, and everything related to roses, in the Rose City. This weekend is the “climax” of sorts for the celebration of roses, with the Rose Parade and the Rose City Dragon Boat Festival in downtown Portland. Now, may the weather cooperate…

This Sunday is Trinity Sunday, in which the focus is on the first, paradigmatic, and perfect, understanding or example of a communal perspective of God, and thus of a community of faith. God as a holy/wholly community. The Scriptural focus is John 16:12-15, in which Jesus explicitly names and calls out the relationship of the Trinity. As religious scholar Steve Prothero observes, Christianity is not a radical monotheistic faith, belief in one God, like our Jewish and Muslim siblings. Christianity has a mushier understanding of God in three Persons, “blessed Trinity,” more like the Hindu tradition. There is God, the mother/father and creator of all things, or as Jesus says, “All that the Father has is mine” (v. 15). In other words, Jesus and God are one and the same. Then there is Jesus Christ, the only son/child of God, who is explaining the relationship of the Trinity. Then there is the Spirit “of truth, who will guide you into all the truth; for the Spirit will not speak on the Spirit’s own, but will speak whatever the Spirit hears,” namely from God the creator. God in three persons. What is interesting in this passage is the very first line, in which Jesus says, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (v. 15). What this line reminds us all is that we are always growing in the faith, maturing, in which, when we are ready to hear or receive some of the insights God in Christ has about life, the Spirit will let us know. So, on this Trinity Sunday, let us celebrate the first and eternal community of faith, and become more like it, every day of our lives.

**

The Community of Pilgrims will celebrate our five-year anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022! Mark this in your calendars. More details will be coming. This is a big anniversary for the Community of Pilgrims, and we look forward to celebrating it with one another, and with the world around us as we continue to serve and love God and serve and love our neighbors in creative and meaningful ways. 

______

Events!

June 12, Trinity Sunday! 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom and in person.

June 19, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. 

June 26, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

July 3, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

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Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

Prayers of  thanksgiving for 

· Lorinda is grateful for the kindness of so many people.

· Medical treatments that can slow the spread of disease and can manage pain.  

· Vaccines and treatments for Covid-19. It is not over yet.

· The Community of Pilgrims beginning our fifth year together and all the people and experiences we have shared along the way.

Prayers of concern:

· Roxanne's daughter-in-law Nicole whose father has cancer and she is managing his care and care for her family.

· For students at the University of Oregon and other colleges studying hard for final exams. 

· Linda’s, Nina’s, and Colleen’s overall health. 

· Brett's former wife's family following the death of her father, Jim Webb.

· Families who have lost members. 

· Sarah's mother who is now in hospice.

· Chuck's sister-in-law who recently died at age 98.

· Hal and Anna Lou Lee who died and their memorial service will be held June 16.

· Christian's sister Yarrow and our friend Linda who are both battling cancer.

· Peace in Sudan, Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Nigeria, Myanmar, and Ukraine. Thankful to PBS for sharing news of the world.

· Victims of racial discrimination and victims of other unjust treatment because of their ethnicity, age, sex, or disability. 

· Victims of gun violence and their families.

· Protection of women's reproductive rights as a major Supreme Court decision is due soon. 

· The tragedy of the war in Ukraine for both Ukraine and Russia.

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen

_____

Poem

Poured Into Our Hearts, by Jan Richardson

Lie a cup

Like a chalice

Like a basin

Like a bowl

When the Spirit comes

Let it find our heart

Like this

Shaped like something

That knows how to receive

What is given

That knows how to hold 

What comes to fill

That knows how to gather itself

Around what arrives as

 Unbidden

Unsought

Unmeasured

Love.

Buen Camino! Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell and Karen Cornwell Fortlander

Newsletter, CoP, June 5, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, June 5, 2022, Pentecost Sunday. Join us on Zoom at 4 pm. Everyone please wear red. Contact me if you need a link. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

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Greetings, Community of Pilgrims!

This is another juicy, newsie newsletter, so please read it all, carefully, and prayerfully!

It is Pentecost this Sunday! There are two Sundays in the church year that the paraments (altar and table cloths, and stoles) are red: Pentecost and Reformation Sunday (in the fall). Red is the color of festivals! Of celebrations! And this Sunday we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit, and the movement of that very same Spirit in the lives of Christ’s followers who, in time, became the one body of Christ. Woohoo!

The focus Scripture this week is Acts 2:1-21. Like so many other stories in Scripture, like the birth of Jesus, we know this story fairly well, because we keep on coming back to it, year after year. We remember that the Jewish disciples of Jesus (soon-to-be-apostles) were in a locked room when there was the strange sound of rushing wind in and outside of the room, and the appearance of flames descending, and the weird phenomenon of these very same people suddenly able to speak in languages from around the Mediterranean area. In other words, the Holy Spirit delighted in crossing boundaries and borders, in which God chose the least likely people to do amazing things. In light of our current and past politics in this nation, in which there has been people establishing borders and walls, segregating us from one another, God’s Spirit encourages unity, showing us that we worship and follow a God who laughs at such petty boundaries and smites them with a simple gift of language. After all, words create worlds. Amid angry, hate-filled cries from some in support of “Don’t Say Gay” bills, and attempts to shut down educational programs that explore our sordid heritage regarding race and slavery, while denigrating women in attempts to control their bodies, we know that our God created such beautiful diversity of ways of being as part of the human race, as well as all of creation. After all, in the body of Christ there is neither male nor female, slave nor free, Gentile nor Jew, for we are all equals in the presence of God (Galatians 3:28). Let us celebrate and encourage and honor such marvelous displays of life that God created this Pentecost. Join us this Sunday as we all wear red (please), and celebrate the diversity found in the unity of the one body of Christ. 

**

The latest news from Marissa regarding Linda's health:

My mom had her first immunotherapy on Tuesday and it seemed to go well. She had the gamma knife radiation Wednesday, which was an exhausting and long day with some disappointing news. She has many more lesions on her brain than initially thought, but they are all small and they were able to target 15 of them located in the most vulnerable areas. She's tired, but overall is doing well. We will now be moving into immunotherapy every 3 weeks and hope to hold steady for some period of time. You likely won't hear from me much anymore as I won't have anything to report. I hope to get my mom back to using her phone again so things can return to some measure of normal as far as contact with you all.

I can't thank you enough for all the warmth and care you've sent my mom through cards, texts, emails and calls. It's meant everything.

Warmly,

Marissa

**

The Community of Pilgrims will celebrate our five-year anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022! Mark this in your calendars. More details will be coming. This is a big anniversary for the Community of Pilgrims, and we look forward to celebrating it with one another, and with the world around us as we continue to serve and love God and serve and love one's neighbor in creative and meaningful ways. 

** For those members of The Community of Pilgrims in OR, there is a group called “Lift Every Voice Oregon.” Their hope is to get a measure on the state ballot to tighten gun control laws in OR. This is an issue we’ve prayed about a lot. Here is their link:

A group called Lift Every Voice Oregon (https://www.lifteveryvoiceoregon.com/), fortunately, has had an effort in place to get a measure on the state ballot this November that:

1. Requires a permit to purchase a firearm (licensing).

2. The buyer must pass a background check (no more loopholes!).
3. The buyer must pass a classroom and a hands-on firearm training course.
4. Limits magazine capacity to ten rounds (bullets).
5. Stops the sale, transfer, trade, or manufacture of high-capacity magazines in Oregon for civilian use.

Go to their link for more information. One of their actions is to sign a petition to get this on the ballot in November 2022. Let’s consider what we want to do as the Community of Pilgrims. 

**

Please keep up with your pledges as we hit the mid-year point! Many thanks! The Steering Team!

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Events!

June 5, Pentecost! Plus Holy Communion. 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. 

June 12, Trinity Sunday, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom and in person.

June 19, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. 

June 26, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

July 3, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

____

Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

Thanksgiving for

· Little ones. Roxanne received a graduation announcement from her niece who recently graduated from kindergarten.

· That we do strive for a better world.

· The chance to meet with the New Ministries Team to update them on the CoP and ask for financial support.

· Spring, coming soon.

· Rain, a vital resource for us and for our earth.

· Those who are getting treatment for cancer and for other medical advances.

· Don Shaw who is improving and getting stronger after surgery for stomach cancer.

· Lorinda's accident was not any worse.

· Lorinda's positive attitude after her accident.

· Chris's cousins' visit to Greenwich and the time she enjoyed showing them around.

Prayers of concern for

· Those precious children and parents deciding how to carry on following mass killings in Buffalo; Uvalde, Texas; Oregon; OK, and so many other places.

· Ways to bridge differences and to move forward with gun laws and other legislation.

· All that is absent in so many families.

· The Patterson's daughter Brittany who is sick with serious Covid-19.

· Those with long term Covid-19 effects.

· Those who are not vaccinated.

· Those who do not have access to the vaccines and treatment for Covid-19.

· Friends Maggy and Sally who foster animals and whose neighbors have turned against them.

· Mother Earth and global climate change.

· Homelessness, hunger.

· Those who are struggling with mental health issues.

· Young transgender people facing persecution in many states.

· Voter suppression laws in various states against people of color, the elderly, and those who have difficulty getting out to vote.

· Peace in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Afghanistan, and Syria.

· Marge Stockwell living in a care facility but not enjoying a great quality of life.

· Linda Fuqua-Anderson starting cancer treatments this coming week.

· Nina’s healing.

· Sarah Olbrantz's mother who is in hospice.

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen

_____

Poem

A Blessing for Pentecost Day

This is the blessing

We cannot speak

By ourselves.

This is the blessing

We cannot summon

By our own devices,

Cannot shape

To our purpose,

Cannot bend

To our will.

This is the blessing 

That comes 

When we leave behind

Our aloneness

When we gather 

Together

When we turn

Toward one another.

This is the blessing 

That blazes among us

When we speak

The words

Strange to our ears

When we finally listen

Into the chaos

When we breathe together

At last.

Buen Camino! Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell and Karen Cornwell Fortlander

Newsletter, CoP, May 22, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, May 22, 2022, Sixth Sunday of Easter. Join us on Zoom at 4 pm. Note the time change. Contact me if you need a link. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

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Greetings, Community of Pilgrims!

Amid all the news this week—from a war in Ukraine, baby food shortages in the US, pending changes in Roe v. Wade, Jan. 6th hearings starting in a few weeks, to gun violence in various cities across the US, global climate change, and COVID rates rising once again—one has to ask this week what is the top concern(s) among those of us in Christian communities, and what is it that we need to bring to this weary world? It is a message of hope. Hope was one of the biblical virtues that Paul wrote about in 1Cor. 13:13, in which faith, hope, and love are part of life. Or as Anne Lamott wrote, “hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: you don’t give up.” That’s more-or-less what we are called to do and be these days: be hope.

The Scripture focus this week is on Acts 16:9-15 and is not unrelated to our task of being the embodiment of Christ's message of hope in this world. Paul has a dream of a man in Macedonia who needs Paul’s assistance, and Paul pulls together his friends to aid the man in Macedonia. And on the way to aid this man, they happen to meet Lydia, and her heart and mind were open to the message of the Gospel, the Good News, the hope, that Paul was living and preaching. And before we know it, her entire household was baptized. What is amazing about this story is how God used Paul, and uses us, to be and bring God’s presence and hope into the lives of others, often without our knowing it until we look back, in the rearview mirror of life, and realize what an impact we’ve had in the life of another person, or they have had in our life. In our world today, it would not be unexpected that God would be bringing us into the life of people in the world today who need to hear, see, experience, the living presence of Christ's hope for the world today. Join us this Sunday as we focus on being and becoming the living hope of God in our stressed-out world. 

**

The Community of Pilgrims will celebrate our five-year anniversary on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022! Woohoo! Fifth year anniversaries are all about wood, as in celebrating the growing of our roots in the ground. Mark this in your calendars. More details will be coming. This is a big anniversary for the Community of Pilgrims, and we look forward to celebrating it with one another, and with the world around us as we continue to serve and love God and serve and love neighbor in creative and meaningful ways. 

______

Events!

May 22, Fifth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. 

May 29, Sixth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

June 5, Pentecost! 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom and in person.

June 12, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom and in person.

____

Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

· Brett's friend Philip Culbertson and Brett and Christian attended his memorial today. May his memory be a blessing.

· Thanksgiving that Nina Clippard is doing much better following a fall at her home.  

· Peace and comfort for Linda Fuqua-Anderson who has advanced cancer and for her family.

· Randy who just completed his first week of treatment for prostate cancer.  

· Thanksgiving that Chuck and Sue Malter are both feeling strong.

· Christian's sister Yarrow who is very ill with cancer.

· Sarah and her father as they make difficult decisions about her Mother's end of life.

· Thanksgiving that Galena's family in Ukraine now has drinking water and their life is improving.

· Protection of women's reproductive rights and channel the anger into action, particularly for the midterm elections.

· Protection of voting rights

· Ukraine where fighting Russian forces just passed 81 days.

· Gun control after a dozen people were killed in Buffalo, Houston, Milwaukee, and Orange County this weekend.

· Thanksgiving that a federal judge blocked part of a newly enacted Alabama law that made it a felony for doctors to provide certain gender-affirming medical care to minors.

· The transgender community under attack in Texas where legislation criminalizing transgenders is in place.

· Longtime activist Urvashi Vaid, a leader of many LGBTQ+ and other social justice organizations, who died at age 63.

· Journalist Shireen Abu Akleh who was shot dead in the West Bank as she reported on Israeli military raids.

· Increased violence in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

· Welcome back Mary, Sue, and Michael.

· The 1 million Americans and 15 million victims around the world who have died from COVID 19. 

· People dealing with mental illness and their families.

· Musician Bobby Jo Valentine as he deals with mental illness.

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen

_____

Poem

Hope, by Wendell Berry

Here by the road where people are carried, with
or against their will, as on a river of burning oil
through a time already half consumed, how
shall we pray to escape the catastrophe
that we have not the vision to oppose and have
therefore deserved, and that many have desired?

Yet here in our moment in the ages of ages
amid the icons of fire from the maddened center
whirling out, we pray to be delivered from the blaze
that we have earned, that many desire. We pray
that the continent of love may be shaped within
the continent of power, here by the river of fire.

We pray for vision, though we die, to see
in our small imperfect love the Love of the ages
of ages, whose green tree yet stands amid the flames. May we
be as a song sung within the tree, though beside us
the river of oil flows, burning, and the sky is filled
with the whine of desire to burn and be burned in the fire.

Buen Camino! Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell and Karen Cornwell Fortlander

Newsletter, CoP, May 15, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, May 15, 2022, Fifth Sunday of Easter. Join us on Zoom at 4:30 pm. Note the time change. Just this Sunday. Contact me if you need a link. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

_______

Greetings, Community of Pilgrims!

As we come into the middle of May, I am keenly aware that the 50 days of Eastertide is ending, with Pentecost celebrations on June 5th. Meanwhile, the awakening of the plants and trees around us remind us that this is a season of new life, new hope, new faith, and new birth…and rebirth. The sap is rising in the trees, for some people allergies are alive and well, and the days are growing longer, and some days, warmer.

The Scripture focus this Sunday is both from Revelation 21:1-6, and John 13:34-35. In this time of social strife, I gravitated quickly to the two passages from Revelation that speak of hope: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth” (v. 1), and “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end” (v. 6). Why does that bring my hope? Because all of life is in the hands of the Creator, who is actively doing a new thing, inviting us to participate in this ongoing saga of creation, as we strive for justice among us, and peace around the world. The other part of this new creation is the presence of love in a world swirling with hate and fear. The embodiment of this love came in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. 18th century hymn writer Charles Wesley’s composed, “Love Divine, All Love Excelling,” capturing the beauty and presence of this Godly love: “Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven, to earth came down, fix in us thy humble dwelling; all they faithful mercies crown. Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art; visit us with thy salvation; enter every trembling heart.” Then Wesley ties it back to the passage from Revelation: “Finish then thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be; let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee: changed from glory into glory till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise…” and grace. The good news? God is not done with us yet, and invites to the dance of a creating a new heaven and a new earth, right where we are. Up for the joyful task? Join us this Sunday as we consider the ways we are participating in this act of being part of a new creation. 

______

Events!

May 15, Fourth Sunday in Easter, 4:30 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom (Note the time change!)

May 22, Fifth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. 

May 29, Sixth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

June 5, Seventh Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom and in person.

____

Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

Thanksgivings:

Thankful that Linda (Fuqua-Anderson) is feeling better.

COVID 19 variants so far are not causing great, new chaos.

Thankful for children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, in our lives. 

Mothers’ Day!

Mother-child relationships (blessings and challenges).

Sue Malter, who is thinking of us.

Concerns

Linda and Yarrow Halstead, who are both fighting cancer.

United States, in light of draft Supreme Court of the US leaked majority opinion on abortion.

George Doolittle: ill and back in hospital.

Randy L’Esperance has the first of treatments for cancer.

Drought in parts of WA, OR, and CA.

Global climate change.

United Methodist Church and Global Methodist Church split/schism.

Past and present schisms in churches.

War in Ukraine, and for all Ukrainians and Russians, 

World peace in all nations, including Syria, Yemen, Sri Lanka, the Sudan and Ethiopia.

Churches, comfort and joy.

Pursue higher good in all ways, for the common good, in life.

All those who are LGBTQIA2S+, especially transgender young people, who are being targeted with anti-transgender legislation in several Republican legislatures. 

Voting rights in the US.

Those who are houseless and homeless around the world, part of the great refugee migration.

The rise of COVID rates in Multnomah County.

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen

_____

Poem

To a Marsh Hawk in Spring

To a Marsh Hawk in Spring, by David Henry Thoreau

There is health in thy gray wing, 

Health of nature’s furnishing,

Say, thou modern-winged antique,

Was thy mistress ever sick?

In each heaving of thy wing

Thou dost health and leisure bring,

Thou dost waive disease and pain

And resume new life again.

Buen Camino! Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell and Karen Cornwell Fortlander

Newsletter, CoP, May 8, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, May 8, 2022, Fourth Sunday of Easter. Join us on Zoom at 4 pm. Contact me if you need a link. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

_____

Greetings, Community of Pilgrims!

To our members of the Community of Pilgrims who do not live in Portland, I want to let you know that even though we had a dry Jan., Feb., and March, April and now May are now making up for some of the dry conditions and rainless days. And I find it more enjoyable to have raindrops splatter my bare skin and clothes on warmer days than on colder days. And today was such a day.

This Sunday’s reading is from Acts 9:36-43. It is a story about the early community of faith, which was a collection of people of “The Way,” (Acts 9:2). In this short passage, Dorcas, a woman who was the epitome of “service” or “love-in-action,” had taken ill and had died. The community of Christian faith was beside itself in sadness for this untimely death, so they reached out to Peter, the disciple-now-apostle, to come and heal her and wake her from Peter had compassion on her, and did as they asked, bringing her back from the dead to life again. What Peter exhibited was nothing more and nothing less than compassion upon this member of the Christian faith community. And as Benedictine writer Joan Chittister reminds us that “compassion makes no distinction between friends and enemies, neighbors and outsiders, compatriots and foreigners. Compassion is the gate(way) to human community…It is in community that we come to see God in the other. It is in community that we see our own emptiness filled up.  It is community that calls me beyond the pinched horizons of my own life, my own country, my own race, and gives me the gifts I do not have within me.” Join us this Sunday as we consider in what ways our life in our respective communities of faith are blessed, in which we are more than we could ever be by our individual selves. Thanks be to God.

______

Roxanne Ushman shared this great youtube.com “Episode” by a team called “Hurd Mentality, which focused on HomePlate, starting at around the 8:22 minute mark. Excellent way to get insight as to what is happening at HomePlate, which we just sponsored for Lent/Easter. Thanks, Roxanne! And thanks, Community of Pilgrims, for such an act of love.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNK3TNAjx6A.

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Events!

May 8, Fourth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

May 15, Fourth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

May 22, Fifth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. 

May 29, Sixth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

June 5, Seventh Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom and in person.

____

Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

· Linda Fuqua-Anderson battling cancer. Prayers for love, hope, courage, and peace.

· Linda’s brother Gary who is getting the care he needs.

· Birthday celebrations for Shu on April 28.

· Wedding celebrations for Ellen and Sarah who will get married next September.

· Thanksgiving that Sarah got her top intern pick with a practice where she can do play therapy with whole families.

· Thanksgiving for today.

· Kairos time, "God's time".

· Thanksgiving that Brett and Christian met four years ago this weekend.

· Lorinda's sister Val in Bozeman who had a medical emergency.

· Friend Guy McCully who is doing better with his possible skin cancer.  

· Christian's sister Yarrow who has had breast cancer and other forms of cancer.

· The wife, sons, and extended family in Greenwich, NY who just lost their father to pancreatic cancer. 

· Charles Flaum who is being treated for lymphoma.

· The Plymouth Family whose Dad passed away last night at the age of 94.

· Celebrations for Roxanne’s daughter who completed her master’s degree and just got a good job.

· Michael who also recently completed his master’s degree and as a trans youth it will be more difficult to find a good job.

· The LGBTQIA2S+ community, especially transgenders under attack through state legislation limiting health care access, ability to compete in sports, and other restrictions.

· Those people who are being attacked using Critical Race Theory.

· A miracle that the voting suppression laws passed in 19 states can be lifted.

· A miracle that the Democratic Party turnout in droves in upcoming elections.

· Climate change and the long-running drought across the U.S. West including the Willamette Valley.

· Countries at war including Ukraine, Russia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Yemen, and Syria. 

· For all women in the US in light of the leaked “Majority Decision” re: Roe v. Wade, written by Assoc. Justice Samuel Alito. If true, the impact upon the lives of all US citizens will be enormous. 

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen.

Poem

May by Mary Oliver

May, and among the miles of leafing,
blossoms storm out of the darkness—
windflowers and moccasin flowers. The bees
dive into them and I too, to gather
their spiritual honey. Mute and meek, yet theirs
is the deepest certainty that this existence too—
this sense of well-being, the flourishing
of the physical body—rides
near the hub of the miracle that everything
is a part of, is as good
as a poem or a prayer, can also make
luminous any dark place on earth.

___

Buen Camino! Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.

Newsletter, CoP, May 1, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, May 1, 2022, Third Sunday of Easter. Join us on Zoom at 4 pm. Contact me if you need a link. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

_____

Greetings, Community of Pilgrims!

This Sunday is May 1st! May Day! In some countries, May 1st is really the beginning of a proper spring holiday, with a May pole dance, with ribbons and such, along with picnics and parties. In other countries, among some groups, this was a day to celebrate workers as International Workers’ Day, a day to celebrate the common laborers, or who we would call today, “essential workers,” who provide for much of what we depend upon in our daily living.

As we get closer to Pentecost in this season of Eastertide, we have some wonderful stories of the resurrected Christ moving among his friends and associates before his ascension. Today’s reading from John’s Gospel is such a reading. In John 21:1-19, Jesus is just one of the people in this passage from John’s Gospel, even though he is now the resurrected one. Nevertheless, Jesus still has a keen eye as to where to fish in a body of water, as he did before his death. He still gets hungry, just like he did before his death. He set up a fire for them to kick back with him and eat some of the fish they just caught. Jesus took some bread, broke it, gave it to his disciples, along with fish, for a meal, just like he did before his death. Get the idea? Then John’s Jesus starts to ask Simon, son of John, “Do you love me?” in which he answers, “Of course I love you. Jesus replies all three times about tending and caring for the lambs and sheep, which, metaphorically, means us. And John ends this passage with the simple invitation that Jesus makes: “Follow me” (21:19). And so we do, even in 2022: we follow Jesus. Join us this Sunday as we discuss and pray about the ways that Jesus or Christ’s Spirit is still among us, even today. 

____

From the Presbytery of the Cascades Newsletter, Cascades Connections

CELEBRATING COLLABORATION

Three to four times a year, the Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, based in Portland, collaborates with a local non-profit organization that provides care for those in need of food, housing, clothing, and personal care products. This year, for their Lent/Easter project they focused on providing assistance to houseless young people, aged 12-24 years old, many who are LGBTQIA2S+, working in collaboration with HomePlate, a non-profit in Beaverton. On Good Friday 2022, they took a carload of food, clothes, personal care items, and tarps and stakes for tents to HomePlate. Their focus was to live out the charge of Jesus to the disciples then and now: to love one another. "Just as I have loved you, you should love one another. By this they will know you are my disciples, if you love one another" John 13:34-35. 

_____

Events!

May 1, Third Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

May 8, Fourth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

May 15, Fourth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

May 22, Fifth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. 

____

Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

Prayers of Thanksgiving:

·      Booster shots #2 and for medicines that are fighting COVID 19, not only here, but around the world.

·      All children and grandchildren, especially as they enter the last few weeks of school before summer break.

·      Our first tastes and sensations of spring, and we are ready for more.

·      The human and societal resources to make things better in the world.

·      Our communities of faith, that provide support and love. 

Along with that, we share prayers of concern for:

We especially pray for good health, comfort, and wholeness for our friend Linda Fuqua-Anderson. We will continue to keep everyone in the “loop” as to continued news of her health. Prayers of love and support are requested at this time by her family. 

·      Christian's sister Yarrow who has breast cancer. His brother-in-law, Jules, had successful prostate cancer surgery, and our friend Guy is now cancer free.

·      For Paula’s family, sister of Laura and Carol Stanfield (Earl’s sister-in-law), who died over a week ago.

·      Prayer for Sally Kabat’s grand-niece, Allison, who is ill.

·      Roberta's friend Kathryn who is serving with a mission team in Poland.

·      A safe trip in Portugal for Roberta and Randy, with friends. 

·      Countries at war including Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, and Russia.

·      Transgender youth who are under attack through state legislation limiting health care access, ability to compete in sports, and other restrictions. 

·      Protection of our voting rights under attack in 19 states which passed laws restricting access to voting through an array of barriers and requirements.

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen.

___

Poem

Earth Day, by Jane Yolen

I am the Earth

And the Earth is me.

Each blade of grass,

Each honey tree,

Each bit of mud,

And stick and stone

Is blood and muscle,

Skin and bone.

And just as I

Need every bit

Of me to make

My body fit,

So Earth needs

Grass and stone and tree

And things that grow here

Naturally.

That’s why we

Celebrate this day.

That’s why across

The world we say:

As long as life,

As dear, as free,

I am the Earth

And the Earth is me. 

___

Buen Camino! Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.

Newsletter, CoP, April 24, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, April 24,  2022, Second Sunday of Easter. Join us for a performance at 2 p.m. this Sunday by Bobby Jo Valentine at Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

_____

Greetings, Community of Pilgrims!

Happy Eastertide! 

For me, there is always much joy when we get to sing “Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!” It was good to hear that song sung, and for me to play it on the piano, last Sunday in worship with Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church and Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship. Alleluia! Christ is risen, indeed!

This Sunday, the second Sunday of Easter, the focus is on the Apostle Thomas, who is kind of the “patron saint” of our current, skeptical, “question authority” age, as one biblical scholar noted the other day. Poet Malcolm Guite calls him “the courageous master of the awkward question.” The Scripture is John 20:19-31. The scene? All the disciples are locked in a room somewhere in Jerusalem, scared of the authorities finding them out, and branding them as a religious sect of sorts, with their Rabbi now deceased at the hands of the Roman army. We have the mystical event, where the risen Christ appears to all of the disciples gathered together. Unfortunately, Thomas was out of the room when it happened, and doesn’t believe the others. Who can blame him? We would all be a little skeptical of accepting such wonderful news if we hadn’t seen the risen Rabbi with our own eyes, heard him with our own ears, felt his presence in the room with us at the same time. Or in our day and age, if we didn’t get a picture of him on Facebook, Instagram, SnapChat or TikTok, did it really happen? Let us pray that we can be a little bit like Thomas after Christ re-appeared before the disciples another time, in which the risen One said, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” May it be so. Amen. 

____

Service Project Success!

A BIG thank you to one and all for a very successful Lent/Easter Service Project with HomePlate! We brought in around $1,500 worth of clothes, tarps, stakes, and food items! What a marvelous gift to this community of young people who are homeless and houseless. What a marvelous example of love-in-action, in which Jesus calls his disciples to love one another: “Just as I have loved you, you should also love one another. By this they will know you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13: 34-35). Again, thank you, all!

                                                                                                       _____

Community of Pilgrims in the Presbytery of

 the Cascades “Cascades Connection”

We were mentioned in the latest issue of the Presbytery’s “Cascade Connections”

“I WAS A STRANGER AND YOU WELCOMED ME

What does it look like when communities live into the Matthew 25 initiative? What can happen when we link arms with our communities to embody Good News? 

Moreland PC, in collaboration with Lutheran Community Services, Sellwood Community House and the Community of Pilgrims (and countless individuals in the community) have welcomed and helped two Afghan families get settled into their neighborhood. One family now lives in a church-owned house across the street from the church and the other in an apartment nearby. While many churches, individuals and organizations are welcoming refugee families, what makes this story so beautiful is how it truly became a neighborhood engagement to welcome and support these families.” 

_______

On Sunday, April 24, 2022, at 2 pm, the Community of Pilgrims is invited to join Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church (7119 N. Portsmouth Ave., Portland, OR) to sit back and enjoy the music of Bobby Jo Valentine. Bring children! Bring friends! Here is the one (1) request: As part of a “Support Ukraine” effort, there is going to be a bake sale after the concert at the Church. Members of Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church are inviting the Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship to bring some baked goods that can be sold after the concert, with all proceeds going to Ukraine through ELCA channels.

_______

Events!

April 24, Second Sunday in Easter, We will meet at 2 pm for a performance of Bobby Jo Valentine, Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church!

May 1, Third Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

May 8, Fourth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

May 15, Fourth Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

____

Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

Prayers of Thanksgiving:

· Booster shots #2 and for medicines that are fighting COVID 19, not only here, but around the world.

· All children and grandchildren, especially as they enter the last few weeks of school before summer break.

· Our first tastes and sensations of spring, and we are ready for more.

· The human and societal resources to make things better in the world.

· Our communities of faith, that provide support and love. 

Along with that, we share prayers of concern for:

We especially pray for good health, comfort, and wholeness for our friend Linda Fuqua-Anderson. Her daughter Marissa Fuqua Miller wrote an email today, indicating that the doctors have found that Linda is living with an advanced case of lung cancer. We will continue to keep everyone in the “loop” as to continued news of her health. Prayers of love and support are requested at this time by her family. 

· Christian's sister Yarrow who has breast cancer and brother-in-law Jules who has prostate cancer.

· For Paula’s family, sister of Carol Stanfield/Earl’s sister-in-law, who died this week.

· Prayer for Sally Kabat’s grand-niece, Allison, who is ill.

· Prayer for Guy McCully, friend of Brett and Christian’s, for possible skin cancer.

· Roberta's friend Kathryn who is serving with a mission team in Poland.

· A safe trip to Portugal later this month for Roberta and Randy, with friends. 

· Countries at war including Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, and Russia.

· Transgender youth who are under attack through state legislation limiting health care access, ability to compete in sports, and other restrictions. 

· Protection of our voting rights under attack in 19 states which passed laws restricting access to voting through an array of barriers and requirements.

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen.

___

Poem

St. Thomas the Apostle, by Malcolm Guite

“We do not know… how can we know the way?”

Courageous master of the awkward question,

You spoke the words the others dared not say

And cut through their evasion and abstraction.

Oh doubting Thomas, father of my faith,

You put your finger on the nub of things

We cannot love some disembodied wraith,

But flesh and blood must be our king of kings.

Your teaching is to touch, embrace, anoint,

Feel after Him and find Him in the flesh.

Because He loved your awkward counterpoint

The Word has heard and granted you your wish.

Oh place my hands with yours, help me divine

The wounded God whose wounds are healing mine.

___

Buen Camino! Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.

Newsletter, CoP, April 17, 2022

THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sunday, April 17,  2022, Easter Sunday @ Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church, 10 am, 7119 N. Portsmouth Ave., Portland, Oregon, 97203. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com. 

_____

Greetings, Community of Pilgrims!

A blessed Holy Week to all, on this Maundy Thursday.

Though we are not meeting on Maundy Thursday or Good Friday, here is a run-down of the Scripture verses for those days, including a prayer: 

For today, Maundy Thursday, the reading is John 13:1-17, 31b-35: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2013%3A1-17%2CJohn%2013%3A31-35&version=NRSV.

In this passage, Jesus is practicing the act of washing of the disciples’ feet. It is from this Scriptural reference that many churches participate in the washing of feet, as a symbol of sacred service in the world in which we live. We are asked to be like Christ, serving others in need, no questions asked. Call it a sacred duty.

For Friday, Good Friday, the reading is John 18:1-42: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+18%3A+1-42&version=NRSV.

In this passage, Jesus is tried in the court of Pilate, before the people of Jerusalem, ending with his death on the cross, the most common way that the Roman occupiers executed those who were considered enemies of the state. Reading this passage in the time of war between Russia and Ukraine, there is a kind of poignancy to this passage, as we see the thirst of and for power of tyrants remains the same throughout the ages.

For Holy Saturday, the reading is John 19:38-42: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+19%3A38-42&version=NRSV.

This passage focuses on the burial of Jesus. We also refer to it as the day that Jesus descended to the dead, who rose with him on the third day, our celebration of the Resurrection.

For Easter Sunday, the reading is John 20:1-18: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2020:1-18&version=NRSV.

This is the Resurrection story, which will be the focus of the sermon for Sunday, April 17, 2022 at Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church (address above). Please consider bringing an Easter lily to the worship service as a gesture of flowering the cross. On that day we will sing “Alleluia!”

____

Service Project

Ending this Friday, April 15, 2022! Our Lenten/Easter Service Project.  From Kathy Fukuyama:

For the past several years, the Community of Pilgrims has donated to Human Solutions and SnowCap in East Multnomah County.  We will continue to support these organizations and also support HomePlate Youth Services for this year's Lenten/Easter Donation.  Please check out their website https://www.homeplateyouth.org.  They operate two centers, one in Beaverton and one in Hillsboro, and they are Washington County's only non-profit provider of drop-in centers and street outreach for young people experiencing homelessness.  Their immediate needs include:

· Athletic shoes, boots, and long-sleeve t shirts - new or gently-used 

· Men's boxer shorts - new

· 2-person tents and tarps - new or gently-used

· High-protein snacks, individually wrapped

· Applesauce and fruit snacks, individually wrapped

We ask everyone to collect items from this list starting Ash Wednesday March 2nd and to drop them off at Kathy Fukuyama's house before Thursday April 14th.  We hope to deliver everything to the Beaverton drop-in center on Good Friday, April 15th or the following week. Please contact Kathy if you have any questions and thank you for your support.

_____

Events!

April 14, Maundy Thursday. 

April 15, Good Friday.

April 17, Easter Sunday, 10 am, Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church, address above.

April 24, 2-4 pm, Bobby Jo Valentine, Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church!

May 1, Second Sunday in Easter, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom.

____

Prayers of Celebration and Concern

We pray to the Creator of all creation: 

Prayers of Thanksgiving:

· Booster shots #2 and for medicines.

· Friend Marlene and her husband Scott who is doing better and now in Virginia for the birth of their first grandchild.

· All grandchildren.

· Our taste of spring and we are ready for more.

· Karen's cousin Ginny who is moving into her first home and will have the space to enjoy life.

· Confirmation of Ketanji Brown Jackson as first Black woman  Supreme Court justice in US History. 

· The human and societal resources to make things better.

· Our communities of faith.

· Brett's friend Wally Hannah who died yesterday.

· Our friend Sue Malter who is enjoying time with family visiting Portland.

We shared prayers of concern for:

· Linda Fuqua-Anderson, prayers that she feels healthier, and quickly.

· Chuck Stilson who is not feeling well and not able to join us today.

· Roxanne's friend Hannah who has breast cancer.

· Christian's sister Yarrow who has breast cancer and brother-in-law Jules who has prostate cancer.

· Prayer for Sally Kabat’s grand-niece, Allison, who is ill.

· Prayer for Guy McCully, friend of Brett and Christian’s, for possible skin cancer.

· Roberta's friend Kathryn who is serving with a mission team in Poland.

· A safe trip to Portugal later this month for Roberta and Randy, with friends. One of the travel friends has tested positive for COVID and they have six days to be able to get PCR COVID negative tests in order to be able to travel.

· Countries at war including Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Russia

· Transgender youth who are under attack through state legislation limiting health care access, ability to compete in sports, and other restrictions. 

· Protection of our voting rights under attack in 19 states which passed laws restricting access to voting through an array of barriers and requirements.

God in your love, attend our prayers. Amen.

___

Poem

Blessing of Breathing (During Eastertide) by Jan Richardson

Imagine us breathing in God.

That the first breath

Will come without fear.

That the second breath

Will come without pain.

The third breath: 

That it will come without despair.

And the fourth, 

Without anxiety.

That the fifth breath 

Will come with no bitterness.

That the sixth breath

Will come for joy.

Breath seven:

That it will come for love.

May the eighth breath

Come for freedom.

And the ninth, 

For delight.

When the tenth breath comes,

May it be for us

To breathe together

And the next, 

And the next, 

Until our breathing

Is as one,

Until our breath 

Is no more.

___

Buen Camino! Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.