NEVER TOO SMALL Jeremiah 1:4-10; Luke 13:10-17 August 26, 2007
On March 31, 1789, John Wesley, an ordained minister of the Church of England who had no parish met with George Whitefield to discuss Whitefield’s new practice of preaching to the poor while standing in the fields. Wesley was disturbed by the practices that Whitefield proposed. That night, Wesley wrote in his journal, I could scarce reconcile myself at first to this strange way of preaching in the fields, of which he set me an example on Sunday, having been all my life (till very lately) so tenacious on every point relating to decency and order, that I should have thought the saving of souls almost a sin if it had not been done in a church.
The next day, Wesley reflected that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount was “one pretty remarkable precedent of field-preaching, though I suppose there were churches at that time also.” A day later, on April 2, John Wesley “submitted to be more vile and proclaimed in the highways the glad tidings of salvation, speaking from a little eminence in a ground adjoining to the city to about three thousand people.” Of his first experience at field preaching, Wesley wrote: The Scripture on which I spoke is this (is it possible that anyone should be ignorant that it is fulfilled in every true minister of Christ?), “the Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken-hearted; to preach deliverance to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
Are you wondering, why field preaching? It was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, a time when new settlements of workers and miners were springing up near the mines and mills. England had been a country divided into parishes, a church in each. Because the weather was often cool and the buildings were drafty, individual families owned pews with half walls. Inside their pew, they would feed a small stove to keep them, and their children, who crawled around at their feet, warm. All the pews belonged to families, who had worshipped in them for ages. There was literally no place in the churches for the miners and mill-workers. If Wesley was not willing to speak to them in the fields, there was nowhere else they could gather to hear him. Field preaching, then, was the only way to reach these displaced and often poor workers.
From this beginning comes the denomination we now know as the United Methodist Church, but it was not a smooth birthing. Wesley was met with much official condemnation for his choice to carry the gospel to people who had no place in the parishes of his day. What he was doing was irregular, unwelcome, and profoundly disturbing to those who held the power of governance in his own denomination, the Church of England. When asked how he could justify breaking the rules of his church—and John Wesley himself never left the Church of England—he turned to the words of Peter, present in Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than any human authority.”
We are a people who believes that God is a God of history, that is, that God is present and active in human affairs in the present, not only in the distant past. This must mean, by extension, that we believe that God calls people to the prophetic role, not just in the past, but throughout history and even now. And, when we are convince that God is at work in the words and actions of people in our midst, it is imperative that we stop, step back, listen, and really consider what they are saying to us.
But there is a problem with prophetic voices: they are generally saying something we don’t much want to hear, especially if we are comfortable with things as they are. Moreover, sometimes the people claiming to speak for God are self-serving charlatans who use religion to feather their own nests and promote super-religious nationalistic or hate-filled clap-trap that would—and does, I think—turn God’s stomach. How then are we to know who is called by God to speak God’s new word to our time?
Did you know that there were many prophets in Israel and Judah, that the role of prophet was an established religious role as historic and as honored as that of priest. Priests tended to the rituals of the faith; prophets spoke the words of God to the kings and leaders of the nations. There were prophetic houses and traditions and families. Kings consulted the prophets and expected them to lead them wisely. Being humans with power, most kings expected that wise prophetic leadership would celebrate what the king wanted to do, would lift up and honor the goodness of the nation. There were probably hundreds of prophets who did just that, prophets on the royal payroll, prophets speaking the words the kings wanted to hear.
Jeremiah was not such a prophet. Nor was Isaiah, or Ezekiel, or, in fact, any of the other prophets that we have collected for us in the books of the Bible. When the people of God considered, after the fact, which prophetic writings were truly the word of God, they turned to the prophets who were not appreciated in their times, to the prophets who made people, particularly people who were in power, particularly p0eople who benefited from the way things were, very uncomfortable. They turned to the words of prophets who never set out to be speakers from God, to the ones that God chose and commissioned as God’s voice in their own time.
Jeremiah didn’t want to be a prophet. Our text tells us, he responded to the call, to God’s call, with the words, “Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy.” In saying this, he was so much in the tradition of the people God has called in the past: Moses responding, “You don’t want me; I stutter. Take my brother Aaron.” Amos arguing, “I am no prophet, nor a prophet’s son; but I am a herdsman, and a dresser of sycamore trees.” But the Lord told Amos, “Go, prophecy to my people Israel.”
Jesus was acting like a prophet when he confronted the religious leaders of his time. When he healed a woman who had been crippled for years, when he healed her in the synagogue, on the Sabbath, he was breaking the rules. Women were not supposed to enter into the company of worshipping men. The very act of receiving this woman into this space was a challenge, a breaking of tradition. But it was more than that. The religious community itself had contributed to her brokenness. Do you remember, religious people often argued that people were poor, or blind, or crippled because they had sinned, because they were, in their very essence, displeasing to God.
Jesus healed on the Sabbath because he could not, and we should not, compartmentalize and separate worship of God from actions that set captives free. The community, by believing that the woman’s crippled condition was a manifestation of sin, had contributed to her injury. When Jesus confronted the callousness of the faith community, he began to restore her dignity. He also took a step towards healing the brokenness of the community itself, which also needed to be healed, of false judgment, of segregation, of being willing to treat her with less compassion and with less dignity, than they had for their beasts of burden. God is a God of history, actively calling men and women to speak and act for justice, for healing, for restored dignity, even today. And we, we who might think of ourselves as “Only a little church,” we have been called to take some small part in the living out of those choices. We do that in multiple ways. We are a Reconciling Congregation, actively proclaiming that people are welcome here regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. We proclaim our commitments in other ways as well. Last spring, our Administrative Council considered a request to host a special service of ordination, a service ordaining Roman Catholic women to the diaconate and to the priesthood, here, at University Park. We decided—you decided, through your administrative process—that we were willing to host that service. As it turned out, the service took place elsewhere, at Zion United Church of Christ in Gresham, on Saturday, July 28, 2007. It was one of several services ordaining 9 Roman Catholic women to the priesthood that have happened in North America this year. The mission of Roman Catholic Womenpriests is to spiritually prepare, ordain, and support women and men from all states of life, who are theologically qualified, who are committed to an inclusive model of Church, and who are called by the Holy Spirit and their communities to minister within the Roman Catholic Church. On Friday, August 17, the Oregonian ran a story about the ordination of Toni Tortorilla, a woman who lives here in North Portland, a woman who has felt a call to the priesthood since she was 5 year s old, a woman who has tried in many ways to live out that call within the structures of the Roman Catholic church before finally concluding that God was indeed calling her to the priesthood, a woman who was ordained at the service on July 28. On August 23, Archbishop John Vlazny wrote to readers of the Catholic Sentinel, saying in part, My main purpose in speaking up now is to assure you that there was no ordination of a Roman Catholic priest at Zion United Church of Christ in Gresham on July 28. Even though Catholics were involved, the claim that it was a Catholic ceremony is wrong. . . Any person who claims to have been ordained by a Catholic bishop, priest, or deacon without the proper authorization from church authorities not only is making a false representation of the facts but also by such an act leaves our church community. John Wesley, in his own belief, died a member of the Church of England, and yet we who are United Methodists look to him as the founder of our denomination because he chose to ordain ministers to take communion to his flocks in the colonies, because he chose to do irregular and unauthorized ordinations. Toni Tortorilla is, in her belief, a Roman Catholic, and at this point, an ordained Roman Catholic priest, someone seeking to reform her own tradition from within. We cannot know now how history will treat the ordinations that are happening now, and here, but we can decide, as one small church, whether we are called by God to participate in this movement of the Spirit. Last Sunday, the Administrative Council of University Park UMC decided unanimously to make our sanctuary available once a month for worship services that she will lead. When Jesus healed a woman who had been persecuted and crippled by the attitudes of her faith community, her first response was to stand up straight and began praising God. Still there in the synagogue, we might note that she began to take leadership by claiming her own identity as a daughter of Abraham. And the crowd rejoiced at the wonderful things that Jesus was doing. May it ever be so. Amen.
God's Good Pleasure Isaiah 1:1; 10-20 and Luke 12:32-40 August 19, 2007 Rev. Marcia J. Hauer
The reading from Isaiah this morning is not exactly uplifting. Isaiah refers to the people of Judah as "rulers of Sodom and people of Gomorrah" and he tells them that their offerings and sacrifices and celebrations--their worship services--are abomination. But, the prophet says, if the people are willing and obedient they shall eat the good of the land, but if they refuse and rebel, they will be devoured by the sword.
This is a passage that could be used in many ways and it probably has-- • God is angry and vengeful • God wants people to be subservient and meek--good little girls and boys • God delights in punishing even the smallest transgressions
But that is not at all what the prophet is saying. In comparing people of Judah to Sodom and Gomorrah, Isaiah is saying that like them, the people of Judah have, to quote Ezekiel and Jeremiah, "Excess of food and prosperous ease but [they] did not aid the poor and needy." And "They commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hand of evildoers so that no one turns from wickedness." (Ez. 16:49-50 & Jer. 23:14) The people of Judah have taken the good things that God has given and forgotten who they are and whose they are. They have come to believe that what is important is their material things and social status. They have forgotten the commandment to love God with all their being, to love themselves and to love their neighbors, and now the vulnerable in their society, the widows, orphans and strangers--all those without land--are suffering and are not included. The prophet is telling the rulers of Judah that their very worship is hollow, vacuous, and worthless because it is superficial. They are going through the motions without any awareness of the God who brought them up out of Egypt.
The gospel passage takes up the same theme when it talks about where your treasure is where your heart will be also. The writer of Luke tells us that giving alms is more than giving out of our excess. It is giving from our substance--"Sell your possessions and give alms," says Luke. Caring for the vulnerable is at the heart of what the Gospel and at the heart of what the prophets have to say. This caring for the vulnerable--the homeless, immigrants, mentally ill, addicted, outcast--is not simply "giving to the less fortunate." When we take that tack, we are excluding the recipients of our largess from community--from having a place at the table, from being part of the flock, part of Jesus' flock. Ours is a culture that celebrates individuality--the self-made man and woman, the one who is able to pull him/herself up by the bootstraps, the Lone Ranger. Men get the brunt of this teaching but women aren't immune. How many of us have been taught that we ought to be able to solve life's problems with out the help of our neighbors? After all, if we talk about whatever the problem is, they might find out that we are not the self-sufficient individuals they thought we were.
We think of ourselves as relating to God as individuals. We pray alone. We study alone. Our individualism is particularly evident in the churches where altar calls are prevalent. Individuals are called forward if they want to accept Christ into their hearts. If they do this they will be saved.
Isaiah and Jesus' culture was far different. Their culture believed that they related to God as a group and so it's no surprise that the prophets brought God's condemnation down on whole people because of the actions of some of them. There is no way of knowing the number of people Isaiah included as the "rulers of Sodom and the people of Gomorrah." There is no doubt, however, that some of the people did remain faithful.
Individuality works very well if we are considering a system in which our relationship with God is dependent on our actions. If that is the case, then I need every one of those good deeds to be credited to my personal account. I don't have any to give away. Our denomination celebrates God's grace, particularly as outlined by John Wesley, but we United Methodists have as hard a time as any other group with letting someone else take credit for something we have done. If we truly believed our own theology, it wouldn't matter who got the credit.
Jesus calls us to rejoin the flock. It doesn't matter that some of the other sheep are scoundrels who don't have a big stock account in heavenly securities. To join the flock is to take seriously the promises of God's grace. Staying isolated and self-sufficient is simply another way of saying we want separate bank accounts because we don't trust God's promise and we feel the need to build up a healthy balance.
It may be that those words of Jesus that sound so immediately comforting are on second hearing very challenging--at least in our present world and culture. We are challenged to take the Gospel promises seriously. We are both promised and given the Kingdom in one fell swoop. For in the Kingdom, defined as the way things are under the rule of God, we are one people, the beloved ones, the forgiven ones, the set apart ones. To identify with the flock is to become part of the Kingdom of God.
The people who really hear this message and take it to heart might start singing “Us” instead of “Me” and “We” instead of “I” in our various hymns. If we did, we could get away from the personalized piety of so many of our worship materials that simply reflect our difficulty in being part of the flock gathered around the throne of God.
Jesus then calls us into a life of discipleship that would certainly be frightening if we were to be in it alone. But he never asks us to do that. The community he creates with his words is not even based in this world of fear and striving but is in the one true home to which he calls us. In that place we do not need all the things we are told daily we "must have." We are given the gift of freedom to be the agents of God in the world.
Many of us grew up not trusting, but Jesus speaks words that invite us to entrust ourselves to him in this world as his disciples. Such trust serves as a sign of our trust in him for our futures when this life is past. Our witness then becomes one clear statement. We are not just miserable souls waiting for the relief of death but people who are called to live seamlessly from now on until we are at home with God.
CONNECTIONS UPUMC • Education Committee meets Sunday, September 2, 12:45pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • Trustees meet Tuesday, September 4, 6:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • Staff-Parish Relations Committee meets Monday, September 10, 6:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • Administrative Council meets Monday, September 10, 7:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • UPUMC FUNd-raising Cruise, September 16-23, 2007. • Outreach Committee meets Sunday, September 30, after potluck.
THE LARGER CHURCH • O-I RUMS meet Saturday, September 8, 10am-2pm, Montavilla UMC, Portland. Potluck lunch. • Catholic tradition worship service, Second Saturdays, 5pm, Sanctuary, UPUMC.
THE COMMUNITY • Game Days, First and Third Sundays, 2-5pm, University Park Coffee Shop. • Morrison Center Training Event, Tuesday-Thursday, September 25-27, 8am-5pm, Errol Stephenson Hall.
FUTURE EVENTS, FOR YOUR CALENDAR • Women’s Beach Trip, October 19-21, 2008, Neskowin. • All-church Charge Conference, Sunday, November 18, 5:30pm. • Celebration Sunday, November 25, 2007
WEEKLY AT UPUMC • Choir practices Sundays at 9:30am, Tuesdays at 6:30pm, Sanctuary. • Alcoholics Anonymous, Narthex, Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays at 8pm, weekly. • Overeaters Anonymous, Wednesdays at 7pm. • Morrison Center Program, Thursdays 5-9pm, STAYING IN TOUCH Edna Riddle, Sunrise Adult Care Center, 11945 SW Butner Rd., Portland OR 97225; 503-841-1295.
Harriet Bonhorst, Pioneer Tower, 515 P Street #202, Sacramento, CA 95814; phone: 1-916-446-4863.
Phil Herbach, Care Center East, 11325 NE Weidler, Portland, OR 97220.
Erica Martinez, 182 E Nevada St. Ashland, OR 97520. Cell phone: 1-503-791-3680.
Jeanne Pulliam, 8603 SE Causey Ave, Apt 202; Happy Valley, OR 97086-2604, Telephone 503-594-2539.
Aleena Sologar, 775 Cascade St. #1316, Oregon City, OR 97045, her son Jonathan’s home. Phone, 503-387-3813.
HOLDING IN PRAYER Carolyn Hammett—living with cancer—at home. Phil Herbach—recovering from hip surgery on 7/17—in rehab.
THE NURSERY IS STAFFED DURING WORSHIP FOR CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN SCHOOL AGE.
MISSION: PENCILS FOR KIDS The big project: to provide school supplies for all the kids in North Portland, packaged and distributed through the schools. Our part: to collect 4,384 pencils Final Count Collected: 4,722 pencils Collected last year: 4,542 pencils On Wednesday, August 29, 5 volunteers packed large boxes of school supplies for the 15 public and private schools located West of I-5. Each school received more than 300 pencils to distribute to children in need. You did good!
WOMEN’S BEACH TRIP For over a decade, women of UPUMC have been going to the beach together each October and April. The trips started as a part of a Women’s spirituality Group that first met when Dee Dee Walters was the pastor and have continued ever since. The house in Neskowin, Oregon will sleep 10. What do we do? Walk the beach, talk, watch movies, talk deep and long, support one another, share cooking and care, refresh ourselves and grow closer to one another and to our faith. The next trip will be October 19-21. Talk to Judy Griffen, 503-283-4331, for more information or to sign up.
SHARED WORSHIP SPACE UPUMC will host a worshipping community in the Catholic tradition on second Saturdays at 5pm in our sanctuary. The services will be led by Rev. Toni Tortorilla. People from UPUMC are welcome to attend the new service if they are interested.
PLEASE DON’T GO HUNGRY. WE HAVE FOOD IN OUR PANTRY, LOCATED IN THE HALLWAY LEADING TO ERROL STEPHENSON HALL. TAKE WHAT YOU NEED.
DIRECTORY CORRECTIONS Scott Jensen has moved to 4777 N. Drew, Portland, OR 97203.
Dick Burdon’s e-address has been changed to
NEW NAME AND ADDRESS Andrew Thurman, 341 NE Bryant, Portland OR 97211; telephone: 503-459-3270
CELEBRATIONS FUND-RAISER It’s a new thing. Each Sunday, after church and during the coffee and fellowship time we will celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebrations by putting pennies, dimes, quarters, dollars or whatever you choose into a Celebrations bank. Let’s make it fun!
July celebrations: $470.00 August celebrations: $318.20 Total: $788.20
WE REMEMBER CHRISTIE JOHNSON WHO DIED ON AUGUST 24, 2007 YOUR FAVORITE HYMNS Survey of favorite and least favorite hymns of UMs The General Board of Discipleship (GBOD) invites every UM to participate in a survey of favorite and least favorite hymns. This information will help in planning future resources in congregational singing. To take the survey, go on-line to: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=JqqQD9anWCmmPk9oc6QApg_3d_3d.
WHERE IN THE WORLD? With today’s UP-words we return to the “Where In The World?” spotlights on United Methodist missions written by Rev. Jim Monroe.
September 2, 2007 Labor Day! Labor Day weekend! Kind of the traditional end of summer. Last shot at a camp out! Last day at the state fair! Not the last chance to watch politicians work the crowd, but from here on out it is back to school and back to the church’s program year. Summer breaks are great, but some things never take a vacation. Mission work never takes a vacation. It does not matter whether it is July, September, December or May; the work of our missionaries in the field is 24/7. In a day care center in New York, or at a worship service in an isolated community in Alaska, or in a clinic in Ecuador, or delivering earthquake relief supplies in Peru, or at a school in Zimbabwe, Mission work goes on in the name of Jesus Christ ‘round the clock; ‘round the world! Your regular gifts to World Service keep our missionaries hard at work, making the world a better place. If you want to make a difference all the time...and not just on vacation…then support The United Methodist Church’s apportionments: World Service. It is where in the world we make the difference!
SPIRITUAL TYPES AND WORSHIP Have you ever wondered why we include repeated prayers, lots of music, a time of silence, a formal doxology, joys and concerns, passing the peace, and collecting pencils in our worship services? The answer lies in spiritual types—the ways that people worship differently, depending on their personality and spirituality types. When 14 of us took a test to determine our spiritual types, we discovered that the distribution of types is different at UPUMC than at “typical” churches. When church members are divided into a head/heart/mystic/kingdom typology, the typical distribution is 40/29/24/7 per cent. At UPUMC, the distribution is much more even. It is our practice of including elements of worship that are meaningful to different types of people that enables us to be a worshipping community that actually fosters diversity. So, the next time you wonder, “Why is this a part of the worship service?” look to your neighbor.
CONNECTIONS UPUMC • All-church potluck, Sunday, August 26, 11:30am, Errol Stephenson Hall, followed by a forum on spirituality types and worship. • No Outreach Committee meeting today. • Education Committee meets Sunday, September 2, 12:45pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • Trustees meet Tuesday, September 4, 6:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • Staff-Parish Relations Committee meets Monday, September 10, 6:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • Administrative Council meets Monday, September 10, 7:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • UPUMC FUNd-raising Cruise, September 16-23, 2007. • Outreach Committee meets Sunday, September 30, after potluck.
THE LARGER CHURCH • O-I RUMS meet Saturday, September 8, 10am-2pm, Montavilla UMC, Portland. Potluck lunch. • Catholic tradition worship service, Second Saturdays, 5pm, Sanctuary, UPUMC.
THE COMMUNITY • Game Days, First and Third Sundays, 2-5pm, University Park Coffee Shop. • Pack school supplies for North Portland children, Wednesday, August 29, 1-6pm, Weir’s Cyclery, 8621 N Lombard. • Morrison Center Training Event, Tuesday-Thursday, September 25-27, 8am-5pm, Errol Stephenson Hall.
FUTURE EVENTS, FOR YOUR CALENDAR • Women’s Beach Trip, October 19-21, 2008, Neskowin. • All-church Charge Conference, Sunday, November 18, 5:30pm. • Celebration Sunday, November 25, 2007
WEEKLY AT UPUMC • Choir practices Sundays at 9:30am, Tuesdays at 6:30pm, Sanctuary. • Men’s Group, Tuesdays, 10am, Narthex. • Alcoholics Anonymous, Narthex, Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays at 8pm, weekly. • Overeaters Anonymous, Wednesdays at 7pm. • Morrison Center Program, Thursdays 5-9pm, beginning June 21. STAYING IN TOUCH Edna Riddle, Sunrise Adult Care Center, 11945 SW Butner Rd., Portland OR 97225; 503-841-1295.
Harriet Bonhorst, Pioneer Tower, 515 P Street #202, Sacramento, CA 95814; phone: 1-916-446-4863.
Phil Herbach, Care Center East, 11325 NE Weidler, Portland, OR 97220.
Erica Martinez, 182 E Nevada St. Ashland, OR 97520. Cell phone: 1-503-791-3680.
Jeanne Pulliam, 8603 SE Causey Ave, Apt 202; Happy Valley, OR 97086-2604, Telephone 503-594-2539.
Aleena Sologar, 775 Cascade St. #1316, Oregon City, OR 97045, her son Jonathan’s home. Phone, 503-387-3813.
HOLDING IN PRAYER Carolyn Hammett—living with cancer—at home. Phil Herbach—recovering from hip surgery on 7/17—in rehab.
THE NURSERY IS STAFFED DURING WORSHIP FOR CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN SCHOOL AGE.
MISSION: PENCILS FOR KIDS The big project: to provide school supplies for all the kids in North Portland, packaged and distributed through the schools. Our part: to collect 4,384 pencils Collected as of August 2: 2,356 pencils Collected as of August 9: 3,086 pencils Collected as of August 15: 3,820 pencils Collected as of August 23: 4,120pencils How much longer? We will collect until Tuesday, August 28. And then? On Wednesday, August 29, we will join other volunteers at Weir’s Cyclery to bag school supplies for distribution at the schools.
WOMEN’S BEACH TRIP For over a decade, women of UPUMC have been going to the beach together each October and April. The trips started as a part of a Women’s spirituality Group that first met when Dee Dee Walters was the pastor and have continued ever since. The house in Neskowin, Oregon will sleep 10. What do we do? Walk the beach, talk, watch movies, talk deep and long, support one another, share cooking and care, refresh ourselves and grow closer to one another and to our faith. The next trip will be October 19-21. Talk to Judy Griffen, 503-283-4331, for more information or to sign up.
SHARED WORSHIP SPACE UPUMC will host a worshipping community in the Catholic tradition on second Saturdays at 5pm in our sanctuary. The services will be led by Rev. Toni Tortorilla. People from UPUMC are welcome to attend the new service if they are interested.
CORRESPONDENCE August 15, 2007 Dear Rev. Knepper,
I want to let you know that I appreciated the opportunity to worship and share in the sacrament of communion with you on august 5. The music was enjoyable (a word I use with some hesitancy) and very refreshing—a good way to begin a week. The music at our worship service here last Sunday was almost dragged from the organ.
And, I found you sermon to be both challenging and encouraging. It seems your congregation has found a number of ways to belong to something beyond itself.
Again, thank you.
Jim Cissell Rapid City, S.D.
LIBRARY ADDITIONS Have you noticed the new organization of the church library in the hall on the way to Errol Stephenson Hall? Someone donated a bookshelf, which Stephen Hicks, the librarian, has dedicated to videos and fiction. We have a shelf of donated magazines, shelves for biblical studies, psychology, self-help, and spirituality resources, among other topics. There is also one book case dedicated for children’s resources. It is all available for check out, using the wooden file box on top of one of the bookcases on the right side of the hallway. I often find good things to read in the library—perhaps you will as well.
PLEASE DON’T GO HUNGRY. WE HAVE FOOD IN OUR PANTRY, LOCATED IN THE HALLWAY LEADING TO ERROL STEPHENSON HALL. TAKE WHAT YOU NEED.
DIRECTORY CORRRECTIONS
Scott Jensen has moved to 4777 N. Drew, Portland, OR 97203.
Dick Burdon’s e-address has been changed to
CELEBRATIONS FUND-RAISER It’s a new thing. Each Sunday, after church and during the coffee and fellowship time we will celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebrations by putting pennies, dimes, quarters, dollars or whatever you choose into a Celebrations bank. Let’s make it fun!
We started in July. So far, we have raised $746.65. Isn’t it nice to know that we have so much, and so many, to celebrate.
EDUCATION PLANS Unbinding the Gospel will continue as the adult Sunday School topic for September 2 and 9. On September 16, we will begin a new film-based class. Each 26 minute film will be followed by a discussion. Jenn Herbach will lead the class on September 16 and 23, followed by David White through October and November. The topics will be varied and interesting.
We hope that adults will help the older children remember that the nursery kids will do best in the nursery if their older brothers and sisters don’t come in to check up on them. Thanks for your help.
CONNECTIONS UPUMC • Education Committee meets Sunday, August 19, 12:45pm, Errol Stephenson Hall. • Lunch Bunch meets Tuesday, August 21, 12:30pm, Su Casa. • Outreach Committee meets Sunday, August 26, after the potluck, Narthex. • All-church potluck, Sunday, August 26, 11:30am, Errol Stephenson Hall.
THE LARGER CHURCH • O-I RUMS meet Saturday, September 8, 10am-2pm, Montavilla UMC, Portland. Potluck lunch.
THE COMMUNITY • Game Days, First and Third Sundays, 2-5pm, University Park Coffee Shop, today. • Oregon Symphony Concert, Saturday, August 25, 7pm, Free. • Pack school supplies for North Portland children, Wednesday, August 29, 1-6pm, Weir’s Cyclery, 8621 N Lombard.
FUTURE EVENTS, FOR YOUR CALENDAR • UPUMC FUNd-raising Cruise, September 16-23, 2007. Talk to Betty Cruson to sign up. • Women’s Beach Trip, October 19-21, 2008, Neskowin. • All-church Charge Conference, Sunday, November 18, 5:30pm. • Celebration Sunday, November 25, 2007
WEEKLY AT UPUMC • Choir practices Sundays at 9:30am, Tuesdays at 6:30pm, Sanctuary. • Men’s Group, Tuesdays, 10am, Narthex. • Alcoholics Anonymous, Narthex, Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays at 8pm, weekly. • Overeaters Anonymous, Wednesdays at 7pm. • Morrison Center Program, Thursdays 5-9pm, beginning June 21. STAYING IN TOUCH Edna Riddle, Sunrise Adult Care Center, 11945 SW Butner Rd., Portland OR 97225; 503-841-1295.
Harriet Bonhorst, Pioneer Tower, 515 P Street #202, Sacramento, CA 95814; phone: 1-916-446-4863.
Phil Herbach, Care Center East, 11325 NE Weidler, Portland, OR 97220.
Erica Martinez, 182 E Nevada St. Ashland, OR 97520. Cell phone: 1-503-791-3680.
Jeanne Pulliam, 8603 SE Causey Ave, Apt 202; Happy Valley, OR 97086-2604, Telephone 503-594-2539.
Aleena Sologar, 775 Cascade St. #1316, Oregon City, OR 97045, her son Jonathan’s home. Phone, 503-387-3813.
HOLDING IN PRAYER Carolyn Hammett—living with cancer—at home. Phil Herbach—recovering from hip surgery on 7/17—in rehab.
THE NURSERY IS STAFFED DURING WORSHIP FOR CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN SCHOOL AGE.
CELEBRATIONS FUND-RAISER It’s a new thing. Each Sunday, after church and during the coffee and fellowship time we will celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and other celebrations by putting pennies, dimes, quarters, dollars or whatever you choose into a Celebrations bank. Let’s make it fun!
MISSION: PENCILS FOR KIDS The big project: to provide school supplies for all the kids in North Portland, packaged and distributed through the schools. Our part: to collect 4,384 pencils Collected as of August 2: 2,356 pencils Collected as of August 9: 3,086 pencils Collected as of August 15: 3,820 pencils How much longer? We will collect until Tuesday, August 28. And then? On Wednesday, August 29, we will join other volunteers at Weir’s Cyclery to bag school supplies for distribution at the schools.
WOMEN’S BEACH TRIP For over a decade, women of UPUMC have been going to the beach together each October and April. The trips started as a part of a Women’s spirituality Group that first met when Dee Dee Walters was the pastor and have continued ever since. The house in Neskowin, Oregon will sleep 10. What do we do? Walk the beach, talk, watch movies, talk deep and long, support one another, share cooking and care, refresh ourselves and grow closer to one another and to our faith. The next trip will be October 19-21. Talk to Judy Griffen, 503-283-4331, for more information or to sign up.
CORRESPONDENCE August 13, 2007 Thank you for inviting me to the UPUMC Pride Festival yesterday. I enjoyed being there and talking with many good souls. I appreciated being able to worship with you, too. One characteristic I noted is the prayerful pace of the Lord's Prayer. So many rush through it. Good food, too! Sincerely, Deborah Maria
MEET GAYLE HORWITZ Have you met Gayle Horwitz, our new Nursery Person? Gayle is an early childhood specialist with the children’s Relief Nursery, located in St. Johns. She is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Human Development, with a focus on young children. She grew up in the family of a United Methodist pastor in Southern California, lives in Kenton, and has attended UPUMC in the past. We are tremendously blessed to have her in our nursery.
Our young children think so, too. You may not have noticed yet, but some of the little ones are going straight to the nursery when they get to church. Gayle is very gifted at making small ones feel comfortable. In fact, at this point, the hardest time for little ones is when their older siblings come into the nursery to check up on them. It might take a while, but let’s encourage our middle kids to trust that their younger brothers and sisters are just fine in the nursery, so that they don’t disrupt Gayle’s work with frequent times of dropping in or checking up. If the door to the nursery is closed, let’s ask our older kids to leave it closed. The kids will be fine with Gayle.
IT’S HARD TO HEAR Several of you have let me know that it is sometimes hard to hear in the sanctuary. Different things are contributing to this. The first is that I drop my voice, especially when I am coming to an emotional point of the sermon. I am aware of this. I am trying to improve. If this is a problem for you, I would ask you to cup a hand at your ear to remind me that I’m dropping my voice too much for you. I’d also ask you to move forward in the sanctuary, since not all seats are as easy to hear from.
A second problem, for some, is the variety of sounds made by young children during the service. It has been and is my commitment that everyone is welcome in worship, including small children. Sometimes, it is just not the right time for a little one to go to the nursery. I trust that parents will be the best judge of that. If a child is fussy, perhaps the rocking chair in the back right corner of the sanctuary will be helpful. If you are one of the people who is distracted by the sounds that small children make during worship, I do encourage you to try out seats further forward. Some of them have much better sound.
Finally, we are blessed recently with an abundance of enthusiastic and energetic children during the benediction and closing song. Some of us are thanking God for the presence of these children in our midst, for their energy and life and for the good things they bring to us. All of us can help them learn, through modeling and appropriate praise, what is expected during worship. On the other hand, many of us can remember when an adult, speaking sharply and with some judgment, killed our enthusiasm for singing or church or speaking up in the company of people we don’t know. It would be a shame if we turned into the very sort of people who squashed our spirits so long ago. We can work together to help our children learn to find the beat, keep the silence, receive the blessings of communion, and bring their whole selves into worship. They truly are a gift in our midst. Let us appreciate them. --Jeanne
PLEASE DON’T GO HUNGRY. WE HAVE FOOD IN OUR PANTRY, LOCATED IN THE HALLWAY LEADING TO ERROL STEPHENSON HALL. TAKE WHAT YOU NEED.
University Park United Methodist Church (UPUMC) is located at 4775 N Lombard, Portland Oregon 97203. UPUMC is small, diverse, growing, laughing, committed, caring, serious, warm and REAL! We are a community that encourages each other as we grow in faith, in knowledge, in service, and in love of self, God and neighbor. At University Park we not only respect but welcome diversity in race, gender, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical and mental ability, economic status and profession. We believe all people are equal before God and entitled to Gods grace and abundance. Pastors: Rev. Dr. Jeanne Knepper & Rev. Marcia Hauer http://www.upumc.net
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