CONNECTIONS
THIS WEEK AT UPUMC
• Staff/Parish Relations Committee meets at 6:30pm on Monday, January 9.
• Administrative Council meets at 7:30pm on Monday, January 9.
• Outreach Committee meets at 7pm on Tuesday, January 10.
• Wednesday Dinner and Movie will continue on January 11 at 6:30 for dinner and 7pm for the next episode of Joan of Arcadia. There will be soup and bread provided.

WEEKLY AT UPUMC
• Choir practices Sundays at 9:30am, Tuesdays at 6:00pm, Sanctuary.
• Men’s Group, Tuesdays, 10am, Narthex.
• Alcoholics Anonymous, Narthex, Sundays, Tuesdays and Fridays at 8pm, weekly.
• Supper and Movie, Joan of Arcadia episodes, Wednesdays, 6:30pm, weekly.
• Overeaters Anonymous, Wednesdays at 7pm, Saturdays at 3pm.

THE LARGER CHURCH
• Metro District Leadership Event, Saturday, January 21, 9am-3pm, Portland First UMC, 1838 SW Jefferson. This event is open to everyone and church officers are especially encouraged. If we register by Jan. 10, the fee for the day, including lunch, is $10.

THE NURSERY IS STAFFED DURING WORSHIP FOR CHILDREN YOUNGER THAN SCHOOL AGE. SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN ARE INVITED INTO THE SANCTUARY UNTIL THE PASSING OF THE PEACE; THEN THEY GO TO SUNDAY SCHOOL.

FUTURE EVENTS, FOR YOUR CALENDAR
Service of Prayer for Peace with Iraq will be held Jan. 22, 2006, at Augustana Lutheran Church, 2710 NE 14th Avenue, Portland at 4pm. It will be the first of five interfaith peace services sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon and a number of peace fellowship groups in the Metro Area. For information, contact Augustana Lutheran at 503-288-6174 or EMO at 503-221-1054.

MFSA's Annual Spring Event will be held Saturday, Mar. 4, beginning at 9 a.m. at Portland First UMC. The featured speaker is the Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and the theme is "Faithful Witness in a Troubled World." Cost for the event, which includes lunch, is $25.

Emerging Church Learning Party: A Hitch-hiker’s Guide. A new movement called the “emerging church� is making a major impact on the landscape of North American Christianity and around the world. Find out what “emerging church� is about, and its significance for re-shaping church and mission in today's culture. The Learning Party is Feb. 18 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., hosted at Sts. Peter and Paul Episcopal Church, 8147 SE Pine Street, Portland, and includes, talks, panels, small group Q and A, lunch and two emerging worship experiences. If you have questions, contact the Rev. Kurt Neilson at 503-254-8168. Cost is $23-$33.

UPDATE ON JEANNE’S RECOVERY

Jeanne is doing exceptionally well, so say her doctor and physical therapists. She saw her doctor on Monday, Jan 2, and began physical therapy on Wednesday, Jan. 4. On her first visit, her physical therapist said that he had expected her to be hobbling along, but that she looked like she might be able to run a marathon by Friday. She is doing her prescribed exercises and says that she can feel a good difference in her muscles afterwards. She’s getting lots of rest and is becoming stronger. She expects to be back to work on January 16.


CREATING A CULTURE OF PEACE: THREE-DAY WORKSHOP
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, Episcopal Peace Fellowship, and the Peace & Justice Commission of the Episcopal Diocese of Oregon will present a creative peacemaking non-violence retreat Mar. 10-12 at St. David of Wales Episcopal Church, 2800 SE Harrison St., Portland. The retreat is open to all and will introduce the non-violence principles of Jesus of Nazareth, Gandhi, Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others. The retreat is based on a curriculum of the spirituality and practice of transformative non-violence.
The Creating a Culture of Peace retreat will be held from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. A commitment to attend the entire retreat is required. The retreat's holistic approach is directed toward non-violent personal, interpersonal and social transformation based on a curriculum developed by the Fellowship of Reconciliation and inspired by the Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service.

The cost of the retreat will be on a sliding scale to $150 maximum. Lunches, snacks and materials are included in the fee. Please register by Mar. 1 by calling Marla McGarry-Lawrence or Leslie Sackett at St. Michael & All Angels Episcopal Church, 503-284-7141 or by email to


UMCOR NEWS
US: Wildfires
Wildfires in Central Texas and Oklahoma moved rapidly across the windswept plains. Cross Plains, Texas, was particularly hard hit where two elderly women were killed and 116 homes were burned along with the First UMC, Cross Plains. The church was to celebrate its 120th anniversary on New Year’s Day. Worship was still held this Sunday with 165 people gathering in the church parking lot. The local church members are coming together to assist not only its members affected by the fires, but the community as a whole.
Fires in Southern Oklahoma are destroying homesteads in the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference. Phillis McCarty, disaster coordinator for the conference told Disaster News Network, "A lot of our Indian people live on homesteads they've had for 100 years. They don't want to see it go. They're trying to do everything they can to keep it from burning." The fires are robbing many of their livelihoods for the rest of the winter, destroying fields, cattle, and feed.
UMCOR has issued emergency grants of $10,000 to assist in the immediate response to the fires. Gifts to UMCOR Advance #901670, Domestic Disaster Response, enable UMCOR to provide immediate support in response to disasters such as these.

Armenia: Small loans make a big difference
UMCOR Armenia's AREGAK program is a micro-lending program that supports women in small business enterprises, allowing them to better provide for their families. The majority of AREGAK's clients are poor, rural women. The loans help women and their families increase their income. Today, 10 service centers providing financial services to over 450 rural and urban communities across Armenia have extended more than 90,000 loans for a total value of over $45 million. The repayment rate of these loans is a noteworthy 98 percent. Support the good work UMCOR Armenia is doing by giving to UMCOR Advance #250225, Armenia Emergency.

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