CONNECTIONS
UPUMC
• Wednesday Dinner and Movie will continue on February 1 at 6:30 for dinner and 7pm for the next episode of Joan of Arcadia.
• Education Committee meets with lunch, Sunday, February 5, 12:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall.
• UMW meets Wednesday, February 8, 10am, Errol Stephenson Hall.
• Worship Committee meets Sunday, February 12, 11:30am, Choir area of Sanctuary.
• Staff-Parish Relations Committee meets Monday, February 13, 6:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall.
• Administrative Council meets Monday, February 13, 7:30pm, Errol Stephenson Hall.
• Outreach Committee meets Tuesday, February 14, 7pm, Errol Stephenson Hall.

THE COMMUNITY
• Portsmouth Neighborhood Association [formerly TCAP] Forum, 7pm, Tuesday, February 7, Columbia Cottage.

THE LARGER CHURCH
• Workshop: Understanding Depression—the Myths, the Realities, and How To Help, Wednesdays, Feb. 15 and 22, March 1, at 7pm. Tabor Heights UMC, 6161 SE Stark, $15. 503-232-8500.
• A Cajun Feast and Music Fund-raiser for Our House and UMCOR, Saturday, February 11, 6pm, Mt Tabor UMC 6161 SE Stark, $15, reservations only, 503-232-8500.
• Methodist Federation for Social Action Spring Event, featuring Rev. Dr. Bob Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches, Saturday, March 4, 9am, Portland First UMC, $25 includes lunch.

WEEKLY AT UPUMC
• Choir practices Sundays at 9:30am, Tuesdays at 6:3pm, Sanctuary.
• Morrison Child and Family Center program, Mondays, 4-6pm.
• 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.
FUTURE EVENTS, FOR YOUR CALENDAR
• Lunch Bunch meets at Nicola’s Restaurant, Tuesday, February 21, 12:30pm.
• Mardi Gras Sanctuary Spring Cleaning and Pancake Feast, Sunday, February 26. Come dressed to work together.
• All Is Ready—Join the Party! A weekend retreat for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people, their families, and allies at Suttle Lake Camp in Sisters, Oregon, Friday-Sunday, March 17-19. Co-sponsored by Oregon-Idaho Camp and Retreat Ministries and Reconciling United Methodists of Oregon.


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.

.PLEASE DON’T GO HUNGRY. WE HAVE FOOD IN OUR PANTRY, LOCATED IN THE HALLWAY LEADING TO ERROL STEPHENSON HALL, TAKE WHAT YOU NEED.

A NOTE FROM AARON MOSELEY
Dear Friends,
Thank you very much for your contributions to the food drive last November. It was a wonderful thing to see the amount of food we collected, and was a huge success. However, our food pantry is getting pretty low. If you have any non-perishable food items, please bring them in, and hand them to me. Thank you, and God bless you. sincerely,
aaron moseley

TEACHINGS ON DECISION 1032
United Methodist bishops are teaching and counseling their constituents as they discuss recent rulings of the Judicial Council, the denomination’s “supreme court,� in messages on annual conference Web sites and publications. Primarily the bishops are addressing Decisions 1031 and 1032, in which the Council ruled in favor of a Virginia clergyman who was placed on involuntary leave of absence after denying church membership to a practicing homosexual man who wished to transfer from another denomination. The Council ordered the pastor returned to active ministry and upheld his right to deny membership.
Bishops have explained the decisions, pastorally acknowledged differences of opinion about them and explained that the Council of Bishops cannot petition for reconsideration. Only one of the principals in the case or one of the Judicial Council members who supported the decisions can make that request. Many bishops reaffirmed statements included in the pastoral letter letter the Council of Bishops unanimously adopted on Nov. 2. The bishops have particularly emphasized:
“... While pastors have the responsibility to discern readiness for membership, homosexuality is not a barrier� and
“We also affirm our Wesleyan practice that pastors are accountable to the bishop, superintendent and the clergy on matters of ministry and membership.�
Several also quoted Article IV of the Constitution of The United Methodist Church, which states, “All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition shall ... upon taking the vows declaring the Christian faith, become professing members in any local church in the connection.�
Florida Bishop Timothy W. Whitaker wrote, “Membership is offered to homosexual persons because the condition of membership is the same for all persons – trust in the free gift of God’s grace by professing of faith in Jesus Christ.� (www.flumc.org)
In an episcopal letter on the Holston Conference Web site , Bishop James Swanson said that “the real essence� of the question is membership, whether or not the pastor has “unlimited power regarding the acceptance of persons into membership� and “about the historical United Methodist and Wesleyan understanding of the work of grace involved in salvation.�
California-Nevada Bishop Beverly T. Shamana wrote on www.cnumc.org: “Sincere faith and a desire to seek and know Christ are the only criteria (for membership).�
Some acknowledged the conflict between the “shall� in the statement in the Constitution and “may� in Par. 214 of The Book of Discipline 2004, which talks about eligibility for membership and says, “All people may ... become members in any local church in the connection.� The Judicial Council cited Par. 214 in its decision.
Retired Bishop Jack Tuell, Des Moines, Wash., agrees the conflict will probably be addressed in petitions to the 2008 General Conference.
Bishop Robert T. Hoshibata issued three calls to the Oregon-Idaho Conference in his letter (www.umoi.org):
• “Continue to offer hospitality to all persons. The love we know in Christ knows no bounds. ... Let hospitality be graciously offered in the same spirit in our United Methodist churches.�
• “Let us set the bar high in our churches for the acceptance and appreciation of people who are different from us.�
• “Pray with me.�
Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar developed questions and answers for the Greater New Jersey Web site. Responding to how this process may affect local churches’ ministry, he said, “It challenges us to be faithful in reaching out to the whole world for Jesus Christ, to live out the promise that we have made as a denomination to be people of ‘Open hearts. Open minds. Open doors.’�
--Kathy Noble, Interpreter Magazine

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