Easter Morning (early)

It did not cross my mind that adjusting the morning service, to accommodate the two services on Easter would be an issue. As I was driving to Mt Tabor to PMC's usual Easter Morning service spot, all I saw was cars. The cars were lined up the side of the road near the spot that PMC's usually meets. At first I thought I was late, but no, it was 7:10am and the service was to begin at 7:30am. I crept in my car by the picnic area and saw a large crowd of maybe 50 people. Panicked seized my heart! This spot was hard enough to describe and now I was going to have to find another spot! I looked again and noticed they appeared to be leaving the area. Whew. The other group was out of the space a bit before 7:30am and by 7:40 or so a dozen of us had gathered to worship outdoors on Easter morning. It was a beautiful, sunny, warm morning. We had a great view of Mt Hood. Being in nature is one of my favorite places to worship God. In nature, I become more keenly aware of the power and the mystery that is God. Our small group of PMCers, prayed, shared and read Scripture together. We planted flowers to celebrate new life. As we left the space, I couldn't help but wonder, who was going to be the next person or group of people to come here, to look out the magnificent view and thank God for what they had seen?                                                                 ~RRM

PIES for PEACE

On Saturday night, January 26 approximately 220 people packed into the sanctuary of Portland Mennonite Church for what was to be a memorable evening. Ted & Co, which for this night consisted of Ted Swartz and Tim Ruebke, performed their show “I’d like to buy an Enemy” as part of their national tour called Peace, Pies, & Prophets. The show was interspersed with pie auctions which proved to be as hilarious as the show itself. A special moment happened when a row of elementary-age girls in the front row were given a hat to “collect funds” to bid on a pie. The moment came as Ted held up the pie he knew the girls wanted and started the bid at $300, the amount the girls had collected. Their hands shot up, he yelled SOLD, and the crowd cheered!

The show and the broader Peace, Pies & Prophets tour is raising money for Christian Peacemaker Teams, an organization that seeks to stand in the midst of conflict around the globe and seek peaceful alternatives to violence. In a world full of violence, Saturday night proved to be a beautiful expression of hope. Portland Mennonite Church wishes to thank the many friends who came out to see the show, brought with them delicious pies and helped raise $10,700 dollars doing something as simple as laughing and enjoying a slice of pie.

Flash Mob Caroling on Hawthorne

What happens when Rod no longer wants to jump out of a box for our annual Christmas celebration? Well, after Curt and I nixed the idea of one us jumping out of a box, we decided that a flash mob caroling was the next obvious choice. (If you don't know about Rod jumping out of a box, talk to Chloe Weaver or another 2^nd grader.)

On the evening of Saturday, December 15, a group of warmly-dressed PMCers left the church and dispersed along Hawthorne Blvd. At 6:50pm, from under the awning of the Umpqua Bank between 35^th and 36^th, Megan Newell-Ching’s voice rang out: “O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant, O come ye, O come ye …” and they did come. Up and down the street flameless candles were lit as more voices emerged from the crowd to join the choir around Megan.

After finishing “O come, all ye faithful” the group went on to sing five more traditional carols, pausing for a recitation of Luke 2:1-7 by brothers Nathan and Jeffery Steiner. Then the group melted away, with everyone taking their own path back to the church where we chatted over hot chocolate and cookies.

Later, twenty of us went to Marie Newcomer's house to sing Christmas carols with her.

Maybe the next flash mob should be the singing of 118 from the Hymnal Worship Book at the Hawthorne Starbucks on a Sunday morning. Who's with me?

- Rachel Ringenberg Miller

“It was fun. I liked the candles.” - Lucy, age 8

“It was scary and exciting.” - Ginger, age 4

“If I had to do it again, I would do it sometime.” - Nathan, age 8

“I liked the whipped cream and hot chocolate!” - Jeffery, age 6

Caroling On Hawthorne

MennoMob from Paul Reid on Vimeo.

I thought Sunday School was for kids…

How might your heavenly citizenship collide with the “Powers” of this world? How do you determine when you are being pulled by the forces of the world or wants and needs of others, instead of being grounded in God's wisdom? At what point does the testing and approving of others become a way to silence the prophetic word among us?

These are questions that each of the three Adult Education Sunday school classes addressed this Sunday morning during Sunday school today. The first quote is from the class Jesus for President, the second from Wonderfully Made; women, faith and self-care and third from the Adult Bible Study.

September through June various classes are offered for adults. The hope and purpose of these classes is to continue the faith development of adults. The classes offer space for studying topics that make us reflect on our faith and how we are living it out. At PMC we believe our faith is nurtured and developed in community with one another. Adult Sunday school is just one of those ways where we can discuss, pray, and grow together.

It is never too late to join a class, so if one of these appeals to you feel free to visit next Sunday.

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The Adult Christian Education Committee is always open to suggestions for classes. Committee members are Silas Langly, Debra Hubbard, Matt Westbrook, and Rachel RM. We are looking for another member or two, so if you are interested please talk to Rachel.

Ministerios Restauración

Ministerios Restauración meets at Portland Mennonite Church on Sunday afternoons and on Thursday evenings. Here is a short history of how this congregation came to be…

In 1992, Victor Vargas saw the need to start a Hispanic Mennonite Church in the Portland area because in his congregation, Woodburn Mennonite Church Pentecost, there were families traveling from Portland. Families living in Portland began gathering for prayer at Portland Mennonite Church to ask the Lord for direction.

In July 1992, Pastor Vargas shared the vision with Pastor Samuel Moran and opened the invitation to establish a Hispanic Mennonite Church in the Portland area. That October, Samuel Moran and his family moved to the Northwest to work on this project. In November Pastor Moran conducted the first public service with an attendance of 12 people. An offering of $8.32 was collected and the group adopted the name Pentecostal Church Restoration. The name was chosen because of the link with Pentecostal Church of Woodburn. Then they agreed to call the early church "Restoration Ministries" with a commitment to "Proclaim Christ to the Nations."

Six months later, the meetings moved to United Methodist Church in Oak Grove, OR, because the first people contacted were living in that area. On February 4, 2001 Restoration Ministries formalized an agreement with Portland Mennonite Church to use their building. In June 2002 the congregation was accepted as a member church of PNMC.

Currently the church has an attendance of about 45 people from Mexico and Guatemala. The congregation meets on Sundays at 2:15 pm and Thursdays at 7:00 pm. Among its most flourishing ministries is the Advocacy group, which meets half an hour before the service for a time of prayer. Praise Group is composed of adults and young people. The group also conducts House meetings for folks who have made the decision to follow Christ. The current challenge is reaching children and youth with the message of Jesus. The Hispanic Mennonite Church’s mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to this generation; to make disciples of Jesus; provide a place to study scripture; as well as provide fellowship and worship with contemporary music. Being part of PNMC offers these opportunities to Restoration Ministries. Following Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, Restoration Ministries can grow as a community of grace, and give the world God’s hope and healing.

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Written by Samuel Moran (Pastor of Ministerios Restauración), reprinted from Evangel / summer 2012

CORE MINISTRIES imagine helping PMC follow Jesus “IN THE CITY”

Normally 35^th & Main centers around an event that one of PMC’s five Core Ministries organized. This time however, will be about the Core Ministry Summit, a once-a-year planning meeting that involved all five Core Ministries. The core ministries are Faith Formation, Worship, Children & Youth, Congregational Life, and Community Outreach. I (Rachel) am the Pastoral Liaison to Core Ministries—which means it’s my job to be up to speed on what each of them is doing!

At the Core Ministry Summit on May 5 we began with an introduction of three fictional households that helped guide our discussion toward answers to real issues. The summit centered around the question, “How will your core ministry help these folks follow Jesus in the city?” We as a congregation continue to focus on what it means to “seek the peace of the city,” and in the coming school year the emphasis will be on becoming Christian “in the city.”

After much conversation two commonalities surfaced, storytelling and relationship building. One practical idea came from the Children & Youth along with the Faith Formation Core Ministry Team. Erin Holcomb (chair of Faith Formation) spoke of people from the congregation sharing their story/testimony for the older kids, youth, and adults. Such a series could take the form of combined youth/adult Sunday school class or an ongoing monthly event.

If you have other practical ways we might grow as Christians in the city this coming school year please contact me.

~Rachel Ringenberg Miller

PMC hosts Member Care

The church is to be a place where people can share their greatest joys and their greatest pains. Sharing joys is easy, everyone knows how to react to happy news. When it comes to sharing our greatest pains, we often don't know how to respond. How do we care for our friend who is facing cancer, death of a spouse, divorce and so on. This is why PMC along with Salem and Zion Mennonite hosted Member Care. The presenters Carolyn Heggen and Rhoda Keener shared how we need to be aware of our pain and need to have healing before we can try to help others in with their pain.

Here are two takeaways:

• We were reminded that our job is to sit and listen, to not try to heal or fix painful situations. The fixing is to be left to God.
• We learned sometimes the sadness of a situation is so great that it takes more than one person to hold a painful story and it's important to know when more people are needed for support.

Much was shared by the participants and the presenters but more needs to be processed. The Congregational Life Core Ministry Team plans to seek ways in which the learnings of Member Care can be carried through into the congregation.

POTLUCK!

A Friday night dinner discussion starts with babies and child rearing and somehow ends up on the upcoming Taco Salad themed Fellowship Meal. Everyone at the table is excited about eating Taco Salad. It's kind of bizarre conversation, who would have thought that a group of young adults would sit around and talk about an upcoming potluck with such zeal? This group of seven people weren't the only ones excited about the Fellowship meal. According to Evy Kristesen who is the chair of the Kitchen Committee, about 140 enjoyed a plate or perhaps two, of taco salad.

Fellowship Meals have evolved over the years into themed meals. We have a picnic at Wildwood near Mt Hood, a Thanksgiving and Taco Salad meal, along with two Supper for Sixes. The Supper for Six is a bit of twist, with these happening in homes. It works like this, people sign up to host or to attend. Then a committee takes the names and forms groups of 6 adults plus kids. No one knows whose going to be coming until they hear from their host. It's a great way to get to know each other to get know people in smaller setting. Community is important at PMC and having a meal together is one way we can build community.

Community Christmas Concert

As the first musician walked onto the stage in her sparkling red shirt and light-up red boots everyone at the Community Christmas Concert knew they were in for a treat. 2011 saw the fourth year of the Community Christmas Concert and it continues to evolve. This year saw fewer acts play longer sets and each was amazing in their own way. The opening act was Cinda Tilgner on the ukulele—with added help from owl-shaped bells on her feet. Next was Adlai Alexander, who added global flair including Portuguese music flavored by jazz inflections. At the halfway point of the concert, Marylin Mauch spoke about the NE Portland Backpack Lunch Program, the concert’s beneficiary. Therese Michand continued the music on piano with a collection of familiar songs and her own works that drew inspiration from Northwestern landscapes. The concert concluded with Martin Hill and friends playing in the Celtic style.

The concert helps put our church and our neighborhood in the Christmas spirit and exposes us to some of the great musicians from Artichoke Music that we otherwise wouldn't hear. This year the audience was made up of people young and old as well as people from inside and outside of PMC. The collaboration with Artichoke Music has provided the concert with some wonderful musicians over the years. This past week, one of the musicians stopped by the church with four dozen cans of food, saying “I didn’t realize it was a benefit concert! I can’t believe there are kids like that who don’t have anything to eat on the weekend. I’ve been poor myself, so I wanted to bring something back for them.”

Community Outreach Core Ministry sponsors the Community Concert.

December 10 concert at PMC

Peace Service Focuses on Immigration

The words printed on the back of the bulletin said, “Tonight we gather to pray for peace and act in peace. Every year approximately 65,000 youth in the United States are unable to pursue their dreams of attending college because they lack legal immigration status.” PMCers gathered together on the evening of Sunday November 13 for the second Peace Service of the fall, the focus was immigration and the DREAM Act. David Rodriguez, a member of PMC and college student at Oregon State University, spoke about his experience growing up as an undocumented child in the U.S. David said that his future always seemed tentative. In fact he and his mother (Gladys Matiz) had plans in place in case they were ever found out. David now has an official status in the U.S. He said he was thankful for all who helped him and his mother go through the process, which includes some PMCers. After the service letters were written to congressional representatives to urge action on the DREAM Act as well as to include national service programs like AmeriCorps and Peace Corps as alternative to military and educational pathways to citizenship.

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PMC Peace Services are sponsored by the Worship Core Ministry Team. The next Peace Service is November 13. The focus is food instability.

PMC Hosts Conversation about the Portland Police and the use of Force

“Keeping the Peace,” a conversation about the Portland Police and the use of force was focus of the Peace Lecture Series on September 16. Two panelists were former Multnomah County Sheriff Don Clark and Matthew Wagenknecht of the Portland Police Bureau.

One of the more lighthearted moments of the night included a story shared by Wagenknecht: When he worked in the downtown area Wagenknecht had a relationship built over time with a man named Robert who dealt drugs from time to time in Old Town. One day he saw Robert in Pioneer Square, a drug free zone. Robert was one of a dozen people huddled together. Wagenknecht called Robert out of the crowd, handcuffed him and said, “You know you aren’t supposed to be here.” Robert nodded.

Suddenly a woman came out of a store yelling at the officer: “Why are you arresting him? Let him go!” The woman was indignant from seeing the arrest of Robert, the only African-American man in the huddle of people. At that point Robert (the man being arrested, mind you) responded, “Leave me alone, you don’t know me!” and told Wagenknecht to carry on with the arrest.

Such firsthand accounts provided by the panelists provided a glimpse into the police reality we don’t always see or hear. Not all the questions were answered and when it comes to the use of deadly force, Mennonites and the Portland Police Force will continue to disagree, but the evening was certainly informational for both parties and drew a number of audience members from the community who were not otherwise associated with PMC.

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This event was put together by the Peace Lecture Series, a part of the Faith Formation Core Ministry Team / Peace Lecture Series Committee: Allan Classen, Emily Shirk Birky, Duncan Smith and John Hess-Yoder

A new beginning…

“...as I stand here before you all, I am able to say that I’m ready to become committed to God. I am ready to accept Jesus as my Savior. I am ready to become a member of the congregation. I am ready. It took me years to find my place in life and in the congregation, but I now know where my path lies. Baptism to me, it’s like, I’m starting a new life. A fresh start. A new beginning.”

This is a snippet of what James Lang shared with the congregation as he prepared to be baptized during the Church Retreat at Twin Rocks.

Curt and I walked with James into the frigid Pacific Ocean for the baptism. As a wave came in, Curt and I laid James under the water, as he went under Curt said to him “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit” and then we lifted him up out of the water and sprinted back to shore!

The baptism was the culmination of our worship at the Retreat. I believe part of what makes worship at Retreat so special is the hearing of stories, like James’. It is there, where we have the opportunity to get a peak into the spiritual lives of others in our community, that we are all drawn deeper into our life together with Christ.

~Rachel Ringenberg Miller, Pastor of Community Life