THIS SUNDAY: Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Seventh Sunday of Easter, May 24, 2020, Zoom; Contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com
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Dear Pilgrims of the Way,
Memorial Day weekend is upon us, and the weather forecasters tell us that, in Oregon, it will slowly warm up throughout the weekend. Hope the same for all readers of this Newsletter. Unofficially, it is the beginning of summer for many of us, though this summer in a COVID 19 pandemic world, we will be doing things a little bit differently. Nevertheless, let the fun of summer begin.
This Sunday’s focus will be a blend of the day of Jesus ascension unto God (Luke 24:44-53), and that "lull" period between the ascension of Jesus and the descending of the Holy Spirit, aka Pentecost (Acts 1:6-14). Yesterday was the Feast of the Ascension, or as many wrote on Facebook, “Today is the Feast of the Ascension. It’s the day Jesus started to work from home.” I remember a homily by a Catholic priest, who pointed out that in order for the Holy Spirit to descend, the resurrected Christ would have to ascend first. As much as his friends, his disciples, would miss him, there is no doubt that they were well-equipped with ways of going forward on the Way (Acts 9:2) as their minds were opened by the Spirit in understanding the Scriptures, and that they were not alone as a small assembly of people, but would soon be filled with the Holy Spirit. And what we celebrate and remember on Pentecost is that Jesus didn’t have a regular body anymore. So, to paraphrase the Presbyterian writer Frederick Buechner, God made Jesus one out of anybody he could find who looked as if he or she might just possibly do. He used other people’s hands to be Christ’s hands, and other people’s feet to be Christ’s feet, and when there was someplace where Christ was needed in a hurry and needed bad, he put the finger on some maybe not all that innocent bystander and got that person to go and be Christ in that place for lack of anybody better. Join us this Sunday as we continue to explore the creative tension between the ascending and descending of God in Christ and the Holy Spirit. It’s a Trinity thing…
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Requests and Opportunities
Keep collecting clothes! 40 items of clothing for Lent, in which, when the pandemic “shelter in place” order will be lifted, and we can take these items to SnowCap.
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While we are not meeting in person, the Community of Pilgrims will still welcome your financial contribution. Please make a check out to Community of Pilgrims, and mail it to Brett Webb-Mitchell, 9460 SW Martha St., Tigard, OR 97224. Many thanks!
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For those who want to volunteer some more in the Portland-metro area, here’s a list of volunteer opportunities: https://www.opb.org/news/article/coronavirus-help-oregon-washington-volunteer-donate-give-blood/. And here’s a neat calligraphy project that Lorinda Moholt participated in, with proceeds to Oregon Food Bank: https://give.oregonfoodbank.org/CCC
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The Presbytery of the Cascades chose to give $1,000 to churches and new faith communities to make a change in the world.
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Events!
May 24, Gather and Devotion, Zoom!
May 31, Pentecost! Gather and Devotion, Zoom!
June 7, Gather and Devotion, Zoom!
June 14, Gather and Devotion, Zoom!
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
· Prayers for the timely sale of Chris' house.
· Ric and Joann's son David who is not feeling well, that he doesn't have the Coronavirus.
· Immigrants who are getting forgotten in these times
· Those in Covid-19 hot spots--nursing homes, prisons, and meat packing plants--where the public cannot see the intensity of the disasters.
· People dealing with serious non-COVID issues.
· Luke's family--his Dad whose mother is dying and on comfort care in the hospital and his Dad's sister struggling with mental issues.
· Luke, working as a first responder on the reservation, where some people are not taking care of themselves and not making good choices.
· Karen's friend in Oklahoma who is very sick with COVID.
· Graduates and hearing good words.
· Moving forward.
· Those working for a vaccine and those who are willing to be tested.
· Developing nations where the virus is just starting.
· People who have lost their income.
· Churches closed due to coronavirus.
· People in recovery at risk of breaking down in this time of isolation.
· Gradual re-opening where people behave sensibly and we avoid a resurgence.
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Poem
Quarantine by Sonja Livingstone
My father-in-law is coming to the end.
My husband drives over and stands beneath his bedroom window.
He tells his father about bluebirds in the park, how the cats
are doing, says he remembers when he was seven
and they went sledding on the hill in Acton.
My husband stands beneath the window
head tilted 45 degrees, taking in sky and pane and glass.
When he was a boy he thought his father was Superman.
Now his father has something to say but the words fall apart
before they leave his mouth.
It’s late March. Most of the snow has melted.
My husband stands under the window listening to the last
of his father’s voice, golden crocuses coming up at his feet.
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Buen Camino!
Pastors Brett & Chris
Rev. Dr. Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com Rev. Chris Dungan chrisdungan1@msn.com