THIS SUNDAY: Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Aug. 23, 2020, Proper 16, and Zoom; Contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com.
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Dear Zoom Pilgrims ... or Zooming Pilgrims,
After five months of gathering together via Zoom, I must admit that I am thankful for this communication tool to meet with “us” every week. While we can’t meet in one place physically, the added bonus of seeing each other, as well as hearing from one another, is a gift. As we take time off of our pilgrimage path, sit down, greet and meet one another where we are on Sunday afternoons, experience the presence of God’s Spirit through the reading of Scripture, and share celebrations and concerns, is a true joy for me weekly. Thank you, all, for your gift of stick-to-it-tiveness every week, faithfully showing up at 4, or 5:00 pm, or 7:00 pm, on whatever computerized device you have at hand. And, of course, the added joy is staying connected with the Community of Pilgrims in CA, VA, NM, SC, and NY! What a community God in Christ has created! I am grateful for all of you.
This talk of community, and the nature of Christian community, is part of this week’s reading from Romans 12:1-8. The Apostle Paul wrote a “manual” or “rule book” of what it means to be the body of Christ, aka, the Church, or a community of faith, with one another in Romans, 1 Cor., Colossians…well, in much everything he wrote. And we still use this manual or “rule book” today. Consider this passage from Romans: “For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” I’ll come back to this passage this Sunday, pulling on these two parts: 1) “individually we are members one of another.” In other words, we are connected to each other. There is a bond between us. Using the metaphor of a body, each one of us are part of the sinew, tendon, flesh, and muscle fiber that makes up the greater body of Christ. We are connected not only with those we can see and hear on a Zoom message, but with all people of faith around the world. 2) We all have gifts, talents, and services, given to us by God our Creator. They differ according to the gift, talent, and service, depending on our place in the body of Christ. For example, I am a teacher in the body of Christ. I find great joy in teaching, whether in my writing, in a sermon, a workshop, a lecture, or hands-on, Montessori activity. And each of us also have a gift, given to us by God. Our task is discovering what it is, and then using it for the greater good of the body of Christ. What joy! What a ride! What a hoot! Once one finds what their gift is, watch out world! God is going to do amazing things, for the greater, common good of the body of Christ. Join us this Sunday for more discussion upon this incredible passage.
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Let us also celebrate the gift of giving, with so many boxes and bags of clothes and linens that were collected from the Portland Pilgrims and given to SnowCap, a non-profit we work with in Portland, who provides clothes and linens for individuals and families in need. 250 pounds of clothing and linens were collected! Wow! Thank you, Community of Pilgrims, for this gift!
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Providing a meal for the Gresham Women’s Emergency Shelter. From Kathy:
The Community of Pilgrims will provide dinner for 60 women, including five vegetarians, on Friday, August 28, to be delivered at 5:30PM to Human Solutions’ new women's shelter at The Chestnut Inn in Gresham. Sign-ups thus far are:
Lorinda - baked chicken for 60
Kathleen Madden - pasta-vegetable salad for 30
Kathy - macaroni & cheese for 30
Linda F-A - dessert for 60
Brett - salad for 10~12
Still needed:
Fruit, salads (can be salad kits, but need to be in a bowl, ready to add dressing), and-or side green vegetable dish to serve a total of 48-50 people
Paper plates
All contributions will need to be ready to serve, in containers not to be returned, and delivered no later than 4:45PM on Friday August 28 to Kathy Fukuyama, 6221 SW Tower Way, Portland, OR 97221, 503-793-4758. Call, text, or email me if you can help or have questions.
Thank you everyone for coming together for our community.
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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, or use the “Give Now” button on the Community of Pilgrims website, www.communityofpilgrims.com. Many thanks!
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Again: The Presbytery of the Cascades chose to give $1,000 to churches and new faith communities to make a change in the world. We are joining up with the folks at Moreland Presbyterian Church, and with our combined stimulus checks, and other donations, we will support four groups: Street Roots, Emerge, Meals on Wheels, and Human Solutions! Let me, Brett, know if you would like to give more to this growing fund, and I will be sure that our funds are included. Currently, we have collected over $7,000!
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Events!
Aug. 23, Gather and Devotion and Zoom!
Aug. 30, Gather and Devotion and Zoom!
Sept. 6, Gather and Devotion and Zoom!
Sept. 13, Gather and Devotion and Zoom and Join Us at Our Home! Celebrating our 4-year anniversary of the Community of Pilgrims!
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
· Linda's brother Tim and his wife Jill who both have the coronavirus, and are slowly healing!
· A safe gathering for Linda's family.
· Linda's brother Gary who lives with Parkinson's and it is getting worse.
· Kathy who is rapidly declining with ALS.
· Students, faculty, and staff at UNC Chapel Hill where in the first week of classes at least four clusters in student housing reported outbreaks of the coronavirus.
· Education systems here and in other countries dealing with COVID.
· Karen's daughter who wishes to go to an upcoming in-person event for school.
· Pat and Marilee Quinel's daughter who is recovering from the coronavirus.
· Lorinda and Ray's granddaughter Anna and her family who are coming up to Portland to take Anna to Lewis & Clark.
· Our elections, including the post office.
· Celebrations for Ric's friends George and Lori. George successfully completed chemotherapy for brain tumors.
· Ken Miller who lives in pain in a medical facility.
· Birthday celebrations for Linda's son, Linda, Mary, and Sue.
· Roberta who will give a sermon next week
· Patience for Alan and Penny as they prepare for their upcoming move cross-country.
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Poem
An American Sunrise, by Joy Harjo, 2019 US Poet Laureate
(It is important to hear other voices and perspectives of life, and Joy Harjo offers just that)
We were running out of breath, as we ran out to meet ourselves. We
were surfacing the edge of our ancestors’ fights, and ready to strike.
It was difficult to lose days in the Indian bar if you were straight.
Easy if you played pool and drank to remember to forget. We
made plans to be professional — and did. And some of us could sing
so we drummed a fire-lit pathway up to those starry stars. Sin
was invented by the Christians, as was the Devil, we sang. We
were the heathens, but needed to be saved from them — thin
chance. We knew we were all related in this story, a little gin
will clarify the dark and make us all feel like dancing. We
had something to do with the origins of blues and jazz
I argued with a Pueblo as I filled the jukebox with dimes in June,
forty years later and we still want justice. We are still America. We
know the rumors of our demise. We spit them out. They die
soon.
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Buen Camino!
Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.