THIS SUNDAY: Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Sept. 27, 2020, Proper 21, and Zoom; Contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com.
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Dear Wayfaring Pilgrims,
What a difference a week makes in the Pacific Northwest. We went from nine days of smoke-filled air to the cleansing bath of a rain shower. From temperatures in the 80s, to temperatures in the 60s. So, I asked Google what the temperature was like for our Community of Pilgrims: Temperature in Portland, OR is 63 degrees. Temperature in Half Moon Bay, CA is 65. In Charlottesville, VA, it is 65. In Greenwich, NY it is 80 degrees. La Cruces, NM is 86 degrees. Columbia, SC is 80 degrees. Some places there is rain, and others some clouds, while still others, sun! Wherever we may live, O Community of Pilgrims, let's enjoy the weather today! Let us dance in the rain outside today, soak in the sun perhaps for some of us, and enjoy the day that God has made! We will rejoice and be glad in it, to paraphrase the Psalmist (Ps. 118:24).
The Scripture we will focus on this Sunday is Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi, 2:1-13. Paul felt a personal connection with this church because he founded it, along with Silas, Timothy, and possibly the Gospel writer Luke. Philippians was Paul’s love letter to this church from his prison cell, and would be considered “Prison Literature,” right up there with Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, and Letter from a Birmingham Jail by MLK, Jr. Along with the words, “love” and “beloved,” what stands out in this letter is the word, “humility.” As we are to be of the “same mind, having the same love,” for one another, as well as being of the same or one mind, we are to practice humility among one another, regarding others as better than ourselves. And who is the example of such humility? Why, none other than God, in Jesus, who “being found in human form…humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.” Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi is also a letter to the Church today, to communities of faith like ours as well. And the question for us to explore this week is quite simple, and profound: how are we to practice humility with one another in the Community of Pilgrims, and among others of the faith, as well as in life in general? And hint: humility is not the same as modesty. Join us this Sunday for this discussion!
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As a member of the Community of Pilgrims, please consider writing a sentence or two about being part of the Community of Pilgrims, so that I may add it to the website. Some have already done this, and I thank you! They are posted on the website. Why are we asking for this contribution? Because this is a way of sharing with those who go to the website and are looking for a community of faith in the Portland-Vancouver area what is happening among those of us who live and are part of this community.
Also, please consider making a special contribution to the Community of Pilgrims for the third-year anniversary, like 3 cents, 30 cents, $3.00 or $30.00, or more. Some have contributed to this Three-Year Anniversary invitation, and we thank you (!) and we would welcome more! While we are not meeting in person, the Community of Pilgrims still welcomes your financial contribution. We still have bills to pay as a community of faith, with Zoom, etc. Please make a check out to Community of Pilgrims, and mail it to Community of Pilgrims, c/o Brett Webb-Mitchell, 9460 SW Martha St., Tigard, OR 97224, or use “Give Now” button on Community of Pilgrims website, www.communityofpilgrims.com. Many thanks!
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Events!
Sept. 27, Gather and Devotion and Zoom!
Oct. 4, Gather and Devotion and Zoom!
Oct. 11, Gather and Devotion and Zoom!
Oct. 18, Gather and Devotion and Zoom!
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
· That Lorinda’s surgery will be fully successful.
· That the fires have subsided, but the wreckage continues and there is so much rebuilding to do.
· Prayers for our country-politics/Covid/fires/stress and political division.
· For Randy Schlechter’s cousin, Gina and her husband, Michael. He has stopped chemo treatments and has about 6 months to live. They have made the difficult decision to seek out assisted suicide, as a last recourse for the pain. Gina asks if God will forgive them. Pray she will come to know a gracious and merciful God and that their remaining time will be holy.
· College students moving on campus at OSU and U of O. May they be safe and healthy
· Happy Birthday, Chris Dungan!!!!
· We mourn with Chris the death of her dear friend, Sherilyn, along with RBG.
· It’s the beginning of fall. May there be fewer fires around the world.
· Linda’s brother, Gary, has moved into an independent living community and is trying to get settled. A staff tested positive, so Gary had to be tested. More stress.
· Ken Miller, re-hospitalized and in lots of pain with broken bones from advanced Osteoporosis. Pray for Ken and his wife, Anne.
· Charles Heinekin lost his wife.
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Poem
Blessing That Becomes Empty As It Goes, by Jan Richardson
This blessing
Keeps nothing
For itself.
You can find it
By following the path
Of what it has let go,
Of what it has learned
It can live without.
Say his blessing out loud
A few times
And you will hear
The hollow places
Within it,
How it echoes
In a way
That gives your voice
Back to you
As if you had never
Heard it before.
Yet this blessing
Would not be mistaken
For any other,
As if,
In its emptying,
It had lost
What makes it
Most itself.
It simply desires
To have room enough
To welcome
What comes.
Today,
Its’ you.
So come and sit
In this place
Made holy
By its hollows.
You think you have
Too much to do,
Too little time,
Too great a weight
Of responsibility
That none but you
Can carry.
I tell you,
Lay it down.
Just for a moment,
If that’s what you
Can manage at first.
Five minutes.
Lift up your voice—
In laughter,
In weeping,
It does not matter—
And let it ring against
These spacious walls.
Do this
Until you can hear
The spaces within
Your own breathing.
Do this
Until you can feel
The hollow in your heart
Where something
Is letting go,
Where something
Is making way.
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Buen Camino!
Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.