THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Aug. 1, 2021, Tenth Sunday after Pentecost, Gather and Devotion on Zoom. If you have any questions, or are interested in a conversation, contact Pastor Brett Webb-Mitchell (919) 444-9111; brettwebbmitchell@gmail.com and visit www.communityofpilgrims.com.
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Dear Community of Pilgrims!
Happy (almost) 4th Anniversary! Wow! Yeah! Woohoo! Time to celebrate! Come on!
We began meeting on a “Kick Off” Sunday on Sept. 10, 2017 at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church’s Chapel. 31 people joined us on that day. So, on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021, we will gather together on Zoom and maybe (just maybe) in person if you are living in the Portland area, to celebrate our anniversary. Place to be announced. Time? 4:00 pm, of course, Pacific Coast Time. Celebrating an anniversary is an important event, both personally and as a community of faith. An anniversary allows us to put a pin or marker on a calendar to remind us of something that matters to us. It is a chance to reflect on a relationship or cultural identity, to come together to remember where we started, and joyously celebrate where and who we are today, and get a sense of where we are going in the future. Happy 4th Anniversary to us, Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship! More details to come!
The focus Scripture this week is John 6:24-35. Jesus is talking about the bread of life, and the people who surround him are talking about manna and Moses. What is interesting in this dialogue between the Jewish crowd and Jesus is a matter of trust. One wonders if they always trusted what Jesus was saying, kept wondering who he was, or had their doubts, which provoked this back and forth dialogue. Trust is, of course, front and center in our lives as well. Trust is at the core of the myriad debates around the COVID 19 pandemic and vaccines and masks. We can all appreciate how much more smoothly things run when there is trust among a people and their leader, as we see what is happening in a land and a people and a government in which trust is at a low point. Join us this Sunday as we discuss the importance, the centrality, of trust, between God the Creator, and God’s people.
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Events!
Aug. 1, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom!
Aug. 8, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom!
Aug. 15, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom!
Aug. 22, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom!
Aug. 29, 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom!
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
· COVID 19 vaccine and prayers that everyone wise up and take it.
· Rest, safety, and appreciation for firefighters.
· Celebrations for Brett's new job at Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church. He will begin in September for six months, and maybe beyond, to help them assess and discern what they want to do and where the Spirit is leading them.
· Thanksgiving that Christian got home safe and sound.
· A safe return home for Karen.
· Celebrations for Chuck's eighth grandchild born in Norway.
· Safe transition for the Sperry family. Bill has taken a new position in Coronado, California.
· Healing for Zeta who was in a head-on car crash three weeks ago.
· Cindy Fraser's family.
· Gratitude that Luke's foot injury from his motorcycle accident should not lead to long lasting damage.
· Brett's daughter and son-in-law who are moving into their new house in Asheville, North Carolina.
· Good relations among families where there is tension.
· Passage of the infrastructure bill.
· Gaining control of the Delta variant.
· Smooth planning for Luke and Dayna's wedding in Fort Collins on September 4th.
“God, in your love, attend our prayers…”
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Poem
August, by Mary Oliver
When the blackberries hang
swollen in the woods, in the brambles
nobody owns, I spend
all day among the high
branches, reaching
my ripped arms, thinking
of nothing, cramming
the black honey of summer
into my mouth; all day my body
accepts what it is. In the dark
creeks that run by there is
this thick paw of my life darting among
the black bells, the leaves; there is
this happy tongue.
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Buen Camino! Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.