THIS SUNDAY: The Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, Aug. 15, 2021, Twelfth 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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Greetings, Community of Wise Pilgrims,
As I write this newsletter, it is 102 degrees outside the house. This is the most recent beginning of our “heat dome” in Portland, OR. Tomorrow will be one more day of the “heat dome” in Portland. And then it begins to cool down again to “normal” temperatures for summer in Portland on Saturday. Well, the climate has changed and is changing. We can't stop the already-melting of ice in northern areas of the world. Let us prayerfully act in ways that will temper any more changes in the atmosphere for generations to some over the land, the air, and the seas.
The focus for this Sunday is the wisdom of the community of faith in a world that seems to be “failing” in the area of wisdom. I was reading this passage this morning from Ephesians 5:15: “Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise.” Ideally, Christian communities should be known for their wisdom in thought and deed in this world. As I read these words about wisdom I was listening to the rising rate of COVID 19 infections and deaths in this country, especially in Texas and Florida, Missouri and Mississippi, where there is a fight about mask mandates and vaccine mandates, listening to how some sad politicians hope to make this a political point in 2022. Not practicing safe distancing, wearing masks, washing hands, and not getting the vaccines seems “unwise,” given the nature of this virus…to say the least. There are other places in our family and congregational lives, as well as community and being part of this nation and world in which we must navigate between wise and unwise practices given our circumstances, from the environmental changes mentioned above to immigration policies, election laws and the rise of civil strife, like in Syria and Afghanistan. It seems that wisdom is called for in all such cases. Join us this Sunday as we continue to explore the nature of Christian community as described by the writer to the church in Ephesus.
** We began meeting on a “kick off” Sunday on Sept. 10, 2017 at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church’s Chapel. 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. Think of one powerful memory or meaningful way that being part of this growing, evolving, ever changing community of faith has touched your life, or the life of others around you. We will share these memories on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021.
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Events!
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!
Sept. 5, Holy Holiday! (Labor Day Weekend)
Sept. 12, Celebrating the Fourth Anniversary of the Community of Pilgrims! 4 pm, Gather and Devotion on Zoom! Huzzah!
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Prayers of Celebration and Concern
· Happy Birthday to Linda tomorrow and to Christian's sister Dell.
· Celebrations for the dragon boat races yesterday.
· Traveling mercies for Karen as she returns to Yakima, her home town, to connect with family.
· Linda's close friend June who is having serious health problems.
· Recovery for Earl's friend Sam who has been in a trauma unit.
· Celebrations for Earl's niece McKenna Faulkner who has accepted a teaching position at Liberty High School near Hillsboro.
· Healing and peace for Winston's pastor and his family who have gone through a lot of transition.
· Help for people whose livelihood is dependent upon weather.
· People to get vaccinated as quickly as possible and to get COVID infections under control in this country and the world.
· Empathy and social responsibility.
· Linda's brother Gary to enjoy his birthday celebration this Saturday.
· The people of Afghanistan who are facing a brutal wave of violence.
· The people of Syria, parts of Ethiopia, and Yemen, and their continued civil wars.
· The fires in Greece...
“God, in your love, attend our prayers…”
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Poem
Summer, by John Clare
Come we to the summer, to the summer we will come,
For the woods are full of bluebells and the hedges full of bloom,
And the crow is on the oak a-building of her nest,
And love is burning diamonds in my true lover's breast;
She sits beneath the whitethorn a-plaiting of her hair,
And I will to my true lover with a fond request repair;
I will look upon her face, I will in her beauty rest,
And lay my aching weariness upon her lovely breast.
The clock-a-clay is creeping on the open bloom of May,
The merry bee is trampling the pinky threads all day,
And the chaffinch it is brooding on its grey mossy nest
In the whitethorn bush where I will lean upon my lover's breast;
I'll lean upon her breast and I'll whisper in her ear
That I cannot get a wink o'sleep for thinking of my dear;
I hunger at my meat and I daily fade away
Like the hedge rose that is broken in the heat of the day.
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Buen Camino! Pastors Brett & Karen Cornwell Fortlander.