July 20, 2017

Dear Reader,

Is there change in your life? Does that change include a new email address, phone number or other contact information?

Staying in touch is important.

So, if you are a clergy person in the Oregon-Idaho Conference, or a lay person on any conference committee or leading a work area in your church (like SPRC or Trustees chair), PLEASE send us updated contact information. That would include your preferred email address, new street address or phone number. To be sure we can include the correct information in the Conference Journal we need to hear from you by July 27. Send any updates to your district office. Sage, Crater Lake, Columbia, Cascadia.

Greg Nelson, Director of Communications

AROUND THE CONFERENCE

Safe Sanctuary training for staff and volunteers

Beaverton United Methodist Church will be hosting a Safe Sanctuary training for church staff and volunteers who work with children, youth and vulnerable adults. The training is October 1st from 1:00 – 4:30 p.m.

Training is a key part of any Safe Sanctuary plan for a church. This training will be provided in cooperation with BEST Bystander Training (Bystander Efforts Serve Transformation). BEST trainers are students and young people from the Eugene, Oregon higher education communities.

The workshop will include information on creating a safe space, Prevention 101, and current policy issues for Oregon-Idaho United Methodist churches.

The cost of the event is $10 per person, or $50 for a church team up to 12 people. Please reserve your spot(s) by emailing Warren Light at uowesleycenter@gmail.com. Beaverton United Methodist Church is located at 12555 SW 4th St, Beaverton, OR 97005,Phone: (503) 646-7107.

OADP annual meeting

Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (OADP) will hold their annual meeting on Thursday, Aug. 24th, in Beaverton. The featured speaker will be former Gov. John Kitzhaber. Governor Kitzhaber, served the State of Oregon for nearly three decades as a member of the legislature and as a three-term governor. He is a hero among death penalty abolitionists as the person who first declared a moratorium on executions in November of 2011. The governor will speak to his earlier fateful experience with the death penalty and proclaim his outspoken passion for abolition now.

The keynote address for the evening will be delivered by Tom O’Connor, PhD, and CEO of Transforming Corrections, international criminal justice consultant, and former executive with the Oregon Department of Corrections. His keynote will address how to change the criminal justice system and enable people to lift themselves out of crime.

Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty is focused on education of voters and legislators on how repeal of the death penalty will be a superior public policy.

The event will begin with a 6:00 p.m. reception with Gov. Kitzhaber, keynote speaker Tom O’Connor and invited area legislators. Tickets for the reception can be purchased in advance by calling (503) 990-7060, or at the door for $25.

The speaking event, starting at 7:00 p.m. is free, and a free will offering will be taken, supporting the work of OADP. The Annual Meeting will take place at the Bethel Congregational UCC at 5150 SW Watson Ave, in Beaverton. For more information go to www.oadp.org.

AROUND THE GLOBE

Interpreter to cease publication at year's end

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) — United Methodist Communications announced that Interpreter magazine, the official program journal of The United Methodist Church, will cease publication after the November/December 2017 issue. The action comes in response to research regarding readers’ changing needs. Read the press release.

Assisting those fleeing siege in Philippines

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines (UMNS) — United Methodists are helping some of the thousands displaced by the battle between government forces and Islamic State militants in Marawi City on the island of Mindanao over the past six weeks. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story.

Bishops move 2018 meeting from Philippines

WASHINGTON — For security reasons, the United Methodist Council of Bishops has decided not to hold its 2018 May meeting in the Philippines, where a militant rebellion continues on the island of Mindanao. The change in venue from Manila was recommended by the Philippines Central Conference College of Bishops. The meeting will take place in the Chicago area instead. Read the press release.

Support for right to boycott, divest

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Over the last 13 months, including this past May and June, a number of U.S. United Methodist annual conferences have approved resolutions defending the right to boycott and divest, says United Methodists for Kairos Response. The unofficial United Methodist advocacy group’s work includes support for divestment and boycotts focused on ending the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. Read more on the Kiairos Response website.

Yellowstone Conference facing financial crisis

BILLINGS, Mont. (UMNS) — Yellowstone’s financial problems are similar to those facing the rest of the church and having a “gay bishop is only one of many factors,” officials said. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story.

Way Forward gets input on LGBTQ inclusion

CHICAGO (UMNS) — The Commission on a Way Forward, meeting yesterday through July 21, asked various United Methodists to describe their preferences regarding the extent of the inclusion of LGBTQ people within the church. The feedback indicates the large task ahead. Read the rest of this United Methodist News Service story and get updates about the commission on their Facebook page.

RESOURCES AND OPPORTUNITIES

Webinar on dying

A Good Death:
What Church Leaders Need to Know About Death Preparation
The term “good death” seems like an oxymoron on the surface. Most people do not associate death with anything good. Instead, a less morbid term could be a faithful death. This webinar begins by looking at what a faithful death looks like. It will focus on techniques to assist older adult ministry leaders to help those they serve by imagining their own deaths and overcoming fears of the unknown.

One concentration of the session will be on how to assist leaders in raising the larger existential questions about death when even leaders are uncomfortable with the subject matter. Finally, it will cover and educate leaders about how to evaluate and adapt death preparation resources for their own setting.

This event is offered by Discipleship Ministries on Friday, August 4 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Learn more and register on the Discipleship Ministries website.

Simply The Story workshop comes to Oregon

Rev. Brain Shimer invites anyone interested to attend the Simply The Story workshop being hosted at Westside United Methodist Church October 3-8 or 6-8. Simply The Story is an internationally recognized approach to sharing scripture as story and leading a discussion based upon the passage shared. There are over 300 Oral Bible Schools where students come for 2-week periods of time to learn 12 stories, then go off to share them. In a two-year cycle they learn 296 Bible stories from Genesis to Revelation. Churches are being planted using this method.
Learn more on the Share The Story website. Register online and get details from the Westside United Methodist Church website.

COMMENTARY

‘Is There a Problem?’ That Scary Brown Man and White Privilege
By Gyasi Ross

… I couldn't do anything or I would have been thrown off the plane or provoked into physical conflict - in the same way cops provoke men of color by staring us down and asking if we have a problem and other rhetorical questions intended only to provoke. …

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