“Think Big.”

Dear Kindred in Christ,
 
I’ve been thinking a lot about dreaming lately. Not because I am particularly good at dreaming, but because it seems to me that somehow as the People called Methodists in the 21^st century, at a time when our broken and devastated world longs for dreaming, we have set our sights too low.  As I travel from church to church, often the conversation centers around what we can do to maintain what we have. With our sights set on diminishing resources, aging congregations and decreasing pastoral support, we wonder how we will keep doing what we have always done. We have become what the early church father, Pope Gregory the Great in the 6^th century, called crookbacked. Pope Gregory writes, “The crookbacked is one who is weighed down by the burden of earthly cares, so that he never looks up to the things that are above…”
 

What would it take for us to look up and set our sights on the vast horizon that is God’s hope for the world? Over 20 years ago now, I was serving as a missionary in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I had taken a year off from my Masters of Theology degree at Duke Divinity School in North Carolina, and I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I was in graduate school, but I had no clear path or future. One night, I couldn’t sleep. I kept hearing in my mind a voice telling me to return to Duke, to change my degree program (from the MTS to the M.Div. for ministry), to become Methodist (I grew up UCC), and to become a Methodist minister. The strange and eerily specific vision possessed me all night. It was definitely not a dream. I was wide awake! For the rest of the night, I tossed and turned in fitful half-sleep, and when I awoke in the morning, I dismissed the vision as “crazy!” Imagine, me a Methodist minister! Yet, here I am 20 years later a District Superintendent for the United Methodist Church.

In the end, I couldn’t shake God’s dream for my life. I walked toward it with its many obstacles and twists and turns, and it prompts me now to wonder, what late night visions have you had lately for your life? What God visions and dreams is God instigating in you and in your church? How can we walk toward those dreams unafraid? Don’t get me wrong. There are a lot of practical obstacles that stand in our way, limited resources, disconnection in the larger system and in our communities, demoralized spirits, but the biggest obstacle is our diminished capacity to dream. “Dream Dreams” is our collective theme for the 2017 Charge Conference season. In our worship together, we will hear the Apostle Peter stand at Pentecost and interpret the “crazy” Spirit wind as God’s intentions to inaugurate a new era, a time where all humanity (men and women, old and young, slave and free) will see visions and dream dreams empowered by the Spirit. Will we claim this Pentecostal present moment? Will we answer the world’s pain with God-sized dreams? I leave you with this quote from the 19^th century architect, Daniel Burnham,“Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir humanity’s blood and probably themselves will not be realized…Make big plans; aim high in hope and work. Remember that our sons and daughters are going to do things that will stagger us.” May it be so.

Grace and peace,
Erin

I am the Church, You are the Church, We are the Church Together*
 
When the song, “We are the Church”, first came out in 1972*, I was living in a small town in rural South Dakota. Over the years and in new congregations, this song continued to connect me to something bigger than myself – “the church” in the next town or across the world: reaching out, loving others, being witnesses to Christ. In many ways, it felt then, as it does now, that wherever the church is, I am there too in spirit.  I am – connected….
 
Connection…”a relationship in which a person, thing, or idea is linked or associated with something else”…  that’s not just me, but it is you and all the churches and ministries across the Columbia District, The Oregon/Idaho Conference, the Greater Northwest area, etc. etc. etc. Like an ever widening ripple of water spreading out and touching lives.
 
In the next several weeks, congregations in the Columbia District will have opportunities to gather together for Cluster Charge Conferences to celebrate the community of faith in our area. This year will be my third series of meetings as District Lay Leader. It is my plan to once again be at every Charge Conference to share fellowship, worship, and stories of the different congregations who meet together. Though the schedule is hectic, the experiences are spirit-filled. There I can experience the ripples of water each person and congregation make as they are Christ to their world.
 
I look forward to seeing you at your charge conference for together, we ARE the church.

Emergency Response Team Training

The Oregon-Idaho Conference’s Disaster Response Team will be offering a training for Early Response Team members on Saturday, October 21, 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Portland’s First United Methodist Church.
 
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, United Methodist’s are looking for ways to respond and support those in need. Joining an Early Response Teams (ERT) is one of the ways to help. By being part of a trained team that works through a coordinated network of faith-based and government responders, ERTs are a key part of the stabilization necessary to help people begin the process of rebuilding their homes and lives.

ERT training gives you the skills, understanding, and certification to work on a short-term team to reach out. Because both the interest and the need are high, the usual $25 fee for this training is being waived. Come for free to learn more about what ERT teams do and how you can respond. 
Register online now, download a brochure to share with your church, or contact Becky if you have questions about ERT training.  If you would like to host ERT training at your church, contact Becky Platt

Stranger in a Strange Land –Even at Home
Learning and Using Social Justice Skills

The MFSA fall event will give us a theological grounding for why we do the work we do in social justice; take us beyond feeling like we are the only one and connect us with others who are doing the same kinds of work; and teach us the most helpful ways to have conversations with others, including our legislators.
 
This one-day event will take place at Bend United Methodist Church on October 21 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Cost is $20 for the event, which includes lunch. Register now by e-mailing your contact information to Louise Kienzle at Kienzle.louise@gmail.com. You can pay your $20 at the door on October 21. Registration is due by October 16.
 
Our presenters come from a variety of places and backgrounds and will offer us ideas as well as time to share the work we are currently doing or would like to be doing.
 
It’s the perfect time of year for a drive to central Oregon and an opportunity to meet with other social justice advocates. There will also be possibilities to spend the weekend in the area with housing at Suttle Lake UM Camp or a Bend homestay. More information about housing possibilities can be found on our website: OIMFSA.org.

UMCOR Relief Supplies

There is still time to collect relief supplies and have them transported. Relief supplies for the UMCOR West Depot will be picked up the middle of October. Our transportation person will be traveling through Oregon and Idaho to pick up cleaning buckets, hygiene kits and any other relief supplies from the collection point churches. The contents of these kits are listed on the UMCOR Website under "Relief supplies".

UMCOR relief supplies will be picked up the week of October 22 at the collection point churches which are: Tabor Heights UMC in SE Portland and Lake Oswego UMC.
 
Office hours for these churches are: 

• Tabor Heights UMC
  Monday - Thursday 9 AM-2 PM
• Lake Oswego UMC
  Monday - Thursday 9 AM-3 PM

Please call Donna Waltman at 503-622-3226 if you have any questions or if these times are not convenient.

Tumbleweed Colloquy

October 25, 2017 10 AM - 4 PM

The Tumbleweek Colloquy will be meeting at Hermiston First UMC.

This gathering is open to any pastor, lay leader or person in church leadership. Retirees, district superintendents and Lutherans are welcome too! If your heart is in rural ministry we welcome you!

Thanks to a grant provided by the Columbia Dist. Extension Society we are able to provide lunch at no cost. If the cost of gas would prohibit someone from making the trip, there are funds available to help defray that cost.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Patty Nance at 541.561.3314. 
 
FLYER 

Called to Love Saturday October 28, 2017 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Gresham First UMC (includes lunch) You and your church can help save lives! Come and find out how your warm welcome and acceptance can make all the difference to gender-nonconforming young people, adults and their families. This practical workshop is being offered by our annual conference to help us focus our ministries with those who all too often experience rejection. “Called to Love!” will help you and your church be better informed and resource you to be more hospitable. Are you wanting to learn more about gender to help your church be more welcoming? Are you feeling called to open your heart and draw the circle just a bit wider? Do you want to help provide a healthier and safer environment in your ministry setting? Then this workshop is for you!!  Register now and bring your pastor and other church leaders. Leaders for this event will be Revs. Jim and Bonnie Parr Philipson, retired Oregon-Idaho clergy. FLYER AND MORE DETAILS

New UMC Handbook Available

The new United Methodist Church Handbook for this quadrennium is available, providing a detailed overview of the denomination’s beliefs, mission, structure and history. The handbook is a free, go-to resource for anyone in search of information about The United Methodist Church and is helpful for leaders and new members.

ORDER YOUR FREE COPY

Franciscan Spiritual Center

Find your balance at the Franciscan Spiritual Center.
The Center offers an ecumenical space to renew one's spirit, see with new eyes, learn, connect, find peace, quiet and rest.

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