The missional efforts of Family Promise of Metro East, supported by the Portland Congregation and the international work of the North American Climate Justice Team have been awarded Bold Moves Grants in the Fall Cycle of 2022. The recipients began their work in 2020 and 2019 respectively with the help of seed money provided by their original grants. The grants just awarded are both renewal ones, allowed under Bold Moves Guidelines, that encourage them to continue the outstanding missional work each group is providing.
Family Promise of Metro East (FPME) is dedicated to helping families experiencing homelessness in NE and SE Portland achieve sustainable independence through a community-based response. They are a new affiliate of Family Promise, a national organization working to serve the needs of children and their families experiencing homelessness. Over the last three years, Portland Community of Christ has been an integral partner in the formation of Family Promise of Metro East. Today, the Portland congregation hosts the FPME Day Center and organizational headquarters.
Through its extremely informative webinar series, the North American Climate Justice Team has brought together experts in various areas of climate justice with members and friends of Community of Christ around the world. Their focus is to raise awareness of the climate crisis we face, while still maintaining an attitude of hope. The team continues to seek to increase knowledge and understanding of:
Why and how climate is being disrupted.
Actions that will help mitigate increase in carbon emissions
The effect on various populations and the unjust impact on marginalized communities
Spiritual disciplines and strategies for dealing with fear, despair and hopelessness
Personal changes in lifestyle required and a call for advocacy/activism.
Its hope is to empower participants to make a difference and challenge them to envision God’s future and take steps to bring about a New Creation.
On behalf of the GPNW Mission Center, the Bold Moves Grants Committee is pleased to award the grants and wish both recipients continued success.
“…I’m so sorry to learn of the Colorado Springs shooting. There are just no words anymore…”
This was the text I received on Sunday Morning from our Mission Center President Kim Naten. You see, I was at the Beyond Horizons Retreat at Lewis River Campground where cell reception is spotty. So, I had not yet heard the news about the mass shooting at Club Q, a queer nightclub, in Colorado Springs. This was another targeted attack on the LGBTQIA+ community and furthermore, it took place on the weekend preceding Transgender Day of Remembrance (November 20). On this day, we “honor the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.” (https://www.glaad.org/tdor) This attack happened in what should have been a safe space for the community.
Let’s back up for a moment though. This past weekend, 18 of us gathered for our inaugural Beyond Horizons Retreat. This retreat had been delayed three times already due to COVID-19. While present together at the retreat we lived the theme of “Chosen Family: A Place at the Table” through storytelling, laughter, and moments of blessing. We decorated pride cookies and shared in a Friendsgiving meal together. Then just before our closing Communion Service, I received the news about the mass shooting.
Beyond Horizons 2022 Retreat Group Photo
The Beyond Horizons Retreat was a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community as well as the allies who journey alongside us. It was an example of what our sanctuaries should be, both the physical sanctuaries in our congregation buildings as well as the sanctuary that is created through mutual respecting relationships. Those who attended were free to be themselves and express that in the way that was natural and authentic for them. What a gift that was and could continue to be.
In times like this, I am reminded of the need for our congregations and new expressions of community to continue the work towards being open and affirming welcoming communities. It is not enough to just be “nice and kind” people anymore. We must continue the work to look within and confront our biases and allow the Holy Spirit to shape us as we live into new ways of going beyond the horizon to which we are sent. And while this work is important for us to do for all marginalized communities, the LGBTQIA+ community has been specifically targeted by those claiming to represent Christ.
Currently, Salem and Crystal Springs Congregations are the only congregations who have done the work with Harmony to become an official Welcoming & Affirming Congregation in our mission center. Harmony is the non-profit organization that, “provides advocacy, education, and resources for Queer voices in Community of Christ with a shared vision of full participation.” To learn more about their “Welcoming & Affirming Congregation” program, click here: https://www.harmony.lgbt/waprogram.html. I encourage your community to consider participating in this program.
There have been many times over the past few days that I have found myself in tears. Knowing that you are part of a community targeted by others, is an exhausting place to be in. Knowing that some want you dead just because of who you are, is an exhausting place to be in. And, if I’m being honest, being a full-time minister in a religion that is expressed in ways that fuels murderers to commit their heinous acts, is an exhausting place to be in.
I am grateful to have been raised in, serve in, and be a member of, a denomination that I believe does not express Christianity in that way, but this doesn’t mean that we don’t still have a lot of work to do. I invite… no, I plead… to our members, friends, congregations, and new expressions of community to explore ways that ensure that our communities are safe spaces for all marginalized communities. And to not only provide safe space but to also actively participate in helping transform our schools, places of employment, and neighborhoods into being more welcoming and inclusive as well. Some of our lives depend on it. The lives of people you love depend on it. Maybe even more so than you realize. If you need a face to put to this reality, use mine.
We cannot continue to sing “For everyone born, a place at the table.” or “may our hearts and minds be opened, fling the church doors open wide. May there be room enough for everyone inside. For in God there is a welcome, in God we all belong. May that welcome be our song.” unless we are willing to do the work to make these hymns a reality in our Community of Christ spaces. We have come far. Let’s continue going the distance.
A note from Sean: I know that reading the word “queer” in a positive way might be new for some as it is a term that historically has been used to oppress those in the LGBTQIA+ community. Even I have struggled with claiming this term for myself. To do so, is new for me. I think this note from Harmony might be helpful: “The term Queer is being reclaimed by some who identify as LGBTQ+ and is used as an umbrella term for the LGBTQ+ community. We use the phrase “Queer voices” to describe all persons, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI), who have the courage to use their voice to speak for justice for the marginalized in the Queer community.”
Statement from Harmony released November 21, 2022. Click Here.
Following Saturday’s deadly shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs that left at least five dead and 25 injured, the members of Harmony’s Board of Directors offer their deepest condolences to the families, chosen families, and friends of all those who were targeted. In the wake of yet another deadly attack on innocent, precious members of the Queer/2SLGBTQIA+ Community, we find comfort in the teachings of Jesus Christ who modelled and taught the importance of justice, peace, and healing as a call to action – not through “thoughts and prayers” alone.
The hymn When the Darkness Overwhelms Us (CCS #314) reminds us of this calling in each verse. A particularly compelling and timely line is verse 3: When in weary isolation We’ve lost our courage to care, When our captive spirits perish In the bondage of despair, Free our arms for action Reaching for another’s hand, Free our feet for marching or move to boldly make a stand.
May the One who calls us to this holy work place their spirit of reassurance upon us to encourage us as their hands and feet to realize our potential as justice seekers, peace makers, and community builders.
Your Harmony Board of Directors
Note: Special thanks to our partners at Beyond the Walls for providing the beautiful music to many of our hymns. You can click the play button below to view/hear the full hymn recorded by the Beyond the Walls Choir.
Mission Center President Kim Naten Opening Worship Address “Courage to Dance” Mission Center Conference 2022: Courage
My comments this morning start with a story. A Love story. Near the beginning of the 3rd grade, a classmate of mine, Regina Hoag, and I began ballet classes together. I have no recollection of how that came about, but her mom was able to take us to class and I think my mom picked us up, but however it came to be, we started ballet classes at the big green ballet school on the corner of 175th and Aurora, The Giglio Theater School of Dance! Mr. and Mrs. Giglio and their daughter ran the school, and Mr. Giglio was everything you’ve ever read or seen in the movies as to what a Ballet Master was. Stern, perfect posture, a walking stick tapping out the counts as we plied, releved, ronde de jombe’d . . . His daughter, Cleo, was the children’s teacher and was a little less frightening, but between them, they conveyed – at least to me – a seriousness and a discipline for dance that somehow stuck. And I fell in love. Ballet and tap dancing became the first things outside my family that I truly loved, that was something I could do and experience that brought a sense of JOY. I’m not sure my mom shared that same sense of joy as she was the one sewing ribbons, straps, and tulle skirts onto the many costumes I wore over the years, but for me – dancing became a magical world of grace, elegance and joy expressed through movement and music. Like many little girls, I dreamed I’d dance right into adulthood and a career as a professional dancer.
Toward the end of my 3rd year of lessons we moved out of the area and thus ended my presumed career path. I don’t think I realized it at the time, but over the years I would recognize that those 3 years of dance lessons instilled in me a love for all types of dance. As a student at Graceland I was thrilled to be able to take tap dancing as my PE credit; and later in life I took Western line dancing and Salsa dancing classes just for fun. And if you know me at ALL, then you surely know my nearly lifelong affection for the Disco dancing! And SOMEDAY I think I’ll learn ballroom dancing. And keep dreaming that one day they’ll do a season of Dancing with the Stars but call it Dancing with Regular Folks and I’ll try out and get a spot, and win the Mirror Ball trophy! I’m guessing this is a part of my life story that few of you knew.
So right about now you may be asking yourself, WHY DID SHE DRESS UP LIKE THAT JUST TO TELL US A STORY? And I may be asking MYSELF, why am I standing here in a none too flattering get-up sharing this story? It’s not to be cute, or entertaining WELL, here’s why: wearing this outfit brings me joy. Just buying it and breaking in these toe shoes, sewing on the ribbons, all of it brought back the joy of dancing.
Our theme this morning is COURAGE TO DANCE: HOW DO WE CLAIM OUR JOY IN COMMUNITY TO EXPRESS OURSELVES FREELY WITHOUT FEAR? I’m sharing this story and dressed up in an outfit that brings me joy because I am not afraid to be my authentic self in this community.
We claim, as members of Community of Christ, to promote communities of Joy, Hope, Love and Peace. The teachings, words and actions of Christ himself affirm this, and we have countless scriptures from both the Bible and the Doctrine and Covenants that guide and direct us to be a loving community where all are welcome, all are of worth, and all are called. We claim unity in our diversity and compassion, forgiveness, justice and mercy; we affirm that there is a place at the table for everyone born! So if that’s the Community we are called to create, and long to live in, shouldn’t this community also be the place where we are free to be our unique, quirky, silly, vulnerable selves? In a world that seems to thrive on judgment, criticism, and ridicule, shouldn’t our faith community be the one place we can be ourselves without fear of that judgment and harshness? Theoretically, our families provide that place for us as well – but not always. Our faith community, what we always called our Church Family, however, is a chosen family, a welcoming, accepting and loving bunch of people who want the best for one another. Or at least in my mind, is what it should be.
And so the fact that I’m standing here in this little outfit that brings me joy and helps tell my story, speaks volumes about THIS community. I can walk in here proudly and uninhibited because YOU, my friends, are my people, my safe space, my sanctuary. You love and accept me, you provide space for me to risk and experiment, and grace for me when I falter. I can be my authentic self with you. And isn’t that what we ALL want to experience in community? And what we’re called to create for others?
To answer the question then, perhaps we claim our joy simply by having the courage to be our authentic selves, believing that our chosen community will accept us and love us without judgment or ridicule. Maybe I’m being naïve or viewing the world through rose-colored glasses, but really – if we all just quit hiding behind masks, saying and doing what we think people want to hear and see, and chose to live joyfully and without fear, what a community we could create, huh? And when WE claim our joy, we are giving others permission and courage to claim theirs, and it goes on and on.
Being in Christ-like community with one another SHOULD be a joyful experience! So joyful that we want to dance and sing and laugh and know that everyone in our community is free to do the same. My own experience as teenager confirms my belief in this. Growing up, as a teen, I felt like I was living 2 lives: the Monday thru Friday Jr. High and High School Kim, and the Zion’s League/”church” Kim. The person I was at school bore little resemblance to the person I was with my church friends at Zion’s League events and camps. I found my safe space and knew that when I was with THOSE friends, I could be myself and not have to fit in with any particular group or act a certain way to be accepted. I was fortunate to learn early in life that my chosen faith community was a safe place for me to learn and grow and make mistakes and be silly and be joyful. My school friends knew that I was very involved in my church youth group and accepted that about me, but we simply didn’t have the same kind of friendship that I had with my church friends. And having those friendships in my youth shaped me and formed me. I don’t just mean my peers, I have to include my friends’ parents, the other adults around, the older kids – the village. The village that raised me and provided me with loving guidance, boundaries, compassion, forgiveness, and the freedom to express myself freely and joyfully, without fear. That is the kind of community I hope we are striving to create, for one another, for our kids and youth, for the strangers and the seekers searching for a spiritual home.
Our scripture text for this morning comes from Doctrine & Covenants 161:1, and inspired me to have the courage to stand here like this today. I hope that it brings encouragement and hope to you as well.
A. Lift up your eyes and fix them on the place beyond the horizon to which you are sent. Journey in trust, assured that the great and marvelous work is for this time and for all time.
B. Claim your unique and sacred place within the circle of those who call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Be faithful to the spirit of the Restoration, mindful that it is a spirit of adventure, openness, and searching. Walk proudly and with a quickened step. Be a joyful people. Laugh and play and sing, embodying the hope and freedom of the gospel.
This morning, I’ll invite you to sit comfortably with your feet on the floor, and preferably with support against your back. Close your eyes. In your mind, imagine yourself in a large circle. If there were a target on the floor, you’d be standing in the middle, with rings extending away from you.
People in your life begin to walk onto the rings around you. As the rings fill with familiar faces, your body feels lighter. You close your eyes and slowly drift backwards, where the first ring of people catch you.
The first ring is made up of your closest loved ones. Your spouse, best friends, parents, siblings, cousins – who are these special people you can lean on? As your weightless body leans back on this first ring of beloveds, how does it feel to trust them? How does it feel to step backwards into this first ring of support?
(Pause for reflection)
You continue to step back and reach the next ring of people. As you lean back, supported by their hands, you look to see the faces of friends, extended family, and close co-workers – people who you feel comfortable with, who you can relax with. How does it feel to relax while others support you?
(Pause for reflection)
Step backwards again until you reach the third ring of support. Here you find your church family. You feel their hands supporting your back as you rely on their help to hold you up. How does it feel to rely on your church family?
(Pause for reflection)
As you feel your body begin to feel real again, you’re able to stand without help. You open your eyes to look at how far from the center you traveled with the support of others. Look into the eyes of those who held you up. Can you feel gratitude for their support, or are there other thoughts or feelings distracting you?
(Pause for reflection)
If you turn around, you can see that there are still more rings of people. Perhaps in the further rings you can see your cluster support staff.
Take a deep breath. As you feel ready, you can come back to this room and open your eyes. I hope that you saw faces of people that you can trust and rely on in moments when you need to step back.
How had you moved through your life as a disciple? This weekend’s theme is courage, but they all have different actions paired with courage, because the courage of a disciple inspires us to move. So as we pause this afternoon, I’ll invite you to reflect on your life as a disciple of Christ, and the rhythm this has created within you.
At some point, you had the courage to Step Forward. Your heart was open, your thoughts connected with ideas and a holy inspiration that moved your body into action. You stepped forward. Can you think of a time you stepped forward in your life as a disciple? You stepped forward into the waters of baptism. You stepped forward into the loving embrace of your community. You stepped forward to offer your hand when someone needed support. You stepped forward to share God’s love with another. Take a moment to think of those times when you courageously stepped forward.
(Pause for reflection)
When have you had the courage to Stand? We stand with our community; with those we care about. We stand in prayer. We stand and sing. We stand in line at potluck. Standing is its own precious action when a disciple stands courageously. You stand to offer support. You stand to volunteer. You stand to make the space around you safe for others. When have you courageously stood as a disciple?
(Pause for reflection)
In the joy of being truly yourself, loved and accepted in your community, how do you express yourself freely, without fear or constraint? Are you comfortable being vulnerably yourself? Can you grab onto your authentic feelings in the moment, and express them without inhibition? In your discipleship, what does it mean to have the courage to Dance? It means you dance! You raise your hands in joy. You open your arms in love. You stomp your feet to the rhythm of life around you. You claim your space. You shout to the world, “This is me! This is what matters to me! You are what matters to me!” When have you courageously danced in joy?
(Pause for reflection)
There is a time to step forward and time to Step Back. You step back to rest. You step back to learn. You step back to make room for others. Stepping back is not failure. Stepping back does not deserve judgment. God calls you to step back sometimes. Step back to catch your breath; to discern; to check the map to make sure you’re still headed where you were planning to go. When have you as a disciple been called to step back?
(Pause for reflection)
And now we week the courage to Kneel. We have gathered as representatives of the greater body of Christ as it lives and moves in the Pacific Northwest. To serve that body, we kneel. On the first Sunday of the month, as we enter that sacred space of sacrament, we kneel. In prayer, we kneel. In love, we kneel. To listen to children, we kneel. Reflect on your life as a disciple and consider times when you have responded to God by kneeling.
(Pause for reflection)
Creator of wind and gravity and force and friction and bodies, Move us! Call our bodies into action. Fill our hearts with the courage to move to the rhythm of discipleship. Fill our ears with the sounds of your creation around us. Bless us with the awareness of your Spirit’s dance in our community, that we can join. Amen.
Written by Carol West, Cowlitz Valley Pastor Team Member
Father, We quiet our minds in this moment to let go of concerns, worries, stresses, pains and agendas.
We seek Your wisdom and courage to see what you have laid before us as congregations, as Community of Christ, but also as disciples.
As we begin to see this path more clearly, we continue to seek Your wisdom and courage to change what needs to be changed.
Lord, we gather in Your name as disciples, grateful for Your abundant love and tender nudges. Yet in our humanness, sometimes You feel so distant, and the path is often tumultuous.
Forgive us when our eyes are closed to You; for in the messy details of life, Your outstretched hand is sometimes missed.
Remind us of Your unconditional love that awaits and that nothing can separate us from Your love.
Help us accept that Your love and power can flow through us when we increase our awareness of Your presence in our lives.
As we begin to open our souls to Your presence, help us be conduits of Your love and peace as we use our God-given gifts and talents to the fullness of Your intent.
When we feel Your gentle nudges on our daily journey, may we lovingly represent Your welcoming community where there is a place at Your table for everyone.
Work in us, Lord, that we can truly love You and others. May the footsteps ahead be pleasing to You. Amen.
Recently we experienced the Autumn Equinox. Because the earth is tilted on its axis compared to its rotation of the sun, the Autumn Equinox is one of only two days of the year when the earth is not tilted, but facing straight to the sun. On that day, the sun shines directly on the equator, and the northern and southern hemisphere equally experience the sun.
But after that day of facing the sun equally, we continue our seasonal shift. In the northern hemisphere, we are currently tilting further away from the sun, our source of light. Our days get shorter, nights longer. The temperatures will start cooling. But we know that again we will shift, and again we will return to face the sun in Springtime.
Do you notice patterns in your spiritual journey where you turn to face God in the Spring, and then pull away from God in Autumn?
Are there times when you feel balanced, when you are having an Equinox day, and your relationship with God is ‘just right’?
Entering an Autumn experience isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It could be that the Springtime spent with God uses a lot of energy, and the Autumn is a time of rest. Or the Springtime is about outward mission, and the Autumn is a time of inward contemplation.
How could you use this Autumn time to prepare for later, when we once again tilt toward God in Spring?
God, we thank you for times of abundance and times of rest, of the movement and cycles of life. Amen.
As Community of Christ summer camps wind down for the year, let’s all take a moment to reminisce about sharing laughs with family and friends, singing songs at the campfire, delicious meals in the dining hall, and enjoying the nature of our beautiful campground. If you stayed in a rustic cabin, you may also remember the sore back from an uncomfortable mattress, or the stuffy and dark cabin with it’s tiny windows that never open when you want a breeze, but refuse to close when it gets too chilly. Ah, the joys of camp!
While of course we have a soft spot for the original rustic cabins that we all know and love, the camp is in the process of refurbishing and updating those beloved cabins. Updates include: new (and more effective!) insulation, bigger windows, new doors, added electrical outlets with USB ports, and super comfortable double beds (no more smacking your head on a bunk bed in the morning!). The refurbished cabins are brighter and more comfortable, as well as more energy efficient and environmentally sustainable, all of which contributes to the longevity of our beloved campground.
While those of us who grew up attending camps at Samish may have a nostalgic fondness for the rustic cabins, those who attend the campground and retreat centre for the first time as an adult may not understand the appeal. This includes newcomers to Community of Christ camps (or aging C of C campers who don’t have the same tolerance for those rock hard bunks!), as well as many of the new groups that share our gorgeous campground. Did you know there are Buddhist retreats and artist groups that frequent Samish? I can understand why these groups would love our campground, and can also imagine that these groups would appreciate a more comfortable, modern, and accommodating private place to continue the zen and creativity.
Some rustic cabins have already been refurbished (check out A, B, C, and D 1 or 2 next time you’re on the grounds!) and the next round of refurbishment is set to begin in October. We are lucky and grateful to have had all of the labor done by camp friends who have lovingly volunteered their time, as well as some who have donated or reduced the price of materials. Only $3,600 (USD) covers the cost of a cabin refurbishment, which buys increased comfort, energy efficiency, and appeal to a wider audience. Consider making a donation, either personally or with your family or congregation, to help update our rustic cabins so everyone can continue to enjoy the campground for years to come. Every dollar helps!
If you would like to contribute to the rustic cabin refurbishment fund, please contact Jeff Cravy (Samish Island Camp Treasurer, siriusandpenny2@gmail.com) or Bill Campbell, (Samish Island Camp Board President, kayzeta@gmail.com) to arrange donations.
It’s Friday morning . . . and while the calendar says “late Spring” the sky reflects anything but that. It is gray, chilly, momentarily dry, and an accurate reflection of my mood. This has been a tough week. Or rather, a tough several weeks. Buffalo, Laguna Woods, now Uvalde. On top of ongoing concern, sadness and rage over the war in Ukraine, the continued erosion of human rights, and on and on . . .
Often, I turn to our musical scriptures for comfort, for the words to express all those emotions bubbling to the surface. This week was no exception, and I found many that seemed to accurately reflect my grief, my anxiety, my plea for God to hear our voices, to DO something, to heal us. When I opened my daily Sojourners Verse & Voice email, however, I found the words that felt right. It spoke the words which I’d been trying to formulate without rage and anger, but with a reminder to myself, to those of us in Community of Christ, of who we are called to be. Because honestly, most of the words and feelings I’ve had this week have been, let’s say, less than “Christlike.”
As I read and reread these lyrics, my heart started to lift . . . just a wee bit. I hope it lifts yours as well. As per the annotation at the end, feel free to use this in your worship gatherings. Perhaps it will bring a glimmer of hope to you and others during these dark days as we struggle to understand a broken world, and our call to aid in its healing.
A HYMN FOR PEOPLE CALLED TO DO MORE THAN SING AND PRAY
God, our nation feels the loss as our children pay the cost for the violence we accept, for the silence we have kept. Rachel weeps for children gone; God of love, this can’t go on!
Jesus, Lord, we hear you say, “Don’t turn little ones away!” May we build a kinder land where our children understand: Every child here matters more than the guns we clamor for.
Holy Spirit, wind and flame, send us out in Jesus’ name. May we shout and say, “Enough!” May we build a world of love — till the sounds of weapons cease, till our young can grow in peace.
Author’s Note: See the reference to the Slaughter of the Innocents: “A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more” (Matthew 2:18). This hymn was written in remembrance of the beloved children of God who died in the school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Many of us, as individuals, do not accept violence, keep silence, or clamor for guns. Yet, as a nation, we do these things, and as a nation, we need to repent; we need to turn around and live a different way. All of us are called to do more than sing and pray; please work for gun safety laws in your community and state.
