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Columbia crossroads February 2015

...written for and about the Columbia District of the Oregon-Idaho An-nual Conference of the United Methodist Church—from west to east , from Portland to the smaller cities and towns in the Columbia Gorge,

and the eastern edges of our beautiful state of Oregon.

Bishop: Grant Hagiya bishop@umoi.org

District Superintendent: Rev. Dr. Lowell Greathouse Lowell@umoi.org Administrative Assistant: Sandy Lofy columbia@umoi.org

1505 SW 18th Avenue, Portland, OR 97201-2524 Phone: 503-249-1851

Fax: 503-226-4158

You are all invited to the upcoming training, “Signs of Life: Re-imagining the Church in the Pacific NW”, which will be held on Saturday, February 21 at Portland First UMC from 9AM to 4PM. The Columbia District is joining with the Vancouver District to offer a dynamic opportunity to gather with other church members to "re-imagine the church in the Pacific Northwest".

Come hear the keynote speaker, Rev. Duane Anders, senior pastor of the Cathedral of the Rockies (Boise First). He says, "Together we are better. Our best days are ahead. The church is growing." See page 3 for more details. Watch video invitation by Rev. Duane Anders Click here for details of workshops and conversation zones Click here to register Please join me in welcoming the Rev. Erin Martin as the new Columbia District Superintendent beginning July 1st.. As many of you already know, Bishop Hagiya has announced his plans to ap-point Rev. Erin Martin as the Columbia District Superintendent be-ginning July 1st. For those of you who know Rev. Martin, you are already aware of the wealth of gifts and graces that she brings with her to the DS role. For those of you who have not yet met Erin, you will soon learn that the Columbia District will be richly blessed by her presence among you. She has a clear vision for what the church can be, as well as having strong pastoral leadership skills.

THOUGHTS FOR THE JOURNEY

Lowell Greathouse, District Superintendent, Columbia District

TABLE OF CONTENTS

District Calendar……..……….pg 2 Signs of Life…………..……..... pg 3 District Highlights………....…pg 4 Conference Blogs...............pg 5 Imagine No Malaria…...…...pg 6 Mission News……………...….pg 7 L.A.S.T……………………………..pg 8 Youth Events………..….........pg 9 Things of Interest……..pg 10-12 Book Corner………………....pg 13 Classifieds………………........pg 13 Resources………………........pg 14

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Erin has been the pastor at Wesley UMC in Eugene since 2009. In addition, she has a Masters of Theological Studies from Duke Divinity School and a Masters of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. She was commissioned in the Texas Annual Conference in 2002 and was ordained a Full Elder in the North Carolina Annual Conference in 2005, before coming to join us in Oregon-Idaho. She has participated in short –term mission work in El Salvador, Mexico, and Peru and done long-term mission work in Bolivia. Her husband, Charlie Collier, is an Acquisitions Editor in theology and ethics at Wipf and Stock Publishers in Eugene. Erin and Charlie have four children. In addition, the bishop announced in December that Steve Ross will be taking on the role of superintending the churches in the Gorge area. While these congregations will all remain a part of the Columbia District, this move will allow Steve to focus his attention and talents on the challenges and opportunities that are a part of this region. Many of you already know Steve well, so you are aware of the many gifts he brings to this work. Please join me in welcoming Erin to this new role! I know that you will be richly blessed by her serving as your District Superintendent. Warmly, Lowell P.S. I’m looking forward to our remaining five months of work together….and to the new opportunities that will be a part of my new role as Conference Coordinator for Mission and Ministry. See you in the district!

February 2015 11 Columbia District Church Extension Society Annual Meeting-St. Helen’s First UMC 11 Oregon Interfaith Advocacy Day 13-16 SHEBANG 2015-Tigard UMC 21 Signs of Life-Reimaging Church with Columbia and Vancouver Districts-FUMC 23 Holy Land Study Trip-February 23-March 5 March 2015 5-12 World Pilgrimage Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, New Mexico

May 2015 13 All Clergy District Colloquy-Gresham First UMC

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DISTRICT TRAININGS

Signs of Life: Reimagining the church in the Pacific Northwest

Joint District Event: Vancouver and Columbia Saturday, February 21 9 AM to 4 PM

LOCATION: First United Methodist Church 1838 SW Jefferson Portland, Oregon COST: $15/person (includes lunch and registration materials) Keynote: Rev. Duane Anders (watch video invitation) Senior Pastor, Cathedral of the Rockies (FUMC Boise, ID) "Together we are better. Our best days are ahead. The church is growing. No, I am not drinking when I write this--This is the United Methodist Church that I am a part of and believe in. This weekend we will dream, laugh, worship and envision our next steps as we become the church." Workshops and Conversations (download descriptions) Intentional Conversations on vitality and perseverance: Getting off our Assets, Nonviolent conversations, spectating a young adult conversation, crossing denomina-tional lines, engaging the mission field, leading beyond Sunday, Creating Community Partnerships, Disciple-ship in a Reimagined Church....and MORE. Led by your colleagues and partners in the ministry in Oregon and Washington.

REGISTER

Click here for flyer! back to contents

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DISTRICT HIGHLIGHTS

Activities, Announcements, and Reminders

Columbia District Church Extension Society Annual Meeting Wednesday, February 11 The annual meeting of the Columbia District Church Extension Society will be held on Wednesday, Febru-ary 11, 2015 at noon at St. Helens First UMC. We will be celebrating the work of the extension society as well as providing information about the way our services can help you provide meaningful service in your local churches. Registration is from 11:30 am 12:00 pm with the meeting beginning at noon. Lunch to fol-low around 12:45 pm. If you are interested attending please RSVP to Columbia@umoi.org by Monday, February 9. Click here or visit the Columbia District page to learn more about the Church Extension Society. Click here for informational brochure. Art Wave-Saturday, February 7

Art Wave is being sponsored by the new ministry, The Gallery Chapel. Mary Williams has begun this new ministry with Cherry Park UMC. The Gallery Chapel will open at 6:30 pm, Saturday, February 7. There will

be all sort of visual arts, musicians, drummers, videographers, poets and puppeteers, as well as videos of local graffiti art, and videos of artists at work. The exhibit will run until 9 pm. Check out the flyer here. The Gallery Chapel is an unique idea which will be an arts space and church. It will seek to serve artists by being a gallery/performance space as well as a faith community for singers, songwriters, dancers, visual arts, 2D, 3D, poetry slams, “work in pro-gress”….from classical guitarist to bluegrass jams. Click here to find out more about The Gallery Chapel.

What: All clergy Columbia District Colloquy When: Wednesday, May 13 Time: 10 am—2 pm Where: Gresham First UMC

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Follow your favorite blogs…

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Bishop Grant Hagiya

Steve Ross— Church Vitality

Cesie Delve Scheuermann—

Inspiring Generosity

& Stewardship

Eilidh Lowery—

New Church Starts

Dan Moseler

Disaster Preparedness

Coordinator

for Oregon-Idaho

Beth Estock

Sacred Dirt

Mary Foote,

Conference Lay Leader

CONFERENCE BLOGS

Check out what’s going on throughout the Conference!

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Supporting Imagine No Malaria Through Lent For Lent, we have an excellent calendar for sacrificial giving, along with bulletin inserts and much more, available at greaternw.org/inm/lent. I’d like every congregation to focus on Imagine No Malaria during Lent 2015. The work that you're already doing for Imagine No Malaria is paying off. Thanks to you, thousands of fami-lies are protected. Health posts are better equipped to face all sorts of challenges, including Ebola. Read Julia’s blog post about the 2014 World Malaria Report for an update on the battle of malaria.

Julia Frisbie Imagine No Malaria, Greater NW Episcopal Area 503-975-3778 inm@greaternw.org

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Click to Watch: Imagine No Malaria-By the Numbers

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UMVIM News 2015 Primetimers Trips Announced!

Primetimers is a program of the General Board of Global Ministries which offers educational and mis-sion service experience for adults aged +50. Trips offer opportunities to learn about and be a part of the exciting ways that United Methodists are engaged in mission across the United States and around the world. For more information, visit http://www.umcmission.org/Get-Involved/Volunteer-

Opportunities/Types-of-Volunteers/Primetimers. Click on Primetimers-2015-Booklet.pdf

October 4 - 11, 2015 - UMCOR West Depot, Salt Lake City, Utah (Work in the Depot assembling kits, and learn about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) Cost $1,000 + transportation.

July 30 - August 18, 2015— Kenya VIM Team

Louise and Jamie Kienzle would like to lead another team to Kenya, if there is sufficient interest. This trip will begin in Meru, spending a week at the Bio-intensive Farm and then on to Maua for the second week. In Meru, the team will con-tinue work with Bishop Catherine in the Maasai Mission outreach, Matuuru Primary School and St. Peters Primary School. Projects in Maua will be familiar: building an AIDS orphan family home, sponsoring an outreach (bush) clinic and deworming children. Other projects will be decided by the team as funding allows. The trip will end with a safari to the Maasai Mara or Samburu. If you are interested in this trip, contact Louise at your earliest convenience. Kienzle.louise@gmail.com

UMCOR WEST-SALT LAKE CITY The "Kit Kamp" has become a reality thanks to the women of First UMC in Portland. This opportunity is open to all in the Conference to come and stitch, knit, and cut items for layette, birthing, health and school kits. No experience needed. Come and enjoy the fellowship and ocean breezes at Camp Magruder on the weekend of Oct. 16-18. Cost is $133 which includes housing and meals. More information will be available soon. Our conference has at least 6 teams signed up from now to September to go to the West Depot. A team from Magic Val-ley in Idaho recently returned from Salt Lake City. While they were at the Depot, they boxed 2016 health kits, 244 school kits, and made and boxed 196 bedding kits. They also brought almost $1000 to buy items in bulk for the kits. Because they had such a good time, next year they will offer a full week and a half week so there are plenty of options for people to serve. There is no better way to get to know your United Methodist sisters and brothers than to spend "close time" working and praying together. You might even have the opportunity to spend the week with people from other conferences. Glenn and I have worked with teams from Maryland and California. Your team doesn't have to be large. Check around in your area for interested people and form a team. Joseph, Oregon is sending a team in a couple of weeks. This will be their 3rd year. Once they got hooked, they keep re-turning. That's true of Coburg, OR and First UMC in Portland.

Glenn and Donna Waltman, Conference Coordinators for UMCOR dgwaltman@frontier.com back to contents

MISSION NEWS

District UMVIM Coordinator, Sarah Baker and UMCOR-West

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L.A.S.T. 2014 Jesus, Justice and Mercy

Update from Jeff Lowery on his ministry, Learning and Serving Together

2014 was a wonderful summer of ministry at L.A.S.T. (Learning and Serving Together). This mission pro-gram designed to link youth and young adults with service opportunities, helps participants connect their

service to their faith. More than 200 people from 20 different churches traveled to the sites in Portland or Eugene, Oregon for one of the seven week-long summer mission trips. Rev. Jeff Low-ery and his staff hosted church groups from Utah, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. Each day youth were able to do something that made an impact on the lives of others, from making 2,000 lunches a day for a free lunch program in a park in Eugene, to organizing donations at a new food bank, to spending the day playing with at-risk children at a local community center. Each evening the youth discovered how the life and ministry of Jesus calls us to go beyond our com-fort zones and out into our communities. The theme of the sum-mer was “Stand for Something; Jesus, Justice and Mercy” based on a song by L.A.S.T. director Jeff Lowery. The theme and song reminds us that effectively helping those who are less fortunate can be more complicated than simply giving a handout. God calls us all to get to the root causes of poverty and use our power to become advocates.

Those who traveled to the Eugene area site got to participate in a variety of projects sponsored by our host church Ebbert Memorial UMC in Springfield, OR. This included the Wednesday night potluck hosted by the church. Church members prepare a variety of casseroles, salads and desserts and feed over 100 folks from the community. “This is the best meal for the homeless that I have ever participat-ed in,” said one L.A.S.T. participant, “I love the variety of choices people get.” The congregation at Ebbert gives the L.A.S.T. partici-pants a concrete example of a church that has adapted its mission to the needs of the people in its neighborhood. The groups that traveled to the Portland site this year got to con-tinue the partnership between L.A.S.T. and the Bethlehem House of Bread in Tigard. This year L.A.S.T. groups organized a series of food drives to benefit BHOB. Over the course of the summer the food drives netted over 1100 lbs of do-nations for the new food pantry. The hope is that youth groups will organize their own food drives when they return home, benefitting their own local charities. Read more and see details for registering your youth group. back to contents

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YOUTH EVENTS

Sierra Service Projects, SHEBANG 2015

Sierra Service Projects

This school year marks Sierra Service Project’s fifth year offering Weekends of Service for local youth groups. Each weekend starts on Friday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon. Weekend projects range from full group commu-nity service activities to standard repair projects. We may start and finish a project in a weekend, or our teams may be a part of a long-term project. In most cases youth teams are working with local nonprofits and not individual homeowners. This provides learning opportunities for youth to learn from the nonprofits about the work they are doing in the community and why it is important.

Portland:

February 20-22, 2015

We hope to enroll between 25 and 45 volunteers total in each session. No group is too small - one youth and one adult make a group! All weekends are combined middle school and high school youth. Youth grades 6th through 12th are welcome to participate. The cost for these programs is only $110 per partic-ipant and includes all meals, lodging for two nights, tools, building materials and a t-shirt. Our commit-ment is that no youth should be excluded from participating due to lack of money, scholarships are avail-able.

More information can be found here: http://sierraserviceproject.org/weekend_of_service.html

SHEBANG 2015!

a Christ-Centered eveNt FoR YouTh GrAdEs 6-12

Registrations are now open for SHEBANG 2015, to be hosted at the Tigard United Methodist Church, February 13-16, 2015. All youth in grades 6-12 are invited to attend. The cost is $45 if you register before January 30th, $60 after.

Join us for an exciting weekend of fun, worship, fun, music, fun, scripture, and more fun! This year's guest speaker is Rev. Jeff Lowery.

For more information or to register, visit www.ShebangOnline.org. back to contents

Vernonia: March 6-8, 2015

March 20-22, 2015

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THINGS OF INTEREST

Four Corners Missions

Four Corners Mission

For more details and to register click here

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Lombard Mennonite Peace Center

Since 1983, Lombard Mennonite Peace Center (LMPC) has provided resources for conflicted churches, in addition to training judicatory leaders and pastors in principles grounded in family systems theory useful for managing self in the midst of anxious churches, while addressing conflict in transforming ways. This year, LMPC will be on the west coast on three occasions, providing training and resources for church leaders. Twice we’ll be leading the Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders: first, in March 16-20, 2015, the MSTI will be held at Hope United Methodist Church, in San Diego, California. Then, we will be at Gethsemane Lutheran Church, Portland, Oregon, October 5-9, 2015. The third visit will be in May 1-2, 2015, at St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Beaverton, Oregon (Portland ar-ea). This occasion will be for a Healthy Congregations workshop, which uses family systems theory for teaching healthy functioning in churches in face of anxiety and negative, reactive forces. Church Discount Coupons are available on our website, www.LMPeaceCenter.org, to facilitate groups from the same con-gregation to attend together. Meditation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders Brochure

Healthy Congregations Brochure back to contents

THINGS OF INTEREST

Oregon Interfaith Advocacy Day

Interfaith Advocacy Day

On Feb. 11, 2015, join several hundred Oregonians of many religious traditions for a day of interfaith worship, dialogue, education, and advocacy on behalf of Oregonians facing hunger, homelessness, or lack of access to affordable health care. More information.

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THINGS OF INTEREST

Young Clergy Retreat

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in

this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right

up to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28.18-20, The Message

A lot of people make assumptions about younger clergy. The only safe one is that we are a difficult group to categorize. As with pretty much any cohort of people, there is diversity in experience, passion, and interest. Some of us love contemporary worship styles, and for others, The Faith We Sing is just a bit too edgy.

But there is one thing that is shared by all younger clergy. We have the opportunity, God-willing, to be in ac-tive ministry for decades – literally. That being the case, there is so much that can be gained from connecting with each other, networking to discover collective strengths, and mobilizing for a promising future together.

You are invited to this second annual retreat opportunity for clergy around 40 years and under at the Alton Collins Retreat Center. We will explore this theme of Mobilizing for the Future, of moving forward intention-ally together, over two days of fellowship, spiritual reflection, and thoughtful conversation. In doing so, we will find that we are accompanied by Christ as we work together, empowered to meet the great commission we’ve received.

Read more and register.

Have you heard of 211? 211info is a valuable resource to

help you find information. It has free information about

3,000 agencies providing over 50,000 programs to the people

throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.

To learn more about 211 click here.

211 info about specialty programs.

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BOOK CORNER

Life Without Limits

Recently, while waiting to catch a plane, I picked up the book Life Without Limits by Nick Vujicic. I have to admit that the cover, as well as the title caught my attention. You see on the cover is a picture of this handsome, smiling young man, who has no arms nor legs. At the top of the book, it says: “inspiration for a ridiculously good life.” Everything about the cover is eye catching from the phrase on the back that

says, “What would your life be like if anything were possible?” to the descrip-tion of how Nick “overcame his disabilities to live an independent, rich, ful-filling, and ‘ridiculously good’ life while serving as a role model for anyone seeking true happiness.” Nick is an internationally successful motivational speaker, who tells his story about never giving up, despite whatever difficulties or seemingly impossible odds stand in the way. And here is some of the sage advice this vibrant, surfing, globetrotting young man has to offer: “Too often we tell ourselves we aren’t smart enough of attractive enough or talented enough to pursue our dreams. We buy into what others say about us, or we put restrictions on our-

selves. What’s worse is that when you consider yourself unworthy, you are putting limits on how God can work

through you!”….”I promise you that for every disability you have, you are blessed with more than enough abilities to overcome your challenges.”…”My life is an ad-venture sill being written—and so is yours. Start writing the first chapter now! Fill it with adventure and love and happiness. Live the story as you write it!” …And finally: “Each of us has some gift—a talent, a skill, a craft, a knack—that gives us pleasure and engages us, and the path to our happiness often lies within that gift.” I’ve learned a lot reading Nick Vujicic’s book. I’ve learned that life has a lot less limits to it than you might at first believe.

Lowell Greathouse District Superintendent

CLASSIFIEDS/JOBS

EMPLOYMENT, FOR RENT, FOR SALE, FREE ITEMS, WANTED

Echo UMC closed in July of 2014. There are about 40 blue, United Methodist

Hymnals to anyone who would like them. Contact Jerry Gaunt at 541-376-8108.

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Church Extension Society—Celebrate the Wonder of Shared Ministry

The Columbia District Church Extension Society has recently created a new Fund for Vital Ministries to encourage creative revitalization efforts in the local church. Here is a link to the criteria and application to consider if your congregation is interested.

STAYING CONNECTED

Please note: Deadline for submissions for the district newsletter fall on the 25th of each month. We welcome your stories and articles about what is happening in your local church—invite others to attend special events and programs! Thank you for allowing us to reach you by e-mail. It is our most efficient means of sharing information with the people of the Columbia District churches—lay people, clergy and leaders in the local church. Your e-mail address will only be used for communications to you from the District office; we will not share it with other organizations. Please send an e-mail message to columbia@umoi.org if you wish to be removed from the mailing list. To prevent e-mail filters from deleting messages from the District office, please add columbia@umoi.org to your address book or contacts list. Information alert: Remember to let the district office know of any changes in your church leadership, includ-ing all contact information every time someone resigns an office or position. We need current e-mail, ad-dress, phone numbers etc. in order that people receive important notices, invitations, and news from the district and the conference as well. Thank you very much! We strive to keep the data base as current as pos-sible, and we depend on you to keep us up-to-date. back to contents

RESOURCES

Columbia Extension Society & Staying Connected

Shared Ministries Summary (Apportionments)

You can look up your church’s apportionment status anytime you want. Simply click to see the Apportionments Paid Sum-mary. Thank you for your commitment to our common mis-