Brian's Blog: Sing

Church worship moved online.  Sports canceled. State of emergency declared.  Panicked shoppers. No toilet paper anyplace. 

What a strange and wild time we are living in.  

The “virus of paranoia” is much more severe than the Coronavirus could ever be.  It is in the air. My brother-in-law asked my sister yesterday morning, “Why am I feeling so anxious?”  Truly, there is nothing to be anxious about. The impact of the Coronavirus itself is relatively small. 

In Wuhan province where the virus started the reported death rate is under 5% (80,000 cases and 3,000 deaths). Many of those died because those who could have used it could not get medical attention. The most endangered are those already compromised by age and lung issues. But even with those issues, many, many recover without incident.  Medical professionals are telling people, if you have a fever and cough, stay home. Basically, “let it work its way through your system.” The advice is not to rush to the doctors unless you are having trouble breathing. Could this tell us something about this thing?   

Has anyone thought of the story, “The Emperor’s New Clothes” recently?  It is a great Hans Christian Anderson story. It is the story of about two weavers who promise an emperor a new suit of clothes that they say is invisible to those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent – while in reality, they make no clothes at all, making everyone believe the clothes are invisible to them. When the emperor parades before his subjects in his new "clothes", no one dares to say that they do not see any suit of clothes on him for fear that they will be seen as stupid. Finally, a child cries out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!" And the ruse is “uncovered!”

The child tells the truth, not fearing that he will be seen as stupid. 

I keep thinking of that story, for this Coronavirus really is not something as vicious as it is being made out to be.  No zombies. No meltdowns – like get it and you dissolve. Certainly, I am in agreement that we need to be mindful of those who could be compromised by it. But the level of panic seems not to fit the virus at all.  I keep wondering, what is really going on with this thing?  

But whatever the answer might be there, the thing is this:  God is bigger than it or any scheme behind it. God has this and God has us. 

I loved the word by a Christian leader named Shawn Bolz who gave a word of prophecy regarding the Coronavirus which speaks to this. A prophetic word refers to someone receiving insight, direction from the Lord directly to give to others. The purpose of prophecy is to encourage, build up, strengthen or correct (1 Corinthians 14:2).   

“The Lord showed me the end of the Coronavirus. The tide is turning now! 

God is on the side of humanity. He is answering the prayers and cries of the nations and is putting an end in sight.  The exaggerated fear-based tactics of both the enemy and several media outlets for political reasons is coming to an end. The enemy has been trying to distract and steal from several equally important purposes and issues by dominating airwaves with conspiracy and fear.” 

“Within a short amount of time, the extreme threat will feel like it is in the past.  God is using prayers from around the world as a highway for healing and to bring about solutions in a mighty way.  Even now several vaccines are coming out as well as a natural dissipation of the virus itself.”  

“The Lord is saying, ‘I am removing the threat of this. This will not be this generation’s story, that they survived the Coronavirus.  This generation has so much potential and the enemy is trying to bring the threat of death and fear. I will bring faith and health so that my full life can come forth in this day.’  Trust God’s heart. Don’t react but be proactive in your love and trust in Jesus. Declare his word over your household.”

Trust God in this time.  Cast your cares upon the One who truly cares for you.  Do not let fear rule, but trust, trust, trust.  

And look for the blessings that are abounding. In our online worship time on Sunday, we shared what we have seen come from this and there was a list of many “God sightings” in the middle of this time.  Time to hang with the kids. Our grandson Theo’s preschool sent a multi-page list “What to do while in quarantine” to all the families.  It is filled with brilliant and joyful ideas from science projects in the kitchen, to making a fort of pillows and blankets!  There is the gift of a slowed schedule caused by the default of many things being canceled. Time. Time supplied for phone calls with friends, to pray, to write, to be.  Time given for coffee, for potty training! Some spoke of a new awareness of those who need to be protected. Another spoke of how they felt perhaps this time will rekindle “care” for others in word and deed.  

In a poem written by an Irish priest, Brother Richard, called “Lockdown” which has gone viral, there is another invitation. I’ve decided to print his poem here.  It is beautiful: 

Yes there is fear.
Yes there is isolation.
Yes there is panic buying.
Yes there is sickness.
Yes there is even death.
But,
They say that in Wuhan after so many years of noise
You can hear the birds again.
They say that after just a few weeks of quiet
The sky is no longer thick with fumes
But blue and grey and clear.
They say that in the streets of Assisi
People are singing to each other
across the empty squares,
keeping their windows open
so that those who are alone
may hear the sounds of family around them.
They say that a hotel in the West of Ireland
Is offering free meals and delivery to the housebound.
Today a young woman I know
is busy spreading fliers with her number
through the neighbourhood
So that the elders may have someone to call on.
Today Churches, Synagogues, Mosques and Temples
are preparing to welcome
and shelter the homeless, the sick, the weary
All over the world people are slowing down and reflecting
All over the world people are looking at their neighbours in a new way
All over the world people are waking up to a new reality
To how big we really are.
To how little control we really have.
To what really matters.
To Love.
So we pray and we remember that
Yes there is fear.
But there does not have to be hate.
Yes there is isolation.
But there does not have to be loneliness.
Yes there is panic buying.
But there does not have to be meanness.
Yes there is sickness.
But there does not have to be disease of the soul
Yes there is even death.
But there can always be a rebirth of love.
Wake to the choices you make as to how to live now.
Today, breathe.
Listen, behind the factory noises of your panic
The birds are singing again
The sky is clearing,
Spring is coming,
And we are always encompassed by Love.
Open the windows of your soul
And though you may not be able
to touch across the empty square,
Sing

Sing. 

Wouldn’t it be cool if out of this time, this unusual season, we rediscovered what it is like to Sabbath, to slow down, to take time for the elderly and compromised around us, to reach out, to show care, to be a people who are kind to one another?  

It can be just that.  Keep trusting. Keep placing your faith in the One who is larger than anything with the name virus. Indeed, may the only virus that is spread from now on be that grand, unstoppable “virus” of love!  And may it spread through you and me. So, sing, friends, sing. 

Help the Youth

HomePlate Youth Services, which assists homeless youth, has made the difficult decision to suspend the drop-in centers for at least four weeks. This includes the Aloha site where we serve dinner on the third Wednesday of each month. Tomorrow night, March 18, was to be our next visit but it has been canceled.

HomePlate is instead expanding their day-space and outreach hours and focusing their services out of their Beaverton office. 

Closing the drop-in sites means less access for youth so they are putting together resource backpacks for the youth to have. If you'd like to help get resources together for these bags, see the list here: RESOURCE BACKPACKS. There is also a link to their Amazon Wishlist at the top of the form.

Please contact Bonnie Becker with any questions.

Services CANCELLED for March 15 & 22

From Bishop Elaine Stanovsky:

I am directing the local churches of any size and other ministries in the states of Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington to suspend in-person worship and other gatherings of more than 10 people for the next two weeks, starting today.

The Oregon Health Authority reminds us that “Together, we can minimize the impact of COVID-19 on our most vulnerable community members”. 

(Read the Bishop’s entire letter here.)

From Pastor Brian:

Dear All -- 

We are following the Bishop's request to cancel worship in the sanctuary for the next two Sundays.  And here I just have made great hand sanitizer for us!  For this Sunday plan to either join the Zoom call (below) or check in on it at your own convenience later in the day. It will be recorded. 

Sunday -- join in with Pastor Brian on Zoom at 9 am. And/or join in with Vermont Hills worship on YouTube, Zoom or Facebook at 10:30 am.  

Either way and beyond stay connected with others, call up friends, talk, check in with the most vulnerable.  Be the church.  This is our opportunity.  

Grace and Peace -- Brian

Zoom info:
Topic: Sunday Worship 
Time: Mar 15, 2020 09:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/j/279359615

Sneak Peek for this Sunday

Isaiah 53 -- this poetic picture of the Messiah written and preached by Isaiah more than 800 years before Jesus was born. Remarkable in imagery. Shocking in detail. When we compare these words to the actual historical facts we have about Jesus’ life, death and resurrection we find that it is all here, even to the grave he was put in. It is remarkable how God reveals! And look at how God let Isaiah in on a picture of what was to come so long in advance. Pierced, bruised and beaten, whipped: all words that take us to the crucifixion. Crushed evokes the image of grapes. All we like sheep have gone astray... this is a common image for people, which Jesus evoked time and again.

So often in life, we can feel like life has done to us what we read here happened to the Messiah. We can feel beaten, whipped, bruised by the words and actions of others; we can get pierced by a comment; crushed by circumstances. And as those things happen, we can take it in, take it upon ourselves and not release it.

As we walk as a people through this chapter what my hope is, is simple: I would like us to reacquaint ourselves with Jesus and let him have all of us, all the stuff we’ve carried for so long and let Him carry us as he came to do.

People might say, “Ah, you just go to church because you need a crutch in life. I can do it alone.” But the truth is this, everyone needs to know that the stuff we are carrying has been taken for us, and we each need to allow this One to have our things too. If people could “do it alone,” why are we the most disconnected and lonely of all generations? How is that “going it alone” working for them, really?

We need each other. I need you. You need me and we both need Jesus. That’s the rock-bottom truth.

Come to worship to experience how God had you in mind when he prompted Isaiah to write this message.

Big Thank You!

Many thanks to Stephanie Raether and her “crew”, Tony, Dylan, and mom, for their hard work beautifying the church grounds. What began as a power washing of the patio area grew to include weeding and spreading bark dust. It looks wonderful!

Lunch was provided by Francie and baby Sloane.

THANK YOU to all of them for effort and the joy they spread. 

Next time you’re at church, be sure to notice and thank Stephanie!

Fear Not! COVID 19: Practical Advice

Gerry Edwards shared an email from a friend of his, which was published here.  Dr. James Robb, MD, FCAP was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on the coronaviruses (in the 1970s).  And he was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then he has kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources.  He predicts the virus to be widespread in the US by mid-March or April.  And he lists the precautions he is taking, which are the same as one might take during the influenza season. 

Dr. Robb notes:  “This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land are infectious for about a week on average - everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon. This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs). The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.” We touch our faces about 90 times a day, so if you did touch a drop elsewhere, it is important to keep your hands clean so you don’t touch your face. 

As this virus can only impact you through the means of being inhaled, it helps to drink some water about every 15 minutes, for if you swallow the virus, your stomach acid will kill it.  It can only infect lung cells. 

What about communion?  It is not a problem.  You receive the bread from the hands of one who is cleaned up. You dip it yourself into the juice.  You swallow what you receive. The virus cannot be passed in the air.  It takes droplets – so a sneeze or cough in your face. No need to fear. You cannot get the virus by taking communion.  Besides, we have prayed up, it is a sanctified meal! 

So here are things he recommends.  You are welcome to adopt any or all of these at Westside.  We will seek to get supplies in so you feel safe.  We are wiping down all the chairs and surfaces with alcohol wipes this week.  Even as we do this, remember the CDC has reminded us that the risk is very low with this virus.  It can be lethal to those already suffering from lung issues.  But even for them, with proper care, the risk is low.  The health care location in Kirkland that has experienced so many deaths, just last April was fined  $67,000 over their lack of infection control in their facility.  Charges were removed by last June, but perhaps they are not where to look to see the danger posed by this virus.        

Here are Dr. Robb’s recommendations: 

1) REPLACE HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, toe touch, etc.

2) USE Your knuckles to touch light switches, elevator buttons. Or use a paper towel and dispose of it.  

3) USE closed fist or hip to open doors.  If you grasp a handle, then, wash your hands or use sanitizer. This is especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.

4) USE disinfectant wipes at stores for the handles of carts, etc.  Remember if you wear gloves for this protection not to touch your face with them on.  (At Costco, they have a new person actually wiping down every cart handle for you!)  Dr. Robb also recommends using a surgical mask to prevent touching your face. 

5) WASH your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.

6) KEEP a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home's entrances and in your car

7) COUGH OR SNEEZE INTO a disposable tissue and discard. Sneeze/cough into your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain an infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!

Wearing a surgical mask will not prevent a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth.  And actually, it is better to breathe fresh air, so only do this for short periods if you are out, to avoid touching your face.  He also recommends using zinc lozenges, especially if allowed to bathe the back of the throat.   

Please feel free to simply inform others of what you are practicing.  If no handshakes or hugs, that’s fine. Let us know.  I find hugs actually healing.  So I’ll still hug, if you want one, but just won’t breathe in your face! 

We will take every precaution to assure that worship is in an environment that allows freedom from the virus and therefore freedom from fear, and an open place to experience the presence and beauty of God. 

Come as you are. Be who you are. Don’t fear. 

You are loved.

Brian

Join the Journey, 3.8.20

Every Sunday, Pastor Brian poses a question that relates to what we’ve discussed during the worship service. This is the question and answers from last Sunday. If you’d like, add your answer in the Comments.

Question: Sin is heavy: what word best describes that weight for you?

Answers:

1. Guilt.

This answer was actually given by more than one person. Guilt is a heavy burden but isn’t it a blessing that we feel this sense of guilt so that we are motivated to seek forgiveness and release the weight?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.” Hebrews 12:1 (New Living Translation)

Brian's Blog: Carried

March 24, 2 years ago, I drove Gabrielle to the airport. She then was a flight attendant.  Enroute I brought up a conversation that we had partially had another day. 

During that previous conversation, I had asked if she had had any problems with stalkers and she said, “Dad, I mean this in the utmost love, that you are the only stalker that I have had.”  What she meant was this -- I was so connected into her schedule, that I’d text her as she landed in a new place welcoming her there, etc. But, her making that connection to a stalker chilled me to the bone. So, on that drive, March 24th, I brought up the comment. 

“I really want you to know,” I said, “I don’t ever want that to be the cause of the way you were feeling. So if I am doing anything that would cause you to feel that way, then I ‘ll stop.”  

Saying this I knew I was stepping into some truth places that could hurt me.  And I was right.  

Gabrielle said she was really joking in the comment, but talking further, clearly she had deep feelings about the texts that I had sent along her journeys to her, welcoming her someplace, etc.  She has felt really unsettled in this new life although she loved the work, and so to have me welcoming her before she even knew where she has arrived was tough. It felt overwhelming to her to send me her schedule, for the result was this hyper attention!  She knew it should not be a big deal; she felt badly about that feeling.  

Isn’t it incredible that often we struggle with “Shoulds” in our hearts?  We can “should” ourselves, when what we need to do instead is communicate.  That’s what Gabri needed to do.  

So, we spoke further and I could tell that I needed to really let her go. I needed to release her and stop holding so tightly. I had been trying to hold to her world for I felt increasingly pushed to the edge. Others would get pictures and texts that I would feel left out.  

Suddenly I realized I was feeling like my dad might have felt when I didn’t mention what he had written in a letter and there my mom sought to fill in the gap for him. 

This was a step back in time.  I had lived in Switzerland, at 17, in 1976 and she had written to me in a letter:  “Next time you write mention that you enjoyed what your dad had said to you. He doesn’t think you notice him.” 

Even then, in 1976, six years before his death, dad knew we lacked a relationship and he knew that he was not “in” and mom was.  It was a real thing this emotionally incestuous relationship I had with Mom. I was more connected to her and she controlled me.  

The pain welled up within me as I sat in the car with Gabri.  I felt a sob from deep in my heart and I began to cry there in the car with Gabri.  I knew I had to let her go.    

So, we finished this conversation with a simple decision:  I would not receive her schedules anymore. Not knowing where she was and knowing just what she chose to share with me.  I wouldn’t know, and didn’t need to know. I could text anytime. And she could choose to answer or not.  

“Dad, I don’t want to leave you crying,” she said as we sat there, waiting for her to step from the car.  I was so upset inside. I tried to just breathe through intense pain. I calmed down a bit and was able to stop crying with her.  Later, I could do so when I was at home.  

Gabri had stayed present throughout the conversation.  It was a good one for me to have. And better me with her, than her expressing her frustrations about me to Grace or her Mom.  

We hugged and I drove away feeling ok but not great. I was not crying then.  I then spent the day with my nephew, Christopher. He and I had a good time. I just pushed the whole thing with Gabri to the side.  When I got home, the pain overcame me like a tidal wave. I felt it so intensely. And I sobbed and sobbed. It was a deep emotional loss. 

“Oh God!” I cried out, “I hate this life like this.  This emotion is so difficult. I am so sad, Papa. So very sad.  I cannot find my center.”

That’s when the gentle voice of our holy God flowed over me:   

“You gave Gabri a great gift today, my Son.  A great, great gift.”

“What was that, Father?”  I asked. 

“You gave her the freedom to be honest and to tell you the truth of her heart. 

You gave her the right to be her own person and released her from YOUR need to know all about her. You gave her -- her wings.  She needs to fly free with ME little One. She cannot do so as long as you cling. 

I know what it is to give up what is most dear.  I know what this pain feels like. Son, My Son. Let me hold you close. 

She will be able to be all that I have dreamed for her to be. You were very brave.”

This was an experience with the God who speaks and carries me, and you, moment by moment. Remember this God in those times that feel dark and hard. 

Cleaning Closets

If you’ve ever known the weight of your sin crushing you, ever felt like there was something against which you were powerless, ever experienced the defeat of just not being good enough, ever carried a list within you -- a long list of negatives, ever done something that seemed to sit upon you like a dense cloud, then don’t miss this Sunday.  

There is one word in this passage today that is an echo and a fulfillment.  We can lightly pass over it. It can mean nothing to us, but indeed this word, this one word means everything.  

I remember the night I gave my heart to Jesus and remember that there were no fireworks or any great emotional experience, but I also remember that I began to hear His voice thereafter.  And then Jesus, who had begun a new work, began to clean out the closets of sin. I had so many closets closed up in my heart in which I stored all kinds of bad feelings, hurts, transgressions, and guilt. And Jesus began to “clean house.”  As he did so, something happened I never expected -- light began to dawn in the darkness and once clean it was like Christmas got celebrated in each of those places and the closets once cleaned out were opened up and set free from storing darkness.  I remember the first time I experienced this overwhelming sensation of what felt like waves of love flowing over me. I remember how as Jesus cleaned things up, I could more fully experience all HE had for me. It was a process. But what this process was, is illustrated in the one word we will focus on this Sunday.  The word “Carried.”  

Truly, this is one of those remarkable, jaw-dropping revelations.  That word can mean nothing or everything and when you hear the connections it makes, it might just jump to everything for you, that’s what has happened for me. 

Come in. Don’t miss. Draw near. Let Him have ALL of you and let him do what He came to do for you.  

Grace upon grace.  

Spring Forward!

Daylight Savings begins this weekend. Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour on Saturday night. That’s right, you’re losing that hour of sleep that you gained back in November. Doesn’t seem fair, does it?

COVID 19: Westside's Response

I wanted to personally reach out to address the current situation with the coronavirus. Every day brings new developments related to the virus, and the uncertainty can be unsettling. Let's keep praying for those we know who have been impacted personally.   

I recently received an email from Alaska Airlines describing the steps they are taking. I appreciated the level tone, so opposite to some of the media coverage. And clearly, by the panic shopping that happened last weekend, there are many ill at ease.  

I think the most reasonable statement I heard was published in that Alaska letter, here's what Andrew Harrison wrote:
    
"We understand that everyone is in a different place when it comes to what is best for you and your family. Just recently, Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said 'I just want to echo again that the risk is low—the risk is low. I encourage Americans to go about their life. That includes travel to California, Oregon and the state of Washington.'" 

Don't you love that:  "go about their life."  Amen.  Fear is never a response that is appropriate, for I promise God is much bigger than any illness.  Wisdom always is appropriate.  So, wash your hands, frequently. Use hand sanitizer if you like and can afford it now that the sales have gone up 255%!  if you feel ill, and are concerned, stay at home. If you are well, come and worship.  If you don't want handshakes or hugs, offer your elbow or tell us.  It is ok.

No matter what you choose, remember, God has this. He has you. This virus has not shocked God, caught him by surprise nor caused him to panic.  God is in charge, always.  There is always more going on that we can see -- both in the realm of evil and in the realms of Good.  So, place confident trust in God.  Rest in God's good care.

I hope to worship with you on Sunday!

Pastor Brian  

Maundy Thursday Seder Meal

Mark your calendars for this special Holy Week event.

We will gather in the Lighthouse at 6:00 pm on Thursday, April 9, to share a meal prepared by Sandy Holt and to remember Jesus’ Last Supper with the disciples.

Please RSVP at signups.wumc.me.

Join the Journey, 3.1.20

Every Sunday, Pastor Brian poses a question that relates to what we’ve discussed during the worship service. This is the question and answers from last Sunday. If you’d like, add your answer in the Comments.

Question: For Lent: What are you giving up or adding in?

Answers:

1. Adding in more morning meditation and prayer; using less single-use plastic every day.

2. Giving up politics; adding in HomePlate 6-month volunteer position.

3. Adding in prayer bead prayers.

4. Giving up condemnation; adding in connection.

5. Adding more prayer time.

6. Giving up milk; adding more walking.

7. Instead of eating chocolate, use my new prayer beads.

8. Adding patience; giving up control.

Brian's Blog: "Leper Messiah"

During Lent we will be pausing and sitting down in Isaiah 53 -- one of the most famous messianic passages in the Bible.  It was written by Isaiah, a prophet who served during the reigns of five of Judah’s kings about 800 years before the birth of Jesus.  Imagine the shock to him as he received these messages from God about a future “Faithful Servant” called the “Leper Messiah” by Jewish scholars and commentators because this Messiah would suffer and die and He alone would cure the leper.  What a picture this chapter paints of one who would die, like a lamb, and carry the sins of all people for all time. It is a graphic image. 

So, I am inviting you, during the season of Lent to read and reread this chapter. Read it in different translations. Read it slowly. Listen to what Isaiah penned and see what parallels you find with Jesus himself. It was this passage, remember, that Phillip the Evangelist used to convert the Ethiopian Eunuch along the desert road. It was from this passage both Matthew and John, Peter and Paul quoted underlining the fulfillment seen in the life of Jesus.  

Are there sins in your life?  Is there sickness? Is there hurt?  Is there any brokenness? Read this passage and think of what it declares has been done FOR YOU.  

Indeed, have you believed? 

Then the opening question is answered by your faith as the prophet asked: “Who has believed our report?”  

Have you seen the power and saving Grace of the Lord on display in your life?  Then, you can answer the prophet’s second question, “And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”  For clearly the Lord has revealed His power and his faith to you.  

This week I was speaking with someone who has discovered hope and Jesus by coming to worship at Westside.  He has discovered hope in the community and has felt the presence of the Holy Spirit among us. This man is one who would say recently he has said “yes” to that first question, “He has believed what the prophet has spoken.”  And he would answer that “to him has the arm of the Lord been revealed.” He has seen the Lord’s salvation put on display in his life. Powerful stuff was declared by Isaiah -- the person of the Messiah, the work of God put on display to deliver us from sin, from sickness, from pain.  

Such a powerful passage is remarkable in all that it declares that can be seen put on display in the life of Jesus.  

Ponder this great salvation during Lent this year.  Draw close to Jesus. Let Him into your life.  

Grace to you all. 

Only One Day Left!

Family Promise needs just a bit more to be able to afford this Day House. But they must receive the money by tomorrow! Please visit https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/be-the-promise to donate now!

Here are all the details:

We have an incredible opportunity to purchase a house to be our new Day House. This property will provide a safe, welcoming, homelike environment for families experiencing homelessness in Beaverton. We are extremely thankful to our first home at Sunset Presbyterian Church. Their community has been very supportive and helped us grow large enough to need a new space.
 
Why this house?

Our current location is in a large church room. The purchase of this house will create a homelike environment.

We are now located along only one public transit line. Moving to a central location along several bus routes will widen our access to the community.

Currently, outside our front door is a parking lot off Hwy 26, the new Day House will be located in a residential neighborhood and next to a THPRD park. The Day House includes a yard for playing, relaxing, and raised garden beds for learning to grow food.

At the moment, families cannot keep their pets with them and animals need to be boarded.  We will be able to provide an animal shelter for family pets to stay while their human families are in our program.

Right now, our families can use laundry facilities at designated times during the day. The house will allow for laundry use all day every day.

For now, families use stalled bathrooms. The new house will have two private bathrooms with bathtub/showers for families.

At this time, families use a small kitchenette to prepare snacks and light meals. Our new Day House will have a full size kitchen to offer cooking classes and let families cook their own comfort foods.

A new Day House will provide a safe, stable refuge from the harsh reality of homelessness. Creating a peaceful environment that preserves nurturing family life during a time of great distress will be the biggest asset.

The Day House will function much like our current Day Center, however it will be larger and located in central Beaverton. It will provide a haven during the day while we will continue working with our organizations who shelter the families at night. There are countless ways that the normalcy of walking into a house at the end of a school day, workday, or day of job hunting can help keep our families’ spirits strong as they continue their journey home.

Donate to our New Day House here

Why Now?
We have a narrow window of opportunity. The owners of the property need to sell it by February 29th, but would like to see the sale benefit the community. The purchase price is below market at $300,000.
 
How You Can Help:
We are asking for you to support us financially, but this effort will require community-wide support.

Donate financially to help us reach our purchase goal by visiting our GoFundMe Page http://bit.ly/GFM_BTP

Fill out the donation sheet and mail your donation

Share the GoFundMe Page with family, friends, and coworkers

Donate stock to the project, Click here for more information

Want to name a room or a garden bench? Naming Opportunities starting at $1,000

Volunteer to assist with planning and outreach for the campaign

Introductions to other community members who might be able to help financially and/or with the campaign

Want to schedule an outside tour of the property? Have questions? Please feel free to contact me at 971.217.8949 or BeThePromise@familypromiseofbeaverton.org.

Not Worth a Second Glance

What did Jesus look like?  Isaiah in the 53rd chapter describes him as unimpressive physically.  He was not a Grecian God, no contender for the arena, no cover story as the “sexiest man alive,” no billboard picture -- he would not have been played by our best known, most applauded actors. Not Bruce Marchiano or Jim Caviezel.  Eugene Peterson captured Isaiah’s language in a way we lean away from: “nothing attractive about him, nothing to cause us to take a second look.” What a description for this man of miracle and word! 

What might it have been like for Isaiah to pen these words?  How did the word come to him? What had he felt as he saw, heard, received this picture of the Messiah not as super powerful but as super ordinary, super defeated, super beaten, as killed even?  

He had just written of the degradation of this servant, called the “leper messiah,” since he would heal lepers. This one would be beaten so badly, Isaiah wrote, “He didn’t even look human-- a ruined face, disfigured beyond recognition” (52:12).  And now at the start of the 53rd chapter, the most famous description of the anticipated Messiah in Scripture Isaiah wrote of this one’s beginning: he was ordinary, a “tender plant,” a “root out of dry ground.” He would have an ordinary childhood, “He grew up like a tender plant before God.”  

No sales pitch.  No shouts. No accolades.  Just God saying through Isaiah, “Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?” (Isaiah 53:1). 

How much do we like the ordinary?  All around us people vie for the ability to be extraordinary.  The movie industry tells us story after story of various super powers -- not just in the Mr Incredibles of the world and other actual superheroes, but stories of people like Mr Rogers, Harriett Tubman, and the soldiers who saved the day in 1917.  These were ordinary yet extraordinary people at the same time. We make heroes of actors, sports figures and politicians. We want to achieve something, to be remembered, to have success, and win, if winning is possible. Perhaps that is what keeps us cheering on our favorite teams, hoping we might “win” through them! 

And then we find this description of Jesus, well, “The Messiah,” this “Faithful Servant” captured in print by Isaiah, as not extraordinary, but as beginning as very ordinary.  He grew up just like the rest of us, an ordinary child, an unremarkable looking boy, the “tender shoot growing up out of dry ground.” 

Perhaps beginning here we can learn just how extraordinary, how super, the ordinary in life is.  Jesus is described as so unremarkable looking that we would not even glance twice. Yet, in this chapter Isaiah tells just how incredible this man was and would be.  

Come to worship this amazing Savior on Sunday. Come check into how Jesus alone makes the ordinary extraordinary.

Parking Lot Repairs

In the next few weeks, we will have some work done on the parking lot. We don’t have an exact start date yet, but will let you know as soon as we do.

During the work, and possibly afterwards, the entire lot will be closed. It shouldn’t affect Sunday worship but may be an inconvenience to groups that meet during the week. Please watch for an email with more details.

Thank you for your understanding!

Stand Up with HomePlate

The second annual Stand Up with HomePlate, a fun evening of youth storytelling and improv, will be on Friday, April 3, from 5:30 - 7:30 pm.

Last year’s event sold out, so purchase your tickets today! Tickets include appetizers and beer or wine, along with emcee Poison Waters, music by Melao de Cuba, and lots of energy.

It all happens at the PCC Event Center at the Rock Creek Campus. Learn more and purchase tickets at www.homeplateyouth.org/standup.

Join the Journey, 2.23.20

Every Sunday, Pastor Brian poses a question that relates to what we’ve discussed during the worship service. This is the question and answers from last Sunday. If you’d like, add your answer in the Comments.

Question: What one thing have you brought this morning that you can leave behind?

Answers:

1. That no one will ever understand my loneliness. He does.

2. Control.

3. That I don’t have to worry; that God is my security.

4. Hopefully leave some loneliness.

5. Frustration.

6. Any doubt about the way, truth and life of Jesus.

7. My depression.

Brian's Blog: Think Fast

Lent.  It is a time to fast. Several years ago I told one of our daughters, Grace, that I was giving up texting while driving in the car for Lent. She laughed and said, “Dad, it is illegal anyway. That is like giving up shoplifting.” Telling this story to another friend of mine, he laughed saying, “You are just that kind of overachiever. Most people give up ice cream but you give up sin.”  

At Lent we usually think about giving something up. But equally important, perhaps more important, is what we “add in.”  The question is how will we allow whatever it is we release to increase our ability to follow Jesus.   

Here are some ideas.  With some there are “add in” ideas, but in any of them, involving time or money, you might think of giving away that time or money to God in some manner.  The bottom line: How might we “let God in” in a new and good way.  

Fast from Media-- Facebook, Twitter, TV shows, blogs, sport sites, whatever your media addiction is, give it up until Easter (Apr 12) and you may find that you’ve given it up for good.

Fast from going to Movies -- That seems a bit drastic, but so is following Jesus!  

Fast from people -- Catholic teacher Richard Rohr used to take a 6-week hermitage during Lent, nothing but silence, prayer, study.  Most of us cannot do that, but we could fast from social interaction for a time each day or a day each week. Some of you introverts might do this regularly, so your “fast” might be to actually speak to a stranger each day!  Whichever it is find ways to open up to God. 

Fast from Sex -- Hello -- this is for married couples.  If you are single, may you already be fasting from sex!  Common to Christian tradition is to fast from sex for a season (Paul wrote to married couples, to “deprive each other for a set time so that you can devote yourselves to prayer and to God” (1 Cor. 7:5). Remember Sundays are not fast days during Lent but feast days, so, well, you get the idea. 

Fast from Dating -- for single folk, perhaps Lent is a time to stop dating as a means to look at your primary relationship with God. 

Fast from Money -- How little can you spend in 6 weeks?  Other than regular bills, fast from every frivolous expense, however you define that.

Fast from Food or Drink -- Coffee, soda, sweets, certain meals, certain foods (meats, grains, dairy, etc). The traditional fast of the church has been from all dairy and meat products during Lent, a vegan diet. The idea is not to think of ways to get around what you have taken out, but use the craving for that food, that drink as a call to prayer, a call to God.

Fast from a workday Lunch -- Give up food one day and your daily routine of eating, and break up the day, take a walk, pray, read the scriptures, get in touch with God. 

Fast from Workouts -- Take 6 weeks, walk everyplace you can, eat veggies, but stop being a “gym rat,” a “weekend runner,” “a yoga addict, “a regular at the basketball court” and instead step out of the “race” to pause, be, pray, reflect, love. 

Fast from Driving -- for most of us, driving is something we do “reflexively” as if there is no other option. What would it mean to drive only to your job but no place else? What would it mean to limit trips to the store to only one store, once a week?   

Fast from Reading --  When did you last take time to reflect on what you already have inside you, rather than reading for now input.  This is not unlike a media fast, but also stop reading the devotional, the newspaper, and anything but essential reading.  Let your mind rest and experience silence. Prayerfulness. peace. When the fast is done you will learn to read in a whole new way.  

Fast from Plastics – What might it look like to not use or purchase anything wrapped in plastic for Lent?  Folk I know who have done this other Lenten seasons found it immensely challenging. They wrapped veggies in the paper towels in most markets. They took reusable bags. They shunned buying anything in hard, plastic containers.   

Fast from Trash -- Greatly reduce the waste you and your family produce. Let nothing be wasted.  Recycle as a discipline during Lent. Buy whole foods, use fewer bags, pray about what you learn along the way.

Fast from Talking and Texting -- Take a break from unnecessary communication.  Don’t talk or text just because you have nothing else to do. Put your phone away for a day.  Replace that time with mindfulness to God, your surroundings, real people, and yourself. Fasting from unnecessary chatter will open up the communication lines with God.  

Fast from Multitasking -- During Lent fast from multitasking by only allowing yourself to do one thing at a time. The point is not to say multitasking is bad, but to give your use of time and the tools that you have more to God.  Put time in God’s hands by doing only one thing at a time and reminding yourself that you are simplifying for Him. 

Fast from _________________ -- There is something in your life that is good, nourishing and just fine, but for Lent, that is the very thing you need to sacrifice to God.  You may know what it is already, but if not, pause, think, reflect and look for what that may be. Release it for Lent. Easter is coming soon, it always does.  

(adapted from Belifnet.com)