If you were unable to attend our online worship on Sunday, view it here:
Dominican Republic 2021
We are building a team to return in July of 2021!
World Servants follows the CDC guidelines both for the US and other countries, as well as stays informed on the State Department Travel advisories. You will see in this safety protocol that they require a negative COVID-19 test three days prior to the travel date. This is the same timeline that many airlines use.
They also have volunteers sign a release form. While World Servants does not require people to be vaccinated to participate in a mission trip, it is highly recommended. There is no quarantining unless someone comes down with symptoms on the mission trip. They will require community members with whom we are in contact to also wear masks at all times.
Contact Wendy F or the church office at office@westsidejourney.org for more information on this year’s trip.
If you’d like to relive our memories from previous years, take a look at the 2018 photos and 2019 photos.
Sharing for May 2
Share from your week; where have you seen God at work?:
Bonnie – This week at the food pantry a lady came in. She’s come about every week. When they’re homeless they can come every week to get food, because they don’t get very much. She was telling us how she lost her house, then she lost her kids - obviously due to drugs. But she’s getting on the right path. She said that she felt that God was with her and that it was a blessing that she lost her house, because now that she’s homeless she is able to help other people. And she considered that a blessing.
Pastor Brett – Wow! That is quite an interesting testimony, Bonnie, thank you for sharing that. That’s not something that I hear every day. God is Good! All the Time!
Kari – This is a power of prayer story in that God is even in the little details. Roberta, Joe’s mom, needs to have surgery on her toes in June and she has to go to a rehab place because she’s not going to be able to walk around and move or transfer herself. So, we needed to call Kaiser to get some help with the referral and everything. Joe was kind of complaining about how difficult it was going to be and they were just going to give us the run around….. I looked at him and said – Well, we’re just going to pray that we get the right person and a good operator who can help us. He said – That’s a good idea. So, we prayed about it in the car on the way there. We got to her place and made the call and we got the nicest operator who was so patient, kind and understanding. I told her – You are an answer to prayer. And Joe was just kind of flabbergasted that it was as easy as that! So, that is definitely a God Sighting.
Pastor Brett – Awesome, thank you Kari for sharing.
Fred – We both got our second (Covid) shots this weekend and neither of us have any symptoms, which is amazing!
Pastor Brett – Awesome, that’s great; congratulations. Sandy & Rich had theirs a couple of days ago and they’re doing fine; Morgan got hers, so that’s awesome.
Pastor Brett – Two weeks ago, we were doing the communion in the parking lot and it was Becky, Sandy, myself, Gayellyn and Gavin who were here lingering afterwards. We saw one Bald Eagle circling in the sky near or above the church. So, we’re all staring and looking at him; saying – Whoa, what does that mean, that’s so cool! We were talking about freedom and talking about the building… and being able to be back in church. And we’re like – That’s a God Sighting, right there! Then, Gavin who is getting into his car about 30 seconds later says – Look! There’s an Eagle, and pointed; that’s a God Sighting! And then another Eagle came, we’re like – There’s another Eagle! About 20 seconds later, Gavin says – There’s another Eagle there! We were all kind of thinking the same thing. Jane Williams is here saying - There were Eagles on Christmas Eve that were kind of circling overhead, as well. That was just one of those things that you can’t do on an online context, is have moments like that where you are physically sharing the sky and the clouds; look what’s going on above us. We all enjoyed that moment.
So, my office where I do my writing and the work I do at home, I have this tree and a fence; all sorts of squirrels and birds are constantly going, it’s like a highway. This week, I saw squirrels getting up in the trees and eating some of the tree blossoms. Just this morning, I saw a bird eating tree blossoms up there. Earlier this week, I saw two birds procreating, you might say. It was a gift because they don’t care about the pandemic, they’re just living their best life. I was just so encouraged looking to nature and what the animals are doing. They’re going about their business, hiding nuts away for the winter, squirrels are gathering their food and the birds are being fed. It just gave me encouragement and a sign of – Life goes on with the animals, we should follow their instincts, we should follow them.
Martha – My husband, Ken, suffered another AFib session this week; it wasn’t as serious as the one on July 4th. We didn’t have to go to the ER. What I am thankful for is technology. He was able to send his heart rhythms through his iPhone or iWatch to the Cardiologist. They were able to view it and say - It’s not as bad as it could be and just stay home and if it doesn’t improve…. So, about 8:30 that night it was all gone. So, God has provided people with the knowledge to give us those things so when we do have events like that happen, knowing that we can stay home, and not that we’re 100% comfortable, but knowing that we are being taken care of.
Pastor Brett – Thank you, Martha. Beautiful witness to what’s available to us and how God moves, awesome.
Worship Video for May 2
If you were unable to attend our online worship on Sunday, view it here:
Communion This Sunday
Join us in the parking lot this Sunday at 10:45 am for communion. We will observe all rules and regulations for safety’s sake.
Last Week for April RAoK
Our April Random Acts of Kindness is collecting toiletries for migrant workers Please sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050b4babaf22ab9-april. This lets us know what we may need to purchase with any cash donations.
Items will be collected this Saturday, May 1, from 10:00 - noon.
You are also welcome to bring new or gently used household items - bed linens, towels, dishes, silverware, pots and pans. All will be appreciated and put to good use.
If you prefer, you may donate and have the shopping done for you. Donate on our secure website at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9JRWF6TGN7EGN or mail a check to the church. Be sure to designate RAoK.
GoFundMe Opportunity
For those of you who heard about Kari's co-worker's son being shot and killed in front of his North Portland home last week and wanting to show Westside's support, here is the link to the GoFundMe page to help cover expenses for his funeral: https://gofund.me/2b61f8ae
Sharing for Apr 25
Share from your week; where have you seen God at work?:
Wendy F. – This one is not specific to this week only, it’s been happening for a couple of weeks. I’m super grateful that Barrett F. & Dylan T. are able to play baseball this spring. It’s been two years for both of them; they’ve know each other in this church since they were babies. And it’s been very fun for them to not see each other for a long time, but to come back and play baseball all of the last several years. So, it feels outstanding particularly right now when a lot of the kids are going to school half time or not at all; that’s Barrett’s outlet – to see his buddies, in particular Dylan. So, we are grateful.
Pastor Brett – That’s such good news, Wendy. Are they on the same team?
Wendy – Yes, they are. Dylan is our catcher and Barrett plays outfield; they bat often times right next to each other. So, it’s fun to hear them cheering for each other in the dugout. Just wonderful.
Pastor Brett – That’s amazing. A sign of hope; sustaining hope.
Merry – We continue to see God’s work in the generous gifts of food that are given to our farm workers.
Pastor Brett – I know that Gwen F. had a birthday yesterday. So, we celebrate that with her. I think it was a good one from what I’ve heard.
Worship Video for April 25
If you were unable to attend our online worship on Sunday, view it here:
A Pastoral Update on our COVID-19 Response
A letter from Bishop Elaine Stanovsky:
Dear Siblings in Christ,
We are making progress, but we are not quite there yet. It has been over a year since the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted life as we knew it. We continue to persevere, exhausted at times, yet anticipating the day when we can gather, greet each other, share communion and other precious rhythms of life and spiritual practice in person without risking harm to one another. Hopeful also that we now carry with us new learnings and practices, hard lessons of necessity that will continue to connect us in new ways in life and ministry…
Read her entire letter here
Data for Community Engagement
Do you have a heart for meeting the needs of the community but you’re not exactly sure who lives in your community? The Census Bureau can help! Here’s an opportunity to take free, online seminars on how to use the data, including in the areas of housing, ethnicity, LGBTQ population, aging population, food security, and migrant workers.
The Census Bureau's detailed data can strengthen grant applications, help focus engagement activities, and aid service providers in better assisting those in need. Learn how to utilize the power of Census data at your organization with the 2021 Data Summit series!
Designed for the novice data user, the Census Bureau's 2021 Data Summit series presents a high-level overview of several data products and demonstrates how they can be used to assist organizations and businesses to identify data-driven solutions to challenges. These free, webinar-based sessions will teach you how your responses to Census Bureau surveys are used to create publicly available data products, how to explore data tools on census.gov, and how you can utilize the Census Bureau's online resources to help transform your communities.
To review the complete list of scheduled summits, visit this page on census.gov. (Click the "Show More" button at the top right of the summit list to ensure you're seeing everything.) Space is limited, so be sure to sign-up early!
Most of the webinars begin at 11:00 am weekdays and last 90 minutes.
Sharing for Apr 18
Share from your week; where have you seen God at work?:
Pastor Brett – Some background on why we do God Sightings. If you remember on Easter, Mary Magdalene shows up at the tomb and she runs back and tells the disciples, the men, “I’ve seen The Lord!” This was her God Sighting. So, what we are doing when we share our God Sightings is we are witnessing to ways that we’ve seen God at work in the hopes of encouraging one another to look for God during our weeks.
I was able to go on a walk with Brian Shimer this week. He came over to my neighborhood, we took Levi out in the stroller for an hour or so. Almost immediately, you probably know Brian better than I do, we were laughing down the street. And people are working in their yards. This woman, who I think is a grandma to two small children and helps take care of them so her daughter can work, she was out doing some yardwork with the kids. We were just walking down the street pushing the stroller and laughing; Brian was howling at something I said. She says – Wow, it is so good to hear laughter. She looks right at Brian and says - You just made my day! So, it was just a powerful moment in a world where we’re trying to be cautious & safe and we aren’t trying to spread anything – that laughter & joy are more contagious than any virus ever could be. That was a really encouraging moment for me.
Michele – Well I think something is happening with me is in the condominium complex that I’ve lived in… I’ve been here since 2012 and it’s really sad the names of how few of the people I know. I’ve made it a goal to try and learn the names of different people around here and remember them – there’s the key remembering them! It’s really interesting that I’ve walked by these people a number of times and they maybe commented on my dogs. This week four different people I really stopped and talked. I said – By the way my name is Michele, what is your name? They are surprised, you know, and then the key is for me remembering the names; I’ll work on that. That would be my God Sighting, because people get big smiles on their face and it means something to them. They are like me, they’ve been here, one lady has lived here for nine years and I finally got her name. So, that’s my God Sighting and it makes people happy.
Susan D. – Our God Sighting was that our entire adult family got our first Covid-19 shots this week! Yes!!! There’s a future ahead!
Bonnie – I just want to thank everyone for the prayers. I put my son in law, Ray, on the prayer team this week. He was in the hospital for four days. He has another massive infection in his foot that has been going on for about four years now. They thought they may have to remove some toes, but at this point they don’t. He was able to go home on Thursday with a picc line in & massive antibiotics going through his body to kill this whole infection. So, thank you everyone for the prayers! I totally believe in prayer!
Martha – This is my God Sighting right here, this is Ada Marie Tunall; she is 4 ½ years old. She’s going to help me with the Children’s Sermon today.
Kari – Joe was able to get his first vaccination this last week so, that was a huge God Sighting right there. And we had great time at the beach last weekend; just amazing with the ocean and all the shells. We went on a hike the other day and we saw five or six different wildflowers starting to peek out this spring. Just being out in nature was great. It’s also been nice to see that more people are not wearing their masks when outside, which to me is a good thing to get some fresh air and be exposed to some good sunshine; good air and seeing people’s smiles is amazing.
You Socked It to March!
Thank you to everyone who donated socks for our March Random Acts of Kindness. Over 300 pairs of new socks were distributed to the different non-profit groups we partner with: Family Promise, HomePlate Youth Services, CityTeam, and Western Farm Workers Association.
This month’s RAoK is for the migrant camps that gather here in Oregon. We are collecting toiletries, towels, bedding, and household items. These vital workers literally put food on our tables. Let’s do our best to help where we can.
Sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050b4babaf22ab9-april or donate cash (we’ll do the shopping!) on our website.
Collection day is Saturday, May 1, between 10:00 am and noon.
Worship Video for April 18
If you were unable to attend our online worship on Sunday, view it here:
April RAoK is for Migrant Workers
Our April Random Acts of Kindness will be collecting toiletries for migrant workers at Heike's Berry Farm in Hillsboro. Please sign up at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050b4babaf22ab9-april. This lets us know what we may need to purchase with any cash donations.
Items will be collected on Saturday, May 1, from 10:00 - noon.
You are also welcome to bring new or gently used household items - bed linens, towels, dishes, silverware, pots and pans. All will be appreciated and put to good use.
If you prefer, you may donate and have the shopping done for you. Donate on our secure website at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9JRWF6TGN7EGN or mail a check to the church. Be sure to designate RAoK.
Communion This Sunday
Please join us this Sunday at 10:45 am to celebrate communion.
We will be socially distanced with masks as we receive the pre-packaged juice and bread in the parking lot.
Phase 2 Continues
Just a reminder - our district superintendent, Tim Overton-Harris, has informed us that we are to remain in Phase 2 this Sunday.
Phase 2 limits attendance in the Lighthouse to 10 persons. If you are able to worship at home, please do so.
Thank you for your patience and understanding as we do our best to “do no harm.”
Worship Video for April 11
If you were unable to attend our online worship on Sunday, view it here:
IMPORTANT! Please Read
Due to an increase in COVID cases in our county, our District Superintendent has informed us that we must move back to Phase 2 until we hear from him again.
Phase 2 limits our in-person attendance to 10 people.
The plan for this Sunday, Apr 11, is for Gayellyn to facilitate a “watch party” in the Lighthouse for those unable to participate at home, as we have previously done. Those of you who can connect through Webex, please worship from home.
Thank you for getting vaccinated, continuing to wear your masks, and being patient. As DS Tim says, “We will only be able to move beyond this pandemic when everyone makes the effort to care for their neighbors in these ways.”
April Random Acts of Kindness
Our April Random Acts of Kindness will be collecting toiletries for migrant workers at Heike's Berry Farm in Hillsboro.
Items will be collected on Saturday, May 1, from 10:00 - noon.
You are also welcome to bring new or gently used household items - bed linens, towels, dishes, silverware, pots and pans. All will be appreciated and put to good use.
Please sign up to bring toiletries here.
If you prefer, you may donate and have the shopping done for you. Donate on our secure website at https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=9JRWF6TGN7EGN or mail a check to the church. Be sure to designate RAoK.