Brian Shimer
Online Worship on Zoom
Brian Shimer
Zoom Begins this Sunday
Brian Shimer
Join Us for Online Worship
Brian Shimer
Online Worship
Brian Shimer
Worship On Sundays

Food Drive Continues

Our annual food drive for Westside families and the Western Farm Workers Association ends in only nine days!

You may sign up for non-perishables here. Items are due to the church by Sunday, Nov 21. You may also sign up to help sort and box the food after the worship service on the 21st. Contact Bonnie B if you have any questions.

If you prefer, you may donate cash for turkeys, produce, dairy, etc.  Donate by check or PayPal (be sure to designate food drive!)

Thank you for your generosity!

Placing Faith and Life in a Wounded World

Join Dr. Norman Wirzba of Duke Divinity School for a lecture on his book, This Sacred Life, explaining how our ability to care for the world depends on really understanding the places where God has planted us. As we come to know our place—its people, its landscape, its problems, and needs—we become real inhabitants and caretakers of God's creation.

Dr. Wirzba will offer a public lecture on that theme Tuesday afternoon; then on Wednesday evening, there will be a smaller discussion about how knowing our place can activate ministry. Both events are via Zoom, and all are welcome. Register 

WFWA Needs

A letter from Merry Goldthorpe:

Dear Friends of Westside,

Western Farm Workers Association has been busy this Fall, signing up members and finding new volunteers for the upcoming holidays.

We will have a food distribution for Thanksgiving on Tuesday November 23rd. We need to collect foods for this event, especially frozen meat and poultry. We will need volunteers to make up food boxes and deliver them to members' homes. Can you help us out this year?

There will be a distribution of toys and clothing for children in December, as well as family food baskets. Parents sign up for the gifts for their children, and volunteers help collect, sort, and deliver these items. Toy drives will begin soon. Any new items of winter clothing for kids up to high school age are most needed. More news on that event coming soon.

To volunteer with us, please call our office at 503-681-9399. You can also contact me at 503-690-1908. Thank you.

Sharing for October 31

Last week’s homecoming service: share what stood out, what bruises were poked, what bruises were healed, where was God at work in our midst last week?

Stephanie – It was such a good Sunday. I had no idea the service was going to happen that way, it was such a surprise. Most of you know the last couple of years with my brother have been awful in our family unit. The last 6 months were probably the worst of it. There was no communication between my brother and my parents. Sunday, when I got home from church I was just happy and had so much joy. I found out that during service my brother had texted me and had actually apologized to my parents. Not just to sweep things under the rug, which we’re known for, but an actual apology to my parents. And he’s coming over today for lunch. That will be the first time we have been together in probably 9 months. So, huge blessing on that. I had 3 job offers last week and then yesterday I was asleep on the couch about 4 o’clock and felt somebody waking me up. I woke up and was surprised to see my nephew home from the army. He came home to surprise us, we hadn’t seen him in a year. And he had his new wife, which we didn’t know he got married this week. So, here’s my nephew and his wife standing in front of me and my brother will be here today and we now have his oldest son home. Yes, blessings upon blessings for all these things this week. I give that all to the power of God in this building last week.       

Bonnie – I was expecting all the chairs to be full this morning, because I think last Sunday there were only a couple of chairs empty in between people. It seemed like – Yes, this is Westside, we are back! We’re back and we’re going to stay family again. I cried last Sunday. I don’t cry much when I’m at home watching everything on my cell phone. But God was in this room last Sunday, totally in this room. It was great and I can’t wait to continue this.    

Michele – I don’t exactly know where all this is coming from, but the minute I walked in today, something’s going on here. Last week for me, 2 ½ hour service was great. I enjoyed seeing Pastor Brian, meeting Pastor Dan because I wasn’t here at that point. And seeing all the people coming back. But the thing that is really coming to me today, and from the minute I walked in it hit me, we have been so surrounded the last year and a half with change. I don’t know about you, and I don’t even know if it’s true that as you get older change gets harder. But it’s like we’re still in it and I have to admit I’m kind of tired. Walking in here today, I have to admit – it’s just me, walking in here and seeing it different again, you know what I mean. It's like holding onto the old…but, what got interesting as I looked around and I see this upfront… I miss having the candles by the cross. It’s just my thing. I said to Pastor Brett – You changed things. But what really got me was that first song you picked out for today and that brought it home. Now, really think about that. We’ve had so much change and that gave me goosebumps, because it was like God was in my heart. He heard me, and it just can’t be me, everyone sitting here has to feel the difference, the change. You’re entitled to make this your place. It’s all of ours, but you’re making it the way you want to teach us, relate with us; be with us. It’s like really trying to find peace in my heart to take in the change. Sandy’s song really brought it home for me. None of this makes any difference, the only thing that counts is that. So, if anyone else is having trouble with change, just look up and say thank You!         

Jan – I can understand now why all of you had real effort to let go of Pastor Dan. I hadn’t met him, but his message was beautiful. So, we had trouble letting go of our precious Pastor Brian, but you know Pastor Brett really isn’t that bad! Anyway, I wanted to share how much Pastor Dan’s message meant to me. His message was on God being with us, for us and guiding us. The thing that really struck home with me was he brought in the verse – We are saved through grace by faith. Anyway, it’s through faith and he made a comment about that. He said – Faith brings alive the with us. I think that’s so true. But it came to me during the week that you have to have faith that God is with you. You know, you can’t always feel Him. You can’t see Him. But by faith, God is with us and He’s for us and He’s guiding every step. I just want to thank everybody for their prayers. Pastor Brett would send me a little text saying - I’m praying for you today. You know how much that means? Prayer truly is powerful. It brings to life our faith. God has been so gracious and kind to me. I got to hold my precious Wayne’s hand when he took that last breath. I told this to many of you already, because it was so powerful for me. I could have been outside. I could have been out in the kitchen. But, he took that last breath when I was sitting right there by him holding his hand. And that was a gift, it really truly was! And thank you for all your wonderful prayers, I’ve felt them.           

Gayellyn – So, when you talked about change, as the Holts and I know… Watching the video of, as I called it, the church of the plastic boxes, and watching the change through time and thinking – Wow, what do we have ahead for us? I don’t fear change the way I used to. Having Dan here and Brian here and Brett here it was just – Wow! Just incredible. The excitement of what we have ahead of us is just amazing. God has plans for us. We didn’t know we were going to be here 26 years later. We didn’t know what our footprint would be. It’s just exciting to know we’ve got a lot ahead of us. And we serve an amazing God.       

Sandy – I’d like to piggyback on what Gayellyn just said. We’ve been through so many changes here, so many over the last 26 years; I kind of like the change in a way, because it keeps things new and fresh. Keeps us on our toes.  I was sharing with Pastor Brett this morning that what really got me was just to see Pastor Brian be able to baptize the girls, because I feel like he just got robbed of so much of the things we had planned for his last year here. And the last 6 months were just really hard to not be able to do those things that we had planned to send him off. So, it’s just nice to get that closure.   

Gavin – I wasn’t big on whatever was going to end up in here. I assumed it was going to be a stripped down, cleaned up version of what we used to do. And I dig this. I take this whole little scene and the possibilities and imagine right now they are way larger than they were before. I have to give you credit, Brett, you saw something that I didn’t see.       

Chris – I kept hearing in my mind the verse, I’ll paraphrase it – Behold, I make all things new. That’s kind of what I’m feeling about this moment. When Deb & I first came to this church, about 10 – 11 years ago, Brian was just in his 2nd year. Loved the service and I arranged to meet Brian for coffee. And come to find out that he was really discouraged. He was going through a really tough time because of the way the transition from Dan to him worked out. He didn’t feel like he was well received and some people left. He said – Maybe you and Debbie coming in will be the start of something new. And other folks were new and God did right here. Now we hit another transition that hasn’t exactly been what we expected, right? How Brett had to come in with the pandemic. But, you know, God is doing something new here too that’s just inspiring.      

Rich – I would like to say one thing – I’m going to call Brett out on the carpet here in a good way. You joined us right after we got locked down. That sucked. That transition was terrible. All this time later, we’re here together, at least in part because of the effort that you and the worship team and all the people volunteering and all the people working to figure out how we progress. And the good Lord’s blessing. We’re here today in person. And just let me say – Welcome to Westside!      

Dianne – I have been struggling a lot with pain and I could not make it last Sunday. I was really upset, but just hearing this gives me hope for the future. I’m facing a really big surgery in December for my knee replacement and I’m scared to death. But, I keep hearing change is good; this too shall pass. And God is always there for me no matter what happens, He’s there for me. I’m glad to see that so many people are here today, it just gives me hope.   

Krista – It felt like coming home.

Pastor Brett – I don’t know if I’ll be able to give words to it for a while. So much came together behind the scenes to pull it off. It was so evident that every day and every hour of that last week was like getting ahold of the Staceys, getting ahold of Brian, connecting with Dan about the early part of Westside, bringing together a story… Finding the words to frame what was happening for me at least. I think a lot happened. I think a lot was just putting something together, throwing it up in the air and hoping that God would take it and… It was a lot and I loved it. I felt like I was in a dream. I even texted Sandy and Gayellyn who helped with some of the setup last week; celebrating with joy about how things went. I said – Was that real? Did that really happen? It made me think of Psalm 126 – when there’s this return, we get this very clear picture from the Psalmist that it felt like a dream. I guess that’s where I’m at right now and over time it will probably make more sense about what happened.  

Reminder: New Link for Online Worship!

If you’re joining us via Webex this Sunday (or future Sundays), please note the following:

To join us online, click here You will be prompted to install the Webex application if you haven’t done so already. The link should go directly to the worship service at 10:00 am on Sunday. If the link doesn’t work for you, go to webex.com, click ‘Join’ and enter these details:

  • Meeting number (access code):  2568 529 1771

  • Meeting password: 5D7Ut6ZPMRn

You may also join using a smartphone by calling 408-418-9388.

Remember to “mute” your audio when you’re not speaking, to cut down on background noise.

See you online!

Charge Conference

Our annual Charge Conference will be on Monday, Nov 8, from 6:30 - 8:30 pm. It will be held online.

We gather as a congregation once a year to review the past year and anticipate the new year.  It’s also when we do some vital church business.  All are invited to attend, however, only members may vote.

There will also be vital discussions with our District Superintendent, Tim Overton-Harris, on issues such as racism, disaster preparedness, and how the church dealt with the pandemic.

The online link will be published soon.

ALERT! Worship Indoors Tomorrow

Due to the high wind forecast for tomorrow, October 24, our Extravagant Generosity Sunday worship will be held indoors.

Meet in the Lighthouse for a special procession into the sanctuary as a church family. The processional will be at 10:03 am sharp, so don’t be late!

Worship will still be online as well, using the new link:

  • Meeting number (access code):  2568 529 1771

  • Meeting password: 5D7Ut6ZPMRn

We hope to see everyone tomorrow on this very special day!

Link for Online Worship

If you’re joining us via Webex, please note the following:

To join us online, click here You will be prompted to install the Webex application if you haven’t done so already. The link should go directly to the worship service at 10:00 am on Sunday. If the link doesn’t work for you, go to webex.com, click ‘Join’ and enter these details:

  • Meeting number (access code):  2568 529 1771

  • Meeting password: 5D7Ut6ZPMRn

You may also join using a smartphone by calling 408-418-9388.

Remember to “mute” your audio when you’re not speaking, to cut down on background noise.

See you online!

EGS! This Sunday!

You won’t want to miss this year’s Extravagant Generosity Sunday, October 24! Our special guest speaker will be Westside’s founding pastor, Rev Dan Pitney. Rev. Brian Shimer will also be here to celebrate with us. Some marvelous, surprising activities have been planned. Attend in person if at all possible!

This is the Sunday that you may offer yourself to the ministries of Westside for 2022. Service opportunities and pledge cards are available at church. Or if you prefer to worship from home, you may pledge online at westsidejourney.com/2022-pledge.

A luncheon will follow the worship service. You are most welcome; we have food for everyone!

Lunch and the service will be outside so dress appropriately!

Thank you for your faithful support of Westside UMC!

Baby Shower Tomorrow

Bonnie is hosting a baby shower for Julie, one of the moms in the Family Promise program. Julie is expecting a girl, Brooklyn, in November.

The shower will be on Saturday, Oct 23, at 2:00 pm in the Lighthouse. If you would like to come to the shower to support Julie, help with the shower, provide a baby gift, or a monetary donation, please let Bonnie know.

Sharing for October 17

Share from your week; where have you seen God at work?:

Kat – I’ve been struggling for the past couple of months and about 3 weeks ago I had to undergo a formal evaluation by a psychologist dealing with what I’m dealing with related to workers comp. And that can be very scary. I was very nervous about it going into it. About 2 nights before I went in, I had a dream. In the dream, I was sitting in the psychologist’s office and Jesus was sitting next to me holding my hand and sitting there with me because I wasn’t allowed to have anybody with me during the examination. It was amazing and when I had the exam I felt like He was there with me the whole time. It was just such a vivid and beautiful dream. Even through all of this I have been struggling with and dealing with, Jesus has been there sitting next to me and holding me. I know sometimes we all feel lost and broken, but that’s when He’s really there.         

Pastor Brett – Thank you, Kat and we will continue to lift you up in prayer.

Kari – Good morning. I didn’t get to be here last Sunday because I had a family thing. So I watched the service on Thursday morning during my workout time. I was watching and listening and I thought - Oh, I should have been there because I am a long distance runner and swimmer… Then I did my Upper Room Devotional and it just fit right in, called Through The Waves; message from Luke 8:4-15. This lady wrote this beautiful devotional I’m going to read to you. “I was at the beach admiring God’s beautiful creation. Wading into the water, I was being tossed around by the rough ocean waves. I kept falling down and going under. It was quite funny, actually. I decided to go deeper in the water where the waves were easier to take and I wouldn’t get knocked down. I compared this experience to my relationship with God. When I grow deeper and closer to God, I can take on life’s waves more easily. I don’t get knocked down by every challenge that comes my way. Deeper into the water, I could stand up and face the waves with boldness. When I dive deeper into scripture, God makes my burdens easier to carry. I’m learning every day to find the joy in the waves and allow God to carry the weight. God waits for us to take the first step deeper into the waters. Sometimes our challenges may be too hard to take on by ourselves, but God is by our side wherever we go. We don’t have to carry the weight alone.” Prayer: “Dear Lord, help us to grow closer to You and trust that You will help us carry any burden life brings us. Amen.” Her thought for the day: “As I draw nearer to God, my burdens become lighter.”  So, I just thought that was definitely a God thing watching the service, and then our Stewardship theme and the waves and everything. I just wanted to share that. Thanks.              

Pastor Brett – Amen. Thank you, Kari.

Michele – Hello. I was away for 7 weeks because my brother-in-law was on home hospice. What I wanted to share with you was on September  20th; I don’t know what exactly brought me to that point but, I know my sister was struggling so hard with trying to get ready to lose my brother-in-law. I was just so worried about her. I knew Peter would be taken care of. So, on that afternoon of the 20th I went out on the front porch and had a sit down talk with God. I sat there and I asked God to handle this. I was so worried about Jan and to watch Peter - he couldn’t walk, he couldn’t talk, he couldn’t eat, he couldn’t move, he didn’t know his wife, he didn’t know who was taking care of him. I think in his own way he just knew that he was home. The hospice nurses were saying they didn’t know how long he was going to linger because, in all honesty, he was getting such good care; they didn’t know how long it was going to take. I sat there on the porch and had a talk with God, worrying about all these things and asking Him to take Peter… to have mercy on my sister and the rest of the family. The next morning we got up and everything had changed. He was under more stress in his breathing and about 5 pm that afternoon I had sat down on the rocking chair at the foot of the bed and I could see Peter’s chest. All of a sudden it came to me that I didn’t hear him breathing. I walked up and looked at him and laid my hand on his chest and he wasn’t breathing. At that moment, I knew he was taken care of. I think I was most worried about how I was going to tell my sister. But the most important thing is that was pure God. He helped me and He helped my sister and He helped the family. And He really helped Peter because Peter is in far better places now. Thank you.

Pastor Brett – Thank you, Michele. And you were in Michigan, right? 7 weeks taking care of her sister and brother in law who passed away.     

Online Worship Continues with a New Link

We worship online every Sunday morning at 10:00 am.

Join us in person! We take extra precautions around children and those who can’t be vaccinated. Otherwise, we have returned to Christian fellowship with music and sharing.

To join us online, click here You will be prompted to install the Webex application if you haven’t done so already. The link should go directly to the worship service at 10:00 am on Sunday. If the link doesn’t work for you, go to webex.com, click ‘Join’ and enter these details:

  • Meeting number (access code):  2568 529 1771

  • Meeting password: 5D7Ut6ZPMRn

You may also join using a smartphone by calling 408-418-9388.

Remember to “mute” your audio when you’re not speaking, to cut down on background noise.

Catch up on previous worship services on our YouTube Channel. Music from the Westside Odd Band is available on this channel

EGS is Almost Here!

Our Extravagant Generosity Sunday is October 24. Our special guest speaker will be Westside’s founding pastor, Rev Dan Pitney. A luncheon will follow; please RSVP to office@westsidejourney.org by this Sunday.

Service opportunities and pledge cards are available at church. If you prefer, you may pledge online at westsidejourney.com/2022-pledge.

Take a look at this step-by-step chart to get an idea of how you could increase your giving by just a little… and benefit your church by a lot.

Pledge cards may be offered during our EGS service. Thank you for your faithful support of Westside UMC!