Brian Shimer
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Brian Shimer
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Brian Shimer
Online Worship
Brian Shimer
Worship On Sundays

Sneak Peek for this Sunday

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When I met her she was 47, and angry, so angry. This woman had this 2 year old boy, a child who came as a surprise pregnancy when she was 45 and this notion was not well received by her heart. She as mad, still. She didn’t want him and had plotted out the next years and realized she will be turning 63 when he turned 18, and that felt ancient, like a waste, like a loss of life to her. I was a young pastor, and she my parishioner and we had many conversations about this surprise blessing, this precious rambunctious child. All those terms much more positive than she would be likely to use. How might you respond to a surprising change? The call to raise a grandchild? A surprising illness that changed everything? The loss of a loved one? A fight in a public place that left your gut feeling torn up? How did you respond? This Sunday we are walking with Elizabeth, and we can still choose to be like her as we respond to change. We can choose life, thanksgiving, hope and joy. In her we meet another response to the changes life can toss our direction. What might that look like if it was your life? All of us have stories of the season that have left us stretched. How have these stories encountered thanksgiving from your heart?

"Inside Out" Tomorrow!

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Don’t forget! We’re watching this instant classic from Pixar tomorrow night. Find yourself in one or more of the characters - Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness - as we walk through the Advent season.

Our Family Promise families will be invited to join us, so we hope that you will attend. It will be an oasis of enjoyment in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

See you at 6:30 pm on December 1 in the sanctuary!

Christmas for WFWA Workers

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Our friends in the Western Farm Workers Association would appreciate your assistance this Christmas season. While all the children would love toys, please also consider warm clothes, jackets and blankets. Some families were unable to keep the heat on in their homes last winter.

When shopping, please keep teens in mind as well. They are often overlooked.

Donations to the WFWA members need to be returned to the church by December 16. If you have any questions, please contact Merry Goldthorpe. Thank you!

Join the Journey, 11.25.18

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Question: What dream or prayer would you like to infuse with faith?

Answers:

  1. World peace and the end of hunger and poverty.

  2. Peace and healing in the lives of our children and a commitment to follow Christ in a deeper and fulfilling walk.

  3. The plans and vision God has for me.

  4. That my daughter, Devon, and Alex will come to know how wonderful Wayne is and that their relationship with him does not diminish their relationship with Mel, Devon’s late father.

  5. All of them! That I would have expectation that they will be answered and fulfilled.

  6. That I would continue to grow in the Lord and He would bless me with an unconditional love.

  7. My son, Sawyer, finding his passion and using it to have a happy, fulfilling life.

  8. World peace.

HomePlate Update

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I want to say thank you to the church and to everyone who has engaged with HomePlate so far. We had over 20 people trained from our congregation to help with Home Plate, again, that is amazing! It says to me, God is in this!

We had our trial night on November 14. We had a great meal planned with baked potatoes and two kinds of chili and all other kinds of toppings and a salad and brownies. Through our tent ministry that Amy Fiederowicz runs, we had a ton of stuff that they could take with them for food later. Thank you Amy!

This first trial night we had four kids show up. They needed to be there. We enjoyed a movie, eating and some brief conversations. It was the start!

December 5th  there will be a vision team meeting at HomePlate regarding what the kids might want for their Wednesday night gathering. After this we will know whether or not they would like to continue with Wednesday nights at Westside! Once we know this, and if we begin a weekly outreach to them, then everyone who signed up to be trained, and those of you have not yet been trained, will all have a place to serve!

Last week I was speaking with Tom Perez who founded EPIK and he said we are now on the front lines to stop trafficking. More than 80% of the youth who are trafficked are either homeless or in the foster care system. 

What happens is someone offering what looks like a real relationship, a real friendship, comes into their lives but is actually presenting a front with which to traffic them.  Tom told me a real relationship has such power to keep such kids from falling prey to traffickers.

In addition, I’m reading a recent Brené Brown book on leadership and she writes, "If people have even one place in their lives where they can take off their armor and be themselves, it can change the trajectory for their lives."  Again - HomePlate is where we have the opportunity of creating a place of belonging for these youth to do just that.  Two of the youth who came on Wednesday night took a nap — so they felt safe for certain.  

Thank you for supporting this outreach.  There are ways to contribute to the Christmas store if you’re able. You can find a wishlist on the table in the lobby.

—Pastor Brian

Special Visitors from Paraguay

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Great news! Tim and Margarita Revett, our friends in Paraguay, will be visiting Westside with their children on Sunday, December 2. They will be at the 8:15 service only, so set your alarm clock accordingly.

Hear about their adventures (and misadventures) with the communities they engage. Learn more about their ministries there, teaching and serving. And marvel at how much taller Ana, Antoine, and Gabrielli have gotten!

This is a rare opportunity. Hope you can attend!

Sneak Peek for this Sunday

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An angelic visitation. A dream fulfilled. Zechariah has the most amazing encounter with a messenger from God. He and his wife Elizabeth are going to finally have a baby after all these years and prayers. He’s elated right? Ready to shout the news from the rooftops. No. He questions. He doubts. He is afraid. We’re too old he quips. Fear and doubt have silenced his faith. Now, too, his speech is silenced as well. Until the proof comes. Until the baby is born. When faith is no longer required.

What prayers have you prayed but stopped listening for answers? What dreams have you set aside, doubting they could come to pass? How has doubt or fear marred the expected outcome of a situation or relationship in your life?

Find grace and strength in the story of Zechariah as we walk this slow path toward advent.


The Gifts That Keep on Giving

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Last month we were invited to make our commitment to God and ourselves with our pledge of time, service, and/or finances. If you have not returned your pledge card yet, please do so. If you need another card, they are available at church or here.

Even if circumstances prevent financial support, you can still commit to pray, assist on Sunday mornings, or serve in an outreach ministry.

We encourage everyone to return a pledge card. It marks an intentional desire to grow spiritually in 2019 — and that’s something from which everyone benefits.

"Inside Out" on December 1

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Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness - these are the characters in Pixar’s 2015 “Inside Out.” We’ll be watching this funny, adventurous, and all-too-human animated film on Saturday, December 1 in our sanctuary.

Which characters do you relate to? Which character drives your actions? Which character is most present now, for this Advent season?

Our Family Promise families will be invited to join us, so we hope that you will attend. It will be an oasis of enjoyment in the midst of the hustle and bustle.

See you at 6:30 pm on December 1 in the sanctuary!

Sneak Peek for this Sunday

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Last year we looked first at this amazing research into the star of Bethlehem, the story of how the heavens are not random, but a clock that can be wound back via computers and reveal exactly what the skies above Babylon looked like in 3 BC around the time Jesus was conceived.  The testimony of the heavens was so vast and particular it caused those men, schooled in prophesy through the centuries old testimony of Daniel, to depart their homeland and travel for months in order to meet this child born king. They have been famously remembered. We still demonstrate their kind of wisdom when we trust God’s word and step out to speak, to be His in this culture, to stand up.  We still demonstrate their kind of wisdom as we encounter hardships as part of the journey. Their brave journey took months to accomplish. And they might have actually arrived to meet and worship the then toddler Jesus on December 25th, 2 BC, according to our calendars. That’s the date the planet jupiter stopped above Bethlehem. It seems too incredible to be true. But the heavens declare this.  Come share together in this wonderful dance of the heavens and in the testimony of God’s word that God knows and cares and is working in EVERYTHING you might experience as we take this step in our slow walk through Advent…   

Small Groups Meeting 11.11 - 11.17

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Confirmation Class

Sunday, 3:30 pm

 

Lunch Bunch

Monday, 11:30 am

 

Westside Readers

Monday, 4:00 pm

 

Choir rehearsal

Monday, 7:30 pm

 

Bible Basics

Tuesday, 6:30 pm

 

Worship Design Team

Wednesday, 7:00 am

 

HomePlate Drop-in

Please Pray for our first gathering

 

Prayer Gathering

Thursday, 6:30 pm

 

Music Team Rehearsal

Thursday, 6:30 pm

 

Life Group

Friday, 9:30 am

Deb Gabel’s house

 

Empty Bowls to benefit HomePlate

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Purchase a handmade bowl and receive a free, home-cooked meal! This “Empty Bowls” event, to be held on Friday, November 16, will benefit HomePlate Youth Services.

HomePlate supports the positive development of young people experiencing homelessness or housing instability. They are the only non-profit drop-in center in Washington County. Westsiders will be hosting HomePlate youth for the first time next week.

Join us from 5:00 - 7:00 pm at Forest Grove Senior Center, 2037 Douglas Street, and support homeless teens.

Family Promise Wish List

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There is a family moving on from Family Promise soon. To make their transition easier, the following items are requested (preference in parentheses):

  • Toothbrushes (hard bristle)

  • Toothpaste (Colgate Optic White or Colgate Mint)

  • Shampoo (Garnier Fructis Sleek & Shine or Tresemme Luxurious Moisture)

  • Conditioner (matching shampoo)

  • Deodorant (Dove clear or Degree Men’s clear)

  • Bar Soap (Dove Cucumber & Green Tea)

  • Body Wash (Old Spice Red Zone Swagger)

  • Razors (Gillette 5 blade)

  • Shaving Cream (Skintimate Raspberry Rain)

  • Feminine Hygiene (Always Ultra Thin Super with wings)

  • Hairspray (Rave 4x Mega)

  • Plastic hangers

  • Bedding: comforter, 2 sheet sets, blanket, pillows (Spiderman, for 7-yr-old boy)

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If you have questions, please contact Bonnie Becker