Pastor Brett will be on renewal leave from April 5 - 11, per Bishop Elaine’s recommendation to the clergy.
Please respect his need to relax and recharge by avoiding emailing or calling him, except in the case of an emergency.
Gayellyn will host a group in the Lighthouse for worship on Sunday, Apr 11, if you have difficulty connecting to Zoom.
Share from your week; where have you seen God at work?:
Kari – I’ll start with the obvious one – my Beavers are in the Elite 8! Go Beavs! I did do the Labyrinth this past Wednesday and it was really a great experience; my feet stayed really warm. The team did a great job of putting it all together. You can either listen to people reading or you can read the sheets with scriptures yourself, if you want to do it that way. I really want to encourage you to go through it, and it took me probably about an hour. It was a great time to be alone in the sanctuary. So, if you get a chance to do it, I highly recommend it. Also, seeing Levi smiling on the screen with Janelle!
Pastor Brett – Thank you Kari, awesome. I also was able to go through it briefly with my son, Ky, yesterday. It was amazing because he was able to get some of the tactile things that Sandy set out. Particularly, the spice bag and he was able to smell that; we were talking about how they anointed Jesus’ body with spices. So, even something as small as that for a 5 year old was really meaningful to him. Q: How do you get in to see that? A: You have to sign up online
Bonnie – This week I had lunch with one of the families that I kept in contact with from Family Promise. The mom is now one of the maintenance managers at 5 domestic violence centers, which is where she and her daughter live as well. She was telling me how she set up a food pantry, and a clothing pantry; a cleaning supplies pantry so they could come there if they can’t afford to buy the stuff. She said – I’m really in need of some hangers. And I thought that shouldn’t be too hard to get. After I had lunch with them, I went to the parsonage and helped Gerry do some cleaning; we opened all the closets and I brought home about 200 hangers. So, God put me in the right place at the right time. She’s very excited to come and get the hangers from me!
Pastor Brett – Amen! Thank you Bonnie – God providing hangers. Thank you for standing in the middle of the supply chain – between those who need it and those who have it.
Jan – Yesterday I went over to help my sister with her quilting. I had a lot of stuff to take with me, and I had my keys in my hand; I set my purse apparently on the back of the car while I’m loading. So, I take off and didn’t realize my purse was still on the back of the car on top. I arrived at my sisters and said – Oh, I didn’t bring my purse; I didn’t think any more about it because I thought I had left it at home. Anyway, when I got home my husband says – Were you missing something? And he’s holding my purse! I said – I thought that I left it at home. He says – This lady came to the door. She said – She saw your car go by and she saw the purse drop off the car. She went out, took the purse, looked in it for the address, didn’t take one thing out, and brought it to the house. Now, that has got to be a God thing. So, I was just praising the Lord for that; I’m praising him still this morning. Because everything was in that purse. Anyway, Glory to God, He is good!
Pastor Brett – Wow, a Good Samaritan at its finest returning the purse to Jan, it’s amazing.
Kevin – I got the privilege of volunteering at the Covid Vaccination event at the Hillsboro Stadium. Our shift vaccinated 562 people.
Pastor Brett – Awesome! That’s great!
Paige – We had an amazing week at the beach with fabulous lifelong friends of ours. While I was at the beach, I got this email that says I was eligible for my vaccination. So, I used the link and I signed up & I got my slot for Easter Sunday. Then I got the email that says – Oops, we sent this out to 11,000 people that shouldn’t have got it. But, if you got in and got your appointment, we’re honoring those. So, I’m pretty sure I’m one of those oops, but I got my spot and I am going in Easter Sunday afternoon to get my vaccine! So, all kinds of good things this week.
Pastor Brett – Wow, that’s awesome Paige! Thanks for sharing, that’s amazing! Lots of good things going on people of God!
This Sunday is Easter!
Along with our usual 9:00 am worship service in the Lighthouse, there will be a special “Meet Me at the Tomb” in the sanctuary at 8:30 am. Pastor Brett will offer a short reflection and communion there. Both will be broadcast on Webex, for your participation at home.
If you wish to attend Easter Sunday worship in person, please sign up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050B4BABAF22AB9-easter. (Contrary to what Pastor Brett shared in worship last Sunday, you will need to sign up)
Thank you for observing our maximum of 25 people in order to keep all safe and healthy.
Just a reminder —
Our Random Acts of Kindness for March is collecting new socks - men's, women's, and children's - for the different non-profit groups we partner with: Family Promise, HomePlate Youth Services, CityTeam, and Western Farm Workers Association.
There is a basket outside of the church, under the overhang; please bring your socks as soon as possible.
You may also donate cash and the shopping will be done for you. Donate here. Be sure to designate RAoK.
Thanks for your generosity!
Join us this Friday at 7:00 pm to observe Good Friday. In partnership with Vermont Hills and West Portland UMC, we will hear Jesus’ last words. This is a powerful tenebrae service that you won’t want to miss.
We will be extinguishing seven candles as we proceed into darkness throughout the service. You are invited to participate by gathering your candles/tealights before the service.
Here is the Zoom link
If you were unable to attend our online worship on Sunday, view it here:
Worshipping as a family takes on more meaning when we’re unable to worship in person as a church.
This coming week includes some of the most sacred days in the church calendar - Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, etc. Yet you may feel a little overwhelmed at explaining these days to your children.
Here’s help! This guide gives you activities, readings, and even recipes for Holy Week. Written for families with younger children, it’s also a wonderful resource for families of one and folks of every age.
Although we can’t gather this year, you may want to observe the “last supper” on Thursday, Apr 1, in your homes.
Traditionally known as Jesus’ last Passover meal with the disciples, it is where He gave his final commandment that we love one another.
Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” —John 13:33-35 (NRSV)
As Christians, we observe the Seder Meal in honor, and to increase the understanding, of Jesus’ Jewish roots. The Seder is structured around the sharing of four cups of wine or grape juice, each symbolizing one of the themes - Sanctification, History, Thanksgiving, and Hope. The purpose is to tell the story of the Exodus. To learn how to prepare the table and the service, please read this document with care, to show respect to our Jewish brothers and sisters.
This Sunday, March 28, is Palm Sunday. It begins our observance of Holy Week with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Here is a video on how to make your own palm: https://youtu.be/Rf2je0gpkmI.
A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of him and that followed were shouting,
“Hosanna to the Son of David!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest heaven! —Matthew 21:8-9 (NRSV)
Watch your inbox, Facebook, and our website for more resources as we enter Holy Week.
Share from your week; where have you seen God at work?:
Sharing for March 21st:
Kari – There was a couple of spots where I was in line this past week; both times the other person let me go first. I thought that was so nice, because I’m usually not the person who will cede my spot in line. That was a good lesson for me to give grace to others; the two women who did that were a great example of that. So, I was just very thankful for them and for their patience.
Jakki – Mine is similar to Kari’s. I like to shop at Safeway, because I probably know everybody in there; I stop and talk to everybody. But, it’s just a blessing, you know these people they don’t complain, they just do their job and they’re so pleasant; I just see God all the time in their store. And how people when you just smile & say hello they reciprocate. I go in the store and they ask – Can I help you? Can I help you? Never before in any other Safeway, and other stores; when I go to Fred Meyers I have to hunt for somebody. But, with this Safeway I get service right from the door. It’s just a blessing and I see God at work all the time in people; gives me an opportunity sometimes to share my belief with them and that’s been a blessing. You know, you talk to a person and just say hello; the next thing you know you have a long conversation and they’re telling you about their life. Brad is always asking me - why do people tell me about their lives, how do you get that information? I tell him – I don’t know, I just say hello! It’s just a blessing and I see God at work all the time in Safeway. People say there are not good people, but I believe there are a lot of good people; if you just pay attention to the media they make everybody look bad. But, to say everybody is ruthless and all that, that’s saying that God is not good and God is good! He created good. Stop listening to the media; that’s all I have to say.
Paige – I’m jumping off of Jakki’s a little bit. I haven’t been able to see all your amazing faces, because I’ve been working weekends in the Hillsboro Costco. I don’t enjoy driving out there every Sunday morning, but it’s really nice to have some familiar faces that I get to see and talk to. Jakki, I totally get it, there’s one of the staffers that’s there because he works Sunday mornings and he works really close to where our flower cooler is. I started up a conversation with him, probably a month and a half ago, and even during the ice storm and everything. One of the things he shared with me was that he had lost a daughter, a very young daughter. She would be right in between Gwennie & Liam’s ages. He wanted to show me the picture of her gravestone; that he was able to make it up to the Sunset cemetery during the snow and ice. He says – Look, her stone is completely clean and there’s no ice on it, no snow on it and everything else was completely covered and you couldn’t see it. It’s just that it is that little piece of connection. Honestly, I’m always amazed that people thank me for being there, because I don’t see this as an essential thing, but apparently our company does. I really appreciate you guys for not getting too close and for being here. So, it’s been interesting the kinds of reactions. People can still tell if you’re smiling at them because your eyes do a whole lot more… You can also tell the people who haven’t been out much and just need some kind of connection with people. So, just being able to do that has been a blessing for me.
Gavin – Happy Birthday Bonnie, that’s really great! I was fortunate to get my first Covid shot out at the airport on Friday. There was a lot of time sitting in line; one of the thoughts I had was how they moved all the people out of Egypt to the desert. I estimate there was probably 5 – 10,000 people out in cars there. What a massive organized operation and it ran so efficiently. I don’t think without God those people could have gotten out of Egypt and organized across the desert; I had a lot of time to think about this in the line. But, just a massive operation. So, yeah!
Bonnie – I’m sitting here at the beach watching God’s beautiful ocean. The waves are amazing this morning. You can’t be at the beach and not know there is a powerful God that’s created such a beautiful thing!
If you visit our website, www.westsidejourney.com, you might notice a small change.
In the main menu, there is now a choice called “Worship Links.” If you click on that, you can learn more about our Sunday morning worship or link to our YouTube channel for the Westside Odd Band. Give it a try!
And be sure to subscribe and give a thumbs-up to the songs you enjoy on YouTube.
If you were unable to attend our online worship on Sunday, view it here:
Perhaps you’ve never walked a labyrinth and don’t know where to begin.
Here’s good news! A team of Westsiders have donated their time and talent to make audio recordings, a mixture of scripture readings and meditations, that will lead you through not only the labyrinth, but the events of the week preceding Jesus’ crucifixion.
Learn more and sign up for your timeslot at https://www.westsidejourney.com/labyrinth.
Share from your week; where have you seen God at work?:
Martha – Ken and I enjoyed the Japanese Gardens on Friday. We took a walk up the hill to the Japanese Gardens. At one point I decided to take a picture of one of their gardens. When we got home I looked at my photos on my camera and low and behold there was a rainbow in the garden! Now, I did not see the rainbow when we were there, but we saw it in the photo. So, it just reminded me that we can’t see God. We can feel his promises sometimes, but we can’t always see his promises. We can’t see God, but he is there.
Pastor Brett - Thank you Martha, Amen. We can’t always see God, but God’s promises are there. That’s beautiful.
Sharing/reflections after the sermon on Numbers 21: 4-9 & John 3: 14-21 How do you feel like God is talking to you?
Dianne – The part about the wilderness and what we’ve gone through as a nation this past year. I never thought of myself as really being in the wilderness, because I live in the suburb of Hillsboro. But, it was like that because I was barely seeing people. When I would see people they would wave as they scurried into their houses. I felt really alone; it really taught me to really rely on God, which I thought I had been. I mean I had nothing, my husband was gone, I had little money; I didn’t really want to go to the store. I was scared of going to the store until I finally said – Okay, you just have to brave it, put your mask on and go to the store. And there were other people out there. Some were saying - this is just a hoax and I’m not wearing a mask. This reminds me of the people that were in the Bible saying – I want fish, and I want this & I want that; why can’t I have that? Well, we couldn’t have what we wanted. We couldn’t go to the restaurants that we love to go to, because of this Covid thing. So, we were put in a box and told to stay there, don’t go anywhere. Don’t talk to anybody, you can call them on the phone or whatever, but don’t have any real physical interaction with anyone because you could become ill. And so I learned really to rely on God with my whole heart & soul and physical, emotional; spiritual way. I feel like I have grown even though I was alone. I feel like I have grown out of that and God is teaching me to just rely on him and not on myself. Because, I’ve always been the person that does everything & says – I can do this, just put your mind to it. I did put my mind to saving myself from Covid, because that really was a danger that I couldn’t fight; it was an invisible thing that was threatening me. So, I had to stay in the house. But, I’m so happy that were done with this; it’s almost over. So, don’t give up, wear your mask, I love you all, and I will see you next Sunday!
Pastor Brett – Thank you for sharing the word. The wilderness is a fitting metaphor for some of what we might be going through.
Michele M. – What came to mind for me was – Why a serpent? Why did God pick a serpent to put up on that pole? What came to mind was the serpent in the Garden of Eden. Look what it did that was so against God. Is our God a vengeful God? I don’t know but I think our God likes to get back a little bit and to take that serpent and to make that serpent really like a good thing rather than a bad thing. The serpent always represents the devil or evil so, it’s like taking that and making it into something positive; that serpent will save your life. The correlation between the serpent in the garden wanting to go against God and what he created by bringing evil into the garden. And at the same time in this part of the Bible, the serpent becomes the good thing. That it becomes the symbol of - this will save your life.
Pastor Brett – That’s deep, thank you Michele. God redeeming even the serpent, right? The image of the serpent.
Gavin – Many years ago, Susan Brehmer gave me two books. I wanted to read the Bible, but I couldn’t deal with the therefore, thou, thee, formal version. She gave me The Message and I started to read it and I go – I’m going to read every word of this book! I mean it was just a mission. So, every day at lunch I would spend time out in my van in the parking lot reading as far as I could get in the allotted time. Numbers almost got me! If you’re going to read the Bible, plow through it; it makes perfect sense on the other side. Man, that was very trudging to read that. Susan gave me another book, because I told her I liked the late Reverend D James Kennedy, I had seen him on TV a bunch. I can’t remember it’s either from one of the footnotes in The Message or if it was from D James Kennedy, but the serpent on the pole is the symbol for physician or medical. Anyway, plow through Numbers because it takes effort! Thank you Susan!
Pastor Brett – Yes, Gavin reminding us that the symbol for medical healing is a serpent on the pole. Thank you Gavin, that’s good. I’m going to write that down for my next sermon on this. Susan says – Love that Gavin!
We will be gathering this Saturday, March 20, at 10:00 am to do some general cleaning on our parsonage (970 SW Tropicana Ave, the house just south of the church.) Our previous tenants left it in good shape; it just needs a going-over. We should be done by 2:00 pm.
We’re still looking for the right family/individual for the house. Here’s the info: https://www.westsidejourney.com/news/2021/2/5/rental-house
If you were unable to attend our online worship on Sunday, view it here:
Westsiders, thank you for your generosity in February!
Here’a a note from Suzy Jeffreys, Executive Director of NxNE Community Health Center:
Thank you again for the amazing donation of supplies for our free bins. It really was a great haul of items, and we appreciate how high-quality and new everything was (that’s not always the case when we get donations, and we like to give our patients the best stuff when we can). Please pass our gratitude and appreciation on to everyone who donated
In addition to the necessities donated to NxNE, Self Enhancement, Inc received $340 in gift cards!
If you’d like to participate in March’s Random Acts of Kindness, here’s the info on Sock It to March!
Slipping on warm, dry socks when your feet are cold may be one of the most comforting things in life.
Our Random Acts of Kindness this month will be collecting new socks - men's, women's, and children's - for the different non-profit groups we partner with: Family Promise, HomePlate Youth Services, CityTeam, and Western Farm Workers Association.
You may sign up here. It’s a simple sign up but it will help us know where we may be lacking. Thanks!
There is a basket outside of the church, under the overhang; please bring your socks by March 28.
You may also donate cash and the shopping will be done for you. Donate here. Be sure to designate RAoK.
Thanks for your generosity!
Remember that extra hour of sleep you got back in November? It’s time to give it back.
Move your clocks forward one hour this Saturday before you go to bed. Yes, you’ll get one less hour of sleep. But this November… ;)
This Sunday, our third Sunday to worship in person in the Lighthouse, we are not requiring a sign-up.
We requested that you sign up for the first two Sundays, in case we were in danger of exceeding our maximum occupancy (25 persons.)
We are all in this together as we navigate our way out of the pandemic. Everyone has their own level of risk tolerance, so we fully understand those of you who will continue to worship from home until you feel comfortable in a group. And we appreciate the need of some to be in communion with others now. Please go at your own pace; we are truly in this together.