Have you been curious about what we do in our Nursery, Sunday School and Youth Programs but have been unsure if or how to get involved? Are you someone who regularly volunteers? If you answered "yes" to either of those questions, then mark your calendars from 9 am - noon on Saturday, September 30th for Volunteer Training.
On Monday, August 28th, 2017, one thousand ministers of all denominations will convene in Washington, D.C. to reaffirm their commitment to the social justice movement and stand in solidarity with the spirit and legacy of Dr. King, on the anniversary of the March for Jobs & Justice.
In an act and action of solidarity, the Portland Interfaith Clergy Resistance is sponsoring an event in Portland that will bring together Clergy and People of Faith of all traditions to recommit to being at the forefront of justice and civil rights, to call into accountability President Trump, Attorney General Sessions and all public officials, and to return to its rightful place in the words of Dr. King as the "headlight" in the struggle for justice. We are calling on religious leaders from ALL religions and community leaders to join us! The event on Facebook can be found here. Join us Monday, August 28th at 11 AM at Terry Schrunk Plaza in downtown Portland.
Mark your calendar for August 24 when Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will hold their annual meeting at the Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ in Beaverton, Oregon.
The featured speaker will be Gov. John Kitzhaber. Governor Kitzhaber, has served the State of Oregon for over three decades as a member of the legislature and as a three-term governor. He is a hero among death penalty abolitionists as the person who first declared a moratorium on executions in November of 2011. That halting of executions continues today. The governor will speak to his earlier fateful experience with the death penalty and proclaim his outspoken passion for abolition now.
08/17/2017, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Rosetown Ramblers is a square dance club for the LGBTQ community and allies in Portland, Oregon. They have been active in Portland since 1983. They welcome all square dancers, regardless of age, race, color, gender, religion, ethnic background, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. So lace up your dancing shoes and get ready to square dance!
You are cordially invited to a 80+ Birthday Celebration on Sunday, July 30 at 10:00 am Service & 11:15 am Fellowship Time. Bethel will honor all our Elders who are Celebrating their 80th (or up!) Birthday with a Special Worship Service and Fellowship Time! We will be having Birthday Cake and Tea Sandwiches in your honor. Please join us!
Bethel’s Rummage Sale this year will be held on Friday, October 6 and Saturday, October 7. As in the past, proceeds from this sale will benefit our music program. Donated items may be brought to the church Monday and Tuesday, (October 2 and 3) between the hours of NOON and 8 PM. If you need assistance with your donations, please contact George Patch at 2lula@frontier.net or (503) 625-0910.
PLEASE NOTE: The Monday and Tuesday hours are a departure from previous years. Volunteers will start working at noon, rather than 9 AM, so that donations can be received later in the evening. We are hoping that the later evening hours (to accommodate those working during the day) will also mean more volunteers to help with this enormous undertaking of sorting and pricing, or to help during the actual sale, on Friday and Saturday. Last year during the sale, at times, we were swamped with customers and there weren’t enough workers (critical to the success of the rummage sale).
If you can volunteer for any amount of time, please contact our volunteer coordinators, Carolyn Rundorff at carolyn@rundorff.com or Cathy Thoma at cdthoma4@comcast.net. Thank you for your contributions to Bethel’s Music Program!
To cap off a memorable first year together, the Oregon Chorale and new Artistic Director Jason Sabino will present not one, but two iconic masterworks for choir and organ: Morten Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna and Maurice Duruflé’s Requiem. This is a landmark year for both pieces. It is the 20th anniversary of the 1997 Lux Aeterna world premiere, during which the choral and organ version premiered in Portland. This year is also the 70th anniversary of Duruflé’s Requiem. “I’m excited to be tackling two of the most beautiful and large works of the 20th century,” Sabino said. “Despite their differences, they are both similar in two very central ways: both works are inspired by Gregorian chant, and each composer dedicated it to their parent. They both strike me as very personal in writing, and that’s something I find very appealing in choosing music.”
The Chorale had the opportunity to work with Morten Lauridsen in preparation for this concert, thanks to the generosity of the Oregon Repertory Singers who brought him to Portland for their April concert. As he worked with the Chorale, Lauridsen shared stories of growing up in the Portland area, singing in the church choir at Bethel Congregational (where the Chorale will perform his work in June), and living in his secluded cabin in the San Juan Islands where he wrote the Lux Aeterna on his beloved $50 piano. His stories and his expressiveness at the keyboard demonstrated the deep emotion that went into creating this piece, written at the time of his mother’s death.
Lauridsen finished the rehearsal by telling the Chorale, “This is one of the best communitygroups I've dealt with ever, and it’s right here in my home town.” Both pieces on the concert are accompanied by organ, played by renowned organist Dan Miller. Miller teaches organ at George Fox University and is a “Rodgers artist” for Rodgers Instruments, one of the world’s leading organ builders. Miller has been a featured artist at some of the most iconic organ venues in the world, including the Mormon Tabernacle and the Crystal Cathedral.
The Oregon Chorale is a 70-voice symphonic choir based in Hillsboro, Oregon. The Oregon Chorale has been delighting audiences since 1985, performing choral music from around the world and maintaining an appreciation for technique while exhibiting flexibility of musical style. Its formal concerts showcase a variety of styles from classical to baroque, renaissance to contemporary. Its less-formal presentations include world folk music, spirituals, dinner theater and original musicals.
For more information on the performances or to set up an interview with the artistic director, please email oregonchoralepr@gmail.com or go to www.oregonchorale.org.
Ticket Pricing: $15 for adults, and $10 for students and seniors, free for kids 18 and under.
During the Lenten Journey the morning class will be exploring “Gifts of the Dark Wood” by Eric Elnes with Video and discussion from the Darkwood Brew study series. Have you failed recently? Do you feel lost, or like the road ahead is unclear? Are you ever tempted? Do you find any part of your life exhausting? Do you feel out of place among your peers, or society at large? Based on the themes explored in the book this video/discussion series explores the proposition that our best help on life’s journey often comes from the most unlikely and misunderstood of places: a place known famously, or infamously, as the Dark Wood. March 26: The Gift of Disappearing, video from chapter 7. April 2: The Gift of Misfits, video from chapter 8. April 9: Where we go from Here, video from chapter 9.
Palm Sunday, April 5
Maundy Thursday April 9
Good Friday, April 10
Easter Sunday April 12
Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ begins the celebration of Holy Week with a very special Palm Sunday service culminating in a beautiful celebration of Easter and the risen Christ followed by a fun Easter egg hunt for all ages. You and your family are invited to join us for any and all of the Holy Week activities.
We will gather at the Front entrance of the church and in the Narthex for a congregational procession into the sanctuary with palms waving! Director of Music, Owen Hofmann-Smith has prepared a processional song for all ages. Beth Astarte will offer a dramatization of the first Palm Sunday with a “character from the crowd.” Worship will conclude with the building and procession of the cross (made from the trunks of our Christmas trees).
The Maundy Thursday worship service draws its purpose and themes from historical events that our Christian tradition believed happened on the Thursday before Easter. It is a reenactment of the Last Supper. “Maundy” is the English form of the Latin word meaning commandment. Jesus’ new commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you”, is the focus of Maundy Thursday.
Bethel will once again serve as the gathering place for the Walk. The Walk is a one mile pilgrimage through downtown Beaverton, with stops at several different “stations”. Each station examines a different aspect of Life, Peace and Justice through Scripture, personal witness and prayer. Representatives from various churches will lead us to each station. Walking between the stations, participants will carry a large cross to remind them of the cross that Jesus carried over 2000 years ago and which is still being carried today. The Walk of the cross is a great way to identify with Jesus’ historic walk, to consider the “crosses” of social justice to which Christ continues to call us, and to sing and pray with sisters and brothers from various Christian traditions.
