Social Justice Forum: Oregon LNG Terminal and Pipeline

On March 31, 2019 at 11:30 am in the Fellowship Hall, we will be tackling our first environmental justice topic. The Justice and Peace Ministry Team of Medford UCC is asking for support to stop the building of a proposed fracked gas pipeline and liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal that would cross the length and breadth of Southern Oregon.

* Pembina Corporation, a Canadian company, proposes to build a 3” wide natural gas pipeline from Canada and the Rockies to Coos Bay. It would add a processing terminal and shipping facility at Jordan Cove to export the LNG to Asia.

* The terminal would become the largest source of climate pollution in the state. The pipeline and terminal affect 400 waterways (including the Rogue River and 12 public drinking water sources); disturb tribal territories and burial grounds; invoke eminent domain and affect land use and rights; threaten the fishing industry, including salmon runs; and affect jobs in tourism and other sectors.

* Kate Brown and the State of Oregon can deny the Pacific Connector fracked gas pipeline and the Jordan Cove LGN export terminal

* Supporters claim creation of 6000 construction jobs and an estimated $10 billion in private capital. However, environmental damages could be incalculable and are fraught with job loss and loss of revenue as well.

BHS Homeless Spring Food Bags

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the BHS Homeless Teen food project. Donations of food, money and time are so appreciated.

We want to tell you about one family you are helping. Three siblings attending Beaverton High are living together with no adults. The oldest, a senior boy, is working 2 jobs and getting good grades. He supports his younger sisters. They are renting an uninsulated garage for $600 per month because they don’t want to be separated into different homes. These are just 3 of the 143 students you are supporting.

Principal Anne Erwin says students who receive support because they are food and housing insecure graduate at a higher percentage rate than their peers who do have secure food and housing. You all are part of the reason these students are graduating! Please join us Sunday evening after Faith Café (6:15-ish PM). We need movers and counters. On Monday morning please come a few minutes before 9 AM to help us get the spring break food to the school. We need packers and drivers. And sincere thanks to Sara Edmiston and Mac McPherson for getting us organized and food moved.

"Summer of Adventures" Planning and Don't Forget to Spring Ahead

Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead 1 hour on Saturday or you will be late.

Come help us plan for a fabulous “Summer of Adventure.”  Join the Lilly Grant sabbatical team to discuss and fine tune some ideas for adventures in worship, service & mission, fellowship and personal growth. We will gather this Sunday, March 10, from 11:30 am - 12:15 pm in the Fellowship Hall.

BHS Homeless Spring Food Bags

CAN YOU HELP? Jesuit has donated 124 Fred Meyer cards for the food drive, however, we still need 25 more. We can also use donations of cash. Checks can be made out to Bethel with BHS homeless in memo line. We will lay out food after Faith Cafe on Sunday, March 17 and assemble and deliver bags on Monday, March 18th starting at 9:00. There are already 143 students that qualify as homeless, so we are again collecting chunky/hearty soup. The donation site is the wooden box outside the chapel. Thanks for your help!!

Ash Wednesday Service

Join us Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall for a special Ash Wednesday service to mark the beginning of the season of Lent (See above "Special Lenten Opportunities - Love Wins.) A light soup supper will be provided followed by a time of worship and reflection and the traditional imposition of ashes. This is a family-friendly service so you are encouraged to attend with your entire family. The Diaconate needs 2-3 people to bring rolls. If you are willing to help in this way, please contact Monique Manley-Smith at memoney@comcast.net

Women's Spring Gathering

Women's Retreat March 16, God's Extravagant Love! based on Ephesians 5:2 Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant.
Join us from 9:00-1:00. RSVP to Paige. If you'd like to help plan, fix lunch, or need child care let us know. 

Grubby Sunday And Potato Bar Fundraiser

On Sunday, March 17, the Faith Development Committee will host a Baked Potato and Salad Bar after church. This is our fundraiser for Camperships. A donation basket will be available. Each week at Camp Adams costs $420. This is a great bargain, and our Bethel kids LOVE camp. Camperships make sure all kids can attend. Each year we have more and more youth who would like to attend. Plan to join us after church and support the kids at camp.

This is also GRUBBY SUNDAY. What is Grubby Sunday? Every Spring and Fall we set aside a Sunday afternoon and come to church in our work/grubby clothes and stay after church and spruce things up. We will have a wall full of job cards for you to choose. There will be many inside and outside jobs; jobs that might take a partner, and many that you can do alone. Some jobs take a bit of thought, but most are fairly mindless and just require a little "elbow grease."  Faith Development will provide the food to fortify you for this fun, community building activity. Come and help make Bethel sparkle for Easter.

Habitat for Humanity Build Day

There will be a Habitat morning work day on Saturday, February 16 at the Denney Road site from 8 to noon. This is a chance to show your skills working to build homes for families who otherwise couldn’t afford a home of their own. The site is well-marked and on the Scholls Ferry end of Denney. Steve Thomas will be signing up a work crew on the next several Sundays after church or contact him at caroleth@aol.com or (503) 645-1997.

2019 Annual Meeting-All are Welcome

Mark your calendars, Bethel’s annual meeting is scheduled for Sunday, January 27th after worship. In our tradition, the annual meeting provides a living example of how UCC congregations govern themselves under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The moderator (the chief lay leader of our organization) presides at the meeting. Reports from the various committees and teams are reviewed and accepted. A mission revenue and spending plan (a.k.a. the church budget) is presented, discussed and adopted. Past year successes and challenges are highlighted. Priorities and goals for the upcoming year are shared and celebrated. A slate of officers and lay leaders will be presented by the Nominating committee.

If you are new to Bethel, this is a GREAT way to understand how our church “works”. The meeting is open to anyone who would like to attend. For issues that require a formal vote, the official members of the congregation qualify to express a “yes”, “no” or “abstain”. Bethel friends who have not formally joined the church are encouraged to ask questions and share their insights and perspectives with respect to the topic “on the floor”. While essential decisions need to be authorized by a formal motion and vote, Bethel strives to make decisions through a process of dialogue and consensus. Deepen your understanding and investment in Bethel’s ministry by participating in the annual meeting January 27! Grace abounds….

Faith Cafe this Sunday

Greetings, Volunteers: Happy 2019! The holidays were wonderful, but it's time to get back to business!!

Bethel's next opportunity to provide volunteers for Faith Cafe will be this Sunday, January 13. Please let Peter Bauer (peterwbaueriii@comcast.net) know if you are able to help out. If you would like to help with cooking (2 pm arrival) or set up (3 pm arrival), please put that in your email to Peter.
After January 13, Bethel's next turn will be March 3. Thank you!

Founded in 2005, Faith Cafe serves a free hot meal each Sunday at 5:00 PM and on the last Thursday of each month at 5:00 PM.

Faith Cafe offers a free, hot home-style meal every Sunday at 5:00 pm at Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ.  

Faith Cafe is also open the last Thursday of every month for dinner at 5 pm.

We are located at 5150 SW Watson Ave. in Beaverton.

Calling All Hockey Fans!

Put Saturday, January 19th, on your calendar for a thrilling Winterhawks hockey game with the Everett Silvertips. To sign up for this outing, contact Jim Butler(jbcubsfan@msn.com), or he will also have a signup sheet near the church entrance on Sundays. Adult tickets will cost $19.50 each, as always, kids are free. Deadline to order tickets is January 9th. Tickets will be available Sunday, January 13th

Bread, Bath and Beyond

You are invited to join us in the new year as we explore a new series from Worship Design Studio called Bread, Bath and Beyond. The new year always brings opportunity to move beyond our limitations… to find new beginnings and be better than we were before. We use this cultural word-play to remember that the most basic transforming experiences of our faith–communion and baptism–are the starting points for life “beyond” our limitations. Let’s make this year one of amazing transformations–for our lives, for our community, for our world beginning January 13.

John Nilsen Trio

John Nilsen Trio to Play at Bethel UCC the Last Sunday of 2018.  For about the last eight years, the John Nilsen Trio has been performing at the Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ during the holiday season.  This year is no different and on December 30 at 10 am, they will be at Bethel again.  The John Nilsen Trio is based in the Portland area and consists of John Nilsen, Jason Moore, percussionist and Jeff Leonard, bass player.

John Nilsen was born in Seattle, Washington and moved to Portland, Oregon when he was four years old.  He began studying classical piano from his mother at age six and started playing the guitar at age fourteen.  He attended Southern Oregon College (Southern Oregon University), graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and was honored by the institution in 1995 with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Nilsen founded the Magic Wing recording label in 1987 that has a catalog of eleven successful titles, all having international distribution. Nilsen and Jason Moore met in Ashland in 1987 and became his percussionist and in 1992, Jeff Leonard joined the group as the bass player.

This is a wonderful opportunity for the entire family to end the year, enjoy some great music and worship together on Sunday, December 30, 2018 at 10 am at Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ, 5150 SW Watson, Beaverton, Oregon.

Christmas Eve Services

2019 Schedule

Christmas Eve Family-Friendly Service

Join us in the sanctuary for a celebration of Christmas that is fun and festive for families with young children, or children of any age. Our early Christmas eve service on December 24 at 5 pm will include a participatory reenactment of the Christmas story as recorded in Scripture. With carols, costumes and prayers, this service provides a wonderful opportunity to worship on Christmas eve at an earlier hour.

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

Starts at 10:00 PM in 2019

You are invited to join us December 24 for a candlelight service as we continue our theme of Angels Among Us. Listen to readings, sing carols and hear beautiful music by our Chancel and Handbell Choirs. The service will end at midnight on Christmas Day with the lighting of candles and the singing of Silent Night. It is a wonderful way to celebrate God's love through the birth of Jesus!

Christmas Pageant - #GotMyWings

Make plans now to join us on Sunday, December 23 at 10 am when the children and youth of Bethel present #GotMyWings. You will want to find out if Gabriel gets his wings after delivering messages of hope, peace, joy and love this holiday season. Owen Hofmann-Smith and Beth Astarte have once again teamed up with an original script and music along with some all time favorites! You won't want to miss it! If you would like to help with the pageant, please contact Beth.

Blue Christmas

Each year during Advent, Bethel offers a quieter, more meditative worship service for those who are coping with serious illness, grief, loss or any of the other difficulties and challenges of life. This time of year, the culture around us seems to demand hearty good cheer at all times. When we are grieving, in pain, trying to make ends meet, or reeling from the violence and hatred in our nation and in the world, we may feel out of step and off balance.

The Blue Christmas Worship Service gives us an opportunity to give voice to our pain and frustration, and the opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us through candlelight, music, and, if desired, the ancient practice of anointing with oil.

This year's Blue Christmas Worship will take place on Sunday, December 9 at 2 pm in Bethel's sanctuary. The pastor and Called to Care members will be available after the service for any who wish to stay to speak privately with someone. For further information, please contact Pastor David.