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.

Sabbatical Supply Minister Dianne Rodriguez and Office Administrator,Courtney Czarnecki,

Introducing Sabbatical Supply Minister Dianne Rodriguez

We are delighted to introduce our sabbatical supply minister, Dianne Rodriguez, who will be joining us starting June 1st! 

After graduating from New Brunswick Theological Seminary in May of 2005, Pastor Dianne Rodriguez was called as minister to First Parish Church, U.C.C. in Jamesport, NY on Long Island. That same year she was ordained as a U.C.C. minister, of Word and Sacrament. Prior to this call she served at Bethany Congregational in East Rockaway for two years as a licensed minister and Spiritual Director. During these years she volunteered at Christa House, a resident home for those dying of AIDS. She also worked with a colleague to help facilitate spiritual gatherings for those with brain trauma. She completed a three year spiritual formation certification as a Spiritual Director from the Cenacle Retreat Center in Ronkonkoma, NY. 

Spiritual direction brought a discerning depth into her ministry at First Parish Church, U.C.C. as she helped the congregation discern God's will and vision of what it meant to be a church in the 21st Century. In addition to working with her own parish Dianne collaborated with a lay leader from Bethany Congregational, U.C.C. to explore developing a Spiritual Lifelines ministry which would serve to help enrich the spiritual life of a congregation challenged by our ever changing world. Dianne was overjoyed having been given the opportunity to serve at Forest Grove UCC for 3 months as sabbatical supply pastor several years ago. Upon her return Dianne completed Intentional Ministry Training which is part of a transitional ministry training through the Interim Ministry Network.

In her last eight years at First Parish Church, U.C.C. she helped the congregation discern a Spiritual Renewal Ministry, that actively seeks to model and be a community in which spirit and service come together. Dianne was the settled part time pastor at Hubbard UCC in Hubbard Oregon, helping the worshiping congregation close on January 6, 2019; and birth The Heart2Soul Spiritual Project. She has had an ongoing spiritual direction ministry and is affiliated with The Interfaith Spiritual Center. After having moved to Oregon, Dianne has completed restorative justice training at Resolutions Northwest, facilitated women's retreats, leadership annual visioning retreats, and serves on the committee on ministry of the Central Pacific Conference.

Pastor Dianne is loved and supported by her husband of 39 years, Lazaro, her son David and daughter-in-law Katrina, and her two grandsons Xavier and Quintin. As a former dancer Dianne has a great appreciation and love for ballet and all the arts that can be used as instruments of God experience in body, soul, and mind.  Her special interests in life are reading, bicycle riding on her yellow and hot pink Del Sol, beading, nature, the arts, theatre, music and dance, Feldenkrais body awareness movement classes, gardening, traveling and dining with friends. Her passion in ministry is rooted and founded in spiritual direction.

Staff Announcement - Courtney Czarnecki, Office Administrator

Hello to the congregation of Bethel UCC! I wanted to introduce myself to you in this week’s Highlights, and I look forward to meeting you in person as I settle into my role as your new Office Administrator!  My name is Courtney Czarnecki, and I relocated from Seattle, WA, where I was born and raised, to Portland this past summer. While in Seattle, I worked as an office administrator and program coordinator in the nonprofit sector, mostly working in the arts and humanities. As I job hunted in Portland, my new home, I had my heart set right away on this position at Bethel and was very moved by the dedication to community support and direct outreach that Bethel provides to its community, along with the uplifting values of the congregation and the perspective Rev. David Randall-Bodman shares as Senior Pastor. I knew it would be a great fit, and it has been a wonderful first couple weeks of training and getting to know the community! When I’m not at work, I’m usually trying to cook a new recipe, reading a classic novel, taking a long walk, sewing, or exploring Portland. Being a lifelong learner and staying curious are so important to me, and I love to learn and talk about travel, culture, philosophy, literature, theology, history, science, you name it! Please stop by the office any time to say hi, and I am so grateful for the warm welcome I have received. 

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.

Beaverton School District Clothes Closet

The Beaverton School District Clothes Closet  is in special need of girls’ heavy coats in sizes 7-8 and boys new boxer style underwear in XL (14/16) right now. There’s a labeled clothes basket near the chapel for drop offs which Kathy Bleyle takes to Clothes Closet on Wednesday’s. Other school appropriate clothing sizes 4T and up would also be much appreciated by the kids and their families. Questions? Contact Kathy at dbleyle@hotmail.com or 971-570-9040. Thank you!

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.

Advent Small Group Study

Advent is just around the corner and you have two opportunities to go deeper with the materials through this special small group study - "Do Not Be Afraid: Defeating Fear with Hope, Peace, Love, Joy and a Wholehearted Life."  This group will use Dr. Brene Brown's work on vulnerability to show us how to live more fully and the various ways we let fear affect our lives. It's a perfect time of year to explore Dr. Brown's work, not only because it complements the worship theme but also because the holidays can bring up issues of perfectionism, unrealistic expectations, stress, sorrow and old or existing family conflicts. (How many of you have family members who think and even vote differently than you do?)

Paige Unangst will be facilitating discussion at the Sunday morning 9 am "Conversations for the Curious" class beginning Sunday, December 2. If you cannot make the 9 am class, then you'll have an opportunity to join Pastor David Tuesday evenings at 7 pm electronically via Zoom (a free online meeting platform) beginning Tuesday, November 27. For questions or to join, please contact Beth. It is important if you're joining the Tuesday evening classes that you pre-register with Beth so she can make sure you can connect electronically.

Beaverton High School Homeless Teens

Good news! We have enough Fred Meyer $10 gift cards for all BHS homeless students’ winter food drive. However, we still need lots more chunky/ hearty soup. We‘d like to provide 5 soups per student and we almost have enough for 1. We also have special categories that need some big donors. If you are interested in this please contact Nancy Winston or Fran Jensen. We are providing 3 meals a day for 16 days for 91 kids. That’s enough food for 4368 meals. This project includes all kinds of people. If you have a neighbor or friend that is interested in participating, please invite them to contribute or join us. Jesuit High Alums and Holy Trinity church are contributing. Check donations need to be made out to Bethel with the memo stating BHS homeless. Mark your calendar for Sunday night, December 16th starting at 6:30pm to lay out the food and Monday, December 17th starting at 9am for bag assembly and delivery. Lots of opportunities for heavy lifting!, organizing, and driving. A special thanks to the Wednesday morning Food Cupboard re-stockers-Ted, Judy, Nancy, Sara, Pat, Kathy and Mac- for already helping to stash the food for this project.