Guest Speaker Rev. Tara Wilkins - Sunday, August 12

Guest Speaker Rev. Tara Wilkins - Sunday, August 12

Rev. Tara Wilkins will be speaking at Bethel THIS Sunday, August 12. She has served as pastor of Bridgeport United Church of Christ since August of 2012. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Community of Welcoming Congregations in Oregon and SW Washington. Rev. Tara has earned a solid reputation in the Pacific Northwest as an inspiring speaker, workshop leader and preacher and is often a guest lecturer at colleges and universities. She is a fierce advocate and justice warrior, proclaiming an inclusive Gospel that honors the many paths to God. Pastor, leader, activist, writer, contemplative, and mother are just some of her roles, but her favorite job is being Gram to her 9 grandchildren.

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Bethel Beaverton Bash

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Bethel Beaverton Bash

Join us after church on September 9 for the Third Annual Bethel Beaverton Bash. There will be carnival games, sno-cones, face painting, bouncy house and even a dunk tank where you can "Dunk the Pastor" and others. There will be a table with information about the various committees at Bethel along with fun, food and fellowship. This year, we are having a Hawaiian theme so dig out your favorite Hawaiian attire and join us! We are looking for volunteers for set-up and clean up. Please contact Beth Astarte if you're available. Check out the Facebook Event!

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Congregational Resolution on Healthcare

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Congregational Resolution on Healthcare

The Social Justice Advocacy in Action Committee and the Mission and Outreach Committee have endorsed a resolution in support of Health Care for All Oregonians. The Health Ministries Team at First Congregational UCC Corvallis is proposing the resolution for consideration by individual UCC congregations and by the Central Pacific Conference when it meets in September. The Mission and Outreach Committee has asked the Board to adopt this resolution prior to the CPC annual meeting.

To this end, an informational meeting has been scheduled for Sunday, August 19, 2018 at 11:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall. The guest speaker for our February healthcare forum, Dr. Mike Huntington, will return to Bethel to provide more information and answer our questions about the resolution. Congregational feedback will be collected at the meeting and via email prior to the August board meeting. Please download and read the resolution HERE and plan to attend the meeting on August 19. Thank you!

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What is Yours to Do For the Planet?

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What is Yours to Do For the Planet?

For 17 year old Aji Piper, it is his role to join with 20 other youth to sue the federal government. "Their complaint asserts that, through the government's affirmative actions that cause climate change, it has violated the youngest generation’s constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, as well as failed to protect essential public trust resources." (https://www.ourchildrenstrust.org/us/federal-lawsuit/)  This lawsuit began in 2016 and has already weathered the federal government wanting the case to be dismissed. Gratefully, federal judges both on the original case and for the appeal saw merit in allowing the youth to continue with their lawsuit. After all, they only want clean air to breath, safe water to drink and healthy soil to grow the food they eat - they want the planet to be around for them and future generations.

Earth-Honoring Faith Continues

Earth-Honoring Faith Continues

THIS Sunday, July 8, we continue our special summer sermon series called "Earth - Honoring Faith." To help create our earth honoring sanctuary space, please bring something that represents the earth - plants, flowers (potted please), branches, pine cones, moss, rocks - whatever you can find. This is our opportunity to co-create a garden. There will be a special time during the service where we will ask people to come and place their items in front of the communion table. Your participation in the creation process and helping us remember all of the beauty of the earth is greatly appreciated.

Join Us for Earth-Honoring Faith

Join Us for Earth-Honoring Faith

THIS Sunday, June 24, begins a special summer sermon series called "Earth - Honoring Faith." How does our relationship to God - the Creator - affect the way we live on the earth? What if we lived truly connected to God's Creation? God created all things and called them "good." Throughout the series, we will look at the ways we live with the community of earth in a way that deepens our reverence for all of life. How does living in reverence for all of life inform our actions for justice and the ways we care for the earth?

Urgent Action Needed to Protect Immigrants

Urgent Action Needed to Protect Immigrants

The House of Representatives is voting this week on two pieces of legislation that will increase restrictions on legal immigration to the United States and take away trafficking protections for children. Act now – Tell your Representative to vote against the Securing America’s Future Act (H.R. 4760) and Speaker Ryan's Border Security and Immigration Reform Act.

These bills would radically change our immigration system in dangerous ways.

Faith Leaders Call for an Immediate End to Inhumane and Unjust Policy

Faith Leaders Call for an Immediate End to Inhumane and Unjust Policy

Members of the Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ were among the 1200 who participated in yesterday’s action in Sheridan demanding that the Trump Administration end the practice of brutally dividing families seeking asylum. “As people of faith, we have a moral obligation to speak out against injustice. Our Christian tradition teaches us the importance of welcoming the stranger. The current policy of separating families is cruel and inhumane and must end,” said the Rev. Molly Carlson, Conference Minister for the Central Pacific Conference.

Beaverton School District Homeless Student Dashboard for 2018

Beaverton School District Homeless Student Dashboard for 2018

FROM: Lisa Mentesana, Homeless Education/Foster Care Program Specialist
RE: Beaverton School District Homeless Student Dashboard for June 1, 2018

As we enter into the last month of school please know that each student who has been identified as McKinney-Vento eligible during the school year has been given an opportunity to remain in their school of origin with academic and social service support. Our program helps to stop the mobility in education for these highly mobile students. Services include transportation to and from their school of origin and/or transition services into the school community closest to where they're currently living. We also provide social service support through resource brokerage to partner agencies. These valuable community partnerships help our students and families move toward long term housing stability. The positive in this difficult situation is that as a community we are working together to address critical gap areas of need in services as well as affordable housing options. Also, that while well over 2000 children and youth in our school attendance area are living with housing insecurity, they're not dealing with school instability due to the lack of permanent and/or inadequate housing.