On August 11, we will be featuring the many artists of the Bethel congregation as part of our Blessing of the Artists worship service. Our Blessing of the Artists celebration will include a special art and creativity-focused worship service at 10 AM, followed by an artists' reception from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM in the Fellowship Hall. Creations include everything from wood carvings to fused glass to woven baskets to fruit preserves to poetry. Please join us for this special service and artists' reception! We'll be enjoying a spread of culinary arts during the reception and there will be time to chat, nibble, enjoy fellowship, and view artworks at your own pace.
Kayaking on the Tualatin River
On August 14, join us for another Summer of Adventure outing - kayaking on the Tualatin River! We'll meet at Cook Park at 1:30 PM. Dress for the weather and bring water and a snack if you want one. It is advisable to wear shoes that can get wet, like sandals. Tualatin Riverkeepers will provide the boats, life jackets and paddles.
As far as boat options, TRK has 7 canoes, 2-4 double kayaks, and 10-15 single kayaks. Canoes can take 1-2 passengers depending on their size/age, which is great for little ones going with their parents. The activity will run from 1:30 to 4:30 PM. Everyone will need to sigh a waiver (adults on the front, minors on the back).
Taize Service
Taize Service and Labyrinth Workshop
On Sunday, July 28, as part of our Adventures in Worship, the sanctuary will be transformed for a contemplative Taize service. For this service, all children and youth are invited to go to the Education building before service begins. There will not be a Children's Time. During this service, there will not be any verbal announcements. Extra copies of the Highlights will be available in the Narthex for you to pick up. As part of worship, you'll have the opportunity to walk a triple spiral labyrinth either on paper or on the floor. Copies of the labyrinth, clipboards and pens will be provided.
Afterwards from noon - 3 pm, Rev. Kathleen Verigin will offer a labyrinth workshop entitled "A Triple Spiral Journey: A Celtic Path to Belonging." Rev. Kathleen is the founder of Anam Cara Connections (www.anamcaraconnections.com)and has led tours to Ireland and Scotland multiple times. She uses the triple spiral as a blueprint for one's spiritual journey that delivers the traveler to the Nest of Belonging - the sacred heart within. This workshop is being offered on a love offering basis. You can pick up flyers at the Connect Table. If you have any questions, please contact Beth. Additional details are also in the Facebook event posting: https://www.facebook.com/events/1318658948290570/
Hear O Hear My People
Strategic Planning Wants to Hear from You!
The strategic planning committee is holding a series of focus group meetings for members, visitors, and friends of the congregation to share their thoughts and aspirations for Bethel! The data collected will be used to inform our strategic plan for the next five years. The focus groups are being held on the following dates:
July 25 at 11:30 AM at Bethel.
August 5 at 7 PM at Bethel.
August 16 at 6:30 PM at the Macpherson home.
August 18 at 11:30 AM at Bethel.
August 26 at 7 PM at the Griffo home.
To sign up for one of the meetings, please click on the Summer of Adventure Signup Link in the Weekly Highlights or contact Courtney in the church office.
Blessing of the Artist
Dear Bethel Community,
“The purpose of art is the lifelong construction of a state of wonder.” – Glenn Gould
Bethel Congregational UCC is interested in celebrating our human connectedness through the arts. We will be hosting a Blessing of the Artists worship service and artist reception on Sunday, August 11, 2019, from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM. We emphasize that this would be an inclusive blessing of all artists. This event is an opportunity for the Bethel congregation as well as community members to share and appreciate the creations of local artists and the many contributions art brings to all our living. The day will begin with a blessing ceremony for artists and will be followed by a showing of featured art work and refreshments.
This is an opportunity to offer something unique for the Bethel community to participate in. I and the members of Bethel encourage you to consider this collaboration and welcome you to submit your work. We would love to see your paintings and drawings, your musical and dance talents, your poetry and writing (fiction, poetry, nonfiction, blogs, journalism), your photography, graphic art, and carvings, your jewelry and your culinary gifts. If you have a form of personal creative expression, we encourage you to share your gifts with the congregation for the Blessing of the Artists.
The submission deadline to RSVP as a featured artist is August 2, 2019. Please reach out to Courtney Czarnecki, Office Administrator, by email at office@bethelbeaverton.org or by phone at (503)646-1191 to sign up to participate. If your creative gift is hospitality or the culinary arts, we would also appreciate volunteers to assist with set up and refreshments for our artist reception.
We encourage you to share this letter with the artists in your life, including friends and family, if you think they would enjoy participating in this event. Artists are welcome to sell their work if they choose. We are looking forward to celebrating art in its many forms with you on August 11th.
Sincerely,
Rev. Dianne Rodriguez
Sabbatical Supply Minister at Bethel Congregational UCC
What A Wonderful Phrase
Starfire Singers: CJ Cafe
On July 24, Bethel will host the Starfire Singers as they perform their show CJ Cafe. We will be hosting a potluck dinner at 6 PM and the show will begin at 7:30 in the Sanctuary. CJ Cafe...Building on Our Dreams is an original musical by Dirk and Carol Damonte which is being premiered by the Starfire Singers on this 2019 Summer Tour. Set in a very special cafe, where people gather for much more than just coffee, CJ is about God’s call for each of us to be a part of changing the world. People from varying backgrounds and interests gather there, and through sharing their stories, listening to each other, and seeing things in new ways they realize that together they can do so much more to heal the hurts and bring the Good News than they could ever do alone. Through a wide variety of musical styles, lively dances, multi-media, and the voices of the choir youth, you will come to realize that you, too, are a part of this story. Come on down to the CJ Cafe!
We still need volunteers and we are in need of 1 more main dish, 3 salads and 3 desserts for the potluck. If interested, please contact Cathy Thoma by email or at (971) 226-6062.
If Only I Had the Nerve
Contemplative Summer Adventures
Join us for Contemplative Summer Adventures in which we will engage our imagination to wander and wonder through guided imagery, engaging our senses, breath work, simple body movements, story telling, and mandala coloring. Together we will invite the Spirit to take us beyond all and any limitations where we can experience renewal of body mind and spirit.
Contemplative Summer Adventures will take place either at the Peace Pole or in the chapel, depending on weather, on the following dates:
Tuesday, July 16 at 11 am
Tuesday, July 30 at 11 am
Thursday, August 22 at 1 pm
Contact Courtney at the office to sign up
Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Contemplative Summer Adventures
Join us for Contemplative Summer Adventures in which we will engage our imagination to wander and wonder through guided imagery, engaging our senses, breath work, simple body movements, story telling, and mandala coloring. Together we will invite the Spirit to take us beyond all and any limitations where we can experience renewal of body mind and spirit.
Contemplative Summer Adventures will take place either at the Peace Pole or in the chapel, depending on weather, on the following dates:
Tuesday, July 16 at 11 am
Tuesday, July 30 at 11 am
Thursday, August 22 at 1 pm
Contact Courtney at the office to sign up.
#SASTR
July 4th Concert and Fun
On the Fourth of July, Bethel is partnering with the THPRD and the City of Beaverton to bring a concert, food, and family fun to our campus and the Veterans’ Memorial Park just across the street. Bring your family, grab lawn chairs or blankets, and meet your neighbors and friends for a summer day of fun and music. There will be family-friendly activities for all to enjoy, from inflatables to yard games to face painting and more! Our Rec Mobile will also be at the concert to engage kids with games, crafts and activities. The featured concert artist is Skybound Blue. The event runs from 11 AM to 2 PM.
Seating is on the grass. Beach/sand chairs or blankets for seating are recommended. Regular height lawn chairs will be permitted only at the side and rear of the seating area.
Additionally, there will be FREE hot dogs and ice cream, or you may bring your own picnic. No alcohol is allowed. Leashed dogs are welcome to attend with their owners.
Click on this link for details.
http://www.thprd.org/events/detail/skybound-blue/07-04-2019?mc_cid=21b4cb085d&mc_eid=ed822fc0e1
T & K’s Power Hour!
Flat David
In 1964, author Jeff Brown published his children's book Flat Stanley, a story about a boy who gets flattened by a falling bulletin board and ends up traveling the world having adventures, traveling from place to place through the mail. In the 1990s, a Canadian school teacher sparked the Flat Stanley phenomenon, where paper versions of the book character would travel via the mail or in luggage and backpacks and be photographed on his travels. Inspired by this creative project, Bethel decided the Summer of Adventure wouldn't be complete without a FLAT DAVID!
If you have not already received your very own Flat David, make sure to grab one Sunday from the Connect table in the Narthex or from the church office. Flat David is a portable 2D version of our wonderful pastor, and will go home with members of the congregation while the 3D human Pastor David is off on sabbatical. Our hope is that he will accompany you on all of your expansive, courageous, contemplative, and joyous journeys this Summer of Adventure. Take pictures with Flat David on a hike, at a museum, on a mountain, in a foreign country, in your neighborhood, with family and friends, and while you take a moment to photograph that special moment, say a prayer for Pastor David in Alaska. Send your pictures to Courtney at the Bethel office or post to social media and the Misfits group using "#flatdavid"
Divine Flashes of the Obvious
Beaverton Pride Parade and Pride in the Park
On Sunday, June 23 Bethel will march in the Beaverton Pride Parade and have a booth at the Pride in the Park event. Church will end at about 10:50 so we can get to the library where the parade starts. We’ll have a booth at the Pride in the Park event and will have info and giveaways on hand.
We still need 1 or 2 more people to help set up our booth at 9:00AM and take it down at 6:00PM. We also need people to be at the booth for 1 hour long shifts from 1:00 to 6:00. Contact the office or Mac Macpherson if you can help. Or sign up using the Summer of Adventure link in the Weekly Highlights.