Habitat for Humanity - Critical Home Repair Services Available to Income-Qualified Beaverton Homeowners

We would like to spread the word about a great program made available by Habitat for Humanity Portland Region: Habitat for Humanity Portland Region has partnered with the City of Beaverton to provide Community Development Block Grant funds for home repair activities to low income Beaverton homeowners! If you are a Beaverton resident in need of critical home repair, please reach out to Habitat for Humanity Portland Region to learn more. You may visit their website at https://habitatportlandregion.org/ or call 503-844-7606 (ext 110).

Neighbors in Need Offering

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Neighbors in Need is a special mission offering of the United Church of Christ that supports ministries of justice and compassion in the United States. The 2021 Neighbors in Need “Unfailing Love” offering is focused on supporting organizations and projects that are serving homeless and immigrant neighbors or communities. One-third of NIN funds support the Council for American Indian Ministry (CAIM). Two-thirds of this offering is used by the UCC’s Justice and Witness Ministries (JWM) to provide funding grants to UCC churches and organizations leading justice initiatives, advocacy efforts, and direct service projects in their communities.

Bethel will be collecting the Neighbors in Need offering on Sunday, October 24. You may donate in-person or online, where you will see a special giving category for Neighbors in Need.

Food Drive for Homeless Beaverton High School Homeless Students

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Once again we are supplying food for BHS homeless students over their winter break. We are asking the congregation to provide cans of hearty soup with meat and veggies. Please donate the cans with pop-tops. No light or diet soups please, we are trying to keep the students well fed. Our goal is 600 cans. So far we have 360. Donations can be placed on the metal rack outside the chapel. Our target date is December 1 to gather all 600 cans.

P.S. For extra credit, please place your flavor soup with similar flavors on the metal rack.

Sunday School is Back - New and Improved!

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This year the Faith Development Committee has decided to provide Sunday School virtually for all of our children in Kindergarten through 5th grades. It will be a combination of Kid's Lunch with Beth and YouTube videos that you can watch when it is convenient for your family.

It all begins THIS Sunday, October 3 with Kid's Lunch with Beth. During that time, the children will be introduced to the story for the month and the concepts we'll be covering. By October 10, the YouTube video will be ready for your family to view. The support materials will be emailed to each family. There are pages that help guide family discussions around the monthly featured topic. This month the topic is "reconciliation." On October 17 and 31, we'll once again have Kid's Lunch with Beth and continue to explore and "wonder" about reconciliation and how it works in the lives of your children. By October 24, there will be a second YouTube Sunday School video for you and your family to enjoy.

A packet or support materials will be emailed to each family or you can click here to download the materials. If you would like a printed copy, please contact Beth Astarte at ba@bethelbeaverton.org and she will get a printed set mailed to you. Please contact Beth with any questions.

Wednesday Contemplative Prayer and Meditation

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Beth Astarte's weekly contemplative prayer and meditation program has moved to Wednesday mornings! Join together for a live, guided contemplative prayer and meditation practice that is live streamed in the Bethel Misfits Facebook group on Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m.

Register for the CPC Annual Gathering!

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The CPC Annual Gathering will take place September 24 - October 3 via Zoom. The theme for 2021 is "Living Water". The CPC will be spreading the events of the gathering over 10 days in shorter “bite-sized” online Zoom meetings, culminating with an all-Conference worship service for World Communion Sunday on October 3. To learn more about the Annual Gathering, including information about speakers, music, and registration, visit the website here: https://cpcucc.org/wp14/about-us/2021-cpc-annual-gathering/


Beaverton Welcomes Afghanistan Refugees

In response to the current political situation in Afghanistan, the Beaverton City Council approved a resolution during their Aug. 24 meeting declaring the city a sanctuary for Afghanistan refugees. As Bethel organizes around a multi-pronged recommendation to respond to racism, this opportunity to live our progressive Christian beliefs comes face to face with the very real condition of Afghan refugees. Pastor David will share more about this as part of his sermon series. If you are looking for a way to show support alongside others, consider participating in Beaverton's upcoming Welcoming Week.

  • The City of Beaverton will be hosting a Welcoming Week September 10th through 19th, and is one of many cities participating in a larger national Welcoming Week campaign. Beaverton's 2021 theme is “Belonging Begins With Us.” To learn more about events scheduled in Beaverton, visit the website at: https://www.beavertonoregon.gov/welcomingweek

  • National Welcoming Week is an annual series of events designed to bring together immigrants, refugees, and U.S.-born residents to raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone. The week’s activities celebrate the contributions of newcomers and provide opportunities to build cross-cultural relationships and understanding.

  • To learn more about Beaverton's broader Welcoming Beaverton initiatives and activities, visit the website here: https://www.beavertonoregon.gov/1634/Welcoming-Beaverton

See No Stranger Fall Sermon Series and Book Study

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“Love is a form of sweet labor: fierce, bloody, imperfect, and life giving – a choice we make over and over again. Love can be taught, modeled, and practiced…’Revolutionary love’ is the choice to enter into labor for others, for our opponents, and for ourselves in order to transform the world around us. It is not a formal code or prescription but an orientation to life that is personal and political and rooted in joy.” – Valerie Kaur, p. 310

Beginning September 12, 2021 and for 7 weeks, Bethel UCC will begin a study of Valerie Kaur’s book, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love. Join us as we explore what it means to enter into labor for others, our opponents and ourselves while we are rooted in joy. The first two weeks we’ll explore Love for Others through wonder, grief and fight. The next two weeks we’ll look at Love for Opponents by investigating rage, listening and reimagining. The follow two weeks we’ll focus on Love for Ourselves through the labor metaphor of breathe, push and transition. In the final week of the series, we’ll see how we can be rooted in joy as part of our commitment to Revolutionary Love.

You are invited to join the book group that will delve more deeply into the topics presented on Sunday morning. The book group will start on Tuesday, September 14, 2021 at 7 pm. If you need assistance purchasing a book, please contact the office at office@bethelbeaverton.org.

Book group Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82579532974?pwd=OVhLaGdsclJVbmNHeEN4TkxrZlFxZz09

To find out more about Revolutionary Love, watch Valerie Kaur's TedTalk: https://www.ted.com/talks/valarie_kaur_3_lessons_of_revolutionary_love_in_a_time_of_rage?language=en and join us for the upcoming sermon series beginning September 12, 2021.

To hear Valerie's Keynote Address at the UCC General Synod this year: https://vimeo.com/573828542 or go to https://www.generalsynod.org/keynote-speakers/ and click on "Watch Keynote" under her picture.

Hybrid Worship Updates

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As a response to the Delta variant of COVID-19 and new state health mandates, we are making some adjustments to our hybrid worship practices. We will begin using a sign up system again, with some changes. We will be asking everyone to sign in before attending worship - not to reserve a seat, but to make sure Bethel has accurate attendance information if any contact tracing becomes necessary. You may sign up online prior to Sunday, or you may sign in on the sign in sheet in the Narthex.

Online sign up sheet: https://forms.gle/LedhojGYTa1X4b5VA

Things to know about hybrid worship and safety:

  • Everyone is required to wear a mask that covers both the nose and mouth at all times.

  • Please maintain social distancing between households while indoors and outdoors.

  • Refrain from hugging or touching those outside of your household.

  • All seating will be socially-distanced for now.

  • No congregational singing in the Sanctuary.

  • Pastor David will greet congregants OUTSIDE after worship. Please plan to do your personal socializing outside.

  • Our services will continue to be live-streamed to Zoom and Facebook. We will continue to offer breakout rooms on Zoom after worship.

  • If you have reason to suspect that someone in your household may have or have been exposed to COVID-19 or you are experiencing symptoms of illness, we ask you to please worship from home.

  • Our newly installed HVAC system includes air ionizing technology, which not only filters the air that circulates in the Sanctuary, but works to remove virus particles from the air!


    If you have any additional questions, please email the office at office@bethelbeaverton.org.

Stump the Pastor

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We need your questions! Do you have a theological question, or a question about the life of faith or the way the church works that you’ve always wanted to ask but were afraid to ask it? September 5 is your chance! Pastor David will offer impromptu answers to your questions. For the rest of the month, you can submit your "Stump the Pastor" questions. We will have a box for questions in the Narthex on Sunday, or you may email the church office at: office@bethelbeaverton.org.

Outreach Committee Donation Projects

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Did you know that Outreach committee has several projects that help our climate and our community? We are currently accepting your donations for the following projects. You may bring your donation during office hours Monday through Wednesday from 9 am - noon, and 1 pm - 3 pm.

  • We take recyclable cans and bottles to benefit Family Promise.

  • We take slightly used clothing that is appropriate for school-aged kids to Beaverton School District clothes closet.

  • We take used, clean plastic and paper bags for the Food Cupboard.

Maybelle Center for Community Mosaic Mural Project

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Nikki Manley-Smith is participating in a community art project organized by Old Town Portland's Maybelle Center for Community, a nonprofit community center that specifically addresses issues of social isolation. Maybelle Center for Community is currently fundraising by working with community members to sponsor, design, and create mosaic tiles to create a large mosaic mural for a courtyard space at their assisted living facility. Donors who give $150 receive a kit to create a 1' tile for the mural installation. So far, Nikki and other Bethel members have purchased/donated one tile kit, and are halfway to raising the funds to purchase/donate a second tile kit.

If you would like to participate in this fundraising opportunity for the Maybelle Center for Community, Nikki Manley-Smith is collecting funds to pool for tile donations, and plans to meet at the Bethel campus to assemble the tiles outdoors on either Saturday, August 21 or Sunday, August 22 following service. If interested, please contact Nikki directly by emailing nikki.manley.smith@gmail.com.

To learn more about the mural project, you can watch this video: https://youtu.be/hxP0aVE-B3Q

Beaverton Chalk Art Festival

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The annual La Strada dei Pastelli Chalk Art Festival in Beaverton will be held August 13-14. This year’s festival is being hosted in collaboration with the Beaverton Night Market. Activities will be held along a five block stretch of SW 1st Street in downtown Beaverton. The event is free to attend. If you're interested in volunteering, you can contact Sue Pike at swpike@frontier.com. For more information, view the event website at: https://www.2d4d.org/la-strada/

Outdoor Fellowship Time Starting July 25

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On Sunday, July 25 following the congregational meeting, those who would like to are invited to gather outside in the courtyard for a fellowship time complete with cookies and coffee! Masks outside are optional. However, if you are not vaccinated, we strongly suggest you wear one. There will be other dates for outdoor fellowship time in August. More details to come.

Vacation Bible School

 
 

Bethel will be hosting Vacation Bible School for all children who have completed Kindergarten - 5th grade the week of August 9 through 13. This summer, our VBS will be held outdoors from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Everyone in attendance will be required to wear a mask, and all of our teachers and volunteers have been fully vaccinated. Children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or friends are all welcome.

To register please click on this link and complete the registration form: https://forms.gle/9qEAg7cuyvo6YdHG8

This summer, we'll be following the series Knights of North Castle:

North Castle is hidden in a frozen land. The King’s valiant knights are on a quest in search of the king’s armor. But the armor isn’t what they think it is. Knights of North Castle invites children to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power by exploring how we put on the armor of God. They’ll explore Old and New Testament stories and discover different pieces of protective armor — the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Justice, the Shoes of Peace, the Shield of Faith, and the Helmet of Salvation — at work in the lives of familiar Bible characters, and explore how that armor works in their own lives as they follow and serve God.

If you have any questions about VBS or safety protocols, please contact Beth Astarte at ba@bethelbeaverton.org

Hybrid Worship at Bethel

 

We are delighted to announce that we will begin in-person (hybrid) worship on Sunday, June 27! We will be using a sign up system to assist with planning, safety, and to make sure we are adhering to occupancy requirements. To sign up for an upcoming June or July worship date, visit our sign up form here: https://forms.gle/w17UFoCY5ANzgXZ46

After you have submitted your request, the office will follow up with a confirmation email on Friday prior to that week's service. This is so we can accommodate the largest number of people depending on how many requests we receive for socially distanced seating, which will determine the attendance capacity of that service.

Things to know about hybrid worship and safety:

  • Everyone is required to wear a mask that covers both the nose and mouth.

  • Please maintain social distancing when not seated in Sanctuary.

  • We are providing both socially distanced (required for children and adults who are not vaccinated, and available for those would would prefer to stay socially distanced) and non-socially distanced seating (everyone in group must be vaccinated). Ushers will guide you to your seats.

  • No congregational singing in the Sanctuary.

  • Pastor David will greet congregants OUTSIDE after worship. Please plan to do your personal socializing outside.

  • Our services will continue to be live-streamed to Zoom and Facebook. There will NOT be a coffee hour in the Fellowship Hall after worship. We will continue to offer breakout rooms on Zoom after worship.

  • If you have reason to suspect that someone in your household may have or have been exposed to COVID-19 or you are experiencing symptoms of illness, we ask you to please worship from home.

If you need to make a modification to your sign up for an upcoming Sunday service after the office has closed on Friday at 3:00 p.m., please email Beth Astarte at ba@bethelbeaverton.org.

If you have any additional questions, please email the office at office@bethelbeaverton.org.

 

Drinking Deeply from the Psalms

 
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This Sunday, June 13, we begin our sermon series "Drinking Deeply from the Psalms." This worship and preaching series on the psalms is meant to move through the psalms in a manner that reflects both how the Psalter progresses, but also in a manner that reflects how we actually experience life. With regard to how the Psalter progresses, this series moves from Psalm 1 (the introduction to the Psalter) to Psalm 150 (the “exclamation mark” on the Psalter) — and also from “lament” to “praise.” With regard to how we actually experience life, the series follows a pattern where we move from “orientation” through “disorientation” and then to “reorientation.”

A big thank you to Lynne Marie Elbert, who designed and created the chancel visuals for this series. The visuals represent:

  • Orientation: When life is stable and the world seems trustworthy (Psalms 1 and 113). Praise and celebration.

  • Disorientation: When the bottom drops out and the tradition feels like a lie (Psalm 69). Worries and personal chaos.

  • Reorientation: When faith in a trustworthy God and creation are found again, but the experience of disorientation is not forgotten (Psalms 27, 40 and 146). Renewal and joy.

 

Bethel Awarded City of Beaverton Grant!

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The Outreach Committee is happy to report that Bethel has been awarded a City of Beaverton grant for $5000 to help finance the 2021-22 Beaverton High School winter and spring break food bags for homeless students. This is our second year of being awarded this grant! A special congratulations to our Outreach committee chairs Fran Jensen and Nancy Winston.