Rivers Way Community

RiversWay Community,

Saturday July 31, at the Samuelson’s from 4 – 6 pm will be a discernment meeting. Come and join us as we consider our next steps. Following the discernment meeting will be a BBQ as we say good bye and pray for God’s blessings on the Minnix’s as they transition to Texas. We will also be celebrating Kirstin’s Birthday.

Sunday, August 1 will be the Trader Joe’s run and Showers and Laundry for our Fanno Creek Friends. We could use extra hands for both Trader Joe’s and S&L. Trader Joe’s is generally between 10 & 11. S&L begins at 1 pm.

May God bless you this week in your going out and coming in. May you see His/Her activity in your daily activities.

Elaine

Friends,

This week we will be gathering at my house to watch a dvd on how people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child or family member. This is an opportunity to continue listening, learning and asking questions as we gather in the light of Christ’s love.

My address is 2800 SE Tumblestone Dr., 503.693.9770.

Hi RiversWay!

This Saturday we will be meeting at the Tigard Grange at 5:15pm – 6:30pm. We
will spend some time after our meal processing last weeks meeting on human
trafficking. Bring whatever sounds good to share for dinner – we will make it a grazing.

Looking forward to seeing you all.

Hi RiversWay!

What do you think about this heat? Weren’t we just celebrating the fourth with jackets and jeans ~ and now it is 95 degrees. Only in Portland!! We are gathering this week at the Samuelson home at 5:00 for coffee and tea (iced or hot); the meeting will be from 5:15 – 6:30pm.

As community we are continuing consider local human injustices. Last week we talked about how we are distracted from seeing injustice. Identifying with similarities connect us together as humans. But often we hook into differences like communication skills, language, color of skin, and citizenship that separate and isolate. This allows for injustice to be perpetuated. If we imagine “loving our neighbors” as looking through the differences and into their lives, we will find that their hands are similar to our hands, their basic needs are similar to our needs.

Something that is also happening in Portland is sex trafficking. Tomorrow evening Marianne who works for Shared Hope, is going to share stories with us about the people trafficking in our city and neighborhoods.

moving out in peace together,

–
darla

We are meeting tomorrow at 5:15pm at the Samuelson’s. Come at 5:00pm and grab some coffee or tea before we meet.

As we move with the changes in our community we continue to consider the things that God has laid in our hearts and minds as community. Since spring we have been focusing on “moving out in peace” by listening to those who have experienced injustice in our world and by the church. We watched the movie “Pray the Devil Back to Hell” and listened to the stories of the women in Liberia and heard how they moved in nonviolent ways to restore justice in their communities. We listened to Elaine’s friends tell their stories of what it is like to live as gay persons in America. And tomorrow we will listen to each other as we consider those who have been labeled “illegal immigrants.”

peace,

darla

Hi Friends,

I hope this email finds you spending a bit more time outside enjoying the warm sunshine! Rick, Gray and I had dinner on the back deck for the first time all summer last night. I am so happy summer is finally here.

Like the change in weather, we are going through a change in our community. The Minnix’s up and coming moving to Texas has opened us to reimagine our community in many different ways. Therefore, this Saturday we will be meeting for community discernment instead of our normal worship. We will meet from 4 – 7pm at the Samuelson home (16540 SW Copper Creek Dr Tigard) and share a potluck dinner (spaghetti). The Festival of Balloons in Tigard is also taking place this weekend which affects the way to approach our home. Here is an alternate route to Samuelson home (via 99W). Bethany is providing childcare!

in the sunshine,

darla

Hi Friends,

The sun is shining! Yahoo!

Tomorrow, June 19, we will be meeting at the Tigard Grange from 5:15 – 6:30pm. Please bring something to share for our meal – mexican style. If you would rather purchase food from the venders at the Grange market – that would be great too! We will spend some time talking about who we are as Community, and how the stories we heard last week have had a personal impact.

Sarit and Phil – it looks like you are up for childcare. Call or email if you cannot make it

See you all then!

Hello everyone

We’ll be gathering at the Minnix house tomorrow at 5:00 mingling, getting coffee/tea and some munchies. Please bring a snack to share. We will begin our worship at 5:15.

We have been spending the last several weeks focused on “injustice” in the world, and our various responses to it and callings in light of it.

One of the injustices we’ve been examining is how people of minority sexual orientation are treated, especially by many Christian communities. Because there is no substitute for hearing about someone’s journey, struggle, and experience first hand, my friends Emily, Laura and John who are of a minority sexual orientation have agreed to come and share their stories with us tomorrow night.

We will stay in our normal tradition of beginning with a question, singing our values and lighting the Christ candle, and some silence. Gena will structure our conversation around the following themes: Asking our guests to share as much or as little of their story as they like, and sharing with us what they’ve always wished the Christian community(s) understood
about their experiences.

We can take time next weekend to process or online mid-week our various thoughts, responses and jumping off places from the evening tomorrow, as we might not have enough time to get into all the processing tomorrow evening we might want to do.

Just wanted everyone to have an idea of what to expect and please do join us, we’ll have some hot coffee and variety of teas ready to go at 5.00 please bring fruit, veggies or something sweet to share.

see you tomorrow!

Elaine

Greetings, this Saturday (5/29) 5:15-6:30pm we meet at the Minnix farm to continue our conversations around justice. You’re welcome to come at 5pm and get a fresh cup of coffee/tea to get settled in before we begin.

This week we’ll look at our relationship with the earth. I’ve read several articles the past few years that talk about how the northwest is not very religious but is rather very spiritual. Many of the people in one survey, when asked to name a church they attend, responded “I attend the church of the outdoors.” Many in our community find a profound connection with God just by being in creation. There is something that happens to us on every level when we are out at the beach or in the woods. Things happen in our bodies, our brains, our souls . . . I wonder if it has to do with us experiencing our place in the universe as part of creation and not always over and above everything?

I used to assume that the earth was here for me to take and do what I please with – kind of a disposable renewal thing at the service of my goals and desires. The past few years through a rereading of some important scriptures my assumption has changed to a question:

What does it mean that I belong to the earth as much as it belongs to me?

Romans 8:22-25 talks about our connection with creation in the following way: 22We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as children, the redemption of our bodies. 24For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

It would seem that our fates are interwoven from these words. Our bodies, the earth’s body, are invited into a hopeful space of waiting . . . Hope you can make it for a meaningful time of connection with God and others,
Jason

Hi community,

We’ll be meeting at the Minnix house tomorrow at 5:00. We have been spending the last several weeks focused on “injustice” in the world, and our various responses to it and callings in light of it.

One of the injustices we’ve been examining is how people of minority sexual orientation are treated, especially by many Christian communities. In our discussions in person and on line, several Riversway folks have mentioned that we have few or no personal relationships with people of different sexual orientation, and because there is no substitute for hearing about someone’s journey, struggle, and experience first hand, several RW members began asking their friends of different sexual orientation if they’d be willing to join us for an evening and share with us.

Elaine has two friends of minority sexual orientation who have agreed to come join us tomorrow night, at 5:00. They are on a tight schedule, and so we will start promptly, mingling and getting coffee/tea at 4:45, and then beginning right at 5:00. I’m expecting we will begin with brief introduction, singing our values, lighting candle, and some silence. Then I’ll structure our conversation around the following themes: Asking our guests to share as much or as little of their story as they like, and sharing with us what they’ve always wished the Christian community(s) understood about their experiences.

We can take time next weekend to process  or online mid-week our various thoughts, responses and jumping off places from the evening tomorrow, as we might not have enough time to get into all the processing tomorrow evening we might want to do.

Just wanted everyone to have an idea of what to expect and please do join us, we’ll have some hot coffee and variety of teas ready to go at 4:30.

see you tomorrow!
Gena