Cascades Blog

The Presbytery of the Cascades is called to a Special Presbytery Meeting February 2, 2022 beginning at 7:00 p.m. Online using the ZOOM platform.

Agenda Items Click here for Call to Meeting & Background Papers

Engage with Us on the Farmington Road Project

This blog post serves as a conversation site for questions and comments related to the proposed sale of the Farmington Road Property in order to develop it as affordable housing.  Feel free to post your thoughts, hopes, concerns and questions related to this sale and the subsequent project.  Presbytery staff will moderate the discussion and provide answers when possible. Check back frequently to follow the conversation! Scroll all the way to the bottom of this page to read previous comments and/or leave your own.

Farmington Road Agreement Details

The Option Agreement will give NHA the right to purchase the property so that they can pursue funding from local and federal government agencies.  NHA would build 200 units of affordable housing on the property and work with Leaven and the Presbytery to create ongoing services for the residents of the development which will provide ministry opportunity to the Presbytery.

Click here for Farmington Road Background Papers

**Please leave your comments in the comment section (at the very bottom of the page) if you have questions or want to dialogue with us.

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon declared April 2021 as Earth Month.  In that spirit and in light of the many challenges facing our environment, we are posting Dogwood (Earth Day 2021) from Brian Marsh’s blog apocalypso now.  

Brian is Pastor at Moreland Presbyterian Church in Portland, Oregon. 

Dogwood (Earth Day 2021)

on this Planet
orbiting into obsolescence
devolving into degradation
from human contamination
through commercial exploitation
one fledgling Dogwood
gifted with Grace
planted in space
once housing orchards
(now housing humans)
might not save
this wounded World
by its Self
but its small
branches and blossoms
help this shriveling
and suffocating Sphere
to Breathe again
its essential vitality
to receive again
and this periodically
hopeless helpless Human
to believe again…

Amen.

Might stands unassailable, secure and steadfast.

 Might inquires softly, Might this baby be the promised Messiah?

 Asked against the backdrop of Imperial Rome, where Might was measured in iron and blood and dominion, it’s a fair question. For where, in the dim light of a short-wick lamp; where, in hastily torn strips of cloth; where, amidst the snorts and smells of ox and ass is to be found he who shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace?

It seems we sought a prince only to find a paradox.

The passing of two millennia leaves that paradox seemingly unresolved. Might is still weighed in iron and blood and smart bombs and suicide vests. Weapons of mass destruction and the accumulation of unimaginable wealth define empire strength.

If Might is to measured thus, it will not to be found in a stable-born, homeless Rabbi wandering the fields and villages of Galilee and Samaria. On the other hand, is this the true measure of Might? After all, to what sort of place has this lusty Might brought us?

Has Might once again steered us to a place of ruthless empire? Do we softly inquire: Might there be a better place? Might there be a truly everlasting abode of wonder and peace? If so, then we must revisit the stable of short-wick light and flickering shadow. We must listen with newly opened ears to the wandering Rabbi. We must pick up and examine the paradox of the first being last and the last first. We must receive the ambiguity of servant greatness. To be mature and wise we must emulate the children, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.

 Look not for that wandering Rabbi on magazine covers, or on cable news shows. He’ll not be found behind a grand desk, polished and sleek. He’s not dwelling on a grand estate. Don’t look for him wearing a uniform with shiny brass buttons, nor in flickering facts on computer screens. AND, DON’T EVEN bother with Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  

Look instead on the faces that Might has forgotten. Look into the eyes of lonely strangers, street dwellers, those stricken in body, mind, and soul. Seek him among the ragged people. Pursue him in the shadows of shame, disappointment, abuse, and despair. Look closely among the least of these. And as the day draws near, look especially for a child, a particular child, a child of ambiguous Might.

Ask then:

What child is this

Who is so blessed he changes all tomorrows?

Replacing tears with reborn years

In hearts once dark and hollow…

 May the Peace of this Mighty Child be with you,

Pastor Mike Hubbard

Here is a brief description of their experience

by Paulette Mixon-Weller

Saturday night the delegation from Cascades Presbytery returned from Triennium. We had started our journey as 10 separate congregations and ended as a united group ready to stay connected forever. Laura Gillooly and Paulette Mixon-Weller co-led our delegation. Cascades was represented by 11 adult advisors and 39 youth, and the Stebe family and Vik Schaaf were small group leaders. The theme this year was “Here’s My Heart” from the hymn Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. About 5,000 youth and 2,000 leaders worshipped, played and met in small groups at Purdue University. The weather was hot and humid, but the energy was high and exciting. We heard amazing speakers and sang beautiful songs. During worship a drama group would make the Scripture come to life. Many hearts were turned toward God and to each other.

It was like a PCUSA mecca. Personally I ran into seminary friends and even a woman I had led a mission trip with 20 years ago. I learned all about the Matthew 25 Movement and how together as Christians we can make a difference with social action.

 

from Apocalypso Now Blog by Brian Marsh, Pastor – Moreland Presbyterian Church, Portland

 droplets (Maundy Thursday)

what did it feel
like to know Your
end was so near?
how did You deal
with betrayal from those
You held most dear?
why did You kneel
at table, in garden
not fleeing Your fear?

Painful.
Mindful.
Love.

Amen.

(‘Gethsemene’ © J. Kirk Richards)

lament (Good Friday)

so many hearts
laden with cancers
longing for answers
so many hopes
deferred by circumstances
destroyed by consequences
so much hurting
endured without reason
regardless of season
so much healing
too blithely concealed
to be revealed

where

are

You

NOW?

 

buried (not-so-good Friday)

where did i leave
my Heart of hearts
my deepest Self?
in the cupboard
of compromised convictions?
on the dresser
of divided dedications?
under the rug
of repressed recriminations?
or is it
still with(in) me
buried in numbing narcissism?

Help.

(‘buried alive’ © Mariola Weiss)

paradoxical (Holy Saturday)

underwhelming slumber
awakening again
overwhelming thunder
rumbling through my brain
dreaming of the sunshine
despairing in the rain
imagining the pleasure
abiding in the pain
pretending to be peaceful
but feeling more insane
and questioning if loss
paradoxically is gain.

(‘Silence’ © Johann Heinrich Füssli)

 

 

hanging about (less-than-holy Saturday)

what does one do
when life as one
knows it is
about to end?
how does one try
to explain such betrayal
to one’s best
and closest friend?
does one hang
their hopes
on Love
or hang
themselves
in fear?

(‘Judas Iscariot’ © Peter Brandes)

Resurrection (Easter)

when the men
turned and fled
befuddled and bereft
they never left
when the body
disappeared and shiny
scary-looking men appeared
they didn’t fear
when they shared
the good news
the men resisted
they faithfully persisted

the women
didn’t only bear
witness to 
the Resurrection

they ARE
a Resurrection

Amen.

apocalypso now blog link

 

 

 

by Brett Webb-Mitchell

Published in the Presbyterian Outlook on February 22, 2019

Spread before us on a table in Colonial Heights Presbyterian Church’s fellowship hall were 50 white paper lunch bags, embellished with displays of red, pink and sparkling hearts. Our group, Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, met on a Sunday afternoon before Valentine’s Day for a combined time of worship and a service project. Into each bag we placed a decorated pencil, a large bright eraser, chocolate candy, a small bouncing ball and other odds and ends that young students would enjoy. After we stuffed each bag with fun materials, on red paper hearts pasted on white doilies we hand-wrote “Happy Valentine’s Day!” and placed one card into each bag. The festive bags went to students at Markham Elementary in Portland, Oregon, a school with children from many different races, ethnicities and nationalities. This was our way of letting the children know that they are loved. Weeks later, we heard from one of the school volunteers that the children were delighted and enjoyed these bags of goodies.

What made this Valentine’s Day bag project unusual was that it was part of worship of the Community of Pilgrims. After we finished packing the bags (our sermon that week), we continued our worship together, recalling the story we read earlier in the afternoon. Simon’s mother-in-law, who was ill and healed by Jesus, turned around and miraculously served Jesus and the disciples (Mark 1:29-34). After discussing the story in light of our service project, we continued with Holy Communion around the tables, which, minutes earlier, had been covered with Valentine bags. We concluded our time together with our festive weekly potluck. With a simple charge given – to serve others as we would wish to be served – we sang our closing hymn, shared a blessing and went home, back into the community, reminded of how the Spirit calls us to serve others as we walk our daily pilgrimage, following Jesus, the Pilgrim God.

In September 2017, 30 people gathered to begin regular weekly meetings in the small chapel at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church in Portland. The new Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, one of the 1001 New Worshipping Communities imitative, is sponsored by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Mission Agency and the Presbytery of the Cascades in Oregon. Our motto is simple: “Following Jesus, embracing all.” After all, the earliest Christians were called people of “the Way” (Acts 9:2), following Jesus, who called himself the “way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). We believe we are still called daily to be on a pilgrimage with God as people of “the Way,” following Jesus as a community of faith, doing justice, loving kindness and moving humbly with our Pilgrim God (Micah 6:8), wherever that may lead us. Because of this higher calling, we reach out, welcome, include and embrace all others whom we meet along the way, inviting them to join us on this journey of faith. Led by an openly gay pastor, we welcome all: those who are LGBTQI and straight allies; people from both the hearing and deaf communities; people from all socioeconomic and educational backgrounds; people of all ages; people of all races, ethnicities and nationalities; those who are single as well as those from various family configurations (biological, adopted and chosen); and those who self-identify as people who are able-bodied or with a disability. Along the Way we strive to create and be a faith community where everyone is engaged in individual and communal acts of service, worship, prayer and the study of Scripture. In terms of service, each member of the community spends at least an hour a week in voluntary service somewhere in the Portland area. Some volunteer at Outside In, a 24-hour shelter for young people (ages 17-24) who are homeless, many of whom are LGBTQ; others work at Neighborhood House, providing food for the hungry; still others knit prayer shawls; and one participant joins a weekly street protest for justice in Portland. We gathered Christmas gifts for families in need at Stephen’s Creek Crossing residential complex and Outside In. Our dedication to service involves the entire faith community, and we periodically substitute a communal service project for a sermon. As a group we wrote letters in support of clean air in Oregon and to Dick’s Sporting Goods and Wal-Mart in support of gun control, along with a letter in solidarity with the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. We have packed meals for homeless shelters, and along with Valentine’s Day bags, we made “spring bags” for persons living in adult foster care facilities in Portland.

In terms of prayer, worship and study of Scripture, on Sunday afternoons we gather together and begin with an opening hymn, check in with each member of the community and participate in a community-building activity, aware that creating and living in healthy, healing relationships lies at the core of who and whose we are. We have an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter who makes it possible for all to participate. Next, we move to a time of worship and prayer. After reading Scripture together in unison, one of the pastors in the community preaches a short homily that is then opened up with a question posed by the pastor for the community to respond to. This is followed by a time of shared prayers of concern and celebration, ending with the Lord’s Prayer in ASL. Central to our worship is sharing Holy Communion together weekly, which is followed by a delicious potluck. It has been amazing to see how the unstructured nature of the potluck gives people time to follow up on a sermon topic, discuss the news in one’s family or engage in a conversation regarding a current event. At the end of the meal, following the singing together of one more hymn, a charge is given, and then a blessing and we are off to wherever the Spirit leads, accompanied by Jesus Christ, the Pilgrim God, who walks with us on our pilgrimage of faith in the world.

Brett Webb-Mitchell is the organizing pastor of the Community of Pilgrims Presbyterian Fellowship, a 1001 New Worshipping Community, located at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church’s Chapel in Portland, Oregon.  He is also the LGBTQ+ advocacy coordinator for the OR-ID United Methodist Church Conference, based in Portland.

By Ken Evers-Hood

I wrote this piece remembering a time when I left home for school (something I had wanted for so long) and suddenly realized one afternoon how utterly alone I was…and now know I was brushing up against real loneliness for the first time. I think of that moment now as a gift- a hard gift.

From Mark Olsen, Pastor of Chapel by the Sea, Lincoln City, Oregon

The following Scripture from the book of James hit my soul this week. James, as he describes the consistent nature of God, helped me to look beyond what I’ve been feeling (tired, frustrated and in pain from my recent knee operation) and see the generous acts of your giving through the perfect gift of God’s love.
“Every generous act of giving, with every perfect gift, is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17)
God is consistent. God doesn’t have good and bad days. We are human, we are affected by what goes on around us. Our moods change with the seasons or a full moon. We are prone to be selfish, and self-absorbed. We get tired, bored, and anxious and act accordingly. When we are cold or hot, full or hungry, lonely or the life of the party, the way we react to world around us changes by the way we feel. God gave humans feelings that change by what is going on around them. We are not consistent with our gifts of love and yet God is. If feelings affect us in such a way how is it that we can ever live up to God’s desire for us to love others as we are loved? How can we share God’s love when we are not in the mood? How can we share God’s love when we’re cold or hungry? How can we share God’s love when we’re anxious, scared, or mad? Yet that is what we are asked to do.
Give generously and receive graciously that is what we are to do. Give to others your friendship when you feel like you have no friends. Give food when you are hungry. Give a blanket when you are cold. Give healing to those who are hurting. It is in our giving that we can share in the perfect gift from above. Yes, we are humans and our bodies will wear out. Yes, we are humans and we all have our moods. Yes, we are humans and we are tempted to be selfish. Yes, give the gift of love to others and participate in the consistent love of God. And yet we may not be able to give so how do we then share God’s love? Receive God’s perfect love with a grateful heart, that is what we do! When you feel like you can’t give then open yourself to receive from others the perfect gift of love.
Whether we give or receive it is to God that we must look and put our trust. So, I along with the rest of us must be willing to give God’s love when I can and be willing to receive God’s love when I can’t. We must not let our feelings get the best of us for feelings are temporary. Know that God’s love is consistent, having no variation or shadow due to change.
“Be of love more careful, than everything” (E. E. Commings)
In the grace and peace of our Lord, Jesus Christ,
Pastor Mark