I am so proud of the work our Listening Team is doing and it is a joy to gather with them and hear the themes that are lifted up as you share your stories with them. This process is not meant to be a quick fix but rather a new way of being community that will lead to a cultural shift in how we understand what it means to be church. As the team gathers together to pray and to share with one another what we have heard, some themes are already beginning to emerge.  For example it is already becoming clear that chronic health issues are something that many of you are dealing with, either in your own lives or in the life of someone you care about. We are also hearing a profound concern for the spiritual lives of your children and teens as they grow up in a swiftly changing world. Determining how we as a congregation might respond to these stirrings will be the work of the whole congregation this Fall. As we continue to listen to your stories, I believe that these and other themes equally as compelling will rise to the surface and inform our congregational discernment in September.

In the meantime, I hope each of you will be open to participating in this process, either by meeting with a Listening Team member for a one-to-one conversation, or by attending a House Meeting or Coffee Hour Listening Session. In fact, there are two opportunities coming up very soon!

Our first House Meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 27^th, from 7:00 to 9:00pm. Marilyn Hawkins will be the host for this event at her home. Sign up by this Sunday (June 23^rd) and we will contact you by e-mail or phone with the address and directions. Also, coming up on Sunday, June 30^th, our regular Coffee Hour following worship will be transformed into a Listening Session for all who would like to participate from 10:45 to 12:15.

I look forward to seeing you there!

God’s peace,

Pastor David

“The first service that one owes to others in the fellowship consists of listening to them. Just as love of God begins with listening to his word, so the beginning of love for our brothers and sisters is learning to listen to them. “

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in Life Together

Tickets for the Emerging Leaders Players Production of Neil Simon’s Fools are on sale now and available at the door the night of the performance!

Emerging Leaders Northwest Players is a youth-led, fully inclusive theater company for youth with and without disabilities at the OHSU University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities.  

Through partnerships with theatrical professionals, technicians, students and disability service providers, ELNW Players present established and original productions as a way of learning their craft, developing independence, leadership, self-advocacy skills and meeting new friends.

Youth with and without disabilities participate in all aspects of production from building sets to the final curtain.  

The ELNW Players Production Team includes youth leaders with and without disabilities as well as disability service providers and theatrical professionals. 

Our initial production of Neil Simon’s Fools set for the June 22, 2013. Our first production will be held at:

Community of Christ Church
5170 NW Five Oaks Drive
Hillsboro, OR 97124.  

The performance will begin at 6:00 PM and there will be a discussion with cast and crew immediately following the show!

Tickets are $10.00 each.

Make your check payable to: OHSU Foundation with ELNW Players in the memo line.