COMMUNITY of CHRISTCHURCH'S

JOURNEY of DISCOVERY

During the Annual Meeting, Council President Suze Engbretson, Council Member Steve Delamarter, and Pastor David gave a presentation that laid out a proposal for what the next year might look like for our congregation. If you were unable to attend the meeting or would like a refresher on that presentation, we encourage you to watch it here.

So now we invite you to ask yourselves the question:

How would I like to participate?

Here are a few of the ways you can engage in this work:

1. Do some online research to discover potential partners that you can pass along to the rest of the congregation. What are you passionate about? What are the needs that you see in your community? Simply drop a few key words into your favorite search engine and see what emerges. If something catches your eye, share it with the rest of us during our after-worship chats.

2. Join a team of 2 to 3 people to scout and vet potential partners. Attending coffee chats/other events would be part of this.

3. If you are not feeling ready to commit to being part of a team, consider attending the after-worship coffee chat’s to hear about possible partners and attend/participate in zoom meetings or in-person opportunities to connect to possible partners.

4. Send thank you notes, and assist with other tasks that you can do from home.

5. Pray. Pray for our congregation, for the surrounding communities, for the teams, and for careful discernment.

If any of these are something you would be willing to do, please contact Rhonda P (admin@comchristchurch.org), Pastor David (pastordavid@comchristchurch.org), or one our Church Council Members.

If there is another way you want to participate that is not listed, please let us know. There is a place for everyone on this journey.

Please join us for our first Journey of Discovery chat

after worship on Sunday, July 10th!

                                  A Kairos Moment for the ELCA

Dear friends,

Events have been unfolding in the Sierra Pacific Synod of the ELCA over the last

year that has quite frankly been breaking my heart. These events are bringing to

light just how far we can fall short as a denomination and as a church when it

comes to being a sanctuary for all people. Even the church is not immune to

systemic racism and white supremacy. We all have a lot of work to do together to

change policies, procedures, and attitudes if we are to live more fully into God’s

dream of the beloved community.

If you are just learning about the saga of the Sierra Pacific Synod, I encourage you

to begin by reading this letter written by our Oregon Synod Bishop, Laurie Larson

Caesar, on June 1st here.

Here are some of the events that occurred since Bishop Laurie’s letter went out:

On June 4, the Sierra Pacific Synod Council issued a vote of no confidence in Rev.

Rohrer's leadership and called for their immediate resignation. That evening Rev.

Rohrer resigned, though it was not immediately made public.

On June 6, Presiding Bishop Eaton reversed course and announced she would

initiate a suspension and disciplinary process.

On June 6, Rev. Rohrer announced their resignation.

All of this is agonizing and full of reminders that we are ALL saints and sinners,

simultaneously. And in need of one another's forgiveness and prayer. If you would

like to participate in a Zoom or in-person discussion about these events and what

they mean for the whole church, please reach out to me by email

(pastordavid@comchristchurch.org) and we find a date, time, and location that

will work for everyone.

God’s peace,

Pastor David