The missional efforts of Family Promise of Metro East, supported by the Portland Congregation and the international work of the North American Climate Justice Team have been awarded Bold Moves Grants in the Fall Cycle of 2022. The recipients began their work in 2020 and 2019 respectively with the help of seed money provided by…
Club Q and Safe Space: Reflections from a Queer Minister
By Sean Langdon “…I’m so sorry to learn of the Colorado Springs shooting. There are just no words anymore…” This was the text I received on Sunday Morning from our Mission Center President Kim Naten. You see, I was at the Beyond Horizons Retreat at Lewis River Campground where cell reception is spotty. So, I…
Statement on the Club Q Shooting in Colorado Springs
Statement from Harmony released November 21, 2022. Click Here. Following Saturday’s deadly shooting at Club Q in Colorado Springs that left at least five dead and 25 injured, the members of Harmony’s Board of Directors offer their deepest condolences to the families, chosen families, and friends of all those who were targeted. In the wake of yet…
CALLED TO DO . . . . . SOMETHING
By Kim Naten It’s Friday morning . . . and while the calendar says “late Spring” the sky reflects anything but that. It is gray, chilly, momentarily dry, and an accurate reflection of my mood. This has been a tough week. Or rather, a tough several weeks. Buffalo, Laguna Woods, now Uvalde. On top of…
Statement on Recent Gun Violence
May 25, 2022 | USA Team of Apostles The USA Team of Apostles released this statement on the recent mass shootings in the USA. To Community of Christ Leaders, Mission Centers, Members, and Friends: Community of Christ actively endeavors to share the peace of Jesus Christ in a troubled world. This call is grounded in the…
STATEMENT ON GUN VIOLENCE FOLLOWING THE SCHOOL SHOOTING IN UVALDE, TEXAS
Released by the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon May 24, 2022 Today our nation watched in horror as yet another mass shooting claimed the lives of 21 souls. Tragically, 18 of those killed are elementary school students. Our hearts are broken for the lives lost as we stand alongside the grieving. This massacre follows recent mass…
Getting Shameless about Faith and Sex
By Sean Langdon In January 2019, Nadia Bolz-Weber released “Shameless: A Sexual Reformation”. The description for this book reads as follows, “Christians are obsessed with sex. But not in a good way. For nearly two thousand years, this obsession has often turned destructive, inflicting pain, suffering, and guilt on countless people of all persuasions and…
I cannot say, “Not All Christians”
By Ashley Whitham On social media these days, I see a lot of people angry and hurting from interactions with Christians. Some of it stems from childhood, some more recent. Hate-filled comments online cursing strangers to hell and denouncing their lives as sinful leaves a bad taste in just about everyone’s mouth. And when I…
Oregon faith leaders encourage COVID-19 vaccinations through EMO’s “Faith and the Vaccine” website
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Media Release PORTLAND, ORE., March 1, 2022—Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) announces the launch of a new website, faithandthevaccine.org, featuring short video testimonies from over 25 Oregon faith leaders in support of the COVID-19 vaccines, as the pandemic continues unabated. Faith leaders give a wide variety of compelling reasons for vaccination. While…
A prayer for peace in Ukraine, by Michael Ramos
The last several days have held many emotions for people all over the world: fear, anger, sadness, confusion, compassion . . . and in that time, I have read about a dozen different prayers for Ukraine and the world from a variety of sources, being shared over social media and email. Each prayer I read…