A creative collaboration between Trinity United Methodist Church and Sellwood Faith Community

This week I was afraid to speak, which is not something that usually happens to me.  The school board was discussing a vaccine mandate for students 12 and up.  I was sitting in my house, zooming in to the conversation, and I knew that the protestors who had disrupted...

In the back of our sanctuary at Trinity was a somewhat unsightly pillar. Years ago the pews around it had been removed and it had different colors of paint on it, reflecting the different sanctuary updates over the years. Then we tried to paint it to match the other...

This week the parish voted on becoming a reconciling community. The vote passed unanimously! This means the people of the parish affirm the following statement from the Reconciling Ministries Network, an organization that equips and mobilizes United Methodists of all...

For the past 6 weeks we as a parish have been exploring our why statement, We believe everyone needs a safe space to be loved for who they are already. Our why statement was created and refined by our leadership team and will continue to evolve as we as a parish adapt...

This week we talked about love in our worship gatherings. What it means to love, that we all need love and that we can can be loving.  One things that struck me as we were exploring the scripture, singing together about love, and discussing loving with one...

This week I am thrilled because I completed all of the forms for our annual charge conference. This is the big annual meeting of the church where we approve the pastor's salary, review our Safe Sanctuaries Policy, list our assets, and officially welcome all of our new...

This summer our family has had the privilege to attend 3 farm to plate dinners at Topaz Farm on Sauvie Island. We have eaten local, wild caught salmon, roasted on cedar planks, celebrated corn with everything from corn espuma to corn fed beef, and eaten 6 different...

School started all across our area in the last 2 weeks. Here at the Trinity Building our preschool has opened for the fall as well. It is wonderful to hear the children playing in the courtyard. As the rhythms of fall life resume after an inordinately long period of...

One of the best parts of our life together as a parish is the amazing leaders we have. Each quarter a group of formal and informal community leaders get together to check in, dream, and plan. This past week we got together in the back yard of the Sellwood Faith House....

This past week my family was able to take a long planned trip to NYC. In the midst of my heartbreak about Afghanistan, worries about reopening schools well, personal financial issues, angst about climate change, and a growing pandemic weariness the most healing aspect...