A creative collaboration between Trinity United Methodist Church and Sellwood Faith Community
Our community exists to embody the love of God in the world because we believe everyone needs a safe space to be loved for who they are already.
Hope
Advent begins this Sunday. It is the church season of practicing waiting. It's a time of expectancy. We are training ourselves to see the ways that Christ comes in to the world all the time. It's one of my favorite seasons of the church year because we are filled...
Grateful for Rest
This week of Thanksgiving I had a lovely break. It's been a stressful time of transition these past 5 months with adding Trinity to my portfolio and Amanda to leaving the Parish. There are so many little and big things that need to be accomplished and it is vitally...
When It’s Not Comfortable
Today I am feeling a little tired and out of sorts after a couple of very busy days. As I began to work on various tasks that need to be completed I realized I had not done my morning devotional and that it was something I probably really needed to help me do my best...
Stretching
Being a new church start pastor means lots and lots of times when I have to step outside my comfort zone and and stretch beyond who I am to meet the challenges of the work God is placing before me. This week it's been learning how to use word press plug ins to create...
What If……
This last week we celebrated our community at Charge Conference. This is the annual meeting of the church where we elect officers and review our past year of ministry. One of the things that our regional supervising pastor (called a District Superintendent in...
Learning from the Failures
Experimenting with new ideas is risky. Sometimes the experiment works and we end up with something beautiful. Sometimes it all blows up. Yet even in that explosion we learn and discover new things that can take us to the next place, the next experiment, the next...
Passing down Wisdom
One of the things I love most about our new collaborative parish between a new church start and a traditional church is the amazing ways I learn from the people in our community. Just this week I was blown away by the depth and theological understanding of the folks...
Practicing
My life is a series of practices for whatever God is unfolding next. So tonight I practiced democracy by attending the local neighborhood association meeting. This afternoon I practiced the art of celebrating life and grieving at a funeral for a guinea pig attended...
New Wine in Old Wineskins
Recently I was at an event and the first things out of a colleague's mouth were, "Merging new things with old never works." Those of you who know me well can guess at some of the thoughts that raced through my head. I went with the diplomatic response of making a...
Finding the Sacred
When we gather each week something holy happens around the table sharing a meal and discussing scripture. I feel God's transcendent presence so vibrantly during our singing time each week. These experiences aren't the fullness of spiritual experience. We find God in...