From The Pastor -...

Volume 42, Number 8 September 2017

From The Pastor… September is always a month of transition for families and churches. Students (and teachers!) get back to school, a lot of church programming resumes, and life settles back into its more typical routine. I don’t know about you, but I usually enjoy this time of year and the beautiful autumn weather and colors.

Here at MPC we’re pretty far along in the interim process, and this fall things kick into high gear. The goal of interim ministry is a settled, healthy, long-term relationship with a new permanent pastor who’s a good fit for the church. You’re well on your way to that goal:

you’ve completed the Mission Study; you’ve elected a Pastor Nominating Committee; the PNC has received their orientation from the presbytery and, beginning on September 13, will be

meeting together every Wednesday from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Their first task is writing up the Ministry Information Form (MIF) for MPC — and they’re aiming to complete this and get it approved by the Session and Presbytery by October 26. Once the MIF is activated, résumés (PIFs) will come pouring in from prospective pastors. Please pray regularly for the PNC as they launch into their work in earnest.

Fall Preaching Series: Abraham (Genesis 12-24)

I wonder if you’ve got a Wall of Fame at your house. You know — a place where you hang photographs of your family: your kids’ graduations and weddings, family reunion photos, and maybe even pictures of some of your ancestors? This is basically what Hebrews 11 is: a Wall of Fame. A gallery of our ancestors in the faith. A gallery that begins with people from the Old Testament and stretches on and on into the future.

One of these ancestors is Abraham. He’s in several photos on the Hebrews Wall of Fame — and we’re going to spend the next couple of months delving into his life. Why? Because Abraham traveled the same road you’re on as a congregation: a long road of covenant relationship with God. A road with lots of twists and turns, ups and downs. A road that involves uncertainty, waiting, and transition. And let’s not forget what kind of world Abraham lived in. Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium B.C. wasn’t exactly placid and beautifully civilized. Abraham lived in a time and place of emerging civilization — a time and place filled with superstition, toxic religiosity, random violence, and battles for power. (Sound familiar?) It was during such a time as this that God began to intervene in the world in a uniquely personal way, intent on setting the world right.)

And although Abraham may look and sound impressive on the Hebrews Wall of Fame, we’ll quickly discover that Abraham wasn’t perfect — or even super-spiritual — and this is precisely what makes his experience with God instructive and formative for us. Abraham, you see, basically did only one thing that qualified him for the Hebrews Wall of Fame: he stretched forward in faith. He slowly developed confidence in the promises and faithfulness of God, and reaching out for what he could not see. He allowed God to change the way he related to the uncertain world around him — and to shape him into a different kind of person than he’d been before. (Continued on Page 3)

September Sermons Sept. 3: Waking Up to God Genesis 11:26 – 2:3

Sept. 10: Hitting the Road Genesis 12:1-9

Sept. 17: Missteps and Cul-de-sacs Genesis 12:10 - 13:1

Sept. 24: Seeing With the Eyes of Faith Genesis 13:1-18

Fall Schedule Begins September 10th

Two Worship Services each Sunday

at 9:00 and 10:30 am

Multnomah Announcer

Pastor Search Update The PNC (Pastor Nominating Committee) has met several times over the past few months to get organized so we can begin the search for MPC's new pastor. After the hard work done by the Transition Team to create, conduct, evaluate and prepare a Mission Study, we now have the important information available to begin.

On August 14, the PNC met with Hugh Anderson, the Bridge Co-Executive Presbyter for Cascades Presbytery, and Charles Jannsen, our Commission on Ministry liaison. We were provided with all the information and steps necessary to conduct a pastoral search. During the next several weeks, each team member will review and study the MIF. We will bring our thoughts and ideas to our next meeting so that we can successfully prepare an MIF draft. The draft will then go through the following steps:

forward draft to our COM liaison for review and suggestions

PNC reviews suggestions, revises MIF to final form

final form is presented to Session for approval

upon approval, MIF is submitted on-line to the Church Leadership Connection for circulation and

matching

PNC will receive PIFs for review

As you can imagine, each step in the process takes time. We were encouraged by both Hugh and Charles not to take any short-cuts, but to follow through carefully on each step. We thank everyone for being patient and understanding as we diligently work through each step. The PNC, led by chair Dan Williams, will meet every Wednesday beginning Sept 13.

The PNC asks for vigilant prayer from our congregation. God's hand is completely in this process, and we pray for each PNC member to be fully aware of His guidance. Thank you for your prayers. Barb Jones

(Glossary: PNC - Pastor Nominating Committee; MIF - Ministry Information Form [MPC's resume]; PIF - Personal Information Form [candidate's resume]; COM - Commission on Ministry)

Please Pray for Our Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC):

Karen Altman

Theresa Haynes

Barb Jones

Spencer Magnusson

Amy McKean

Betty Trowbridge

Dan Williams (Chair)

Glossary for Interim Ministry

Cascades Presbytery - One of 170 district governing bodies in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). MPC is part of Cascades Presbytery.

Commission on Ministry (“COM”) - The group in our presbytery that oversees congregation and relationships between pastors and churches.

Ministry Information Form (“MIF”) - An MIF is a church résumé, written by the PNC and approved by both the Session and the Presbytery’s Commission on Ministry.

Mission Study - A process of reviewing and reflecting on who we are as a congregation: past, present, and future. The PNC will draw on our completed Mission Study to write the MIF.

Pastor Nominating Committee (“PNC”) - Elected by the congregation to conduct the search for a new pastor.

Personal Information Form (“PIF”) - PIFs are the pastor résumés a PNC receives and reviews as part of their search process.

September 2017

Finance and Administration Update June and July 2017 Financial Recap

June 2017 July 2017 Year to Date 2017

Income $31,764.71 $38,039.80 $226,660.75

Expenses 31,508.94 27,158.07 201,379.09

Difference 255.77 10,881.73 25,281.66

Thank you to our church family for your faithful giving. The church stayed financially strong throughout the summer. Operating income exceeded expenses in both June and July. Year-to-date income was $25,282 ahead of expenses by the end of July. Giving is stronger than last year, and income is about four percent higher than budgeted. Year-to-date expenses are nearly eight percent under budget. Over the summer, the Financial Review Team examined 2016 financial records to confirm that financial reports were accurate and that finances are well-managed. The team found that the financial statements provided to the congregation reported fairly the financial position of the church as of December 31, 2016. Our ministry team members are reviewing their recommendations, and we are committed to continued improvement in the stewardship of church finances. MPC members, Janet Lowrey and Kathy McCourt, kindly served as volunteer auditors for the past two years. Please join us in thanking them for generously giving their time, professional expertise and thoughtful recommendations. September is the beginning of budget planning season. Session and the various ministry teams of the church will be considering overall programs for next year. Please pray that we will make good decisions and achieve God’s best for our church. A detailed financial report showing monthly operating results and all designated fund balances is available upon request from the church office.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him,

rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught,

and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7

(continued from page 1, From the Pastor)

So here are a couple of things you can be doing alongside these sermons:

You can read or re-read Genesis 12-24. You can stretch forward by looking ahead. Right now MPC’s in the middle of a major transition and

can’t quite see around the next bend. But it’s time to pick up the pace. It’s time to stretch forward around that next bend: to pray for and anticipate your next pastor; to ponder your purpose as a congregation; and to really lean into who God is calling you to be.

You can discover from Abraham more of what it means to live a future-focused life with God — and let God form your life through Abraham’s life.

Fall Teaching

I’ll be away with Fitz for two weeks in late September and early October, so I’m going to postpone the start-up of both Bible studies — Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening — until I return. That means we’ll resume on Tuesday, October 17 and Wednesday, October 18. I’m also setting a threshold of ten regular participants for Wednesday night, so please consider committing to that study this fall. In both groups we’ll be finishing up some general Bible topics, including how we got the Bible we have (canonization), the reliability of the biblical documents, and how Bible translation works. Then we’ll spend the remainder of the fall sharpening our Bible study skills in the Gospel of Mark.

Warmly in Christ,

Laurel

Multnomah Announcer

September is the month school begins again, the weather cools down (we hope), and activities that stopped during the summer months restart. As you contemplate what changes will be made in your household with the arrival of September, would you also consider if you might have an interest in joining the Deacons? Ah, you say, what does that mean? What do Deacons do?

Well, let’s tell you. Each Deacon watches over 11-13 families (the number varies because some families have more people in them than others), contacting them to let them know the church cares and asking if they have any concerns or needs. Some Deacons deliver the food barrel donations to the Neighborhood House; others mail the donated goodies to deployed servicemen; Deacons offer meals to the family and host the reception after a memorial service; Deacons distribute your monetary donations to the indigent, after interviewing and determining the best help the church can offer. They coordinate the annual Pastor and Staff Appreciation Sunday in October, host the Grauer Back-to-sSchool Project, and coordinate the Westside Thanksgiving Dinner every November. Of course, not every Deacon does every activity (other than caring for their assigned families) – service varies according to interests and time availability. One Deacon writes the Deacon Announcer articles (like this one!).

So then, the question becomes: Who watches over the Deacons? The answer is that one Deacon serves as the Deacon Moderator to watch over and care for the other Deacons – to help make their jobs “doable.” And the Deacons care for the Deacon moderator. Monthly, the Deacons meet to renew energy, plan for the future, and share concerns and prayers for those in the congregation.

So again, we ask: Have you considered joining the Deacons next year in service to the church? If you are uncertain about the time commitment (or any other question about being a Deacon), ask a current Deacon, or ask your question at the Meet Your Deacon Sunday on September 24th. The search begins soon to replace those who must step down from active service. Pray and consider if you would be willing to be a Deacon. We are thankful to God for those who answer the call with a “yes.”

Quilters

Come join our fun quilting group on Monday mornings. We have hands-on Mission work to do for abused children. People are always invited and needed to tie quilts, iron fabric, pin tops to backings, and to feel part of a small group.

Join us from 10:00 an – noon on Mondays after Labor Day.

Call or talk to any of our group with questions you may have.

Priscilla Downing Anne Braun Jackie Magnusson Darlene Higgenbottom Betty Trowbridge Ruth Croft Claudia Zerba Sharon Deal Caroline Brandt Kathleen Loomis

Deacon News

Meet Your Deacon Sunday Sunday, September 24, 2017, after each service, you will have the opportunity to meet and/or greet your Deacon. Do you know your Deacon? Do you need to put a face to a name? Each member and regular attendee at church has a Deacon – that special someone at church willing to share in your good news, your bad news, to pray for you or assist you when you need help. Are you familiar with that person who will send you a card at your birthday? If so, Sunday, September 24 is when you can renew that friendship. If not, come meet them.

“Ah,” you say, “but I don’t even know my Deacon’s name.” No problem – the Deacons will have a list of everyone’s name and who is fortunate enough to be their Deacon. If you cannot attend church on September 24, we will have another Meet Your Deacon Sunday in the new year. Your Deacon looks forward to meeting/greeting you this special Sunday.

September 2017

Dove Christian Preschool ended the summer marching in

the Multnomah Days Parade and having a final play day at the

school. We’ll be kicking off the year at the ice-cream social, and

BJ the Clown will be entertaining the kids. Classes begin

September 11th. We’ll spend the month learning about God's

promise while we get to know one another. We are excited to

spend another amazing year with 33 beautiful children that God

has brought to our door. If you are interested in what is

happening at Dove, check out our webpage,

www.dovepreschool.com. We post pictures monthly of our

activities. If you would like to volunteer at either our fall or

spring luncheons, please let us know. We'd love to have you

participate!

September 1st, The First Friday Book Group will discuss the novel by Kristin Hannah, The Nightingale. This powerful story of the invasion of France by the Nazis in World War II tells the story through the eyes of two sisters. It gives the reader more information about both the era and the sense of hope people had during this terrible time. The group will meet in the downstairs fellowship room for a potluck dinner and a discussion about the book. We invite anyone who would like to come to arrive at 6:15 pm. If you would like more information, please call Karen Beers: 503-799-8170, or email Nancy Trullinger at [email protected]. We would like to welcome you! In October, the FFBG will read to discuss, The Watchman, by Harper Lee. Please come and share your ideas with the group. We welcome new members!!!

EXPLORE MPC!

IF YOU’RE SOMEWHAT NEW around here - or wondering about what’s involved in becoming a member - please join us on

September 10, 4:00 - 6:00 pm for Explore MPC!

This event will be an informal time to learn more about MPC and its near-term future, as well as explore what it means to be a Christian disciple in a Presbyterian context. Light refreshments will be served, and childcare will be available if needed. Please sign up on the Connect Sheet or call the of-fice at (503)246-5459 if you’d like to attend!

http://www.dovepreschool.com

mailto:[email protected]

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 6:15 pm Book Group

2

3

Communion

10:00 am Worship Sunday School Noon Outreach Committee

4 10:00 am Quilters 5:30 pm Fitness Class

5 7:00 pm Prayer Night

6 1:30 pm Staff Meeting 8:30 pm Praise Team

7 5:30 pm Fitness Class

6:30 pm Dove Preschool Ice Cream Social 7:00 pm Thursday Night

Bible Study

8 7:00 am Men's Breakfast

at Six Corners Café

9 10:00 am

Second Saturday

Serve (Youth)

10 Two Services

Resume

9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship

Alaska Mission Report

4:00 - 6:00 pm Explore MPC!

11 10:00 am Quilters 5:30 pm Fitness Class 6:00 pm Bell Choir

12 10:00 am Pastor’s Bible Study 7:00 pm Prayer Night

13 11:45 am PW Luncheon 1:30 pm Staff Meeting

6:00 pm W@W

7:00 pm Choir Pastor’s Bible Study H S Youth Group 8:30 pm Praise Team

14 5:30 pm Fitness Class 7:00 pm Thursday Night

Bible Study M S Youth Group

Bldg. & Grounds


7:00 pm Bunco Night

16

17 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship

Sunday Funday Noon Deacon Meeting

18 10:00 am Quilters 5:30 pm Fitness Class 6:00 pm Bell Choir 6:45 pm Monday Night Bible Study

19 10:00 am Pastor’s Bible Study

5:30 pm Worship Comm. 6:00 pm 7:00 pm Prayer Night

F & A Meeting Missions

20 1:30 pm Staff Meeting

6:00 pm W@W





23

24

9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship Sunday School

Meet Your Deacon Sunday


26

10:00 am Adult Ed Class 7:00 pm Prayer Night

Session


6:00 pm W@W





30

Looking Ahead: Oct. 1 World Wide Communion

Oct. 28 Fall Clean-up Day

http://www.mychurchevents.com/calendar/calendar_event_detail_view.aspx?cei=260193052&event_date=3/6/2014&ci=G1I3G1K5H2M7O9L6I3&igd=





























https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcooperchurch.com%2Fattachments%2FImage%2Fdji_applebasket_c.jpg%3Ftemplate%3Dgeneric&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcooperchurch.com%2Fevents%2Fmonthly%2Fseptember-2016-monthly-calendar%2F&docid=7yzgU7lMqmcdVM&tbn

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 6:15 pm Book Group

2

3

Communion

10:00 am Worship Sunday School Noon Outreach Committee

4 10:00 am Quilters 5:30 pm Fitness Class

5 7:00 pm Prayer Night

6 1:30 pm Staff Meeting 8:30 pm Praise Team

7 5:30 pm Fitness Class

6:30 pm Dove Preschool Ice Cream Social 7:00 pm Thursday Night

Bible Study


at Six Corners Café

9 10:00 am

Second Saturday

Serve (Youth)

10 Two Services

Resume

9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship

Alaska Mission Report

4:00 - 6:00 pm Explore MPC!

11 10:00 am Quilters 5:30 pm Fitness Class 6:00 pm Bell Choir

12 10:00 am Pastor’s Bible Study 7:00 pm Prayer Night

13 11:45 am PW Luncheon 1:30 pm Staff Meeting

6:00 pm W@W




Bldg. & Grounds


7:00 pm Bunco Night

16

17 9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship

Sunday Funday Noon Deacon Meeting


19 10:00 am Pastor’s Bible Study

5:30 pm Worship Comm. 6:00 pm 7:00 pm Prayer Night

F & A Meeting Missions


6:00 pm W@W





23

24

9:00 am Worship 10:30 am Worship Sunday School

Meet Your Deacon Sunday


26

10:00 am Adult Ed Class 7:00 pm Prayer Night

Session


6:00 pm W@W





30

2 Michelle Megarry Joyce Rosenbalm

4 Julia Meyer

5 David Tomastik Mike Bell Peggy White

6 Karen Black

7 Molly Dischner Macy Lawrence

8 Cameron Andrews Linda Jager

15 Priscilla Downing Elius Graff Maicy Kindrick

16 Melissa Milnor

17 Amy Barth

18 Bob Mullins

19 Elijah Hellman

21 Andrea Kuehnel

22 Evelyn Walls

23 Cynthia Papke Mark Unrath

24 Laura McCourt

25 Kiana Killian

26 Bob Plame

28 Theresa Haynes Paul Barnum

Sept.






























Multnomah Announcer

Columbia Presbyterian Church Lecture Series:

Almost every church in North America is facing a culture-shift in ministry: from our longstanding “attractional" approach — trying hard to get unchurched people to come to our churches! — to a more “missional” approach of going to unchurched people ourselves. What this means is that we’re all a bit “off our maps.” How do we come alongside the unchurched people in our natural networks of neighborhood, work, and community? And how do we build the kind of authentic and caring relational connections with them that may eventually create space and opportunity for conversations about the gospel and Christian discipleship? If you’re curious about such things, I hope you’ll consider the following opportunity at my husband Fitz’s church in October.

Warmly,

Laurel

The Columbia Lecture Series on Faith & Life

presents a weekend of spiritual renewal with

Mike & Sally Breen

Becoming a Family on Mission

October 21, 2017 - 10:00-4:30

@ Columbia Presbyterian Church, Vancouver, WA

$30 per person; $50 per couple/family; $10 for students

“Family on Mission is the music to the lyrics of discipleship. Family-on-mission

is how we stop thinking of discipleship as a task that we do and start living out discipleship as a way that we are.

Family-on-mission is how we stop doing discipleship as a class, program, or curriculum, and start living it as a way of life.

If we’re going to make disciples and move out in mission, we need to go from managing boundaries between compartments of our lives

to integrating family and mission into one life…”

Register online at www.columbiapresbyterian.org

or pick up a brochure at MPC.

http://www.columbiapresbyterian.org

September 2017

Pennies for Missions Remember to save those pesky pennies and put them to good use by placing them in our “Penny Jar” at church on the Welcome

Counter. All pennies are donated to Neighborhood House food bank.

Choir Open House It's September and it's time for choir to start again! Do you love to sing but are not sure of the time commitment and/or your ability? Beginning Sept. 13th, we are having an open house. Feel free to come and rehearse with the choir with no strings attached. Experience the joy of lifting your voice with others in praise -- "When you sing, you pray twice.” We rehearse Wednesdays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm in the sanctuary; our first rehearsal will be September 13th. Please call Ray McKean at 503-277-3480 if you have questions.

Please set aside a few hours the morning of Saturday, October 28th

to come and help out at the FALL CLEAN-UP DAY!! More information will be coming soon!

Gardening Project Memorial gifts honoring Petie Biehler and Catherine Nevin were recently directed to a landscape enhancement project at MPC and will include some seasonal flower beds for some of Petie’s favorite annuals. Laurel assembled a group that has met to determine the scope of the project, and this group will be working with the Building and Grounds Committee.

The first task of the group was to identify the beds we plan to work on and define which plants may need to be transplanted or removed. The second task will be to build new beds and amend the soil in preparation for future plantings. Two spots were identified as the most honoring locations: one at the front entry on either the side of the staircase, and the other in front of the Multnomah Presbyterian Church stone sign near the office.

We have begun discussion on sprucing up our landscape with the new planting beds in mind, so stay tuned. If you are interested in joining the group, please contact Betsy Deich. We would love anyone with landscape design or maintenance experience or knowledge to join our group. Please pray that whatever work we do will be honoring and reflective of God’s amazing grace and be pleasing to the families that have donated funds to make this happen. If you’d like to contribute additional funds to this project, please add “Landscape Enhancements Fund” to the memo line on your check.

THURSDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY

will begin a new Video Teaching Series on Sept 7 at 7:00 pm entitled

ONLY TWO RELIGIONS with Peter Jones.

If interested in participating, contact Mark Trullinger.

Multnomah Announcer

Presbyterian Women

All women are invited to our fall

meeting which will be Wednesday,

September 13th at 11:45 am. downstairs.

Our new study will be based on the book:

The Crime of Living Cautiously by Luci

Shaw. Pastor Laurel will be leading us and is

ordering 10 copies of the book. It is not necessary to

read the book to get a lot out of the discussion at PW.

Please bring your lunch and Bible and we will

provide hot drinks.

We will be planning a Spring Tea this year on

Saturday, April 21, 2018. Also, just a reminder that

the next Bunco date will be on Friday, September

15th at the church.

We invite you to join us for Prayer Night, Tuesdays at 7:00 pm, upstairs in the Chapel. If you are in need of prayer or know someone who is, please let a prayer team member know. We also encourage you to come and be prayed for after worship on Sundays.

Please keep those who can’t make it to church each Sunday

in your prayers:

Gladys Anderson Mary Jean Baumhofer

Eleanor Caufield Ron Hendricks

"Prayer is a powerful thing, for God has bound and tied himself thereto. None can believe how power-ful prayer is, and what it is able to effect, but those who have learned it by experience." -Martin Luther

Mission Highlights As we, the worshiping congregation, completed

the Transition Team survey last spring, we indicated that

mission work was very important to us, including local

mission. In keeping with that desire, the Mission Team

is focusing on a couple of local missions where we

already have established a relationship:

Stephen’s Crossing – This low-income housing

development is just off of Vermont St., less than

2 miles from MPC. Members of the church have

been partnering with these folks for a while now

and we are familiar there.

This fall, Fran Barth is working to set up

Homework Support there on Mondays from 4:00

to 8:00 pm. We are looking for volunteers who

can give a couple hours a week to get students

focused on homework. Language should not be

much of a barrier and training and support will

be provided.

In addition to hands-on help, our church will

be purchasing additional Chrome books for the

homework center, as much of the homework

needs to be done online.

Pamoja House - The purpose of this organization in

southwest Portland is to love our neighbors from

around the world and see immigrants becoming

successful, contributing members of the

community. Serving primarily a Muslim

population, Pamoja House offers such services

as ESL, driver’s education and early childhood

education (Lisa Shelley can tell you more about

this). Ruth Carpenter, whom Multnomah

Presbyterian Church helps to support, will be

coming to our church on a Sunday this fall to

teach us how we can become more involved.

In other news, the success of the Refugee Care tubs

has encouraged the Mission Team to try something a

little different with the shoe boxes we fill each year for

Operation Christmas Child. Early in October, you will

have an opportunity to get a box (or more!) to fill with

items for a child of specific age and gender. In

November, the boxes will be prayed over, celebrated,

and mailed. Plan to participate as a single, couple,

family or small group.

Bonnie Larson Faye Quinn

Rosemary Roser

Evelyn Walls

"In the morning, prayer is the key that opens to us the treasure of God's mercies; in the even-

ing, it is the key that shuts us up under His protection and safeguard."

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning, I lay my requests before you and

wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3 NIV

September 2017

SUNDAY FUNDAY IS BACK!! Our “once-a-month, bigger group” Sunday School returns on Sunday, September 17th, during the 10:30 am worship service. We have fun with our preschool through 5th grade classes playing games, working on memorizing important Bible verses and doing fun art projects together. Heather leads Sunday Funday with the help of our High School and Middle School students. After September, Sunday Funday will return to its regular schedule on the first Sunday of every month. We look

forward to seeing you for the first Funday of this school year, on Sept. 17th.

MARIMBA THANK YOU We want to thank everyone who has generously given to the Marimba Fund this summer. We’ve received enough money now to allow us to proceed with looking for used marimbas and acquiring the basics to outfit this new ministry. Thank you so much for your gifts and support! They will multiply as we seek to build more opportunities for intergenerational worship and faith development here at MPC. You are helping us to create a new opportunity for outreach to kids in our community, and enriching our worship experience for everyone. We would appreciate your prayers going forward as we now start looking for marimbas to purchase and finish planning for this adventure. We hope to get this off the ground soon and look forward to working with kids and adults to create something really fun at MPC.

ALASKA MISSION MAIL THANK YOU Thank you, to everyone who wrote mission mail for us while we were in Alaska. The students enjoyed opening mail each evening while we were there. They wanted to know right away who the person who was writing to them, and they were really touched that so many would take the time to write to them and encourage them. Thank you for supporting our students, and our leaders, and equipping them to minister in Skagway this summer.

ALASKA MISSION REPORT The Alaska Mission report will be on Sunday, September 10th at the 9:00 and 10:30 worship services. We would love for you to join us for worship that Sunday and hear of all the amazing things that happened this year. We can tell you that once again we were welcomed enthusiastically by people of all ages in Skagway. We had the chance to work with children and teens from all over the world, as not only our year-round friends were, but seasonal friends as well. The church was overflowing with families for our VBS family night and we were surrounded by students

from Skagway every day during our free time. We were exhausted with wonderful adventures as we proclaimed the love of Jesus through words and hopefully our deeds spoke even louder. Our presence in the community there is very much appreciated and valued. Our Portland students were encouraged and challenged as they stepped out in faith. We hope to be able to return this winter and next summer as well. We are so thankful for all of your support. On Sunday, September 10th we will not have Sunday school as we like the children to be able to hear and be inspired by the teenagers.

AT MPC, KIDS DON’T JUST PARTICIPATE IN PROGRAMS, THEY CREATE THEM!

Did you know that some of the most popular things we do at MPC are kid-created? Our Vacation Bible School themes are chosen by kids and kids help create the curriculum. Our Christmas plays for the past few years have been written and staged by kids. Many of the most popular games we play at youth groups were created by our youth. Our Alaska trip programming is all planned and executed by students on our team. We want kids to know they have a vital role to play in bringing the kingdom of heaven here. If you have a child or teen who likes to create, lead, or direct, talk to Heather; she is growing the team of kid creators and dreaming up new ways to help them create things at church to help us all grow in the knowledge and love of Jesus.

NON-PROFIT ORG.

U.S. POSTAGE PAID

PORTLAND, OR

PERMIT NO. 366

Our Mission Statement: Loved by Christ, we love. Served by Christ, we serve.

Invited by Christ, we go, inviting others to Him.

7555 SW 45th Ave. Portland, OR 97219-1516

Return Service Requested Dated Material

Please Do Not Delay

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11

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