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Fremont United Methodist Church
We work to live into God’s wholeness for ourselves and our world by practicing our values of belonging, vulnerability, and mutual flourishing.
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Lunar New Year Food Drive
Ends January 26th
Troop 100 Tree Recycle Day
January 4, Saturday 9:00am to 2:00pm
Red Cross Blood Drive at Madeline Parish
January 11, Saturday
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"You Are a Blessing"
Dear Fremont Family,
Our Adday. You are a blessing in the way you will gather on Christmas Eve making room for the Christ child and for neighbors and guests who will join us to light candles to light up the darkness. You are a blessing through your wonderful presence in my life. As we begin the season of Advent, may we begin like Mary in blessing so as to be a blessing.
Grace and peace,
Erin
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Deepen our Lives Together | |
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Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery. How the Church became broken.
For more than 500 years, the Doctrine of Discovery instituted by Pope Nicolas and others has justified slavery, wars of conquest, genocide, and the dehumanization of millions—and in the name of Christ. Today, we live with the deeply ingrained systems which were based on this legal theory.
Westminster Presbyterian invites us to join them beginning Wednesday, January 15, from 7 to 8 p.m., Gregg Neel and Junha Kim will present a seven-week exploration of this doctrine and its effects upon the church, specifically the American Church. The class will be offered in the chapel and via Zoom.
We invite all to join us in this study of a legal theory which has given rise to so much violence and destruction in the world, and which is still impacting our lives. If you’re interested in attending this class, please sign up with Junha Kim (e-mail jkim@westprespdx.org or call 503-287-1289 x 116).
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Photos from this Christmas Season | |
Come Read with Us
Fremont's United Women in Faith is starting a Book Club and everyone is invited! We will be reading books from the UWFaith Reading Program which is designed to help women (and men) of faith achieve five key goals; lean into our spiritual growth, strengthen our leadership skills, equip ourselves for local and global mission, take faithful action for the common good and build community in ways large and small. The books are not always easy reading, but are worth it for the new thoughts and knowledge gained.
The first book we will be reading is Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng which is under the Social Action banner. In this novel, 12 year old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn't know what happened to her-only that her books have been banned- and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him. Then one day, Bird receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, and soon he is pulled into a quest to find her.
There are many copies available at the Multnomah County library or can be purchased on Kindle or in a local bookstore depending on your personal choice. Purchase the book from Powells here.
We will meet on January 29 at 10:00 am in the Conference Room to discuss our thoughts about Our Missing Hearts.
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Coming In January, Pray-ground Experiment
In January you will notice a change in the Sanctuary. As an experiment we will be removing two or three pews and creating a space for our children called a Prayground.
For 2025 your Board identified that families are one of our focus areas. We expanded the Family Ministry director to include Community Engagement. The Board talked about the many kids and families who are in our building during the week and from our families we heard how they desired more multigenerational connections.
One of our families brought to us the idea that we create a Prayground. A Prayground (an idea already adopted by many UM churches) will provide a welcoming space of inclusion for our children and is a visible way for us to show our commitment to our young disciples.
We are piloting this idea as an experiment to begin with. We will host a conversation about how it's working after we have had time to experience what it's like. Please read one or both of the articles below to see how Churches nationwide have been creating Praygrounds in their sanctuaries and their positive impact. Let's play with this idea and see how it works for us!
UM Communications Article
Article that explores all of your questions.
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Fremont: A church moving from being
inside the building to inside the neighborhood.
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Lunar New Year Food Drive
In Partnership with Alameda Elementary, and The Community for Positive Aging, we are participating in our second annual food drive in honor of the Lunar New Year. Please bring in your donations of culturally specific foods by Sunday January 26th. The food list and stores to shop at is here, or you can pick up a copy in the Narthex any Sunday.
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Join us for a Community Book Study
"Our climate future is not yet written. What if we act as if we love the future?
Sometimes the bravest thing we can do while facing an existential crisis is imagine life on the other side. This provocative and joyous book maps an inspiring landscape of possible climate futures.
Through clear-eyed essays and vibrant conversations, infused with data, poetry, and art, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson guides us through solutions and possibilities at the nexus of science, policy, culture, and justice. Visionary farmers and financiers, architects and advocates, help us conjure a flourishing future, one worth the effort it will take—from every one of us, with whatever we have to offer—to create."
Contact Diane in the office if you are interested in joining. We will set the schedule when we have a participant list.
Purchase the book from Powell's here.
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Fremont Christmas Tree Season
A Wrap-Up
If you’ve ever spent much time on the Fremont tree lot, you’ll recognize comments that sound almost like a refrain from a Christmas carol because they are so familiar….“I’ve come to Fremont for over 20 years to find a tree.” Or, “My parents brought me when I was young, and now I’m bringing my own family”. “Thank you for being here.” Volunteers hear these comments so often, and they are good reminders about the benefits of the tree lot that extend well beyond the fundraising.
This year we:
- Netted over $30,000 in profit, and shared over $3,000 directly with the NE Emergency Food Program
- Sold over 1,000 trees and wreaths
- Involved over 40 volunteers, including 7 new people volunteering for the first time
- Gave out so many dozen cookies and bars to customers and volunteers that we lost count
- Provided a safe and welcoming setting where customers and volunteers could have a fun experience finding their tree.
Thank you to everyone who supported the Christmas Tree season!
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Community Christmas Festival
We celebrated our Second Annual Community Christmas Festival on December 8. Again we got to all be together and welcome neighbors.
Thank you for all of the volunteers who decorated, baked cookies, and sang along to holiday carols.
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H.u.G.S. Christmas Ministry
Our H.u.G.S ministry continues to warm the hands and hearts of our houseless neighbors. All of your donations of hats, gloves and socks were given, hand to hand on Christmas and the day after.
Prayers, love, and actions at work!
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Fremonter Details
Fremont Newsletter Articles and Production
The Fremonter Newsletter has always been a critical part of how we communicate, worship, prayer and celebrate together. We would love to encourage everyone to contribute articles to the monthly news letter. Interested in sharing, here is how and when to do it.
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Fremonter articles are always due 5 days before the end of each month.
- Need a couple more days? That's ok, just contact Diane and let her know you will be submitting a piece.
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BEFORE UNSUBSCRIBING: You can reduce the number of emails you receive from us by clicking the Update Profile link below. You will be able to choose your email preferences at that time. | | | | |
