May 2025 Newsletter

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.

Juniper School students deliver May baskets to the office, and to the doors of neighbors!

"Jesus was a Refugee"

Dear Fremont Family,

I know that the national news on a daily basis is completely overwhelming. The first 100 days of the new administration has brought bad news after bad news as we try to process the accumulating negative impacts of the many executive orders. Mass deportations are ramping up. Government agencies assisting the poor are being defunded. Equity protections for Gay and Trans are being dismantled. And, it seems that things will only get worse.

What should we do as a community of faith? In many ways, you are already doing the good and necessary work to be a community of resistance that courageously loves your neighbors as yourselves. Because much of the harm is happening at the national level, there will be little we can do to reverse or change executive orders. But, we can and we must act locally and in relationship with our neighbors here in NE Portland to reduce the harm of persons being targeted. That was why we chose to host on December 1st, a community screening of the movie, "Borderland: the Line Within." That film highlighted how ICE is located in every neighborhood (S Macadam Ave. in Portland), and the national network of immigrant detention centers is a billion dollar industry. We have in the United States nothing short of an "Industrial Border Complex," much like our industrial prison complex. About 50 of our neighbors attended the film screening.

Next, on March 15th, we hosted a neighborhood "Know Your Rights" training for bystanders and allies. We did this training in collaboration with Marandas Garcia Immigration Law Group. This event was designed specifically for those of us who are "low risk," but who can come alongside other more high risk neighbors by understanding the constitutional rights every person has regardless of citizenship status. It was a powerful day of learning and conversation, and we had about 70 neighbors join us for the training.

Finally, as we are learning more and more, we are developing what is called a Rapid Response Team. This team will be trained individuals who will respond to situations of need around deportation and/or around other areas of crisis. Recently, our team mobilized to provide legal assistance to help a family apply for asylum and collect furniture for their apartment.

I often think of Mary and Joseph who, at Jesus' birth, were forced to flee Palestine and emigrate to Egypt because of violence being targeted at Hebrew boys under the age of 2. I think about how Jesus was born into a context of political instability, ethnic migration and deep human vulnerability. Today, when we welcome our neighbors in similar circumstances, we are certainly welcoming Jesus. May it be so.

Grace and peace,

Erin

Rebecca Wilson Poetry Show

Event at First UMC Portland, Saturday May 10, 7pm

Unraveling: Coming Out and Back Together, introduces another individual’s journey from shame and suffering to wholeness. These 21 pieces speak truth to the undeniable ways the church heals and the unholy ways the church harms. 

Book Club Meeting

The United Women in Faith Book Club will be reading What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman by Lerita Coleman Brown in preparation for a discussion on Wednesday, May 14 at 1:00 in the Conference Room. Howard Thurman was known as the godfather of the civil rights movement and championed silence, contemplation, common unity and nonviolence as powerful dimensions of social change. Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown calls readers to walk through his inimitable life and commitments as he summons them into centering down, encountering the natural world, unleashing inner authority and recognizing the genius of the religion of Jesus.  All are invited to read this book and join us for discussion. If you prefer to check your books out of the library instead of purchasing one, know that it is not in the Multnomah County library system, but can be borrowed through the Interlibrary loan system.

Fremont: A church moving from being

inside the building to inside the neighborhood.

Alameda Ladies Choir Concert

It's time to celebrate our community and hear the Alameda Ladies Choir concert on May 10th at 4pm. Led by Lindsay Hogan and Jonathan Roberts.

Blessing Bags

Trudy and crew will again be packing Blessing Bags to be passed out to our houseless neighbors.

We are going to assemble 25 more blessing bags to gift. We need your help with donations of product or monetary support. The items we need are as follows; Granola bars; lip balm; band aids; tooth paste, tooth brushes; fruit snacks; Wash cloths, bars of soap; tissue. Let Trudy know if you want to come pack bags or make donations. She will let you know when the packing event will take place in May.

Scott Elementary

We are deepening our relationship with Harvey Scott Elementary that began many years ago. Scott was one of the first schools that Fremont served with our weekend food program before it became Portland Backpack. We heard that the program had been temporarily suspended. Les, Diane and Erin met with school Principal, Tiana Ahmann last week to find out what they needed and how we can help.

They have asked for food and we can focus on the snack and fruit category. They also asked for the other items listed below. Their Sun School coordinator and Counselor are connecting with Erin to learn more about our new partnerships for immigration services and Rapid Response.

Here is a list of things that the school has requested.

• Granola bars
• Nut packs
• Fruit squeeze packs
• Small Cans of fruit
• Children's socks
• Children's underwear
• Lice Treatment Kits
• Diapers for younger siblings
• Toothbrushes and toothpaste
• Baby wipes

Please bring all items to Church by the end of May

Rapid Response:

In response to the abduction and deportation of legal residents and citizens,

Pastor Erin and her affinity group quickly got organized. On March 29 we hosted an event at Fremont that was a collaboration with the Asylum Seekers Solidarity Network to support our Venezuelan neighbors. Through that event Pastor Erin got to know an immigrant family with three children. Recently, they received a notice of "termination of parole" regarding their temporary protective status and the community organizing team jumped into action. They were able to find an immigration lawyer to assist the family in filing for asylum. The group also helped the family obtain furniture and other household items when the family was able to secure housing. Ultimately, the courts have issued a stay for terminating parole from targeted countries, however, there is still much work to be done to protect our vulnerable neighbors.

We have created a Rapid Response Fund at Fremont to help pay for any additional upcoming legal fees or food, transportation, housing costs to accompany our immigrant neighbors. Donations are being accepted! You can access the fund through our website giving. Be sure to mark "Rapid Response" in the Memo.



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. 

• 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.

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.