Roots of Peoples United Methodist Church
Part 69 Epilogue 3
The Story Continues: Visions and Applications
The Vision for 2006 was developed through a program titled “Righting the Ship” This was not a reflection on anything that was not done right in the past, but instead was to look at what areas of church life needed to be balanced. As is the case throughout any history it is a good idea periodically to examine the strengths and weaknesses in the operation of any organization. Peoples has a history of doing that and usually with success leading to altered directions.
The program was called an “Intreat” as opposed to a Retreat because the participants began the day with a worship service at Bug Light Park and then adjourned to Ellis Hall as opposed to a location away from our church home. The areas of church life that were developed were Evangelism, Discipleship, Worship, Missions and Fellowship. Those in attendance discussed how to make our church and its family more welcoming and at the same time getting members to reach out more to missions in the community. From the impetus of this program a number of initiatives were developed including a new Alpha session as well as Purpose Driven Life course. Another direction led to an important but short lived program titled “When Women Pray” which was held at the home of Linda and Doug Greer. There was concern expressed for how Sunday school offerings might be improved and later there would be the desire to work with other churches in resurrecting teen groups that had become somewhat dormant locally. The Intreat gave the new pastors, Jamie and Gwyneth Arrison an opportunity to see what the concerns of Peoples were and for the members who participated to see what goals the new pastors might have as well.
Out of this same session were a number of attempts to develop new forms of worship held at different times during the week or weekend. The first of these opportunities was called “The Gathering” and it was held on Saturday evenings. This was successful for a time, but with little growth and interest on a Saturday night what next was developed was a meditation service following the Taize format. This also worked successfully for those that wanted meditation, but again in time interest faded. In late 2009 a Meditation service was revived on an every other week basis on a Sunday night.
In early 2007 the third program developed by Rick Warren, called 40 Days of Community got underway with several small groups meeting in the homes of some of the members. The impetus to carry out this study/service program was again one of the needs discussed in the Intreat of the previous fall. The study with 8 to 10 people in each of five or six groups was to study together and to develop a local mission project to be engaged in during the 40 Days of the program. Some of the groups continued to meet after the 40 days was over carrying on study and projects together even to the time that these pages were written in 2010. As a follow-up in 2009 the fourth Warren program, 40 Days of Love, encouraged some of the existing Bible study groups to study God’s lessons of Love.
Late in that same year, but again a spin-off activity of the Intreat was the development of the first Community Awareness Fair held in the Spring of 2007. Earle Harvey and Rosemary Herd were the primary developers of this program to bring displays in from many of the local missions that we supported, or other local services that we wanted to promote and support with a way of getting volunteers. Some of the missions that Peoples supports nationally and internationally were also advertised. Some 20 local agencies and organizations used videos and picture boards along with speakers to show what they represented. People who came with children found games and free food. This was the first of three such programs that Peoples has sponsored. While the first was in the Spring each of the others have been held in early fall just before the opening of Sunday school. The focus has been more toward getting kids interested and coming to Sunday school, but there has also been plenty of activity for adults who attend as well. More games and food have been made available as this event has become a part of the fabric that continues to make Peoples a Welcoming Congregation. The most recent edition of the Fair held in the fall of 2009 included Pony rides as well. As part of welcoming members to the church we were able to purchase and wear either aprons or t-shirts. Andy Folley, the leader of the growing Sunday school, thought it might be neat if they could pass out t-shirts to the youngsters in the Sunday school. This was accomplished and during the first day of Sunday school all of the present students were given a t-shirt to wear for events at church. This along with a new learning center based approach has allowed membership to grow and prosper in the ways of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Along with new approaches to learning a number of church members, some of which having had little Sunday school teaching experience have come forward to assist in the quarterly teaching approach. Membership in the Sunday school has expanded, and more parents have taken part in the lives of their children. Sunday school for youngsters has brought new life to that part of the church life program. While not immediately a target for education, Teens were a concern that Pastor Jamie Arrison became involved with. In 2009 a new program was launched for teens in the greater Portland area. The program meets on Sunday afternoons and has given an outlet for a number of teens to meet and to get involved in fun and spiritual activities together. At this point its appeal is primarily to young teens primarily of middle school age in the belief that as these new members become older teens they will stay together and recreate active UMYF groups locally.
Much of the church life activities that are mentioned above and others has been coordinated by a group originally developed called Discipleship and more recently known as the Church Life Committee. While the number of folks that are members of this church has declined in recent years many ministries had been placed in the hands of individuals. In order to encourage each other those ministries responsible for Education, Missions and Fellowship have been brought together in the above mentioned group and often have planned programs together. In the next Epilog we will look at some of the programs that have drawn Education, Missions and Fellowship together beyond what has been mentioned in this episode.
Part 69 Epilogue 3
The Story Continues: Visions and Applications
The Vision for 2006 was developed through a program titled “Righting the Ship” This was not a reflection on anything that was not done right in the past, but instead was to look at what areas of church life needed to be balanced. As is the case throughout any history it is a good idea periodically to examine the strengths and weaknesses in the operation of any organization. Peoples has a history of doing that and usually with success leading to altered directions.
The program was called an “Intreat” as opposed to a Retreat because the participants began the day with a worship service at Bug Light Park and then adjourned to Ellis Hall as opposed to a location away from our church home. The areas of church life that were developed were Evangelism, Discipleship, Worship, Missions and Fellowship. Those in attendance discussed how to make our church and its family more welcoming and at the same time getting members to reach out more to missions in the community. From the impetus of this program a number of initiatives were developed including a new Alpha session as well as Purpose Driven Life course. Another direction led to an important but short lived program titled “When Women Pray” which was held at the home of Linda and Doug Greer. There was concern expressed for how Sunday school offerings might be improved and later there would be the desire to work with other churches in resurrecting teen groups that had become somewhat dormant locally. The Intreat gave the new pastors, Jamie and Gwyneth Arrison an opportunity to see what the concerns of Peoples were and for the members who participated to see what goals the new pastors might have as well.
Out of this same session were a number of attempts to develop new forms of worship held at different times during the week or weekend. The first of these opportunities was called “The Gathering” and it was held on Saturday evenings. This was successful for a time, but with little growth and interest on a Saturday night what next was developed was a meditation service following the Taize format. This also worked successfully for those that wanted meditation, but again in time interest faded. In late 2009 a Meditation service was revived on an every other week basis on a Sunday night.
In early 2007 the third program developed by Rick Warren, called 40 Days of Community got underway with several small groups meeting in the homes of some of the members. The impetus to carry out this study/service program was again one of the needs discussed in the Intreat of the previous fall. The study with 8 to 10 people in each of five or six groups was to study together and to develop a local mission project to be engaged in during the 40 Days of the program. Some of the groups continued to meet after the 40 days was over carrying on study and projects together even to the time that these pages were written in 2010. As a follow-up in 2009 the fourth Warren program, 40 Days of Love, encouraged some of the existing Bible study groups to study God’s lessons of Love.
Late in that same year, but again a spin-off activity of the Intreat was the development of the first Community Awareness Fair held in the Spring of 2007. Earle Harvey and Rosemary Herd were the primary developers of this program to bring displays in from many of the local missions that we supported, or other local services that we wanted to promote and support with a way of getting volunteers. Some of the missions that Peoples supports nationally and internationally were also advertised. Some 20 local agencies and organizations used videos and picture boards along with speakers to show what they represented. People who came with children found games and free food. This was the first of three such programs that Peoples has sponsored. While the first was in the Spring each of the others have been held in early fall just before the opening of Sunday school. The focus has been more toward getting kids interested and coming to Sunday school, but there has also been plenty of activity for adults who attend as well. More games and food have been made available as this event has become a part of the fabric that continues to make Peoples a Welcoming Congregation. The most recent edition of the Fair held in the fall of 2009 included Pony rides as well. As part of welcoming members to the church we were able to purchase and wear either aprons or t-shirts. Andy Folley, the leader of the growing Sunday school, thought it might be neat if they could pass out t-shirts to the youngsters in the Sunday school. This was accomplished and during the first day of Sunday school all of the present students were given a t-shirt to wear for events at church. This along with a new learning center based approach has allowed membership to grow and prosper in the ways of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Along with new approaches to learning a number of church members, some of which having had little Sunday school teaching experience have come forward to assist in the quarterly teaching approach. Membership in the Sunday school has expanded, and more parents have taken part in the lives of their children. Sunday school for youngsters has brought new life to that part of the church life program. While not immediately a target for education, Teens were a concern that Pastor Jamie Arrison became involved with. In 2009 a new program was launched for teens in the greater Portland area. The program meets on Sunday afternoons and has given an outlet for a number of teens to meet and to get involved in fun and spiritual activities together. At this point its appeal is primarily to young teens primarily of middle school age in the belief that as these new members become older teens they will stay together and recreate active UMYF groups locally.
Much of the church life activities that are mentioned above and others has been coordinated by a group originally developed called Discipleship and more recently known as the Church Life Committee. While the number of folks that are members of this church has declined in recent years many ministries had been placed in the hands of individuals. In order to encourage each other those ministries responsible for Education, Missions and Fellowship have been brought together in the above mentioned group and often have planned programs together. In the next Epilog we will look at some of the programs that have drawn Education, Missions and Fellowship together beyond what has been mentioned in this episode.
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