Join us for free Drag Queen Bingo on Saturday night!

This Saturday, February 26 at 7:30 pm, we are hosting a family-friendly Drag Queen Bingo* on Zoom with the legendary Poison Waters!

It’s free! (You can make a donation if you want to help defray the costs.) 

You don’t have to be a member to participate! All are welcome!
 
No registration is required; just show up on Zoom! Email Sarah or Marie if you need the Zoom link.

We'll be using digital bingo cards, so you won't need anything in advance. But if you'd rather play old school and print out the digital bingo cards, you can do so here: https://mfbc.us/v/w4t8d8f
 

We encourage you to be festive and join in the fun of dressing up--throw on a scarf or boa, or wear a fun hat!

Also, feel free to make a hurricane! (Recipe at the bottom of this email)

*What is Drag Queen Bingo? 
It's not your grandparents' bingo game! It's bingo combined with drag queen culture. Poison Waters will call the numbers and entertain us at the same time!

You’ll have a chance to win one of six amazing prize packages:
  

Dinner in Venice: 1 homemade lasagna, homemade bread + bottle of wine (vegetarian, contains gluten + dairy)

Comfort Food Evening: 1 batch of homemade tomato soup (gluten and dairy free) + homemade bread (or GF focaccia) + bottle of wine

Weekend Brunch: 1 batch of homemade waffles (12 waffles, reheat in toaster) + mimosa supplies

Spanky's Special: 1 batch homemade soup of the winner's choice, salad, and bread; boterkoek

Winter Handmade Treat: Handmade silk mohair knit scarf in various shades of blue,  fresh homemade bread, handmade mosaic lantern, and bottle of wine

Hunkering Down Package: games, books, DVDs, CD, a puzzle, coloring books, and coloring pencils; a handmade fleece blanket to keep you warm; and a bottle of wine

We’ll also have a few kids’ prizes.

Thanks to our donors:!

Got questions? Contact Sarah or Marie.

At the Mardi Gras auction right before the world shut down in 2020, the hand-crafted Hurricane cocktails were QUITE THE HIT!!

Want to make your own Hurricane for Drag Queen Bingo? Get the recipe here.

Sunday's Beautiful Closing Prayer by Drew

Mother Father, who are we that you should forgive us? Who are we, that we not forgive each other? Who indeed, am I, to be forgiven? Yet you do not forget us.

When the passion we have about any injustice, any personal affront, any shortsighted decision, every bias, every historical atrocity, when that passion burns with the righteous intensity of judgment, we cast ourselves into the fire of our own igniting. But you say no to this. It is easy to be right, or better – or think we are.

Do you not love as dearly as us the people we hate? Do you not hold us all as a mother holds all her children? This world needs your open heart. Would that we be protected from the lies, pain we deal upon each other. Would that there be no injustice, no need to forgive!

By your amazing, outrageous grace, grant us the confidence of your strength, free us from the judgment we cast upon each other, guide us to an open heart, full of the wisdom that does not forget, and a love that overflows with the certainty of the dawning day, secure in the eternity of your unending grace. Amen.

(Thanks to Drew C.! Reprinted with permission)

We're going back to worship in person on March 2!

The COVID Safety Team has an update with good news!

We are resuming our in-person/hybrid worship services again, effective Ash Wednesday, March 2 at 7 pm! Our pre-Christmas safety measures will be in effect:

• Masks are required when indoors. (N-95 masks offer the best protection.)

• Use the provided hand sanitizer when entering the building.

• Singing is allowed if you are vaccinated. Please hum along if you are not vaccinated.

• Please be respectful of those who desire more space or are not comfortable with touch/hugs.

• You may eat/drink outdoors where masks are optional. Put your mask on again when entering the building.

Thank you for hanging in there with us; it is good to see a glimmer of light at the end of this long COVID tunnel!

Introducing Elizabeth Hofrichter as New Seminary Ministry in Context Student

We are so excited that Elizabeth Hofrichter will be engaging in her congregational-based "Ministry in Context" experience with us this semester and in the fall. Ministry in Context is a field education component of the Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree program that provides students the occasion to explore and discover the joys, challenges, and opportunities for ministry and leadership in the congregation. The Ministry in Context runs concurrent with her online classroom work and will allow Elizabeth to apply and contextualize what she is learning and discovering in the classroom. Learn more about Elizabeth via her introduction below and learn more about the Ministry in Context experience here. We hope you will join us for her installation service happening soon.

Greetings, Spirit of Grace! My name is Elizabeth Hofrichter. Last Fall, my family and I joined the congregation in membership. I am currently in my second semester of working toward an MDiv at PLTS. This past week I started my Ministry in Context here at SOG, which means I will be volunteering in different capacities throughout the Spring and Fall of this year. I will be getting to know the staff and congregation, trying on different leadership roles, and learning in action. I look forward to seeing you during worship, perhaps at a ministry team meeting, or maybe even a one-on-one conversation. Feel free to ask my about my journey and I look forward to serving, learning, and growing with you.

Celebrating Black History Month

The ELCA Oregon Synod has assembled a treasure trove of resources and events to honor Black History Month, and we are sharing these here with their permission.

Oregon's Black History, an online presentation by the Black Oregon Pioneers about Black history in Oregon. Oregon Black Pioneers is Oregon’s only historical society dedicated to preserving and presenting the experiences of African-American History. February 8, 6:00-7:00 pm. Register here.

Do you know the story of Robin and Polly Holmes?

The Holmes were slaves in Missouri who were brought to the Oregon territory in 1844 with the promise of freedom for themselves and three of their six children (the other three children had already been sold). Six years later, when they were finally granted their freedom, their former owner refused to free their children. Robin took his former master to court. In 1853, the case reached the Territorial Supreme Court, which decided in favor of Robin (because slavery was technically illegal in Oregon), and his two surviving children were freed. Read more here.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Keynote Address: The keynote speaker is LaTosha Brown, a nationally recognized expert on Black voting rights and voter suppression, Black women’s empowerment, and philanthropy. This event is free, but registration is required. 7 pm, Feb. 17 in the LaSells Stewart Center in Corvallis and via livestream.

Timeline of Racism Against Black People in Oregon

• In 1844, when slavery was banned in Oregon, all African-Americans were told to leave the territory. Any Black person remaining would be flogged publicly every six months until they left.

• In 1857, Oregon adopted a state constitution that banned Black people from coming to the state, residing in the state, or holding property in the state.

• In 1859, upon entering the union, Oregon was the only state that explicitly forbade Black people from living in its borders.

• In 1919, the Realty Board of Portland approved a code of ethics forbidding realtors and bankers from selling or giving loans to minorities for properties located in white neighborhoods.

• In 1922, the governor was elected with the vocal support of the KKK, and photos in the local paper showed the Portland chief of police, sheriff, district attorney, U.S. attorney, and mayor posing with klansmen, accompanied by an article saying the men were taking advice from the klan.

• In 1959, Oregon finally ratified the 15th Amendment, which gave Black people the right to vote.

• In 1973, Oregon finally ratified the 14th Amendment—the Equal Protection Clause.

• Today, Portland is the whitest big city in America.

Oregon has a history not only of Black exclusion and discrimination, but also of a vibrant Black culture that helped sustain many communities throughout the state—a history that is not taught in schools. Click above to see a 50-slide timeline and audio commentary created by Walidah Imarisha for a program called "Why Aren't There More Black People in Oregon?: A Hidden History," which looks at the history of race, identity, and power in Oregon and the larger nation. Imarisha is an assistant professor in the Black Studies Department and director of the Center for Black Studies at Portland State University.

ELCA African Descent Ministries is celebrating Black History Month with Talks at the Desk, a new series that will explore diverse expressions of the church. Every day there will be a profile of a pastor or lay person. Wednesdays at 5:30 pm PT a video featuring clergy, youth, young adults, and elders will be streamed on all platforms. Featured leaders include Rev. Angela Khabeb, Bishop Patricia Davenport, Dr. Charles Leonard, Diedre Harris, Lance Cooper, and Rev. Tamika Jancewicz. Click to watch the trailer and hear a beautiful rendition of "Lift Evry Voice and Sing," the unofficial Black national anthem.

“Now is the Time” is a new study guide that helps congregations wrestle with the meaning of “Declaration of the ELCA to People of African Descent.” The study guide and accompanying participant materials stress realism, self-examination, and accountability as the church apologizes for its complicity in slavery and its enduring legacy of racism in the United States.

Additional ELCA Resources

ELCA Racial Justice Ministries

ELCA Racial Justice Blog

ELCA Racial Justice Resources. 

ELCA Anti-Racism Pledge

ELCA African Descent Lutheran Association

ELCA Slavery Apology and Explanation. Adopted at 2019 Churchwide Assembly. Study guide. Participant materials.

The Rev. Jehu Jones; First Black Lutheran Pastor (lutheranquarterly.com)

Read profiles of Black women who were Christian leaders:

• Phyllis Wheatley - first Black American to publish a book of poetry

• Jarena Lee - first female preacher in the African Methodist Episcopal Church

• Mother Mary Lange - first Black American Mother Superior

• Sojourner Truth - abolitionist and women's rights activist

• Francis Ellen Watkins Harper - abolitionist

• Harriet Tubman - abolitionist, called Moses

• Thea Bowman - Black Catholic sister

• Ida B. Wells - anti-lynching activist and journalist

• Rosa Parks - civil rights activist

• Ella Baker - civil rights activist

• Fannie Lou Hamer - civil rights activist

• Mimi Jones - civil rights activist

• Dovey Johnson Roundtree - civil rights activist

• Pauli Murray - first Black American woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest

• Bishop Barbara C. Harris - first woman consecrated a bishop in the Anglican Communion

A Not-So-Ordinary “Ordinary Time”

As we all know, we have suspended all in-person gatherings and worship at least through the end of January. This means that all of us are participating from our Zoom balcony once again. The good news is that we know how to do this. AND we now have our Comcast upgrades, so we should have fewer issues of dropped or disrupted connection during worship. 

The celebration of the Baptism of Jesus closes our feasts and celebrations, and we enter into what the church calls “Ordinary Time.” Once again, as we began to feel some normalcy with our ability to gather in person and optimistically thought about what a new normal might look like, in comes the OMNICRON variant.  

Ordinary Time is called "ordinary" not because it is common but simply because the weeks of Ordinary Time are numbered. Thus, the numbered weeks of Ordinary Time, in fact, represent the ordered life of the church—the period in which we live our lives neither in feasting (Christmas and Easter seasons) or in penance and preparation (as in Advent and Lent), but in watchfulness and expectation of the second coming of Christ.

The readings for the Sunday following the Baptism of Jesus always feature either John the Baptist's acknowledgment of Christ as the Lamb of God or Christ's first miracle—the transformation of water into wine at the wedding at Cana (this past Sunday). 

Ordinary Time is the part of the year in which Christ walks among us and transforms our lives. There's nothing "ordinary" about that!  Let us continue to hold fast and celebrate Emmanuel: God with us in this extraordinary Ordinary Time.

Pastor Robyn and I are creating some interactive Zoom options for families to have conversation and activities at home.  Also, in the coming weeks some members of our community will share strategies, ideas, and activities that can assist us in navigating the mixed bag of emotions that each of us is experiencing.  

Pastor Robyn and I continue to be inspired and grateful for the thoughtfulness with which this community seeks to care for and tend to the needs and safety of all of our members.  

May we each hold up one another in prayer and reach out to one another via phone, email, and US mail to share our feelings, seek support, and continue to encourage one another.

Journeying together in Christ,

Director Vinci Halbrook-Paterson

A return to online worship services for January

We are suspending all in-person worship services at Spirit of Grace for the remainder of January. As you all know, the Omicron COVID-19 variant is causing record-breaking numbers of new infections. Even with our safety measures in place, the COVID Safety Team and Steering Team have decided the risk to our members has become too great for in-person services in the next few weeks.

Our worship services will now be on Zoom only until at least the end of January. Be assured that the leadership team is tending to all the implications of this decision and we will share more information with you in the days to come. Bishop Laurie has written a beautiful and informative letter that further supports our reasoning for this decision in more detail. Please click here to read it.

We are grateful for your flexibility, resilience, and willingness to keep each other safe in this community and beyond.

Pastor Robyn
Director Vinci
Sarah Hallberg and Jabke Buesseler, Steering Team co-presidents

In Advance of our Christmas Eve Worship

Dear Spirit of Grace Community,
This Friday, December 24th we look forward to celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ with you and the many layers of meaning that this celebration holds for each of us. You are welcome to join the Spirit of Grace community at 4:00 p.m. (in person only) and 7:00 p.m. (in person and on Zoom). 
 

We are in a much better place than we were last Christmas Eve when we could not worship in person at all. Still, we must remain vigilant in our efforts to protect ourselves, our communities, and the public while we continue to seek opportunities to advocate for justice for those who are marginalized in ways exposed by the pandemic.
 

Although there is much we do not know about the latest variant to arrive in our country named Omicron, reports indicate that it is much more transmissible than the Delta variant (which was already much more transmissible than earlier variants). Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, our Spirit of Grace steering team, with input from our COVID safety team, is asking our community to redouble our efforts to follow our Covid safety protocol, and we have made a few changes to the way we will be worshiping on Christmas Eve.
 

We preface these reminders and updates by encouraging you to assess your own personal risk when deciding whether you will join us in person for worship. If you believe you have had exposure to COVID-19 or have any symptoms of illness (even if it just feels like a cold), please do not attend in person. Although our 4:00 p.m. worship service will be in person only, the 7:00 p.m. worship service will be hybrid and you are welcome to either worship in person or from the Zoom balcony.
 

If you decide to worship with us in person, we continue to require everybody to wear a tight fitting mask and use hand sanitizer upon entering the building to prevent the spread of many seasonal viruses. Given the arrival of the Omicron variant, we will also be making a few additional changes for Christmas Eve:

• There will be a bit more space between chairs in the sanctuary and entry hall to make it easier for you to cluster with members of your household while allowing physical distance between yourselves and other households.

• Due to somewhat reduced seating in the sanctuary, the overflow area in the entry hall will be available once seats in the sanctuary are filled, as well as for anybody who is simply more comfortable there.

• Hymns will be sung by the music team with the rest of the community humming along (or singing very, very quietly), because studies show that singing aerosolizes significantly more particles than breathing or speaking. This Christmas we might envision the babe in the manger lying in our midst and honor that presence by speaking quietly and humming as if we were trying not to wake the sleeping baby.

We recognize the request not to sing out “Joy to the World” and other Christmas hymns at the top of our lungs will come as a significant loss for many in our community.

It is important that we not lose sight of how far we have come since last Christmas. And it is especially important that we remember that we are not alone. No matter what our personal or collective futures may hold, the real gift of Christmas is the reminder that God dwells with us in Jesus. That is a gift that will never be taken away. 

Pastor Robyn Hartwig and Director Vinci Halbrook-Paterson

Advent, Day 27 (12/24)

We look forward to celebrating Christmas Eve together!

You’re invited to join the community on the sanctuary floor or in the Zoom balcony. Contact office@spiritofgracepdx.org for the Zoom link.

We’ve been engaged this Advent season in the countercultural practices of slowing down, paying attention, and sharing stories – opening ourselves to sacred rest and sacred listening. Now the time is ripe to remember and retell the Christmas story, a living story passed on to us by our spiritual ancestors. May we be awake to its power and meaning in this time and place. 

Advent, Day 26 (12/23)

Let us pray: 

Guardian of the seasons, 

keeper of every time, 

tune us so to your rhythms 

that we may know the occasion for stillness 

and the moment for action. 

May we be so prepared 

so aware 

so awakened 

in our waiting 

that when you prompt us 

into motion, 

our hands may be your hands 

and our purposes 

your own. 

(Jan Richardson, Night Visions) 

Advent, Day 25 (12/22)

As we anticipate Christmas after a season of paying attention to God’s presence in deep darkness, our bodies may sense the couple additional minutes of sunlight today. A new season is upon us – a winter season, a Christmas season, a season of lengthening days. In honor of this turning, enjoy Tara Sheperesky’s adaptation of Psalm 100 and its nod to our God who loves us “as the sunshine loves all the growing beings.” 

Psalm 100, Adapted Beside the River 

(by Tara Shepersky, a friend from West Linn Lutheran Church -- https://pdxpersky.com/) 

Little waves in the river clatter with joy, 

and alders wrap their green and yellow leaves 

around the wind. Every people of this good earth 

walks and rustles and swims with our Creator, 

and recalls how to sing. 

They know, and we know: the Divine cherishes us. 

She guards us as merganser guards her ducklings. 

Ki plays and instructs, as otter with kir kits. 

He loves us as the sunshine loves all the growing beings, 

and they love the light. 

We humans splash in the river. 

We sway with the wind and the leaves. 

We forget our fancy words, and we sing 

a song that means: Holy One, thank You. 

We sing to our Creatrix, who loves us always. 

Who has always loved us, and will love us until always. 

And we know how good we have it, we know 

how sweet is our belonging to our God. 

Advent, Day 24 (12/21)

Welcome to the winter solstice, the first day of astronomical winter in the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day of the year. We are tilted as far away from the sun as possible. If you’re able and the weather cooperates, go outside at noon and notice your shadow. It’s the longest one you’ll cast all year. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Snowy Night 

by Mary Oliver 

Last night, an owl in the blue dark tossed an indeterminate number of carefully shaped sounds into the world, in which, a quarter of a mile away, I happened to be standing. I couldn’t tell which one it was – the barred or the great-horned ship of the air – it was that distant. But, anyway, aren’t there moments that are better than knowing something, and sweeter? Snow was falling, so much like stars filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness. I suppose if this were someone else’s story they would have insisted on knowing whatever is knowable – would have hurried over the fields to name it – the owl, I mean. But it’s mine, this poem of the night, and I just stood there, listening and holding out my hands to the soft glitter falling through the air. I love this world, but not for its answers. And I wish good luck to the owl, whatever its name – and I wish great welcome to the snow, whatever its severe and comfortless and beautiful meaning. 

Advent, Day 23 (12/20)

A reflection from Don Manghelli:

Have the sweet gums and all the other trees in my neighborhood notched up their beauty this year? Or have they pulled me a notch higher into their beauty? Either way, the splendor of the divine has especially surrounded me this year. 

“Look at me,” the fall leaves seem to shout. “I’m putting on my prettiest colors. I’m going to a big celebration.” They seem to try to outdo each other for my attention. 

They know that by winter’s solstice, their colors will be gone – fallen onto Mother Earth. And they also know that, at that darkest hour of winter, the Christ Child will sneak into our world, hidden among the farm animals. Autumn chides me, “Can you wake up, watch with me for an hour? I don’t want you to miss the big event – Emmanuel, ‘God with us.’” 

I’m reminded of a folk song I sang years ago at baptisms: 

The wailing of a newborn babe: It’s a blessing every way. 

Each time a baby’s born, it’s a bit of Christmas Day. 

A baby’s crying is a hint, of the way the Christ did sound. 

Another baby’s born, humankind, now take it one more round. 

Inspired by the autumn leaves, can we notch up our welcome to the Christ Child, God with us? The song asks us… 

One more chance, humankind, will you take it? 

Take the chance the way a child takes love? 

Advent, Day 22 (12/19)

You’re invited to gather with our community for worship and communion at 10 am this morning, whether on the sanctuary floor or in the Zoom balcony. This is the Fourth Sunday of Advent; remember to start lighting all four of your Advent candles each day. 

Activities for This Fourth Week of Advent 

(1) Worship with Eucharist – Join us on Zoom this morning from 10-11 am. Email office@spiritofgracepdx.org if you need the Zoom link.

(2) Daily Devotions – You’re invited to read, reflect, and participate in activities, guided by these shared devotions. Perhaps combine this with lighting four Advent candles. 

(3) Christmas Eve Service – Friday, December 24 in the sanctuary and on Zoom.

Advent, Day 21 (12/18)

It’s a full month this evening.  Are the skies clear enough to step outside or look out the window to see it?  To appreciate the dance between light and dark?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

In his book My Grandmother’s Hands, Resmaa Menakem writes about the vagus nerve – what he calls the soul nerve – and practices for helping settle your body, stay present, and remain connected. He describes the soul nerve as “a highly complex and extraordinarily sensitive organ that communicates through vibes and sensations. This communication occurs not only between different parts of the body, but also from one person to another…The largest part of your soul nerve goes through your gut, which has about 100 million neurons, more than your spinal cord. This is why we sense so many things in our belly – and why some biologists call the gut our ‘second brain.’ This second brain is where our body senses flow, coherence, and the rightness or wrongness of things” (p. 138). 

Among the practices Menakem offers for settling your body, staying present, and remaining connected are humming, belly breathing, slow rocking, joint rotations, and chanting (pp. 141-147). He writes, “Most of these practices are ancient; some are thousands of years old. While our ancestors were largely unaware of the biomechanics of the soul nerve, they understood their own bodies. They learned – and taught their families and neighbors – what worked to help their bodies settle. They often did many of these practices together, and these communal practices helped to heal not just individual bodies, but families and other groups, as well. You’ll recognize some of these practices as things I’ve described my grandmother doing; as things many small children do intuitively; as things parents often do with their babies; as things enslaved people did as they worked together on plantations; and as practices from many religions. Almost all of them have also been proven to work in controlled lab experiments.” (pp. 140-141). 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Practice: 

You’re invited to engage the intentional practice of humming. Find a quiet, comfortable space and position. Focus your attention on the center of your belly, behind your navel. Breathe in and out a few times. Feel your belly help push the air all the way out and then relax as your lungs automatically refill. Pick a song with a simple melody that feels comforting to your body. Hum it all the way through from beginning to end from your belly. 

Then pause and notice what your body experiences afterward. What has changed, if anything, from before you started humming? What has stayed the same? What sensations, thoughts, and images are arising? What does your body want to do now? Just notice whatever you’re experiencing. 

Advent, Day 20 (12/17)

A reflection from Christie Bernklau Halvor: 

This past summer, I practiced paying attention in a very small way. Most days I paused somewhere in the garden. Paused and watched. Paused and listened. Paused and felt. No weed pulling. No list making. Sometimes it was only for five minutes. It was humbling to realize how hard it could be to follow through on that small commitment.

Yet those daily moments of pausing and paying attention shifted things inside of me as I came to know more intimately this little ecosystem of which I am a part. I learned that of all the nectar options in the garden, nothing tempts the bees like oregano. I’d never noticed before just how many tiny flowers bloom on a single oregano plant.

I learned that if I sit still and keep my hands tucked close to my body, the youngest chickens will jump up and take a nap on my lap. I’d never tried that with their older sisters. I learned that the praying mantis can turn its head 180 degrees and stare you down like nobody’s business. 

I met the praying mantis one morning as I overzealously watered a bed of purple salvia and was startled to realize I’d been looking right past it impressively camouflaged on one of the stems. As I leaned in closer, I realized it was turning its head and looking over its shoulder at me. (Turns out the praying mantis is the only insect known to be able to do this.) Those eyes! I don’t know how long we both held still, staring at one another. It was a simple, profound, timeless moment. 

This may have been the first time I’d seen a praying mantis in the garden, but it felt like the praying mantis already knew me – after all, I had apparently been drowning its habitat without awareness most mornings. We watched one another for a long time. My breathing slowed. My back relaxed as I became aware of the sun’s gentle morning heat. A smile grew across my face.

Eventually, I grew restless. My mind started to remember the tasks before me, and I decided to move on. I’m confident the praying mantis would have held still with me much longer. 

I got up and began watering more gently, closer to the roots, as I did each morning after – hoping the praying mantis would emerge again. And most mornings, it did. It emerged in a way I couldn’t track. A blessing for the day. An expansion of my understanding of neighbor and community.