Preparing to Celebrate!
ZOOM Meeting Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9 AM
It is time to warm up your computer for tomorrow’s Zoom fellowship with fellow shepherds from InFaith: Northwest Oregon churches. Tomorrow’s 9 AM online discussion is taking the place of our monthly breakfast, since the restaurant we usually use cannot accommodate us due to Covid precautions. But that creates an opportunity for those of you who might not otherwise attend because of distance. Now you can see one another face-to-face from wherever you are. To connect to the meeting via computer, use this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81215896681?pwd=ZUw0bmJWL1VnbFJnUVhlRkpsTHF6dz09 Meeting ID: 812 1589 6681 Passcode: 870143. There are also ways to log in to the meeting from your telephone and join in audio only. If you are considering that option, please drop me a note, thiscox@infaith.org, and I will get you more information. Here’s an easy prompt to start the discussions: How is your fellowship celebrating Christmas this year? How has 2020 impacted the focus of your celebrations? We would love to hear your input.
Pastors’ Prayer Thursday at 10 AM @ Woodland Park Chapel
Our monthly Pastor’s Prayer Time at Woodland Park Chapel (1914 NE 102nd Ave, Portland) has plenty of space for you! We still meet in person, with safe physical distancing, as we share prayers for the leaders and churches in our fellowship. Please join us this week (Thursday 10 AM) as give thanks to the Lord for the gift of His Son Jesus Christ, and as we eagerly anticipate the second Advent.
Sunday School Fellowship Pastors’ Emergency Fund Assists Shepherds in Need
Thanks to your contributions and those of your churches, Sunday School Fellowship has been able to assist another pastor facing emergency needs this month. The SSF board extended the assistance during their meeting Saturday at Columbia Community Bible Church. Since all InFaith affiliated ministries in northwest Oregon are eligible for membership in Sunday School fellowship, I thought I would share that pastor’s words of thanks with you. He wrote, “Your understanding prayers and help are so deeply appreciated, thank you seems like a paltry response. I am truly thankful to God for all of the help and understanding SSF has given us throughout the years. Your help is coming as an answer to a lot of prayer. May God richly bless each of you as He has us through you. Thanks again.” For information about the SSF assistance to pastors, or to donate, contact SSF Treasurer Frank Campbell at campbellfrank8@gmail.com .
Sunday School Fellowship Establishes Fund for Dodge Church Rebuilding
SSF has also opened a fund to assist in the eventual rebuilding of Dodge Community Church, which burned down in September. The church is currently meeting in a borrowed facility, just a couple driveways away from the old building site. Construction plans, timelines and budget estimates are not yet available, as the church is focusing on reunifying its body after the fire displaced so many. But donations have begun coming in, and SSF has agreed to serve as receiver of some of those dedicated funds. To contribute, please contact campbellfrank8@gmail.com . Also, thanks are due to the SSF board members who have kept the group’s programs afloat even in the confusion of the pandemic: Chairman – Pastor Mat Neahring (Shiloh Basin Community Church); Vice Chair – Pastor Seth Lewis (Carver Church); Secretary – Pastor Brad Gentry (Woodland Park Chapel); Treasurer – Frank Campbell (Dover); board member – Pastor Steven Boyle (Columbia Community Bible Church); and board member – Alan Baumgarden (former InFaith area missionary).
An old reminder from some young people who love Jesus!
If your world seems a bit tumultuous right now, remember our Lord Jesus stepped into that turmoil to bring us peace. When he arrived, his nation was in chaos, as all were migrating back to their birthplaces to be counted for a government census. His mother’s unexpected pregnancy was a blessing that brought shame in the world’s eyes – How could others possibly understand the miracle that was taking place in her divine conception? They traveled far and had no place to stay but a stable and no place for Jesus to lay, but in feed trough. Yet through it all, God was working out His will…a plan to save all who would call upon Jesus’ name, and give them eternal life. What greater reason to have peace this Christmas 2020, than to know that Jesus entered this life to conquer death, and left this world to prepare a place for us to enjoy eternity? May we all rejoice in knowing God is still working out His will, even in our tumultuous lives today, and there will be no end to His blessing on those who accept His gift.
Tom Hiscox, NW Oregon Area Missionary thiscox@infaith.org