First United Methodist Church PDX

09/04/2026

A Word with the Pastor: As If Called Back by Our Love

“The loved ones we call the dead
depart from us and for a while
are absent. And then as if
called back by our love, they come
near us again. They enter our dreams.
We feel they have been near us
when we have not thought of them.
They are simply here, simply waiting
while we are distracted among
our obligations. At last
it comes to us: They live now
in the permanent world.
We are the absent ones.”
-The Loved Ones, by Wendell Berry
(August 5, 1934 – August 31, 2026)

It has felt like an early All Saints these past few weeks as we have communally mourned so many of the bright, beautiful souls that brought joy, depth, and poetic meaning into our lives.

Two of these faithful saints are Dolly Parton and Wendell Berry. As if stars on opposite sides of the solar system, their lives took remarkably different routes. The difference in the amount of rhinestone, hairspray, or farming equipment alone explains the divergence of their paths.

Even so, the soulfulness of their melodic words and lived example have long anchored us in the holy minutiae of a grounded, daily being.

Continue reading: https://www.fumcpdx.org/about/news/as-if-called-back-by-our-love

08/30/2026

This Sunday, we continue our worship series, “More Than a Welcome.”

Christian hospitality is not primarily about friendliness, and hospitality is more than a greeter at the door! It is participation in God's ongoing work of creating a beloved people who feel holy belonging.

Resurrection hope moves from person to person through invitation, attention, relationship, and faithful accompaniment. That movement is what transforms a church from a place people visit into a community where people belong.

What would it mean to become not just a welcoming church, but a community where diverse people are fully at home and connected to one another?

This week’s theme is “Walk With Me.”

The livestream will begin at 10:20am on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peKJ9WdUj2o

Worship will begin at 10:30am.

After worship, join us on Vista Bridge for the Goose Hollow Days Street Festival!

This Sunday, we continue our worship series, “More Than a Welcome.”...

08/28/2026

A Word with the Pastor: Although You Do a Lot

You are not what you do,
although you do a lot.
You are not what you have collected
in terms of friendships and connections,
although you might have many.
You are not the popularity that you have received.
You are not the success of your work.
You are not what people say about you,
whether they speak well
or whether they speak poorly about you.
All these things that keep you quite busy,
quite occupied,
and often preoccupied
are not telling the truth about who you are.
I am here to remind you
in the name of God
that you are the Beloved Daughters and Sons of God,
and that God says to you,
“I have called you from all eternity
and you are engraved from all eternity
in the palms of my hands.
You are mine.
You belong to me,
and I love you with an everlasting love.”
-Henri Nouwen

I read this word from Henri Nouwen at the start of every program year, committee year, and committee nominations cycle. It is a balm to a weary or motivated or ambivalent soul.

You are not what you do, although you do a lot.

Continue reading at https://www.fumcpdx.org/about/news/although-you-do-a-lot

08/27/2026

Our members have been hard at work this summer doing good in the neighborhood! Together, we’ve collected piles of school supplies for & over 70 pairs of shoes to support Kamwenge Secondary and Vocational School in Uganda, and re-set the children’s & youth classrooms and staff lounge in preparation for the new program year.

Special thanks go out to the small but mighty junk removal crew, and to Gene Balcomb for hauling things away for donation & disposal. Pictured (L-R): Gene, Alexander, Ben, Nicky, Tom, Anne, and Blake.

08/23/2026

This morning, we begin our new worship series, “More Than a Welcome.”

Christian hospitality is not primarily about friendliness, and hospitality is more than a greeter at the door! It is participation in God's ongoing work of creating a beloved people who feel holy belonging.

Resurrection hope moves from person to person through invitation, attention, relationship, and faithful accompaniment. That movement is what transforms a church from a place people visit into a community where people belong.

What would it mean to become not just a welcoming church, but a community where diverse people are fully at home and connected to one another?

This week’s theme is “Come and See.”

The livestream will begin at 10:20am on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKoMTuSPaLk

Worship will begin at 10:30am.

This Sunday, we begin our new worship series, “More Than a Welcome....

08/21/2026

A Word With the Pastor: Ten Steps at a Time

In a recent audit of our camp equipment in search of an excuse to go to the outdoor store, I poked through our outdoorsing bins while asking of each item, “was this from the Camino or more recently?” Equipment purchased for that 30-day waltz across Spain would be understandably out of date; I could justify buying a new headlamp with more than a piddly 70 lumens if it had been in use since that grant-funded-shoestring-budget trek 15 years ago. Post-Camino gear, however, would have to suffice until it broke down.

If you’ve seen the black and white photo in my office or have heard me talk about the Camino de Santiago, you might know that it was a physically painful slog. A 2-day flight delay to Madrid and subsequent missed trains, no financial safety net, and a 20-year old’s lack of rational logic meant that we had to get from St. Jean Pied du Port to Santiago (by foot) as fast as humanly possible to fulfill the promises we made in our grant proposal.

On day one, my Camino buddy and I ran up and slid down the soggy Pyrenees, still stiff from the delayed planes, re-booked trains, and last-minute two-hour taxis. What I now know was profound Achilles tendinitis set in the first night, plaguing my Camino for the next 30 days.

I set west across the country ten painful steps at a time. “Ten more steps, then you can take a break.” “Get to that tree, then you can stop.” “Just down the hill, then you can rest.”

From Spain’s eastern border to its western end, ten steps at a time. But I kept going.

Continue reading at fumcpdx.org/news

08/18/2026

As fall approaches, we’re preparing new spaces for our children & youth programming! 📚

In order to make this happen, we need to do some junk removal. Tomorrow and Thursday (8/19 & 8/20) are our annual Staff Work Days, during which we’ll be staging items in the Narthex for removal. Then on Friday (8/21) we are in need of help starting at 10:30am to load the junk onto the trailer. We’ll likely need to take more than one trip to get rid of it all, so if you can’t get here right at 10:30, that’s fine too.

If you can help, please reach out to Blake at [email protected].

08/16/2026

This Sunday, we conclude our worship series called “Unhurried.” The pace of Jesus resists the anxiety of empire. In a culture driven by urgency and productivity, we witness the deliberate pace of Jesus: withdrawing in prayer, lingering with those in need, and telling stories about slow growing seeds. Rediscover sabbath rhythms and attentiveness with embodied practice (slowing speech, creating space, and cultivating spiritual depth) so that the church can move at the speed of grace.

This week’s theme is “Growing Slowly.”

The livestream will begin at 10:20am on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlUK-1TKBOU

Worship will begin at 10:30am.

08/14/2026

A Word with the Pastor: When Your World is (Literally) on Fire

Until this month, Paul and I have principally explored the northern half of Oregon: the coast up to Astoria, hiking and activity in the Columbia Gorge, w**e tasting in the Willamette Valley, plenty of board meetings in Salem, and outdoorsing in the Wallowas. A few events have taken us to more central latitudes: gathering of the clergy orders in Bend, Youth Winter Camp at Suttle Lake, and half-marathons in Corvallis and Newport. Apart from a quick trip to the Eugene marathon, we’ve hardly gone much south of Highway 20.

This summer break we sought to venture further afield – quite nearly to California – to find renewal in the striking blue of Crater Lake and the creativity of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.

The only problem was our timing.

Continue reading at https://www.fumcpdx.org/about/news/when-your-world-is-literally-on-fire

Pictured: The smoky haze begins to lift from the Crater Lake rim.

08/09/2026

This Sunday, we continue our worship series “Unhurried.” This week's theme is "The One Thing."

The pace of Jesus resists the anxiety of empire. In a culture driven by urgency and productivity, we witness the deliberate pace of Jesus: withdrawing in prayer, lingering with those in need, and telling stories about slow growing seeds. Rediscover sabbath rhythms and attentiveness with embodied practice (slowing speech, creating space, and cultivating spiritual depth) so that the church can move at the speed of grace.

The livestream will begin at 10:20am: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAtMcujsitM

Worship will begin at 10:30am.

This Sunday, we continue our worship series “Unhurried.” The pace o...