A committed Portland Timbers fan knows: In the 80^th minute of every Timbers game at Providence Park, a melody emerges from the raucous crowd: You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

This year’s Used Book Sale will be Sundays September 29 and October 6 in Collins Hall after worship, and they need some strong arms and backs to help!.

At FUMC, our faithful legacy of seeking social justice and housing the unhoused leads us to continually ask: “How can we ensure our neighbors have safe, reliable housing?”

“Courage doesn’t always shout but whispers and reminds, when we get up one more morning and we try another time.” - Carrie Newcomer, “A Simple Change of Heart”...

I was taking a break from my tasks this week when I popped onto Facebook to see what was going on in the lives of my friends and acquaintances. One friend had posted: “ Apalachee High School. Winder, GA. Lord, in your mercy.”

As I was working on my sermon for this week, I found myself overwhelmed by the enormity of the world’s grief. Not only am I working through my own grief, but I am also living in a world that is crying out in agony over the painful ways we have treated her.

Your First Church Finance Committee is pleased to provide you with this brief update on church finances.

Summary of FUMC finances as of June 30, 2024:

My daughter goes to preschool during the week. While she is there she learns her numbers, her alphabet, and perhaps most importantly, how to interact with her peers. She is learning language to tell us how she feels, what she needs, and how to address those things that she feels most intensely.

Four First Church “grannies” were among the 100+ “Grandcampers” at Camp Magruder on the first weekend of August.  From first-timer Anne Kayser and grandson Ellis to 20+ year veteran Dee Poujade and granddaughters Cora and Lili, all agreed that a great time was had by all at this all-ages event ...

I remain thankful at the strength of our community. Your ability to weather the kind of staffing change we have experienced this year (and the last several years) is just one indication of this strength.

Methodism began with a small group. Then, as the movement spread, a specific type of gathering called the Class Meeting became central to what it meant to be a Methodist.

For two weeks we have borrowed this title question from the living room and organizing circles of Grace Lee Boggs and Jimmy Boggs. If you imagined 3000 years of human history on an analog clock, each minute could represent 50 years. Perspective is gained of how long something has occurred, really. Describing duration as “a hot minute” has new meaning when held up against millennia of humanity.

A special offering for Curamericas will be on Sunday, August 25th. Curamericas’ mission is to Partner with underserved communities to make measurable and sustainable improvements in their health and wellbeing.

There’s an age-old myth that has been debunked for me at Portland First: summers are slow. Summers, according to the myth, are when you downshift, when ‘nothing happens’ and ‘no one is really around.’

This fall Rev. Rachel will be leading a 5-week Discipleship class on 12 sessions on the 13 New Testament letters traditionally attributed to Paul. Both in-person and online options are available!

Dear First Church,

This past week we celebrated and honored the last of this season’s goodbyes. Most notable was Drew’s last Sunday with us as Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. If you missed worship this Sunday, you can join here:

Dear First Church,

This past week we celebrated and honored the last of this season’s goodbyes. Most notable was Drew’s last Sunday with us as Director of Children, Youth, and Family Ministries. If you missed worship this Sunday, you can join here:

In 1749, Charles Wesley wrote the hymn, And Are We Yet Alive. We sing this near the opening of Annual Conferences across the Methodist connection. In recent years, the third stanza of the hymn has captured me every time we sing it, because each year between the gathering of these conferences has seen and held so much.

The First Church Library is collecting donations for their Used-Book Sale in the fall.

Today’s Word is more like a flyby update on all that’s been going on this past week – and what we have ahead. The Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference will begin its work tonight with District gatherings and Opening Worship. You can follow along with our work from tonight through Sunday: umcoi.org