Sunday Worship
Living Life in Covenant
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Clergy and delegates from UCC congregations across the Central Pacific Conference met as usual on the last weekend of September. This was our first ever “hybrid” gathering, with people participating digitally and many others gathered on-site.
It was both wonderful and a little overwhelming to be gathered for so many hours in a row with so many people at once -- something which seemed so ordinary before Covid. And that was a theme of our conversation. How shall we live together in covenant relationship in a world that will continue to be informed by pandemic, a world changed by political unrest and sharp divisions.
In his Conference Minister’s Report, the Rev. Tyler Connoley pointed out that after the stresses of the past few years many of us are operating with very little emotional margin. Challenges that we might have navigated with ease in the past, suddenly seem herculean. As my friends in the Shenandoah valley might have put it, it doesn’t take much until we want to laugh, or maybe snap -- “you are getting on my last nerve.” It’s a time when we are all in need of extra grace and tenderness.
As we work to keep our community vital, it is important to remember that that need for tenderness extends not just to individuals but to whole communities. Tyler likened the conference and each congregation in it to a hanging mobile with pieces that have been lost, upsetting the stability of the whole. It will take time and creativity to bring the restored mobile into balance.
As we move forward at Kairos -- strengthening our practice of hybrid worship, enjoying a restored choir, adding a discussion and spiritual practice group, deciding what activities to renew and what to let go of -- it may be time to refresh our own vision and mission priorities. The council will take the first steps at our retreat this fall. As we move forward with joyful urgency, we will be wise to take Tyler’s wisdom to heart and move forward also with tenderness, patience, and gratitude for each other and the life we share together.
Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash
Sunday Worship: In person and live on Zoom
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We gather for worship at 10:00 am every Sunday
Together is a good place to be! Whoever you are, you're welcome here.
Gathering in person at the church building (map and directions).
Masks are required inside the building.
Live-streaming over the KMUCC Zoom Worship Space.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/984869259?pwd=YzQ0MEpRZXdYdE5JWDZ2SUYvZXc3UT09
Meeting ID: 984 869 259
Passcode: 314810
Join us by phone: (253) 215-8782 USA, or (301) 715-8592 USA
No matter who ...
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No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you're welcome here!
If you know that God's love embraces all persons equally, no matter their gender, race, or sexual identity...
If you understand that faith is a matter of mind as well as heart, and that taking the Bible seriously means it cannot always be taken literally...
If, for you, diversity, tolerance, and inclusion are strengths to be taught...
If you believe that Christ calls us to be nothing less than global citizens, that the social expression of love is justice and that spiritual concerns are inseparable from a commitment to the natural world...
If you have wished for a more open and embracing community of faith to nurture your spirit and raise your children, and haven't yet found a place of belonging...
... then please know that Kairos-Milwaukie United Church of Christ is the place for you.
Kairos-Milwaukie UCC seeks to create a community where participants can experience intellectual and spiritual excitement; a spirit of openness and acceptance, as well as love and laughter. We are a community where evangelism is in partnership with social justice; where personal spiritual growth and concern for the poor and disenfranchised go hand in hand; where nurture and action are two sides of the same coin; where love for tradition and a sense of urgency about the future are integrally linked. We are a community of faithful people who have known the joy of having been loved, accepted and affirmed by God. We are a community that celebrates our diversity as a way to understand and respond to the inclusiveness of God's love and the wideness of God's mercy.