Sunday Worship
10:00 am
4790 SE Logus Road
Milwaukie, Oregon 97222
I think I speak for most of us when I say – what a relief to get to the end of 2020, to have the divisive campaign behind us and a vaccine against COVID 19 ahead of us!
Still, as good as it feels to be looking forward with hope, I am reminded of the way a year can hold onto a person. My mother died in 2010. I had done my reading about grief, about it’s sneakiness and its way with holidays and anniversaries of all kinds. So I knew to expect depths of sorrow on my mother’s birthday, on Thanksgiving, and of course, at Christmas. But no one prepared me for the horror of the New Year. I simply did not want the world to keep going. The idea of living in a year in which my mother had not also lived filled me with a kind of dread.
If you are carrying that kind of grief and sadness into 2021 – I am praying with and for you, that you may receive comfort, strength, and renewal.
One of the things I love and value about the Christian tradition is that we measure time along with the rest of our culture in a linear way – counting days and marking progress. But we also count time according to the circle of the church year, as a cycle of days rather than a ladder.
As the twelve days of Christmas come to an end, we enter the season of Epiphany. On Epiphany Sunday, which we will observe on January 3, we celebrate the arrival of the “wise men from the east,” a symbol of the light of Christ being given for Gentiles as well as Jews –for the whole world. During the season of light we will turn to the world’s religions to understand and appreciate the light of our own more deeply.
I will be using Barbara Brown Taylor’s engaging book “Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others,” as an outline for worship and study. We will have brief – all too brief – encounters with Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam, to see their beauty and wisdom and to allow them to help us see our own Christianity afresh. To see our shortcomings and to be reminded of depths of our tradition that we may have lost sight of.
“The great brigtness at the center of everything exceeds anyone’s ability to possess it,” but all are invited into It’s light.
I hope this sermon series will enliven your heart and curiosity! And I hope that you will pick up a copy of the book (available at Powells, Barnes and Noble, and Amazon) and join me for Wednesday evening discussions beginning on January 13.
Christopher Martin, a member of Kairos-Milwaukie UCC for over 30 years, died Wednesday, December 2, 2020, at Providence Portland Medical Center after a brief episode of pneumonia and Covid 19. Chris had just celebrated his 67th birthday on September 26th, a remarkable life-span for someone with Down Syndrome. He was faithful in attendance and leading the opening and closing of each Sunday’s service—lighting and extinguishing the candles, giving a wrap to the big drum, before ceremonially walking down the aisle. Christopher was the son of Bob and Roberta Martin, and brother to Craig, Laura, and Doug. He lived in Rainbow Adult Living Timmel House and worked in a sheltered work for many years until his retirement.
Staff at Timmel House report that they and his friends there are missing him very much. Chris made sure the congregation got to know some of his helping staff at Rainbow, i.e. Cheryl and Peter especially. Many members of the congregation happily took on the role of assisting Chris in his tasks in the last few years. He belonged “with” us. On the Sunday after Chris’ passing, Ian Timmons closed the service singing “Little Drummer Boy” in Chris’ honor. The outpouring of memories has been endearing, i.e. “We will all miss Chris!! He brought so much to our worship experience…from his serious dignity to his delightful side trips as he made his exit. It is hard to imagine church without Chris!” “He enriched all our lives, living fully with zest!”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT_2qR8w97s&feature=youtu.be
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
ZOOM Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84962500049?pwd=QlZ0UzZEbWtCY1lQMWJXRW5zZno0Zz09
Meeting ID: 849 6250 0049
Passcode: 435810
You can also join us by phone:
(253) 215-8782 USA or (301) 715-8592 USA
Pour your favorite beverage and join us for conversation. This isn't a closed group or an event you need to have been to before. If you like to talk with your church friends about life, the universe, and everything, come on in!
ZOOM Meeting Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86121354549?pwd=eThVUE1wZEVaVWZzM2VVcENHVGZqQT09
ZOOM Meeting ID: 861 2135 4549
Passcode: 596986
You can also join us by phone: (253) 215 8782 USA or (301) 715 8592 US
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.