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December 2007

Christmas In Portland 2007

Visit www.parkroseucc.org for more information

People_2_with_bow2 Merry Christmas from the people of
Parkrose Community United Church of Christ

Join us this holiday season for some special events that are all open to the public.  Parkrose Community United Church of Christ  is an "Open And Affirming" congregation of the United Church of Christ.  No matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.  We're located on the corner of NE 105th and Wygant - just off Sandy (map).

Christmas Eve Candle Light Worship Service * Mon.,  Dec., 24th * 7pm

Join us in our historic 1913-sanctuary in NE Portland (map) for a traditional candle-light service with Advent Wreath lighting and Holy Communion.  We practice an open communion table.  All are welcome.  The Parkrose Community United Church of Christ Chancel Choir will be performing.  There will also be a special children's time.  The Rev. Chuck Currie will be preaching. 

Our faith is 2000 years old.  Our thinking is not. 

Parkrose Community United Church Chancel Choir Sings at The Grotto * Sun., Dec. 23rd * 7pm

Every Christmas season The Grotto (map) puts on an amazing display of lights and special concerts. Our choir has been a participant for many years.  This year "the Choir has put together a program that brings together old and new, combining both familiar and unfamiliar melodies into pure harmonic pleasure. Don’t miss out," says choir director AJ Wong.

P1010097web Fourth Sunday of Advent * Sun., Dec. 23rd * 10am

Join us for a traditional worship service including Holy Communion.

Third Sunday of Advent * Sun., Dec. 16th * 10am

Join us for a traditional worship service including Holy Communion.

Second Sunday of Advent & All Church Christmas Pageant * Sun., Dec. 9th * 10am

Join us for a traditional worship service including Holy Communion.  During the service our youth director, Paula Everist, will lead the pageant, "LIVE from Bethlehem," written by Cindy Hansen & Bob Latchaw.

First Sunday of Advent * Sun., December 2nd * 10 am

Join us for a traditional worship service including Holy Communion.

Ucc137rb In Galatians 3.28 we are reminded that despite our differences we are all "one in Christ Jesus." Therefore, we, the people of Parkrose Community United Church of Christ, declare ourselves to be open and affirming. With God's grace, we seek to be a congregation that includes all persons, embracing differences of sexual orientation, gender, marital status, age, mental and physical ability, as well as racial, ethnic, religious, political or social-economic background. We welcome all to share in the life and leadership, ministry, and fellowship, worship, sacraments, responsibilities and blessings of participation in our congregation. This is God's church and no matter who you are or where you are on life's journey, you are welcome here.

For more information on our church:

Parkrose Community United Church of Christ
505-253-5457
[email protected]


Cease Fire Oregon Hosts Portland Toy Gun Exchange

Great program from the good folks at Cease Fire Oregon:

Crossandgun1_2Ceasefire Oregon is having a 'Toy Gun Turn-In.' In an attempt to discourage gun play, anybody may bring in their toy gun and exchange it for another toy.

Gun Facts:
1. Each year in the U.S., nearly 30,000 people die from gunfire.
2. Guns kept in the home for self-protection are 22 times more likely to kill a family member or friend than to kill in self-defense.
3. The presence of a gun in the home triples the risk of a homicide in the home.
4. The presence of a gun in the home increases the risk of suicide five-fold.

YIKES!

Bring your toy gun to the Grace Memorial Episcopal Church at 1535 NE 17th Ave. The event is on Dec. 8 from 10 am -- 2 pm.

I still remember being just amazed this Easter when I visited Fred Meyer and found that many of their Easter baskets contained toys guns.  Heck of a way to mark the execution of Jesus. 


A Podcast Sermon on Isaiah 65:17-25: Hope In A Broken World

Ucc137rbThis morning at Parkrose Community United Church of Christ our Scripture readings included Isaiah 65:17-25 and Luke 21:5-19.  My sermon focused on the theme of "Hope In a Broken World."

Use the below link to download the podcast of the sermon for your iPod or personal computer. 

Download ParkroseHope.m4a

(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes.  Just open the ITunes application and use the search function to find

"Chuck Currie"

then click on the "Subscribe" button.


Audrey McCall

When I was a much younger man a friend and colleague who was a veteran of the Tom McCall years brought me to meet Audrey McCall, the wife of the late progressive Republican governor.  I was there to learn what it meant to be an Oregonian:  Take care of the state, she told me.  It needs to be protected by those who would drain our natural resources for their own personal gain.  Don't give up when causes seem lost.  Tom McCall never did.  Audrey McCall died this week and she was the keeper of Gov. McCall's flame.  The best way to honor her legacy is to fight for progressive public policies aross party lines.  Oregonians don't just owe Governor Tom McCall and Audrey McCall our past.  We owe them our future.  Thank you, Audrey McCall, for giving what seemed like every part of yourself to our great state.   


Statement on Cesar E. Chavez Blvd.

The debate over whether or not to name a street in Portland after the late civil rights activist Cesar E. Chavez has been acrimonious. That’s unfortunate. Portland, a city with a growing number of Latino and Meixcan-American citizens, has no official marker to honor the struggles faced by this population. Mayor Tom Potter should be commended for his efforts to change the name of Interstate Avenue to Cesar E. Chavez Blvd. While most people opposed to the name change have challenged the proposal based on legitimate process concerns it would be arrogant to pretend that racial feelings do not factor into this debate. Latinos and Mexican Americans are scapegoats in today’s national political campaigns – blamed for everything from drug trafficking to terrorism. The truth is that Americans have used Hispanics as virtual slave laborers and without the courage and moral conviction of Cesar E. Chavez their plight might never have drawn national attention. Portland has an opportunity now to set aside the bitterness over process and to send a signal to the rest of America that we honor the contributions and sacrifices made by all our brothers and sisters. All sides of this debate should be prepared to compromise for this common goal to be achieved.


A Podcast Sermon: "When to Call The Pastor"

Ucc137rbThis morning at Parkrose Community United Church of Christ our Scripture readings included Psalm 145 and Luke 20:27-38.  The sermon, however, dealt with a more practical topic: When to Call The Pastor.

Use the below link to download the podcast of my sermon for your iPod or personal computer. 

Download ParkroseWhenToCallThePastor.m4a

(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes.  Just open the ITunes application and use the search function to find

"Chuck Currie"

then click on the "Subscribe" button.


Wyden, Smith AWOL As Number of Homeless Kids Climb

Portland will be hosting over 600 educators from across the nation on November 10-13 for a conference sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth. Sad news will greet the teachers upon their arrival.

A report issued this fall by the state Department of Education documented that Oregon schools served over 15,000 homeless students during the 2006-2007 school year – an increase of 18% over the previous year - at the same time that the federal government cut funding to support this population group by 10%.

It was 20 years ago this month that I first joined the board of Burnside Community Council, then Portland's largest provider of services to homeless individuals. During that time it was rare to ever see families and their children on the streets. Now many communities report that homeless families and women with children make up the majority of people who are homeless. Something is very wrong with America.

Religious leaders from every corner of Oregon responded to the news that over 15,000 kids were homeless in Oregon by writing to Governor Ted Kulongoski, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden and U.S. Senator Gordon Smith asking that both the federal and state government do more to address the growing number of homeless students in Oregon seeking an education.

"The fact that over 15,000 children were homeless in Oregon during the last school year is a moral scandal," wrote the religious leaders. "We are writing to urge both the federal and state governments to increase funding for this vulnerable population." I was glad to add my name to the list of signers of the letter.

The Governor's office wrote back and indicated that the state's chief executive was concerned about the issue but offered no specifics about how he would help. Wyden and Smith? So far neither senator has taken the time to respond. The federal cuts to Oregon schools occurred on their watch.

The religious leaders noted in their letter the importance of public school and rejected all calls to segregate homeless students outside of the mainstream school system. We also expressed support for "economic policies that help lift people out of poverty" and wrote about our opposition to the "present policies that have led to increased poverty in our nation."

"The needs of homeless children and families have been largely forgotten by politicians at every level of government," said the nearly 30 clergy and other religious leaders from across the state. I can attest to that. My own attempts to engage even genuine homeless advocates such as Mayor Tom Potter, Portland City Commissioner Erik Sten and Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler on this issue have met with failure. Our elected leaders seem to have surrendered and raised the white flag. But ignoring the problem will not make it go away.

In the Hebrew Scriptures we read in the Book of Isaiah where God declares God's anger against the powerful as poverty and suffering increases. God asks: "What do you mean by crushing my people, by grinding the face of the poor? (3:15 NRSV)" Homelessness is a crushing experience and that is true for children more than any other group. Poverty is caused by economic and social factors more than any other reason and so our nation has the opportunity and the responsibility to change course. People do not have to be homeless. But it will take leaders like Ron Wyden and Gordon Smith standing up and fighting to make that happen instead of sitting in the shadows silently hoping that the world gets better. Oregon's children deserve better.


R.J Reynolds & Philip Morris: Evil In Our Midst

Smoking_devilOregon voters tonight rejected a ballot measure that would have expanded health care programs for children. Tobacco companies spent well over $10 million to defeat the initiative and their bombardment of the airways worked. The health care programs would have been paid for by a new tax on cigarettes. That didn’t sit well with R.J Reynolds & Philip Morris and these companies that make their money off addiction and suffering threw everything they had at defeating critically needed health care programs for kids. You wonder how their executives and employees manage to sleep. This is - if there ever was one – a prime example of human deprivation. R.J Reynolds & Philip Morris have already caused untold misery and hardship across the world and hundreds of thousands of deaths are directly on their hands. But they are not satisfied with all the riches they have gained. They want more. And more after that. If a few extra kids have to die to satisfy their appetites so be it.  That, my friends, is the definition of evil.

Related Link:  Oregon Religious Leaders: Yes On Measure 50


Jefferson Smith For Oregon's House District 47

Meet_jeffI had the chance to spend some time today with Jefferson Smith, founder of the Bus Project and currently a candidate in District 47 for the Oregon House of Representatives. Jefferson grew up in the neighborhood where my family now lives and after U of O and Harvard Law School he came back to Portland’s eastside where he has dedicated himself to the cause of encouraging young people to become engaged in the democratic process. Why is he running for the Oregon House? 70% of the kids at David Douglass are on free or reduced price lunch. Jefferson wants to give these kids a better life and to build a stronger eastside Portland. We share the same values. District 47 residents would be well served by sending Jefferson Smith to Salem. All Oregon would benefit from his voice.

Note: Churches are prohibited by federal law from endorsing candidates for public office.  I support that law and want to make clear that any and all endorsements that I make are personal and are not made on behalf of either my denomination or the church I serve. 

Photo credit:  www.jeffersonsmith.com


The Politics Of Jesus: A Podcast Sermon On Isaiah 3:13-15, Isaiah 10:1-4, and Luke 4:14-2

P1010097web This morning during worship at Parkrose Community United Church of Christ our readings included Isaiah 3:13-15, Isaiah 10:1-4, and Luke 4:14-21.

My sermon - The Politics of Jesus - dealt with the role of the church in political affairs.  Use the below link to download the podcast of my sermon for your iPod or personal computer.   

Download ThePoliticsOfJesus.m4a

(click with the RIGHT mouse button on the hyperlink and choose “Save Target As” and save to your desktop or other folder – once downloaded click on the file to listen).

Now On ITunes

You can now subscribe to my podcasts on ITunes.  Just open the ITunes application and use the search function to find

"Chuck Currie"

then click on the "Subscribe" button.

The text of the sermon is below:

There is good news and bad news to share this morning.  The bad news is that we are quickly approaching the 2008 national elections and together will have to endure endless political commercials interrupting our television programs over the next twelve months.  And the good news?  Well, there really isn’t any but I didn’t want to leave you all without any hope at the outset of this sermon. 

My goal today is to lay out for us in preparation for the coming 2008 elections  the theological principles largely shared by our denomination and other church bodies that relate to political activity and the church.

Politically activity and the church?  Wait a minute.  Isn’t there a separation between church and state in America?  Yes, of course there is, and I as much as anyone appreciate Thomas Jefferson’s leadership in drawing that line clearly.

The government may not establish a state religion, argued Mr. Jefferson, but the Founders never argued that religious people or churches should be excluded from public life. The best modern statement that seeks to clarify the role of the church in public life comes from the United Methodist Church.  It reads:

The United Methodist Church believes that the church has the moral imperative to act for the common good. For people of faith, therefore, there are no political or spiritual spheres where their participation can be denied. The attempt to influence the formation and execution of public policy at all levels of government is often the most effective means available to churches to keep before humanity the ideal of a society in which power and order are made to serve the ends of justice and freedom for all people. Through such social action The United Methodist Church generates new ideas, challenges certain goals and methods, and help rearrange the emphasis on particular values in ways that facilitate the adoption and implementation of specific policies and programs that promote goals that are congruent with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This task of the Church is in no way in contradiction with our commitment to a vital separation of Church and State. We believe that the integrity of both institutions is best served when both institutions do not try to control the other. Thus, we sustain with the first amendment to the Constitution that: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;” We live in a pluralistic society. In such a society, churches should not seek to use the authority of government to make the whole community conform to their particular moral codes. Rather, churches should seek to enlarge and clarify the ethical grounds of public discourse and to identify and define the foreseeable consequences of available choices of public policy.   

Maybe it would help to break down what is allowed and what is prohibited activity for churches and for clergy.  In your bulletin this morning is a two-page handout you can take home and read later that includes much of this information.  This handout is also available online.

Churches cannot endorse political candidates or endorse the efforts of political parties.  That means, for example, that we could not release a statement to the public saying we believe Thomas Jefferson should be elected president.  If we did the IRS would knock on our door shortly thereafter and revoke our tax exempt status.  And as far as I’m concerned that is exactly what should happen.  As our United Methodist friends said:  the integrity of both the state and the church is “best served when both institutions do not try to control the other.” 

A mistake that over the history of our nation both theological liberals and conservatives have made in different moments is to equate one political candidate or one political party as being somehow closer to God.  We need to resist this impulse for several reasons.  First, I’ve never been aware of any public figure – at least since Jesus – who fully understood the wisdom of God.  We all fall short despite even the best of intentions.  When the late Jerry Falwell and others argued during the 2004 elections that you could not be a Christian unless you voted for their preferred candidates they supplanted their own beliefs for the Gospel teachings.  Second, and perhaps more important, is that when we align the church with one candidate or one political party we risk becoming an agent of that cause instead of an agent of God.  Scripture teaches us that we are called by God not to be rulers but rather loving critics of the conventional wisdom.

And it is in that task – calling the political leaders of our day to account – in which there can be no negotiation.  Scripture teaches that we have a responsibility as a people of God to be actively involved in the life of the world.  That means that the role of the church is sometimes to lift up difficult issues and put them before the public.  That is what abolitionists in our churches did during the era of slavery, that is what civil rights marchers did in our churches during the Civil Rights Movement and that is what our churches are doing today in calling for an end to the Iraq War.  Those of us who are followers of Jesus have a special responsibility to speak out on issues related to peace and justice. 

In practical terms, that means that we have a responsibility as the church to speak out on legislation under consideration by Congress or initiatives put before the voters.  The Constitution fully supports the right of churches to be involved on this level – to say we call for Yes vote on Measure X or a No vote on Measure Y.  And for guidance on how to conduct ourselves in this arena we have to look no further than the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament.

Our first two readings this morning come from the Book of Isaiah in the Hebrew Scriptures.  Daniel Berrigan wrote once:

Isaiah, as we have come to know, lived in a time astonishingly like ours – with wars and rumors of war.  In the great prophetic tradition, he intervened directly in political, military and diplomatic events.  For a time, he was an oracular presence at court, honored and hearkened to by the high and mighty.  Then he predicted the invasion of the country; it happened twice.  He lived to see his beloved Jerusalem besieged.  In all this, royal sensibilities were offended.

Then Isaiah donned the garb of a court fool – one who mimes foolishness in high places.  At first, he survived.  Finally he was cast out.  Far from being broke, his spirit seemed transfigured.  He began to play hound of heaven, raising very hell at the wheels of the imperial chariot.  He died, tradition tells, under those wheels. 

As you heard today in our readings, Isaiah spoke directly to political matters.  He railed against the injustices inflicted on those who were poor and powerless.  Isaiah critiqued laws that “crushed the face of the poor.” 

When we come to the account of Jesus’ inaugural sermon in the Gospel of Luke we read that the son of God starts by quoting from….Isaiah.  Those listening would have known that Jesus hadn’t chosen Isaiah by accident.  He was, in fact, establishing his own credentials as a political figure.

So while I believe that we should ourselves follow in this tradition and be not afraid of becoming involved in the political questions of our time there are several caveats that I would invoke as parting wisdom.

Politicians have learned that they can win elections by finding those so-called wedge issues that divide people along religious, economic and racial lines.  They hope that by raising these issues that it will increase voter turn out in some areas and suppress it in others.  Division is a tool in politics.  But we shouldn’t be about division as the church - we should be about community and reconciliation.  And so, if the church is to become involved with political issues we need to be careful about the language we use and the tactics we employ.  Our actions should always be undertaken with care and in prayer.

One way that we can avoid inflaming tensions is to be particularly careful about how we invoke the name of God.  Too often churches deeply concerned about issues have told the public that God wants them to vote one way or another on Measure X.  Let’s stay away from that and be humble enough to recognize that there is always the potential that we are wrong.  After all, we’re only human.  When we do endorse issues it should be said that we do so with our best understanding of where God is calling us as a people but room should be left for those who disagree with us to know they are God’s people too.  The church does not have a monopoly on the truth.       

Finally, I’ve spoken about how I believe churches should never become involved in partisan political causes.  That’s the law and it is a theologically sound principle.  But that law and that principle does not apply to individuals or even clergy.  The only way for the democratic process to work is for all of us to be engaged.  Therefore, I hope as individuals we all get involved.  I hope we work for candidates we believe will advance the common good.  I hope we’ll all vote.  I sometimes endorse candidates for public office and believe that doing so is appropriate.  But as your pastor I’ll never talk about my support for a candidate from the pulpit or in any church setting because to do so would blur the lines in ways that would hurt the church.

A discussion like this is appropriate not just because we are one year away from the national elections but because this congregation is trying to determine how we best live out God’s mission.  My humble advice:  don’t think of mission simply as charity work.  Isaiah and Jesus would have seen the value in charity work, no question about it, but they also understood that God wants us to create a world where justice is the organizing principle and where charity should be something employed in an emergency and not as a way of life to sustain those forced into poverty, fleeing from war, or displaced due to the global climate crisis.  If we need help in determining a mission statement for the church we might turn to the words Jesus quoted from Isaiah:

18‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,    
because he has anointed me     
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives    
and recovery of sight to the blind,     
to let the oppressed go free,
19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’         

Now that is a mission statement. 

Amen.

Related Link: Guidelines for Congregations on Political Action

Related Link:  Christian Principles In An Election Year     


Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan in Portland Nov. 16 and 17

A really great program will be occurring in Portland later this month:

The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus' Birth

Friday Lecture & Saturday Workshop at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
with Marcus Borg & John Dominic Crossan
November 16 & 17, 2007

Join us for a lecture and half-day workshop premiering Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan's latest collaborative book: The First Christmas. Explore the stories of Jesus' birth in Mathew and Luke, their First Century meaning and their meanings for us today. According to Borg and Crossan, history has biased our readings of these texts; we are all so familiar with the nativity story that we don't really hear it anymore. The lecture and workshop will help us see the nativity story afresh and be able to appreciate the powerful message the Gospels contain.

Always a popular speaker at The Center, Marcus  Borg is Hundere Distinguished Professor of Religion and Culture at  Oregon State University and author of The Heart of Christianity. His many  best-selling books include: Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time, Reading the  Bible Again for the First Time, The God We Never Knew and co-author with John  Dominic Crossan of The Last Week: A Day by Day Account of Jesus' Final Week in  Jerusalem. 

John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus of  religious studies at DePaul University in Chicago, co-director of the Jesus  Seminar, leading biblical scholar, internationally known lecturer and best  selling author. Among his books: In Search of Paul: How Jesus' Apostle Opposed  Rome's Empire with God's Kingdom, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, Who Killed  Jesus, and The Birth of Christianity.

Friday Lecture
7:30- 9pm
Trinity Cathdral
$15 general, $5 students

Saturday Workshop
9am - Noon
Trinity Cathedral
Kempton Hall
$35 general, $5 students

I highly recommend this and will be attending myself with members from Parkrose Community United Church of Christ. 

You can purchase tickets online.