News Feed

This week our church faced a tremendous loss. Rev. Juli Reinholz has been a pastor, district superintendent, coach mentor, and friend among us. Together we have felt the tremendous impact of grief and loss.

Today, we light this candle in remembrance of Juli as we continue to hold her family, our church family, and her friends in our prayers.

While we face this loss together, we know others among us have faced other losses – family members, colleagues, and friends. Loved ones we know even more intimately and grieve this day too.

So, we light a second candle in remembrance of those beloveds.

Our time of grief will take many forms in the coming weeks, months, and even years. Grief isn’t something that just dissipates with time. It is something we are invited to engage, to feel, to grasp, to name, to make manifest through the arts, and to share with one another. Healing through grief will require our participation. That will come in storytelling, making favorite recipes, or eating favorite foods, going to favorite places, shedding tears, sharing in laughter and in holding space for one another.

As we take but one step in the journey today, I offer you these words from Jan Richardson:

Stay

I know how your mind
rushes ahead
trying to fathom
what could follow this.
What will you do,
where will you go,
how will you live?

You will want
to outrun the grief.
You will want
to keep turning toward
the horizon,
watching for what was lost
to come back,
to return to you
and never leave again.

For now
hear me when I say
all you need to do
is to still yourself
is to turn toward one another
is to stay.

Wait
and see what comes
to fill
the gaping hole
in your chest.
Wait with your hands open
to receive what could never come
except to what is empty
and hollow.

You cannot know it now,
cannot even imagine
what lies ahead,
but I tell you
the day is coming
when breath will
fill your lungs
as it never has before
and with your own ears
you will hear words
coming to you new
and startling.
You will dream dreams
and you will see the world
ablaze with blessing.

Wait for it.
Still yourself.
Stay.

—Jan Richardson

Weekly scripture: Ezekiel 36:8-12 & Romans 15:14-21

The Prophet Amos cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!” (Amos 5:24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity. As the people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace and justice.

This is the third of five Sundays with the theme “Let Justice and Peace Flow” which listens to the voices of the prophet and the apostle from and Environmental Justice perspective. Together, these Scripture passages illustrate the need for humans to repent of the harm we have caused in the past, and to act with love in the present and future, prioritizing the needs of those most in danger due to the climate crisis that faces us and our shared home.

Weekly scripture: Ezekiel 34:1-21 & Romans 14:1-12

The Prophet Amons cries out: “But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-filling stream!” (Amos 5:24) and so we are called to join the river of justice and peace, to take up climate and ecological justice, and to speak out with and for communities most impacted by climate injustice and the loss of biodiversity. As the people of God, we must work together on behalf of all Creation, as part of that mighty river of peace and justice.

This is the second of five Sundays on the theme “Let Justice and Peace Flow” hearing the voices of the prophet and the apostle through and Environmental Justice filter. Together, these Scripture passages illustrate the need for humans to repent of the harm we have caused in the past, and to act with love in the present and future, prioritizing the needs of those most in danger due to the climate crisis that faces us and our shared home.

Weekly scripture Ezekiel 31:1-14 & Romans 12:9-18

Registration for Pioneer’s annual Wallowa Lake All-Church retreat on August 24-27 is open
and folks are already signing up. We know that this quality time together really adds to our
sense of Christian community.

Folks have the option of arriving either Thursday or Friday before dinner and staying through Sunday morning. We have a bit of organized activity after breakfast and each evening, but late morning through the afternoon are unscheduled. In the past, groups have done everything from taking the gondola to enjoying the lake to riding go-carts and horses to just hanging out at the camp.

Most campers stay in the en-suite yurt cabins (bedding and linens furnished), but there are other options. Cost vary depending on accommodations, but they are quite a bit less than the going rate at motels and restaurants. Kids eat free.

For questions or to register, contact Chuck and Karen Hindman. Email is [email protected] or 509-540-0337 (Karen’s cell/text). We hope you will join us!

You can also fill out this online form to register!

Worship in Lent – February 26 – April 2, 2023

The lectionary for Year A offers us many stories of Jesus encountering people who are seeking: Nicodemus comes to him in the veil of night, he approaches a Samaritan woman at a well, he heals a man born without sight. In these stories, each person is seeking a new beginning, a different life, a deeper faith. What unfolds is an exchange filled with questions and exploration. Often, an unveiling occurs – assumptions are disrupted, a new perspective is revealed, mystery grows.

And so, we’ve crafted a Lenten series founded on questions. Many of our weekly questions feel restorative (“Can these bones live?”). Some feel like a charge or challenge (“Who will you listen to?”). Some questions are hopeful and curious (“How do we begin again?”). Our questions won’t necessarily lead to answers, but they can help us find clarity and a new perspective. Ultimately, we pray they lead to a new beginning, a restoration, a wider grace.

Like the characters in our Lenten scriptures, we are also seeking many things: clarity, connection, wonder, justice, balance. We are seeking our calling, the sacred, and how to live as a disciple. Throughout the turbulence of the past few years, many of us are asking big questions about our lives and our faith. If you are returning to church, you are probably returning with more questions and a critical lens. We hope this series will help us unpack some of those big questions in ways that are honest and faithful. Throughout this season, we hope you will continually ask yourself: what am I seeking? What is God seeking?

Our imagery for this season uses seeking and baggage. On this journey, what are we dragging along with us? What is the necessary attire we must bring along? How do we see the new thing God is doing in the same old places as if they are in fact always new?

This Lent, we invite you to engage in the spiritual practice of seeking. We encourage you to stay curious, open, and nimble. We hope you will soften your assumptions and expand your perspectives. We pray that these questions will create a safe space to explore – to be drawn more deeply into the fullness of life, into the heart of God.

See you in worship!