Continue reading »]]> Sunday, November 6, 2011 ~ Enjoy the extra hour as we revert back to standard time at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.

Then, join us Sunday morning at 10:30 as our own Margaret Gunther brings a message to the congregation of Bridgeport!

The readings for this week are from the Gospel of Matthew 25:1-13; the Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16; and “The Woodcarver” by Chuang Tzu.

If you are interested in singing with the choir, practice begins at 9:00 a.m. Our new choir director, Chris Edwards, will be leading the group.

We will conclude the worship service by sharing in the Joyful Feast of the People of God. All are welcome to share in this time of active remembrance of Jesus the Christ.

Come, join us this Sunday, as we share in the Love of God.

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Haven’t the colors of the leaves been stunning this past week?

It seems like the final display at the end of a fireworks show where all the colors come out at once. The leaves are acknowledging the end of summer in all of its fullness with one great splash of gold, red, orange and yellow within the backdrop of the evergreens that will remain green through winter.

We have said “Farewell” and “Welcome back” to dear friends. We have welcomed new people onto to our staff and into our community.

As we gather in the harvest of so many lives and years it is good to take a close look at who we are now.

• What did we try to grow last year?
• How did it do?
• Do we have enough provisions to get through winter?
• What shall we plant next year?

This coming Sunday, October 30, we will begin a time of reflection on these kinds of questions as we enter into a season of Stewardship. Kristan Burkert has put together a wonderful worship service and sermon that get us ready for All Saints Day. Let’s begin this season as saints!

fall photos by paula cole

Continue reading »]]> This has been a very good week. It began in music, it middled in music, and it is going to end in music.

It began last Saturday at the Fall Gathering of the Central Pacific Conference. I had the honor of presenting a workshop with Susan Peck and Judy Rose. We called the workshop, Singing for Change: Prophetic Songs Then and Now.

We sang songs from the civil rights, gay liberation and peace movements. We sang songs by Sweet Honey and the Rock, Emma’s Revolution, and Holly Near. We even sang a song that Judy wrote that is in the new UCC Sing! Prayer and Praise hymnal.

My musical week continued when I got to play the Bob Marley classic, Rivers of Babylon, with our new Choir Director, Chris Edwards in our Sunday morning worship service.

In the middle of the week I went to the Alberta Rose Theater and heard an eclectic bunch of marvelous musicians, some I knew already and others I heard for the first time.

I was especially impressed by Teresa Tudury and Rebecca Troon. Rebecca sang an ode to her backyard possum as well as her song, Small Planet, which opened with the line, “What’s the carbon footprint of a bomb?” Teresa is hilarious and direct. Check out her song, Chinese Underwear.

My week will finish down in Eugene where I will get to hang out with people dedicated to life of folk music. It’s a powerful thing. Woody Guthrie said,

A folk song is what’s wrong and how to fix it or it could be
who’s hungry and where their mouth is or
who’s out of work and where the job is or
who’s broke and where the money is or
who’s carrying a gun and where the peace is.

There is something mighty powerful about the truth told through music; it enables us to open our hearts and move our feet, either to dance or to put an end to oppression.

I love what Chris Edwards wrote in his letter of application for our Choir Director position: “I am fascinated by secular expressions of love, justice, acceptance, compassion, and forgiveness in a variety of musical genres that might be applicable in a sacred setting. I have a passion for music and its potential to be a vessel through which people from all walks of life might experience the holy and the divine.”

There are some kinds of music that just blur the distinction between secular and sacred. As Peter Mayer sings, “Everything is holy now.”

By the way, the first performance of the Bridgeport Choir under the direction of Chris Edwards will take place this coming Sunday! Practice begins at 9 a.m.

I hope there is music in your life, or art or dance or whatever opens your heart and moves your spirit.

Bridgeport? Yes!
Rev Alan Claassen
Interim Minister

Continue reading »]]> A funny thing happened to me on the way to the rally.

I was able to be at the beginning of the Occupy Portland rally that began at noon at Waterfront Park last Thursday. I enjoyed seeing the young people who organized the rally present a different style of leadership than I experienced years, and years, and years ago. It is time for new energy and a new voice in this struggle for justice.

I also enjoyed hearing the spontaneous speeches that came from people of all ages, and forms of outrage, and vision. I enjoyed it when an older gentleman said that the movement will not last if we do not have fun. So he said, if you run into trouble when being arrested, take off your clothes! Jesus would have been proud.

When I learned that the march was not going to start until 2:30, I responded to the call for people to be peacemakers along the streets of the march. I attended the impromptu training. I learned that you never want to tell an angry person to calm down! Use humor, maintain eye contact, and listen, listen, listen. I participated in a centering exercise led by a person who had us jumping up and down in place, then breathing deeply, taking in the protective and loving spirit that is within and around us.

I found my two partners because we were told to always be a member of a team as a peacemaker, never work alone. We were stationed at the first intersection. We had been trained to keep everyone on the sidewalk, and I wondered how that was going to work. When the march actually came our way, we learned that the police had given the streets over to the marchers and we were superfluous.

Then we were told by one of the lead peacemakers to leave our post and go to 4th and Main, and wait. So we did that. We went to Chapman Park, and we were fantastic peacekeepers. The pigeons were polite, the people sitting on the benches remained quiet, and no one obstructed any sidewalks. We were so peaceful, we even decided we could grab a latte while we waited. And waited.

Finally, we gave up and headed for Pioneer Courthouse Square, which was packed with people. Considering that there had only been a few hundred people gathered when I first got to Waterfront Park, I was amazed and happy.

Since I had done my job as a peacemaker, and it was my turn to cook dinner, I decided to head for home. As I did, I reflected on how easy it was to be a peacemaker when there is no one around. It is sort of like being a Christian while staying in the safety of one’s own church, or home.

I did see Jesus on the streets of Portland last week, alive as you and me. He was doing what he always did, stirring up trouble while making peace.

May blessings be upon all the people across this country who are marching down Main Street, uniting both sides of the street, in an ancient cry for justice and peace.

Bridgeport? Yes!

Rev Alan Claassen
Interim Minister