Social Justice Advocacy Team Meets This Sunday
Come meet with Bethel’s Social Justice Advocacy Team this Sunday, Jan. 14, 11:30-12:30, to help plan upcoming Social Justice Forums. The meeting will be in Education Hall, downstairs in room 13. Past forums have provided information on homelessness, affordable housing, Oregon ballot measures, The New Jim Crow, and immigration. Our Feb. 25 forum will be about health care. Suggested topics for future forums include sexual assault/harassment, disability justice, gun violence, and international issues such as Israel/Palestine and the Cuba embargo.
Women's Gathering
Bethel's Quarterly Women's Gathering is scheduled for Saturday, January 6, 2018, 9 am - 1 pm. Our Theme is “The Gifts We Give Ourselves” with a focus on the topic of self-care. The day will begin with scripture and meditation, followed by the making of either bath salts or sachets to take home and enjoy. We will end with fellowship and lunch.
Beaverton High School Homeless Students Food Bag Delivery Day
Thanks to our awesome Bethel Family and our partners, we have enough food and bags for the Beaverton High School Homeless Teen food project. Now we are asking for bodies. On Sunday, Dec 17 around 7pm after Faith Café, we will move all the food into the fellowship hall. This is heavy work and a little chaotic. Join in if this appeals to you. On Monday, Dec. 18, we need food packers at Church by 9am. We also need drivers around 9:30 am to drive food to BHS. This is a fun community day so please join us if you are available.
Obamacare Healthcare Reform - Single Payer Medicare for All
Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ will be hosting a FREE Social Justice Forum on February 25, 2018 at 11:30 AM. We will screen the new documentary movie "Fix It - Healthcare at the Tipping Point" followed by a Q&A discussion with local healthcare activists. A light lunch will be provided. Please RSVP to socialjustice@bethelbeaverton.org.
A powerful documentary that reaches across the political and ideological divide, "Fix It" makes the case for business leaders support for major healthcare reform. The film was two years in the making, with more than forty voices advocating for reform, including: activists, health policy experts, economists, physicians, nurses, patients, business and labor leaders.
Blue Christmas
Each year during Advent, Bethel offers a quieter, more meditative worship service for those who are coping with serious illness, grief, loss, or any of the other difficulties and challenges of life. The Blue Christmas Worship Service gives us an opportunity to give voice to our pain and frustration, and the opportunity to allow the Holy Spirit to minister to us through candle light, music, and, if desired, the ancient practice of anointing with oil. This year's Blue Christmas Worship will take place on Sunday, December 10 at 2 pm in Bethel's sanctuary.
Practice Compassionate Communication
Every 2nd and 4th Mondays from 7-8:30 pm, a group of people meet in the Conference Room at Bethel to practice our compassionate communication (NVC) skills. Come and be a part of the fun as we practice and hone our compassionate listening ears. No matter your level of experience or whether you've attended a group in the past, you are welcome to join us.
Beaverton Community Band Concert Supports Bethel
THIS Sunday from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM the Beaverton Community Band will be performing a FREE public concert at Bethel UCC. An offering will be taken, and 100% of the proceeds will go to Bethel!
Invite a friend to attend THIS Sunday, and let's show the band how much Bethel appreciates them! If you've never seen the Beaverton Community Band before, here is a video from an earlier concert at Bethel. Click the link, you'll be impressed! https://youtu.be/4J-JIBjA1uk?t=131
New "Advent Events" Document
Download Bethel's new "Advent Events" document today!
Beaverton High School Homeless Students Need Winter Break Meals
Beaverton High School has identified 86 students who are currently homeless. Some are doubled up with other families, and 7 are in motels or unsheltered. These homeless students depend on the meals they receive at BHS each school day, but the BHS cafeteria is closed for 15 days during Winter Break. This means they must do without the school meals they so rely on. Principal Anne Erwin believes that caring for these homeless students is a key to their HS graduation. Graduating positively changes these students’ lives forever.
What can you do?
Looking Back at the PFLAG National Convention
Thursday, November 16, 2017, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ
Join us at PFLAG Portland Washington County for a discussion on all we learned at the PFLAG National Convention! If you weren't able to attend our Convention, please join us a lively discussion on the many workshops offered, the introduction of our new National Executive Director, Dr. Jaime Grant, and the future of PFLAG. Sharing circle to follow.
Men's Breakfast
Halloween Sunday at Bethel UCC in Beaverton
Mad Hatter Unbirthday Party
Join us THIS Sunday, October 15, 2017 after service in the Fellowship Hall for our very own "Mad Hatter Unbirthday Party" You are invited to wear your favorite hat, be it zany and fun or chic and sophisticated... Anything goes!!! Sombrero, Stetson, or beret, flowered swim cap, or your worn old lucky Cubs baseball cap. Wear it to Bethel and tip your hat to all the fun. We'll be decorating hat shaped cakes and eating them too. To help everyone decorate the cakes, please bring an edible cake decoration/candy for everyone to share to. You can bring your items and drop them off in one of the baskets either in the Narthex or the Fellowship Hall starting this Sunday.
Faith Development Volunteer Training & Information Meeting
Have you been curious about what we do in our Nursery, Sunday School and Youth Programs but have been unsure if or how to get involved? Are you someone who regularly volunteers? If you answered "yes" to either of those questions, then mark your calendars from 9 am - noon on Saturday, September 30th for Volunteer Training.
Bethel Beaverton Bash - Free Carnival - Free Lunch
Clergy and People of Faith March for Justice
On Monday, August 28th, 2017, one thousand ministers of all denominations will convene in Washington, D.C. to reaffirm their commitment to the social justice movement and stand in solidarity with the spirit and legacy of Dr. King, on the anniversary of the March for Jobs & Justice.
In an act and action of solidarity, the Portland Interfaith Clergy Resistance is sponsoring an event in Portland that will bring together Clergy and People of Faith of all traditions to recommit to being at the forefront of justice and civil rights, to call into accountability President Trump, Attorney General Sessions and all public officials, and to return to its rightful place in the words of Dr. King as the "headlight" in the struggle for justice. We are calling on religious leaders from ALL religions and community leaders to join us! The event on Facebook can be found here. Join us Monday, August 28th at 11 AM at Terry Schrunk Plaza in downtown Portland.
Governor Kitzhaber to Speak on Death Penalty Abolition
Mark your calendar for August 24 when Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty will hold their annual meeting at the Bethel Congregational United Church of Christ in Beaverton, Oregon.
The featured speaker will be Gov. John Kitzhaber. Governor Kitzhaber, has served the State of Oregon for over three decades as a member of the legislature and as a three-term governor. He is a hero among death penalty abolitionists as the person who first declared a moratorium on executions in November of 2011. That halting of executions continues today. The governor will speak to his earlier fateful experience with the death penalty and proclaim his outspoken passion for abolition now.
Women’s Retreat at Camp Adams
PFLAG Portland Washington County Welcomes the Rosetown Ramblers Square Dance Club!
08/17/2017, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The Rosetown Ramblers is a square dance club for the LGBTQ community and allies in Portland, Oregon. They have been active in Portland since 1983. They welcome all square dancers, regardless of age, race, color, gender, religion, ethnic background, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression. So lace up your dancing shoes and get ready to square dance!