It's not about the facility

Greetings!
This week, Chestnut United Methodist Church and New Light are making news! A reporter from The United Methodist Reporter, a newspaper with nation-wide circulation, recently interviewed several people from Chestnut and New Light and wrote an article highlighting our ministry. You can read the article online by clicking here. We look forward to seeing the print version, which is due to come out on October 31.

It has been an exciting time of dreaming, imagining, praying, hoping, and planning, and new visions for ministry in Portland are taking shape! We have architectural drawings for renovations to our new space, and we've begun to talk with a contractor about completing the work. Obtaining the required permits from the city will take more time than we had hoped, so it may be January before the space is ready, but we know it will be worth the wait! We're moving forward, and things are going well, by the grace of God.

Ultimately, though, we know that it's not about a facility. It's about ministry that offers hope, healing, peace, justice, love, and compassion. It's about sharing the Good News of God's love made known in Jesus Christ. It's about participating in the work of the Holy Spirit, which changes lives.

And so our vision includes so much more than a new facility...

Check out this description of Churches with Vision:
A church with vision that is consistently affirmed and lifted up will always be an exciting, dynamic, energizing center of hope. Such congregations are not only effective as channels for the healing grace of God, but their ministry also helps prevent all sorts of human and social problems by their faithfulness to the Gospel.
Visionary congregations tend to be responsive to human need, not only within the membership, but within the larger community. Congregations inspired by dreams and visions are usually involved in one or more major mission projects. These congregations tend to be Great Commission-centered, rather than self-centered. Their attitude tends to be, "We cannot do it all, but we can do something. What we can do, we will do, by the grace of God."
Visionary congregations experience the life of faith as an inspiring journey, rather than as a depressing obligation. There is a joyful contagion about these congregations. This posture of forward-leaning receptivity positions people to receive new visions that call forth new approaches to previously unseen needs.
-- from Vision 2000: Planning for Ministry into the Next Century

What do you think? Do we qualify as a Church with Vision, according to this definition? How might this description guide our thinking and planning as we lean into the future God places before us?We are so excited to be part of all that God is doing here in Portland, and we look forward to sharing this journey with you all through the months and years ahead!

In Christ's love,
Allen & Sara

Popcorn at the Parkside Block Party

Let's join the fun as the Parkside Neighborhood Association sponsors a Block Party for the neighborhood, this Saturday afternoon, from 2:00-5:00 pm, in the PROP parking lot (510 Cumberland Ave). In case of rain, the event will be held inside at Parkside Neighborhood Center (85 Grant St). We plan to hand out free popcorn and spread a little joy. Set-up will begin around 1:00 pm. Can you join us for an hour or two? The work won't be too strenuous, and fun is guaranteed!

Upcoming Events

Saturday, Oct. 25 - 2-5 pm - Parkside neighborhood Block Party in the PROP parking lot, 510 Cumberland Ave. (set-up at 1 pm)

Thursday, Oct. 30 - 10:30 am - Book study, The Irresistible Revolution, concludes - meeting at Geraldine Guitard's house

Sunday, Nov. 2 - 12:00 noon - Gathering with the Social Justice Commission from Sacred Heart Church and the Outreach Committee from Immanuel Baptist Church, to talk about possibilities for collaborating; meeting at Immanuel Baptist Church

Thurs-Sat, Nov. 6-8 - New England School of Congregational Development, in Bloomfield, CT. Paul Nixon, keynote speaker. More information here. Talk to Allen if you're interested in attending.

Monday, Nov. 10 - Chestnut UMC's turn to volunteer at Wayside Soup Kitchen (252 Oxford Street). Arrive at the volunteer entrance between 4:30 and 5:00 pm.

Sunday, Nov. 23 - 9:30 am - Stewardship Commitment Sunday

Thursday, Dec. 11 - 7:00 pm - Charge Conference, a combined annual meeting with New Light; Rev. Mike Davis, our district superintendent, will lead.

Faithful Living, Faithful Giving

New Worship Series continues this Sunday
This week we'll continue a new six-week worship series entitled "Faithful Living, Faithful Giving." We're spending these weeks exploring the many facets of stewardship:
Sunday, October 19 Prayers
Sunday, October 26 Presence
Sunday, November 2 Gifts
Sunday, November 9 Service
Sunday, November 16 Witness
Sunday, November 23 Stewardship Commitment Sunday

Please join us for worship this Sunday at 9:30 am. We'll explore what it means to make the commitment to serve God through your presence -- and you have to be present to get the scoop!

Our New Home!

It looks like all business in the pictures above as Sue Rudalevige and Shirley Martell sign the legal papers on behalf of the Board of Trustees, but be assured that a cheer of joy went up about 10:30 this morning as we left the office of the title company with keys in hand!

And now a new journey begins. We have not reached the promised land. We have not arrived at a final resting place. We are not moving backward to life the way it used to be. No, now a new journey begins -- and what an exciting journey it is! Here we are, members of the Site Team (minus a few who couldn't be with us this morning), after signing papers, standing outside our new space at 185 High Street, Unit 6.

Let this new facility be called...
a launching pad for mission and ministry
a house of hospitality and hope and healing
a neighborhood center
a place where children are always welcome
a testament to the prayer and discernment of a faithful remnant
a sanctuary for encountering God
a symbol of resurrection and new life
a classroom for out-of-the-box thinking
a safe place for exploring the way of Jesus
a home for open hearts, open minds, and open doors
a breeding ground for peace and justice
a shelter for the dispossessed
a living room for building community
a witness to the power of the Holy Spirit
Let it never be called a fortress, a club for insiders, an island disconnected from its neighbors, a museum celebrating the past, or a place where people go through the motions. The prophet Jeremiah conveys God's words of assurance to God's people: "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope" (Jer. 29:11). This purchase marks the beginning of a new chapter of ministry, and the future is filled with hope! In Christ's love, Allen & Sara

International Day of Prayer

Sunday, September 21 is the International Day of Prayer for Peace, and we'll join with sisters and brothers from United Methodist Churches and other congregations and religious groups in praying for world peace. The day coincides with the U.N. International Day of Peace, established by the United Nations in 1981, and is an initiative of the World Council of Churches' Decade to Overcome Violence. An ever-expanding number of people worldwide, representing a wide variety of religious and spiritual traditions, have committed to the task of working with other like-minded individuals and groups for an International Day of Peace Vigil with the following objective: "to encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, 21 September, in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world."
Will you spend some time on Sunday, wherever you are, praying for peace? To learn more about the International Day of Peace, visit www.idpvigil.com.

Moving Forward

We are moving forward, and everything would suggest that we are on track for a closing date of October 3! We expect that soon, by God's grace, we'll have a new home for worship and ministry at 185 High Street!

Let's remember, though, that this not about getting
settled in a new building. God doesn't call us to be settled. God calls us to mission and ministry where there are hurting people, and where there are people who do not know the love of God made known in Jesus Christ. As you know, we have been very intentional and prayerful about where we locate so that our ministry is incarnational -- literally moving into the neighborhood and providing this space as a gift to the neighborhood. We've also been proactive about establishing partnerships with two other churches in the neighborhood, so that we've already begun to collaborate (and to imagine future opportunities for collaboration) on ministry among the poor and marginalized in Parkside neighborhood before we even arrive, and with the Parkside Neighborhood Center - all of whom are thrilled that we're coming and excited about possibilities for serving together.

But we must be just as careful and prayerful as we prepare to move into this new facility, because if we're not intentional about a new vision for ministry and mission, we could easily settle back into old patterns, and this could actually take us backward and inward rather than forward and outward. Instead, let's move forward thinking about this new home as a stopping point and a launching pad for ministry, not a final resting place.

Just a few things to think about as excitement builds...

In Christ's love,
Allen & Sara