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Outreach in Action

There's a lot of activity happening at St. Michael's this summer...we welcome your involvement!

Join us for ESL Summer Term Tutoring

Help wanted: ESL tutors for our Summer Term! Have you always wanted to tutor with our English as a Second Language program but couldn't manage it during the school year? Why not give our summer session a try? We will be tutoring on Tuesday evenings starting June 23rd through August 11th. New tutors are always welcome! The primary requirements for ESL tutors are patience, compassion, and delight in helping others - no foreign language skills are necessary for teaching English. For more information, contact Cathy Searls at 503-884-0067.

Interfaith Vigil for the Climate on June 28

Come to a service focused on our relationship with and responsibility for the earth and each other. This interfaith vigil will feature wisdom from multiple faiths, cultures and generations, as well as worship through a variety of mediums including responsive prayer, poetry and special music for the care of creation to be sung by all. The service will be held on Sunday, June 28, from 7-8pm, at Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church, 6161 SE Stark St. A reception will follow the service. Visit the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon events page to find out more.

July 16th: "A Palestinian Christian Cry for Reconciliation" presented by the Rev. Naim Ateek of Sabeel

The Friends of Sabeel-North America (FOSNA) invite you to an event with the Rev. Naim Ateek, a Palestinian Anglican priest. Ateek is the founder and director of The Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center in Jerusalem and is an internationally known peacemaker and author. He will be in Portland promoting his new book, "A Palestinian Christian’s Cry for Reconciliation," and speaking about the current situation in Palestine and Israel. The event will be held on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at First United Methodist Church, SW 18th & Jefferson St. in Portland. Reservations are now being accepted for the reception and catered dinner with Father Naim at 5:30 p.m. The cost is $50 per person ($35 tax-deductible) and reservations and payment must be made by July 10. Dinner will be held in the Collins Hall at First UMC. Entertainment will begin at 7:00 p.m., followed by a free public lecture and book signing by Father Naim in the First UMC sanctuary at 7:30 p.m. Reservations may be made by calling FOSNA at 503-653-6625. St. Michael & All Angels Church is a co-sponsor of this event. Find out more on the Friends of Sabeel North America web site..

Help Africa Grow - Donate Seeds

In late August, Fred and Joy Cooper will be traveling on a month-long solo work brigade to Malawi , Kenya and Nigeria. They will be training over 75 new Good Samaritan Ministries leaders from 8-10 African countries in alternative gardening practices. They will also be providing hands-on instruction to over 40 widows from rural villages on how to grow more productive home gardens for food and income. The cost of fertilizers and seed are prohibitively expensive for these folks, so seed collecting and composting techniques are very important skills. How can you help? Donate vegetable seeds! Seeds need to be from 2009, and non-hybrid. We need beans (bush and pole), lentils, tomato, squash, onions, garlic, eggplant, okra, spinach, sweet potato, yams, parsley, cilantro (coriander) and ginger. Please reseal well any seed packets that have been opened/partially used. Your donated seed packets can be placed in the Good Samaritan Ministries bucket on the piano in the Gallery. Fred and Joy would also appreciate small donations of cash that can be used for purchase of gardening implements, drums for making manure tea, watering cans, etc. Checks can be given directly to Fred and Joy, written to Good Samaritan Ministries, designated for Cooper Center Training. For more information, contact Fred and Joy at 503/235-4552.

Make a Difference in 2010 - Join El Porvenir in Nicaragua

Every year since 2001, St. Michael's has sent a work team to Nicaragua on a two-week mission trip, partnering with El Porvenir to build bathing stalls, community laundry centers, wells, and latrines. In 2010, we're excited to announce that we'll be sending TWO work teams from St. Michael's: one in January for a construction project, and the other in July for a reforestation project. Interested in joining us? Contact Marla for more information.

Honoring Archbishop Oscar Romero

In an interview a few weeks before his assassination, Archbishop Romero said, “I have been threatened with death; I must say that, as a Christian, I do not believe in death but in the resurrection. If they kill me, I shall rise again in the Salvadoran people. Martyrdom is a great gift from God that I do not believe I have earned. But if God accepts the sacrifice of my life, then may my blood be the seed of liberty and a sign of hope that will soon become a reality…You can tell the people that if they succeed in killing me, that I forgive and bless those who do it. Hopefully, they will realize they are wasting their time. A bishop will die, but the church of God—the people—will never die.”
Archbishop Romero had and continues to have an immeasurable impact on the lives of the peasants in El Salvador. The 30th anniversary of his death will be commemorated in El Salvador in March 2010. Romero’s spirit lives on in the Salvadoran people as they create a brighter future and strive for justice and peace for all Salvadorans.
Non-profit and non-governmental agencies La Coordinadora, based in El Salvador, and the Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America, based in the U.S., are partners in service to the poor in El Salvador. These organizations are offering an opportunity to be a part of the commemorative events and to see firsthand the work they are doing in some of the poorest areas of the country. The delegation group will stay in Cuidad Romero, a community established to honor Archbishop Romero and founded by people who fled the country in the early 1980’s during the civil war and returned after the peace accords. The community, with support from La Coordinadora and FSSCA, are busy with projects to improve the current and future lives of its members. Members have established a community radio station, and they have undertaken projects involving organic farming, reforestation, and other ecological initiatives important to a sustainable and green environment. They have formed art and theater programs to offer positive alternatives to the threat of gang involvement and an opportunity for positive expression of their historical struggle against poverty of the body and soul.
The delegation will also have the opportunity to stay in San Salvador and visit the historic sites where Archbishop Romero lived, worked, and died. The group will be able to participate in some of the national commemoration events while in the city.
The dates for the delegation trip are March 21-29, 2010. The cost for the trip will be approximately $950, which includes room and board, transportation within the country, and entry fees to museums and other historical sites. Airfare will be additional. The group will be assisted by bilingual FSSCA representatives, so speaking Spanish is not a requirement. Please look for the sign-up sheet in the Gallery. If you have questions or for more information, contact Cathy Searls by phone at 503/884-0067, or by email at SearlsC@comcast.net.

Support the Zimbabwe Artists Project - Buy Art Online

Many of you oohed and aahed over the absolutely beautiful artwork displayed in the Parish and Nativity Halls on April 26th and May 3rd, from the Zimbabwe Artists Project. If you're wishing that you had purchased an applique, embroidery, fabric painting or board painting during the display at the church but didn't do so - don't worry, you can purchase them online! Just visit the Zimbabwe Artists Project web site to buy online, and to learn more about this amazing organization.