Posts by Maria McDowell

Posts by Maria McDowell

VBS: Tree of Healing

Vacation Bible School: Tree of Healing Dates: June 20-24 Location: Salt & Light Lutheran Church/Leaven Community, 5431 NE 20th Avenue Hours: 9:00am-3:00pm Before and After care available.

ACTION: Supporting Homeless Services

Last week, faith-community members gathered to testify before City Hall, asking our commissioners to support a budget that prioritizes truly affordable housing and the support and wrap-around services that help our unhoused neighbors, family members and friends get and stay permanently housed. Members of our congregation submitted testimony on behalf of this shared action with the Leaven Land & Housing Coalition. Below is the testimony of Vivian Childs, followed by the letter from Sarah Loose of the Coalition.

ACTION: Support Joint Office of Homeless Services Budget

Leaven Community Land & Housing Coalition is mobilizing, alongside our partners at HereTogether, to make sure that both the Portland City Council and Multnomah County Commission jointly fund the Joint Office of Homeless Services and pass a budget that invests in the near term and permanent solutions needed to tackle our homeless crisis. 

Holy Week Services at St. Philip

While Easter, the resurrection, is celebrated every Sunday, Holy Week is like one great Sunday. It begins with a triumphal (perhaps sarcastically so) entrance into Jerusalem, and continues through the Great Three Days—the Triduum. The week forms one long, ancient, liturgy that begins with celebration, moves into compassion and forgiveness, walks us through our fear-filled and violent rejection of God, and ends in the ultimate grace of God’s persistent love for all creation. COME JOIN US!

Say Their Names

Join the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing in a Prayer and Remembrance Service for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and all martyrs for civil and human rights. April 4th, 4pm (PDT)/7pm (EDT). You may register to participate online.

Community Safety Listening & Strategy Session

The City of Portland’s Division of Community Safety and Commissioner JoAnn Hardesty’s Office are holding a Community Safety Listening & Strategy Session at Matt Dishman Community Center on Wednesday, March 30th from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm. (Lisa.Freeman@portlandoregon.gov) or Andre Miller (Andre.Miller@portlandoregon.gov) for more information.  The Eliot neighborhood, a vibrant area with a rich history, has suffered from the steep increase in gun violence in Portland over the last two years. Come share how you have been impacted by safety…

Westminster Ally Conversation Toolkit Workshop

A coalition of faith congregations is bringing David Campt and The Dialogue Company to Portland on April 21-23. The purpose of the workshops is to encourage and inspire people to have constructive conversations about race and to give the tools to do so.

Neighborhood Planting Project

Neighborhood volunteers will be gathering at the corner of NE Knott and NE Rodney Ave between 10am-2pm on Saturday, March 19. We’ll be digging holes and planting shrubbery within the parking strips on Rodney and Knott, surrounding the substation block. Depending on chip drop timing, we may even be spreading mulch. We’re asking everyone to please bring your own gardening gloves and a shovel or trowel if you’ve got them. We’ll provide coffee and donuts, but do bring water to stay hydrated! It will likely be rainy (and thus muddy), so please dress appropriately.

Tuesday Bible Study: Genesis 1-11

Tuesday Bible Study is beginning again!Join us for Tuesday evening bible study. We will meet on Zoom at 7pm for an hour and fifteen minutes of reflection and conversation on scripture. We will be focusing on the the first eleven chapters of Genesis. We will be focusing on the the first eleven chapters of Genesis, so take some time to read these chapters!

Ash Wednesday Services & Day of Prayer

The Parish Hall and Sanctuary will be open on March 2nd from 9:30-6:30pm for prayer (and hot tea!). A Service of Ashes will be held at 9:30am and 5:30pm. Rev’d Maria McDowell will be available for conversation and the sacrament of reconciliation throughout the day

The Alcena has been awarded funding!

We did it! On February 8th, the Portland Housing Bureau (PHB) announced its award of $11,250,000 for The Alcena. This is a HUGE step forward! St. Philip is so proud to partner with Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc., in their mission to increase stability for low-income and vulnerable residents in N/NE Portland, especially Black residents. We are also so grateful that a seed planted decades ago by the parishioners of St. Philip, to build affordable housing for seniors, is finally coming to fruition. As Mother Alcena Boozer said when she heard the news, “Hallelujah and Amen!”

Walking and Talking: Meditating Together

Last Sunday (Jan 30th) a group of St. Philip folks walked the block around Matt Dishman Community Center, observing the weather, the creatures, the land that surrounds our church. The purpose of a Walking Meditation is to use all our senses to experience our parish neighborhood at a deeper level – the land, the trees and plantings, the creatures, and the neighbors who reside close to STPD. Afterwards, we gathered to share our perceptions, thoughts, and feelings about the experience.…

Neighborhood Walking Meditation: Jan 30th

The St. Philip the Deacon Neighborhood Listening Team will do a short Neighborhood Walking Meditation after church on January 30th. You are invited to participate. The purpose of the Walking Meditation is to use all our senses to experience our parish neighborhood at a deeper level – the land, the trees and plantings, the creatures, and the neighbors who reside close to STPD. One of the members of the Neighborhood Listening Team will provide guidance before we walk. We will…