​On November 7-9, Portland Mennonite Church offered a symposium with the theme “Anabaptism @ 501: Practicing Faith – Weaving the Work of Justice.” Nekeisha Alayna Alexis and Jamie Pitts, both from AMBS (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary), led the gathered group through a reflection on the 500 year anniversary of our Anabaptist faith, what it means to practice our faith today, and how we might look forward into the next 500 years. 

Throughout the weekend, leaders used the imagery of weaving and we had a visual centerpiece that featured a large loom. People brought items that represented their Anabaptist identity and practice to place around the loom. We talked about weaving together various threads of our Anabaptist story and practice. When PMC has recently talked about the church we dream of becoming, we have named some contrasting themes. We want to be true to our Anabaptist history and clear about who we are in this identity. On the other hand, we want to be inclusive of people who are new and different. How do we hold these two very different things together or how might we weave these themes together? We might think that these are easy things to do. But, holding our Anabaptist story well could take some work. And, being inclusive is not just a name we give ourselves, we must continually work at how we are engaging the “other” and breaking down social injustices. So, we invited some special speakers here to help us reflect on some of these threads and invited folks from PNMC churches to join us.

Similarly, Jamie and Nekeisha work in different disciplines and brought us different threads of learning. Nekeisha Alayna Alexis is a speaker/consultant for AMBS. She supports individuals, communities and organizations, as they grow in intercultural competence, challenge systems of White and other domination, work at undoing racism, and create spaces of justice, belonging, right relationships and joy. Jamie Pitts is professor of Anabaptist theology and history, and his teaching includes an emphasis on global Anabaptist traditions past and present. His current research interests include theological method, pneumatology, reconciliation, and postcolonial mission. During the weekend, Nekeisha offered us the thread of being strategic about our work at intercultural competence and undoing racism, and Jamie offered us the thread of reflecting on how Anabaptists throughout history have related to the Holy Spirit. We attempted to weave these ideas together, and through these lenses we had conversations about what it means to be Anabaptist in this world today and into our future.

The weekend started on Friday night with a worshipful introduction to our themes. Saturday morning, Jamie led us in a workshop on the Holy Spirit, and Nekeisha did consulting work with PMC’s Racial Justice and Sanctuary of Belonging teams. We had a delicious lunch of Venezuelan food made by the Lopez family. We then heard from Jamie and Nekeisha about some of the ways that we can weave together the threads they brought us. We got a chance to have some discussion about the recent books they have both published. Throughout the weekend we shared times of prayer, discussion, and singing together. Nekeisha and Jamie stayed to preach for PMC’s Sunday morning service and had a Q&A during our Sunday School hour following the service. Nekeisha also joined Ministerios Restauración on Sunday afternoon for their worship service and preached a sermon which was translated by Nelly Ascencio.

Various people joined us this weekend. We had many PMCers involved, an average of 30-40 at any given time, and somewhere around 50 people throughout the weekend. We had one attender from Salem Mennonite Church and several from Ministerios Restauración. We are grateful for the work of Madga Moreno who we hired to interpret during the weekend and for a generous grant from the PNMC that made this interpretation possible. Additionally, we had many volunteers help out in different ways. We are so grateful for all those who helped make this event possible for people at PMC and our larger regional conference!

During this weekend we worked at weaving various threads together. In celebrating our 500 year history as Anabaptists, we drew the thread of Anabaptist history and stories, and thought about what these things mean for us today. We drew the thread of wondering what it means to practice our faith today – and noted that working at peace and justice are integral to how we enact our faith. We drew the thread of thinking theologically about the Holy Spirit with questions like: what does it mean to listen for the Holy Spirit’s calling in our lives, not just in movements that arise but in our institutions? We drew on the thread of antiracism work and how to be strategic about making change. These threads and frameworks will continue to give us inspiration as we move into 501 years of Anabaptism and beyond.

On the weekend of October 24-26, women from Mennonite Women USA joined with the women of Portland Mennonite Church (PMC) for their annual retreat, held in the lush beauty of Canby Grove, Oregon in the great Pacific Northwest  The partnership began through Nelly Ascencio, whose congregation shares a building with PMC. From the first welcome, it was clear this would be a weekend of warmth, curiosity, and spiritual connection—a sacred time to rest together. 

Rockaway Beach / September 12-14, 2025

Hi all,

I am sure an update is in order. So here goes... so much has happened in the last two months. We have enjoyed our first two months in Windsor, though we have done some traveling. (More on that below.) We have been really surprised by how welcoming and friendly everyone has been -- people from church, neighbors, workers in stores, random people we meet, the random driver in the car behind us at Starbucks who saw our Oregon license plate and bought our drinks because they wanted us to feel welcomed. Maybe we shouldn't have been surprised, but it has definitely been encouraging. 

Another thing that caught us a little off guard was the frequency of thunderstorms and the prevalence of fireflies -- at least for July and the first part of August. This has been a little like living back in Georgia or North Carolina. We adjusted pretty quickly to the afternoon/evening storms, the fireflies just after sundown, and the humidity. (Okay, maybe the humidity will take more time to get used to again!)

We have enjoyed being near so many bodies of water. The Detroit River (5 minutes away), Lake St Clair (15 minutes), and Lake Erie (40 minutes) are ones we have visited. Lake Huron is around an hour north and is on our to-visit list. There is a calming beauty in watching the river water flow by, or the lakes gently ripple or crash against the shore. 

We did settle into some small routines in the house where we have been living. However, we have known it was temporary, and we have also been traveling. This has made routines challenging, but both the temporary housing and the travel will be coming to an end soon. First, about the travels. After we arrived in late June, around one week later Clara was off to join the PMC MYF at MennoCon in North Carolina. The rest of July was fairly settled, but August has been anything but. Clara and I traveled to Georgia on August 1 to spend the weekend with my family. (My dad had just returned from a hospital stay due to congestive heart failure. He is now at home in hospice care, which is a good thing given his ongoing health challenges.) Clara stayed for another week, while I flew on to Oregon, where I was near Mt Hood for a few days with my work. From there, I drove to Seattle (long story) and then flew to Vancouver, BC, to spend a couple of days visiting Peter before flying back to Ontario. Meanwhile, back in Ontario, Lucy took a flight to Vancouver to see Peter and to stay with some good friends from elementary school for a couple of weeks. (Lucy and I did cross paths briefly in Vancouver.) That two-week stay for Lucy turned into three because of the Air Canada strike last week. Now Lucy (and Peter) will ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, BC on Saturday where they will join Sarah and Clara, who are, as I type, currently in flight from Detroit to Seattle. (I am home with the cats.) Tomorrow morning, Sarah and Clara will ferry to Victoria from Port Angeles and prepare for Clara to move into the dorm at UVic for her first year of university. Move in day for Clara is Sunday. Next Tuesday, Sarah and Lucy will fly back to Detroit / Windsor, and we will enjoy some downtime. Whew!

Except, we are buying a house, and the closing date is September 25. So, we will be thinking about what we need to do to move in. Remember all that furniture we did not move with us from Milwaukie? Now we will need replacements. We are also wondering about any renovations before we move in or early on. Plus, the three of us will spend a week in Georgia in October with my family. We looked at a number of houses in Windsor over the past few weeks with our realtor and at various open houses. The one we chose is one we really like. Even better, three families from Windsor Mennonite live within a 10 minute walk! And we did not know this before we visited the house, so the proximity to others is a real bonus!

A constant over the past few months (actually the past 5+ years) is my work-from-home with Jesuit Volunteer Corps Northwest. While I will travel to Portland twice each year for work (August and sometimes in the spring), working from Windsor is no different than working from the house in Milwaukie. Our employees are spread across the US (and me in Canada), so this constant has been good (and not just because of the income). While Sarah's old job ended in June, since mid-July she has been working half-time as a contract worker with a mental health company in Oregon. It is a small company started by one of her former bosses. She can continue with this through November. This work has been a gift -- able to work from home, flexibility, reconnecting with former colleagues, etc. God has been good to us all.

It would be a mistake not to mention our Milwaukie house. All of you had some part in helping us move out, for which we are forever grateful. We are also grateful to Tim Manickam, who helped us sell our house quickly. We had three offers in the first few days, and the closing was around three weeks later! Also, thanks to Ed for help with many projects around the house, and also to Bruce and Fernando for cleaning and staining the decks! Totally a group effort.

Enough for now. We are so very thankful for your place in our lives and in our hearts. Peace to you all!

David (for the family)

P.S. Notes on the photos:
Clara, Lucy, and Sarah at a park along the Detroit River
The Tourist Tomato in Leamington, Ontario (on Lake Erie)

Follow Jesus 25 is the biennial gathering of Mennonite Church USA. The purpose of convention is to gather as Mennonite Church USA for Community, Worship and Faith Formation. The PMC MYF are grateful to those at PMC that helped them fundraise for this event. The convention was  July 8-12, 2025, at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro, North Carolina. Below are some memories. Enjoy!

A reflection by Eric Massanari, PNMC Executive Conference Minister

In A Shared Understanding of Ministerial Leadership, our Mennonite Church USA polity statement on ministerial credentialing and leadership, ordination is described as "a long-term, leadership-ministry credential granted by the church. Ordination is the appropriate credential for all pastors, area conference ministry staff, chaplains, missionaries, evangelists, those serving as the national-office ministers, and those determined by the church to have a continuing ministerial-leadership role in, and on behalf of, the church." 

Ordination typically follows a two-year period of licensure, during which time an individual's fitness and readiness for longer-term ministerial leadership is assessed within the life of the community of faith. In our Anabaptist lineage of Christian faith, the community is an integral part of the call and the credentialing of ministry leaders. As it is stated in the Shared Understanding document: "A person's call to ministry occurs within the body life of the church. A person does not appoint him- or herself to the ministry--one is chosen by the church. By affirming a person's strengths and gifts, the congregation confirms the person's inner call to ministry."  In other words, while ordination suggests a setting apart of certain persons into ministerial leadership roles, this setting apart is always rooted and grounded in the Body of Christ, the church.

I find it particularly meaningful that ordination shares the same root as the word ordinary. Both come from the Latin, ordinare, which literally means “to set in order.” Ordination is a commitment to the path of becoming, with God’s help, one's most “ordinary” and real self as a ministering person. It means humbly and courageously accepting the gift of being simple, free and “coming down where we ought to be,” as the old Shaker song goes. It means accepting God’s call to a path of seeing, naming and evoking that same holy ordinariness at the heart of each person one serves in ministry, and at the heart of each moment one lives in the messy beauty and brokenness of life. Ordination means allowing one's life to become a proclamation and a magnifier of the great Love of God, so fully embodied and revealed in Christ, that is the source and ground of all. Ordination is always communal in its expression and action.

To become ordained for ministry is not a call to be or become an extraordinary or particularly holy variety of human being. Rather, ordination is a path that seeks to embody and proclaim the truth that to be human is already something quite extraordinary and holy. 

In April 2024, PMC hosted a Seed(ling) Exchange Party & Fundraiser to raise awareness about and support the CDDD's Maya-Mennonite Solidarity Working Group. We had a great time celebrating the growth of seeds and raised $866 to support the group to travel to Mexico to meet with their partners there. You can read more and see some pictures in our blog about the event.

The Maya-Mennonite Working Group send us a thank you and report from their trip in May: "Dear friends, family and supporters, We'd like to share our gratitude with you all for your support of our delegation through the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery (CDDD) to the Colectivo In Laak Le Ixiimo (CILLI) in the Chenes region of southern Mexico for their annual seed festival. Follow the link below for a summary of our delegation with some of our reflections and photos from our time. We thank you for being part of our sending network that made this delegation and further relationship-building possible!  With gratitude ~ Katerina Gea, on behalf of Anika Reynar, Celeste Sharp, Hallie Liu Rogers, Lars Åkerson, Steve Pavey and Tina Kehler."

This is an update on the Stephen Ministry from the Stephen Ministry Discernment Group. With the feedback received from former Stephen Ministers & Leaders, our discernment group discussions, and in connection with PMC staff and the Table, we've come to a decision. 

The basics are that the group recommends closing the Stephen Ministry program.
We affirmed that the program has been wonderful in many ways and a gift to the congregation, but that we are unable to continue it. The main reason for closing is that we do not have the volunteer capacity to meet the high time and administrative demands of this program.

To be clear, PMC will still have many types of congregational & pastoral care available for those who need it. We have worked to build up some of our other care options and will continue to find ways to fill any gaps that we find.

This recommendation has been affirmed by the Table. In the future, we hope to do some more assessment of needs in the congregation and work at finding ways to meet those needs that fit our volunteer capacity –  hopefully this can begin during our pastoral transition process and then with the help of our new Lead Pastor.

​If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Pastor Kristen or anyone in the SM Discernment Group (Joleen Jensen-Classen, Harold Nussbaum, Karen Hartmann, LaVonne Blowers, and Susan Lanford).