​The Center for Christian Studies, based at Reedwood Friends Meeting in Portland, Oregon, organized an all-day Saturday bus trip, christened the first Oregon Peace Pilgrimage.

Declaring our three traditions are arguably a spiritual family, the bus trip was joined by Mennonites (mainly from Portland Mennonite Church), Quakers (from Reedwood Friends Meeting), and members of Peace Church of the Brethren – 55 in all! The trip was initiated by the new Director of the Center for Christian Studies at Reedwood Friends Meeting, Dr. Daniel Smith-Christopher, who is a life-long Quaker, but also a MDiv graduate of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Goshen, IN.  The Center for Christian Studies is seeking to be a new partnership between the three “Historic Peace Churches” in Portland, and this bus trip was a first event to explore the concept with an enjoyable but also educational day dedicated to getting acquainted, celebrating the 500th Anniversary of Anabaptism, and thinking about future possibilities in this new cooperative arrangement.  The Bus Tour stopped at the Brigittine Monastery, which produces chocolates (a popular stop!) but also gave the “bus pilgrims” the opportunity to be reminded of the role of Hershey and Cadbury in Mennonite and Quaker traditions. 

The second stop was the Old Colony Museum in Aurora, dedicated to perhaps the most important Christian Commune in Oregon history, from the 19th Century. Over lunch, Museum curators shared, but this stop also gave an opportunity to think about the role of intentional community and “mutual aid” in the three traditions. 

The final stop was Zion Mennonite Church in the countryside outside Hubbard, featuring the locally famous “Amish Barn”, and the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Historical Center.
Over a catered chicken dinner, the bus pilgrims further developed their new friendships, and the Mennonites led some special hymns while their new friends from the other two traditions joined in. After a full day of travel, the bus pilgrims returned to Portland and began to dream about where we go for NEXT year’s Oregon Peace Pilgrimage together!

Daniel L. Smith-Christopher Prof. Theological Studies
Dept. Theology
Loyola Marymount University 
Los Angeles, CA 

​PMC folks at the Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage

In response to the countless souls in our world who are living under the duress of war and fleeing their homes, PMC focused our Advent giving on assisting refugees here in Portland as well as abroad.  In this time of national fear of strangers, we reflect on the fact that Mary and Joseph were refugees in Egypt.
 
PMC partnered with Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees (SOAR) here in Portland to welcome 4 recently arrived refugee families by providing them with household goods and clothing.  PMCers were invited to pick donation tags off our Advent giving tree and by December 27th, the Old Chapel was overflowing with items!  On New Year’s Eve, LeRoy and Shirley Chupp helped take the items to the SOAR office, where they were delivered to the families by case workers.  At our Christmas Eve service,  a generous offering of over $26,000 was given to Mennonite Central Committee’s efforts to provide support, shelter and supplies to families in Syria, Iraq and other war-torn countries.  

Thank you to everyone who donated items this year!  May God bless our efforts to welcome the stranger and seek peace in our world.  

Thank you to all the volunteers and families that came out and made PUMPKINS FOR PEACE a fun event. People of all ages had a fun time carving pumpkins, pressing cider and eating delicious soup! The money raised will benefit the work of MCC and refugees around the world.

Playing for an End to Homelessness
The Justice Committee of PMC is glad to co-sponsor the Rob Scheps Trio with New City Initiative. The Committee is focusing on homelessness in Portland as we “seek the peace of the city.”  

The Justice Committee at PMC is Chris Harder, Joe Blowers, Dale Stitt, Annalisa Brenneman, Karyn Keating, Matt Newell-Ching, and Rod Stafford

There is still a lot of disagreement among scholars as to just how much of an effect violent games have on players, partly because faster processors have made these games much more realistic in recent years. While ongoing research needs to be conducted, there is now enough evidence to comfortably say that playing first-person shooters can be a hindrance to the formation and wellbeing of today’s young people.

Researchers Lavinia McLean and Mark Griffiths published an article in 2013 titled “The psychological effects of videogames on young people: A review” in which the authors catalog and review all the existing data on the subject up to that point. Here is how they conclude their analysis: