First meandering: Gary fell in love with the dog parks in
Portland. They are located within a park and are wide open spaces
without fences. The dog areas are usually defined
by “markers”. This picture is of the one
he frequented the most. Doesn't look like any South Bay dog park we ever went to! So much nicer and more fun for the dogs (and owners, too!).
Second meandering: Of course, I have to update you on our most
recent church experience! Gary did a lot
of Internet searching to find a church for us to attend last Sunday. So he finally read me this one church’s
website information that included “beer after church.” Well, that was it! A church that serves beer afterwards, this is
something you don’t often get to see.
The pastor is young (30’s with two young children—under 5), attended
LIFE Bible College and then moved back to Oregon (he’s from here originally). Most of the leadership are also young and are
either his good friends from high school or LIFE Bible College. Here's a picture from their website of their worship service.
Here’s what I liked
about this church: They had tons of
kids. They did contemporary worship and
it seemed like a number of the songs may have been “originals”. They set up in a ballroom and scattered
around between the rows of chairs are tables.
On the tables are info cards and the “bulletin” (it was scantly filled
out). I loved the tables J. Afterwards, they had a potluck to create
community (this pastor is very big on community). We joined them and met some
wonderful people. They are also focused
on their local community and once a month they do NOT have a worship service. Instead they do a community project whether
it’s cleaning up the neighborhood or getting a school ready for the school
year. The pastor had a great message, and we really enjoyed ourselves. They have between 60 and 100 people who
attend, but this time of year (summer vacations) they are down a little. Still, very lovely young people and a great
vibe. And, oh year, at the potluck we
each had a beer! Next time you’re in
Portland on a Sunday, here’s their website.
http://theoregoncommunity.com. Check them out!
But wait, there’s more to their story. This young church (about 3 years old) felt
called to develop a non-profit pub for the community, The Oregon Public House. When you’re eating or drinking at the pub,
you can choose the charitable organization that you want to receive the profit from
your meal/drinks. Their motto is “Have a
Pint/Change the World”. Isn’t that
amazing? Here are just a few of the
non-profits on their list of recipients:
- The Neo fund (helps fight poverty).
- Friends of the Children (mentoring program that is transforming the lives of Portland's most vulnerable children).
- My Voice Music (engages marginalized youth in music and performance in order to promote self-esteem, social skills and emotional expression.
- Compassion First (restoring the lives of the sexually trafficked, working in specifically under-served or unserved regions.
- Habitat for Humanity (building homes for those who need them).
- Black United Fund (mission is to assist in the social and economic development of Oregon's low-income communities and to contribute to a broader understanding of ethnic and culturally diverse groups).
- Friends
of Trees (Friends of Trees' mission is to bring people in the Portland-Vancouver
and Eugene-Springfield metro areas together to plant and care for city trees
and green spaces).
They believe this ground-breaking model for business is
literally the first of its kind and could begin a new wave of business and
mission that has the possibility of changing the way people work, spend, and
care for their communities.
In addition, The Oregon Public House will be a place where
people in their community can learn more about a number of outstanding
non-profit organizations and discover practical ways they can become involved
in transforming their world and improving the lives of others. Here's a picture from their website of their pub.
Third meandering: I just love meeting all these new people on our journey. We just met another couple (unfortunately, they were leaving the day after we met them) here in Willamette wine country. We spent a couple of hours with them sitting outside in their RV site in the shade, drinking some Willamette wine, and sharing stories of full-timing. We really enjoyed our time with Mel and Sandy (who live in Arizona), and traded email and cell info with them hoping that we will cross paths sometime in the future. Every day is a new opportunity to meet some great people, and (for the most part) RVers are nice, friendly people who also want to meet you! We just love this aspect of our journey.
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