The Oregon-Idaho Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action
an independent movement of progressive United Methodists taking action on issues of Justice, Peace, and Liberation

Our chapter’s annual Spring Event will be Saturday, March 3, at First UMC in Portland. Our main topic will be how to help our churches and individuals move beyond acts of charity to more acts of justice. Our featured speaker will be MFSA Executive Director Jill A Warren. This will be the first opportunity for most of our members to meet Jill, who has been in the ED position since July of 2011. Her enthusiasm for justice is contagious, so don’t miss this event.

Watch for the brochure and registration details to be posted on this site soon.

 Read the December 2011 newsletter here. Find out how one church in Idaho is participating in the interfaith community. See what your chapter has to say about the death penalty and what’s happening in both Idaho and Oregon. In the President’s Column, read Rev. Dave Bean’s response to the bishops’ statement on the Book of Discipline and same-gender marriage.

The Oregon-Idaho Chapter of MFSA met in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, October 1 for an event titled “A Spirituality of Justice – for times that try our souls”. The event was designed as a means of reaching out to support and empower others in the ongoing and often difficult work of social justice. It was also a way for the OR-ID Chapter to reinvigorate our movement, meet new people and communities, and spark hope in the lives of so many who have felt a sense of hopelessness spreading in our cities, states, nation and world. According to chapter President, Rev. Dave Bean, “After all, we in MFSA are people of faith and bearers of hope and good news rooted in the One who came to ‘proclaim good news’!” Read the rest of this entry »

Do you want to help change the United Methodist Church’s position on equality for our gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender members and friends? The Common Witness Coalition, including MFSA, is preparing now for General Conference 2012. Join us for a special training event for the Love Your Neighbor campaign on Saturday, November 5 at Rose City Park UMC in Portland. We will be led by trainer Audrey Krumbach of Reconciling Ministries Network. See the event flyer  for all the details, including how to register. Don’t miss this opportunity: only a general conference can change the Book of Discipline, and it only meets every four years.

The September chapter newsletter is available for download now. Keep up on the people and events of the Oregon-Idaho chapter.

Here is the full text of the presentation of the Bishop’s Award to Ruth Walton. The award was presented at Annual Conference during the laity/clergy banquet and was a surprise to Ruth.

This recipient has lived her life in accordance with her belief that if you are serious about your faith, your faith is reflected in how you live your life. Read the rest of this entry »

At the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference session, many of our clergy signed a pledge that they would not discriminate in conducting marriage ceremonies. As of June 27, there were 69 signers. You can see the list here. If you are ordained in this conference and you would like to add your name to the list, please contact Dave Bean at revdaveb@hotmail.com

Laity who were at the conference session also expressed support for the clergy signers, but we are not maintaining an ongoing list of those supporters.

 If you missed the print copy, here is our pre-conference newsletter. The President’s column by Dave Bean is a great challenge to keep us all going, and there is other news as well.

Oregonians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (OADP) is sponsoring an event on June 8 in Portland. The featured speaker will be Illinois Rep. Karen Yarbrough , sponsor of that state’s successful legislation to abolish the death penalty. The event, called New Day, will be held in Portland at 7:30 pm. Read the New Day press release now for more details.

The latest chapter newsletter is here. Click on the link below to read how we are getting ready for Annual Conference and looking ahead to General Conference 2012. Read a challenge from chapter President David Bean to join in sharing the good news we see.

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