I am not separate from the deaths, the demands, and the dealings, the disasters, the deceits, the demagogues, and the diplomacy.
This is our incompleteness, our separation, our greed at work.
Let me own my part. The world’s hunger is mine. The world’s helplessness is mine. The world’s failure to love is mine. Sober me to this connection in my life. Let the news be printed on my conscience. Help me bear it.
–Gunilla Norris, Being Home
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Dear Friends,
The past six months have been filled with turmoil. Yet we know that for so many, constant turmoil is a daily experience. When we “bear one another’s burdens,” we own our part in the suffering all around us. Let us take that which is ours to take and not succumb to the temptation to separate ourselves from the pain. It is our sacred responsibility to engage in the work of the healing of the world.
In love,
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Jan Musgrove Elfers
EMO President
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EMO Statement on PDX Protests
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Last month
, EMO
issued the following statement regarding the Federal Department of Homeland Security being dispatched to the streets of Portland and other U.S. cities:
At Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) we are a family of faith traditions who agree and disagree on many public policy issues, denominational traditions and practices. For over a century, our ethos has been to uplift unheard voices and listen to the stories of our neighbors who are most impacted by unjust systems. We will continue to encourage policy change and provide services to our community through our many programs. We confess that we have not always lived into these values. We commit to learning from our past, and to speaking and acting justly alongside our siblings who are unjustly treated. (
continue reading
)
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Creation Justice Webinars
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Join EMO's
Oregon Interfaith Power & Light
(OIPL) for a webinar series about creation justice in Oregon.
These webinars will address the intersections between environmental concerns, race/ethnicity, and human and ecological health. We will frame the work toward environmental justice as a concern rooted in our faith. In addition to hearing from a speaker, we will pray together and share ways we are feeling nudged to work more directly to enact environmental justice.
Mark your calendars and register
:
Sept. 16 and Sept. 30, 7-8:30 p.m.: to be announced
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Upcoming (virtual) Events
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To learn more about upcoming EMO events and faith community events, visit our
Event Calendar
. If you would like to submit an event for our website, please fill out an
Event Form
.
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Virtual Meet n’ Greet
These are extraordinary times for our world and for EMO’s direct service programs. At these virtual Meet n’ Greet events, you will:
- Learn how we’ve continued to serve our clients
- Meet our staff
- Connect with other supporters
- Learn how you can be involved
When there is darkness in our world people of good will join together to carve out a little piece of light. Will you join Second Home in carving out some light?
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Aug. 6 @ 6 to 7 p.m. (virtual)
Join Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility for a memorial to the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and others around the world impacted by nuclear weapons development, testing and use. S
peakers will explore the lasting dangers of nuclear weapons and nuclear injustice, discuss the importance of shifting our spending priorities away from these weapons and towards safe and resilient communities, and let you know how you can get more involved in the growing nuclear weapons abolition movement. EMO is a cosponsor.
Learn more and sign up now
.
Anxiety: A Basic Management Guide (virtual workshop)
Aug. 15 @ 1 to - 2 p.m.
Many of our lives have been upended by the COVID-19 pandemic. We have lost jobs, educational opportunities, and social support networks. If that wasn’t enough, we now have the fear and worry subsequent to the death of George Floyd. Northwest Catholic Counseling Center presents this interactive workshop that will provide you with some basic tools for identifying sources of anxiety in your life and methods of coping with anxiety. Cost: $15 per household.
Learn more and register
.
Sept. 24 @ 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Explore the world of emotions with a licensed therapist with 20 years of clinical experience. At this virtual workshop presented by Northwest Catholic Counseling Center, learn what emotions are, how they work, and how to deal more effectively with our own emotions and other people’s. Other topics include mind/body connection, “good/bad” emotions, thoughts versus feelings, and how emotions relate to safety and danger. Cost: $30 (hardship scholarships available).
Learn more and register
.
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Learn about EMO’s advocacy efforts
on behalf of the most vulnerable
during the Oregon Legislative Session
in our latest issue of "
Peace & Justice News
."
Victories during the June Special Session include legislation on police accountability, housing stability, rural broadband access and other state responses to COVID-19. During the July Special Session, EMO advocated for legislation to reduce youth houselessness.
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Employment Opportunities at EMO
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Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
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