The Fremonter

As a reconciling congregation Fremont UMC affirms without equivocation that all human beings, having been created in God’s image and having received the breath and grace of God, are God’s children. Sexual orientation or gender identity have no bearing on one’s status as a beloved child of God. Our LGBTQI+ siblings are welcomed, affirmed, and fully embraced in this faith community. We are a church that embodies love and relentless unapologetic pursuit of equity and social justice.

Upcoming Events

Fremont UMW Meeting Thursday, June 3 in Trina Leschber's backyard Discussion with Fremonters, Friends and Neighbors on Nicholas Kristoff Book Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope Saturday, June 5th at 5 pm Alliance on Poverty Conversation with Nicholas Kristoff June 7th (see article below) Book Club Meeting July 12th at 7pm @Donna Leslie's garden Fremont Picnic July 25th following worship @Wilshire Park

Pastor's Greeting

Greetings, Fremont Family:    In these recent weeks, I have spoken about how I find hope in you, hope in how we have come together this past year during difficult times to do extraordinary ministry despite challenging circumstances. In my Pastor's Email from last week, I invited you to reflect with me on our Prayer Prompt for our Capital Campaign: "Lord what do You want to do through me?" These are humbling and empowering words. Now, I have one more call to action: I ask you to dream with me on what the Lord can do through us at Fremont.  Inside the letter that you will receive this week you will find a Hope Rising sticker, a sticker that may seem small, but carries with it a big mission, a mission of what we can achieve as a body, a people, and as a place of love, spirituality, community connection and service.  I call on you, Fremont family, to wear this small sticker with a big mission, and post a video or photo of yourself/your family on our Facebook page (or email it to me at pastorerin@fremontumc.org) and share your hope about what you think the Lord can do through us.  Together, we are stronger than we are apart. Your energy, your vision and your hope are at the heart of our future, and I can't wait to get there with you.  Grace and peace, Pastor Erin

Worship & Spiritual Formation

UMW The United Methodist Women will meet on Thursday, June 3 in Trina Leschber's backyard for a brief meeting and program by Trina and Allan about their yard. All Fremont women are invited to attend. Please let Trina know if you will be attending, aleschber@aol.com or 503-257-9342.

Service & Mission

Reckoning With Race The Reckoning With Race Co-Hort had a guest speaker at their last meeting, Taylor Stewart, who is the founder of The Oregon Remembrance Project, which is working with Coos Bay and the Equal Justice Institute to recognize the lynching of Alonzo Tucker in 1902. He invited us to tune to the June 19th Historical Marker Ceremony in Coos Bay (though details are still being finalized, communities are invited to show up in person on the day, or to participate via zoom. The event will begin at 10a on 6/19. Over 300 people attended the lynching of Alonzo Tucker in 1902, and we hope to top that number on June 19th, 2021, the first year the State of Oregon has officially recognized Juneteenth as a holiday).  For more information about it follow the Oregon Remembrance Project on Social Media (you can find there the facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/oregonremembranceproject, and their main website here: https://www.oregonremembrance.com).

Building Design Team Update – June 2021 Highlights and Progress: ·       We’ve honed the church areas that align with the FUMC’s core values and vision of being a more flexible and connected church. ·       Emphasis to reshape our space to give us flexibility to serve as “classrooms” or meeting spaces to serve our community. ·       Physical openness added to a congregational openness and “welcome”. ·       Hard wiring of internet and improved A/V to allow us to update and improve our capacity to serve in the 21stcentury.  In addition, it creates an inclusivity to serve everyone.  Core values: 1.     Openness and Connectivity: Create a “living room” space in our entryway/office area where relationships can be fostered. 2.     Radical Hospitality: Welcoming everyone into our space with flooring, paint, lighting 3.     Humility: Obedience to love our neighbors as ourselves.  Building can be used for healing ministries whether or not they are solely FUMC-sponsored. 4.     Accessibility:  This is a congregation priority based on the feedback we’ve received.  Big scope in undertaking how to make the entire church area accessible. Tech enhancements certainly fall under this category, too. 5.     Sustainability: Making intentional choices in every aspect of the church from remodeling products used to composting to reducing waste (ie: paper coffee cups). Current progress and status of focus: ·       12K was spent to hardwire building but we now have 12 ports and Wifi access throughout the entire church. ·       Screens and projecting options currently being reviewed for sanctuary (Design Sound NW came to FUMC earlier this week laying out large screen and smaller monitor options.  Awaiting bid.) ·       John Shapland is working with an independent contractor for restoring the windows.  Much less expensive than replacement.  Approx. $250 per window to repair and more for the Bob Nelson room windows due to their exceedingly poor condition ($650 per window.)  This contractor is a one-man team so he’ll slowly work his way through the windows. ·       Still seeking details on the front entryway.  The bookkeeping office will be removed and structural engineer is giving us advice on beam support.  A desk for bookkeeper will be added to the church office space. As this is our first point of contact with the community, we want a high impact impression to set the tone of welcome. ·       Fellowship Hall and Kitchen are being explored at length.  Because the scope of these spaces, it is an enormous project.  Tim Root and Jill Chan looked at appliances at Rose’s Commercial Appliances.  They offer a kitchen designer to specifically help us reconfigure the kitchen space for efficiency and flow. Tim has been providing CAD drawings from his previous work to create an initial starting point and hopefully, reduced cost. Celebration Day, June 13th: We are asking our contractor, Chris from Ravenwood, to help us create a design board for the front office entry to be displayed at our Capital Campaign celebration at the church.  This would allow members to get an initial peek at how we are reshaping the church through the Capital Campaign.

Fun & Fellowship

Paul & Marilyn Karr Joyfully Announce Their                                                                                                                           50th Wedding Anniversary!                                                                                                                    We were married on a sunny Saturday afternoon June 26, 1971 in the chapel of the First United Methodist Church in Eugene. Following the wedding was a typical reception for the 1970’s - cake, punch, coffee, mints and nuts were served.  After the reception, we “motored” to our honeymoon destination – San Francisco. Not many years after our marriage, Fremont United Methodist became our church family and has been so ever since. At Fremont we’ve experienced: decades-long friendships, support and encouragement when things were “for better for worse”, spiritual nourishment, ample opportunities for service – both within the church and in community outreach programs – and a faith community that consistently embodies God’s loving grace and acceptance of all.    Pre-pandemic, we entertained several ideas of a grand in-person celebration, but now, having so far survived the pandemic, we’re more than content to be looking forward to five days in Sun River with daughter Emily and son Ryan and his family. We know that many couples have been denied, by death or divorce, the joy of celebrating 50 years of sharing life together, which makes us all the more grateful to be celebrating this once-in-a-lifetime event.  Thank you to all at Fremont who’ve been a part of our amazing journey together.    With love and gratitude,       Paul & Marilyn

Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope   by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn  Nicholas Kristof is one of the most read opinion writers for the New York Times, especially among Oregonians, who view him as a “native son.” Born and raised in Yamhill, Oregon, Kristof began to realize, as he repeatedly returned to Oregon with his wife, WuDunn, that the hopes and dreams of many of his high school classmates had been turned into tragedy by loss of jobs and by drug and alcohol addictions. These realizations led Kristof and WuDunn to write the powerful expose, “Tightrope,” which chronicles how the American dream is systematically being moved from the lives of many of its citizens. To help spread the word about the increasing presence of poverty in our larger community, the Interfaith Alliance has arranged for a personal appearance by Kristof and WuDunn (via Zoom) on Monday, June 7 (details and link to be provided later). What a special opportunity for each of us to hear first-hand of Kristof’s conclusions and his prescription for renewing the dream. In addition, a special “book group style” discussion of the book is being planned for Fremonters hosted by Beth Skillern & Charlie Collier (see details below). We urge you to read the readily-available paperback or at least to view a documentary version of it if/when OPB reruns it. You won’t want to miss these unique events and the chance to deepen your understanding of the lives led by far too many of your fellow citizens. Prepare for the Interfaith Alliance on Poverty "Conversation with Nicholas Kristoff on JUNE 7 by reading the book "TIGHTROPE" (available at the Multnomah County Library and in bookstores) and join other Fremonters, friends, and neighbors for a discussion of the book on SATURDAY, JUNE 5, AT 5 PM. This pre-event gathering will be hosted by Charlie Collier and Beth Skillern.

The Fremont Book Club  Hello Readers. Our choice for July is another of Amor Towles' books, Rules of Civility. It is a New York Times Bestseller that takes us to NYC on the eve of 1938.  Will it remind us of The Great Gatsby or one of Edith Wharton's novels? I'm anxious to find out. We did enjoy A Gentleman in Moscow by this author. We are hoping to meet in person in Donna Leslie's garden on Monday, July 12th at 7pm since most of us are fully vaccinated. Yeah! Suzanne Wardenaar

It’s Time to Picnic! It’s been a long standing Fremont tradition to gather for a summer picnic under the trees at Wilshire Park. The restrictions have lifted for outdoor gatherings, and we are happy that we can safely enjoy food and fellowship this summer. We’ll have beverages, hot dogs, burgers and veggie options, and games for families and kids. We’ll follow Covid-safe precautions and ask people to bring their own side dish and table service items.  Please mark your calendars now for Sunday, July 25, following worship, for some food and fun at Wilshire Park, at NE 33rd and Skidmore. Details to follow….please stay tuned! We’ll have some fun!

Thank You!

Dear Fremont UMC, Thank you for giving me a church home / community for the last year and a half. I enjoyed getting to know you all and working with the wonderful youth you have. I have learned so much from you all over the year. I am excited to see what the next chapter holds. Jocelyn Hart

How to Stay Connected

Want to put an article in next month's Newsletter? Email Office@fremontumc.org with the article and details by Friday June 11th!

Log-in instructions for our virtual Sunday Worship Services Click https://zoom.us/j/429790924 Enter Meeting ID: 429 790 924 OR, choose a phone number to call to LISTEN-ONLY: +1 312 626 6799 +1 346 248 7799 +1 646 558 8656 +1 669 900 9128 +1 253 215 8782 +1 301 715 8592 then, enter the Meeting ID: 429 790 924   Log-in instructions for our virtual Wednesday Night Prayer Service click   https://zoom.us/j/752185399 Enter Meeting ID: 752 185 399 OR, choose a phone number to call to LISTEN-ONLY: +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose) +1 253 215 8782 US +1 301 715 8592 US +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston) +1 646 558 8656 US (New York) then, enter the Meeting ID: 752 185 399   There’s help If you have questions about how this works or problems connecting, you can send an email help@fremontumc.org. Now this email is not an all-purpose help line, it is for issues relating to the ZOOM feature we are using to conduct these services and other gatherings. Randy Poff will respond to you as quickly as he can to help you out. “Like” FUMC on Facebook & share a story If you like us, please “like” and follow our Facebook page. This helps people find us. Also, share our posts with your friends! And one last thing: If you would write a review for us on our page, it also helps people find us. Thank you.

June Birthdays

6/6 Samuel Dieringer-Lukens 6/6 Traci Fantz 6/12 Les Wardenaar  6/12 Becky Lukens  6/13 Aiden Paulk  6/15 Linda Jones  6/17 Anne Shapland  6/18 Trudy Pollard  6/19 Laurel Campbell-Howard, Shirley Forsberg  6/20 JanelleLee 6/28 Greorgia Paulk

FREMONT UMC MINISTRY Ministers All the People Pastor Rev. Erin Martin Family Ministry Associate Ashley Brassea Director of Music Lynn Rognsvoog Music Assistant Jonathan Roberts Childcare Béatrice Kanyandekwe Youth Ministry / Communication Jocelyn Hart Bookkeeper Carol Hancock Custodian Patricia Bailey Office Hours Monday-Thurs 10:00-3:00 (Monday is the pastor’s scheduled day off) Friday: Closed