January 17, 2019
Letter from Bishop Elaine Stanovsky
United Methodists of the Greater Northwest,

What came into existence was Life, and the Life was Light to live by.
The Life-Light blazed out of the darkness; the darkness couldn’t put it out…
We saw the glory with our own eyes...
Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.
John 1, The Message

This morning United Methodists around the world received a word of hope that the strife that has racked our Church might find a peaceful end.

A group of sixteen United Methodist leaders from around the world, who hold a wide range of theological and social convictions, have negotiated protocols for a graceful separation within The United Methodist Church. If adopted by the General Conference in May, the proposal would:

  • Maintain The United Methodist Church intact.
  • Allow local churches and annual conferences that choose not to remain affiliated with The United Methodist Church to leave, while maintaining their property, assets, and liabilities.
  • Commit $39 million to racial and ethnic inclusion and anti-racism work.
  • Convene the first session of the post-separation United Methodist Church, perhaps before leaving Minneapolis in May, to create four regional conferences.
  • Allow for the first session of the newly established North American Regional Conference to act on proposals to remove prohibitive language regarding LGBTQ clergy and weddings. In the meantime, signers to the Protocol have agreed to abeyance on complaints against clergy for related offenses. 

While this is not the resolution I hope for, I believe it may be the best next step for the people called United Methodists who have been unable to find a way forward that maintains the unity of the Church. It does not move the Church toward Christ’s vision that we “may all be one…so that the world may believe” (John 17:21), but it is a faithful effort “to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Ephesians 4:3), even as we find it necessary to walk separate paths for a season.

I trust this proposal is designed to unbind us from our “irreconcilable differences” and free us to focus on the future. It does not guarantee a particular outcome, but it appears to offer United Methodists in the United States the opportunity to choose a future that is fully inclusive of LGBTQ persons.

Please read the attached proposal, asking prayerfully whether it offers Life and Light as we seek to create a new movement of Wesleyan faithfulness in the Northwest and around the world.

May the Life of Christ live in us, and the Light of Christ lead us into the future,

Bishop Elaine JW Stanovsky

Listed below are links you can click on to read more information.
Solar Project Giving

Greetings to all in the Open Door Churches of Salem,
I have recently had the pleasure of visiting the worship services for four of the five churches participating in the solar panel project. (Morningside has already done an initial fund raising drive for both a new roof and the solar project.) My purpose was to alert all in attendance that we’ve been awarded all the energy grants we applied for and will be ordering the solar panels soon!
 
During the month of January, we will try to answer all of your questions about solar energy and will be asking everyone to give boldly and generously to help raise the $100,000 balance needed to complete this fabulous project!
 
Please consider a gift to the Solar Project. You may give through your church noting “Solar Project” on the check or you can mail a check directly to Judy Allen at First United Methodist Church, 600 State St, Salem, OR 97301. However you send it, please mark your check clearly for the Solar Project.
 
If you have questions, please contact me at hudko@comcast.net or check out our Frequently Asked Questions page. I will try to answer your questions or will put you in contact with someone who can.
 
Our committee members will be in touch this month with lots more information about the Solar Project. Thank you in advance for helping us improve God’s world and our churches.
 
Chuck Hudkins for the Solar Committee
Upcoming Events
Church Offices Closed
Church offices will be closed this next Monday on January 20th in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Our LGBTQ+ Fellowship is designed to be a safe space where members of the LGBTQ+ Community may freely share their life and faith, grow spiritually, enjoy fellowship and simply be themselves! We are open to growing our group beyond the Open Door Churches.

February 8 Saturday at 6:00 Potluck & Games at Wendy & Lori's. Bring a dish to share, following dinner there will be some game tables set-up. We will end our gathering by 9:00 as the preacher will need her beauty sleep!! A variety of beverages will be provided.

If you are interested in joining or need Wendy and Lori's address, contact Pastor Wendy through Morningside's church office.
Face to Face is on Break for the Winter

Face to Face is now on winter break. We will take a break during the winter and then begin meeting again in the spring.

If you haven't had a chance to join us yet, keep an eye out for when we start up again next year!
Saturday of Service - January 18th
Come serve our community with friends on January 18th from 12-3 PM!

Please join us for our next Saturday of Service on Saturday, January 18th, from 12-3 pm. Meet at the church for a light lunch and then we will divide into groups to serve our community for a couple of hours of fun and service!

Projects include:
  • helping assemble food for backpacks for schoolchildren
  • card making at the church
  • helping at Family Building Blocks
  • sorting food at the Marion Polk Food Share

Please watch for sign ups to begin after Christmas.

Money is also needed to pay for food to fill the backpacks-we feed approximately 70 children with a weekend’s worth of food every 3 months. Just designate a gift to Backpack Buddies through the office at Salem First.

THANK YOU for all that you do to help serve our community neighbors!"
Youth Auction
The Annual Youth Auction is Saturday February 22. Join us for an evening of fun and inspiration as we support our wonderful Open Door youth. The auction committee is currently seeking donations of items for our silent and live auctions. Of particular interest are experiences like hikes, BBQ's, tours, or other things to do.
Wanted: Director of Family and Program Ministry
Morningside United Methodist Church
Open Door Churches of Salem-Keizer

Average 20 hours per week, annual salary of $15,000-17,000. Paid Vacation per personnel policy. Supervisor will be the lead pastor at Morningside UMC, Salem, Oregon.

Purpose
Direct and assist in the planning and carrying out of specified program ministries, involve volunteers at all levels of program ministries, communicate and market program plans and build participation within the local church(s) and community.

Our Program Ministry Includes:
  • Interactive Fellowship/Education/Worship Experiences       
  • Youth Ministry with Open Door Churches
  • Morningside Education Team                       
  • Family Enrichment Program: Parenting Classes and Children’s Activities               
  • VBS with Open Door Churches.
  • Parent’s Night Out

Application Process
  • Please send letter of interest and resume to pastorwendymumc@gmail.com
  • Position is open until filled. 
  • Full Job Description available upon request.
Youth Group
December is a busy month with lots of fun events for our youth group. Below are some of the highlights

  • Saturday January 18th-Saturday of Service
  • February youth group meets at Morningside
  • February 15-17 - Winter Retreat @ Suttle Lake: Our Open Door Youth Group will once again have the opportunity to participate in the conference winter retreat at Suttle Lake. This is always one of the highlights of our program year. Join us for fun, games, inter tubing (if we have snow), and a chance to meet youth from other churches and grow in our faith. Cost is $50 per person. If you would like to sign up let Jeff know by December 15th and make your check payable to "Open Door Youth"
  • February 22 - Youth Auction  
Young Adults 
In January, the Open Door Church Young Adult Group took time to reflect on 2019 and look forward to 2020. Together we shared our favorite moments of Young Adult Group in 2019 and talked about what we would like to do in 2020. We are looking forward to more faith discussions and time of fellowship with one another.

This year we will continue to meet on Wednesday evenings from 7 to 9. Please contact Pastor Alyssa (alyssabaker08@gmail.com) or see our social media pages for times and places. Thank you for your continued support of the Open Door Church Young Adults.


Come visit!
We, as Open Door Churches, are a wonderful community together. To continue building our relationships, it's good to visit each other. If you would like to visit one of the other Open Door Churches, here are all our Sunday service times:
  • Trinity - 9:30 a.m.
  • Morningside - 10:30 a.m.
  • Salem 1st - 8:45 a.m. and 11:15 a.m.
  • Las Naciones - 12:30 p.m.
  • Keizer Clear Lake - 10 a.m.
Open Door Churches | Website