April 2025 Newsletter

Fremont United Methodist Church



We work to live into God’s wholeness for ourselves and our world by practicing our values of belonging, vulnerability, and mutual flourishing.

"Walking the Way of the Cross"

Dear Fremont Family,

As the month of April arrives, we get closer and closer to Holy Week and Easter. We have only one more Sunday in the season of Lent before we will celebrate our annual Palm/Passion Sunday which is the gateway to Holy Week. Then, we will culminate the intense and transformative experience of the Footwashing on Maundy Thursday, the Seven Last Words of Jesus' crucifixion on Good Friday, and the Easter Vigil while Jesus is in the tomb on Holy Saturday with a joyous celebration of the resurrection on Easter Sunday, April 20.

Every year, I feel compelled to issue a special invitation to everyone to be sure to make room for this powerful time in the life of Jesus and in the life of our church. You might be asking yourself, "Does Pastor Erin really believe that we will be at the church 4 days in a row during Holy Week? Is she crazy?" Of course, the simple answer to both questions is playfully, "Yes." The more serious and nuanced answer is that each of you must do what you feel called to do and are able to do to fully participate in the extraordinary experience of walking with Jesus to the cross and beyond.

I can assure you that each Holy Week experience will be worth your time and commitment. Discipleship is something that is primarily lived, and we grow in discipleship by experiencing the powerful and provocative work of God through Jesus first hand and in our bodies. You cannot fully understand the radical nature of Jesus' new commandment to "love one another" apart from also bending to wash someone's feet. You cannot take in the humbling reality of Jesus' forgiveness on the cross, "Forgive them, Father" without also being in the crowd on Good Friday. You can't trust the hope that darkness will give way to light without also singing around the new fire to begin the Easter Vigil. Because these truths defy our logic, they come alive most when we inhabit them in community during Holy Week.

Of course, there is never any pressure, and there is always grace. Holy Week and Easter are given to us as gifts from God. We receive them and participate in them as we are able. I look forward to this beautiful time of year together.

Thankful for you.

Grace and peace,

Erin

Easter Morning

Continental Breakfast 9:00am

• Everyone is invited to drop in for an Easter morning continental breakfast in the Fellowship Hall, starting at 9 a.m.  It’s an easy way for families to have a snack before the service, and for all to have time to visit around a table on this joyous day.

Easter Egg Hunt 9:30am

• This year all of the children will search and find the eggs together and then receive a gift bag at the end of the hunt.

Easter Service 10:00am

• Special music and celebration
• Please invite your friends and neighbors.

Read Now for a May Book Club Meeting

The United Women in Faith Book Club will be reading What Makes You Come Alive: A Spiritual Walk with Howard Thurman by Lerita Coleman Brown in preparation for a discussion on Wednesday, May 14 at 1:00 in the Conference Room. Howard Thurman was known as the godfather of the civil rights movement and championed silence, contemplation, common unity and nonviolence as powerful dimensions of social change. Dr. Lerita Coleman Brown calls readers to walk through his inimitable life and commitments as he summons them into centering down, encountering the natural world, unleashing inner authority and recognizing the genius of the religion of Jesus.  All are invited to read this book and join us for discussion. If you prefer to check your books out of the library instead of purchasing one, know that it is not in the Multnomah County library system, but can be borrowed through the Interlibrary loan system.

Taking Care of our Building for our Future

As we prepare for a remodel, we had to solve some ongoing issues. These projects are what we needed to get done to move forward.

Water Damage in the Fellowship Hall: Water has been slowly leaking around the back alley door causing the wall to peal. This was caused by multiple issues. The gutter on the roof was insufficient and allowed a lot of water to cascade into places it didn't belong. The bricks and cement were old and permeable and allowed water to seep inside between the first floor and the Fellowship Hall. Everything had to be opened up, waterproofed and better flashing added. (+/-$9,000)

Window Repairs: More of our single pane windows are being repaired, and restored. As the glass caulking has dried out over the years, the water has come in rotting the wood. All of the windows in the front room on the second floor are being removed, repaired and replaced since they are continually used by Music Together. ($3,800)

Gutters: A new much larger gutter will be added above the doors on the emergency stairs, a gutter was replaced on the front of the church and all of the open seams on our gutters will be sealed so that water can be prevented from causing further damage to wood. ($1,500)

Water Drainage issues: The drain at the end of the ramp to the Fellowship Hall was plugged and causing flooding when the rain was heavy. High pressure water was pushed through the line and the line is again clear! ($540)

Diaper Changing Station: A new changing station was needed on the main floor. So many babies attend Music Together classes and we received multiple questions about where to change them. Thank you Allan Leschber for installing this for us. ($300)

All of these projects make our building healthier and better for us and our building users. Thank you for all of your financial commitments that make this all possible!

Fremont: A church moving from being

inside the building to inside the neighborhood.

Our New Mural!

Hopefully you have walked over to the Fellowship Hall ramp to see our new mural in person. Reed Mannhard planned and implemented this project to earn his Eagle Scout award.

What a huge blessing for us! That ramp has been dark and unwelcoming in the past. Now it's brighter and presents a cheerful, welcoming message.

We are so grateful to Reed for choosing this project.

As United Methodist we are constantly engaged with working for justice through compassionate service and advocacy to change practices, policies and systems that are harming all of us. Some of that harm that we are causing is brought by our culture of consumption without regard for the waste it produces and our toxic use of plastic in our everyday lives.

The month of April has been designated Earth month, with Earth Day April 22, 2025, providing us with a focus for continued examination of what we are doing every day that takes a toll on our environment.

Here are just a few simple ways that our green team has been exploring and changing to try to live more sustainably to help protect the world for future generations.

• Continue to look for ways to avoid single use plastic- Plastics take up to 500 years to breakdown, so it is a good place to always look to reduce use. Many products are now being packaged in paper containers and glass is a better choice for storing leftovers. Another harmful product we have stopped using is the toothpaste that has the micro plastic beads for whitening. This substance has been showing up in our waterways where it enters the food chain.
• Switch to sustainable forestry or recycled paper products. Both Safeway and Fred Meter now carry toilet paper that is sustainably produced and is at an affordable price. Use cloth napkins if you can and dish cloths instead of paper towels for clean up. Think about going paperless for paying bills Every tree saved is adding to the lungs of the world.
• Reduce meat products when possible in your diet.

Thank you all for showing up each day as we do our part in small and large ways to bring love and care to each other and all creation.

Report: Know Your Rights Bystander Training March 15

On March 15th Fremont held a Bystander training for the community and about 70 people attended. We learned more about our national immigration practices currently being implemented and some roles we can play as bystanders.

Fremonter Details

Fremont Newsletter Articles and Production 

The Fremonter Newsletter has always been a critical part of how we communicate, worship, prayer and celebrate together. We would love to encourage everyone to contribute articles to the monthly news letter. Interested in sharing, here is how and when to do it. 

• Fremonter articles are always due 5 days before the end of each month.
• Need a couple more days? That's ok, just contact Diane and let her know you will be submitting a piece.

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