{"id":27707,"date":"2023-05-25T11:48:21","date_gmt":"2023-05-25T18:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/?p=27707"},"modified":"2023-05-25T12:08:04","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T19:08:04","slug":"community-conversations-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/community-conversations-3\/","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"301\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blog-Image.png?resize=819%2C301&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27710\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blog-Image.png?w=819&amp;ssl=1 819w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blog-Image.png?resize=420%2C154&amp;ssl=1 420w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blog-Image.png?resize=768%2C282&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I sat in on one of the Community Conversations yesterday and left feeling inspired about the church. If you haven\u2019t signed up for one, I hope you will do so. There are still several times\u2014in person and virtually\u2014when you can attend. And if you haven\u2019t heard about them, Rev. Alison is hosting a series of gatherings with congregants to make a space to hear not only about what brought people to the church and what keeps them here but also to hear people\u2019s longings for our community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every day these days I\u2019m aware of how we are a church in transition. Rev. Alison being called as the senior minister and how wrapping up her first year. Noting how the church continues to emerge out of Covid. Noting how the church continues to figure out what it means to be part of downtown Portland and the opportunities and hurdles it presents right now. The church that is emerging will be different than the church that has been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Conversations make space for congregants to imagine how that church might look going forward. Some folks come with very specific thoughts. But others are more general\u2014maybe even still being articulated. Seeds getting planted.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A wish for more volunteers to be engaged in all areas of church life. A reflection on our worship services, that sometimes it takes a long time to get to the sermon. How so many wishes are grounded in the wish for more connections. How it is we want to be together.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have gardening on my mind since last Sunday\u2019s lovely service. The image I have coming out of the Community Conversations is that of tilling soil\u2014digging it up and stirring things up so that plants get what it is they need to grow and flourish. And so it seems like that may be happening at the church right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, if you haven\u2019t I hope you\u2019ll sign up for one of those conversations. You can sign up with this link <a href=\"http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/FUPConversations\">http:\/\/tinyurl.com\/FUPConversations<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as we approach this Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial beginning of summer, a poem called <em>Planting Onions<\/em> by Jane Flanders:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is right<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>that I fall to my knees<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>on this damp, stony cake,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>that I bend my back<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>and bow my head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sun warms my shoulders<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>the nape of my neck,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>and the air is tangy with rot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bulbs rustle like spirits<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>in their sack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I bury each one<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>a trowel\u2019s width under.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>May they take hold,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>rising green in time<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>to help us weep and live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Blessings,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tom<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"excerpt","protected":false},"author":732471,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[196],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-staying-connected-blog"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>- First Unitarian Portland<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/community-conversations-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"- First Unitarian Portland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I sat in on one of the Community Conversations yesterday and left feeling inspired about the church. If you haven\u2019t signed up for one, I hope you will do so. &hellip; Continue reading\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/community-conversations-3\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"First Unitarian Portland\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FirstUPDX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-25T18:48:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-25T19:08:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.firstunitarianportland.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/Blog-Image.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rev. 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