The young adults who attended the young adult retreat at Samish Island in September made thier debut in the Herald. Look for it in the December Herald in the "Snapshots" section for the group photo!
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
GPNW Young Adults in the Herald
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tuba Christmas, Dinner, and a Play!
What:
Tuba Christmas Presented by SmartPark 1:30pm-3:00pm
Tuba enthusiasts, music lovers, and all of those last minute shoppers will rejoice in the sound of nearly 200 tubas playing the festive music of the season. The audience not only listens to the sounds of the powerful tubas, but is encouraged to participate in the sing-a-long carols.
Coffee/Roaming/Dinner: Groups choice
“Foolish Wiseman” at http://www.hope-theater.org/, a dinner and dessert theatre production.
When:
December 15- Tuba Christmas 1:30-3:00pm, Roaming, Coffee, and Dinner 3:00-7:00pm, “Foolish Wiseman” 7:00pm-?
Where:
We will meet at the Portland Congregation at 12pm to carpool to Lloyd Center where we will then ride the MAX downtown to Pioneer Courthouse Square. From there we will carpool to dinner and the play. You are welcome to come and go as you like.
Pioneer Courthouse Square directions
Theatre: 1315 SE 20th, The Hinsen Annex just off of Hawthorne
How Much:
Tuba Christmas: free
Dinner: will vary
“Foolish Wiseman”: $10 adult, $8 Child (includes the play and dessert, only take CASH or CHECK, pay at the door)
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
The Foolish Wisemen
The following production was refered to us from Belinda Schramm who will be in the play. Belinda is a member of the MAYAs group.
Theatron Productions presents The Christmas Cafe, a dessert theater for the holidays, featuring music, drama, and a special presentation of the one act :
“Foolish Wiseman” by Sean Gaffney
This is the story of Ogion, the comical, little-known fourth wiseman.
Afraid of the dark, our befuddled hero has little chance of following the
Bethlehem star until he runs into two thieves who believe it would be
profitable to assist this foolish (yet wealthy) man. However, what they find
at journey’s end is a treasure more wonderful than they could conceive.
Afraid of the dark, our befuddled hero has little chance of following the
Bethlehem star until he runs into two thieves who believe it would be
profitable to assist this foolish (yet wealthy) man. However, what they find
at journey’s end is a treasure more wonderful than they could conceive.
December 6 – 15, 2007
Thursdays - Saturdays, 7:30 p.m.
The Hinson Annex is located at 1315 SE 20th, just off Hawthorne,
and is handicap accessible.
Tickets:$10 for adults, $8 for seniors and students
For reservations call 503-282-2810 or e-mail: billm-theatron@juno.com
by Sean Gaffney
The Christmas Cafe
Prayer List 11.16-11.22
Please keep the following people in your prayers:
1. Rebecca Redel's grandmother: having health issues
2. All those traveling for the holiday.
3. Erik Olijnsma: He is transitioning back to the Netherlands
4. Tim Soper: First Sermon this Sunday
5. The soldiers and thier families: those abroad and at home.
Dream For Darfur: A Testimony
This past Sunday a handful of MAYAs got to participate in an Interfaith Service co-sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon in support of the "Dream For Darfur". We got to hear from several survivors of genocide from all over the world including Mohammad Yahya, founder of Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy and a survivor of the Darfur genocide. Below is a testimony from one of the young adults of the night.
A Testimony From Nick Carroll
Unfortunately, I know very little about the conflict in Darfur, so it was nice to learn about it firsthand through this church service. The keynote speaker is a survivor of the genocide in Darfur. He was heavily accented and got hard to understand when he yelled part of his speech (in anger against the Chinese-backed government and the lack of response from the international community). But it was touching to hear his story. The service itself was awesome. It featured various faith communities, integrating them into one service. The LDS Church had a choir that sang a couple songs; another group had a Trombone Quartet; people from the Catholic Church, the Baha'i faith, the Tibetan Buddhist Community, a Synagogue, an Armenian Apostolic Church, and a mosque gave various reflection moments. They illustrated the world's promise after the Holocaust: "Never Again." Yet, it happens time and again. We learned nothing from Rwanda.
After the service, we filed outside with our candles for a vigil in the South Park Blocks (my favourite place to walk three or more times a week). They had a torch that was lit, and went around to light everyone's candles. Survivors of the genocides in Armenia, the Holocaust, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur all spoke about "Never Again" as we held the candlelight vigil. It was kind of windy, but my flame wouldn't go out...even after the vigil was over and we (the MAYAs) headed to Starbucks. My flame would keep getting lower but never go out, then grow again in size. The other four people in MAYA had their candles blown out by the wind, but mine wouldn't go out, even when we were at Starbucks. I waited outside for mine to go out naturally, but it wouldn't...so I kind of waved it until it went out so I could go inside and get my Chai Latte.
While my candle was fighting the wind, a thought played in my head. I don't know where it came from, but it basically said: "The flame is you. Though you think there are times when the forces are too strong and your flame burns low, you'll never go out, because there are times when your flame grows large. Remember this. Your flame is strong enough to endure, your moment will come. Don't ever give up."
After we got our drinks and everyone else piled into Rachel's car, I walked back to my apartment, just ecstatic over what I experienced, over the message I had received while watching my candle flame fight against the wind without going out like I wanted it to. I made it home in time to catch a couple of my shows, including my absolute favourite, which I watched absolutely riveted: "Brothers and Sisters" (my favourite show at the moment...and it just keeps getting better and better). It was the perfect end to a perfect day to a perfect weekend.
In fact, I had trouble falling asleep because I was too euphoric over the events of my weekend. When I looked at my calendar and counted the weeks on rotation and off rotation if I had taken the Alaska job a couple months ago, I realized that I would be on the Alaska rotation this weekend (up in Prudhoe Bay) and would have totally missed out on what was probably one of the best weekends I've ever experienced. That only reinforced my gratitude that I didn't get the job, that my hesitation came from a place that is wiser than I. I finally fell asleep with the mantra in my head: I am blessed, I am blessed, I am blessed
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
"Dream for Darfur" Interfaith Service and Candlelight Vigil
"Dream for Darfur" Interfaith Service and Candlelight Vigil. Service at 4 p.m. and vigil at 5:30 p.m. at First Christian Church, 1430 SW Broadway, Portland (enter on the corner of SW Park and Columbia). For more information about this event and other "Dream for Darfur" related events in November, visit http://www.genocideawareness.net/ or e-mail katiejay.scott@gmail.com.
Prayer List 11.8-15
The following prayer request comes from Tim Soper:
Laurin Beth Holmes is my mom Joy's brother Lawrence Holmes' daughter and hence my cousin. While attending a Community of Christ young adult retreat on the east coast where she lives she fell 10 feet and broke her back. I have had her on my mind and in my prayers ever since hearing the news and plan to continue on in this manner.
Please keep the following countries in your prayers based on the turmoil, issues, and futures they are facing at the present moment.
1. Uganda
2. Sudan
3. Pakistan
4. Iraq
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
A Small-Town Feel in an Urban Locale
National Perspectives
A Small-Town Feel in an Urban Locale
Lisa Bauso for The New York Times
NATURAL BEAUTY The Southeast area of Portland , with Mount Hood looming, is getting new projects like the Clinton Condominiums.
By BILLIE COHEN
Published: November 4, 2007
AFTER spending several years in the South, Darrell Wallace and Jennifer Adkins of Greensboro , N.C. , decided it was time to move. “We’re both artistic and politically active, and it was really hard to find peers into the same thing in Greensboro ,” said Mr. Wallace, 30.
Lisa Bauso for The New York Times
Clinton Condominiums.
Lisa Bauso for The New York Times
Sunnyside Plaza features a painted intersection.
The couple chose to relocate to Portland , Ore. , last spring because of “how beautiful it is, and how much the people respect the beauty and put forth an effort to maintain it,” he said.
Mr. Wallace and Ms. Adkins are not the only ones impressed with the city. Last year, there were twice as many people in the 25-to-39 age group moving into the city as leaving, according to Charles Rynerson, a demographer with the Population Research Center at Portland State University .
In all, 23,454 young adults moved in, while only 12,125 moved away, giving the city the fourth highest net migration in the country, after Las Vegas , Charlotte and Atlanta , Mr. Rynerson said. And in the over-55 age group around 12,000 individuals moved to the city.
Part of the draw is that Portland has maintained a small-town feel in an urban atmosphere. There is a vibrant restaurant and cultural scene, accessible public transportation — light rail, street cars and buses — and a population enthusiastic about the outdoors and the environment. Mount Hood is an hour east of the city and the Pacific Ocean is an hour and a half west.
Although the Portland region is home to high-tech companies, like Intel and Hewlett-Packard, along with athletic apparel companies, like Nike and Adidas, individuals often move to Portland for reasons other than work.
“If you really wanted to get rich, you might choose a different metropolitan area,” Mr. Rynerson said. “There are other places with more job growth and higher salaries, but the quality of life is what people come here for.”
Another draw is the affordable rental market. After exploring several neighborhoods, Mr. Wallace, an information technology professional, and Ms. Adkins, 26, chose Portland ’s Southeast section, a popular neighborhood for young people. “It is cozy, self-contained, functional and quiet but still has plenty of stuff to do,” Mr. Wallace said.
The couple rent a studio for $595 a month. What they pay is typical for Portland . According to the Metro Multifamily Housing Association, which represents residential property-managers, the average rental price for a studio in the Southeast section is $525, while a two-bedroom apartment leases for $724. In the Northwest area, which includes the trendy Pearl District, studio rentals average $571 and two-bedrooms cost about $971.
“In Portland , people are either Eastside people or Westside people,” said Charles Turner, a broker with of Prudential Northwest Properties, referring to the geographical wall formed by the Willamette River . “If you want to be on the Westside, your price range will start a little higher and you’re going the have trees and bigger lots.”
Buying options are comparatively affordable, as well. While the rest of the country has seen housing prices boom and now fall, Portland has remained reasonably stable.
According to the Regional Multiple Listings Service for Oregon , the average sale price for a condominium in September was $257,200, up from $246,800 in 2006. The median price of a single-family detached home was $308,003, compared with $380,200 in the Seattle-Tacoma area, $595,200 in San Diego and $748,100 in the San Francisco Bay area, according to Portland State University ’s Center for Real Estate.
Barnaby Willett, 34, who moved to Portland from Manhattan, found the prices so attractive that he decided to forgo his original plan to rent when he first moved to the city in 2006. “I visited my brother in late 2005, and he lived in Belmont ,” said Mr. Willett, an information consultant. “I liked it off the bat. I’ve always enjoyed feeling connected to where I live, but it was harder to do that in New York .”
He said it was easy to meet people in Portland and noted that artistic expression seemed to permeate the culture. Last March, Mr. Willett bought an 865-square-foot condo in the Southeast area for $320,000.
Young people are not the only ones drawn to Portland . Richard Caplan, a broker with the Windermere Cronin & Caplan Realty Group, said that his agents recently have seen a lot of retirees moving to the Northwest district neighborhoods.
Though the city is “not strictly a retirement place,” he said, “ Portland allows them to be part of the larger community, not just the retirement segment.”
Richard and Lila Suffoletto would agree. The couple, both in their mid-60s, had been living in an over-55 community in Sacramento , Calif. , for three and a half years before buying a town house in the Northwest section last month. “Frankly, we were bored to tears,” said Mr. Suffoletto, who retired from a career in medical and security equipment.
Jan and Juergen Striemer moved to the city after living for more than 40 years in Los Angeles. The couple had become familiar with the area after visiting friends in Seattle and taking a road trip down the Oregon coast, a stretch of land that Mr. Striemer, 67, referred to as “one of the most gorgeous pieces of real estate anywhere on Earth.” The Striemers paid $550,000 for their contemporary house near the Pearl District. “In Los Angeles , it would’ve cost $1.5 million to start,” Mr. Striemer said.
Both he and his wife noted that Los Angeles had become too crowded, too polluted and, surprisingly, too sunny for them. “We never realized how much both of us had missed seasons and trees,” said Mrs. Striemer, 57. “Who needs another beautiful day in paradise? Give me some weather.”
From early-20th-century Craftsman-style houses to converted industrial buildings to environmentally conscious new developments, the diverse mix of housing appeals to both young and old. Two such examples are the Clinton Condominiums and the Belmont Street Lofts, mixed-use projects, developed by Randy Rapaport, where Mr. Willett bought. Mr. Rapaport said he wanted to create a development that embraced the Portland sensibility of low-impact living, clean design and community focus. “It’s about the unwritten philosophy of Portland ,” he said, “that this is a do-it-yourself, local, sustainable community.” His retail tenants include a yoga studio, a hair salon and a Malaysian restaurant.
As the housing markets in Los Angeles , San Francisco and Seattle remain high, Portland has become one of the few affordable urban options on the West Coast. Couple that with its natural beauty, its activist personality and its creative sensibility and the appeal is clear. “It’s very common that someone will visit a friend,” Mr. Rapaport said, “and then they’re moving here three months later.”
NATURAL BEAUTY The Southeast area of Portland , with Mount Hood looming, is getting new projects like the Clinton Condominiums.
By BILLIE COHENPublished: November 4, 2007
AFTER spending several years in the South, Darrell Wallace and Jennifer Adkins of Greensboro , N.C. , decided it was time to move. “We’re both artistic and politically active, and it was really hard to find peers into the same thing in Greensboro ,” said Mr. Wallace, 30.
Lisa Bauso for The New York Times
Clinton Condominiums.
Lisa Bauso for The New York TimesSunnyside Plaza features a painted intersection.
The couple chose to relocate to Portland , Ore. , last spring because of “how beautiful it is, and how much the people respect the beauty and put forth an effort to maintain it,” he said.
Mr. Wallace and Ms. Adkins are not the only ones impressed with the city. Last year, there were twice as many people in the 25-to-39 age group moving into the city as leaving, according to Charles Rynerson, a demographer with the Population Research Center at Portland State University .
In all, 23,454 young adults moved in, while only 12,125 moved away, giving the city the fourth highest net migration in the country, after Las Vegas , Charlotte and Atlanta , Mr. Rynerson said. And in the over-55 age group around 12,000 individuals moved to the city.
Part of the draw is that Portland has maintained a small-town feel in an urban atmosphere. There is a vibrant restaurant and cultural scene, accessible public transportation — light rail, street cars and buses — and a population enthusiastic about the outdoors and the environment. Mount Hood is an hour east of the city and the Pacific Ocean is an hour and a half west.
Although the Portland region is home to high-tech companies, like Intel and Hewlett-Packard, along with athletic apparel companies, like Nike and Adidas, individuals often move to Portland for reasons other than work.
“If you really wanted to get rich, you might choose a different metropolitan area,” Mr. Rynerson said. “There are other places with more job growth and higher salaries, but the quality of life is what people come here for.”
Another draw is the affordable rental market. After exploring several neighborhoods, Mr. Wallace, an information technology professional, and Ms. Adkins, 26, chose Portland ’s Southeast section, a popular neighborhood for young people. “It is cozy, self-contained, functional and quiet but still has plenty of stuff to do,” Mr. Wallace said.
The couple rent a studio for $595 a month. What they pay is typical for Portland . According to the Metro Multifamily Housing Association, which represents residential property-managers, the average rental price for a studio in the Southeast section is $525, while a two-bedroom apartment leases for $724. In the Northwest area, which includes the trendy Pearl District, studio rentals average $571 and two-bedrooms cost about $971.
“In Portland , people are either Eastside people or Westside people,” said Charles Turner, a broker with of Prudential Northwest Properties, referring to the geographical wall formed by the Willamette River . “If you want to be on the Westside, your price range will start a little higher and you’re going the have trees and bigger lots.”
Buying options are comparatively affordable, as well. While the rest of the country has seen housing prices boom and now fall, Portland has remained reasonably stable.
According to the Regional Multiple Listings Service for Oregon , the average sale price for a condominium in September was $257,200, up from $246,800 in 2006. The median price of a single-family detached home was $308,003, compared with $380,200 in the Seattle-Tacoma area, $595,200 in San Diego and $748,100 in the San Francisco Bay area, according to Portland State University ’s Center for Real Estate.
Barnaby Willett, 34, who moved to Portland from Manhattan, found the prices so attractive that he decided to forgo his original plan to rent when he first moved to the city in 2006. “I visited my brother in late 2005, and he lived in Belmont ,” said Mr. Willett, an information consultant. “I liked it off the bat. I’ve always enjoyed feeling connected to where I live, but it was harder to do that in New York .”
He said it was easy to meet people in Portland and noted that artistic expression seemed to permeate the culture. Last March, Mr. Willett bought an 865-square-foot condo in the Southeast area for $320,000.
Young people are not the only ones drawn to Portland . Richard Caplan, a broker with the Windermere Cronin & Caplan Realty Group, said that his agents recently have seen a lot of retirees moving to the Northwest district neighborhoods.
Though the city is “not strictly a retirement place,” he said, “ Portland allows them to be part of the larger community, not just the retirement segment.”
Richard and Lila Suffoletto would agree. The couple, both in their mid-60s, had been living in an over-55 community in Sacramento , Calif. , for three and a half years before buying a town house in the Northwest section last month. “Frankly, we were bored to tears,” said Mr. Suffoletto, who retired from a career in medical and security equipment.
Jan and Juergen Striemer moved to the city after living for more than 40 years in Los Angeles. The couple had become familiar with the area after visiting friends in Seattle and taking a road trip down the Oregon coast, a stretch of land that Mr. Striemer, 67, referred to as “one of the most gorgeous pieces of real estate anywhere on Earth.” The Striemers paid $550,000 for their contemporary house near the Pearl District. “In Los Angeles , it would’ve cost $1.5 million to start,” Mr. Striemer said.
Both he and his wife noted that Los Angeles had become too crowded, too polluted and, surprisingly, too sunny for them. “We never realized how much both of us had missed seasons and trees,” said Mrs. Striemer, 57. “Who needs another beautiful day in paradise? Give me some weather.”
From early-20th-century Craftsman-style houses to converted industrial buildings to environmentally conscious new developments, the diverse mix of housing appeals to both young and old. Two such examples are the Clinton Condominiums and the Belmont Street Lofts, mixed-use projects, developed by Randy Rapaport, where Mr. Willett bought. Mr. Rapaport said he wanted to create a development that embraced the Portland sensibility of low-impact living, clean design and community focus. “It’s about the unwritten philosophy of Portland ,” he said, “that this is a do-it-yourself, local, sustainable community.” His retail tenants include a yoga studio, a hair salon and a Malaysian restaurant.
As the housing markets in Los Angeles , San Francisco and Seattle remain high, Portland has become one of the few affordable urban options on the West Coast. Couple that with its natural beauty, its activist personality and its creative sensibility and the appeal is clear. “It’s very common that someone will visit a friend,” Mr. Rapaport said, “and then they’re moving here three months later.”
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