Banks Teller May/June 2017 Banks Community United Metodist Curc E-mail: our-curc@bcumc.net Web site: www.bankscommunityumc.org Pastor s email: revmargot@gmail.com 42451 NW Depot St. Banks, OR 97106 But if te Spirit of Him wo raised Jesus from te dead dwells in you, He wo raised Crist Jesus from te dead will also give life to your mortal bodies troug His Spirit wo dwells in you. (Romans 8:11) Tis Season of Lent offers us an opportunity to pause, reflect and find our way again. Tere are many pats, by-ways, roads, lanes and trails tat go somewere. You and I must coose 1) were we intend to go and 2) te way we will follow. Wisdom says, Coose life... (Dt 30:19) coming down is always easier tan te going up. Laura sowed us tat tere is at least one staircase tat goes -- well -- nowere. How often I ave started down a road, and realized tat I ad to turn around and go exactly te opposite way if I wanted to get tere! Two tousand years ago, Jesus came into te world to glorify God by giving us te way. He said, I am te Way, te Trut and te Life. No one comes to te Fater except troug Me. (Jon 14:6) Just a few years after Jesus ascended to His eavenly ome, His followers began calling temselves te people of te Way. As I watc te daffodils, tulips and yacints burst fort -- and I recently saw a repeat of an te trees and srubs begin to bud, Oregon Field Guide feature on Laura Foster s Portland Stairs I am praying for you -- God s Guide. Amazing! Tere are many cerised and beloved people -- to affirm every day wo you are as stairways on te ills of te Rose City -- all meant to be explored by Jesus-followers. Werever you tose wo ave time and can tackle walk, run, cycle or drive, you te callenge of climbing. Te (Continued on page 3.)
Happy Birtday! - MAY 05/08 Arne Harrang - JUNE 06/08 Anika Peters 06/17 Ellen Sadler 06/22 Rodger Bond Sr. Happy Anniversary! - JUNE 11 Bart & Norma Stewart 12 Dennis & Cindy Sprague 18 Fred & Laurelen VanDyke 21 Dex & Nancy Danielson Calendar for May/June: 05/03 ~ Senior Lunc 05/04 ~ 2 PM - 7 PM: Blood Drive 05/07 ~ Ad Council meeting follows Worsip 05/12-13 ~ Banks Library Book & Plant Sale 05/14 ~ Moter s Day 06/04 ~ VBS meeting follows te service 06/18 ~ Fater s Day 06/26-30 ~ 9 AM - 11:30 AM Vacation Bible Scool Mondays: 7:00 PM: Adult Bible Study - at Leola Stigleman s ome. Wednesdays: 9:30 AM: OGC a retired guys fellowsip meets at te Trailead Café. 10:00 AM: Women s Bible Study at Dianne Harrang s ome. CANNED FOOD OF THE MONTH Te selves are bare, te food supply is depleted, we need to start building stock for 2017. Here is te scedule for collection of foods for te rest of te year: May pork & beans June tuna July refried beans August diced tomatoes/tomato sauce September earty soup October cicken stove top stuffing Nov/Dec cicken brot Tanks for your generosity. Blood Drive We ave a blood drive at te curc on May 4t from 2 to 7 PM. Homemade cookies would be very welcome! Tanks. Andy Te grace of God is te mending glue for broken earts. 2
(Continued from page 1.) are a person of te Way. Wat does it mean for you to travel side-by-side wit Jesus? Wat life-embracing cange ave you made in tis Lenten Season? Wat course adjustments do you need to make? Yours in Crist, Margot Spring Senior Lunc Our Spring Senior lunc will be May 3rd at 12 noon. Come enjoy delicious food, warm fellowsip and entertainment provided by te Banks Middle Scool Coir. Jeff Leo, BSD Superintendent, will give an update on te scool district activities. Please see te sign-up seet in te Fellowsip Hall to let us know were you can elp. CONGRATULATIONS AND JOB WELL DONE Your Lenten Self-Denial offerings totaled $551.82. You designated $399.04 for our Blessing Fund. Tese funds will bless people in our own community wen struggling wit money issues. You gave $152.78 for te purcase of vitamins. Al McEleran will be able to purcase a great many vitamins to give out to te people in Honduras to supplement teir diets and keep tem ealtier. ONGOING RECYCLING Te recycling of your water/pop bottles and cans is an ongoing project wit te proceeds going into te Cristmas food box fund. Tis fund is used to elp purcase foods needed to fill tose food boxes in December. Te money from te redemption of your bottles and cans for te year 2016 amounted to $175.30. Tat is about alf of wat we collected in 2015. Eiter, you are not drinking as muc or you are not remembering to bring in your empties. Wicever te reason, please keep dropping off your empties on te back porc of te office building. Tank you. Te money goes to a good cause. WANTED: CRAFTY PEOPLE Do you sew, knit, crocet? Are you a wood crafter? If so, I am looking for you. Let s put our skills to use and make some quilts for te Caplains, sew up some pillow case dresses and knit or crocet little ats or scarves for te Cristmas soeboxes. Small wooden cars and oter wooden toys can also be made for te soeboxes. Let s work for Jesus by creating someting tat will be a blessing to oters in time of need or given to less fortunate cildren around te world. If you are interested or ave questions, please talk to Gail. Tanks. Tank you for your generosity. Tose receiving your gift will be blessed. 3
Vacation Bible Scool keeping V.B.S. in your prayers. Pray tat God would work troug us, tat His plan for tis week be realized. If you are interested in elping out in any way please contact Laurel Medinger eiter in person or by email at Laurel@Medinger.org or LaurelMedinger@ gmail.com. It s tat time of year again! We are gearing up for Vacation Bible Scool. Tis year V.B.S. will run from June 26t to te 30t. Every morning from 9 AM to 11:30 AM tere will be laugter, singing, and joy ringing trougout te building as we invite cildren (ages 5-10) from te community in to sare in Jesus. Tis year s teme is Wildwood Forest Adventure were we will be discovering different caracteristics of God. Troug passages in te Bible we will see He is undefeatable, unmatcable, uncontainable, unpredictable, and unforgettable. It does take group effort to make tis week a success. We are in need of a person to ead up te craft portion of te week. We ave craft ideas available to use so you do not ave to make up te craft (altoug if you ave ideas of crafts we can certainly use tose instead). Wat we need is for tis person elp collect te supplies, make up a sample of te craft for teacers to sow te students, and make sure tere are enoug pieces of eac craft for about 40 kids. You do not need to be available for te week of V.B.S. We could also use a couple of teacers/co teacers and a roving potograper to take candid sots trougout te week. You can also elp by So don your camping gear and sunscreen (yes, pray for sun too). Even if you can t be ere every day, come lend a and or just come for a visit and enjoy te excitement! 4
Letter from Al McEleran to Leola Dear Praying Supporters, Family and Friends: Jeremia 33:3 is a promise I claimed for tis medical trip, and God did more tan I could ever ave expected. Some monts ago, te Honduran doctor and dentist wo ad worked wit me for years informed me te could no longer elp out on my caravans. It was quite a blow because tey ave been te backbone of tese trips. I ave to admit I was devastated, but I committed tis concern to God, knowing He was in control. After all, it s His ministry. Wat a trill it was ten, wen just a mont before my sceduled trip, Victor, my Honduran co-worker, called to tell me e was able to recruit a Cristian doctor and dentist wo lived a 6 our bus trip away, but were willing to come. Not only tat but a Cristian nurse and er usband, a Parmacist, wo lived 2 ours away, wanted to serve also. Isn t tat just like te Lord! Te best part is, tey stated tey wanted to be part of my team in future caravans. God SO encouraged me wit tat commitment! He is so GOOD! He gave me an ALL STAR team. So wit Ricky from my curc, we ad a team of 7 and wat a blessed time we ad! Since Victor knows were all te pressing needs are, e plans all my trips and tey are always an adventure. His instructions after we landed in San Pedro Sula were to drive two ours to a town called Santa Barbara and meet a guy, Pastor Elias, at a gas station. Pastor Elias was waiting for us and took us to a poor town called La Union were we would be staying. It took us a total of 4 ours to drive 95 miles because te roads aren t exactly Americanized. On te way tere e said, By te way, you know you re going to preac at my curc tomorrow nigt, rigt? 5 I am? Yes, it s been announced. Well, Scripture says you re supposed to be ready in season and out of season and I always get caugt out of season. But God gave me a message and I ad a precious time getting to know te people in tat curc. Te next day we drove 20 minutes up into te mountains to a very poor village were Victor ad establised a very umble curc some years ago. Te people knew we were coming and tey were waiting. My job, as always, was to pull teet wile te real dentist filled cavities. Since aving ad soulder surgery a few monts ago, I asked God to please take care of my soulder since pulling teet puts a lot of pressure on it. On my nineteent toot extraction, my soulder was starting to urt and I reminded te Lord tat I ad 4 days aead of me and tat He ad to protect my soulder. I needed an angel to elp me and asked Him for one. It wasn t 15 minutes after tat request wen a young man came up and asked if e could be of any elp since e was a dentist! Really???? I jumped off my dental stool and anded im te forceps. He elped me out for te next four days..and guess wat is name was? Angel. Seriously! Wat an amazing God. Te last tree days we returned back to our arrival city, La Union, and set up our clinic tere were Victor ad planted a curc 8 years ago. Te very BEST part of all tis for me, along wit elping clean dental instruments, was being able to mingle wit te lineup of patients and sare Jesus wit tem. Wat a trill. Tat was Victor s assignment and I got to (Continued on page 6.)
(Continued from page 5.) sare it wit im. We were able to sare Jesus very intently wit every patient before tey got treatment! Over 400 patients came to see us wit teir pysical and dental needs. Every caravan trip I go on as its eadaces and we know tey appen because te enemy doesn t like us and tis one was no exception. Te portable dental unit I ave as two plastic bottles, one for water and te oter for air. Bot are under a lot of pressure and te water one sprung a leak. I told te Lord I really don t need tis as Nora needs tis equipment to fill so many more teet. However, I tanked Him believing He was going to fix it. We tried everyting we could tink of but te pressure was too great so I asked if anyone in te village ad a soldering gun tinking tat maybe melting te plastic would work. A local fella was contacted, took te bottle and in a alf our, came back wit te bottle fixed. He used some kind of glue and melted it wit te plastic, fixing te leak. Te next day I found out wy our enemy was trying to discourage us but it backfired as usual. Tat afternoon, wile waiting for te bottle to be repaired, 41 people responded to te gospel and 15 rededicated teir lives to Crist. Tis was te first medical trip I took reading glasses wit me. I ad put out a request for any used or new reading glasses and te Lord just blew me away wit te undreds tat came in from our curc, Miami, Oregon and Indiana. Tank you, tank you, tank you!!! Because of lack of space, I wasn t able to pysically take all of tem on tis trip, plus wasn t sure of ow to incorporate fitting glasses into our routine or wat te actual need would be, but boy, was I surprised! I m taking te rest on my May trip! Ricky, te young man from my curc, 6 was put in carge of te eye clinic and e became very creative in communicating since e didn t speak Spanis. It was fun to watc im. Te bifocals, trifocals and plain reading glasses needed some instructions and someow e pulled it off. 150 people wo adn t been able to read for years were trilled. One lady souted out, Praise Jesus, I can read my Bible again.!! Most Americans really ave no clue ow easy life is compared to ere. Te roads infrastructures are a subject all on teir own, but let me sare ow UPS works in tis part of te country. Francisco, te Parmacist ad left is car at Victor s ouse, and wen e returned, and started up is car e found te timing belt was broken. Tis is ow you get a spare part for your car. First you ave to find te closest city tat just migt ave spare auto parts. Francisco cecked is pone and found a store 45 minutes away. He ten called te Auto Zone to find out if tey ad te belt. Tey did. He ten ad to find a bank so e could wire te money to te store. Once te store received te money tey put te belt on te next sceduled bus. Francisco ad to call for te bus scedule, met te bus and got te belt only to find out it was too small. He now needed to take te belt back and get is money refunded. Wen I found out about tis problem, I drove im to te store only to find tey didn t carry te rigt size. For te next our we drove around until we were able to get te rigt one. Welcome to te tird world. Once again it was because of your prayers and support tat we were able to see God at work meeting every need and encouraging our earts beyond measure. THANK YOU so muc. I returned tired but so encouraged in God for being so faitful to His promises. Praise te Lord wit me for tose wo accepted (Continued on page 7.)
(Continued from page 6.) Crist and for te pastor wo will be discipling tem. Serving our King togeter, Al and Connie McEleran Te Voice of te Martyrs (VOM) Call to Prayer UU is specifically designed to train mature believers to become missionaries to reac Nort Koreans. It trains participants ow to conduct secret, underground Cristian work. Reacing Nort Korean Defectors Every day, Nort Koreans attempt to flee te totalitarian ermit kingdom by crossing te river into Cina or by taking a less obvious yet more dangerous route to freedom. Wen tey get out, we want to introduce tem to Jesus. One of te key strategies of VOM s work wit Nort Koreans is reacing defectors in Sout Korea. VOM s sister office in Sout Korea operates two training programs specifically for Nort Koreans: Underground Tecnology (UT) and Underground University (UU). UT is designed for recent defectors and teaces basic Cristian principles, life skills and caracter development. It is specifically designed to address cultural gaps and te resulting insecurities tat Nort Koreans struggle wit wen tey arrive in Sout Korea. 7 Tis important work isn t just about reacing defectors. A ig percentage of tose wo defect are in regular pone contact wit relatives inside Nort Korea; tey can become pone missionaries to sare te gospel wit family members wo migt oterwise never ear of Jesus love. I invite you to stand wit VOM to reac Nort Korean defectors wit te love of Crist. Please pray for tis vital and dangerous ministry to te people of Nort and Sout Korea. PULPIT SUPPLY GUEST SPEAKERS During te upcoming monts Pastor Margot will be away over a few weekends traveling to New Mexico, participating in a Walk to Emmaus, and attending our regional Annual Conference. For tose Sundays we will ave speakers filling in for er. Joel Peterson, Caplain for Cornelius, Dave Bernel, and Susan McLain of te Cornelius UMC will be bringing te message on tose days. We ope you will be present to enjoy wat tey ave to say.
About a quarter of Ebola survivors ave eye problems and 40 percent of tose ave severe vision impairment, according to Dr. Steven Ye, anoter optalmologist from Emory involved in te project. Poto by Pileas Jusu, UMNS Optalmologists Jessica Santa (from left), Moges Tesome and Steven Ye pose wit Umaru Sesay, 12, from Moyamba Junction, Sierra Leone. Sesay, wo ad cataracts as a result of contracting Ebola, ad a successful operation tat allowed im return to scool. A partnersip between Emory University and te Cristian Blind Mission provides free cataract surgery to Ebola survivors at te Rut and Lowell Gess Eye Hospital in eastern Freetown. Free cataract surgery to Ebola survivors Te partnersip involves several ealtcare service providers Emory University, Cristian Blind Mission, Partners in Healt, World Healt Organization, te ospital and te Sierra Leone Ministry of Healt. Central Global Vision a fundraising group set up by Lowell and Rut Gess also contributed to te researc. Dr. Moges Tesome, an optalmologist employed by te blind mission at Gess Hospital, said te Emory staff became interested in Ebola researc after tey treated a doctor wo caugt Ebola in Sierra Leone. Dr. Ian Crozier, an infectious disease specialist, survived Ebola but was later found to ave te virus in is eye. By Pileas Jusu Feb. 7, 2017 FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (UMNS) A partnersip involving Emory University, Cristian Blind Mission and oter organizations is providing free cataract surgery to Ebola survivors at te Rut and Lowell Gess United Metodist Eye Hospital. Te project also involves researc to evaluate te persistence of te Ebola virus in te ocular fluid. Tis could elp determine wy so many Ebola survivors require eye surgery, Dr. Jessica Santa, an optalmologist and Emory eye team member, told United Metodist News Service. Emory University is a United Metodist-related institution and te eye center is part of te university s Scool of Medicine. 8 Te partnersip began in April 2016. Te first pase was to screen Ebola survivors, identify tose wit cataracts, ten we took a sample of fluid from te eye and sent it to Emory for laboratory analysis. Tat pase, wic we called tapping, went well. All te 22 candidates results turned out to be negative implying tat te survivors no longer ad te Ebola virus in te eye, Tesome said. Te second pase involved cataract removal and placement of an artificial lens in te eye. Tesome said Emory is providing part of te financing, personnel, education and equipment for te program. Tesome said te surgeries ave yielded (Continued on page 9.)
(Continued from page 8.) excellent results. All te cildren are very appy; teir visual acuity is more tan 90 percent. We ave to support te ealt systems in Freetown and connect wit te complex issues Ebola survivors are aving because a lot of tem ave uveitis, a form of eye inflammation. We are trying to encourage all survivors and trying to provide te best care we can, se said. Emory provides tecnical guidance, education of eye-care service providers, study design and development. Dr Jessica Santa (left) examines Salaymatu Tolley s eyes tree monts after a successful cataract operation at te Rut and Lowell Gess Eye Hospital in eastern Freetown, Sierra, Leone. Poto by Pileas Jusu, UMNS. canged te lives of te cildren. Now we are planning to go aead for te second group. We are screening and will do te cataract operation. Our primary interest is to remove te cataract, wic is a common eye disease among Ebola survivors, Tesome said. Santa and Ye from Emory ave travelled back and fort from te U.S. to Sierra Leone since te program began. It is kind of devastating, te effects te virus as ad on people s lives, Santa said. We started a small pilot study wit 22 patients. Sixteen patients ad eye surgery. So we want to make sure tat we can support te oter patients tat ave cataracts. Se said te idea is to expand te program 9 Emory also provides transportation for survivors from teir different locations around te country wen tey ave to come for ceck-ups at te eye ospital. In te past, survivors ad complained tey couldn t afford transportation since many lost teir jobs after tey caugt Ebola. Ye said doctors are continuing to learn more about te natural istory of Ebola survivors. It is important tat our scientific education drives te care of patients. Researc is important; very, very important part of wat we do. Our researc is dealing wit Ebola virus persistence, Ye said. Moamed B. Mansaray, te National Secretary General for Ebola survivors, is te liaison officer wo connects survivors to opportunities around te country. Mansaray, imself an Ebola survivor, put 18-year-old Alex Koroma in touc wit te Emory team. Koroma, wo attends Dr. David Arnold Hig Scool in eastern Freetown, said is deteriorating sigt was becoming a source of fear and embarrassment for im at scool. Wen we initially reported, te team told us tey were doing tapping wic we later (Continued on page 10.)
(Continued from page 9.) understood to mean screening te eyes to be sure tere were no Ebola virus around te eye. Tey collected fluid samples for laboratory tests in te U.S., said Koroma, wo lost 20 family members and neigbors to Ebola. Once e tested negative for Ebola, e was eligible for te surgery. I was called te following week and I ad a very successful operation. My vision now is by far better tan wat it used to be, Koroma said. Umaru Sesay, 12, from Moyamba Junction in te sout is in Junior Secondary Scool at Moyamba Junction Government Secondary Scool. He lost is fater and four sisters to Ebola. I and my oter broter wo survived ave eye problems. Mine was worse, I ad cataracts and ad to do an operation after screening. My sigt is good now. Only tat my eyes ace wen I study for a long time, Sesay said. I d ave to stop, apply eye drops before I am able to continue. I am grateful for services received at te Gess Eye Hospital, e said. Jusu is director of communications for Te United Metodist Curc in Sierra Leone. News media contact: Vicki Brown at (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom. org. To read more United Metodist News, subscribe to te free Daily or Weekly Digests. APRIL 9, 2017 A prayer by Bisop W. Earl Bledsoe of te New Mexico Annual Conference, leading te United Metodist Curc in Praying Our Way Forward for te week of April 9-15, 2017. Gracious God, by te power of your Holy Spirit, make us one, as you and your Son Jesus Crist are one. We praise you as sovereign Lord over all of our lives, even during times in wic we may or may not be aware of your presence and acknowledge your power. We pray for Te United Metodist Curc around te globe tat we migt truly become te curc you ave called us to be and become. We lift up te work of te Commission in discerning a way forward around issues of uman sexuality witin te curc. In a spirit of reconciliation, may we seek your peace and justice in te world. We lift up before you te urt and arm felt as a result of our division and discord and ask for your comfort and peace, wic only you can give as Lord. We look to you as te autor and finiser of our fait, knowing tat wat we tink we know is only partial to te reality of your divine trut and understanding. By te power of your Holy Spirit, grant to us a spirit of umility and servant ood to be te curc you ave called us to be and to become. May our vision be always focused on your kingdom rater tan exclusively on our denomination. Grant us tis week te courage to follow Crist in wat we say and do, in His Name we pray. Amen. Submitted by Pastor Margot 10
Covert Midnigt Meeting It was 10 p.m. as teir car drove slowly down a dirt road along te Cinese border wit Nort Korea. Te driver, a Voice of te Martyrs (VOM) field worker, ad turned off te eadligts to reduce te possibility of being spotted by Cinese or Nort Korean border guards. Only te faint ligt of te moon and stars lit teir way. After arriving at a small ouse, tey walked quickly from te veicle to te ouse so curious neigbors wouldn t see tem, especially te foreigner. Wen tey stepped inside, teir eyes were immediately drawn to a young man sitting in front of a small television watcing te JESUS film. He was a Nort Korean wo ad crossed te river into Cina for disciplesip training. As soon as e was finised watcing te film, e would be making te dangerous journey back ome to Nort Korea. To avoid furter endangering te young man and te ome owners, te visitors left after a brief meeting, returning te same way tey ad come. As tey drove back down te dirt road wit teir eadligts off, one of te visitors prayed fervently for te young man wo would be making te risky trip back ome wit is new knowledge of te gospel. Anyone caugt 11 leaving Nort Korea illegally, or witout successfully bribing officials, is arrested or sot. You can be a continued blessing to your broters and sisters in Nort Korea by your ongoing prayer support. Tank you for standing wit tese courageous workers wo are risking teir lives to get te gospel into Nort Korea. Our curc web site Next time you re online ceck out te Banks Community United Metodist Curc web site, www.bankscommunityumc.org. I ave been working to update te information on te site and you will now find posts listing information on our up-coming Senior Lunc, Blood Drive and Vacation Bible Scool. Also, if you ave missed a service, you will find Pastor Margot s Messages from te beginning of tis year to date. I try to post tem early in te week following te sermon. We also ave pages wit information, and potos, about te Banks Community Food Bank, te Cristmas Food Boxes we elp wit eac year, and Operation Cristmas Cild. You can find te Banks Teller posted on te web site as well, in case you missed te emailed or printed copy. Take a minute and ceck it out. Let me know wat you tink, or if you ave anyting you tink we sould post. Tank you, Ellen
Finding Imaginative Ways to House Homeless by Samanta Swindler of te Oregonian In te unt to expand te Portland area s affordable ousing stock, were tere s a plat, tere s a possibility. Tat s wy curces, libraries, scools and backyards are some of te places were you migt see te next affordable units. First United Metodist Curc in Forest Grove owns a large city block of land, purcased around te 1950s, wen te congregation ad some 800 members and plans to grow. Tis was riding te post-war curc boom, te Rev. Dan Tompson-Aue said. is a departure for te century-old curc. But as many Mainline Protestant curces face declining numbers, it s time to try someting different. We can t be te way we were, and te way to future relevance is we need to get to know our community, Tompson-Aue said. We need to get outside of our monastic walls and be a curc out in te community. Last weekend, about 20 members of te congregation traveled to Portland to tour a 400-square-foot, one-bedroom unit in te D Street Salal Apartments, built by Justus and Home First Development. Te space rents for $495 a mont. Justus is in talks wit several curces considering new uses for long-eld property. But today, membersip is fewer tan 200. Te land is sitting undeveloped. And Wasington County as a critical sortage of low-income apartments. Maybe God knew wy we were going to ave tis property, and it s not te reason tat we tougt, Tompson-Aue said. Curc leaders ave met wit Rob Justus of Home First Development about te possibility of constructing affordable ousing next to te sanctuary. Preliminary talks wit te city of Forest Grove ave determined te curc could fit as many as 41 units on its property, toug Tompson-Aue cautioned most of us tink tat s a little too muc for tat corner. He acknowledges tat ousing development 12 I tink te curces are uge, Justus said. It really opens te doors for so many more units because of ow muc land tey own. Everyting begins wit te land, and in te metro area, land is arder to find. He s working wit University Park United Metodist Curc in Nort Portland on a concept to build up to 26 affordable ousing units attaced to te curc sanctuary. And in Gresam, te Pacific Nortwest Mennonite Conference is considering affordable cottage style ousing on 2.46 acres it owns at te former Peace Mennonite Curc. It would meet a need, said Katerine (Continued on page 13.)
(Continued from page 12.) Jameson Pitts, executive conference minister. And, I don t suppose we say it in exactly tese words, but meeting uman needs globally and locally is part of wat we as Mennonites tink curc is, it s wo we are. Tese curces own teir property debt free, wic takes away one big cunk of te cost of developing affordable ousing. But te process of securing funding and getting site approval can still take years. Cornelius, a town of about 12,000 in western Wasington County, knows ow long it can take for ideas to become reality. Te city s combined library and senior ousing complex, Cornelius Place, as been five years in te making. It s te classic tale of cobbling togeter all te funding sources, Bienestar Executive Director Karen Sawcross said. Bienestar, a non-profit ousing developer, and te city of Cornelius ave partnered for te $16 million project. Te city will own te first-floor library, wile Bienestar and BRIDGE Housing will own and manage two upper floors of 45 apartment units for renters 55 and older. Cornelius residents ave te lowest per capita income in Wasington County, and local voters turned down a levy for te library portion of te project in 2013. Ultimately, funding for te entire concept 13 was pieced togeter from te Oregon Lottery, Wasington County, Metro, te Oregon Housing and Community Services department, and private donations. Sawcross opes to break ground tis fall, wit a tentative opening planned for fall 2018. And if seniors can live above a library, wy not on a public scool campus? Tat s te concept put fort in House Bill 2433, wic would establis a pilot program to develop low-income senior ousing on scool district land, offering seniors reduced rent in excange for classroom assistance. It s a creative solution tat would elp bot seniors and students. Renters, according to te proposal, would undergo a criminal background ceck and devote at least 10 ours a week during te scool year to elping in te classroom. Te bill is sponsored by Rep. Julie Parris, R-Tualatin/West Linn, and Rep. Mike Nearman,R-Independence. For a more immediate ousing solution, Multnoma County is offering omeowners a backyard tiny ouse if tey give te space to a currently omeless family. Te concept came out of te Multnoma County Idea Lab, wic plans to invest $300,000 into a pilot project wit four ouses. Te 200-square-foot omes would be provided free to omeowners, wo in turn agree to rent (Continued on page 14.)
(Continued from page 13.) tem to a needy family for at least five years. A MILITARY HEART By Heater Spears Kallus Te big benefit is tese units could come online quickly. Denis Teriault, a spokesman for te city-county Joint Office of Homeless Services, said tey could be operational by te end of June. Te concerns? Up to $75,000 per tiny ome particularly wen Justus as built complexes at a cost of about $85,000 a unit is a steep price tag. And it serves only one family, in a city wit te need for around 25,000 affordable units. But ere s te neat ting. So far, more tan 700 people ave signed up for one of four tiny ouses, Teriault said. I m sure some of tese folks just want a free tiny ouse, but being a landlord is a lot of work. And now 700 people are considering wat it would take to elp a needy family. Maybe some of tose people will realize tey could build teir own tiny ome and apply for rent assistance programs tat would make it costefficient for tem to provide tat ousing to low-income families temselves. If tis captures te community s imagination, Teriault said, tat s awesome. And if any of tese ideas captures a community s imagination, it s a good ting. sswindler@oregonian.com 14 A military eart is unique, it must be true, Te blood tat pulses deep witin is red, wite, and blue. Its love is like a fire tat grows wen it is sared, For complete and total strangers, tey ave truly cared. All eroes past and present, at war and at peace, My admiration for you all will never ever cease. Veterans wo went by coice or tose wo ad been drafted, I feel tat God took extra care wit certain earts He crafted. He ad to make tem strong and brave, but tender all te same, He knit tem in teir moter s womb and knew tem eac by name. It would take a special eart to leave loved ones beind, To kiss and ug good-bye wit Old Glory on teir mind. Te countless sacrifice tey made for freedoms we enjoy, For every man, every woman, every girl, and every boy. For tose wo ave suc passion for our great U.S. of A, (Continued on page 16.)
ANGELS - AS EXPLAINED BY CHILDREN I only know te names of two angels, Hark and Harold -Gregory, age 5 Everybody s got it all wrong. Angels don t wear alos anymore. I forget wy, but scientists are working on it -Olive, age 9 It s not easy to become an angel! First, you die. Ten you go to Heaven, and ten tere s still te fligt training to go troug. And ten you got to agree to wear tose angel clotes. -Mattew, age 9 Angels work for God and watc over kids wen God Has to go do someting else. -Mitcell, age 7 My guardian angel elps me wit mat, but e s not muc good for science. -Henry, age 8 Angels don t eat, but tey drink milk from Holy Cows!!! -Jack, age 6 Angels talk all te way wile tey re flying you up to eaven. Te main subject is were you went wrong before you got dead. -Daniel, age 9 troug your window and leaves money under your pillow. Ten wen it gets cold, angels go sout for te winter. -Sara, age 6 Angels live in cloud ouses made by God and is Son, wo s a very good carpenter. -Jared, age 8 All angels are girls because tey gotta wear Dresses and boys didn t go for it. -Antonio, age 9 My angel is my grandma wo died last year. Se got a big ead start on elping me wile se was still down ere on eart. -Asley, age 9 Some of te angels are in carge of elping eal sick animals and pets. And if tey don t make te animals get better, tey elp te cild get over it. - Vicki, age 8 Wat I don t get about angels is wy, wen someone Is in love, tey soot arrows at tem. - Sara, age 7 So Awesome!!!... And As tey Say...No One Say s it Better Tan A Cild... (Courtesy of Mikey s Funnies ) Wen an angel gets mad, e takes a deep breat and counts to ten. And wen e lets out is breat again, somewere tere s a tornado. -Reagan, age 10 Angels ave a lot to do and tey keep very busy. If you lose a toot, an angel comes in 15
(Continued from page 14.) Wo ll stand for life and liberty, so we can speak and pray. If you see a warrior, please give tem all our love, For te eart tat beats witin tem is a gift from God above. We re tankful, o so tankful, for tat eart we ave admired, For giving so unselfisly, altoug it may be tired. We d never know of its fatigue - it s idden way inside, For tat eart is full of love, as deep as it is wide. On Veterans Day and all te days tat come before and after, We tank you for allowing us a life of ope and laugter. To wake eac day knowing wat you must Pastor Margot s Office Hours Banks Community UMC Tuesday - 10:00 a.m. - noon 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Tursday - 10:00 a.m. - noon 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Cornelius UMC Monday - 10:00 a.m. - noon 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. Wednesday - 10:00 a.m. - noon 1:30 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. ave seen and eard, It s ard to find te tougts to sare - tere isn t just one word. Wat can we say? Wat sould we say? A debt we just cannot repay. I tink I ll just say tank you from te bottom of my eart, I ll pray for you - tank God for you. Tat s certainly a start. I ll do my best to wake eac day full of gratitude, I ll make a daily effort wit a tankful attitude. I ll live to nurture peace, I ll try to do my part, And I ll tank te Lord everyday for your military eart. (Courtesy of Mikey s Funnies ) * Please feel free to sare tis wit every military eart you know! God bless te U.S.A! (At all ours, and any day Sunday troug Tursday, please use er cell pone number.) Se is also available for urgent or emergency matters at all times via cell. Banks teller All submissions to te Banks Teller are due by te 10t of te mont preceding te mont you wis it to run. Te Banks Teller is publised every two monts. 16