This Sunday's the Big Launch! (Sorta.)

Hey everybody —

It's here. After a summer of backyards, parks, kickball, and more tortilla chips and Salvadoran coffee than any one congregation should reasonably consume, we gather at the Foster Theater this Sunday, September 13, at 10:00 a.m. Same start time as always.

5444 SE Foster Rd, right next to George Morlan Plumbing.

If you grew in Portland, you're probably singing the jingle in your head.

🎵 "George Morlan Plumbing, the Water Heater King!"🎶

(Sorry, not sorry.)

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So let us set some expectations, because we love you and we don't want anybody walking in confused.

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This is a soft launch

We're not flipping a switch on Sunday and revealing a fully-formed church. We're moving into a new room and figuring out how it works while we're standing in it. Here's what that actually means.

• No kids ministry — yet. Not this week. Kids are staying in the room with their grown-ups, which means you'll hear them, and that's fine. That's good, actually. We're doing church immigrant style: everybody in one room, all ages at once, the littlest ones absorbing the songs and the prayers by being in the middle of them. That's how much of the global church has always done it, and how a lot of our own families were raised. It's not a downgrade — it's a different, and frankly older, way of being together. Access Kids is coming. We're building it carefully, because we'd rather do it right than do it fast, and we'll tell you the moment it's ready. (Our tentative goal is to be ready for Kids Church by Sunday October 11th.)

• No professional signage — yet. It's in our plans, but it won't be on the sidewalk or in the lobby this Sunday. If you're looking for a slick A-frame with our logo on it, you'll find a human being instead. Say hi to them.

• Minimal printed materials — for now. Bring your phone if you like to follow along, and we'll project what we can.

The signage and the printing are real plans with real people attached. They're simply behind the logistics in line.

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Here’s a new thing: our website!

If you haven't spent any time on the new AccessCov.com yet, this is the week. There are new pages laying out who we are, where we meet, and what to expect. It's also the fastest way to get somebody you're inviting up to speed before Sunday.

It's where check-in lives, too. We created the Sunday check-in rhythm for our time here at the Foster Theater. It's quick, it helps us welcome people we haven't met yet, and it helps our team stay connected with you. If you're wondering why we bother, we wrote it all out: What's the deal with checking in?

And if you don't have a smartphone, no worries — a greeter with a tablet can help you at the door.

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New room, same liturgy

The word liturgy literally means “the work of the people.” It’s the stuff that we do together that keeps us grounded and connected, to God first, and then to each other. So that’s what we’re going to do. If you’re an Access regular, this is the part that should feel familiar to you.

We're going to sing. We're going to pray. We're going to read Scripture. We’re going to say our remixed version of The Lord’s Prayer. We're going to move through a liturgy many of us know in our bones by now — the same shape that's carried us, week after week, through a year of transitions.

That's the point of a liturgy. It doesn't need the room to be perfect. It doesn't need the signage. It's a set of well-worn steps that walk us back toward Jesus, and they work in a backyard, they work in a park, and they'll work in a theater on SE Foster with the sound still getting dialed in.

There will absolutely be something we forget. A cable, a cue, a chair, an entire step of the service. When it happens, let it be funny. We'd rather start honest and small than fake and polished.

Come early if you can. But for sure, come as you are. And if you can, bring somebody.

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Getting there and parking

Give yourself more time than usual. Portland traffic is rough right now with all the ongoing I-5 construction delays, and the Foster Theater doesn't have a parking lot. Street parking is the plan. On a Sunday morning there should be plenty of spots along Foster itself. As we grow, some of us will need to park in the surrounding neighborhood and walk an extra block or so. Build that into your morning and you'll walk in unhurried, which is a better way to arrive anyway.

One request: we're unofficially reserving the spots closest to the theater for families with small children and for people with mobility issues. If you're able-bodied, consider walking that extra block and leaving the close spot for someone who needs it more. It costs you three minutes. It might be the difference between somebody making it through the door and somebody staying home.

As Paul wrote to the church in Philippi:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves.”

Philippians 2:3 (CSB)

How you can help

• Arrive warm. A room that's already full and friendly when newcomers walk in does half the work of hospitality.

• Be patient with our team. Our staff, lead team, and ministry leaders are learning a new building and a new set of procedures at the same time. Grace goes a long way.

• Pray. For the service, for the space, and for the people walking in who have never been to an Access Church gathering before.

• Say yes if you're asked to help with something. Nuff said.

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Reminders

• Wednesday book group — 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. at First Tongan United Methodist Church. We're still working through Liturgies for Resisting Empire by Kat Armas. Questions, or need a copy? Reach out to James Lopez Ericksen. - Sundays, September 20 and 27 — We keep gathering at the Foster Theater. - Sunday, October 4 — Our first family potluck at First Tongan United Methodist Church, by Pardee St.

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One final thought

There's a line in this week's lectionary that sits awfully close to where we are.

“Welcome those who are weak in faith, but not for the purpose of quarreling over opinions.”

Romans 14:1 (NRSVUE)

Paul is writing to a church that had opinions. Strong ones. About food, about calendars, about justice, and about who was doing this God thing correctly. Many of his audience were Hellenized Jews who combined their faith heritage with the Greek culture of the day, and Hebraic Jews who spoke Hebrew Aramaic and were convinced that their version of righteousness was the form of righteousness. His counsel isn't “figure out who's right.” It's “welcome each other, and quit keeping score.”

We mention it because a soft launch generates opinions. The music was too loud, or not loud enough. The kids should be in the room, or they shouldn't. The chairs are too close, or not close enough. (In that case, your opinion doesn’t matter – the chairs in the auditorium are bolted down. Sorry.)

But for real… some of those opinions will be correct, and we want to hear them. Seriously, tell us. But Paul's point is that none of them are the foundation. This is:

“If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's.”

Romans 14:8 (NRSVUE)

We belong to Jesus. We belong to each other. The setup will get better. Let's make sure the welcome is already good.

See you Sunday.

Onward in the love and grace of Jesus, who gives us Access to God.