Sunriver Christian Fellowship
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Sunriver Christian Fellowship
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An Ecumenical Congregation
Sponsored by
Before 1991
The Lutherans were a small congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Shepherd of the Mountains The Episcopalians worshiped informally once a month in peoples’ homes. 1992 The
Reverend Nancy Sargent McGrath moved to Sunriver. She was asked to
preach as a “supply clergy” at Trinity in Bend. Several Sunriver Episcopalians who were at the service asked if
she would be willing to preach in Sunriver on a regular basis, hoping to
build a community of regular worshipers.
The Sunriver Nature Center had just built a new building and was
willing to rent it to the Episcopalians on Sunday mornings for $20 per
week. Nancy agreed to
celebrate and preach two Sundays a month. The Lutherans moved to the same building and had worship services
immediately following the Episcopal services. 1993 Nancy McGrath agreed to
lead the Lutheran service for the same two Sundays she led Episcopal
worship. The same
lessons were read and the same sermon given. 1994 -1995 Pastor Nancy led worship for the Episcopalians at 8:30 am, followed by a coffee hour with the Lutherans who arrived at 9:30, and then at 9:45, having exchanged the Book of Common Prayer for the Lutheran Book of Worship, she led the Lutheran worship. Outreach seemed to come naturally from all denominations. The two congregations had joint ecumenical outdoor Christmas Eve and Easter sunrise services planned by the laity around a bonfire. In the summer, the Lutherans chose to disband for three months, and then joined the Episcopalians for worship at 8:30. By the end of the summer it became clear that joint worship made sense from a theological, social and economic point of view. 1996 On any given Sunday, the community was about 40-50 people. That is not large by any standard, but it functioned well as a worshiping, care-giving, outreach-motivated family. Nancy McGrath said in a letter to a friend, “We are, without a doubt, a lot better off together than we would be apart.” 1997 A monthly newsletter was started in June in order to facilitate better communication between all members. The first issue was sent to 47 households. The Episcopalians voted to petition the Diocese for status as a separate parish and, at the Convention in October, the Diocese recognized Sunriver as its first newly created parish in eighteen years. The parish was named All Saints of the Cascades. 1998 The members found that having two strong congregations made their combination stronger and even more amicable. It was decided to adopt the name of Sunriver Christian Fellowship (“SCF”) to identify the combined congregations and to reflect the ecumenical unity the people felt toward one another. Frank Brocker, a Lutheran minister, Edith Parrish, a Disciples of Christ minister, Jack Kiekel, an American Baptist minister, all took turns in rotation serving the congregation one a month and as needed to substitute. The congregation held an
all day retreat to help define and examine itself in October. The major conclusions were: During the later part of the year SCF was approached by the Catholic Church in Sunriver and asked if it would be interested in helping them acquire a building — which they would convert to a church. Needless to say, the congregation was overjoyed at this opportunity and quickly agreed. This was another example of ecumenism at work in the Sunriver community. 1999 Members were given the opportunity of identifying themselves as Episcopalians, Lutherans or members of the Sunriver Christian Fellowship. The Episcopalians and Lutherans were also told that their pledges would be counted in calculating the Diocesan/Synod assessments 2000 to present Sunriver Christian Fellowship settled into the ecumenical life sharing services, ministries, budgets, pastors, and also sharing Holy Trinity Church with our Catholic brothers and sisters. Our musical worship has vastly grown; our dedicated service to helping through our outreach programs has been vigorous; our numbers and variety of assisting pastors has increased; our membership has grown four-fold and includes many Christians of various denominations. We are focused by an in-depth vision statement; we remain flexible to trying new, hopefully better organization arrangements; we look to the needs of today and the hopes of tomorrow; we seek guidance from the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as we continue on our ecumenical journey.
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