Standing in the Gap for Oregon

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much .  James 5:16   At the beginning of the twentieth century terms such as “most dangerous port,” (in the west, the country, the world) were used about Portland, as well as “wide open.” The police customarily fined illicit businesses such as gambling houses, brothels, and opium dens, but otherwise left them alone.   However, there were other forces at work in Portland in the early years of the twentieth century. We can touch on some of them.   The Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair, which had been in the planning stages for several years, took place June 1 to October 15 th of 1905. The city merchants and the state government had cooperated to produce what amounted to a world’s fair to showcase Oregon. The preparation for this event improved the infrastructure of the city and boosted the regional eco

Thus says the   Lord : “Stand in the ways and see,  and ask for the   old paths, where the good way   is,  and walk in it then you will find rest for your souls..." Jeremiah 6:16 Usually we focus a Spotlight on lesser-known or out-of-the-way communities in Oregon, but this time we want to look at Portland, the state’s largest metropolitan area, situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia Rivers.    If you google religion and Portland, you get numerous headlines declaring it the most unchurched and non-religious city in the country.    It was not always so.   A lot happened in the 1840’s. Settlers began coming to Oregon on the Oregon Trail, many farmers drawn by a PR campaign that promoted the rich, fertile land in the Willamette Valley. Some of those early settlers included Asa Lovejoy and Francis Pettygrove who are well known for flipping a coin in 1845 to determine the name of the town they were establishing on their 640 acres along the Willamette River. Pettygrove

Source: M.O. Stevens at en.wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father … Genesis 26:18   I came across the history of the Tualatin Plains Presbyterian Church, or “Old Scotch Church,”  while doing research on Washington County.  Among the early settlers in the Tualatin Valley were those from Aberdeenshire, Scotland, many of whom had been members of the Free Church of Scotland back home, and who settled near one another in Oregon.     The Free Church of Scotland was a group that broke off from the state-authorized Church of Scotland in 1843, objecting to the state’s interference in church affairs.    The following, from the Old Scotch Church website, is a quote from minutes taken by the  first minister, Rev. George Ross:   "Columbia Academy, Washington County, Oregon, 16th November, 1873. After a sermon this day by the Rev. A.L. Lindsley, D.D., Portland, Oregon, he along with two of his e

Tualatin River You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it;  The river  of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it.  Psalm 65:9   “The best laid plans of mice and men go oft astray.” Robbie Burns said that, although his poem was in the Scottish dialect. My intended schedule for writing blog posts was once again upended by outside events. Due to the series of ice storms in our area we were without power for five days and without internet for another four. This was followed by the hospitalization of a family member (who is home healing now).  So…here is what I was working on when so rudely interrupted:    Washington County is the second most populous county in Oregon second only to Multnomah, and is part of the Portland metropolitan area. The largest city and county seat is Hillsboro.    In July of 1843 the Provisional Legislature of Oregon created the original four districts: Clackamas, Marion, Yamhill and Twality. Twality later became Wash