From Pastor Jeremy…

As we anticipate a season of transition at Oak Hills, I wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the ways

God has been faithful to prepare us for this change. Be encouraged!

~ We are already one step ahead in our pastoral transition. Pending Presbytery approval, our own Rev. Christy Polk will serve as Oak Hills’ “bridge” pastor. As you know, Christy is abundantly gifted and prepared. Her Oak Hills roots run deep, and she has already functioned in this capacity during my sabbatical. Her readiness to move into this transitional role means that senior leadership is already in place as we move toward the search for a new installed pastor.

~ We have awesome support from the Presbytery of the Cascades. Our current executive Presbyter, Rev. Brian Craker, will be advising the Oak Hills session during this transition. Brian has a special connection here, having served as our interim in 2014-2015. He is also a gifted leader and will provide invaluable guidance. Alongside Brian, Oak Hills will be supported by a liaison from the Presbytery’s Committee on Ministry, who will map out the steps of a pastoral search and transition. As a congregation in the PCUSA, we have access to a national network of qualified pastoral candidates.

I’ve been praying already for the work of God in the heart of the person he intends to call into this role. What a blessing you all will be to your new senior pastor! I’ve invited Christy to use the remainder of the page to share her perspective on stepping into a new role at Oak Hills…

– Jeremy

From Pastor Christy…

Beloved Oak Hills community, times of change are never easy. But as Rev. Brian Craker used to remind us during our last interim period: “God is good….all the time. All the time…God is good.” I have served Oak Hills for over 13 years, worked under two installed pastors, a bridge pastor, and an interim, and I can attest that God has provided for us bountifully in the past. Thus I have every confidence that God will do so in the future. In fact, God is providing for us right now in this transition time, as Jeremy highlighted above.

This is still a time of grief. And that is ok. We have loved and cherished the Sanderson family, and we are sad to see them go. It is ok to feel the weight of this loss. In a way, our grief is proof of God’s goodness: proof that God gave us something that we loved, something of great value. So, as we grieve, we can trust in the God who promises to give good gifts to his children (Matthew 7:11).

When Jesus teaches in Matthew’s Gospel about receiving good gifts, there is only one requirement to receiving them: that we ask: “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Oak Hills is entering an asking time. Now is a time for much prayer. And that is a good thing. In the act of turning to God and asking for something, we come into the Lord’s presence and are made new. Right now, we have a double opportunity: to ask God for something that will bless us in the future, and, in asking, to be transformed right here in the present.

Your Oak Hills leadership is working to create a special place for us to pray: a prayer room inspired by the 24/7 Prayer Movement. Be on the lookout for more information about the prayer room soon! An Oak Hills prayer team is also in the works. Please be comforted that Oak Hills is gearing up and getting ready to respond to God’s call to ask.

Other projects are also in the works, projects that will ensure that Oak Hills thrives during this transition. For example, our new Congregational Care Team has already been formed and will be commissioned on Sunday, May 5th. During our interim time, we are also hoping to have some inspiring guest preachers in the pulpit: great Christian leaders from our community who can bear witness to what God is doing right now, right here in Portland.

During one of our many youth group Idaho Servant Adventures trips, I was working with a woman running a local charity thrift shop. I said something about grief, and she lit up. “Grief is good. Through it we find God.” Those words would have fallen quite heavily on my heart had it not been for the look on her face: beaming. Clearly here was a woman who had followed the dark and painful, slow and winding path of grief, and at the end of it encountered the Living God in all his tender glory. Friends, this is a difficult time for Oak Hills; a good time to wander dark roads towards the Eternal Light.

With All my Affection,
Pastor Christy