A Brief History of the Metanoia Peace Community: 1985-2010

In mid 1985 members of a World Peacemaker group in Portland began to pursue the vision of a new congregation that would emphasize an uncompromising commitment to radical Christian discipleship, including active devotion to God’s kin-dom of justice and peace. Their vision was inspired in part by the example of the Church of the Savior in Washington, DC, with its emphasis on connecting the inward journey (faith and prayer) with the outward journey (witness and action in the world).

John Schwiebert, a member of the group, who was then serving as pastor of Lincoln Street United Methodist Church, discussed with the current United Methodist Bishop Calvin McConnell his desire to devote full time to pastoral ministry in the new congregation. After the prospective members agreed that the new congregation would be a congregation of the United Methodist denomination, the bishop agreed to appoint John as its first pastor effective in June of 1986.

The Bishop also agreed that the new congregation should have some freedom to develop a pattern of life different from that of a typical United Methodist Church, and that it would generate its own financial support without the usual start-up subsidy from the parent denomination.

In the spring of 1986, while the discussions about the formation of the new congregation were in process John and Pat Schwiebert, Bruce and Ann Huntwork and several other participants in the developing congregation arranged to purchase the large house at NE 18th and Tillamook St. as the site for a Christian living community and for an ongoing ministry of hospitality, peacemaking and grief support. (See 18th Ave Peace House). One year later the purchasers deeded the house to the newly incorporated congregation and it has since been an important center in the life of the congregation.

Sunday evening worship began in June of 1986, first at the 18th Ave Peace House, and shortly thereafter, because of space limitations, using the facilities of the Wilshire United Methodist Church. At the same time thirty adults (including parents of 20 children) enrolled in a weekly "School of Christian Living," designed to build community and prepare individuals for membership and leadership. Nineteen of the enrollees complete the 16-week course and, during Lent, 1987, became charter members of the congregation, which by then had come to be named Metanoia Peace Community.

During later years the Metanoia congregation held Sunday worship in the facilities of Sunnyside-Centenary UMC and First African Methodist Episcopal Church before deciding to resume worshiping at the 18th Ave Peace House.

Several major decisions mark the history of the congregation. In 1988, the congregation declared itself a "Sanctuary Church," joining with several other congregation in the Portland Sanctuary Coalition to provide shelter and protection of undocumented refugees fleeing from political persecution in Central America.

In 1990, the congregation took under its corporate umbrella, a program called "Perinatal Loss" started by Pat Schwiebert under the sponsorship of the Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation. As a part of Metanoia the program has since expanded its range of ministries to bereaved persons under the new name Grief Watch.

Also, in 1990, the members voted unanimously to become a "Reconciling Congregation," joining a growing list of United Methodist churches that openly welcome and include gay men, lesbians, bi-sexual and trans-gender persons in their life and ministry. In 1993 the congregation took the further step of hiring the Rev Joyce McManus, a lesbian, as co-pastor, in opposition to the official policy of the United Methodist Church forbidding "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals" from serving as pastors.

In 1994, in order to provide housing for Joyce and her family and to facilitate the creation of a second living community, members formed the Metanoia Housing Cooperative and pooled their financial resources to purchase the "Tillamook House" at NE 17th Ave and Tillamook St. By 1995, however, it became clear that the congregation did not have sufficient financial resources to continue the support of a second pastor, and after a contentious debate covering several months, a majority (80%) of the members voted to discontinue the co-pastor position. The conflict, however, took its toll and a number of persons, out of loyalty to Joyce, and believing that the church should have found a way to keep her in the church’s paid employ, withdrew from the congregation. A further difficulty at that time was that Joyce, her partner, and one other person who left the church were still members of the Metanoia Housing Cooperative and were residents and part owners of the Tillamook House. Problems related to the ownership of the house weren’t resolved until two years later when the church and other members of the cooperative bought out the interests of the residents.

Subsequent attempts to form another permanent living community in the Tillamook House were unsuccessful. Then, for a time, the Tillamook House became the temporary home for a family of refugees from Kosovo, whose residency in the United States was sponsored by the Metanoia community. After they moved into permanent accommodations, the house was sold.

In 2000, the congregation voted to become an active, dues-paying institutional member of the Metropolitan Alliance for Common Good, a broad based organization of area churches, synagogues, labor unions, community development corporations and other community-based groups. The Alliance is a vehicle through which people are building power for social change, sufficient to match the power of major corporations and their government sector allies.

Today the congregation is smaller in number than it has ever been and yet it has developed a spiritual unity and maturity that belies the controversies and difficulties that it faced in previous years. John Schwiebert continues to serve as the pastor appointed by the United Methodist bishop, even though he is officially retired from the ministry of the denomination and no longer receives salary or other financial support from the congregation. The congregation moves into the future with an agreement that leadership in the congregation is to be shared, that important decisions will be made only by an intentional process of spiritual discernment involving the whole community, and that what Metanoia will be in the future — and if and how long it will continue to be — are in God’s hands.

Founder's Message on Metanoia's Original Design

Who we are and aspire to be in Metanoia is derived primarily from the understanding of church (ekklesia) which is described in the New Testament. We see ourselves as a community of Jesus’ disciples, a particular and unique expression of the Body of Christ, members of the household of God, God’s light for the world, the communion of saints, a priesthood of all believers.

Though officially we are a congregation of the United Methodist Church, we embrace and include persons from many faith traditions. Moreover, our life together is less like that of a typical parish congregation, in that we are committed to sharing our daily life together.

Members of Metanoia are guided by a written Covenant of Membership (see "Become a Member"). The Covenant helps to define our relationship to each other, and guides us in discerning and fulfilling the work that we believe God has called us to do, collectively and individually. Some of us choose to live together in a communal household in the inner city of northeast Portland. Together with others who live alone, we share meals and morning prayer on a daily basis. As we come together in this way it is quite natural that we also share work, play, possessions and, in some cases, income.

Some members and sojourners devote time to the operation of a “cottage enterprise” (please see www.griefwatch.com) which provides financial support for church ministries. Every Sunday evening we have an open gathering called “Metanoia Sunday Evening.” Here friends and strangers are warmly invited to be our guests for a common meal, singing, Bible reading, teaching, preaching, communion, and decision making.

In our decision making, when we face difficult decisions, we follow a process developed by the Religious Society of the Friends of Truth (Quakers), called “sense of the meeting.” In this process we endeavor to set aside our private desires and opinions and to speak only as we are led by the Spirit to offer something to the rest of the body. Some of our meeting time is spent in silence as we let the Spirit bring us clarity and lead us to a common understanding regarding the issue or decision before us.

Members meet weekly in small Covenant Discipleship Groups that are patterned after the historic Methodist class meetings developed by John Wesley over 250 years ago. In these groups 3 to 5 members share the challenges they are facing in their personal lives and encourage one another in their growth as disciples of Jesus.

Not everyone in Metanoia Peace Community is a member, however. We are blessed with the presence and the gifts of non-members whom we call “sojourners,” including persons who meet with us only occasionally and persons who are very active in the life of the community. Although these brothers and sisters have not chosen to enter into the covenant life as members, they find some benefit in being in relationship with us, and they contribute to the life of our community in significant ways. We welcome sojourners as participants in all our activities except those meetings that address issues of specific concern to members.

Values We Share

Although we do not insist upon conformity in theology or practice, in general we share some common understandings and values in our life together, including:

• A renouncing of the prevailing cultural values of "rugged individualism" and the privatizing of our God-given abilities, property and other resources.
• A corresponding commitment to share all that we are and all that we have with our brothers and sisters in this community and with others in need.
• A desire to be “church” in the New Testament sense, a “household of faith” whose members live, work and play together “day by day”.
• A commitment to spiritual practices, including daily prayer, weekly sharing in the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion), frequent communal study of the scriptures, tithing, and the giving and receiving of spiritual direction.
• The full inclusion of all persons who share our calling and commitment, without regard to race, cultural or national origin, age, sex, sexual orientation, income level, or physical ability; and the use of language and liturgy which reflects this inclusiveness.
• A total commitment to non-violence in word and deed, and a willingness to engage in, or support, non-violent direct action as a primary catalyst for bringing about God's shalom.

How to Find Us

Metanoia Peace Community United Methodist Church

Sunday Evenings  (our usual service and dinner) currently (2012) meeting at

Lincoln Street UMC

near Se 52nd between SE Hawthorne and SE Division.

5145 SE Lincoln St,

Portland, OR 97215

use bus line 14 (if travelling on Hawthorne- exit on 50th/Lincoln St & walk a couple blocks to the east);

or 71 (drops you off at Lincoln St UMC (52nd/Lincoln St),

or 4 (if travelling on Division, exit at 52nd and walk a couple blocks to the north)

Daily Morning Prayers at
18th Avenue Peace House
2116 NE 18th Avenue (at Tillamook Street)
Portland, OR 97212
503-281-3697        FAX 503 282-8985

John T. Schwiebert, Pastor
john@metanoiaumc.org

 

 Plan your Tri-Met bus or MAX trip to Metanoia.

 

Bus #77  Broadway/Halsey    Get off at NE 17th
Bus #9    Broadway               Get off at NE 17th,
Bus #8    15th Avenue           Get off at NE Hancock (Northbound) or NE Tillamook (Southbound)

View Larger Map

A Reconciling Congregation

Metanoia Peace Community is an intentional faith community committed to celebrating God’s love through active peacemaking and pursuing social and economic justice (interpersonal and public).

We believe we are each beloved of God and actively welcome a diversity of sexual or gender identities in our midst including among staff, pastoral, or volunteer leadership.  

Just as Jesus included among the 12 disciples and those they served, people pushed aside by the dominant culture, we seek to remove barriers that exclude.   We seek to eliminate prejudice.  We seek to support one another in service to others.   We believe the statement in Romans 16:7 “Welcome one another therefore as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”  Based on these deeply held beliefs, we are involved with national and local Reconciling Ministries Network acting to change discriminatory United Methodist policies and language that prohibit same-sex marital rites and ordination of openly gay or lesbian persons.

We recognize that the Church's position on homosexuality has caused pain to many people. Therefore, we extend a special invitation to sexual minorities and their families to join us in building a community that reflects God's love for all.

All are welcome at Metanoia regardless of sexual orientation or gender identification, race, age, physical abilities, economic status, nationality, or immigration status.

Sharing as a Way of Life

In Metanoia we stress that our personal income and possessions are not to be regarded as something we own privately, but as a resource we have been given to share. We are stewards, rather than owners, of the financial and other resources that have been given to us as gifts or as wages.

Some of us live out this conviction by sharing a “common purse,” into which we place all of our collective income, and from which we pay all of our collective financial obligations. For others income sharing takes other forms. At the very least we challenge persons to spend their income only after weighing their own needs together with the needs of others. This almost always means choosing to get by with less for ourselves so that we will have more to give to others. We seek to do this, not grudgingly, or out of a sense of duty, but joyfully and as a response to the grace of God in our lives.

Generally we find that when we base our lives on sharing, “what goes around, comes around,” and “as we give, so also we receive.” Jesus said, “Seek first the Kin-dom of God and all these other things (i.e. our material needs) will be yours as well.” We have found this to be abundantly true!