I owe a great deal to organized religion…to worship particularly. In spite of its many flaws, the Church has taught me more than any other single source of teaching. I am grateful for all the gifts I have received at its hand. I have given back some 28 years of service to the church, none of which I regret. In the large view, I believe that without the church, I would be hard-pressed to find an arena in which the teachings of Jesus could be so profoundly tried, tested, and proved...
In all honesty, I have been wounded deeply by the church as well.
Lake many of you, I have scars, and wounds still too fresh to be scars. This is one of the costs of covenant communities. Some of our wounds come because we rightly have lofty expectations of life in a sacred community. In the struggle with the betrayal of these expectations, however, I learn the profoundly difficult virtues of confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation.
After all, the church is an extraordinary gathering of ordinary people called out from the flow of culture to live as a contrast community in a world struggling in the darkness of violence, greed, poverty, oppression, and pain...
Stan came to North Valley in 2004 after serving as pastor in Plains, Kansas; Portland, Oregon; and Tacoma, Washington. Newberg was a bit of a homecoming; he grew up in this community and attended college here.
"It is a delight to serve as co-pastor with Leslie and Lynn on what is genuinely a 'Pastoral Team,'" Stan says. "My greatest joy is listening to folks tell me about their spiritual journeys, their struggles with belief, and their longings for transformation. I love the church, and my vision for the church is that it become a true community seeking to plant its roots deep in the neighborhood as a redemptive and reconciling influence. It was such a delight to discover that the North Valley community shares this vision and is committed to living it out in our corporate life."
Stan and his wife, Cathy, and have two grown kids, Haley (married to Matt Kruger) and Max.
Lynn has served at North Valley for six years. Whether at church or in a coffee shop, she is passionate about helping people connect their Christian faith and spiritual practice to their everyday lives. "Our spiritual formation will impact all of life, and should equip us to partner with God and others in the challenges and struggles of our broken and needy world," she says.
Lynn is currently training for the 2009 Portland to Coast in August; she welcomes you to join her on the walking trail at North Valley. Other passions include her husband, Jon, and building vital relationships with her children and grandchildren.
Leslie has served as youth pastor at North Valley for seven years, and began the recording process at Northwest Yearly Meeting in Fall 2008. She is a wife, mom, a youth pastor, and student, taking classes from George Fox Evangelical Seminary to further her education. Quiet pastimes include reading and cross-stitching, but she can also be found whitewater rafting and spelunking.
Jennie Harkema is the Administrative Assistant at North Valley Friends Church. She started her career at George Fox University in the science department and continued on to Saint James Catholic School and now has the honor of being at North Valley. Jennie started attending NVFC in 1998 where her soon-to-be husband was attending. She got married in 1999. She and her husband adopted two children, a boy and a girl, who are now both in grade school. In her free time, Jennie enjoys scrapbooking, playing card games, and spending time with friends and family.
Service Times 9:30 AM & 10:45 AM :: Phone Number 503-538-5340
