Global missionary visiting various churches next week

Janet Lahr Lewis, a General Board of Global Ministries missionary advocating for the Middle East in Washington D.C., will be visiting churches in the Oregon-Idaho Conference next week (Feb. 16-26) to update them on her work and the church’s role in the Middle East.

Her presentations are free and open to the public to attend.

She will focus on the work that's been done, the involvement of the United Methodist Church in the region and why the church has a presence in the Holy Land.  She will also discuss the importance of Volunteers in Mission teams and educational travel to the region. 

She currently serves at the General Board of Church and Society in Washington D.C. Lahr Lewis arrived at that post in 2015 after years as a missionary and – prior to 2001 – a mission volunteer in Palestine and Israel.
At Church and Society, Lahr Lewis engages in advocacy and activism on Middle East issues, working with the Peace with Justice program of that agency and with ecumenical organizations, such as the Faith Forum. The forum mobilizes persons for visits to members of the US Congress. She circulates updates on developments in the ongoing Middle East conflict, suggests courses of education, and hosts church delegations wanting to know more about the situation.

She is working with the Oregon-Idaho Holy Land Task Force in arranging their Pilgrimage in October, 2018, and information about that trip will also be available from Janet.

The venues for Janet’s presentations include:
 
          Sunday, Feb. 18 – Fremont UMC, 2620 NE Fremont Street, Portland - 10 am service followed by a meeting with participants in a planned Holy Land trip.
          Tuesday, Feb. 20 – Medford FUMC, 607 W. Main Street, Medford, OR – 10 am. UMW presentation.
          Wednesday, Feb. 21 – 5 pm presentation and potluck - Friends Meeting House, Corvallis, 3311 NW Polk Ave.
          Thursday, Feb. 22 – Trinity UMC Portland, 3915 SE Steele – 10 am presentation and lunch.
          Saturday, Feb. 24 – First UMC Salem, 600 State Street, Salem – 11 am presentation
          Sunday, Feb. 25 – First UMC Portland – 12 p.m.