Launch & Lead Student, Diane Rheos
Diane shares here the ways in which she is using the skills she is learning to launch and lead new communities.

A Community in Partnership with a Great Lead Team
The WaySide is an intentional Christian community connected to Fremont United Methodist Church in Portland, Oregon.

We are getting to know how we can be supported by our lead team, which we call The WaySide Outside. Together we hosted an all church event on Sunday July 23rd . In Portland each summer there are Sunday Parkway events. The city closes a loop of streets and hundreds of people get on their bikes and make the circuit. The WaySide house-mates suggested the idea of an event to host a BBQ and then participate in the ride. The WaySide Outside Team were enthusiastic supporters. Together we provided a BBQ lunch for everyone in attendance that Sunday morning, and then a group of people decorated their bikes, and rode on the Sunday Parkways cycling route.

What fun! It was great to enjoy a picnic on our front lawn of our church and then participate in a community event as a group.

Why was this event chosen by The WaySide and The Outside team? Because two of our four focus areas are- one; to be more connected to our neighborhood, and two, build community at Fremont. We got to do both at once! As a missional intentional community we are paying attention to what is happening in our neighborhood and the ways that we can be more visible and active here. The joy of hosting a church event with no reason except to enjoy each other was lovely and appreciated.

It was a joy to have the support of our Outside Team. They did most of the work by contributing the side dishes and helping with set-up and clean-up. Those of us ‘inside’ are incredibly thankful for this team! We know that they are available and ready to be our partners in the experiment to see what being an intentional missional community means!
There is more to come as we learn what it means to be neighbors here on Fremont!

The WaySide four focus areas are: These are the base for our ‘Rules of Life”

• Fremont UMC; building community and giving added value

• Connecting ourselves and Fremont to our neighborhood

• Personal development

• Service opportunities together