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From the beginning Christians have set their sights on Portland. As early as 1831, when the site was still known as The Clearing, an Easterner named Kelley felt “called” to develop a Christian Utopian community in the area. After reading the journals from the Lewis and Clark Expedition, he proposed to enlist 5000 people from New England who would cross the continent by wagon and settle on the east bank of the Willamette River.23 The earliest churches in Oregon were almost always established by missionaries, and even today Oregon has continued to be viewed by denominations as a mission field. The MethodistsKelley's plan was never realized, and the first denomination to send missionaries to Oregon was the Methodist Church. Nez Perces Indians who had heard the Gospel from perhaps early traders and Clark (of the Lewis and Clark team) arrived at St. Louis wishing to learn more. The Methodists, acting in response, appointed Jason Lee as a missionary to the tribe. Lee was 30 years old when he joined Nathaniel Wyeth's second party in 1834 for the trek to Oregon. (Wyeth's first caravan trip ending in disaster.) This second party also included Rev. Daniel Lee (Lee's nephew), Phillip Edwards (schoolteacher), and Courtney Walter (a clerk). Lee was send to the Nez Perce, but followed McLoughlin's advice when arriving and began his ministry south of present-day Portland about ten miles north of present-day Salem. Lee's goal was clear; he wanted to “change the Indian culture and get these people to adopt the ways of the white civilization”. If the Christ-likeness of his objectives was debatable, that of his attitude toward the Indians was equally so. He was not wild about those he set out to convert, referring to them once as “filthy, miserable company”.24 There was never any church building at the Lee Mission site, as services were held in homes, their school building, outdoors, or at the chapel of The Oregon Institute. Lee made several trips east, one in 1838 and another in 1843. On the first trip back he took five Indians with him, with the purpose of raising interest and financial support for reaching the Indians. One of the Indians died on the trip, adding a special poignancy to the trip. There were several complaints of his spiritual, political, and secular conduct. On the final 1843 trip he never returned to Oregon. The Oregon mission closed the next year.25 Lee was instrumental in the founding of Williamette University, and a statue in his honor is in the National Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C.. Methodism continued to gain a foothold in Portland and the first Protestant church building on the entire Pacific Coast was begun in 1842 and dedicated in 1844 in Oregon City. Rev. Alvan Walter was the person largely responsible, and Walter Hall on the Willamette University campus (which has roots in Lee's school) is named for him. Although Lee's evangelism of the Indians was not too successful, he did have a historic role in bringing Oregon to the attention of the nation through lecture tours in the East. He consistently showed to Congress and the rest of the nation the importance of the colonization of Oregon. As late as 1952, the Methodists were still the leading denomination in Oregon outside of the Roman Catholics. In later decades however, the Methodist membership has trailed several denominations. [Where is Trinity Methodist? Is it the oldest city and/or Methodist church? Is it the one at a city gate? Visit site, research it on site, and photograph.] CatholicsPierre Jean DeSmet, a Jesuit priest from Belgium and later St. Louis, brought Christianity to the Salish Indians in 1841. DeSmet knew well the story of what happened in Paraguay in 1767. The Jesuits brought the Gospel to the natives of Paraguay in 1608, but in 1767 the Jesuits were martyred with the natives when the Spanish conquered the area. This was documented in the movie The Mission, and was known to DeSmet as the Paraguay Reductiuon. DeSmet and the other Jesuits saw the Northwest Indians as the New Paraguay, and were driven by the vision of reestablishing what was already lost in South America. The Salish had a prophecy from a man known as "Shining Shirt" that there would be a coming of fair-skinned men wearing long black skirts who would teach the Indians the truth and new moral law. The black robes would bring peace, he predicted, but their arrival would also mean the beginning of the end of all the people who then inherited the land. The priests, with their black robes, fulfilled the prophecy and the Indians sent as many as four delegations of Indians traveled back to St. Louis to find out more. The first delegation were looking for Bibles, The other three were looking for either Protestant or Catholic teachers - history is not clear on this. A mission was established at Coeur d'Alene, and a rich mixture of the Native American and Catholic culture emerged. To the Native Americans, the Jesuits were the new "Guardian Spirits", and the Sacraments were new medicines. The Jesuits, which were born in Europe as an anti-reformation movement, saw the Protestants as heretics, and the Protestants viewed the Catholics in the same way. The Native Americans, searching for spiritual answers to the threat of the white man, could not understand why these two counter-forces seemed to preach from the same book. But the New Paraguay never materialized. The native culture was eventually destroyed as in South America, and DeSmet eventually saw broken treaties and the Indians dying of the wars and diseases brought by his own culture. The Catholics were the second major denomination to establish a church in Oregon. The thrust here came from the French-Canadians who settled in the Willamette Valley at French Prairie. It was called this because it was a treeless area where Frenchmen had settled. The retired employees of the fur companies where normally Catholics, and many intermarried with the Indian women. These employees were encouraged to settle at French Prairie by Dr. John McLoughlin (Hudson's Bay Fur Company). The settlement was about two-thirds Canadian and one-third American, mostly Catholic. This settlement was near present-day St. Paul, and that became the site of the first Catholic church in 1836. In 1838 Father Blanchet arrived as the first Catholic priest. The first Catholic mass in Oregon was said on January, 1839. A replica of this first church is there today near the St. Paul Catholic church (see appendix of spiritual quest sites). EpiscopalAs the Hudson's Bay Company supported the Church of England and was required to provide religious instruction for the Indians the Episcopal Church, as its descendant, can make some claim for being the first in the territory. In a more formal way, the Episcopalians were the second denomination to send missionaries to Oregon, following Jason Lee by four years and arriving at Fort Vancouver in 1936. Rev. Herbert Beaver let this effort, but it is not known if his ministry extended across the Columbia to the present State of Oregon. This ministry work lasted only two years of the five year assignment, as his wife could not adapt, the crudeness of the log chapel was felt unworthy by them of the Lord's work, and there was little response to his message. The next Episcopalian minister was Rev. St. Michael Fackler in 1847. He filed a claim east of Champoeg and built a home there. The first full-time Episcopalian missionary was Rev. William Richmond who arrived in Portland in 1851. He very quickly organized the Trinity Episcopal Church and used the facilities of the Congregational Church in Oregon City. Within 60 days of his arrival he had established four churches. Due to ill health, Richmond had to return East in 1852 after his very successful ministry. The first Episcopal church building in Oregon was built in 1851-1852 at Milwaukie. Interesting enough, although this formal church would seem to have little appeal to the frontier settlers, as Portland moved beyond its frontier days the Episcopal church became one of Oregon's fastest growing congregations with a growth rate of 133.7 percent between 1926 and 1952. CongregationalCongregationalist missionaries were sent by the American Board, which also sent the Whitmans (to Waiilatpo near Walla Walla) and Spaldings (to Idaho). The Whitmans were massacred by the Cayuse Indians in 1847, which probably accelerated the acceptance of Oregon as a territory of the Union. The Congregationalists started their efforts toward mission work in Oregon when Rev. John Griffin, Rev. and Mrs. Harvey Clark, and William Geiger secured their missionary appointments under the North Litchfield, Connecticut Congregational Association. While the party waited at St. Louis to join a trader's caravan, Rev. Griffin met a Desire C. Smith (a schoolteacher) whom he married after a five-day courtship. (The Congregational church preferred missionaries to be married.) The party was joined by Mr. and Mrs. Alvin T. Smith and the Littlejohns and soon settled on the Tualatin Plains in 1841. The first Congregational Church was established in Hillsboro in 1842 with Rev. Griffin as pastor. In 1845 it was moved to Forest Grove (called West Tualatin at the time). Rev. Harvey Clark became pastor of the church after Griffin in 1845, and is described in history as being one of the most lovable pioneers in Oregon history. Geiger became quite an influential citizen, laying out the town of Forest Grove and in 1865 was elected county clerk. Thomas Condon moved to Oregon in 1852 as a Congregational pastor. He became a leading paleontologist, and discovered the John Day Fossil Bed. BaptistThe first sermon by a Baptist minister in Oregon was on February 8, 1845. The message was preached by Rev. Vincent Snelling in the home of David Lennox to a church of seven members at West Union about six miles northwest of Hillsboro. The church was organized on May 25, 1844. This church has the distinction of being the oldest Baptist Church to be organized west of the Rocky Mountains. The original building is located six miles from Hillsboro at the intersection of West Union and Dick roads, and is the oldest Protestant structure west of the Rockies and is still standing in Oregon (see appendix of spiritual quest sites). It's on the roster of the National Register of Historic Places. The church was organized in the home of David Lennox, who was part of the 1843 immigration to Oregon and the captain of that train, traveling in the lead. He would not allow his company to travel on Sunday, using Sunday to read God's word and hold prayers in their tent. Snelling came to Oregon in 1844, and was the first Baptist minister to preach in pioneer land. He was also instrumental in organizing a number of pioneer Baptist churches in locations such as Yamhill near McMinnville (1846), Lacreole (Rickreall) (1846), Turner (1850), Eugene (1852), and Oregon City (1847). Other early Baptist missionaries included Rev. Hezekiah Johnson and Rev. Ezra Fisher from the American Baptist Home Missionary Society. There was no early day denomination as active as the Baptists in planting churches, although many of the churches were small. First Baptist was founded in 1855 and moved to its “white temple” in 1894. By 1856 there were 26 churches in the Willamette Association, the first Baptist association on the Pacific Coast. There were 831 members and 28 ordained ministers in the association. The first Baptist mission to the Chinese was started in 1874, and in 1877 a German Baptist church was established at Cedar Mill, 10 miles west of Portland. In 1884 a Scandinavian mission was established. Early Baptists were devote pioneers with a deep respect for religion. The services were enthusiastic with shouting and noisy demonstrations, and few pastors would suppress it. Disciples of Christ (Christian) The preaching of Thomas Campbell and his son Alexander resulted in the founding the new Disciples of Christ denomination in Pennsylvania in the early 19th century. The preaching spread throughout the nation and was particularly strong in the Northwest. The early Disciples of Christ probably reached Oregon in the 1843 wagon trains, although no record exists. In the wagon trains of 1845 there were three preachers and a number of adherents. Amos Harvey settled on the banks of the Yamhill River and organized a home church in 1846. Another church was started by John Foster, probably near Gladstone. Glen O. Burnett was probably one of the most prominent of the early pastors and was the brother of Peter Burnett, who later became Governor of California. Education was a strong issue with the church, and the denomination was instrumental in starting a number of schools, including a school that is now Linfield College in McMinnville. PresbyterianThe first Presbyterian church to be organized in Oregon was between Astoria and Seaside in 1846 (Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.). In 1853 the Presbytery held a meeting in Portland with six in attendance at the Canton House at Front and Washington streets. The first Presbyterian church in Oregon was organized there on the third story on January 1, 1854. United BrethernThe United Brethern, like the Disciples of Christ, came to Oregon to colonize and start churches. The denomination is unique in that it is the first religious denomination to originate in the U.S, originating in a revival movement among the German population of Pennsylvania on Pentecost Sunday in 1767. Martin Boehm could preach with such power and authority that people were swayed like trees in the grasp of a storm. At the conclusion of the message Philip Otterbein embraced Boehm with the words “We are Brethern;” and this became the name of the denomination. The denomination was set apart by its strict observance of the Sabbath, cleanliness, and simplicity. The denomination grew, and soon a bishop from the East coast paid a visit to a small mid-western religious college. The bishop stayed at the home of the college president, who was also professor of physics and chemistry at the college. The bishop declared the millennium couldn't be far off, because scientists had discovered everything and all inventions conceived. The president disagreed, and the bishop challenged him to name another invention. The president replied that in fifty years men would be able to fly. The bishop, outraged with anger, sputtered his reply. “Nonsense! Only angels are intended to fly.” The bishop's name was Milton Wright, the father of the famous airplane inventors.26 Although his scientific vision was limited, however, Wright did carry another vision. The bishop eventually became a missionary to Oregon (no, he didn't fly out). On the arrival of the Brethren in Oregon, the state was divided into two districts. The northern district established a preparatory school at Sublimity in 1857, with its first president as Rev. Milton Wright. The school closed in a few years from lack of students. The southern district, under Rev. Conner, established Philomath College near Corvalis. The college became very prominent in the life of the state, and did not close until 1929 (due to growth of public colleges). From the Brethren denomination that started in 1767, the denomination split in 1889 and the liberal group of the split joined with the Evangelical church to form the Evangelical United Brethren, or Church of the Brethren in Christ. In 1968 this group merged with the Methodists to form the United Methodists. Those that did not go along with the merger formed the Evangelical Church of North America (ECNA), a denomination that was birthed in Oregon. Church of GodThe Church of God began as a movement rather than a denomination. The Movement grew in the period following the Civil War, when the country as a whole was experiencing rapid industrialization, sudden population growth, and increasing prosperity. At the same time there was a shallowness or religion, a decline in morality, and competition between churches and denominations. The Church of God Movement emerged in this as a challenge to a new purity, holiness, wholeness, and spiritual discipleship. The primary leader was Daniel Sidney Warner and his publication The Gospel Trumpet. The Movement began in Oregon with the coming of John and Lydia Green, a young couple who arrived by train on October 30, 1893 at Woodburn. Unlike the other settlers who were furthering their own interests in agriculture, commerce, law, and timber, the Greens were interested in planting the Gospel in the hearts of those who could receive it. They began with a cottage prayer meeting in the home of the Snavely family in Woodburn the night they arrived. John's sister, brother-in-law, and parents had already been living in Woodburn. The Gospel Trumpet was used as a networking tool to draw others to the area, including Church of God evangelists. The Movement believed that the changes in the world at that time were leading to the Church to apostasy, and that they were living in the final, or “evening time” of history. The Green's started an Evening Light Publishing Company to further the Word and this became the initial home of the Woodburn congregation. These early Christian pioneers were devoted and sincere servants, and literally sacrificed everything to share their message. The Movement was not intended as a denomination, and most of the ministry and worship was from the homes. As a result, this “missionary home” became a rather unique institution. Not only was it used for worship, but it was used for fellowship (Lydia Green once served 775 free meals in a three-month period), but also for worship and strategic planning. This also promoted good stewardship of resources. (It is very interesting that today in our country, in a age of increasing darkness, the church is again returning to this home movement for worship, discipline, education, and evangelism. They were ahead of their time!) The Church of God Movement was also prominent in the use of Campmeetings, which were more like family reunions with an abundance singing, preaching, food, and fellowship. Many key leaders of the church were converted or became affiliated with the Movement at campmeetings. The campmeetings were popular nationwide, but they were particularly important Oregon. The first Oregon campmeeting was held at Woodburn in 1895, drawing people from Spokane, California, and Michigan. The meetings were always held in late August after the crops had been planted but before the harvesting. O. A. Chapman and Ida Chapman, whose grandson was twice president of Church of God's Warner Pacific College, owed much of their vision and spiritual nurturing to the campmeetings. Both were preachers and one particular incident by Ida Chapman is long remembered: “It was routine for the early preachers to attack the evils of denominationalism and sectism. They firmly believed that God had but one, true church made up of true believers and that church-joining and denominational loyalty only fractured and divided that one true church. Ida Chapman was preaching a message about the one true church and against sectism. She was a tall woman described as weighing `fully three hundred pounds' and at a point of fervent emphasis proclaimed: `People accuse us of tearing down their churches. If a poor, little, weak thing like me can tear down their churches, then they'd better come down.' The entire congregation burst into laughter.”27 In 1897 the Greens moved to Portland to plant the seed of the Church of God in the city. Probably the most strenuous eight months of their ministry followed as they tried, without success, to get interest started. They were very discouraged and almost gave up. One day, John heard from a passerby that a group of “holiness” people were meeting in a private home in Portland. The search for this home, however, was without success. Finally, the Greens knelt with their niece on a Sunday morning to seek directions. Immediately after the praying there was a knock at the door, and a Jewish friend walked in. John shared their concern with him, and the man replied to John's surprise that he knew where they met and could take them there. There they joined the worship, John spoke briefly, and the Green's met the Epperleys. From this meeting the Epperleys joined the Church of God Movement and became lifelong partners in the Movement's work in the City. This home meeting became the first “home cell” in Portland. In 1904 the Epperleys donated funds to purchase two lots, and in a few months a Portland Missionary Home was built in Portland. This provided an operational center for the gospel workers and growing congregation. Eventually they sold the site and moved to 361 Failing Street, becoming the Failing Street Church of God. Today this same church has a new home in northeast Portland and is known as the Holladay Park Church of God. This church, as well as the denomination, has been a primary force in ethnic outreach. [Quaker history? Include Reedwood Friends story of millionaire who tried to destroy their church by giving it a million dollars.] African Methodist Episcopal ChurchAlthough the blacks were not numerous in the early days and even banned from settling here for a time, they did come to Oregon. The blacks organized their first church: Bethel Parish, an African Methodist Episcopal Church. (Need more info here on the growth of the black church.) JewsJewish settlers were few in the early days, although some were here as early as 1849. The first Orthodox Jew congregation was organized in 1849. It became a Reformed congregation in 1881, and is now Congregation Beth Israel. The second temple, a beautiful Byzantine structure at 13th and Main, was destroyed by fire (arson) in 1923. The present temple was dedicated in 1928. [Pentecostal/charismatic history?] [Other denominations?] Who is Portland Today? Modern-day metropolitan Portland is a collection of over a dozen cities in five counties (Figures 5.4 & 5.5). Total metropolitan population is just over 1.5 million. [Update these statistics - these are 1995] Were we to create an “average” statistical Portlander, it would be a 34 year-old white woman (51% of Portland is female). If our Portlander is a mother, there is a 60% probability she works outside of the home. She has a 25% chance of having finished college. The household disposable income is over $30,000 a year. Only 51 percent of American children now live in a traditional nuclear family composed of a married couple with children. As we saw earlier, Portland is an overwhelmingly white city. The most recent data shows that nearly 91% of the population is white. The other 9% is composed mostly of Asians, Hispanics, African-Americans and Native Americans. The Native Americans, a virtually unreached people group in Portland, are heavily concentrated in the St. Johns area. The various neighborhoods in metropolitan Portland have widely diverse personalities. The City of Portland itself is ringed by middle-class, mostly white suburbs. The inner city has a far more varied texture. Heavy industry has clustered mostly along the rivers. Downtown, as we have seen, is neatly divided by Burnside Street. The wealthy commercial district lies to the south of Burnside, while the neighborhood to the north contains by far the highest concentration of minorities (Chinatown is in this section), homeless people, and every sort of vice. Adjacent to downtown, Portland is roughly divided into quadrants. Inner north-east is mostly a black community. This area is the nerve center for gang activity, crime, and drug dealing. Most the new age and occult activity is also in this area. Inner south-east is an older residential community. Inner south-west is a wealthier residential neighborhood with many structures of historical significance. Finally, inner north-west is an expensive trendy section with a high percentage of gay and lesbian residents. Socio-economic mapping has also been done to show the various social/economic groupings in the area. Projections to the future show many areas with over a 20% projected growth between 1993 and 1998. Although the history of Oregon is rich in religious tradition, Oregon trails other stats in religious activity as measured by church membership. In the 1926 Federal Census of churches, Oregon's church membership was 22.7% of the population as compared with 42.4% nationally. Urban areas, being easier to serve, reflected a higher percentage. Multnomah county church membership in 1926 was 31.2% of the population. In 1952 a study by the Oregon Council of churches showed state membership as 23.2% of the population, but Portland's Multnomah County had dropped to 25.1%. A study a decade later showed Multnomah's County's church index had increased sharply to 36.3%. There have been many reasons given for these low Oregon statistics. Predominate is the fact that many Oregon people are of the outdoor type and enjoy hunting, fishing, hiking, and backpacking. There is also a higher number of people who attend Portland churches without joining them than in other areas of the country. Also significant is the fact that most of Oregon's growth occurred during the Depression and World War II. It was not until about 1950 that the economy improved enough to build the church plants necessary to serve the rapid expansion. Baptist churches grew from 22 in 1940 to 81 in 1974. Between 1952 and 1963 the population in Multnomah County grew only 6%. Baptist church membership, in contrast, grew 71%. Some denominations, such as the Later Day Saints and the Seventh Day Adventists, surpassed the Baptists and grew almost 100% during this same time. [Questions: Is the Church growing, declining? Health of church?] Relationship of Church to city? What is history of church splits here? How have God's messengers been received by the city? Is evangelism easy or hard? Map locations of churches Who are elders or “point men” of city? Where is it easy to pray in the city? hard to pray? What is the status of unity in the city? What is the moral view of the Christian leaders?] [Questions: What was the vision of the early leaders for the city? Find out more about the reason for founding the city. Find out more about the early relationships with the Indians. Are there other names for the city? What do they mean? Did early leaders break any treaties, contracts, or covenants?] Who were the leaders of the city through time? What were their visions of the city? Which ones had Christian roots and convictions? Is there a city motto or slogan? How have wars and other catastrophic events affected the city? (fires, floods, earthquakes, volcanos?) What type of music dominates the city? What type of architecture dominates the city? What type of art dominates the city? What books are popular in bookstores? What is the ratio of bookstores to people? How is that different from other cities? What radical changes have taken place in the political life of the city?] Role of technology? Where is the city in keeping up with tech? Has the Church been good stewards in the area; that is, reclaiming what rightfully belongs to God? What has happened when this stewardship was defiled? Was it cleansed?] Notes:
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