Hi all!

We are soooooooo close to the election! Volunteers and staff for the Portland Clean Energy Initiative are working like crazy canvassing, phone banking, you name it…!
Here’s a big shout out to Alison, one of our co-chairs, for all the hours she is putting into the campaign, and for her weekly blogs letting us know exactly how and where to connect!
So if you are feeling satisfied that you have done your piece, I want to say THANK YOU! And…let me tell you a quick story:
When Peter and I were remodeling our kitchen many years ago, we spent hours placing the can lights with detailed precision exactly where we wanted them so that the dry-wallers could come and put up the ceiling the following morning. But something was still not quite right…I just didn’t know what it was. We had just fallen into bed when I figured it out: I only wanted one light above the sink and not two because two would create weird shadows! So Peter (beloved man that he is) and I got out of bed, went down to the kitchen, took down the can lights, re-measured, and place one light above the sink. 
 
The next morning when the dry-wallers came and put up the ceiling, we (sleep-deprived as we were) laughed as we paraphrased a familiar verse from scripture: For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. There is a time for being anal, and a time to refrain from being anal. And the time for being anal is BEFORE the dry-wallers arrive!!!
With just TWO WEEKS BEFORE ELECTION DAY, I share this story as an encouragement for you to recognize what time it is and how important these next two weeks are in the campaign for the Portland Clean Energy Initiative. Trusting that you can discern your own limits and needs for self-care, I urge you to stretch and lean into this campaign in any way you can so that on November 6 we can start the Practice Seven CELEBRATION and secure living-wage jobs in a local, green economy for communities who need them most!
In her weekly blog, Alison will share with you the dates, times and locations for canvassing on the weekends as well as weekdays. (Heads up: There are shifts starting at 10:00am and 1:00pm both Saturday and Sunday)
In addition, here’s something YOU CAN DO FROM HOME! (Or better yet, invite someone in your congregation with mobility issues who would feel honored and blessed to help with the campaign in this way! Chris, from Central Lutheran, did just that and the person she asked was THRILLED to help!)
It’s this easy:
Get a cup of coffee and grab your phone.
Find your church directory.
Sit in a comfy chair and start calling with a very simple message: VOTE!
Suggestions for fleshing that out:
               • Talk about voting as a civic duty and why it’s important to your faith
• Encourage them to have a plan for voting
• Do you know where your ballot is?
• When do you plan to fill it out?
• Are you going to mail it or drop off? If so where?
Thank them for voting!
Take a sip of coffee and call the next person in the directory!
More to come about our November 13 celebration and reflection gathering…!
Blessings, all!
Solveig