Shanna spent Friday and Saturday downtown at the waterfront with friends from church, enjoying the Luis Palau Portland Cityfest…a culmination of months of service projects by thousands of volunteers from local churches, business and organizations. Abundant Life, the church we attend, was fortunate to have Luis Palau come and speak early in the summer. Talk about someone who is changing lives and making a difference…Luis Palau, who is over 70 years old, is still going strong. He’s funny, dynamic and not afraid to live his beliefs. Cityfest was manned by thousands of volunteers from churches all over the Portland area and attracted a number of well-known music artists: Chris Tomlin, Phil Stacy (American Idol), Kirk Franklin (Sister Act 2), TobyMac, etc., as well as a number of sports and family fun venues. The amazing part about Cityfest was that it was free and there was no alcohol...over 185,000 people attended!
I’m proud to be a part of a church that stresses the importance of service. I grew up in a conservative church in the mid-west where church wasn’t fun, there were more rules than people and one person, the minister, did most of the work. We’ve been attending Abundant Life for over two years. Russell and I are still finding our “niche” but Shanna, after initial resistance, has found her place in the youth group and loves being a part of ALC. I am thankful for a church where real people are accepted and loved. The mission statement of ALC is “Loving God, Loving People, Loving Life”…a good motto for all of us to live by…