By Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
EMO honors Rev. T. Allen Bethel as “Ecumenist of the Year”
The Rev. T. Allen Bethel, senior pastor of Maranatha Church, will be named “Ecumenist of the Year” on May 7, 2015, at the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) Annual Community Awards & Celebration Dinner. The award is presented in recognition of leadership and commitment to fostering the love of Christ through ecumenical dialogue, witness and ministry.
Bethel is being honored for his outstanding work in ecumenical dialogue, community ministry and public policy advocacy. In addition to serving as senior pastor of Marantha Church for over 15 years, Bethel is the president of the Albina Ministerial Alliance (AMA), the largest ecumenical organization of churches and ministers in north and northeast Portland. AMA’s Coalition for Justice and Police Reform works to assure oversight to the Portland Police Bureau. In 2005, the Coalition called for and helped to obtain a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the patterns and policies of the Portland Police Department regarding lethal force. The Coalition continues to meet, hold vigils, and call for more open investigations of deadly force shootings by the Portland Police Department. Bethel also serves on the faculty of North Portland Bible College and Warner Pacific College, and he has led mission teams to Haiti and St. Kitts.
The EMO Annual Community Awards & Celebration Dinner has become the premier ecumenical event in Oregon, bringing together diverse communities of faith and community partners in celebration of ecumenism and the spirit of hope across Oregon. This year, the event will be held on May 7 at the Hilton Hotel, 921 SW Sixth Ave., Portland. A reception and silent auction to benefit EMO’s ministries will be held from 5 to 6:30 p.m. and the dinner and award presentations will begin at 6:30 p.m. Reservations are available at www.emoregon.org for $100 per person and tables for 10 are available for $1,000. For more information, call Carla Starrett-Bigg at (503) 221-1054, ext. 275, or [email protected].
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is a statewide association of Christian denominations, congregations, ecumenical organizations and interfaith partners working together to improve the lives of Oregonians through community ministry programs, ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, environmental ministry and public policy advocacy.
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