by Geon, Bryan
REACH Community Development, 4150 SW Moody Ave, 503-231-0682, www.reachcdc.org
Sisters of the Road, 133 NW 6th Ave, 503-222-5694, www.sistersoftheroadcafe.org
Transition Projects, 665 NW Hoyt St, 503-280-4700, www.tprojects.org
International Relief and Development
Medical Teams International, 14150 SW Milton Ct, Tigard, 503-624-1000, 800-959-4325, www.medicalteams.org
Mercy Corps, 45 SW Ankeny St, 503-896-5000, 800-292-3355, www.mercycorps.org
Literacy
Financial Beginnings, 9600 SW Capitol Hwy, Ste 150, 800-406-1876, www.financialbeginnings.org
Start Making a Reader Today (SMART), 101 SW Market St, 971-634-1634, 877-598-4633, www.getsmartoregon.org
Mentoring and Career Development
Dress for Success Oregon, 1532 NE 37th Ave, 503-249-7300, www.dressforsuccessoregon.org
Oregon Tradeswomen, 3934 NE MLK Jr Blvd #101, 503-335-8200, www.tradeswomen.net
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE); Portland: 601 SW 2nd Ave, Suite 950, 503-326-5211, www.scorepdx.org; Vancouver: 4001 Main St, Ste 120, Vancouver, 360-699-1079, www.scorevancouver.org
Politics
In addition to the various large and small political parties that are active in the area, Portland has many nominally nonpartisan political organizations, most of which are focused on one or more particular issues (the environment, gay rights, homelessness, etc.) and are thus listed in the appropriate section. The City Club of Portland (901 SW Washington St, 503-228-7231, www.pdxcityclub.org) is a nonpartisan—but well-connected—group that focuses on public affairs.
Refugees and Immigrants
Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization, 10301 NE Glisan St, 503-234-1541, www.irco.org
Sponsors Organized to Assist Refugees (SOAR), 2906 NE Glisan St, 503-284-3002, www.emoregon.org/soar.php
Seniors
Elders In Action, 1411 SW Morrison St, Ste 290, 503-595-7533, www.eldersinaction.org
Meals-on-Wheels, 7710 SW 31st Ave, 503-736-6325, www.mealsonwheelspeople.org
Metropolitan Family Service, 1808 SE Belmont St, 503-232-0007, www.metfamily.org
Northwest Pilot Project, 1430 SW Broadway, Suite 200, 503-227-5605, www.nwpilotproject.org
Ride Connection, 503-528-1720, www.rideconnection.org
Women’s Services
Bradley-Angle House, 5432 N Albina Ave, 503-232-1528, www.bradleyangle.org
Portland Women’s Crisis Line, 503-232-9751, www.pwcl.org
Sexual Assault Resource Center, 4900 SW Griffith Dr, Suite 100, Beaverton, 503-626-9100, www.sarcoregon.org
Charitable Giving
Not everyone can give time or talent to a good cause. Another way to help is to donate something that virtually every charity needs: money. Before donating, consider checking out the charity’s fiscal responsibility and its ratio of overhead to program spending; if the charity spends 95% of its money on fundraising efforts and overhead and 5% on program delivery, you might want to pass. Third-party watchdog sites like Charity Navigator (www.charitynavigator.org), Guidestar (www.guidestar.org), or the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance (www.give.org) can help you assess a charity’s performance.
Meeting People
As a rule, Portlanders are friendly and not particularly reticent; you can usually start a conversation with a stranger without being immediately suspected of having an ulterior motive, and people you meet in social settings are more likely than not to be chatty (sometimes unnervingly so). That said, as a newcomer, it’s not always easy to meet people with similar interests. Volunteer organizations (see “Community Involvement” above), cultural events (see Cultural Life), recreational sports clubs (see Sports and Recreation), and, for the spiritually inclined, religious groups (see “Places of Worship” below) are all excellent places to meet new friends. The arts and entertainment papers (see “What’s Going On?” in Cultural Life) are full of event listings. Dating and matchmaking services, let alone online social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, are beyond the scope of this book, but the following are some suggestions for making friends and meeting people in your new home.
Alumni Groups
Most local, regional, and large national colleges and universities have alumni groups in Portland. If there’s no organized alumni group, you should be able to find other graduates of your school living in the area. Check with your alma mater’s alumni or development office, or just wait around: eventually, they’ll find you.
Business Groups
If you have a particular professional focus, there is probably a business group for you. Most of these groups exist in whole or in part for networking purposes, so social events are usually frequent.
Political Groups
Whether you’re a government-out-of-my-hemisphere Libertarian or a fist-pounding Trotskyite, or even if your political leanings fall somewhere in between those extremes, you’re bound to find a simpatico political group in town. If you hate politics, consider founding a Portland Apathy Association—assuming you can be bothered.
Outdoor Adventures
Several organizations, including Portland Parks and Recreation, organize outdoor adventures—hikes, snowshoe treks, rafting trips, and more. You can often find out about trips by checking out the bulletin boards of sporting goods stores. The Mazamas (527 SE 43rd Ave, 503-227-2345, www.mazamas.org and the Trails Club of Oregon (503-233-2740, www.trailsclub.org) maintain very active calendars of outdoor events.
Special Interests
It seems like every niche interest has a club, from the Portland Skyliners Tall Club (503-222-7373, www.tall.org/clubs/or/portland/) for women over 5’10” and men over 6’2” to the Society for Creative Anachronism’s Kingdom of An Tir (www.antir.sca.org) for medieval re-creationists (and recreationists). (Would-be knights or damsels of above-average height can go wild and join both clubs!) Just do a web search for your favorite interest or characteristic, or even your favorite celebrity, and you’re bound to come up with something.
For a calendar of upcoming meetings from clubs and groups of all kinds, check out the listings at www.meetup.com; just type in your ZIP code, type in a subject, and you’ll likely have dozens of options to choose from.
Places of Worship
The Pacific Northwest is, by some measures, the most unchurched region in the United States. A low rate of weekly church attendance, however, does not translate to a lack of spirituality or an absence of places of worship. The Portland area has hundreds of houses of worship representing every major faith and denomination (and a host of minor ones, too). If you are at all religiously inclined, you’ll almost certainly be able to find a spiritual home.
If you belong to a congregation in your old hometown, your religious leader might be able to refer you to a kindred congregation in Portland. In addition to web resources, the Yellow Pages has extensive listings under “Churches,” “Synagogues,” and “Mosques”; the church listings are organized by denomination and include sections for nondenominational, interdenominational, and independent churches as well as metaphysical centers.
The following interfaith agencies, representing congregations working together to address hunger, homelessness, and other urban problems, also might be able to refer you to a congregation that fulfills your spiritual needs:
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, 0245 SW Bancroft St, Suite B, 503-221-1054, www.emoregon.org
Interfaith Council of Greater Portland, 3956 NE Couch St, 503-238-1155, www.ifcgp.org
The list of resources below is by no means complete, and it is not a substitute for the Yellow Pages or newspaper listings, but it includes local and regional societies or associations for a range of religious groups.
Alternative Worship—New Age Spirituality, Paganism, and More
For a comprehensive guide to New Age spiritual centers, Ayurveda, meditation, mysticism, and other spiritual resources, visit the website for New ConneXion magazine (www.newconnexion.net) or pick up a f
ree copy at area libraries, bookstores, or natural food stores. Wiccans, pagans, and other adherents of really old-time religion currently lack a local umbrella organization, but a web search for whatever strain of spirituality/paganism you’re interested in should reveal a group or two in the area.
Baha’i
Portland Baha’i Center, 8720 N Ivanhoe St, 503-289-6331, www.portlandbahai.org
Buddhist
Various sects of Buddhism are represented in the Portland area, but there is no overarching resource dedicated to Portland Buddhists collectively. The Seattle-based Northwest Dharma Association (206-441-6811, www.northwestdharma.org) also covers Portland-area groups and events.
Christian
The following major denominations have an organized local or regional presence. Independent and nondenominational churches are, by definition, not part of a denomination, and so have no collective regional organization; the same is true for many small denominations with relatively few adherents in the area, as well as some larger groups, such as Christian Scientists and Jehovah’s Witnesses, which are governed from a national headquarters.
Apostolic
The worldwide Apostolic Faith Church (503-777-1741, www.apostolicfaith.org) is headquartered in the Woodstock neighborhood of Southeast Portland.
Assemblies of God
Oregon Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God, 503-393-4411, www.oregonag.org
Baptist
American Baptist Churches of the Central Pacific Coast, 503-228-8394, www.vibrant-life.net
CB Northwest, 503-669-1515, www.cbnw.org (Conservative Baptist)
Northwest Baptist Convention, 360-882-2100, www.nwbaptist.org (Southern Baptist)
Catholic
Archdiocese of Portland, 503-234-5334, www.archdpdx.org
Church of God
Association of the Churches of God, 503-393-3510, 800-873-7729, www.orwacog.org
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)
The Mormons are one of the largest denominations in Oregon. There are many local churches scattered around the area. The regional Temple (13600 SW Kruse Oaks Blvd, Lake Oswego, 503-639-7066, www.lds.org) is hard to miss: its giant marble spires loom just west of Interstate 5 near the Highway 217 interchange.
Emerging Churches
So-called “emerging churches” are nondenominational, often loosely organized, and definitely non-hierarchical. Services take place in schools, community centers, or even pubs. Here are a few local examples.
Bread and Wine, Portland, www.breadandwine.org
Evergreen Community, Portland, evergreenpdx.org
Imago Dei, Portland, 503-231-5096, www.imagodeicommunity.com
The Pearl Church, Portland, 503-709-2571, www.pearlchurch.org
Episcopal
Episcopal Diocese of Oregon, 503-636-5613, 888-346-2373, www.diocese-oregon.org
Friends (Quakers)
Several Society of Friends groups meet in the local area. The Multnomah Monthly Meeting (503-232-2822, www.multnomahfriends.org) encompasses some (but not all) local Friends worship groups.
Lutheran
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Oregon Synod, 503-413-4191, www.oregonsynod.org
Northwest District of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, 503-288-8383, 888-693-5267, www.nowlcms.org
Mennonite
Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, 503-522-5324, 888-492-4216, www.pnmc.org
Methodist
Oregon-Idaho Conference of the United Methodist Church, 503-226-7931, 800-593-7539, www.umoi.org
Nazarene
Oregon Pacific District of the Church of the Nazarene, 503-581-3950, www.orpac.org
Orthodox
Pacific Northwest Deanery, Diocese of the West, The Orthodox Church in America, 415-567-9378, www.dowoca.org
Presbyterian
Synod of the Pacific, Presbyterian Church USA, 800-754-0669, www.synodpacific.org
Seventh-Day Adventist
Oregon Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, 503-850-3500, www.oregonconference.org
Unitarian Universalist
Pacific Northwest District of the Unitarian Universalist Association, 425-957-9116, www.pnwd.org
United Church of Christ
Central Pacific Conference of the United Church of Christ, 503-228-3178, www.cpcucc.org
Wesleyan
Northwest District of the Wesleyan Church, 307-756-9482, www.northwestdistrict.org
Gay and Lesbian Spiritual Groups
The Community of Welcoming Congregations (503-665-8741, www.welcomingcongregations.org) is an association of more than 100 congregations in Oregon and southwest Washington that welcome worshipers of all sexual orientations and gender identities.
Hindu
There is no centralized source of information on Hinduism in Portland. Two good places to look into are the Vedanta Society of Portland (1157 SE 55th Ave, 503-235-3919, www.vedanta-portland.org), which is a branch of the Ramakrishna Order of India, and the Portland Hindu Temple (Brahma Premananda Ashram), 11515 SW Hall Blvd, Tigard, 503-598-3073, www.portlandhindutemple.org.
Islamic
The Islamic Society of Greater Portland (www.isgponline.com) sponsors social and community events for members of the local Muslim community; its website includes links to local mosques and Islamic schools.
Jain
Jain Society of Oregon, 503-292-1965, www.jainworld.com/society/Oregon.htm
Jewish
The Jewish Federation of Greater Portland (6680 SW Capitol Hwy, 503-245-6219, www.jewishportland.org) is a great resource for the Jewish community. The organization’s comprehensive website lists local events and contains links to Jewish resources, agencies, camps, schools, and congregations, including Conservative, Reform, Orthodox, Reconstructionist, Sephardic, and unaffiliated congregations in the metropolitan area and elsewhere in the Northwest.
Weather and Natural Disasters
By now, you’ve probably heard a few not especially funny jokes about Oregon rain. One old saw holds that Oregonians don’t tan—they rust. Another states that Portland’s rainy season only runs from September 1 to August 31. Yet another asks, “What do you call two consecutive days of rain in Portland?” (Answer: the weekend.) Then there’s the story about the hapless fellow waiting to be admitted into hell. He watches anxiously as Satan throws almost every soul in line ahead of him into the fiery pit, but notices that every so often the devil chucks someone off to the side instead. Intrigued, he summons up the courage to peep, “Excuse me, Prince of Darkness, but I notice that you seem to be throwing some people off to the side instead of into the inferno.” “Oh, them,” the devil replies ruefully. “They’re from Portland. They’re too wet to burn.” Har har har. Endless rain. How very droll.
It does rain a lot in Oregon. Rumors of a nine-month deluge, however, are greatly exaggerated. The sun comes out sometimes, even in winter, and summers are typically glorious. And even if the weather’s often wet and gray, it’s somewhat comforting that the region’s best known climatic feature is its drizzle rather than, say, category 5 hurricanes, killer tornadoes, or paralyzing blizzards.
Which is not to say that Portland is not at risk from natural disasters. All that rain sometimes begets mudslides and floods, and the area is subject to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, and the occasional ironic drought. It’s all part of the price you pay for living in a paradise—a soggy, geologically unstable paradise.
Weather and Climate
According to the Portland office of the National Weather Service (www.wrh.noaa.gov/pqr/), Portland enjoys or endures, depending on your point of view, on average, about 36 inches of precipitation per year (at the official reporting station at Portland International Airport—downtown Portland tends to be slightly wetter). Portland’s total annual rainfall is less than that of most cities in the Northeast and Southeast—Miami’s average rainfall is more than 50% higher. The difference, of course, lies in the number of rainy days. Portland’s p
recipitation rarely comes in the form of brief cloudbursts; rather, like the quality of mercy in The Merchant of Venice, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. Stated more bluntly and less elegantly, it falls over long, gray weeks of intermittent drizzle and light rain, resulting in an average of more than 150 days per year with measurable precipitation. Here’s the bad news in statistical form, showing 30-year normals, courtesy of the National Weather Service:
Month
Normal Precipitation (in Inches)
Mean Number of Days with Precipitation (.01 inch or more)
January
4.88
18
February
3.66
15
March
3.68
18
April
2.73
16
May
2.47
14
June
1.7
9
July
0.65
4
August
0.67
4
September
1.47
7
October
3.00
13
November
5.63
19
December
5.49
19
Yearly Total
36.03
155
You’ll notice that more than 90% of the city’s total rainfall falls from September to May. While the uneven distribution of rainfall during the year does mean the winter months are that much soggier, it also means that summers tend to be dry—newcomers who arrive during July and August are often shocked to find the city a patchwork of brown lawns. So when the pitter-patter of rain on your windows for the umpteenth day in a row threatens to drive you to suicide (or to the sunny environs of Las Vegas, which for some people amounts to the same thing), think hopefully of the blue skies and warm days of July.
