Pastors urged to come to Salem to 'declare' for Oregon spiritually

   SALEM — Deeply concerned that their state has drifted far too long from its spiritual moorings, three pastors from three separate cities are jointly calling their fellow clergy from across Oregon to gather here to formally and humbly declare their adherance to the Gospel and to core values.
    Their hope is that hundreds of like-minded pastors will on Saturday, April 19, on the Oregon State Capitol grounds publicly affirm the importance of the state’s Christian heritage and traditional values.
    The gathering is planned for noon at the famed “Circuit Rider” statue on the Capitol grounds. That statue honors the early-day horse-riding missionaries to the Oregon frontier.
    The pastors’ belief is that a demonstration of unity among the clergy could well spark a mighty demonstration of God’s power as was seen “in the early Church when believers lifted up their voice in one accord,” said Aaron Auer of Newberg-based ROAR (Reviving Oregon’s Ama-zing Roots) Ministries.
    Auer is joined by Sherwood Vegsund, pastor of Victorious Faith Family Church in Oregon City, and John Sutton, associate pastor of Church of the Harvest in Eugene, in drafting a roughly 1,900-word ROAR Declaration. In a flourishing style of writing similar to that of the Declaration of Independence, the new document summarizes the state’s Christian roots and calls for renewed effort to “defend and preserve the sanctity of life, the life of the unborn, and the sanctity of biblical traditional marriage.”
    It also reaffirms that “we must never forget our main mission to preach the Gospel in all the world to every creature.”
   “We, the Believing Preachers of the Word of God mutually stir each other up by the putting of remembrance of all these things,” the declaration summarizes. (Note: the full text of the document can be seen at http://roaroregon.org/document.html)
    Those attending the April 19 noon gathering, which will also include a time of worship and prayer, will be asked to sign their names to the declaration.
Auer said the gathering is open not only to senior pastors of churches, but also to any members of pastoral staffs or anyone who, whether paid or unpaid, is pursuing a call to preach the Gospel.
    The organizers also hope that the public event will inspire curiosity among those who aren’t aware of the Christian heritage in the Northwest.
   “We want to create a sense of interest, to find out who we in Oregon are as a state,” he said.
    Auer, an Oregon native who previously was pastor of a Lake Oswego church, said the Circuit Rider statue is an appropriate place for such a public show of unity, in that the statue itself was designed to serve as a reminder of the state’s spiritual underpinnings.
   “It’s like a moral compass of the state,” he said. “That’s where we gauge our direction from.”
    Auer emphasized, however, that the April 19 gathering will not be the only opportunity to sign the new declaration.
   “This is the start of a process,” he said.
    Auer said he is available to speak to churches or groups about the declaration and the purposes behind it. Those interested can contact him at 503-705-7627.