Tucked into a residential stretch of NE 22nd Avenue in the Vernon neighborhood of northeast Portland, Sharon Adventist Church has been a steady Sabbath-keeping presence since 1946. The congregation belongs to the Oregon Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and gathers on Saturdays rather than Sundays, holding Sabbath School at 10:30 am and a worship service at noon at 5209 NE 22nd Avenue. Beyond its weekly worship rhythm, the church is known in the Portland area for a monthly community food pantry, a long-running men's quartet tradition, and a history of giving rise to new Adventist congregations.
A Sabbath-Shaped Week
Because Sharon keeps the seventh-day Sabbath, the rhythm of the church runs from Friday sundown through Saturday evening. Sabbath School starts the day at 10:30 am and runs for half an hour, with adult classes that meet weekly. At noon, the main worship service begins and runs until about 1:00 pm. Families worship together, and a children's sermon notes packet is available to help younger attendees follow along with the message.
The rest of the week is filled with smaller gatherings. On Sunday mornings at 9:00 am, a telephone prayer line connects members and friends in a conference call for shared prayer; on Mondays at noon, a weekday Bible study meets on the same call. Wednesday evenings bring everyone back to the church building for a half-hour prayer meeting called TAP - Testimony And Prayer time - that runs from 7:00 to 7:30 pm. Together these three weekday touchpoints keep the congregation connected between Sabbaths.
The Monthly Food Pantry
On the fourth Saturday of each month, the church parking lot and fellowship hall transform into a neighborhood food pantry. The Community Service Pantry runs from 2:00 to 4:00 pm in the afternoon, after the morning worship services have wrapped up, and welcomes neighbors from across the surrounding neighborhoods. The pantry reflects the Seventh-day Adventist tradition of practical, hands-on community service, and Sharon's volunteers run it as a regular outreach rather than a one-time event.
Eighty Years of Pastors in Portland
Sharon's history page tells the story of the church pastor by pastor, and the timeline reads like a map of Black Adventist ministry in the Pacific Northwest. Elder Preston McDaniels became Sharon's first pastor in 1946 and led the congregation through its earliest years of growth, with membership climbing to 53 within a year. Elder A. Wellington Clarke arrived from Chicago in late 1950 and pastored for nearly two decades; during his tenure the original building on Knott and Vancouver was damaged by a 1955 storm and the congregation relocated. Elder James North Jr. served as Sharon's first associate pastor under Clarke and joined Henry Watts, Alex Hall, and Otis Taylor to form a male quartet that sang across Portland.
Elder S. A. Bushnell followed Clarke in the late 1960s and ran revivals that built the church up further while launching a women's singing group called The Sharonettes. Elder W. E. Penick came from the Northern California Conference in 1970 and, in October 1978, oversaw the acquisition of the building Sharon still occupies today at 5209 NE 22nd Avenue. Elder Ted Jones arrived from the Central California Conference in 1980 and, with his wife Esther, led the music ministry as the congregation grew to 280 members.
Elder Alphonso McCarthy came from the Upper Columbia Conference in 1987 and presided over Sharon's mortgage-burning ceremony. During his tenure the Oromo SDA Church was planted at Sharon, and Elder George Rainey's crusade led to the founding of Your Bible Speaks Community SDA Church, Portland's second Black Adventist church. McCarthy later became Vice President of the North Pacific Union Conference for Regional Affairs. Elder Dwight Haynes, who served from 1998 to 2003, brought a strong emphasis on the sanctuary message and, in 2000, started the Lift Every Voice Community Choir, which continues today under director Linda Foxworth.
Dr. Royal Harrison came from the Southeast California Conference in 2004 and developed the PETAL tutoring program (Preparing, Education, Teaching, and Learning) that helped students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. Elder Kevin Rhamie, who came from the Central California Conference in 2011, built up the prayer ministry. Elder Garth Dottin arrived in 2017 from the Ontario Conference and oversaw major building improvements, including the largest project so far: a new kitchen and fellowship hall. Dr. Roscoe Shields, Jr., who pastored from 2021 to 2024, brought global evangelism experience and also served as the first Director of Regional Ministry of the Oregon Conference; he led three evangelistic campaigns during his time at Sharon and built digital evangelism strategies for the post-pandemic era. The current pastor, Elder Rodney J Valentine, began his ministry at Sharon in 2026.
Places to Serve
Sharon organizes its ministry life into a long list of departments, and the Serve page invites anyone interested to sign up. Opportunities include Usher/Greeter, Elder, Deacon, Deaconess, Clerk, Treasurer, Interest Coordinator, Children's Ministry, Communication, Education, Prayer Ministry, Family Ministries, Health Ministries, Hospitality, Music, Public Affairs and Religious Liberty, Publishing Ministry, Sabbath School and Personal Ministries, Stewardship Ministries, Women's Ministries, Youth Ministries, Young Adult Ministries, Audio/Video Team, Community Service, and Bible School Coordinator.
The Music department is one of the most visible. The Lift Every Voice Community Choir, founded in 2000, still rehearses and sings under Linda Foxworth's direction, and the legacy of the original Sharon male quartet and The Sharonettes is still felt in the church's strong choral tradition. Children's Ministry supports kids during the Sabbath hours, while Youth Ministries and Young Adult Ministries give teens and college-age adults their own space within the larger congregation.
Resources and Online Life
Three resource pages sit alongside the calendar. Sermon Notes Kid's Edition gives children an age-appropriate way to follow the week's message. A Prayer Guide walks members through a regular pattern of personal and family prayer. Bible School connects visitors who want to study the Bible at their own pace. The calendar can be subscribed to in Google Calendar, Outlook 365, or Outlook Live, and an .ics file is available for other calendar apps.
Worship services and special music are livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, so members who are traveling or homebound can keep up with the Sabbath services. Updates also go out on Facebook. Giving is handled online through Adventist Giving, and the office is reachable by phone or email during the week.
A Church That Plants Churches
One of the things that distinguishes Sharon in the Portland area is its track record of planting new Adventist congregations. The Oromo SDA Church and Your Bible Speaks Community SDA Church both came out of ministries that started on NE 22nd Avenue, and Sharon's pastors have regularly been called to wider roles in the Oregon Conference, the North Pacific Union Conference, and Adventist Health Portland. Sharon's identity is therefore both local and regional, a neighborhood church on a quiet street in Vernon that has shaped Adventist life across the Pacific Northwest.
Visiting Sharon
Visitors can plan around a Saturday. Sabbath School begins at 10:30 am, the main service begins at noon, and the food pantry opens from 2:00 to 4:00 pm on the fourth Saturday of each month. The building is at 5209 NE 22nd Avenue, Portland, OR 97211, with parking on site. Anyone wanting to call ahead can reach the office at 503-287-7649 or email office@sharonsda.net.