On a recent Sunday morning in North Portland, six women gathered around a folding table inside Hughes Community Church, passing around coffee, scripture and stories. Within the hour, they would become the entire congregation.
Alfreida Nelson, one of those women, first attended the church in the 1960s, when it was known as Hughes Memorial United Methodist Church. In her teen years, Nelson didn’t care much for weekly services. She went because her family did.
“Me being in high school, it wasn’t like I had a personal relationship with the Lord like I do now,” Nelson said. “I was just doing it as a routine.”…