Monthly Archives: May 2021

May 30, 2021

Want a printed copy of the Weekly News? Click on the printer icon to the right or download and print the PDF.

Scholarships for High School Seniors

LAST CALL: The deadline for graduating high school seniors to submit their scholarship applications to the St. Andrew Foundation is Tuesday, June 1. The award is available to any St. Andrew youth going on to a community college, college, university, or trade school. The application is available on the church website. If you have questions, contact Foundation President Sonja Ackman, foundation@standrewlutheran.com.

Wednesday Evening Prayer

Midweek Evening Prayer services will continue to be offered through the summer months via Zoom. Meditations will be drawn from Devotional Classics. This Wednesday, June 2, we will focus on Martin Luther’s reflections on what it means to “Pray in Faith.” Look for links to this worship service at mid-day on Wednesdays in Allison’s email.

Connecting Community: The Ties that Bind

Our effort to contact everyone in the congregation has concluded successfully. We believe we’ve contacted everyone in our faith community by talking on the phone, leaving a message, sending an e-mail, or sending a short note. If we missed you, perhaps the church office needs an update. If you were not contacted this time around, please call the office at 503-646-0629 to be sure we have your correct number on file. If you were able to speak with someone, we hope it helped you feel more connected during these disconnected times. Thank you to all who made calls and wrote notes. And thank you, everyone, for remaining in our faith community!

St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team

Reformation Earth Garden

Recently we’ve planted 47 native shrubs representing 15 varieties that complement the five native trees planted last fall in our Reformation Earth Garden. These shrubs seem small now but will grow quickly; some will be several feet tall in a couple of years. Eventually we will label the shrubs and trees.

Our work now is to design and add a temporary irrigation system to keep the trees and shrubs watered for the next two summers. Watering now is manual.

We’ve scraped the location of a future path that enters the garden from the sidewalk and invite you to look at our new plantings. Alongside the path you’ll see a number of small shrubs. The path proceeds around the cedar tree and then around an open area, the site of a planned pollinator meadow filled with native perennials and annual flowers and grasses; we plan installation of those flowering plants this fall and spring.

Eric Luttrell

Preparing for Our Annual Meeting

Ministry Forum: Sunday, June 6, 10:00 am
Ministry Support Forum: Sunday, June 13, 10:00 am

Annual Meeting of the Congregation
Tuesday, June 22, 2021, 6:30 pm

On the Sundays prior to the Annual Meeting, people are invited to gather via Zoom between Sunday worship services to learn more and share their questions/opinions about St. Andrew’s ministry focus for the coming year and the proposed budget for 2021/2022. Voting to approve these items, as well as the nominations for new Council members and next year’s Nominating Committee, is conducted during the Annual Meeting itself, which will also be held remotely this year via Zoom.

Nifty Notters

The Nifty Notters are now back on our regular schedule (hurray!). We will meet Saturday, June 5, and Saturday, June 19, from 9:00 am-2:30 pm in Fellowship Hall. Bring a lunch and join us for all or part of the time as we work on quilts for LWR and Virginia Garcia Clinic. Because of some generous donations we have a lot of fabric to cut, as well as many tying and sewing projects to complete. All supplies are provided.

If you are vaccinated and willing to show us your vaccination card, you will not need to wear a mask. Please bring a picture/copy of your vaccine card so we can keep a record for the office. If you have questions, contact Mary Brown at 503-439-3917.

Lydia Circle

You are invited to join Lydia Circle for Bible study and fellowship Tuesday June 8, from 1:00-3:00 pm in the St. Andrew Room, where we will again be able to serve coffee. If you’ve been fully vaccinated you don’t need to wear a mask. Please bring a copy/picture of your vaccine card so that the office can record it.

The Bible study is taken from the June issue of Gather magazine and is the first of a three-part study entitled “Just L.I.F.E. (Liberation Is for Everyone!). The first session is “Just Wisdom” and is taken from Proverbs 8. We will meet Woman Wisdom and explore what wisdom means in ways we haven’t done before. You are welcome to come even if you haven’t read the lesson. For questions, contact Mary Brown at 503-439-3917. 

Many Thanks to Brad

Our Evening Facility Manager, Brad Barclay, recently resigned his position so that he can spend more time with his family. St. Andrew was blessed with Brad in this position, where he proved to be completely reliable and instrumental in keeping the building clean and secure in the evenings. It was a pleasure to work with him! In addition, Brad and Carol worked especially well together, including cleaning the carpets last year during the closure so the building is ready to welcome people back in as we slowly reopen. With Brad’s resignation, Scott Taylor has graciously stepped in for a few weeks to cover until the position is opened to hire the next Evening Facility Manager.

Filling the Food Barrel

Things are beginning to return to something nearer normal. We learned earlier this week that St. Matthew Lutheran Church is once again accepting packaged and canned food for its food bank. Now that St. Andrew’s doors are unlocked during office hours, feel free to donate non-perishable food to the food barrel in the Narthex. We are resuming deliveries to St. Matt’s and know that there are many hungry people who will benefit from our gifts.

Western Farm Workers

Each year our church has supported the Western Farm Workers with donated clothes and food to help low-wage workers. The agency is seeking volunteers to do a variety of jobs, many of which can teach you new job skills. Learn desktop publishing from graphic designers to create leaflets about Farm Workers’ programs and events, for example. Training is also available to learn advocacy skills, enabling volunteers to work on legal issues such as stolen wages, illegal evictions, etc. Others are needed to help with monthly food gathering and distribution. If you can help, call Foster at 503-681-9399. To receive the quarterly newsletter, send a $20 donation to 725 SE 7th Ave, Hillsboro, OR  97123.

St. Andrew’s Service Committee is also looking for a member to lead the September Western Farm Workers donation drive to gather and deliver clothing and food.

Fran Miller
for the Service Committee

A Thank You from Beyond the Boundaries

Dear Ms. Reiner, Reverend Brocker, and to the Congregation of St. Andrew Lutheran,

In writing this letter to you, I am proud and grateful to represent families in the McKinley Elementary School community. It is my pleasure to thank your congregation for the generous donations you have contributed to our school’s families, over the course of time.

In truth, I am only now beginning to explore the connections between your church and our school, and this process of exploration has helped me to reflect on the commonalities that we share as people, beyond boundaries and circumstances. From a strictly artificial perspective, your church lies far from McKinley. Your neighborhood is served by Ridgewood Elementary, which is on the opposite, eastern end of our school district. Even two more elementary schools, Barnes and Elmonica, reside in between you and us. And yet, your congregation has reached across these man-made dividing lines and brought real and needed relief from suffering among families in my school community.

Donations from your congregation helped close the gap that arose when our district’s clothing program fell short of our needs. Your funds helped us provide gift cards to families suffering from COVID-19 quarantine that went towards food items and over-the-counter medications. For one family with a large number of Beaverton school district children, your contributions helped support their critical WiFi needs so that each child could remain connected with their individual teachers and classmates as they learned from home. I see that among your church’s five core values are “Community Care” and “Neighbor Care.” I thank you for bringing breath and life to these values in the form of meaningful support for my families.

has the highest “mobility rate” among all the elementary schools in Beaverton. This means that families move in and out of our boundary, and in and out of our classrooms, in significant volumes every year. With all this movement comes opportunities, but also needs, and often suffering. We have used every dollar that you have donated to us to provide relief to such families and children who need it dearly. Thank you again for building bridges with us. If there is ever a suitable opportunity for me to visit any of you in person, please let me know, as I would be honored to do so.

Aki Mori, Principal
McKinley Elementary School

Godspeed!

This Sunday we say “Godspeed!” to Parish Manager Jennifer Trom as she steps down from her role as chief operations executive at St. Andrew after nine years and more than ten years as a paid employee at St. Andrew. All are invited to join the Tribute to Trom via Zoom between services at 10:00 am on Sunday, May 30.

In her role as parish manager, Jennifer has managed staff people and budgets, improved our use of technology, enabled the church to transition quickly and professionally into offering worship online, and much more. She directed Drama Camp for several years, oversaw the Learning Center, and even took a group of young people to the ELCA National Youth Gathering in Detroit a few years back.

Jennifer and her family will continue to keep St. Andrew as their church home, but she is stepping back from volunteering for a while to get the respite she needs.

Celebrating Juneteenth and the Ending of Slavery

What’s special about June 19^th?

June 19^th, also known as Juneteenth, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that enslaved people were now free. For black people trying to establish a new status, annual celebrations of Juneteenth were times for reassuring one another, for praying, and for gathering remaining family members. Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas in 1980 and in Oregon last month.

This Juneteenth at 10:00 am, the Oregon Remembrance Project (https://www.oregonremembrance.com/) will be installing a historical marker in Coos Bay remembering the story of the only documented lynching in Oregon, that of Alonzo Tucker in 1902. The St. Andrew Reckoning with Racism cohort invites you to participate in person or via Zoom at 10:00 am on June 19^th. [Details to follow.] We hope to find reconciliation and communal healing through a sober reflection on history.

In Need of Prayers…

If you know someone in need of prayers, please contact the church office by phone at 503-646-0629 or email office@standrewlutheran.com Tuesday-Friday, prayerchain@standrewlutheran.com Saturday-Monday.

Family and friends of Marvel Lund	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Staff
Family and friends of Deborah Townsend (mother)	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Holly Bishop-Perdue
Carol Grover (sister)	Peaceful passing	Nan Thompson
Mira Nieman	Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment	Staff
Barton Robison	Effective treatment and pain relief	Staff
India Jensen Kerr	Healing and recovery	Staff
Jan Morrell	Healing and Recovery	Amy Harker
Bernie Doering (friend)	Healing and recovery	Jennifer Hooson
Madeleine (granddaughter)	Continued strength through increased chemo treatment	Mary Smith
Preston Robert McCrory	Blessings on the birth of grandchild #21	Bob & Mary Brown
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Victims of gun violence in San Jose and elsewhere	Care in times of crisis	Staff
Jennifer Trom	Thanksgiving for her faithful service	Staff
Christ Lutheran Church (Aurora, OR) Macksburg Lutheran Church (Canby, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Congregation Beth Israel (Portland, OR)	Blessings on our interfaith partners	Staff
Individual friends and loved ones in need of prayer	Whatever they most need; say their names in your heart or aloud	Everyone

Camp Lutherwood Is Hiring

June 23-August 17; Starting Salary: $2,890 for the Summer
Deepen your faith and sense of adventure while growing personally and professionally. Visit Camp Lutherwood online to learn more: www.lutherwoodoregon.org/employment. If you have questions, please contact the camp office for more information. E-mail jobs@lutherwoodoregon.org or call 541-998-6444.

Memorial Service for Marvel Lund

Thursday, June 10, 2021
11:30 am
Willamette Cemetery

Pastor Susan Kintner is officiating.

Preparing for Sunday, June 6

Reading: Genesis 3:8-15
Gospel: Mark 3:20-35

Go to the “Preparing for Worship” webpage for the bulletins, the complete Lectionary, and more.

Highlights for the Week

Go to the complete online church calendar for the most up-to-date information.

Sunday, May 30

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Tribute to Trom	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Tuesday, June 1

10:00 am	Worship Planners Meeting	Zoom
10:00 am	T’ai Chi	Garden Patio of former Orchards in Petercort Shopping Center
7:00 pm	MACG Meeting	St. Andrew Room

Wednesday, June 2 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

6:30 pm	Informal Gathering Time	Zoom
7:00 pm	Evening Prayer	Zoom
7:30 pm	Centering Prayer	Zoom

Thursday, June 3

12:00 pm	Virtual Team Ministry Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Executive Committee Meeting	Zoom

Friday, June 4

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

Garden Patio of former Orchards in Petercort Shopping Center

Saturday, June 5

9:00 am

Nifty Notters

Fellowship Hall

Sunday, June 6

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Ministry Forum (in preparation for the Annual Meeting)	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give: Thank you for supporting our ministries!

Thank you for supporting the ministries of St. Andrew!

May 23, 2021

Want a printed copy of the Weekly News? Click on the printer icon to the right or download and print the PDF.

This Sunday we celebrate the Day of Pentecost, the Birthday of the Church. For many at St. Andrew, it has been our tradition to wear red–and that works even while we’re worshiping together from home.

Special Congregational Meeting

Members of the congregation will meet via Zoom this Sunday, May 23, at 10:00 am to vote on becoming a Sanctuary Congregation. Please review the proposed

Table Talk: Corporate Social Responsibility

Thursday, May 27, 7:00-8:00 pm
Gathered around the table in his home, Martin Luther talked freely and openly with his colleagues and students about matters of faith, theology, and varied aspects of daily life. In an effort to cultivate this kind of spirited discussion we have a tradition at St. Andrew of gathering for Table Talks. Though we cannot gather in person, Pastor Brocker invites you to participate in the next Table Talk, held via Zoom on Thursday, May 27, 7:00-8:00 pm.

In the ELCA’s social statement on economic life, “Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All,” Christian vocation in the world is described as seeking “what is good for people and the rest of creation in ways that glorify God and anticipate God’s promised future.” This social statement “recognizes the economic power and political influence of transnational corporations and charges the global community with holding these corporations accountable.” In this Table Talk we will discuss the specific role of the church in holding corporations accountable. We will also addresss a related question: What does it mean for the church to be a socially responsible corporation?

In preparation for this Table Talk, participants are encouraged to go to corporate social responsibility resources on the ELCA website and at least download and read the “Corporate Social Responsibility Overview”:

https://www.elca.org/Resources/Corporate-Responsibility.

Connecting Community: The Ties that Bind

Our effort to contact everyone in the congregation has concluded successfully. We believe we’ve contacted everyone in our faith community by talking on the phone, leaving a message, sending an e-mail, or sending a short note. If we missed you, perhaps the church office needs an update. If you were not contacted this time around, please call the office at 503-646-0629 to be sure we have your correct number on file. If you were able to speak with someone, we hope it helped you feel more connected during these disconnected times. Thank you to all who made calls and wrote notes. And thank you, everyone, for remaining in our faith community!

St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team

May Movie Night: After the Raid

On Friday, May 21, we will meet to discuss After the Raid, a 2019 documentary that explores the devastating effects that an immigration raid on a meat packing plant in Tennessee has on the community. The film asks more questions than it answers, as it explores the ways that faith-based organizations might address these issues.

Stream After the Raid on Netflix and then bring out the popcorn and gather around your computer screens at 7:00 pm on Friday, May 21, as we talk about the movie.

The timing of this particular movie night is fortuitous. Two days following our discussion, on Sunday, May 23, the St. Andrew congregation will meet between services to consider and vote on becoming a sanctuary congregation. Seeing this documentary beforehand may help inform your vote.

You’ll find the Zoom link for this movie night in the “Weekly News” e-mail on Friday, May 21.

High School Senior Scholarships

The deadline for graduating high school seniors to submit their scholarship applications to the St. Andrew Foundation is Tuesday, June 1. The award is available to any St. Andrew youth going on to a community college, college, university, or trade school. The application is available on the church website. If you have questions, contact Foundation President Sonja Ackman, foundation@standrewlutheran.com.

Wednesday Evening Prayer

Midweek Prayer Services continue into the Easter season this Wednesday, May 19, with a new service emphasizing creation’s song of praise to God. Drawing on elements from All Creation Sings, our service combines prayer, song, and meditations from the writings of well-known lovers of creation. Look for links to this worship service at mid-day on Wednesdays in Allison’s e-mail.

Reformation Earth Garden

Recently we’ve planted 47 native shrubs representing 15 varieties that complement the five native trees planted last fall. These shrubs seem small now but will grow quickly; some will be several feet tall in a couple of years. Eventually we will label the shrubs and trees.

Our work now is to design and add a temporary irrigation system to keep the trees and shrubs watered for the next two summers. Watering now is manual.

We’ve scraped the location of a future path that enters the garden from the sidewalk and invite you to look at our new plantings. Alongside the path you’ll see a number of small shrubs. The path proceeds around the cedar tree and then around an open area, the site of a planned pollinator meadow filled with native perennials and annual flowers and grasses; we plan installation of those flowering plants this fall and spring.

Eric Luttrell

Let the light of late afternoon
shine through chinks in the barn, moving
up the bales as the sun moves down.

Let the cricket take up chafing
as a woman takes up her needles
and her yarn. Let evening come.

Let dew collect on the hoe abandoned
in long grass. Let the stars appear
and the moon disclose her silver horn.

Let the fox go back to its sandy den.
Let the wind die down. Let the shed
go black inside. Let evening come.

To the bottle in the ditch, to the scoop
in the oats, to air in the lung
let evening come.

Let it come, as it will, and don’t
be afraid. God does not leave us
comfortless, so let evening come

Jane Kenyon, born in Ann Arbor, MI, in 1947, is the granddaughter of a Methodist preacher. Her spirituality is reflected in her poetry.

Soil Garden Survey

For the past two years, St. Andrew’s Community Carbon Yard Science team has been exploring gardening strategies that we can adopt to improve the environment. We want to know if the people of St. Andrew have been developing soil gardens as a means to store carbon in the soil, thus reducing carbon in the atmosphere.

Even if you’ve never before heard the term “soil garden,” you may already have created one. A soil garden requires three essential elements:

· a thick layer of organic material on your bed with consistent regular additions of the organic matter,

· consistent moisture during the warm months, either by regular watering of your soil garden or initially covering your soil garden with at least three inches of compost and/or mulch, and

· organic material in direct contact with the soil. In other words, no landscape cloth or plastic can separate the organic material from the soil. You may use paper or cardboard on top of the soil to reduce weeds.

A soil garden can be established by simply changing how one or more of your existing beds is managed (for example, shrub beds, tree and shrub beds, perennial beds, perennial and shrub beds, etc.) by regularly adding compost and/or mulch to those beds. Perhaps the easiest bed to convert to a soil garden is a perennial flower garden. All that is needed is to add about an inch of compost annually when the flowers are dormant. Your plants will grow up through the compost, which feeds the millions of creatures living in the soil and delivers nutrients to your plants.

If you have any garden beds that meet this definition. we want to know. Please go this link to complete the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PVPBBNR.

Thank you.

Carol Harker, Eric Luttrell, LuAnn Staul, and
the Community Carbon Yard Science Team

Celebrating Juneteenth and the Ending of Slavery

What’s special about June 19^th?

June 19^th, also known as Juneteenth, is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger landed at Galveston, Texas with news that the war had ended and that enslaved people were now free. For black people trying to establish a new status, annual celebrations of Juneteenth were times for reassuring one another, for praying, and for gathering remaining family members. Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas in 1980 and in Oregon last month.

This Juneteenth at 10:00 am, the Oregon Remembrance Project (https://www.oregonremembrance.com/) will be installing a historical marker in Coos Bay remembering the story of the only documented lynching in Oregon, that of Alonzo Tucker in 1902. The St. Andrew Reckoning with Racism cohort invites you to participate in person or via Zoom at 10:00 am on June 19^th. [Details to follow.] We hope to find reconciliation and communal healing through a sober reflection on history.

In Need of Prayers…

If you know someone in need of prayers, please contact the church office by phone at 503-646-0629 or email office@standrewlutheran.com Tuesday-Friday, prayerchain@standrewlutheran.com Saturday-Monday.

Family and friends of Marvel Lund	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Staff
Family and friends of Gale Roy Williams (brother)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Claris & Corky Poppert
Family and friends of Jody Podolske	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Staff
Carol Grover (sister)	Peaceful passing	Nan Thompson
Deborah Townsend (mother)	Peaceful passing	Holly Bishop-Perdue
Mira Nieman	Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment	Staff
Jan Morrell	Healing and Recovery	Amy Harker
Bernie Doering (friend)	Healing and recovery	Jennifer Hooson
Madeleine (granddaughter)	Continued strength through increased chemo treatment	Mary Smith
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Those facing ongoing illness or distress	Assurance of God’s presence Tandy Brooks, Dave Bumgardner, Vic Claar, Ian MacDonald, Hugh Mason, Brian McKiernan, Ed Pacey, Corky Poppert, Jolie Reyna, Shane Throckmorton, Gary Tubbs	Staff
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton	Wisdom and discernment	Staff
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	Blessings on our ministry	Staff
Taiwan Lutheran Church	Strength and wisdom	Staff
Pilgrim Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) Resurrection Lutheran Church (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Masjid Omar Farooq (Portland, OR)	Blessings on our interfaith partners	Staff
Individual friends and loved ones in need of prayer	Whatever they most need; say their names in your heart or aloud	Everyone

Filling the Food Barrel

Things are beginning to return to something nearer normal. We learned earlier this week that St. Matthew Lutheran Church is once again accepting packaged and canned food for its food bank. Now that St. Andrew’s doors are unlocked during office hours, feel free to donate non-perishable food to the food barrel in the Narthex. We are resuming deliveries to St. Matt’s and know that there are many hungry people who will benefit from our gifts.

Camp Lutherwood Is Hiring

June 23-August 17; Starting Salary: $2,890 for the Summer
Deepen your faith and sense of adventure while growing personally and professionally. Visit Camp Lutherwood online to learn more: www.lutherwoodoregon.org/employment. If you have questions, please contact the camp office for more information. E-mail jobs@lutherwoodoregon.org or call 541-998-6444.

Natives In Bloom

Don Nearhood walks through the woods at St. Andrew frequently and he took this photo of one of our native honeysuckles (Lonicera ciliosa) one day earlier this week.

Another native  plant blooming on church property right now is the elegant groundcover fringecup (Tellima grandiflora), which flourishes in moist shady locations. It spreads by seed rather than runners and is not invasive.

Preparing for Sunday, May 30

Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8
Gospel: John 3:1-17

Go to the “Preparing for Worship” webpage for the bulletins, the complete Lectionary, and more.

Highlights for the Week

Go to the complete online church calendar for the most up-to-date information.

Sunday, May 23

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Special Congregational Meeting: Declaring St. Andrew a Sanctuary Congregation	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Tuesday, May 25

7:30 am	Men’s Breakfast Group	St. Andrew Room
10:00 am	T’ai Chi	Garden Patio of former Orchards in Petercort Shopping Center
10:00 am	Earth Care Teacher Meeting	Library
12:15 pm	Community Carbon Leadership Meeting	Picnic Table by Community Garden

Wednesday, May 26 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

6:30 pm	Informal Gathering Time	Zoom
7:00 pm	Evening Prayer	Zoom
7:00 pm	High School Youth Game Night	Zoom
7:30 pm	Centering Prayer	Zoom

Thursday, May 27

12:00 pm	Virtual Team Ministry Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	IT Meeting	Offsite

Friday, May 28

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

Garden Patio of former Orchards in Petercort Shopping Center

Sunday, May 30

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Tribute to Trom	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give: Thank you for supporting our ministries!

Thank you for supporting the ministries of St. Andrew!

May 16, 2021

Want a printed copy of the Weekly News? Click on the printer icon to the right or download and print the PDF.

Table Talk: Corporate Social Responsibility

Thursday, May 27, 7:00-8:00 pm
Gathered around the table in his home, Martin Luther talked freely and openly with his colleagues and students about matters of faith, theology, and varied aspects of daily life. In an effort to cultivate this kind of spirited discussion we have a tradition at St. Andrew of gathering for Table Talks. Though we cannot gather in person, Pastor Brocker invites you to participate in the next Table Talk, held via Zoom on Thursday, May 27, 7:00-8:00 pm.

In the ELCA’s social statement on economic life, “Sufficient, Sustainable Livelihood for All,” Christian vocation in the world is described as seeking “what is good for people and the rest of creation in ways that glorify God and anticipate God’s promised future.” This social statement “recognizes the economic power and political influence of transnational corporations and charges the global community with holding these corporations accountable.” In this Table Talk we will discuss the specific role of the church in holding corporations accountable. We will also addresss a related question: What does it mean for the church to be a socially responsible corporation?

In preparation for this Table Talk, participants are encouraged to go to corporate social responsibility resources on the ELCA website and at least download and read the “Corporate Social Responsibility Overview”:

https://www.elca.org/Resources/Corporate-Responsibility.

Wednesday Evening Prayer

Midweek Prayer Services continue into the Easter season this Wednesday, May 19, with a new service emphasizing creation’s song of praise to God. Drawing on elements from All Creation Sings, our service combines prayer, song, and meditations from the writings of well-known lovers of creation. Look for links to this worship service at mid-day on Wednesdays in Allison’s e-mail.

Earth Camp 2021: Register Now!

We are offering Earth Camp this summer! Camp will be held outdoors with COVID guidelines in place as required by the CDC and Oregon Health Authority. Earth Camp is for children entering first through sixth grades this fall (September 2021) and the purpose is to cultivate a deep love of our Earth home and all its inhabitants. Campers will:

· Discover how interconnected we are with all our fellow creatures
· Learn practical ways we can care for our Earth home; and,
· Have a lot of fun in the process!

Read all about it on the church website under Education > Earth Camp 2021.

Spirituality Book Group

The Spirituality Book Group will meet on Zoom to discuss This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger on Sunday, May 16, at 3:00 pm. Susan Reiser will lead the discussion of what a Minneapolis Star Tribune reviewer called a “picaresque tale of adventure during the Great Depression. Part Grapes of Wrath, part Huckleberry Finn, Krueger’s novel is a journey over inner and outer terrain toward wisdom and freedom.”

The Zoom link for this meeting will be sent to people on the Spirituality Book Group mailing list. If you’d like to attend, please contact Mary Smith to have a link sent to you. At this May meeting, we will also discuss the possibility of meeting in person again.

Future Reading

June 13
Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
Discussion Leader: Barbara Gutzler
Please bring suggestions for future reading to this meeting, as we will be selecting titles for the next six months.

July 18
The Murmur of Bees, by Sofia Segovia
Discussion Leader: Sharon Fako

Audio Technician Needed

Are you a master of audio technology? Do you have experience with sound/mixing boards and microphone placement? Do you understand broadcasting, audio encoding equipment, and live audio delivery systems?

St. Andrew is seeking to employ a part-time Livestream Audio Technician to work four-five hours on Sunday mornings, one-three times per month, and possibly at other times.

This Livestream Audio Tech will work closely with a Video Tech to distribute online worship currently using YouTube livestream and Zoom, as well as amplify sound in the Sanctuary when we are able to worship in person there.

To learn more about the position and to apply, please go to Craigslist.

Special Congregational Meeting

Members of the congregation will meet via Zoom next Sunday, May 23, at 10:00 am to vote on becoming a Sanctuary Congregation. Please review the proposed

Let’s Connect

The St. Andrew MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team invite you to join us in our ongoing effort to make contact with as many members of our faith community as we can over the course of the next two weeks.

Over the past two weeks, many of our volunteers made contact or promised to make contact with almost 90 percent of St. Andrew households. That’s terrific! There are more contacts to be made, though. Can you help? You are invited to make a phone call, write a note, or send an e-mail to as many people as you can. Help us reach our goal of spreading a message of connection to most of our congregational roster before summer.

The primary purpose is to check in and let people know we are thinking of them, so a good place to start is, “How are you doing?” From there, your conversations may take different paths. You may want to talk about how you are both feeling about returning to in-person gatherings, or about the social connections that have been difficult this past year, or about what has changed in the past year. The direction your conversation takes is up to you. Pretend that you are chatting with someone in the Narthex.

Jan Smith is coordinating the assignment of names. You can contact her via e-mail at jansmith59@earthlink.net. Once you have completed your calls, please get in touch with one of the pastors if there is something they should know. Also please send an e-mail to Pat Christiansen patchristiansen@comcast.net if anything emerges that seems to be a common question, experience, or concern.

Thanks for being a part of this important ministry. We are a stronger community when we stay in touch.

St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team

May Movie Night: After the Raid

On Friday, May 21, we will meet to discuss After the Raid, a 2019 documentary that explores the devastating effects that an immigration raid on a meat packing plant in Tennessee has on the community. The film asks more questions than it answers, as it explores the ways that faith-based organizations might address these issues.

The timing of this particular movie night is fortuitous. Two days following our discussion, on Sunday, May 23, the St. Andrew congregation will meet between services to consider and vote on becoming a sanctuary congregation. Seeing this documentary beforehand may help inform your vote.

You’ll find the Zoom link for this movie night in the “Weekly News” e-mail on Friday, May 21.

High School Senior Scholarships

The deadline for graduating high school seniors to submit their scholarship applications to the St. Andrew Foundation is Tuesday, June 1. The award is available to any St. Andrew youth going on to a community college, college, university, or trade school. The application is available on the church website. If you have questions, contact Foundation President Sonja Ackman, foundation@standrewlutheran.com.

Storytelling from Oregon’s First Ordained Women

For most of the history of the church (Roman Catholic and Protestant), only men were permitted to be ordained and to lead a congregation. For Lutherans, that changed in 1970, when the Lutheran Church in America and American Lutheran Church, predecessors of the ELCA, ordained Elizabeth Platz and Barbarra Andrews. Since then, women clergy have steadily broken barriers, but changing the climate has been a decades-long process.

Still, 50 years later, look how far women have come! Today, the ELCA is led by Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, 22 women are synodical bishops (of 65 total), and four are seminary presidents. Almost one-third of all ELCA pastors are women.

To hear what it was like for some of the early women leaders in the Oregon Synod, including our own Pastor Susan Kintner, you are invited to listen in on three storytelling sessions featuring women such as Susan Granata, Joan Beck, and Solveig Nilsen-Goodin:

Saturday, May 15, 7:00 pm
Saturday, June 26, 7:00 pm
Saturday, July 17, 7:00 pm

It’s free and online. Register now.

Filling the Food Barrel

Things are beginning to return to something nearer normal. We learned earlier this week that St. Matthew Lutheran Church is once again accepting packaged and canned food for its food bank. Now that St. Andrew’s doors are unlocked during office hours, feel free to donate non-perishable food to the food barrel in the Narthex. We are resuming deliveries to St. Matt’s and know that there are many hungry people who will benefit from our gifts.

In Need of Prayers…

If you know someone in need of prayers, please contact the church office by phone at 503-646-0629 or email office@standrewlutheran.com Tuesday-Friday, prayerchain@standrewlutheran.com Saturday-Monday.

Family and friends of Gale Roy Williams (brother)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Claris & Corky Poppert
Family and friends of Jerry Werner (cousin)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Susan Werner Reiser
Carol Grover (sister)	Peaceful passing	Nan Thompson
Deborah Townsend (mother)	Peaceful passing	Holly Bishop-Perdue
Marvel Lund	Peace and comfort in hospice care	Christine Murray and Margie Holcomb (daugters)
Jan Morrell	Successful surgery (May 19)	Amy Harker
Luke (13-year-old friend)	Healing and recovery from COVID	Rebecca Fako Uecker
Ginny Link	Continued prayers for accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and healing	Ginny Link
Gary & Gail Grafwallner	Smooth transition	Staff
Baby Hazel	Thanksgiving for her release from the hospital	Bob & Judy Scholz
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
People of India	Aid and support as COVID ravages the country	Staff
Those confined to their homes	Assurance of God’s presence Mareline Barnes, Dave Bumgardner, Jean Fredrickson, Tara Harper, Douglas Hooke, Betty Horst, Dorothy Moore, Phyllis Morris, Ed Pacey, Helen Rogers, Dave & Sharon Roth, Margie Schindele	Staff
All who are imprisoned	Peace and strength	Staff
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Holy Trinity Catholic Church	Blessings on their ministry	Staff
St. Paul Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) Good Spirit Mission Lutheran Church (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Masjid Abu Bakr (Portland, OR)	Blessings on our interfaith partners	Staff
Individual friends and loved ones in need of prayer	Whatever they most need; say their names in your heart or aloud	Everyone

A Prayer for Sanctuary

Source of life and love, we thank you for the opportunity to gather in this sacred space of community where we are blessed to reflect on the meaning of our faith.
Let our faith heal our brokenness.

In the midst of political turmoil and upheaval, when people are being excluded for the color of their skin, their accent, or their citizenship status, let our faith guide us to solidarity.

As families struggle for better lives for themselves and their children, as they flee violence and war, hunger and the effects of global climate change, let our faith call us to action.

May the Sanctuary that has blessed us be opened to all those who are vulnerable and oppressed.
Let our faith show us the power of Sanctuary for all.
Amen.

Preparing for Sunday, May 23

Reading: Acts 2:1-21
Gospel: John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15

Go to the “Preparing for Worship” webpage for the bulletins, the complete Lectionary, and more.

Highlights for the Week

Go to the complete online church calendar for the most up-to-date information.

Sunday, May 16

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Sunday School	Zoom
10:00 am	Confirmation	Zoom
10:00 am	High School Youth Group	Zoom
10:00 am	Adult Education: Women in the Gospels	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
12:30 pm	Earth Camp Planning Meeting	Zoom

Monday, May 17

6:00 pm

Troop 618 Scout Meeting

East Parking Lot

Tuesday, May 18

10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.
10:00 am	Worship Planners Meeting	Zoom

Wednesday, May 19 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

1:00 pm	Caring Ministry Meeting	Zoom
6:00 pm	Handbell Ensemble Rehearsal	Zoom
6:30 pm	Informal Gathering Time	Zoom
7:00 pm	Evening Prayer	Zoom
7:00 pm	High School Youth Game Night	Zoom
7:30 pm	Centering Prayer	Zoom

Thursday, May 20

12:00 pm	Virtual Team Ministry Meeting	Zoom
2:30 pm	Communications Team Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Council Meeting	Zoom

Friday, May 21

10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.
7:00 pm	Movie Night: After the Raid	Zoom

Sunday, May 23

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Sunday School	Zoom
10:00 am	Special Congregational Meeting: Declaring St. Andrew a Sanctuary Congregation	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give: Thank you for supporting our ministries!

Thank you for supporting the ministries of St. Andrew!

May 9, 2021

Want a printed copy of the Weekly News? Click on the printer icon to the right or download and print the PDF.

St. Andrew to Host Guest Preacher May 9

We at St. Andrew are looking forward to welcoming Pastor Brian Johnson to the pulpit on Sunday, May 9, when he will also offer an Adult Education session on “Transforming Vision, Appreciating Art.”

Pastor Johnson brings 25 years’ experience in Lutheran higher education and fine arts to the Grunewald Guild, where he serves as executive director. A 40-year-old retreat center nestled beside the Wenatchee River near Leavenworth, Washington, the Grunewald Guild is dedicated to the relationship between Art, Faith, and Community. Founded by Rich and Liz Caemmerer in 1980, the center offers summer week-long classes in fabric art, pottery, collage, photography, calligraphy, song writing, poetry, sculpture, and many other media.

“Something as earthbound as fabric and clay and paint
can speak our most wordless longings,
express our delight and grief.
Beauty can connect our hearts to the divine heart.”
Guild Founder Richard Caemmerer

Pastor Susan is a member of the Grunewald Guild’s board, beginning a three-year term this past September. She is the first board member from the state of Oregon. Visit www.GrunewaldGuild.com for more information.

Wednesday Evening Prayer

Midweek Prayer Services continue into the Easter season this Wednesday, May 12, with a new service emphasizing creation’s song of praise to God. Drawing on elements from All Creation Sings, our service combines prayer, song, and meditations from the writings of well-known lovers of creation. Look for links to this worship service at mid-day on Wednesdays in Allison’s e-mail.

St. Andrew’s COVID Fund

Thanks to donations from the church community, St. Andrew has been able to continue helping families in dire straits as the COVID pandemic persists in challenging people. Many thanks to Donna Brocker and Diane Reiner for overseeing those resources and sharing them with people in need.

Although all of us are tired and ready to move on, needs continue to mount for many in our area who have lost jobs or housing or loved ones. If you would like to offer your help, St. Andrew welcomes your ongoing support of the COVID Fund. Click on the “Choose a Fund” box online and select COVID-19 DONATION in the drop-down menu if you’d like to give electronically or note COVID FUND on your check. Your gifts are being put to good use.

Bookkeeper Position Open

St. Andrew is currently looking for a part-time bookkeeper to work 10-20 hours a week. Essential functions of the position will include preparing weekly deposit reports, entering disbursements, transferring funds to various accounts, processing payroll, reconciling bank accounts, filing evidence of deposits and disbursements, and preparing financial reports. Five years of bookkeeping experience is required, as well as experience with QuickBooks, working knowledge of Microsoft Excel, and a high degree of accuracy and attention to detail.

To learn more about the position and to apply, please e-mail Parish Manager Jennifer Trom.

Audio Technician Needed

Are you a master of audio technology? Do you have experience with sound/mixing boards and microphone placement? Do you understand broadcasting, audio encoding equipment, and live audio delivery systems?

St. Andrew is seeking to employ a part-time Livestream Audio Technician to work four-five hours on Sunday mornings, one-three times per month, and possibly at other times.

This Livestream Audio Tech will work closely with a Video Tech to distribute online worship currently using YouTube livestream and Zoom, as well as amplify sound in the Sanctuary when we are able to worship in person there.

To learn more about the position and to apply, please go to Craigslist.

Heartfelt Thanks

For more than a year now, you have been donating to the COVID-19 Relief Fund. And for more than a year, those donations have kept people in their homes, paid PGE bills, and kept hungry people fed. Several school counselors and local principals have been overjoyed when receiving this help for their families. Many individual families have been overcome with tears of thanksgiving as they ponder the idea of people they don’t even know helping them out. Some have called you angels.

As followers of Jesus, we know that when we serve others, we are serving Christ. It brings us joy to meet Jesus in these people in need. So thank you, thank you for your generosity, love, and care over this past year! You have made a difference.

In Christ,
Donna Brocker

Let’s Connect

The St. Andrew MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team invite you to join us in our ongoing effort to make contact with as many members of our faith community as we can over the course of the next two weeks.

Over the past two weeks, many of our volunteers made contact or promised to make contact with almost 90 percent of St. Andrew households. That’s terrific! There are more contacts to be made, though. Can you help? You are invited to make a phone call, write a note, or send an e-mail to as many people as you can. Help us reach our goal of spreading a message of connection to most of our congregational roster before summer.

The primary purpose is to check in and let people know we are thinking of them, so a good place to start is, “How are you doing?” From there, your conversations may take different paths. You may want to talk about how you are both feeling about returning to in-person gatherings, or about the social connections that have been difficult this past year, or about what has changed in the past year. The direction your conversation takes is up to you. Pretend that you are chatting with someone in the Narthex.

Jan Smith is coordinating the assignment of names. You can contact her via e-mail at jansmith59@earthlink.net. Once you have completed your calls, please get in touch with one of the pastors if there is something they should know. Also please send an e-mail to Pat Christiansen patchristiansen@comcast.net if anything emerges that seems to be a common question, experience, or concern. 

Thanks for being a part of this important ministry. We are a stronger community when we stay in touch.

St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team

Earth Camp 2021: Registration Is Open for St. Andrew Community

We are offering Earth Camp this summer! Camp will be held outdoors with COVID guidelines in place as required by the CDC and Oregon Heath Authority. Earth Camp is for children entering 1^st through 6^th grade this fall (September 2021) and the purpose is to cultivate a deep love of our Earth home and all its inhabitants.

Campers will:

· Discover how interconnected we are with all our fellow creatures
· Learn practical ways we can care for our Earth home; and,
· Have a lot of fun in the process!

Read all about it on the church website under Education > Earth Camp 2021.

Lydia Circle

After more than a year apart, Lydia Circle will begin meeting in person again at church beginning Tuesday May 11, from 1:00-3:00 pm in the St. Andrew Room. It will be so good to see each other again and share in the Bible study from May’s Gather magazine. We will follow COVID protocols by wearing masks, social distancing and not sharing food. You may bring a beverage for yourself to drink.

This month’s study is entitled “the journey of generations-waiting to be unwrapped.” We’ll be looking at the shared blessings that intergenerational relationships might bring. We’ll be guided by scripture passages from Luke 1: 46-49, 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6, Ephesians 2:19, and Acts: 2: 4-6. You need not have read the study to take part. If you have questions, please contact Mary Brown at 503-439-3917.

May Movie Night: After the Raid

On Friday, May 21, we will meet to discuss After the Raid, a 2019 documentary that explores the devastating effects that an immigration raid on a meat packing plant in Tennessee has on the community. The film asks more questions than it answers, as it explores the ways that faith-based organizations might address these issues.

The timing of this particular movie night is fortuitous. Two days following our discussion, on Sunday, May 23, the St. Andrew congregation will meet between services to consider and vote on becoming a sanctuary congregation. Seeing this documentary beforehand may help inform your vote.

You’ll find the Zoom link for this movie night in Carol Harker’s “Weekly News” e-mail on Friday, May 21.

A Reminder for Ministry Leaders

May 9 is fast approaching. Why is that date important? May 9 is the deadline for St. Andrew’s various ministries to submit their annual reports to Parish Manager Jennifer Trom. Here’s your opportunity to share the story of your ministry with the congregation. Despite the pandemic, we know that much important work is being done. Tell your story and share the good news!

Men’s Book Club: Educated

Tara Westover is living proof that some people are flat-out, boots-always-laced-up indomitable. Her…book, Educated, is a heartbreaking, heartwarming, best-in-years memoir about striding beyond the limitations of birth and environment into a better life,” wrote the USA Today reviewer in touting this book. It’s an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who is kept out of school, but then leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University.

The Men’s Book Club meets on the second Monday of the month at 7:00 pm. If you’d like to join the discussion of Educated on Monday, May 10, please contact Eric Luttrell for details.

Growing Our Garden

Faith and Hope received company this past week, when a crew of volunteers joined Eric Luttrell in planting almost four dozen native shrubs in St. Andrew’s Reformation Earth Garden.

Faith and Hope, the two Oregon white oak trees we planted in the garden last fall, survived the winter well, but the native crab apple put in the ground the very same day disappeared completely—probably munched on by a meandering deer. We know the deer also help themselves to plants in the Community Garden, but they take only what they need. Eric has already replaced the crab apple and we’ll see how long this one lasts.

The third step in populating the Reformation Earth Garden will come next fall or spring, when native perennials are added to the landscape.

Gifts that Keep Giving

The Nifty Notters have gotten some lovely presents this year! Some from folks we know, like Susan Reiser and Corky Poppert, and lots of surprises from mystery donors. Yarn, sheets, two bags of lovely fabric from a drive-by lady. and a bolt from the blue—of blue, no less. And we’re still trying to figure out how a lady from Richmond, WA, found us. She gifted us a big box of ten patterned quilt tops, backing fabric, and some squares to be added to make another quilt. The Notters appreciate all these gifts, and I love finding new things in the closet!

Pam Farr

High School Senior Scholarships

The deadline for graduating high school seniors to submit their scholarship applications to the St. Andrew Foundation is Tuesday, June 1. The award is available to any St. Andrew youth going on to a community college, college, university, or trade school. The application is available on the church website. If you have questions, contact Foundation President Sonja Ackman, foundation@standrewlutheran.com.

Lutheran World Relief (LWR) Ingathering

After a pandemic pause that lasted more than a year and cancelled two ingatherings in 2020, Lutheran churches from all over Oregon and other parts of the Pacific Northwest, made the trip to St. Andrew again this past Friday and Saturday to share their contributions to LWR’s worldwide relief efforts.

Many thanks to the crew of St. Andrew men and women who loaded the shipping container and handled the paperwork that tracks the quilts, pandemic kits, and other supplies that go where they are needed most.

Lutheran World Relief was founded by US Lutherans at the end of World War II, when about one-fifth of the world’s Lutherans were homeless. It continues to tackle global poverty by helping people adapt to the challenges that threaten their livelihoods and well-being. The organization works with people based on need, regardless of race, religion, or nationality, and it does not evangelize.

The shipping container packed in our parking lot here in Beaverton will be loaded onto a train car and then traverse the US to an LWR warehouse in Baltimore. From there, the supplies are distributed worldwide, offering hope to people when they need it most.

Nifty Notters

The Nifty Notters will meet Saturday, May 15, from 9:00 am-Noon to work on baby quilts for Virginia Garcia Clinic and larger quilts for Lutheran World Relief. We’ll follow COVID protocols, wearing masks and social distancing. Please bring a beverage for yourself. And, if you have questions, contact Mary Brown at 503-439-3917.

MACG May Delegate Assembly

Thursday, May 13, 6:30-8:00 pm, via Zoom

Please join others from MACG’s member organizations at this Delegate Assembly. These gatherings shape the work that MACG does through the tri-county area, and your voice is needed.

Our focus for this assembly is criminal justice reform, in particular, Measure 11—a 1994 ballot measure requiring mandatory minimum sentences—and two key reform bills in Oregon’s current legislative session: House Bill 2002 and Senate Bill 401.

Come to learn more about these bills, hear personal stories, and take action!

To learn more and to register for the event, please got to:

https://www.macg.org/may_da

MACG 2021 Legislative Agenda

One way that MACG strengthens communities is by monitoring proposed legislation, informing our members, and recommending action when it would be helpful. This year’s legislative agenda includes these pending bills:

SB 282 – Extends the grace period for all tenants for repayment of back rent to February 2022.

SB 79 – Promotes homeownership for BIPOC people by providing down payment assistance, grants, loans and technical assistance to organizations.

HB 2475 – Energy Affordability – Decreases utility costs for families already struggling in the economic recession by establishing a Low-Income Utility Rate Class.

HB 2842 – Healthy Homes – Supports home upgrades to help improve the health of families across Oregon.  Establishes a program to provide financial assistance to low-income households and landlords.

HB 2021 – 100% Clean Energy for All – Creates good, well-paying, local jobs in the renewable energy sector that incentivize local projects that are good for communities and reduce pollution by achieving 100% clean energy, as soon as possible.

HB 2002 – An expansive public safety reform bill that includes eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing, reducing unnecessary arrests, and investing in victim services and culturally specific services.

HB 3265 – Sanctuary Promise Act – Strengthens our state’s sanctuary law to reduce the gap between the protection that Oregonians want and the reality in our communities.

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon has also created a handy site to make contacting your elected officials easy. Follow this link to see the issues EMO is supporting, information about how to easily find your elected official, and ideas for making contact (https://emo.good.do/racial-justice/call/).

If you do contact your elected officials, consider joining EMO’s effort to track the contacts by filling out the form on that same site.

The Oregon Legislature maintains a very good website through which you can watch the progress of bills in each session. Find it here: https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws.

Please take a few minutes to see what the legislature is working on this year, and add your voice when you feel moved to do so.  Your elected officials want to hear from you.

St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team

Soil Garden Survey

On this weekend when we celebrate mothers, why not spend a little time thinking about Mother Earth? St. Andrew’s Community Carbon Yard Science team has been exploring gardening strategies that many of us can adopt to improve the environment. We want to know if the people of St. Andrew have been developing soil gardens as a means to store carbon in the soil, thus reducing carbon in the atmosphere.

Even if you’ve never before heard the term “soil garden,” you may already have created one. A soil garden requires three essential elements:

· a thick layer of organic material on your bed with consistent regular additions of the organic matter,

· consistent moisture during the warm months, either by regular watering of your soil garden or initially covering your soil garden with at least three inches of compost and/or mulch, and

· organic material in direct contact with the soil. In other words, no landscape cloth or plastic can separate the organic material from the soil. You may use paper or cardboard on top of the soil to reduce weeds.

A soil garden can be established by simply changing how one or more of your existing beds is managed (for example, shrub beds, tree and shrub beds, perennial beds, perennial and shrub beds, etc.) by regularly adding compost and/or mulch to those beds. Perhaps the easiest bed to convert to a soil garden is a perennial flower garden. All that is needed is to add about an inch of compost annually when the flowers are dormant. Your plants will grow up through the compost, which feeds the millions of creatures living in the soil and delivers nutrients to your plants.

If you have any garden beds that meet this definition. we want to know. Please go this link to complete the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PVPBBNR.

Thank you.

Carol Harker, Eric Luttrell, LuAnn Staul, and
the Community Carbon Yard Science Team

Guild in the City: Portland Japanese Garden

May 8, 2021, 9:45 am-12 pm

Join Grunewald Guild director, Brian Johnson, and Guild board member, Susan Kintner, for a self-directed, socially distanced outdoor art outing at Portland’s Japanese Garden this weekend.

A self-directed walk will include a pamphlet of poems and sacred texts linked with the garden. The self-guided tour is expected to last about two hours, after which participants will gather for a conversation exploring the art and poetry they encountered in the morning.

Register for the event ($10 general/$2 students) today and be certain to also purchase an entrance ticket to the Portland Japanese Garden for Saturday, May 8.

In Need of Prayers…

If you know someone in need of prayers, please contact the church office by phone at 503-646-0629 or email office@standrewlutheran.com Tuesday-Friday, prayerchain@standrewlutheran.com Saturday-Monday.

Family and friends of Jerry Werner (cousin)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Susan Werner Reiser
Family and friends of Roald Kindem (grandfather)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Megan Webber
Carol Grover (sister)	Peaceful passing	Nan Thompson
Deborah Townsend (mother)	Peaceful passing	Holly Bishop-Perdue
Marvel Lund	Peace and comfort in hospice care	Christine Murray (daugter)
Baby Hazel (granddaughter of good friend)	Healing	Bob & Judy Scholz
Luke (13-year-old friend)	Healing and recovery from COVID	Rebecca Fako Uecker
Warren McAlpine	Healing and recovery	Donna McAlpine
Ginny Link	Continued prayers for accurate diagnosis, effective treatment, and healing	Ginny Link
Gary & Gail Grafwallner	Smooth transition	Staff
Corine Shelley Walker	Smooth transition and excellent care	LuAnn Staul
Madeleine (granddaughter)	Thanksgiving for her release from the hospital	Mary Smith
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Availability of vaccines for COVID-19	Thanksgiving for the people and systems making vaccinations possible	Staff
People of India	Aid and support as COVID ravages the country	Staff
St. Andrew Council Executive Commmittee Staff	Wisdom and discernment	Staff
Karen Klingelhafer, Kyler Vogt, and all seminarians India Jensen Kerr and all theology students	Encouragement and support	Staff
St. Andrew Foundation	Blessings on their ministry	Staff
Luther Memorial Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) St. Mark’s Lutheran Church (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Masjid Abu Bakr (Portland, OR)	Blessings on our interfaith partners	Staff
Individual friends and loved ones in need of prayer	Whatever they most need; say their names in your heart or aloud	Everyone

A Prayer for the Week

Thank you, Beloved God, for all the mothers
who watch over their families,
giving themselves to service in your name.
Bless them with hope and joy,
and relieve them of the extra burden
this pandemic has placed on their shoulders.
Amen.

Preparing for Sunday, May 16

Reading: Acts 1:15-17
Gospel: John 17:6-19

Go to the “Preparing for Worship” webpage for the bulletins, the complete Lectionary, and more.

Highlights for the Week

Go to the complete online church calendar for the most up-to-date information.

Sunday, May 9

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	NO Sunday School
10:00 am	NO Confirmation
10:00 am	NO High School Youth Group
10:00 am	Education Forum: Transforming Vision, Appreciating Art with Pastor Brian Johnson	via Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Monday, May 10

7:00 pm

Men’s Book Club

Contact Eric Luttrell

Tuesday, May 11

10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.
1:00 pm	Lydia Circle	St. Andrew Room
1:30 pm	Service Committee	via Zoom
6:00 pm	HR Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Finance Team Meeting	Zoom

Wednesday, May 12 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

10:00 am	Reopening Team Meeting	Zoom
6:00 pm	Handbell Ensemble Rehearsal	Zoom
6:30 pm	Informal Gathering Time	Zoom
7:00 pm	Evening Prayer	Zoom
7:00 pm	High School Youth Hangout	Zoom
7:30 pm	Centering Prayer	Zoom

Thursday, May 13

12:00 pm

Staff Meeting

Zoom

Friday, May 14

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.

Saturday, May 15

9:00 am

Nifty Notters

Fellowship Hall

Sunday, May 16

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Sunday School	Zoom
10:00 am	Confirmation	Zoom
10:00 am	High School Youth Group	Zoom
10:00 am	Adult Education: “Women in the Gospels” with Karen Klingelhafer	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
12:30 pm	Earth Camp Planning Meeting	Zoom

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give: Thank you for supporting our ministries!

Thank you for supporting the ministries of St. Andrew!