Affirmation of Welcome Statement
At St. Andrew Lutheran Church, we strive to be a loving and welcoming community of faith. We are centered in the Good News of Jesus Christ, who calls us to reconciliation and wholeness in a world of alienation and brokenness.
All are welcome, without exception, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical or mental ability, education, income, or family status.
All are welcome here to worship God, receive the sacrament, and share in fellowship, leadership, and service. We commit to treasuring one another’s similarities and differences as one body in Christ.
We are called to provide a safe space in the community as we break down the barriers of isolation. We will continue to discover what it means to be “Reconciling in Christ.”
Welcome one another therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
Romans 15:7
This Affirmation of Welcome Statement was adopted by the St. Andrew Congregation on December 2, 2012.
About St. Andrew Lutheran
St. Andrew Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. At the core of the Evangelical Lutheran tradition is the good news of the abundant grace of God in Jesus Christ. St. Andrew seeks to embody that grace in our ministry and mission.
+ Here you will discover a place where you can come to give thanks, to pray, and to celebrate together in word and music.
+ Here you will encounter fellowship, care, and love provided by people committed to each other, to their community, and to God.
+ Here you will find a place of comfort and a place to find your way again when you may have lost the path. St. Andrew offers the opportunity to minister to others and to respond together to the challenges of our times, be it hunger, homelessness, joblessness, environmental degradation, natural disaster, war, or racism.
+ Here you will discover and nurture your talents in service to God.
+ Here you will find a place for spiritual growth, education, and renewal. You will find a journey of discovery that begins with our community at baptism and extends to the community beyond our walls and often beyond our borders.
+ Here you will find a place of grace.
God + earth + community + neighbor + self
Our Core Values:
Because God first loved us…
God Care
Praising, giving thanks, and confessing to God and interceding on behalf of God’s people and creatures in worship, prayer, and daily life.
Earth Care
Recognizing Earth as our home and all God’s creatures as our kin, confessing where we have contributed to ecological destruction, and seeking to renew Earth and all its inhabitants.
Community Care
Partnering with other organizations in the community to provide for the well-being of individuals and the community as a whole.
Neighbor Care
Providing mercy and seeking justice for our neighbor in need, especially the most vulnerable among us.
Self Care
Seeking physical, emotional, social/interpersonal, intellectual, vocational, financial, and spiritual well-being for our self.
God + earth + community + neighbor + self
St. Andrew’s History
The people of St. Andrew Lutheran Church first worshiped together on September 7, 1952 in the auditorium of the old Sunset Valley Elementary School in nearby Cedar Mill. Gathered that day were 38 adults and seven children.
Organizational Meeting
March 22, 1953
With donations of $500, coupled with a $5,500 loan, the charter members of St. Andrew purchased land on Joy Street, near Murray Boulevard, upon which two houses would be built, one to be used as a chapel, the other as a school. Within six months, the church was chartered. The members of St. Andrew declared their intention to pray, to study, and to share in the worldwide work of the Church of Christ.
Five years later, the present ten-acre site in Cedar Hills, then a rural and undeveloped area nearly seven miles from Portland’s city center, was purchased. Upon groundbreaking for the first building on the site, the Valley News declared “Faith, Shovel Move Earth.” Construction of a Fellowship Hall was completed and a “Day of Joyful Entry” was declared for November 5, 1961. A secretary’s office, classrooms, and an expanded Narthex soon followed.
10-Acre Cedar Hills Site on Butner Road
Winter 1971
Twenty-five years after the dedication of the first building, ground was broken for a new Sanctuary. In 1987, the current Sanctuary was completed. It is an expansive space with soaring windows overlooking the seven-acre wetlands. Prominent in the Sanctuary is a locally made tapestry, handcrafted by Eleanor Van de Water, installed in 1990, and a Northwest-made Fritts Organ with its hand-carved pipe shades, installed in 1994.
On Sunday, March 6, 2011, ground was broken for a new Fellowship and Education Wing, to replace the old Fellowship Hall. The people of St. Andrew celebrated the completion of the building and renovation of the grounds with a housewarming for the community on Saturday, May 5, 2012, and the dedication of the new space on Sunday, May 6, 2012. The building and grounds reflect the church’s Core Values of God Care, Earth Care, Community Care, Neighbor Care, and Self Care.