Blog

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!

May 2, 2021

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

Women in the Gospels

Join seminarian Karen Klingelhafer via Zoom at 10:00 am Sunday, May 2, when she will consider the story of the woman accused of adultery (John 7:53-8:11) in her “Women in the Gospels” class.

Opening the Door to Small Groups

Thanks to volunteer Narthex Greeters, St. Andrew’s Narthex doors are now unlocked during regular church office hours, 9:00 am-4:00 pm, Tuesday-Friday. Masks continue to be required in the building for everyone, but if you happen to forget yours, we do have disposable masks available.

Step by step, we progress toward the goal of offering in-person worship again. We hope to do so beginning in July—depending greatly on the status of coronavirus activity and the public’s willingness to continue to follow safety protocols. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, we are inviting small-group ministries (10 people or fewer) to resume meeting in the building if they would like. Each group will reclaim its regular meeting time and location. Lydia Circle, for instance, meets on the second Tuesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 pm in the St. Andrew Room.

If you would like to get your recurring meetings back on the church calendar and if your attendance is 10 people or fewer, please call the church office at 503-646-0629.

Wednesday Evening Prayer

Midweek Prayer Services continue into the Easter season this Wednesday, May 5, 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.

Nifty Notters

The Nifty Notters will begin meeting in the Fellowship hall again on Saturday, May 1, from 9:00 am-Noon. We’ll be following Covid protocols, which means masks, social distancing, and no food, but we’ll be together again to work on quilts and share conversation. Hooray! You are encouraged to bring a drink for yourself. 

Despite not meeting in person for a year, the Notters accomplished a great deal at home. Pam Farr was at church every Tuesday working on quilts herself or putting projects together for volunteers to pick up and do at home. Because of this, we were able to give 32 LWR quilts to Portland Rescue Mission’s Shepard’s Door for women and The Harbor for men. They also received four baby quilts. Four LWR quilts were given to St. Andrew members affected by last summer’s fires and several baby quilts to local families in need. We’ll be sending around 50 quilts to this May’s LWR ingathering. Forty-four baby quilts were given to Virginia Garcia Clinic and six to Saving Grace shelter for pregnant homeless unwed teens. In late summer Virginia Garcia Clinic and Saving Grace quit accepting donations because of COVID, so we now have more than 100 baby quilts in our closet waiting for homes.

Those working from home to make all this possible included Pam Farr, Doris Larson, Mary Brown, Ethel Ritchey, Phyllis Vachal, Debbie Gustafson, Anne Williams, and Pam and Tom Jelineo, with Nan Thompson sewing more baby and LWR quilts than everyone else combined. I’m sure there are others whose names have been left out, but as you can see, for not meeting once, its been a very productive year. If you have any questions about meeting or home projects, please contact Mary Brown at 503-439-3917.

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 go to:

https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/acc/d/portland-bookkeeper/7296865006.html.

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.

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.

Since enrollment will be limited to ensure the best experience for all campers, it may be important for people in the St. Andrew Community to take advantage of Early Registration. Please use the link e-mailed to you on Sunday, April 18, to register now.

Registration will open to the public on May 1. At that time, the registration link will be available on the Earth Camp 2021 page on the church website.

Calling All Hands to Get in Touch

St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team invite you to be a part of our continuing effort to make contact with as many members of our faith community as we can over the course of a few weeks.

Several volunteers met last Sunday and either made contact or promised to make contact with almost 130 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 the majority of people on our roster.

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

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 Oregon board member. Visit www.GrunewaldGuild.com for more information.

One Long River of Song

Portland lost beloved author Brian Doyle to brain cancer a few years ago, but his voice continues to resonate in One Long River of Song, a collection of essays published posthumously in 2019. Pastor Susan says that it’s the best book she’s read this year and she’s ordered many copies from local bookstore Annie Bloom’s to send to friends. Both funny and fierce, Brian Doyle was by Pastor Susan’s description “a mature Christian.” In One Long River of Song, he exhorts us to pay attention and to recognize the wonder that surrounds us in everyday life.

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.

You can 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 what we liked and didn’t like 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.

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.

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!

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

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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 Roald Kindem (grandfather)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Megan Webber
Family and friends of Mary Bucher	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Sue Cahlander
Family and friends of Ben, especially his mother Christy	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Rebecca Fako Uecker
Family and friends of Deborah Townsend (mother)	Peace and comfort as death nears	Holly Bishop-Perdue
Marvel Lund	Peace and comfort in hospice care	Christine Murray (daugter)
Nancy Kayani (friend)	Emotional support and financial assistance	Sue Jacobi
Warren McAlpine	Healing and recovery	Donna McAlpine
Ginny Link	Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment for skin issues	Ginny Link
Corine Shelley Walker	Smooth transition and excellent care	LuAnn Staul
Madeleine (granddaughter)	Thanksgiving for her release from the hospital	Mary Smith
Carol Werner	Success in finding an affordable home	Carol Werner
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Availability of vaccines for COVID-19	Thanksgiving for the people and systems making vaccinations more and more available	Staff
People of India	Aid and support as COVID ravages the country	Staff
Our nation’s police	Courage, judgment, compassion for those they serve	Staff
Families affected by racial violence	Commitment to justice and hope for the future	Staff
Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar Oregon Synod and Staff	Strength and wisdom	Staff
Refugees and immigrants	Acceptance and safety	Staff
The homeless in our country	Comfort, hope, and shelter	Staff
Military personnel, especially Justina Hailey Hope Brocker, Evan Dahlquist, Dawson Dethlefs, Neil Fiegenbaum, and Jerami Reyna	Strength and wisdom	Staff
Heavenly Peace Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) Holy Trinity Lutheran Church (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Congregation Neveh Shalom (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

Preparing for Sunday, May 9

Reading: Acts 10:44-48
Gospel: John 15:9-17

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 2

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

Tuesday, May 4

10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.
10:00 am	Worship Planners Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	MACG Meeting	Zoom

Wednesday, May 5 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

12:30 pm	Bonhoeffer Seminar	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 6

12:00 pm	Staff Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Executive (Council) Committee Meeting	Zoom

Friday, May 7

7:00 am	Lutheran World Relief Ingathering	Community Garden Parking Lot, Garden Shed
10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.

Saturday, May 8

9:00 am

Lutheran World Relief Ingathering

Community Garden Parking Lot, Garden Shed

Sunday, May 9–Mother’s Day

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	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!

April 25, 2021

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

April Movie Night: My Octopus Teacher

Since April 22 is Earth Day, our Movie Night on Friday, April 23, will feature a film that shows a beautiful confluence of people and nature: My Octopus Teacher. This documentary was shot in a kelp forest in South Africa and introduces the viewer to the flora and fauna to be found there. In particular, we meet a very special octopus and watch her interactions with the diver. As Craig, the diver expressed, “What she taught me to feel is that you’re a part of this place, not just a visitor.”

Stream the documentary on Netflix and then meet with your St. Andrew friends on Zoom on Friday, April 23, at 7:00 pm. Bring out the popcorn, gather round your computer screen, and let’s talk about what we liked and didn’t like about this movie. You’ll find the Movie Night Zoom link in Carol Harker’s “Weekly News” e-mail on Friday, April 23. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Smith.

Women in the Gospels

How do the interactions that Jesus has with women in the New Testament help us understand Jesus better? Do these stories reveal more about what the Bible has to say regarding discipleship, friendship, oppression, and even the church’s role in the world today?

Join seminarian Karen Klingelhafer via Zoom at 10:00 am Sunday, April 25, when she will consider the story of Mary and Elizabeth (Luke 1:5-2:56) to discover more about the role women play in death and resurrection stories in the Gospels.

Opening the Door to Small Groups

Thanks to volunteer Narthex Greeters, St. Andrew’s Narthex doors are now unlocked during regular church office hours, 9:00 am-4:00 pm, Tuesday-Friday. Masks continue to be required in the building for everyone, but if you happen to forget yours, we do have disposable masks available.

Step by step, we progress toward the goal of offering in-person worship again. We hope to do so beginning in July—depending greatly on the status of coronavirus activity and the public’s willingness to continue to follow safety protocols. Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, we are inviting small-group ministries (10 people or fewer) to resume meeting in the building if they would like. Each group will reclaim its regular meeting time and location. Lydia Circle, for instance, meets on the second Tuesday of the month from 1:00-3:00 pm in the St. Andrew Room.

If you would like to get your recurring meetings back on the church calendar and if your attendance is 10 people or fewer, please call the church office at 503-646-0629.

Table Talk: Declaring St. Andrew a Sanctuary Congregation Revisited

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, led by St. Andrew’s Sanctuary Team. It will be held via Zoom on Thursday, April 29, 7:00-8:00 pm.

In February of 2020 the Sanctuary Team introduced the congregation to a proposal, “Calling for St. Andrew Lutheran Church to be a Sanctuary Congregation.” Members of the team shared how they had broadened their understanding of what it means to show hospitality to resident non-citizens. A key Bible verse grounding this proposal is Leviticus 19:34:

“The non-citizen who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the non-citizen as yourself, for you were non-citizens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

The plan was to have the congregation vote on declaring St. Andrew a sanctuary congregation at a special meeting on Pentecost Sunday. When the pandemic hit, a decision was made to wait until we could meet in person to consider the proposal.

The Sanctuary Team does not want to delay this decision past another Pentecost. When the Council met on April 15, they decided to recommend this sanctuary proposal to the congregation. During this April Table Talk the Sanctuary Team will reintroduce the proposal to participants and invite dialogue on it. You are encouraged to read the Sanctuary Declaration on the church website before we gather to discuss it on April 29.

A special congregational meeting to make a decision on declaring St. Andrew a sanctuary congregation is planned between services on Pentecost Sunday, May 23. In all likelihood we will be meeting by Zoom.

Wednesday Evening Prayer

Midweek Prayer Services continue into the Easter season this Wednesday, April 28, 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.

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 go to:

https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/acc/d/portland-bookkeeper/7296865006.html.

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.

Your 2020 Giving Statement

Our new giving platform does not have a print feature for each account. Don’t worry. Simply send your request to the Financial Secretaries at financial-secretary@standrewlutheran.com and you will receive your statement via e-mail. Since Financial Secretaries are volunteers, we’ll reply within 7 days or as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Within your own account, you can continue to look online at both your giving history and your Year-to-Date donations. Beginning next January, we will complete a mass e-mail distribution for each individual contribution statement by February 1.

Thank you for your continued support of the Ministry and Mission of St. Andrew Lutheran Church.

Blessings,
Financial Secretaries of SALC

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Habitat’s Hope Builder Breakfast

You are invited to join us for this year’s Habitat for Humanity event, which is being held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the upheaval the past year has wrought, the building of homes for hard-working families, who are in many cases living in unsafe, unhealthy, and unaffordable housing, goes on. The keynote speaker for our 2021 event is TV journalist, former news anchor, and international correspondent Ann Curry.

Join us on Wednesday, April 28, at 8:00 am. Register for free at Bit.ly/HopeBuilder 2021. If you have questions, please contact Dan Fako at dan43theman@comcast.net. or 503-626-3414.

Hope for All Update

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope, encourage you and strengthen you to always do and say what is good.

2 Thessalonians 2:15-16

I want to offer some very good news concerning the Hope For All Campaign.  

Eight months ago, I announced that as of early August 2020 we had finally reduced the mortgage balance below $1,000,000. At that time for every $1.00 donated about $.70 was going to the Principal and $.30 was going to Interest. I am very pleased to tell you that, as of early April, we now owe about $787,000 and that for every $1.00 we pay on our mortgage, about $.80 is going toward reducing the Principal.

The Treasurers have been very diligent each month to pay down the Principal as much as possible, while maintaining a responsible reserve. I want to thank all of you for the generosity of your giving toward the Hope For All Campaign. Just imagine what we can do without having the burden of a mortgage.

 

Again, thank you to all who continue to support St. Andrew’s Ministries and A Hope For All, our mortgage fund.

God Bless,
Ken Reiner

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.

Calling All Hands to Get in Touch

St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team invite you to be a part of our continuing effort to make contact with as many members of our faith community as we can over the course of a few weeks.

Several volunteers met last Sunday and either made contact or promised to make contact with almost 130 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 the majority of people on our roster.

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

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.

One Long River of Song

Portland lost beloved author Brian Doyle to brain cancer a few years ago, but his voice continues to resonate in One Long River of Song, a collection of essays published posthumously in 2019. Pastor Susan says that it’s the best book she’s read this year and she’s ordered many copies from local bookstore Annie Bloom’s to send to friends. Both funny and fierce, Brian Doyle was by Pastor Susan’s description “a mature Christian.” In One Long River of Song, he exhorts us to pay attention and to recognize the wonder that surrounds us in everyday life.

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 between worship services.

Pastor Johnson brings 25 years’ experience in Lutheran higher education and fine arts to the Grunewald Guild, where he serves as executive director. The Grunewald Guild is a 40-year-old retreat center nestled beside the Wenatchee River near Leavenworth, Washington, that 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, stained glass, collage, water color, 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 Oregon board member. Visit www.GrunewaldGuild.com for more information.

Getting Vaccinated

All Oregonians 16 and older are now eligible to receive COVID vaccinations, although only the Pfizer vaccine has emergency use approval from the FDA for people 16 or 17 years old. The Moderna vaccine is approved for people 18 and older, while administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains suspended to allow further study.

If you would like to check on vaccine availability near you and don’t know where to start, go to vaccinefinder.org, enter your zip code, and the program will list locations offering the shots within 25 miles of your home. Select a location, click on the green arrow to the right, and you will learn which vaccines are in stock at the location of your choice. You can check appointment availability from the same page and quickly move one step closer to a life with greater freedom and fewer risks.

Meanwhile, fears of a fourth wave are becoming a reality in many parts of the country. More than half of Oregon’s counties, including Washington Country, are now considered at high risk. This means that restaurants, gyms, and retail stores will once again need to limit the number of people allowed indoors. In addition, people are also asked to limit private social gatherings to eight people or less.

A little more than a month ago, risk levels and virus transmission were dropping in Oregon, but now the state is seeing some 700-plus confirmed and presumptive coronavirus cases a day.

“As we face more contagious variants and increased spread of COVID-19 in our communities,” Governor Kate Brown said in a news release, “the best way to protect yourself and others is to get vaccinated. Until you, your family, your friends, and your neighbors are fully vaccinated, it’s also critical that we all continue to wear masks, maintain physical distance, and stay home when sick.”

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!

A Prayer for the Week

Righteous God,
give me courage to speak up in the face of injustice and
to advocate for those whose cries are ignored.
Help me to see the divine in all of humankind
and in everything you have created.
Amen.

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.

Since enrollment will be limited to ensure the best experience for all campers, it may be important for people in the St. Andrew Community to take advantage of Early Registration beginning Sunday, April 18. Watch your inbox Sunday morning for a link to the registration form.

Nifty Notters

The Nifty Notters will begin meeting in the Fellowship hall again on Saturday, May 1, from 9:00 am-Noon. We’ll be following Covid protocols, which means masks, social distancing, and no food, but we’ll be together again to work on quilts and share conversation. Hooray! You are encouraged to bring a drink for yourself. 

Despite not meeting in person for a year, the Notters accomplished a great deal at home. Pam Farr was at church every Tuesday working on quilts herself or putting projects together for volunteers to pick up and do at home. Because of this, we were able to give 32 LWR quilts to Portland Rescue Mission’s Shepard’s Door for women and The Harbor for men. They also received four baby quilts. Four LWR quilts were given to St. Andrew members affected by last summer’s fires and several baby quilts to local families in need. We’ll be sending around 50 quilts to this May’s LWR ingathering. Forty-four baby quilts were given to Virginia Garcia Clinic and six to Saving Grace shelter for pregnant homeless unwed teens. In late summer Virginia Garcia Clinic and Saving Grace quit accepting donations because of COVID, so we now have more than 100 baby quilts in our closet waiting for homes.

Those working from home to make all this possible included Pam Farr, Doris Larson, Mary Brown, Ethel Ritchey, Phyllis Vachal, Debbie Gustafson, Anne Williams, and Pam and Tom Jelineo, with Nan Thompson sewing more baby and LWR quilts than everyone else combined. I’m sure there are others whose names have been left out, but as you can see, for not meeting once, its been a very productive year. If you have any questions about meeting or home projects, please contact Mary Brown at 503-439-3917.

Kiss the Ground & Regenerate Our Earth

Celebrate the 51^st anniversary of Earth Day (coming up on April 22) by watching the new film Kiss the Ground and learning ways you can incorporate regenerative agriculture into your yard management practices. People of faith all over the country are watching this film during April, generously available for free through Interfaith Power & Light. As the film shows, regenerating the world’s soils has the potential to rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems, and create abundant food supplies. The transition can bolster our hope while rehabilitating the planet.

Havurah Shalom, EcoFaith Recovery, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO), and Oregon Interfaith Power & Light are partnering to host a discussion about Kiss the Ground.

In addition to the opportunity to talk about the film, the group is presenting a panel discussion featuring some leaders in the movement toward restoring the Earth. Kristin Ohlson, author of The Soil Will Save Us, Teague Cullen, an Oregon farmer from Sherrett Food Forest, and Jennilee Porch from EcoFaith Recovery will share their insights. Of special interest to many of us, Jennilee will talk about the Community Carbon initiative and is likely to use the pilot project we’ve been shepherding here at St. Andrew as an example of what we can accomplish.

Stream the film between now and April 25, then attend a Zoom discussion on Sunday, April 25, from 4:00-6:00 pm. Register here (it’s free!) to receive links to watch Kiss the Ground and to attend the April 25^th discussion.

Improving the Value of Yard Work

With the return of the sun and the promise of warmer days ahead, members of the Community Carbon Yard Science team are eager to get back in the field. Please complete the electronic survey you received on Wednesday to help us direct our efforts this year. And, if you would like the team to visit your property in 2021, please let us know as we will begin building our schedule soon.

Although we have shifted our focus away from complete yard surveys where we measure every tree and inch of soil on your property, we remain eager to learn from your experiences caring for your yard and to help you achieve your goals. We are working to regenerate soil so that it sequesters and stores more carbon, but there are many other benefits, too: reduced runoff, weed control, a healthy environment for native wildlife. Please call Eric Luttrell at 503-848-3223 to learn more or to schedule a visit.

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 Mary Bucher	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Sue Cahlander
Family and friends of Ben, especially his mother Christy	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Rebecca Fako Uecker
Family and friends of Charlotte Werner (aunt)	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Susan Werner Reiser
Family and friends of Deborah Townsend	Peace and comfort as death nears	Holly Bishop-Perdue
Mary Ellen Johnson	Strength, comfort, and healing	Joanne Zenger
Nancy Kayani (friend)	Emotional support and financial assistance	Sue Jacobi
Marvel Lund	Effective treatment, healing, and recovery	Christine Murray (daughter)
Ginny Link	Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment for skin issues	Ginny Link
Roby Chavez (teenage son of friends)	Healing and recovery from COVID-19	Bob & Judy Sch9olz
Gary Magnuson	Healing and recovery from back surgery	Pastor Mark Brocker
Corine Shelley Walker (mother-in-law)	Successful transition to memory care	LuAnn Staul
Madeleine (granddaughter)	Thanksgiving for her release from the hospital	Mary Smith
Carol Werner	Success in finding an affordable home	Carol Werner
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Availability of vaccines for COVID-19	Thanksgiving for the people and systems making vaccinations more and more available	Staff
Our nation’s police	Courage, judgment, compassion for those they serve	Staff
Families affected by racial violence	Commitment to justice and hope for the future	Staff
Those facing ongoing illness or distress	Dave Bumgardner, Tandy Brooks, Vic Claar, Gary Grafwallner, Marvel Lund, Ian MacDonald, Gary Magnuson, Hugh Mason, Carol Means, Brian McKiernan, Ed Pacey, Corky Poppert, Jolie Reyna, Nan Thompson, 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
Salt & Light Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) Bethany Lutheran Church (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Al Furqan Islamic Center (Portland, OR)	Blessings on our interfaith partners	Staff
The Muslim Community	Blessings for Ramadan	Staff
Individual friends and loved ones in need of prayer	Whatever they most need; say their names in your heart or aloud	Everyone

Preparing for Sunday, May 2

Reading: Acts 8:26-40
Gospel: John 15:1-8

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, April 25

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Sunday School	via Zoom
10:00 am	Confirmation	via Zoom
10:00 am	High School Youth Group	via Zoom
10:00 am	Adult Education with Karen Klingelhafer: Women in the Gospels	via Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
4:00 pm	Kiss the Ground Gathering and Panel Discussion (see article to register)	via Zoom

Tuesday, April 27

10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.
12:15 pm	Community Carbon Leadership Meeting	Zoom

Wednesday, April 28 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

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, April 29

12:00 pm	Staff Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Table Talk: Declaring St. Andrew a Sanctuary Congregation	Zoom

Friday, April 30

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.

Saturday, May 1

9:00 am

Nifty Notters

Fellowship Hall

Sunday, May 2

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

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give: Thank you for supporting our ministries!

Thank you for supporting the ministries of St. Andrew!

April 18, 2021

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

Women in the Gospels

How do the interactions that Jesus has with women in the New Testament help us understand Jesus better? Do these stories reveal more about what the Bible has to say regarding discipleship, friendship, oppression, and even the church’s role in the world today?

Join seminarian Karen Klingelhafer via Zoom at 10:00 am Sunday, April 18, as she continues her five-week Adult Education class, “Women in the Gospels.” to discover more about the role women play in the death and resurrection stories across the Gospels.

Church Doors Are Open!

Oh, happy day! Thanks to a team of volunteer Narthex Greeters, St. Andrew opened its Narthex doors this past week following 13 months of highly restricted access to the church building.

People are now welcome to come and go during regular church office hours, 9:00 am-4:00 pm, Tuesday-Friday. Masks continue to be required in the building for everyone, but if you happen to forget yours, we do have disposable masks available.

Step by step, we progress toward the goal of offering in-person worship again. We hope to do so beginning in July—depending greatly on the status of coronavirus activity and the public’s willingness to continue to follow safety protocols. Stay tuned!

Spirituality Book Group News

The Spirituality Book Group will meet via Zoom on Sunday, April 18, at 3:00 pm to discuss Isabel Allende’s novel, A Long Petal of the Sea, which follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, searching for safety and a place to call home. Mary Smith will lead the discussion.

The Zoom link will be sent to everyone on the Spirituality Book Group e-mail list a few days before the meeting. If you’re not on that list but would like to join the discussion, please contact Mary Smith at dbits1@gmail.com.

Future Reading:

May 16: This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger
Discussion Leader: Susan Reiser

June 13: Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
Discussion Leader: Barbara Gutzler

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

Checking In with Friends

It has been challenging this past year to keep in touch with those we used to meet in the narthex or over coffee. Who do you miss seeing? St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team invite you to be a part of an effort to make contact with as many members of our faith community as we can over the course of a week. Please join us this Sunday, April 18,

from 2:00-4:00 pm via the regular Zoom worship link as we kick off a reboot of last year’s “Let’s Talk, Let’s Listen” campaign. You will hear some tips about what to do and receive a list of names of folks to contact. We will then spend an hour or so contacting as many people as we can. You may use the time to make phone calls, write e-mails, or write notes to those on your list. When we come back together, we will celebrate the contacts we made and share any overall trends that we discovered. What does our community want our leaders to know? Finally, everyone will be invited to contact the rest of the people on their list sometime in the week ahead.

Please note: We will NOT

• Ask for money;
• Ask for or share private information unless we are asked to do so;
• Offer to solve the world’s problems.

But we WILL

• Check in with as many people as possible;
• Share general trends with appropriate leaders;
• Enjoy making contact with people we haven’t seen in person for a while.

If you’d like to be a part of this, but can’t join us on the 18^th, please send an e-mail to Pat Christiansen (patchristiansen@comcast.net).

Thanks for sharing in this important ministry. We know we are a stronger community when we stay in touch.

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

Your 2020 Giving Statement

Our new giving platform does not have a print feature for each account. Don’t worry. Simply send your request to the Financial Secretaries at financial-secretary@standrewlutheran.com and you will receive your statement via e-mail. Since Financial Secretaries are volunteers, we’ll reply within 7 days or as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Within your own account, you can continue to look online at both your giving history and your Year-to-Date donations. Beginning next January, we will complete a mass e-mail distribution for each individual contribution statement by February 1.

Thank you for your continued support of the Ministry and Mission of St. Andrew Lutheran Church.

Blessings,
Financial Secretaries of SALC‘

Hope for All Update

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and in his grace gave us unfailing courage and a firm hope, encourage you and strengthen you to always do and say what is good.

2 Thessalonians 2:15-16

We are seeing many more people being vaccinated, which is very encouraging. As Pastor Mark mentioned in his Grace Notes from April 6, “We will follow CDC public health guidelines as we take initial steps to reopen.“ I can’t wait to be able to go to church in person and enjoy the fellowship of our congregation. We cannot let our guard down, when getting back to normal is in sight.

I want to offer some very good news concerning the Hope For All Campaign.  

Eight months ago, I announced that as of early August 2020 we had finally reduced the mortgage balance below $1,000,000. At that time for every $1.00 donated about $.70 was going to the Principal and $.30 was going to Interest. I am very pleased to tell you that, as of early April, we now owe about $787,000 and that for every $1.00 we pay on our mortgage, about $.80 is going toward reducing the Principal.

The Treasurers have been very diligent each month to pay down the Principal as much as possible, while maintaining a responsible reserve. I want to thank all of you for the generosity of your giving toward the Hope For All Campaign. Just imagine what we can do without having the burden of a mortgage.  

Again, thank you to all who continue to support St. Andrew’s Ministries and A Hope For All, our mortgage fund.

God Bless,
Ken Reiner

Wednesday Evening Prayer

Midweek Prayer Services continue into the Easter season this Wednesday, April 21, 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.

What Choir Is This?

Many of us have been delighted over the last few weeks to hear a local choir augmenting our online worship services. The Madrigal Singers is an auditioned ensemble of 22 singers from Sunset High School. With the pandemic making musical performances difficult at best, their director, Christopher Rust, contacted local faith communities to offer recordings from the group for use during worship as a community service approved by the school principal. If you’d like to thank the Madrigal Singers for their generous gift, please send e-mails to Allison at allisonk@standrewlutheran.com and she will pass them on to the ensemble.

April Movie Night: My Octopus Teacher

Since April 22 is Earth Day, our Movie Night on Friday, April 23, will feature a film that shows a beautiful confluence of people and nature: My Octopus Teacher. This documentary was shot in a kelp forest in South Africa and introduces the viewer to the flora and fauna to be found there. In particular, we meet a very special octopus and watch her interactions with the diver. As Craig, the diver expressed, “What she taught me to feel is that you’re a part of this place, not just a visitor.”

Stream the documentary on Netflix and then meet with your St. Andrew friends on Zoom on Friday, April 23, at 7:00 pm. Bring out the popcorn, gather round your computer screen, and let’s talk about what we liked and didn’t like about this movie. You’ll find the Movie Night Zoom link in Carol Harker’s “Weekly News” e-mail on Friday, April 23. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Smith.

Habitat’s Hope Builder Breakfast

You are invited to join us for this year’s Habitat for Humanity event, which is being held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the upheaval the past year has wrought, the building of homes for hard-working families, who are in many cases living in unsafe, unhealthy, and unaffordable housing, goes on. The keynote speaker for our 2021 event is TV journalist, former news anchor, and international correspondent Ann Curry.

Join us on Wednesday, April 28, at 8:00 am. Register for free at Bit.ly/HopeBuilder 2021. If you have questions, please contact Dan Fako at dan43theman@comcast.net. or 503-626-3414.

Marry a Pregnant Virgin

Subtitled “Unusual Bible Stories for New and Curious Christians,” Frank G. Honeycutt’s book brings lively and fresh interpretations to stories that are centuries old.

This is the guy who writes the column on the first page of Living Lutheran magazine, so if you’re a fan of his, this is the book to read. I am, so naturally I checked it out of our Adult Library. There were some articles I just didn’t get, but that only means there’s more I have to learn. Others are just as great as I’ve come to expect from Honeycutt. It’s a good book and you might be glad to know it’s in St. Andrew’s Library.

Pam Farr
Adult Librarian

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 go to:

https://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/acc/d/portland-bookkeeper/7296865006.html.

Finding Home

Living Lutheran magazine features Julie Aageson’s most recent book, Finding Home, in its April issue. In her thoughtful way, Julie explores what home is and why we all need the haven it should provide. If you’d like to read her lovely essays, the book is now available for $17. Request a copy from the author (jaageson@cord.edu), purchase it from the publisher (https://wipfandstock.com), or order a copy from Amazon.

April’s Living Lutheran is available now for you to pick up in the Narthex. See pages 44-45 of the magazine for “Where God Dwells,” the magazine’s interview with Julie.

Earth Camp 2021: Registration Opens for St. Andrew Community Sunday, April 18

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!

Since enrollment will be limited to ensure the best experience for all campers, it may be important for people in the St. Andrew Community to take advantage of Early Registration beginning Sunday, April 18. Watch your inbox Sunday morning for a link to the registration form.

Registration will open to the public on May 1. At that time the registration link will be available on the Earth Camp 2021 page on the church website.

Improving the Value of Yard Work

With the return of the sun and the promise of warmer days ahead, members of the Community Carbon Yard Science team are eager to get back in the field. Please complete the electronic survey you received on Wednesday to help us direct our efforts this year. And, if you would like the team to visit your property in 2021, please let us know as we will begin building our schedule soon.

Although we have shifted our focus away from complete yard surveys where we measure every tree and inch of soil on your property, we remain eager to learn from your experiences caring for your yard and to help you achieve your goals. We are working to regenerate soil so that it sequesters and stores more carbon, but there are many other benefits, too: reduced runoff, weed control, a healthy environment for native wildlife. Please call Eric Luttrell at 503-848-3223 to learn more or to schedule a visit.

Kiss the Ground & Regenerate Our Earth

Celebrate the 51^st anniversary of Earth Day (coming up on April 22) by watching the new film Kiss the Ground and learning ways you can incorporate regenerative agriculture into your yard management practices. People of faith all over the country are watching this film during April, generously available for free through Interfaith Power & Light. As the film shows, regenerating the world’s soils has the potential to rapidly stabilize Earth’s climate, restore lost ecosystems, and create abundant food supplies. The transition can bolster our hope while rehabilitating the planet.

Havurah Shalom, EcoFaith Recovery, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO), and Oregon Interfaith Power & Light are partnering to host a discussion about Kiss the Ground.

In addition to the opportunity to talk about the film, the group is presenting a panel discussion featuring some leaders in the movement toward restoring the Earth. Kristin Ohlson, author of The Soil Will Save Us, Teague Cullen, an Oregon farmer from Sherrett Food Forest, and Jennilee Porch from EcoFaith Recovery will share their insights. Of special interest to many of us, Jennilee will talk about the Community Carbon initiative and is likely to use the pilot project we’ve been shepherding here at St. Andrew as an example of what we can accomplish.

Stream the film between now and April 25, then attend a Zoom discussion on Sunday, April 25, from 4:00-6:00 pm. Register here (it’s free!) to receive links to watch Kiss the Ground and to attend the April 25^th discussion.

Table Talk: Declaring St. Andrew a Sanctuary Congregation Revisited

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, led by St. Andrew’s Sanctuary Team. It will be held via Zoom on Thursday, April 29, 7:00-8:00 pm.

In February of 2020 the Sanctuary Team introduced the congregation to a proposal, “Calling for St. Andrew Lutheran Church to be a Sanctuary Congregation.” Members of the team shared how they had broadened their understanding of what it means to show hospitality to resident non-citizens. A key Bible verse grounding this proposal is Leviticus 19:34:

“The non-citizen who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the non-citizen as yourself, for you were non-citizens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

The plan was to have the congregation vote on declaring St. Andrew a sanctuary congregation at a special meeting on Pentecost Sunday. When the pandemic hit, a decision was made to wait until we could meet in person to consider the proposal.

The Sanctuary Team does not want to delay this decision past another Pentecost. When the Council met on April 15, they decided to recommend this sanctuary proposal to the congregation. During this April Table Talk the Sanctuary Team will reintroduce the proposal to participants and invite dialogue on it. You are encouraged to read the Sanctuary Declaration on the church website before we gather to discuss it on April 29.

A special congregational meeting to make a decision on declaring St. Andrew a sanctuary congregation is planned between services on Pentecost Sunday, May 23. In all likelihood we will be meeting by Zoom.

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 Charlotte Werner (aunt)	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Susan Werner Reiser
Clay, Christopher, and Donevan Gustafson	Safety and spiritual renewal	Debi Gustafson
Mary Ellen Johnson	Strength, comfort, and healing	Joanne Zenger
Roby Chavez (teenage son of friends)	Healing and recovery from COVID-19	Bob & Judy Sch9olz
Gary Magnuson	Healing and recovery from back surgery	Pastor Mark Brocker
Jan Luttrell	Healing and recovery from a painful fall	Eric Luttrell
Gary Grafwallner	Healing and recovery from Bell’s palsy	Gary Grafwallner
Carol Means and Nan Thompson	Effective cancer treatment	Carol Means and Nan Thompson
Loren (great niece)	Successful treatment, healing, and recovery	Larry & Phyllis Vachal
Corine Shelley Walker (mother-in-law)	Successful transition to memory care	LuAnn Staul
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Health care workers	Strength, courage, protection, and support	Staff
Availability of vaccines for COVID-19	Thanksgiving for the people and systems making vaccinations more and more available	Staff
Mark & Joselle Gallis Hall	Blessings on the birth of their son	Mary Nell Mahler
Victims of hate crimes or gun violence	Protection and peace	Staff
Federal and state lawmakers	Discernment and courage to face national challenges	Staff
Those confined to their homes	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 work	Staff
Portsmouth Trinity Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) Peace Lutheran Church (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Congregation Shaarie Torah(Portland, OR)	Blessings on our interfaith partners	Staff
The Muslim Community	Blessings for Ramadan	Staff
Individual friends and loved ones in need of prayer	Whatever they most need; say their names in your heart or aloud	Everyone

---

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A Prayer for the Week

Loving God,
as you forgive me in Jesus,
help me to forgive
so I can live to love my neighbors.
Amen.

Preparing for Sunday

April 25 2021

Reading: Acts 4:5-12
Gospel: John 10:11-18

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, April 18

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Sunday School	via Zoom
10:00 am	Confirmation	via Zoom
10:00 am	High School Youth Group	via Zoom
10:00 am	Adult Education with Karen Klingelhafer: Women in the Gospels	via Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
2:00 pm	MACG Call Coordinating Meeting	via Zoom

Tuesday, April 20

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

Wednesday, April 21 – 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 Hangout	Zoom
7:30 pm	Centering Prayer	Zoom

Thursday, April 22

12:00 pm	Staff Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	IT Meeting	Zoom

Friday, April 23

10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd
7:00 pm	April Movie Night: My Octopus Teacher	Zoom

Sunday, April 25

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

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give: Thank you for supporting our ministries!

Thank you for supporting the ministries of St. Andrew!

April 11, 2021

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

Women in the Gospels

How do the interactions that Jesus has with women in the New Testament help us understand Jesus better? Do these stories reveal more about what the Bible has to say regarding discipleship, friendship, oppression, and even the church’s role in the world today?

Join seminarian Karen Klingelhafer via Zoom at 10:00 am Sunday, April 18, when she begins her five-week Adult Education class, Women in the Gospels. During the five-week class, she will explore the story of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28), the story of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:21-43), the story of Elizabeth and Mary (Luke 1:5-2:52), the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11), as well as the role women play in the death and resurrection stories across the Gospels.

Church Doors Are Open!

Oh, happy day! St. Andrew is opening its Narthex doors this coming Tuesday, April 13, after 13 months of highly restricted access to the church building.

You will now be able to come and go during regular church office hours, 9:00 am-4:00 pm, Tuesday-Friday. A corps of Narthex Greeters is standing by to welcome and assist you and to remind you that many pandemic protocols remain in place.

Step by step, we progress toward the goal of offering in-person worship again. We hope to do so beginning in July—depending greatly on the status of coronavirus activity and the public’s willingness to continue to follow safety protocols. Stay tuned!

Checking In with Friends

It has been challenging this past year to keep in touch with those we used to meet in the narthex or over coffee. Who do you miss seeing? St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team and Caring Ministries Team invite you to be a part of an effort to make contact with as many members of our faith community as we can over the course of a week. Please join us on Sunday, April 18,from 2:00-4:00 pm via the regular Zoom worship link as we kick off a reboot of last year’s “Let’s Talk, Let’s Listen” campaign. You will hear some tips about what to do and receive a list of names of folks to contact. We will then spend an hour or so contacting as many people as we can. You may use the time to make phone calls, write e-mails, or write notes to those on your list. When we come back together, we will celebrate the contacts we made and share any overall trends that we discovered. What does our community want our leaders to know? Finally, everyone will be invited to contact the rest of the people on their list sometime in the week ahead.

Please note: We will NOT

• Ask for money;
• Ask for or share private information unless we are asked to do so;
• Offer to solve the world’s problems.

But we WILL

• Check in with as many people as possible;
• Share general trends with appropriate leaders;
• Enjoy making contact with people we haven’t seen in person for a while.

If you’d like to be a part of this, but can’t join us on the 18^th, please send an e-mail to Pat Christiansen (patchristiansen@comcast.net).

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

Men’s Book Club Members Consider a Fish

This isn’t a book about fishing on the Rogue River, but, yes, the men’s book club is reading about fish this month and about one fish in particular. What source of protein did Vikings rely on as they sailed west to Greenland and the New World? What was the staple of the medieval diet? According to the Amazon description of Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World, by Mark Kurlansky, “Cod is the reason the Europeans set sail across the Atlantic, and it is the only reason they could.” In his exploration of centuries of cod history, Kurlansky shares recipes, as well as a tragic story of environmental failure, pondering the question: “Is the fish that changed the world forever changed by the world’s folly?”

The Men’s Book Club will meet via Zoom at 7:00 pm on Monday, April 12. Contact Tim Holte if you’d like to join the conversation.

Future Reading:
May 10:      Educated, by Tara Westover
Host: Eric Luttrell

June 14:      The Ghostway, by Tony Hillerman
Host: Ted Miller

July 12:       A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles
Host: Tim Holte

St. Andrew’s NCAA Tourney Winners

We have a couple of perennial challengers and one dark horse in the winners’ circle following the NCAA Tournament this year. Congratulations to first-place winner Ken Reiner, our dark horse, and to Paul Navarre (second place), and Pastor Mark (third place). Well-played, gentlemen!

Spirituality Book Group News

The Spirituality Book Group will meet via Zoom on Sunday, April 18, at 3:00 pm to discuss Isabel Allende’s novel, A Long Petal of the Sea, which follows two young people as they flee the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, searching for safety and a place to call home. Mary Smith will lead the discussion.

The Zoom link will be sent to everyone on the Spirituality Book Group e-mail list a few days before the meeting. If you’re not on that list but would like to join the discussion, please contact Mary Smith at dbits1@gmail.com.

Future Reading:

May 16: This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger
Discussion Leader: Susan Reiser

June 13: Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
Discussion Leader: Barbara Gutzler

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

Your 2020 Giving Statement

Our new giving platform does not have a print feature for each account. Don’t worry. Simply send your request to the Financial Secretaries at financial-secretary@standrewlutheran.com and you will receive your statement via e-mail.

We understand how important your request is during tax season. Since Financial Secretaries are volunteers, we’ll reply within 7 days or as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Within your own account, you can continue to look online at both your giving history and your Year-to-Date donations. Beginning next January, we will complete a mass e-mail distribution for each individual contribution statement by February 1.

Thank you for your continued support of the Ministry and Mission of St. Andrew Lutheran Church.

Blessings,
Financial Secretaries of SALC‘

Wednesday Evening Prayer

Midweek Prayer Services continue into the Easter season this Wednesday, April 14, 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.

Habitat’s Hope Builder Breakfast

You are invited to join us for this year’s Habitat for Humanity event, which is being held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the upheaval the past year has wrought, the building of homes for hard-working families, who are in many cases living in unsafe, unhealthy, and unaffordable housing, goes on. The keynote speaker for our 2021 event is TV journalist, former news anchor, and international orrespondent Ann Curry.

Join us on Wednesday, April 28, at 8:00 am. Register for free at Bit.ly/HopeBuilder 2021. If you have questions, please contact Dan Fako at dan43theman@comcast.net. or 503-626-3414.

April Movie Night: My Octopus Teacher

Since April 22 is Earth Day, our Movie Night on Friday, April 23, will feature a film that shows a beautiful confluence of people and nature: My Octopus Teacher. This documentary was shot in a kelp forest in South Africa and introduces the viewer to the flora and fauna to be found there. In particular, we meet a very special octopus and watch her interactions with the diver. As Craig, the diver expressed, “What she taught me to feel is that you’re a part of this place, not just a visitor.”

Stream the documentary on Netflix and then meet with your St. Andrew friends on Zoom on Friday, April 23, at 7:00 pm. Bring out the popcorn, gather round your computer screen, and let’s talk about what we liked and didn’t like about this movie. You’ll find the Movie Night Zoom link in Carol Harker’s “Weekly News” e-mail on Friday, April 23. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Smith.

Soil Survey

The St Andrew Community Carbon Yard Science team has been exploring gardening strategies that many of us can do to improve the environment. One focus of our work has been to establish soil gardens as a means to store carbon in the soil, reducing the carbon in the atmosphere.

As we enter the gardening season we would like to learn more about your experience with developing soil gardens. Next week we will be sending a survey link to congregation members. Please take a take a few minutes to complete the survey so the Community Carbon Yard Science team knows where to focus its efforts this year.

Carol Harker, Eric Luttrell, LuAnn Staul
and the St. Andrew Community Carbon Team

What Choir Is This?

Many of us have been delighted over the last few weeks to hear a local choir augmenting our online worship services. The Madrigal Singers is an auditioned ensemble of 22 singers from Sunset High School. With the pandemic making musical performances difficult at best, their director, Christopher Rust, contacted local faith communities to offer recordings from the group for use during worship as a community service approved by the school principal. If you’d like to thank the Madrigal Singers for their generous gift, please send e-mails to Allison at allisonk@standrewlutheran.com and she will pass them on to the ensemble.

Butterfly Thanks!

Hallelujah! Blessed by the children at St. Andrew, our Easter banners were adorned with symbols of spring, hope, and resurrection this past Sunday.

Thank you, all you talented kids, for painting and pasting, drawing and coloring lots of butterflies to emerge on this glorious day! We saw pom poms on wings, googly eyes, and glittering gold foil used creatively to symbolize new life and the miracle of Christ’s resurrection. You made us smile and renewed our hope. Thank you!

A Prayer for the Week

Precious Lord,
thank you for blessing me
so that I may bless others.
Amen.

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 Ken Hasen (sister’s brother-in-law)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Jennifer Trom
Clay, Christopher, and Donevan Gustafson	Safety and spiritual renewal	Debi Gustafson
Jan Luttrell	Healing and recovery from a painful fall	Eric Luttrell
Gary Grafwallner	Healing and recovery from Bell’s palsy	Gary Grafwallner
Carol Means and Nan Thompson	Effective cancer treatment	Carol Means and Nan Thompson
Loren (great niece)	Successful treatment, healing, and recovery	Larry & Phyllis Vachal
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Health care workers	Strength, courage, protection, and support	Staff
Madeleine (granddaughter)	Thanksgiving she’s finished her first round of chemo and strength for her journey home	Mary Smith
Carol Hogan	Thanksgiving for good test results	Carol Hogan
Mark & Joselle Gallis Hall	Healthy pregnancy and safe delivery	Mary Nell Mahler
Victims of hate crimes or gun violence	Protection and peace	Staff
Federal and state lawmakers	Discernment and courage to face national challenges	Staff
St. Andrew Council Executive Committee Staff	Wisdom and discernment	Staff
Karen Klingelhafer, Kyler Vogt, and all seminarians	Encouragement and support	Staff
India Jensen Kerr and all theology students	Encouragment and support	Staff
St. Andrew Foundation	Blessings on their ministry	Staff
Central Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) Grace Lutheran Mission (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Masjid as-Sabr (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

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Preparing for Sunday

April 18, 2021

First Reading: Acts 3: 12-19
Gospel: Luke 24:36b-48

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

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Highlights for the Week

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

Sunday, April 11

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

Monday, April 12

7:00 pm

Men’s Book Club

Zoom

Tuesday, April 13

9:00 am	Facility Management Team Meeting	Zoom
10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd.
1:30 pm	Service Committee	Zoom
6:00 pm	HR Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Finance Meeting	Zoom

Wednesday, April 14 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

10:00 am	Reopening Committee Meeting	Zoom
6:00 pm	Sanctuary 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, April 15

12:00 pm	Staff Meeting	Zoom
2:30 pm	Communications Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Council Meeting	Zoom

Friday, April 16

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd

Sunday, April 18

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
2:00 pm	MACG Call Coordinating Meeting	Zoom
3:00 pm	Spirituality Book Group	Zoom

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give: Thank you for supporting our ministries!

Thank you for supporting the ministries of St. Andrew!

Easter Sunday, April 4, 2021

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

Easter Blessings to All

This Sunday we celebrate the miracle of Christ’s resurrection and the promise of God’s redemptive love for us all.

8:15 am, Livestream on YouTube
10:45 am, via Zoom

Please join us 15 minutes earlier than usual in order to enjoy a program of special music prior to worship itself.

Concluding Our Lenten Devotional

The 40 days of Lent now give way to 50 days of Eastertide, a season overflowing with the poetry of resurrection: an empty tomb; a risen, wounded savior; a joyful, astounded community; and a promise of the Spirit to come. The light has lengthened into morning. The new life of spring has arrived. As we go forth to love and serve God and neighbor, our Lenten Devotional poet Mary Oliver reminds us to: Pay attention! Be astonished! Tell about it!

Women in the Gospels

How do the interactions that Jesus has with women in the New Testament help us understand Jesus better? Do these stories reveal more about what the Bible has to say regarding discipleship, friendship, oppression, and even the church’s role in the world today?

Beginning Sunday, April 11, seminarian student Karen Klingelhafer will present her Adult Education class, Women in the Gospels. During the five-week class, she will explore the story of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28), the story of Jairus’s daughter (Mark 5:21-43), the story of Elizabeth and Mary (Luke 1:5-2:52), the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11), and the role women play in the death and resurrection stories across the Gospels.

Classes are offered at 10:00 am Sunday mornings via Zoom.

Centering Prayer

Next Wednesday, April 7, we return to our normal schedule for Wednesday Evening Prayer, with informal gathering at 6:30 pm, prayer service at 7:00 pm, and centering prayer at 7:30 pm.

Celebrating a Century!

Betty Horst turns 100 on April 6. Please help her celebrate by sending her a note or card in remembrance of this special day. Imagine all that Betty has seen and done in her lifetime! Address your mail to: Betty Horst, 5720 SW 203rd Ave, Aloha, OR 97078.

Save the Date

Do you enjoy talking with people on the phone? Or are you more of a note-writer?  St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team invites you to a Zoom gathering on the afternoon of Sunday, April 18. Please plan to join us in an effort to contact as many members of our St. Andrew community as possible. Details will be coming soon, but for now please mark your calendar and think about who you miss seeing in the Narthex on Sunday mornings.

Lenten Food Drive

Thank you to all who have contributed to our Lenten Food Drive, where the total given now stands at $7,432, more than surpassing our goal. These dollars equate to more than 22,000 pounds of food for people who rely on the St. Matthew Food Pantry to meet their nutritional needs.

We know that hunger haunts people even in this richest of countries and it will not end when Lent does. So, please continue to consider donating to alleviate hunger right here in our community. Your gifts mean parents’ worries are eased and more people, especially children, are spared the trauma of going to bed hungry.

Donate electronically by logging into your InFellowship account and selecting “Lenten Food Drive” in the drop-down menu. Go to the church website and click on Give to begin.

April Movie Night: My Octopus Teacher

Since April 22 is Earth Day, our Movie Night on Friday, April 23, will feature a film that shows a beautiful confluence of people and nature: My Octopus Teacher. This documentary was shot in a kelp forest in South Africa and introduces the viewer to the flora and fauna to be found there. In particular, we meet a very special octopus and watch her interactions with the diver. As Craig, the diver expressed, “What she taught me to feel is that you’re a part of this place, not just a visitor.”

Stream the documentary on Netflix and then meet with your St. Andrew friends on Zoom on Friday, April 23, at 7:00 pm. Bring out the popcorn, gather round your computer screen, and let’s talk about what we liked and didn’t like about this movie.

You’ll find the Movie Night Zoom link in Carol Harker’s “Weekly News” e-mail on Friday, April 23. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Smith.

Finding Home

Living Lutheran magazine features Finding Home, Julie Aageson’s most recent book, in its April issue. In her thoughtful way, Julie explores what home is and why we all need the haven it should provide. The book is available for $17. You may request a copy from the author (jaageson@cord.edu), purchase it from Wipf & Stock, the publisher (https://wipfandstock.com), or order it from Amazon.

The current issue of Living Lutheran is now available for you to pick up at the church. See pages 44-45 for “Where God Dwells,” the magazine’s interview with Julie Aageson.

Treasurer Needed

St. Andrew’s Financial Committee is searching for a Treasurer. At the end of June 2021, Anne Newell will be stepping down from that role to pursue new activities. We’re looking for someone to step into her shoes and we’re hoping someone in the congregation will be “willing and able.”

Whether one person or a team step forward, we’ll train and assist you in taking over this important function for our church. Please prayerfully consider this opportunity to serve. Call Anne Newell at 503-781-9076 for more information.

Online Giving Update

The online giving page has been updated so it will look a little different, but your login information remains the same. Find the link to the new online giving page, watch helpful videos, and more on the church website under Give.

A Prayer for Easter

Risen and rising God, help us
dare to pray, dare to rise,
dare to be a blazing lily
this morning and
every morning.
Hallelujah!
Amen.

Habitat’s Hope Builder Breakfast

You are invited to join us for this year’s Habitat for Humanity event, which is being held virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the upheaval the past year has wrought, the building of homes for hard-working families, who are in many cases living in unsafe, unhealthy, and unaffordable housing, goes on. The keynote speaker for our 2021 event is TV journalist, former news anchor, and international correspondent Ann Curry.

Join us on Wednesday, April 28, at 8:00 am. Register for free at Bit.ly/HopeBuilder 2021.

If you have questions, please contact Dan Fako at dan43theman@comcast.net. or call 503-626-3414.

Still Looking for Your 2020 Giving Statement?

Our new giving platform does not have a print feature for each account. Don’t worry. Simply send your request to the Financial Secretaries at financial-secretary@standrewlutheran.com and you will receive a statement copy via e-mail.  

We understand how important your request is during tax season. Since Financial Secretaries are volunteers, we’ll reply within 7 days or as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Within your own account, you can continue to look online at both your giving history and your Year-to-Date donations. Beginning next January, we will complete a mass e-mail distribution for each individual contribution statement by February 1.

Thank you for your continued support of the Ministry and Mission of St. Andrew Lutheran Church.

Blessings
Financial Secretaries of SALC,

Bread for the World Letters

If you participated in writing to your congressional representative and senators in support of Bread for the World, please remember to inform LuAnn Staul (ljstaul@gmail.com or 503-314-6321) so that the Service Committee can report how many letters were sent from St. Andrew. And thank you for keeping the needs of hungry people all over the world a priority for the U.S. Congress.

Narthex Greeters

In just two weeks, we will have Narthex Greeters in place to welcome people when we unlock our front doors for the first time in more than a year. We are hopeful that this will be the first of several methodical steps we take to continue to keep everyone safe and to return to more normal operations at St. Andrew.

Please Note: The front doors will be open during office hours only, 9:00 am-4:00 pm, Tuesday through Friday. While we recognize that many, if not most, of our older community have been completely vaccinated, we will continue to follow advice from the Center for Disease Control. Therefore, we will enforce a mask mandate for everyone entering the building.

Greeters will help remind all of us to follow the protocols as they answer the phone, greet people, and help them get the information or make the contacts they seek.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to be a Narthex Greeter. Two times remain available: a short shift from 10:45 am-12:30 pm on Thursday and a full shift on Friday afternoon.(12:30-4:00 pm). Call Carol in the church office (503-646-0629) if you would like to volunteer by making a regular weekly commitment or by providing backup for others when their schedules prevent them from being on duty.

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 Ken Hasen (sister’s brother-in-law)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Jennifer Trom
Family and friends of Bill Branch	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Linda Fransen
Family and friends of Carol Hudspeth	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Dan & Sharon Bako
Jan Luttrell	Healing and recovery from a painful fall	Eric Luttrell
Gary Grafwallner	Healing and recovery from Bell’s palsy	Gary Grafwallner
Ruth Gunther	Healing and recovery from broken ribs	Fran Miller
Carol Hogan	Good test results	Fran Miller
Carol Means and Nan Thompson	Effective cancer treatment	Carol Means and Nan Thompson
Loren (great niece)	Successful treatment, healing, and recovery	Larry & Phyllis Vachal
Bobbie Larson	Effective treatment and healing	Bobbie Larson
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Health care workers	Strength, courage, protection, and support	Staff
Madeleine (granddaughter)	Thanksgiving she’s finished her first round of chemo and strength for her journey home	Mary Smith
Mark & Joselle Gallis Hall	Healthy pregnancy and safe delivery	Mary Nell Mahler
Victims of hate crimes or gun violence	Protection and peace	Staff
Federal and state lawmakers	Discernment and courage to face national challenges	Staff
Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar Oregon Synod and Staff	Strength and wisdom	Staff
Refugees and immigrants	Acceptance, safety, and just treatment	Staff
The homeless in our country	Comfort, hope, and shelter	Staff
Military personnel, especially Justina Hailey Hope Brocker, Evan Dahlquist, Dawson Dethlefs, Neil Fiegenbaum, and Jerami Reyna	Courage and protection	Staff
Bethel Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) BethlehemLutheran Church (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Beit Haverim (Lake Oswego, 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

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Preparing for Sunday

April 11, 2021

First Reading: Acts 4:32-35
Gospel: John 20:19-31

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

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Highlights for the Week

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

Sunday, April 4, Easter Sunday

8:30 am	Livestream Worship with Communion	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
	NO Sunday School, Confirmation, or High School Youth Group
	NO Adult Education
11:00 am	Zoom Worship with Communion	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Tuesday, April 6

10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd
7:00 pm	MACG Meeting	via Zoom

Wednesday, April 7 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

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, April 8

12:00 pm	Staff Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Executive (Council) Meeting	Zoom

Friday, April 9

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd

Sunday, April 11, Second Sunday of Easter

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	Women in the Gospels	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!

March 28, 2021

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

Preparing for Palm Sunday Worship

March 28 is Palm Sunday—and if you’re missing the chance to wave some greenery during worship, you’ll have a couple of options. Beginning on Thursday, March 25, you will find palm branches outside the front entrance of the church for you to take home. They are first-come, first-served, and we will only have a limited number, so please take only as many as you need.

Several other options are possible, too. Those who are creatively inclined can fashion their own palm branches from paper or other material you may have around the house. Be creative and reuse something that might otherwise go in the trash—then it’s green in more than one way.

But the easiest (and greenest) way to have something to wave for worship is simply to look in your own yard. The Israelites waved palm branches because that was what was most easily available and abundant. Maybe you’ve got an enthusiastic Oregon grape that you can snip a branch from, a bush that needs pruning, or an evergreen happy to donate a small branch or two. Even a humble weed works and is a great reminder that “the Lord has need of it”!

Devotional for Palm Sunday

On March 28, the church begins Holy Week with Palm Sunday, the day that Jesus sat upon the back of a lowly donkey as he made his way into Jerusalem. What a contrast to the Roman ruler who arrived with pomp and circumstance and a great show of power! Jesus is a humble king. This week, poet Mary Oliver turns her attention to that little donkey, reminding us how even the most lowly can play indispensable roles in the grand drama of salvation.

Our Lenten journey continues this week, with devotional readings, meditations, and practices for Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday itself. You’ll find it all on the church website, with Oliver’s poems all available online or in her collection of verse titled Devotions.

Centering Prayer

On Wednesday of Holy Week, March 31, we diverge from our normal schedule, moving the gathering for Centering Prayer to 7:00 pm. You’ll receive the Zoom connection link mid-day from Allison Katsufrakis, as usual.

After Easter Sunday, we will return to our earlier schedule, with informal gathering at 6:30 pm, prayer service at 7:00 pm, and centering prayer at 7:30 pm.

Bread for the World (via e-mail)

Ending hunger can start with a letter or e-mail. Each spring St. Andrew members bear witness to our concern for those who suffer from hunger by participating in the Bread for the World annual letter writing campaign.  These letters inspire our leaders in Washington, D.C. to enact policies and pass legislation that will reduce hunger and poverty in the U.S. and the world.

The current legislative priority of Bread for the World is to urge Congress to invest in anti-hunger and anti-poverty programs in response to COVID-19. Because of our persistent advocacy, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The legislation contains numerous provisions that will help people struggling with hunger and poverty. But there is more to do as we continue to address the ripple effects of COVID-19.

 “Speak out for the rights of all who are destitute
Defend the rights of the poor and needy.” 
(Proverbs 31:8-9)

Please join me on Palm Sunday, March 28, 2021 at 10:00 am on Zoom as I provide a tutorial on how to use the Bread for the World website to submit e-mails to our representatives to advocate for specific programs to impact hunger.

If you prefer to send a paper letter instead, you might find the template on page 3 of this newsletter to be a helpful guide for your own message. You will also find names and addresses of our senators and representative on page 3.

LuAnn Staul

Worship Schedule

Palm Sunday, March 28
8:30 am Livestream
11:00 am Zoom

Maundy Thursday, April 1
7:00 pm Zoom

Good Friday, April 2
8:00 pm Livestream

Easter Sunday, April 4
8:30 am Livestream
11:00 am Zoom

Easter Butterflies

Time is almost up! If you’d like to see the butterflies your children created decorating St. Andrew banners on Easter morning, you need to drop them off at church. Please put them in the clear bin to the left of the Narthex doors. With the conclusion of Lent and the butterfly reveal, we also welcome “Hallelujahs” once again!

Lenten Food Drive

With a week left to complete our Lenten Food Drive, you have already contributed $6,407, more than surpassing our goal. These dollars equate to more than 19,000 pounds of food for people who rely on the St. Matthew Food Pantry to meet their nutritional needs. Thank you!

We know that hunger haunts people even in this richest of countries and it will not end when Lent does. So, please continue to consider donating to alleviate hunger right here in our community. Your gifts mean parents’ worries are eased and more people, especially children, are spared the trauma of going to bed hungry.

Donate electronically by logging into your InFellowship account and selecting “Lenten Food Drive” in the drop-down menu. Go to the church website and click on Give to begin.

Treasurer Needed

St. Andrew’s Financial Committee is searching for a Treasurer. At the end of June 2021, Anne Newell will be stepping down from that role to pursue new activities. We’re looking for someone to step into her shoes and we’re hoping someone in the congregation will be “willing and able.”

Whether one person or a team step forward, we’ll train and assist you in taking over this important function for our church. Please prayerfully consider this opportunity to serve. Call Anne Newell at 503-781-9076 for more information.

A Prayer for the Week

God of glory, God of love,
help me praise you today
in all I do and say.
Amen.

Celebrating a Century!

Betty Horst turns 100 on April 6. Please help her celebrate by sending her a note or card in remembrance of this special day. Imagine all that Betty has seen and done in her lifetime! Address your mail to: Betty Horst, 5720 SW 203rd Ave, Aloha, OR 97078.

Online Giving Update

The online giving page has been updated so it will look a little different, but your login information remains the same. Find the link to the new online giving page, watch helpful videos, and more on the church website under Give.

Bach-a-Thon

The Portland Chapter of the American Guild of Organists is presenting its annual Bachathon virtually on Sunday, March 28, at 2:00 pm.

This three-hour program of the organ works of J. S. Bach is free and open to the public; access is via Portland’s American Guild of Organists website  and is a fundraiser for its scholarship program. The Portland AGO awards scholarships to students for the study of the organ with an emphasis on service playing.

During the Bachathon, chapter members, friends, and relatives will perform on nine organs, three pianos, two flutes, cello, violin, and voice. For more information, go to

Portlandago.org.

April Movie Night: My Octopus Teacher

Since April 22 is Earth Day, our Movie Night on Friday, April 23, will feature a film that shows a beautiful confluence of people and nature: My Octopus Teacher. This documentary was shot in a kelp forest in South Africa and introduces the viewer to the flora and fauna to be found there. In particular, we meet a very special octopus and watch her interactions with the diver. As Craig, the diver expressed, “What she taught me to feel is that you’re a part of this place, not just a visitor.”

Stream the documentary on Netflix and then meet with your St. Andrew friends on Zoom on Friday, April 23, at 7:00 pm. Bring out the popcorn, gather round your computer screen, and let’s talk about what we liked and didn’t like about this movie.

You’ll find the Movie Night Zoom link in Carol Harker’s “Weekly News” e-mail on Friday, April 23. Any questions: contact Mary Smith.

Bread for the World

 “Speak out for the rights of all who are destitute.
Defend the rights of the poor and needy.” 
(Proverbs 31:8-9)

This is the time of year we dedicate ourselves to writing our representatives in the U.S. Congress regarding our support of compassionate food policy for people in our country and abroad.

If you prefer to handwrite or type a letter to each Representative and both Senators, the following template offers a good place to start. Feel free to modify it as you wish:

[Date]

Rep. Suzanne Bonamici
2231 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Senator Merkle
313 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator__________________, 
Dear Representative_____________________,

Hunger is reaching historic levels. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to devastate communities across the United States with a disproportionate impact on Black, Latino, and Native American families and immigrants, and worsening the effects of hunger and poverty around the globe.

The pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in our safety net and food systems. And child hunger in both the U.S. and abroad has skyrocketed. Specifically, Congress should:

Make the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in the American Rescue Plan permanent and available to all children regardless of immigration status. The CTC expansion would move millions of children out of poverty, as well as help reduce hunger and narrow the racial wealth gap exacerbated by unemployment as a result of COVID-19.

Increase U.S. leadership and funding for global nutrition programs without which an entire generation may be denied of their God-given right to flourish.

Now more than ever, my faith calls me to stand alongside those in my community and around the world who have been impacted the most by the global pandemic. Let us work together to ensure U.S. policies help people move out of poverty and feed their families in the U.S. and around the world.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Address]
[City, State ZIP]

Once you have submitted letters please let me know who you sent letters to  (e-mail ljstaul@gmail.com ) so I may track this advocacy on the part of St Andrew. 

 

Yours in Christ,
LuAnn Staul
St Andrew Service Committee

Still Looking for Your 2020 Giving Statement

Our new giving platform does not have a print feature for each account. Don’t worry. Simply send your request to the Financial Secretaries at financial-secretary@standrewlutheran.com and you will receive a statement copy via e-mail.

  

We understand how important your request is during tax season.  Since Financial Secretaries are volunteers, we’ll reply within 7 days or as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Within your own account, you can continue to look online at both your giving history and your Year-to-Date donations. Beginning next January, we will complete a mass e-mail distribution for each individual contribution statement by February 1.

Thank you for your continued support of the Ministry and Mission of St. Andrew Lutheran Church.

Blessings,
Financial Secretaries of SALC

Narthex Greeters

As many of you know, we are taking baby steps in a logical progression toward reopening the church. Beginning April 13, Narthex Greeters will be on hand during office hours (9:00 am-4:00 pm, Tuesday-Friday) to help the transition.

Many thanks to those who jumped at the chance to return to our church building as Narthex Greeters. The Thursday morning and Friday afternoon slots remain open if you have an interest. Simply call the church office to sign up. We will also need a list of back-up greeters to accommodate normal disruptions that will arise.

To review, we are looking for fully vaccinated volunteers to spend half a day in the Narthex each week, answering the phone, greeting people, ensuring they follow the protocols, and helping them get the information or make the contacts they seek.

We encourage both men and women, individuals, friends, and couples to consider whether this volunteer opportunity would interest them. If you receive your final vaccination on or before March 31, you would qualify to participate. Thank you for considering becoming a part of this welcoming ministry.

We are looking for people to make a regular commitment—for instance, coming in regularly on Tuesday afternoons, Friday mornings, etc. And don’t worry about not knowing everything about St. Andrew—we’ll provide support and guidance. Bring a book along to read, visit with friends, get some knitting done, see old friends and meet new ones.

The Flames of Climate Change

Personally, I’m afraid of fire. I don’t like it, rather not think about it. But this guy Daniel Mathews makes an awfully food case for it in his book, Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change (call number 634.90978). It’s a well written book. I read the whole thing with no trouble and no slackening of interest. Check it out and see if he confirms your feelings or changes your mind about fire and clear-cuts and forest management.

Pam Farr
Adult Librarian

Back to School, with Thanks

Dear Friends of the Community Transitional School,

For nearly a year, we’ve been waiting and planning for today, March 1, the first day students returned to CTS since all Oregon schools were closed on March 13 a year ago. It was a beautiful sunny morning and, as I have every first day of school since we moved to our permanent home in 2008, I stood at the front entrance watching, eager and a bit anxious, as the first of three buses arrived and the first group of students spilled out. Many, who attended CTS last year before we closed, were smiling and eager. Some who have been enrolled in our remote program but hadn’t been to the school before, were shy and tentative. And one 4-year-old attending Pre-K for the first time, burst into tears when she got off the bus and had to be consoled by her older sister.

In keeping with the governor’s guidelines, we’d spent weeks preparing for this day while maintaining our remote-learning program (twice-daily delivery and collection of school work along with the delivery of breakfast and lunch to our students wherever they lived). Now, at last, it had arrived, and we were ready.

With the exception of Tran, our new secretary, everyone on the staff, including bus drivers and support staff, has received two doses of a COVID vaccine. All desks in all classrooms have been positioned 6 feet apart. And at all times, staff, visitors, and students 5 years and older are required to wear masks in the building, on the buses, and on the playground. It’s not the way it used to be, or the way we hope it will be when the next school year begins, but at least our students are back in school and that’s what counts. During this first week, they will only attend half-day, from 9:00 am to 12:30 pm, allowing us and them to get comfortable within the constraints imposed by the guidelines. We will begin full-day sessions (8:30 am to 3:00 pm) next Monday. That’s when the real challenge will begin.

During a normal academic year, a majority of our students don’t attend summer school, and when they return in the fall it typically takes them some time to get back into the habit of learning and back to the level they were at when school ended in the spring. Despite our best efforts to teach them remotely, it’s clear that many of the students—in my class, at least—who were already below grade level last year have fallen even farther behind. We had anticipated that would be the case, and plan to address it by extending the school year through July 28, with full-time sessions four days a week during the last six weeks. With a concerted effort on their part and ours, we believe most of them can regain some lost ground and return in the fall better equipped and motivated to take on the challenge of a new school year.

Adding another six weeks to the current academic year will place an extra burden on this year’s budget. Happily, your belief in our mission, your faith in our program, and your generosity this year and in the past have provided the resources necessary to fund this added investment in our students’ futures.

On behalf of the CTS Board, the staff, and especially our students, I want to thank you again for your ongoing support.

Sincerely,
Cheryl M. Bickle
Principal & 5th-3rd Grade Teacher

New Books in Our Adult Library

Fiction

Once Upon a River, by Diane Setterfield

A Long Petal of the Sea, by Isabel Allende

A Better Man, by Louise Penny

The Murmur of Bees, by Sofia Segovia

Non-Fiction

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations,
by Mira Jacob (YA)

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,
by Ibram X. Kendi

Christ in Crisis: Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus,
by Jim Wallis

The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World,
by Melinda Gates

Trees in Trouble: Wildfires, Infestations, and Climate Change,
by Daniel Mathews

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America,
by Richard Rothstein

Save the Date

Do you enjoy talking with people on the phone? Or are you more of a note-writer?  St. Andrew’s MACG Core Team invites you to a Zoom gathering on the afternoon of Sunday, April 18. Please plan to join us in an effort to contact as many members of our St. Andrew community as possible. Details will be coming soon, but for now please mark your calendar and think about who you miss seeing in the Narthex on Sunday mornings.

Habitat’s Hope Builder Breakfast

You are invited to join us for this year’s Habitat for Humanity event, which is being held virtually because of  the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the upheaval the past year has wrought, the building of homes for hard-working families, who are in many cases living in unsafe, unhealthy, and unaffordable housing, goes on. The keynote speaker for our 2021 event is TV journalist, former news anchor, and international correspondent Ann Curry.

Join us virtually on Wednesday, April 28, at 8:00 am. Register for free at Bit.ly/HopeBuilder 2021.

If you have questions, please contact Dan Fako at 503-626-3414 or at dan43theman@comcast.net.

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 Bill Branch	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Linda Fransen
Family and friends of Carol Hudspeth	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Dan & Sharon Bako
Judy Deal	Healing and recovery from shoulder surgery	Judy Deal
Carol Means	Strength and effective treatment for cancer	Carol Means
Gary Grafwallner	Healing and recovery from Bell’s palsy	Gary Grafwallner
Ruth Gunther	Healing and recovery from broken ribs	Fran Miller
Nan Thompson	Good results from chemotherapy	Nan Thompson
Carol Hogan	Good test results	Carol Hogan
Madeleine (granddaughter)	Effective treatment, healing, and recovery	Mary Smith
Bobbie Larson	Effective treatment and healing	Bobbie Larson
Everyone affected by COVID-19	Strength and support	Staff
Health care workers	Strength, courage, protection, and support	Staff
Jan Smith & Sue Cahlander	Safe travels to California and back	Jan Smith & Sue Cahlander
Mark & Joselle Gallis Hall	Healthy pregnancy and safe delivery	Mary Nell Mahler
Roland Andrew Gladhill (grandson)	Thanksgiving for a joyful birth	Richard & Kristie Gladhill
Phyllis Smith (sister-in-law)	Thanksgiving for successful aneurysm surgery	Mary Smith
Victims of hate crimes and gun violence	Protection and peace	Staff
Federal and state lawmakers	Discernment and courage to face national challenges	Staff
Those confined to their homes	Assurance of God’s presence	Staff
Tandy Brooks David Bumgardner Vic Claar Ian MacDonald Marvel Lund Gary Magnuson Hugh Mason Brian McKiernan Ed Pacey Corky Poppert Jolie Reyna Shane Throckmorton Gary Tubbs
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton	Wisdom and discernment	Staff
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America	Blessings on our ministry	Staff
Taiwan Lutheran Church	Strength and wisdom	Staff
Gethsemane Lutheran Church (Portland, OR) Augustana Lutheran Church (Portland, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Muslim Educational Trust (Tigard, 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

Finding Home

Living Lutheran magazine will be featuring Julie Aageson’s recent book, Finding Home, in its April issue. In this thoughtful volume, Julie explores what home is and why we all need the haven it should provide. If you’d like to read her lovely essays, the book is now available for $17. You can request a copy from the author (jaageson@cord.edu), or purchase it from the publisher (https://wipfandstock.com). The book can also be ordered from Amazon.

Julie’s earlier books are also available from the same sources: Holy Ground: An Alphabet of Prayer for $18 and Benedictions: 26 Reflections for $15. Once you’ve discovered the peace that comes from reading Julie’s work, you’re likely to return often for the confident comfort and inspiration that she shares.

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Preparing for Easter Sunday

April 4, 2021

First Reading: Acts 10:34-43
Gospel: Mark 16:1-8

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

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Highlights for the Week

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

Sunday, March 28, Palm Sunday

8:30 am	Livestream Worship	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Bread for the World Tutorial with LuAnn Staul	Zoom
10:00 am	Confirmation: Bread for the World	Zoom
10:00 am	High School Youth Group: Bread for the World	—
11:00 am	Zoom Worship	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
12:30 pm	Earth Camp Meeting	Zoom

Tuesday, March 30

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd

Wednesday, March 31 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

6:30 pm	Informal Gathering Time	Zoom
7:00 pm	Centering Prayer	Zoom
7:00 pm	High School Youth Hangout	Zoom

Thursday, April 1

12:00 pm	Staff Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Maundy Thursday Worship	Zoom

Friday, April 2

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd

8:00 pm

Good Friday Worship

YouTube

Sunday, April 4, Easter Sunday

8:15 am	Livestream Worship	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:45 am	Zoom Worship	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!