April 18, 2021

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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.

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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!