July 18, 2021
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Nifty Notters
The Nifty Notters welcome everyone to join them Saturday, July 17, from 9:00 am-12:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall to work on baby quilts for Virginia Garcia Clinic and larger quilts for LWR and Safeplace. All supplies are provided and no experience is needed. Bring a lunch and join us for all or part of the time. If you can’t come on Saturday, we have many cutting and sewing/tying projects that can be done at home. If you have questions, please contact Mary Brown at 503-439-3917 or Pam Farr at 503-626-6657.
Wisdom Calls – Part Three
The Oregon Synod is glad to host the third part of their online storytelling series “Wisdom Speaks,” sharing stories and experiences from some of our synod’s first ordained women. This online event takes place on Saturday, July 17, at 7:00 pm. You can register for the event on the Oregon Synod Website or Facebook page. Our own Pastor Susan Kintner and Pastor Robyn Hartwig have taken part in these events in the past.
Quilt Sunday
Logan Isaacson beamed last Sunday after receiving his senior quilt thoughtfully made for him by Linda Fransen. This St. Andrew tradition from our Nifty Notters ensures that high school seniors carry the love and care of the congregation with them as they begin their adult lives. The St. Andrew Foundation also awards a $500 scholarship to seniors for their continued education.
Confirmation Sunday
This Sunday, July 18, St. Andrew once again focuses on its youth and their journey of faith formation. At the 8:30 am service, Lilly Au and Tanner King will affirm their baptism and be recognized by the congregation as full voting members of St. Andrew following their three years of study and growth in confirmation. Welcome, Lilly and Tanner!
Want to Spend Some Dollars?
We’re talking about Thrivent Choice Dollars. You do not need to be a Thrivent member to help identify St. Andrew activities that might benefit from extra funds. Interested? We will meet on Sunday, July 18, in the Fellowship Hall at (or before) 10:00 am to learn more about Choice Dollars. Many of us don’t know much about this and now we have a chance to learn, ask questions, and help discern what we would like to support in the next 12 months. We missed having meetings since 2018 but the money has come in each year and has recently been sent to the ministries designated in 2018 to receive them. We will review past decisions as we prepare to choose where we want to go
from here. The more input, the better we can consider how to best use money coming in the next 12 months.
Thrivent members who are designating choice dollars will have the opportunity to vote on suggestions at this meeting. Please join us to determine how to spend those dollars on behalf of St. Andrew ministries.
Summer Routines
Summer is a great time of the year. A chance for some to change their school-year routines and take some vacation time or visit family both near and far. For grandparents, a chance to see grandkids. And this year, a chance to return to the sanctuary for worship.
One routine that is also affected is our congregational giving patterns. With June offering at 74%, we see the impact of changed routines on our church budget. Unfortunately, the church budget does not get to take a vacation. The budgeted expenses show up 52 weeks a year, every year.
Please help us stay in sync with the monthly budgets by staying solid in your weekly and monthly giving patterns.
Thanks for your continuing generosity and God’s blessing to each of you.
Jeff Smith, Chair
Stewardship Committee
Feeding a Multitude
Driving around Portland this summer, it’s clear that the hunger and homelessness crisis prompted by COVID-19 continues to trouble many people in our community. The saints of St. Andrew have already shown generosity in offering assistance and that help is still needed. All contributions to the food barrel in our Narthex are delivered to the St. Matthew Food Bank for distribution to people suffering from food insecurity. Thank you for caring for others!
Pastor Mark Begins Sabbatical
Following worship this Sunday, July 18, Lead Pastor Mark Brocker will be on sabbatical, unwinding from a hectic year and writing the Chi Rho lectures he’ll deliver in Eugene this fall. His topic is likely to resonate following the overwhelming adjustments we’ve all had to make because of COVID. He will address the theme of “Doing Ethics in Extraordinary Times: The Witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.”
During Pastor Mark’s time away, Pastor Susan Kintner, other staff, and numerous lay leaders will be guiding the congregation. Pastor Mark will return to his ministry at St. Andrew on September 7, just in time to launch another
education year on September 12.
Growing Up Lutheran: What Does This Mean?
Since I didn’t grow up Lutheran, I found this book by Janet Letnes Martin and Suzann Johnson Nelson to be enlightening, as well as very funny. Were you aware that being Lutheran could be funny?
Well, check out the chapter called “ushers and pews: who’s been sitting in my pew?” I also enjoyed reading
about “the Lutheran church basement women.” I feel they might be related to the Nazarene ladies social committee.
And should you feel there is nothing to learn from this book, try taking the steeple test in the chapter “even when steeples are falling.” I failed it badly.
But how interesting to find out all the things I missed, or not, by not growing up Lutheran.
Pam Farr
Librarian
Highlights from Earth Camp
On Monday, Earth Camp children were delighted to meet some baby bunnies. When Peaches the Holland lop
surprised the middle school guide holding her, Satya (our good-natured guide) ended up with a peed-upon
shirt and a story to share with her family. On Tuesday, the kids dug up shovelfuls of soil from the Sanctuary of
the Firs and then shook it up to sort out the various particles that make up soil. On Wednesday, they explored
the water cycle with Pat and discovered why we don’t get dinosaur pee raining down on our heads. During
music time, they sat silently for one whole minute while Allison explained that silence is a part of music:
“Sometimes you have to take a breath,” she said. Eric encouraged the kids to embrace their curiosity and to
find answers to their questions. They learned that learning is fun for people of all ages.
The kids studied trees and seeds and the importance of water, created art using natural materials, enjoyed games, worshiped and sang and played some wonderfully colorful percussion instruments. They enjoyed ice cream homemade just for them, renewed their energy with snacks, and went away with lots of souvenirs—snazzy Earth Camp water bottles, sit-upons, tote bags, clip-on scented sanitizer, handouts for their parents to read, and more.
“The primary purpose of Earth Camp was to cultivate a deep love of our Earth home and all its inhabitants,” Pastor Mark explains. “We wanted campers to discover how interconnected we are with our fellow creatures, to learn ways to care for our Earth home, and to have fun doing so.”
Thank you, Pastor Mark and Children & Youth Minister Kyler Vogt for putting everything together and keeping us organized. Thank you, teachers, for sharing your enthusiasm with another generation of eager learners, and thank you, volunteers, for supporting the kids with your time and energy and skills.
You’ll find more photos and stories at https://standrewlutheran.com/helping-children-bloom-through-earth-camp.
Guest Pastors Share the Word at St. Andrew
One of the strengths of the ELCA is our Full Communion fellowship with other Christian denominations. During Pastor Brocker’s sabbatical, we will welcome guests from three of these partners in mission, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Episcopal Church, and the United Methodist Church. For more information, go to https://www.elca.org/Resources/Ecumenical-and-Inter-Religious-Relations.
Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar and Pastor Ron Werner will also be our guests, as well as our seminarian Karen Klingelhafer and Children & Youth Minister Kyler Vogt.
Next Sunday, July 25, we welcome Pastor Laurie Newman, Associate Pastor for Congregational Care at Westminster Presbyterian, to the pulpit. We have been in Full Communion with the Presbyterians since 1997. A fine musician who’s been on staff at Westminster for 20 years, Pastor Newman is another member of Women Touched by Grace, the renewal program hosted by the Benedictine Sisters in Beach Grove, IN. Even though Pastor Laurie and Pastor Susan both live in Portland, they had to go to Indiana to meet! We look forward to welcoming Pastor Laurie Newman as our first guest preacher during Pastor Mark’s sabbatical.
Online Exhibits at the Oregon Historical Society
The Reckoning with Racism group wants to remind all of us that the Oregon Historical Society has several exhibits online that pertain to their studies of the last year.
The People of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde
and
Racing to Change: Oregon’s Civil Rights Years
Both exhibits can be found on the Oregon Historical Society website at https://www.ohs.org/museum/exhibits/.
Wanted: Chocolate
Thanks to everyone who has donated candy for St. Andrew’s welcome mugs. Donna Brocker, our Welcome Ministry’s mug maven, could still use a few more bags to fill those delightful welcome mugs our guests receive on their first visit to St. Andrew. Donna says chocolates are a particular favorite, and the candies must be individually wrapped. Please leave your donations in the office with Donna’s name on the bag. Thank you!
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.
| Confirmands Lilly Au and Tanner King | Blessings as they affirm their baptism | Staff |
| Ann Landmark (Bev Briggs’s cousin) | Comfort and compassionate care in hospice | Bev Briggs |
| Adam McQueen’s father | Compassionate care, peace, and comfort in hospice | Adam McQueen |
| Susan Reiser | Healing and quick recovery after surgery | John & Susan Reiser |
| John Carlson (Bev Briggs’s brother-in-law) | Patience and correct diagnosis | Bev Briggs |
| Ginny Link | Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment | Ginny Link |
| Rod Ottenbreit (Bobbie Larson’s brother) | Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment | Bobbie Larson |
| Ken Reiner | Accurate diagnosis and effective treatment | Diane Reiner |
| Steve Yi (Kelly Wise’s nephew) | Healing and recovery from COVID-19 | Kelly Wise |
| Ray Venghaus | Healing and recovery | Staff |
| Dave Gutzler | Healing and recovery | Barbara Gutzler |
| Maverick Dixon (unborn nephew) | Complete healing in the womb | Rebecca Fako Uecker |
| Those threatened by wildfires | Protection and safety | Staff |
| Those confined to their homes: Mareline Barnes, Dave Bumgardner, Jean Frederickson, Tara Harper, Douglas Hooke, Betty Horst, Dorothy Moore, Phyllis Morris, Ed Pacey, Helen Rogers, Dave & Sharon Roth, Margie Schindele |
Assurance of God’s presence | Staff |
| All who are imprisoned | Peace and Strength | Staff |
| Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon Holy Trinity Catholic Church |
Blessings on their work | Staff |
| Christ the Good Shepherd (Salem, OR) Holy Cross Lutheran Church (Salem, OR) St. Mark Lutheran Church (Salem, OR) |
Serving with us in the Oregon Synod | Staff |
| Bilal Masjid (Beaverton, 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, July 25, 2021
Reading: Ephesians 3:14-21
Gospel: John 6:1-21
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, July 18 – Confirmation Sunday
| 8:30 am | Worship with Communion (also via Livestream on YouTube) | Sanctuary |
| 10:00 am | Thrivent Distribution Meeting | Fellowship Hall |
| 10:30 am | Virtual Coffee Time | Zoom |
| 11:00 am | Worship with Communion (also on Zoom) | Sanctuary of the Firs |
| 12:00 pm | Virtual Coffee Time | Zoom |
| 3:00 pm | Spirituality Book Club | Fellowship Hall |
Monday, July 19
| 6:00 pm | Troop 618 Meeting | East parking lot |
Tuesday, July 20
| 10:00 am | T’ai Chi | Fellowship Hall |
| 10:00 am | Worship Planners Meeting | Library |
Wednesday, July 21 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm
| 1:00 pm | Caring Ministry Meeting | Library |
| 6:45 pm | Informal Gathering Time | Zoom |
| 7:00 pm | Wednesday Evening Prayer | Zoom |
| 7:30 pm | Centering Prayer | Zoom |
Thursday, July 22
| 12:00 pm | Team Ministry Meeting | Chapel, Library |
| 7:00 pm | IT Meeting | Offsite |
Friday, July 23
| 10:00 am | T’ai Chi | Fellowship Hall |
Sunday, July 25
| 8:30 am | Worship with Communion Livestream Worship with Communion |
Sanctuary YouTube |
| 10:30 am | Virtual Coffee Time | Zoom |
| 11:00 am | Worship with Communion Zoom Worship with Communion |
Sanctuary of the Firs Zoom |
| 12:00 pm | Virtual Coffee Time | Zoom |