November 22, 2020

Thanksgiving Eve

Please note that St. Andrew will not be offering Wednesday Evening Prayer on November 25, the eve of Thanksgiving Day. Instead, the worship team will be sharing a short recording that is meant to augment your celebration at home. Watch for a link to that in an e-mail from Allison Katsufrakis on Wednesday.

Adult Ed: Job’s Response to Misery

Join Steve Christiansen this Sunday, November 22, at 10:00 am for Session 5 of his adult education course on the book of Job. You can access the class using the same Zoom link needed for Sunday worship.

An incorrect translation has led us to believe that Job was a patient man. Not so, Christiansen explains, but he was persistent and he somehow kept going in spite of the odds. Job’s story is relevant for our time in that it raises many questions about the suffering of the innocent. Click for Steve’s session outline as well as videos of earlier classes.

Not yet receiving emails from St. Andrew? Click on the blue button to join the email list and receive the Zoom link for the class.

Worship Connection Problems?

St. Andrew’s tech team is offering a new service on Sundays for anyone having difficulty connecting to worship. Between 8:00 am and 1:00 pm, you can simply call the church office at 503-646-0629 to get help from the pros.

Remember that Rebecca Fako Uecker also continues to offer technical help for church-related purposes. You can contact her via email.

Help with Rent, Utilities, and Childcare

The director of Family Promise has informed its host coordinators that it has funds available for people needing help paying for childcare, rent, or utilities during this time of extraordinary need. People needing assistance are welcome to call Family Promise at 971-217-8949. Please be aware that these funds need to be used by the end of this calendar year.

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Given Governor Brown’s pause in Oregon’s reopening progression for Washington County, we ask that you please limit your visits to our church building. Coronavirus numbers are surging everywhere. If it is imperative that you visit the building, please remember to make arrangements with the office first.
Thank you!

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Table Talk: What the Voters Are Trying to Tell Us

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 via Zoom on Tuesday, December 1, 7:00-8:00 pm.

In this Table Talk we will focus on sharing reflections on the presidential election and the transition process that has followed. The voter turnout was record-setting. President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice-President Elect Kamala Harris received more votes than any ticket in U.S. history. President Trump and Vice President Pence received the second most votes ever.

In a New York Times editorial, published on November 5, two days after Election Day, when the final outcome was very much in doubt, David Brooks reflected on “What the Voters Are Trying to Tell Us”. To prepare for this Table Talk I encourage all participants to read this opinion piece. In light of the election and its aftermath, we will reflect on the political responsibility of the people of St. Andrew and the church as a whole going forward.

Giving Tree

St. Andrew will be doing a Giving Tree for needy families with children enrolled at Barnes Elementary again this year. Like all of us, these parents yearn to make the holidays joyful for their children, and we can help.

Just as we did with Thanksgiving Boxes, we’ll be providing gift cards in 2020, giving parents the opportunity to shop for their families. You can donate to the cause by sending a check made out to St. Andrew with Giving Tree in the memo line. If you prefer to give electronically, select “Give” on the menu bar of St. Andrew’s website, then “Click here to give now”. Once you’ve signed in to your account, select the green “Give” button and then choose the fund “Christmas Giving Tree.”

Questions? Please call Donna Brocker at 503-502-6156.

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New Foundation Vision Statement

Debut of the St. Andrew Foundation’s new vision statement, a product of our successful strategic planning retreat.

Your St. Andrew Foundation envisions a future where it…

• Provides funding for creative worship, education, and outreach that are in alignment with Christian values
• Is a preferred choice for foundation-type giving, with trusted investment and initiatives that resonate with and excite potential donors
• Is well understood and embraced as an extension of the congregation’s ministries and priorities
• Has a sustainable fund of at least $1 million

We are excited to put this vision into practice! Are you interested in learning more? Contact Sonja Ackman.

Stock Dona!on Transfer Process for 2020

Greetings from the Financial Secretaries of St. Andrew. As the end of the calendar year approaches, we want to streamline the process of donating stock to the church since we are volunteering our time remotely from our homes.

Contributions must actually be paid before the close of year to be deductible in 2020. Please allow at least 3 weeks for the completion of the transfer. Please start the process as soon as possible.

We ask you to take the necessary steps if you intend to donate stock to St. Andrew this tax year:

1. Download the Stock Transfer Form found on our church website or contact the church office.
2. Contact your brokerage firm to initiate an electronic transfer of securities (see form for instructions/details).
3. Complete the form including your intentions for the use of the donation and email a copy to our confidential e-mail address. You may instead send a copy to the church office marked confidential for Financial Secretaries. This form must be turned in at the beginning of the process. Without this form, we cannot complete your request.
4. Upon receipt of the form, one of the financial secretaries will be in contact with you regarding the progress of the electronic stock transfer to the church’s securities firm, Charles Schwab.

Thank you for your generosity to the Mission and Ministry of St. Andrew.

Tammy Piscitelli, 503-307-8837
on behalf of the Financial Secretaries and Finance Team

Leadership Training Opportunity

Plan now to attend a FREE leadership training institute through the magic of the Internet in December.

• Come to learn fundamental organizing skills: Individual relational meetings, listening sessions, research and action to help obtain a concrete, winnable outcome.
• Come to strengthen our institutions: Engage people systematically in a culture that is relational, action-oriented, and reflective.
• Come to learn to distinguish problems from issues: From general problems to concrete, winnable issues by using relational power in the public arena to negotiate for the common good.

The eight-hour training will be held from 6:00-8:00 pm PST on:
Tuesday, December 8
Thursday, December 10
Tuesday, December 15
Thursday, December 17

Many St. Andrew members have taken this training (often more than once), and all have reported taking away important skills that strengthen our St. Andrew community, as well as skills that are useful in their lives outside of St. Andrew.

Click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail containing information about joining the meeting.

Questions? Please contact any member of the St. Andrew MACG Core Team: Pat Christiansen, Larry Bliesner, Lynn Santelmann, Scott Taylor, Victoria Kovalenko, Bob Stadel, LuAnn Staul, or Pastor Robyn. If you have any problems with registration, e-mail Mary Nemmers.

Reckoning with Racism

The Oregon Black Pioneers Organization, through extensive and continuing research into the origins of racism in Oregon, has brought together many valuable resources. The St. Andrew Team attending the Reckoning With Racism series would like to share these resources with the rest of the congregation. They provide an excellent background to understand systemic racism, especially in our own state of Oregon.

1. Watch the OPB Documentary: “Oregon Black Pioneers.”

2. Explore more of the history of Black Americans throughout Oregon’s history at the Oregon Black Pioneers website.

3. Read Breaking Chains: Slavery on Trial in the Oregon Territory, by R. Gregory Nokes, a nonfiction account of the largely forgotten story of Oregon slavery.

4. Read A Light in the Wilderness, Oregonian writer Jane Kirkpatrick’s historical novel about the lives of three women of color in early Oregon history.

Future Opportunities

Our St. Andrew Reckoning with Racism cohort is just completing our first quarter and preparing to start up again with 200 other people of faith on Zoom in January. If you’d like to join the 16 people in our cohort, please watch the videos of the sessions of our first quarter. The password is RwR*202021 .

Beginning in January, we’ll gather on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month (January 12 & 26, February 9 & 23, March 9 & 23, April 13 & 27, May 11 and 25, June 8 & 22). Please be in touch with Pastor Robyn if you would like more information or would like to join our cohort.

Pandemic Prayer

While we might be feeling worn down and depleted by ongoing pandemic restrictions, Rev. Richard Bott, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, has composed a prayer that reminds us of the link between “a simple piece of cloth” and sacrament:

A Prayer for Putting on a Face Mask

Creator God, as I prepare to go into the world,
help me to see the sacramental nature of this cloth.
Let it be a tangible and visible way of living love
for my neighbors, as I love myself.

Christ Jesus, since my lips will be covered, uncover my heart,
that people would see my smile in the crinkles around my eyes.
Since my voice may be muffled, help me to speak clearly,
not only with my words, but with my actions.

Holy Spirit, as the elastic touches my ears,
remind me to listen carefully and caringly to all those I meet.
May this simple piece of cloth be shield and banner,
and may each breath that it holds be filled with your love.

In your name and in that love I pray.
Amen.

Practicing Patience

In her message to the Oregon Synod on Wednesday this week, Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar noted that Governor Kate Brown was joined by Dr. Esther Choo, an emergency medicine physician at Oregon Health & Science University at a press briefing the day before. The doctor delivered an emotional plea for all of us to adhere to the new restrictions, saying “Right now, we’re asking you to be our heroes.” By the actions we take, we can help save her life, the lives of her family members, neighbors and friends, and essential workers across the state.

Last week, nearly 6,000 new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed across Oregon. Gatherings, even those that include small numbers of families from different households, are the source of many of these new infections.

“So, I ask you to practice love, to practice safety, and to practice patience,” Bishop Laurie writes. “Patience is an important part of the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22)

“Patience does note mean to sit and do nothing as we wait,” the bishop continues. “Patience is daring to stay in the place we are, as hard as it can be sometimes, and seeking God’s glimpses of life in the situation while trusting that something hidden will become manifest to us.

“This kind of Holy Spirit presence, waiting yet active in the already/not yet, can’t be done alone. We need the support, encouragement, love and forgiveness of God and of one another. So here are three ideas for practicing patience together. First, by simply breathing with one another in silent meditation. Second, by praying to God with each other for the patience we need. And third, by practicing gratitude, intentionally looking for, naming out loud with someone, and thanking God for what God is already doing in our lives. Remember that patience in Christ requires practice: the more we do it, the better we get at it.”

Struggling in Christ’s patience alongside of you,
Bishop Laurie

A Different Kind of Thanksgiving

Strict new Oregon guidelines highly recommend that no more than six people from two different households gather together during this two-week freeze period that continues through December 2. That will make Thanksgiving look different for many of us.

While health officials prefer that we not mix households at all, steps can be taken to make the celebration safer if you do decide to gather.

In addition to wearing masks, maintaining a six-foot distance, and washing or disinfecting your hands frequently, recommendations from the CDC are to:

• Bring your own food, drinks, plates, cups, and utensils.
• Wear a mask, and safely store your mask while eating and drinking.
• Avoid going in and out of the areas where food is being prepared or handled, such as the kitchen.
• Choose single-use options, such as salad dressing and condiment packets, and disposable items such as food containers, plates, and utensils.
• Open windows to make celebrating indoors a bit safer.
• Have guests bring their own food and drink.
• If sharing food, designate one person to serve, relying on single-use options such as plastic utensils. Do not pass the green bean casserole.

Other options to consider are to gather electronically by Zoom, Skype, or Facetime Portal. You might decide to safely prepare traditional dishes and deliver them to family or neighbors in a way that does not involve contact with others (for example, leave them on the porch).

However you celebrate Thanksgiving in 2020, whether you’re part of a small group or alone, participate in a gratitude activity. Get creative. Make a gratitude jar filled with things you’re thankful for, or create a Blessings Garland that enumerates all the ways you’re blessed. Drape it on the mantel or over a doorway to remind you that, despite every uncertainty, life is good. Design a gratitude journal to remember this year of the pandemic and the good things that happened to see you through uncertain times.

Finally, call or write some of the people you love and tell them why you’re thankful that they are a part of your life. Dare to express your feelings—even to that stiff uncle who is really uncomfortable being hugged.

Children’s Sermon: The Oregon Grape

Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in our series of five Children’s Sermons introducing young people to Oregon’s native plants.

Hello, I am LuAnn Staul. You may know me as Henry and Penelope’s grandma.

I want to introduce you to another native plant, the Indian Plum The Indian Plum’s scientific name is Oemleria cerasiformis and it has many common names, including the osoberry, Oregon plum, Indian peach, and bird cherry. This plant grows along the Pacific Coast of North America in British Columbia, Canada, Washington, Oregon, and Northern California.

The fruits of the Indian Plum can be eaten and look like clusters of small plums which are dark blue when ripe.

This plant is especially important to pollinators. Pollinators get food in the form of energy-rich nectar and protein-rich pollen from the flowers they visit. Birds, bats, bees, butterflies, and beetles are all pollinators. Once the pollinator has visited a flower it carries the pollen to other flowers; this makes it possible for the pollinated flowers to develop and produce seed.

Pollination is required to produce many of your favorite foods—apples, pears, cherries, and blueberries. Pollinators also support our ecosystem and natural resources by helping plants reproduce.

The Indian Plum is especially important because it is one of the first plants to leaf out and develop flowers. It develops leaves and flowers in early March before many other plants begin to flower. This provides an early source of pollen for bees and other pollinators.

The indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest included Indian Plum fruit in their diets, and they used the plant’s bark and twigs to make tea and medicine. The fruit is also eaten by small mammals like mice and voles, plus foxes, coyotes, deer, bear, and many bird species.

Indian Plum is a tall shrub growing up to 15 feet high. It has multiple trunks that grow upright. The flowers are white and whitish green. The fruit occurs in clusters and is orange and yellow when young but blue-black as it ripens. The plant grows in part to full shade in soil that is dry to moist.

Planting native plants like the Indian Plum provides food for pollinators as well as other native animals. If we all begin adding these plants to our years, we will be on our way to develop a Homegrown National Park in our community.

4 Senses: Hearing, Smelling, Seeing, Feeling

Fall has never been my favorite season. I miss the warm days of summer with sunlight from early morning till mid-evening, so many flowers, bare feet, and my birthday month.

But this fall is teaching me something new. Maybe it‘s the isolation and lack of stimulation brought on by our COVID prevention measures—staying home, avoiding people outside of my household, cancelling travel, missing piano lessons. But I’ve rediscovered a childlike pleasure.

I take walks in my neighborhood most mornings. It’s early. The sun (when it shows through the clouds) is low in the eastern sky. The air is crisp. My neighborhood has lots of walk route possibilities. We have a wonderful trail that can take us across bridges over the wetlands, up hills, into the trees. But these days, I’m avoiding the trail. It doesn’t allow a six-foot distance unless someone steps off the path into the grass. And still, amazingly to me, people aren’t wearing masks, nor do they even have one resting on their chins to pull up when they do meet someone.

Instead, I’m sticking to the sidewalks. The good thing about sidewalks is that they usually are on both sides of the street. So, when you see someone approaching, you or they can switch to the other side. Sometimes, amusingly, both of you start to switch at the same time, which brings smiles and waves, and an unspoken agreement as to WHO will go.

The fall leaves are glorious right now. They are rapidly falling from the trees and piling up on the sidewalks. And I can’t help it. When I get to a pile, I start dragging my feet and swishing my way through,, leaving two trails behind me.

I find as I’m swishing, that my mind goes free from my worries about COVID, the transition of power in our nation’s leadership, my tasks for the day, what’s for dinner. I am totally in the moment, enjoying the rustling sounds, the leafy smells, the rich colors, and the crunchy leaves lightly brushing against my feet. (I haven’t tasted them yet. I’ll save that sense for the hot cider, beef stew, crisp apples, and fresh pumpkin pie.)

It happens every time I come to a pile. And no one can see it, but under my mask a big, involuntary grin crosses my face. And I begin to look ahead for the next pile of leaves. I’ll even cross the street for it. I kinda like fall this year.

Beverly Briggs
November 9, 2020

Preparing for Next Sunday

Managing Your Mental Health During a Tense Political Climate

The election may be over, but as we know, the tense climate continues. Many of us have found it particularly challenging to manage our own mental health as the pandemic continues, holiday plans are changes, and life as we knew it seems farther and farther away.

The Caring Ministries Team recommends a series of articles found on the website for Mental Health USA. This week, take a look at their suggestions for managing your mental health during a tense political climate.

Your health matters. Focus this week on one of St. Andrew’s Core Values: Self Care.

St. Andrew Caring Ministries Team

Join Our Delegate Assembly

Please join other members of MACG institutions in the tri-county area on Thursday, December 3, from 6:30-8:00 pm via Zoom. Commissioners from all three counties, including our own Pam Treece, have been invited to come and talk with us about their plans to address the housing crisis and pandemic management in the near and far term.

As a member of St. Andrew, you are a member of MACG. A link to register will be included in next week’s “Weekly News,” but for now, please put this meeting on your calendar and plan to join us if you can.

Questions? Contact Pat Christiansen, Larry Bliesner, or any member of the St. Andrew MACG Core Team: Lynn Santelmann, Scott Taylor, Victoria Kovalenko, Bob Stadel, LuAnn Staul, or Pastor Robyn.

Thank You, Scouts!

As we approach Advent and the joyful season of Christmas, St. Andrew extends an enormous thank you to our Scout Troop 618, 5618, and Crew 618 for providing “Be Merry” centerpieces for many of our homebound parishioners.

Thanks, too, to the St. Andrew volunteers who will deliver the centerpieces next week.

If nothing else, 2020 has reminded us that such acts of kindness are precious, indeed. As Jesus tells us in this week’s Gospel lesson (Matthew 25:31-46), when all the nations are gathered before God, the king will say to his blessed people, “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.”

Advent is Coming

The new church year begins next Sunday, November 29, with the First Sunday of Advent. During Advent, a feature of our worship services is the lighting of the advent wreath.

Since we are joining together via the Internet this year, the Worship Planning Team encourages you to bring your own advent wreath when you connect to worship each Sunday. If you need some ideas about how to make your own wreath, check out this
website for Sunday School teachers.

These are fun! You’ll find a mobile advent wreath that kids can carry with them if they like (think pipe cleaners), traditional advent wreaths, a battery candle wreath dressed up with washi tape, paper wreaths, even a wreath you can eat! Be sure to check out the Bonus Take-Home Craft for the edible version. That last one is too tasty to last throughout Advent, but you can replicate it each Sunday.

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The Season of Advent

Did you know that Advent begins on the Sunday closest to November 30 and lasts between 22 and 28 days, ending on Christmas Eve? Advent includes the first four Sundays of the church year and it embodies a special time of anticipation.

Advent means “coming.” Historically, it was a time of preparation through repentance, but it has also become a season to look forward with hope as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s first coming as the babe in Bethlehem. Advent is a time to also ponder Christ’s coming at the end of time as our judge and redeemer.

Traditionally, the color associated with Advent was purple, a royal color for Christ the Ruler and the color of penitence. Many churches now choose blue for Advent, though, because it is believed to symbolize hope and the truth of Christ. Blue is also the color associated with Mary.

The most recognized symbol of Advent is the advent wreath, with its four candles often associated with Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. The candle at the center of the wreath represents Christ.

Other symbols of Advent include:

• the Alpha and Omega, meaning the beginning and the end
• an angel, a reminder of the angel who visited Mary
• trumpets, heralding Christ coming to earth and symbolizing the hope of Christ’s return
• the crown, recognizing Christ as Ruler
• the Lamb of God, echoing John the Baptist’s reference to Jesus as the Lamb of God carrying the banner of victory over sin and death.

Many of these symbols of Advent are incorporated in the white and gold Chrismons that have decorated the Christmas tree in our sanctuary for decades.

Information provided in part by Lutheran Brotherhood

In Need of Prayers…

Family and friends of Norm Smith’s wife	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Del & Mary Nell Mahler
Jim Smith (brother-in-law) and his family	Peace, comfort, and support as Jim is in hospice care	Mary Smith
Paula Yazzolino	Peace and comfort in hospice care	Steve Buske
Pete Yazzolino	Comfort and strength	Steve Buske
Colleen Warnes and her family	Effective treatment and plan for her future care	Suzanne Warnes
Bill Branch	Comfort following esophageal cancer diagnosis	Linda Fransen
Marcia Branch	Comfort and strength	Linda Fransen
Bob Cornie	Healing and recovery	Staff
Joe Baker	Healing and recovery from COVID-19	Joe Baker
Alvina Heidinger (mother-in-law)	Healing and recovery from COVID-19	Judy Heidinger
Cole Petersburg’s grandparents	Healing and recovery from COVID-19	Cole Petersburg
Hugh Newell (son) & Nicole Wilson	Blessings on their marriage (November 17)	Anne Newell
Those facing ongoing illness or distress: Tandy Brooks, Dave Bumgardner, Vic Claar, Barry Larson, Marvel Lund, Ian MacDonald, Gary Magnuson, Hugh Mason, Brian McKiernan, Ed Pacey, Corky Poppert, Jolie Reyna, Shane Throckmorton, Gary Tubbs	Healing and assurance of God’s presence	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
Grace and Mercy Lutheran Church (Umatilla, OR) Grace Lutheran Church (Vale, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Islamic Center (Portland and Beaverton, OR)	Blessings on our interfaith partners	Staff

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.

Worship Plan

Looking ahead to the coming seasons of the church, the Worship Planning Committee is announcing that current worship practices will continue through Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany.

To review, St. Andrew offers livestream worship via YouTube at 8:30 am on Sundays, with worship broadcast via Zoom at 11:00 am. Both services include the opportunity to share in remote Communion. Adult Education classes and gatherings for children, Confirmation students, and high school youth are all offered via Zoom, as is Wednesday Evening Prayer.

People without internet connection are able to listen to a recording of Sunday worship by calling 503-643-9416. Please see “Connecting to Worship at St. Andrew” for details.

Highlights for the Week

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

Sunday, November 22, Christ the King Sunday

8:30 am	Livestream Worship	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
10:00 am	Sunday School (age 3 – 5th Grade)	Zoom
10:00 am	Confirmation (6th – 8th Grade)	Zoom
10:00 am	High School Youth Group	Zoom
10:00 am	Adult Education:  Job’s Response to Misery	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Tuesday, November 24

10:00 am	T’ai Chi	former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd
6:30 pm	Reckoning with Racism Gathering with Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon	Zoom

Wednesday, November 25 – Weekly News submissions due by 4:00 pm

10:00 am	Reopening Committee Meeting	Zoom
7:00 pm	Thanksgiving Devotional Service	YouTube

Thursday, November 26 – Happy Thanksgiving! Church office closed

Friday, November 27 – Church office closed for holiday

10:00 am

T’ai Chi

former Bales Thriftway on Cornell Rd

Sunday, November 29, First Sunday of Advent

8:30 am	Livestream Worship	YouTube
9:30 am	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
11:00 am	Zoom Worship	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give: Thank you for supporting our ministries!