October 25, 2020

Learn about the news of the week here: read the articles below or download the PDF.

We hope you find a way to get connected!

EMO Voter’s Guide & Forum

Oregon voters will be asked to say yay or nay to four measures on their ballots in the coming days. Do you know what the issues are or how you will respond? Once again, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) has produced a guide for people of faith to consider when casting their ballots.

Blessing Our Reformation Earth Garden

Reformation Sunday, October 25, 2020, at 1:00 pm
This Sunday afternoon the congregation is invited to return to the church for a special outdoor event: the blessing of our St. Andrew Reformation Earth Garden. We’ll all wear masks, maintain a safe distance, celebrate the planting of Faith and Hope, and learn about our Community Carbon Science Team’s ongoing efforts to be good stewards of this Earth. Join us north of the sanctuary on the patio, parking lot, or in the garden itself. The service will be short, but bring a chair if you think you will need one.

Some years ago, we mourned the loss of the majestic Douglas-fir that once centered this space, but we now marvel at another native tree, the Reformation red cedar, that’s growing up toward the sky in its place. Good soil nurtures native plants that feed birds and other wildlife—and, ultimately, us. It’s a beautiful system.

Wednesday Evening Meditation

During our midweek Prayer Services this Wednesday, October 28, Judy Scholz will share a meditation on “Love in COVID Time.” As Judy explains, COVID has given us a new measurement of time where we take things slower, but safer. We bear the risks we have to, but with care.

Wednesday Evening Prayer Services via Zoom include music, prayer, meditation, and scripture. You can find the bulletin on the Preparing for Worship page.

6:30 pm: Informal Gathering Time
7:00 pm: Wednesday Evening Prayer
7:30 pm: Centering Prayer

Join us for any or all of these events. The Zoom connection link is sent out Wednesday afternoons, so please watch your inbox for it.

Giving

The church I grew up in required every member give 10 percent of their gross income to the church. If you paid less than 10 percent, you were not allowed to do certain things, and we were told that blessings from God were being withheld.

At times in my life, my budget would not really allow for 10 percent of my gross income to go to the church. I always felt shame about giving 3 or 4 percent, so I stopped giving at all. Then I stopped talking to church leaders about it, and I eventually stopped going to church.

I didn’t want my spiritual experience for the week to feel like I was letting God down. So instead of going to church on Sundays, I started going for hikes. I felt peace and tranquility that made me feel so much better than the judgment I felt at church. And for several years, that was my church.

I know that God needs our help. We have a beautiful place of worship and, without help from the members, we would no longer have this beautiful space.

It’s easy to think about all of the wonderful things we receive from coming to this church, without thinking about the boring, behind-thescenes things that need to happen to make sure we are able to enjoy the wonderful things.

We think about the way we feel when we see our friends, the smile and hug we get from the pastors, the peace and reverence we feel as we take communion. And how often do we think about the mortgage being paid, the grounds being maintained, purchasing materials for Sunday School activities, deep cleaning the building? Well, we might think about the cleaning of the building a little more now due to the coronavirus.

We tend to focus on the things we receive more than the things we are helping to build. And we should all realize that by giving freely, we are helping to build the kingdom of God. This is not a membership fee; it is not a tax. We are giving freely so that we can be a part of the building up of His kingdom. And because we are doing that, future generations will have a beautiful place to worship. Children will have access to more opportunities to learn and to grow in faith.

If we look at our offering as an obligation, that is what it will be. But if we understand that our gifts are used by the church to make sure that we all can continue to receive the type of spiritual experience we desire, we will begin to enjoy it. We will look for additional ways to give and we will begin to make it part of our regular budget.

Andy Roberts

Join Andy Roberts for his adult education forum on Budgeting for Giving at 10:00 am on Stewardship Sunday, October 25. Connect via Zoom. Need the link? Join the email list by clicking on the blue button:

2020 Beaverton Virtual Art Show

Artistic talent abounds among us! This month, you can go online to see the work of some 350 artists, including St. Andrew’s own Ken Reiner, who were selected to participate in Beaverton’s 2020 Virtual Art Show. Browse the entire collection or search by artist name. The art is available for purchase, too, so if you see something you really like you can follow up with the artist.

Table Talk: White Supremacy

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 Thursday, October 29, 7:00-8:00 pm.

At the first Presidential Debate on Tuesday, September 29, President Trump could not bring himself to clearly and unambiguously denounce White supremacy. In the essay “White Supremacy Is a Script We’re Given at Birth,” Reggie Williams, Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary, observes “how prevalent and persistent White supremacy is in this country.” Williams is a member of the Board of the International Bonhoeffer Society—English Language Section. He has written a book entitled Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance. According to Williams, White supremacy is not simply a problem for a small minority of violent young men; “it’s written in our flesh and rehearsed throughout history.” As a Black man Williams himself has experienced some of the consequences of the script of White supremacy.

In this Table Talk we will ask some very basic questions: What is White supremacy? How have we seen White supremacy manifested in our lives? Why is White supremacy so prevalent and persistent? To prepare for this Table Talk, you are encouraged to read Reggie Williams essay mentioned above.

Preparing for Next Sunday

Thanksgiving Is Coming, Thanksgiving Is Coming!

The Service Committee is once again sponsoring Thanksgiving meals for Community Action families and we need your help. Community Action works with families on parenting, financial stability, housing, and education. These are families that really need help.

We will not be able to see those food boxes filling the Narthex this year due to COVID-19. Instead, we will be using money donated to Thanksgiving Food Box fund to purchase Winco gift cards for these families.

Last year we were able to donate 75 food boxes, which had a value of $50 each, to families in need. We would like to achieve this goal again this year; that will require $3,750 in donations. If you wish to give online, in the “Give to” drop-down boxes, select “3-Designated” in the first box and “Thanksgiving Boxes” in the second box. Or you can send a check made out to St. Andrew with “Thanksgiving Food Drive” in the memo line.

This is a wonderful way to live out our faith, as well as giving a needy family the chance to celebrate Thanksgiving with a delicious meal. Please consider helping with a donation of any amount this year. Our deadline for donation is November 15 to give us time to purchase gift cards and get them to these families.

Contact LuAnn Staul at 503-314-6321 or
Linda McDowall at 503-649-5091 with questions.

Dismantling Racism in Our Institutions

The 16 members of St. Andrew’s “Reckoning with Racism” cohort gathered this week to consider questions of how the past three generations of our families and congregation came to own particular land and the various kinds of value those lands hold. Kristin Sacks recommended a book she is reading, How We Go Home, Voices from Indigenous North America, edited by Sara Sinclair. She also recommends Braiding Sweetgrass, by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which is a beautifully written book about plants through the eyes of Native American traditions and Western science.

Pastor Robyn

Habitat for Humanity Fundraiser

Help Habitat provide decent housing for low-income, hardworking families.

On Tuesday, October 27, at 8:00 am, Habitat for Humanity will host its annual Build a Home, Frame a Future fundraiser. We’ll gather virtually on YouTube to celebrate Habitat homeowners and raise funds to build and repair homes for families in Washington County. You’ll have the opportunity to hear from some of the families that have been impacted by having a Habitat home.

If you have questions or would like connection information to access the gathering, please contact Dan Fako by email or phone at 503-626-3414.

Collins Summit: Shalom in Divided Times

What does shalom and unity look like in 2020, when racial unrest, political tensions, and COVID-19 have impacted nearly every aspect of our lives? This year at its Collins Summit, Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon is asking how we bring our whole selves to the table and stay engaged in light of our differences, not in spite of them.

The Summit will include a lecture from Lisa Sharon Harper, founder and president of FreedomRoad.us and one of today’s leading voices on the topics of poverty, racial and gender justice, and transformational civic engagement.

Register now for the virtual event to be held Wednesday, November 18.

Creating Our Homegrown National Park

We are fortunate to live in an area that has many acres of parks with forests and native species. So why do we also need to be adding native plants to attract pollinators, insects, birds, and wildlife to our own landscapes?

In his book, Nature’s Best Hope, author and wildlife ecologist Douglas Tallamy tells us that conservation that is confined to parks will not preserve species in the long run, because these areas are too small and too separated from one another. Restoring habitat where we live, work, and worship, on the other hand, can serve to build biological corridors that connect preserved habitat fragments with one another. Creating biological corridors will enlarge the populations of plants and animals within protected habitat and enable them to weather normal population fluctuations indefinitely.

Tallamy postulates that if each us converted half of our lawns to productive native plant communities that it would provide more natural habitat than what exists in more than 12 of our national parks, including Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Grand Canyon, Mt. Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic. By working together, we could create 20 million acres of a Homegrown National Park. This park wouldn’t be confined to one location, but it would permeate communities across the country, helping to preserve lives and ecosystems in all bioregions and all biomes.

At St. Andrew we are well on our way to contributing to a Homegrown National Park with the plantings of several thousand native plant species in our wetland and forest, as well as the very recent plantings of two Oregon white oaks. Join us as we gather to bless our new Reformation Earth Garden at 1:00 pm on Sunday, October 25, and advance our efforts to build a Homegrown National Park.

LuAnn Staul

Troop 618 Greenery Sales

Despite pandemic separation, St. Andrew’s Scout Troop 618, 5618, and Crew 618 are again selling Christmas greenery for your holiday decorations. Wreaths, garlands, and centerpieces are available, with proceeds going to benefit the BSA Scouts.

If you’re interested and would like to see a digital brochure with images and prices, act now by contacting Scout volunteer Amy Harker. All orders are due by Monday, November 2. Greenery orders will be delivered to your
home the weekend of November 21 and 22.

Remember these dates:

November 3-7, 2020
for St. Andrew’s Online Book Fair

You’ll be able to shop online at https://www.annieblooms.com/st-andrews-book-fair
with 20% of sales proceeds coming back to benefit our libraries.

Online Book Fair

Support one of St. Andrew’s treasures—our libraries. This November 3-7, you can shop online at Annie Bloom’s Books, indicate your purchases should benefit St. Andrew, and the bookstore will return 20 percent of the proceeds to our new library leadership team of Pam Farr and Barbara Gutzler in order to purchase new titles for our children’s and adult collections. You can participate even without an Internet connection. Simply call Annie Bloom’s at 503-246-0053 and tell the clerk to credit your purchase to St. Andrew.

If you’re hungry for some good reading over the upcoming months, but don’t know where to start, check out Mary Nell Mahler’s list of some suggested titles below. Please remember that you need not limit your shopping to this list:

Suggested Titles for Your Consideration:

YA	All of Us with Wings, by Michelle Ruiz Keil	Faithful Place
F	All This Could be Yours, by Jami Attenberg	Fifth Season
F	American Dirt, by Jeanine Cummins	Here in the Real World
NF	America’s Religious Wars, by Kathleen M. Sands	His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power
SS	And I Do Not Forgive You, by Amber Sparks	Keys to Bonhoeffer
H	And Then You Die of Dysentery, by Lauren Reeves	Little Mole Finds Hope
NF	The Art of Ramona Quimby, by Anna Katz	Long Bright River
P, MG	The Beadworkers, by Beth Piatote	Love Is…
F	The Beekeeper of Aleppo, by Christy Lefteri	Mirror and the Light
CPB	A Big Bed for Little Snow, by Grace Lin	Night of His Birth
F,H	The Big Finish, by Brooke Fossey	Night Watchman
F	Big Summer, by Jennifer Weiner	On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
CPB	Birdsong, by Julie Flett	Pioneers: The Heroic Story
CPB	The Birth of Jesus: A Christmas Pop-Up, by Agostino Traini	Red at the Bone
C	Bitty Brown Babe, by Deborah LeFalle & Keisha Morris	Redhead by the Side of the Road
F	The Boy from the Woods, by Harlan Coben\	Royal Holiday
F	Chosen Ones, by Veronica Roth	Save Me the Plums
F	The City We Became, by N.K. Jemisin	Star in the Christmas Play
C	Countdown to Christmas, by Mary Manz Simon	Summer Song
C	Crossing on Time, by David Macaulay	This Is the Church
NF	The Dance of the Dissident Daughter, by Sue Monk Kidd	Time for Mercy
F	Disappearing Earth, by Julia Phillips	Trees in Trouble: Wildfires
C	Double Bass Blues, by Andrea Loney	When He Heart Waits
F	Drive Your Plow over the Bones of the Dead, by Olga Tokarczuk	Where the Best Stories Hide
F	The Dutch House, by Ann Patchett	With the Fire on High
F	Erasing Memory: A MacNeice Mystery, by Scott Thornley	World of the Old Testament

C: Children’s Book

CPB: Children’s Picture Book

F: Fic#on

H: Humor

NF: Nonfic#on

P,MG: Poetry, Mixed Genre

SS: Short Stories

YA: Young Adult

Shop online here! https://www.annieblooms.com/st-andrews-book-fair

November Birthdays

Logan Uecker	November 1
Ronald Olshausen	November 1
Ted Miller	November 1
Dan Flood	November 2
Jennifer Hooson	November 2
AJ Uecker	November 4
Jill Folkestad	November 4
LeAnn Haslett	November 4
Debi Gustafson	November 6
Nora Duggan	November 6
Blaine Covert	November 7
Joani Wardwell	November 7
Sylvia Lei	November 7
Sara Hays	November 9
Allison Katsufrakis	November 10
Emily Moore	November 12
Lydia Ragan	November 13
Noelle Mehlhorn	November 13
Benjamin Matsuo	November 14
Rebecca Uecker	November 14
Marley Myers	November 15
Mary Brown	November 15
Melissa Allen	November 15
Tandy Brooks	November 15
Mary Carroll	November 16
Carol Kreger	November 18
Gretchen Bancroft	November 18
Jack Scholz	November 19
Sue Cahlander	November 20
Carol Hogan	November 21
Marlene Maxwell	November 22
Nils Ackman	November 22
Tiffany Lo	November 23
Jim Aageson	November 24
Shelley Jelineo	November 25
Susan Kintner	November 27
Jack Dunlap	November 28
Dee Piscitelli	November 29
Steve Christiansen	November 29
Gordon Teifel	November 30

In Need of Prayers…

 

Family and friends of Patty Werner (sister-in-law)	Peace and God’s comfort at her death	Susan Werner Reiser
Family and friends of Diana Heidinger (sister-in-law)	Peace and God’s comfort at his death	Judy Heidinger
Jim Smith (brother-in-law) and his family	Peace, comfort, and support as Jim is in hospice care	Mary Smith
Liz Andersen	Comfort, strength, and successful treatment	Susan Reiser
Jane Quigg (sister)	Comfort and courage in facing mental health challenges	Janet Vorvick
Ellie (aunt)	Healing and recovery from a stroke	Mike & Linda McDowall
Garett McDowall	Healing and recovery from surgery	Pastor Robyn Hartwig
Noah Oyen	Healing and recovery from COVID-19	Gretchen Bancroft
Jeff George’s grandmother	Healing and recovery from surgery	Pastor Mark Brocker
Elaine May	Successful knee replacement surgery (Oct 27)	Staff
Our Nation	Integrity of the election	Staff
Those facing ongoing illness or distress: Tandy Brooks, David Bumgardner, Vic Claar, Marilyn Hanson, Barry Larson, Marvel Lund, Ian MacDonald, Gary Magnuson, Hugh Mason, Brian McKiernan, Ed & Jean 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
Zion Lutheran Church (Redmond, OR) Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church (Sisters, OR) Sunriver Christian Fellowship (Sunriver, OR)	Serving with us in the Oregon Synod	Staff
Muslim Educational Trust (Tigard, OR)	Blessings on our interfaith partners	Staff

 

 

Help Set the Table for Immigrant Families

Across the world, the communal bowl signifies that one does not eat alone, in isolation. For refugees and immigrants, isolation is the most threatening aspect of leaving their homeland behind and rebuilding a life in the U.S. How do families cope? They come together at mealtime and they share.

Is it possible for us to understand what our refugee families have lost? How daunting it must be to navigate a new life in America—particularly during a pandemic. The people of Lutheran Community Services NW witness the enormous challenges of rebuilding a life. They set the table for refugees to thrive by providing the emotional and practical support they need. And you can help! View the Communal Bowl video or donate now.

It’s Red for Reformation

Although we’ll all be worshiping at home again this weekend, remember that we are celebrating Reformation Sunday and its liturgical color is red. It’s been a tradition at St. Andrew to wear red on this anniversary of the Reformation. You can retain this tradition at home— and get away with donning red jammies if that’s your preference!

Thank You!

The Service Committee thanks the congregation for the generous $1,654 contributed to the Western Farm Workers Association during our September drive. These funds provide food and clothing for Washington Country’s farm workers and supports the Hillsboro offices, where legal help is offered to WFWA clients.

This organization has a record of fighting on behalf of the lowest paid workers in our area and winning improved conditions for them. WFWA has no paid staff; all office workers are volunteers.

Highlights for the Week

Check the church calendar for the most up-to-date information. When you go to the online church calendar, you can click “List” and “Week” to see details for the week (blue buttons in screen shot, below) rather than the whole month. Click “Next >” to see the next week.

Sunday, October 25: Reformation 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:  Budgeting for Giving	Zoom
11:00 am	Online Worship	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom
1:00 pm	Blessing of St. Andrew’s Reformation Earth Garden	Outside – North of patio

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

6:00 pm	Handbell Ensemble Rehearsal	Sanctuary
6:30 pm	Informal Gathering Time	Zoom
7:00 pm	High School Youth Game Night	Zoom
7:00 pm	Wednesday Evening Prayer	Zoom
7:30 pm	Centering Prayer	Zoom

Thursday, October 29

12:00 pm

Team Ministry Meeting

Zoom

 

Sunday, November 1:  All Saints Day

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	Online Worship	Zoom
12:00 pm	Virtual Coffee Time	Zoom

 

 

Connecting to Worship

Ways to Give

Thank you for supporting the ministries of St. Andrew!